Famed photographer Annie Leibovitz did a series of portraits for Disneyland and Walt Disney World's Year of a Million Dreams campaign, and the results were nothing short of magical! Leibovitz' lens must be golden. Her brilliance literally shines through the pictures.
The first set featured Scarlett Johansson as Cinderella, David Beckham as Prince Phillip (from Sleeping Beauty), and Beyonce Knowles as Alice (from Alice in Wonderland). Click for story and pictures.
The second set features Rachel Weisz as Snow White, Roger Federer as King Arthur, Julie Andrews as the Blue Fairy (from Pinocchio), and Abigail Breslin as Fira (from Disney Fairies). Story and photos here.
Two more celebrities to join the campaign are husband-and-wife Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez. Their characters have not been announced, and your guess is as good as mine.
Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup
They slither while they pass they slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my opened mind,
Possessing and caressing me
Jai guru de va om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Been quiet here for a few days now. Let's break the silence with this song.
It's Rachael Yamagata, Be Be Your Love
She's got a new record coming up, I heard.
This is the one song everyone would like to learn: the song that is irresistible: the song that forces men to leap overboard in squadrons even though they see beached skulls the song nobody knows because anyone who had heard it is dead, and the others can’t remember. Shall I tell you the secret and if I do, will you get me out of this bird suit? I don’t enjoy it here squatting on this island looking picturesque and mythical with these two feathery maniacs, I don’t enjoy singing this trio, fatal and valuable. I will tell the secret to you, to you, only to you. Come closer. This song is a cry for help: Help me! Only you, only you can, you are unique at last. Alas it is a boring song but it works every time. -Margaret Atwood- Today I closed my eyes and dreamt I was a mermaid.
In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being … those people who rekindle the inner spirit
Albert Shweitzer
Wherever these people are hiding, show them to me. I'd like to meet them and learn from them. I want their spark; their fire. I want to be consumed by the belief that people still care. That there are still those who are generous of themselves; whose lives are not just about pulling their own weight (and yet there are those who don't even bother), but are willing to give a little more each day or the next for others, unafraid of being labeled as martyrs.
In essence, I think such sentiments place me in what Stephen Covey categorizes as the "fragmented person," one who falls prey to the human tendency toward victimism. In the sequential and painstaking process of becoming a whole person, there are four words that operate - vision, discipline, passion, and conscience. Which are just the opposite of a life dominated by indulgence and ego.
There's an inner struggle in everyone. Every day, we fight our own wars. But it's not a contest or a quest for bragging rights. It's about finding a purpose and meaning that goes beyond the self. It's what made the great ones great - what helped them make things happen and have influence on others. Writing this doesn't make me one, but if spreading the word will help bring out those voices, know that I'll be on the frontlines waiting for trickles of inspiration.
Words have left me;
they have been used up
by generations of writers and ramblers
and poets and lyricists; but now the bloggers
are giving me something to do
when life gets hard and dry; what's your story?
because I'm tired of telling mine; and I'm choking up on lies
hiding behind the very words that strip me raw
naked in front of the world
that has seen these very words written
a million times
No matter how selfish, unconcerned, or cruel this world has turned out to be, let us never forget that there are still plenty of people whose generous hearts allow them to have courage in the face of danger and tragedy, to help others who needed assistance, to give without asking for anything in return, even to risk their own lives for the sake of those who are in greater peril.
Tales like these restore one's faith to the human spirit. To the unsung heroes of October 19, your names may never be printed, you may never get rewarded, your good deeds may be forgotten even by those who know you by name, but the world is a better place because of people like you. I was not there, and I don't really know what I would've done if I was on your shoes. May your example inspire countless others, as well.
I got that title from a movie review which pretty much sums it up in one sentence.
As an afterthought to a comment I made on Onyxx's post about the secret of Albus Dumbledore, I'm sharing the things I took note of while watching the movie The Jane Austen Book Club. Trailer and movie info here.
