The Edit Suite

Precious is an up-to-date Mommy Dearest

2010-03-19T06:33:00.000-07:00

I watched the movie Precious and what a thoroughly depressing movie it is. First of all this is a movie I don’t typical gravitate to; I prefer some escape-ism in my movies. I could have watched the 11 O’clock news and saved 2 hours of my life. There are spoilers here so if you plan on watching the movie and don’t want to know what happens, stop reading.

As I said before, this is not a movie that I would typically watch, but considering all the hype and Mo’Nique winning the Oscar for best supporting Actress, I should give it the benefit of the doubt and at least check it out, as probably a lot of other people did. First of all Precious is not based on a real person but rather a character in the novel “Push” by Sapphire who based the character Precious on a composite of many young women.

Sapphire is known as a performance poet, sometimes called a spoken word artist. She is also a novelist, Push, was her first novel. The book has been adapted to film with the help of talk show host Oprah Winfrey and playwright-gone-Hollywood Tyler Perry as executive producers.
Push is the story of Claireece "Precious" Jones, an obese black teen who is not only beaten and verbally abused often by her mother, but also sexually abused by her father who is the father of her two children, one of whom is Mongoloid.
When Sapphire was asked: "What was your inspiration for creating such an unforgettable character?” She replied: “She's a composite of many young women I encountered when I worked as a literacy teacher in Harlem and the Bronx for 7 years. Over and over I met people with circumstances similar to hers, many with her amazing spirit. I wanted to create a novel with a young person like that. To me she has not existed in literature before. She existed on TV …but as a statistic -- as an 18-year-old HIV+ woman who can't read with two children. I wanted to show her as a human being, to enter into her life and show that she is a very complex person deserving of everything this culture has to offer.”

Precious is an hour and forty-nine minutes of her being beaten, raped, verbally abused babies being tossed, dropped and fallen onto and if that wasn’t enough let’s give her HIV all this is intermixed with dream sequences of Precious seeing herself dancing at the Apollo, attending premieres, etc. her form of escape in this Hell on Earth. Half way through the movie we meet “Mongole” her first born mongoloid daughter. Mongole is kept by Precious’ Grandmother and doesn’t appear until needed as a prop for Mo’Nique to use as a prop when the Social Worker arrives. Mo’Nique is the essence of absolute evil in her portrayal of Precious’ freeloading off the system abusive Mother and well worth all the accolades and awards she has and will be receiving. Because of her second pregnancy, Precious is sent to an alternative school that is a dysfunctional version of Welcome Back Kotter. It isn’t until the last 5 minutes of the movie that we see precious actually realize how evil her mother truly is and break away from her.

The movie left me thoroughly depressed and emotionally wrecked but not by any fault of the movie itself; the casting and performances we’re phenomenal, especially a make-up void Mariah Carey as a Well-Fare case worker, and the second to last scene showdown between Precious and her mother in the Well-Fare office is some of the most powerful and emotional acting I have seen. It left me in that state because it was an in-your face representation of the way the world is today.

Can you imagine how fun it must have been to make this movie? “OK Gabourey, in this scene, you’re going to be rapped by you’re HIV infected drunken, drug addicted father then after that we are going to move you into the kitchen where Mo’Nique is going to hurl glass vases at you and try to hit you with a frying pan, then we’ll move out to the living room, give you a fake baby and while you are trying to get out of the apartment we’ll hurl a flower pot at the back of your head…oh don’t worry it’s a breakable flower pot.”

I think sometimes I wish I was an ostrich and could hide by sticking my head in the ground (which they don’t actually do), so I did the next best thing I watched The Cannonball Run, I’m OK now.

I know where hamburgers come from but I don’t need to go to the slaughter house to watch them being made.

I Guess I'm Just Getting Old

2010-02-05T07:42:00.000-08:00

I remember the first day of class at S.C.A.D. (Savannah College of Art and Design) and the instructor asked the class to introduce themselves and tell who were their favorite directors. Spielberg…Scorsese…Coppola…George Lucas (he hadn’t made Episodes I-III yet) were of course the general consensus, when it came to my turn I announced John Carpenter as my choice. The instructor looked at me perplexed and quizzically asked why? I simply responded…Escape from New York.

Of course those other guys are exceptional directors, but they have typically had the budgets and studios to do what they wanted, whereas Carpenter was usually producing box-office hits on a shoe-string budget and some how pulling these really cool movies out of his ass.

