Movies

Don?t Forget Superman: Christopher Reeve

Don’t Forget Superman: Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve died in October of 2004. He had suffered from paralysis due to an accident some years back. He fell from a horse and fractured his neck.
After the accident, our Superman focused on spinal cord injuries. He decided that a cure would come too late for him but that others could be cured and would then be able to regain their lost physical abilities.
The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation supports medical research. You can remember Christopher by supporting his foundation which funds research for spinal cord injury victims. Read tributes to Reeve and about the foundation at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3732310.stm.
Christopher Reeve’s wife, Dana, was and still is a Superwoman. Her devotion to Christopher during his illness is an example to all womanhood.
When I was a boy paralysis was common because of poliomyelitis. Many families had a member who was crippled by the disease. “Generally, conditions that affect the brain and spinal cord result in upper motor neurone paralysis. Some common examples are stroke, tumours, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, and severe trauma or injury to the head, neck or back.” See http://www.brainandspine.org.uk/information/publications/brain_and_spine_booklets/paralysis_the_loss_of_muscle_power/what_are_the.html.
Will Christopher Reeve’s dream come true? Will spinal cord injuries be curable in the future? I asked my son who knows about such things and he said:
The near solution is through biomedical science and engineering. Signals generated from the brain or nerves above the level of the injury will bypass the injury and allow near-normal function by prosthesis.
Currently, using the nerves that control the muscles you use for breathing, can restore arm motion lost by a severed nerve in the arm. This can be done without prosthesis. At first, the arm will come up every time you breathe. Then your marvellous brain will take over and you will be able to decide when to raise your arm.
There is a quantum jump between this technique used to repair an arm and what is required to repair a spinal cord injury.
When I was an engineering professor at Iowa State University, because of my industrial experience, I was asked to teach freshmen engineering students about the design process. At the end of the quarter we had a competition between the various classes to see who could come up with the best design of an object. We designed a toy bazooka, an ice carton and other such trivial projects.
I taught the coarse 10 times during a five-year period. At a planning meeting before the last contest, I told the staff that we should stop giving the best students the state of Iowa had to offer trivial assignments. They asked what I meant. They were concerned about the engineering skills of freshmen. I told them that an invalid or blind person could not get around our campus. I said many of the things that needed to be done, like access ramps, could be designed by the students.
After some consideration, the staff accepted my plan. That’s when I told them I did not want see college deans or distinguished professors judging the contest. I wanted the blind, the halt, and the lame.
As I remember, there were four sections out of sixteen that were in the finals. The students had photographed the obstacles on the campus. They had designed ramps and other objects within their capabilities. They had outlined all the items need for access.
The judges were in wheelchairs. They were members of a committee to help those who needed it get around the campus. We gave them all of the information needed for them to write a grant for money. Teary eyed, they accepted the student’s work.
The request grant was submitted and they received $400,000.00 from the Federal Government and $200,000.00 from the state of Iowa. Folks would be able to get around the campus, wheelchair, or crutches or not.
Don’t we all want to see the dream of Christopher Reeve come true? Why not contribute to his foundation? With money researchers will learn to restore function by complete spinal cord rehabilitation.

John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com, a retired VP of R&D for Lenox China, is author of detective & western novels, nonfiction (business, scientific, engineering, humor), poetry, etc. Former editor of Ceramic Industry Magazine, Jones is Executive Representative of International Wealth Success. He calls himself “Taylor Jones, the hack writer.”
More info: http://www.tjbooks.com
Business web site: http://www.bookfindhelp.com (IWS wealth-success books and kits and business newsletters / TopFlight flagpoles)

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Musings Using Randall, Rebecca and The Apprentice: Obstacles to Opportunities: The Great Reframe

Do you hear the word, “ruthless” during your daily
activities in the last few days? That’s the word being
tossed about as folks discuss Randall’s choice on live
television Thursday night.
As coaches we work with intelligent, well traveled clients
who keep tabs on current events. Even the frivolous ones
such as the TV show, The Apprentice. The recent concluding
segment which resulted in hiring the 4th apprentice provoked
discussions among our active, goal-workshop attendees
wondering about the apparent conflict when chosen Randall
said, “No” to the option to hire Rebecca that same night.
Wow. What a surprise… especially when reviewing Donald
Trump’s original question which was, “Randall, if you were
me, would you hire Rebecca also?” “If you were me” is the
key phrase uttered by this successful, competent, wealthy
business entrepreneur. Taking the lessons from wherever
they come, i.e. taking the coaching, it’s interesting to
note the different observations as Rebecca, Donald Trump and
Randall concluded the interview process.
As coaches we ask our clients to learn from many different
areas and to hold a higher vision for themselves. This
particular show is a way of observing how young, competent,
creative minds, organize in an intense business situation.
Whether relaxing at the spa or planning their next strategy,
the contestants use their talents and innate intelligence to
accomplish tasks and impress the Trump organization.
The coaches chime in:
Would you have said, “Yes” to the Rebecca question? “Of
course”, says Leslie, the coach…the question was “…if you
were me”. It seems logical to add a very competent, earnest
& ethical woman to the mix. And, how delightful to do it
that same night! Coach Kris points out that Rebecca showed
grace and creativity under pressure. Her “can do” attitude
prevailed even in the face of obstacles such as the broken
leg. You’ve got to admire her for that and more.
You saw both Randall and Rebecca take a stand for
themselves:
•How do you take a stand for yourself?
•How clear are you? Randall was clear and his decision came
with ease. Rebecca maintained her composure and remained
professional. Clarity can be a tremendous guiding force.
•You are an intelligent reader, how do you see it?
We are reminded of the wisdom below:
“…live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then,
someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even
noticing it, live your way into the answer.” Quotes our
wise advisor, Rainer Maria Rilke.
What do you notice as a result of these musings about The
Apprentice? How might you use these examples to do
something different? What change are you ready to make?
Harnessing your own courage from examples such as these, you
can support yourself into the well-lived life your desire.
Go for it!

