Whoops, the embroidery is inside out. Better go change that.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Hour and a Half to Go
Don't trust the internet with your giblets
I've just pulled the giblets from the turkey. Well, there's a neck, liver, heart, and what I've always understood to be the gizzard. What's a gizzard?
Well, I looked up giblets. Here's why we have to be careful of what we find online. Fortunately, these were all in the same place so obviously most of them had to be wrong.
From Topix:
And the gizzard? From Merriam-Webster online:
Well, I looked up giblets. Here's why we have to be careful of what we find online. Fortunately, these were all in the same place so obviously most of them had to be wrong.
From Topix:
United States
Turkey Giblets are those hangey downey things from a turkey's face.
they are best prepared if you suck them off instead of cutting them off. now if u cut them off be sure to boil them in water to have the same moisture affect as sucking them off. you may then eat them any way you please. i like mine on a peanutbutter and jelly sandwich. now you can also try them on a torilla wrap with tomatoes and lettus. you can hardley tell the giblets from the tomatoes!
No Ma'am. The Giblets are the edible offal of a fowl, typically including the heart, gizzard, liver, and other visceral organs. The term is culinary usage only; zoologists do not refer to the "giblets" of a bird. Giblets is pronounced with a "soft g" sound (jib-lit) as opposed to a "hard g", as in gizzard.
So enjoy those fine giblets this Thanksgiving
people!
Look your all wrong, i worked in a meat abador for years and the giblets are the liver and the feathers of the turkey mushed up. Best served with vodka just before your dinner mmmmmm vodka how i would love some right now.Call me 079XX100198
Lee Elliott
Are you all nuts?here are a couple of definitions from the free dictionary:
The giblets include all the remains of the butchering process. These often include anything swept from the floor. Since the reign of King James, these must be included, in a paper bag, inside the gutted turkey. Traditionally, fingers of workers and slaves would find their way into the mix and mean good luck for the new year for those who pluck them from their teeth.
The traditional dish of giblets is served the next day as breakfast, the famous poem, "Ode To A Giblet Bag, Oh, Nonny-Noh!" is read out. Prepare with equal measure of porridge oats and drizzle with honey.
gib·lets (j
b
l
pl.n.
The edible heart, liver, or gizzard of a fowl.
[From Middle English gibelet, from Old French, game stew, perhaps alteration of *giberet, from gibier, game.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
giblets [ˈdʒɪblɪts]
pl n
(Cookery) (sometimes singular) the gizzard, liver, heart, and neck of a fowl
[from Old French gibelet stew of game birds, probably from gibier game, of Germanic origin]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 6th Edition 2003. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003
And the gizzard? From Merriam-Webster online:
Main Entry: giz·zard
Pronunciation: \ˈgi-zərd\
Function: noun
Etymology: alteration of Middle English giser gizzard, liver, from Anglo-French gesir, giser, from Latin gigeria (plural) giblets
Date: 1565
1 a : the muscular enlargement of the alimentary canal of birds that has usually thick muscular walls and a tough horny lining for grinding the food and when the crop is present follows it and the proventriculus b : a thickened part of the alimentary canal in some animals (as an insect or an earthworm) that is similar in function to the crop of a bird
2 : innards
Giving Thanks for What and to Whom?
I've been ambivalent about Thanksgiving for a long time. Thanksgiving - in my experience - is a time when family and friends come together, consider and give thanks for their blessings, and enjoy each other's company.
But then there's all that stuff about Pilgrims in Plymouth. If any of the basic story is true, the European immigrants essentially came to North America, were helped to survive their first difficult winter, and then went on to decimate their hosts and take over the land. Not a good basis for a holiday of thanksgiving.
And then there's all that poultry that's cooped up, butchered, frozen, and shipped to supermarkets, raising questions about how healthy the meat is and how humanitarian the turkeys are treated. I focused on that two years ago.
About two weeks ago, a friend sent me an article called "How I Stopped Hating Thanksgiving And Learned To Be Afraid" by Robert Jensen. Here are some excerpts.
In recent years I have refused to participate in Thanksgiving Day meals, even with friends and family who share this critical analysis and reject the national mythology around manifest destiny. In bowing out of those gatherings, I would often tell folks that I hated Thanksgiving. I realize now that "hate" is the wrong word to describe my emotional reaction to the holiday. I am afraid of Thanksgiving. More accurately, I am afraid of what Thanksgiving tells us about both the dominant culture and much of the alleged counterculture. . .
Although it's well known to anyone who wants to know, let me summarize the argument against Thanksgiving: European invaders exterminated nearly the entire indigenous population to create the United States. Without that holocaust, the United States as we know it would not exist. The United States celebrates a Thanksgiving Day holiday dominated not by atonement for that horrendous crime against humanity but by a falsified account of the "encounter" between Europeans and American Indians. When confronted with this, most people in the United States (outside of indigenous communities) ignore the history or attack those who make the argument. This is intellectually dishonest, politically irresponsible, and morally bankrupt. . .
He's enjoying his righteous indignation a bit too much I think. After all, can't we make this day of thanksgiving mean whatever we want it to mean? From his perspective, and this is the part I have to think about seriously..
Most leftists who celebrate Thanksgiving claim that they can individually redefine the holiday in a politically progressive fashion in private, which is an illusory dodge: We don't define holidays individually or privately -- the idea of a holiday is rooted in its collective, shared meaning. When the dominant culture defines a holiday in a certain fashion, one can't pretend to redefine it in private. To pretend we can do that also is intellectually dishonest, politically irresponsible, and morally bankrupt.
