Efrem Mara Blog

Oscar were the crimages dudivertissementrecently. Just two days support, the world decharme polished with itsbest, the stage prepared to carry lemeillor of the artists while thecalled ones were held in un tat of incredible moments alwayswondering if they ferontjamais it jusqu with the top. And thoseplanning to be pilot dugrand day must have occupied in their manner offinding lemeillor equipment to match the statute del’event.Well, the day deserves all the pr parationsmassivesones towards the interior and outside. After all it seproduit only onetime per annum. Those in the n cessit d’ industry of film per daylike this to amplify their capacit sd’ execution. It that no wonderthat the event took the mondeentier close give the attack with Theymade so much pourchatouiller our bones, our directions, our emotionsand even inspired bonnombre among us in a good number of manners. Thefilms, dansun strange kind in manner opened our covered eyes withseveral desaspects of the life. We finish by knowing that many ausujetwhat we never even heard of about.Mostd’ them isdescriptions of the life where it indicates another versiondes realevents. If it is packed action, the guns etles balls or novel andcomedy, there is something in it quivisent to teach with the viewers avalid lesson. The regardantde each aspect, the rewards of Oscar mustbe lemoment more enriching by any performer.Onlundi, amongmuch of the breath taking and of the overpowering moments, betterselected carried their Oscars. Observing him with lat l vision, itsure resembled a glorious event for serappeler, one moment of honorand the pride. During another ann eenti re of hard work andattachment, they have finally richer recueillileurs rewards. This onewill descend the history pendantun very long time. Even the nominationitself means one grandaccomplissement. They all are very reward and asection desucc s. Perhaps, largest for them. And you and me having un Oscar per day? Unfortunately, without millionsd’ assistances,without publicity, cameras and speech. Justevous, making it becauseyou worry about the life and because it feels good.Onegaining Oscar made undiscours remarkable. Probably, the majority amongyou d j observ , saw and heard to him. But I think that it is invalue uneautre repetition. It said, it feels strange to bechoisiequand there are so many others which function passion ment forunecause. It is probably true that several of our worthycontratspassent inapper us or without mention and applauds. But alsolongtempsqu’ they is valid, it is in oneself a Oscar. Size importepas,it not to be seen much by each one or for treparl e by people. Thereward can not come in unmod le attractive with million grantinginside to the watch, etne can be splashed on newspapers or coloured incespetits achievements of TV.But be invaluable. Nouspouvonsto make with rewards of Oscar a affairejournali re. Do not beessential that the manner choose you suivrepour to obtain jusqu withthe top as long as it is exact and true. It ya so much of roads whichcarry out there but only those which saventmarcher the lane obtain totouch the red carpet and seek leprix. Living each day and obtaining aOscar each time avantque you will sleep much of happiness of means. Itmeans unjour succeeded, where your not recognized achievements your compensentsilencieusement in a special manner.Remember,bonheurest larger than the name and the fame. Satisfaction isplusgrand that publicity and “feeling-good” is the important factorenfaisant best out of the life. Certainly, its liferayonneraitall grement if each day becomes a celebration of an act.Unpain roasted with an achievement each day. For a change, not becauseof an execution of academic or a competition degain, nor a promotionand similar but a Oscar devie-contract. Collect as much as you can.There is pi cepour a lifetime.

I just checked this out and it’s new and improved so I’m passing the info on to you. here!, the gay television network that brings us the sexy sudser “Dante’s Cove” and other series and movies, announced Monday that it has re-launched its flagship web portal found at www.heretv.com which includes downloadable video and audio podcasts, programming schedules, blogs and polls, as well as information on how to subscribe to here!.
On the re-launched site, here! viewers can find episode synopses, trailers from their favorite series and films and more. The site also provides in depth here! News and here! Focus segments, as well as links providing information on both national and local events. In addition, the new weekly Top 5 section, which lists the top five most buzzed about offerings of the week, allows audiences to see what is popular with other here! customers.

We’re up dark and early tomorrow (Day 7) for our return trip, so the captions will be minimal. Today, we toured the White House (no photos), then went to the National Aquarium and Zoo (Juliet’s better, so joined us for the latter two). In the evening, my older brother Miles and I spent five hours downtown photographing the monuments.

