11 Temmuz 2012 Çarşamba
10 Temmuz 2012 Salı
Newfoundland radio station polling listeners on whether hoodies should be banned
9 Temmuz 2012 Pazartesi
Charlize Theron: 'It took two years to adopt son Jackson'
Charlize Theron has said that it took her two years to adopt her first child. Speaking on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the Snow White and the Huntsman actress revealed that she waited for 24 months before her son Jackson could come into her life in March.
Theron said: "My mum said the most beautiful thing. She said, 'You know, it took me nine months to fall in love with you while you were growing in my stomach, and it took you two years to fall in love with this little baby'.
"It took two years of waiting, and then one day, it's finally there, and it feels exactly how it's supposed to feel. I don't know how to describe it. It just feels right."
Theron also revealed that her pets didn't take long to become attached to the new addition to her family.
The 36-year-old star said of her rescue dogs, a terrier mutt and a pitbull named Blue: "Dogs tend to... it takes them a little bit to really fall madly in love with someone. They know their owner and they'll be friendly, but they won't fall madly in love with just a stranger instantly."
"From the moment this baby came into our home, those two dogs have never been more in love. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever witnessed."
She continued. "The pit woke up with me for every feed, for every change. And whenever the baby would cry, the pit would start crying.
"People keep saying, 'You're a single mum.' I go, 'Actually, I'm not. I got two boys helping me out.'"
Another Look at the Season's Biggest Transfers
So many shows opened in the final weeks of the theater
season that officially ended on April 26 that I’ve had to scramble to catch up
with all of them. There were 14
new shows on Broadway in April alone
(I just saw the final one on my list last night) and maybe
a half dozen more off-Broadway.
There simply aren’t enough Wednesdays and Saturdays for me to tell you what I think about each one. Luckily, I saw a few of the big Broadway shows when they played off-Broadway and I talked about them then. And since this is an unbelievably busy weekend for me (yes, I do have a life besides seeing shows and writing about them) I’ve decided to cheat a bit with just a small update on three shows that made the transfer to Broadway with their original casts fully intact:
Clybourne Park
Click here for my review of the production that ran at
Playwrights Horizons two years ago and before this riff on Lorraine Hansberry’s
A Raisin in the Sun won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and an Olivier Award
for Best New Play when it ran in London last year. It’s now in residence at the
Walter Kerr Theatre and although I
still have some problems with it, the audiences are gasping with delight at its blunt
talk about race and the production has been nominated for a shelf-load of
awards, including four Tonys, among them Best Play. 
The Lyons
Click here for my review of the production that ran at the Vineyard
Theatre just last October. One
scene has been cut since the production moved to the Cort Theatre but the play still offers the same sardonic look at a dysfunctional family as it prepares for
the death of its cancer-ridden patriarch. My tepid feelings about the show are
pretty much the same too, except that this time I was content to just sit back and marvel
at the comic genius of Linda Lavin, who is deservedly a frontrunner for a Tony
in a competitive pack that includes Venus in Fur’s wunderkind Nina Arianda,
Tracie Bennett for her turn as Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow, Stockard
Channing as the matriarch of a differently troubled family in Other Desert
Cities and Cynthia Nixon as the dying poetry scholar in the revival of the
Pulitzer-Prize winning play Wit.
Peter and the Starcatcher
Click here for my review of the production that played at New
York Theatre Workshop last spring.
Some of the anachronistic jokes have been toned down for the move to the
Brooks Atkinson Theatre but I still don’t know who the target audience is for
this fanciful prequel to the Peter Pan story. Yet its low-tech storytelling is still great fun and the
performances are delightful. Christian
Borle--whose performance as the songwriter on "Smash," NBC's behind-the-Broadway-curtains series, is the best thing about that show--is still a hoot as the villainous Black Stache but I’ve now also
fallen in love with Celia Keenan-Bolger, who is not only believable as the
show’s plucky tween heroine Molly but makes her the kind of role model that any
21st century girl should admire. But the entire show has become the, ahem, darling of smart theater lovers, having picked up nine Tony nominations.
