A little fun for Wednesday
Posted in Uncategorized on January 27, 2010 by drewpetrey
Posted in Uncategorized on January 18, 2010 by drewpetrey
Little Medley – Jerry Douglas
Oh, to be able to do this…
Have we come to this?
Posted in Uncategorized on January 12, 2010 by drewpetrey- Some fans say James Cameron’s “Avatar” may have been too real
- “Avatar Forums” has a topic thread discussing depression over “Pandora being intangible”
- Cameron’s movie has pulled in more than $1.4 billion in worldwide box office
(CNN) — James Cameron’s completely immersive spectacle “Avatar” may have been a little too real for some fans who say they have experienced depression and suicidal thoughts after seeing the film because they long to enjoy the beauty of the alien world Pandora.
On the fan forum site “Avatar Forums,” a topic thread entitled “Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of Pandora being intangible,” has received more than 1,000 posts from people experiencing depression and fans trying to help them cope. The topic became so popular last month that forum administrator Philippe Baghdassarian had to create a second thread so people could continue to post their confused feelings about the movie.
“I wasn’t depressed myself. In fact the movie made me happy ,” Baghdassarian said. “But I can understand why it made people depressed. The movie was so beautiful and it showed something we don’t have here on Earth. I think people saw we could be living in a completely different world and that caused them to be depressed.”
A post by a user called Elequin expresses an almost obsessive relationship with the film.
“That’s all I have been doing as of late, searching the Internet for more info about ‘Avatar.’ I guess that helps. It’s so hard I can’t force myself to think that it’s just a movie, and to get over it, that living like the Na’vi will never happen. I think I need a rebound movie,” Elequin posted.
A user named Mike wrote on the fan Web site “Naviblue” that he contemplated suicide after seeing the movie.
“Ever since I went to see ‘Avatar’ I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na’vi made me want to be one of them. I can’t stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film and all of the tears and shivers I got from it,” Mike posted. “I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora and the everything is the same as in ‘Avatar.’ “
Other fans have expressed feelings of disgust with the human race and disengagement with reality.
Cameron’s movie, which has pulled in more than $1.4 billion in worldwide box office sales and could be on track to be the highest grossing film of all time, is set in the future when the Earth’s resources have been pillaged by the human race. A greedy corporation is trying to mine the rare mineral unobtainium from the planet Pandora, which is inhabited by a peace-loving race of 7-foot tall, blue-skinned natives called the Na’vi.
In their race to mine for Pandora’s resources, the humans clash with the Na’vi, leading to casualties on both sides. The world of Pandora is reminiscent of a prehistoric fantasyland, filled with dinosaur-like creatures mixed with the kinds of fauna you may find in the deep reaches of the ocean. Compared with life on Earth, Pandora is a beautiful, glowing utopia.
Ivar Hill posts to the “Avatar” forum page under the name Eltu. He wrote about his post-”Avatar” depression after he first saw the film earlier this month.
“When I woke up this morning after watching Avatar for the first time yesterday, the world seemed … gray. It was like my whole life, everything I’ve done and worked for, lost its meaning,” Hill wrote on the forum. “It just seems so … meaningless. I still don’t really see any reason to keep … doing things at all. I live in a dying world.”
Reached via e-mail in Sweden where he is studying game design, Hill, 17, explained that his feelings of despair made him desperately want to escape reality.
“One can say my depression was twofold: I was depressed because I really wanted to live in Pandora, which seemed like such a perfect place, but I was also depressed and disgusted with the sight of our world, what we have done to Earth. I so much wanted to escape reality,” Hill said.
Cameron’s special effects masterpiece is very lifelike, and the 3-D performance capture and CGI effects essentially allow the viewer to enter the alien world of Pandora for the movie’s 2½-hour running time, which only lends to the separation anxiety some individuals experience when they depart the movie theater.
“Virtual life is not real life and it never will be, but this is the pinnacle of what we can build in a virtual presentation so far,” said Dr. Stephan Quentzel, psychiatrist and Medical Director for the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. “It has taken the best of our technology to create this virtual world and real life will never be as utopian as it seems onscreen. It makes real life seem more imperfect.”
Fans of the movie may find actor Stephen Lang, who plays the villainous Col. Miles Quaritch in the film, an enemy of the Na’vi people and their sacred ground, an unlikely sympathizer. But Lang says he can understand the connection people are feeling with the movie.
“Pandora is a pristine world and there is the synergy between all of the creatures of the planet and I think that strikes a deep chord within people that has a wishfulness and a wistfulness to it,” Lang said. “James Cameron had the technical resources to go along with this incredibly fertile imagination of his and his dream is built out of the same things that other peoples’ dreams are made of.”
The bright side is that for Hill and others like him — who became dissatisfied with their own lives and with our imperfect world after enjoying the fictional creation of James Cameron — becoming a part of a community of like-minded people on an online forum has helped them emerge from the darkness.
