Thanks for the memories...

How lucky we were!

The following is the opening night of the 1989-1990 Northside School Of The Arts Tour Show "Memories".

In 1992, Northside and North Fulton merged to become North Atlanta. The Northside Tigers were no more. And now, the School of the Arts has been disbanded and a new concept has been put in place. Billy Densmore and Gary Harrison are no longer with us (may they rest in peace), but Reggie Colbert is continuing the tradition.

In this video you will see an 18 year old Melanie Denard, a 16 year old Jason Currie, and an 18 year old Aaron Amara Davis as well as a cast of about 40 students: singers and dancers.

What's In YOUR Player?

Here's what's in mine:

TAG! I'm it!

So this thing keeps circulating the internet... It's like a big honking game of tag. And I've been tagged by Tabris - one of my favorite authors. The rules?

The rules of this meme are simple:
1. Link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six unimportant things about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your blog entry.
5. Let the tagged people know, by leaving a comment on their blogs.

So here goes:

Link back? Check!
Posted rules? Check!
Six unimportant things? Presonally, I don't think anything about me is unimportant... But hey...

1. I've owned 7 cars since 1992 while the Prince Consort had only one since 1994 9and we all know what happened to it. They are (in order) 1992 Ford Escort, 1987 Ford Taurus, 1992 Mazda Protege, 1990 Honda Prelude, 1988 Oldmsobile Cutlass, 1998 Ford Mustang convertible, 2002 Pt Cruiser.


2. I LOVE Starbucks skinny lattes. They take me to my happy place.


3. I use Natural Family Planning (NOT the "rhythm" method) to space my 3 kids.


4. I don't drink sodas EXCEPT for Diet Mountain Dew.


5. I once stayed up for 3 straight days without eating anything (stupid college kid trick) after drinking 24 cans of Mountain Dew in one night. I was like Charlie Pace from Lost as he was detoxing off the heroin.


6. I blog but no one in my family knows what my blog name is except for the Prince Consort.

Tag six random people? OK, here they are: Simcha, Chris, Suso, Michelle, Practical Polly, Johnny Virgil and they know who they are! Let the games begin!

Putting the DUH back in Florida again...

Welcome to Florida where every vote counts and you take your life in your hands (or those of the nonagenarian drivers) every time you take to the road.



Before I get into my little rant, let me say that I love Florida and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else (after living elsewhere, I might add). I was born here and I'm proud to be a native of the Sunshine State (East).



Here are some interesting tidbits about Florida:

• There were 576 pedestrian fatalities in 2005


• There were 3,533 traffic fatalities (including those above) in 2005


• Accident statistics from the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles show that people 85 and older are the second most dangerous drivers, after teen-agers.


• Motorcyclists aren't required to wear helmets OR carry insurance


• According to census.gov, Florida was ranked #11 in both 1991 AND 1995 for insurance expenditure per 1 vehicle on average


• Children 4 and over need not ride in a carseat/booster seat of any kind


• Persons over 16 need not wear a seatbelt in the back seat

How does that fit with the title of this post? I'll tell you.



Florida is a "No Fault" state when it comes to insurance. And this drives the average insurance rate UP for those of us who drive the speed limit, don't take chances, don't drink and drive and obey all the laws. You know, us SAFE drivers. The Florida Legislature recently repealed No Fault and before you could say AFLAC!, they put it back in place.



Let's look at what this means in light of the statistics above:



Motorcyclists don't have to wear helmets, nor do they have to have insurance coverage. You get in an accident - even if THEY CAUSED IT - and your insurance pays out. And your rates get jacked even if you were the wronged party.



Elderly people shouldn't be driving. Statistically, they cause accidents which - again - drive up insurance costs for EVERYONE. And does Florida have any laws about yanking their license when they are too senile to drive? NO. Hell to the no. They DO require an eye exam though. Both my grandmothers live in Florida - a few blocks away from me, actually. Both of them recently lost their cars to their respective children due to their inability to drive SAFELY.