If a picture is worth a thousand word, here are roughly 50,000 words:

The George Washington Masoner’s Temple in Alexandria is our local landmark.

And here’s the view off the King Street Metro Station, a short walk from our hotel.

Billie and the girls on the metro into Washington, D.C.

And walking the lovely corridor between buildings at the Federal Triangle area.

Ah, such wonderful flowers, both on and off the sidewalk.

The National Aquarium is like a dimly lit fishstore, with larger and more interesting fish, perhaps. Here the girls pose in front of a baby alligator.

Among the more interesting sealife, besides the tiger and leopard sharks, is this large lobster.

Onto the zoo, walking back to the Metro stop we had this great view of the Capitol and old Post Office tower (I think) down Pennsylvania Avenue.

At the National Zoo, we were at first disappointed (though that doesn’t show here). The first 1/4 of the zoo is just okay, but the rest is really grand.

One of the highlights early on is the cheetah exhibit, which my zoom lens allowed us to focus in on, so to speak.

Of course, one of the big attractions is the panda bear. Here’s the older bear, sleeping.

The red panda, in the crook of the tree, was part of the really grand Asia Trail exhibit.

Hugging a bronze panda isn’t quite like hugging the real thing, but close enough.

Our younger daughter smiles for the camera.

Next stop: the Bird House, where the zoom lens captured the two beauties above…

… along with beauties like this green magpie. Yes, it’s both real and alive.

Along the main walkway is a heavy mister, which was great fun for both girls.

Our main pursuit was the solitary bald eagle, which didn’t disappoint, though a telephoto lens or binoculars is a must for this exhibit.

Rock and roll!

Or relaxing jazz, perhaps?

In the golden lion tamarin area, we saw a mother deer and two suckling fawns.

Puffy flowers and tired girls.

But not too tired to pose with this colorful bear, a block or so away from the zoo.

Miles and I got a later start than we hoped for our night photography mission, but still got some sunset light for shots such as this one of the Washington Monument.

And the Jefferson Memorial across the Tidal Basin.

Back we walked to the Washington Monument. We probably walked five miles this evening.

Most night photos were taken with the tripod, though this is a handheld shot, hence the fuzziness that’s still pretty cool, methinks.

The World War II Memorial, with the Lincoln Memorial in the background.

Fountains at the World War II Memorial.

View of Lincoln Memorial above the Reflecting Pool. Unfortunately, some shots like this got a bit overexposed. Ah well, guess that’s why I’m an amateur photographer.

One of my favorite night shots turned out to be the Korean War Memorial, which is haunting enough in the daylight, but absolutely chilling at night.

World War II Memorial, Washington Monument, and the U.S. Capitol, taken from Lincoln Memorial.

A bit less bright photo of Lincoln Memorial, with the half-moon in the upper left corner.

A handheld shot of the Lincoln statue.

The triceratops head on the Constitution Avenue side of the Museum of Natural History.

And lastly, a couple shots of the U.S. Capitol, from the Mall.

Tomorrow, we separate for a bit. But you better believe I’m sleeping in!.

Back when I was really rolling in the cash I spent a pretty penny on the best of the best. We didn’t call them gadgets back then. These were luxury items that often served as mini status symbols. Here is the list of The 10 Retro Gadgets that Shaped Today, according to yours truly.

1. Sony Betamovie
Introduced in 1983, the Sony Betamovie was the world’s first camcorder - a video cassette recorder and video camera combined.

2. Polaroid SX-70
SX-70 (or Time Zero) film was recently discontinued but had a strong following from artists who used it for image manipulation. What a shame

3. Sony Walkman TPS-L2 Portable Cassete Player
The original Walkman went on sale in 1979. It was with stereo playback and two mini headphone jacks, permitting two people to listen at the same. The Walkman had a “hotline” button which activated a small built-in microphone (the Pressman), partially overriding the sound from the cassette, and allowing one user to talk to the other over the music.

4. Atari 2600
Released in October 1977, it was the first successful video game console to use plug-in cartridges instead of having one or more games built in

5. Motorola DynaTAC 8000X
The world’s first mobile phone to receive FCC acceptance in 1983 weighed 28 ounces and was 10 inches high, not including its flexible “rubber duck” whip antenna

6. The Compuchron Calculator Watch
Released in 1976 this LED watch was as stylish as it was versatile.

7. Coleco Electronic Quarterback
Electronic Quarterback was a handheld electronic game made 1978. It was tough to put this baby down.

