tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5813865943169758862024-03-04T21:34:36.779-08:00WebSnacker - Automat For The Web Wanderer - Free Morsels to Read, See, Hear and Experience!A hype free Movie and Music Review blog curated by the Websnacker and Crew. Plus Irreverent Commentary, Slice of Life Vignettes and Random Incisive Thoughts on Culture, Travel, Design, Marketing, Activism, Environment, Men, Women, and Everything else in between. Besides every now and then, a healthy dose of sparkling Music and awesome hard to find Movies - for FREE!Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.comBlogger502125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-36466016331324201622023-05-16T02:24:00.002-07:002023-05-16T02:33:38.733-07:00Coven of Sisters | Akelarre (2020) <p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;">A Spellbinding Tale of Feminine Power and Resilience</b></p><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27wPo3ND214liAXky9ufqD0U6JZxF3K4_2urZenSSdrKqtYuNICCnoQSwG1LHdHWuAM0nYuIt65k19jshKLQDhGZD7RD7SYvaXuES1aJvI4HaXjzGX8A5FOAapQu6CffsdSalOK10vzhDUtK5aPgb6jxwmzBPMlnOho1CvkoaJ9yRL8OE2D9y1LQ6Pw/s739/43C994E4-3BA0-4B42-82DC-2DF8E9E2C6C8.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="739" height="103" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27wPo3ND214liAXky9ufqD0U6JZxF3K4_2urZenSSdrKqtYuNICCnoQSwG1LHdHWuAM0nYuIt65k19jshKLQDhGZD7RD7SYvaXuES1aJvI4HaXjzGX8A5FOAapQu6CffsdSalOK10vzhDUtK5aPgb6jxwmzBPMlnOho1CvkoaJ9yRL8OE2D9y1LQ6Pw/w182-h103/43C994E4-3BA0-4B42-82DC-2DF8E9E2C6C8.jpeg" width="182" /></a></div><br />In a cinematic landscape often dominated by male-centric narratives, "<b>Coven of Sisters</b>" emerges as a captivating gem, bringing forth an enchanting blend of historical drama and witchcraft. Directed by <b>Pablo Agüero</b>, this Spanish period film transports viewers to 17th-century witch-hunting Basque Country, unveiling a compelling story of sisterhood, rebellion, and the enduring strength of women. Beneath its bewitching surface, "Coven of Sisters" weaves a tapestry of deeper meanings, exploring themes of patriarchy, religious oppression, and the unyielding spirit of feminism.</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;">The film unfolds during the Spanish Inquisition, a period of widespread religious persecution and moral dogma. In this dark era, a group of young women—led by the fiercely determined Ana (<b>Amaia Aberasturi</b>)—find solace and empowerment within a secret coven, defying societal expectations and the ruthless hand of the Inquisition. As their clandestine gatherings become riskier, tension builds, culminating in a gripping tale of survival, sacrifice, and female solidarity.</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;">Amaia Aberasturi delivers a captivating performance as Ana, skillfully portraying the internal turmoil of a woman torn between tradition and her desire for liberation. The ensemble cast shines brightly, with each actress bringing depth and nuance to her respective character, ensuring that the emotional core of the film remains consistently engaging. </div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;">Director Pablo Agüero's masterful direction captures the essence of the era with exquisite attention to detail, from the meticulous production design to the hauntingly beautiful cinematography. Agüero successfully immerses the audience in the bleak and oppressive world of the Inquisition, while also infusing the story with moments of enchantment and magic.</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;">Beneath its surface narrative, "Coven of Sisters" delves into profound themes that resonate long after the credits roll. The film explores the subjugation of women by a patriarchal society, highlighting the dangers they faced when stepping outside the prescribed roles assigned to them. By depicting the power dynamics between the male-dominated religious institutions and the defiant coven, the film effectively exposes the ways in which women's agency was suppressed in the name of morality and control.</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;">Moreover, "Coven of Sisters" examines the strength and resilience of women in the face of oppression. The coven serves as a metaphor for the unbreakable bond of sisterhood and the transformative power that arises when women come together to resist societal constraints. The film portrays the pursuit of individual freedom and self-expression as an act of rebellion against an unjust system, inspiring viewers to question their own societal limitations.</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;">Overall, "Coven of Sisters" is a mesmerizing cinematic experience that combines a gripping historical narrative with elements of magic and feminine power. Through its captivating performances, skillful direction, and exploration of deeper themes, the film stands as a poignant testament to the strength and resilience of women throughout history. </div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;">As viewers embark on this haunting journey with the characters, they are left with a renewed appreciation for the fight against oppression and a profound understanding of the indomitable spirit of sisterhood.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr />
<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-52780212420464565872020-10-06T03:28:00.000-07:002020-10-06T03:28:05.710-07:00Sea Fever 2019 - Film Review<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><b>Mid Sea Quarantine Horror Drama
<br /></b></span><b style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: georgia;">Sea Fever</b><span style="font-family: georgia;"> had been on my watch list for almost over a year, tempted by rave reviews that my movie critic friends had shared on the Movie Bloggers Network community. However, much to my sheer disappointment, I found Sea Fever sorely lacking in the Horror department, even though it cleverly sets up a very intriguing premise. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaymV6oVKbSiCe263cpMWq-z7jJPaYODfhhUUtyRMDg4w-Esz1W94e5dQFcGB-MuyQvAemwWvrew076149XEiuJ86vOIyybxwUW9T9QB8ozE8Y0OUNA5-GfaxE2MOub8ZBK4OoLsQnFpo/s733/seafever_0hero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="733" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaymV6oVKbSiCe263cpMWq-z7jJPaYODfhhUUtyRMDg4w-Esz1W94e5dQFcGB-MuyQvAemwWvrew076149XEiuJ86vOIyybxwUW9T9QB8ozE8Y0OUNA5-GfaxE2MOub8ZBK4OoLsQnFpo/w200-h149/seafever_0hero.jpg" width="200" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Close to 30 minutes and to the chagrin of my patience, it turns from a potential monster at sea horror extravaganza into a quarantine human drama about a virulent parasitic infection. Maybe that's why it has resonated so well in these CoronaVirus times and garnered the praise. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />Even then, I hoped Sea Fever would still turn into an exciting <i>Cabin Fever/The Thing</i> kind of macabre horror, but it is more content settling into a morose pace as the characters predictably start dying one by one. Instead of salvaging any bloody redemption for horror or sci-fi fans alike, even the inevitable climax is a wasted opportunity. <br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">It’s not that Sea Fever is a bad movie. It’s not. The lead stars do a fine job especially </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">Hermoine Corfield, Connie Nielsen</b><span style="font-family: georgia;"> & the Swedish - Iranian actor </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">Ardalan Esmaili </b><span style="font-family: georgia;">who I also loved in 2017’s </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">The Charmer</i><span style="font-family: georgia;">. </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">Dougray Scott's </b><span style="font-family: georgia;">role is wasted though, with not much screen presence. The agoraphobic ambiance of the fishing trawler, the desperate vulnerability of the middle-class fishing crew, and the stoic persona of the lead heroine all add up to the movie's strengths. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />It indeed also makes for a fine mid-sea drama thriller but it just didn’t cut enough for me to rank it as one of the best horrors of the year, as many claim it to be. To be fair, and still give the benefit of the doubt, I think this was due to a paucity of the budget rather than ideas that shaped this movie. <br /><br />Watch it for the hype, not for any Horror!<br /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="345" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YRrlx7GgLb4" width="479" youtube-src-id="YRrlx7GgLb4"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr />
<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-10448700887765401902020-07-02T01:30:00.004-07:002020-07-02T01:41:33.173-07:00American Beauty 1999 - Movie Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia", "times new roman", serif;"><br /><b>A beautiful Kaleidoscope of American Suburbia</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMg72IWHutakEiDiChKJtQ48weqDYiNVZJ0mKFsqS-HS3bJU1_1rBycUNVaPOsjk1eZ3ohbUIwiQkpxkx29j30ht1nEbyWxyPI4v14aR_XW7O0A29DlchADH9nuNoS5RT-hmuNPckLzxWi/s1600/American+Beauty.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1052" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMg72IWHutakEiDiChKJtQ48weqDYiNVZJ0mKFsqS-HS3bJU1_1rBycUNVaPOsjk1eZ3ohbUIwiQkpxkx29j30ht1nEbyWxyPI4v14aR_XW7O0A29DlchADH9nuNoS5RT-hmuNPckLzxWi/s200/American+Beauty.jpg" width="140" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia", "times new roman", serif;">I saw this award-winning gem directed by <b>Sam Mendes</b> (his directorial debut) just when it released in September 1999 with absolutely no idea of what it was. It was one of those drama movies that start at the end, telling you that somebody is going to die, and then makes you wait to find out how it happens. Towards the finish, three possibilities are waved in front of you, but then the plot twists to something else. And that's what makes it a fascinating watch. <br /><br />By now, most of you would have seen <b>American Beauty </b>already. A story of dysfunctional families in white middle-class suburbia: the main characters are the Burnham couple (<b>Kevin Spacey</b> and <b>Annette Bening</b>) who don't seem to copulate or even communicate anymore, but still share a bedroom. They have a highly insecure teenage daughter, played with aplomb by <b>Thora Birch</b> who believes she is an ugly misfit. Next door there are the Fitts: a right-wing militaristic father (<b>Chris Cooper</b>) and an emotionally dead mother (<b>Allison Janey</b>), whose son Ricky (<b>Wes Bentley</b>) has been in a mental hospital.
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Kevin Spacey plays Lester Burnham, the father doomed to die with such finesse, that it rightfully earned him a Best Actor award at the Oscars. One day he sees the boy next door calmy quit his job as a waiter, so he too quits his joyless job as a writer for a magazine. He starts buying marijuana from the boy next door, horrifying his straight real estate agent wife, who is obsessed with success (or the image of it). Annette Bening shows some restraint with the over-the-top character. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia", "times new roman", serif;">Lester also becomes infatuated with his daughter's cheerleader friend (<b>Mena Suvari</b>), who is beautiful, but also vain, shallow and dishonest. Somebody like that can't be a real friend, so let's call them companions. Thus Lester alienates his daughter even more. The daughter becomes involved with Ricky the weirdo next door, and Mrs. Burnham starts having meetings with another real estate agent, so you have a soap opera, where any of them might have a motive for smiting poor old Lester. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia", "times new roman", serif;">The most fascinating character is Ricky Fitts, the teenage neighbor. He looks like a bible salesman but sells drugs. He has no fear of anything, and sees beauty where others can't, videotaping everything around him. It is he and the Lolita cheerleader who give Lester lust for life again. His wife's answer to the emptiness of her life is to become more successful. She isn't going to admit what the real problem is. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia", "times new roman", serif;">American Beauty pokes a burnt stick in the eye of the American way of life, anything from guns and fast food to drugs and materialism. Only religion seems missing from this.
It feels like a major studio tried to make a commercial arthouse movie, and it actually succeeded. <br /><br />American Beauty won five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Spacey), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Cinematography. American Beauty also won six of the 14 awards for which it was nominated at the </span><span style="font-family: "georgia", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia", "times new roman", serif;">British Academy Film Awards</span>: Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress (Bening), Best Cinematography, Best Film Music and Best Editing. The Oscar-nominated, Grammy-winning soundtrack score by Thomas Newman is worth highlighting too as it sets the mood for this great watch. <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia", "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></div>
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</div><div>This scene is a highlight!</div><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr />
<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-89877589563077453962020-06-28T10:27:00.000-07:002020-06-28T10:27:14.127-07:00Wonder Women Puberty Awakenings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br />How Old TV shows spark the </b></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>incendiary</b> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">first fires of teen sexuality</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7wd2jOFmZkgiNjOkJv6Hi0QOuwbIApMpTeM4SUtCplymlQvUkLqo3uKOxLbPymf8u9mXrj0sBU8PTCnWHepj8Tu0cOnp5cOc7dFdiqzfLuQfnr-1m6N7wuAgGX11P4PWPYGgSxGyv7g/s1600/Lynda-Carter-35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="671" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7wd2jOFmZkgiNjOkJv6Hi0QOuwbIApMpTeM4SUtCplymlQvUkLqo3uKOxLbPymf8u9mXrj0sBU8PTCnWHepj8Tu0cOnp5cOc7dFdiqzfLuQfnr-1m6N7wuAgGX11P4PWPYGgSxGyv7g/s200/Lynda-Carter-35.jpg" width="178" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I noticed a petite beautiful brunette while riding the Metro today. It happens. Normally, I look over, I say to myself, "that's one hot mama," and I go back to reading the overrated novel for which I overpaid at the second-hand book shop. I consistently overpay. Okay, but I don't say ' hot mama'. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But today, I had no book, and I was especially unable to accept any passing thought at face value. So I thought to myself, "Why do I find this woman attractive?" That, of course, can be answered in no one simple discourse, due to a wide array of possible influences - the physical, the psychological, the sociological, and so forth. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But I realized that this lovely lady, who had so efficiently grabbed my attention from the sweet and naughty sound of her thighs gently skidding against the vinyl Metro seat, was especially alluring to me because of one thing - her resemblance to Erin Grey (</span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Katherine "Kate" Summers Stratton</b>)</span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, of the 80s situational comedy sitcom <b>Silver Spoons </b>fame. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Then it hit me. Many of the incendiary sparks that kindled the first fires of my teen sexuality came from a single origin - watching re-runs of old television sitcoms with my aunt who had a peculiar penchant for watching these old shows. I suppose this should come as no surprise to a cable slave with a media-infested mind like myself, but pinpointing the various sources of my libidinous teen development proved both entertaining and enlightening. What's even more funnier is that most of these starlets are now grandmas. And let's be clear, I have no granny fetish! </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anyway, the following involves a high degree of self-disclosure, but I will progress nonetheless, in chronological order. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Maria from Sesame Street: Sonia Manzano</b>, this Latin-American beauty captured my youthful schoolkid heart when it still could cry for a misunderstood woolly mammoth and the departing of an elderly shop keeper. With her bright smile and willingness to teach, she made me toddle back to the tube again and again. Sonia, now 70 played Maria on Sesame Street from 1971 until her departure in 2015. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2b40z1cOLlxnTBjfnlbBWs8Gbk7uaaM6piQdnmtOnGDvA4AJykm98VoSDQHsbo8hH2UV7KZVDwZFQFGmE-v7x3JaM5GfVp7BSDD_LqShrPjGyC_M2eqp9uOQ7bDTsumFFbnhBW0rFkgo/s1600/Catherine+Bach+Dukes+of+Hazzard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="564" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2b40z1cOLlxnTBjfnlbBWs8Gbk7uaaM6piQdnmtOnGDvA4AJykm98VoSDQHsbo8hH2UV7KZVDwZFQFGmE-v7x3JaM5GfVp7BSDD_LqShrPjGyC_M2eqp9uOQ7bDTsumFFbnhBW0rFkgo/s200/Catherine+Bach+Dukes+of+Hazzard.jpg" width="131" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Wilma from The Flintstones: </b>The brained beauty from the second-greatest TV cartoon of all time. Wilma’s intelligence and no-nonsense attitude, tempered by a sweetness lost on today's women, all packaged with a shock of red hair and a body that won't quit made me wonder why Fred would ever try to fool her, and why he and Barney spent so much time together with a fine piece like that at home. When she and Betty got together to make dino-cookies, I wished I was a rolling pin.