Grandma (the alcoholic one with dementia who has been known to drink and drive) had her license renewed by the DMV even though she's frail and can't really get out of her own way when she put on the "waterworks" for the clerk behind the desk. My aunt (her daughter) was SURE they weren't going to renew her. She prayed they wouldn't. But they did. The straw that broke the camel's back was grandma getting lost for a half a day after leaving my aunt's house and heading to her retirement high-rise 1 mile away.



Nana (sweet but lacking in reflexes) has been a poor driver for 20 years. She's gotten so frail of late that my parents confiscated her car (in the nicest possible way) and chauffeur her around whenever she needs to go anywhere. She's been having little incidents with mailboxes and whatnot for the longest time but still kept getting her license renewed.



Both the grandmothers will not be getting their licenses renewed on the next round - unless they decide to go online and do so without their children knowing... And they could. I renew my license from the comfort of my home office while in my PJs, secure in the knowledge that I don't have to show up for an eye exam or get a new (horrible) picture. And it only costs 50 cents extra.



Add to this the fact that the No Fault laws here make it such that any time you have an incident with your car, YOUR insurance has to pay out (rather than making the at-fault party pay), everyone is paying for the drivers who shouldn't be on the road.



Here's the solution:



All drivers over 70 need to be signed off on by their doctor when they renew their license. If the doctor says they are capable and that person causes an accident, the doctor needs to be help accountable. Renewals should happen Every Year.



All drivers with a handicapped placard need to present a doctor's statement that they are capable of operating a motor vehicle safely.



All motorcyclists would be REQUIRED to wear a helmet AND carry a minimum amount of liability insurance.



Abolish No Fault. Everyone pays for what they cause. Safe drivers get credits for being good drivers.



Raise the drivers license age to 18 from 16 at a MINIMUM. My preference is actually 21 but good luck with that.



Require a minimum amount of driver training (40 hours) similar to that required in Germany before granting a driver license.



All children should ride in some form of a child safety seat until they reach 8-10 years old or a decent weight.

Aliens & Lovers

or the controversy known as FoxNews' coverage of the new Xbox 360 game "Mass Effect".

What better way to ring in Valentine's Day than with a little Human/Alien Hot Stuff?

Apparently, FoxNews has stooped to letting their reporters use the internet and personal blogs as source material for their newscasts. Not that the search for the unbiased truth ever was high on the FoxNews priority list recently (Barack Obama a Muslim, anyone?) Anyhow, the following clip shows FoxNews Barbie and her sidekick Armchair Psychiatrist analyzing the new game while SpikeTVs correspondent attempts to set the record straight (poorly, I might add). here's the clip, courtesy of Kotaku.com:

The funny thing is, we rented this game Saturday afternoon, and I've been listening to the Prince Consort play it while I blog, edit videos and do other assorted office-type things. When he brought this story to my attention this evening on the way home from work, my immediate reaction ran along these lines: "WTF are they smoking over at Fox? Are they Ka-Razy? Say WHAT?!?!" Suffice it to say, after having listened to the "alien love" scene, last night and then watching it tonight (and videotaping it for reference), all I can say is... If the girl on fox who wanted this game to be rated AO (Adults Only, equivalent to R/NC17 in a movie theatre) actually WATCHED what the game actually showed, it's far less titilating or problematic than the sex scene between Sawyer and Kate in Season 3 of Lost, or even the sex scene between Sawyer and AnaLucia in Season 1 or 2 (I forget) of Lost. That Sawyer gets around. I LOLed at the description of Mass Effect as "Luke Skywalker Meets Debbie Does Dallas". I mean REALLY people.

If you want to watch a whole BOATLOAD of "sex scenes" from Mass Effect, this YouTube user has 'em all. And they're about as racy as... I dunno. Something rated TVPG-13 or PG-13 in theatres. Seriously, there's a LOT worse stuff out there. This game is rated M for Mature. And unlike it was said in the clip, ratings are not just on the BACK of the box. They are also on the front of selected ones, too. So now, let's get to know our ratings...

Live and direct from http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp come the ESRB Rating Symbols

EARLY CHILDHOOD

Titles rated EC (Early Childhood) have content that may be suitable for ages 3 and older. Contains no material that parents would find inappropriate.

EVERYONE

Titles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language.

EVERYONE 10+

Titles rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) have content that may be suitable for ages 10 and older. Titles in this category may contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes.

