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This year, we continued on our three year journey of transformation to become the clear choice. We stimulated growth in our business, turned the spotlight back up on our Values and reflected on and communicated our Purpose
Tech Monitor UK is a joint report released by KPMG and Markit which looks at the health of the UK technology sector.
Explore why technology firms should choose to invest in the UK. We consider what the UK currently has in its favour as it battles for technology investment.
KPMG has recently published the 2014 Guide to Directors' Remuneration, a survey which analyses trends in FTSE 350 directors' pay.
We help our clients understand current issues and future trends in the world of work, and identify how they can enhance organisational performance through their people.
Explore the opportunities available for school and college leavers at KPMG.
Find out about careers for graduates from all degree disciplines in Audit, Tax, Advisory, Technology, Marketing and HR.
Keep up to date with the latest news and views from KPMG in the UK by following our twitter feed.
KPMG's leadership blogs brings you insight, opinion and debate from our senior partners and industry experts.
The Investment Management sector is facing up to a change in its traditional business models. Pressure is being exerted on fees at a time of rising costs. When coupled with regulatory change and increased evidence of fraud, companies must have effective controls and processes in place to address change and manage risk. Our team is dedicated to helping your company address these issues and minimise the risks to your business.
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|Newegg Daily Deals
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Posts: 56,177
Some Test 3D Photos Taken with the Aiptek I2 3D Camcorder
I've been playing with the Aiptek I2 3D camcorder while testing it in the last few days, and while it is far from being the best possible product for capturing 3D content. But considering the very affordable price of the Aiptek i2 available for less than $200 USD the results you get are actually quite good. It takes some effort on the user's end to make good pictures, but the resulting quality is decent enough for viewing even on a Full HD 3D screen. Sure having an additional light/flash and stabilization could've helped into getting better results, but enough talking, you better take a look at some of the test photos I've taken with the I2. The photos were taken in different light conditions, so you can observe how well the camera performs with good lighting, with no so good and even during in low light and dark conditions. I've uploaded the test 3D photos to the 3DVisionLive.com web portal, so you can directly view them trough the browser if you have 3D Vision.
- To the gallery with Aiptek I2 3D Test Photos at the 3D Vision Live Web portalâ?¦
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Home / Store / Journals / Electronic Articles / Fusion Science and Technology / Volume 32 / Number 1
Hidetaka Sada
Fusion Science and Technology
Volume 32 / Number 1 / August 1997 / Pages 107-125
Format:electronic copy (download)
A theory of cold fusion is presented, based on the Bloch theorem. The Bloch functions are used to represent the charged reactants and products of the nuclear fusion reaction in solid-state crystals. The nuclear fusion reaction is treated as a perturbation, the validity of which is shown. Field operator formalism, or quantum field theory, is used to calculate the transition matrix elements. Density of final states is calculated based on the phonon theory. The reaction rate and fusion power output density are calculated by Fermi's golden rule, and from them it is recognized that they look as if they had no reproducibility—unless it is known that they depend on the number of the primitive cells in one crystal, the numbers of both the reactants and products, and the degree of the effectiveness of the Pauli exclusion principle. The triggering mechanism may also have a relation with its dependence on the aforementioned parameters. Three selection rules are derived. One of them is very important and valuable because it suggests that cold fusion is a very clean energy resource; i.e., the radioactivity level of cold fusion is extremely low and safe compared with its output power or the current fission output power. The ratio (f/t) of the production rate of 4He (heat) to that of tritons is derived quantitatively and compared with the observed value. The necessary conditions for cold fusion to occur and continue are given. Quantitative descriptions about nuclear fusion reactions in light (or hydrogen) water electrolysis are also given.
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Frolic - symbolizes fun, fiesta, a carnival and a m�lange of accessories that depict the fun side of a woman. It deals with all facets of a woman-a homemaker, a leader, a deity and a symbol of love. The vivid colours of their palette depict her various moods; a stole for each occasion, for a boardroom, a market, women's night out or just lapping up in her house. Each stole is developed keeping in mind to enhance her beauty and to relate to her persona. It works like a chameleon keeping in mind all her whims and wishes. Delicately developed keeping in mind the fusion factor of east meets west; it's a small step to be there right at your doorstep. So all the fashionistas, indulge in the world of Frolic. Disclaimer: Please note the product colour may differ from the colour shown in the photo.
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Tuck and O'Neill 11-5-12
By 1080 The Team
News Desk
Follow @ SportsTalkFLA
News Desk
Follow @ SportsTalkFLA
Tuck and O'Neill start the week talking college football. They review last week UCF/SMU conference USA match up, Missouri/Florida, and how Georgia controls who will play in the SEC title game. Plus, Tuck and O'Neill discuss the top 25 NCAA teams.


text: The 16th presents another tough poser. The dilemma arises in whether to attempt a testing second shot with a long iron or wood to carry the river, or to lay up and face a longish third shot to an undulating green. This hole runs parallel to the Indian Ocean and as you cross the wooden bridge, you can look out to sea through the river mouth.


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About WILPF Donate Issue Committees International WILPF Get Involved Publications and eNews Branch Directory
Branch News
WILPF US Section Branch Reports Summer 2007
Dee Hunt emailed the following to me: "In April 2007, we hosted Jody Dodd, U.S. WILPH leadership and outreach coordinator, who conducted workshops on non-violence and civil disobedience at local churches and at the university, in addition to speaking about water privatization and pathways to resisting the Iraq war. She also gave us a wonderful orientation about WILPF and had great suggestions for fundraising and building membership.
Photos from the 2007 JAPA's Book Awards
San Francisco WILPF put together this Flickr slideshow of April's Jane Addams Book Awards. Click here to check it out!
More info on the JAPA Book Awards here!
A WILPF Sponsored Soccer team
The Santa Cruz branch of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is sponsoring a girl's soccer team to honor the memory of Alice Davis, a long time supporter of women's rights who passed away December 10, 2006. Sponsoring the team, which carries the WILPF Dove on its uniforms, also honors Title 9's bestowing of equal sports opportunities for girls which Alice strongly supported during her lifelong stuggle for justice. As part of its Water Is a Human Right Campaign, the WILPF branch also gave each team member a metal water bottle, avoiding the polluting and health-endangering risks of the usual plastic containers. The team plays on Saturdays at Branciforte Middle School. Pictured are team members Rachel Hendsbee, Claire Kempf, and Mirsa Freed. WILPF members Sandy Silver, Jennifer Pitino, and Sara O'Rourke, whose daughter Anna Marie is also on the team, attended the team's first game of this season on Saturday, September 8.
WILPF in Minneapolis September 23 2007
Doris of the WILPF Minneapolis chapter at the September 23 antiwar demonstration in front of the MN State Capitol Building called by Minnesota unions.
Campbell Raging Grannies resident uses song to fight for change
84-year-old wants government to focus on children and social services, not war
By Michelle Sklar
from mercurynews.com
Joan Wilderman has lived in downtown Campbell for 50 years. She is a mother, a grandmother, even a great-grandmother, but Wilderman is not a "typical" granny; she is a Raging Granny.
The Raging Grannies are an international group of mostly women who strive to make a difference in their communities, countries and the world by publicly proclaiming their views on important matters through song.
The Grannies are organized geographically by groups, or gaggles, as they prefer to be called.
"What I love about the Grannies," says Wilderman, "is that we aren't just standing on a corner waving a sign, which I have done in the past; we are bringing attention to important matters with songs. We think it is a different way to reach people, maybe less threatening than shouting, and maybe more memorable."
The Raging Grannies borrow tunes from well-known songs and change the words to express how they feel about pivotal topics such as immigration issues, health care and war. Right now, one of the most pressing issues for the San Jose gaggle is the war in Iraq. One of the anti-war songs the Grannies sing is sung to the tune of "God Bless America." The words are simple but clear:
|WILPF members in Vermont and across the country recall the vibrant and humane presence of poet and short-story writer Grace Paley. She participated in demonstrations and sit-ins against the Iraq war up to the final weeks of her life.
Read more on the life and accomplishment of Grace Paley at Common Dreams or a 1998 interview with Grace at Salon.com.
In Kennebunkport, a mix of awe, anger
Conflicted crowd gathers as Bush welcomes Putin to his family's vacation spot to mend their ties
By Lisa Wangsness and Farah Stockman, Globe Staff | July 2, 2007
KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine -- On a breezy overlook near the crest of Ocean Avenue early yesterday, curious tourists stood training field glasses and cameras in the same direction across a cove as a clutch of television cameras.
Tuesday May 3rd, 2005
Portland, Oregon
WILPF and Portland State University Women's Studies honor 90 years of Women's Peace Activism and join the Peace Parade and Celebration!
Invitation to WILPF's 90th Anniversary Rally on International Workers' Day - May 1st, 2005.


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Playstation Store and PSN Codes
|Posted by sigelcwka on January 9, 2014 at 7:20 AM
What are PSN codes? Will I have free PSN codes ( http://freecdkeys.net/free-psn-codes.php)?
The PSN codes can certainly add money to your account, so that they are actually serial codes that are usually redeemed in the Playstation Store.
And so, this money, can certainly be used to acquire video games in the Playstation Store.
And yes, you can have 100 % free PSN codes in certain methods. The subsequent paragraph will show you just how.
How to get cost-free psn codes?
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Don't get scamed by people who claim they can have functioning "psn codes generator" or "unlimited psn codes without charge". Those folks will likely fraud you! It's impossible to get endless psn codes, and it's really so hard having free psn codes and after that sharing all of them without charge. Such as, our partnered webpage provides to each person, a single code. In change of a significant traffic coming to their web site, advertisers enable this, funding that code. Nearly all sites demand a share on facebook, twitter or whatever social network, and then you realize precisely why: simply to get more visits!
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Exactly what can I have to do to get a psn code?