<br /><br /><b>Wonder Woman:</b> No not Gal Gadot, but <b>Lynda Carter</b> from the American live-action television series of the 70s. What can I say, Miss World USA Lynda Carter made me feel funny in a way for which I had no label until after puberty. It's a good thing she never threw the lasso of truth around me because I definitely would have ended up telling her how great her amazon woman tits were. Lynda is 68 now!
<br /><br /><b>Vicki from The Love Boat:</b> I believe she was the second entertainment director for the Spelling cruise, but blonde beauty <b>Jill Whelan</b> as Vicki Stubing, the daughter of Captain Stubing in the 70s hit cruise ship television series The Love Boat made love exciting and new for me when it truly was. I came aboard 9:00 PM every Saturday for carrom board and costume parties and Vicki. Jill is 53 now.
<br /><br /><b>Daisy Duke from the Dukes of Hazzard:</b> I know this is an obvious one, but for noobs, <b>Catherine Bach</b>, played the famous role in the late 70s – early 80s American television series The Dukes of Hazzard. After watching it, you can probably understand why hillbillies have a reputation for incest. If those shorts were any higher, I wouldn't have needed the sex education classes that were to follow in later years. I think she inspired my first little bitty teen erections. Catherine is 66 now.
<br /><br /><b>Catwoman:</b> Not Halle Berry but <b>Julie Newmar</b>, from the Batman TV series of the 1960s. Catwoman was more than just Meeooowww. helping me make the first associations between women and felines. A purrrfect template for the beginning of my understanding of female sexuality. She's hot, she's naughty, and she always takes Batman's bat-belt away. Holy hormones, Batman. Julie is 86 now.<br /><br /><b>Nellie Ruth "Nell" Harper from Gimme a Break:</b> Don't laugh, Nell was a whole lotta woman, and boy, could she snare a man. Playing the motherly Black housekeeper for a widowed police chief and his three daughters in the 80s show, she showed me what a REAL woman wants - and she didn't take no guff from nobody. And I'm not alone - Joey Lawrence got his start as a leading man on that show- and look what a stud he turned out to be. <b>Nell Carter </b>passed away in 2003 aged 54.
<br /><br /><b>Lauren from Family Ties:</b> Before she became actually famous in Friends, <b>Courtney Cox </b>already inspired at least one 12 year old to make Friends. I made a new friend - she may just have been the first subject of my masturbatory fantasies. Incidentally, this hit 80s series in which she played </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Alex Keaton's Girlfriend, </span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">also featured Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Joseph Garden Levitt & Christina Applegate. Courtney is 56 now.<br /><br /><b>Wanda from Doogie Howser M.D:</b> Even though still in my early teens, Wanda Plenn, the girlfriend (played by <b>Lisa Dean Ryan)</b> of the eponymous character in the early 90s series Doogie Howser, M.D. made me want to quit junior high and take up medical school. If I were Doogie, I'd have brought all kinds of medical equipment home for that little vixen. And you know Vinny watched them get down from his little window entrance all the time. I think Doogie liked it. Also, I believe Wanda to be the precursor to the later Neve Campbell craze. Lisa is 48 now.<br /><br /><b>Darlene Merriman from Head of the Class:</b> Never saw anyone in high school that looked like <b>Robin Givens</b>, I'll tell you that but she was always nice to Arvid and Dennis. I still can't believe an honors student like her would go and ruin my fantasy world and marry Mike Tyson. I could talk your ear off about that...Perhaps the luscious redhead Simone played by the beautiful Khrystyne Haje is still available. btw, Robin is 55 now.<br /><br />I think I started getting laid soon after that, but that wasn't really the case. However, I believe that any other TV women I found attractive after that were probably some conglomeration of what qualities this group brought to the table. If only I learned back then that if you're bored with a real woman, you can't just change the channel. </span></div>
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-34971368010606985932020-05-27T08:41:00.003-07:002020-05-27T08:43:13.775-07:00From Beyond 1986 Movie Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Macabre 80s Cult Campy Horror!</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6y4BFXM7wPFFi3hkSlRJs8_QjG9qUx10HrWH2soroSBKdZiXLvBCflo9z2HgkKNNCw2yJfYJM1HkgtSva1rlHu4LRVohq_mR7T3r8rkLZdLFNaY9hhatK-7UA5wTZAkydZ3VjVSROU4KS/s1600/From+Beyond.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="747" data-original-width="471" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6y4BFXM7wPFFi3hkSlRJs8_QjG9qUx10HrWH2soroSBKdZiXLvBCflo9z2HgkKNNCw2yJfYJM1HkgtSva1rlHu4LRVohq_mR7T3r8rkLZdLFNaY9hhatK-7UA5wTZAkydZ3VjVSROU4KS/s200/From+Beyond.jpg" width="125" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In 1986, the famed team of <b>Stuart Gordon</b> and <b>Brian Yuzna</b> that brought the 1985 Horror hit ”<b>Re-Animator</b>” returned for another bizarre sci-fi horror shocker, ”<b>From Beyond</b>” based on one more <b>H.P. Lovecraft</b> story and starring <b>Jeffrey Combs</b> again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This one is about a Resonator, a futuristic machine that's </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">a two-way window to the soul</span></span> and allows you to see entities from another dimension; </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span>but they can see you too, and they're hungry unleashing all manner of evil creatures and enabling individuals to indulge their most sinister desires and depraved fantasies. This film lacked some of the ghoulish original humor of Re-Animator, but its script is better thought-out, and there are lots of scary, campy moments and spectacularly gruesome special effects. <br /><br />23 years later, an indie filmmaker Blair Erickson released ”<b>Banshee Chapter</b>” in 2013 starring Ted Levine and Katia Winter, rebooting the original story. Both movies are a good quarantine watch but ”From Beyond” takes the prize for being more interesting and more satisfying. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> A cult classic of menacing design and blood-curdling execution, From Beyond is a perverse head-trip of horror.</span><br />
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-46376120259480122112020-04-04T12:09:00.000-07:002020-04-04T12:09:05.726-07:00River's Edge 1986 - Movie Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Probably the Darkest Teen Movie of its time</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOmJOhWQzKUKtn6uGlaPh6eEfTViFv3k8JI3gLHKNhDysX849J5Z61i1ZwFpMOTOVE-sk23Ulj7auhsYgIeoRfJ91W8Hb6OyRTV3pIsLjg0oRYx6VXXuU2Nt-0tajKmMHCxHQkhPqgkGb8/s1600/RiversEdge-PosterArt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="375" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOmJOhWQzKUKtn6uGlaPh6eEfTViFv3k8JI3gLHKNhDysX849J5Z61i1ZwFpMOTOVE-sk23Ulj7auhsYgIeoRfJ91W8Hb6OyRTV3pIsLjg0oRYx6VXXuU2Nt-0tajKmMHCxHQkhPqgkGb8/s200/RiversEdge-PosterArt.jpg" width="150" /></a>Inspired by the sensational real-life murder of 14 year old <b>Marcy Renee Conrad</b> on November 3, 1981, in Milpitas, California by <b>Anthony Jacques Broussard</b>, a then 16-year-old high school student, this controversial crime drama is a grim watch about dissociated youth and the moral malaise that affects society. Ironically, even after 34 years, River's Edge has not lost its social relevance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />Remember "<i><b>Stand by Me</b></i>", the <b>Rob Reiner</b> directed, Oscar-nominated 1986 adventure drama? A young little <b>Jerry O'Connell</b> asks <b>River Phoenix </b>and his other buddies: "You guys want to go see a dead body?" In "<i><b>River's Edge</b></i>", Samson Tollet, "John"
<b>(Daniel Roebuck)</b> to his white trash posse, kills his girlfriend and leads his friends to see her nude corpse, on the river's edge. "Dude! I saw it! I poked at
it with a stick." Of course, John has a motive for his crime. "Why did you kill her?" "She was talking shit.", he says nonchalantly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If "<i>Stand by Me</i>" based on the Stephen King novella was a sweet coming of age cinema, "<i>River's Edge</i>" coincidentally also released in 1986, is like its strung-out somber antidote version; a social drama and a dark satire all wrapped up in a horrific teen movie camouflage. <br /> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">John's friends, led by Layne (<b>Crispin Glover</b>) decide to cover up the murder for him. But Layne is the only one really committed to the plan. He buries the dead girl and nobody helps, not even John. "I'll be expecting a sixer for this," says Layne, dumping the body in the river. "You'd think I'd at least rate a Michelob," says Layne, when John gives him a sixer of Bud. <br /><br />One gets to gawk at the Pre-"<i><b>Speed</b></i>" teaming of <b>Keanu Reeves</b> and <b>Dennis Hopper</b> too. Keanu, a relatively unknown star then plays Matt, the burn-out with a conscience and Hopper plays Feck, a nutso shut-in with a stash of premium weed, which he gladly gives to Layne and his friends whenever they visit, as long as they talk nice to his inflatable girlfriend, Ellie. Feck had a real girlfriend once, but he had to kill her. So he and John have something in common. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Their psycho bonding time goes like this! "I killed a girl once, put a gun to the back of her head, blew her brains out the front. I loved her." Feck "I strangled mine." John "Did you love her?" Feck "She was all right." John </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Matt's little brother Tim <b>(Joshua John Miller</b>) is the evilest kid since <i>The Omen's Damien</i>. He drowns his little sister's doll. When Matt beats him up, he hatches a plan to kill Matt and tells his Asian punk friend, "Go get your nunchucks and your dad's car!" Watch your back, Matt! Eventually, somebody narcs to the cops. Furious, Layne drives around in his jacked-up VW Bug trying to figure out a plan. Meanwhile, Matt gets together with Layne's girlfriend, played by <b>Ione Skye</b>. He also has a big fight with his mother's boyfriend, who lives with the family. "You just stay around here to fuck my mother and eat our food. Mother Fucker! Food Eater!" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The alienated kids spend a lot of time wondering why they don't feel worse about their dead friend. Maybe it's because they're jealous of her? Maybe it's our morally bankrupt society? Maybe it's just ennui? "Sometimes I think it would be a lot easier being dead." "That's bullshit. You couldn't get stoned anymore." <br /><br />Film Critic <b>Emanuel Levy</b> wrote that <i>River's Edge</i> "addresses the alienation and moral vacancy among American kids growing up in a drug-oriented,
valueless culture. <i>River's Edge</i> has the disturbing quality of a
collective fear - the cherished, eagerly awaited adolescence is presented as confusing and vacuous. Unlike most 1980s teenage sex comedies, this
film doesn't glamorize youth, instead depicting it as a bleak, aimless
coming of age, a time of boredom, stupor, and waste." However, Levy writes that the film does share in common with its peers the manner in which it presents adult figures, as "irresponsible and indifferent".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Watch this movie for a much more insightful look at 80's disconnected youth. The added bonus is Keanu Reeves and the Heavy Metal soundtrack (if you are a Metal fan) featuring the likes of Slayer and Agent Orange. And in case you were curious, Anthony Jacques Broussard, the original murderer now 55, is still in prison. <br /><br /></span></div>
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7127753 -74.005972839.9423093 -75.296866299999991 41.483241299999996 -72.7150793tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-30947645468170423552020-04-01T04:35:00.001-07:002020-04-04T12:12:11.488-07:00Dead Man 1995 - Movie Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Revisiting the underrated surreal Western</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Jim Jarmusch called his 1995 <b>Johnny Depp</b> starrer ”<b><i>Dead Man</i></b>” a psychedelic western. Believe the famed independent filmmaker, ’Dead Man’ is indeed a brooding post-modern western or as a film critic, <b>Jonathan Rosenbaum</b> called it, a trippy authentic <i>”Acid Western”.</i></span></div>
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Johnny Depp shines in this hypnotic movie that seems even more trippy to watch it again. <b>Billy Bob Thornton, Iggy Pop, Alfred Molina, Crispin Glover, John Hurt, Lance Henriksen, Gabriel Byrne, Gary Farmer</b> and <b>Robert Mitchum</b> add to the star quality while <b>Neil Young </b>amplifies the surreal weirdness with his guitar-driven soundtrack. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Even though this strange movie flopped on release, it divided critics and has now become a cult Western. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I personally like it because of Johnny Depp, the character of Nobody, and <b>William Blake</b>'s poetry: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">'Oh why was I born with a different face </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Why was I not born like the rest of my race? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When I look, each one starts </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When I speak I offend </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Then I'm silent and passive </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">and lose every friend.' </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Watch it. The film is also achingly beautifully shot by acclaimed Dutch cinematographer <b>Robby Müller</b> in crisp black and white, which adds to the minimalist gritty feel.</span></div>