He certainly likes that refrain. . . intellectually dishonest, politically irresponsible, and morally bankrupt. Phil, can you put that to music?
As I said above, I have qualms about Thanksgiving, but his claims to own the truth here and call people who disagree names seems disingenuous too. And he never even mentions the killing of all the turkeys every year.
The way he puts it, it seems we have only a couple of options: Keep on being hypocrites or abandon Thanksgiving. Possibly there's a third option - some official decoupling Thanksgiving from the story of the pilgrims. I'd argue that that can happen gradually as more and more people do that in their personal celebrations - consciously talk about the new meaning of Thanksgiving at their dinners.
I'm planning to partake in Thanksgiving, remembering the good things of this year and of my life and offering thanks. But I'm also going to remember that a sentient creature was sacrificed so that we might eat. We may even find some alternative to a turkey one day. And if this day of giving thanks is based on pilgrims whose descendants took everything from the descendants of their hosts, then we must contemplate that too while we eat. We can't change what happened, but we can live our lives in ways that prevent things like that from happening on our watch.
As I said above, I have qualms about Thanksgiving, but his claims to own the truth here and call people who disagree names seems disingenuous too. And he never even mentions the killing of all the turkeys every year.
The way he puts it, it seems we have only a couple of options: Keep on being hypocrites or abandon Thanksgiving. Possibly there's a third option - some official decoupling Thanksgiving from the story of the pilgrims. I'd argue that that can happen gradually as more and more people do that in their personal celebrations - consciously talk about the new meaning of Thanksgiving at their dinners.
I'm planning to partake in Thanksgiving, remembering the good things of this year and of my life and offering thanks. But I'm also going to remember that a sentient creature was sacrificed so that we might eat. We may even find some alternative to a turkey one day. And if this day of giving thanks is based on pilgrims whose descendants took everything from the descendants of their hosts, then we must contemplate that too while we eat. We can't change what happened, but we can live our lives in ways that prevent things like that from happening on our watch.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Letter to Editor Makes Me Think About Facts, Emotions, People
It seems to me that 'facts' are being tossed about very loosely these days. By one definition, facts are those things that theoretically can be proven true or false, but they aren't necessarily true, no matter how often you repeat them.
Emotion seems to allow (cause?) people, myself included, to create fictions to support our belief systems. And those belief systems tend to immobilize our ability to differentiate between truths and untruths. (OK, some things are hard to know, but some things - say the existence of Idaho or death panels - are easier to prove.) Some people can be more objective about these things than others. I say emotion - which isn't a bad thing - but I probably mean two particular emotion that seems to be wide spread these days: anger and fear.
I'd like to see us move to less reliance on emotions and more on rational thought. I'm not saying emotion shouldn't play a role in our decision making, but the pendulum has swung far to the side of emotion. We need some balance. Here's a letter to the editor that demonstrates what I mean. It's from the November 15 Anchorage Daily News.
Well, that's the work of the person who puts headlines on the letters, not the letter writer, so let's skip that.
I'm guessing this 'law of human behavior" is based on this letter writer's belief that in America if you work hard you can get ahead. And it may even be true in her own case. Apparently this belief is what keeps poor people supporting rich politicians and celebrities - the hope that they too can be rich one day (see number 3.) I'm not saying that there isn't a general correspondence to working hard and living responsibly and having more. But it's not a universal truth, even in the US. Really, are raunchy pop stars harder working or more responsible than dedicated high school teachers?
The government has the explicit Constitutional authority to levy and collect taxes. Explain to me how you can NOT redistribute wealth when you use tax money. If taxes are used to pay people to build roads, the laborers are getting the money that once belonged to the tax payers. If you decide to contract out such work, the money is then going to the companies who win the contracts.
Perhaps the writer means it shouldn't be taken from people who work hard and given to people who don't work. Let private charity take care of those people. People do make that case. But there is an assumption here that the people who are not working are 1) physically and/or mentally capable of working; and
2) can find work; which
3) pays them enough to meet their, dare I say it, needs.
But the letter writer has already assumed that if you work hard, you can take care of yourself. I guess this includes young children of alcoholics, people with physical or mental ailments that make it difficult to get a job (either because they can't perform the work or because employers assume they can't).
Ready now for the last sentence.
Anchorage Assembly, stop trying to right all the wrongs in the city and just do your job!
Here she seems to acknowledge that things can go wrong. Good.
But what exactly is the assembly's job? The Municipal Charter is pretty vague compared to the US Constitution. Or at least it isn't as well organized. Section 3.01 for example:
I'm not trying to be cute here. The 'duties' of the assembly aren't all neatly in one place - they are scattered around the Charter. But Section 5.06 (note: the link to the Charter and Code just gets to the main page, you can use the index in the sidebar to find specifics) does say:
The charter was written to unite the former City of Anchorage and Borough of Anchorage, so much of the attention was focused on how to unite the two, both of which already had ordinances. But we can look at some of the sections of the ordinances to see what sort of functions the assembly is expected to carry out. Each of those bullets opens and lists more detailed functions.
So, the assembly is responsible for quite a bit. Perhaps the letter writer should be more specific about which things the assembly shouldn't be doing and which things they should be doing.
I can understand that people have a lot of frustration. Most people who had worked hard and saved up lost a lot of value when stocks crashed.
Emotion seems to allow (cause?) people, myself included, to create fictions to support our belief systems. And those belief systems tend to immobilize our ability to differentiate between truths and untruths. (OK, some things are hard to know, but some things - say the existence of Idaho or death panels - are easier to prove.) Some people can be more objective about these things than others. I say emotion - which isn't a bad thing - but I probably mean two particular emotion that seems to be wide spread these days: anger and fear.
