 WHAT BUGS ME:
A CULTURE HOOKED ON OIL - Do we even have a choice anymore of
whether to drive or not? Face it, our society is car-happy, and
I'm talking rev the engine, let it burn, straight addicted to
gas-guzzling beasts! A slight glance into the media will prove
my point that the major car manufacturers are spending multitudes
more on marketing SUV's than they are on whatever hybrids or
economical mileage models that are available today. Perhaps if
a high-class dealer, like Mercedes or BMW were
to really push an ad campaign about their brand new, more "earth-friendly"
vehicles, it might start a trend among people who can afford
to be conscious of such things. However for the majority of Americans,
our main focus is getting to and from either work, or the stores
we must frequent during our typical routines. The way in which
most suburban areas have spread, without planning by civil engineers
prior to their developments, has left our cities widely in convenient
in nature, where use of freeway is necessary to existence as
we know it. Now it is relatively well - known that the real culprit
for outrageous levels of Carbon Dioxide being released into the
atmosphere is not smokestacks or big businesses as much as it
is the exhaust pipes from millions of cars crammed onto the pavement
daily. his is slightly more complicated to regulate considering
the sheer amount of contributors to the problem . Nevertheless
the negative effects of smog and global warming are dispersed
across the earth, without any sense of causation or blame.They
call these "social costs", meaning the entire public
picks up the pollution tab, usually paying by way of suffering
health risks. So what can be done to alleviate the stress on
the environment, in regards to meeting the Kyoto Protocol or
the conflict in the Middle East? My best guess would be to subsidize
more alternative energy research and development, something on
the public agenda that took a serious dive during the Reagan
administration, and has never fully recovered its significance.
Finding ways to harness hydrogen would likely be more profitable
than drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
But then again, advancements bin technology do tend to be surrounded
by potential controversy. We return to the idea of people on
the extremes too often dominating the conversations with their
blatant, unbudging opinions and presuppositions. Nothing in turn
gets done, as with Congressional gridlock we've faced on and
off over the years. When environmental concerns were first brought
to the forefront of the country's political agenda, back in the
1970's, legislators were more than willing to cooperate without
burden of bi-partisan split, especially in regards to issues
that directly affected the health and safety of human communities.
I mean how obvious must the evidence be to induce change. Does
a piece of smog have to hit you in the head before you realize
the damage being inflicted by our common actions? We, the constituents,
all share the responsibility and the consequences of of the American
Dream, and could definitely be putting more concentrated
efforts towards stopping dependence upon foreign oil. Can you
imagine if this supermarket strike had been about gasoline? That's
what it will take to make a significant change and halt in the
increasing pollution trend that began in the days of Model T
Fordst Ciao
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Toronto - Clear
Entertainment, SAVING GOD - My ego has been flattered with popcorn,
a big screen and a private screening of a film that touched certain
emotions that have been, let's say, idle for some time. My attention
span for movies begins to nod once the previews for the upcoming
flicks end. Saving God intimidated me. I wanted to watch and
listen to Armstrong Cane because, if I didn't, I was afraid he
would jump off the screen and into my face. When a character
fills the screen with a presence that roars for attention, it
has to be Ving Rhames. Mr. Rhames has been around the celluloid
block a few times and is a Golden Globe winner to boot. I mean
this guy was in Pulp Fiction and Mission Impossible...not to
shabby. In Saving God our big man portrays a ex-con who finds
God in the big house and now serves Him with a megaphone surrounded
by drug dealers and local thugs. Blaze, the really really bad dude with a Mohawk,
is played by homegrown talent du jour, Dean McDermott. McDermott's
colorful character displays the essence of DeNiro in Taxi Driver
and that's a good thing. Although he sounds, on occasion, a bit
like the Godfather, he passes on my list as a can be bad guy.
There were moments of turtlelism which I imagine will be thumping
and groovin once the soundtrack is in place...but all in all
I enjoyed the unpretentiousness of the film's message. Kant Gettalon
iUpdate
Park City, Utah. Comedy-drama “Real Time”,
featuring the hit song Goodbye Farewell by Jimi Bertucci, makes
its debut at the Slamdance Film Festival. The movie stars Randy
Quaid as a hired hit-man who gives a compulsive gambler, played
by Jay Baruchel, one hour to live.
Once upon a
time, on the titan Atlantic waves, two ships would collide (metaphorically
and figuratively speaking) bravely seeking the new world. From
the cold heavy waters emerged two young Italian boys carrying
dreams in their pockets and an uncertain destiny. Halifax's Pier
21 would be the gateway to the challenges and victories that
these two wide-eyed small town boys sporting short pants would
encounter. Downtown Toronto would be the pulse of their curious
enthusiasm. They were the searchers, the new wayfarers of innocent
delinquency. Their dreams would soon become reality. Nick Mancuso
would find his niche in the world of acting while Jimi Bertucci
would discover his talent for creating melodic music. >>>>>>
ALL ABOUT ME
is a reality show about the making
of a reality show. Jimi and Nick would like to believe that they
are each successful icons in their own respective fields. But
the reality is that they are both facing career as well as financial
crises. The camera will follow these two artists and their hilarious
buffooning as they muddle their way through the process. As Nick,
Jimi and Marisa, Jimi's manager, sit at one of the famous concrete
tables of their favourite hangout, Café Diplomatico, cigarettes
dangling from their mouths,they all ask themselves the same question,
"What is this show going to be about?"….laughing
among themselves they all have the same reply, "It's a reality
show about doing a reality show."
A
Gutter punk is a homeless or transient individual, often a juvenile,
who is in some way associated with the punk subculture. The term
has traditionally been used to describe homeless juveniles who
display a variety of specific physical traits. These characteristics
are often, but not always, associated with the punk subculture
. They include unkempt dreadlocks, nose rings or mohawk hairstyles.
In certain regions, gutter punks are notorious for panhandling
and often display cardboard signs that make statements about
their lifestyles Gutter punks reside in all major metropolises,
though many congregate in the former hippie enclave of Haight-Ashbury
in San Francisco, California. Gutter punks are generally characterized
as being voluntarily unemployed. As such, gutter punk is a term
that is generally only applied to able-bodied individuals with
no signs of physical or mental disabilities. The term gutter
punk has also been used as in the field of social science to
describe a specific demographic group, which consists of the
traditional gutter punks as described here. Gutter punks often
do seek work, however, they often search for or are limited to
short-term employment. Other innovative methods of procuring
income, such as panhandling, are generally considered "last
resorts" but are often used due to the average gutter punk's
difficulties in finding stable employment. Those associated with
the gutter punk way of life generally do not ascribe to the crust
punk ideology, however, due to its name crust punk is often confused
with gutter punk. Gutter punks tend not to involve themselves
with peace, autonomy, veganism or other activist ideals promoted
in the crust punk or peace punk scenes. Regardless of their differing
ideologies, however, groups of gutter punks, crust punks, and
peace punks share a common bond.