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-51300294813434381742019-12-03T06:19:00.001-08:002019-12-03T06:19:37.173-08:00Its the Last December of this Decade<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>I Know Things that Google Doesn't</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgAUO4i-OXswe8DSSMf2xOoSg9QjUap8gvAlw21KMaPicp2XhTtdIqfr3L3L-2LnhAMeNpAVSD8y2mK8EqBePq5wA5y1dWhlRs4izBUkH-B7-XaZHvDu6J5mGVk6eK9tNfWdz19WHGIEFs/s1600/adult+life1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="554" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgAUO4i-OXswe8DSSMf2xOoSg9QjUap8gvAlw21KMaPicp2XhTtdIqfr3L3L-2LnhAMeNpAVSD8y2mK8EqBePq5wA5y1dWhlRs4izBUkH-B7-XaZHvDu6J5mGVk6eK9tNfWdz19WHGIEFs/s200/adult+life1.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Every December brings dread and uncertainty. Even though its the busiest time for me work-wise, its also the time when Murphy's law takes an entirely new dimension in my life. No matter how much I plan and prepare for the worst, I get bogged down with problems of all kinds - work, family, health, weather, money and even matters of the heart and mind. Sometimes, I feel like a victorious but battered Hercules by the time the New Year dawns.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This December is singularly unique. It's the last December of this decade. Did you even think about it? And this got me thinking about the last 10 years of my life. My age especially. I am into prime adulthood now, and while I've been blessed with good genes and a youthful appearance (I think), I have done my share of coping with aging and all those weighty issues that come up in the process. Like watching my body change and trying to hold back the visual signs with lazy exercise and bad diets. Suddenly, you start noticing everyone around you is fitter and younger than you. And damn, those awful grey hairs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I discovered grey hairs when I wasn't even 30 yet. I don't think I need to expand on the horror of making that discovery, now do I? So, after I mentally sobbed for a while, ate a dozen jelly beans, and wondered if I were going to have to start dying my hairs, I just calmly plucked those grey ones right out and decided not to worry about it. That was many years ago but now, it's an impractical solution unless I intend to go bald in a painful way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This winter, my thirty-something friend's 26 years old pretty cousin came to stay with her. A model in the making, she seemed obsessed with her body. While anyone would admire her young, gazelle-like body, shapely limbs, and svelte hour-glass figure, we would listen to her bemoan the agonies of her new adulthood. She would rue her back was too broad, her legs too short, her teeth too big, her ass too flat. We assured her that she looked lovely and she was simply overreacting but to no avail. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Then, my friend and I jointly recalled how utterly confusing it was to navigate the new and harsh realities of adulthood, and we instantly knew there's no way we can alleviate her cousin's pain. She's going to have to go through what I call the "horrible 20's" and figure it out for herself. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I've come to understand that twenty-something adversity, as annoying as this may sound, is actually good for us. It's how we deal with it that determines our future character. I can only hope she has the resources and the dexterity to come through it all and end up in a good place - physically, mentally and sexually.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Speaking of sex, adulthood has its remarkable charms too. Not to sound too self-flattering, the 30s can also be adventurous. How else would you define being pursued by young women in their 20's and 30's? While I've long ridiculed the shallow puerile carnal fantasies of virile young women connecting with an older "wise man", I sometimes have found myself drawn to these younger women's zest for life and impressed with their intellect, warmth, and ambition.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My friends envy me, especially those younger than me but no matter, how you look at it, there's a stark reality to it. After a couple of days, weeks or months, uncustomarily filled with various encounters with these young women, you are inevitably, again reminded of the dark painful issues that make their existence known, and the often mediocre sex that fills the 20's and the boasted quantity of sex rather than quality. With a few exceptions, of course!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Maybe now when I feel impatient with the baggage that the term "wise man" brings relevance to my life, it'll be tempered with knowing that those young women are no less burdened themselves. Rather, they're simply in the stage of cultivating that baggage, and a whole lot more confused about it too!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So what does all this mean to me (and maybe to you too)? It means that I have a new appreciation of the innate balance of life and where I've arrived at this current age. When my jealous young friends of the google generation express their bemusement over me getting hit on by more women than they get, I console them that I can but never regain the beauty of youth that they enjoy now. Black hair for example.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There's still a silver lining and a distinct advantage that I don't tell them. That I now have a richer kind of life experience, knowledge and wisdom they don't and cannot possibly yet possess. If their envy is indeed true, my desirability probably comes from the confidence I exude. And isn't it nice to know that they also have to earn it? That they have to do the hard work of self-challenge, self-growth, and persistent optimism that this kind of desirability requires. And also be prepared to weather the adversarial surprises adult life is certain to throw their way too?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So, this December, I feel less dread and actually positive. Maybe, it means that I am better equipped with more awareness and insights I have earned this decade. Maybe these nuggets of sagacity borne of life and observation have made me more adept in navigating the uncertainties of adult life, my migraines and a tiny bit closer to welcoming the new year with grace and acceptance. Maybe one day I'll even be able to hear the term "wise man" without cynicism -and then again, maybe not!! So, do a little introspection and make this last December, worth enough to remember.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div>
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-86641761472230366582019-09-23T02:33:00.000-07:002019-09-23T02:33:32.362-07:00But Why? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Searching for answers for questions that have no answers </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQY3HeiXJvmdF5fcZgAjYnfB6vxtHfTslOm62hYhNZGUWDshYA1KOFRAUZSQjL7Xtsi8FmLeAhwk-qM4og6-msa5_EQKIMfPedTagGVUpomS5Zp4JNlGUCyRY-dyDS-O-hn1M5zmAh4-CR/s1600/if-god-is-good-and-loving-why-do-bad-things-happen-to-me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQY3HeiXJvmdF5fcZgAjYnfB6vxtHfTslOm62hYhNZGUWDshYA1KOFRAUZSQjL7Xtsi8FmLeAhwk-qM4og6-msa5_EQKIMfPedTagGVUpomS5Zp4JNlGUCyRY-dyDS-O-hn1M5zmAh4-CR/s200/if-god-is-good-and-loving-why-do-bad-things-happen-to-me.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My aunt died. She was just 57 years old. She was asthmatic but definitely hale and healthy. An active lady devoted to charity and social causes or engrossed with her grandchildren. The day before she suddenly died, she spoke to me over the phone. To me, she sounded fit and happy and yet, the next unfortunate morning, I get to know she's dead. She was gone, rather inexplicably. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And this week, a 'talented' friend of mine who lives in Seattle lost his job. Again. This was his third attempt at full-time employment since January. His wife deserted him last year and filed for a successful divorce. Poor chap, he can't even afford the alimony. If you ask me, he is really a "nice guy" deserving of a great job and a good wife or at least a girlfriend, but he ain't lucky. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Constant unfortunate episodes like these, including my own personal misfortunes, makes me often wonder why do these bad things happen? Many folks think I am lucky and I shouldn't be greedy for more. Maybe I am but I still don’t really understand the concept of luck and how much is dished out to whom and why? If you believe in god and fate, you also believe that a person’s life is already planned out and everything happens for a reason. God's reason, apparently or blame it on the stars, your parents, your ex or your last life... How convenient?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I don't get it. I don’t understand how or why certain people are lucky than others and how some are also more extra happy than others. And why some people seem forsaken all the time, wallowing in perpetual suffering all through their sad lives. And why some die so soon while others live as if forever. It's truly illogical. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I know that no one has a perfect life, and bad things happen to everyone, but something that seems bad and terrible to one person could just be all right to another. One person's job loss opens up a new opportunity for another. Even your ex, the person who caused you so much sadness will paradoxically bring so much joy to his or her new suitor. Or one woman could have a bad boyfriend or a bad husband problem but another woman, typically single though actively looking would probably think, "she’s lucky to even have a boyfriend", and the awful problem for the other woman would seem so completely trivial for her. Strangely right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Or think why are some people blessed with awesome lives, while others experience one bad turn after another? Some say, "God doesn’t give you more than you can handle." I don’t really believe in God but the statement makes me question why do some people have to be constantly pushed to the edge and struggle hard to where they are or will be pushed over the cliff? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Take the case of a poor kid I know who died last month. Why did that 13-year-old boy have to die of cancer? Why did his life have to be so short? Why was this kid born into poverty, struggled to escape, but never quite made it? I don’t understand. Throughout the 13 years of this kid’s life, was it always set up that he would die, and everything he would achieve and all his dreams were meant to disappear? Like, he was always going to die at 13 and it was going to happen no matter what. Unlucky 13? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Maybe everything does happen for a reason, but I am constantly pondering and seeking answers as to why they still happen? Especially, why so many people, particularly kids and young adults who die too young, It's almost like the daily news. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today, I read about a 20 something black artist who died of a drug overdose. Whether it was intentional or accidental, no one will ever know but everyone will still make their own conclusions. Racial prejudice will do its part while some will find a noble purpose because it can make people rethink about drugs, and then hopefully change them for good. That could save a person’s life. But if you knew the person who died, you would constantly ask yourself, “Why her? Why did she have to die? Was that a planned out suicide or was that an unexpected move? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Misery and pain can make make a person stronger, but other times it will only end up driving them into a deep abyss. Face it, some of us have pretty decent lives. Pretty happy, and sometimes pretty damn good. But many others live a shitty and painful life that never really breaks its vicious cycle, and with a sudden good moment, they die or they suffer into sad obscurity. I wonder if it’s all in their cards. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Why do some people live that way, while others live pretty happily? Why can’t some people ever really be happy, and why do so many people experience so much pain and so much grief? Why the heartbreak? Why divorce? Why suicide? Why die? Why the problems that keep the unfortunate souls up at night? The whys' are endles...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No matter how bad one's situation is, or how shitty your life really is, there is always someone worse off than you, and why does it have to be that way? Is their miserable existence our consolation? To compare and feel better? I don't know. It's already more than a week since my aunt died. Life goes on but I still have so many questions that will never be answered. Why? Just why?</span></div>
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-28351817263764690662019-09-14T12:48:00.001-07:002019-09-23T02:33:45.067-07:00Writing about my Writers Block<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>The Hiatus is over, I think!</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH7abU_Dw_LoH99rss40YpFn8tbPk4YaLR8LJCYSu98tnguxkl-N52Q4TYYL68Nmbn4ClWHB2SO8N1QsIsBTnh6LV_BrM94zTNFKF9x24bhp4GUS9APBKOtPtFMVVf3HiEn-u0p081WuoY/s1600/WritersBlock-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH7abU_Dw_LoH99rss40YpFn8tbPk4YaLR8LJCYSu98tnguxkl-N52Q4TYYL68Nmbn4ClWHB2SO8N1QsIsBTnh6LV_BrM94zTNFKF9x24bhp4GUS9APBKOtPtFMVVf3HiEn-u0p081WuoY/s200/WritersBlock-web.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Maybe it’s the result of my ongoing cruise vacation. My impromptu hiatus is over, well, kind of... because finally after 3 long months, I feel the bad vibe of not being able to write is gone. Really gone, I mean and the credit (again) in addition to my cruise, largely goes to my dedicated readers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's a sweet insight because, unknown to me, my blog (in spite of my sheer negligence) has become something of a staple reading routine to many, and the proof is the countless letters I continue to receive that still surprise and pleasantly overwhelm, especially when I take long breaks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, I wanted to sincerely thank all you kind folks out there who have ever been here - whether it was once or a bunch of times especially those who email me often or leave supportive messages om my Facebook page and Twitter inbox. You people really help me in so many ways more than some of you will ever know. Thank you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Needless to say, this blog has been a personal endeavor and I have come a long way in my own healing and rediscovery, nurturing this blog. A blog where I could really be honest, could honestly write from the heart and also get honest feedback... but this has also been the blog that has made me feel so gutless at times that (sometimes) I keep all references to *me* out of things while reading blogs of other brave men and women out there who were willing to own their problems. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Maybe, this confession of my recent inability to write is a proactive step in the “write” direction. My next step is to prioritize this blog in my always bizarre scheme of things and attempt to write regularly. At least once a week. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I also promise that this blog will continue to be its own animal, propagating its stance of complete openness to all expression of my ideas, be them controversial or mundane and of course, personal bits of me and you will find a whole lot more of that as well.
