Entertainment - Latest News, Photos And Videos

By Thien-Kim Lam

The only wine we had was a bottle of cheap Pinot Noir that was a holiday gift from my husband's boss. It was disgusting, but my husband was willing to take one for the team and drink a glass in his role as Christian Grey.

Yes, the billionaire Christian Grey from the famous (infamous?) E.L. James erotica that swept the nation over three years ago. While many of my friends binge-read Fifty Shades of Grey, pausing long enough to cook up a box of organic mac and cheese for their kids' dinner, up until now, I'd only managed a handful of pages before tears of laughter blurred out the words. I'm no stranger to erotica but James' writing was too juvenile and cheesy for my taste.

Or so I thought.

More from YourTango: 9 REALLY Obvious Things We Want Guys To Do More Often In Bed

With the film adaptation in theaters next month, I decided to give the book another chance. After all, how bad could a pseudo-BDSM book dubbed "mommy porn" be? Heck, I could even ask my husband to reenact one of its sex scenes. We were both theatre majors so it wouldn't be too difficult to play Christian and Anastasia...would it?

After skimming the first half of the book, I opted for the sex scene in Chapter 12. (Mostly because I couldn't bear to read any more, and I wouldn't need too many "props.") In this scene, Anastasia has just returned from a run in her ratty sweats and presumably her granny panties when Christian unexpectedly arrives at her apartment. In response to a snarky email she's sent, he's come in person to show her who's boss. Spoiler alert: Christian's the boss.

To prepare for our dramatization, I wrote the Cliff Notes version of the scene so my husband knew what to do:

1. Tie Anastasia (me) to bed with grey silk tie.
2. Pull shirt over my face.
3. Leave room for glass of wine with ice cubes (sidebar: why the hell would a wine connoisseur put ice in his wine?)
4. Swap spit kiss wine + ice via mouth to mouth.
5. Pour wine into my belly button. (I'm assuming Anastasia has an innie and glad I have one too. Seems integral.)
6. Kiss me all over.
7. Do it doggy-style.

More from YourTango: 10 Hints All Men Give That They're NOT Happy In The Bedroom

To summarize: I have to be tied to my bed, blindfolded by having my shirt pulled over my head, and be teased by wine and ice all over my body. Wine will then be placed into my belly button and I'm not supposed to spill any or Christian, my husband, won't let me orgasm. But alas, Anastasia (me) writhes too much and spills the wine. Christian teases her some more and powerfully flips her over (while still tied to the bed) for the best sex of her life. Everyone gets their happy ending.

Yeah, we can do this. We can be Anastasia and Christian.

We opted for a red polyester tie that my husband wears once a year. (I didn't think paisley was a good look for my wrists.) I donned yoga pants and an old T-shirt pockmarked with holes. Close enough to sweatpants and granny panties. The only other prop we needed was a glass of wine with ice. Yes, wine with ice. I haven't put ice in my wine since I drank Boone's Farm at our college theatre parties so instead of the acidic Pinot Noir, I suggested we go with my husband's single malt scotch.

The kids were sleeping soundly in their bed. We gathered all our props. The Cliff Notes were on my husband's nightstand. Finally, we were ready to act out our roles, step-by-step:

Step 1: As my husband wraps the silky tie around my wrists, we realize our bed has no posts of any kind. Our mattress is set on the floor so he can't even tie me to the bed frame or leg. I decide to put my arms over my head and pretend they're tied to an imaginary wrought iron headboard.

Step 2: He grabs the hem of my T-shirt and pulls it over my face. "I can't breathe!" I gasp. He tug the shirt to free my mouth and nose. Ahhh, fresh air. (Who says chivalry is dead?) I suddenly remember something important from Chapter 12. "Wait!" I blurt from behind my T-shirt. "You're supposed to smack my ass in Step 7, like Christian did. I forgot to write it down."

