One Life To Live – 6/18/08

June 18, 2008 By Leave a Comment

 David Vicars knows how to shake up the Cramer women, once engaged to Dorian Lord, he is now married to her sister Addey.  What will Dorian do now that they are related through their marriage.

Natalie is not the prize of the family after her boyfriend’s lies cost her family their business to Dorian, and caused the death of her sister’s husband Nash, but she was determined to keep Jarred out of prision.  She made a deal with her dad that she will tell him who the real Buchannan brother is, in return Jarred will not be prosecuted for anything civil or criminal.  Disgusted her father took the agreement, and she tells them the real brother is David Vicars.  Now that Clint and Bo know who their real brother is, will they ever accept him?

Filed Under: One Life To Live Tagged With:

Walt Disney- The True “Imagineer”

June 18, 2008 By Leave a Comment

When was the last time you been to one of Walt Disney’s amazing theme parks? If you ever visited you probably saw those fuzzy characters like: Donald Duck, Mickey & Minnie Mouse, Chip & Dale, Goofy, and all the rest of the gang. You probably rode each ride realizing this park was designed to be enjoyed and not horrify you. You would see that you can eat off the streets; and each blade of grass is identically the same size as it’s neighbor. What you probably realized once you walked through the main gates, is it’s so well done that everyone can live out their dreams, you can let your imagination run wild. Did you know that all this started with a napkin?

The Birth Of The Mouse

In the early 1920′s, Walt Disney was on a train and bored, so he started doodling on a napkin. What he got would change animation, cartoons and the world from that day forward. Walt Disney drew “Mortimer Mouse.” MORTIMER…I thought his name was Mickey? It is, but Mickey was originally named “Mortimer.” It was then when Walt Disney started to dream, he imagined a world changed by his drawings. He imagined a place where anyone’s dreams can come true and he would spare no expense till that was a reality.

Walt Disney’s First Creations

Disney started out with some cartoon shorts, and the first one he created was the silent black and white short “Steamboat Willie.” Mickey was on the big screen, off the napkin and into the hearts of every American. Throughout the 1920′s Walt Disney would make more cartoon shorts that would play before major motion pictures in your local movie theater, but he set his ambitions higher. “What if we could make a “color” full length animation. As a true imagineer, he made it a reality. Walt Disney used every dime he had to make “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” banking everything on it’s success. Walt was right, it was a success, and he made every dime back with a small profit. Disney wanted more, he wanted better cartoon movies, better animation, and better stories. He would continue to make movies but had a few less successful movies in that process that would almost bankrupt him.

Disney Land and the Empire

In the 1960′s Walt Disney opened “Walt Disney Land” in southern California. It was to mimic a land where you could walk into your imagination, and where his cartoons would come to life. The park was a hit, and within a few years Walt Disney wanted to make another one, in a larger and greater scale with more rides and more fantasies to come to life.

In 1962, he purchased acres of land filled with orange trees in Buena Vista, Florida, just outside Orlando. He was very excited about the park, and was there every step of the way micromanaging the building process to ensure his dream his vision would come to life. Sadly, Walt Disney would never see the parks completion. He died shortly before it opened it’s doors. His son and brother would take over the company and ensure Walt Disney’s vision came to life.

From the 1960′s on, Disney’s dream grew and Walt Disney World, was a reality in such a grandeur scale that it’s the model for all theme parks around the world, and a place where little girls can be a princess and mingle with their favorite cartoon princesses, and boys can be the prince that saves the day. You can’t help but walk through these parks and see all the imagination come to life. See children’s dream become a reality. That was all that Walt Disney wanted.

Disney is still the king of cartoons, their films are epic, and their theme parks unlike any other. Today, they own Disney World and Land, Animal Kingdom, Wide World of Sports, Epcot, Disney MGM Studios, and they have 3 Disney Channels and Disney Radio and have expanded their theme parks all over the world. Their technology is second to none, and no expense is spared to make your dreams a reality. We must thank Disney for forever changing our lives, letting adults retract to being a child for a day again, and being the model of imagination. Disney engineers are coined the title, Imagineers, and it started with Walt Disney and a napkin, the true Imagineer!