So thank you again for all the love you send. In the meantime, if there’s something I should know or something you want to ask? Let me hear it. It's the least I can do to thank you.</span></div>
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-85057810986553152512019-06-24T11:50:00.000-07:002019-06-24T11:50:45.654-07:00Romantic Passion Demystified!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Romantic passion, according to my fav Brazilian alchemist Paulo Coelho </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcHgRqVqykrgqsQqKbDZ6l-GPgXmWj759t9_qexHhFSGvdcIaJwf9XVyGBW5R4dtiJVMTYv7oFQVjPpEaZnsL9RXxpdSiTY8EyYclqRhMQcV65PQXCdcgHSmlJHRvyvLrFNCIXQ9Un8vBz/s1600/7163L__97381.1539348841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1240" data-original-width="1280" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcHgRqVqykrgqsQqKbDZ6l-GPgXmWj759t9_qexHhFSGvdcIaJwf9XVyGBW5R4dtiJVMTYv7oFQVjPpEaZnsL9RXxpdSiTY8EyYclqRhMQcV65PQXCdcgHSmlJHRvyvLrFNCIXQ9Un8vBz/s200/7163L__97381.1539348841.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Passion makes a person stop eating, sleeping, working, feeling at peace. A lot of people are frightened because, when it appears, it demolishes all the old things it finds in its path.
No one wants their life thrown into chaos. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That is why a lot of people keep that threat under control and are somehow capable of sustaining a house or a structure that is already rotten. They are the engineers of the superseded. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Other people think exactly the opposite: they surrender themselves without a second thought, hoping to find in passion the solutions to all their problems. They make the other person responsible for their happiness and blame them for their possible unhappiness. They are either euphoric because something marvelous has happened or depressed because something unexpected has just ruined everything. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Keeping passion at bay or surrendering blindly to it - which of these two attitudes is the least destructive? Or is it the best thing that can happen. I don’t know.</span></div>
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-55733195396318399822019-05-18T11:25:00.000-07:002019-05-18T11:25:37.281-07:00Changing You, Changing Times<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Time is a Dressmaker specializing in Alterations. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjzziOljVrNv4qFTBlLlJRA_WOvapPLombQfQD92DzV4541JYwRQZrV5aeiavlNFnfJ4UGcH2zIi_esdOxF2anviGx3QcIBPRJyzY9ImCfnoz6s7GUqzHCxx4rpKMUg-n7pzPxxZDIQzp/s1600/Nobody-Can-Go-Back-And-Start-A-New-Beginning-But-Anyone-Can-Start-Today-And-Make-A-New-Ending.-%25C2%25BB-Maria-Robinson-333x500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="235" data-original-width="283" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjzziOljVrNv4qFTBlLlJRA_WOvapPLombQfQD92DzV4541JYwRQZrV5aeiavlNFnfJ4UGcH2zIi_esdOxF2anviGx3QcIBPRJyzY9ImCfnoz6s7GUqzHCxx4rpKMUg-n7pzPxxZDIQzp/s200/Nobody-Can-Go-Back-And-Start-A-New-Beginning-But-Anyone-Can-Start-Today-And-Make-A-New-Ending.-%25C2%25BB-Maria-Robinson-333x500.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Growing Up” or “Growing Old” is a perpetual phase of our lives. Not just the physical old, I am talking about the mental-emotional part of us that is always evolving. Whether its growing old into decay or gaining wisdom is a matter of perspective. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I remember how, one day (when I was probably 10 years old), I was playing my favorite game - cops and robbers with my school friends, oblivious as only a child's mind can be and then the next day surprisingly, I felt a subtle wave of "self" consciousness about even wanting to play such a childish game, which until the previous day was my favorite way to spend my playtime. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was the beginning of innocence lost. Video games had arrived in my life and I was no longer sure to be the cop with a toy gun chasing robbers.
My ambitions had also changed overnight. I didn’t want to be Dirty “Clint Eastwood “ Harry anymore, I wanted to be the android “Bishop” from Aliens or at least a Cosmonaut aboard a USSR space ship. Don’t ask me why! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was "growing up." I found myself confused and emotionally afraid - one moment trying to find out who I was and who I should be and the next back in the playground squealing with my friends on the swing set and acting like a little "kid" again - then feeling the guilt of being found out - that someone would see me and think I was acting like a baby for wanting those simple, innocent pleasures of childhood, yet, I was unsure. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Since that day, this “self” consciousness has been an unseen driver of my life – driving my needs, my wants, my likes and dislikes, my career and my ambitions too.
All of us go through this phase, when for some unknown reason, the mind shifts into a formerly unknown gear that makes us "want" to be noticed... accepted... appreciated... at school, at the university, at work, with friends, with peers and also in the family, in a relationship, in a marriage… and we find ourselves shaping all that we do in order to "fit the mold" that is expected of us so we can be assured of being noticed... accepted... appreciated. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is a never-ending dilemma, something we face every single moment we live. And, of course, we all go through this... it is, after all, growing up. It is moving into another stage, in fits and starts, into maturity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We do this all our lives.
But because we see ourselves in a certain way, we think we are always going to be the same. But we are never the same. Our "self" clings to whoever we are in a particular moment... but then each moment that "self" dies and a new "self" emerges. There is really no then and now and later... there is only now, ever flowing and ever-changing. We are not today who we were 10 years ago, or even yesterday, or even a moment past. It only seems to us that life changes suddenly, or that we go through "stages," because we are not aware of our moment to moment ever-flowing, ever-changing being. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sometimes, we try to cling to the current moment. We think that our lives should be this way or that way and once we determine what it is we think we should be or have in life, we cling to it; we desperately try to hold on to it but of course, we cannot, because every moment we are moving on through life. Like the funny quote, people change, love hurts, friends leave but life goes on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This troubles us. We choose a goal and work towards it. Or we decide that our lives should be a certain way. We begin to resent the fact that our lives just keep moving on, and even though we work hard to get what we have decided we want, there are just too many interruptions from family, friends, job, responsibilities... and yet we cling to what we have imagined should be our lives... what we have decided we deserve. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Why are we not our old selves? Why are we not the carefree child anymore? Why do we feel we have lost our capacity for pleasure or satisfaction? Why must we suddenly feel we have to choose between this and that? Could it be because we have convinced ourselves that in order to be carefree, we must be free from the stress and pressures and demands of work and family life? Have we decided we can’t reclaim our lives because we have to sacrifice so much of ourselves? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The answer is so simple that we cannot see it. In fact, we are not 10 years old anymore. We have changed. Not because we are 30-something. We have simply and inexorably changed and will continue to change in whatever mental and emotional direction we choose. We cannot live in the past and regret.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course, you may not really care to be 10 years old again. But hey, if you want to play cops and robbers again, play cops and robbers. If you want to be Dirty Harry, be Dirty Harry. I know, it sounds silly, yet, you can still live your life the way you want, even in the new "changed" circumstances. Do whatever makes you happy instead of fighting time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Life is not that bad and age is, after all, a number. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Love your current "You" </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">and remember, the world hates change (just as you probably hate too) but its what that has brought progress. Aint that the sweet truth?</span></div>
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-9162178096575770942019-04-22T05:51:00.002-07:002019-04-22T05:51:59.922-07:00Searching for Satisfaction <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sometimes, Life is all about a fresh perspective</b><br /><br />We all reach points in our lives where we find that we are seemingly no longer satisfied with what we have; we feel something is either lacking or something needs to much more in our lives. It’s a frustrating period. This can happen anywhere, anytime, at any period of your life but mostly seems to appear after we have crossed our first 25 years of existence. Suddenly or gradually, there is something significantly missing - in your job, in your career, and of course, in your marriage and in your relationships, particularly if it’s a long-term one. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjahLuWp6CkpDqUwrVRkiKmjaLMnZbHl2I79w9PhT7sk9PL25XXKes6iUWXTwT51RtetIBhJ06-UEg2slGAp35R-gPITB70rTKTohN64HqwY4Aud2kj3qVRNCqnZMme5j_rcdYLUrS77vvg/s1600/Life+Satisfaction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="729" data-original-width="1020" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjahLuWp6CkpDqUwrVRkiKmjaLMnZbHl2I79w9PhT7sk9PL25XXKes6iUWXTwT51RtetIBhJ06-UEg2slGAp35R-gPITB70rTKTohN64HqwY4Aud2kj3qVRNCqnZMme5j_rcdYLUrS77vvg/s200/Life+Satisfaction.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For the person who suddenly finds himself or herself in this peculiar dilemma and who is no longer content and satisfied with what he or she already has - the struggle to find happiness, to "find oneself" again, is often filled with emotional upheaval along a treacherous tumultuous road of self-loathing, discovery, acceptance and pain. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have been there or maybe I am still there – stuck in the perpetual feeling of being at the crossroads of life and not knowing which road to take or not take any road at all. Self-help books, motivational coaches, psychiatrists, psychologists, and new-age gurus don’t really help either, they simply amplify your state of limbo and very rarely cure you. After all, it’s in their vested interest that you remain uncertain about your future and buy their bestsellers and watch their sermons. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, after wasting a lot of money besides costly trials and errors, I accidentally re-discovered a simple childhood exercise that I practice most nights now, usually when I go to bed before I sleep. All I do is listen to music on my earphones, close my eyes and concentrate on the real me and the people or things that matter to me now. It’s focusing on the true "spirit" of what I am all about and every other thought or emotion is set to rest while I just relax. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you do this often enough, you will be surprised at how intimately you get to know yourself. Some of those heavy, philosophical, emotional or silly, irrational questions that you are always beating yourself up with, quietly dissolve into nothingness. and you’ll soon see them for what they are, just thoughts. Unnecessary thoughts we have cultivated and cultured, and nurtured, and jealously guarded throughout the moments, days or even years of our busy lives - until we are lost in them and trick ourselves into thinking they are a reality. They are nothing. They are bubbles on the face of the turbulent sea. They are not real. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, what is it we "want?" We all want to be loved. We all want to have passion, satisfaction, and pleasure in our lives. But if we waste our time searching for whatever it is we think we have to have in order to be happy, or passionate, or pleasurable, or satisfied; we will always be forever lost, living an unhappy complicated life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The problem with wanting something is that we are instantly limiting our choices, our chances at pleasure and happiness. Suddenly, we cannot be happy because we don't have "this" or "that." Or we are thinking too much, too often about the future and not relishing the moment. What a waste isn’t it? Not appreciating the real beauty of today for an uncertain wish of tomorrow. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What if we just decided to "be" happy, or passionate, or pleasurable - without depending on "something" to get us there? Can we do that? Of course, we can. If we just let go of what we "want" - then the whole universe is open to us. It's like suddenly losing your job or just seeing your current job with a fresh perspective and realizing that now you can be anything you want to be! It's like giving away all you own and then having nothing to lose. In Zen, they say, "Leap from the mountain" and you will be free...so go ahead and jump!