I'd like to see us move to less reliance on emotions and more on rational thought. I'm not saying emotion shouldn't play a role in our decision making, but the pendulum has swung far to the side of emotion. We need some balance. Here's a letter to the editor that demonstrates what I mean. It's from the November 15 Anchorage Daily News.
Assembly, hands off my cashLet's look line by line:
Every mature person understands there is a difference between "wants" and "needs" and knows that "needs" must come before "wants," especially when there is a shortage of money. Grown-ups also understand that life is not fair and that we are guaranteed equal opportunities to succeed but never promised equality.
People who work hard and live responsibly will always have more than those who do not. It is the right and responsibility of those who have to help those who have not, but government does not have the authority to take anything from one person to give to another. Redistribution of wealth is robbery, and robbery is wrong whether it be at the barrel of a gun or by taxes.
Anchorage Assembly, stop trying to right all the wrongs in the city and just do your job!
-- DD
Anchorage
Assembly, hands off my cash
Well, that's the work of the person who puts headlines on the letters, not the letter writer, so let's skip that.
Every mature person understands there is a difference between "wants" and "needs" and knows that "needs" must come before "wants," especially when there is a shortage of money.This sounds like something a kid hears over and over again from a parent to the point where it's an unquestioned truth. While I'm leery of blanket statements like 'every,' in a general sense, I can understand and agree with the sentiment. Though sometimes we can't get big 'needs' but we can get small 'wants.' Is it wrong, when you've been scrimping for years to pay the mortgage and the other bills, to once in a while buy a fancy soap, a chocolate bar, or some flowers?
People who work hard and live responsibly will always have more than those who do not.This sounds like another parental mantra. But this seems like is a giant leap. "Always" always causes my crap detector to quiver. So the poor legal immigrant woman who works three minimum wage jobs so she can feed and clothe her children and help them do well in school has more than the playboy son of a wealthy family who parties on his allowance and thinks putting his dishes in the dishwasher is work? (In terms of emotional satisfaction probably, but I don't think that's what the letter writer had in mind.)
I'm guessing this 'law of human behavior" is based on this letter writer's belief that in America if you work hard you can get ahead. And it may even be true in her own case. Apparently this belief is what keeps poor people supporting rich politicians and celebrities - the hope that they too can be rich one day (see number 3.) I'm not saying that there isn't a general correspondence to working hard and living responsibly and having more. But it's not a universal truth, even in the US. Really, are raunchy pop stars harder working or more responsible than dedicated high school teachers?
It is the right and responsibility of those who have to help those who have not, but government does not have the authority to take anything from one person to give to another.Where does this right come from? She does acknowledge responsibility of individual people to help the poor, but tells us that government does not have the right to help some using the wealth of others. I wonder if this writer has read the US Constitution lately? From Article I, Section 8: The Powers of Congress:
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;It seems pretty clear that on a national level, Congress has the authority to tax (which would be taking from one person) and to use that money to pay others for various purposes including providing defense and general welfare. General welfare is pretty broad. It probably includes helping the destitute.
Redistribution of wealth is robbery, and robbery is wrong whether it be at the barrel of a gun or by taxes.What exactly does 'redistribution of wealth' mean? When you and I buy gasoline, wealth is being redistributed from auto owners to oil companies. Is she saying that's robbery? When we pay our phone bills, it's being redistributed from us to ACS or GCI or AT&T.
The government has the explicit Constitutional authority to levy and collect taxes. Explain to me how you can NOT redistribute wealth when you use tax money. If taxes are used to pay people to build roads, the laborers are getting the money that once belonged to the tax payers. If you decide to contract out such work, the money is then going to the companies who win the contracts.
Perhaps the writer means it shouldn't be taken from people who work hard and given to people who don't work. Let private charity take care of those people. People do make that case. But there is an assumption here that the people who are not working are 1) physically and/or mentally capable of working; and
2) can find work; which
3) pays them enough to meet their, dare I say it, needs.
But the letter writer has already assumed that if you work hard, you can take care of yourself. I guess this includes young children of alcoholics, people with physical or mental ailments that make it difficult to get a job (either because they can't perform the work or because employers assume they can't).
Ready now for the last sentence.
Anchorage Assembly, stop trying to right all the wrongs in the city and just do your job!
Here she seems to acknowledge that things can go wrong. Good.
But what exactly is the assembly's job? The Municipal Charter is pretty vague compared to the US Constitution. Or at least it isn't as well organized. Section 3.01 for example:
Section 3.01. Powers of the municipality.
The municipality may exercise all legislative powers not prohibited by law or by this Charter.
I'm not trying to be cute here. The 'duties' of the assembly aren't all neatly in one place - they are scattered around the Charter. But Section 5.06 (note: the link to the Charter and Code just gets to the main page, you can use the index in the sidebar to find specifics) does say:
Section 5.06. Administrative code.
The assembly by ordinance shall adopt an administrative code providing for:
(a) The identity, function, and responsibility of each executive department and agency;
So, the assembly is responsible for quite a bit. Perhaps the letter writer should be more specific about which things the assembly shouldn't be doing and which things they should be doing.
I can understand that people have a lot of frustration. Most people who had worked hard and saved up lost a lot of value when stocks crashed.
This letter mainly tells me the letter writer was angry. Instead of being specific about what set her off, she offers us a rant in which inaccurate statements are pronounced as truths. How much of this does she really believe literally? How much is just venting? But I do hear loud and clear something like, "I work hard for my money and I don't want you Assembly members giving it away to deadbeats." Or am I reading in something that isn't there?
