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Post History:
lk2fireone (0)
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| 2551-2600 of 3618 Posts | < Previous Page | 1 | 2 | 10 | 18 | 26 | 34 | 42 | 51 | Page 52 | 53 | 57 | 61 | 65 | 72 | 73 | Next Page > |
| 09-29-11 10:02pm - 4833 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User  Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I just got the first edition of the Porn Users Newsletter in my email box. I'm wondering if I should save it to a portable hard drive and take to a local print shop to have it blown up and put on my bedroom wall. I might have to take down my Farah Fawcett poster to make space. Decisions, decisions. I was really surprised to get this newsletter, which I hope will be an historic event worthy of the first Playboy Magazine edition. Hint, hint: Please include large blow-up photos of our favorite girls in future editions. Actually, on second glance, I see there are links to: Our Editor's Favorite Photo Galleries of the Week Our Editor's Favorite Movie Galleries of the Week | |
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| 09-29-11 07:55pm - 4833 days | #654 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I agree that most movies this year were very unappealing to me. I keep looking at the DVD release schedule, and I am finding almost no movies that I want to see. I really hope this is a dry spell that will be followed by something better. I didn't buy any of the Transformers movies. I've got so many DVDs already, that I've only seen once. I really should look them over, or give them away, if I'm never going to watch them again. Thankfully, you can buy older DVDs on ebay or at some stores for really low prices. Or even new DVDs sometimes. I remember, when VHS tape was still new, you had to pay like $80-$100 for a movie. Thank God that's over and done with. But I think the movie studios are thinking back to the "Good Old Days" with regret. | |
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| 09-29-11 09:46am - 4833 days | #652 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I guess it's pick and choose. You go to those movies (or watch those DVDs) you hope you will enjoy. And sometimes you are pleasantly surprised by a movie that's better than you were expecting. The good thing is DVD rentals (or streaming) can be very inexpensive. Certainly a lot cheaper than a movie theater. So unless I think a movie will be really good, or I am really bored, I don't go to a movie theater, but wait for the DVD to come out. | |
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| 09-28-11 09:13am - 4834 days | #649 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
The Parents Television Council says Playboy is pornographic, and that the new television series about the Playboy Club is degrading and sexualizing and should be removed from broadcast immediately. So all the PU members who think Playboy is non-pornographic need to rethink their minds: Playboy is PORN, and porn is EVIL! ............ ............ Seven Advertisers Drop Out of 'The Playboy Club' After PTC Calls for Boycott The Hollywood Reporter – 5 hours ago The Parents Television Council says seven companies have pulled their ads from the second episode of The Playboy Club — and they’re calling on Capital One, Samsung and Chrysler to follow their lead. Citing the show's ratings, the group's president Tim Winter says, “What has been clear to everyone outside of NBC must now be clear even to those inside NBC: The Playboy Club is a commercial disaster and must be removed from the airwaves. We call for the network to cancel this degrading and sexualizing program immediately." The premiere was soft with 5 million viewers and just a 1.6 rating in the ad-coveted 18-49 demo. It sunk 19 percent in its second week, with just 3.8 million viewers and a 1.3 in the key demo. The PTC has targeted the show for objectifying and degrading women since it was picked up by NBC. It vows to continue to ask members to contact advertisers "until they cease sponsorship of a broadcast television program that is mainstreaming the pornography industry." “As a licensee of the public airwaves, NBC has breached the public trust by airing what amounts to a weekly advertisement for a pornographic brand. As demonstrated by the Nielsen ratings for ‘The Playboy Club’ the past two weeks, any further airing of the show not only pushes an anti-family agenda, but is a profoundly bad business decision," added Winter. “Until the program is removed from the public airwaves, PTC will be calling on its members and other concerned citizens to contact the sponsors. Today, we ask Capital One, Chrysler and Samsung if their corporate values are in step with those of the Playboy brand,” Winter went on. | |
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| 09-28-11 08:58am - 4834 days | #648 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Sign of the times. IRA documentary footage taken from video game. Probably cheaper and easier than trying to capture events in real life, or stealing from a (fictional) motion picture where they would have copyright issues. ............... ............... ITV Admits IRA Documentary Footage Was From Video Game The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood Reporter – 8 hours ago LONDON - ITV has had to admit that scenes from the launch show of its new current affairs documentary series Exposure were in fact from a video game, after an eagle-eyed viewer spotted the sequence was not real. The footage of the Irish Republican Army apparently shooting down a helicopter with weapons supplied by the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi should have been a high point of the launch of the new strand - the first big current affairs series launch in several years. But the broadcaster has now said that "human error" was to blame for the footage switch. "The events featured in Exposure: Gadaffi And The IRA were genuine but it would appear that during the editing process the correct clip of the 1988 incident was not selected," ITV said in a statement. "Other footage was mistakenly used in the film by producers. This was an unfortunate case of human error for which we apologize." The debut episode of the series attracted 1.3 million overnight viewes - not counting catch-up or download viewers. The mistaken footage, which was identified on screen as "IRA film 1988" formed a main element of the documentary about the Irish group's relationship with Gadaffi. Copyright © 2011 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. | |
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| 09-27-11 02:35pm - 4835 days | #646 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Off Topic for movies. But part of entertainment news. And since there's little real movie news lately, and very few movies being released that I want to see, here's some TV news: I thought Andy Rooney would be carried off of 60 minutes in a coffin. But it appears that, aside from special appearances, he is retiring from the regular news cast. ....... ....... Andy Rooney Ending Regular '60 Minutes' Segment NEW YORK -- After more than 1000 broadcasts, Andy Rooney will make his last regular appearance on this Sunday's 60 Minutes. Rooney has been a fixture on the newsmagazine since 1978. And he'll make the announcement himself in a quintessential show-wrapping segment. It will be preceded by a career retrospective interview with correspondent Morley Safer. "There’s nobody like Andy and there never will be," Jeff Fager, CBS News chairman and 60 executive producer, said. "He’ll hate hearing this, but he’s an American original. His contributions to 60 Minutes are immeasurable; he’s also a great friend." Fager will not replace Rooney, but he said that Rooney is always welcome on the broadcast. "It’s harder for him to do it every week," said Fager. "But he will always have the ability to speak his mind on 60 Minutes when the urge hits him.” Rooney has been a regular on 60 Minutes since Don Hewitt conceived the show in 1968, producing segments for Harry Reasoner. Rooney's first essay was about the reporting of automobile fatalities on Fourth of July weekend. That fall, he became a regular on the show. He alternated weeks with James J. Kilpatrick and Shana Alexander and got the end slot to himself a year later. Rooney joined CBS in 1949 as a writer for Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts and also wrote for The Garry Moore Show (1959-65) CBS News public-affairs broadcasts including The Twentieth Century, News of America, Adventure, Calendar and The Morning Show with Will Rogers, Jr. | |
