Longtime Companion? HIV/AIDS in thirty years of cinema, media and culture

Images from two 'AIDS film dramas': above, Longtime Companion (Norman René, 1989), a film which, as Emmanuel Levy puts it, carried "the burden of being the first [widely distributed] theatrical movie to deal directly with AIDS"; below, a frame grab from Yesterday (Darrell Roodt, 2004), about a Zulu woman living with AIDS. Read Jean Stuart's and Olaia Cores Calvo's articles on this film.

It was [30] years ago, in the summer of 1981, when society as a whole[, including] the scientific community[,] was faced with an unknown disease that came later to be known as Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Several films [...] reflected the initial fears and uncertainty, the responses of the different social groups, the fight against ignorance, the [demand for] access to treatment and the suffering of the infected individuals and their families [...] due to this disease. Taking into account that these movies were filmed when these epidemics took place they can actually be considered as [...] historical documents that deserve [to be] analysed by the generations to come. Films such as And The Band Played On; Longtime Companion; Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt; Les Nuits Fauves; Angels in America; Yesterday and My Brother... Nikhil have marked [30] years of AIDS history that should not be forgotten by the world. [Adapted from António Pais de Lacerda, 'Cinema as an Historical Document: AIDS in 25 years of Cinema', Journal of Medicine and Movies, 2 (2006): 102-113; hyperlinks added by FSFF]

Film Studies For Free today commemorates the twenty-third World AIDS Day in the thirtieth year since the identification of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, or AIDS. The Human immunodeficiency virus [HIV], the lentivirus which causes the syndrome, was identified two years later, in 1983.

FSFF marks this anniversary year with the below entry of links to scholarly resources on the figuration of AIDS/HIV in cinema and culture.

Today's posting was also inspired by a series of film screenings and discussions on 'AIDS and its Melodramas' that have been taking place at the University of Sussex, UK, organised by Michael Lawrence and John David Rhodes. These academic events will continue next term with screenings of Fatal Love (1991), And the Band Played On (1993), Philadelphia (1993) and, one of FSFF's favourites,  Boys on the Side (1995). Please email FSFF if you'd like more details.