TEEN

Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language.

MATURE

Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.

ADULTS ONLY

Titles rated AO (Adults Only) have content that should only be played by persons 18 years and older. Titles in this category may include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity.

RATING PENDING

Titles listed as RP (Rating Pending) have been submitted to the ESRB and are awaiting final rating. (This symbol appears only in advertising prior to a game's release.)

Now I'm sorry, NO I'M NOT! if you, the (responsible) adult, leave stuff sitting out that you don't want your kids to get to, tough nuts. It's your responsibility as parents.

Why hasn't anyone gone ballistic over Viva Pinata? That game is chock full of fornicating party animals. Don't believe me? Check this out:

After going into their little houses and doing their little "romance dance", those perky pinatas disappear, some hearts appear over the outside of their house and a short while later an egg gets delivered by Storkos. Even my 5 year old gets what this means. And she doesn't even know where babies come from ~really~. Did I mention that Viva Pinata is rated E for Everyone? Don't believe me? Check it out: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/v/vivapinata/

Seriously people, it's NOT just teenage boys playing video games. No matter what the "experts" want you to believe, the largest demographic is actually males 18-35. You saw that right. Don't believe me? USA Today reported on this as far back as 2004 and STILL people are pulling the "teenage boys" card. It's getting old FAST. If *I* can Google that information in the space of a nanosecond, then SURELY the powers that be at FauxNews can do the same. Or is USA Today too liberal for them to take seriously? Here's a snippet from the article:

In fact, the average age of game players was 29 and the average age of buyers was 36, with men making up 59% of the playing audience.

and this report from Research and Markets,Guinness Centre, Taylors Lane, Dublin 8, Ireland which includes the following information (among MANY other things):

• Trends in PC Gamer Demographics 2004-2007
• Trends in Console Gamer Demographics 2006-2007 by Age & Gender
• Trends in Online Gamer Demographics 2004-2007 by Age & Gender
• Trends in Console Gamer Demographics 2006-2007 by Education
• Trends in Online Gamer Demographics 2004-2007 by Education
• Percentage of Various Gamer Groups

It will only set you back €3,210.00 for a PDF copy or €3,253.00 + EUR€ 50.00 Shipping/Handling for a printed copy. You read that right, THIRTY TWO HUNDRED EUROs and then some. If you want to know what that means in US$, go here.

Rightly so, EA Games issued a response to FoxNews - available at Kotaku here. I don't blame them. Reminds me of the Stealers Wheel song...

Well I don't know why I came here tonight,
I got the feeling that something ain't right,
I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair,
And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs,
Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right,
here I am, Stuck in the middle with you.

People, it's simple. Know the ratings, monitor what your kids watch/play if you have 'em. But for the love of all that is holy and decent, MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION BASED ON ACTUAL FACTS, not just the rantings of some "journalist" (and I'm really stretching that term here, folks) on TV. Or even some random internet person's blog. Including mine. Be an informed consumer.

It's almost time...

For the Umpteenth Annual Academy Awards. Let me just say that I believe that the Academy has lost it's way sometime in the last few decades and it's more of a popularity contest than an award for truly deserving filmmakers/actors. Not to mention that the writers (or lack thereof) for the televised portion of the awards show have been dismal since the early 90s.

So, to combat boredom and give you MY take on the best of the best, without further ado, I present the Empress's Quasi-Annual Motion Picture Awards™ to the following

Top Ten Films You MUST SEE

1. Eat Drink Man Woman <--- There's a reason this film gets the number one slot


2. La Vie En Rose - the story of Edith Piaf (A Sony Pictures Classic)


3. Kingdom of Heaven


4. Some Like It Hot


5. My Man Godfrey


6. River Of No Return


7. Kill Bill 1& 2 <--- You have to watch them back to back to have the story make sense


8. Band Of Brothers (HBO Miniseries but it really IS a must see)


9. The English Patient


10. Ghandi

---

10. Ghandi

This film made a distinct impact on me as a child. I remember standing in line in California to see this film with my parents when it debuted. My lasting memory of the film was wondering WHY Ghandi was so persecuted for his skin color when he was just like everyone else. This film also earned Ben Kingsley an Oscar nod for his performance. In this case, the Academy got it right.