Filed Under: Art Tagged With: , , , ,

Hell’s Kitchen- Then There Were 3

June 17, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Last week, Bobby a surprise for the chopping block despite a bad night was sent home and Jen who also sat on the mercy of master chef Gordon Ramsey was able to remain another week; and just like that there were 4.

This week, the chefs: Jen, Corey, Petrozza and Christina were asked for their challenge to create their own dish, and it was going to be the “Mother” of all challenges, because they were feeding 86 people!  Each chef prepared their dish, and when Ramsey let in the group of 86, everyone was shocked to see 162 people, there were 86 pregnant women they had to feed. Each chef had their own colored plate and the women would have to judge the food and vote for the plate they liked the best. After all the dishes were served and the women ate, they voted. Their vote would surprise the chefs and the audience. The person coming in 4th place was Corey, who understandingly was last because her dish was not ready when they started serving. 3rd place was Jen, who said she had this in the “bag.” 1st and 2nd place were neck and neck decided by only 2 votes, and Christina won beating Petrozza. Christina’s reward was a shopping spree on Rodeo Drive in beautiful L.A.

The other chefs were sent to clean the kitchen and dining room spotless, then jump on prep work for the nights service. Jen was the only one that got real bent out of shape at Christina and made her emotions well known, proving once again she is a soar loser.

Christina came back from her shopping spree, went up stairs to change and returned to the kitchen to help her teammates prep for the night’s service, and when she did, she returned to a wall of silence as everyone ignored her.

Finally, the doors were opened and the service started, the quarterfinal round was on.  All the chefs performed at their best, Jen ran into some trouble showing her inconsistency.  Corey too was one of the weaker of the top 4. Christina had a great service but managed to burn Chef Ramsey two consecutive times. Finally service was through and Ramsey said it was the best service of Hells Kitchen to date.  He asked all the chefs to collaborate and choose two for the cutting block.

The chefs decided to write two names down on pieces of paper, put them all together and see who’s name shows up the most.  Those two would then be chosen for the cutting block.  Corey took the sheets of paper and totaled up results.  Jen had 3, and Christina had 4.  Corey asked Christina if she voted for herself and she said no, so the chefs knew someone was out to get her and tried to be deceptive and they all knew it was Jen.

Christina, Corey and Petrozza got together and said Jen would be up tonight, but one of them had to go and they were not going to just put up Christina because of the deceptive trick Jen pulled.  They thought together who has the best chance against Jen, and Corey volunteered.

Chef Ramsey asked who was going up, and Christina announced Jen and Corey.  Each one stated their case why they should stay.  Ramsey thought for a moment, and said “Corey”…”Please say goodbye to Jen.” The rest of the chefs were standing there jaw dropped as they expected Corey to go home, but Ramsey wasn’t done. “Jen you are leaving Hells Kitchen.”

Finally, the most egotistical, deceptive and inconsistent chef was going home.  Personally I think she was there way too long, and should have gone last week.  Hell’s Kitchen has the semi-finalists: Christina, Corey and Petrozza.  Next week, they vie for a seat in the finals and the title of Head Chef at Gordon Ramsey’s new restaurant.

Filed Under: Hells Kitchen Tagged With: ,

Dowd Studios- Mother’s Day Contest 08 Winner

June 17, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Dowd Studios, Inc. in 2008 decided to hold a Mother’s Day contest for the cutest kid.  The applicants were to go online to Dowd Studio’s web site and enroll.  Enrollment was free and the winner would come away with some great prizes!  This was the first ever Mother’s Day Contest by Dowd Studios, Jason, the owner, said “It was a great success and we will definitely be holding another one next year.”

But this contest wasn’t just about the cutest kid, or the mom… no, according to Jason, it was about a little bit more. ” Mom’s are special, and so is every child.  Every child has the potential of being our next President, or the scientist who will cure A.I.D.S.  The source of that success is the mom who selflessly gave birth to that special little child, and gave all she had to ensure her child grew up full of love, healthy and educated.  It’s a special bond and all mother’s should get special recognition.  This contest was to give both, great recognition!”

The contest was judged by two ladies who had no affiliation with Dowd Studios, they were asked if they knew any of the children in the application.  None of them had any ties to either the studio or the children so there was no bias or favoritism.  ” I told my judges, that they can’t favor anyone if they used my photos, if they are older than anyone else, like a baby favors a 2 year old, and they could not judge on their story alone.  The judges could not discriminate between: race, sex or religion.  It was totally fair for anyone that entered, and that’s how I wanted it.”