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| 09-27-11 12:56pm - 4835 days | #645 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
All right, people. I'm getting too old to be a real fashion plate. But there's still time for me to try to get with the groove before I get planted six feet under. So what's a fella to do when he goes out to buy new duds? Why, he's supposed to look in the women's section, of course! Let's hope that Liam Neeson and Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis and Daniel Craig and Jason Statham can dress up (in dresses) to show us that real he-men can look their best. ................ ................ Latest trend in hip-hop: Women's clothes By MESFIN FEKADU - Associated Press | AP – 9 hrs ago NEW YORK (AP) — The latest fashion trend in hip-hop has its male stars raiding the women's clothing department for inspiration. Lil Wayne jumped around in skinny women's pants during his performance at this year's MTV Video Music Awards. Kanye West wore a multiprint shirt designed for women at the Coachella music festival. Kid Cudi has been seen in a plaid skirt, Snoop Dogg often wears jewelry designed for women, and Pharrell Williams is a fan of the Hermes-made Birkin bag, the ultra-expensive purse favored by Hollywood's top actresses. Elena Kiam, the owner and creative director of the jewelry brand Lia Sophia, says initially she was surprised to see her women's line embraced by some of rap's top acts like 50 Cent, P. Diddy and Snoop Dogg, who has worn her pieces in music videos and on magazine covers. "When we were designing these really beautiful, sparkly necklaces, we thought more for top editors, maybe a celebrity movie star. We really weren't thinking about hip-hop," said Kiam, who also said Beyoncé, Rihanna and Miley Cyrus have worn her designs. "There was a rapper wearing the same piece as a soccer mom from Ohio," she added. Celebrity stylist June Ambrose says those multiplatinum musicians can pull it off because their personas stretch beyond the hip-hop culture. Of Lil Wayne's much-talked about decision to sport a pair of boxer-revealing, black-and-white leopard print pants during the VMAs, she acknowledges his attire was "eccentric, but you know, he's a rock star and pulls it off extremely well. "Fashion should be as unisex as it is right now. It's probably the most unisex we've seen it.," she said. West, hip-hop's ultimate metrosexual who will debut his own fashion collection in Paris next week, wore a flowing, long-sleeved women's shirt designed by French-based fashion house Celine earlier this year at Coachella. Though there were some who poked fun at his clothing choice, Ambrose saw nothing wrong with it. "I think it's acceptable if you're not wearing a pair of heels with it and you're not wearing lipstick and neither of these guys did that," said Ambrose, who has styled Jay-Z, Diddy and Will Smith. "They treat fashion like it is art." It's not just rappers — Russell Brand and rockers like Steven Tyler and Pete Wentz have worn women's clothes in the past; Janet Jackson says the famous black sparkly jacket Michael Jackson wore during his legendary "Motown 25" performance was from his mother's closet. And of course, androgyny has long been intertwined with pop, from David Bowie to Freddie Mercury to Prince (known for his trademark heels). Bieber, the 17-year-old pop phenomenon, admits he has rocked women's jeans because of their suitable fit. "I think I've worn women's jeans before because they fit me better," he told The Associated Press at a recent fashion event. "I just think that whatever works, works." "It wasn't like it looked like a woman's sweater," continued Bieber, referring to women's shirt worn by West. "It was just a regular sweater that just happened to be a woman's." But hip-hop culture — often defined as much by its masculinity as much as its music — always seemed to be different. It's hard to imagine Eminem raging on stage in a breezy women's top; rapper DMX once clowned Jay-Z for wearing sandals on the beach, deeming it unmanly. Hip-hop's style in recent years has ranged from oversized sports jerseys to sweats to baggy, sagging pants and plain, oversized white T-shirts. Lately though, hip-hop stars are likely to sport clothes that are made to fit, and sometimes, tightly, like rock and indie hipsters. "(Lil Wayne and West are) small enough to pull it off and that's really what it's about," Ambrose said. "I don't think Jay-Z could pull that off. He doesn't have the body type for it. But these two guys are pretty petite and they're able to pull those things off because (the clothes) come in a size that they can wear." Brea "BStar" Stinson, who has styled Usher, Bieber and Jaden and Willow Smith, says while women's clothes can fit better on some men, at times they can be too fit. "I thought those pants were great (and) that print is totally in right now, but I didn't think that they were appropriate for (Lil Wayne)," Stinson said. "The fit was wrong (and) I think there's only a limited amount of stretch a man is allowed in his pants, and they were just really, really small." Whether Lil Wayne will be sporting more women's clothes is unclear. Still, this latest trend in hip-hop isn't a new one, says Ambrose. She remembers seeing similar happenings in the 1980s with rappers like Grandmaster Flash, Kool Moe Dee and the Ultramagnetic MCs. Hip-hop was key in making diamond earrings popular for men in both ears. And Andre 3000 from OutKast was known for pushing the envelope with his style. "Those guys were wearing leather pants, blouses. If you go back and look at the eccentricity, it's really just come full circle," she said of the past generations of rappers. "Back in the late '80s and early '90s, guys were wearing bright-colored jeans, skin tights, like leggings, and high boots." Ambrose — who will launch her own VH1 reality show "Styled By June" in February — feels that fashion and hip-hop go hand-and-hand when it comes to self-expression. "I think one thing about hip-hop is that it's always been uncensored and unedited in that way, and I think that if you take a lyric and you put it to a look, then it really makes sense," she said. "(Rappers) say what they want to say and they say it in their way, so why shouldn't the fashion have the same emotion and the same voice and the same freedom?" ___ AP writer Nicole Evatt contributed to this report. | |
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| 09-27-11 05:07am - 4836 days | #8 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
You're in the business side of porn, so you should have a much better understanding of the business than I do as a porn consumer. But most businesses seem to offer specials all the time: grocery stores, retail car dealers, newspapers, etc. It's all an effort to increase sales. So I don't understand why it wouldn't work for porn sites, as well. I believe that many PU members use the discounts available through PU/TBP to get a reduced membership price to porn sites. That is part of what makes the PU/TBP sites valuable (the reduced prices), in addition to the information on porn sites that PU/TBP makes available to its readers. | |
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| 09-27-11 01:27am - 4836 days | #5 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
My guess is that the continuing recession is still hitting sales of porn (and non-porn) DVDs, as well as membership in porn internet sites. I'm surprised more porn internet sites aren't offering special reduced prices to try to increase membership. But I guess they are trying to tough it out and hoping that membership will increase again. And that it's better to charge regular prices rather than to offer specials. This recession can't last forever. But I think it's lasted longer than most people expected it to. And it seems to be hitting the lower- and middle-class harder than the wealthy. People are still losing their jobs and their homes. | |
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| 09-26-11 10:18pm - 4836 days | #2 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
There are two excellent guides at PU on how to write a site review that many PU members have seen. These are guides, not a rule book, and PU members are basically free to write their reviews however they please. But anyone who follows these guidelines will probably write an excellent review. The original guide, written by Toadsith: Porn Users Cheat Sheet: https://www.pornusers.com/forum/forum_thr...57&showPost=7#_7 The modified Porn Users Cheat Sheet (written by Wittyguy): https://www.pornusers.com/forum/forum_thr...&showPost=49#_49 The thread that contains both these guides, started by Wittyguy, is also an excellent read for anyone who wants to know how to write a good site review. Porn Users Forum » What should a PU review include? https://www.pornusers.com/forum/forum_thr...readid=57&page=1 | |
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| 09-24-11 12:17pm - 4838 days | #644 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Video illustrating the dangers of too much drink. Please, don't drink and drive, or this could happen to you! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clqc8pkcKJE&NR=1 | |
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| 09-24-11 10:32am - 4838 days | #35 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Carpeting can get expensive. But I'd consider it a sign of virility if I could do that much damage. LOL. | |
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| 09-23-11 08:34pm - 4839 days | #642 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Not strictly movie news, but related to art and literature: Massachusetts library reverses 100+ year ban of story by Mark Twain. Let's hope that Mark Twain is standing up to cheer this sign of literary and artistic freedom. Though I doubt he is greatly impressed by the news. ........ ........ Mass. library undoes century-old Twain book ban AP – 13 hours ago CHARLTON, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts library has put the Mark Twain work "Eve's Diary" back on the shelf more than a century after it was banned. The Charlton Public Library's trustees this week unanimously voted to return the book to circulation, reversing the board's 1906 decision to ban the 1905 short story. Trustee Richard Whitehead said the move was made to coincide with the American Library Association's Banned Books Week. The book was written from the perspective of the biblical Eve. It was banned because trustee Frank Wakefield objected to nude illustrations of Eve. Whitehead tells The Telegram and Gazette (http://bit.ly/r0CFgm) he considers the illustrations works of art. The 1906 decision drew attention from The New York Times, which reported that Twain was not particularly concerned. Charlton is 40 miles southwest of Boston. ___ Information from: Telegram & Gazette, http://www.telegram.com | |
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| 09-22-11 04:23pm - 4840 days | #641 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
A photo of Harry Connick Jr. with his family (wife and 3 daughters) at the premiere of his latest movie last week in Los Angeles. What I find amazing is that his daughters are aged 15, 14 and 9. I look at the 15 year old, and she could pass for 25 or 30. The three daughters are nice-looking, as is the wife. http://movies.yahoo.com/photos/red-carpe...e-la-premiere#photo2 | |
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| 09-21-11 11:30pm - 4841 days | #638 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Turboshaft, you can't always oversell the dangers of over-eating. Here's a case that shows it's better to be safe than sorry. But no autopsy has been performed yet to definitely show the cause of death. ...... ...... Man wins dumpling eating contest, then dies ReutersBy Olzhas Auyezov, editing by Paul Casciato | Reuters – 15 hrs ago KIEV (Reuters) - A 77-year-old Ukrainian man won a jar full of sour cream for coming first in a dumpling eating contest and then promptly died, local media reported on Wednesday. Ivan Mendel ate 10 dumplings in half a minute to win first place and a one-liter jar of sour cream in the contest held in the town of Tokmak in the southeastern Zaporizhya region on September 18, Fakty I Kommentarii newspaper said. Shortly afterwards, Mendel became unwell and died, according to local news websites. Dumplings, called "vareniki" in the former Soviet republic, are a staple of Ukrainian cuisine and are often stuffed with a range of fillings from mushrooms to cherries. (Reporting By Olzhas Auyezov, editing by Paul Casciato) | |
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| 09-19-11 03:31pm - 4843 days | #636 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Dolores Hope, wife of Bob Hope, dies at 102 By BOB THOMAS - Associated Press | AP – 49 mins ago LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dolores Hope, the sultry-voiced songstress who was married to Bob Hope for 69 years and sometimes sang on his shows for U.S. troops and on his television specials, has died at age 102. Hope family spokesman Harlan Boll said Hope died Monday of natural causes at home in Los Angeles. He did not elaborate. Bob Hope died at age 100 on July 27, 2003. At her 100th birthday party, Hope appeared little changed: Her white hair was richly coiffed, her skin smooth and her voice deep and warm. She was brought to the party in a wheelchair but was alert and happy as she greeted old friends and posed for photographs. Hope mused, "I thought it was going to be just another birthday." In 1933, when Bob Hope was appearing in his first Broadway show, "Roberta," his friend and fellow cast member George Murphy persuaded him to visit the Vogue Club to "hear a pretty girl sing." She was Dolores Reade, a dark beauty whose singing of "It's Only a Paper Moon" entranced the young comedian. "I'll never forget what a wonderful singer she was," said Rip Taylor. "In fact, that's how Bob and Dolores met. It seems to me that they were always laughing." Hope returned every night and soon he was escorting her to her hotel after her shows. They married Feb. 19, 1934, and she quit nightclubs to join his vaudeville act. Then she retired. "Bob was the hot thing in New York then," she recalled in 1997. "I thought I'd better stay home and take care of Bob." When they moved to Hollywood in 1938 for the beginning of his film career, Dolores stayed home and devoted her time to raising the four children the Hopes adopted: Linda, Anthony, Kelly and Nora. "I had such a huge admiration for both of them," said Julie Newmar. "The quality it takes to get just one year older, says a lot about that fact that she lived to 102." She continued singing at parties, and in the 1940s she began accompanying Hope on his Christmas trips to entertain U.S. troops. In 1966 she sang "Silent Night" to hushed thousands of GI's who then rose and gave her a thunderous ovation, many with tears in their eyes. In 1990, Mrs. Hope accompanied Bob on his last Christmas visit to American forces, visiting troops who were in Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Storm. Marie Osmond, Ann Jillian and the Pointer Sisters did not perform, to avoid offending Saudi sensibilities about women entertainers. But Dolores Hope was approved and sang "White Christmas" to a rapt audience. "She was the first lady of the USO," said Carol Channing. "They didn't come any more patriotic, caring or talented than Dolores." She was born Dolores DeFina in 1909 in New York's Harlem to an Italian father and Irish mother, and grew up in the Bronx. Her diction faintly echoed the Bronx upbringing. "My father died when I was very young, and there was just my mother, my sister and me," she remarked in 1982. "Were we a needy family? I always like what General Eisenhower said: 'We were poor and didn't know it.'" She began singing early, worked as a model and a Ziegfeld showgirl and at 20 sang with George Olson's band. She adopted the name Dolores Reade, borrowed from stage actress Florence Reed. In her 80s, Dolores revived her singing career, recording three albums of old and new standards and appearing at New York's Rainbow and Stars as guest with Rosemary Clooney. Aside from overseeing two homes— the 18,000 square-foot mansion in North Hollywood and the 25,000 square-foot hilltop home in Palm Springs — Dolores Hope worked indefatigably for numerous charities. From 1969 to 1976 she served as president of the Eisenhower Medical Center in Palm Desert, Calif., then becoming chairwoman. In 1982, she explained her philosophy: "I like being with people, but I also need to have my time alone. I think it's terribly important to have some time during the day when you stop and take all the energy that you have given out and pull it back in, find the source of your energy. Then you work from there." ___ AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang contributed to this report. | |