Probably you already know the procedure, nevertheless here you are:
1) Visit http://www.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com
2) Click "Manage Account" and sign in
3) Click on "Redeem Prepaid Card"
4) Enter the code that you simply before claimed and click "Continue".
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The free psn codes are actually offerted in all the accessible currency by our partnered site! Pounds (£), Euros (€) and Dollars ($)! Some other currency, unfortunately, are not currently available.
Good luck with that! Hopefully this informative article aided you! Have a good day time!
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Truest Love - eBook
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CBDReader App for Android
Using your Android device, you can download the CBDReader App directly from the Android Market. First, click on the 'Apps' icon from your main screen.
On the app screen, click 'Market' or 'Play Store'.
Click the spy glass icon and search 'CBDReader'.
Click 'Free'.
Click 'Install'.
Click 'Accept and download' to affirm the terms and conditions.
Click 'Open' to open the reader.
Log in with your CBD account and all the eBooks you've purchased on the Christianbook.com website will be automatically added to your device.
Have questions about eBooks? Check out our eBook FAQs.
Product Information
|Format: DRM Free ePub
Vendor: CrossBooks
Publication Date: 2012
Availability: In Stock
Publisher's Description
In 1954, nineteen-year-old Karlissa is already widowed and the mother of two young children. As she steps off the train, she begins a new life with her in-laws on the familys Oregon farm. Spending her days cooking, washing, and caring for her children, Karlissa settles into farm life, grateful to have a place to live while she heals from her grief and ponders her future. It seems like an unlikely place to find romance, but when Ken joins the family one night for a game of cards, Karlissa knows, looking into eyes the color of a clear summer sky, that she wants to be with him.
It isnt that easy, of course. Her little boy is afraid Karlissa will forget all about his daddy. Her sister-in-law, never very welcoming to begin with, behaves more and more coldly toward her for reasons Karlissa cant understand. And to complicate matters even further, another man begins courting her as well.
Told against the backdrop of caring for Ken in his final days, fifty years later, Karlissas story is one of devotionof a man to his family, of a wife to her husband, of children to their parents. Whether theyre on the farm, packing up the station wagon to move to Las Vegas, gazing at the ocean on the Oregon coast, or waiting for test results in the doctors office, Ken and Karlissa prove that despite lifes twists and turns, true love can survive.
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BEIRUT: Gasoline prices rose for another week Wednesday, climbing by LL700, the Energy Ministry reported.
The price of 95-octane graded fuel is now LL34,500, while the 98-octane graded variety is LL35,100, according to the weekly price update issued by the ministry.
Fuel oil increased by LL400 over last week's price, settling at 26,000, and diesel oil is being sold at LL26,700.
All prices are per 20 liters.
Local gas prices might continue to rise, given the drop in Iranian production and regional tensions, according to analysts.
OPEC crude output fell for a second month in July as Saudi Arabia cut production and Iran pumped less than Iraq for the first time in at least 20 years.
Iran cut September crude-price differentials to customers in Asia, following a similar decrease by Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude exporter.
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text: The 1964 Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) exhibition and book Architecture Without Architects: A Short Introduction to Non-pedigreed Architecture by Bernard Rudofsky made use of the term Vernacular in an Architectural setting. It is characterized by building in a local tradition by way of local materials and methods of construction. It is hewn from a certain crudeness that seems timeless. The following is a collection of images from travels that could be called vernacular landscapes.


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- The requirement that the whistleblower renounce the right to receive any award the SEC might make as the result of a successful enforcement action; and
- Requirements that an employee disclose to the company all past or future communications with any third party, including government agencies, and/or that the employee agree to cooperate with the company in any ensuing investigation by the SEC."
According to Marshall and Katz, companies continue to devise ways to restrict whistleblowers despite SEC rules stating that "no person may take any action to impede an individual from communicating directly with the Commission staff about a possible securities law violation." They continued, "The inclusion of such terms in severance agreements and settlement agreements resolving employment claims has a chilling effect on individuals who would provide information to the SEC about potential securities violations." The SEC's discussion of its Final Rule under Dodd-Frank Section 21F states that Section 29(a) of the Exchange Act (of which the Dodd-Frank Act is a part) specifically states, "Employers may not require employees to waive or limit their anti-retaliation rights under Section 21F."
- Protection of whistleblowers against retaliation. There are no provisions similar to those in the Dodd-Frank Act.
- Means of providing adequate protection of confidential information of taxpayers whose taxes are at issue.
- Clarification of the definition of "amount in dispute" and how to determine the amount of "gross income." Also, an observer may wonder why the threshold of IRS interest is $2 million rather than the $1 million in the Dodd-Frank Act.
In addition, on August 29, 2013, US Attorney General Eric Holder announced a new program to encourage Swiss banks to cooperate with ongoing investigations of the use of foreign bank accounts to commit tax evasion. The Swiss government announced it would encourage Swiss banks to cooperate. "This program will significantly enhance the Justice Department's ongoing efforts to aggressively pursue those who attempt to evade the law by hiding their assets outside of the United States," Holder said.
Curtis C. Verschoor, CMA, is a member of the IMA Committee on Ethics. He is the Emeritus Ledger & Quill Research Professor at the School of Accountancy and MIS and an honorary Senior Wicklander Research Fellow in the Institute for Business and Professional Ethics, both at DePaul University, Chicago. He is also a Research Scholar in the Center for Business Ethics at Bentley University, Waltham, MA. He was selected by Trust Across America as one of North America's Top Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior in 2012 and 2013. His e-mail address is email@example.com.
©2013 by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA®), www.imanet.org; reprinted with permission.
For guidance in applying the IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice to your ethical dilemma, contact the IMA Ethics Helpline at (800) 245-1383 in the United States or Canada. In other countries, dial the AT&T USA Direct Access Number from www.usa.att.com/traveler/index.jsp, then the above number.


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Governance for Justice and Environmental Sustainability
Lessons across Natural Resource Sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa
Edited by Merle Sowman, Rachel Wynberg
Routledge – 2014 – 384 pages
Routledge – 2014 – 384 pages
Understanding the governance of complex social-ecological systems is vital in a world faced with rapid environmental change, conflicts over dwindling natural resources, stark disparities between rich and poor and the crises of sustainability. Improved understanding is also essential to promote governance approaches that are underpinned by justice and equity principles and that aim to reduce inequality and benefit the most marginalised sectors of society.
This book is concerned with enhancing the understanding of governance in relation to social justice and environmental sustainability across a range of natural resource sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa. By examining governance across various sectors, it reveals the main drivers that influence the nature of governance, the principles and norms that shape it, as well as the factors that constrain or enable achievement of justice and sustainability outcomes. The book also illuminates the complex relationships that exist between various governance actors at different scales, and the reality and challenge of plural legal systems in much of Sub-Saharan Africa.
The book comprises 16 chapters, 12 of them case studies recounting experiences in the forest, wildlife, fisheries, conservation, mining and water sectors of diverse countries: Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Cameroon.Through insights from these studies, the book seeks to draw lessons from the praxis of natural resource governance in Sub-Saharan Africa and to contribute to debates on how governance can be strengthened and best configured to meet the needs of the poor, in a way that is both socially just and ecologically sustainable.
"Resource governance at its best. Sowman, Wynberg and colleagues have produced a book with strong theory and fascinating case studies that provide a broad vista across the sub-Saharan African landscape and waterscape." – Fikret Berkes, Natural Resource Institute, University of Manitoba, Canada.
"This book is at the cutting edge of the quest for sustainable development solutions that acknowledge the central place of social justice in the political and governance domains. This is a book that should be read and used by development practitioners and scholars, with valuable insights from Africa for the world." – Bruce Frayne, Associate Professor, University of Waterloo, Canada.
1. Introduction
Merle Sowman and Rachel Wynberg
2. Governance for Justice and Environmental Sustainability: Theories and Concepts
Kabiri Ngeta
3. Localising Global Environmental Governance Norms: Implications for Justice
Melissa Hansen, Vasna Ramasar and Kent Buchanan
4. Governing Ancestral Land in Madagascar: Have Policy Reforms Contributed to Social Justice?
Barry Ferguson, Charlie J. Gardner, Mijasoa M. Andriamarovolonona, Tim Healy, Frank Muttenzer, Shirley M. Smith, Neal Hockley and Mathilde Gingembre
5. Exclusionary Spaces: Power, Poverty and Community-based Natural Resource Management in West Africa
Marlène Buchy and Roy Maconachie
6. Wildlife Paying Its Way? A Critical Analysis of Community-based Natural Resource Management in the Chobe Enclave, Botswana
Clare Gupta
7. Community-based Conservation and Protected Areas: Commons Perspectives for Promoting Biodiversity and Social Justice in Southern Africa
Arthur Hoole
8. Community-based Natural Resource Management: Micro-Governance and Face-to-Face Participatory Democracy
Brian Child, Patricia Mupeta, Shylock Muyengwa and Rodgers Lubilo
9. Fisheries Co-Management in the Okavango Delta's Panhandle: The Okavango Fisheries Management Committee Case Study
Belda Mosepele, Ketlhatlogile Mosepele, Shadrack Mogotsi, and Douglas Thamage
10. Shifting Gear: A New Governance Framework for Small-Scale Fisheries in South Africa
Merle Sowman, Serge Raemaekers and Jackie Sunde
11. Legal Pluralism and the Governance of Freshwater Resources in Southern Africa: Can Customary Governance be Embedded Within the Statutory Frameworks for Integrate Water Resources Management?
Sharon Pollard and Tessa Cousins
12. Customary Governance of Baobab in Eastern Zimbabwe: Impacts of State-led Interventions
Witness Kozanayi, Rachel Wynberg and Frank Matose
13. Partnerships Are Not Forever: The Limits of Collaborative Governance in Diamond Mining in Namaqualand
Ralph Hamann
14. Governance, Equity, and Sustainability in Non-Timber Forest Product Value Chains
Rachel Wynberg and Jaci van Niekerk
15. Governing the Ungovernable? Climate Change and Social Justice in Southern Africa
Penny Urquhart
16. Towards Robust Governance for Justice and Environmental Sustainability: Lessons from Natural Resource Sectors in Southern Africa
Merle Sowman and Rachel Wynberg
Merle Sowman is the Director of the Environmental Evaluation Unit and Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science at the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa.