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-72782841926074624232019-04-04T05:47:00.003-07:002019-04-04T05:47:41.526-07:00Of Men and Women and Semantics in Between<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>A Woman is much more than what seems to the eye</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b>I have a lot of single friends or more accurately friends and close acquaintances who are still single. And, I have learned much from them, especially over these last few years. While most of them are considerably younger than I am, I find myself incredibly drawn to them, to their wit, to their charisma, to their charm, to their take life by the balls attitude, to their wanting to harness fun at any cost and "take it for a ride" attitude.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA8VHPP7n9YpnGZa9id7KcWe8jvnscjRYkMsHgwB1BuA2sTEbMBRl0wT8tcKO9Q9tAv0seAvm2ZI3_0571xQFvCnPWdfFDD1_lF2i7Lon-jukb-ztnC-44KPTVqEPmB2p4ZjDfQXzL61_Q/s1600/slut-shame-her.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA8VHPP7n9YpnGZa9id7KcWe8jvnscjRYkMsHgwB1BuA2sTEbMBRl0wT8tcKO9Q9tAv0seAvm2ZI3_0571xQFvCnPWdfFDD1_lF2i7Lon-jukb-ztnC-44KPTVqEPmB2p4ZjDfQXzL61_Q/s200/slut-shame-her.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Maybe it's just their ebullient "youth" that I am drawn to, maybe it's that feeling we sometimes get as we approach yet another birthday - that somehow "when we were their age" - we didn't have half as much fun, or that we somehow missed something, just saying? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Regardless, even though I love my friends and while I have lived and loved and learned from and with them, I also believe that there are moments when I have been able to impart some small measure of - dare I say "wisdom" upon them... Case in point is what they think of woman and sex especially. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let’s admit it. Everyone likes sex. Some of my youthful male friends’ label women who want sex or have sex frequently as "freaks" or “nymphs”. And they, good-naturedly of course, also kid some of our common female friends as being exactly that. And more alarmingly they think it's okay to say such things. <br /><br />The lingo and semantics of today's "younger" generation have, of course, changed dramatically over time but alas, much of the meaning behind their innovative verbal expressions has not. Take, for instance, terms like "slut" or "ho", these are words, which interestingly enough haven't' changed much in the past 50 years. A woman who sleeps around, who enjoys sex - is today- again - exactly that. And, just as in the past, the use of the word still has a strong immoral and derogatory connotation attached to it. A pity - especially in this day of feminism and an internet age where expressing one's sexuality is such an "in" thing to do. There are some things as women it would seem that are destined never to escape. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have, nonetheless, as of late, been pleased to hear a new variation on this particular vernacular - "male slut" - seems to be as apropos as its feminine derivative. There is some small measure of satisfaction in that as even in this day and age, all too often, the man who sleeps around is still apt to garner kudos as a "Stud", a "Player", a "Romeo" or a "Casanova," or simply as "The Man" - while the woman of similar appetite will probably only get a bad "reputation." Yeah, it reeks of the old double standard, patriarchy and gender bias to be sure. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sometimes I wonder if we will ever truly out run our own stereotypical and generationally engrained propensities. And so as I meander along it would seem I have garnered a re-education, an enlightenment of sorts, from my youthful friends on the evolution of semantics, but what is it exactly they have gotten from me? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I would like to think that over the last couple of years I have managed to show (some of them) that a woman is more than the sum of her parts - that she is much more than legs and breasts, much more than full lips and willing hips... That just because two people might throw caution to the wind and act upon their sexual impulses - that they might "hook-up" - decency and courtesy, and good old-fashioned politeness should still be part of the bargain. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That women aren't always the ones who get taken advantage of - that a woman is just as likely to chew up, spit out and take everything a man has to offer, before throwing it all away without even batting an eye. That people get hurt, and in the end what really matters is how your heart feels, and how you feel about yourself when you look in the mirror.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Certainly, times have changed, and yet they have also stayed pretty much the same. Nowadays we are just more apt to express how we feel openly (and sometimes publicly) than keep it all under wraps. And so, yes, such nuggets as these I try to impart to my ignorant friends when the timing seems right and perhaps somewhere, somehow, down the road, between my generation and theirs, there will be a correct evolution of these derogatory terms and gender specification will cease to be part of the equation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Somehow, I doubt if I'll live to see that parlance of the human race but I can always dream about what it might be like and in the meantime, I'll keep passing along my random bits of yoda wisdom and publishing here in this little blog.<br /></span></div>
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-73735562879468437782019-03-08T07:16:00.001-08:002019-03-08T07:16:12.416-08:00Romance for Dummies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>There is no love, when there is no romance</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I often get asked why I write about love and romance. Does it not scare me? Or am I really so desperate to be loved? The words love and romance scares many people. It’s true, and matter of fact sometimes scares me too. Often, it conjures up thoughts of having to dramatically change yourself into someone else, to metamorphose into a new being and most of all, to feel appreciated and accepted.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In reality, romance and love are merely a life enhancement, not a real change. You can love someone without romance but without romance, the love fades away. It is the art of awareness and an awakening of the importance in your life of those you love. It is a reflection of the heart, and of the mind, a way to find something meaningful through shared experiences with someone else. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Romance is also truly the way to a person’s heart and beyond. We all want and need to feel loved. It is the core of our existence to feel that we are important to someone, that we matter. Romance is not a college course, as it requires no degree. It quite simply entails getting in touch with your own heart then touching another's. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It has been said that if you follow your heart, you will never go wrong, but how many of us actually open that part of ourselves that is the heart? We think we do. We tell ourselves we do. But do we really? We pretend at best, bad actors doing bad acting or feel intimidated. More often, we block than open up, confuse than confide, doubt than trust and to make it worse, we fight, we battle, we go to war. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To make romance and not war is the challenge. It’s not really a difficult path really. We can enrich the relationships we are currently in, or those of the future, by bringing into our relationships a greater awareness of what is really important, communicating with clarity and adding a little imagination in our love. Take, for instance, the word ‘romantic interlude’. It sounds mysterious, doesn’t it? The mind immediately conjures up all sorts of settings from tropical islands to medieval castles. Everything from mellow moonlit nights and sensual candlelight dinners to clandestine makeouts in the car parking. So, in essence, romance is all in the mind, and the only way to get to it is by unlocking the imagination, by opening the heart, and expressing what is inside. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Whether you are single, engaged, in a relationship, married a short time, or a long time, romance is important to maintaining strong love and lasting robust relationship. It’s the glue that connects. The possibilities of love are endless, limited only by that willingness to follow the heart as far as it will take you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">If today was to be your last day of life, what would you have at the top of your list of things you would miss the most? Gone would be the money and material goals, for they, like life, are short-lived. What would you want to be remembered for? The possessions you attained? The success you were in your career? Personally, I would much rather be remembered that I truly loved and was loved. This is not to say we must sacrifice one for the other. It is merely a position of the importance of the things in our lives. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In these sad times of short-lived marriages and even shorter relationships, there is always a great deal of fear, suspicion, mistrust, and insecurities. So we must aspire a return to romance in our lives and open ourselves to romantic notions, even if we are already in love. This will help restore the value of giving that little extra to our love lives that enriches and touches deeper into our hearts and melds into our minds.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Not only will you improve the life of the one you love, but you'll also improve your own as well. By giving someone the key that opens the treasure chest of who we are and what we feel, we can create a map to that treasure, follow it, or follow your heart, for romance is merely a way of expressing love, and that is the greatest treasure of all. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If nothing else, you’ll realize life is a wonderful journey that can be enriched through romance, love and a little imagination. So, take that moment, that chance, and explore some wonderful ways to enrich your life, and your relationship. And I hope you find a smile, an opportunity, or just a deep sigh that signals the beginning of something more. Good luck! Happy romancing! </span></div>
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-27615229368277260212019-01-26T02:24:00.001-08:002019-01-26T02:26:30.587-08:00Jackie Brown and the Blaxploitation Revival<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZXJlKLd9JCQ3_yq1xzy5nYPUFVcQ-Pa9FUpWRN54H7R3hUALaapnc_R38X74APFpHcAhkQUiFUVrWMUhS6mVEvGS_jjQneQIASSubQd4OASE0Y_RXCGJzwEWdBxju022EbYiF3aFUrsaj/s1600/Jackie+Brown.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="271" data-original-width="500" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZXJlKLd9JCQ3_yq1xzy5nYPUFVcQ-Pa9FUpWRN54H7R3hUALaapnc_R38X74APFpHcAhkQUiFUVrWMUhS6mVEvGS_jjQneQIASSubQd4OASE0Y_RXCGJzwEWdBxju022EbYiF3aFUrsaj/s200/Jackie+Brown.gif" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Pam Grier,</b> this legendary name brings an image to mind instantly. Jive-talkin' dope pushers, cat-fighting go-go dancers and, of course, a kickass afro woman who can hide anything from razor blades to a small handgun. And she's been thrust back (periodically) into the mainstream with a vengeance. Her last big comeback vehicle was the 1997 blaxploitation themed crime thriller - <b style="font-style: italic;">Jackie Brown </b>where she plays a struggling midddle-aged flight attendant caught up in a dirty money crime tangle. <i>Jackie Brown</i> incidentally was the third full-length feature film from <b>Quentin Tarantino</b>, Hollywood's favorite former video store clerk. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Amidst a growing anti-Tarantino backlash, the director hoped to quiet critics with <i>Jackie Brown</i>, his adaptation of <b>Elmore Leonard</b>'s 1992 novel, <b><i>Rum Punch</i></b>. The unlikely star of Jackie Brown was the then-48-year-old Grier, best known for <b><i>Coffy (1973), Foxy Brown (1974), Sheba, Baby (1975) </i></b>and a host of other AIP classics. The question was whether Tarantino's latest disco-era muse will be able to capitalize on the same magic touch that introduced <b>Harvey Keitel (<i>Reservoir Dogs,</i></b> <b><i>1992)</i></b> to a new generation of film buffs and made <b>John Travolta</b> <b><i>(Pulp Fiction, 1994)</i></b> filmdom's $20 million man. Fortunately, <i>Jackie Brown </i>lived up to the expectations grossing $74.7 million, against a budget of $12 million and earning Pam Grier several awards and nominations including a Best Actress at the Golden Globe. Her co-stars <b>Robert Forster</b> and <b>Samuel L Jackson</b> also benefited with Forster getting an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor and Jackson winning a Silver Bear Best Actor award at the 1998 Berlin International Film Festival where the movie was also nominated for the Best Film Golden Bear.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Not every '70s comeback case is as lucky. Hong Kong action star <b>Jackie Chan</b> saw his US career finally take off with <b><i>Rumble in the Bronx (1995)</i></b>, but subsequent films, merely re-releases of older Hong Kong films, didn't catch fire at the box office. It was only when he started making US features, like the 1998 action comedy <b><i>Rush Hour</i> </b>with<b class="gr-progress"> Chris Tucker</b>, that he was able to maintain his buzz in this country. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The difference between them may be this. The genre of film that Grier is best known for is (still) undergoing something of a revival. From the resurrected career of Rudy Ray "<b><i>Dolomite</i></b>" Moore to the remake of <b><i>Shaft (1971)</i></b>, Blaxploitation icons are everywhere. Why have these films, and the people behind them, become such critical darlings? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What many in the mainstream press are finally picking up on has been known to film scholars and students for at least the last decade. These films are among the most important and best documented examples of ethnographic filmmaking available. They were, for the most part, produced by black filmmakers, with black casts and crews, for a black audience, much like early "race" films of the teens and twenties that have become required viewing in film history classes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As such, they present a view of 1970s America from a black, urban perspective, something missing from even the best intentioned, <b>Norman Jewison</b> directed mystery drama <b><i>In the Heat of the Night (1967)</i></b> or <b>Stanley Kramer</b>'s comedy drama <i style="font-weight: bold;">Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) - </i>both starring <b>Sidney Poitier</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>or other racially tinged, socially conscious films of the previous decade. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It was almost a comically distorted view to be sure, a world of pimps in velvet suits and kung-fu fighting call girls, but it addressed issues like social and economic injustice from both within and without the community. "The Man," specifically the crooked white cop or politician, was the least of the problems facing those inhabiting the world of Blaxploitation features. More often than not, much as it might hurt some egos, "whitey" was only a passing presence in the hood, a cop on the take or a mafia figure out for a cut of the action, not a central part of urban inner-city life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ironically, most of the major blaxploitation films people remember today were second generation films with a Hollywood pedigree. Films like <i>Shaft</i> and even Pam Grier's biggest hits were signaling the death of the independent black cinema of the '70s through assimilation. With <i>Jackie Brown</i>, and later, the new <b><i>Shaft (2000)</i></b>, or Robert Downey Jr's risky role in <b><i>Tropic Thunder (2008),</i></b> filmmakers have been hopping on the same bandwagon, some would say honoring, others would say harvesting, the morally ambiguous feel and flavor of this genre. The most notable examples have been <b>Pootie Tang (2001)</b>, the very funny <b>Undercover Brother (2002)</b> starring <b>Eddie Griffin</b> and <b>Black Dynamite (2009)</b> starring <b>Michael Jai White </b>besides the more recent <b>Taraji P Henson</b> and <b>Danny Glover</b> starrer <b>Proud Mary (2018)</b> and <b>Superfly (2018)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">With a big budget and even bigger stars, it may be, as fellow pop culture connoisseur (and, some would say, washed-up hack) Bono would say, "even better than the real thing". Long live the Blaxploitation revival! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">P.S. Remember to checkout Brown Sugar, a reliable Netflix-style VOD streaming service that claims to offer the “biggest collection of the baddest movies” in the Blaxploitation genre on the internet. Pam Grier, now 69 is coincidentally the Ambassador of the Brown Sugar Network! </span></div>
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<i>This post originally appeared in the Axiom magazine. It's been updated and revised to make it more relevant to current audiences.</i></div>
