I think it was really big (no pun intended) for Britney Spears to release the unretouched photos from her recent Candies' ad campaign. Ms. Spears is a young (28) and fit woman who is generally thought of as having a good figure--and she does. These photos show the reality of a good body vs. the ideal of a body that is the norm in magazines, but is rarely seen at the beach. If you have a daughter you should show her these photos and remind her that what you see in magazines is an image that has been enhanced by lightning, hair and makeup experts, and retouching. You should also mention that it's a split second in time and life is not lived that way so she should go easy on herself. If you have a son, you should show him these photos and remind him that what you see is NOT necessarily what you get--what you get is imperfect--yet it moves, breaths, and is infinitely more fun. I've never thought of Ms. Spears as much of a role model for young girls but it looks like she's proving me wrong--check her out!
Britney Spears Reveals Unretouched Candies Ads (PHOTOS)
************
Marriage can be a grind--kids, jobs, and endless trivial, but necessary, things "to do" around the house. Marriage can be boring but sometimes boring beats the alternative. This is the premise of the movie Date Night starring Tina Fey and Steve Carell as Phil and Claire Foster. The Fosters love and are eager please each other, but when Claire hops into bed wearing her spit-laden mouth guard we know the thrill is gone. In an effort to get the magic back, the suburban couple dresses up and heads to a fancy shmancy Manhattan restaurant. A case of mistaken identity takes Phil and Claire on the ride of their lives and makes them almost appreciate their boring existence. Tina Fey is very funny and Steve Carell is his usual nerdy, but hilarious self (Really, this guy is so un-sexy! I'm betting the director gave Ms. Fey the drooly mouth guard to make his point but he probably told Mr. Carell to just show up in bed and act natural). I laughed until tears streamed down my face; but I have to tell you, the two handsome men that I was with (one a teenager; the other not a teenager!) didn't laugh nearly as hard as I did. Despite the pole dance, the car chase (both are departures from the normal fare), and the title, this is ultimately a chick-flick.
*************
David Benioff's City of Thieves is a great book that I hope will be made into a film (unfortunately, a quick search of IMDB didn't show anything currently in the works.) City of Thieves is a buddy/odd couple/ road trip (minus the car)/ coming-of-age story that takes place during the Nazis' siege of Leningrad. This compelling book is both frightening and funny with an underlying pathos. Protagonists Lev Beniov and Kolya are both trying to balance staying alive with having a life when they find themselves in the same prison cell. Their journey begins when they are released from prison to pursue an impossible task. Mr. Benioff is an imaginative writer--he turned his novel, 25th Hour, into a screenplay that was brilliantly directed by Spike Lee and should have been nominated for an Oscar back in 2003. Mr. Lee, if you are listening, I think Jude Law would be a great Kolya--and because he is one of he best actors out there, and he was amazing in your last novel-to-screenplay effort, Ed Norton would be a swell Lev!
*************
Check your mobile phone bills. When you do you will probably notice that your teen is sending considerably more text messages than he/she is making phone calls. When it comes to driving, both are dangerous but the combination of teenagers and texting is especially lethal. You are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash if you are texting and over 60 percent of teens say they text while driving. Many states have laws that prohibit texting while driving, and there have been recent reports that they are stepping up the enforcement of these laws. But, will knowing the statistics and law keep teens from texting behind the wheel? Probably not. It just doesn't fit with the "it won't happen to me" rebellious nature of the beast. I have a few ideas that may help teens resist the temptation to text while driving: 1) Make them put their phone in the glove box and lock it before they start the car. Yes, they can drive around the corner and turn the car off and get their phone out but at least you've made it more difficult. 2) Show them this YouTube clip YouTube - Texting While Driving - British PSA (warning: it's very graphic) 3) Get them to sign a pledge to not text while driving and to wear one of the thumb rings that say, "texting kills" (think Lance Armstrong's yellow Live Strong bracelets, but black and for the thumb!) Thumbs Up to the Safest Holiday Ever - Take the Pledge. 4) Cross your fingers and pray like crazy!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
FRIDAY FROTH...
Despite my disappointment in the iPad, I'm a huge Apple fan and I am anxiously awaiting the release of the new iPhone OS 4 this summer. (This will be Steve Jobs' chance to get the g [for genuflect] behind his name again in this blog.) The new phone is promised to be more powerful and will be able to multitask. There is a current limit of 180 apps that you can have on your phone but the new phone will be able to manage 2160 apps--amazing! To get you started I thought I would introduce you to some favorites. If you are already into apps, comment and let Qmuse know what your favorites are and why.
One of my favorites is Shazam--a great name and so fun. If you hear a song you like or want to know more about it, just hold your phone up to a speaker and Shazam will tell you the name of the song you are hearing, who sings it, and more. It will also connect you to iTunes to download the song. You'll have to pay for the song download but the app is free.