In the first annual contest, Ashley Hamrick and her son Jimmy are the grand prize winners.  Their story was touching, the child adorable!  It was a great choice.  Jason talked to the judges after the judging ended and asked them if they all were in agreement with their choice, they said yes… “But it was a VERY tough decision, all the kids were adorable, all the stories touching.  They were all winners in our book.”  With that comment, Jason realized how true that statement was, and made sure all participants received a free sitting and 8×10 of their choice from Dowd Studios without any obligation for purchasing.

The grand prize was a:  Free sitting and 16×24 portrait from Dowd Studios, and a $25.00 Chili’s Gift Certificate donated by Dowd Studios.  A $25.00 gift certificate for custom framing from Alexandria Art Gallery, a Bath Gift Basket from Passion NV, and a free hair cut and wash from J. Joseph Salon in Land O Lakes.

“Next year we expect more participants, more prizes and an even harder choice.”  says Jason.  So if you are interested, keep checking the studio’s web page at www.dowdstudios.com.  To see the winner you can check the “Picture Of the Month” or see the Mother’s Day Contest Winner on the Gallery Link of the Dowd Studios web site.

Filed Under: Photography Tagged With:

Three Stooges – Review

June 15, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Whenever you hear “Three Blind Mice” on television or at a movie theater the first thing that pops in your head are those three witty, slap-stick comedians “The Three Stooges.” They have been entertaining America since 1933 on the big screen and continue to amuse us even after their deaths.

Today, June 15th, Tampa Theatre kicked off their Classic Summer Movie Fest with 8 shorts from these wonderful slap stick comedians.  It was a memorable afternoon as they graced the original screen their shorts first started out on. The shorts shown were Yes, We Have No Bonanza, Women Haters, Punch Drunks, Who Done It, Movie Maniacs, and Mummy’s Dummies. Almost all of the shorts shown were not common ones you see on TV. Women Haters is a classic Vaudeville type short that is true to the Stooges roots. The entire short is done in rhyme and, of course, included the slap-stick comedy only the Stooges can pull off for a fantastic short.

This show gets a 5 out of 5!

This event is truly spectacular, and I recommend everyone going to at least one of the Summer Movie Classics at Tampa Theatre. Stay tuned to The Expressionist for a current list of movies from the Tampa Theatre or go to their web site, www.tampatheatre.org

Check out the video below of an all time favorite Stooge scene. Beware, it’s contageous!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8Pk1UYkB3I[/youtube]

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: ,

One Life To Live Update 6-13-08

June 14, 2008 By 1 Comment

Cole and Star…  As you know Cole and Star, young teenagers, are expecting a baby.  Star who is only 16 has an additional problem, her dad can’t find out she is pregnant or he will kill her boyfriend, which he has already tried to do in the past.  Cole feels he is ready to be a dad and very excited to do so, he is trying to convince Star to keep their baby.  On Friday, Star and Cole took Sam to get something to eat and to the park.  They were in the diner when someone overheard Star say, “We are going to get some hamburgers and fries…” then they piped in… “Are you his mom?”  They said, no I am his sister.  The lady said, I should have known because no mom would give a child that age that kind of food.  No good mom at least.  That got Star thinking.  Then at the park, Sam started to cry uncontrollably, thus getting Star very annoyed.  She could do nothing to get her little brother to quiet down.  She frantically asked Marcie, who once had Sam as their adoptive child, and she got Sam chilled out.  This really stuck hard with Star that she may not be ready to be a mom.  She also found out Marcie could not have a baby and was upset over that.  She said Friday that she is not ready to have this baby and does not want to keep it and does not know how to tell Cole.  I think she may decide to have the baby and give it to Marcie.