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| 09-19-11 09:01am - 4843 days | #2 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Back in the 1960s any girls or women doing porn were usually not very attractive. In the 1970s you started getting more attractive girls in porn, because porn was becoming more acceptable and popular. Today, you can find a lot of lovely girls in porn, girls who could enter a Miss America or Miss Universe contest and have a real chance at winning (except with a porn background, I don't think they would have a good chance at winning). You have a huge number of very attractive models who are doing not just softcore (sites like Metart and MPL Studios), but also hardcore (sites like Teen Mega World and Nubiles). | |
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| 09-19-11 07:26am - 4844 days | #634 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Maybe there is a bright side to the high prices movie theaters charge for refreshments. I buy the popcorn and soft drinks, which I used to love while watching a movie, very infrequently. But it's better for my health. From a news article today at Yahoo: "Still, a clear and present danger is more likely lurking in your movie popcorn, which is considered a nutritional horror show to health experts. The nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest compared some popcorn and drinks combos to consuming three McDonald's quarter-pounders topped with 12 pats of butter." | |
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| 09-18-11 12:44pm - 4844 days | #632 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
The Lion King 3-D bet pays off big for Disney. Movie opens with $29.3 million to take the number one position this weekend. DVD + blu-ray sales will probably make a mint. Pat362 and lk2fireone hold their noses at 3-D movie exploitation, but the crowd says "Yes!" to this one. >>>> <<<< 3-D 'Lion King' feels the love with $29.3M opening By CHRISTY LEMIRE - AP Movie Writer | AP – 27 mins ago LOS ANGELES (AP) — It's 1994 all over again, with a re-release of "The Lion King" opening at the top of the box office. A 3-D version of the wildly popular Disney animated musical earned a surprising $29.3 million in its first weekend in theaters, according to Sunday estimates. The original film made more than $40 million when it opened nationwide 17 years ago. This huge number stunned many people, including the folks at Disney, who figured "The Lion King" would make somewhere between $10 million and $12 million, said Dave Hollis, the studio's executive vice president of distribution. He said the movie remains relevant and as entertaining as it was when it first came out. "But taking a page from the movie, there is a 'circle of life' thing happening," he said, referring to one of the film's themes. "You have children of the '90s who are now parents of the 2010s and they themselves are taking their kids to share what was, for them, a great experience two decades ago." It also helps that there aren't many options for families at the multiplex right now, said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "The post-summer period brings a preponderance of R-rated films and more challenging, esoteric, Oscar-caliber fare," he said. "For kids this is like a dream come true and for parents to be able to revisit 'The Lion King' — especially in 3-D, even though 3-D has taken a bad rap over the past year — just tells you the power that this movie has, how strong it resonates with people." Hollis said that while the film was also available in 2-D, 92 percent of the opening weekend's business came from 3-D showings. The story of a wrongly exiled lion prince (voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas as a cub and Matthew Broderick as an adult) who must return home to claim his throne, "The Lion King" was the second-highest-grossing film of 1994, behind "Forrest Gump." It ranks fourth on the all-time animated list with over $784 million. It earned Academy Awards for Hans Zimmer's original score and for original song for Elton John and Tim Rice's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight." Last week's No. 1 movie, Steven Soderbergh's "Contagion," dropped a spot in its second weekend. The Warner Bros. viral thriller made about $14.5 million for a total of $44.2 million. Among the other new releases, the critical darling "Drive" came in at No. 3 with just over $11 million. Ryan Gosling stars as a stoic wheelman in the retro action picture from FilmDistrict. "Straw Dogs," a remake of the 1971 Sam Peckinpah thriller from Sony Screen Gems, opened in fifth place with only $5 million. It stars James Marsden and Kate Bosworth as a married couple under siege in the rural South. "I Don't Know How She Does It," based on the best-seller of the same name, came in at No. 6 with just $4.5 million. The Weinstein Co. comedy stars Sarah Jessica Parker as a wife and mother of two struggling to balance her home life with her demanding job. Dergarabedian said such disappointing showings aren't all that surprising this time of year. Last weekend was the slowest so far this year at the box office. "It's been tough marketplace for wide releases. The newcomers are being met with some indifference," he said. "The audience was obviously a family audience that took over the multiplex this weekend." ___ Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday. 1. "The Lion King 3D," $29.3 million. ($700,000 international.) 2. "Contagion," $14.5 million. 3. "Drive," $11 million. 4. "The Help," $6.4 million. 5. "Straw Dogs," $5 million. 6. "I Don't Know How She Does It," $4.5 million. 7. "The Debt," $2.9 million. 8. "Warrior," $2.8 million. 9. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," $2.6 million. 10. "Colombiana," $2.3 million. | |
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| 09-18-11 09:02am - 4844 days | #630 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
A sign of the times: A Barbie doll with a lower back tattoo (tramp stamp) was released in 2008. Maybe the members of PU are old fuddy duddies, who can't get with the times. I can't believe that Barbie now has a tramp stamp. What a slut! | |
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| 09-18-11 07:11am - 4845 days | #629 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I haven't seen The Lion King yet, unfortunately. I'm waiting for the version with Smell-O-Rama and Virtual Reality where I have a glass wall protecting me from the smelly animals. And I will also have my trusty A-SQUARE Hannibal 577 Tyrannosaur rifle, which is supposed to be the most powerful sporting gun in the world, able to stop charging rhinos, hippopotami, and rogue elephants. Pull the trigger on this baby and it has a kick you won't forget. | |
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| 09-17-11 04:37pm - 4845 days | #627 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Johnny Depp is supposed to have a little Native American (Indian) blood in him. I've read that before. But I don't see why a western (or even a science fiction or fantasy) film needs to spend $200 million to get made. I don't mind special effects, but they don't need to spend the crazy amounts of money they do on special effects to make a movie interesting or enjoyable. And even though box office attendance has been slipping for years, the box office revenues have, for the most part, been rising, because of rising ticket prices. Ticket prices keep going up. And if you buy any refreshments, they cost a fortune. $5 for a cheap box of popcorn, anyone? And that's the small size. | |
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| 09-17-11 09:45am - 4845 days | #625 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Yahoo! Movies Hollywood balks at big budget movies as DVDs drop APBy RYAN NAKASHIMA - AP Business Writer | AP – 2 hours 13 minutes ago In this film publicity image released by Disney, from left, Emma Stone and Viola Davis are shown in a scene from "The Help." The declining DVD business has forced Hollywood to rethink what it’s willing to pay to make a blockbuster. While Hollywood’s newfound cost-consciousness doesn’t herald the coming of sock-puppet cinema, belt-tightening could favor more character-driven productions such as “The Help,” which struck box office gold with sales of $97 million so far, despite a cost of just $25 million to make. (AP Photo/Disney, Dale Robinette) LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood — long considered the land of excess— is becoming more cost-conscious, as movie executives rethink what they're willing to pay to make a blockbuster. After years of beefing up budgets to meet audience expectations, movie studios are cutting back and canceling projects that are too costly. Half-baked, expensive movie ideas that would have received approval a few years ago are now under scrutiny. For movies that are made, producers have to settle for toned-down special effects, cheaper actors and fewer locations for shoots. In the past five years, major studios have trimmed the annual number of films they release by nearly a third to cut costs and avoid having big movies compete head-to-head on opening weekends. In July, two major projects were stopped mid-stream because of budget pressures. The Walt Disney Co. halted "The Lone Ranger," starring Johnny Depp, even though sets were already half-built in New Mexico. Universal pulled out of "The Dark Tower," a three-movie, two-TV-series colossus based on books by Stephen King. A person familiar with Disney's thinking said the budget on "The Lone Ranger" was creeping north of $250 million, and the company wanted to shave it to around $200 million. Universal, which became a unit of cable TV provider Comcast Corp. this year, withdrew from "The Dark Tower" because of problems with the business model, according to another person, who is familiar with that matter. Neither person was authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Disney CEO Bob Iger explained the company's approach to analysts in July. "It's our intention to take a very careful look at what films cost," Iger said. "If we can't get them to a level that we're comfortable with, we think that we're better off actually reducing the size of our slate than making films that are bigger and increasingly more risky." Blame it on declining DVD sales. Until recently, studios could afford to churn out movies with heart-pumping action scenes featuring pricey special effects and high-salary actors. Although many of those movies cost more than they garnered in ticket sales, Hollywood could count on overall strong sales of DVDs to make up for excessive expenses. "The DVD buying boom covered up a lot of sins in the middle part of the last decade," said Tom Adams, principal analyst and director of U.S. media for IHS Screen Digest. But the curtain is falling on the DVD era. IHS said U.S. video disc sales fell from $10.3 billion in 2004 to $7 billion last year. The popularity of low-cost rental options, such as Netflix and Redbox, along with the ease of piracy, has cut into DVD sales, making it tougher to profit from the movie business. Blu-ray disc sales and gains in digital purchases haven't made up for the shortfall. Hollywood economics have been strained by movie budgets that have been rising steadily over the past couple of decades. To cut costs, some studios have dropped smaller budget movies with big-name, expensive actors, but kept making summer blockbusters based on franchises such as superheroes. That trend has increased the average cost of major studio movies to $78 million in 2011 from about $42 million in 1995, according to Bruce Nash, the founder and president of Nash Information Services LLC, which operates The-Numbers.com Fewer small movies means that each big-budget project has more pressure to deliver. Nash believes Hollywood will rely on tried-and-true material — sequels and reboots — rather than take a chance on untested pricey projects that follow in the footsteps of "Avatar." "Studios are willing to spend money for well-established franchises," Nash said. "There's not that much enthusiasm in completely new franchises built from scratch." While Hollywood's newfound frugality doesn't exactly herald the coming of sock-puppet cinema, the belt-tightening is likely to favor more character-driven productions such as "The Help," which struck box office gold with sales of $139 million so far, despite costing an estimated $25 million to make. That was the strategy former Disney CEO Michael Eisner pursued when he brought cheap-to-produce but profitable films including "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" and "Ruthless People" to the big screen. While the millions made on each film don't stack up to the estimated $400 million profit on 20th Century Fox's "Avatar," Eisner characterized his strategy as an attempt to string together a series of small hits rather than always swinging for a home run. Eisner said many major studio movie budgets these days appear frightening. Big films can make more money, and they can also lose a ton. "Yes, you can make a small fortune, but you better come with a large fortune," Eisner said in an interview. "It's just a riskier business." Consider Universal Pictures' "Cowboys and Aliens," which had an estimated budget of $163 million but grossed $184 million in global ticket sales since its release July 29. Universal likely spent tens of millions of dollars on advertising, and it only keeps about half the take from theaters. Even if it does well on home video, the film is headed toward a multimillion-dollar loss. Hollywood couldn't afford to make those bets any longer. In 2004, American audiences spent $2.04 at home consuming movies for every $1 they spent on theater tickets, according to IHS Screen Digest. But that ratio has been falling consistently for the past five years. Last year, the ratio was $1.37 to $1. Meanwhile, box office sales in the U.S. and Canada were flat in 2010, as rising prices from 3-D ticket surcharges offset falling attendance. The declining home video market means a big chunk of revenue — more than $7 billion a year globally — has disappeared from the movie economy. Although theatrical revenue has grown overseas, thanks to booming markets like China, Hollywood is losing share to local producers. Producers of "The Lone Ranger" and "The Dark Tower" are scrambling to get the movies made after their studios balked. While neither project is dead, they may be made for less. Oliver Lyttleton, a U.K.-based writer for the blog The Playlist for IndieWire, said the inflated budget for "The Lone Ranger" might have been caused by an ambitious early script from 2009, which he read. It featured wolves, a mysterious creature named a Wendigo, a train crash, a silver mine that features a major battle scene and "loads of explosions." Not to mention the Western theme with its elaborate sets and costumes. He speculated that Disney might have to swap out director Gore Verbinski to shave costs. The big-budget director helmed Disney's first three "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, but, according to the Los Angeles Times, he clashed with a previous studio head over the budget of the third movie and was dropped from directing the latest "Pirates" flick, which came out this year. "It's not inconceivable that Verbinski will throw his hands up and just go, 'If I can't make the movie I want to make, I'll sling my hook,'" Lyttleton said. Disney isn't saying anything specific about how it might cut costs. The producers of "The Dark Tower" are faced with raising money and finding another studio to distribute the series. Producer Ron Howard said in a statement sent to The Associated Press, "we are continuing to be actively working on the project." Howard and his co-producer Brian Grazer face a tough fight. Not only did they produce the money-losing "Cowboys & Aliens," but Hollywood's love of sequels tends to fade quickly if the first installment fails to perform. Warner Bros., dismayed by the disappointing receipts from its June release of DC Comics' "Green Lantern," is considering abandoning plans for a sequel, despite heavy hints at the end of the film about a resurgence of evil yellow forces. In this publicity image released by Universal Pictures, Daniel Craig is shown in a scene from "Cowboys & Aliens." The declining DVD business has forced Hollywood to rethink what it’s willing to pay to make a blockbuster. “Cowboys and Aliens,” which had an estimated budget of $163 million but grossed just $129 million in global ticket sales since its release July 29. Even if it does well on home video, Universal likely spent tens of millions of dollars on advertising alone, and the film is headed toward a multimillion-dollar loss. (AP Photo/Universal Pictures, Timothy White) | |