Hungry? Urbanspoon uses Wi-Fi to find you and then gives you restaurant recommendations in your area. You can lock-in neighborhood, cuisine, or price and then shake your phone to find alternatives. You can also get reviews and ratings and this app is also free.
My Vacation will cost you $3.99 but it is worth it. This application will help you plan your vacation, journal and then share your notes and pictures. I want to go on vacation just to play with this app.
So many apps; so little time!
************
And now for the HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM segment of FF... Would you like to take a guess at the percentage of people that will be paying NO federal income tax this year? The answer is 47 percent. Yes, that means almost half of filers will pay nothing. Most people that I queried guessed that the number would be in the in the 20 percent range. It gets worse--of that 47 percent that pay no federal tax, 40 percent will actually get money back from the US Treasury. Also interesting, the top 10 percent of earners pay 73 percent of taxes. There are rumors that a VAT tax may be in America's near future. It's controversial, especially now, because it's a consumer tax and it may slow consumption in an already slow economy. Maybe, but I would be all for it if it replaced the income tax. It makes no sense to me to penalize people for working and making money.
**************
If you are feeling down and want to wallow in your sadness then head to the nearest cinema and spend a couple of hours watching the recently released, The Greatest. This film stars Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon, and Carey Mulligan (An Education) and explores the different ways people grieve. There are no surprises in the ways that this families' grief is manifest, but there is a complication between the parents. The movie starts out strong--there is an especially good scene in the beginning of the movie of the family stuffed together in the backseat of a limo on their way home from a funeral. The director keeps us in the car watching them for what seems like forever--it forces you to look at grief and feel just how uncomfortable it is. There are some good moments throughout the movie, but it solves everything a little too fast and too tidy. A good film if you need a good cry.
***************
In my continuing effort to keep us all feeling good and looking great, I have to report that an article in the New York Times this week suggest that when it comes to weight lifting, more weight is better: "...when women performed various resistance exercises at different weights and repetitions (85 percent of their maximum ability for 8 reps, versus 45 percent for 15). Subjects lifting more weight fewer times burned more energy and had a greater metabolic boost after exercise." Two other studies support this finding and one specified that the women who used the heavier weights lost more "intra-abdominal" fat. So, the bad news is that your gym workout needs to be harder. The good news is that you'll be out of there sooner and headed for that latte with non-fat milk, because we all know you need some protein within 30 minutes of a workout to really benefit those muscles.
One of my favorites is Shazam--a great name and so fun. If you hear a song you like or want to know more about it, just hold your phone up to a speaker and Shazam will tell you the name of the song you are hearing, who sings it, and more. It will also connect you to iTunes to download the song. You'll have to pay for the song download but the app is free.
Hungry? Urbanspoon uses Wi-Fi to find you and then gives you restaurant recommendations in your area. You can lock-in neighborhood, cuisine, or price and then shake your phone to find alternatives. You can also get reviews and ratings and this app is also free.
My Vacation will cost you $3.99 but it is worth it. This application will help you plan your vacation, journal and then share your notes and pictures. I want to go on vacation just to play with this app.
So many apps; so little time!
************
And now for the HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM segment of FF... Would you like to take a guess at the percentage of people that will be paying NO federal income tax this year? The answer is 47 percent. Yes, that means almost half of filers will pay nothing. Most people that I queried guessed that the number would be in the in the 20 percent range. It gets worse--of that 47 percent that pay no federal tax, 40 percent will actually get money back from the US Treasury. Also interesting, the top 10 percent of earners pay 73 percent of taxes. There are rumors that a VAT tax may be in America's near future. It's controversial, especially now, because it's a consumer tax and it may slow consumption in an already slow economy. Maybe, but I would be all for it if it replaced the income tax. It makes no sense to me to penalize people for working and making money.
**************
If you are feeling down and want to wallow in your sadness then head to the nearest cinema and spend a couple of hours watching the recently released, The Greatest. This film stars Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon, and Carey Mulligan (An Education) and explores the different ways people grieve. There are no surprises in the ways that this families' grief is manifest, but there is a complication between the parents. The movie starts out strong--there is an especially good scene in the beginning of the movie of the family stuffed together in the backseat of a limo on their way home from a funeral. The director keeps us in the car watching them for what seems like forever--it forces you to look at grief and feel just how uncomfortable it is. There are some good moments throughout the movie, but it solves everything a little too fast and too tidy. A good film if you need a good cry.
***************
In my continuing effort to keep us all feeling good and looking great, I have to report that an article in the New York Times this week suggest that when it comes to weight lifting, more weight is better: "...when women performed various resistance exercises at different weights and repetitions (85 percent of their maximum ability for 8 reps, versus 45 percent for 15). Subjects lifting more weight fewer times burned more energy and had a greater metabolic boost after exercise." Two other studies support this finding and one specified that the women who used the heavier weights lost more "intra-abdominal" fat. So, the bad news is that your gym workout needs to be harder. The good news is that you'll be out of there sooner and headed for that latte with non-fat milk, because we all know you need some protein within 30 minutes of a workout to really benefit those muscles.
