text: Born September 19, 1958 in London, Lita Ford came to America as a very young child. Early in her life, at the age of eleven, she began playing the guitar and taking interest in music along the lines of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Sweet. At the age of sixteen she joined The Runaways. A project developed by long time rock producer and songwriter Kim Fowley, The Runaways were a group of teenage girls with attitude... the musical embodiment of angst. Fowley had chosen well, as the personas of Lita Ford, Joan Jett and Cherie Currie mixed well enough to produce a modicum of success.
  Of course, Joan Jett would go on to be the true success story to blossom out of The Runaways, but Lita Ford did not exactly fade into the shadows. In 1983, Lita would release her first solo effort, Out For Blood. The fact that she was wearing little more than a guitar and a black leather teddy on the cover helped set up her image as more centered on being the subject of heavy metal fantasies than a serious musician, songwriter and artist. That may or may not have been unfortunate.
  An openly sexual image paired with subtle feminism in her lyrics made Lita Ford into an enigma. At the same time, Lita's transition from The Runaways to her solo career was not exactly smooth. Her desire for success in a musical career led to years of vocal training while working odd jobs including pumping gas. This led her to be willing to do whatever it took to launch her career. Singing and playing the guitar was all that mattered.
  Lita Ford's second solo album, Dancin' on the Edge began bringing her acclaim for her musical talent, but the songwriting was widely noted as less than adequate. She would wear pants and longsleeves on the cover, which in 1984 may have caused people walking past the record bins to wonder if she was a she or if this was another of the make-up wearing hair bands of the time.
  It would be 1988 before Lita Ford scored her breakthrough album. Lita would contain the song by which Lita is best known, perhaps the most lyrically grating tune of all times, Kiss Me Deadly as well as her duet with Ozzy Osbourne, Close My Eyes Forever. Oddly enough, Ford co-wrote Close My Eyes Forever with Osbourne and it became the first top ten single for either artist. Kiss Me Deadly was not written by Lita Ford, which means she actually paid someone to write those lyrics.
  Lita Ford would engage in a brief marriage to Chris Holmes, the guitarist for W.A.S.P. which might as well have been a red flag on future commercial success. In 1990 she released Stiletto, which may have been her most palatable album (I listened to this album accidently one night - drugs were involved). It also may be her classiest album cover. The following year she would release Dangerous Curves which went back to having a full body shot of her on the cover (look, for your information, Lita Ford album covers are an important part of any study of her career). Most reviews of the album said it was a decent offering with solid material but nothing worthy of jumping up and down about.
  Failing to capture any commercial success with her work since Lita, Ford was left without a recording label and signed on with an independent label for a last ditch effort, 1995's Black which faded long before it was ever born. Her last known recording, it is said to have been another decent but simply uninspiring offering.
  So, you may be wondering, what has happened to Lita Ford since 1995. Are their any records of her travels since then? Well, VH-1 named her #89 on the Greatest Artists of Hard Rock (for perspective, Spinal Tap finished higher). She is married now to someone named "Jim" (or at least was in 2001). Spies report she is living in Panama City Beach, Florida, and is still married and keeping a low profile there. She released a live album and a fairly, ehem, comprehensive "Best Of" collection. She has been doing some specials with The Runaways without Joan Jett and basically letting the sun come down on a career that maybe never peaked. Unless of course she has some sort of introspective comeback on the horizon. These days, one never knows.
  His name first graced the shelves of my bookcase during sixth grade, accumulated and slid outward through the A section, pushing Isaac Asimov and Alan Dean Foster steadily to the right. His books are fun, quick, light, and addictive, SF stories that melt in your mouth, not in your hand, that give you the impression not of reading, but lazily watching the insuing scene. They're usually underprepared, with scads of scenes that Don't Work As Intended, but Anthony's full-immersion worlds kidnap your disbelief and keep it forcibly suspended against your will; it's difficult to notice the seams unless you're looking for them.
  This particular book centers on Fisk Centers, taking us through a few years of his life, from his retired bachelorhood to bankruptcy to various amusing jobs. Along the way he acquires an adopted daughter and a few dollars, and loses a bit of naiveté. It is a stand-alone book, by the way, which is a bit of a surprise in Anthony’s sequel-crazed universe, and it measures up to expectations.
  As the story begins, Centers has just received a call from a salesman. The sale? Martian real estate. Through a bit of trickery, he is persuaded to buy into the scheme, and promptly goes bankrupt.
  (It is here that Piers Anthony's proclivity for detail shines through most brightly -- Centers normally wears a disposable suit produced each day by a household appliance, but as he cannot pay the bill, he is stranded, naked, in his apartment.)