When I was growing up VHS/Beta rentals had not yet been introduced so HBO was the only game on the block, Showtime came along later and I remember at that time HBO would not show “R” rated movies until after 8pm. I had a babysitter whom I had made an arrangement with; she could have her boyfriend over without me telling mom and dad, but I got to watch whatever I wanted on HBO. The first time I saw Halloween was on HBO. It scared the living P-Jesus out of me, not the actual scenes of violence but that white mask fading in from the darkness and that creepy cool-ass music. I was hooked, now I realize that Halloween is a mediocre horror film at best, but I didn’t have those skills when I was younger to analyze the film and I think the only reason Halloween has remained so close to my heart as well as others, is for the nostalgic aspect of when I first saw it. Even with all of its flaws, good or bad, it is a classic and part of our culture. And another piece of trivia, it was Jamie Lee Curtis’ (the Activia Lady) film. Maybe she should have offered some Activia to Michael, get him regular and everything turns out fine.

Flash-forward to 2007 Rob Zombie’s reimagining of Carpenter’s Halloween is released. I realize it is a reimagining so it should be judged independently, on it’s own. I had seen House of 1,000 Zombies and The Devil’s Rejects and had determined Zombie wasn’t for me, but I saw his release of Halloween, just because of my love for the original, as I’m sure it was for many. I thought the first-act was pretty descent giving Michael Myers a background and developing his character but the third-act completely lost me, especially the scene where Michael gouges out Dr. Loomis’s eyes and a few scenes later Dr. Loomis re-appears with eyes in-tact. At least Zombie was smart enough to use the original theme in his release, that theme is as much a character of the film as Michael Myers himself. Can you imaging watching Jaws without the shark’s theme.

The only reason I bring all this up is because I recently tried watching Zombie’s release of Halloween II, which starts out as a reimagining of the 1981 original and then I realized it is the sequel to his Halloween release in 2007. It was one of the most violent movies I have ever seen, now I appreciate a good scary-horror flick but this was more like a snuff film. It is amazing how a white mask fading in from the darkness with a knife scarred me to now having to see someone violently stabbed 10 times to get the same. I was told that Halloween was going to be re-made one way or another and if Zombie didn’t do it someone else would, I wish they would have let someone else.

The Big Bang Lobby Loop

2010-02-03T15:43:00.001-08:00

Just finished editing the Lobby Loop for The Big Bang opening this week at the Ocala Civic Theatre.

The Big Bang Lobby Loop

Lunch at Bakers and Cooks

2010-02-03T14:59:00.000-08:00

I consider myself a professional eater, especially where hamburgers and chesse burgers are concerned. Until yesterday I was convinced Brick City Cafe and Chilis had the best burgers and my world was not only rocked but knocked off it's axis when I tried the 8oz Black Angus Burger at Bakers and Cooks restaurant in Downtown Ocala. It was the best burger I have ever had in my life, I'm not being a Drama Queen about this, seriously it was nothing short of amazing and to top it off, I had the Ghiradelli Brownie, served with real cream in a martini glass. If you get a chance you should check them out for breakfast or lunch (served 8-2) you will not be disappointed. They have a challenge; eat three of the Black Angus Burgers in one setting, get the next three free, a challenge I plan on accepting and winning.

Bakers and Cooks
128 SW Broadway Street - Ocala, FL 34471
(352) 789-6020 www.bakersandcooks.com

OMELETS & BENEDICTS
are offered with potato salad or house potatoes
our house potatoes are a mix of baby red and yukon gold potatoes with sweet garlic confit, sea salt, cracked black pepper, and hungarian paprika

say cheese, blend of swiss, american, & cheddar.

heart healthy egg white omelet with spinach, mushroom, swiss served with fresh berries.

oy vey smoked salmon, sliced red onion, chive cream cheese, and fresh dill.

omelet du jour.

Turn a mini omelet into a sandwich on an artisan roll

eggs benedict the classic, on english muffin bread.

veggie benedict eggs,marinated artichoke hearts & sauce choron on english muffin bread.

FRENCH TOAST & BREAD PUDDIN

creme brulee french toast french brioche, honey, NEILSEN-MASSEY'S VANILLA BEAN PASTE, and egg battered, grilled and served with warm apricot & maple syrup and fresh berries.

traditional texas toast with powdered sugar, dollop of sweet cream butter, and warm maple syrup.

peach bread puddin'with a side of applewood bacon.

POTPOURRI
real steel cut oatmeal naked.

with brown sugar & butter and/or fresh berries.

yogurt and berries vanilla yogurt with fresh berries in a martini glass with fresh mint.

mac & cheese penne, aged cheddar, blue cheese, gruyere, cream, fresh thyme, bacon bread crumbs, white truffle oil.

soup du jour.