Lifestyle Catalysts Kristine Carey & Leslie Gebhart are
certified life coaches who ask: Are you tired of people
telling you that’s just how it is? Be a part of their
complimentary conversation the first Monday of each Month
and discover how it can be:
http://www.lifestylecatalyst.com/register.shtml. Action
creates change; what choice will you make today?

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Taking the Coaching From Whence it Comes: TV & The Apprentice

One of the things we life coaches do is keep our eyes open
for coaching that comes from unusual places, and in this
case it was the final episode of the Apprentice. Certainly
television can be used to provoke intelligent dialogue about
ethics and principles. Did you see The Apprentice the night
Randall was hired and Rebecca wasn’t hired? Randall took a
stand. He said, “No” when directly asked by Donald Trump
whether Rebecca should be hired the same night. He was
clear. He was living within his beliefs and values. He had
a choice. As do you. We always have choices.
As life coaches we are often asked to support our clients to
make new choices. Often these represent significant changes
from the way they used to do things, and these new actions
may seem awkward or out of the blue, especially to our
loved ones. Yet, when we define our values and personal
standards and chose to make choices based upon those, our
life moves forward with much more ease. That awkward phase
lasts only a short time as we step into the new way of being
and behaving.
Try on these words as you think about the professional and
competent behavior demonstrated by Rebecca and Randall
during The Apprentice:
•Alert
•Clear
•Courageous
•Empowering
•Flexible
•Focused
You have a choice and can decide to adopt some of these
words to describe how you will behave the rest of the
week…the rest of the month, or all year. You can design
your own degree of competency whether visiting a spa for
relaxation and rejuvenation or preparing to deliver a
motivating and inspiring presentation to your colleagues.
The choice is yours; it always is. You are on this earth
to add your unique piece to this puzzle called life and you
have opportunities to turn every obstacle into a chance for
greatness much as you saw Rebecca do during her time on The
Apprentice.
Randall was put on the spot, took a stand, made a decision.
It’s proven to be a controversial one and probably
responsible for propelling Rebecca into a very desirable
position she wouldn’t otherwise have had if Randall’s answer
been “Yes.” So, bear this in mind when you get a ‘no’ from
one of your colleagues or family members. It could be a
‘yes’ in disguise and the start of a fantastic new
beginning.
Questions to ponder:
•What no can give that is actually a yes?
•Are you willing to ask for support to making a change?
•Do you have something you know you’ve been wanting to do,
yet keep postponing?
•Are you aware that there is a contribution that only you
can make?
As coaches, one of our favorite reminders is the following
sentence: “The best way to get somewhere is to let yourself
go.” It’s time. You can go. With
support from a coach or this article or your own inner
courage, you, too, can take a stand and design the life of
your dreams. Yes you can!

Lifestyle Catalysts Kristine Carey & Leslie Gebhart are
certified life coaches who ask: Are you tired of people
telling you that’s just how it is? Be a part of their
complimentary conversation the first Monday of each Month
and discover how it can be:
http://www.lifestylecatalyst.com/register.shtml. Action
creates change; what choice will you make today?

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Does Age Matter? The Apprentice

