Monday, December 31, 2012
Will this new year's resolution help me keep the Christmas spirit all year 'round?
Here we sit basking in the glow of Christmas: gifts have been given, cards have been mailed, we've called our friends and family, and donated gifts to those who need a little help. That warm feeling that swells in your heart this time of year comes from the acts of giving. It doesn't matter if the giving comes wrapped with a bow. The Grinch was right: "What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?" Acts of kindness do just as much for the giver as they do for the recipient. Just as the Whos in Whoville together rose above the dastardly deeds of the Grinch, families on the Northeast shore are helping one another though their own homes lie in destruction, and strangers are …
Friday, December 28, 2012
In the week before New Year's, be sure to enjoy some time away from your screens
I will not be going cold turkey. Technology is a part of my daily routines and during holiday times it is a treat to see updates from friends and family that I am unable to see in person. But I will be making an effort to step away from the tech that just passes time. Some of us either are, or know someone who is, a bit compulsive about 'checking in.' It becomes a part of our busy lives, engaging or entertaining us in the midst of work emails and projects. A distraction from our pressing responsibilities is welcomed during the rush but when work pressures ease and emails are answered with out-of-office notices, it might help to step away from the keyboards to truly enjoy our time off. Time flies when you click links and flip virtual pages…
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Great acting makes you join in their crusade.
For you non-"Mis" folk, "Les Miserables" is the story of Prisoner 24601 Jean Valjean, who breaks parole, is hunted relentlessly by Inspector Javert and encounters various troubled and impoverished characters in post-revolutionary France. Based on the 1862 novel by Victor Hugo, it is beloved by generations of musical theatre fans. The musical version of the movie was a risky undertaking, but now promises a huge pay-off to the studio, cast, and crew, thanks largely to a career topping job by several of the lead actors. The endless marketing about the actors singing live has also piqued many filmgoers' interests. Character Fantine sings, "I dreamed a dream of life gone by...". I dream, too, of when no one made such a big deal about people …
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
When friends and families gather, take online games into the real world for fun for all ages.
As we look forward to end-of-the-year gatherings, it is sometimes hard to think of ways to involve the whole gang in fun and memory-making. Adults and kids alike can retreat to their respective technologies, whether smartphones or gaming devices. Why not take the rules, strategies and skills used in online games to have some "offline" fun? The most popular online games are often just reworkings or outright replicas of the games that have been played for generations. The top 10 games at the Apple app store or in the video game sections are often reworks of card games, puzzles, board games or group games like tag or cops and robbers. Get everyone in the game by trying to take the game from the small screens of their digital devices to the …
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Santa brings a very mixed bag to blockbuster franchise.
This holiday, with the expected blockbuster franchise The Hobbit (it has already broken records for midnight release of a movie more than two-and-a-half hours long) Santa brings a very mixed bag. First, let's talk about the coal-worthy aspects of the An Unexpected Journey. Unless you are a slave to technology, spend most of your days playing video games or crave seeing the next big thing, avoid the mercifully limited number of screens (10 percent) showing it in 3D filmed at 48 frames instead of the usual 24. Director Peter Jackson argues the high frame rate technology gives the movie a sense of reality, like "looking into the real world." Unfortunately, while it brightens the often-muddled look of 3D, it also points up every quirk and …
Thursday, December 13, 2012
As parents throughout the region wrap up iPod Touches, smartphones and tablets for their children, let's look at the issues in general and the FTC's latest report on privacy in apps designed for children.
There are going to be a lot of Internet-enabled devices under Christmas trees and wrapped up for Hanukkah. According to Nielsen Research, the iPad is the number one item on the most-desired electronics list for kids this year. Following behind is the iPod touch, iPhone, tablet and other computers. Add in any smartphone and a lot of kids want devices that can play apps available from Apple's App store and the Google play store. While the question of whether most-wanted will be the most received is a separate discussion, we all know that many kids will soon be dowloading their favorite games as Apps on their new devices. Questions of content, payment and ground rules for both screen time and appropriate use all need to be considered. …
Lou King of Ourisman Ford Lincoln in Alexandria urges drivers to take care during the holidays.
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Thursday, December 13, 2012
With an average of 50 million Americans taking to the road during the holiday season, it is important to take a second to reflect on how we can all get to Grandmother’s house as safely and stress-free as possible. When we all leave the office tired from the end of the year tasks Ourisman Ford Lincoln of Alexandria is asking everyone take a moment to make sure that we are well-rested and ready to go before taking to the wheel. In fact, it is estimated that nearly 250,000 Americans drive drowsy every day. Unfortunately the risks of drowsy driving are well-documented. While most people believe it is unacceptable to drive when you are too tired to keep your eyes open, NHTSA estimates 83,000 police-reported crashes a year, resulting in37,…
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
As the flu season begins in the 'real world', do your part to not spread internet 'germs' in the online world
How many of these posts have you seen on your Facebook wall? Did you know that all of these are either false or misguided readings of the facts? How many have you shared yourself? I will confess that in reading through dozens of posts of my Facebook wall or in a crowded newsfeed on my Twitter account that I have hit 'like', 'share' or 'retweet' on something that was probably too shocking, too unbelievable or too easy to be true. Tale as old as time None of this is new, people have shared gossip and rumors face-to-face, by telephone, over radio call-in shows, via regular mail, via email, via graffiti and who knows, probably by telegraph, carrier pigeon and message in a bottle. Before Facebook posts there was chain mail, and after that …
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Cinema Siren's top picks for 2012.
Last year I offered my top 10 Christmas cartoons for the first time. As an animation art gallery owner of 25 years, and an animation historian, I have been studying and enjoying them a long time. What an uproar I caused! I got a veritable avalanche of emails about the cartoons I "couldn't possibly overlook." While I stand by all last year's excellent offerings, I do have some amendments this year. Here is the list with some considered additions and subtractions. The cartoons listed below are all classics and are wonderful opportunities for holiday viewing with friends and family. You can enjoy them while chomping down highly caloric peppermint bark, or swilling down highly spiked eggnog! #10. Arthur Christmas - 2011 Such a new movie…
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
I hope you’re not having to make this choice.
“Hmmm... Should I eat healthy or exercise to lose weight?” By 2015, nearly a third of people in the world will be overweight, and many will be asking themselves that very question. After all, there are only so many hours in the day, and priorities often turn a bedroom treadmill into a $1,500 clothing rack. Well, choosing between healthy nutrition and exercise to lose those extra inches is a subject that shouldn't be taken lightly. “Generally, rising obesity incidence is thought to result from the current Western lifestyle, in which activity levels and diet deviate substantially from the conditions under which our species’ metabolic physiology evolved,” according to a recent article posted on PLOS One, a peer-reviewed open-access journal. …
Alonzo Fabiani
1:52 am on Monday, April 29, 2013
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