Vick Is A Dick
August 24, 2009
August 14, 2009
August 06, 2009
'80s teen flick director John Hughes dies in NYC:
By HILLEL ITALIE, AP National Writer Hillel Italie, Ap National Writer – 22 mins ago
NEW YORK – Writer-director John Hughes, Hollywood's youth impresario of the 1980s and '90s who captured the teen and preteen market with such favorites as "Home Alone," "The Breakfast Club" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," died Thursday, a spokeswoman said. He was 59.
Hughes died of a heart attack during a morning walk in Manhattan, Michelle Bega said. He was in New York to visit family.
Jake Bloom, Hughes' longtime attorney, said he was "deeply saddened and in shock" to learn of the director's death.
A native of Lansing, Mich., who later moved to suburban Chicago and set much of his work there, Hughes rose from ad writer to comedy writer to silver screen champ with his affectionate and idealized portraits of teens, whether the romantic and sexual insecurity of "Sixteen Candles," or the J.D. Salinger-esque rebellion against conformity in "The Breakfast Club."
Hughes' ensemble comedies helped make stars out of Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy and many other young performers. He also scripted the phenomenally popular "Home Alone," which made little-known Macaulay Culkin a sensation as the 8-year-old accidentally abandoned by his vacationing family, and wrote or directed such hits as "National Lampoon's Vacation," "Pretty in Pink," "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" and "Uncle Buck."
"I was a fan of both his work and a fan of him as a person," Culkin said. "The world has lost not only a quintessential filmmaker whose influence will be felt for generations, but a great and decent man."
Devin Ratray, best known for playing Culkin's older brother Buzz McCallister in the "Home Alone" films, said he remained close to Hughes over the years.
"He changed my life forever," Ratray said. "Nineteen years later, people from all over the world contact me telling me how much 'Home Alone' meant to them, their families, and their children."
Other actors who got early breaks from Hughes included John Cusack ("Sixteen Candles"), Judd Nelson ("The Breakfast Club"), Steve Carell ("Curly Sue") and Lili Taylor ("She's Having a Baby").
Actor Matthew Broderick worked with Hughes in 1986 when he played the title character in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
"I am truly shocked and saddened by the news about my old friend John Hughes. He was a wonderful, very talented guy and my heart goes out to his family," Broderick said.
Ben Stein, who played the monotone economics teacher calling the roll and repeatedly saying "Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?", said Hughes was a towering talent.
"He made a better connection with young people than anyone in Hollywood had ever made before or since," Stein said on Fox Business Network. "It's incredibly sad. He was a wonderful man, a genius, a poet. I don't think anyone has come close to him as being the poet of the youth of America in the postwar period. He was to them what Shakespeare was to the Elizabethan Age.
"You had a regular guy — just an ordinary guy. If you met him, you would never guess he was a big Hollywood power."
As Hughes advanced into middle age, his commercial touch faded and, in Salinger style, he increasingly withdrew from public life. His last directing credit was in 1991, for "Curly Sue," and he wrote just a handful of scripts over the past decade. He was rarely interviewed or photographed.
Associated Press writer Amy Westfeldt, Entertainment Writer Douglas J. Rowe and Drama Writer Michael Kuchwara contributed to this report from New York. AP writer Solvej Schou contributed from Los Angeles.
NEW YORK – Writer-director John Hughes, Hollywood's youth impresario of the 1980s and '90s who captured the teen and preteen market with such favorites as "Home Alone," "The Breakfast Club" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," died Thursday, a spokeswoman said. He was 59.
Hughes died of a heart attack during a morning walk in Manhattan, Michelle Bega said. He was in New York to visit family.
Jake Bloom, Hughes' longtime attorney, said he was "deeply saddened and in shock" to learn of the director's death.
A native of Lansing, Mich., who later moved to suburban Chicago and set much of his work there, Hughes rose from ad writer to comedy writer to silver screen champ with his affectionate and idealized portraits of teens, whether the romantic and sexual insecurity of "Sixteen Candles," or the J.D. Salinger-esque rebellion against conformity in "The Breakfast Club."
Hughes' ensemble comedies helped make stars out of Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy and many other young performers. He also scripted the phenomenally popular "Home Alone," which made little-known Macaulay Culkin a sensation as the 8-year-old accidentally abandoned by his vacationing family, and wrote or directed such hits as "National Lampoon's Vacation," "Pretty in Pink," "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" and "Uncle Buck."
