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“I SAW THE DEVIL” DIRECTOR SHARES DIABOLIC SUSPENSE DETAILS IN INTERVIEW WITH ECM

By Brian Lafferty

March 18, 2011 (San Diego)--Opening today at the Ken Cinema is director Kim Jee-Woon’s thriller,  I Saw the Devil. I had an opportunity for a brief interview with the director about the picture, in which he shares secrets of creating cinematic suspense. 


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DREAM DOGS: DOGS & PUPPIES NEED HOMES

 

By Cate Sacks

www.shelterdogstodreamdogs.com

March 14, 2011 (Blossom Valley) – Looking for a great companion, therapy dog, or family dog? Check out these graduates of our “Shelter Dogs to Dream Dogs” training. All dogs and pups have learned manners, respect, and basic obedience and are ready for their new, forever homes.


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: "THE LAST LIONS" A ROARING SUCCESS

By Brian Lafferty

 

March 11, 2011 (San Diego) – There is a moment towards the end of The Last Lions when I experienced an emotion called elevation. The term may be unfamiliar to most readers but the feeling isn’t. If you get tears in your eyes, a lump or tightness in your throat, and you feel uplifted, that’s what elevation is. Cocoon and Harry & Tonto are the few movies to have such power over me.

 


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THE DOG BLOG: ADD SOME UPPER BODY EXERCISES TO YOUR DOG WALK

By Dawn Celapino

March 9, 2011 (San Diego's East County)--Do you do any upper body exercises on your dog walk? If you are like most people, you either run or walk with your dog,which is a great lower body workout but what about the upper body?


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DEANE’S LIST: EDUCATION NEWS NOTES - MARCH 8, 2011

By Doug Deane

 

March 8, 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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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: "BUREAU" IS AN INTELLIGENT FILM, BUT ENDING NEEDS "ADJUSTMENT"

By Brian Lafferty

 

March 6, 2011 (San Diego) – After my mother died last November I learned something about myself: I have no regrets. I never say, “If only…” Instead, I tell myself, “If it weren’t for…” When I look back on my first twenty-five years of existence I see that I wouldn’t be where I am now if I did anything differently.

 


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: "TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT" DOESN'T HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A GOOD COMEDY

 

By Brian Lafferty

March 6, 2011 (San Diego) – Take Me Home Tonight suffers from a severe case of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It has trouble staying focused. Every time the film gets on track, there’s always something that derails it. If they had made it solely about the two leads, it wouldn’t have been such a slog to sit through.

 


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VINE COTTAGE FULL OF PROMISE

Vine Cottage

6062 Lake Murray Blvd. La Mesa, tel. 465-0138

By Kristin Hobbs Kjaero, Guest writer for the "East County Eater"

 

March 3, 2011 (La Mesa) – While we have many fine family restaurants in East County, it’s an event of great anticipation when a new restaurant opens of a little fancier variety, and so it was when a friend and I went to try the new Vine Cottage in La Mesa for lunch. We came away with a mixed feeling of, if not complete delight, at least strong promise.


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: LOOKING FOR A QUALITY FILM? ALLEGORICAL "EVEN THE RAIN" WILL QUENCH YOUR MOVIE THIRST

By Brian Lafferty

 

March 2, 2011 (San Diego) – If there is one thing I’ve learned in the last year it’s that you never know where life will take you. Faithful readers may have noticed in my reviews references to my time at Cal State, Fullerton. I took a variety of classes in criticism, writing, and production. In two of my courses, I produced several sixteen-millimeter shorts.

 


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: COMBINING MYSTERY AND SEX COMEDY, "KABOOM" BURSTS WITH SURREALISM

By Brian Lafferty

 

February 28, 2011 (San Diego) – Take one part Luis Buñuel, add one part David Lynch, throw in a sex comedy and what do you get? Kaboom, the newest film by independent director Gregg Araki. Currently playing at the Landmark Hillcrest, it is among his better works.

 


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THE DOG BLOG: DO YOU HAVE A WILL FOR YOUR DOG?

 

 

By Dawn Celapino
 

 

This week has been one of those eye-opening weeks for my family. We had one of our Leash Your Fitness family members die VERY unexpectedly in a freak accident and then my sister was in a car accident–all in the same day! It made me think–what would happen to my dog if I died?

 

There are so many questions to answer and we wanted you to think about this too, since NOBODY can say what is going to happen to us each day. You may think that your sibling or friend would take care of your dog--but do they know all about your dog? These are a few things that are important:


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DEANE’S LIST: EDUCATION NEWS NOTES

 

February 22, 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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WILL POWER REPORT: HYPER-INFLATION?


Nothing but the Truth!

February 12, 2011 (San Diego) --For years the Fed has been keeping interest rates near zero, trying to prop up spending and keep the economy from failing completely. It really has not worked. Jobs are disappearing, the gap between rich and poor is growing, and inflation show signs of growing rapidly.


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: KOREAN THRILLER IS STYLISH BUT "THE HOUSEMAID" SCREENPLAY NEEDS HOUSEKEEPING

By Brian Lafferty

 

February 18. 2011 (San Diego) – Alfred Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense, once said, “To make a great film you need three things – the script, the script and the script.” Too bad Korean director Sang-soo Im didn’t heed this advice when he wrote The Housemaid.

 


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GOOD MONEY: TAX & ESTATE PLANNING CHANGES FOR 2011 & BEYIOND

 

“Your guide to financial planning & socially responsible investing”

 

By Judith L. Seid, CFP ®
President, Blue Summit Wealth Management

 

 

February 17, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) -- We had been updating you throughout 2010 on Congress’ inaction in addressing the estate tax debacle. It seems as though this inaction and deaths of four billionaires alone last year cost the federal government roughly $6.5 billion in taxes. Yikes!

 

So the debate is over, for now, with the 11th hour passing of “The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010″ on December 16th. This fix is temporary for only two years, therefore the debate now begins on what to do after 2012.

 


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WILL POWER REPORT: GRAMMY AWARDS: BOUND TO LOSE

 

Nothing but the truth!

February 14, 2011 (San Diego)--Though I have personal interest in music and songwriting, every year I watch the Grammy Awards with dread. Like the academy Awards, it's an exercise in mutual admiration, driven by who has the best publicist.

 

This year was no different. Lady GaGa looked like an alien. with her pointy eyebrows and wedgy shoulder pads. She can dance, but what I saw from her act was spectacle, not music.

 


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ADVICE FROM THE PURPLE MOUNTAIN SAGE: ON KINDNESS

 

Increase your enjoyment of living

 

By Sharon Courmousis, Sacred Rocks Reserve

 

February 11, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) -- Recently, I read about February 14-20 being the “Random Acts of Kindness” Week. Most of us have heard this phrase, but where did it come from and what does it really mean?


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DEANE’S LIST: EDUCATION NEWS NOTES

 

By Doug Deane 

February 6, 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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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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