Donald Trump’s television show, The Apprentice, attracted
the largest audience the night he was to hire his 4th
apprentice. Much about television is a numbers game which
prompted us to think about the numbers in the show. Randall
is 34, Rebecca is 24. Does age matter? Was it his ten
years of maturity that made the difference, or what he chose
to do with those ten years – his education and running
successful businesses? Does a 20 something candidate have a
chance against a 30 something candidate? What do you think?
It also begs the question, is age a barrier to success?
Some of us feel old at 40. Our attitude and actions can
make any number seem old. What if you go around telling
yourself, “I’m too old to (sing in a choir, horseback ride
across the range, insert your item here)?” Is that really
true? Perhaps you are too old to climb Mt. Everest; that
isn’t to say there aren’t still plenty of things left to do
regardless of physical limitations. Who is stopping you
from giving the recital, climbing the hill, doing what you
really want to do? As coaches, we disregard the, “I’m too
(insert complaint here)” excuse. There is always a way to
modify whatever it is you want such that it can be achieved.
Is there a library nearby? A hobby club you might join?
Films to be watched? There are many ways to accomplish
learning…and you can find the essence of your goals and
dreams in many different ways.
Think about it:
•What is the thing you’ve been telling yourself you’re too
old to do (your Mt. Everest)?
•When you look at that thing you’ve been wanting to do,
what’s at the heart of it and where else might you find its’
essence?
•Look for support. Getting support enables you to do what
you want with more ease.
As coaches, we see age doesn’t matter. There are 23 years
between us and we share times when we are being wise and
times when we’re being silly or unwise. We share work
ethics, steadfast support of our clients, interesting
balance in our lives and much more. Age is a number and
counts for things like a senior pass to the movies and
possibly some extra points on the wisdom-o-meter, yet the 40
(or 30, or 20) somethings among us have plenty to offer as
well. Our interaction as life coaches and workshop leaders
is enriched by the difference in our ages, perspectives, and
points of view. We say, “Yes” to it all and invite you to
do the same. Let age support you when you need it to and be
willing to resist using it as an excuse for postponing going
for your goals and dreams.

Lifestyle Catalysts Kristine Carey & Leslie Gebhart are
certified life coaches who ask: Are you tired of people
telling you that’s just how it is? Be a part of their
complimentary conversation the first Monday of each Month
and discover how it can be:
http://www.lifestylecatalyst.com/register.shtml. Action
creates change; what choice will you make today?

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Da Vinci Code Already in ?The Last Supper?

Why the Fuss?
Since Dan Brown’s mystery thriller The Da Vinci Code (Doubleday, 2003) first appeared, people have asked a lot of questions, especially regarding Leonardo da Vinci’s world-famous painting, “The Last Supper.” Is the feminine-looking figure sitting just to the right of Christ really the apostle John, as traditionally believed, or is it instead Mary Magdalene?
The answer may be boring, in that it is drained of mystery and intrigue, but it is nevertheless so obvious that it rings true. The coming of the film version of “The Da Vinci Code,” starring Tom Hanks, prompts renewed interest in this subject that should by now have been laid to rest.
The Fresco’s Context
Keep in mind that Da Vinci painted this 460×880 cm (15×29 feet) fresco on the wall of the dining hall of the Santa Maria delle Grazie convent in Milan in 1498. His masterpiece is ingenius in many ways, not the least in its dramatic realism, enhanced by the way in which Da Vinci paints the perspective of the background as a continuation of the room in which it resides.
Instead of assigning a halo to Jesus, he sillhouettes him by the light entering through a window behind him. Da Vinci groups the 12 apostles in four clusters of three, six on either side of Jesus. Except for the replacement of roman-style dining couches with contemporary table and chairs, Da Vinci closely follows the biblical narrative. His fresco is a snapshot of the moment after Jesus announces a traitor is in their midst. Listen for the click of Leonardo’s “camera shutter” in the following excerpt from John 13:21-26:
After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.”
His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.” [**CLICK**]
Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”
Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon.

The Biblical Context
Da Vinci captures the immediate emotional reaction of the disciples, employing conventional gestures for surprise, interrogation, and perhaps even indignation. We see the disciples reacting to Jesus’ revelation in the ways the Bible describes. See also the parallel passages: Matthew 26:21-25; Mark 14:18-21; and Luke 22:22-23.
For hundreds of years scholars have agreed that “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23; 19:26-27; 20:2-8; 21:7, 20-24) is the way in which the Apostle John refers to himself in the Fourth Gospel. The Apostle John, prominent in the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), is otherwise absent from the Gospel of John, except for an oblique reference to “the sons of Zebedee” in John 21:2.
Scholars agree that his self-characterization as “The Beloved Disciple” is not an egotistical claim that he is worthy of an inside track with Jesus, but rather a Christ-exalting expression that though he was entirely unworthy, yet he was showered with the Savior’s love. Add to this a few references to “another disciple” (John 1:35-40; 18:15-16; 19:35) which also appear to be autobiographical (John 20:1-9 merges the “Beloved Disciple” with the “other disciple”), and we gain a composite picture of the author of the Fourth Gospel.
Could this “other disciple,” this “Beloved Disciple” be, in fact, Mary Magdalene? The biblical evidence is decisive against this hypothesis. In Greek, the definite article, translated into English as “the,” has gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter) and number (singular, plural, or dual), in agreement with the nouns, pronouns, or participles they accompany. In all of the verses cited above, the “the” attached to either “the other disciple” or “the disciple whom Jesus loved” is uniformly masculine, never feminine.
Furthermore, identifying Mary Magdalene with “the disciple whom Jesus loved” makes nonsense out of John 20:1-18, especially verses 10-11a: “Then the disciples [Peter and the Beloved Disciple] went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying.” She cannot go and stay simultaneously.
Why so feminine a figure?
This “Beloved Disciple,” obviously a man, in the Fourth Gospel, is the one Peter buttonholes at the Last Supper and demands, “Ask Him which one He means” (John 13:24). Why does he look like a woman in Da Vinci’s portrayal of that moment?
A reasonable inference based on John 21:20-24’s testimony that John outlived Simon Peter by many years holds that John must have been considerably younger than Peter, or for that matter most or all of the other apostles. The earliest writings after the New Testament indicate that John lived on into the early second century. If he was about 20 at the time of the crucifixion, he would have been around 90 in the year 100. We could allow him to be a little older or a little younger, but not by much either way.
Sitting beside Jesus in the rennaissance master’s “The Last Supper” is a figure portrayed as a young man, using the conventions typical of that day: fair features, no beard, and slight body. We find similar depictions of young men in Leonardo’s other paintings.
In his two depictions of John the Baptist, for example, painted sometime between 1510 and 1516, we find a beardless youth. Even within “The Last Supper” itself, Da Vinci’s portrait of Philip (fourth from the right) is similarly androgynous.
Want to Go Deeper?
A survey of paintings of the Last Supper just before and just after Da Vinci’s demonstrates how stereotyped were depictions of John, who is regularly depicted as a young man, nearly always asleep next to Jesus. Once again, breaking with convention, Leonardo depicts him as only very sleepy. Some of these depictions actually label John and the other disciples. You can view these at online art history sites, such as the “Web Gallery of Art.”