“After discussing on the forums for a while now, my depression is beginning to fade away. Having taken a part in many discussions concerning all this has really, really helped me,” Hill said. “Before, I had lost the reason to keep on living — but now it feels like these feelings are gradually being replaced with others.”
Quentzel said creating relationships with others is one of the keys to human happiness, and that even if those connections are occurring online they are better than nothing.
“Obviously there is community building in these forums,” Quentzel said. “It may be technologically different from other community building, but it serves the same purpose.”
Within the fan community, suggestions for battling feelings of depression after seeing the movie include things like playing “Avatar” video games or downloading the movie soundtrack, in addition to encouraging members to relate to other people outside the virtual realm and to seek out positive and constructive activities.
Couldn’t have said it better myself, again…
Posted in Uncategorized on December 8, 2009 by drewpetrey| Job Approval | Approve | Disapprove | Spread |
| Obama | 49.0% | 45.1% | +3.9% |
| Congress | 27.0% | 64.3% | -37.3% |
| Direction of Country | Right Direction | Wrong Track | Spread |
| RCP Average | 36.8% | 58.2% | -21.4% |
Couldn’t have said it better myself…
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Deer, Hunting, Venison on December 3, 2009 by drewpetreyI came across this article in Field and Stream and thought so much of it I wanted to share it with you, my reader. This article gets to the very core of why I hunt. Read on…
You Should Eat It)
Before there was an America, there was America’s meat. The first European explorers in the New World came face to muzzle with astonishing numbers of “stag” that met them just beyond the Atlantic dunes—and they greeted the game early on with blasts from their muskets. Plymouth pilgrims and Wampanoag natives ate venison at the first Thanksgiving, saying grace over the whitetails that staved off starvation. Pioneers, fur trappers, priests—the quest for New World freedoms, riches, and souls was fueled by the flesh of whitetail deer. And long before these settlers arrived, whitetails formed the very sinew and soul and sustenance of the first Americans—Ojibway and Shawnee, Seminole and Creek, Santee and Tuscarora.
I don’t want to overstate the case, but that would be difficult: From the beginning, venison made America. Back in the day, if you wanted to eat, you ate a highly processed form of acorns and persimmons and chestnuts and greenbrier. You ate the very fabric of the forest. You ate deer.
You no longer have to, of course. Your local grocer stocks the flesh and bones of cows, pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese—some of which, praise be, are raised free of chemicals and confinement and are nearly as free to romp and roam as, well, a whitetail deer. Yet despite all of this, some of us still choose to kill a deer, disassemble its limbs, fuss over freezing methods, and trade recipes with hunting buddies like ladies planning a church bazaar.
Why? Because venison is low in fat. Because it can be obtained relatively cheaply. Because it is free of the pharmacological stew of growth hormones, antibiotics, and antifungals fed or injected into commercial livestock. Because venison resonates with the current slow-food movement, and locavorism, the hip new mantra of community-based consumption that short-circuits the burning of fossil fuels. Eat a deer, save the planet.
But there’s more to venison than a mouthful of healthy protein. There are qualities to deer meat that can only resonate with the person who’s shopped for groceries with a finger on the trigger. Killing a deer is a kind of acceptance of the interconnectedness of life. Dragging a deer from the woods is sweaty work, but work salted with the knowledge that your family will say grace over your efforts for a year or better. And sitting down to a venison supper brings it all back—the shot and the sweat, sure. But also the wet smell of dawn in the woods, the crunch of frost underfoot, the bobcat dozing in the sunlight at the base of your tree. Good seasonings, those.
Some of the best chefs in America understand this innate connection between whitetail deer, the wild places where they live, and the plate. Even nonhunting chefs share the satisfaction gained from gathering one’s own food. And they certainly understand that, for all its positive attributes, venison’s taste just might trump them all. That’s why the five chefs we’ve featured here serve venison from their own kitchens. And that’s why they’ve agreed to share their best venison recipes with us.
So forget apple pie. There is no food more fundamental to this nation than a haunch of deer.
Time for turkey and thanks…
Posted in Uncategorized on November 25, 2009 by drewpetreyHappy Thanksgiving to all… Heres just a few things I’m thankful for…Enjoy!
My Dad…
Evie Ruth…
Mary Frances…
The boy Ward…
My sweet Franny, she’s the one on the right…
The mountains we call home…
My Mamaw, again, the one on the right…
My Momma, on the left…
App Football…
Dustin, my cool brother…
my sister Molly…
And really big deer…
Happy Thanksgiving yall…
Don’t you just love how girls look up to this…
Posted in Uncategorized on November 17, 2009 by drewpetreyI found this little quote today while browsing the web, I thought it was very special. I never have cared much for Kirsten Dunce Dunst but this confirms it. Sadly, this is the way most of these uber elitist think…
A quote from her about her recent cross-country trip:
“After we were done, I was like, ‘Wow, America is so poor.’ You don’t think about it. Just the towns you come across—all that’s there are restaurants and gas stations. There are beautiful stretches of pasture, but for the most part, people live simply. The East and West Coast are so different from the rest of America.”