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-34515067692292906642019-01-06T07:57:00.002-08:002019-01-06T07:57:59.807-08:00Hunting Treasures on the Internet Highway<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Finding love in the cyber universe and other little things </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-in1M-BYrIMQx_fuPhbOQ3PjCig6xVFfTE43DBI_irDGZ4Ojz4FuV0ogFW8gpTiac5wlVi5-v8469GgE0JLnjpGIsymuLajIQakzQQf4IdRG3XpHoDSbcMrXIXh9yThp-iyyIjRBzR9h0/s1600/Online-dating-cartoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="766" data-original-width="700" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-in1M-BYrIMQx_fuPhbOQ3PjCig6xVFfTE43DBI_irDGZ4Ojz4FuV0ogFW8gpTiac5wlVi5-v8469GgE0JLnjpGIsymuLajIQakzQQf4IdRG3XpHoDSbcMrXIXh9yThp-iyyIjRBzR9h0/s200/Online-dating-cartoon.jpg" width="182" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last night, I watched the 1998 hit <b>“You’ve Got Mail”</b> starring <b>Meg Ryan </b>and <b>Tom Hanks</b> on the telly. Directed by Nora Ephron, it’s a bittersweet romantic comedy about two harried souls, who aren't aware of the fact that they already know each other on the earthly plane of the real world, but find each other in an online chat room under anonymous screen names and slowly develop a robust relationship. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you haven’t seen this movie yet, I won’t spoil it any more of what happens next. It’s ironic though that this sugary story of computer love that transcends into real life still resonates with relevance, even in 2019. After all, all they do is predominantly chat throughout the movie. And despite being bitter enemies in the physical world, they proceed to virtually fall in love. You might think, how? With what and with whom are they falling in love? Thoughts? Passions? Humor? Fantasies? Hope? Or the person itself? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Like old-fashioned love letters, you’ll have to admit; an incredible thing happens when two people simply correspond in writing. The brain feels liberated, unhindered by the bodies automatic social responses that occur when people communicate face to face. There’s nothing to worry about - how you look, how your voice sounds, whether you are black or white, what gods you follow; there are no judgments and if all goes well, no inhibitions later. There is just the mind working to be understood in a pure realm of trust and communication and opening up to a receptive soul. And soon it becomes much more than just an anonymous chat. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the real world, when we meet someone very attractive, we are pulled to them instantly. When the physical attraction is strong, it simply overpowers and takes priority over everything else. Then, it soon fades into oblivion. Lust over reason so to speak, confused for love rather than listening, understanding and accepting. But in the virtual space, you may not fully understand the other person chatting with you but you do have to listen. And vice versa. And by actually listening, you open up to a lot of understanding and that is the wonderful beauty of this exercise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course, in these days of online perverts, sly scammers and dangerous stalkers, you’ll have to be very careful who you are interacting with. And many would tell you that people lie in the online worlds. I have had to endure the concerns of those who believe I'm out of my mind or simply that they are more cautious than me. <i>"They could be lying about who they are!"</i> I've been told. As if to say people you meet in person never lie about who they are? Oh, here's another one, "<i>Anyone who has to put a personal profile on the Internet must be a real loser"</i> or <i>“simply wants to just get laid tonight”</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Would you call someone who can type at least 100 words a minute, has the intelligence and literal eloquence to communicate his or her innermost thoughts and feelings, and has the self-confidence, focus, and motivation to actually do it - a loser? And why go through this elaborate ritual for sex when sex is now so readily available, free and cheap. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, meeting someone in the flesh can be far more deceptive and dangerous these days than getting to know someone from afar. We humans are slaves to our senses first and to our hearts second. Remove all of the armour and the sensual desires and we are left with consciousness and communication in their purest forms. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thus, I highly recommend the Internet for your next romantic interlude. Of course it helps to know what you are looking for ahead of time. The most important thing when looking for your soul mate is to know exactly who you are. If possible, I suggest you sit down and make a list of everything you know to be true about yourself - down to the last detail, positive and negative and everything in between. Be completely honest. Then write down every detail about the person of your dreams, but that doesn’t mean you ponder up the Dead Pool or the Wonder Woman. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There have been periods in my life where I have thought hard about the perfect woman I wanted in my life - if at all that was possible. I had a mental image of her down to the last detail - her face, her work, her body, her personality - everything. Obviously, the conventional methods of meeting a woman held no water with me. Did I really believe that the woman of my dreams could be living in the same city I was in or somewhere far off, 1000s of miles away? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And my online profile too had to stand out. I want the woman to think that here is a man astute enough to know that his profile is just casual enough to make him not appear needy, and just alluring enough to attract a smart woman who knows the difference, or that he is just being honest. Either way I couldn't lose, could I? I’ll be truthful, all completely legitimate notions there trying to attract the best mate possible. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you cross this stage, understand that the person of your dreams may still not be ready for you in your present state, especially if you have plenty of emotional baggage. So you have to be insightful and objective enough to realize that you’ll have to shed the excess kilos, be willing to wait and also find someone who is willing to take their chances with you patiently. Patience is scarce you see. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Typically, we choose only the people we are ready to be with. Every person in our life that we chose before finding the final “Chosen One” - was there because of either unavoidable circumstances or life wanted to teach you a particular lesson at that time. Our needs and wants change. Sometimes, we want to be drowned in affection so we would choose a needy, insecure soul who would smother us with affection. Then, we may want to go to the opposite extreme, pretending we could be with someone who loved you but let you be like a free bird. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At any given time, we all have an image in our mind of the features that we consider attractive or desirable in the person we seek. As we grow older and possibly wiser, these requirements turn to virtues and traits we pursue and it goes much more than just looks. It’s as if, we have found a new realization dawning on us. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the Internet, deception is possible but unnecessary and obsolete because only we know who we are and what we need. Don't be a crafty jerk. Unlike the anonymity of the "You've Got Mail" era, we now have authentic power, the power to search the cyber cosmos incognito to find what we seek so what’s the point in faking an artificial persona? After all, we are looking for love and companionship, so why fake it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the end, finding someone who loves and appreciates you is no easy task on the internet but remember, you’ll be astounded at how the cyberverse can sometimes throw an irresistible surprise at you, who would blow you off your feet and turn your life upside down. And what can happen next could be an incredible exchange of deep thoughts and crazy ideas; of all your hopes and dismal fears; </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">of incisive messages and risqué gifs; of long emails and anticipated notifications, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">and of course, of carnal lusts and bodily desires. In essence, an emotional outpouring of the souls between two strangers on opposite ends of the city or far corner of the planet, depending where you find your match. A friend, a lover, a mate, a spouse...only time can tell. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So, my fellow wanderers, start your engines and drive into the vast internet highway and take your chances. And you just might find the treasure to treasure for the rest of your life. Just dont forget to wear your seatbelt though. </span></div>
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-69071107517629469852018-12-28T06:42:00.004-08:002018-12-28T06:42:37.861-08:00Relish the Past, Welcome the Future<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><b>Remember, the past is always tense, the future perfect </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">This week, I was a reluctant invitee to a glitzy Christmas party - a glorified gathering less of friends and more of snobbish acquaintances - dressed in fancy clothes, indulging in fine spirits and ‘artisanal world cuisine’ whatever that actually means. Having arrived directly </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">from my office, I was not only late but also clearly out of place - standing out from the crowd with my disheveled hair, a wrinkled cotton shirt, and crumpled khakis. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Seeing me obviously lost, my gracious host welcomed me, consciously ignoring my faux </span>paus<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> and tried her best to make me feel at home. So, with a blue cocktail in hand, I mingled a bit -meeting immaculately dressed strangers, making small talk and chit chat until I found a vantage spot to sit with a boisterous Australian middle-aged couple for friendly banter. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">Let me admit, the party was not bad. after all. The décor was flamboyant yet amazing, the floating grilled starters were delicious and the fizzy drinks concocted with consistency although a little too fruity for my taste. If there was something lacking, it was the sugary retro music from the 60s and 70s with a smattering of hits from the 80s and 90s. I wouldn’t normally complain under normal circumstances but the music was a mismatch for the splendorous aura the party was trying to create. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">Listening to some of the music, reminded me of my childhood (Lionel Ritchie, Inxs, Steve Winwood, Pet Shop Boys, a little George Michael and Phil Collins for good measure too) but the rest of it was the sort of soul music my parents sometimes listened to and for a while at least the nostalgia was comforting. But, then, gradually as one aging track faded slowly into the next, it began to dawn on me that I actually wished I was somewhere else entirely. The nostalgia, you see, had run its course and I found myself, as that realization took hold, feeling suddenly wanting and hungry - to listen to current radio hits, anxious for the here, for the now, for the present. Foster the People, Cold Play and even Martin Garrix came to mind but no more Simon & Garfunkel, please. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">Think about it, f</span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">unny how this struggle often occurs within each of us. Sometimes, longing for what was, faced with what is (and occasionally overcome by dreams of what's next) and sometimes, just longing for the present, for the moment. It's not so unusual really but just illustrates for some of us the motivations behind how we choose to live our lives. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">Looking back isn't such a bad thing and as my Christmas party experience points out - often offers comfort, nostalgia, and a way to stay connected with who we are and where we came from. The danger, however, is in never learning how to move beyond the then, the then of the past. </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">How many of you have known (or know) people like that? The ones who can't ever get over whatever it is they're so connected to, running from, or longing for? Be it work, relationships, family... Sometimes, I think I am one of them. Maybe you are also one of those people, or maybe you just pity and feel sorry for them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">And, why is it that some of us are able to appreciate our yesterdays, no matter how bad and still move forward. How are some of us able to cull the good from the bad, and thrive in the here and the now? How do we move beyond the then? In truth, who can really say. If I were to attempt an answer of any kind it would be simply that some of us want nothing more than to live. And by live, I mean so much more than life. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">And then, there are those of us for whom life offers so much that we scarcely know where to start – so much excitement, so much exploration, so much energy, so much passion, and so many opportunities. Thus, how can we possibly afford to waste too much time reveling in (or complaining about) the past when there is so much now and so much to look forward in the future.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">I guess there are no right or wrong answers but I think our experiences and memories (both good and bad) and our circumstances drive our primary motivations. Very few of us are smart enough to make conscious choices or analytically study the path we choose to explore. Food for thought right? </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">When I look back now, it's amusing</span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> how a piece of party music that evening lead me to these complex life-centric questions and surprisingly - ridiculously simple (and probable) answers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">Lastly, as this is most likely the last blog post of 2018, let me add that this Blog for me (as its curator) - is a labor of opinions, ideas, and passion for web wanderers like you. A little ezine curating the best I can find on the web juxtaposed with my thoughts that I have attempted to keep alive over the years. It’s my creative outlet, my solace, and my escape when nothing else can be and, if I can't do it right, it isn't worth doing at all but I reassure you, I won’t kill it as many of you think I would. </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">And believe me, I do read all your comments (even though I don’t publish them) so don’t stop sending your comments and emails. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">And with that, I won't say anything more other than I trust you'll enjoy the New Year ahead with postivity as much as you nostalgically savor and relish the year that just went past by and all the ones before it. As the existentialist Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard once said, our life can only be understood </span>backwards<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">; but it must be lived forwards.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">Aloha and wishing you a happy 2019 with </span>lotsa<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> fun, joy </span>and<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> success!</span><br />