8. Osbourne 1 Portable Computer
The world’s first portable computer, released in 1981, weighed 25 pounds and sold for almost $2000 dollars. We kept it in the van most of the time.

9. DustBuster
Nuff said. This gem is still around and used widely by crumbdroppers worldwide.

10. Etch A Sketch Animator
The Etch A Sketch Animator, which debuted in 1987, featured a low-resolution raster display and used two knobs for drawing, like a regular Etch A Sketch, with several buttons to manipulate said drawings. It had a few kilobytes of memory, capable of storing 12 frames of pictures in any combination up to 96 times.

One of my alltime favorite modules is George R. Paczolt’s Rat on a Stick, a little number published in ‘82 by Judges Guild. While written for Tunnels & Trolls, I’ve run Rat for Basic D&D and converted on the fly.
The module is a multilevel dungeon full of the humor and heart so common to T&T products. Some folks think dungeoneering should always be deadly serious, but I find little romps like this to be charming and delightful. What really wins me over is the titular Rat on a Stick restaraunt located in the dungeon. Rules for opening your own franchise are provided!Since I don’t have a copy of T&T, some of the monsters in the dungeon are unfamiliar to me. Most of the baddies are Tolkienian standard, but there are slight differences. For instance, I used a balrog when a “Flame Demon” appeared on a wandering monster roll. The biggest issue when I ran the module were the Black Hobbits. Based upon the text I think these guys are regular hobbits corrupted by evil, so I simply used chaotic-aligned halfings. That led to some wacky hijinx thanks to the presence of a turncoat chaotic halfling in the PC party. If I were to run Rat on a Stick for 3.5, I’d probably use something like this:
Fiendish Halfling, 1st-Level Warrior
Small Humanoid (Halfling); CR 1/2; HD 1d8+1; hp 5;
Init +1; Spd 20 ft.; Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; AC 16 (+1 size, +1 Dex, +3 studded leather, +1 light shield), touch 12, flat-footed 15; Base Atk +1; Grp -3; Atk Longsword +3 melee (1d6/19-20) or light crossbow +3 ranged (1d6/19-20); Full Atk Longsword +3 melee (1d6/19-20) or light crossbow +3 ranged (1d6/19-20); SA Halfling traits, smite good; SQ Halfling traits, Darkvision 60 ft, resistance to cold 5 and fire 5,SR 6; AL Always evil (any); SV Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +0; Str 11, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 8 Skills: Climb +2, Hide +4, Jump -4, Listen +3, Move Silently +1 Feats: Weapon Focus (longsword) Halfling Traits(Ex): +2 racial bonus on Climb, Jump, and Move Silently checks. +1 racial bonus on all saving throws. +2 morale bonus on saving throws against fear. This bonus stacks with the halfling’s +1 bonus on saving throws in general. +1 racial bonus on attack rolls with thrown weapons and slings. +2 racial bonus on Listen checks. Smite Good(Su): Once per day a fiendish creature can make a normal melee attack to deal +1 extra damage against a good foe.

Putting together this stat block was absolutely effortless, thanks to YoYo Dyne Technologies’ Monster 3.5 program, which takes SRD critters and adds Fiendish and Celestial templates for you. I’ve also used the Summon Monster statblocks available at that link. Good stuff.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yellow Pages & Small Business Commando News Geico’s Magic Phrase that Wins Customers May 23, 2006 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ in this issue — Geico’s Magic Phrase that Wins Customers — Hanging with the Plumbers — Answer to Last Redneck Riddle — Yellow Pages Humor– Try, try again– Hardy-har-har– Puppy Talk– Seemed like a good idea at the time– Announcements– This Week’s Redneck Riddle– Quote of the Week You can listen to this newsletter in fabulous surround sound by going to this link. Time: 5 min. 22 sec.

http://ypcommando.com/articles/52306.html Like this newsletter? Call my testimonial hotline and leave a message. I’ll post it on the website and in a few weeks show you how to do it for your business.

1-888-334-8891

Just say your name, company name and any message.
Geico’s Magic Phrase that Wins Customers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Geico is one of the most successful insurance firms in the US.

A major part of their success comes from their innovative sales model.