  He signs up for the only job he can get, an adoption trader on the black market, and ends up, through a series of coincidences and to save his legal hide, adopting Yola, an 8-year-old girl.
  Centers then progresses though escapade after moderately interesting escapade. A few of these are laid out on the back cover, separated by lines.
  And now you know the plot, as they say on Animaniacs. Much as that TV series revolved around the Warner brothers (and the Warner sister, Dot) repeatedly struggling to escape capture, this book revolves for the most part around episodes, not a unified storyline, and here its weakness lies: There is simply not enough connecting the disparate sections. Certainly, many of them involve similar events, but if you rearranged the middle three chapters (the book has only six), it would be just as entertaining, make just as much sense.
  In short, this is not a good book by any serious critical definition. It has no true plot, only slight character development, and a theme that barely plays a role. The science, though imaginative, streamlined, and written up with a practiced flair, is a little out of date and not particularly convincing. A chapter or two bog down in intricate legal manuverings. There is no denying that it is fun to read, though; quick, easy and fun.
  If you are looking for emotion, for literature, for ice-clear characters, for words that mingle with your mind and a story that changes it, look elsewhere. If you have few hours to kill and want to turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream, then look no further.
  Saint Gabriel Possenti Why can't Starbucks sell "small," "medium," and "large" drinks? Funeral Quest Beethoven's "Political" Works Part II: What a Sellout!
  Visual kei is a style of stage appearance that used to go hand-in-hand with J-rock, but now seems to have crossed somewhat to J-pop as well. The style includes crazy hair (not giant fro crazy, more like spiked and colored, think Wayne Static of Static-X with red or blue hair), goth or androgynous clothing, and elaborate makeup.
  Now, of course, not all visual kei bands will have all these traits. And don't go comparing them to KISS, if you need a name under an American label to compare it to, think more along the lines of Marilyn Manson or Switchblade Symphony. Some bands that were or are visual kei include X Japan, Dir en Grey, L'arc~en~Ciel, Luna Sea and Malice Mizer. If you're still confused just do a Google image search for one of the bands listed above.
  Most horror movies have a sub-standard plot. You don't watch them for high drama, you watch them to see some guy get his face eaten by the monster of the week. Werewolf is no exception to this rule; indeed, it serves as a benchmark for how little plot can be spread in a little more than an hour and a half of film. In addition to a poor plot, the movie is plagued by poor lighting, poor set design, poor cinematography, and poor acting. About the only redeeming quality of the movie is the costume design for the monsters, but that doesn't save the movie from being absolutely dreadful.
  The plot, as much as there is one, is that an archaeological dig in Arizona has discovered an unusual find, that of a Werewolf's skeleton. Shortly thereafter, a fist fight breaks out, and one of the dig assistants falls on, and is cut by the werewolf skeleton. He promptly falls ill and is hospitalized. That night, he becomes a werewolf, attacks several hospital employees, and runs off into the night. Shortly thereafter, he is brought down with silver shotgun shells; Big 5 must have been out of the standard silver bullets that day.
  Seeing all the havoc the werewolf did, Yuri, the man in charge of the dig, decides to inject one of the security guards with the blood of the dig worker, turning the guard into a werewolf as well. The guard is promptly killed in a fiery car crash, and thus, doesn't get to go on a killing spree like all good werewolves should be able to do. As a result, Yuri is upset that he doesn't get to watch the carnage.
  Enter our hero Paul. After being asked by Natalie, another person working the archaeological dig, to look at the werewolf skeleton, he heads to the lab where the skeleton is being held and examines the artifact. While examining the skeleton, he is attacked by Yuri, who wants as few people as possible to know about the existence of the skeleton. In the ensuing fist fight, Yuri removes the skull from the presumably priceless skeleton, and uses it to deliver a nasty cut to Paul. Due to this injury, Paul becomes a werewolf later that night.
  As werewolves tend to do, Paul goes on a bloody rampage, killing the movie's nameless token well-endowed female. Feeling frightened at his actions, he hides himself in a corner of his house. Yuri discovers this, and goes off to capture Paul in the hopes of publicly displaying him and becoming very wealthy. In the ensuing fight, Yuri is killed. The film ends with Paul back at his house with Natalie, kissing. As Natalie turns to face the camera, we see that she too must have been attacked somewhere along the line, for she is showing those tell-tale signs of being a werewolf.