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7127753 -74.005972839.9423093 -75.296866299999991 41.483241299999996 -72.7150793tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-64992073478793712542018-12-01T07:42:00.002-08:002018-12-01T07:42:30.810-08:00The Mad Pursuit of Happiness and Contentment <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Finding Happiness needn't be that hard, after all </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgedS_gjVi6nN3n-JWWfzrGwoPsTnjW4VrdJoLCYDME7cUy7S9uuArsfc7aNUAMQo16F7bTb1qiUFjacVqIQPglNC9SirsMXKfQvnCZgry5DLPzX4LrcXwL8y8yHzoHDU1GN9JWF3cxnK_H/s1600/happy_success_and_happiness-300x270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="300" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgedS_gjVi6nN3n-JWWfzrGwoPsTnjW4VrdJoLCYDME7cUy7S9uuArsfc7aNUAMQo16F7bTb1qiUFjacVqIQPglNC9SirsMXKfQvnCZgry5DLPzX4LrcXwL8y8yHzoHDU1GN9JWF3cxnK_H/s200/happy_success_and_happiness-300x270.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It is rather ironic, that I would choose the above title for this blog post. In fact, I've had this title lingering idly on my laptop with vague views of how to title this post for a number of weeks now. Russia had such a happy effect on me but paradoxically, of late, that much needed happiness - for me - has seemed to be or become somewhat elusive again. Just like failing to post any new blogs the last few weeks after the new found rush I rediscovered in October.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Dalai Lama wants us to believe that happiness is more than a state of mind and that it is a way of life, and so on. Of course, he mostly linked it with religion and spiritualism. For me, I have no such notions about gods or religions or getting karmic illuminations leading to divine joys. There might be a heaven and there might be a god too but like my greasy kebabs, I want my happiness, right here on earth, not in heaven after I die. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Happiness, it seems such a simple thing but how often many of us struggle trying to desperately find it in our lives – both personally and professionally. And, often we fail to realize how tied we are to the conditioned views of happiness being so entangled and reliant on upon the close relationships we make with others around us – our loved ones, our parents, our friends, our colleagues…this list can be perennially extending based on how we perceive how important these connections matter to our happiness. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While on the surface this may seem accurate, I have come to realize that it’s a mad pursuit when in fact, it's definitely not how you achieve a persistent state of sustained happiness. But, rather happiness and fulfillment in my opinion (based on my own costly experiences), is a combination of multiple wisdoms or realizations (and I shall borrow from the Dalai Lama again) of worldly satisfaction, wealth (and we're not just talking about the money alone), spirituality and eventual enlightenment to look beyond your flaws. And when I say spirituality I am referring to realize and analyze oneself, not necessarily getting religious. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While all these critical elements are essential factors in the quest for happiness - it is how those factors are deployed and the state of mind of the individual wielding them that will determine whether or not a contented and satisfying life can be enjoyed. You can become a happiness magnet only when you employ these correctly. After all, ultimately, we are each responsible for our own contentment and the personal mindset how we level upon the world is the cornerstone of whether we fail or succeed in this pursuit. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some of you may wonder what does any of this have to do with an erratic blog like this one? Actually, a great deal. Maintaining and writing this blog brings me, much personal happiness. It is one of the many escape mechanisms I employ (besides my work, my music, and my photography) to find fulfillment when other options fail. And, while this blog may not be anyone's baby but mine, it does make me happy. And thus, that happiness eventually, I like to think - carries over to those around me and those living in the far-flung corners of the world reading this blog. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And as you may have noticed, it would seem that I've managed to momentarily zig-zag my way back to a point as I so often do, where I can now safely say a few words about why I am still telling you all this. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, much in my life today is in a state of continuous flux and I have no idea really where I might be a year from now or even a few months from now and if all my hallowed musings here on finding happiness and contentment will have amounted to anything at all. Nonetheless, there are some things I remain quite certain and hopeful of - and that is I will find my happiness wherever I may be or whatever I am doing at that time. You should too. And you should be hopeful. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hope is not a bitch, we simply give up sooner and just don’t try hard enough. May each of you find your happiness and whatever joys you seek. And as I read it somewhere, e<span style="text-align: left;">njoy the pursuit to your happiness, as it just might be your greatest source of your happiness after all.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-17009607854238723542018-11-03T06:44:00.001-07:002018-11-03T06:44:15.723-07:00The Russia Effect<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>From Russia with love and positivity! lots of it! </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7iCW45h3nRzDh7fj-hgScEAReoCfZnf_xR08m2m91VJpKWu4OPlMory-21OvpieBPI9AnwLVctj6qc1F9hjgqvCWKRpCYSDwUSglIVBcQly9fHqi6FpRAEi2CSfABRi11Jbn3QCM_pC9/s1600/happy+quotes+images+ideas+pics+images++%252821%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="414" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7iCW45h3nRzDh7fj-hgScEAReoCfZnf_xR08m2m91VJpKWu4OPlMory-21OvpieBPI9AnwLVctj6qc1F9hjgqvCWKRpCYSDwUSglIVBcQly9fHqi6FpRAEi2CSfABRi11Jbn3QCM_pC9/s200/happy+quotes+images+ideas+pics+images++%252821%2529.jpg" width="161" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Let's me put it this way: I love Russia. Every time I am in Russia, it makes me feel better. Maybe it has a cleansing effect on me. The soul refreshed and my body revived, so to speak. Maybe it’s the company of great souls I have been fortunate to meet or the chance to finally enjoy the company of some special folks I hold dearly, some very dearly. Usually, its just Saint Petersburg, my fav russian city and Russia's cultural capital that I like but this trip, Moscow has been so nice and the happy shiny folks there even </span>more<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> nicer. In fact, I met some of my friends from the virtual space who I've known for years (online) for the first time (offline)</span>. It was surreal but very pleasant. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It seems that whenever I am in Russia, I grow a renewed appreciation of essential virtues – courtesy, chivalry, friendship, family values... my friends find it baffling! It actually felt really good that I had always had some of these already but something I don't self-realize very often. Even my semi-close and close friends over the Internet I have learned to appreciate greatly. This newfound wisdom I’ve suddenly realized in my midlife... what's wrong with me? It's just been thirty-something years... or it's already been? It’s the Russia effect. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Somehow this blog post was kinda difficult to write. It is always easier to think about what you will write instead of writing it. I guess the threat of a keyboard in front of you makes thinking un-easier. When you are free to think with just your brain and inspiration, it's just so fluid. I guess feeling angsty and thoughtful makes for easier writing and absurdly, smoother train of thought for me. Though I was quite pissed at a couple of people this week, the general feeling of contentment and happiness still reigned upon me. And since I am feeling good, I must conjure up ideas that are not of the normal personal sob story sort to kick start the writer inside me. And the result is this blog now. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I just hope this new found positivity continues for a while as I do not want to take two steps backward, now that I have made this good vibe running. And It's rare that I have caught myself in these pages in a positive happy mood, so let's celebrate. This is a great day to be happy. You must be too. Happy weekend! And have a Banana!! </span></div>
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-5577331449071714832018-10-16T05:17:00.000-07:002018-10-16T05:19:59.996-07:00Of X Men, Y Women and Everything in Between! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Love is all about flaws and acceptance, warts and all.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgYIHZnXbIcgsoY-UYyhw4TTgPeDDyzYtXk8-v32N8-DcftdGk1lLUSVDaeXjlO2IJqLqP8a3a-bV6mMlHeJjAAaNWHApKImvj-9bbTjl7T9DjhCwjuXZpiZ9kbilQLruE_vrFUupg0OhT/s1600/Cartoon+of+the+Week%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="526" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgYIHZnXbIcgsoY-UYyhw4TTgPeDDyzYtXk8-v32N8-DcftdGk1lLUSVDaeXjlO2IJqLqP8a3a-bV6mMlHeJjAAaNWHApKImvj-9bbTjl7T9DjhCwjuXZpiZ9kbilQLruE_vrFUupg0OhT/s200/Cartoon+of+the+Week%25281%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Most guys my age are a confused lot. The quest for true love and companionship, or even real sex, is still in the air, it just tastes very different today. Their dilemma is that they don’t know which way to go. Should they look for girls their age, in the Generation X or Y category, or should they look for those younger, in the confused Generation Z? And what about older men still looking for love? And finally comes the unequivocally frightening question of whether or not the direction that you take makes any difference at all? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I know a guy friend who is 35 and a total commitment phobic but that doesn’t deter him from hitting on as many girls and women he can, even though he’s seeing someone else. He is very similar to a lot of the guys. Unfortunately, they all want to have fun and do whatever they want, no strings attached. So every now and then they have to give it a shot at the women they know and another shot again (if they fail). Some succeed eventually but many fail, only to be shot down again. Women are not idiots. Its hard to believe that every Gen-X or Y guy is like this, but they pop up all over the place giving all men a bad name and woman a bad taste in the mouth, no pun intended. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I also have a female friend who is 37 years old currently dating a boyfriend who is 25. That’s over 12 years. She highly recommends dating younger men because her boyfriend is a great guy. She feels she is fed up with changing a boyfriend every year and now believes that Generation Y men are more equipped for Gen-X women. She feels that the men in generation X are caught in a commitment phobic phase that could last the rest of their lives. Yet, she also admits if she herself is caught in a commitment phobic phase and if she subconsciously wants it to last the rest of her life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The worry we all have, is simply that we don’t want to get bogged down in a relationship that isn’t right. But, what the hell is right, anyway? I think that the real plaque on our relationships is that we don’t want to end up like some of our parents, married and unhappy. We search for that altruistic person that will measure up to our perfect standards, but does that person ever exist? Is there a happy medium in relationships where the two people love each other and can actually grow as people together in a committed relationship without becoming zombies that just go through the motions of everyday married life? </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I guess the real question then is can a relationship exist where two people are committed to each other but still retain some sense of independence and growth in their daily lives? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I have another female friend who is 25 and her boyfriend is 35. They seem to have a good relationship, but she tends to get a little clingy with him and she wants to do everything together and he gets weird about it. The funny thing is that all of her previous boyfriends did the same thing to her and she hated it. I hate those couples, no matter what age they are. You know who I mean, they can’t go anywhere, do anything, or make any decisions without their mate’s approval or input. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I like to call it the “honeymoon”, which usually happens at the beginning of a relationship. These two people spend every waking moment with each other because they’ve finally met someone that they think is amazing. The truth is that they’ve probably just met someone that they find incredibly attractive and hormones make them think that this person is flawless. Maybe that person is amazing, but deep down, we fail to know that the flawless person is just a person. And surprise, of course they have flaws, we all do. We need to wake up from the honeymoon because every honeymoon does come to an end and then you’re left with yourself, for better or for worse. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Yet, so many couples continue to live in the honeymoon phase even after it’s over, but they can’t understand why that person isn’t what they used to be? They are what they’ve always been; you just had hormonal blinders on that made them look perfect. Think about it, can any person always be perfect? NO. Think about how many times you get frustrated with yourself, of course other people are going to bug you sometimes, that’s why you shouldn’t spend every waking moment with just one person. Get it? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Don’t get me wrong, I do think that it’s wonderful to have a loving mate who will be there for you in times of need or just when you feel like talking, but the bottom line is that you have to deal with yourself, by yourself, at some point. Let’s face facts, there isn’t going to be one person in your life at every moment of every conceivable day except YOU! So we’d better learn to deal with ourselves now, right? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now I know you’re probably saying that this is all a bunch of pop psychology crap that you’ve heard before. You can’t love someone else until you learn to love yourself. Yadda, yadda, yadda. But, there is a ring of truth in those words, isn’t there? I’m really not as cynical as I sound. I just think that there’s more to life than one person who completes you. Or maybe I think it’s less than that, because you have to complete you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And of course this hasn’t answered any of your questions about X versus Y or XY versus Z or any permutation you want to try, and that’s the point. I am, as I’m sure many of you are, just looking for someone cool, funny, and secure with themselves. And, of course, if the right hormones were there, it would be helpful. They must come in all shapes and sizes, and X’s and Y’s. Why not? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, stop all the worrying about the generational gaps and start the living and loving, enjoy the crisp fall weather and get on an autumn date. You never know, what will happen. </span></div>
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-53879124578658947912018-10-06T02:38:00.002-07:002019-05-07T02:27:38.795-07:00David Bowie - Changesbowie <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Probably the Best Compilation of this Musical Icon</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyswX93UlZGuDcduEoiZ63DGS3zuPD8NODo-0arYw_AYl9vDizOSXK_KdfPNHYPMHFFd4MuhzKEZEMTr-wnTy06_QUI2ltRzDhb5oTbBjJx7TS6UACN6EyUhsyw5oN02Ao2Lqh4kh0F3SA/s1600/changesbowie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="892" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyswX93UlZGuDcduEoiZ63DGS3zuPD8NODo-0arYw_AYl9vDizOSXK_KdfPNHYPMHFFd4MuhzKEZEMTr-wnTy06_QUI2ltRzDhb5oTbBjJx7TS6UACN6EyUhsyw5oN02Ao2Lqh4kh0F3SA/s200/changesbowie.jpg" width="198" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I’m not sure if I share the following sentiment with the rest of my generation, but for some reason, I think I do. My first memories of <b>David Bowie</b>, the English Singer, Songwriter and Actor were when I saw him sing silly Christmas carols and even more sillier duets with the likes of Mick Jagger on MTV. For a long time, I always used to think he existed as a pretentious mainstream pop poseur for the older generation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Not until years later at the age of about 17, when I first heard "<b>Changesbowie,"</b> a compilation of Bowie’s most notable work that was released in 1990, did I realize that Bowie had several incarnations prior to his 80’s self, some of which were downright brilliant and I felt like a fool not realizing this sooner.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Bowie was a legitimate fusion forerunner and probably the most enigmatic, unpredictable performer of his generation</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">. And "Changesowie" is testimony because it includes pieces of punk, folk, jazz, straight blues, and most frequently, pure rock n roll. Listening to the album now, one can hear the origins of musicians as wide-ranging as the Talking Heads, Nirvana, Pavement, Beck, and even industrial rockers Nine Inch Nails. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The music is mostly guitar chargedguitar-charged but in a variety of ways. On some tracks, like "<i>Suffragette City</i>," and "<i>Ziggy Stardust</i>," Bowie plays in fantastically pure punk and rock forms, respectively. On other tracks, like "<i>Space Oddity</i>," the Microsoft-adopted "<i>Heroes</i> (one of my favs)," and "<i>Ashes to Ashes</i>," he uses distorted guitar sounds with keyboards to create a new rock standard. Such sounds have become the mainstays of artists like Beck and Trent Reznor. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the days since my discovery of "Changesbowie," I have valued it as a musical foundation and pioneering piece of music. In fact, if you pay close attention, almost all pop music in the 90’s can be traced to or related through Bowie. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Appropriately, the song <i>"Changes"</i> also provided authority-challenging youth one of their most poignant quotes: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"<i>And these children that you spit on </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>As they try to change their worlds </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Are immune to your consultations. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>They’re quite aware what they’re going through.</i>". </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you never heard this album and in the mood for some Bowie magic, hear it now on <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/59ac62lHGxOwuo2nLptgQZ" target="_blank">Spotify</a>. </span></div>
