a little something new for you: cinematography.

I have never reviewed a cinematography book before, so I was super excited to receive Cinematography: Theory and Practice by Blain Brown to check out. I haven't thought about cinematography in ages, and after flipping through I got to experience (again) how cinema met photography, fell in love and made a little baby called cinematography.

Cinematography is the most powerful tool in film making. It is the point-of-view, the movement, the close ups of characters and the manipulating of perspective for the audience. Film is visual storytelling and mastering this art requires knowledge of the smallest things, like lighting and when to incorporate the different angles in a shot. Basically Brown created this book to assist cinematographers and directors in image making. It is filled with a lot of tips. Absolutely recommend it for you Communications/Media Arts majors (which surprisingly, I was for my Bachelor's degree), I would have killed for this book when I was in undergrad.

Blain Brown is a cinematographer, director, writer and teacher. He currently runs the cinematography program at Los Angeles Film School. You can check out his work at www.BlainBrown.com. To make sure he's legit and all.

my name is not easy either dude, everyone gets it wrong.

Like most people, I assumed the book My Name Is Not Easy, is about a girl who is trying to convince people that she is not a slut, or there's more to her than her sluttyness, or she's a slut who plays hard to get. Normal assumption. Well, it is actually about a boy who has a name that is hard to pronounce. Yes, really.

Now forget about the slutty girl and listen. Debby Dahl Edwardson uses multiple voices to portray the experiences of boys and girls who are brought together in a boarding school where Eskimo and Indian students are enculturated in white customs and values. Luke, from Arctic Alaska, is the main voice, and uses "Luke" as a nickname because the sounds of his native name are difficult to pronounce by white people. The book covers the five year span of 1960-1965, showing how Luke, along with his brothers and the rest of the children deal with being so far away from home. The food is strange, the language is strange and although these children have many similarities, Eskimo's and Indians take sides, even though they are all being taught to change what they've always known. As if acting "white" is superior to their cultures. It's a great story, and I have to say, it pulls at your heart a little.

women's health resource.

Before I begin...

The Boston Women's Health Book Collective (now known as Our Bodies Ourselves) is a non-profit organization founded in 1969 whose board members include Teresa Heinz Kerry, Susan Love, and Gloria Steinem. Their mission is to empower women by providing information about health, sexuality, and reproduction. Our Bodies, Ourselves (which will be reviewed in this post) is the organization's core vehicle for driving their mission. While OBOS is famous for its voice in policy, advocacy, and educational efforts related to women's health, they see their role as a global content provider as paramount. Judy Norsigian is the Executive Director of Our Bodies Ourselves.

Okay, now that I have your attention...

Our Bodies, Ourselves is an excellent resource designed to inform women on health issues that affect them, including health care reform and sexual health (and teens, if you ARE having sex then you ARE a woman). With dozens of contributors from all over the country (USA), Canada, Thailand, and Africa, they are really covering all of their bases with this new updated edition. Ladies, this non-profit organization is working very hard to protect women's health rights, but they cannot do everything. As women (especially you little nuggets), we need to value our bodies and our health. We need to research and become aware of how to stay healthy and safe. This will make a great graduation gift for the young lady in your life.



i'll have what she's having.

Jennifer Hudson has been using her big voice to preach about her success with Weight Watchers to anyone who will listen, or who will turn on their television. And who can blame her? She has lost over eighty pounds using the program and her body looks amazing. As many of you know, Jennifer's claim to fame is making it to the top six in 2004's American Idol. Since the show she has won our hearts in movies such as Dreamgirls, Sex and the City and The Secret Life of Bees, playing the role of supporting actress phenomenally.

Last month Jennifer (and Dutton) released her inspirational memoir I Got This, which begins with her childhood growing up in Chicago. Memoirs have got to be the most fun to write, all you do is talk about yourself, with no interruption for pages and pages. Now that's my idea of a good time. Jennifer's is not solely based on singing or weight loss, it is 100% Jennifer Hudson and her experiences with success and failure in both. Singing was always something that she excelled at, and she was well aware of her talent at a very young age. This singer discovered very quickly that being plus size ruined her chances of success in the music industry. She came from a large (literally and physically) and extremely supportive family (and best friend, Walter), who encouraged her to be whatever she dreamed. Although they gave her confidence, they couldn't give her the image she needed to possess to be famous. For years she deprived herself, eating only plain chicken and brown rice to shed weight (still wearing a size 10) until she discovered Weight Watchers after she gave birth to her son and her body completely transformed. In the book she includes healthy recipes, pictures and exerts from family members who have succeeded on the Weight Watchers program under Jennifer's great influence.

