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Recurring Columns

ON THE SILVER SCREEN: BAD SCRIPT, UNDERWRITTEN CHARACTERS LEAVE "SANCTUM" DEAD IN THE WATER

By Brian Lafferty

 

February 4, 2011 (San Diego) – A couple of months ago I came across a National Geographic article that covered underwater cave diving. As with any National Geographic publication, the photographs were stunning and the article offered a lot of insight into this activity. When I learned of Sanctum, I became excited, especially when I saw James Cameron’s name attached to the production.

 

The images in Sanctum are stunning but in the end that National Geographic article provided far more insight on the subject, and more wonder and thrills, than anything in this film.

 


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WILL POWER REPORT: EMERGENCY ROOM “RESERVATIONS”


Nothing but the Truth!

 

By Will Power

 

February 2, 2011 (San Diego)--While rich people can get to see their MDs practically at will, the working poor are limited in the number of appointments they receive. As a result, people with common chronic diseases like asthma, diabetes, or heart failure often wait until the last minute to seek emergency care. The working poor, with no insurance at all, use the ER as their primary health care provider.

 

The latest idea to come down the pike is "Emergency Room Reservations", which is a form of Health care rationing. If you are planning to have a heart attack, get in a car accident, or get shot, make sure you have reservations at the ER. Sure!


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MARKETING MATTERS: THE POST-SHOW FOLLOWUP

 

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH

 

By Rama Beerfas

 

February 1, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – We’ve identified the three components of a successful trade show marketing plan:

 

• Have a system in place for attracting potential customers to the exhibit.
• Qualify those people who visited the booth.
• Follow up with those visitors who left contact information.

Last month, we looked at some methods to qualify the people who visit your booth as legitimate prospects. This month, we’ll explore the most critical part of the trade show process: the post-show follow-up.


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: DON'T DISCOUNT "BARNEY'S VERSION"

By Brian Lafferty

 

January 28, 2011 (San Diego) – When I think of Barney’s Version, one director that keeps coming to mind for some reason is Mike Nichols. Maybe it’s because Nichols is someone who I consider to be an actor’s director. His movies contain great stories but the performances are what I remember the most. Barney’s Version is the same way. The story is well-written but it’s Paul Giamatti’s great acting that is the most memorable.

 


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: "SUMMER WARS" IS A SOLID WINTER GEM

By Brian Lafferty

 

January 23, 2011 (San Diego) -- Every few years we get a Japanese anime, mainly from Hayao Miyazaki (Ponyo, Spirited Away). This year’s import is not from Miyazaki but from Mamoru Hosoda. Summer Wars features one of the most unlikely genre combinations: shomin-geki (a genre that depicts the lives of ordinary, working-class families) and technothriller.

 


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: MAGICAL "ILLUSIONIST" DEMONSTRATES THE STAYING POWER OF TRADITIONAL ANIMATION

By Brian Lafferty

 

January 21, 2011 (San Diego) -- Over the last few years I’ve discovered a love-hate feeling with Pixar. Back in 1995 I was enthralled when I saw Toy Story in the theater. Since then I have seen every Pixar movie and I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of their films. They put more effort into their movies than most studios and it shows every time.

 


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DEANE'S LIST: EDUCATION NEWS NOTES

 

January 20, 2011 (San Diego's East County)--The following local, state and national education news items are excerpted from a very informative e-newsletter published by Doug Deane, chair of the Business Education Committee at the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce.

 

Our picks for Deane’s top education stories from the latest issue include: 


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SYLVIA’S SOAPBOX: 5 QUESTIONS FOR CONGRESSMAN DUNCAN HUNTER AS THE 112TH CONGRESSIONAL SESSION BEGINS

 

By Sylvia Hampton

 

January 19, 2012 (San Diego)--The constituents of the 52nd Congressional district are pleased that the majority party in the House has pledged to be open and fair in dealing with the crucial issues facing our nation today. We are also pleased to learn that cutting waste, fraud and abuse in the budget is your top concern. Therefore we ask the following questions to see if you, as our representative, are firmly behind these pledges and will vote to fulfill these promises. We thank you for sharing your answers with us.


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: "THE GREEN HORNET" HAS NO STING

By Brian Lafferty

 



January 18, 2011 (San Diego) – The Green Hornet is beset with many problems. The first glaring issue involves the casting. I could not buy Seth Rogen as either Britt Reid or his alter ego the Green Hornet. I can understand why he was cast; Rogen co-wrote the screenplay with his longtime writing partner Evan Goldberg. Having been an established actor and a bankable writer (he also co-wrote Superbad and Pineapple Express) I don’t doubt he had his heart set on playing such an enduring and somewhat iconic character.

 



But Rogen has miscalculated this time around. He should have let someone else play the hero this time. Someone who would have brought a smooth, sly personality to both characters.

 


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KAMINSKI'S SERVES UP TASTY BBQ FARE AND MORE

 

Kaminski’s Sports Lounge Barbeque
12735 Poway Road, Poway 92064
(858)748-1106
http://kaminskisbbq.com/site/

 

By Mary Paulet, guest reviewer

 


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WILL POWER REPORT: RED LIGHT SCAMS AND PRIVATE POLICE PLATES


Nothing but the truth!
By Will Power

 

January 15, 2011 (San Diegoi)--In California, a program to keep criminals from learning home addresses of policemen has morphed into a bureaucratic boondoggle that allows California Public Service Workers to avoid freeway tolls, red-light tickets, and bridge tolls.


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: SEEING "ANOTHER YEAR" IS TIME WELL-SPENT

By Brian Lafferty

 

January 15, 2011 (San Diego) – Another Year is about how people move in and out of our lives, such as how my two sisters and their families from out of town visit once or twice a year. With each visit, I see they have made all sorts of progress in their lives. They have kids, the kids grow up, and each year everyone gets a little smarter and wiser.    

 


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ADVICE FROM THE PURPLE MOUNTAIN SAGE: THE IN-BREATHING TIME OF YEAR

 

By Sharon Courmousis, Sacred Rocks Reserve

 

January 14, 2012 (Boulevard)--The natural rhythms of nature and our own physical systems help us understand about cycles. Last month we worked on completion. The completion of 2010 and shedding the old skin, the sadness of loss, the pain of outcomes not desired. It is now the New Year and time to look forward to the fresh and clean. It is time to bring in new information into our lives and re-generate plans for the coming twelve months.


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: DIRECTOR JAVIER FUENTES-LEON MAKES WAVES WITH ROMANTIC "UNDERTOW"

 

By Brian Lafferty

 

January 11, 2011 (San Diego) – After seeing Undertow, Peru’s submission to the Academy for Best Foreign Language Film, I wondered if director Javier Fuentes-Leon had seen the 1947 classic The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz (who would direct All About Eve three years later) it starred Gene Tierney as a widow who falls in love with the spirit of a crusty sea captain played by Rex Harrison haunting her seaside cottage.

 


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: "BLUE VALENTINE" MOVIE BOASTS SUBTLE, YET STRONG PERFORMANCES

By Brian Lafferty

 

January 7, 2011 (San Diego) – Looking at a few of Blue Valentine’s negative reviews (as of today, the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer stands at 91% with only nine “rotten” reviews against eighty-six positive) I find the film’s unfavorable comparisons to the directorial work of the late John Cassavetes a recurring observation.

 

Granted, the movie isn’t the first to explore a marriage’s disintegration. Cassavetes’ Faces and Sam Mendes’ Revolutionary Road come to mind. However, I believe this criticism is unfair to Blue Valentine. I don’t mind if a movie doesn’t have an original plot as long as it has unique and strong characters. This movie is populated with two of them.

 


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PEARLS: STEM CELL TRANSPLANTS CAN REPAIR HEART DAMAGE


A $115 million dollar stem cell research center is being built in San Diego

 

By Charlavan Hart
 

January 4, 2010 (San Diego--A heart patient's own skin cells soon could be used to repair damaged cardiac tissue thanks to pioneering stem cell research of the University of Houston's newest biomedical scientist, Robert Schwartz.


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MARKETING MATTERS: QUALIFYING YOUR EXHIBIT VISITORS

 

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR MARKETING SUCCESS

 

By Rama Beerfas

 

January 1, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – We’ve identified the three components of a successful trade show marketing plan:


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: HOLIDAYS BRING A MIXED BAG OF MOVIES

 

Reviews:  True Grit, Tangled, The Fighter, and I Love  You Phillip Morris

By Brian Lafferty

 

December 30, 2010 (San Diego)—Today’s column is going to be different. Normally I post one movie review at a time. Today I will have several shorter reviews in this one post.  Before I post them I would like to explain what has happened the last two months that have made for less reviews than normal.

 

 


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WILL POWER REPORT: THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS


Nothing but the Truth!

 

By Will Power

 

December 25, 2010 (San Diego)--When I was a child, the entire month of November was the prelude to Christmas. I'd start seeing Christmas cartoons and get more and more excited until the Big Day! I would try as best I could to get something my parents could afford and usually it worked, though sometimes gifts were years off in age-appropriateness.

The older I got, the less I needed to buy things.


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WILL POWER REPORT: PAYING FOR BABY


Nothing but the Truth!