On the other hand, there's enough in there to suggest that she and I could find a lot of common ground. I work hard and I'm responsible, so she'd probably approve of how I've lived my life. Maybe if we found some things we had in common - maybe she likes to garden, or to bike, or birds, or Thai food - and we got together over a good meal, we could talk about our children or our parents and we could soften some of the edges. Maybe we could share our prouder moments and some of our disappointments. We won't change each other's minds on the issues, but we will change our assessments of each other as "fill in with an appropriate derogatory term".
We all need to start seeing each other as human beings, not as liberals or conservatives. We need to respect each other, to talk to each other, to ask questions about their beliefs and about our own.
I generally dislike statements that start with "We need to..." But each of you reading this can be more mindful in your interactions with others. Are you being respectful of the other person as a person, or is she 'just' a cashier? Are you assuming what he's like, what he believes, whether he's a good or bad person, because of the bumper sticker on his car, or the kind of clothes he's wearing? Check yourself. Imagine that inside every human body is a complete human being - just like you - who needs some positive attention. Just try that with one or two people you meet each day. We need to get the emotions to neutral before we can start engaging reason too. So help those around you calm down by treating them like human beings.
On the other hand, there's enough in there to suggest that she and I could find a lot of common ground. I work hard and I'm responsible, so she'd probably approve of how I've lived my life. Maybe if we found some things we had in common - maybe she likes to garden, or to bike, or birds, or Thai food - and we got together over a good meal, we could talk about our children or our parents and we could soften some of the edges. Maybe we could share our prouder moments and some of our disappointments. We won't change each other's minds on the issues, but we will change our assessments of each other as "fill in with an appropriate derogatory term".
We all need to start seeing each other as human beings, not as liberals or conservatives. We need to respect each other, to talk to each other, to ask questions about their beliefs and about our own.
I generally dislike statements that start with "We need to..." But each of you reading this can be more mindful in your interactions with others. Are you being respectful of the other person as a person, or is she 'just' a cashier? Are you assuming what he's like, what he believes, whether he's a good or bad person, because of the bumper sticker on his car, or the kind of clothes he's wearing? Check yourself. Imagine that inside every human body is a complete human being - just like you - who needs some positive attention. Just try that with one or two people you meet each day. We need to get the emotions to neutral before we can start engaging reason too. So help those around you calm down by treating them like human beings.
AIFF 2009 - Documentaries in Competition
"Films in Competition," according to the AIFF website, are "the official selections that are chosen by our prescreening committee to be entered into competition." Documentaries are the film version of "non-fiction."
There are eight Documentary films - 8 hours and 21 minutes of viewing - in competition. Note: The shorter ones (under 30 minutes) are grouped into "Programs." As I write this it isn't easy to find which programs they are in on the AIFF website, but they are clearly identified on page 6 of the free newsprint AIFF guide. I've also identified the programs of the three shorter documentary films in competition. All the documentaries are showing either at Alaska Experience Theater or the Anchorage Museum and most have one showing at each. Additionally, Circus Rosaire director Karen Bliley will do a documentary workshop at Out North Theatre. In addition the award winning films in all categories will get extra showings between Dec. 14 and 17. Those showings will be announced on the AIFF website.
Get to similar posts on films in competition for features and shorts by clicking the links.
A Sea Change Norway/U.S. 85 minutes
Director: Barbara Ettinger
Sun. 12/6 5:30 A Sea Change Alaska Experience Theater
Sat. 12/12 6:00 A Sea Change Anchorage Museum
(Photo from A Sea Change website.)
If you want to know more, there's a Washington Post reviewer who details what she liked and didn't like about the film:
A Time Comes: The Story of the Kingsnorth Six UK 20 minutes (This is part of the Documentary Program Relentless Behavior which includes the films My Toxic Baby and Frequent Flyer. Frequent Flyer is also in competition.)
Director: Nick Broomfield
Sunday, December 6 – 4:00pm – Anchorage Museum
Thursday, December 10 – Alaska Experience Theater
The film features the music of Nick Laird-Clowes performed by David Gilmore of Pink Floyd among others.
Greenpeace wants you to see this, so they have the whole film up at their site and I've embedded it below freeing you up to see something else that night. Or you can wait to see it on the big screen.
A Time Comes - the story of the Kingsnorth Six from Greenpeace UK on Vimeo.
Circus Rosaire U.S. 90 min
Director: Robyn Bliley
Saturday, December 5, 2009 - 3:15pm Alaska Experience Theater
Friday, December 11, 2009 - 8:15pm Anchorage Museum
The video, from the Dallas AFI 2008, includes clips from the trailer and an interview of
There's more at the Circus Rosaire website including these comments from co-producer and director Robyn Bliley (Sheila Segerson's daughter.)
Frequent Flyer U.S. 20 minutes (This is part of the Documentary Program Relentless Behavior which includes the films My Toxic Baby and A Time comes. A Time Comes is also in competition.)
Director: Gabriel Leigh
Sunday, December 6 – 4:00pm – Anchorage Museum
Thursday, December 10 – Alaska Experience Theater
Frequent Flyer from Gabriel Leigh on Vimeo.
Playground U.S. 87 minutes
Director: Libby Spears
Sat. 12/5 3:15 Anchorage Museum
See Shadow Billionaire below and Luksus (in shorts in competiton) for other films touching on this topic from different perspectives.