A Hard Look at Stage Diversity Dos and Don'ts
Another impossibly busy weekend is staring me in the face so I don’t
have time to tell you about any of the recent shows I’ve seen. But I have
managed to steal a few minutes to put together a different kind of post for
today. It’s a little photo essay on two trends that really bothered me this past season.
In what I assume is an attempt to add some diversity to their shows, too many playwrights and directors are falling back on some old stereotypes: the big sassy black woman and the oversexed Asian woman.
Nobody cares about diversity in the theater more than I do. It's important that we have people of color on stage and behind the scenes. So I try to applaud producers, directors and writers who include them. But this trend is diversity done wrong.
Now I’m going to be honest, it’s uncomfortable for me to talk about this because (1) I don’t think it’s malicious; although I do think it’s creatively lazy. And (2) I don’t want to talk anybody out of work; I appreciate the eager-to-get-any-acting-job bind that these actors are in and the majority of them do as much as they can with the material they’re given.
Still, I’ll bet they’d love to play some other kinds of parts. I know that the best of our showmakers are talented and imaginative enough to come up with some better ways to use them. And I’d really love to see what all of them can do once freed from these old clichés.
In the meantime, here's where we are now:
THE BIG SASSY BLACK WOMAN: Always there to belt out some big, brassy number
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| Clockwise from top left: Lysistrata Jones, Ghost, Newsies, Leap of Faith |
THE OVERSEXED ASIAN WOMAN: Always ready to jump the bones of the nearest nerd
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| Clockwise from top left: Seminar, Outside People, 4000 Miles, Asuncion |
"Medieval Play" Isn't One for the History Books
It’s usually not a good thing when your favorite part of a
show is its scenery. That’s the way I felt after I saw Spider-Man: Turn
Off the Dark and that’s the way I felt when I walked out of Medieval Play, the
new Kenneth Lonergan comedy that is running at The Pershing Square Signature
Center through June 24.
And there’s another similarity between those shows: both are built around smart and intriguing ideas that got overwhelmed by the self-indulgence of their creators.
Lonergan made his name with such plays as This is Our Youth and Lobby Hero about modern-day slackers, well-meaning but aimless and apathetic young men usually working in dead-end jobs. He’s kept the character type in this new work but he’s radically changed the setting. Medieval Play takes place in 14th century Europe during the wars between rival popes.
The play's protagonists are Sir Ralph (Josh Hamilton) and Sir Alfred (Tate Donovan) two knights-for-hire caught up in the decades-long conflict. At times, they are like Hamlet’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, side players to the main action who provide comic commentary on the goings on. And at others, they are versions of Waiting for Godot’s Vladimir and Estragon, everymen wrestling with the big existential stuff like faith in God and loyalty to one’s friends. Sounds promising either way, right?
Alas, neither promise gets fulfilled. The problem is that Lonergan is so busy showing off how much he knows about the period and making himself laugh that he loses all perspective. The moral questions get trampled and the same jokes get hit over and over and over again. An adept director might have helped but Lonergan serves as his own director and allows his playwright to frolic unbridled.
The show’s main conceit is that the medieval characters talk like today's hipsters. Anachronisms, profanity and scatological behavior abound. Saints drop F-bombs. A couple engages in a long, bare-butts sex scene. One of the knights decides to take a dump on stage. And everyone makes meta references about their times and ours.
It’s the kind of stuff that might be funny for about five minutes in a “Saturday Night Live” skit but Lonergan stretches it out for nearly three hours. Whole rows of people fled during intermission at the performance I attended. Those of us who soldiered on fell into conversations during the break and afterward on the way out of the theater in which the word “sophomoric” could be heard echoing from one group to the next.
As usual, the cast is game, particularly the six who play a dizzying variety of roles from noblemen and saints to peasants and whores. Heather Burns stands out as an officious saint Catherine of Siena, who often serves as the show's narrator, providing the historic context and filling the audience in on all the research that Lonergan did.