1308-11 – Ducco di Buoninsegna
1464-67 – Dieric the Elder Bouts
1476 – Domenico Ghirlandaio
1480 – Domenico Ghirlandaio
1486 – Domenico Ghirlandaio
1498 – Leonardo da Vinci
1510 – Albrecht Dürer
1511 – Dürer
1520-25 – Andrea del Sarto
1523 – Dürer
1542 – Jacopo Bassano

The Place of Mary Magdalene
It is abundantly clear, therefore, that Da Vinci’s figure beside Jesus is John, son of Zebedee, not Mary Magdalene. Her place in history, however, is secure. She was the first human being to witness the resurrection of Christ, and responding obediently to the Savior’s commission recorded in John 20:17, she served, as one scholar has put it, as “the apostle to the apostles.”
To make her into something else does not elevate her, but degrades her. Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” is certainly coded, not with enigmatic images of a clandestine relationship between Jesus and Mary, but with the pathos of the Night of Betrayal.
The hidden meaning that reaches us more than 500 years later is, “Is it I? Am I the one who will betray Him?”
Da Vinci Decoded
The magnificent fresco pierces our heart and conscience with these probing questions. Are we, like John, hardly even conscious of the Lord’s challenge? Will we, with false bravado, join our voices to those disciples who are saying, “I’ll never deny You,” or like Peter, go even further, “Even if all the others fall away, I never will”? Or, like Judas Iscariot, do we lean back in surprise, grasping tightly to our bag of money?
I believe that Leonardo intended for everyone who sat in that Milan dining hall and by extension, all of us to be, not detached spectators, but participants in the Last Supper. This is the true Da Vinci Code, and the mystery of “The Last Supper”: What will I do with Jesus?

* * *
Copyright ©2005 Steve Singleton
Steve Singleton has written and edited several books and articles on subjects of interest to Bible students. He has been a book editor, newspaper reporter, news editor, and public relations consultant. He has taught Greek, Bible, and religious studies courses in university and adult education programs. He has taught seminars in 11 states and the Caribbean.
Go to his DeeperStudy.org for Bible study resources, no matter what your level of expertise. Explore “The Shallows,” plumb “The Depths,” or use the well-organized “Study Links” for original sources in English translation. Check out the bookstore for great discounts on Bible study books, and subscribe to the free “DeeperStudy Newsletter.”
Copyright information: Free for reproduction but must be reproduced in its entirety, including any live links & this copyright notice.

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Ritwik and His ?Meghe Dhaka Tara?-A Study Into Oppression and Feminism in The Alter

