I received an email today from one of the local political organizations which read

"You may use these images as you see fit. The silver plated and gold plated coins do exist, I just sent a silver coin to John Kerry. Flood these images in NYC to protest the Republicans."

Who am I to turn away such a request?

While on the subject...the short animation This Land is My Land is hiarious - http://www.jibjab.com/

Another thing, now there are at least 160 more organizations which are protesting the convention.

My outlook regarding the RNC being held here in New York City has defintely changed after seeing how many people are now involved and excited about the direction of this country and the future of the people.

I was always envious of the 60's, it was such a critical time in history and it must have been thrilling to play a part in changing history for the better.

Without knowing the final outcome, the surrounding energy gives some insight to what drew the better part of the country together 30 years ago.

But if everyone continues to work for the next few months,

we'll know that we're capable of winning our own freedom.

Join us on Tuesday, August 3rd for the Reel Roundtable's first ever Political Party!

When: Tuesday, August 3rd at 8:30pm

Where: Sweet Vicious Bar - 5 Spring St, btwen Elizabeth St & Bowery

Why: to have a good time & we're taking political film submissions

Who: sponsored by The Reel Roundtable

RSVP: rsvp@reelroundtable.com

Also, if you or someone you know has made a feature film, a short film and/ or a music video regarding politics then attach your business card to the DVD or VHS screener and bring your submission.

The political films will be screened with the Reel Roundtable's film series The Film Medley on

Monday, October 25th & Monday, November 1st

Remember it's a theme party, so dress accordingly.

Wear your creative political t-shirts, pins, hats, underwear, etc...

Directed by Danny Leiner from "Dude, Where's My Car?", Leiner brings another over-the-top comedy to theaters.

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle is a new generation Cheech and Chong stoner flick with multicultural Bill and Ted type-characters.

It not just another teen stoner film because of its' outrageous ethnic parodies and spoofs on racist cops. It's a combination of the marijuana monologues, various stereotypes and anti-political correctness.

As the first scene ends, it's fairly obvious that the mind-altering road trip is going to be an obstacle course, but the course is evenly paced without any comic down time, which is always impressive.

The casting was near revolutionary. It was so refreshing to watch an Indian-American and a Korean-American carry a character-driven film and play comic slacker-stoners successfully.

John Cho and Kal Penn are relatively new and have a nice career ahead of them. They had great chemistry, full of comic energy, natural silliness and did so without upstaging one another.

TRT: 88 mins
Distributed by New Line

Directed by Danny Leiner
Produced by Greg Shapiro
Written by Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, Jonathan Hurwitz
Cinematographer: Bruce Douglas Johnson

Starring:
Harold Lee - John Cho
Kumar Patel - Kal Penn
Maria - Paula Garces
Neil Patrick Harris - Neil Patrick Harris
Goldstein - David Krumholtz
Rosenberg - Eddie Kaye Thomas
Freakshow - Christopher Meloni

I'm thrilled because one of my favorite films from the Toronto Film Festival is opening at the Cinema Village in New York on Friday.

The selection of films in Toronto's program Midnight Madness is a personal favorite. Not only is it an incredible selection, but unfortunately the majority of these spectacular works will not make it to the theaters in North America.

Gozu is a Japanese film from director Takashi Miike, who has made 60 independent movies for theater, television and video since 1991.

Miike is extremely talented and a legend, even comparable to Tarantino. If you know and like Miike's films Ichi the Killer and/or Audition, I recommend Gozu. Actually, I recommend Gozu even if you have never heard of Miike or his films.

His films do not exactly have a specific plot, but they are definitely memorable...similar to Tarantino's work. His films are like little twisted skits using deadpan humor, a tongue-in-cheek mindset and have excellent shockers. He utilizes film and visuals to the fullest extent. Basically if he can pull it off without being serious, he will.

Gozu appeals to an underground audience. It's all part of Miike.

Gozu is not a classic, it's a Miike film. Gozu is not bad, it's a Miike film. Simply, it's the latest from Miike and that's enough reason to see it.

Little did I know that a one-night encounter would leave me flat on my back and helpless for a whole week.