I’ve always been fascinated by the Middle Ages and so those were almost my favorite parts. The only thing I liked better was set designer Walt Spangler’s simple but witty Candlyand version of the medieval European landscape and its castles. Some of the stuff he came up with really made me laugh and did it without trying too hard.
"Love Goes to Press" isn't Front-Page Material
At some point, almost every frequent theatergoer has probably thought
“I should write a play.” Unlike
most of us, journalists Martha Gellhorn and Virginia Cowles went ahead
and wrote one. The result is the
romantic comedy Love Goes to Press that is playing at the Mint Theater Company
through July 22.
The Mint, as theater fanatics know, specializes in works by playwrights who have been forgotten and those of well-known writers that have been overlooked. Gellhorn, the best known of the play’s two writers, falls into the latter category.
Although a legendary war correspondent who covered conflicts ranging from the Spanish Civil War in 1936 to the U.S. Invasion of Panama in 1989, she is probably still best known as Ernest Hemingway’s third wife. And while she published 17 books and scores of articles, Love Goes to Press is her only play and hasn't been done in 65 years.
It was a hit when it opened in London in 1946 but a Broadway production the following January lasted just five performances. The New York Times' Brooks Atkinson dismissed it as "a fairly routine story about affairs of the heart that need not detain you this morning."
The plot, which borrows liberally from its authors’ lives, centers on two intrepid female reporters covering World War II. Annabelle (Gellhorn’s surrogate) and Jane (the substitute for Cowles who was also an accomplished war correspondent) are old buddies who turn up at a press encampment near the Italian front.
With sisterly support from one another, they scheme how to get closer to the action so that each can report the big story she's pursuing. At the same time, Jane finds herself dealing with romantic overtures from the British pr officer who runs the camp but believes a woman’s place should be in the home. And Annabelle has to contend with the Hemingway stand-in who is her ex-husband, double-dealing rival who uses dirty tricks to beat her on stories and the guy she still loves.
Gellhorn and Cowles wrote their play as a lark, telling themselves that they could sell it to the movies and set up an annuity for their old age. They threw it together in a few days and there is a kind of slapdash quality to Love Goes to Press. Still, it’s great to see a war story where the gals get to be the swashbucklers who outwit their male competitors and break hearts in the process.
The design team has paid excellent attention to period detail and special kudos must go to Jane Shaw’s sound design. But, alas, the rest of the production isn't as tip-top. The direction is indecisive and the acting is uneven. Still, everyone appears to be having fun. And you may too, particularly if you read up on Gellhorn’s backstory before you go.
It may also amuse Mint regulars to see that Annabelle is played by Heidi Armbruster, who played another Gellhorn-inspired character in The Fifth Column, Hemingway's only play, which the Mint produced back in 2008 (click here to read my review of that one). It undoubtedly would amuse Gellhorn to know that, even with its faults, her play is better than his.
8 Temmuz 2012 Pazar
College student fakes own kidnapping to get out of exam
Police in the Brazilian Amazon say a college student has confessed to faking her own kidnapping as an excuse for not handing in a year-end university project.
Para state's civil police say on their website that 22-year-old Susan Paola Fadel Correia initially alleged she was abducted last week by three men, then was tied up and held for 24 hours before being released.
A police statement says she acknowledged Wednesday that the story was false and that she spent the 24 hours that she was supposedly missing at the home of a friend. It quotes officer Gilvandro Furtado as saying Fadel explained that she "didn't want to upset her mother" with news of her problems at school.
Fadel has been charged with making false accusations.
Hey I understand where she was coming from. She has probably used up every excuse available - my grandmother died, I had to leave town to care for a critically sick aunt, my younger brother came down with the plague and they guaranteed out house. She was desperate and came up with a totally different angle. Except it didn't work.
source
Man cleared of attempting rape of woman - after female 'victim' turned out to be male
A Swedish man has been cleared of attempted rape on a transsexual - because he had intended to rape a woman.