  As far as the mechanics of the film go, they are as bad as the plot. There are scenes which have nothing to do with the film, awful lighting, awful sound, awful dialogue, and awful sets. Most horror movies have dimly lit rooms and shadowy figures, but Werewolf takes these two staples too far, and one finds themself squinting to see what's going on in the film, even when there is no need for the suspense dim lighting brings. Additionally, it's clear that there was very little budget for sets in the movie. The two most prominent examples of this are a scene which is supposedly in a hospital room looks like it was done in someone's house, and another scene is supposedly in a tent, but no tent I know of has wood paneling and drywall. About fifteen minutes into watching the film, one realizes that the entire movie has about as much production value as the typical high school play, maybe even less than that. Because of all the cheesy production, it's almost unfortunate that the makeup effects are so good.
  Simply put, the makeup effects, which are the bread and butter of any horror movie, are the best thing in this movie. Indeed, they are as good, if not better, than those found in any big budget horror film. They look fairly realistic, not like the cheap rubber masks found in most horror films from the fifties and sixties. The actors obviously had a lot of practice working with the latex, as the facial movements are top notch, pretty much what you'd expect a werewolf's facial expressions to look like. It's simply a shame that such good latex had to be sacrificed on such a bad movie, as there have been a lot of decent werewolf movies brought down by simply horrendous costume design.
  As with any bad movie, this film is best enjoyed with lots of friends and your favorite ceremonial substances. There are several scenes which are laughably bad, lots of opportunities for wisecracks. Just don't try to understand it, because there truly is nothing underneath the latex of the werewolf masks. If you're an aficionado of bad movies, you'll love this one, anyone else should run away from this one, as it's just plain awful.
  I am back! After a good month or so without any post or any tips I can only apologise for my behaviour, especially over a Christmas period that saw some cracking racing in particular Thistlecrack absolutely destroying Cue Card in the King George get in! So due to my lack of activity i’ll give my predictions for races at both Ascot and Haydock this weekend. (Bearing in mind im doing this on Thursday night so there maybe non runners etc..). Starting off at Ascot in the 12.40 it’s a Class 3 Juvenile Hurdle with ten set to go at this moment in time, and of that ten my fancy is the Paul Nicholls trained Dolos. Rated 136 he’s rated quite higher than the rest of these and with form of ‘3133’ I fancy him to be there or thereabouts, again because i’m doing this on Thursday there aren’t any prices up so he could be anything. Next up the 1.15 is another Class 3 however this time a Handicap Chase for the amateurs and my fancy in this is Colin’s Brother for Nigel Twiston-Davies, his two starts this season have seen him winning by both 5 lengths and 14 lengths and I don’t him stopping for anything here either, should be in the frame at least. Big race up next in the Grade 2 Mares Hurdle which I believe was won by Vroum Vroum Mag last year in very good fashion. Mullins sends Whiteout here this year in an attempt to emulate last years success, Whiteout trades at around 11/4 however her form is very hit and miss to say the least following her Punchestown success over Limini. Therefore I can’t really see pass the favourite Kotkikova, the Nicky Henderson trained mare heads the market at around 11/8 and is certainly the one to beat. Grade 3 Handicap Hurdle next and there’s a shed pile of runners down to go in this at the moment so my pick for this probably won’t even go but nevertheless my fancy is the Harry Fry trained Drumcliff, second in his last two starts he’s on a very handy mark which he could use to advantage to take this or at least get in the placings. Its the big one next, The Clarence House, headed by Willie Mullins’ Un De Sceaux at around 4/6, this race is really stressing me out as I love Un De Sceaux even if his jumping didn’t help my current grey hair issue in the Tingle Creek last time that being said I will still be backing him at a short price but there’s part of me that thinks Ar Mad might get the better of him here. I hope this isn’t the case, as like I said I will be on Un De Sceaux with probably a fairly large amount too. If something goes seriously wrong with the first two Top Gamble could be a good each way price at 14/1 with Davy Russell on board. The 3.35 Bet 365 Handicap Chase next is another one that I havent got a clue who’s going to go and who isn’t, Bristol De Mai is still down in this and is the favourite for the Peter Marsh at Haydock. But with me being the great guy that I am, i’ll choose a selection from whats here and i’m going with the Evan Williams trained On Tour. Some decent placings this term and looks well in on the weights to go well again, Paul Moloney on board. Over to Haydock now and i’ll go straight to the 1.30 as the first race has about 200 runners in it who are guaranteed to go. So in the 1.30, again I haven’t got any betting to go off so this one might be a daft price but I think it’s surely Le Prezien’s to lose if he goes in it, however it’s looking like Nicholls will be running Politolouge as Twiston Davies is down to ride him. He was very impressive when beating Rock The Kasbah at Ascot back in December and will be very hard to beat here. Next race the 2.05 the Grade 2 Supreme Trial, and is headed by top weight Elgin trading at around 15/8, he’s in great form and has every chance to go well again but my choice for this is the Harry Fry trained Neon Wolf, unbeaten in his first three starts and I fancy him to extent that, trades at around 7/2 with Noel Fehily on board. Champion Hurdle trial next and it looks by the betting a two horse race with L’ami Serge trading at 6/4 and The New One at 7/4. The New One has my backing to take this though, I think he’s better than all of these on his day. Irving could be a good price at 5/1 following his impressive Fighting Fifth victory. The Peter Marsh is next, and is headed by another Colin Tizzard prospect in Alary trading at around 100/30 he could give Colin another big race victory. However my fancy is a favourite of mine in Bristol De Mai, he will be go from the front i’d say and has never been out of the frame in his career. A very decent price at 4/1 and will have my full support to take this. Otago Trail is a good price at around 12/1 and got the better of Bristol De Mai last time out.