Geico’s main salesman is a lizard.

When I say lizard, I don’t mean a cold-blooded reptile in a coffee-stained golf shirt pressuring you to buy a variable annuity so he can go on a trip to Cabo.

Geico’s lizard is an animated Gecko with an Australian accent. Get it? Geico and Gecko? (insurance humor . . . shoot me now, please.)

See, Geico sells auto insurance using inbound telephone sales instead of relying on field sales agents.

It’s not that I have anything against insurance agents. In fact, if it weren’t for insurance agents, we wouldn’t have . . . uh . . . well . . . hmmm . . . let me get back to you on that.

Since they have no outside sales staff, Geico relies on heavy advertising to generate leads for their telesales folk.

View a Geico Ad Here

If the ads don’t get customers to call, the company is in deep doo doo. (That’s highfalutin marketing lingo they don’t teach you in college.)

Geico’s TV commercials are cute, but the magic is delivered in the last 5 seconds.

The TV ads end by showing a phone number with the voice-over saying

“15 minutes could save you 15% or more on your car insurance.”

This simple phrase is a wonderful marketing lesson. Check out the principles

1. Go for the easy sale. The ad doesn’t try to sell you insurance. They sell you on making a telephone call. That’s an important distinction, and much more likely to result in success because the hurdle is lower.

Yellow Pages ads don’t close sales. By that, I mean that no one reading your ad is going to mail in money in anticipation that you’ll come out and fix their roof, write their will or adjust the kinks out of their neck.

The optimal goal of your Yellow Pages ads should be to get someone reading the ad to identify themselves and their interest in whatever is being sold to you. To achieve this outcome, give the prospect a reason with a well defined payoff.

Depending on your business, this should usually come in the form of educating the customer to make an informed decision.

When composing an ad for your business, focus on the easy sale.

The easy sale could be a recorded message, a free report, a second opinion, a video inspection or a complimentary diagnosis with a written analysis of the possible solutions.

2. Limit the risk. By stating that it’s a 15-minute call, Geico sets the expectation that the caller has limited downside. A side benefit is that the customer will likely set aside enough time to complete the call. “15 minutes” is a qualifier that puts the caller into the right mindset before picking up the phone.

In your business, how can you limit the customer’s risk of speaking with you? Free quotes and consultations are so common that they generally don’t have any competitive advantage.

If tire-kickers are a concern, tie a small commitment to the easy sale. Notice that Geico doesn’t dwell on the fact that it’s a free call. They get the consumer mentally committing 15 minutes.

3. Clearly defined payoff. By saying that you could save 15%, Geico gives the viewer a quantifiable benefit. Notice that they don’t say “cheapest rates in town” or worse, “call for a quote”

4. Defined audience. Geico sells more than car insurance, but rather than throwing their entire product line at you, they focus the ad on car insurance. Granted, car owners are a very broad audience, but it immediately excludes everyone who might not be in the market for car insurance.

Most Yellow Pages ads include lists of services and features hoping that if you through enough against the wall, some of it is bound to stick. In practice, it’s far more effective to have a single focused message

When designing your Yellow Pages ad, you don’t need animated lizards bantering about insurance. You just need to give the customer enough reason to call you.

Michael Hepworth gave some fabulous tips in our teleseminar. For a complimentary downloadable mp3 recording of the call, go to the link below. Just leave the credit card fields blank, there’s no catch. Complimentary MP3 of the Street Smart Teleseminar (leave the credit card info blank)
Hanging with the Plumbers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kevin Shaw, of Kevin Shaw Plumbing booked me to speak at the upcoming Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors show in Los Angeles on Saturday, June 3. I’ll be presenting tactics for dramatically improving Yellow Pages effectiveness as well as a series on marketing your local business online. Last year, I helped over 200,000 small businesses market themselves on Yahoo, Google and the top Internet Yellow Pages. If you want leads from the Internet, you won’t want to miss it.
Answer to Last Redneck Riddle ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buford is waiting in the longest line ever to use the port-a-potty at the wrasslin’ match.

He is the 11th from either end of the line.

How many people are standing in line?

The winner receives an autographed copy of my latest CD “Commando Secrets LIVE - How to Market Your Local Business Online.”