"I was a fan of both his work and a fan of him as a person," Culkin said. "The world has lost not only a quintessential filmmaker whose influence will be felt for generations, but a great and decent man."
Devin Ratray, best known for playing Culkin's older brother Buzz McCallister in the "Home Alone" films, said he remained close to Hughes over the years.
"He changed my life forever," Ratray said. "Nineteen years later, people from all over the world contact me telling me how much 'Home Alone' meant to them, their families, and their children."
Other actors who got early breaks from Hughes included John Cusack ("Sixteen Candles"), Judd Nelson ("The Breakfast Club"), Steve Carell ("Curly Sue") and Lili Taylor ("She's Having a Baby").
Actor Matthew Broderick worked with Hughes in 1986 when he played the title character in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
"I am truly shocked and saddened by the news about my old friend John Hughes. He was a wonderful, very talented guy and my heart goes out to his family," Broderick said.
Ben Stein, who played the monotone economics teacher calling the roll and repeatedly saying "Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?", said Hughes was a towering talent.
"He made a better connection with young people than anyone in Hollywood had ever made before or since," Stein said on Fox Business Network. "It's incredibly sad. He was a wonderful man, a genius, a poet. I don't think anyone has come close to him as being the poet of the youth of America in the postwar period. He was to them what Shakespeare was to the Elizabethan Age.
"You had a regular guy — just an ordinary guy. If you met him, you would never guess he was a big Hollywood power."
As Hughes advanced into middle age, his commercial touch faded and, in Salinger style, he increasingly withdrew from public life. His last directing credit was in 1991, for "Curly Sue," and he wrote just a handful of scripts over the past decade. He was rarely interviewed or photographed.
Associated Press writer Amy Westfeldt, Entertainment Writer Douglas J. Rowe and Drama Writer Michael Kuchwara contributed to this report from New York. AP writer Solvej Schou contributed from Los Angeles.
July 15, 2009
Cafepress Ruined My Life:
READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE HERE
"The new Cafepress policy was announced one month ago and went into effect May 31st. Shopkeepers are reporting losses of 50-80%, livelihoods are being decimated. For some people, especially the disabled and housebound, lives are being ruined. And the truly sad part of this—the better you did on Cafepress the worse this is. The truly successful ones gave up their day jobs and devoted themselves to this company's and their own mutual success. Some have been at it for years. Now, even the $100,000 winners might make no more than $20,000 after taxes. That's barely a living anymore. For a family, in some areas, that's not even above the poverty level."
"The new Cafepress policy was announced one month ago and went into effect May 31st. Shopkeepers are reporting losses of 50-80%, livelihoods are being decimated. For some people, especially the disabled and housebound, lives are being ruined. And the truly sad part of this—the better you did on Cafepress the worse this is. The truly successful ones gave up their day jobs and devoted themselves to this company's and their own mutual success. Some have been at it for years. Now, even the $100,000 winners might make no more than $20,000 after taxes. That's barely a living anymore. For a family, in some areas, that's not even above the poverty level."
July 12, 2009
Bacon Explosion Now Available Ready-To-Eat:
Via By Owen Morris
Here's an update on the bacon explosion guys, Aaron Chronister and Jason Day. The two amateur barbecue enthusiasts' recipe for bacon-stuffed-in-sausage-stuffed-in-bacon took the Internet by storm, landing them on the pages of the New York Times and with a six-figure book deal.
Since then, countless people have tried to make the bacon explosion. But the original was smoked for hours, and because many people don't own smokers they tried to make it on grills and in ovens with varying degrees of success.
To help solve the problem, Chronister and Day are now selling a "fully smoked heat and eat" version on their Web site, BBQ Addicts. It's packaged in Missouri and shipped in dried ice.
"We wanted to release it in time for the Fourth of July," Chronister explained, "but it took a month and a half to get the USDA approval and we missed by a couple days. But hey, there is still Labor Day."
Since these packaged bacon explosion is already smoked and cooked, it doesn't need fancy equipment.
"All they've got to do is put them on the grill or in the oven or even
the microwave and they're completely smoked and ready to go," Chronister said. "I've been
making mine in the oven because there's still some fat on them and on
the grill it could catch fire. But grill works fine."
The bacon
explosion retails for $17.99 for a half (feeds six) and $29.99 for
a whole (feeds 10-12). Chronister and Day are also working on getting the explosion into grocery
stores and elsewhere including a famous barbecue restaurant. "The restaurant is very well-known ... it has
multiple locations and people will be able to go in and just pick one
right up."