Shadow Billionaire - U.S. 86 minutes
Director: Alexis Spraic
Sunday Dec. 6 7:45pm Alaska Experience Theater
Saturday Dec. 12 3:15pm Alaska Experience Theater
[Update Nov. 26: Alexis emailed to suggest a couple of other reviews readers might want to look at:
The Shadow Billionaire website is visually interesting, but is thin in content in some tabs.
Tapped U.S. 76 minutes
Director:Sarah Olson Stephanie Soechtig (Sarah's the Producer)
Sunday Dec. 6 1:00pm Alaska Experience Theater
Friday Dec. 11 8:00pm Alaska Experience Theater
(Image from Greenzer.)
From Mary Vincent at the Examiner.com:
Tapped's website: http://www.tappedthemovie.com is very slick and very user unfriendly. It has its own scrollbar you have to use and content is not copyable.
Trip to Hell and Back U.S. 29 minutes [In Documentary Short Film Program "Road to Redemption" with Girls on the Wall]
Director: Stu Maddux
Tuesday Dec. 8 8pm Alaska Experience Theater
Saturday Dec. 12 3:15pm Anchorage Museum
From Trip to Hell and Back website:
Trip to Hell and Back - trailer from Stu Maddux on Vimeo.
Get to similar posts on films in competition for features and shorts by clicking the links.
A Sea Change Norway/U.S. 85 minutes
Director: Barbara Ettinger
Sun. 12/6 5:30 A Sea Change Alaska Experience Theater(Photo from A Sea Change website.)
Imagine a world without fish
It’s a frightening premise, and it’s happening right now. A Sea Change follows the journey of retired history teacher Sven Huseby on his quest to discover what is happening to the world’s oceans. After reading Elizabeth Kolbert’s “The Darkening Sea,” Sven becomes obsessed with the rising acidity of the oceans and what this “sea change” bodes for mankind. His quest takes him to Alaska, California, Washington, and Norway as he uncovers a worldwide crisis that most people are unaware of. Speaking with oceanographers, marine biologists, climatologists, and artists, Sven discovers that global warming is only half the story of the environmental catastrophe that awaits us. Excess carbon dioxide is dissolving in our oceans, changing sea water chemistry. [From the film's full service website. So's the video below]
If you want to know more, there's a Washington Post reviewer who details what she liked and didn't like about the film:
A Deep Dive Into Troubled Waters
By Ann Hornaday
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 12, 2009
The handsome, rigorously researched documentary "A Sea Change," playing Saturday at the Environmental Film Festival, calls for some tough love on the part of even the most sympathetic viewer. [more]
Director: Nick Broomfield
Sunday, December 6 – 4:00pm – Anchorage Museum
Thursday, December 10 – Alaska Experience Theater
Director Nick Broomfield has made a 20 minute film celebrating the spirit of direct action. This Bright Green Pictures film tells the story of the Kingsnorth Six, a group of Greenpeace volunteers who scaled the 220m chimney at a coal fired power station in Kent in 2007 to protest against government plans to build new coal plants across Britain.
The film features the music of Nick Laird-Clowes performed by David Gilmore of Pink Floyd among others.
Greenpeace wants you to see this, so they have the whole film up at their site and I've embedded it below freeing you up to see something else that night. Or you can wait to see it on the big screen.
A Time Comes - the story of the Kingsnorth Six from Greenpeace UK on Vimeo.
Circus Rosaire U.S. 90 minDirector: Robyn Bliley
Saturday, December 5, 2009 - 3:15pm Alaska Experience Theater
Friday, December 11, 2009 - 8:15pm Anchorage Museum
For nine generations, the Rosaire family has entertained audiences all over the world with their legendary animal acts. The circus industry is changing, however, and the Rosaires have fallen on hard times. Their poignant way of dealing with hilarious relationships and tragedy reflects the circus they call life.
The video, from the Dallas AFI 2008, includes clips from the trailer and an interview of
There's more at the Circus Rosaire website including these comments from co-producer and director Robyn Bliley (Sheila Segerson's daughter.)
I’ve known the Rosaire family since I was six years old and have been intrigued by their way of life in the circus and their devoted and loving relationships they have with their animal partners. Having a long and trusting relationship with the Rosaire family has allowed me incredible access to an otherwise very private family. . .By the way, Robyn is going to lead a workshop on documentary film making at the festival.
The domestication of wild animals and the use of animals in circuses is a hot button topic for many of us. And although I don’t support or condone all circus animal trainers, I believe the Rosaire family provides us with an incredible and unique example of how people can use animals in entertainment while treating them with respect, dignity and love.
Get Real: A Short Course in Documentary Filmmaking
Sunday, Dec. 13, 3 PM / Out North Theatre
Robyn Bliley, director of the feature-length documentary, Circus Rosaire.
How does a documentary filmmaker choose subject matter, sketch out the story and stay true to real life? Find out the basics of directing, producing and acting in documentary films and fire away with questions of your own. (Robyn Bliley Photo from Circus Rosaire site.)
Director: Gabriel Leigh
Sunday, December 6 – 4:00pm – Anchorage Museum
Thursday, December 10 – Alaska Experience Theater
"Frequent Flyer" is a 20-minute documentary about frequent flyer miles, the people who collect them, and the world of airports and airplanes that they inhabit. Fittingly, I traveled around 35,000 miles in the making of it, from Osaka, Japan to Punta del Este, Uruguay.
The result is a look at the world of miles and some of its most enthusiastic participants, examining how miles and points have become an important world currency and, in turn, an obsession for those who have figured out ways to earn them in the millions. [Photo and text from Gabriel Leigh's Vimeo Page]
Frequent Flyer from Gabriel Leigh on Vimeo.
Director: Libby Spears
Sat. 12/5 3:15 Anchorage Museum
Sexual exploitation of children is a problem that we tend to relegate to back-alley brothels in developing countries, the province of a particularly inhuman, and invariably foreign, criminal element. Such is the initial premise of Libby Spears’ sensitive investigation into the topic. But she quickly concludes that very little thrives on this planet without American capital, and the commercial child sex industry is certainly thriving. Spears intelligently traces the epidemic to its disparate, and decidedly domestic, roots—among them the way children are educated about sex, and the problem of raising awareness about a crime that inherently cannot be shown. Her cultural observations are couched in an ongoing mystery story: the search for Michelle, an American girl lost to the underbelly of childhood sexual exploitation who has yet to resurface a decade later.
Executive produced by George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Steven Soderbergh, and punctuated with poignant animation by Japanese pop artist Yoshitomo Nara, Playground illuminates a sinister industry of unrecognized pervasiveness. Spears has crafted a comprehensive revelation of an unknown epidemic, essential viewing for any parent or engaged citizen. [This continues at the Nest Foundation website, where I also got the Yoshitomo Nara drawing.]
See Shadow Billionaire below and Luksus (in shorts in competiton) for other films touching on this topic from different perspectives.
Director: Alexis Spraic
Sunday Dec. 6 7:45pm Alaska Experience Theater
Saturday Dec. 12 3:15pm Alaska Experience Theater
“Shadow Billionaire” – Documentary ReviewThere's another interesting review at A Regretable Moment of Sincerity, which also alerts us that this film, along two other films in competition - Luksus (features) and Playground - deals with sexual exploitation of children.
By Yuan-Kwan Chan
Alexis Manya Spraic’s debut film looks back at the surreal life of Larry Hillblom, the founder and ‘H’ in shipping company DHL who disappeared in a 1995 plane crash. At the time, the eccentric American was living in tax-free haven Saipan. It was here that the law school graduate’s name became entangled in a legal battle involving paternity tests, his sordid lifestyle and his shoddily written will – with his staggeringly lucrative estate at stake. Buoyed by first-person accounts and historical footage, “Shadow Billionaire” admirably tackles Hillblom’s story but doesn’t quite succeed in its execution. (You can read the rest of this review at meniscuszine.)
[Update Nov. 26: Alexis emailed to suggest a couple of other reviews readers might want to look at:
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117940101.html?categoryid=31&cs=1 http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/film_review.asp?ID=4282]
The Shadow Billionaire website is visually interesting, but is thin in content in some tabs.
Tapped U.S. 76 minutes
Director:
Sunday Dec. 6 1:00pm Alaska Experience Theater
Friday Dec. 11 8:00pm Alaska Experience Theater
(Image from Greenzer.)
From Mary Vincent at the Examiner.com:
'Tapped' is a new documentary featuring the virtually unregulated business of bottled water and its lifecycle, including health, environmental, and human rights issues. Documentary interviews include community members, politicians, scientists, and government agency representatives. I'm grateful to have seen the Tapped documentary and interviewed Director, Stephanie Soechtig. I will share the Trailer and our discussion below including actions we as citizens, community members, consumers, business owners, and governments can take today. [You can read the interview here.]
Tapped's website: http://www.tappedthemovie.com is very slick and very user unfriendly. It has its own scrollbar you have to use and content is not copyable.
Director: Stu Maddux
Tuesday Dec. 8 8pm Alaska Experience Theater
Saturday Dec. 12 3:15pm Anchorage Museum
From Trip to Hell and Back website:
World-renowned horse rider Trip Harting juggles his very public life of horse riding with his secret, crazed life of using and selling huge amounts of methamphetamine. He becomes one of the largest dealers in the Washington DC area.
DEA agents finally bust Harting in an upscale hotel lobby and charge him with crimes that will likely send him to jail for the rest of his life.
Now struggling to keep even more secrets to save his career he begins learning to tell the truth to save his life. The spiritual journey transforms him into a new person.
Two years later a judge asks a changed Harting for any final words before he is sentenced. Those final words will reveal if he has changed enough to deserve a second chance.
Production:
Harting himself was willing to recreate the scenes necessary to put his story on film. “If it can help just one other person, then any backlash is worth it.”
But as “Trip to Hell and Back” had its first screening in August, 2008, Trip suddenly found that everything he had gone through was preparation for an even greater challenge: a terminal illness. He died just three weeks after the film premiered.
Harting remained a profoundly changed person to his last day hoping this documentary would spread his message that ‘”truth is an incredibly powerful thing.”
Trip to Hell and Back - trailer from Stu Maddux on Vimeo.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
November Challenge
November is when my running schedule tends to go down the drain. It's colder. It's darker longer. It snows. The body hasn't quite adjusted to the new weather and ground cover. And I seem to find lots of excuses to say 'mañana.'
This year I came back from California with a sore heal, so I obviously couldn't run for a while. Then I did run, but various things got in the way again. I had morning meetings and I like to run before I eat in the morning.
Once I eat, well, I can't run. It got cold. I did use my bike, even after it snowed. There wasn't enough snow to cross country ski, or so I told myself
But yesterday it was 30˚F. The sun was peeking through the clouds. My body was fine. No meetings. I had no excuse.The raven chortled as I ran by.
Through the neighborhoods until I got to the bike path.
And I wasn't the only one running. I saw four other runners in my 45 minutes out.
Despite the fact I hadn't run since early in the month, these two were so slow, even I passed them.
It seemed like they weren't fiinished. They've made this new bus cut out so that the sidewalk/bike path is now wide enough for more than one person. Not sure about the need for the new lights. A bus shelter, even just a bench, would probably be more helpful. But maybe that's coming next.