Commissioner Ramsey & The Crown Jewels
Commissioner Ramsey’s plot to get money for the crown jewels took a turn for the worse.  Everyone knew he was a crooked cop, and his intentions on getting back into the FBI depended on getting someone well again, to do so he stole the crown jewels with the help of some thugs and setting up his own police agency to help him.  On Thursday, the princess came to get the jewels, which she was in on the heist.  She paid Ramsey for the Jewels that she knew he had.  She went to the rest room with the jewels intending to leave right after, when the two thugs busted into Ramsey’s apartment and shot him dead.  They took the briefcase of money but could not find the jewels.  John Baine’s listening outside to a bug in the apartment ran in, shot the two thugs dead, and went after the person who got away while he was on the stairs.  He did not know it was the princess and ran after her.  She got into the limo, when her ambassador to the US who was with her, shot John and sped off  in the limo.  To the princesses surprise the ambassador was in on the heist too, and tried to take the jewels from her.  She got out of the limo and ran away.

Meanwhile, Todd who saw his sister Tina, the princess go into Ramsey’s house followed her in his old apartment, now Ramsey’s, to find the Commissioner dead, and the two robbers dead.  He went upstairs to find the person who he had stashed up there helping to be Marty, Cole’s mom, and the lady Todd raped years ago.

John got to his feet and went into the apartment to see who was up stairs only to find Todd, and the empty bed, because Todd’s bodyguard took Marty, Todd’s plans are still unknown.

Jarred – Natalie
They didn’t show them on Friday, last we left off with Jarred was getting arrested for admitting he forged the DNA test to cheat his way into BI, and the Buchannan family fortune, when Natalie came to her dads house to witness him being arrested.

Gigi – Rex – Charlie and Roxy
Rex confronted Red and Roxy, and told them he never wants to see them again.  He disowned his mom for going along with such a hurtful lie.  He ran into Gigi in the hospital who was going to see Charlie.  Rex told her, that Adrianna brought Brody to Land View and paid him handsomely to get with Gigi and be Shane’s dad.  Gigi was outraged, and said she wanted to know the exact price Adrianna paid Brody, and asked Rex to find out so she can pay it back.  Rex said he would help her pay because it was his wife’s fault for the problem.  In Gigi’s anger rant, she let out that she could not believe Brody came to pretend to be Shane’s father for some money! She still has not told Rex he is the father of Shane.

Filed Under: One Life To Live Tagged With:

MySpace & Other Social Networks and Your Art

June 11, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Many people use social networks such as MySpace to meet up with old friends, family, and co-workers. Did you realize the enormous potential it brings to getting your artwork out there?

Think about it, MySpace for instance has more than one hundred million accounts on line and is growing daily. By showcasing your artwork, you have a possibility of exposing everyone of those viewers to your work. You also have the ability to post blogs and bulletins about your work. Bulletins can be viewed only by friends, but blogs can be seen by everyone. The best part is it’s free!  So why not take advantage of it? Have you looked at advertising costs lately? How can you really know the ads are working?  MySpace, if used correctly, has the potential to reach tow times what the local market can and will cost you nothing. MySpace even has each profile indexed in Google! So be sure to use your name or business name somewhere in the about me section.

How do get your MySpace on the right track? Write about you and your artwork in your bio. Keep your page as clutter free as possible. Be sure to add your business name, even if it is only your name. Make sure it describes what you do.  If you can, use the networking feature and BE SPECIFIC! Add works of art to your photo gallery and make sure that everyone can see them instead of making them private.  DO NOT make your profile private either. Doing so totally eliminates any chance for people to see anything about you or your art.  Don’t forget to link your real web site in your profile somewhere.

Once your page is set up be sure to access the page at least once or twice a day.  Make sure you respond to ALL e-mails. Make use the bulletins, they are your friend.  Update the profile as often as you are able.  Place it on business cards, letterhead, e-mails, and anything else you send out.  The more you network, the better chance you have to reach the younger generation, and MySpace is sure to find you.

MySpace is a great resource because if people don’t find your web site, but do find you on MySpace, they can still access your website through the link you have on your bio. Perhaps they don’t need to see your web site becasue they are convinced of your talent right away. This is a great way to make a sale.

MySpace does have its pros and cons. A big con is lots of spam. Though recently that has getting better. There have been far less fake profiles because MySpace shut down one of the biggest spammers. Although you still have to deal with it occasionally, it is worth it because it is free.  Sometimes MySpace is hard to access or it becomes sluggishly slow. It will come back up to it’s normal speed shortly or you will be able to log on again. But again you are not paying for it, so don’t sweat it!