Rachel Wynberg is Deputy Director of the Environmental Evaluation Unit and Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science at the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa, where she holds a Research Chair on Social and Environmental Dimensions of the Bio-economy.
Name: Governance for Justice and Environmental Sustainability: Lessons across Natural Resource Sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa (Hardback) – Routledge
Description: Edited by Merle Sowman, Rachel Wynberg. Understanding the governance of complex social-ecological systems is vital in a world faced with rapid environmental change, conflicts over dwindling natural resources, stark disparities between rich and poor and the crises of sustainability. Improved...
Categories: Sustainable Development, Conservation - Environment Studies, Environmental Policy, Resource Management - Environmental Studies, Development - Soc Sci, Environmental Anthropology, Biodiversity, Agriculture & Environmental Sciences, Environmental Geography, Development Geography, Planning - Human Geography, Environments, African Cultural Studies, Development Studies, Development Policy, Environment & the Developing World, Ecology - Environment Studies, Environmental Law - Environmental Studies, Environmental Management, African Studies, African & Third World Politics, Environmental Politics


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So far, we did not have too many "piano & bass" labels on this blog's catalogue, and now we double the amount, thanks to three new releases.
Keith Jarrett & Charlie Haden - Jasmine (ECM, 2010)***
Watch the promo clip for the album
Cecil Taylor & Dominic Duval - The Last Dance Vol. 1 & 2 (CJR, 2010) ****
The perfomance was recorded at the San Francisco Jazz Fest in 2003. Volume 1 brings over one hour of free-flowing music. Volume 2 is the rest of the program: 25 minutes in total, starting with Duval on arco, adding a more collaborative and balanced dimension, a situation which is maintained for the second piece, when Duval moves to pizzi again.
Watch "Bridge Works" from the concert.
Agusti Fernández & Barry Guy - Some Other Place (Maya, 2010) ****½
Watch a great visual evocation of the music by Fernández and Guy.
© stef


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It is a well known fact that the Zombie Apocalypse is coming, so it's best to be prepared for the inevitable search for supplies and fight to survive. To aid you in your gathering of necessities EB Games have an exclusive Resident Evil Collectors Edition, for when there's no hope left.
Unlike the European edition which comes complete with sweatshirt, artbook and emblems, for Australian fans there is the exclusive No Hope Left edition. This bundle comes packed with DLC maps and an exclusive messenger bag with which you can use to pack your essentials for the world's end.
View the full article »
View the full article »


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Welcome to my blog! All star ratings are out of five stars. Site will be updated soon.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Rabbit Hole
Rabbit Hole (2010) ****1/2
Directed by John Cameron Mitchell
My tweet:
Rabbit Hole (2010)- What a surprise departure for Mitchell! Tricky subject matter handled with a great deal of acumen. ****1/2 of 5
Other thoughts:
In order to avoid being pigeonholed as a certain "type" of filmmaker, it might prove wise for an up and coming director to accept a project completely outside of his comfort zone. Not only is it helpful for one's reputation, but it also might help strengthen one's abilities as well, forcing a relatively new director to think in ways and tackle problems he hasn't come across in his career thus far. Though he's been around long enough that no one considers him "up and coming" anymore, M. Night Shyamalan did something similar this year by directing a live action 3D adaptation of a kids cartoon show instead of a Hitchcockian psychological thriller with a glimpse of the supernatural often coming by way of a "wow" moment at the end. It's always important to credit risk taking in Hollywood, but by most accounts, The Last Airbender proved to be a colossal disaster, with many critics claiming that Shyamalan was playing completely against his strength of masterfully suggesting the presence of the unseen by trying to tackle an action epic using CGI to emphasize candid visuals.
Therefore, one must choose his or her projects carefully. Rabbit Hole is John Cameron Mitchell's third film, and it couldn't be more different than his first two--2001's Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a glam fest about a transsexual punk rocker, and 2006's Shortbus, a humorous comment on society by showcasing graphic real sex. Instead of another visually striking film for a niche audience, Mitchell chose as his next project to tackle an adaptation of David Lindsay-Abaire's very low key stage play about a couple dealing with the grief of the sudden death of their four year old son. Adding another difficult layer is the fact that we join the couple eight months after the tragedy, so we're restricted from the sort of explosive emotions one might expect immediately following something so harrowing.
Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart play Becca and Howie who are clearly not doing well at all. Becca has become quite cynical and even downright cruel at times, which we see almost immediately when Becca berates another grieving couple for positing that God needed another angel in heaven in order to give some meaning to something beyond explanation. Becca is the last to learn that her sister is pregnant. This coupled with her mother's insistence on comparing Becca's son's death with the death of Becca's brother who was a thirty year old heroin addict when he died makes family interactions unbearable for her, and too often they don't end well.
Howie, on the other hand, is all-too-eager to try and take that next step, though his nightly ritual of watching a video of his son might be holding him back. He resents Becca for trying to erase evidence of his existence, at least that's how he sees it. He's even open to having another child, and after making the first romantic gesture towards her in eight months, she rejects him outright. As they grow apart, he connects with a woman from group therapy, played by Sandra Oh, whose husband just left her. They smoke pot nightly and clearly she would be willing to accept him romantically if he ever decides to pursue it.
Becca meanwhile has her own peculiar way of dealing with her feelings. She follows the school bus of the high school student who caused her son's death by accidentally hitting him with his car. Eventually, the two sit down for a conversation in a public park, which leads to an odd camaraderie between them. He shows her the comic book that he's working on called Rabbit Hole about parallel universes where everyone exists as themselves except by living lives different than they are in the real world. Becca finds this comforting.
Howie and Becca drift farther from each other with their dishonesty. Clearly, their son's death is either going to break them apart completely or somehow bring them together. Sadly, the odds are stacked against them. Either way, though, both have to figure out how to make it through each unbearably difficult day to the next one after that.
Rabbit Hole is not dealing with new material at all. If you want to watch a movie about a couple grieving the loss of a child, simply turn on the Lifetime Movie Channel and you're guaranteed to find something that day which is aiming to jerk the tears out of your eyes. Yet, Rabbit Hole is much smarter than that. This couple's struggle is thankfully foreign to most of us, and there is a place for heightened emotions and hyper-real dialogue within such a cruel tragedy. At the same time, there needs to be truthful insight or else we're left with just another manipulative manufactured weepfest.
Lindsay-Abaire wrote the screenplay himself, and he's able to keep us not only believing the struggles of our main characters, but also totally invested as well. We're presented with situations that are sort of expected but don't always play out in the most obvious ways. Take Becca's encounter with the high school kid named Jason, played by newcomer Miles Teller. Most people in Becca's situation probably wouldn't do what she did, but when the two are talking, the exchange feels very real, yet it still contains some mystery and intrigue. Is he taking the place of her son in her mind? Is she trying but not capable of forgiving him? Is she there simply to try and get answers to questions that really have no answers? There's not a single moment in Rabbit Hole where an actor does something totally unbelievable. Expectations are confounded, but never in a way that destroys believability altogether. This is tricky to do, especially considering how much we've seen this material in film and on television in the past.
Of course, perhaps the key to truth with this material lies with the performances. Aaron Eckhart has the more straightforward role of a man who wears his struggles on his sleeve. Eckhart, a fine actor, is certainly up for the challenge even if his performance isn't as compelling as Kidman's. Not only is Kidman one of the most talented actresses working today, but she's also one of the bravest, not afraid to take on projects with some of the most off-beat directors like Noah Baumbach and Lars von Trier. As a one-time gossip magazine staple, Kidman has proven over and over again that she's more than a pretty face. Here she gives one of her best performances as a woman on the verge of martial and personal destruction. She's cold to those around her, and yet she projects her struggles in her performance so well that we do warm to her at first through pity and later through respect. Granted, Kidman's accent work is a little bit questionable at times, but it's forgivable especially considering how good she is otherwise.
There's also a solid supporting cast including Diane Wiest as Becca's less sophisticated yet caring mother, Tammy Blanchard as her rough around the edges pregnant sister Izzy as well as the aforementioned Sandra Oh and Miles Teller. Mitchell's direction, though far from flashy, provides a texture which further helps to elevate this material beyond movie of the week pablum. The way he focuses on his actors' faces in just the right ways at just the right moments shows that he doesn't need visual flamboyance as a crutch for his talent behind the camera. Mitchell is one of the best directors working today. One only needs to watch all three disparate film to see this.
Kudos to John Cameron Mitchell and everyone involved for a wonderfully surprising, emotionally satisfying character study. The risk was well worth it. M. Night Shyamalan, on the other hand...well, I'll continue to root for you in the future.
Friday, December 31, 2010
2010 Year End Movie Wrapup Blog-a-Thon- Day 4
And there you have it folks! Four days of analyzing the films and Oscar possibilities of 2010. I'm writing this introduction one hour and forty-five minutes before 2011! What a great way to end the year by sharing insights with three great lovers of film. Please feel free to comment on any of these posts to any one of us and I'll make sure your comment is seen by the intended recipient.
Sean Patrick Kernan's writing will be in maroon. Visit Sean's blog here.
Julian Stark's writing will be in green. Visit Julian's blog here.
Candice Frederick's writing will be in blue. Visit Candice's blog here.
My writing will be in orange.
Sean Patrick Kernan
What a great year this has been and to cap it off with this four day intensive look back at the best movies of the year with three of the most educated and unique bloggers on the net has been phenomenal. Candice, Brian and Julian thank you. Dear reader, please contribute as well, you can email me or on Candice, Brian and Julian's sites they have comment sections.
And, there is always Twitter
Candice @Reeltalker
Brian @bpdreview
Julian @202chicago
Sean @SeanPatriKernan
Julian Stark
I actually have to agree with Candice that Mark Ruffalo was better in Shutter Island. I actually didn't see too much in his Kids Are All Right performance, even though it's easily ranks high on my list of this year's best films. To be honest, I'd completely forgotten about his work in Shutter Island, but that's probably because it's been so long since I've seen it.
Anyway, as far as my Oscar wishlist (alphabetical order) is concerned…
Lead Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception)
Leonardo DiCaprio (Shutter Island)*
Robert Downey, Jr. (Iron Man 2)
Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass)
Lead Actress
Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
Anne Hathaway (Love and Other Drugs)
Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Anika Noni Rose (For Colored Girls)
Tilda Swinton (I Am Love)
Supporting Actor
Christian Bale (The Fighter)
Nicolas Cage (Kick-Ass)
Vincent Cassel (Black Swan)
Kieran Culkin (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World)
Zach Galifianakis (It's Kind of a Funny Story)
Supporting Actress
Amy Adams (The Fighter)
Barbara Hershey (Black Swan)
Mila Kunis (Black Swan)
Juliette Lewis (Conviction)
Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass)
*I know that it's a maximum of one nomination per category, but I can dream, can't I?
However, here's what I'm predicting (listed in order of most likely to win to least likely; essential locks for nominations are IN CAPS)
Lead Actor
Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine)
Robert Duvall (Get Low)
Lead Actress
NICOLE KIDMAN (RABBIT HOLE) – close enough to being a lock to be considered one
Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)
Supporting Actor
Andrew Garfield (The Social Network)
Jeremy Renner (The Town)
Supporting Actress
Barbara Hershey (Black Swan)
Candice Frederick
To respond to Sean's question about my impression of Greenberg in more depth, I'll say this: Quite frankly I just wished someone other than Stiller played the role. I know he was supposed to be a smug guy, but he didn't give Greenberg any justice. As an actor I think he should have drawn some empathy from the audience to make them see his point of view, and he just didn't. I was disappointed. To me, that showed that he never fully understood the character enough to play him.
I would love The Town to receive a best picture nomination. Though I think too man folks would see it as a The Departed redux for it to stand alone and get recognized. But I definitely agree that Renner should get a nod. To me, his performance in that movie was better than Wahlberg's in The Departed.
And I agree that Wahlberg is swallowed by his terrific cast performances in The Fighter to be a real contender, but it looks like he'll get a nod. Armie Hammer was great in The Social Network but I really think with Sorkin's wonderful script his performance might have been written for him already.
I'm not getting all the love for Kick-Ass. I didn't think it was kickass at all; I thought it was lame But I know I'm in the minority on this one.
I just want to also add that I hope Inception gets more appreciate from the academy than some special effects nods. The script was great, as was the acting. I'd love to also see The Social Network, Black Swan, The Kids are All Right, and Night Catches Us up on the board for best picture. With a 10-movie slot, it might be safe to assume there may be a few duds, throaways, and/or curve balls in the mix. What do you think they'll be? Shutter Island maybe? Blue Valentine? I guess is 127 Hours, Winter's Bone, The King's Speech, and The Fighter as well.
Sean Patrick Kernan
Julian I am so with you on the Kick Ass love. That movie kicked my ass all over the theater and I loved every minute of it. Kick Ass was one of my favorite experiences at the movies in 2010 which is what I want to talk about before I also chime in on the Oscar talk. Two horror movies provided two of my other favorite experiences of the year. Going in to The Crazies I was expecting another lame zombie movie. What I got instead was a taut, witty horror movie that kept me consistently breathless with it's brilliant B-movie-ness. Breck Eisner may just have a career yet and that provides of the bigger surprises of the year. The other favorite experience of the year was The Last Exorcism a smart, self aware horror movie that took a TV actor, Patrick Fabian, and made him look like a superstar. Fabian's charm ropes you in and then once you are hooked director Daniel Stamm rips the rug out from under you in surprising fashion. Just when I thought I couldn't be surprised by a horror movie, The Last Exorcism actually made me jump in my seat.
It was not an exceptionally good year for comedy but a couple stood out for me. Get Him to the Greek is a movie I know Candice is not a fan of but it worked for me. I'm a fan of Russell Brand's schtick and Get Him to the Greek actually makes me eager to see his take on Arthur. The more surprising successes for me were Easy A and Going the Distance. Emma Stone nails every moment of Easy A despite being hampered by omniscient narration and a predictable High School setting. Stone's chemistry with Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as her parents is phenomenal and may be the funniest thing about a very funny movie. Going the Distance worked for me because of how unabashedly foul it was. It's not that I love four letter words but the proper employment of expletives works for me and Going the Distance, and especially Drew Barrymore, deploy expletives in the most unique and unexpected ways.
So, digging into the Oscar talk I think we are underestimating True Grit. We have to keep in mind how much the Academy loves something familiar, hence all the love for The King's Speech. The only thing the Academy loves more than familiarity is zeitgeist, hence the ultimate zeitgeist movie The Social Network getting so much love. True Grit has last year's Oscar winning lead actor. It has Oscar winners the Coen Brothers, pedigree my friends gets you along with the Academy, how else did Meryl Streep get nominated for half a movie in Julie and Julia. Matt Damon is a former Oscar winner and young Hailee Steinfeld has a great narrative, she was selected after a nationwide search of more than 17,000 other actresses and the performance is stunning. If not for the fact that True Grit is a remake it might be lock to win it all.
The Social Network will win this year because Fincher is due, the film is current and by Academy standards it's a hip choice. That's not a knock on The Social Network which is a phenomenal movie but it's not hip, your mom has a Facebook page now. If the Academy were truly hip we'd be talking about Tiny Furniture or I Am Love or Mother, movies that are hot with the tastemakers who are not running with the pack but are setting the pace. I don't claim to be one of those people, I don't have the time to keep up with them but I am aware enough to know what they are talking about and they stopped talking about The Social Network the minute Academy member mommies and daddies started appreciating it. Again, not a knock on The Social Network, merely an observation about the way our culture moves, the moment the Academy starts talking about Lena Dunham is the moment she will stop being hip.
Here is my list of the 10 movies the Academy will find acceptable..
The Social Network
The King's Speech
True Grit
Winter's Bone
The Town
Shutter Island
Toy Story 3
Black Swan
127 Hours
The Fighter
Watch out for The Way Back, Get Low, The Kids Are All Right, Rabbit Hole, How to Train Your Dragon and unfortunately Alice in Wonderland.
Winter's Bone is a strange case of a movie that critics have delivered all the way to the Academy. It's rare that critics have such power these days but without the critics Winter's Bone would have died on the vine. Instead, Winter's Bone has been making the papers nationwide for the past two weeks, sitting at or near the top of critics lists everywhere. Shutter Island is going to top Inception because the studio muscle has been stronger behind Shutter Island than behind Inception, a rare example where box office may hurt a nominee with the perception that it has been rewarded enough by box office dollars. Keep in mind that Lord of the Rings was the culmination of three films and not an honor for that particular. The notion that box office matters all that much should have been blown up by The Hurt Locker last year. Being a hit helps but for the image conscious Academy creating a hit movie is more fun than bandwagoning on a hit.
Candice I am happy to see you champion Night Catches Us. I wasn't as big of a fan of that film as you are but critics taking on a cause out of passion for the movie is always appealing to me, it's why I still love going to the movies and being a film critic, the chance to find a movie and tell as many people about it as will listen. I had an opportunity this year to be a champion for a tiny independent film that was shot just up the road from me here in Iowa. It's called 16 to Life and it's a charming little Juno-esque story of a small town girl looking for her first kiss on her 16th birthday. 16 to Life is a charming, ultra-literate and witty little comedy that is filled with these tiny perfect moments. I met the director Becky Smith and interviewed her on the radio and was really impressed and moved by how she and the cast were barnstorming this little movie from town to town and film festival to film festival where audiences were delighted enough to give it a couple awards. If you can find 16 to Life I urge you to check it out, it will be one of my last experiences at the movies in 2010.
Brian Dunn
Please someone promise me that we'll do something like this again next year. I've had a blast, and I feel like I've really been able to cement my own thoughts on the year as a whole by doing this. Again, I still have so many movies to see, and after this back and forth, I can't wait to get back to watching some of the great 2010 movies you all have mentioned that I haven't yet seen.
I haven't yet made my own list of what I think will be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, so I think I'll start formulating one by looking at Sean's choices.
The Social Network is a given, and it's also my favorite non-documentary film of 2010. I think Julian said that it's not a technically impressive film. I couldn't disagree more. Fincher's direction is certainly more subtle than someone like Christopher Nolan's for Inception, but his handiwork is certainly there on screen. No one does CGI the way Fincher does it. It's almost invisible how he's able to implement the CGI without ever drawing attention to it. He's done it again and again with Zodiac and Benjamin Button as other examples. The regatta scene in particular in The Social Network is perhaps the most viscerally exciting scene of the year, and that's all Fincher right there. Plus don't forget what he did with Armie Hammer's characters. By the way, I do think Hammer's fantastic, and he has gotten the recognition he deserves. I can understand Candice's and Sean's points about The Social Network not being the hip film because the Academy loves it, but I do think it will stand the test of time. I wouldn't be surprised to see it high on people's best of the decade lists in 2019. I also wouldn't be surprised to see it on something like the American Film Institute's list of the Greatest American Films in like 30 or 40 years. I truly believe it has the potential to be the movie of this generation. It will win, and it should.