FRESH BAKED GOODS AND SIDES
daily fruit breads and pastries price varies according to item
potato salad or house potatoes

fresh berries

thick cut applewood smoked bacon

BURGERS AND SANDWICHES
are offered with potato salad or house potatoes
a mini garden salad may be substituted for an additional 1.5

the burger 8 oz black angus burger with cheese with over easy egg.

the loaded burger our burger with roasted red peppers, caramelized onions, pickled hot peppers, and american cheese.

bite size burgers 3 smaller versions (each patty is 3 oz) of our black angus burgers.
or loaded mini burgers.

the elvis creamy peanut butter, sliced banana, and bacon sandwich, egg battered and grilled served with a side of nutella dipping sauce.

grilled cheese a classic on texas bread with american cheese.

Bakers and Cooks grilled cheese french brie with honey, sliced green apples, and dijon mustard.

the monte cristo carved, roasted turkey, black forest ham, swiss cheese, egg battered and grilled, and paired with star anise and peppercorn scented blackberry jam.

1 pound, YES! 1 pound, applewood smoked bacon sandwich on artisan roll and prepared with sliced seasonal tomatoes, rocket lettuce, and cracked pepper aioli.

FROM THE GARDEN
house made dressings: mustard vinaigrette, bistro red wine vinaigrette, mustard & guinness stout, raspberry vinaigrette, or blue cheese

the salad seasonal greens, raspberry onion, pecans, marinated kalamata olives, roasted red peppers and cherry tomatoes.

bistro salad greens on a seasoned crouton with bacon lardoons, cherry tomatoes, raspberry onion, and crispy fried egg.

irish salad potato salad on mustard & guinness stout dressed greens.

turkey salad seasonal greens, pecans, berries, raspberry onion, dried cranberries, roasted red peppers, cherry tomatoes, and carved turkey breast.

SWEET AND YUMMI

bread puddin traditional bread puddin, peach sauce, vanilla bean whipped cream.

crystallized ginger ice cream.

rice pudding cake with spiced apricot & ginger sauce.

creme brulee with fresh berries andwhipped cream.

chocolate & hazelnut mousse with whipped cream.

fresh berries with lemon zest and creme fraiche.

HOT DRINKS

cattle dog premium coffees/assorted hot Bakers and Cooks private label teas.

espresso.

caffe au lait - coffee & steamed milk.

cappuccino - a single shot espresso & steamed milk with foam "cap".

hot chocolate (rimmed with crushed peppermint) with whipped cream and shaved chocolate. or with marshmallow whipped cream and shaved chocolate.

COLD DRINKS
fresh orange juice
iced tea or home style lemonade
perrier sparkling water
assorted boylan sodas
coca cola & diet coke
red birch beer float.

Wine and beer may be served after 11 AM.

No reservations can be accepted between 8AM and 2PM. Groups may make reservations for 7AM or after 2PM

Jays Bridal Expo 2010

2010-02-03T14:40:00.000-08:00

This past January 17th, 2010 we attended Jay's Bridal Expo at the Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts Center in Gainesville, FL. As always we met some great people, there were a lot of out-of-town weddings and weddings not until 2011. We got some great footage of the various vendors that were there, Unfortunately, I could not get a shot of a few of the tables because every time I tried to get a shot, they were swamped with people. My dear Jaye McCarthy, who was with Goldenhills Country Club was one of those people, in fact they were so busy they ran out of food, which bummed me out I was eyeballing their Alfredo Pasta.

Jays 2010 Bridal Expo

"Today I'm handing out lollipops and ass-whoopins and right now, I'm all out of lollipops.”

2010-01-14T04:41:00.000-08:00

The latest chapter in my cansur-vival book has been severe joint and body aches, to the point of barely being able to move or walk. Recently while walking through a department store, I thought to myself if I saw someone walking like I was, first I would probably be down at the Villages, but I would tell them how much I loved their performance in "Night of the Living Dead".

I contacted my Neurologist at Shand's and the Nurse explained how they could refer me to the Orthopedic dept. but they would need to see me first, and then wait for a consult with the Orthopedic dept so it could be months before actually getting to the heart of the problem. I decided to see my local practitioner, he ran blood work, he started to believe it was some form of neuropathy or even the possible on-set of MS because of the quickness and severity it had affected me. In the meantime, he sent me to a local Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. Farr. So after a barrage of X-Rays, MRI's and blood-work....did I mention I don't have health-insurance...so John and my Christmas' gift to each other was an MRI of my right knee.

Yesterday was my follow-up visit to Dr. Farr and he went over everything with me, the extremely good news was that the ligaments and muscles he thought were damaged or torn were just fine, there was no bone on bone, or fractures, but I did have "considerable" fluid all around my joint, so without missing a beat he said he was going to drain the fluid (as if he was asking me if I wanted a lollipop).

Now I understand his job is to get me feeling better, not coddle or hold my hand, but some emotion would be nice. It reminded me of my Neurosurgeon from the past surgery to fix my forehead "Well, I don't see any incursion to the interior of the skull, so how 'bout a spinal tap?"

The procedure for this process is quite horrific, as soon as he said he was going to drain my knee, in my head,I started to hear "Ave Santani" the evil theme music from the original Omen movie. He leaves the room, leaving me to my thoughts and about 5 minutes later a nurse wheels in a small tray with gause wipes and bandages, alcohol wipes a small spray can and a single syringe in the center of the tray, like all the other items are surrounding the syringe in some un-holy ritualistic ceremony. Then I notice the needle attached to that syringe. It was longer, wider and bigger than my screw drivers at home. Then she just turns and leaves, leaving the tray behind. So it's me the tray, and the screw driver attached to the syringe (I swear I say the Black and Decker logo embossed on the needle) all alone in the exam room. I stare fixated on that needle, knowing that was going into my knee. The doctor finally comes in after what seems an eternity and tells me to lie back. He sprays this cold stuff on my knee to numb it. I will spare everyone all the details, he did however hit a nerve with the needle and I came off the table with an explisitive symphony of curse words. He apologized and continued.

In the end he drained roughly 18ccs of fluid from my knee. Sufficed to say I was completely and totally exhausted, not just from the actual procedure but from the anticipation of every possible horrid scenario running through my mind while I was alone with the syringe, to him hitting my nerve.

Today, I am able to stand-up, walk and function virtually pain and medicine free. It has been a long time since I have felt this good and now I know what people meant by that saying; "Well at least you have your health..." All things considered I am grateful to Dr. Farr for making me feel better, but he never did offer me a lollipop.

"Let Them Eat Cake . . ."

2010-01-11T13:21:00.001-08:00

Videotronics will be attending Ms. Debbie's Sugar Arts 4th Semi-Annual "Night of Cake Tasting" at the beautiful Villa East in downtown Gainesville, FL Tuesday, February 9th from 5-8 pm.

Ms. Debbie is one of the few that can make absolutely stunningly beautiful cakes that also taste great. If you or you know someone that has an event coming up or just in need of an awesome cake you should RSVP for this event. Other wedding and event vendors will be on hand to provide info for their services, not to mention the main reason; to eat a bunch of cake, after-all that is one of the major perks about this job...wedding cake!

Dear Dr. Laura . . .

2010-01-09T13:26:00.000-08:00

On her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, penned by a US resident, which was posted on the Internet.

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination... End of debate. Its in the Bible - end of argument! I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how best to follow them.

1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is, my neighbors. They claim the odour is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2. Clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wriggle room here?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend. He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your adoring fan.

Despite popular beliefs Photographers cannot walk on water

2010-01-04T02:52:00.000-08:00

Meeting with Angel from Photography 35 today, we recently produced a webmmercial for them that they have on their web-site (www.photography35.com) and they need some more production work before the upcoming bridal shows.

Doing wedding videography, I get to work with a lot of people in the various wedding professions, especially photographers; Angel & Greg are not only amazing photographers but I consider them true friends. With the quality of work they do it would only seem natural that they would have the standard egomaniac attitude that seems to be a natural trait of most wedding photographers in the area, but nothing could be farther from the truth. They are truly humble people who truly love their craft and their charity work inspires me, doesn’t hurt either that Angel is an amazing cook.

It’s refreshing to work with friends professionally.

2010 New & Improved

2010-01-03T11:13:00.000-08:00

OMG I cannot believe it is 2010 already, I still remember all the drama of Y2K. I find it fitting that I woke up Friday morning to a downpour of rain. I chose to symbolize it as Mother Nature washing away all the muck, and stuff from 2009 allowing 2010 to start with a clean, fresh slate. One of my many New Year resolutions is to get more dedicated and better about bloging. This past year I was introduced to Facebook by a very dear friend of mine from high school and within minutes of activating my account, I was inundated with posts, messages and comments from everyone trying to catch up with me.

Everyone was saying “I thought you were dead.” I felt a little like Snake Plisken from Escape from New York, they heard I had cancer and thought I died from it. Once I explained I was alive and well, they wanted to know the whole story. All my high school friends wanted to know if I had posted any of the End of the Year video from our senior high school year, it was then I started to make a “to-do” list for my blog. I have begun to document my battle with brain cancer and created a page dedicated to the End of the Year video from my high school senior year (1988). I will keep you posted as they are updated.