Don't let the winter keep you inside. Get out of the car and enjoy moving.
AIFF 2009 - Rand Thornsley in His Office
Rand is the President of the Anchorage International Film Festival Board and Festival Program Director. I dropped in on him before watching "Still Walking" tonight at the Bear Tooth to see how he was doing two weeks before the festival begins. He didn't know I was coming or that he was going to be on camera.
AIFF 2009, Anchorage, Fat Bikes, and Blogging
I try to remind people now and then that biking is a real alternative form of transportation, it's not just recreation. Our infrastructure and city planning make it hard to do without a bigger vehicle sometimes, but biking is possible for a lot of our travel, even in the winter.
So, I do want to recognize that there are a number of Alaska blogs that focus on biking and there's even an Alaskan biking film in the Anchorage International Film Festival.
Here's a short post about the short film Fat Bike from Bicycle Commuters of Alaska: (BCA also supported the film)
Fat Bike Trailer from indieAK films on Vimeo.
Fat Bike U.S. (ALASKA) 26 minutes
Director: Carl Battreall
Fat Bike is part of the Snowdance 2 program showing
Tuesday Dec. 8, 5:45pm at Alaska Experience Theater
Saturday Dec. 12, 5:30 at Out North
It's also part of the Martini Matinee presentation Friday Dec. 11, at 2:30pm Bear Tooth
So, I do want to recognize that there are a number of Alaska blogs that focus on biking and there's even an Alaskan biking film in the Anchorage International Film Festival.
Here's a short post about the short film Fat Bike from Bicycle Commuters of Alaska: (BCA also supported the film)
Carl Battreall took a fantastic first step into film making with Fat Bike by being accepted to the Boston Bike Film Fest and the Anchorage International Film Fest. But the news gets even better. The Boston Bike Film Fest, which took place last Friday and Saturday has announced that Fat Bike has won First Place!BCA talks about biking everyday so I'm adding them to my Alaska Blog list. Another one is Bicycles and Icicles. It has a long list of Alaska bike related blogs. These blogs are serious crusaders working to change how decisions are made about transportation and planning by living their ideals and fighting to make bike commuting safer and easier.
Congratulations goes out to Carl for making such a great film. This is exciting news for all riders and especially those who brave the elements all winter long. And perhaps it will serve as great inspiration to those considering winter riding.
BCA sends along a hearty congratulations to Carl and all those that helped with the making of Fat Bike.
Fat Bike Trailer from indieAK films on Vimeo.
Fat Bike U.S. (ALASKA) 26 minutes
Director: Carl Battreall
Fat Bike is part of the Snowdance 2 program showing
Tuesday Dec. 8, 5:45pm at Alaska Experience Theater
Saturday Dec. 12, 5:30 at Out North
It's also part of the Martini Matinee presentation Friday Dec. 11, at 2:30pm Bear Tooth
Monday, November 23, 2009
Pho Lena Anchorage
It was bright, clean, and the food was good. J had the pho with tofu. Our vegetarianism is based on a combination of concerns about health, about how food is raised and the impact on the planet, but we aren't absolutists. I tend to assume that vegie soups in Asian restaurants are the normal soup stock but no pieces of meat. Isn't vegetarian pho an oxymoron:
Pho noodle soup is a great comfort food and like most classics it has many recipe variations and history. Some say that "pho' is a Vietnamese corruption of the French feu (fire). The French have a classic boiled beef dinner pot-au-feu, and they did colonize Vietnam in the earlier part of the century .
A perfect candidate for the crock-pot this soup only benefits from slow simmering to infuse the broth with aromatic spices and let the flavors and gelatin from the bones seep into the consomme like broth. (Read more: http://asiancuisine.suite101.com/article.cfm/vietnamese_pho_noodle_soup#ixzz0XiQztRSw)
[Double click on the pictures to enlarge them.]
Sunday, November 22, 2009
AIFF 2009 Suzi Yoonessi on Trying To Make An Authentic Alaska Film in Washington State
I haven't counted all the films entered in the festival, but with the shorts, particularly, there are a lot. I'm sure it will not be possible to see even half the films, even if you were attending an event from the first to last showing every day. So I'm trying to go through what's coming and figure out what looks best, what looks most interesting, and when films are going to be showing in hopes of seeing the best of what's up here in December. I'm also trying to share some of what I'm learning with people who read the blog.
As part of this, I've emailed some of the film makers. I feel a bit awkward since I don't really want to ask generic, boring questions. It's best, for me, to see the film first, and then I may have some burning questions, or I may not.
Since I had seen Dear Lemon Lima as a short when it was in the Festival two years ago, I did have some questions of director Suzi Yoonessi. Here's what I wrote then about the short (good, but not much) and the film maker's plans to film a movie, set in Fairbanks, in Seattle.
A little snide I acknowledge, but we'd also seen a film by French film makers who had had the idea to ride horses across Alaska. When they got here, they began to realize how ridiculous that seemed to Alaskans. They leased the horses, but soon discovered they were going to have to walk with, not on, the horses. But they got up to the Arctic Ocean. And they were in Alaska and saw how great their misperceptions of Alaska were. As Alaskans we learned about ourselves by seeing Alaska through their eyes, but only because they were actually in Alaska.
What I didn't realize at the time was that Dear Lemon Lima was the film she had in mind.
To her credit, she emailed me after my snarky post and asked if I had suggestions for cutting costs and doing some of the filming in Fairbanks. If it had been Anchorage, I figured I could have found housing for everyone. I posted her request and emailed some of the Fairbanks bloggers for help.