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| 09-16-11 11:57am - 4846 days | #623 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
There was a remake of Dark Shadows on TV in 1991 that only lasted one season. It had Ben Cross and Joanna Going as stars. I never saw any episodes, because I never got into the original series back in the 1970s. A neighbor of mine tried out for the remake series (she was a model) and was glad the series sank, because she didn't get the part. Edited on Sep 16, 2011, 12:09pm | |
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| 09-16-11 11:45am - 4846 days | #4 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
That would be a great project for the PU staff. And PU members with extra time could also help out. Let's go for it, Khan! | |
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| 09-15-11 04:03am - 4848 days | #620 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Dark Shadows: There will be a remake/update of Dark Shadows by Tim Burton. The film is scheduled for a May 2012 release and stars Johhny Depp, Chloe Moretz, Helena Bonham Carter and Michelle Pfeiffer. Dark Shadows was a soap opera on TV about vampires back in the 1970s. | |
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| 09-15-11 03:58am - 4848 days | #4 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Wot Pat and Capn sed. Welcome back! | |
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| 09-07-11 02:22pm - 4855 days | #617 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I don't think Hanna was deliberately set up as a sequel. Saorise Ronan is still a young girl, but already a major star, who was nomimated for an Oscar at around 13 years old. Since then she has been in major projects like Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones. And Joe Wright, the director, is also a hot property. I don't think either one would be much interested in a sequel to Hanna. When I say that Saorise Ronan is already a major star, I read that Hanna was a project that Saorise Ronan agreed to, and that Joe Wright, a major director, was brought into the project after Saorise Ronan was on board. This is a girl who was fifteen or sixteen at the time getting a movie made. She suggested Joe Wright as director (he had previously directed her in Atonement), and he was brought into the project. If someone else has the rights to Hanna, they could do a lower-cost sequel, but I doubt Joe Wright would serve as director, or Saorise Ronan would star. And Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett were killed off in the movie. So any sequel would have a difficult task coming anywhere near the impact of this movie. It's different from Kick Ass 2. There was talk that Kick Ass 2 would be made, and with some of its original stars participating. But recent news is now Kick Ass 2 production has been delayed or would not be made. Edited on Sep 07, 2011, 02:35pm | |
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| 09-06-11 07:46am - 4857 days | #613 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
The Clint Eastwood/Sergio Leone westerns: Fistful of Dollars (1964) For a Few Dollars More (1965) The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) I saw all three in their original runs in the United States. The movies first came out in Europe long before their runs in the United States. I thought all three were great movies. Maybe a critic could pick and choose which was better. But I didn't. I enjoyed all three. At the time they came out they were just fantastic movies: a bad-ass anti-hero in Clint Eastwood; fantastic music by Ennio Morricone; simple but great plot with lots of blood and violence; great cinematography. They were the best westerns of their time. | |
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| 09-06-11 03:38am - 4857 days | #611 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I like science fiction, but I didn't care for Gattaca. I liked Ripley a bit more, but somehow didn't think it was highly enjoyable. I don't know why I didn't enjoy Ripley more. It had good stars, good plot, good production values/cinematography. But it just didn't move me. Maybe it was because I found the Ripley character to be repellent instead of fascinating. Sherlock Holmes, Closer, Love, Honor and Obey, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil were worthwhile Jude Law movies. | |
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| 09-06-11 03:23am - 4857 days | #610 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
As I said, I think Hanna, which is out on DVD today, is a fine action movie. I would be curious to see how any PU members rated this movie. Just post your reaction to this thread, if you would. | |
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| 09-05-11 10:36pm - 4857 days | #608 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Hanna (2011) with Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, and Cate Blanchett will be out on DVD tomorrow (2011-09-06). This is an excellent action movie. Fine actors, great cinematography (whatever that means, the visuals are really lovely), good plot. You care about the characters, dislike the villains. Definitely worth seeing on DVD if you did not catch it at the movies. | |
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| 09-05-11 08:18pm - 4857 days | #607 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Killer Elite and Contagion are new releases that will hit the theaters soon. Neither movie seems all that appealing. Jason Statham is usually dependable in boom-boom movies. But this one just doesn't seem very special. I also like Clive Owen. Robert De Niro is considered one of our greatest actors, but I'm getting a little tired of him in action movies, especially considering he is in his late 60s and still acting in roles where he is a stone-cold killer. Contagion has all kinds of movie stars, but the movie itself seems to be a throwback to the all-star disaster movies of the 1970s where you have a large number of stars and there's very little focus on any one person because you have too many stars/characters that are flashing across the screen. So it's difficult to build much interest or empathy in the "plot" because you can't really identify with the characters. That's just my take from seeing some of the previews for these two movies. | |
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| 09-05-11 01:16pm - 4857 days | #32 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Porn addict or not, it's always great to hear from you. Drop in whenever the mood strikes you. Love your avatar. | |
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| 09-04-11 02:32pm - 4858 days | #2 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I'm not familiar with Hisayoshi Osawa. But Luis Royo is a popular artist who has many hardcover and softcover books available at Amazon. The softcover versions, even new, are usually low-priced, at $7+. Lovely young half-naked women with a BDSM flavor. Luis Royo is an artist, not a photographer. | |
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| 09-03-11 07:19pm - 4859 days | #605 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I don't know what the legal rules are for porn performers. But if a guy worked with a false positive test, that seems dangerous and uncaring about his fellow performers. And even though the positive turned out to be false, this guy should be penalized for possibly endangering his fellow performers. Either legally, or barred from performing for a period of time. HIV is not a joke. It's scary time for anyone with sense. I've read of cases where people who knew they had HIV had multiple partners afterwards without ever telling anyone they had HIV. Their attitude seemed to be: I've got it, so what? | |
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| 09-03-11 05:22pm - 4859 days | #603 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
