Q: I just found that my boyfriend is in fact a werewolf. However, I’ve got an issue with, err, zoophilia. And tomorrow will be full moon, and we have already planned a romantic dinner with candles and some French wine. I don´t want to hurt his feelings, but figure it might be best to back out. What do you think?
A: Sigh. Werewolves can be soooo inconsiderate. I mean, really, planning a romantic dinner during a full moon? What was he thinking? The bigger question you might want to ask is, were you the actual dinner? Perhaps you can cancel this time, then coordinate your future dates around his “time of the month” and have your own girls night out when he is in full wolf-mode. Personally, I would stick to dating humans. They are less hairy, smelly, and most important…they actually exist!
For years, George Lucas has said that he wanted to pass along the Star Wars franchise to a new generation of fans, and with a $4 billion sale he’s done just that.
Lucas, who was the 100-percent sole owner of Lucasfilm, sold the property to Disney on Tuesday for a reported $4 billion sale price. Half of the transaction will be paid to Lucas in cash, with the other half coming in the form of 40 million shares of stock.
The purchase of Lucasfilm will also ensure a new Star Wars movie currently titled “Episode 7” will make it into theaters in 2015.
Current Lucasfilm co-chairman Kathleen Kennedy will now become Lucasfilm President, reporting directly to Disney head Alan Horn. Kennedy will also oversee the Star Wars franchise, and along with George Lucas, will begin immediate development on Star Wars: Episode 7. This will be the first major Star Wars film in theaters since Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, which was released in 2005.
“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next,” said George Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm via press release. “It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime.
“I’m confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney’s reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products.”
Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm adds onto its already impressive list of companies already under the corporation’s control. Over the last few years, Disney has purchased Marvel Comics and Pixar Films, and now Lucasfilm joins the family as well.
Disney executives announced on a conference call with media that following the release of Star Wars: Episode 7, they will continue with episodes 8 and 9, with plans in place to release a new Star Wars film “every 2 to 3 years” after that. Executives stated that Episode 8 will likely land in theaters in 2017, followed by Episode 9 in 2019.
The purchase also includes the entire Indiana Jones franchise, Industrial Light and Magic, and Skywalker Sound. Disney also announced that the Star Wars franchise will become an integral part of their theme parks world wide.
But fans are no doubt wondering, will this move introduce a new generation to a rebranded and reinvigorated version of Star Wars or will the franchise be watered down with new films that ruin the legacy of the original trilogy and the iconic status of the sci-fi legend?
“You have to know who you are and where you are at all times and never lose track of that.” – Queen Latifah
After Will Smith, Queen Latifah is the only person to have crossed so successfully from hip-hop into movies and television. Even though Queen received her first Oscar nomination for her performance in 2002’s Chicago, she still hasn’t forgotten her music or comedy roots. Her next album is being released this month, her next big budget movie is Taxi with Jimmy Fallon, and her latest is a film she produced herself, The Cookout.
In the movie, Farmageddon…The Unseen War on American Family Farms, one of the stories covered was of a raid that occurred in Venice, CA, at a private food buying club called Rawesome. Whenever I was lucky enough to be in the vicinity and able to visit this club, it was like being a kid in a candy store…or, well, a raw foods lover in a raw foods store!
I was able to buy raw dairy products such as grass fed yogurt, butter, cream, cheese, and raw chocolate mousse – is that dairy? Raw meat and homemade delicacies such as ceviche and marinated raw meat salads were also available, along with salad dressings, pure olive and other freshly made oils, and a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and fermented drinks…all organic and raw.
This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for me it was pure bliss. I was filming during one visit, and had the pleasure of having people come up to me to tell me their raw food healing stories. I heard many first person accounts of how the symptoms of diseases such as MS, Parkinson’s, cancer, arthritis, and other conditions, were alleviated greatly by a raw food diet.
Unfortunately, the FDA does not like stories of people being healed from food, and they don’t like raw foods in general. In the case of Rawesome Foods, multiple agencies (both local and federal) raided it three times. The last time, it was closed down. One of the club’s many suppliers, Sharon Palmer (a farmer who had provided raw goat milk for a time), the manager, James Stewart, and a Weston A Price Chapter leader, Victoria Bloch (who volunteered for Sharon), were all charged with multiple felonies. There were no actual felonies in the case, however, all three were charged with conspiring together to commit misdemeanor level offenses, which magically turned the charges into felonies.
[The Rawesome 3: Felonious Fresh Milk Dealers]
Thirteen months later, just before their preliminary hearing, Victoria Bloch and Sharon Palmer were both offered plea deals, which they accepted. Victoria pled guilty to one misdemeanor count of selling unlabeled milk and accepted a $100 fine and two years’ summary probation. Sharon Palmer pled guilty to one misdemeanor count of storing milk in unsanitary conditions, since on the day she was raided she was milking her goats to feed her livestock (Rawesome had picked up their milk up a day earlier). She received a $1,300 fine, 40 hours of community service, and three years’ summary probation. Both Victoria and Sharon would have preferred to have taken this case to a jury trial. But unfortunately, neither had the money to cover the high cost of defending themselves in a trial that would have lasted at least two weeks, perhaps more. James is still in jail, as he was considered a flight risk, and is awaiting either trial or the opportunity to plead out of the case.