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-49338924072011240042018-10-03T03:29:00.000-07:002018-10-03T03:29:34.158-07:00Clumsy Flirting Games<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Flirting is a woman’s trade, play it safe!</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The crossed legs, the flip of the hair, the shy smile followed by a gentle head turn and sometimes a playful wink, the hand casually placed on the arm to emphasize a point, a subtly wicked smile. All of these things have something in common. They are things that a discerning guy can pick up from an interested woman that might mean a sensitive guy, that is you - can have a shot at her – provided - you play your cards right. But many a time, it is not. She is not interested; you are the clumsy fool, her gestures simply natural and innocuous. And therein lies the risk and a potential humiliation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Most of you would have indulged or at least seen these subtle seduction gestures used by women who know how to lead a guy on. And, I have also seen them all presented unknowingly by beautiful women towards stupid and naive men, which in turn produced an unwanted advance by the now confused, poor guy (not to mention leaving the lady wanting to know whatever gave the guy the idea that she was interested in the first place?!). Of course, some clumsy guys do tend to jump the gun on occasion with overzealous egos and thoughtless assumptions. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All of this, however, is part of the cat and mouse game we play as man and woman. The game we all know and love but yet, we make so many mistakes. Take for example - the simple act of a woman crossing her legs. Women do it all the time, for comfort and probably never give it a second thought and some do it on purpose. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I do find it to be an intriguing event though. As a whole, I view women as a symbol of grace and elegance. There is nothing on this earth more beautiful than a woman. Still, I cannot deny that there is always a bit of sexual attraction at the sight of a beautiful women crossing her legs, however, it is usually secondary to the event. As you are probably more aware, most men are driven by the sexuality of the women but this is not true of all men. There are a few of us that truly appreciate the beauty of a woman. Do you believe that :) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All said and done, the whole act of placing one shapely stem across the other still can have a whole different world of meaning to different guys. From the discerning to the sensitive, or from the brash to the overzealous guy, it can have different interpretations. If you had to ask them about their opinions on women crossing their legs, most would consider it sexy, a few would call it flirtatious and probably a very few, would consider it elegant or of no consequence. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If someone would ask me this question, my answers would probably depend on who's legs they are. Legs are a fine feature on women and the features get better as you go up :) but it will certainly depend on the woman and how much she interests me. If in pants or skirt or dress, if the latter, most certainly. Even more so if a mid-thigh skirt is worn (go figure, the shorter the better) and leg slit seems to highlight or enhance nice legs. I like it. I would be a hypocrite if I lied. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Nonetheless, assuming, she is interested, these subtle gestures are my favorite part of the game (besides, of course, closing the deal). These first contacts with your next possible partner need to be carefully thought out though, and if you're the girl - you hope "Mr. Right" is able to read your body language correctly and if you are a guy, vice versa. There is nothing sexist about this as long as this consensual, even if it’s a deed unspoken. But for men, its a challenge, what are we guys looking to read? And what makes us look or draws us in? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There are no written rules here so play it very safe. If in doubt about your object of affection, wait until she makes it abundantly clear that she is interested. There are no rooms for even one false move. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let me end this little piece on how males process these gestures with my favorite? I've always liked the open-ended lure, the sly gaze, preferably if she has her hair untied, a gaze where she looks at me yet doesn't maintain solid eye contact, sometimes with a delicate semi-smile. As someone said, a woman's eyes flirt the most. And if she talks very little, remember, she has also probably learned to say things with her eyes that others waste time putting into words. Enjoy! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you have liked this, you might probably like this <a href="https://www.websnackerblog.com/2010/01/every-womans-flirt-guide.html" target="_blank">Flirt Guide</a>! </span><br />
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-19978791539112534892018-09-29T04:01:00.000-07:002018-09-29T04:01:23.098-07:00What Movies I Saw This Week<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Obviously not pleased with so many recent posts on women and relationships, an old-time reader wrote to me if I have stopped posting on music and movies entirely. A valid question actually. So this post is a quick fix to assuage any such doubts! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWcGj_A6pJ_sXkeMCn7oi51d_l4PAT_jnFs2qn7frnuaCT0Ionlk4dPOBbxreW6iiFYC2VKA3LoUxqaiFlT4JsE-dHHC818ZuWoGtKI1rd5dNuL3SpPsN4Hg8Vgae5sI4kCcEfF3y8RAJQ/s1600/girl+with+all+the+gifts+2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="184" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWcGj_A6pJ_sXkeMCn7oi51d_l4PAT_jnFs2qn7frnuaCT0Ionlk4dPOBbxreW6iiFYC2VKA3LoUxqaiFlT4JsE-dHHC818ZuWoGtKI1rd5dNuL3SpPsN4Hg8Vgae5sI4kCcEfF3y8RAJQ/s200/girl+with+all+the+gifts+2016.jpg" width="134" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The Girl with All the Gifts (Colm McCarthy, 2016)</b> - Never since Danny Boyle's <i>28 Days Later (2002)</i> has any post-apocalyptic zombie horror movie got me hooked like this one. I was so enamored by it, I went ahead and bought myself the novel of the same name by British writer <b>M.R. Carey</b>, which in turn is based on his 2013 Edgar Award-nominated sci-fi short story <i>Iphigenia In Aulis</i>. I won't spoil it more for you other than the fact that the British make good zombie movies that combine style and substance, unlike their Hollywood counterparts. <b>Gemma Atherton</b> and <b>Paddy Considine </b>act solid but its <b>Glenn Close</b> and the little heroine - <b>Sennia Nanua</b> as Melanie who steals the show. A beautiful score by <b>Cristo</b>, the Chilean-born Canadian composer famous adds to the flavor. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoawPRQwV_1wnSDVqznPjLUxnhHlBDvecNxCUp9HezwAgoL0w8OChcv-oES2KHL6iw84rNJvww4hLPO-u4LSsAWTsF6femsMEufTuhL7JDKouYRylRny1uvffmtegDsjpocFlVB_c957Ex/s1600/clanosocavernario8605.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1167" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoawPRQwV_1wnSDVqznPjLUxnhHlBDvecNxCUp9HezwAgoL0w8OChcv-oES2KHL6iw84rNJvww4hLPO-u4LSsAWTsF6femsMEufTuhL7JDKouYRylRny1uvffmtegDsjpocFlVB_c957Ex/s200/clanosocavernario8605.jpg" width="145" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Clan Of The Cave Bear (Michael Chapman, 1986)</b> - Not since Raquel Welch stepped on her mammoth-fur bikini in <i>One Million Years BC (1966)</i> has there been a piece of pre-historic nookie more enticing than blonde goddess <b>Daryl Hannah </b>in this<b> </b>epic adventure about a<span style="text-align: left;"> young Cro-Magnon woman raised by Neanderthals. </span>Luckily, she doesn't have to handle any dialogue here, just grunt and groan (with subtitles) and look smashing in this irresistibly silly cavewoman flick with many subtle overtones to feminism. The script, believe it or not, is by the great <b>John Sayles </b>and music by<b class=""> Alan Silvestri</b>. If you can withstand people dressed in neanderthal costumes and Oscar-nominated makeup talking in sign language, this box office bomb based on the best selling book by <b>Jean M. Auel</b> is actually a good time pass. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQA_c4T-Klgj9wgyZSn1fv3xLpldRkgaPr1RuypgNh2QjybCrYIk8OG8DsSxtAWDrVfsrZDP6jaj1UCz_vckmaJuyU6jRz07alGE2Mn85jnt2bOSsha9i6gH7ot4e9fzS0W7ybS0cWfaz1/s1600/The+Boy+Who+Could+Fly+1986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQA_c4T-Klgj9wgyZSn1fv3xLpldRkgaPr1RuypgNh2QjybCrYIk8OG8DsSxtAWDrVfsrZDP6jaj1UCz_vckmaJuyU6jRz07alGE2Mn85jnt2bOSsha9i6gH7ot4e9fzS0W7ybS0cWfaz1/s200/The+Boy+Who+Could+Fly+1986.jpg" width="134" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The Boy Who Could Fly (Nick Castle, 1986) </b>- Charming, if a tad overlong fantasy drama about a teenage girl (<b>Lucy Deakins</b>), whose father has recently died, and her attempts to help an autistic boy (<b>Jay Underwood</b>) who seems to think he can fly. Deakins and Underwood's empathetic performances keep the story grounded in reality, even when it becomes fanciful towards the end. Director/writer Castle isn't quite Spielberg, but he does a good job at capturing a similar sense of wonder. Watch out for Wonder Years' <b>Fred Savage, Jason Priestley</b>, and <b>John Carpenter</b>. Good music by Bruce Broughton. For those who don't know, Nick Castle played </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Michael Myers in John Carpenter's <i>Halloween (1978) </i>and also co-wrote <i>Escape From New York (1981). </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The April Fools (Stuart Rosenberg, 1969)</b> - <b>Jack Lemmon</b> is caught in a comedy of romantic errors in this bright farce about a wall street broker who falls for a stunning woman (<b>Catherine Deneuve</b>) who turns out to be the wife of his boss, brilliantly acted by <b>Peter Lawford</b>. The two try and run off together, amid all kinds of complications. Wildly out of control at times, this romantic comedy directed ably by <i>Cool Hand Luke's</i> <b>Stuart Rosenberg</b> has enough of a lunatic edge to keep you interested and give a lesson or two about being caught up in a loveless marriage. The stellar supporting cast includes Sally Kellerman, Charles Boyer, Jack Weston, and Myrna Loy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Equalizer 2 (Antoine Fuqua, 2018)</b> - In this fourth collaboration between <b>Denzel Washington</b> and <b>Antoine Fuqua</b> and much-awaited sequel to the 2014 hit, things go quickly downhill from a rather very impressive start that promises so much potential to a faltering weak film by the time it ends. Denzel Washington's acting is top notch as usual but a stupid "in your face" unsuspenseful script, unnecessary characters, and too much sugary sentimentality robs this vigilante thriller of any redeeming factors. A stormy weather setup that's outlined right from the beginning ends up like a joke in the climax with preposterous sequences. I had a nagging feeling if the first half and second half were directed by two different individuals. Its anybody's guess, which one was Antoine Fuqua but who cares anyway, when this movie has already crossed over $184 million since its release. Strictly for Denzel Washington fans. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9H52P4WkWT7NOa0nrVSG55NNCHXhsV6zhMA-vL52S_cNG_9isg-YDB2-yA4xl5OVu_UzuWD5a7wAiJdFDgERrsudKXzdhDAfo_0tqgKVtG2oQK4EezAnV2p0FqnEvyPuEoHawzZ29QQHU/s1600/how+it+ends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1079" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9H52P4WkWT7NOa0nrVSG55NNCHXhsV6zhMA-vL52S_cNG_9isg-YDB2-yA4xl5OVu_UzuWD5a7wAiJdFDgERrsudKXzdhDAfo_0tqgKVtG2oQK4EezAnV2p0FqnEvyPuEoHawzZ29QQHU/s200/how+it+ends.jpg" width="134" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>How It Ends (David M. Rosenthal, 2018) -</b> This Netflix dystopian thriller got my attention because it had a nice trailer, it had <b>Forest Whitaker</b> and also because I have a perennial appetite for all "end of the world" movies. I should have trusted the negative reviews though, a terrible film and a sheer waste are what many warned. I won't say its as awful as the reviews make of it, its pedestrian in the pace of course but shot very well, the acting by <b>Theo James</b>, Whitaker and co are also not as bad but where its utterly fails is the pacing and final pay off. The mystery of what really happened or how the world has ended or is ending is never explained. Not explained at all actually. I guess they wanted to make a sequel where the mystery will be deciphered but the way "how it ends" and the kind of negative publicity it has already received, I think that noble idea must have already been shelved. As long as you are willing to see a dystopian road movie with a sense of perpetual dread and don't mind an inconclusive ending, <i>How It Ends </i>is an ok watch but insipidly boring nonetheless.</span></div>
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-581386594316975886.post-71343266504458673992018-09-27T13:22:00.000-07:002018-09-27T13:22:00.374-07:00Make Love, Live and Let Live<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What two consenting adults do with each other is none of the world's business</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4zc-XHc4FtyrsyGU8aFzBwc_cdXuac3A91BYejriLMoJHeRiLAUc1TvLi4AvPQJ8Si4PCKqH4VhllSc5lzDcKyqaaTarsKAvUCDHyi9nvk5QoadKVTliFuBK_pLv38ekjr8ZV4FNW5hPE/s1600/8cecb27a39c1dbd45b115c178c0bac73.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="350" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4zc-XHc4FtyrsyGU8aFzBwc_cdXuac3A91BYejriLMoJHeRiLAUc1TvLi4AvPQJ8Si4PCKqH4VhllSc5lzDcKyqaaTarsKAvUCDHyi9nvk5QoadKVTliFuBK_pLv38ekjr8ZV4FNW5hPE/s200/8cecb27a39c1dbd45b115c178c0bac73.png" width="195" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sex is good! From the smallest insects to giant whales, every living thing has sex and copulates, well almost if you exclude the types that reproduce asexually. There is something elementary about sex, it’s a need, a want and a necessity but in spite of being on top of the evolutionary ladder, we still act as prudes when we decide to discuss our attitudes towards and sexual liberation. Moral correctness some would say, others would say its indecent. In my opinion, we are hypocrites actually, ambiguously obsesssed with victorian concepts of sex and reluctant to embrace the evolution of sex. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Don’t get me wrong. I am not supporting debauchery nor do I support the hateful violent acts that are committed in the name of sex. I also respect the right everyone has to not be subjected to ideas and images that one finds objectionable. But at the same time, I hate attempts to stomp out so-called "deviant" behaviour, sometimes in the name of law and order, and other times as preservation of the species, or health education, or just because the holy books don’t advocate it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Time was, just the suspicion that a person engaged in same-sex activities could lead to being fired from a job, outcast from the community, and subject to harassment and persecution. It’s still happening. While many of the overt attempts to oppress (LGBTQ) sex that falls outside a strict definition of a conjugal man – woman bliss has ceased, we still feel the aftereffects of what once was. There is still a certain stigma attached to non-missionary sex between same-sex or even sex between unmarried people. While sometimes this stigma is expressed in untoward curiosity, and sometimes expressed as disdain, it is present and we feel its effects. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We must remind ourselves that, no matter what we might hear, there are people who break through these boundaries and they must be accepted. Who decides what is really “Deviant”? Just because you don’t like it, doesn’t make it a wrong. Telling people that that certain sexual practices are unconditionally dirty, or depraved, or perverted, does not make it deviant or make those desires go away. But it can have devastating effects – can make people hide from their friends and family, can make them hate themselves, or hate others out of jealousy for others' relative freedom. It can stifle their self-expression and hinder their relationships. And most importantly, it can shut down the lines of communication and force people to relate to their sexuality in ignorance, insecurity and fear. I have gay friends who have suffered a lot and some who continue to suffer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you are the types who think sex outside marriage or ‘same-sex’ sex is bad, at some point even the most self-loathing person in the world is going to have sex. Because all they have to do is cross that line. Strike up a conversation with someone attractive and before they know it, they could be having sex. As a society, we really cannot stop or control what happens between two willing humans. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As a species, we are sadly stuck in a limbo. We must encourage these poor souls that all they have to do is cross that line and assure them that it's not a sin. A reminder that in spite of all the things that tell you not to have sex, you can still have the desire: and there is nothing wrong with exploring this desire with a consenting adult, as long as you keep your eyes open and your head clear. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sexual liberation or sexual license? Sex has always been meant to be enjoyable and diversionary and consensual, and to each, his or her own. Don’t let stupid bigots or right-wing religious zealots stop your carnal pursuits. Live and let live. Make love, lots of it! </span></div>
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<a href="http://websnackerblog.com/">Websnacker</a></div>Websnackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700794027960235366noreply@blogger.com0