Didn’t win? You can still get the CD here. See the answer and the Redneck Riddles celebrity winner
Yellow Pages Humor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wish I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard someone say that. Special thanks to Chuck Masterson for this ballsy ad. Check out Chuck’s site “Yellow Pages into Gold”
Try, try again ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before he designed his world-famous “Falling Water” house, Frank Lloyd Wright had a few lesser known masterpieces.
Hardy-har-har ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dang you Spike, give me my teef back.
Puppy Talk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OK, have you heard the one about the two kittens who walked into a bar?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So many people have asked about the greeting card system that our clients are using to build their word-of-mouth marketing business.

It makes sending hand-written greeting cards as easy as sending an email.

I’ll walk you through the system and show you how to systematically build your referral business with greeting cards to your existing customers.

It only costs $1.01 which includes a beautiful card, hand addressed envelope and first class postage.

You gotta email me if you want to try this system.

cards@ypcommando.com Check out SendOutCards.cc
Seemed like a good idea at the time ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Until someone didn’t realize it was a garage.
Announcements ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spot Runner is a new Internet-based advertising agency that makes it easy and affordable for local businesses to advertise on TV.

They offer a full-service package, including commercial production, media planning and ad time.

Spot Runner has developed a revolutionary online platform that makes it fast, easy and affordable for local business to advertise on major TV networks, such as CNN, HGTV and ESPN.

Ad production is only $499 and airtime costs as little as $10 per ad in many places. Check ‘em out.
This Week’s Redneck Riddle ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buford rode with Festus and Skeeter to Daytona Beach for biker week.

Festus brought 5 Slim-Jims (spicy sausage snacks) and Skeeter brought 3 Slim-Jims.

A few hours into the drive, the boys got hungry and decided to equally share 8 Slim-Jims.

Buford didn’t bring any food, but agreed to pay $8 for his share in the feast.

How should Festus and Skeeter fairly divide the $8? Email your answer to slimjim@redneckriddles.com Every correct answer will receive a gift account allowing them to send five personalized greeting cards (including envelope and first class postage) compliments of www.SendOutCards.cc

One lucky winner will receive 15 minutes of uninterrupted fame and an autographed copy of my latest CD “Commando Secrets LIVE - How to Market Your Local Business Online.”

Stumped? You can get the CD here. To improve your random chances of winning, please include your name, company name, and mailing address. I draw the winner the day before I send the following newsletter, so keep voting until the polls close.
Quote of the Week ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I went to the thirtieth reunion of my preschool. I didn’t want to go, because I’ve put on like a hundred pounds.” –Wendy Liebman

Got a good quote? Send it my way, and I’ll give you 15 minutes of uninterrupted fame.

Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ email: news@ypcommando.com phone: (760) 579-1005 web: http://ypcommando.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So-called “risk-sharing” pricing schemes are being discussed to justify high drug prices:
Johnson & Johnson has proposed that Britain’s national health service pay for the cancer drug Velcade, but only for people who benefit from the medicine, which can cost $48,000 a patient. The company would refund any money spent on patients whose tumors do not shrink sufficiently after a trial treatment.

The groundbreaking proposal, along with less radical pricing experiments in this country and overseas, may signal the pharmaceutical industry’s willingness to edge toward a new pay-for-performance paradigm — in which a drug’s price would be based on how well it worked, and might be adjusted up or down as new evidence came in.

–”That’s All”, Genesis

I have a thousand dollars coming to me in January of 2011 if I play my cards right. By the same token, I could be pressed into paying out two hundred dollars if the Lord sees fit (and if my beloved Dawgs let me down once more). Follow. The terms and conditions of my wager with mojo is that if the University of Georgia can field a team capable of winning the college football championship by the end of the 2010 season, he owes me a cool thousand. Conversely, if they do not win a championship by that point, then I owe him two hundred dollars. I’ve made other bets before–the long-standing bet of one hundred to the winner whenever the Braves face off with the Red Sox comes to mind–but nothing on such a long-term or grand scale as this bet.

Now you may ask what in the Sam Hill I’m doing it? By all appearances I don’t seem the betting type. And, most of the time, I ain’t. Most of the time in casual conversation I try not to get too worked up. I may get to the point of become windier than a bag of assholes, as my daddy says, but that relates more to my talkativeness rather than displaying signs of grit. However, when it comes to my teams I have a tendency to get madder than a wet hen when somebody begins to knock them in any way.

It’s the fighter in me, I guess. I’ve always had confidence issues and one of the ways it comes out is that I don’t like to concede an argument. And around my daddy, sports was always a bone of contention.

—-

“Now, tiger, folks are going to tell you that rain is sunshine and sunshine, rain. But never you mind them. You stick to what you see and call it like you see it,” he told me as we were attending one of many Braves games.

It was a quiet moment. We were losing. I had stopped paying attention to the game, much to the chagrin of my daddy.

I can’t be one hundred percent certain but I think it’s always stuck in his craw that I wasn’t born a boy. I mean–he says thankful everyday that him and my mother even had me at all, given what the doctor had told them, but, all things being equal, I knew he would’ve appreciated a son more. That’s probably why I grew to love sports, especially baseball. My mother was always rushing me to paegeants, to dance lessons. Baseball is one gift I could give my daddy.

That’s why most of the time I tried to be attentive and talkative when I came to games with him. That day I just didn’t have it in me.

I chose that opportunity to ask him if he thought it strange I got so despondent over a stupid ball game. After all, I told him, mother thinks I’m silly for taking all of it so seriously.

When he told me to call it like I saw it.

“But sometimes I feel silly.”

“Why?”

“Because it isn’t like I’m playing, daddy. Torry used to poke fun at me every time I would mention ‘we won’ or ‘we lost’. She would actually ask me, ‘how was it out on the field?’”

“Want to know something, my little miss chipper?”

“What?”

I looked into my father’s loving face–the broadening smile, the first few hints of wrinkles beginning to form on his forehead, the mussy hair. At first, I was startled by the bemused expression on his face. A few minutes prior he had been just as worked up and depressed at the state of affairs at Turner Field. A few minutes prior he was arguing just as loudly at a few calls that hadn’t gone our way. A few minutes prior he had half-jokingly announced that we were leaving. To see him do such a complete about face was somewhat startling.

“Never apologize for having pride in the Braves, in anything you feel a part of. Nothing makes me prouder than you sharing in your daddy’s love of this no-good team of ours.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“It just goes back to what I told you about people trying to tell you how to feel. Don’t do it. If God didn’t want you to be a Braves fan he wouldn’t have sat you down in Georgia, now would He?”

“I suppose not,” I laughed.

“Never stop being a fan. Never stop enjoying something larger than yourself. It’s how you get through life.”

I know he was just talking about baseball and being a fan of them, but I’d like to think he was speaking about something more than that. I’d like to believe he was talking about having convictions and sticking by them. I’d like to believe he was speaking about the idea of tradition and the idea of never abandoning them. I admit it, sometimes it’s easier to cut bait on life when it doesn’t seem headed your way. After all, people tell me all the time that it’s healthy to take things to heart so much and so often. They tell me that I’ve got to let things go a bit more. They tell me to lighten up and move on. But that just ain’t me. When I believe in something, I believe in it all the way. When I became a fan of some team or some restaurant or some movie, I become a fan for life. When I become friends with someone I become friends for life. I’d like to think it’s this tenacity and all-encompassing passion for taking something to heart that has gotten me through life. That’s why I continue to be a Braves fan, even though they’ve broken my heart more than once. Because my daddy’s a Braves fan and my daddy’s one of the most steadfast people I know. If the worst thing people can say about me is that I’m as stubborn as my daddy (or my mother, for that matter) than I’ll consider my life a success.

I don’t ever want to stop being a fan. I don’t ever want to stop being passionate and feisty and altogether a burr in people’s britches if the situation calls for it.

That’s why I still bet on my Braves and my Bulldogs. Not necessarily because I think they can win every game they play.

I could leave but I won’t go
it’d be easier I know

But, Hell’s bells, I’ll be damned if I ever admit that it’s possible for them to lose.

“Don’t worry, daddy, I’m always going to come to these games with you. Win or lose.”

Breanne

Thandie the seductress… Miss Newton is high on my list whenever it comes to a new movie with her name attached on the roster. In 2 of my favourite Thandie movies, she’s been nothing short of sexy as well as a little devious.. perfect babe combination! Those 2 movies? They are the Tom Cruise led ‘Mission Impossible’ and the relatively unknown all star independent gambling film featuring Sylvester Stallone, ‘Shade’.