It is one of life’s greatest ironies that Ritwik Ghatak who is today something of a cult figure in Bengal was so little understood and appreciated during his lifetime. Despite the fact that today his films have won much critical acclaim, the fact remains that in their time they ran to mainly empty houses in Bengal. Ghatak’s films project a unique
sensibility. They are often brilliant, but almost always flawed.
Born in Dhaka (now in Bangladesh), the partition of Bengal and the subsequent division of a culture was something that haunted Ghatak forever. Joining the left-wing Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), he used to work for a few years as a playwright, actor and director. When IPTA split into factions, Ghatak turned to filmmaking.
By and large Ghatak’s films revolve around two central themes: the experience of being uprooted from the idyllic rural milieu of East Bengal and the cultural trauma of the partition of 1947. His first film, Nagarik (1952) weaved the oppressive tale of a young man, his futile search for a job and the erosion of his optimism and idealism as his family sinks into abject poverty and his love affair too turns sour. Ghatak then accepted a job with Filmistan Studio in Bombay but his ‘different’ ideas did not go down well there. He did however write the scripts of Musafir (1957) and Madhumati (1958) for Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Bimal Roy respectively, the latter becoming an all time evergreen hit.
After this brief stint followed by his comeback to his good old Calcutta, he made Ajantrik (1958) about a taxi driver in a small town in Bihar and his vehicle, an old Chevrolet jalopy. An assortment of passengers gives the film a wider frame of reference and provided situations of drama, humor and irony.
However, his “magnum opus” happens to be none other than Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960), the first film in a trilogy, examining the socio-economic implications of partition. The protagonist Nita (played by Supriya Chowdhury) is the breadwinner in a refugee family of five. Everyone exploits her and the strain proves too much. She succumbs to
tuberculosis. In an unforgettable moment, the dying Nita cries out “I want to live…”, while the camera pans across the mountains, thereby accentuating the indifference and eternity of nature even as the echo reverberates over the shot.
Complexities notwithstanding, Meghe Dhaka Tara reaches out to the audience with its directness, its simplicity, and its unique stylistic use of melodrama. Melodrama as a legitimate dramatic form has continued to play a vital role in rural Indian theatre and folk dramatic forms. Ghatak goes back to these roots in his presentation of a familiar struggle for survival, which has lost its dramatic force and pathos through repetition in real life.
In Meghe Dhaka Tara, day-to-day events transform into high drama: Nita’s tormented romance is intensified with the harsh sweep of the whiplash on the soundtrack; Shankar’s song of faith in a moment of despair reaches the height of emotional surrender with Nita’s voice joining his and Nita’s urge to live becomes a universal sound of affirmation reverberating in Nature, amidst the distant peaks of the Himalayas.
The three principal women characters in this film embody the traditional aspects of feminine power. The heroine, Nita, has the preserving and nurturing quality; her sister, Gita, is the sensual woman; their mother represents the cruel aspect. The incapacity of Nita to combine and contain all these qualities is the imminent source of her tragedy.
Besides, here Ghatak tries to delve deep into our roots and traditions and discover a universal dimension within it. And for the first time, he says he experimented with the techniques of overtones. In the film, Ghatak succeeds in achieving a grand totality through an intricate but harmonious blending of each part with the whole in the inner
fabric of the film. Meghe Dhaka Tara transcends into a great work of art that enriches and transforms the visual images into metamorphic significations…
The music in the film perfectly intermingles with the visuals, none dislodging the other be it a remarkable orchestration of a hill motif with a female moaning or a staccato cough with a surging song.
Here, it would be relevant to mention that Ghatak weaves a parallel narrative evoking the celebrated Bengali legends of Durga who is believed to descend from her mountain retreat every autumn to visit her parents and that of Menaka. This double focus, condensed in the figure of Neeta, is rendered yet more complex on the level of the
film language itself through elaborate, at times non-diegetic sound effects working alongside or as commentaries on the image ( e.g. the refrain Ai go Uma kole loi, i.e. Come to my arms, Uma, my child, used through the latter part of the film, esp. on the face of the rain-drenched Neeta shortly before her departure to the sanatorium).
This approach allows the film to transcend its story by opening it our towards the realm of myth and to the conventions of cinematic realism (e.g. evoked in the Calcutta sequences).
“Meghe Dhaka Tara” was followed with Komal Gandhar (1961), concerning two rival touring theatre companies in Bengal and Subarnarekha (1965). The last is a strangely disturbing film using melodrama and coincidence as a form rather than
mechanical reality.
His next film, Titash Ekti Nadir Naam (1973), done for a young Bangladesh producer happens to be focusing on the life and eventual disintegration of a fishing community on the Titash. However, this epic saga was completed after many problems at the shooting stage including his collapse due to tuberculosis and was a commercial failure.
Notably, Jukti Takko Aar Gappo (1974), the most autobiographical and allegorical
of his films, was made just before his untimely demise. Here, he himself played the main role of Nilkanta, an alcoholic intellectual. The film has been spoken about in critique circle for Ghatak’s stunning use of the wide-angle lens to most potent effect.
Unfortunately for Ghatak, his films were largely unsuccessful. Many remaining unreleased for years, he abandoned almost as many projects as he completed. Ultimately the intensity of his passion, which gave his films their power and emotion, took their toll on him, as did tuberculosis and alcoholism. However he has left behind a limited, but
subtly rich and intricate body of work that no serious scholar of Indian Cinema can dare ignore.

Lopa Bhattacharya is a content writer/developer working on websites for overseas/Indian clientele. Has worked for various corporate website projects, CD-Rom presentations, brochures, flyers and other communication materials on varied themes ranging from travel, hotel industry, photography, web design and software development to US-based clubs and network communities. Was previously an editorial associate for a news, culture and entertainment portal based on the life and times of Kolkata.