By Will Power


December 16, 2010 (San Diego)--While thousands of illegal immigrant mothers wade the Rio Grande in January to see their children become US citizens, US health insurance companies are refusing to cover the birth of legitimate US citizens because it may cost too much.


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WILL POWER REPORT: PRIVATE FREEWAYS

Nothing but the Truth!
By Will Power
December 14, 2010 (San Diego)--Necons, who have made the 21st Century the Age of Unbridled Greed, have a new plan. Not happy with a monopoly on electricity, gasoline, and natural gas, the new Conservatives want to privatize the LA Freeway system, to keep those damned poor people on the surface streets, while they cruise in Lexus Lanes.


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PURPLE MOUNTAIN SAGE: A NEW KIND OF CHRISTMAS


Thoughts on giving, plus egg nog recipes for your holiday season


By Sharon Courmousis, Sacred Rocks Reserve

 

December 15, 2010 (Boulevard)--The presents are wrapped and the little dears are tucked up tight. All the games and toys and electronics advertised on TV – wrapped up under the tree. Oh, wait, that was last year, or the one before. This Christmas everyone seems to be downsizing IF they are lucky enough to even have a home, and a job, and something extra. So the question is HOW do you make this a wonderful Christmas if the day itself is not really about the quantity of gifts?


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: TINY BUDGET, LIMITED RESOURCES NO PROBLEM FOR INDIE "TINY FURNITURE"

By Brian Lafferty

 

December 11, 2010 (San Diego)--While watching Tiny Furniture, which opened yesterday at the Ken Cinema, I was somewhat captivated and never bored. It accomplishes its goals and captures without fail the feeling it wants to convey.

 


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PEARLS: DON'T DO IT THIS WAY

By Charlavan Baker Hart

 

December 7, 2010 (El Cajon)--I thought if you didn’t see very well you go to the eye doctor and have yourself checked. I was braced for learning I had a cataract forming and would need an operation.


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MARKETING MATTERS: THE PRE-TRADE SHOW PLAN

 TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH

 

 

By Rama Beerfas

 

December 1, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – We’ve identified the three components of a successful trade show marketing plan:

• Have a system in place for attracting potential customers to the exhibit.
• Qualify those people who visited the booth.
• Follow up with those visitors who left contact information.
 

The fact is that exhibiting successfully at a trade show means developing good pre-show plan to ensure that the people with whom you would most like to make contact know you will be there and have a reason to come visit your booth.


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ADVICE FROM THE PURPLE MOUNTAIN SAGE: CELEBRATIONS


By Sharon Courmousis, Sacred Rocks Reserve

Increase your enjoyment of living

November 30, 2010 (Boulevard)--This is the time of year when we turn our eyes toward celebration. The thesaurus also calls celebration by the words commemoration, festivity, party, gala, observance, and remembrance. Unless a person is a true hermit, it is hard to celebrate by oneself. Some folks have few or far flung families. Some folks feel alone. Others create their own families, their own circle of friends that are like family.


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LEFT HOOK: CORPORATOCRACY

 


By Walter Davis

November 29, 2010 (San Diego) --According to a recent CNN report, the number of billionaires in this world had nearly tripled since 2000. With Americans losing their homes in record numbers and the Seventh Fleet headed to waters off the coast of Korea, catastrophe is in the air. Our gridlocked government is unable to respond effectively to the needs of Americans.

 


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MARKETING MATTERS: THE #1 REASON BUSINESSES DON'T BENEFIT FROM EXHIBITING AT TRADE SHOWS

 

Tips and Tricks for Business Success and Growth

By Rama Beerfas

 

November 1, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – It’s a sad, sad story and one that I have heard many times: A company spends anywhere from a few hundred dollars for a local tabletop show to tens of thousands of dollars for a national trade show and ends up with little or nothing to show for it – not even a breakeven on expenses.


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: MAKE TRACKS FOR "UNSTOPPABLE"

By Brian Lafferty

 

November 12, 2010 (San Diego)--Tony Scott’s last movie, The Taking of Pelham 123, had exciting action and suspense on an immobile subway train hijacked by John Travolta with Denzel Washington trying to stop him. In Unstoppable, we get equally exciting action and suspense on a runaway train loaded with toxic chemicals with Denzel Washington trying to prevent it from careening towards a populated town.

 


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: YOU'LL BE SURE TO GET YOUR MONEY'S WORTH - AND MORE - BY SEEING SMALL, INDEPENDENT "THE FREEBIE"

By Brian Lafferty

 

November 12, 2010 (San Diego) – The Freebie has a simple story, and it runs only seventy-eight minutes, but director Katie Aselton has crafted a movie that is more than mere premise. In addition to having two likeable characters and dialogue that is real, honest and rich, the movie also kept me guessing until the very end.

 


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