Örebro district court ruled that as it turned out that she was a he, the charge is invalid as the intended crime could not be committed.
The 61-year-old man followed the victim, who was dressed in women’s clothes, and attacked her outside her ex-boyfriend’s house.
The man brutally assaulted her, forced her to the ground and kicked her in the face before ripping off her trousers and removing her underwear, attempting to rape her.
The woman’s ex-boyfriend witnessed the attack from his flat and ran downstairs and fought off the attacker with a shoehorn and detained him until the police arrived.
He was arrested at the scene and charged with attempted rape.
She was dressed as a woman during the attack and was referred to as a woman throughout the court hearing.
In addition, the court heard, the victim has been on hormone replacement drugs for years in order to physically become a woman.
However, the fact that she still had male genitalia meant that the attempted rape could never have led to rape, the court said.
The 61-year old was sentenced to assault and given four months in prison and ordered to pay damages to his victim 15,000 Swedish kronor (£1,380)
The Swedish are idiots. The judge's analogy to a murder case made no sense. His itent was rape although he was unable to complete the crime because his victim was missing some vital anatomical details.
source
Man who allegedly faked cat's death arrested for insurance fraud
A 29-year-old Tacoma man who filed a $20,000 insurance claim for the death of a cat he claimed to have loved "like a son" has been charged with insurance fraud and attempted theft.
According to the charges filed last week in Pierce County, Yevgeniy Samsonov's beloved cat never existed and photos he submitted to bolster his claim had been pulled from the Internet.
According to court documents, Samsonov's car was rear-ended in March 2009 while stopped at a traffic light in Tacoma. The other driver told her insurance company, Pemco, that her foot had slipped off the brake, according to Rich Roesler, a spokesman for Kreidler's office.
Pemco paid Samsonov nearly $3,500 to settle his claim of having suffered soft-tissue damage and needing chiropractic treatment.
More than two years later, Samsonov was back, this time asking for additional money for the loss of a pet cat named Tom, who he said had died in the same accident.
The insurer sent Samsonov a check for $50 to compensate him for the cat, but Samsonov said Tom "had been like a son to him," Roesler said
"Given the intense sentimental value of the cat, he wanted $20,000," Roesler said.
Pemco agents asked Samsonov for photos of the cat and Samsonov submitted two he claimed to have taken himself, court documents allege.
However, a Pemco employee did a Google search and turned up the very images Samsonov submitted, court documents allege.
The two pictures actually turned out to be of different cats, and neither belonged to Samsonov, according to court documents. One of the photos is featured on the Wikipedia page dedicated to cats.
When Pemco refused to pay the $20,000 and revoked the original check for $50, Samsonov contacted the state insurance commissioner's office, asking the agency to advocate for him, Roesler said.
source
Man busted by his mom during robbery
Twenty-two-year-old Roy Mitchell's mother stopped him during the middle of his crime by taking away the weapon he had aimed at the clerk. It was all caught on video.
Mitchell entered D's 1 Stop convenience store on Highway 80 in Brandon.
On the video, Mitchell can be seen quickly grabbing some nacho cheese Doritos and throwing them on the counter.
He then handed the clerk $2 to pay for his snack, but then things changed dramatically.
As the clerk went to get change from the cash register, Mitchell pulled a gun out of his waistband.
He then pointed the gun directly at the clerk and demanded all the money in the drawer.
Then, Mitchell's mother walks up, grabs the gun and orders him out of the store. Mitchell obeyed and left the store with the bag of chips and no cash.
Police say Mitchell's mother tried to explain to the clerk the gun wasn't real and begged the clerk not to call the law.
Mitchell and his mother left the scene in a red Oldsmobile. The clerk called the police
A short time later the vehicle was stopped by Pelahatchie police. Officers found a plastic gun in the vehicle that was made to look like the real thing.
Mitchell is facing attempted armed robbery charges.
Hey grow up Roy. You're 22 years old and you're taking your mom along to heist a store. Give me a break. Drive yourself to the store and rob it like a man. Maybe doing time will away from mom will force you to grow up.