The King's Speech (a really nice movie) is a given. I do agree that True Grit will be nominated for Best Picture. I don't think it will win much at all. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it goes home empty on Oscar night. Again I haven't seen it, but I have read many critics' reviews. I get the sense that many see it as a very solid movie, but as a Coen brothers film, it's not among their best work. The acting is good all around, and I'd love to see Matt Damon, a great actor, get nominated especially since I didn't even think about him until he was mentioned by the three of you. However, I haven't heard anything like "Jeff Bridges' best work" or "Matt Damon's best performance" or "the Coen Brothers' best film." I really do think it will be nominated though. And that whole argument that Julian refuted about the Globes not liking the Coens is ridiculous and Julian explained why perfectly.
I do think Winter's Bone will be nominated as well, and Sean's right that it is the critics that deserve credit for the buzz for it. It's a wonderful film, and it's the sort of film that never would have a chance of being nominated if there were still five nominees. Winter's Bone is exactly the sort of film that gives the ten BP nominee system merit. I think Candice mentioned that she didn't think The Town will be nominated. I disagree completely. It's gotten really good critical buzz and it's done well at the box office. I think it's a pretty sure bet that it will be nominated. Someone mentioned earlier that Ben Affleck might be a surprise nominee for Best Actor. He's good in the film, but I don't see that happening.
That brings me to Shutter Island. I liked Shutter Island. I was entertained by it, but wow, that film is polarizing. Some people hate it. Match that with the fact that it came out early in the year and that it's not among Scorsese's best and I think it's one that might get in, but probably won't. If it had been released later in the year, that might have given it a better shot, but I think the haters are going to have the last word on that one.
Toy Story 3 is a given. It's as charming as any film released this year. Black Swan is also a pretty sure thing in my opinion as well, even if I'm not totally in love with it. I actually think The Fighter is a definite. I don't think the moderate box office is going to hurt it. It's an Oscar bait kind of a film. It'll be nominated--at least I think so.
127 Hours is one of my favorite films of the year. I do think it will be nominated, but it might be the one that might disappoint me by slipping through the cracks. It's such a unique kind of a film and some Academy voters might have avoided it because of the subject matter. That being said, I still think it will get in.
So the nominees so far of Sean's that I agree with are:
The Social Network
The King's Speech
True Grit
Winter's Bone
The Town
Toy Story 3
Black Swan
127 Hours
The Fighter
That tenth spot will be an interesting one to say the least. Now I'll admit the sad fact that I only predicted seven of the 10 nominees last year, so that makes it difficult for me to even trust myself to predict the biggest wild card of the ten. I really really don't think Shutter Island will get in. So I think that tenth spot will in fact go to Inception. It's a great film. Everyone's seen it. It will be nominated for a number of technical awards. It's just been released on DVD. Christopher Nolan is unbelievably well respected. I think Inception's lack of early awards buzz won't matter that much. Critics groups don't vote for ten films. The Golden Globes' voting process is ridiculous because it's less than 100 people who like famous people and being bribed. The Academy is certainly a serious group of people so they won't nominate something like Iron Man 2, but I think the general moviegoing audience wants to see Inception nominated, and considering that it's also a great film, I think the Academy will award it.
The tenth movie that will be nominated will be:
If I'm wrong, it'll probably be among the following films: The Kids Are All Right, How to Train Your Dragon, Blue Valentine or Rabbit Hole. Again considering my track record from last year, I really do think The Kids Are All Right will be nominated in place of something. But I can't choose eleven films so I'll keep it off even though it's a wonderful movie.
Once again, thanks to Candice, Julian and Sean, and thanks to everyone who has read our exchange. 2011 is here, and I can't wait to start watching the movies we'll be discussing for next year's Blog-a-Thon.
2010 Year End Movie Wrapup Blog-a-Thon- Day 3
We continue our discussion by finishing up some thoughts on the best actresses of the year while primarily delving into those men who we think will and should be nominated for both the lead and supporting acting Oscars.
Brian Dunn
Day three and none of us have damned anyone else to hell or insulted each other's pets or anything like that. We should all be quite proud!
I'll move onto the male performances in a second, but I want to share a few final thoughts on the ladies. I spent so much time talking about who I thought would be nominated that I didn't really emphasize who I think deserves to win. Again, I haven't seen Kidman or Williams yet, but it looks like the award will probably be between Portman and Bening. I do think Portman is the best when she's at her best, so if she wins, which I'm inclined to think she will, then I won't be upset. However, I agree with the praise that you all have given to Bening. Not only is she wonderfully subtle in The Kids Are All Right, but she's lost twice to Hilary Swank in 1999 and 2005. The good news is that Swank has no chance of winning even if she does get nominated, which is unlikely. Unfortunately, I do think Portman's performance is hefty enough to take the Oscar. Granted, Bening might get some lifetime achievement votes which could put her over the top. I don't usually root for votes of this sort, but because Bening is so good and because Portman will probably win an Oscar in the future, I'll be crossing my fingers for Bening on Oscar night.
I also forgot completely about Greta Gerwig, who is a wonderful actress. Again, though, I wonder if voters have forgotten about her as well. I'd think she'd be more appropriate as a supporting actress for Greenberg, and I'd be thrilled if she did sneak in with a nomination. Again, though, I wouldn't put any money on that happening. I also totally agree with you Sean when you mention Rooney Mara. That opening scene is a masterwork in both acting and screenwriting. It sets up the Mark Zuckerberg character in a truly unconventional and brilliant way. I only knew Mara as the surprise choice to play the English language Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Her performance in The Social Network has me convinced that she'll be great. I'd also like to point out that once again Rebecca Hall is getting no awards buzz for being the best thing in a film--this year being The Town. She was the best part of Starter for 10, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Please Give. I'm getting annoyed that she's still ignored for her talent. Finally, it's worth noting the performance of Katie Jarvis is a wonderful little film called Fish Tank from January. No chance at all for a nomination, but she's good enough for sure.
Now to delve into the male performances of 2010. I haven't yet seen True Grit, but I don't think Bridges will be nominated for it. I think we can count on Colin Firth for The King's Speech, James Franco for 127 Hours and (pretty much) Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network. I do think Ryan Gosling will be nominated for Blue Valentine also. That leaves the fifth slot open. Robert Duvall in Get Low? Never ever count out Robert Duvall. I haven't seen it yet, but it's definitely his film. Sure, Bridges is a possibility, but so is Mark Wahlberg for The Fighter. He plays his role pretty quietly, but it's effective and I think The Fighter will receive a number of nominations. Wahlberg might just ride that wave to a nomination. I wouldn't count out Leonardo DiCaprio for Inception though. Upon second viewing of that film, I was absolutely blown away by his performance. He's truly excellent in it. Also, Javier Barden is supposed to be excellent in Biutiful. Also, is Carlos eligible for Oscars? If so, Edgar Ramirez gives one of the best performances I've ever seen in that film. It probably won't happen, but his performance is at least worth mentioning. So if I'm forced to predict at this point, the five will be: Firth, Franco, Eisenberg, Gosling and Duvall--or Firth, Franco, Eisenberg, Wahlberg and Duvall--or Firth, Franco, Eisenberg, Wahlberg and Gosling. Gahhhh!!!! This is so hard. All right, the first grouping. That's my choice and I'm sticking to it.
As for who deserves the Oscar, and keeping in mind that I haven't seen Blue Valentine or Get Low yet, I think Franco gives the best performance of the year. Firth is great, and he will probably win it, but like Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, I'm not easily won over by a performance that relies on an acting crutch like autism or a stutter. Again, though, between A Single Man and The King's Speech, Firth has firmly established himself among the best actors out there, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him nominated often in the future. Franco is so good in such an off-beat film. His hosting gig and his still growing reputation as an actor will probably work against him. I think Eisenberg is amazing in The Social Network, and I'm thrilled that he's been gaining awards momentum. I was afraid that people would write him off because they think he can only play one type of role. Eisenberg's performance is one that could have been gimmicky or relying on a crutch since his character is so socially awkward, but he's perfect at delivering Sorkin's tricky dialogue. He's one of my favorite actors out there. If he wins, I'd be perfectly fine with that. I wouldn't count him out since he's won a number of critics awards, but I don't think a win for him is likely. This is Firth's award.
I already mentioned Ramirez in Carlos, but there are two other excellent performances that definitely won't be nominated that I think are good enough to be mentioned. Ben Stiller plays Greenberg with such truth, and he doesn't fall into the trap that so many comic actors do when playing dramatic roles by underplaying everything to appear more serious. It's a tricky character, and Stiller brings to it all the nuance that's necessary. He's surprisingly touching and reviling at the same time. I'd also like to point out Casey Affleck in Michael Winterbottom's film The Killer Inside Me. He plays a cop who leads a double life as a brutal serial killer. The film is graphically violent and ultimately sloppy, but Affleck is terrifying because he's so convincing as the boy next door type when he's not giving into his inner demons. He's one of the best actors working today.
I'm going to make a proclamation right now that Christian Bale WILL be walking home with the Supporting Actor Oscar for The Fighter. It's the archetypal Oscar performance. He's truly is the best thing about The Fighter. He's also one of those actors known for having more potential than maybe anyone else out there. I think Geoffrey Rush is just as good, if not even a little bit better in The King's Speech. I loved the humanity and humor that he brought to his role. He and HB Carter both bring the lightness and accessibility that makes The King's Speech more than another stuffy British drawing room costume picture. I think Ruffalo gives a career best performance in The Kids Are All Right. He'll be nominated for sure, and he'll have to be happy with that because he won't win. His performance, though, really cemented him as one of the best actors working today in my book. I still believe Andrew Garfield will be recognized for his work in The Social Network, despite his distracting accent problems. He's excellent in Never Let Me Go, so I'm on board with giving him some recognition even if his performance didn't completely work for me in TSN. I think the fifth spot is pretty open. Jeremy Renner might be nominated for The Town. He's good in that, and he's certainly one of the up and coming stars. Good will for his turn in Hurt Locker might help him sneak in. I'd like to see the rest of the buzzed about films to see if someone not on my radar screen might be worth considering. At this point, I think I'll lean toward that fifth spot being inhabited by a performance I have seen--John Hawkes for his great work in Winter's Bone as Teardrop. He's so frightening at first, which makes his ultimate virtue so surprising. Cassel from Black Swan might sneak in there, but I'm rooting against it. I doubt Michael Douglas will be nominated for the stupid Wall Street 2, but he's good in it and he certainly has the good will of the voters on his side. If there's going to be a surprise nominee anywhere, I think it'll be in this category. I'll never forget how floored I was that Michael Shannon was nominated for Revolutionary Road a few years ago. I didn't even know who he was and who he played when I first heard his name announced and I had seen Revolutionary Road at the time. Could certainly happen again this year.