Yes Ms. Dunst, we do live simply and we like it that way.
And this…
Posted in Uncategorized on November 14, 2009 by drewpetreySeptember 11 suspects to be tried in New York
Fri Nov 13, 2009 5:11pm EST Email | Print | Share| Reprints | Single Page[-] Text [+]
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9/11 suspects to be tried in NY
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Obama: 9/11 suspect to face justice
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FACTBOX: Ten Guantanamo prisoners to face charges
12:48pm EST
FACTBOX: Current population at U.S. prison at Guantanamo
11:18am EST
Obama says will insist on justice for 9/11 suspect
7:26am EST
Q+A: US takes steps to close Guantanamo Bay prison
7:58am ESTBy Jeremy Pelofsky and James Vicini
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The accused mastermind of the September 11 attacks and four co-conspirators will be sent to New York for trial in a court near the site of the World Trade Center, the Obama administration said on Friday, as it took a step toward closing the Guantanamo Bay prison.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the others had been facing military commission trials at the U.S. naval base in Cuba, but U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to close the prison.
Civil liberties advocates hailed the decision to transfer the men to criminal courts but Republicans lashed out, arguing that bringing them to U.S. soil could make New York a magnet for new attacks and that the men deserved military trials.
Obama’s decision opened him to risks — should the prosecutions fail, or if it prompts further attacks, it could anger the victims’ families and prompt a public backlash.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder expressed confidence that the cases were strong and said the trials would not be impaired by the harsh interrogations of Mohammed and others.
“I am confident in the ability of our courts to provide these defendants a fair trial, just as they have for over 200 years,” Holder told reporters. “I am quite confident that the outcomes in these cases will be successful ones.”
Obama has promised to close Guantanamo by January 22, saying that it has become a recruiting symbol for anti-American groups and it has tarnished the U.S. reputation because of allegations of prisoner mistreatment.
In New York, some people were angry at the prospect of the men coming to a city traumatized by the hijacked-plane attacks eight years ago but others voiced relief that justice may soon be done.
Holder said that he would authorize prosecutors to seek the death penalty against the five defendants, who will be tried together in New York. The others are Walid bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed al Hawsawi.
JUSTICE FOR HIJACKERS
There are still 215 prisoners at Guantanamo. The Obama administration has been trying to find countries willing to take detainees who have been cleared of terrorism connections.
Congress, with support from Obama’s fellow Democrats who have backed closing the prison, barred releasing detainees into the United States.
Holder on Friday repeated earlier statements that it would be difficult to meet the January deadline.
The Justice Department also said that five other Guantanamo prisoners, including the alleged mastermind of a 2000 attack on the USS Cole warship in Yemen, Abd al-Rahim al Nashiri, and a young Canadian, Omar Khadr, accused of killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan, would be tried in revamped military tribunals.
In an interview with public television’s “The NewsHour”, Holder said he expected to decide in the next two weeks which other detainees will be tried in criminal or military courts.
Civil liberties advocates hailed Friday’s decision.
“Bringing these men to justice in a legitimate system will allow the world to focus at long last on the atrocities they are accused of committing against us, rather than on how we have treated them,” said Tom Malinowski of Human Rights Watch.
Republican Senator John McCain, who lost to Obama in the 2008 presidential election but also supports closing Guantanamo, condemned the decision, arguing that military tribunals were the best venue for the terrorism suspects.
“They are war criminals, who committed acts of war against our citizens and those of dozens of other nations,” he said.
The five September 11 suspects are unlikely to be moved until January because the administration must give Congress 45 days notice and alert state and local officials. Once in New York they will be held in a federal detention facility.
JAN 22 CLOSURE DEADLINE AT RISK
Potentially complicating the case is that while Mohammed was in U.S. custody before being brought to Guantanamo, he was subjected 183 times to “waterboarding,” which simulates drowning by pouring water over the face while restrained.
Any confessions or other information gleaned through torture could probably not be used during trial. In many other Guantanamo cases, judges have barred such evidence. But Holder said other evidence was available for prosecutors.
In addition to claiming responsibility for the September 11 attacks, Mohammed has said he carried out other attacks and in 2002 beheaded kidnapped Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan.
“I am absolutely convinced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be subject to the most exacting demands of justice,” Obama said in Tokyo during a trip through Asia.
Holder said in the public television interview that he did not consult Obama about the decision but merely informed him.
He told reporters the New York trial would take place at a court a few blocks from where the World Trade Center twin towers stood before they were felled by hijacked planes. Almost 3,000 people in New York, Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon were killed in the attacks.
“It is fitting that 9/11 suspects face justice near the World Trade Center site where so many New Yorkers were murdered,” said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The decisions about the terrorism suspects came as Obama’s top lawyer, Gregory Craig, who was charged with leading the White House’s troubled effort to close Guantanamo, announced his resignation on Friday.
(Additional reporting by Caren Bohan in Tokyo and Michelle Nichols in New York, Editing by Arshad Mohammed and David Storey)