Woman tries to sell her soul on eBay
How much is a soul worth?
A down-on-her-luck freelance writer in Albuquerque, N.M., tried to sell her soul on eBay.
The listing appears to no longer be up, but KOB reports that the starting bid was $2,000.
The was in a car accident in 2007, after which she entered a coma for three weeks and woke up suffering from a stroke, a broken hip, broken pelvis, leg, collarbone, sternum, ribs, and a collapsed lung.
She indicated that her ad was really a cry for help.
source
7 Temmuz 2012 Cumartesi
Charlize Theron: 'It took two years to adopt son Jackson'
Charlize Theron has said that it took her two years to adopt her first child. Speaking on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the Snow White and the Huntsman actress revealed that she waited for 24 months before her son Jackson could come into her life in March.
Theron said: "My mum said the most beautiful thing. She said, 'You know, it took me nine months to fall in love with you while you were growing in my stomach, and it took you two years to fall in love with this little baby'.
"It took two years of waiting, and then one day, it's finally there, and it feels exactly how it's supposed to feel. I don't know how to describe it. It just feels right."
Theron also revealed that her pets didn't take long to become attached to the new addition to her family.
The 36-year-old star said of her rescue dogs, a terrier mutt and a pitbull named Blue: "Dogs tend to... it takes them a little bit to really fall madly in love with someone. They know their owner and they'll be friendly, but they won't fall madly in love with just a stranger instantly."
"From the moment this baby came into our home, those two dogs have never been more in love. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever witnessed."
She continued. "The pit woke up with me for every feed, for every change. And whenever the baby would cry, the pit would start crying.
"People keep saying, 'You're a single mum.' I go, 'Actually, I'm not. I got two boys helping me out.'"
Pre-Birthday Polish Haul
The first three are my presents from Miss Princess Mari :) She bought me my very first Butter London, The Dark Knight! I LOVE it!!! She also bought me OPI I Don't Give a Rotterdam and Thanks a Windmillion :) yay!!
As far as what I bought myself, I got Zoya Maisie and Opal, Color Club Metamorphosis, Fly With Me, Tru Passion, and Sparkle and Soar and I also got a Jade glitter in Iced Blue.
Can't wait to play with these and especially my very first Butter London!!! :)
Thanks for reading, until next time!
Kleancolor Chunky Holo Clover
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| Natural Light - Direct Sunlight |
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| Natural Light - Shade |
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| Artificial Light |
Thanks for reading, until next time!
Claire's - Night Sky
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| Artificial Light |
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| Artificial Light |
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| Natural Light |
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| Natural Light |
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| Natural Light |
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| Natural Light |
Thanks for reading, until next time!
I'm back....ish
Also, updated my blog sale so I can at least pay for gas... got a new used car, but that left me BROKE so if you like anything, please don't hesitate!
Thanks for reading and I'm SO sorry I've been gone.
5 Temmuz 2012 Perşembe
Butter London - The Dark Knight
Butter London The Dark Knight. Multi-glitter in a black base. This is 3 coats. I love this color despite its 3 coats. First coat was sheer, second coat was a little streaky so I needed the third to even it out. This was taken in artificial light since I did my nails at night. I still have this color on since I haven't had time to change it. Its work exceptionally well considering I type a lot for one of my jobs and I tinker with heavy things and electronics for my other job, not to mention homework and everything else I do daily. I've had this color on since Sunday and it is now Thursday which is a really long time for me to have nail polish on. I only have some minor tip wear... I'm impressed!
I guess that's all I have to say about this... next is layering order.
Layering Order:
Julep Nail Therapy
Seche Clear
The Dark Knight
Gelous
Seche Vite
Thanks for reading, until next time!
China Glaze Stone Cold
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| Natural Light - Direct Sunlight |
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| Natural Light - Shade |
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| Artificial Light |
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| Natural Light - Direct Sunlight (W/ Topcoat) |
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| Natural Light - Shade (W/ Topcoat) |
Thanks for reading, until next time!