Julian Stark
If guessing at the winner of Best Actress wasn't hard enough, I have to decide on my personal favorite! Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right and Natalie Portman in Black Swan both have my two-way vote for performance of the year. Likewise, I can't fully pick which of the two gets the Oscar in February.
Both are giving supposedly "career-best" work and have had impressive longevity in Hollywood. Of course, Bening has more seniority than Portman, but Portman has the film with broader support and more citations from critics groups.
I'd have to side with Portman for the win because she has the flashier performance, and sometimes flashier equates to better in the minds of Oscar voters. Then again, voters might be highly impressed with Bening's subtle performance. More often than not, it seems that she's giving bombastic performances in very diva-like roles, but her work as Nic in Kids is a far cry from that kind of role. She's essentially playing against type, which could give her a boost.
As for the men this year in the Lead Actor race, I'm sorry to say it, but Carlos isn't eligible for Oscar consideration. I believe it played on VOD before hitting theaters, and it's been thus far recognized as a television miniseries. Though the Emmy Awards aren't as esteemed as the Oscars, it's very likely get some love there.
Colin Firth and Jesse Eisenberg are definitely in, and James Franco is essentially a lock, though not as cemented in the top five as Firth and Eisenberg.
Firth is the easy front-runner to win, and the only possibility for an upset would probably be Eisenberg, though it's quite a stretch to say that anyone could beat Firth. If The Social Network will be as big of a hit with the Academy as we're assuming it will be – and there's no reason to think otherwise – won't they want to shower it with awards? The Hurt Locker nabbed six trophies last year, and Slumdog Millionaire won eight the year prior. This isn't really much of an "artistic" film in terms of technical achievement, so would the Academy give its leading man the gold to bump up the film's number of wins?
I honestly don't think that there's a whole lot of room for that to happen, but if he upsets for SAG, he's a major threat for the win.
After that, it gets kind of tricky. The three aforementioned men got in with SAG and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Jeff Bridges and Robert Duvall got in for SAG, while Ryan Gosling and Mark Wahlberg made the cut at the Globes. So, who gets in?
From the way it looks right now, Ryan Gosling is probably the most likely of the four to get in. Though SAG snubbed him, Blue Valentine is a highly acclaimed film; the lauding in particular is for the work done by Gosling and co-lead Michelle Williams. I'm calling the latter for an Actress nomination, and for some odd reason, I can't see voters listing Williams as their top Actress choice without doing the same for Gosling in the category's male counterpart.
Of course, that leaves one open spot. So is it Bridges, Duvall, or Wahlberg?
The least likely of these men to get in is probably Wahlberg. Though The Fighter did great in the Golden Globe nominations tally – five nods outside of Wahlberg's – those nominations were announced before the film had a wide release. Voters were probably counting on it being a huge hit, and with A-list star and terrific marketing, not to mention a genre that tends to do well at the box office, it should have been one. The Fighter's done admirable business so far, but it hasn't done impressive business. Plus he hasn't had the success with the critics groups that his co-stars have.
True Grit probably stole some of The Fighter's thunder; both films obviously had a male demographic in mind, but one was more accessible thanks to its PG-13 rating. On that note, I'm not wholly convinced that Jeff Bridges is making the cut either, despite being in my top five at the moment. As a matter of fact, I'm not so sure that True Grit is going to be the major Academy player that people have made it out to be, though Roger Deakins will certainly be noted for the film's marvelous cinematography
The lack of Golden Globe nominations for True Grit might be telling, even though I don't want to give too much credit to this group that infamously gave an award to Pia Zadora over Kathleen Turner, not to mention nominated Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland for any kind of honor, but this is a precursor group.
When True Grit got a complete shut out, many argued that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association doesn't like the Coen Brothers. If that's the case, why did this group nominate award Javier Bardem for his work No Country for Old Men and nominate the film for Motion Picture Drama in 2007? Furthermore, why did they nominate Burn After Reading for two awards in 2008 and throw A Serious Man's Michael Stuhlbarg a nomination last year?
Again, the Golden Globes aren't the be-all and end-all of, well, anything, but not making the cut there could be indicative of True Grit having less Oscar success than many are expecting. That being said, I can't see the film getting in for any of the big awards save for Adapted Screenplay and maybe Actor.
And what are we to make of Robert Duvall? For the majority of the season – even extending into the pre-season, he's been an assumed Actor nominee for apparently career-best work in Get Low, but where did that buzz go? No big critics honors, no Golden Globe nomination, not even a mention from Indie Spirits. Virtually nothing to go on outside of that SAG nod that likely came from being a veteran actor. An Oscar bid is very possible, but I wouldn't bank on it.
But who's to say that Bridges, Duvall, and Wahlberg are the only men in contention for that hypothetical fifth spot? Will the Academy throw us a curveball and nominate Javier Bardem for the foreign-language flick Biutiful? Could Leonardo DiCaprio make the cut for one of his superb leading performances? While I'm at it, will Aaron Eckhart be nominated alongside his onscreen wife Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole? Heaven forbid that I'm missing another possibility!
Though I wouldn't count on it, there is room in the race one of these left-field contenders to make the cut. DiCaprio obviously has the most Oscar-bound film among these potential curveballs with Inception, and he's great in it, but it's not an actor's piece like Biutiful and Rabbit Hole.
In regards to how the Academy will vote in Supporting Actor, Christian Bale is the no-brainer to win. Mark Ruffalo, despite being ignored by the Globes, was recognized by the Screen Actors Guild and won the crucial New York Film Critics Circle Award, so he's definitely in and the most likely to surprise with a win. Then again, does Bale really have any competition?
The third wheel in the race is probably Geoffrey Rush. He's assured a nomination, but I see no possibility for an upset from him whatsoever. He's already won before, is in a subtle role, and starred in that massive flop The Warrior's Way just recently. Next in line might be Andrew Garfield for The Social Network. There is a whole lot of buzz attached to him right now (next Peter Parker), and as was said earlier, the Academy won't hold back when it comes to nominating and awarding this film.
The last spot (like in Supporting Actress… and Actress) is up in the air from where I'm sitting. Jeremy Renner is in my lineup for now at number five, but something about predicting him just feels strange, even though the Golden Globes and SAG embraced him with nomination love.
Checking out the other possible contenders, a nomination for Michael Douglas in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps wouldn't receive a warm welcome from me, but sympathy often turns into accolades in Hollywood, as was evidenced by his Golden Globe nod. There's also John Hawkes for Winter's Bone, who gives a great supporting performance and surprised us with a SAG nomination. There's more support for that film than Money Never Sleeps; then again, John Hawkes isn't Michael Douglas.
Brian, I definitely think that there could be a shocker nominee here, but I'm most expecting a jaw-dropping nod in the Supporting Actress race a la Maggie Gyllenhaal last year, though some people called that nod.
But back to Supporting Actor. Of those who didn't receive a nomination from either the HFPA or SAG, I'd guess Vincent Cassel in the place of Jeremy Renner.
As for my personal opinions on the male performances this year, Jesse Eisenberg's leading work in The Social Network is my absolute favorite male performance of the year. It might not be the best representation of Mark Zuckerberg himself, but it's a perfect realization of the narcissistic and sociopathic Mark Zuckerberg that Aaron Sorkin intended for the film.
I also took very well to Leonardo DiCaprio's performances this year in Inception and Shutter Island. I'd give him more credit for the former since there's more of a reveal with that one as opposed to him simply going crazy, but both are fine showcases of immense acting talent.
I haven't seen The King's Speech just yet, so I can't comment on Colin Firth's lauded performance, but at long last, I've found someone who agrees with me about Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man! On that note, if Firth's work is similar to Hoffman's Rain Man, then I doubt that I'll really care for it. I have yet to see James Franco in 127 Hours since the film didn't open anywhere near me. I'm perhaps more interested, however, in seeing his acclaimed work in the less-than-acclaimed Howl. I'm sure he's great in both and really curious to see each film.
On the supporting side, I'd say that Christian Bale and (sorry, Brian) Vincent Cassel are probably my two favorites this year. The former, as was mentioned earlier, is the definitive "Oscar role." Druggie? Check. Big outbursts? Check. Stealing scenes? You've got it! Cassel, like the other supporting players, has to play into an essence of a character and a fantastical illusion of himself.
It also goes without saying that Robert Downey, Jr. gave one of my favorite male performances this year in Iron Man 2. It's technically as strong as his work in the first film – blame the script – and the film itself is more of an Avengers commercial than anything, but I appreciated his way of developing the character.
Much to my surprise, an actor who I think deserved more recognition this year is Zach Galifianakis. He was absolutely hysterical in Due Date and really outshined Downey – something you'll almost never hear me say about any performance. But it was his supporting work in the indie dramedy It's Kind of a Funny Story that really impressed me. Not only did he prove his ability to play someone other than The Hangover's Alan; he handled his character with a more subtle sense of humor and expertly navigated through some difficult dramatic material.
That being said, who are some other actors that didn't get enough credit this year?