9. The English Patient

I saw this movie for the first time 2 years ago, Christmas. We rented it to watch with my in-laws and it was very good. It was the first time I'd seen Naveen Andrews and I was captivated by his performance. This film is amazing in it's storytelling..

8. Band of Brothers

While admittedly NOT a movie - it is in point of fact and HBO miniseries - it certainly deserves recognition as one of the finest specimens of filmmaking in this decade. It is far superior to any World War Two epic drama created thus far. The ensemble cast was genius and the better known actors outdid themselves stepping out of their well-worn characters of late and embraced the characters given them. Watching the older gentlemen of the 506th recount their stories at the beginning of each episode drew me more into each episode. Seeing the actors become those gentlemen made it more real.

7. Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2

Say what you want about Quentin Tarentino, NO ONE knows Hollywood better. Kill Bill taken together (as they were meant to be seen) is a send-up of every genre of Hollywood film. And then some. From Spaghetti Western to Akira Kurasowa's samurai films to blacksploitation and beyond, Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2 take the Hollywood "formula" and turn it on it's ear.

+++++Blogger ate the following and I had to rewrite as best I could+++++

6. River Of No Return

One of the final films starring Marilyn Monroe, this film was very poignant and lacked a lot of the silliness of her earlier films. The final scene as credits roll and Monroe sings the title song made me shed a tear.

5. My Man Godfrey

An excellent example of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Stars Carole Lombard and William Powell pre-Thin Man. I won't say more and give it away.

4. Some Like It Hot

Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon give the performance of a lifetime in this zany comedy. Voted the Funniest Film of All Time by the American Film Institute, Billy Wilder's black and white jazz era piece is a lasting icon.

3. Kingdom of Heaven

Set during the Crusades, this film takes an honest look at both sides of the coin and weaves a dramatic tale. Brilliant writing, skilled acting and incredible cinematography blend to create an awesome story of love and loss, truth and lies, honesty and duplicity.

2. La Vie En Rose - the story of Edith Piaf (A Sony Pictures Classic)

The poignant story of France's most beloved chanteuse, Le Môme Piaf . It follows her life from her early childhood to her untimely death in her 40s. The performance by Marion Cotillard was so thorough that she became Edith Piaf. It was as if you had a window through time to see the Tiny Sparrow in all her glory and pain.

Finally, we have the number one film: Eat Drink Man Woman

Ang Lee's film - one of his best - tells the tale of a retired chef who has lost his ability to taste and his adult children. The sensibility of this film is purely Chinese - romantic and pragmatic at the same time. While watching you gain insight into the traditions and culture that make up the Chinese family.

I'll Get You Murphy, And Your Little Law, Too!

Murphy - wherever you are, this serves as official notice that you are a wanted man... er... person. Your antics since the first of the year are NOT FUNNY. Do you hear that?! N.O.T. F.U.N.N.Y.

It wasn't bad enough that the Prince Consort's car was stolen two weeks ago. And then the Elder Princess Ella and Younger Princess Ella managed to loosen the Elder's bottom tooth by accidentally getting a rope around it and pulling accidentally too hard. The blood, sweat and tears caused by that was enough to give me pause.

But then, this morning we discovered that the clothes dryer that has served us pretty faithfully over the last 10 years had gone to the great appliance graveyard in the sky and left it's rusting shell as it's only corporeal evidence. So today, we acquired a new Maytag dryer courtesy of Appliance Direct! The World's Largest Apppliance Showroom!

Now you might think I'm crazy for talking in front of appliances. And you'd be right. We procure the dryer and off we go. No sooner did we load the soaking wet clothes BACK into the washer and tote the old, dead dryer away, did the old washer start shaking like a holy roller on crack. This was just after the agitator decided it wanted to be quirky. So we decided what the hey, let's get a new washer. 15 minutes after leaving our local AD, I waltzed back in and plunked down our hard-earned cash (there's a reason it's called an Emergency Fund, folks) and loaded the matching washer into the back of the Parental Units' van and toted it home. Now, one hour a sore back and a few scrapes and bruises later, the appliances are hooked up and functional.

As for Murphy, all I have left to offer is the following: