Columns

Recurring Columns

HOME VIDEO HERALD: THE WOMAN ON THE BEACH

By Brian Lafferty

 

August 24, 2011 (San Diego) – The first five minutes of The Woman on the Beach are ominous, spellbinding and foreboding. Hanns Eisler’s booming and menacing score accompany the opening credits. The frame is backdropped with shots of the alluring beach and its forceful, foamy, and frothy tide. It’s a simple sequence of shots, but they’re chilling.

 


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: IN THE "DARK"

By Brian Lafferty

 

August 26, 2011 (San Diego) – The trouble with Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark isn’t so much that it’s not scary but that it’s boring. It ranks right up there with the original Amityville Horror (1979) as one of the dullest haunted house movies I’ve seen.

 


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POLITICAL WRANGLING: PRESIDENTIAL RACE HEATS UP FROM IOWA TO EAST COUNTY

By Buck Shott
 

August 24, 2011 (San Diego) – How is all that political wrangling in Iowa impacting the presidential race? Which candidate has boots on the ground in San Diego’s East County? What are the latest actions and shenanigans by local politicians? Which Congressional members constituents are hosting an “empty chair” forum to substitute for a representative who isn’t coming home for town hall meetings? You’ve got questions, we’ve rustled up the answers!


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WILL POWER REPORT: SOLAR JOBS

 

Nothing but the truth!
 
By Will Power 
 
August 22, 2011 (San Diego)--How could the US put five million unskilled workers on the job in three months without raising taxes?  Simple- invest in a self-payout revolving fund which would underwrite putting solar panels on residential roofs all over America. Much of this labor is pretty much unskilled labor. You certainly don't need a college degree to haul solar panels onto a roof and screw them down. 

 


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EAST COUNTY EATER: A TASTE OF JAMAICA

 

Laylah’s Patties & Jerk

5712 El Cajon Boulevard. San Diego, CA 92115
(619) 241-2948
www.LaylahsJamaicanRestaurant.com
laylahsreggae@gmail.com

 

By Megan McGlamery (guest host for the East County Eater)


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WILL POWER REPORT: POVERTY IS NOT HEREDITARY

Nothing but the truth! 

By Will Power
 
August 20, 2011 (San Diego)--In Eighteenth Century England, not only was poverty illegal but a few pounds of unpaid debt could get you sent to Australia or prison.  In those days, people actually thought poverty was hereditary, and that bad genes made you poor.

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DOLLAR-WISE DIVA: SEVEN TIPS FOR BACK TO SCHOOL CLOTHES SHOPPING


By Nancy Clement

 

August 18, 2011 (La Mesa) - Marli is about to start a new life adventure, pre-school, and she wanted some pretty, new clothes to wear. I was looking for a model for this column so we decided to team up. Since Marli is only 3½ years old, she needed some help to select clothes so we invited her Mom, Laura, to join us.

 


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: "ONE DAY" AT A TIME


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WILL POWER REPORT: THE LIQUIDITY TRAP


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HOME VIDEO HERALD: THE DOUBLE MAN

By Brian Lafferty

 

August 17, 2011 (San Diego) – As a kid I remember watching The Parent Trap (1961). That was the Disney movie that starred Hayley Mills as two separated-at-birth twins. It was the film that probably didn’t invent it, but it certainly perfected the split screen technique that enabled the same actor to appear as separate characters in the same scene.

 


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LIFE ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM: GREAT EXCITATIONS

By Brian Lafferty

 

August 17, 2011 (San Diego) -- I’m sure many of you are wondering about the absence of columns. I feel it’s required of me to explain.

 

As I’ve mentioned previously, I lost my mother last November from aggressive and invasive breast cancer. It was so aggressive that doctors believed that by the time she discovered something was wrong it was already too late.


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DREAM DOGS LOOKING FOR FOREVER HOMES

By Cate Sacks
 

 
August 16, 2011 (Alpine) -- Picardy is a beautiful, well trained neutered male Picardy Collie Mix.  He is great with all dogs and people of all ages.


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: WHISTLEBLOWIN' IN THE WIND

By Brian Lafferty

 

August 15, 2011 (San Diego) – The subject of sex trafficking is a serious one. Here in San Diego, teenage girls are taken by gangs and forced to become sex slaves. This subject deserves a better exploration and treatment than that seen in The Whistleblower, a film that is nothing more than 35-millimeter TV.

 


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WILL POWER REPORT: WHAT IS A JOB?


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: GRAND "TREE"


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HOME VIDEO HERALD: DARK OF THE SUN


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WILL POWER REPORT: S&P'S $2 TRILLION TAX ERROR?


Nothing but the truth!

 

By Will Power

 

August 8, 2011 (San Diego)--The downgrading of the U.S. credit rating by Standard and Poor was thrown into limbo when a $2 trillion dollar math error was found in their calculations. I wish my bank would make the at kind of mistake on my bank account!

 


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: GOING APE

By Brian Lafferty

 

August 5, 2011 (San Diego) – The original Planet of the Apes was a thoughtful, intelligent commentary on the human race. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is an ambitious but mostly mindless prequel that is yet another entry in the “changing things that aren’t meant to be changed” genre.

 


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THE DOG BLOG: TIPS FOR KAYAKING WITH YOUR DOG

By Dawn Celapino
 

August 3, 2011 (San Diego’s East County)--Who says the only thing you can do with your dog is take him or her on a run/walk? Kayaking is a fun thing to do on a hot day with your dog, especially if your dog enjoys the water.


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POLITICAL WRANGLING: TUSSLES, PAYOFFS AND TALL TALES

 

 By Buck Shott

 

August 1, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – Gearing up for another rough-and-tumble campaign season, our Political Wrangling column is back with answers to questions inquiring minds want to know.

 

  • Which Presidential candidate flunked 13 of 13 fact-checks?
  • What prominent candidates are eyeing Bob Filner’s seat in Congress, in a redrawn district that includes the southern chunk of East County?
  • Which liberal school board member may be living outside her San Diego district, making her potentially ineligible to serve?
  • Which local Republican official admits to paying off folks to pack a council hearing in support of hiking rental rates for mobile home owners?
  • What national office holder is collecting rent from public servants providing security for his family?

 


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LEFT HOOK: THE DEBT CRISIS—ARTIFICIAL, IMMORAL, PREVENTABLE

 

By Walter Davis

 

"I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men." -Woodrow Wilson, after signing the Federal Reserve into existence (1)…


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WILL POWER REPORT: THE POLICE, POLITICIANS AND THE PRESS


Nothing but the truth!

 

By Will Power

 

July 30, 2011 (San Diego)--It's no secret that politicians attempt to control the press. It's been happening forever. But when the press, politicians. and the police start working together secretly, you can get into a hell of a mess.


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GOOD MONEY: SHOULD YOU BE CONCERNED ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT DEFICIT?

 

By Judith Seid, president, Blue Summit Wealth Management

 

“Your guide to socially responsible investing”
 

July 22, 2011 (La Mesa)--According to Financial Planning, on Friday TNS released a new study which revealed that 87% of Americans with $500,000 or more in investable assets feel that the size of the US government's deficit is a major concern for them.


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HOME VIDEO HERALD: CEDAR RAPIDS

 

By Brian Lafferty

July 21, 2011 (San Diego) – Cedar Rapids is the type of comedy I would expect from Fox Searchlight Pictures, the subsidiary of 20th Century Fox that specializes in independent film. If it was 20th Century Fox distributing the movie (which stars Ed Helms of The Office and The Hangover as well as John C. Reilly) we’d have a raunchy, broadly-humored comedy.


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LOOKING FOR FOREVER HOMES

By Cate Sacks

 

July 17, 2011 (Blossom Valley)-- This week we have several different kinds of animals here at Dream Dogs, all in need of forever homes. First there are several dachshund-mix puppies. We also have other dogs, kittens, a rabbit and a duck.
 
 
Scroll down for photos and details of these wonderful pets rescued from a local shelter. 

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WILL POWER REPORT: WHERE ARE THE JOBS?

 

Nothing but the truth! 
            By Will Power 

Ju

ly 17, 2011 (San Diego)--The Republican right wing, sitting on record profits from dividends, bonuses, and tax cuts for the rich, are screaming Obama has not provided any new jobsYet not a single Congressional bill has addresses jobs, hiring, retention, or outsourcing of jobs.  The rich "job providers", sitting on piles of cash, are not interested in sharing their new-found profits with the working poor. Why would they?

It's Congress, not the President, that must address joblessness.
 


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BEST ONLINE SERVICES AT SOCIALSECURITY.GOV

 
By Walter Magallon
 
 
July 15, 2011 (San Diego) -- Americans love their computers. In fact, a recent study shows that the number of Americans who use the Internet has more than doubled over the past 10 years, reaching nearly three quarters of the U.S. population. Nearly half of all Americans have a high-speed Internet connection at home, compared to only five percent at the start of the decade. The study indicates that Internet use is even beginning to outpace traditional media. Younger Americans spend more time online than in front of a television. 
 

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HOME VIDEO HERALD: SUCKER PUNCH

By Brian Lafferty

 

July 15, 2011 (San Diego) – Sucker Punch is what happens when you give Zack Snyder carte blanche to do whatever he wants. 300 was my first exposure to Snyder. It wasn’t a masterpiece, or even a great movie, but if you were looking for a good sword and sandal epic with lots of slicing, dicing, and blood, then you couldn’t miss.

 


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MARKETING MATTERS: FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A MARKETABLE LOGO

 Tips and tricks for business success

 
by Rama Beerfas
 
 
 
July 13, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) –  Whether you are opening a new business or it’s just time to freshen the look of your existing branded image, a new/revised logo may be the way to go. If you are in the position to be creating or revamping a logo, keep these tips in mind for a logo that will work for all your branding needs:
 
 

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EAST OF THE LINE: FIRE FEE SLAPPED ON POLITICALLY IMPOTENT MINORITY IS A SLIPPERY SLOPE FOR ALL

 By Billie Jo Jannen

July 13, 2011 (Campo)--I can vividly describe every one of the four fires that has burned through my property over the past 25 years. Notably, every one was started by someone who doesn’t live here. Causes include burning objects thrown from passing cars and trains, illegal fireworks by drunk Navy men, and border smugglers intent on their own agendas.

 

Also notable is that my family’s home survived every fire because of our personal efforts -- both costly and time-consuming -- to plan and execute our own defenses. Not a single fire department, including CalFire, has ever managed to arrive at my house before the fires did; the distances are simply too great and the fires too unpredictable.


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