Even if the sheen has worn off Juno after sometimes, you'd still have to be pretty foolish not to be excited about Young Adult another film written by Diablo Cody, directed by Jason Reitman. This movie is set to cast Charlize Theron as a young adult author who returns to her hometown to sorta-kinda stalk her ex-boyfriend, and though Josh Brolin had been rumored for the ex role, he confirmed a few weeks back he wasn't going to be part of the film.
Thank God there's no shortage of attractive men looking for a job in Hollywood, and The LA Times reports that Patrick Wilson has been selected for the ex-boyfriend role, and Patton Oswalt has also join on board the production, which will start shooting soon in New York. The Times doesn't give details of Oswalt's role but over at The Playlist they've read the script and decided he'll play Theron's overweight and disabled best friend "not afraid to call her out on her shit." Apparently the crippled fat best friend of his is the new "sassy gay best friend," but since it's Diablo Cody I'll hold off on judging for now. Though Wilson has worked with a whole litany of great directors in the past, it's actually Oswalt who's had the better career fortunes lately following his stellar, creepy lead turn in last year's Big Fan (Wilson, on the other hand, was recently stuck in the middling The Switch). Both of them are very welcome in a project with this much talent involved, especially one that will allow them both to be dramatic and funny at the same time. Article from cinemablend.com
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Willow Smith Whip My Hair Music Video
“The New Karate Kid” star Jaden Smith is not the only son of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith that attracted a lot of audiences this summer. Earlier this summer, nine-year-old Willow Smith had her debut single — entitled “Whip My Hair” — leaked to the Internet and… a lot of people liked it. For the most part, response to the hip-hop song was largely positive. Unsurprisingly, she was later signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, and the singer, whom many have dubbed a small version of Rihanna, released the official music video for her single earlier today, which involves kids dancing (all PG-rated) with Ms. Smith, yes whipping her hair about. Watch it below . Article from blogs.wsj.com
Desean Jackson Injury
At halftime of the Sunday Night Football game, the NBC analysts discussed the DeSean Jackson injury and helmet-to-helmet hits. After scoring two early TDs, Jackson was involved in a violent collision with Atlanta Falcons CB Dunta Robinson. NBC is reporting Jackson did suffer a serious concussion in the hit and probably will be out until at least Nov. 7. In the Cleveland Browns game versus the Pittsburgh Steelers, James Harrison used his helmet as a bludgeon to take out both WR Joshua Cribbs and WR Mohamed Massaquoi in the span of about seven-and-a-half minutes.
No flags were thrown on either play in the Cleveland game, but replays showed both hits as brutal, with Harrison clearly leading with his helmet. Why no flag was thrown is unknown, but Harrison should be severely punished for his actions, and the referees also should come under scrutiny for missing both hits.
Steelers head Coach Mike Tomlin may be calling the hits legal, but he's trying to protect his player. Those were dirty hits, and the league should punish Harrison appropriately. Article from bleacherreport.com
No flags were thrown on either play in the Cleveland game, but replays showed both hits as brutal, with Harrison clearly leading with his helmet. Why no flag was thrown is unknown, but Harrison should be severely punished for his actions, and the referees also should come under scrutiny for missing both hits.
Steelers head Coach Mike Tomlin may be calling the hits legal, but he's trying to protect his player. Those were dirty hits, and the league should punish Harrison appropriately. Article from bleacherreport.com
Pukwudgies
There are a couple of schools of thought about the nature of paranormal activity. One proposes that a traumatic event, such as a mass killing, can trigger ghostly echoes. Another posits that crystalline formations, such as quartz, can record and hold afterimages of certain events. If either of these theories holds water, then Wilton must have ghosts in spades. The town is built on an enormous quartz formation, and it has enough tragic history to put many other ghostly hot spots to shame. To trace the paranormal events that have occurred in this town, we first have to go way back to the late 18th century. In 1773, the residents of Wilton determined they were in need of a new meetinghouse. In April of that year, the town voted to provide six barrels of rum, a barrel of brown sugar, half a box of lemons and two loaves of sugar in order to fortify the men who would be raising the building.
On Sept. 7, people gathered from miles around, eager for what was to be a day of celebration. Then, things went horribly wrong. In the midst of construction, the huge central beam broke loose, and 53 men fell 30 feet to the ground, followed by tons of beams and building materials. Five of the men were killed outright, and many others were permanently crippled. Undaunted, the town tried to build the meetinghouse again, but it, too, collapsed. This happened a couple more times, and there is even a story that, once the building was finished, a fire broke out during a dance, trapping many of the revelers. Well, that was it. The townspeople reached the conclusion that the site was jinxed, and decided to build elsewhere. After that, there were relatively few problems. This isn’t where the most famous hauntings occur, however; that distinction has to belong to the Vale End Cemetery, the oldest of the town’s five burying places. It’s here that numerous entities have been observed, including the famous “Blue Lady,” Mary Ritter Spaulding.
According to Hollow Hill, www.hollowhill.com, a website about ghosts by Fiona Broome, she bore seven children between her marriage in April 1795 and her death in 1808. Her husband, Isaac Spaulding, was a local tanner who could trace his pedigree to the original Jamestown settlers. She’s interred with Spaulding’s second wife, Mary Flynn Colburn, which could account for some of her unrest. Hollow Hill describes Mary Ritter Spaulding: “According to folklore, Mary Ritter Spaulding was a good, church-going woman who healed with herbs and prayer.” Nobody is quite sure why she haunts the cemetery, but her dramatic appearances in a shaft of blue light have become the stuff of legend. The official records show that Mary Spaulding’s last child was Lyman, born in 1806. Paranormal investigators recently working at the site, however, maintain they achieved contact with her spirit, and she was said to be troubled by the loss of her last child, James, born a year later. There is no official proof of the birth of this child; he appears to have been lost in the mists of time. Mary’s gravestone sits almost at the edge of the woods in a desolate corner of the cemetery. The top of the stone has been chipped away over the years, and is now tipped with a jagged, irregular spike.