Weight loss has to be a lifestyle change, and you cannot succeed at any weight loss program unless you are ready to do the work. Look to Jennifer and her story for some fit-spiration.

is mace legal? i keep forgetting.

Every great mystery/thriller writer has their niche, Tami Hoag's is her ability to ALWAYS come up with an "I NEVER saw that one coming!!!!" ending. Her latest thriller, Down the Darkest Road is no exception.

This story is set in the same fictional land as Hoag's previous novels Deeper than the Dead and Secrets to the Grave. Both novels are set in the 1980's. Vince Leone an FBI agent and Tony Mendez a detective in Oak Knoll are central characters in all three. It's kind of like a series, but it doesn't follow the same exact characters throughout. The main drama in this installment revolves around the Lawton family. Lauren Lawton's sixteen-year-old daughter, Leslie went missing four years ago. Her husband killed himself shortly after her disappearance. She is left with her youngest daughter Leah, and moved out of Santa Barbara to try to start fresh. This most disturbing part is that Lauren knows who is responsible for Leslie's disappearance, he stalks her regularly, but there is no real proof of any crime. He even lawfully stalks her, if that makes any sense. The even more disturbing part is that Leah will be turning sixteen very soon. So Leslie teams up with our private eye, Tony to try to ensure that history does not repeat itself.

I don't want to jinx it, but I am thinking that 26 is the age when creepy men stop trying to steal you. I don't know for certain, but I'm thinking that I am around the cut off. My father seems to disagree, which is why he bought me this lovely gift.

Yes, this is a mace GUN.

And no, it is not strange to be presented with this as a gift on a random Tuesday night.

Not in my family. Thanks, dad. 

buffalo? never heard of it.

To live in Western New York, especially the Buffalo area, it takes a special type of person. We are born and raised Buffalo Bills fans, which can make anyone feel sorry for us. The Sabres are touch and go, so you can imagine how unpredictable our emotions get come hockey season. We hold onto the New York Yankees because we (thankfully) do not have a baseball team of our own, and (even more thankfully) the Yankees are amazing. Yes, being from Buffalo isn't exactly something I brag about, but thanks to Renee Levine Packer, I may have to start.

The Life of Sounds: Evenings for New Music in Buffalo. It's still hard for me to believe this book got published. After reading it, I believe Packer was the real reason for it. Our most well-known college, University at Buffalo (UB) has apparently been keeping their musical talents and interesting history a secret all these years...

in this case young people, please judge a book by its cover.

Hello gift-with-purchase-breakout-novel by Julianna Baggott, you've won me over so there's only a matter of time before the teenagers catch on. Pure, which hits the shelves tomorrow comes with this cute little butterfly pin. When it arrived in the mail, I noticed that on the pin it says "surprise inside," so being the child that I am, I scrammed to opened the very attractive (even as an advance reading copy) cover and I have no idea if this little "surprise" was just for me, or is included inside every copy of Pure, but I had a fricken heart attack. So thanks, and no I am not telling you all what you get when it opens. I am far too nice of a person to ruin it for you.

On to the story... Sixteen-year-old Pressia is one of the many survivors after a major disaster strikes the earth. During the nuclear blasts, many were permanently fused to whatever they were standing by. During this age, all teenagers at age sixteen must turn themselves over to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are considered weak, are used as live targets.  The "Wretches" are all those who live outside the Dome, and not all are still completely human. The "Pures" are those who escaped the disaster unmarked, and live safely inside the Dome. Like many of the others, Pressia has a deformity. Her left hand was fused with the head of her doll, and she is terrified that she is too deformed to be of use as a soldier, so she's on the run. She meets up with Partridge, son of a very influential "Pure," who has set off to find his mother. This story is told from the point of view of the "Wretches" and the "Pures" to give readers insight into both sides. Oh, and it's a series so be prepared for suspense.

This is a young adult read, and as a teacher I see some aspect of the Holocaust being taught in every secondary grade. The basis of this novel IS a nuclear Holocaust. I am not saying we should teach this story in class, but it is absolutely perfect for outside reading. I recommend it for older students, because it is really creepy. I see Pure helping this generation relate to such a thing as human corruption. I just sounded totally teacher-like.