• ACT UP NY Webcasts
• Elana D. Anderson, 'Yesterday, Today, And Tomorrow: Socio-Cultural Evolution In African Literature and Film', Mosaic African Studies, 2010 
• Carole Blair and Neil Michel, 'The AIDS Memorial Quilt and the Contemporary Culture of Public Commemoration', Rhetoric and Public Affairs Vol. 10, No. 4, 2007, pp. 595–626
• Martin P. Botha, 'Post-Apartheid Cinema: A Thematic and Aesthetic Explorations of Selected Short and Feature Films', Ilha do Desterro, Florianópolis, nº 61 p. 225- 267 jul/dez 2011
• Cüneyt Çakirlar, 'Cinephilic Bodies: Todd Haynes's Cinema of Queer Pastiche', KÜLT: A Journal of Cultural Studies 1:1, April 2011
• Jean Carlomusto and Jane Rosett, 'AIDS: A LIVING ARCHIVE™', SandF Online, 2.1, Summer 2003
• Olaia Cores Calvo, 'Yesterday (2004)', Journal of Medicine and Movies, 5.4 (2009):125-130
• David Campbell, The Visual Economy of HIV/AIDS: A report for the AIDS, Security and Conflict Initiative, May 2008 
• Brendan Curran, Singin’ in the Scourge: Two AIDS Musicals, Two Political and Cultural Contexts, MA Thesis, Concordia University, April 2011
• Juan Luis Cuesta Jiménez, 'The Constant Gardener or the development of new Therapies', Journal of Medicine and Movies, 2.3 (2006): 96-101 
• Ann Cvetkovich, 'AIDS Activism and the Oral History Archive', SandF Online, Summer 2.1, Summer 2003
• Anthony Enns, '"A Name in Search of a Disease": Illness and Identity in Todd Haynes' Safe', Reconstruction,7.3, 2007
• Kyle Frackman, 'Out of Time: "Allotemporality" in Pierre Sanoussi-Bliss’ Zurück auf los', queere (t)ex(t)perimente. Eds. Franziska Bergmann, Jennifer Moos, and Claudia Münzing. Freiburg: fwpf-Verlag, 2008
• J.E. García Sánchez, E. García Sánchez and M.L. Merino Marcos, 'Antiviral, antifungal and antiprotozoal agents in the cinema', Revista Española de Quimioterapia, Marzo 2007; Vol. 20 (No 1): 106-111
• Silvia Grassi, 'Like a Carsic River: Gay Independent Cinema from Underground Films to New Queer Cinema and Beyond', Altre modernità/ Otras modernidades/ Autres modernités/ Other Modernities, N. 2 – 10/2009
• Oliver Gruner, Public Politics/Personal Authenticity: A Tale of Two Sixties in Hollywood Cinema, 1986-1994, PhD Thesis, University of East Anglia, August, 2010
• Roger Hallas, 'The Witness in the Archive', SandF Online, 2.1, Summer 2003
• Lucas Hilderbrand, 'Retroactivism', glq, 12.2, 2006
• Jim Hubbard, 'A Report on the Archiving of Film and Video Work by Makers with AIDS', DIVA TV, [date unknown]
• Alexandra Juhasz, 'AIDS Video: To Dream and Dance with the Censor', Jump Cut, No. 52, summer 2010
• Alexandra Juhasz in exchange with Antoinette Burton, 'Feminist history making and Video Remains', Jump Cut, No. 48, winter 2006
• Alexandra Juhasz, 'Alternative AIDS Videos', Cineaste, vol.XXI, nos. 1-2, 1994/5
• Alexandra Juhasz, 'Interview with Jim Hubbard and Sarah Schulman: ACT UP Oral History Project', CORPUS, Spring 2006
• Alexandra Juhasz, 'From the Scenes of Queens: Genre, AIDS and Queer Love,' originally published in The Cinema of Todd Haynes, ed. James Morrison (London:Wallflower Press, 2007)
• Dion Kagan, '[Review of] Roger Hallas, Reframing Bodies: AIDS, Bearing Witness, and the Queer Moving Image. Duke University Press, 2009', Screening the Past, 28, 2010
• Tim Lawrence, ‘AIDS, the Problem of Representation, and Plurality in Derek Jarman's Blue’ Social Text, 52/53 (Autumn - Winter 1997): 241-264
• Timothy F. Murphy, 'Part One: The Meaning of AIDS', Ethics in an Epidemic: AIDS, Morality, and Culture (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994)
• Christo Oberholzer, An Investigation Into Nationalism and National Allegory within South African Post-Apartheid Film, MA Thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2006
• António Pais de Lacerda, 'Cinema as an Historical Document: AIDS in 25 years of Cinema', Journal of Medicine and Movies, 2 (2006): 102-113
• Georgios Pappas, Savvas Seitaridis, Nikolaos Akritidis, and Epaminondas Tsianos, 'Infectious Diseases in Cinema: Virus Hunters and Killer Microbes', Clinical Infectious Diseases,
• Volume 37, Issue 7, 2003: 939-942
• Monica B. Pearl, 'The City of Brotherly Love: Sex, Race and AIDS in Philadelphia', EnterText 2.3, Summer 2003
• Monica B. Pearl, 'American Grief: The AIDS Quilt and Texts of Witness', Gramma, 08
• Lucia Pérez Ochoa López, 'Philadelphia (1993): View of AIDS when it began to be a treatable disease', Journal of Medicine and Movies, 2 (2006): 21-28
• Jean Stuart, 'Yesterday, today … and tomorrow: The future of girlhood in the age of AIDS', AGENDA 79 2009
• Marita Sturken, 'The Politics of Video Memory: Electronic Erasures and Inscriptions', in Contemporary Video Practices, ed. Michael Renov, 1996
• Nicoletta Vallorani, 'Path(o)s of Mourning. Memory, Death and the Invisible Body in Derek Jarman’s Blue', Altre modernità/ Otras modernidades/ Autres modernités/ Other Modernities, N. 4 – 10/2010

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Winter Wonderland Giveaway: Huffleblossoms

It's time for the Winter Wonderland Giveaway! This is a huge giveaway event that has been put together by the amazing Brooke, who you may know better as Untrained Hair Mom.

For this event, Tweeny Hair is hosting a giveaway that is near and dear to my heart. We are giving away a set of 9 handmade hair accessories from a brand new business called huffleblossoms. Why is that so near and dear to me? That's easy.....because I'm the one making them!

That's right, Syd and I are launching a new line of hair accessories that will be for sale beginning in January. But the winner of this giveaway will have NINE huffleblossoms flower accessories worth $47!

I'll tell you more about huffleblossoms as we get closer to January, but for now you can take a look at the nine flowers that are up for grabs in this giveaway. You can see each flower individually (along with a detailed description of each one) when you head over to the new huffleblossoms facebook page, which can be found here.

These four flowers are actually made out of duct tape!

These are different sized ruffle flowers, with the medium sized one created with fabric promoting Autism Awareness.

These two are different variations of kanzashi flowers.

This giveaway will run from December 1 - 6. To enter, you can simply use the rafflecopter form below. The winner will be announced December 7.

Be sure to head over to Untrained Hair Mom after you enter here! Not only can you enter to win her prizes, but the Winter Wonderland Grand Prize entry form is on her site, as well. You don't want to miss this!

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baking away from home

(the photos in this post appear faded and washed out, which is intentional...)

Nothing beats a nice, warm homemade muffin over a cup of hot coffee, especially in a cold, wintery afternoon.

These banana raisins muffins are the very first bakes I made in the tiny kitchen of this small service apartment that we will be staying for the next few weeks. The kitchen area is not more than 1.5m by 1.5m, but it is very well equipped. Besides the basic utensils, there is even a spatula and a stylish balloon whisk.

Knowing that I will miss baking for the entire period that we are away, I brought along my digital weighing scale, a small pack of caster sugar, and at the very last minute I stuff in a pack of flour into my luggage, just in case. I had reminded myself to bring along some disposable foil pans but had totally forgotten about muffin cups. Luckily, I manage to get some while shopping for groceries here, if not, I am sure my cyberfriend, VB would be more than eager to dispatch some over to me ;)

I have on hand some very rippped bananas, a small pack of raisins, eggs, vegetable oil, sugar, flour and baking powder. With just a few strokes, these basic ingredients was magically transformed into a batch of soft and fluffy muffins. I stood by the oven to watch how the muffins ballooned and domed…at the same time letting myself engulfed in the wonderful sweet aroma of banana muffins baking in the oven.

The oven in the apartment didn't disappoint me. I really like how these muffins turn out…the crust is a little crisp, yet the centre is very soft and moist. One of the simplest pleasures in my life…is to be able to sink my teeth into a delicious medley of fluffy crumbs, tiny chunks of bananas and sweet, plumped raisins. A simple cake is all I need to keep me very happy the whole day :)


Banana Raisin Muffins

Ingredients
(makes 7 muffins)

50g caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten (about 50g without shells)
50g vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
2 large over ripped bananas, roughly mashed (about 210g)
150g cake flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
50g raisins

Method:

1. Pre heat oven to 180degC.
2. Soak raisins with some water or orange juice for about 10-15mins. Drain and pat dry. Lightly coat with a teaspoon of flour (extra), remove any excess flour.
3. Sieve flour and baking powder, set aside.
4. Roughly mash bananas with a fork.
5. Place sugar, eggs in a mixing bowl. Whisk with a balloon whisk to combine.
6. Add in oil, whisk to combine.
7. Add in mashed banana, stir with a spatula to combine.
8. Sieve over flour mixture, stir with spatula until just incorporated. DO NOT Overmix. The batter should appear lumpy.
9. Spoon batter into paper muffin cups, fill to ¾ full.
10. Bake at 180degC for 25mins until golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Transfer to wire rack, leave to cool completely.

More about → baking away from home

Chocolate-Dipped Fruit or How To 'Temper' Chocolate

My love affair with chocolate-covered strawberries goes way back. Waaaaay back. I love them. So, I had to include them in my chocolate dessert menu. However, to get good chocolate-covered strawberries, you have to "temper" your chocolate. Huh? What does tempering chocolate mean, and why do you care or want to do it??

Well, you know how when you eat a cake pop or a chocolate-covered strawberry, it has kind of a 'crack' when you bite into the chocolate? That's because the chocolate is "tempered." If it's not tempered, it doesn't have that 'crack.' And it gets all mushy (unless it's cold).

So, if you plan to use real chocolate, and not almond bark or candy melts for any kind of chocolate-dipped treat, you need to temper it.

To be honest, I would probably prefer, for most treats, to just use the almond bark. Easier. Way easier. But my husband does not like the chocolate-flavored almond bark. Dark chocolate, milk chocolate. Nope.
And, let's face it good chocolate is good. So, occasionally, like for the birthday party for my friend's mom, I go ahead and temper the chocolate.

What You Need
Chocolate
A double boiler (or bowl that fits well over your pot with simmering water)
An instant read thermometer*
Optional:
Shortening
Parchment Paper
Spatula

*An instant-read thermometer is different from a candy thermometer. You want something digital here so that you can get the precise temperatures. I bought mine for all of $10 at Target.

Click Here to Read More>>

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Wordless Wednesday: Making Baba Smile

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A Little Good News

I had blood drawn when I got Herceptin and I have been curious (and worried) about the results. Specifically, I've been worried that my liver function tests and my tumor markers were going to be elevated. I emailed my oncologist yesterday (I can't tell you how cool it is to have a doctor who does email!) and everything is NORMAL! In the email I also asked her to help me get scheduled for my new port, so that will be coming down the pike too. I don't need the new port desperately but it sure will be nice to have one that works!

Just to keep you all in the loop- I definitely have some shit growing in my right breast again. I'm just hoping that that's the only spot... I'm hopeful that it is, but I guess I wouldn't be surprised if something else lights up on my pre-trial scan. I haven't been scheduled for that scan yet, but it should be happening in the next couple weeks.

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Another Simple Food Weight Loss Experience

Whole Health Source reader Sarah Pugh recently went on a six-week simple food (low reward) diet to test its effectiveness as a weight loss strategy, and she was kind enough to describe her experience for me, and provide a link to her blog where she discussed it in more detail (1). 

Consistent with the scientific literature and a number of previous reader anecdotes (2), Sarah experienced a reduction in appetite on the simple food diet, losing 15 pounds in 6 weeks without hunger.  In contrast to her prior experiences with typical calorie restriction, her energy level and mood remained high over this period.  Here's a quote from her blog:

Well, it looks like the theory that in the absence of nice palatable food, the body will turn quite readily to fat stores and start munching them up, is holding up. At the moment, the majority of the energy I use is coming from my insides, and my body is using it without such quibbles as the increased hunger, low energy, crappy thermo-regulation or bitchiness normally associated with severe calorie restriction.

I can't promise that everyone will experience results like this, but this is basically what the food reward hypothesis suggests should be possible, and it seems to work this way for many people.  That's one of the reasons why this idea interests me so much.

Read more »

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insider HAIR TRICK

IF YOU'VE GOT LITTLE ANNOYING HAIRS STICKING UP, 

they’re probably just new hairs growing, baby hairs. 

Flatten them with some lotion, gel or hairspray. If you blow-dry, aim your hairdryer downwards to help stray stands lay low. 

If you colour or bleach your hair, they may be broken hairs in which case you should starting nourishing your hair with a regular conditioning treatment!

{Mana stocks a whole range of conditioning treatments including Davines & Kevin.Murphy!}

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Joining Hands

Joining Hands is a puzzle game that leaves no hand behind! Enter the Whispering Woods and meet the Peablins. They are curious little creatures who share a common belief: hold hands with your friends and the Boogeyman won't take you. This has worked as long as they can remember, so it must be true. Join the Peablins on their quest to find all their siblings and cousins in this adorable drag-and-drop puzzle game!

Game Size 10  MB

OR

OR

OR

Screenshots:

Have fun and feel free to leave your comments!

Recommended for free users: Use Jdownloader to increase download speed!

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Elementary My Dear Majesty

Step into a stunning make-believe world in the first 3D hidden object adventure! The king's daughter has turned into a man-eating monster, and either you find the cure, or it's off with your head! Put your keen powers of observation to work as you search 14 eye-popping locations for clues, perform tasks for a variety of comical characters, and solve over 100 cunning puzzles.
As a detective working at the request of the king, you'll end a pirate mutiny, face a giant dragon, and soar across the galaxy in an alien ship before you learn the truth behind the princess' less than fashionable new look. Each twist of this hilarious tale will take you to another level packed with astonishing details. You'll be able to explore every pretty polygon, too, as you rotate the camera to peek behind bushes, zoom in to watch a shark attack a pair of knights, and control both machines and Mother Nature in an effort to complete tasks.
If you enjoy original and exciting games, Elementary My Dear Majesty is for you! And your whole family. And your friends. And maybe your pet. Play it today, or it's off with your head!

Game Size 156  MB

Screenshots:

Have fun and feel free to leave your comments!

Recommended for free users: Use Jdownloader to increase download speed!

More about → Elementary My Dear Majesty

Midnight Mysteries 4 - Haunted Houdini BETA

New Hidden Object - Adventure Game from Mumbo Jumbo and Big Fish Games.Have Fun!

Beta Closed!Thanks For Playing!

Have fun and feel free to leave your comments!