APNewsBreak: Porn performer retests HIV-negative AP By SHAYA TAYEFE MOHAJER - Associated Press | AP – 15 mins ago LOS ANGELES (AP) — An adult film performer who tested positive for HIV and caused the porn industry to shut down production as a precaution has been retested and the actor does not have the virus, a porn industry trade group said Saturday. Production can now resume, said Free Speech Coalition executive director Diane Duke. "The industry will be abundantly cautious as we try to nail down the reasons for what now appears to have been a false positive result on a previous test," Duke said. The actor, who was in Florida, had been slated to work on a shoot for Mofos.com, but production was halted last week when the test came back positive for HIV. Duke declined to release the performer's name, age or gender, citing the person's right to medical privacy. She also declined to say how her group learned of the case. Production has been shut down since Monday in the San Fernando Valley's multi-billion dollar adult entertainment industry, which includes Hustler and Evil Angel's productions. The case was found at an out-of-state clinic that does not report to California health officials, Duke said. The porn industry was similarly shuttered in late 2010, after porn actor Derrick Burts was diagnosed as HIV-positive. His case was confirmed, and he has since left the industry to become an advocate for the use of condoms in pornography. The Free Speech Coalition is working on a database to track sexually transmitted disease testing among porn actors, a task formerly handled by the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation before it closed in December 2010. Known as AIM, the San Fernando Valley clinic had catered to porn stars since it opened in 1998. It was forced to close because of inadequate licensing. | |
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| 09-03-11 05:00pm - 4859 days | #602 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Way back when Alexandre Dumas wrote The Three Musketeers, sometime in the 1800s, women were considered second class citizens. That's probably why it was acceptable to kill off Constance, the "good" woman who was D'Artagnan's love interest, and the "bad" woman Milady de Winter, who is working for Cardinal Richelieu. But we have advanced socially since then, and are now supposed to consider women as first class citizens. So if this new Three Musketeers movie is a re-imagining, why can't Milady de Winter turn over a new leaf and become a born-again Christian, or a new-born Virgin, or something equally important? An actress as gorgeous as Milla Jovovich certainly deserves a fresh script where she slaughters the three musketeers and D'Artagnan in a river of flesh and blood and bone, using a paring knife in addition to a vibrating sword. Milla Jovovich forever! That's my motto. | |
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| 09-03-11 12:35am - 4860 days | #600 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
The world must be coming to an end. Orlando Bloom and Milla Jovovich are the baddies out to destroy France. That is what I read at Yahoo, which seems impossible to me. How can Orlando Bloom be a baddie? Even worse, Milla Jovovich, one of my favorite boom-boom girls in the entire world, is a baddie? And based on previous versions of The Three Musketeers, she could even die in this movie, this impossibly gorgeous creature dead?!?!?! The trailers I've seen for The Three Musketeers clearly show the movie has been drastically updated, with Oriental Ninja-style fighting moves and fantastical airships and weapons. I can't say the updated version looks appealing. It's different from the old-style action versions. More flash and explosions and glitz. But less old-style adventure. The trailers look like cartoon-action instead of a movie. The new The Three Musketeers will be out 21 October 2011 (USA). From what little I've read, this is a re-imagining of the story, because in this movie, as I said, Orlando Bloom (the Duke of Buckingham) and Milla Jovovich (M'lady De Winter) are evil persons working together to destroy France. In previous versions, M'lady De Winter was working for Cardinal Richelieu, and she killed the Duke of Buckingham on the orders of the Cardinal. The Duke of Buckingham previously was the love interest of Queen Anne. The new version will be in 3D, which gives me eye strain. So I will probably wait for the DVD. | |
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| 09-02-11 01:08pm - 4860 days | #3 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
First time I heard or saw that expression. I can't (won't) begin to imagine what that must feel like. Lol. | |
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| 08-30-11 04:21pm - 4863 days | #7 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Sorry. I didn't mean to offend or disrespect. I was trying for a bit of humor, which didn't come off. But as Drooler suggested, things tend to go in cycles. I believe there are plenty of things that will be interesting and enjoyable in the future for you. I agree that old age can be a bitch. That's why someone said that youth is wasted on the young. You don't appreciate good health (and all you can do) until you are losing it. On the other hand, there is the Robert Browning poem: Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, The last of life, for which the first was made: Our times are in his hand Who saith, "A whole I planned, Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!" But I always thought the Robert Browning poem was a bit of nonsense. | |
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| 08-30-11 03:30pm - 4863 days | #3 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Unless your better half has been dosing your food with saltpeter, I would guess this disinterest is a temporary thing. Has she been complaining that you were overly frisky? (If I have a problem, I find it's helpful to blame someone else.) Edited on Aug 30, 2011, 03:35pm | |
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| 08-30-11 02:27pm - 4863 days | #8 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
In Ireland they say emmmm or uhhhmmmm a lot, or uh. Especially if they are asked a question. You hear that in YouTube interviews of movie stars. | |
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| 08-29-11 04:58pm - 4864 days | #2 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
The king is dead. Long live the king! Or is that only for the number one position? The way Pat362 has been knocking out reviews lately, I think even the dreaded mbaya and exotics4me should be looking over their shoulders. The Canuck is coming! Close the borders. Do we want or need this creature feasting on our young maidens? | |
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| 08-29-11 02:57pm - 4864 days | #598 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
A scary side-effect of working as a porn star: New HIV case causes LA porn industry shutdown APAP – 14 mins ago LOS ANGELES (AP) — A porn industry group says an adult film performer has tested positive for HIV, resulting in a production moratorium in Southern California while the organization investigates to see if the virus has spread. Free Speech Coalition executive director Diane Duke told The Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/mX0vin ) on Monday that her group became aware of the HIV case Saturday. Duke declined to release the performer's name, age or gender. She also declined to tell the Times how her group learned of the case. According to Duke, the case was found in an out-of-state clinic that doesn't report to California state officials. Duke says the performer is being retested to confirm the HIV. The group is working to identify others who had sex with the performer. | |
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| 08-27-11 01:59am - 4867 days | #593 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Censorship in Syria can include breaking a person's hands. Or maybe killing him? In "civilized" countries, we don't go that far. ........... ........... Syrian gunmen break artist's hands as 'warning' APBy ZEINA KARAM - Associated Press | AP – Thu, Aug 25, 2011 7:17 PM EDT BEIRUT (AP) — A renowned political cartoonist whose drawings expressed Syrians' frustrated hopes for change was grabbed after he left his studio early Thursday and beaten by masked gunmen who broke his hands and dumped him on a road outside Damascus. One of Syria's most famous artists, Ali Ferzat, 60, earned international recognition and the respect of many Arabs with stinging caricatures that infuriated dictators including Iraq's Saddam Hussein, Libya's Moammar Gadhafi and, particularly in recent months, Syria's autocratic Assad family. He lay badly bruised in a hospital bed Thursday evening with his hands swathed in bandages, a stark reminder that no Syrian remains immune to a brutal crackdown on a five-month anti-government uprising. Ferzat remembers the gunmen telling him that "this is just a warning," as they beat him, a relative told The Associated Press. "We