Filed Under: Art Tagged With:

Don’t Mess With The Zohan

June 11, 2008 By Leave a Comment

This movie is definately not one of his best, but Adam Sandler will still make you laugh in this highly shocking comedy, “Don’t Mess With The Zohan.” The Zohan is an indestructible Israeli Counter Terrorist whose only wish is to make people “silky smooth” as a famous hair dresser. Sandler, known for his crazy roles, clearly tries to create another zonked out charecter with the Zohan, but fails to do so.

Personally, I had my mouth agape watching Sandler walk the narrow line of acceptable and gone too far, just waiting for him to accidentally cross it.  This movie picked fun at the violence in the Middle East which is currently dividing the world.  It made a joke out of the Palestinian Terrorists and the Israeli Counter Terrorists who are currently at war with each other. It doesn’t stop there, it has a rich real estate tycoon, who happens to be white, trying to cause a fight between his Palestinian and Israeli business owner tenants; using the KKK to try to accomplish his goal so he can put them out of business, clearing the way for his downtown mall.

Overall, the movie was a bit slow, mainly due to a bad plot.  Sandler tries to make a joke throughout the movie by putting Hummus on everything he ate; which must have gone over my head because I didn’t find that funny at all.  It gets worse, after each hair style the Zohan completed, he made love to his seasoned aged client, which is something I found to be completely unnecessary.

Sandler brought it all together for the last scene of the movie; the Zohan and his Palestinian terrorist counterpart, “The Ghost” join forces to defeat the KKK, and save their businesses.  The moral of the story, the fighting between these two groups is wasteful and accomplishes nothing in the end, together they could be strong, divided they fall.  Had Sandler not finished the movie this way, the movie would have been a complete catastrophe.

The movie is funny, and if you don’t take things to heart you will mildly enjoy this comedy.  I would rank “The Zohan” as alright for a Sandler movie.  Thank goodness it’s not “Punch Drunk Love, but it’s not Happy Gilmore either.”

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With:

Do You Miss The WB Cartoons?

June 11, 2008 By 1 Comment

I remember growing up and running home each night to ensure at 6:00 PM I was done with my homework, dressed for bed, and ready to watch 2 hours of TNT Bugs Bunny Hour.  The classic cartoons that paved the way for today’s animated marvels.  Who can forget Bugs Bunny, Yosemity Sam, Elmer Fudd, Tweety Bird, Sylvester, The Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote just to name a few.  The lines are legendary, we can hear them in our sleep.

Sadly, they have almost become extinct.  They used to be on the Cartoon Network after TNT gave up showing them.  They were pulled from the Saturday morning cartoon line up, and now almost non existant on the Cartoon Network or Bravo stations.  They have come and gone to more modern cartoons.

On July 28th, 2008 the Tampa Theatre will bring them back from the dead and show these wonderful cartoons on the screen they were originally shown on, before feature presentations!  Yes, the Looney Tunes are back for 1 day only.  So bring your kids, bring your family and head down to Tampa Theatre in downtown Tampa.

Tickets are $8.00, and the show starts at 3:00 PM.  What a wonderful way to spend the day with your family.

Filed Under: Film Tagged With: , , , ,

Three Stooges at Tampa Theatre

June 11, 2008 By Leave a Comment

If you love nostalga, movies and a having fun on the weekend, then Tampa Theatre is the place to go.  From the moment you walk through the doors of the 1924 movie theater you will be mezmorized at the intricate beauty and design.  Follow the grand staircase up to the balacony and remenise about your childhood days growing up.

Well this Sunday, Father’s Day, there is something special going to take place at the Tampa Theatre.  Yes, they will be showing 6 original shorts as they were designed for the square screen, of the Three Stooges, the original masters of slap stick comedy.  Titles include: Punch Drunks (National Film Registry), Who Done It, Woman Haters, Yes We Have No Bonanza, Movie Maniacs, Mummy’s Dummies.

You don’t want to miss Larry, Moe and Curly doing some of their legendary acts on the silver screen, in a theater many of these shorts played in when they were first made!

Starts at 3:00 PM, and tickets are $8.00.  Go to http://www.tampatheatre.org/comingAttractions.php#STOOGES for more details. 

Remember, the Tampa Theatre is a NON PROFIT organization.  All money goes to keeping this wonderfully historic building active and able to be enjoyed by the next generation of movie lovers.  This theater put Tampa on the map!

Filed Under: Film Tagged With: ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »