| Celebrating commercialism at ESPN
In my stupor on Saturday morning, I managed to catch a spot on ESPN that reaffirmed my faith in the "This is SportsCenter" series of ads. The ad featured Red Sox slugger David Ortiz donning a Yankees cap and getting caught in the act by the Red Sox mascot, Wally.As I was explaining the commercial to Eric Knopsnyder, sports editor at The Tribune-Democrat who hadn't seen it yet, the wheels started rolling in my head as to what would be in the top 20 list of the "This is SportsCenter" series. Because I have way too much time on my hands,* I was able to assemble said list and a few honorable mentions. And through the wonder of YouTube, some of the ads can be relived through this very blog and any computer that has a moderately fast connection.(*-Earlier this weekend I found a mod file to convert MVP Baseball 2005 on the PC into a 1994 simulator.
- By Sabir Saeed and Safina Babar (Hairdressers and Cosmetologists)
A Thirteenth Graduation Ceremony of Two Years Vocational Training Diploma Course in Cosmetology, here at Renaissance College, was held to congratulate the successful students. The event took place simultaneously with a seminar on Importance of Vocational Training for Poverty Alleviation and Respectable Job Seeking by Renaissance Development Organization (RDO), a non-profit and non-government organization. Renaissance Postgraduate College is a leading institution of Pakistan, renowned for the quality education it imparts to the students. The very fact that Renaissance Postgraduate College has enhanced awareness of education of different capacities and disciplines among students shows the degree of excellence the institution has achieved in this highly specialized field. The event was most informative for students, who qualified their diploma and for those who wish to start career in Vocations like cosmetology, Dress Designing and Sewing, Woodwork and several others.
A contract for integration
DJAMEL stares blankly at the form in front of him. His name is about as far as hes got. What hes written down for the address is gibberish, and he hasnt even attempted the simple language test on the second half of the single sheet of A4 (Describe in 5-10 words what you did on Sunday). What didnt you understand? asks the young woman across the table. Djamel shifts in his chair uncomfortably. The young Algerian is undergoing a compulsory language test under the Integration and Welcome Contract imposed on all new legal arrivals to France. A few moments earlier, he had been chatting comfortably in decent French with the assessor. But writing is a different matter. Well need to put you down for lessons, the assessor tells him. I cant, he mumbles, I work. Well arrange evening classes. But I cant, Im tired, I work on a building site outside Marseille, I come home late.
The 'aha' moments of haiku
Situated in Portsmouth's historic Abraham Shaw House facing State Street, Single Island Press has opened its doors and a fresh guest book. Open since January, the small cluster of rooms, connected by a winding staircase, house a small library and conference room dedicated to the haiku poetry form. The spacious rooms are purposely decorated minimally to make for a calming, airy feeling "" just what's needed for a productive poetry center. Realizing there was nothing in the area quite like it, poet Madeleine Findlay and writing coach Tom D'Evelyn founded the idea for the inclusive writing community. The two have been writing partners since 2000, after Findlay took one of D'Evelyn's writing courses at Brown University. This is the most radical writing venture the two have constructed "" all in the name of haiku.
Review: Air Guitar Nation
Air Guitar Nation is a mercifully short documentary about a bunch of creativity-deprived neo-hippies who turn nothing -- strumming imaginary axes -- into an 'art form', then treat it as though it's a matter of life or death, and finally talk without irony about how they've made made a contribution to world peace with their art. I'm sure I heard the phrase "If you're strumming an air guitar, you can't pick up a gun," at one point. The movie gives us 'air guitar' versions of everything you'd find in the real rock world -- groupies, road fatigue, and even air-guitar Legs McNeils who appear in talking-head segments and speak with stone-seriousness about the world of air strumming and the people who take up the cause. One of them, a competitor in air guitar championships -- I'd peg him at about 36 years old -- triumphantly tells the cameraman "I raised about $460 through the kindness of friends and one stranger" for a plane ticket to the air guitar world finals in Finland.
Masayuki Suo DVD Collection
There have been many Japanese filmmakers with an exceptional skill for comedy who have made an impression on the collective subconscious of Western film fans over the last 20 years or so: Juzo Itami, Isao Takahata, SABU, Katsuhito Ishii, Kouki Mitani, Kankuro Kudo, Shinobu Yaguchi - the list goes on. However, none have quite made the impact that Masayuki Suo had in the late 90s when Shall We Dance? became a hit in cinemas the world over. Combining the witty social observations of Juzo Itami with the introspective sensibilities of Ozu, Suos films delighted Japanese audiences since the late 80s, when his breakout hit: Fancy Dance first hit cinemas. In the following decade Suo released two more smash hit comedies: Sumo Do, Sumo Dont, and of course the renowned Shall We Dance? but he then went on a long period of non-activity.
|