So, not long ago, I emailed director Suzi Yoonessi:
As part of this, I've emailed some of the film makers. I feel a bit awkward since I don't really want to ask generic, boring questions. It's best, for me, to see the film first, and then I may have some burning questions, or I may not.
Since I had seen Dear Lemon Lima as a short when it was in the Festival two years ago, I did have some questions of director Suzi Yoonessi. Here's what I wrote then about the short (good, but not much) and the film maker's plans to film a movie, set in Fairbanks, in Seattle.
Dear Lemon Lima, was another snippet, it seemed, from a future feature length film. Beautifully shot with good acting, it had lots of potential. Though I think the mother was a bit exaggerated. (I'm sure the writer will say 'not at all, I know her well'.) The director - I think that was her role - was there after the film to talk. She also talked about a feature to be filmed next summer that is set in Fairbanks. To her credit, she's been to Fairbanks - after writing several chapters of the screen play - but it will be filmed in Seattle (did she really say Seattle? How can you do Fairbanks in Seattle?) because, you know, it's really expensive to do it in Fairbanks. You know, I think that people in Fairbanks and Anchorage would put the whole crew up in their houses to help you keep the costs down. If those other guys could walk their horses across Alaska, you can surely shoot your film that takes place in Fairbanks, in Alaska. Imagine a movie, "Crossing Alaska with Horses" filmed in the Alps, because, you know, going to Alaska would be so expensive.
A little snide I acknowledge, but we'd also seen a film by French film makers who had had the idea to ride horses across Alaska. When they got here, they began to realize how ridiculous that seemed to Alaskans. They leased the horses, but soon discovered they were going to have to walk with, not on, the horses. But they got up to the Arctic Ocean. And they were in Alaska and saw how great their misperceptions of Alaska were. As Alaskans we learned about ourselves by seeing Alaska through their eyes, but only because they were actually in Alaska.
What I didn't realize at the time was that Dear Lemon Lima was the film she had in mind.
To her credit, she emailed me after my snarky post and asked if I had suggestions for cutting costs and doing some of the filming in Fairbanks. If it had been Anchorage, I figured I could have found housing for everyone. I posted her request and emailed some of the Fairbanks bloggers for help.
So, not long ago, I emailed director Suzi Yoonessi:
"A key question I do have is how much if any of the film did you get to do inSuzi wrote back:
Fairbanks? What little I saw on the website - pictures, trailers - I'm guessing
not much. There was one shot that might have been in a Fairbanks like setting.
In any case, I'm looking forward to seeing the movie - the colors and characters of the short that was here in 2007 still are vivid in my mind. Not an easy thing
after two years of festival films. But I'm a little leery about the Alaska setting
and the treatment of the Native Olympics. We'll see."
. . . Our lead actress is part Yup'ik and from Eagle River, so if you're interested in speaking with her further, I'd love to put you in touch!
As you know, the budget was incredibly low. I super appreciate your blog posting, but one person responded (which was also an incredibly kind gesture), but it takes a village to raise a child, and Lemon Lima is my first-born. We were very fortunate to find an amazing Alaskan Native presence in Seattle, so the film features an Aleut dance group and all of the events were supervised by a former WEIO athlete. We saved a small part of our budget to shoot B-roll in Fairbanks, but after the rough cut, I had to make the decision of filming in Alaska, or having a reshoot.
One of the film's final scenes is a Yup'ik Eskimo Igloo dance. We shot a dance that wasn't particularly dynamic, so when I learned that we could use our budget to reshoot the dance, it took precedence because the character's evolution and acceptance of her heritage is the most important subplot within the character-driven film. Phillip Blanchett of the Yup'ik pop band Pamyua choreographed the dance for the reshoot and worked with Savanah Wiltfong (our lead) in Anchorage to understand the significance of each movement in the dance. The dance is delightful and we were also able to include two of Pamyua's songs in the film.
It's incredibly important to me that you, the local audience and press know the measures that we took to keep the Alaskan Native elements authentic (including having WEIO ship two seal skin blankets to Seattle.) The story is an underrepresented voice and I think it's incredibly exciting that people in London, Brazil, Tunisia and Sweden have been exposed to Alaskan Native history & culture in a story that entertains and informs. The assumption that we didn't make every effort possible to maintain the integrity of the Alaskan Native elements is incredibly frustrating and untrue. Although I wasn't able to film in Alaska, the magical exterior filming locations inspire a sense of isolation, wonder and delight.
I've met Phillip Blanchett and seen Pamyua perform on various occasions. They are the real thing. I understand that getting funding to make a feature film is very difficult and that bringing a crew to Alaska is very expensive. I accept that Suzi believes that she did everything she could to be authentic.
I urge Alaskans to enjoy the game we usually play of picking out the parts that are wrong about films set, but not filmed, in Alaska, but to try not to let any discrepancies get in the way of seeing the film she made. But, Suzi, remember that you did choose to tell a story set in Alaska and that the way you portray Alaskans has been/will be seen "in London, Brazil, Tunisia and Sweden" as you say. And for most of those people, it will be as close as they ever get to Alaska. Any mistakes you've made about us is how they will perceive Alaska.
So, Alaskans, be polite. Don't ask questions about why she didn't shoot the film in Alaska. She would have if she had had more money. The Alaska Film Office hadn't reopened its doors when she was filming.
Suzi, recognize that not that many people read this blog, and even if everyone did, they wouldn't listen to me anyway.
Suzi, recognize that not that many people read this blog, and even if everyone did, they wouldn't listen to me anyway.
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