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Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe

It has been at least 30 years since I read this classic series by C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe,” and so imagine my surprise when the characters came to life on the movie screen. I did, however, remember enough of the plot not to feel too damned old to be there, although parts of the movie still seemed new to me. My daughter commented that the movie lacked the depth of the books; granted she’s closer in age to the “reading” event than I am, but for a movie, it seemed a good waste of 2.5 hours.
The Pevensie kids are separated from their mother during World War II and forced to live in a huge mansion with virtually no adult supervision save a housekeeper they call “The Mcready” who’s only purpose is to who warns that “The Professor” can not ever be disturbed. So, no running, no jumping, breathe lightly and tiptoe around. Well, we know how long that lasts. She seems more a housekeeper on methamphetamine – tense, terse and prone to exaggeration – than a caregiver of children. She becomes the woman with heavy feet, stomping around off-camera to send the kids scattering. Basically, there is no supervision at all.
The “Chronicles of Narnia” is about four kids discovering that their closet is a portal into a magical world. I remember being enthralled when I first read it; I was much younger then and less jaded. However, the beaver in full metal body armor gave me pause. I never imagined a beaver ready to “throw down,” armed to the nines and ready to take on all comers.
These kids also survive for long periods of time in a snowy forest, which could only happen in a Lewis novel. In reality, they would have about as much chance of surviving in a snowy, sub-zero degree forest as Captain Kirk would have leading a life of celibacy.
The children step from one war zone (World War II, Europe) into, well, another war zone called Narnia, where the warriors aren’t our brave soldiers in combat gear, but a collection of talking beavers, fauns, goblins, and other half man-half, half-animal creatures armed to the teeth with enough strategy and tactics to survive a South Central L.A. riot unscathed.
It’s been snowing for the past 100 years, which is liable to make anybody a bit, all thanks to the woman whom everyone is either enslaved to or preparing to fight. Enter the White Witch, played incredibly well by Tilda Swinton, an extraordinarily pale skinned woman with white hair – and when I say almost no color, I mean she makes ghosts look tanned.
We have the usual religious claptrap that went along with this book – “Two sons of Adam, and two daughters of Eve,” – who turn out to be the children themselves – must break the curse. Humans, you see, are virtually unknown beings in Narnia’s mystical world, and the children are viewed prophetically. All the beavers, fauns and such like have whispered of four humans coming to save the day. These kids could be less interested, but as the story progresses, they become more like the heroes in the Narnian fable and less like children trying to run back through the wardrobe to safety. They have the support of a mighty lion, Aslan, who is not only mighty, but good, pure and right. We have to have one of these in every fairy tale or evil would take over; then we’d be watching a horror film.
They are helped to their hero-hood by, of all people, Father Christmas (James Cosmo) who rides in on his sleigh and, after a long speech about hope and the future of Narnia, turns out to be an arms dealer on the side except for that one day of delivering toys to tots. I guess he has to do something those other 364 days out of the year.
Christmas takes armament out of his gift bag, giving the children with an assortment of weaponry, a quick speech about using their tools effectively, then rides off into the snow presumably back to the North Pole. I half expected him to pull out the Narnian equivalent of a glock, but he managed to just stick with the various white-trash, pre-industrial age solutions to disputes – knives, arrows and swords.One wonders, though if maybe he stop en-route to rob a convenience store, but I digress. It is definitely a 2005 Christmas moment.
Overall, Narnia’s comes to us with the same empowering message created by the book, and it is fueled by an engrossing plot, strong acting, the usual plethora of “Oh Wow!” special effects, and surprising bursts of comic relief. The beavers are cool; the faun silly and Aslan, very noble. It, of course, reminds me of “The Lord of the Rings” and “Harry Potter.” but it’s less cumbersome than the former movie and less goofy than the latter.
Rating: Four Out of Four Stars

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Will & Grace (DVD) Review

Premiering in the Fall of 1998, Will & Grace has become one of the most celebrated shows of its time. Nominated for 49 Emmys, and winner of 12 (including Outstanding Comedy Series in 2000), the show follows the lives of two best friends who live together. With a plethora of other award nominations – 24 Golden Globes, 14 SAG Awards, and 6 People’s Choice Awards, Will & Grace continues to light up the small screen with its unique brand of comic humor and groundbreaking sitcom format…
Debra Messing stars in the role of Grace Adler, a straight interior designer who moves into an apartment with her best friend Will (Eric McCormack). Friends since college, Will is a successful lawyer who also happens to be gay (thus, keeping their relationship from becoming a permanent romantic one). Having dated before Will came out of the closet, the two maintain a more intimate relationship than mere casual friends. The comic sequences involving the two are complimented by Will’s flamboyantly gay friend Jack McFarland (Sean Hayes) and Grace’s sarcastic, alcoholic assistant Karen Walker (Megan Mullally)…
The Will & Grace DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the series premiere “Love and Marriage” in which Grace, having received an unexpected marriage proposal from her boyfriend, decides to get married. Meanwhile, Will believes the marriage will be a mistake, and he decides to risk his friendship with Grace in order to tell her… Other notable episodes from Season 1 include “Between a Rock and Harlin’s Place” in which Grace decorates Harlin’s apartment, but gets carried away with a cowboy theme, and “The Big Vent” in which Will and Grace begin listening to their neighbors through a vent in their own apartment…
Below is a list of episodes included on the Will & Grace (Season 1) DVD:
Episode 1 (Love and Marriage) Air Date: 09-21-1998
Episode 2 (A New Lease on Life) Air Date: 09-28-1998
Episode 3 (Head Case) Air Date: 10-05-1998
Episode 4 (Between a Rock and Harlin’s Place) Air Date: 10-12-1998
Episode 5 (Boo! Humbug) Air Date: 10-26-1998
Episode 6 (William, Tell) Air Date: 11-09-1998
Episode 7 (Where There’s a Will, There’s No Way) Air Date: 11-16-1998
Episode 8 (The Buying Game) Air Date: 11-30-1998
Episode 9 (The Truth About Will and Dogs) Air Date: 12-15-1998
Episode 10 (The Big Vent) Air Date: 01-05-1999
Episode 11 (Will on Ice) Air Date: 01-12-1999
Episode 12 (My Fair Maid-y) Air Date: 02-02-1999
Episode 13 (The Unsinkable Mommy Adler) Air Date: 02-09-1999
Episode 14 (Big Brother is Coming: Part 1) Air Date: 02-16-1999
Episode 15 (Big Brother is Coming: Part 2) Air Date: 02-23-1999
Episode 16 (Yours, Mine or Ours) Air Date: 03-02-1999
Episode 17 (Secrets and Lays) Air Date: 03-23-1999
Episode 18 (Grace, Replaced) Air Date: 04-08-1999
Episode 19 (Will Works Out) Air Date: 04-22-1999
Episode 20 (Saving Grace) Air Date: 04-29-1999
Episode 21 (Alley Cats) Air Date: 05-06-1999
Episode 22 (Object of My Rejection) Air Date: 05-13-1999
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Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of the Will & Grace (DVD).