There is still a separate Ventura County case awaiting both James and Sharon. And there is a change.org petition to set them free that was written by a Rawesome Foods club member. I fear that the Rawesome community has been torn apart by these circumstances. No one ever became sick from foods they had gotten at Rawesome Foods. Certainly, nobody ever complained about having access to some of the freshest, most delicious foods available. And nobody ever complained about the fresh goats milk Sharon provided to the club, as well as to a few of her own farm’s CSA members. On the contrary, I met happy, vibrant, healthy people who enjoyed the foods they sourced from these two wonderful people.
If you would like to learn more or help, please read and sign the Change.org petition.
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Meadowsweet Farm, Lodi, NY
Steve and Barbara Smith, farmers in upstate New York were raided and shut down by New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets for their private buying club that provided raw milk, yogurt and cheese to many happy customers.
They went to court after the shutdown, and hoped a judge would find that the Department of Agriculture & Markets did not have authority over their private buying club. Unfortunately, the judge ruled against them, and said that the Department of Agriculture & Markets did have authority to shut down their LLC.
They were therefore forced to dissolve their club. They then sold the entire herd to the former members of the club. Currently, Steve and Barbara are under contract with the owners of the herd to milk and maintain the herd for them. They have had this herd share for two years now and they have a waitlist of people that would like to join in on purchasing a share. Unfortunately it is very difficult to obtain raw milk, so farms that supply it often have long waiting lists of customers.
In New York, as in every state except Wisconsin, it is legal to drink milk from your own cow and since the members own the cows, hopefully the Department of Agriculture & Markets willrespect that and leave them alone from now on.
The demand for raw dairy products is not going to go away, so hopefully more farms and farmers like Meadowsweet will pop up! We are thinking of the Smith family and their farm as the drought hit them hard and they had to sell off their beef herd in order to have enough hay to keep the dairy going through the winter.
Q. I’m 27, and I haven’t had sex. Apparently, this is noteworthy and some kind of BFD. I’m not religious. I’m not waiting for marriage. I just haven’t found someone I like and trust enough. When I was younger, my first serious boyfriend did not treat me well, which included some incidents that, looking back, were assaults, though not rape. So I think it’s understandable that after that, I’m not looking to care about someone, have sex with them, and then be treated badly. I’d rather get to know someone first, before getting naked and making myself even more vulnerable. I’d rather feel safe that that isn’t going to happen again.
I’d actually really like to be having sex, and I’ve wanted to for some time. But I can’t seem to find anyone I’m attracted to, who is also attracted to me, who’s cool with not stripping down immediately. I’ve dated several guys in the last couple of years, but when they want to have sex and I say I’d like to wait, they lose interest. No, I don’t explain my past experience, because I don’t believe I am obligated to give a good enough reason to postpone sex. A good enough reason should be, “I don’t want to yet.” I also shouldn’t have to fall all over myself reassuring them that yes, I will have sex with them at some point in the future, as if they’d otherwise be wasting their time dating me.
I haven’t had success meeting anyone at work or in my grad school classes, or anywhere else. I’ve asked friends, and no one knows anyone to set me up with. So my dating has primarily been guys I meet on online dating websites. Is there some hidden, untapped market for non-religious, smart, funny, feminist guys who don’t think you’re a nutjob if you don’t want bone them before you even know them very well? If so, please share, or tell me what the heck I’m doing wrong here.
Signed,
Ladypants.
A: Hi Ladypants,
First of all, I’m so sorry to hear you are a victim of assault; it’s a terrible ordeal that no one should have to go through once, let alone multiple times. Given your past experiences I understand why you are so cautious of trusting others, and you have every right to feel this way.
However communication is key in building a strong, trusting relationship, and it has to go both ways. Your personal information is your business, but I think it will be healthier for everyone involved if you are a little more forward in regards to your expectations of the relationship from the beginning. It’s possible to say: “I’m very interested in you, I would like to get to know you more, and I’m definitely physically attracted to you. But due to some past negative experiences, I would like to wait to have sex.” Be direct and honest, because a little bit of honesty and openness goes a long way towards building trust.
And while you shouldn’t fall all over yourself to reassure someone, I don’t think it’s unfair to have multiple discussions on the topic, because you’re not the only person in the relationship. It’s important to for the other person to respect your feelings, but you also need to remember to respect their feelings as well.
As for the sex issue, if you want to wait for the “perfect moment” that’s totally cool, but sometimes you can miss quite a few good opportunities that way. Ultimately you need to take your time, and do what’s right for you. Just remember that communication is key, and that it takes two people to make a relationship successful.
“I think we all have been underestimated and manipulated to some extent.”
– Neve Campbell
Neve Campbell has become an old favorite of SuicideGirls since I spoke to her last year for her movie The Company. Well now Neve is back in When Will I Be Loved. A sexually charged role for that genius of a pervert James Toback, the writer/director of such films as The Pick-up Artist and Two Girls and a Guy.
Neve Campbell plays Vera, a femme fatale for the 21st century, a beautiful, capricious young woman exploring the limits of her sexual and intellectual power. Her boyfriend Ford [Frederick Weller] is a fast-talking hustler prepared to do anything to make a buck. He sees his chance to make big money when he meets aging Italian media mogul Count Tommaso [Dominic Chianese] and cooks up an idea to pimp Vera out to the Count for $100,000 — easy money. Everything appears to be going even better than planned but the men have gravely underestimated Vera.