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Vanilla-Dark Chocolate Mini Cakes

If you love chocolate, then you must have cakes made with ganache for a filling or frosting or both... like these!

What You Need:
Vanilla Cake Recipe*
Chocolate Ganache Recipe
White Chocolate for Drizzling

*I baked one and a half times the recipe of my vanilla cake to make enough batter to fill the 9"x13"x2" pan.
Click Here to Read More>>

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Rich Vanilla Cake Recipe

I spent years, seriously, years, looking for a good scratch vanilla cake recipe. Every one I tried turned out way to heavy. SO frustrating. Finally, about a year or so ago, I came across a recipe for "Fluffy Yellow Cake" in the March 2008 issue of Cook's Illustrated magazine.

The recipe below is my adapted version because theirs is a little more fussy than I like to be in the kitchen. But the basic idea, of whisking the egg whites separately is what makes this cake different from all of the others I tried. It is pretty rich, what with all of the butter and egg yolks, so I wouldn't call it light and fluffy, but it is definitely not a rock!

What You Need:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup corn starch (optional, or just use 2 1/2 cups flour)
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cups sugar (divided)
12 T (1 1/2 sticks) melted butter
1 cup buttermilk (or soured milk)
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
6 eggs (you will use all 6 yolks, but only 3 whites)

Click Here to Read More>>

More about → Rich Vanilla Cake Recipe

Twist - Twist Out - Retwist

Syd has been wearing a LOT of twists lately. It's quickly becoming her signature style. Here's a picture of some medium sized twists she wore last week:

She only wore those twists for one day because we wanted a big, full twist out for our Thanksgiving get together with my family. It was almost painful to remove such pretty twists when they were still looking so good! Luckily, it made for a wonderful looking twist out.

She wore that twist out for two days, but we had to twist her back up because this week is going to be a busy, rainy week and we won't have much time to worry about hair.

Since her twist out was still really defined when I was doing a new set of twists, I decided to let the definition help me out. I simply grabbed each tendril that resulted from the first twists, lightly misted it with just water, and twisted. Her hair still had enough product in it from the first twists, so we didn't have to add any more product.

Each defined section of hair went from this...

...to this!

Since each twist from the first set made two defined tendrils, the second set of twists had twice the number of twists as the first one did. Here was the final result:

These 78 twists (yes, we counted) should definitely get us through the week. Maybe even longer!

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Free Sample Chapters from 50+ New Palgrave Macmillan/BFI Film and TV Books

Professor Jon Lewis of Oregon State University on his BFI Film Classics book on The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972). See the 41 page sample from this book linked to below.

Once again, Film Studies For Free celebrates the fabulous, free, Film and Television Studies book samples available for perusal and download at the Palgrave Macmillan website. 

These are not properly Open Access works, but this blog chooses not to be purist when there are some amazingly generous PDF excerpts -- from soon-to-be as well as recently published works -- available online by scholars of the renown of those listed below. Thanks to the British Film Institute and Palgrave Macmillan! For an earlier list of great, free Palgrave Macmillan/BFI excerpts linked to at FSFF, click here.