Opening quote of the movie: "Is not general incivility the very essence of love?" [from Pride & Prejudice]. Oh, no. Is it?
Sylvia (Amy Brenneman) noted that her best friend Jocelyn (Maria Bello) has never been married because of her "contempt for anyone who settles for anything less than the perfect love." Well, I can't blame Jocelyn.
Sylvia was married to Daniel (Jimmy Smits) for 25 plus years before he had a midlife crisis and dumped her for another woman ("who isn't even young!"). I'm all for writing letters and I easily get touched by well-written letters, but after the harsh way he admitted to infidelity ("I'm not leaving her; it's nonnegotiable"), I don't think he should get away with it that easy.
Prudie (Emily Blunt) is a high school French teacher who has never been to France. Getting more and more disillusioned every day about her Neanderthal husband (who "thinks Austen is the capital of Texas"), she contemplates about having an affair with a good-looking student just because he "looks at her like he's the spoon and she's the dish of ice cream." Despite her self-pitying and neurotic ways, Prudie still got some sense & sensibility to know which way to go.
Allegra (Maggie Grace), the youngest and the prettiest member of the club, is the lesbian daughter of Sylvia who goes with the extremes in life and love. Her easy-going nature clashes with the prim-and-proper Prudie, but in the end what counts the most is that she's a good daughter. Well, if you're the kind of parent who thinks being kept in the dark about your child's sky diving adventures is acceptable.
Bernadette (Kathy Baker) is the oldest of the bunch. She's the one who's most in love with love, despite being previously married six times. I liked the fact that she's very supportive of her friends and seems to be the source of calm for the others. She's at peace, with the world and herself. I think it's nice to grow old that way.
Jocelyn has never even been in love. She spots Grigg (Hugh Dancy) and immediately sets him up with Sylvia, oblivious to the fact that it was her that he likes. He gives her his favorite science fiction books in exchange of his willingness to read girly books for her. She ignores his books, prejudiced that science fiction is not about real people; he concludes that she chooses dogs over human relationships because she just wants to be obeyed.
Allegra believes love makes you crazy; Sylvia thinks it's not an excuse for bad behavior. Jocelyn likes Austen because she's all about order and self-control ("nothing unwise"); Grigg notes that it's better to be unafraid to love - not avoid it just because it's too messy or too out of control.
Did I just give it all away? It seems I really liked the movie. But it's not without flaws and I still wouldn't recommend it for everyone. No, you don't really have to be a Janeite. But you have to be passionate about books (and talking about them). It's about a book club, after all, and not about a galaxy far, far away.
[I'm not sure if it will be shown in theaters here. It might be available later on DVD.]
Back in college, James Watson is one name I had to take to heart if I am to consider myself a true advocate of science. He won the Nobel Prize (in Physiology or Medicine) in 1962, together with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, for discovering the structure of the DNA - what they called "the secret to life." Did they really crack the code of life? In a way, they did. The DNA, after all, serves as the genetic blueprint, that which carries hereditary information, and is unique for every individual (with the exception of identical twins). Their discovery "has been called the most important biological work of the last 100 years, and the field it opened may be the scientific frontier for the next 100."
Which is why it's a shame that at the dawn of publication of his new book, Avoid Boring People: Lessons from a Life in Science, he got himself in the middle of a racial controversy. In an interview with The Sunday Times (London), he said that he was "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa. All our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours, whereas all the testing says not really." I wonder, where does that leave us, Asians, then? Apparently, this is not his first blunder. The blog at ScientificAmerican.com has an interesting list of James Watsons' "greatest hits."
The long-time head of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York has apologized for his remarks. He is currently suspended from his post.
In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life. It goes on.
Robert Frost
For us, at least. My deepest sympathy to those who were hurt, and to their families, at Glorietta today.
Inquirer.net has opened a special section to cover updates on today's tragic event.