Sean Patrick Kernan
Ugh! Brian, you hit on my nightmare Oscar scenario, Michael Douglas getting Best Supporting Actor for Wall Street 2 because he almost died in real life. His Gordon Gekko redux was a solid turn but the film is so weak that it drowns all three leads. Oliver Stone is part of the trend I mentioned earlier about directors going mainstream only Stone's compromises ruined his film while The Fighter, True Grit and Rabbit Hole somehow turned out really well despite the compromises. Part of my problem with Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps was my personal expectations. When I heard Oliver Stone was going back to Wall Street at the height of the real life crisis where Wall Street had completely screwed the American people I was excited and was eagerly awaiting the legendary left wing director to get in a few good licks against the greedy pigs who tanked the economy. Instead, what we get in Wall Street 2 is a watered down version of the first film with Shia Le Beouf doing a weak spin on Charlie Sheen's Bud Fox (Sheen's cameo, an entirely different letdown in the same film).
Dipping into this Best Actor talk, I know Ben Stiller will not be nominated for Greenberg but I want to raise it just so Candice can give us the assessment of Greenberg she has teased so often on Twitter :). Colin Firth is the front runner. The performance is safe and predictable, compelling but not new; just the kind of old school stuffiness that the old farts in the Academy love. Plus, after losing out for his more aggressively interesting performance in A Single Man last year First is due. Jeff Bridges will be nominated and like Firth, it's the kind of performance that Academy oldsters really like. Mark Wahlberg is out for The Fighter because Bale, Adams and Leo sucked all the air out of the movie and suffocated his performance. Compared to all the colorful people around him Wahlberg's lead was a cypher left only to react to them. James Franco deserves the win here because his performance was so tough and yet so skilled and nuanced.
So, if Firth, Bridges and Franco are in that leaves two spots. One goes to Jesse Eisenberg for a complex turn that he makes look effortless. It's not easy to play a robot especially a human robot but Eisenberg nails it and in the end brings the melancholy in the saddest and most unexpected way, I've never felt so sorry for a refresh button. Robert Duvall deserves the other slot because in a career of amazing performances his work in Get Low may be his best ever. Yes, much of the appeal of Duvall's performance hinges on a big showy speech but it's one hell of a speech and he knocks it out of the park. That speech in Get Low ranks right up there with Bening singing Joni Mitchell as one of my favorites of the year. Ryan Gosling is a potential spoiler for Blue Valentine but I think Michelle Williams stole that movie from him. Gosling is good but she is so much better that he kind of gets overshadowed.
Leo DiCaprio was mentioned but for which movie? I was not a fan of Shutter Island a shockingly predictable thriller that marked Martin Scorsese finally showing his age after a series of brilliant films but the studio push for DiCaprio in Shutter Island is strong. I received multiple mailings and emails from the studio touting Shutter Island. The Inception campaign seems focused solely on the Best Picture pitch and not so much on the acting. If I may digress for a moment however, I would like to join the Marion Cotillard love-fest, she was amazing in Inception, the soul of the film really. Back to the actors, watch out for Ben Affleck in The Town an old school thriller, solid pedgree, good box office and Affleck is a good comeback story. My guess is that The Town is going to surprise people with a Best Picture nomination and if the momentum is strong Affleck pulls the upset nomination for Best Actor as a consolation prize for not getting a director nod.
Best Supporting Actor has basically been awarded to Christian Bale but there is still room to speculate on Geoffrey Rush who gives the more interesting performance in The King's Speech. There is an odd similarity really between the supporing players in The Fighter and in The King's Speech. In both films the supporting players are so colorful, unique and interesting that the leads fall into the shadow. That took the impact of both films down a peg for me because I wasn't as interested in Wahlberg in The Fighter or Firth in The King's Speech. The final moments of both lacked power because they stepped out of the shadow of the stronger performances and it was too late for me to really care more about them. Unlike Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network who rises above a great ensemble or Jeff Bridges who rises to the challenge of two stellar supporting performances, Firth and Wahlberg melt against the much stronger supporting players.
Julian, you mentioned Galifianakis in Due Date but do not forget his work in It's Kind of a Funny Story. That film was sadly missed at the box office but it is a really heartfelt performance in a wonderfully quirky film. You're absolutely right though about Galifiankakis outshining Downey Jr, not an easy task. Due Date was one of the few good comedies in a dismal year for laughs at the box office. Mark Ruffalo deserves to win, in my opinion, for The Kids Are All Right, such a great, nuanced performance. Ruffalo is so subtle in the way he evolves that character throughout that film that it's not till everything has become a mess that you realize how far he has come. I need to watch The Kids Are All Right again, a colleague and friend of mine just named it number one in her year end movie column and in the days we've been doing our blogathon Kids has recurred for me multiple times.
It is an absolute crime that Armie Hammer has not been honored for his work in The Social Network. It's not merely the challenge of playing twins but the brilliant ways he gave both Winkevoss's a life force of their own. I liked what Andrew Garfield did as Eduardo but Hammer's was the supporting performance in that film that stuck with me. There is another whole lengthy subtext in Armie Hammer's performance and the complexity of what the Winklevoss's stand for in The Social Network. I won't dig into it here as it might require a sixth viewing of The Social Network to nail it down but it's there and it's in Armie Hammer's performance as much as in Andrew Sorkin's script.
Matt Damon in True Grit is phenomenal in a showy performance. I love Damon when he is in character actor mode even more than I love him as a leading man. Damon finds so many interesting beats to play, his work rewards repeat viewers who find new things about his work each time. I have no doubt that if I watched True Grit I would find something I missed the first time in the way Damon played Le Beof. Jeremy Renner does something similar to Damon in The Town, a showy performance but with nuance and layers. Jem has an inner life that he only hints at, it's hidden behind his almost constant rage. As Renner transitions from ensemble lead to top supporting player and finally to fully fledged leading man we are going to see some unbelievable work.
Candice Frederick
Okay, fellas, I'm about to throw a wrench in things for just a bit:
Vincent Cassel has been brought up so many times throughout our discussion it made my head spin. I don't get all the raves. He was just another prop to me. Renner is far more compelling in The Town, than Cassel in Black Swan to me. And Annette Bening--who I really respect in the industry--has really played the annoyed and stuffy housewife role much of her career (brilliantly, might I add, but predictably). I much preferred her in Mother in Child (though I wouldn't be mad if she got nominated for Kids instead). It doesn't look like we're getting much love for Julianne Moore, huh? Always a nominee, never a winner? My vote is still for Kerry Washington in Mother in Child but, if I had to choose between the mainstream favorites, I'd go with either Melissa Leo or Julianne Moore (leaning more toward Moore though).
I'd agree with both Julian and Brian about using disabilities as a crutch one account only: it's so predictably, formulaic Oscar. But this is kind of why I was asking about wild cards before. This however doesn't take away from their talent, just kind of makes it more of a snoozefest for me. It looks like Firth will get a nod, but I'd actually like to see someone who played a character without a crutch get some recognition.
This brings me to Mark Ruffalo. It's funny how you both mention his performance in The Kids Are All Right, but not his far more compelling performance in Shutter Island. I enjoyed both films, but I enjoyed Ruffalo better in SI. Yes, he was the quintessential hippie, California guy in Kids, but that was all that was striking about that performance to me. It was effortless, but does it really take that much effort for the role? I don't know, but I thought the most compelling aspect of Kids was the relationship the parents had with each other, and their separate relationships with their kids. Ruffalo was a mere peg in their game to me.
I really respect Mark Wahlberg. I think his longevity in the industry says a lot about him, but he has yet to show me an Oscar-worthy performance. I actually thought The Fighter was one of his weaker performances to date. At times, he seemed almost lost in the film as everyone around him controlled the ship. I know that was also in part to a character trait, but I also felt no empathy for his character either, which is a problem for me.
Speaking of Jeff Bridges in True Grit, it's very rare that the academy recognizes the same character twice in a film. But this may in fact be a wild card for them. I'm a huge fan of Matt Damon's and wouldn't mind him getting some love from the academy as well. His time to win an Oscar for his superb acting is far overdue.
I actually wouldn't mind Franco taking home the Oscar that evening (if it can't be one of my personal favorites). His performance is very quirky and solid, and one I wouldn't ordinarily like. I always think solo performance movies lose my interest after a while. Granted, 127 Hours lulled at points to me, but there is no denying Franco's exquisite performance.
Good thing Winter's Bone had good performances because I did not feel the level of respect on the movie as a whole as many other people did. The story wasn't riveting at all to me, but the performances helped that a bit.
Eisenberg was really good in The Social Network. But I will say that his performance was the compilation of all other Eisenberg performances you've seen before, just escalate to fit this caricature of a character. Done well, might I add. But I was expecting him to do that performance, just like that. I also didn't get the same impact from Rooney Mara as you guys did. To me, she was the catalyst for the film, but not so much the heartbeat of it.
I'd love to see Gosling and Williams get their second Oscar nominations of their career for their performances in Blue Valentine. I can honestly say these two actors never cease to surprise me. They don't have a signature anything, but you just know that their performances, if anything, are going to be good. I can appreciate that about them.
I wasn't a fan of Greenberg like it seems like you all were. I was actually annoyed by it. But i will agree that Gerwig was probably the only reason I didn't give up on it completely. She was solid in the role, but just not really memorable or impact for me. On that same token Rebecca Hall, as you pointed out, Brian, was fantastic in Please Give, as was Catherine Keener for that matter. I am more inclined to say that Hall had the more engaging performance for me. It was her trademark mousy performance, but it worked so well for that character. Hall also gave one of the best lines in The Town to me, but I didn't really like her performance in it. I thought she was underplaying it a lot.
I like Robert Downey, Jr.--a lot. But he didn't give me anything to swoon over thsi year (same goes for Michael Douglas). And Galfianikis, eh, he needs a new shtick to me. Something...better.