• Mark Aldridge, The Birth of British Television: A History and 27 sample pages
• Shakuntala Banaji, Reading 'Bollywood': The Young Audience and Hindi Films and 30 sample pages
• Craig Batty, Movies That Move Us: Screenwriting and the Power of the Protagonist's Journey and 27 sample pages
• Lucy Bolton, Film and Female Consciousness: Irigaray, Cinema and Thinking Women and 16 sample pages
• Matthew Boswell, Holocaust Impiety in Literature, Popular Music and Film and 41 sample pages
• Mark Thornton Burnett and Adrian Streete (eds), Filming and Performing Renaissance History and 29 sample pages
• Havi Carel and Greg Tuck (eds), New Takes in Film-Philosophy and 12 sample pages
• Bryony Dixon, 100 Silent Films and 71 sample pages
• Christine Etherington-Wright and Ruth Doughty, Understanding Film Theory and 32 sample pages 
• Paul Frosh and Amit Pinchevski (eds), Media Witnessing: Testimony in the Age of Mass Communication and 44 sample pages
• Vincent M. Gaine, Existentialism and Social Engagement in the Films of Michael Mann and 19 sample pages
• Lee Grieveson and Colin MacCabe (eds), Empire and Film and 32 sample pages  
• Lee Grieveson and Colin MacCabe (eds), Film and the End of Empire and 25 sample pages
• Asbjørn Grønstad, Screening the Unwatchable: Spaces of Negation in Post-Millennial Art Cinema and 25 sample pages
• Michael Hammond and Michael Williams (eds), British Silent Cinema and the Great War and 24 sample pages
• John Hill, Ken Loach: The Politics of Film and Television and 30 sample pages  
• Jim Hillier and Doug Pye, 100 Film Musicals and 34 sample pages
• Matthew Kerry, The Holiday and British Film and 26 sample pages 
• Elspeth Kydd, The Critical Practice of Film: An Introduction and 31 sample pages
• Neal King, The Passion of the Christ (Controversies series) and 30 sample pages
• Peter Krämer, A Clockwork Orange (Controversies series) and 34 sample pages
• Vivian P.Y. Lee (ed.), East Asian Cinemas: Regional Flows and Global Transformations and 19 sample pages
• Song Hwee Lim and Julian Ward (eds), The Chinese Cinema Book and 21 sample pages
• Fran Mason, Hollywood Detectives: Crime Series in the 1930s and 1940s from the Whodunnit to Hard-boiled Noir and 36 sample pages
• Ernest Mathijs and Xavier Mendik, 100 Cult Films and 37 sample pages
• Ewa Mazierska, European Cinema and Intertextuality: History, Memory and Politics and 34 sample pages
• Kristi McKim, Love in the Time of Cinema and 37 sample pages
• Steven Peacock, Hollywood and Intimacy and 28 sample pages
• Laura Rascaroli and John David Rhodes (eds), Antonioni: Centenary Essays and 27 sample pages
• Sue Short, Cyborg Cinema and 24 sample pages 
• Stevie Simkin, Straw Dogs (Controversies series) and 58 sample pages
• Beverley Skeggs and Helen Wood (eds),  Reality Television and Class and 37 sample pages
• J.E. Smyth (ed.), Hollywood and the American Historical Film and 19 sample pages

BFI Film Classics: 

• Michael Berry, Jia Zhangke's 'Hometown Trilogy': Xiao Wu, Platform, Unknown Pleasures and 12 sample pages
• Will Brooker, Star Wars and 12 sample pages
• John Coldstream, Victim and 12 sample pages 
• John Gill, Far From Heaven and 17 sample pages
• Barry Keith Grant, Invasion of the Bodysnatchers and 8 sample pages
• Amelie Hastie, The Bigamist and 6 sample pages 
• Noah Isenberg, Detour and 14 sample pages
• Julian Jackson, La Grande Illusion and 7 sample pages
• Sarah Kozloff, The Best Years of Our Lives and 18 sample pages
• Peter Krämer, 2001: A Space Odyssey and 6 sample pages
• Jon Lewis, The Godfather and 41 sample pages
• James Naremore, Sweet Smell of Success and 11 sample pages
• John David Rhodes, Meshes of the Afternoon and 5 sample pages
• Amy Sargeant, The Servant and 10 sample pages
• Andrew Shail and Robin Stoate, Back to the Future and 18 sample pages 
• Melvyn Stokes, Gilda and 10 sample pages
• Matthew Tinkcom, Grey Gardens and 22 sample pages
• Catherine Wheatley, Caché (Hidden) and 22 sample pages

More about → Free Sample Chapters from 50+ New Palgrave Macmillan/BFI Film and TV Books

Chocolate-Strawberry Mini Cakes

When I first made this strawberry icing, I said I couldn't wait until I put it on a chocolate cake. Oh boy! I was right. It is so yummy!

And making these into mini-cakes meant I got to have that much more icing on/in each piece. It was really good. I highly recommend it.

What You Need: (to make 12-15 mini cakes)
1 recipe Rich Chocolate Cake
1 recipe Strawberry Buttercream Icing
Chocolate for drizzling
Optional: 
Piping bag & tip #18
Fondant Strawberries for Decoration
1 1/2-2" diameter biscuit cutter
Click Here to Read More>>

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Fondant Strawberries

I have a feeling we will see these cute little strawberries a few times next spring when it's actually strawberry season. They're easy to make, and I think they're just adorable.