Friday, April 2, 2010
FRIDAY FROTH...
If you think for one minute that the people representing us in Washington got there because they are smart, then you'd better think again. Click on this link to hear Georgia congressman Hank Johnson expressing concern to Admiral Robert Willard about the addition of 5,000 Marines and their families to the island of Guam. Representative Johnson is worried that the additional people may cause the small island to "tip over" and "capsize." Notice the Admiral's face as he replies, "We don't anticipate that." You have to see this clip to believe it--there is nothing remotely intelligent that escapes Mr. Johnson's lips! Democrats seem to think they have a monopoly on intelligence; they love to roll their eyes at Sarah Palin. Well, think again, Mr. Johnson is a democrat.
YouTube - Hank Johnson (Congress D-GA) - Warns Guam May Capsize
************
And for the republicans that think they have a lock on morality, I beg you to reconsider. What could possibly be moral, or even make sense, about gathering money to elect conservative candidates that want to put God and family front and center, and gays and lesbians on the back burner, and then spending that money to take donors to a lesbian, bondage-themed strip club?
Guam-gate and Bondage-gate have caused me to ponder which is worse: ignorance or hypocrisy? I've decided that it doesn't really matter--both parties are rife with both. But the thing that the two parties have most in common you ask? Both proclaim to be fiscally responsible--neither is.
************
If you want to see a movie that will be nominated for an Academy Award for best picture, best original screenplay, and have a couple of acting nominations to boot, then run, don't walk, to the nearest theatre showing City Island. This charming and quirky film was a pleasure to behold from beginning to end. City Island, an island on a spit of land in the Long Island Sound, is a part of the Bronx and a perfect setting to highlight the dysfunctional Rizzo family, given the island is quiet and quaint and the family is anything but. For a movie with lots of unexpected twists, it ends a bit predictably, but I can't count that as a negative. Andy Garcia is the patriarch having a mid-life crisis and Julianna Margulies is the tough-talking, sexy, but spurned wife. And if you think hell hath no fury like a women scorned then you better get ready for a women scorned with a Bronx accent--it's a few degrees hotter. We Southern women have to draw blood before anyone knows we're angry, all Italian women from the Bronx have to do is open their mouths. Ezra Miller is fantastic as Vinnie, the teenage son--he had me laughing out loud. He and the teenage daughter (played by Andy Garcia's daughter) gave me a whole new appreciation for my teenage son and daughter! See this movie!!!
*************
The iPad makes its grand appearance on Saturday so I thought I would include my previous review. Now that someone other than Mr. Jobs has actually seen the iPad, I've found out that it does have a dictionary built-in and you can buy iWork for word processing, but I'd like to have Word and I'll have to see the dictionary to believe it. I stand by by first reaction--it seems like a big iPhone and I want more. All of you app inventors out there, see below and get crackin'!
YouTube - Hank Johnson (Congress D-GA) - Warns Guam May Capsize
************
And for the republicans that think they have a lock on morality, I beg you to reconsider. What could possibly be moral, or even make sense, about gathering money to elect conservative candidates that want to put God and family front and center, and gays and lesbians on the back burner, and then spending that money to take donors to a lesbian, bondage-themed strip club?
Guam-gate and Bondage-gate have caused me to ponder which is worse: ignorance or hypocrisy? I've decided that it doesn't really matter--both parties are rife with both. But the thing that the two parties have most in common you ask? Both proclaim to be fiscally responsible--neither is.
************
If you want to see a movie that will be nominated for an Academy Award for best picture, best original screenplay, and have a couple of acting nominations to boot, then run, don't walk, to the nearest theatre showing City Island. This charming and quirky film was a pleasure to behold from beginning to end. City Island, an island on a spit of land in the Long Island Sound, is a part of the Bronx and a perfect setting to highlight the dysfunctional Rizzo family, given the island is quiet and quaint and the family is anything but. For a movie with lots of unexpected twists, it ends a bit predictably, but I can't count that as a negative. Andy Garcia is the patriarch having a mid-life crisis and Julianna Margulies is the tough-talking, sexy, but spurned wife. And if you think hell hath no fury like a women scorned then you better get ready for a women scorned with a Bronx accent--it's a few degrees hotter. We Southern women have to draw blood before anyone knows we're angry, all Italian women from the Bronx have to do is open their mouths. Ezra Miller is fantastic as Vinnie, the teenage son--he had me laughing out loud. He and the teenage daughter (played by Andy Garcia's daughter) gave me a whole new appreciation for my teenage son and daughter! See this movie!!!
*************
The iPad makes its grand appearance on Saturday so I thought I would include my previous review. Now that someone other than Mr. Jobs has actually seen the iPad, I've found out that it does have a dictionary built-in and you can buy iWork for word processing, but I'd like to have Word and I'll have to see the dictionary to believe it. I stand by by first reaction--it seems like a big iPhone and I want more. All of you app inventors out there, see below and get crackin'!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