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Things I?ve Learned by Watching COPS

Here in Tallahassee, COPS comes on Saturday nights, two shows in a row.
Here are a few things I’ve learned while watching COPS.
Don’t run from the police. It screams guilty of something and they are probably in better shape than you.
Don’t lie to the police. They get lied to everyday and are pretty good at telling who is lying.
You see many pathetic looking situations watching COPS. It’s a glimpse into a nasty side of life. It’s important to remember that none of these people started out with the intention of living in a pathetic situation, breaking the law, and getting arrested on TV. Most ended up there by a continuous series of bad choices and poor decisions.
“It seemed like a good idea at the time” is not just the decision making paradigm for kids and teens. Many, many adults appear to live this way as well.
Some people have a very difficult if not impossible time trying to change their lives. Many people make the same mistakes over and over again.
Some people are just too stubborn to learn. They are hard headed and unteachable.
The first very best way to avoid getting arrested is to not break the law.
The second very best way to avoid getting arrested is to always keep your shirt on. It seems like everyone that gets arrested on COPS is going without their shirt.

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That ?70s Show – Season 3

In 1998 the creators of 3rd Rock from the Sun introduced That ’70s Show. It’s a very hilarious sitcom that takes place in, believe it or not, the 70s. Located in a fictional suburb of Green Bay, Wisconsin known as Point Place, the series revolves around the comical daily interactions of the Forman family and their friends and neighbors. This third season has twenty-five great episodes and tackles similar issues as the earlier seasons like sex, drugs, dating, friendships, and family values. These issues turn into a few sticky situations that should leave you rolling over with laughter. Like the earlier seasons, the third is filled with some really great comedy, which is mostly due to its great cast and funny episodes.
For season three, there are a lot of fun episodes and stories. The first bunch we’ll talk about have to do with relationships. In the first two seasons Kelso and Jackie have been an item. In season two Jackie found out Kelso cheated on her with Laurie and they broke up. In this season Jackie sets her eyes on Hyde. Despite Hyde’s expressed dislike of Jackie, she continually pursues him and he finally asks her out on date in “Jackie Bags Hyde”. They find out the chemistry isn’t quite there. Meanwhile, Kelso is trying to make things work with Laurie, but also still has feelings for Jackie. As for Fez, this season marks his first girlfriend. Midway into the season, he meets a girl named Caroline. Unfortunately for him, she turns out to be a bit crazy in the head. This eventually turns into the fun episode “Fez Dates Donna”, where Fez pretends to date Donna to get away from his crazy girlfriend.
The other young lovebirds, Donna and Eric, are still together in this season. Many of the episodes are about their cozy little relationship. “Romantic Weekend” is a perfect episode about the couple. In it, Eric takes Donna away for a few days of romance. Unfortunately for Eric, he left the brochure for the bed and breakfast they are staying at on the counter and Red whisks Kitty away to the same place. When Eric and Red find out they’re staying in the same place, they try their best to pretend the other isn’t there, as not to disturb their romantic weekends. Of course nothing goes their way and when things get messed up, you’ll laugh. “Baby Fever” is another solid episode, where Eric and Donna image what their future will be like together. The reflection segments are an absolute riot.
The rest of the episodes we’ll look at are just plain silly. “Dine & Dash” is a ridiculous episode, where Kelso treats his friends to an expensive lobster dinner. When the meal is over, he informs everyone they are going to leave without paying. One by one they trickle out of the restaurant, leaving poor Eric alone. “Holy Craps” sees the return of Pastor Dave (Kevin McDonald, Kids in the Hall) and it is a blast. Kitty gets Red, Eric, Kelso, and Hyde to help at a church fundraiser. To Kitty’s dismay, they abuse their posts. The episode also includes a hilarious performance from Cheers’ John Ratzenberger. Pastor Dave also shows up in “Eric’s Drunken Tattoo”. The episode has some great segments with Kitty, Red, and Dave.