And they look great on top of these Chocolate-Strawberry Mini-Cakes

What You Need:
Red Fondant
Green Fondant
Strawberry Flavoring
Powdered Sugar (for dusting surface)
Parchment Paper
Optional:
Gum Paste modeling stick or toothpicks
Small Blossom or Star Cookie or Fondant Cutter
Clear Vanilla and food-safe paintbrush

Click Here to Read More>>

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"Pity we aren't madder": Ken Russell links in his magnificent memory

"I think we've all gone mad" [Jennie Linden as Ursula Brangwen]

"Pity we aren't madder" [Alan Bates as Rupert Birkin] 

 Scene from Women in Love (Ken Russell, 1969)

An extract from one of Ken Russell's very first films, Amelia and the Angel (1958) 

Film Studies For Free was saddened to hear of the death yesterday of the magnificent filmmaker Ken Russell. A monumental passing. But what a cinematic life he lived!

Russell's weirdly, viscerally, brilliant Altered States (1980) was one of the first films genuinely to whet FSFF's author's off-beat cinematic appetite, and his adaptation of Women in Love (excerpted above) and his portraits of Elgar (1962), Delius (1968) and Mahler (1974) are several of her favourite British films.

Below, FSFF has gathered some links to online scholarly studies of Russell's work, and to related  resources. Readers should also check out David Hudson's essential collection of tributes to, and other material about, the British filmmaker for the Mubi Notebook here.

• Ken Russell at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• Savage Messiah – a Ken Russell site by Iain Fisher 

• Complete Filmography and bibliography: Tarek Krohn and Hans J. Wulff (eds), Medienwissenschaft / Hamburg: Berichte und Papiere 110 / 2010: Ken Russell (Hamburg: Hamburg University, 2010
  

• German language book on music in Ken Russell's films: Kieler Beiträge zur Filmmusikforschung, 7, 2011: Musik bei Ken Russell // 3- edited by Frédéric Döhl, Albrecht Riethmüller and Hans Jürgen Wulff

• Michael Adams, 'Ken Russell: Musical Mythmaker', Notes, 66 (September 2009): 143-163
• E. Anna Claydon, 'Masculinity and deviance in British cinema of the 1970s: Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n'Roll in The Wicker Man, Tommy and The Rocky Horror Picture Show', in Newland, P. (ed) Don't Look Now? British Cinema in the 1970s, (Intellect Ltd 2010) pp. 131-142
• Adrian Garvey, 'The Boy Friend', The 1970s Project Conference, 2008
• Sergio Lopez Figueroa, 'The anachronism in film music: a brief introduction on the music for “The Devils” (1971)', 1995
• Barry Keith Grant, 'A British Picture: Portrait of an Enfant Terrible, UK, 1989: Ken Russell', in Grant and Jim Hillier, 100 Documentary Films (London: BFI/Palgrave, 2009) 
• Chris Martin, 'Music in British Films in the 1970s: New Directions', The 1970s Project Conference, 2008 
• John Kenneth Muir, 'On Ken Russell, and Re-Viewing England’s Last Mannerist', JKM, October 10, 2009 
• Donald Phelps, 'Ken Russell's Portraits of Elgar, Delius and Mahler', Rouge, 8, 2006
• David Pomeroy, 'Films: Experiencing Tommy', Theology Today, Vol. 32, No. 3, 1975
• John A. Riley, '[Review of] Kevin M. Flanagan (ed.), Ken Russell: Re-Viewing England's Last Mannerist (London, Toronto and Plymouth: Scarecrow Press, 2009)', Journal of British Cinema and Television, Vol. 7, April 2010
• Donato Totaro and Peter Rist, 'An Interview With Ken Russell and Lisi Tribble~ Rock n' Roller at Heart', Offscreen Journal, April 30, 2011
• Linda Ruth Williams, 'Ken Russell: Sweet Swell Of Excess', Sight and Sound, July 2007
  

Barry Keith Grant, 'The Body Politic: Ken Russell in the 1980s', in Lester D. Friedman (ed.) Fires were started: British cinema and Thatcherism (London: Wallflower Press, 2006)

Kevin M. Flanagan (ed.), Ken Russell: Re-Viewing England's last mannerist (London: Scarecrow Press, 2009)

More about → "Pity we aren't madder": Ken Russell links in his magnificent memory

summer holiday HAIRCARE

THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS ARE PROBABLY THE MOST NOTORIOUS TIME FOR YOUR HAIR....

Here are our  secrets for shiny-super summer- soft hair…

* Give your hair a break from using hot hair tools during the summer months and consider letting your strands air-dry. If you must blow-dry - use a leave-in conditioner designed to protect your hair from heat. 

* Control potential frizzies caused by humidity by wearing your hair up in a knot, bun or braids. 