  I’ve been grocery shopping since I was a teenager. As my mom’s real estate career took off and she had to work late at times, my dad, my sister and I became very domestic. Dad learned to cook, I started reading cookbooks, and Katherine and I did all the shopping. When my dad decided to teach himself to cook, he went all out. He didn’t have any interest in making french toast for supper or making a killer spaghetti and meatballs. No, he decided to cook the dishes he likes to order in a restaurant, so it was Veal Oscar and Lamb Chops with Pesto Cream for us! He also came up with some dishes, and my sister and I made the list for those meals and all the other stuff in between. Armed with that list and a blank check, we’d hit the Irmo Winn Dixie and shop away. Interestingly enough, even though we had a blank check with us, we became meticulous label readers and comparison shoppers. Each week we would come home and unload all the bags onto the counter so we could visually survey just how much we’d been able to buy for “our” money. I can’t put into words how valuable and educational this experience was for us. And it carried us into, and has remained with us through, our adulthood. Just the other day, I saw just how much that experience had taught me.
  I needed cayenne pepper. As I often do, I stood in front of the spice area in the store and started scanning the shelves from top to bottom. I’ve known for a long time now that this is an area of HUGE profit in the grocery biz. Most people arrive at the spices, spot what they need, conveniently right at eye level, pick it up, toss it in the basket and off they go. NO! BACK UP! YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG! That’s exactly what “they” want you to do!
  Packaged herbs and spices are one of the biggest rackets in the grocery industry. If you’ve ever grown herbs yourself, you know how little it costs. Most major grocery chains have their own private label, which I truly believe, comes from the same place as the brand name spices. For the most part, they carry the usual suspects (basil, oregano, sage, garlic powder, etc.) and some of the more interesting and special herbs and spices. Then, there are the pretty little glass jars that attract most people’s attention. They look much prettier than the grocery store brand, and they are much more interesting than the old school ones that are still in the little metal canisters that we all remember from the 60’s & 70’s. I imagine it being like that scene in “Finding Nemo” when Marlin & Dory happen across the spooky, terrifying fish with the hypnotic light on the end of its antennae…it’s so pretty. So, most folks see the pretty little bottles, grab that cayenne and continue on without a second thought.
  If you continue scanning those shelves, like I did the other day, you may find some pleasant surprises. In this case, I wanted cayenne pepper. The little glass jar of pepper (at eye level) was $4.49. Just one shelf down (about hip level) was Zatarain’s cayenne for $1.49. Same number of ounces, same ingredient, different shelf, dramatically different price. See, that’s what “they” are banking on. They have studied our nature and know that most people will spot what they seek, grab it and go. But, seriously, a $3.00 difference? It’s simple robbery on the spice route!
  Look one shelf down and you’ll encounter the special blends such as Cajun spice, blackening spice, or Creole spice. The price tag is offensive to me. Read the label and you’ll probably find that you have all those spices at home in your cabinet right now. You don’t need a sketch of Prudhomme on the label to make it authentic. But, the advertising and marketing geniuses are betting that you either don’t know this or are too lazy to mix up your own stuff.
  Ok, I have one concession to this rant. Maybe you (I, we, they) are simply too busy or just not inclined to spend this time or attention to this matter. No big deal. Do your own thing, ride your own ride. But, if you’re like me most of the time, you want to find the true value, the true deal and spend an honest buck. If that’s you, devote about 5-10 minutes to really check out your grocery store’s herb/spice aisle. You may be surprised and enlightened by what you discover.
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