Manhunt & Mozart

The Drunken Monkey

The Review We Didn't Like

AMERICAN GANGSTER?
IT takes nerve to call a film "American Gangster": It's more than a movie title, it's the name of a venerable genre that dates to cinema's beginnings. But once you see this finely made and richly satisfying film, you understand it's the only title possible.

In part that's because "American Gangster" is conscious of its place in that tough guy continuum. Visual and thematic references to classics such as "The Godfather," "Once Upon a Time in America" and "The Asphalt Jungle" show that director Ridley Scott and screenwriter Steven Zaillian are quite aware of their film's place in history.

More than that, with Oscar-winning costars Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe joining forces with Scott and Zaillian, two of the best at what they do, "American Gangster" is mindful of continuing another tradition, that of sweeping, old-school epic filmmaking that artfully heightens reality even if it's based on the gritty facts of the Harlem drug trade of the 1970s.

This is a review that i technically disagree with. The writer uses the title to draw in the reader as far as the review is concerned and it is that use of ruse that i disagree with. I've seen this film and it was a very well done piece of movie making but what it was not was a true gangster film. In the annals of american film making there are many movies that could have used the title of american gangster, this would not be one of those films. With most gangster movies there is a realm of excess and debauchery that goes well beyond the expectations of most movie goers, such as Scareface or even The Godfather. This film doesn't meet those expectations merely because the directory wasn't trying to create an iconic characters and situations that emphasis excess. No instead in this movie Ridley Scott is simply trying to tell the true story of Frank Lucas as honestly as possible not to make him another scareface. The reason for that is Frank Lucas was a real gangster not an over the top bad guy hell-bent on world domination like Tony Montana. Very significant story and very great directing and screenplay to defend it. The title is correct but not in the context that this reviewer seems to think.

FREE KNOWLEDGE OR DEATH!

“All Men By Nature Desire To Know”

ARISTOTLE

The question surrounding the issue of downloading music is whether or not the industry itself has substantially suffered from the lack of regulation of technology that allows people to successfully download copyrighted material at the very click of a button.

Recently there has been an introduction of a bill in congress that would severly injure institutions of higher learning that that do not curb the influx of illegal downloading amongst college students or do not provide alternatives to downloading copyrighted material.

Introduced by House Labor and Education Committee Chairman George Miller and Higher Education Subcommittee chairman Ruben Hinojos, the bill is meant to get colleges to inform students and employees about the policies and procedures surrounding the issue of illegal downloading. The bill also asks that colleges figure out a way to allow alternatives to peer-to-peer file sharing or illegal downloading.

As someone that is an avid lover of music and movies I feel that such legislation would be too harsh to provide and environment that allows higher learning and understanding of subject matter.

The main tenors of opposition in this free flow forum of information is the government and their regulations that seem to allow the means of appreciating the art that it’s people create but do not allow it’s people to own their own art.

Music and movies should be free, the industries don’t lose enough to really curse the watcher or listener and there isn’t enough criminal intent to prosecute on the grounds of actual intent, but rather the curious nature of interest.

This is a war, and a call to arms. There is art in the air and we are forced to breath.

Colleges should not suffer because of their students activities. The only way to stop people from gathering free music is to stop the making of music all together. There are more of us music listeners than there are people trying to stop it, therefore it is not a stalemate in a losing battle, the battle is lost on the part of those trying to stop the love of true art and absolute beauty.

If we are to be punished because of our need for understanding and truth then blame Aristotle, I just wanted to listen to some Rage Against The Machine

Dramatic Narrative

First and Long

coming of age story about a high school athlete coming to terms with being a star athlete and a seinor.

FEAR AND ALLERGIES IN THE LUNCHROOM

It's 1 p.m. at Mercer Elementary School in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and Lena Paskewitz's kindergarten class is filled with the happy hum of kids getting ready for their favorite part of the day: lunch. Caleigh Leiken, 6, is toting a pink Hello Kitty bag her mom has packed with goodies: strawberry yogurt, string cheese, some veggies and a cookie. But there's one childhood staple missing—a PB&J. Caleigh was diagnosed with a peanut and tree-nut allergy when she was just 7 months old. Nuts are a no-no at her table in the Mercer lunchroom. Her allergy-free friends can sit there, but only if their lunches have been stored in a special bin and carefully inspected by the teacher. Home, too, is a nut-free zone for Caleigh. When she goes trick-or-treating this week, her candy will be scarier than any costume; she won't be able to eat any of it for fear it's tainted with peanut residue. For Caleigh's mom, Erika Friedman—whose other two kids also have allergies—food can seem like an enemy. "We plan everything," says Friedman. "It's our job—actually, everyone's job—to keep them safe."

There was a time when food allergies were of little concern to the medical community. Today about 11 million Americans suffer from them, and many scientists agree the numbers are climbing. Most significantly, peanut allergies—among the most dire—doubled between 1997 and 2002 in children under 5. "Clearly, the number has increased in the younger population," says Dr. Hugh Sampson, a food-allergy pioneer at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in N.Y. "We suspect that [in the future], the numbers in general are going to increase." Allergists say they're now seeing more children with multiple allergies than ever before, not just to 1950s staples such as milk and wheat—but to global foods we have adopted since, like sesame and kiwi. And allergies many kids outgrow—like those to eggs—seem to be lingering longer than they did in the past.

Parents of very young children now worry over the introduction of each new food, on alert for the first signs of trouble, such as rashes, diarrhea and vomiting. Deaths are rare, but the most-sensitive kids' throats may swell and completely close up if they're exposed to the wrong foods. Even if your school-age child is allergy-free, you still have to be concerned about inadvertently triggering an allergic reaction in one of your kid's friends or classmates. Dairy-free birthday cakes are de rigueur these days, as are no-peanut Halloween parties.

This is a story that revolves around allergies and how they have and will continue to effect children. This is an example of investigative reporting because it looks at more than just the main angle. They take on many aspects of how allergies effect people in different enviorments. They also span over many years by using reports that range back up to ten years.

Time Well Spent

Confession runs dry
faith is hope during the day
truth is false at night

Memory, a curse
a sense will never fail
the mind is too strong

worker bees can leave
even drones can fly away
the queen is their slave