It all began last weekend in Pennsylvania with a Friday night rope swing,

and continued onto Saturday at my friend's white wedding

which I suppose would be the goofy version of a P. Diddy party with everyone ending up in the pool.

All fun and games until... Sunday morning when I awoke and found that the encounter with my cousin's dog Navin had left me with a little patch of Poison Ivy.

At first it was kind of thrilling for a city girl to have Poison Ivy. I felt like a hip outdoorsy type. We were hanging out, watching the Tour De France and I had Poison Ivy. Cool. I dig it...even though it was from the dog and not a really cool hiking adventure... still a girl can dream.

Little did I know that an allergic reaction would leave this outdoorsy-wannabe immobile for five days.

Monday I was working and it seemed a little strange that every time I would get up, the patches would spread.

After some Ivy research, and a call to my doctor/ friend I found that the spreading was not an illusion, it was actually true? She instructed to lay still, keep the room dark & as cool as possible, oh and of course to stay calm because any movement or anxiety would cause body heat, which activates the poisonous stuff.

Aside from the scratching, I was as still as possible on Tuesday while listening to the 6 hour long audio book The Rainmaker by John Grisham... so much for the outdoors.

On Wednesday the Poison Ivy had made itself at home by spreading to my arms, legs, stomach and back. Fortunately I had the three-hour long audio book of Ken Follett's Lie Down With Lions.

Both Wednesday and Thursday the itching was excruciating, even after executing every possible ointment and so-called cure, I was convinced the nightmare would never end. My only savior was Steve Garber and his six hour-long audio book Vertical Run, which kept me from going even more insane.

By Friday I was tired of feeling sorry for myself and was in dire need of some fresh sympathy. After making some pity calls I felt so much better.

The light at the end of the tunnel began shinning through on Saturday morning.

Alas, I'm overjoyed that my ivy-sensitive immune system persevered and defeated "The Poison."

Finally had an opportunity to look at the pictures from July 4th, looking at these photographs brought back foggy memories from previous years.

One of our fun family traditions of July 4th weekend is when "the adults/ our parents" bring out the annual lemon drop shots, line up the shots with "the kids" (us, the offspring) and they pour round after round of shots as both kids and parents throw them back one after another and participate in a true bonding experience.

Paul Rachman, of the Slamdance Film Festival, bravely ventured to last year's July 4th weekend with my family. It wasn't Paul's first time, but to come again, he sure was brave. The parents were lining up round after round of shots, when finally Paul and I realized we needed to split, we gave each other a look that spelled out "we need to get out of here or we may not make it." So, we pulled a Houdini and slipped out when nobody was looking.

Remembering when I first came to realize that all families did not have these types of July 4th traditions made me wonder...have our parents been setting a bad example for us?

After thinking about us, the kids, I can say with confidence; we're all still alive, we grow closer to each other with every year and last, both kids and parents alike are some of the best people I've ever known. I think it's because of things like these odd traditions we grew up being surrounded by, the traditions were all-inclusive and the parents always understood if couldn't make it to the next round.

Cocktail Hour, July 4th 2004:

my adorable dad

Nearing the end of Cocktail Hour:

Pam, Bill and offspring

Anticipating lemon drop shot time...

JB, Phyllis & their offspring

Rounds of Lemon Drop Shots:

Post Lemon Drop Shots:

my little brother

more offspring

And then there are the parents/ adults:

Bill & Terry

Jackie, Phyllis, Tom & me

Greg

my dancing dad

Jackie

me, my friend Cindy, Murph

Tom

Judy and Donna

Terry

my dad, Jackie and me

Until next year....

The Corporation is wonderful and an extremely important film due to the education which comes with the viewing.

It's a powerful, provocative, inspiring and successfully takes on the challenge to teach a complex subject with humor and humility, while enabling the human element.

Touching on the human desire for wealth and power, the film showcases corporate customs which have led us almost blindly to neglect, distort and abandon our social values, on both a universal and personal level.

After watching the film last week, I felt a strong sense of awareness which previously had been sporadic thoughts. Also the pure understanding that we, as society, have been supporting largely out of convenience while ignoring the consequences. This film brings a strong level of responsibility from the perspective of self "cause and effect".