Local people regularly leave offerings for the spirit. On the day that I was there, two little blue baby boots were nestled at the foot of the stone. Really, the whole feeling of the place is more sad than scary.
Perhaps this can account for the visitations – nothing more than a bereaved woman searching endlessly for her missing baby. Some of the other hauntings at the cemetery aren’t so benign. There is the story of a massacre, as recounted by the ghost of a Native American warrior by the name of Sochemn, who was channeled by another group of ghost hunters. According to the North Eastern Paranormal Research Society (www.neprs.com), in his testimony, the spirit said 300 of his people had traveled south to Wilton to celebrate the wedding of one of their own to a local chieftain’s daughter. The white settlers, who had built their homes along the river, didn’t take kindly to the arrival of the natives, and brought them gifts with the intention of getting them to move along.
This didn’t really take, however, and the Indians simply thought the whites were being hospitable. They intended to spend the winter there, and move up back north in the spring.
According to Sochemn, things reached a head in the summer of 1744. It’s interesting to note that the residents of Wilton had previously felt so secure in their habitation that they didn’t even take the customary precaution of requesting a garrison for their protection. In that year, however, the people suddenly petitioned the British government to send them reinforcements against the Indians. The petition stated, “We would pray your Excellency that we may have some assistance from the Government, in sending us some souldiers (sic) to Guard and Defend us as in your wisdom you shall think proper.” According to the spirit, the troops were sent in and the tribe was massacred down to the last woman and child. Whether or not there is any truth to this story is up for speculation; there is, apparently, no record of a massacre in Wilton – but, then, that wouldn’t be surprising, given the nature of the event. What makes this story all the more interesting is the appearance of another entity at Vale End, which isn’t actually a ghost, but more of a demon, both revered and feared by Native Americans. The creature in question is a Pukwudgie, a sort of 3-foot-tall troll, straight out of the folklore of the Wampanoag Nation, the dominant Native American tribe in Massachusetts and Southern New England, according to an article by Christopher Balzano at www.masscrossroads.com. There have been numerous sightings of these creatures in the cemetery, often chasing hapless explorers to the gates of the burying ground. According to folklore, it has the ability to appear and disappear at will, and is fond of luring mortals to their doom over the edge of cliffs.
One might suppose their appearance is the result of the Native American curse on the white settlers in response for the alleged massacre. Another psychic hot spot is about half a mile from the Vale End Cemetery: the Langdell House, where Mary Ritter was supposed to have spent her childhood. Closed since the 1930s, the house has an evil reputation. One of the tenants allegedly died in the attic, and after that, “figures” were regularly seen standing in the windows. A local paranormal investigator, intrigued by the tales, decided to make an examination of the attic. Unfortunately, he fell through the rotting floorboards and through the kitchen floor, and died in the cellar. There, it’s alleged, he joined the other spirits haunting the house. Whether any of these claims are true is moot, as the house is now locked up tighter than a drum.
Incidentally, the Wilton Police have more than a passing interest in keeping people out of Vale End after dusk, and patrol the area regularly. If you keep your visitation to the daylight hours and treat the site with respect, you should be fine. The last stop on this ectoplasmic escapade takes us to the Town Hall Theatre on Main Street. The original Town Hall burned down on Dec. 8, 1859. The fire happened so quickly that a committee was formed to identify the cause. In the final report, the committee concluded it was set purposely: “In view of all the evidence presented, your committee are unanimously of the opinion that the fire was set by an incendiary. By whom the deed was done they have not the means of determining, nor of forming a reasonable presumption.” The site remained empty for more than two decades until the construction of the new Town Hall in 1886. Now operated by Dennis Markaverich, it had been used as a playhouse for vaudeville acts and traveling shows. In 1912, it was converted to a silent film house, and today boasts programs of both new and vintage films. The echoes of the tragedy of the old Town Hall, however, have never entirely dissipated, according to Souhegan Paranormal Investigators (www.souheganparanormalinvestigators.com). On one of the staircases, the ghost of a child, known as “Henry,” is said to be still looking for his parents, terrified by the fire of more than a century and half ago. In the ladies’ room downstairs, a woman in period clothing is said to appear in the mirror. The upstairs section is also haunted by a tall, thin male figure who makes his way between the seats. Wilton is a quiet, quaint little town, nestled on the banks of the Souhegan River; at night, however, it’s apparent that restless spirits still roam its bucolic streets. Article from nashuatelegraph.com.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines boss Bryan Bedford is the latest company head to walk the front lines of his company as he stars as this week’s "Undercover Boss" in the CBS show. Bedford has been in charge of the airline for 11 years. Based in Denver, the company has been in the news lately due to mergers that forced employees to take a 10% pay cut.
Bryan Bedford, CEO of Frontier Airlines parent company, Republic Airways, went undercover as Richard, an out of work welder, and witnessed firsthand how his company ticks. Like all flights, he hit some bumps along the way, but in the end, did he earn his wings?
Bryan Bedford, CEO of Frontier Airlines parent company, Republic Airways, went undercover as Richard, an out of work welder, and witnessed firsthand how his company ticks. Like all flights, he hit some bumps along the way, but in the end, did he earn his wings?
Rutgers Player Paralyzed
Rutgers junior defensive tackle Eric LeGrand suffered a spinal-cord injury in the Scarlet Knights' 23-20 overtime win over Army on Saturday and is paralyzed below the neck, the school announced Sunday.
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