will break your hands so that you'll stop drawing," the masked men said, according to the relative, who spoke anonymously for fear of retaliation. Before inheriting Syria's presidency from his father in 2000, Bashar Assad, a British-trained eye doctor, used to visit Ferzat's exhibitions and offer encouraging words, the artist has said. When the new president opened Syria to reforms, Ferzat was allowed to publish the country's first private newspaper in decades, a satirical weekly called The Lamplighter. The paper was an instant hit, with copies of each issue selling out a few hours after hitting the stands. It was soon shut down, however, as Assad began cracking down on dissent and jailing critics after the brief, heady period known as the Damascus Spring quickly lost steam. Ferzat became a vehement critic of the regime, particularly after the military launched a brutal crackdown on the country's protest movement. Human rights groups said Assad's forces have killed more than 2,000 people since the uprising against his autocratic rule erupted in mid-March, touched off by the wave of revolutions sweeping the Arab world. An endearing figure with a bushy gray beard, Ferzat drew cartoons about the uprising and posted the illustrations on his private website, providing comic relief to many Syrians who were unable to follow his work in local newspapers because of a ban on his drawings. His illustrations grew bolder in recent months, with some of his cartoons directly criticizing Assad, even through caricatures of the president are forbidden in Syria. This week, he published a cartoon showing Assad with a packed suitcase, frantically hitching a ride with a fleeing Gadhafi. Another drawing showed dictators walking a long red carpet that leads them, in the end, to a dustbin. The response was swift. Ferzat, who usually works late into the night, left his studio at 4 a.m. Thursday, but a jeep with tinted windows quickly cut him off, according to the relative. Four masked gunmen then dragged him out of his car, bundled him into the jeep and drove him to the airport road just outside Damascus, beating him and making threats all the while. The men then singed the artist's beard, put a bag over his head and dumped him on the side of the road. The Facebook page of the U.S. Embassy in Damascus described it as a "government-sponsored, targeted, brutal attack." The Obama administration, which has called for Assad to step down, said the cartoonist's beating was deplorable. "They broke his hands in the most disgusting and deplorable way to send a message," said U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. "It's not only Ali Ferzat that we're worried about. The regime has also locked up a number of other prominent dissidents to send a message." The United States and European nations are seeking U.N. sanctions against Assad and his regime. The Security Council scheduled closed consultations Thursday on their draft resolution that would impose an arms embargo on Syria, an asset freeze on Assad and key members and companies associated with his regime, and a travel ban on 21 individuals. Diplomats said Russia and China, both with close ties to Damascus, boycotted the meeting. Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin hinted Wednesday that he would veto the resolution, saying the council should use dialogue to persuade Syria to end its violent crackdown on protesters. Calls to Russian and Chinese U.N. Missions seeking comment were not immediately returned. Assad's crackdown has not spared other Syrian intellectuals and artists who dared to voice criticism. A group of intellectuals and artists, including Syrian actress May Skaff, were rounded up and jailed for a week last month after holding a protest in Damascus. Damascus-based activist and film producer Shadi Abu Fakher went missing on July 23 and has not been heard of since. Ferzat, however, is the most famous victim of the repression to date. He had been encouraging other Syrian artists to side with the protesters, even publishing on his website a "List of Shame" that included names of those who were on the side of the regime. "We were a group of reformers in the country, and suddenly, the doors of hell opened on us. It was a huge disappointment," Ferzat told the AP earlier this month in a phone interview. The timing of the attack strongly suggests Ferzat's attackers knew his unusual working hours and had been tracking him. Ferzat said his day starts at 5 p.m. In the telephone interview, he said he was full of hope that the Syrian revolution would bring about the change fervently desired by so many Syrians. "There are two things in this life that cannot be crushed — the will of God and the will of the people," he said. Asked if he fears arrest because of his drawings, he said: "I have killed the policeman in my head." After news of Ferzat's attack broke Thursday, online social networking sites exploded with angry postings. "Assad's Syria is the burial ground of talent," read a posting on Twitter. "Ali Ferzat, your innovation will stand in the face of their cowardice and hate," wrote Suheir Atassi, a prominent Syrian pro-democracy activist. Soon after the attack, his website where he published his cartoons and satirical commentary was taken down. "This account has been suspended," reads a message on the website, http://www.ali-ferzat.com/. ___ Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington and Edith M. Lederer at the U.N. contributed to this report | |
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| 08-26-11 11:37am - 4867 days | #13 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Hoping to hear from you in a few days that everything went well. Until then, best wishes to you. | |
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| 08-24-11 07:26pm - 4869 days | #590 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I thought Blade Runner was a great movie. Mainly for the visuals, but the story was good as well. And even though a lot of people have complained about the Harrison Ford voiceover, I thought it was well done and added to the movie, certainly helping to explain the plot and other factors. And Sean Young was absolutely gorgeous in this movie, and she was photographed/captured on camera as an exquisite creature. I don't remember Andy Warhol's Frankenstein. But if it was anything similar to his Dracula, the movie would have had only a tiny relation to the original source material. I was really disappointed in Warhol's Dracula. I wanted more sex, a better story. I thought Warhol's Dracula was a limp effort at parody with some nudity thrown in. | |
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| 08-24-11 09:12am - 4869 days | #585 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Oops. My mistake. I checked IMDB, and Roddy McDowall (I mis-spelled his name before, was not nominated for an Oscar for Fright Night. But in my mind, I really thought I had read many years ago that he was nominated for an Oscar for Fright Night. | |
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| 08-24-11 08:49am - 4870 days | #584 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Pat, your memory is a heck of a lot better than mine. I remember that Roddy McDowell and Chris Sarandon were in the movie, and the basic plot (with reminders from current reviews on the remake on what the movie was about). But the movie itself is a dim memory: I know I saw it in the theater, and liked it, but to remember details like you about the tone and tiny details about the plot and characterization is far beyond what I am capable of. I used to be able to see a movie and be able to recall, years later, a good deal about the movie. But in recent years, I can see a movie on DVD, and only sometimes remember that I saw it previously. Maybe too many movies, but my mind is definitely not as sharp on movies as it used to be. I remember that Roddy McDowell was nominated for an Oscar for Fright Night. But I thought that was a sentimental gesture for his amazingly long career (he started acting in the 1930s in movies), and for his popularity as a person (he seemed to be a nice person who was liked by many actors). My classic vampire movies would be the original Dracula, with Bela Lugosi, Dracula's Daughter, with Gloria Holden, Dracula (Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder), and Interview with the Vampire (Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt). | |
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