This season also has two episodes with the word panties in the title and they are unequivocally funny. In “Donna’s Panties”, Eric pulls down Donna’s pants in front of Fez, Hyde, and Kelso. She’s wearing big white cotton briefs and they start poking fun at her by calling her granny panties. It’s a Valentine’s Day Eric will never forget! The other episode “Eric’s Panties” has Eric afraid that Donna might be jealous of him because he is spending a lot of time with his attractive female lab partner. But she laughs at him and won’t believe an attractive girl like her would be interested, until she finds a pair of panties in the Vista Cruiser.
Saving the best for last, “Canadian Road Trip” is the funniest episode this season has to offer. Eric, Fez, Kelso, and Hyde join Leo on a road trip into our northern neighbor, Canada. There the drinking age is lower and the boys can legally purchase beer. Unfortunately, Fez doesn’t have his green card and the Mounties working border patrol are less than willing to let them return to the states. They’re convinced they are smuggling illegal aliens. How this episode builds and the way it concludes is pretty damn funny. It’s a fun episode you’ll want to over and over again.
Overall I was quite happy with season three. If you couldn’t tell from my reviews of season one or season two, I really love this show. The episodes in this season were just as rich, if not more, than what you find in past seasons. If you are looking to laugh over and over again, then season three of That ’70s Show has more than enough fun packed in its episodes. It comes highly recommended.
Episode Guide
1. Reefer Madness
2. Red Sees Red
3. Hyde’s Father
4. Too Old To Trick Or Treat, Too Young To Die
5. Roller Disco
6. Eric’s Panties
7. Baby Fever
8. Jackie Bags Hyde
9. Hyde’s Christmas Rager
10. Ice Shack
11. Who Wants It More
12. Fez Gets The Girl
13. Dine & Dash
14. Radio Daze
15. Donna’s Panties
16. Romantic Weekend
17. Kitty’s Birthday (That’s Today?!)
18. The Trials Of M. Kelso
19. Eric’s Naughty No-No
20. Holy Craps
21. Fez Dates Donna
22. Eric’s Drunken Tattoo
23. Canadian Road Trip
24. Backstage Pass
25. The Promise Ring
The DVD
Video:
This release is given in its original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame color. The picture quality is very good, providing a clear and clean picture with minor color distortions and compression artifacts. Overall, it looks substantially better than its original television broadcast presentation, providing less grain in the picture.
Audio:
The audio track in this release is given in English Dolby digital stereo surround. The audio in this release comes off fairly flat. However as with most TV on DVD releases it’s not necessarily bad, as the majority of the audio is spoken dialogue. The sound quality is very good, providing an audible and clean audio track. There is also very little distinction between audio channels. This release also has subtitles in English and supports closed captioning.
Extras:
The first extra included in this set, found on disc 1, is “A Look Back At Season Three” Featurette (23:14). It involves David Trainer, Danny Masterson, Don Stark, Kurtwood Smith, Debra Jo Rupp, Mila Kunis, and Wilmer Valderrama talking about season three, where they discuss the characters, their relationships off camera and how it affected their on camera performances, the stories tackled, and so on.
Next the TV spot promos are included with each episode and you can view them before watching the full episode. Selected episodes also come with cast introductions, with Danny Masterson: “Reefer Madness”, “Hyde’s Father”, “Hyde’s Christmas Rager”, Kurtwood Smith: “Jackie Bags Hyde”, “Who Wants It More”, “Romantic Weekend”, Debra Jo Rupp: “Kitty’s Birthday (That’s Today?!)”, “Red Sees Red”, Don Stark: “The Trials Of M. Kelso”, “Dine & Dash”, “Fez Dates Donna”, Mila Kunis: “Backstage Pass”, “Ice Shack”, ” Too Old To Trick Or Treat, Too Young To Die”, and Wilmer Valderrama: “Canadian Road Trip”, “Fez Gets The Girl”, “Roller Disco”.
The last item is a collection of audio commentaries for episodes “Too Old To Trick Or Treat, Too Young To Die”, and “Eric’s Panties”, “Dine & Dash” with David Trainer and Patrick Keinlen, “Radio Daze”, “Eric’s Drunken Tattoo”, and “The Promise Ring” with David Trainer. Like the season two commentaries, they tend to be a little dry, but contain a few interesting details about the series and the episodes they cover. For the fans they are worth sitting through.
Overall I found this season set’s extras to be much better than previous seasons. While they hold very little replay value, they are nonetheless informative about the show from many different perspectives.
Final Thoughts:
That ’70s Show has a lot going for it. Not only is there some fine writing and excellently plotted episodes, but the cast works together so gracefully that it is hard not to laugh at every single joke. I have seen all of the episodes in this season set, some more than once, and they are just as funny as the first time. Overall I think this box set is worth every penny. It is funny, entertaining, and has a very high replay value. Highly recommended.

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