* Be religious about your having your hair trimmed every 6-8 weeks. When your ends feel frizzy, it means they’re damaged, split or both. 

* Always use products with a SPF protection to protect your hair and scalp when you’re at the beach - or better still, wear a hat. 

* Hair needs to be treated more gently during the summer. Consider switching to a more moisturising shampoo and conditioner. 

* Before you dive into the pool, soak your hair under the shower first to lessen the hair's absorption of chlorine. 

* For sun exposed or sun damaged hair, apply a deep conditioner to damp hair, wrap in plastic wrap before bedtime. Leave on overnight for extra repair and re-moisturising benefits.

Happy holidays!

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More about → summer holiday HAIRCARE

Relaxing Week

So I had last week off from school and from doctors! I didn't do any of the school work I brought home, but I did have some exciting adventures.

Last Sunday Keith and I killed some time on a rainy day by looking at cars. You see, after driving everyday for two weeks to San Francisco, I decided I'd rather be driving an automatic (I never ever would have thought this would happen, but between the traffic and the hills...). After realizing that my golf was still worth quite a bit of $$ we decided we could do it and we bought a car (another golf). The car isn't here yet- the dealer found one in San Diego so it needs to be shipped up...but hopefully I'll pick it up in a couple days.

I thought I'd treat Red to daily trips to one of my favorite off leash dog parks in the area (Point Isabel) during the break. On Monday, I made the mistake of going at low tide and Red went mudding (and got a nice bath afterwards!). On Tuesday, I made sure it wasn't low tide, but just as we rounded the corner to head back to the car he stopped hunting for ground squirrels when he saw a duck out in the water. Off he goes swimming after this duck (completely ignoring me). He swam out so far a concerned crowd was gathering and I was wondering how I was going to explain to Keith that I just watched the dog drown in the bay. Thankfully the duck finally flew out of Red's sight and he turned back to shore (right around this time a curious sea lion poked his head up not too far from Red). Ugh, I am sure I sprouted some new gray hairs from that! Needless to say, Red and I aren't doing any more off leash adventures until we work on recall even with tempting distractions!

Keith and I had a nice Thanksgiving. We ate too much and were pretty lazy. At 9:30pm or so we went for a drive to check out the lines at some of the big box stores nearby. You wouldn't believe (well some of you probably would) the line at Best Buy!! There were people with tents!?! There were also lines at Toys R Us and Target. We didn't do any shopping, just some staring.

Oh, I almost forgot...When I went in for Herceptin on November 18th my port wouldn't give any blood. So after being poked and repoked and assuring the nurse that the saline was indeed going in (I can taste it as soon as they push it in) I headed down to radiology where they did a little investigating and found that the end of the catheter is right up against the wall of the vein. What this means is that they can send things in, but when they try to suck things out they just end up sucking on the wall of the vein. Actually, what this really means is that I need a new port. Not the biggest deal in the world but one more thing that will need to be done eventually. There is no big rush since I'm not on any IV chemo at the moment, but I'll probably try to get it organized before too long. The upside is that I will be getting a bigger port (not good aesthetically), but good in that it can be used for scans.

I hate to say it, but I'm sort of looking forward to getting back to work. A week off means I've had a lot of time for my thoughts to get away from me. I'm worried that after 3 months of no treatment my cancer is roaring back. I'm not a fan of this 4 week wait between radiation and the start of the trial. I know the reality of the matter is that a week or two won't make any real difference in the long term, but it really fucks with your head to know that there is cancer growing inside you and you're not doing anything about it. I should be getting scheduled for a barrage of scans and other tests prior the start of the trial. Just getting that ball rolling will make me feel better. It's strange how much of a difference doing something (even if it isn't a treatment) makes on your state of mind.

More about → Relaxing Week

The Keepers: Lost Progeny Collectors Edition

Track down your real parents in The Keepers: Lost Progeny! After growing up an orphan, a mysterious photo showing your parents arrives! On the back side of the photo is a note with the name of a town, which is where your journey begins. Explore the mysterious town and discover a shocking tale. Are your parents still alive? Why were you separated from them as a child? Find out in The Keepers: Lost Progeny!

Warning – The Keepers: Lost Progeny contains some graphic content and is intended for mature audiences.

Thanks To JDIA

Game Size 1.23  GB

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Screenshots:

Have fun and feel free to leave your comments!

Recommended for free users: Use Jdownloader to increase download speed!

More about → The Keepers: Lost Progeny Collectors Edition