This film is worth far more than just a few hours of educational entertainment. Regardless of where you are coming from, this is the kind of movie that everyone should go and experience.

Starring: Noam Chomsky, Milton Friedman, Michael Moore, Mikela J Mikael
Directed by: Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott
Produced by: Mark Achbar, Bart Simpson
Distributor:   Zeitgeist
TRT: 2 hours and 25 minutes

This morning I was thinking about where I was when the U.S. initially began striking almost three years ago, this is not a memory that can easily be forgotten.

I was participating in a peace rally on a cool, brisk Sunday afternoon in October. The quiet rally began in Union Square where we listened to a wonderful selection of speakers made up of Nobel Peace Prize Winners and professors. They talked about why world peace is so important and how we can all make a difference.

There were about 30,000 people in attendance and everyone was motivated and looking forward to a long-term commitment and struggle for peace. Unfortunately our long-term commitment only lasted about 1 mile and a half.

As everyone entered into Times Square, we noticed the large three-story high video-tron and saw what looked like lime green confetti falling against a black background.

We watched the screen and looked away as our hearts sank. One minute we were all one unit and the next minute we were confused because our voices hadn't been given a chance.

Were we too late? Were our voices not heard? Did they not care? What about our concerns?

This took place in October of 2001 and at the time we did not have the answers to these questions. It's almost three years later, our voices are louder, our concerns are greater and "they" still don't care.

During the rally, a journalist from The Christian Science Monitor approached me and asked me a few questions. He then asked if I would write my name and email, so he could send me the link to the article.

Remember this was almost three years ago;

A small but vocal minority, however, is not pleased with the US response. At peace rallies in various cities, people have gathered to voice opposition to the strikes. Violence, they say, will breed only more violence, and they are concerned about Afghan casualties. "I strongly believe that there are other ways to resolve conflicts without taking innocent lives," says Elizabeth Carmody, who attended a rally in Times Square Sunday wearing a leather jacket with a pink sticker: "An eye for an eye only leaves the whole world blind."

Here is the rest of the story.

url: The Christian Science Monitor - http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/1009/p2s2-uspo.html

Like Joe Strummer sang "Should I stay or should I go now? If I go there will be trouble and if I stay it will be double."

hmmm, let's weigh the options...

- The thought of this city hosting 5,000 Republican delegates for the four day convention gives me the heebie jeebies.

on the other hand

- The heat is getting turned up to unthinkable levels and an estimated 250,000 people are planning to protest, that visual is pretty thrilling. It's history in the making.

Groups who have already received permits to demonstrate include Planned Parenthood, People for the American Way, Code Pink: Women for Peace, the Middle East Peace Coalition and the New York City Central Labor Council.

The NYPD and FDNY will also be a demonstrating and demanding higher wages.

Many demonstrations are being organized through websites, daily email newsletters and weekly meetings.

RNC Not Welcome - http://www.rncnotwelcome.org

Billionaires For Bush - http://billionairesforbush.com

Counter Convention - http://www.counterconvention.org

The largest demonstration planned will be the anti-war protest hosted by United for Peace and Justice. The anti-war march is taking place on Sunday August 29th, the day before the convention begins. They have submitted five separate proposals for rally sites; three in Central Park, Times Square or Third Avenue. Our Republican Mayor, the one who donated $5 million dollars to the Republican National Convention, has turned down each of the proposals.

United for Peace and Justice - http://www.unitedforpeace.org

Although the police are supporting the rally and have agreed to allow the rally march past Madison Square Garden where the convention is taking place. Speaking of Madison Square Garden, when I was there for the awesome Prince concert last night, it was hard to miss the new three-story high Fox News Channel advertisement outside the Garden. It's so creepy.

As for the police and the protestors, The New York Civil Liberties Union is hosting classes for protestors? Their classes are teaching which types of protests are legal and what one should do if they are arrested (it's getting hot in here).

Wait, what was my question again?

In case one might be interested in what the right-winged party animals are up to and who will be amongst them. Republican National Convention - http://www.gopconvention.com
And I'm so proud of our gracious politicians in New York, both current and former, they have given the delegates suggestions for restaurants, ideas for sight seeing and basic NYC tips. They are just...oh so kind.