They're halfway through writing their book, Barbecue Makes Everything Better, which is about "taking everyday recipes and making barbecue versions of
them." And they will release a version of their burnt finger rub.
They've
both kept their days jobs, but the bacon explosion takes up the rest of their time, Chronister said. "We work 24/7. Especially this packaging and with the USDA ... we're counting on people liking it and I believe they will."
Here's an update on the bacon explosion guys, Aaron Chronister and Jason Day. The two amateur barbecue enthusiasts' recipe for bacon-stuffed-in-sausage-stuffed-in-bacon took the Internet by storm, landing them on the pages of the New York Times and with a six-figure book deal.
Since then, countless people have tried to make the bacon explosion. But the original was smoked for hours, and because many people don't own smokers they tried to make it on grills and in ovens with varying degrees of success.
To help solve the problem, Chronister and Day are now selling a "fully smoked heat and eat" version on their Web site, BBQ Addicts. It's packaged in Missouri and shipped in dried ice.
"We wanted to release it in time for the Fourth of July," Chronister explained, "but it took a month and a half to get the USDA approval and we missed by a couple days. But hey, there is still Labor Day."
Since these packaged bacon explosion is already smoked and cooked, it doesn't need fancy equipment.
"All they've got to do is put them on the grill or in the oven or even
the microwave and they're completely smoked and ready to go," Chronister said. "I've been
making mine in the oven because there's still some fat on them and on
the grill it could catch fire. But grill works fine."
The bacon
explosion retails for $17.99 for a half (feeds six) and $29.99 for
a whole (feeds 10-12). Chronister and Day are also working on getting the explosion into grocery
stores and elsewhere including a famous barbecue restaurant. "The restaurant is very well-known ... it has
multiple locations and people will be able to go in and just pick one
right up."
They're halfway through writing their book, Barbecue Makes Everything Better, which is about "taking everyday recipes and making barbecue versions of
them." And they will release a version of their burnt finger rub.
They've
both kept their days jobs, but the bacon explosion takes up the rest of their time, Chronister said. "We work 24/7. Especially this packaging and with the USDA ... we're counting on people liking it and I believe they will."
July 10, 2009
Want to make 80K a year? Try casting a spell:
LONDON (Reuters) – Fancy 80,000 dollars a year on a stress-free job with flexible working hours and no need to wear a suit?
Well, grab your black pointy hat, take out that rusty black hessian drape from the back of the wardrobe and refresh your memory on how to turn your grumpy neighbor into a mouse. Somerset tourist attraction Wookey Hole caves is advertising for a "witch" and has already received 100 applicants since the beginning of the week.
Legend has it that the caves, near Wells, were home to the Wookey Witch who was turned to stone by the medieval Abbott of Glastonbury to rid villagers of her curse.
The vacancy has arisen because the previous incumbent has retired.
The successful candidate, who will be living in a "spacious" cave, has to cackle, not be allergic to cats and will be asked to perform "a range of tasks" including magic at an open audition scheduled for July 28.
But the appointee need not be scary.
"We want a friendly witch with a devilish element," said Gayle Pennington, marketing assistant at the caves said on Wednesday.
"We're a family attractions place so we don't want to frighten the children."
In keeping with modern times, the role is open to men, women and trans-gender witches to comply with sexual discrimination laws.
Well, grab your black pointy hat, take out that rusty black hessian drape from the back of the wardrobe and refresh your memory on how to turn your grumpy neighbor into a mouse. Somerset tourist attraction Wookey Hole caves is advertising for a "witch" and has already received 100 applicants since the beginning of the week.
Legend has it that the caves, near Wells, were home to the Wookey Witch who was turned to stone by the medieval Abbott of Glastonbury to rid villagers of her curse.
The vacancy has arisen because the previous incumbent has retired.
The successful candidate, who will be living in a "spacious" cave, has to cackle, not be allergic to cats and will be asked to perform "a range of tasks" including magic at an open audition scheduled for July 28.
But the appointee need not be scary.
"We want a friendly witch with a devilish element," said Gayle Pennington, marketing assistant at the caves said on Wednesday.
"We're a family attractions place so we don't want to frighten the children."
In keeping with modern times, the role is open to men, women and trans-gender witches to comply with sexual discrimination laws.
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