Fine-boned and soft-spoken, Thandie Newton displays a deceptive fragility that is betrayed by the strong, resilient characters she often portrays. Perhaps that’s why she’s in high demand for such roles, because she portrays the visual paradox so well on the silver screens. Thandie was born to a Zimbabwean mother and British father. I’ve always maintained the children of mixed relationships often turn out to be very beautiful. It’s the gene pool’s telling us to embrace global unity!

She broke into actor after meeting Australian director John Duigan, while a private school in North London. Thandie won the leading rule in his coming-of-age tale ‘Flirting’ (1991). Her next film of any significance was a minor role in ‘Interview With the Vampire’. Throughout her actress evolution, Thandie has worked with superstars like Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise, Jason Patric, Nick Nolte, James Earl Jones, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jon Bon Jovi, Tim Roth and Tupac Shakur. She never looked out of step and often caught the gazes of critices in her mainstream and independent films.

Although Thandie was still a relatively obscure name in Hollywood, things change quickly when she started appearing in films like Gridlock’d, a film that won Newton raves for her turn as a heroine-addicted jazz singer . She went on to star in Beloved, a highly anticipated adaptation of Toni Morrison’s novel, and for her portrayal of the mysterious, ghostly girl who torments Oprah Winfrey’s Sethe. Finally, it was with her third film of 1998, Besieged, that Newton graduated from relative obscurity to the rank of Hollywood Up and Comer.

2000 was the year Thandie Newton became a household name, when she was casted opposite Tom Cruise in John Woo’s ‘Mission Impossible II’. Although the film received mixed reviews, Newton earned almost unanimous approval from critics, who praised her strong, dynamic performance. Her latest works include ‘The Chronicles Of Riddick’ with Vin Diesel, and the cult favourite ‘Shade’ starring alongside all-star casts such as Sylvestor, Stallone, Melanie Griffith, Gabriel Byrne, Stuart Townsend, and Jamie Foxx.

Sultry looks combined with that sexy “what do you think” smile and dimple. You’re instantly drawn in by the temptress’s biddings. She has played many strong, tough and even devious characters, you would think that she’s somewhat like that in her real life. In fact it is true, this babe is so tough, she even opt for no anasthetics and chose home birth. But Thandie still remains very down to earth. Look forward to more exciting performances from Thandie in the future! This babe will absolutely deliver a winning performance!

Babe Factor: 8.25/10
IMDb: Thandie Newton
Google Images: Thandie Newton
google_ad_client = “pub-7335776143058714″;
google_ad_width = 728;
google_ad_height = 90;
google_ad_format = “728×90_as”;
google_ad_type = “text_image”;
google_ad_channel =”5434006858″;
google_color_border = “000066″;
google_color_bg = “F5F5F5″;
google_color_link = “666666″;
google_color_url = “660000″;
google_color_text = “666666″;

Last week I mentioned that the drive-in cinema in Kowloon appeared to have closed down.  Today comes confirmation of this in the SCMP (Drive-in cinema shuts after just 8 months - subscription required): The curtain has fallen on Hong Kong's first and only drive-in cinema just eight months after it opened. Movie fans might have voted with their wheels because they were not used to watching films in a car, a viewing experience common in North America and Australia before the age of multiplexes. To mark the finale, a charity screening party organised by the Children's Institute of Hong Kong to raise funds for autistic youngsters will be staged at Austin Road West tomorrow night. The Drive-In, nestled in the concrete jungle next to Jordan's skyscrapers, opened in January on the 200,000 sq ft site. In front of its screen was space for 90 cars. People without cars had the option of sitting in a few vintage vehicles or comfortable seats. Tickets cost HK$100 for a car space and one person, HK$50 for a second person and HK$40 for more people. Partners behind the venture included entertainment lawyer John McLellan and Winnie Tsang, managing director of film distributor Golden Scene. But the cinema got off to a slow start. Only about 30 people in 16 cars attended the opening night and just six tickets were sold over the internet for the late-night second screening.  Business had reportedly been poor since. Recently, fans calling to buy tickets were greeted with a taped message: “Sorry, the drive-in theatre has now closed down. Thank you for your support in the past.” So they were willing to admit on their phone line that the cinema was closed, even if the adverts in the SCMP claimed that it was being used for a private function.