Republican Good Times - http://www.gopconvention.com/contents/delegates/top10/

Hail to the King of Funk. Prince is his name.

The concert began at 8:15pm, it's now 1:40am and sleep is the furthest thing from my mind. I'm excited, energetic, speechless and dumbfounded by Prince's stellar performance tonight.

The sold out concert lasted over two and a half hours for an audience of probably 20,000-30,000.

Following his first song, he challenged the crowd by stating "MSG...you are not ready for me." He couldn't have been more right. Glancing at the surrounding faces; everyone, all races, all ages were in complete and utter awe. The audience was in motion throughout the night and it was a beautiful pure feeling.

Prince handpicked the musicians that make up New Power Generation, and they are the tightest band I have ever heard live. Prince even recruited James Brown’s sax player Maceo Parker.

For the first hour, the energy never let up as Prince sang and danced his way through a medley of songs from his early career. Utilizing two saxophones and a trombone, Prince punctuated his best songs in true funk style.

The artist is also a comedian; after addressing some of the younger people in the audience he then began playing a popular Beyonce song. He said he couldn't shake it like Beyonce because he didn't have enough ass. But he changed that when the heavy-set keyboardist Chance Howard joined him in shaking.

He had began singing one of his new songs where he pleads with his lover to let him go down south, as he sang that line there was a sudden female sound explosion which erupted. He took a step back, looked up into the crowd and tried to continue singing while holding back his laughter.

But it was more than just Prince's music and mere presence, Prince sat down with an acoustic guitar and played some familiar favorites with an unplugged treatment. The result was astonishingly intimate and enraptured his still dynamic yet quieter side. The acoustic was a reminder of what a striking talent he really is.

Starting another song he was only on the first line when he suddenly stopped singing but continued playing. He played while listening to over 20,000 people sing his lyrics. He allowed the audiece to sing the enitre song to him, at the end of the song he looked a bit choked up and said "I wish you could hear that from where I am sitting. Thank you. Now, I would like to sing for you."

He made it clear that this was a concert for "real music" as he continued to showcase each band member throughout the night and then intertwined riffs from other "real musicians", such as Van Halen, Metallica, James Brown, Ray Charles, Led Zepplin and Jimi Hendrix.

He ended the evening with Purple Rain, this one goes beyond my abilities to describe. Prince showed that he is truly one of the most underrated guitarists of our time.

The night was endlessly magical, transfixing us and compelling us to move, sing, clap and respond from the heart.

Prince
Musicology Tour
Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 8:15pm
Madison Square Garden, New York City

"...a really, really cheap knockoff of Gladiator."

"...departs so radically from what most of us accept as the basics...that the movie qualifies as a whole new myth."

"...strips most of the magic and fantasy out of the tale."

"Luckily there is an element of broad, brawny camp that prevents King Arthur from being a complete drag."

"...too long and too full of itself to offer more than a few fleeting moments of entertainment."

The "critics" didn't like the film, but quite honestly...I did, and I am not ashamed to admit it. I liked King Arthur and it feels good to say "I liked King Arthur."

Was it the best movie I've ever seen? No

Did I find it entertaining? Yes

I am not a big fan of war movies when people haphazardly kill each other and characters are soaked in blood simply because they can be.

King Arthur takes the audience a step further, a step beyond watching characters slaughtering each other; the film gives the knights an opinion, a relationship as well as highlighting their fears. The knights fought side by side for over 15 years, which in turn made them closer to each other than to their families.

For example, one of the knights was married and had a handful of children, but he didn't know their names because he was never home. He referred to them as #1, #2, #3, #4. With his fellow knights, they knew each other so well, they were able to finish each other's sentences.

My favorite aspect of the film is how personally relevant it is to the current crises overseas. In the movie, the knights did not want to fight because they knew the "government" didn't care whether they were dead or alive. They were only fighting because it was an obligation, and at the same time they were looking forward to the end of their term. They were talking about their future, about settling down and moving on. Their conversations seemed common for all soldiers, and I have no doubt that the U.S. troops overseas are exchanging the same dialogue.

I recommend King Arthur.