Predictions aside, my wish list would be as follows (wild cards included):
Lead Actor: Gosling, Franco, Mackie, Eisenberg, Hawke (Brooklyn's Finest), DiCaprio (SI)
Lead Actress: Moore, Bening (Kids), Washington (Night Catches Us), Portman, Williams
Supp. Actor: Bale, Garfield, Damon, Renner, Ruffalo (SI)
Supp. Actress: Cotillard, Leo, Weaver, Steinfeld, Lewis (as in, Juliette)
but in actuality, the nominations will most likely go down as the following:
Lead actor: Gosling, Franco, Firth, Wahlberg, Eisenberg
Supp. actor: Bale, Garfield, Renner, Ruffalo (Kids), Rush
Lead actress: Moore, Bening (Kids), Portman, Williams, Kidman
Supp actress: Leo, Weaver, Steinfeld, Bonham Carter, Adams


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Suzuki PE400 models
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Studly Adventurer
Joined: Jun 2009
Location: NJ
Oddometer: 987
Originally Posted by
This is the 400T. It had the alloy swing arm, the side number plates behind the shocks and the one piece tool kit beside the headlight. There were also some other little features like the tommy bar handles on the axles. I don't believe the T would appear in the VIN as T was a model designation and the VIN will have a year of manufacturer code embedded. There are plenty of sources on the web that will allow you to decode the VIN.
From memory the T was the first model of the 400. The PE range started with the 250B then when they went to C models a 175 was added then when the T model came the 400 was added.
Thats good info. Mine has the tool next to the headlight. So the non "T" model did not come with that tool?
The photos of a 400 and 400T all look the same. When I google images on the 1980 model, I see some have the tappered blue strip with 400 along the top of the side number plate, and some that have a non-tappered strip. Is that an idication of the "T" model, or even the "X" that was introduced in 1981?
Was the bash plate offered on both models? Mine has a bash plate.
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Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) July 31, 2014
When does a renowned culinary reviewer take off his critic's hat and join with chefs to cook up something original using a familiar vegetable found in everyone's refrigerator? When that familiar vegetable, an onion, is not like most onions at all, but instead an onion so sweet, juicy and mild it doesn't even make your eyes water – a Walla Walla River Sweet Onion.
During Walla Walla Sweet Onion Season, ammature and seasoned chefs alike put on their creative hats and have fun making foods better with America's Original Sweet Onion. And now through September, Peter Dills will be sponsoring cooking and tasting events in grocery stores and local restaurants and sharing how a host of prominent chefs create delicious signature dishes using Walla Wallas. He'll be promoting these Walla Walla events and broadcasting his interviews on his TV and Radio shows.
Says Peter, "Walla Walla Sweet Onions are only grown in the Walla Walla Valley in Washington state, just north of the Oregon border. Because the volcanic soil there is low in sulfur compounds - the compounds that give ordinary onions their eye-watering pungency - they are unusually sweet, juicy and mild. Of course, selective breeding of the original onion seeds brought to the valley all the way from island of Corsica by a French soldier in the late 19th century also has something to do with their unique flavor."
Many Walla Walla enhanced recipes will be shared with consumers over the course of the summer. These will include the favorite grilled "Walla Walla BOLT" sandwich of Safeway Executive Chef, Jeff Anderson, and three original Walla Walla recipes that Chef Sam Elias of popular "Sam's By The Beach" shared with Peter during his recent on-location video interview in Santa Monica.
In the meantime, here is Executive Chef Jeff Anderson's recipe for the "Walla Walla BOLT!"
Grilled Walla Walla Sweet Onion, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Romaine, and Heirloom Tomato Sandwich
Ingredients for 4 BOLTs:
Arugula Mayonnaise:
Heat gas or wood fired grill to a medium heat. Dress onion steaks with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and grill until cooked and tender. Toast split rolls on grill.
Dress rolls (top and bottom) with 1 1/2 Tbs. of Arugula Mayonnaise. Place romaine spear on bottom of roll and layer with grilled onions, bacon, and tomatoes. Season with pinch of salt and pepper. Add roll top and press slightly to "mash" the flavors. Your BOLT is now ready!
If you would like to attend any of the upcoming restaurant and store events with Peter Dills and Walla Walla Sweet Onions at center stage, check out Peter's website and Facebook page for all the latest updates.
Walla Walla Certified Sweet and Certified Extra Sweet Onions are marketed by a partnership between Keystone Fruit Marketing, Inc. and Progressive Produce of Los Angeles, California, working together to bring the finest fresh produce to the public.


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When a girl hugs you tight, what does that mean?
I was at a party with this girl, and when we were all leaving she came up to give me a hug, but she all of a sudden starting hugging me really tight... Show More
Most Helpful Opinion
I think she does like you, but she could be worried about a number of things, one of which is most probly being in another bad relationship. Another is probly her baby, as relationships can have a big impact on children. I think she squeezes you when she hugs you because you make her feel protected. There is just something about giving a guy a hug and him just squeezing you/holding you tight, that makes you feel protected and loved.
I think you should give her some time. Just be there for her, support her and show her that you're good with children.
Best Wishes
Thank you, good advice. I'll certainly do that. I just hope I didn't scare her off by telling her that I like her!
- Show Older Hide Older
Yeah, you're right. My ex actually works there too...but she works another shift, so it's not an issue. I'm pretty sure she knows, because you know how word gets around. So are you saying that she may like me, but is scared to date me because of all the baggage/potential drama/work related bs? I really just want her to like me...I'm cool with not dating. I like her A LOT, like I can never get her out of my mind...so then I log onto my computer like a jackass and ask these ridiculous questions.
I can totally relate, but the best advice I've been given is to go with the flow and let nature take it's course. I'm not the most patient person in the world, but there's not much else that can be done
What Girls Said 2
i wouldn't trust her. because she could be doing that to get to your other friends. my brother has had that experience with this girl that I knew I never liked in the beinning when I met her. because she did the exact same thing with my brother. she ended up f***ing my brothers friends and getting a really bad STD
I see how you might think that, but I really don't think that's it. I'm a good judge of character, and that is not in her nature. I know for a fact that she doesn't sleep around, and doesn't date. Besides, all my friends are uggos with not very much money, LOL. I'm the most successful out of my group, not to brag, but it's true.
Lol yeah. sorry I was just throwing that story in haha I tried. but like she maybe adding your friends on Facebook because she wants to get connected with you. she can be finding out some information about you from your friends. to find out what you like and like what's your personality
You never know though, you could be dead on with that story, haha. I guess time will tell. Thanks for the help! :)
What Guys Said 1
I think she likes you. Why won't she tell you? In this case there are many reasons. If she said she's not ready to date because of her bad relationships and her daughter, then maybe she was telling the truth here. Chances are she hasn't said anything because she figures it will hurt your feelings. Which really makes sense, because regardless of the intent, it always feels like a cruel game or some sort of tease to say to somebody, "I really like you, but I can't date you. I'm just not ready." wouldn't you agree?
There are other possibilities. I think that it's also possible that she, like so many girls out there, still cling to archaic beliefs that they guy MUST make the first move, no exceptions. It's bullshit really but there are still all too many girls that hold tight to this belief like all reality will tear itself apart otherwise. Really though, I don't think that's what's going on here. It really could be the other thing. You never know.
I think if you really want to sort all this out, I think you need to go over to this girl and tell her how you feel if you're interested in dating her. If you like her you need to tell her that. You need to ask her yourself, in a very point blank manner, how she feels about you. I would also suggest telling her the truth about everything. If you're still not sure what all this means, then tell her. If you are very clear about your feelings for her, and don't picture yourself going anywhere, tell her. It's pretty straightforward. You need to be ballsy about it but remember that this is entirely up to her.
Look man I'm rooting for you here. I want you to get the girl, if you want her, but I should level with you, the most you can do here is just put your heart out there and tell her how you feel, and ask her if she feels the same way. From there it's up to you if you want to wait it out. But you never know if she'll come around.
Good luck dude.
Thanks man, appreciate it. I actually did tell her that I liked her, and then I explained that I was curious how she felt about me...but she declined to answer! I don't know what that means, I was expecting her to say that she either felt the same way, or that she doesn't. Now I'm back to square one!
I'm checking back on a lot of my old answers like I usually do. I wanted to do a follow up to see if what I told you was at all helpful to you. So did my advice help?
Have an opinion?


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'Law & Order: Los Angeles': Ripped from (last year's) headlines
See if you can guess the real-life basis for Wednesday's "Law & Order: Los Angeles" based on the first bits of narration from the preview clip above:
"A sports icon ... a host of mistresses ... and a domestic disturbance." Does the NBC voiceover guy even need to add the smarmy, "Oh yeah -- we're goin' there"?
"LOLA's" take on the Tiger Woods scandal is a little bit behind the franchise's usual ripped-from-the-headlines turnaround time. To be fair, though, it's a story that wouldn't fit as well in the old New York setting, because really, how many pro golfers live in Manhattan?
The Woods-ian figure in the episode, "Playa Vista," is a golfer named Chip Jarrow (played by "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" alum Marc Blucas). And since it's "Law & Order," there has to be murder -- which in this case involves a female pro ( Maggie Contreras) who turns up dead.
What do you think of the preview? Has the story lost its juice, or is it still sordid enough to work for "LOLA"?
Photo/Video credit: NBC


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LeBron James Decision: Miami (OH) Makes Twitter Pitch to Miami Heat Star
Throughout this college offseason, Miami (OH) has made its intentions of expanding its influence into pro sports very clear.
First the RedHawks offered name-change advice to the Washington Redskins. Now they're humbly submitting their proposal for the ongoing LeBron James sweepstakes.
Hey @KingJames, why not come to Oxford? You can make Miami AND Ohio happy at the same time! #NoDecision
— Miami Athletics (@MiamiRedHawks) July 9, 2014
So you're saying we still have a chance RT @Chris_Broussard: Source: LeBron James will not make/announce his decision tonight
— Miami Athletics (@MiamiRedHawks) July 10, 2014
Whoever is running the @MiamiRedHawks Twitter account deserves a raise.