Directored by Antoine Fuqua
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer
Written by David Franzoni

Starring:
Clive Owen, Stephen Dillane, Keira Knightley, Hugh Dancy, Ioan Gruffudd, Stellan Skarsgard, Ray Winstone, Valeria Cavalli, Charlie Creed-Miles   Joel Edgerton, Pat Kinevane, Ivano Marescotti, Mads Mikkelsen, Til Schweiger Ken Stott, Sean Gilder, Ray Stevenson

...before you do...

LEARN YOUR LEGALESE

An informational session on your rights and responsibilities as
a filmmaker: what you need to know and do before you sign
anything, send anything or agree to anything.

~~~

Speakers: Peter Fields, Esq., Partner &
Daniel Hank, Producer

Peter Fields, Esq., from Phillips Nizer Entertainment Practice

Daniel Hank is a New York based producer and production manager for over 15 years. He's worked on studio/ independent features/ network television series, over 500 television commercials and is currently developing an independent feature with the director of "The Blair Witch Project." Daniel is also in pre-production on a new series for the F/X network with Eric Schaeffer which will be shooting here in New York.

~~~

*** food & refreshments will be provided, space is limited

Learn how to....

make a simple email an official document
read and translate a contract
avoid being taken advantage of

You'll also learn the meaning of such phrases as....

"favored nations"
"right of first refusal"
"pari passu"
"to be recouped"

~~~

when: Wednesday, July 14th
time: 6:30pm-830pm, doors open at 6pm
where: Phillips Nizer, 666 Fifth Avenue, entrances on 52nd or 53rd Sts/ 28th floor

Super Size Me - Soundtrack Release Party

Tuesday, June 29th 2004
9pm - midnight
Sweet Vicious Bar
5 Spring Street, between Elizabeth Street and Bowery

Sponsored by The Reel Roundtable, Red Stripe, Roadside Attractions, Samuel Goldwyn and Kinkysour Records

** Look at more pictures from the party on www.reelroundtable.com.

Sam, the Time Warner cable guy, just departed leaving me with a brand new modem and I'm so excited! My old modem had the temperament of an old cat, "if you come near me, I'll lose my signal...I promise."

Sam walked in and immediately started laughing at my old and faulty cable modem which was discontinued soon after it was released. Although, he was impressed with my splitting job but shocked that I don't have a television and that the cable is for my computer only.

Sam said that cable signals can go down at any moment, the hard wire is extremely sensitive and "if a pigeon were to urinate on a wire, the cable would go down". I inquired why Time Warner had not embraced the wireless technology for their service, he said "you mean like Direct TV? I have Direct TV and I love Direct TV." Not knowing the specifics of Direct TV, I could only shrug.

Then he hooked up the brand new modem which is a quarter of the size...every bit of space helps!

After replacing the modem, he was trying to get a hold of a Time Warner dispatcher in order to register the new modem for online use. He didn't have the little orange Fed Ex-like computer because Time Warner's computer system, the Mallard, has been down since yesterday afternoon??

I had to clarify that information with Sam, "my computer's online service is provided by Time Warner and their computer system has been down since yesterday afternoon?"

And since there are 60 Time Warner location vehicles in Manhattan and only three dispatchers per area, my area beginning at the Southern tip of Battery Park City going all the way up to 23rd Street, Sam had no choice but to patiently wait his turn to speak with a dispatcher to register the modem.

While waiting Sam spoke about; the internal negative effects which AOL has had on Time Warner, other people's apartments & how he has seen everything - he said "use your wildest imagination and I've seen it", Spiderman 2 - which he liked better than the first one and Sam also gave me some advice on technology.

Sam is now off riding his Time Warner location vehicle into the humid streets of NYC to rescue his remaining nine clients.

Check out this excellent fast & kinetic video regarding How Bush Won.
url: Eric Blumrich - http://www.ericblumrich.com/gta.html

also

Eric's website is full of political and satirical images, animation, wallpaper and more. url: Eric Blumrich - http://www.ericblumrich.com

also

Dorian Devins interviewed Mark Akbar and Joel Bacon, the director and the writer of The Corporation on WFMU today. If you missed the live broadcast, it's archived on url: WFMU - http://www.wfmu.org.