Step 3: I hear him pick up the index card. "You can't even remember what's next!" I chuckled. I listen to him exit our bedroom and head to the kitchen. He's reaches into the freezer for ice cubes, but I suddenly hear loud whacks emanate from down the hall. It sounds like he's spanking. Wait, he's spanking the ice cubes. They're too big to be placed into my mouth and my belly button so he's crushing them with a giant spoon.

Step 4: "Did you miss me?" my husband asks in what I assume is his lecherous billionaire voice. "Shhh, don't talk. You'll make me laugh and ruin the mood." I declare silence for the rest of the steps. He kisses me and releases the cool, golden scotch into my mouth. Sweet Jesus, that was some good scotch.

Step 5: Again, the sound of the damn index card. That thwip, thwip sound is ruining my fantasy. Setting it down, he deposits a piece of well-spanked ice and scotch into my belly button. It's effing FREEZING.

Step 6: At this point I'd like to tell you we followed the script, but husband threw away the index card. After twelve years of marriage, my husband knows all my hot buttons. In the heat of the moment, he even gave my butt a big ole whack (just one, lest we burst into giggles again). We improvised with much success. Multiple successes. (Wink.)

More from YourTango: I Had Sex In The Snow And Holy Frostbite, NEVER AGAIN

As my husband drifted to sleep during our post-coital snuggle, he whispers, "I guess Anastasia and Christian aren't so bad after all." And you know what? He was right.

Reading Fifty Shades of Grey didn't light my loins on fire like Christian did for Anastasia, however...

...Attempting something different in the bedroom brought the fun back into our sex life by forcing us to slow down and enjoy each kiss, each touch, fumbling and all. We'd gotten into a rut without realizing it. My husband's long work hours coupled with my late nights working in my home office meant we were usually too exhausted to make love. When we did muster enough energy, most sessions, while satisfying, did not yield mind-blowing sex. Although it took work to find our props and spank the ice cubes into submission, our low (very low) expectations for the role-playing took the pressure off.

I don't plan on reading the other half of the book, but I did learn one important thing from E. L. James:

Being able to laugh in the bedroom is just important as being able to moan with pleasure.

This article originally appeared on YourTango.

Hope: Entertainer of the Century
By Richard Zoglin
A Book Review by Dr. Lloyd Sederer

My father looked like Bob Hope, especially his nose, which was long in its arc and pointed a bit upward at the end, not unlike the end of a ski slope. It was distinctly different from the Eastern European Jewish noses of my family. My father also had the same receding hairline, very fair skin, and lean body (when younger). The similarities stop there, perhaps except for both their intelligence and disposition to control everything in their orbit.

When we got a TV, among the millions of Americans in the early 1950s, it was Bob Hope, Milton Berle (Mr. Television), and Ed Sullivan whom my family, and most of America, religiously watched every week.

So began my fascination with Bob Hope.

............

Bob Hope was arguably the most successful American entertainer of the 20th century. He made 66 films; dominated radio for 10 years (his shows often reached 40 to 50 percent of US. households) then discovered how to dominate television; told his story in 14 books, some with huge sales; unceasingly, and indefatigably, played vaudeville, Broadway, and countless live audience shows, especially to millions of military personnel throughout the world; was a popular recording artist; hosted 14 Academy Award shows (including its very first) and many National Correspondents' dinners; and was a regular guest of Presidents and royalty. It is unlikely that anyone else has topped the number of celebrity golf and fund raising events he championed. Bob Hope occupies the Guinness Book of Records for more honors and awards than any other entertainer in the world.

Am I dating myself? While even millennials know his name, maybe from the now campy, buddy movies he did with Bing Crosby (Road to Rio, Singapore, Morocco, Zanzibar, etc.) that play late at night on TV, YouTube, or Netflix, few appreciate the extent of his media reign. I make it thus my mission, herein, to further their education.

...............

Leslie Towns Hope was born in 1903 in in a small town outside of London, the fifth of seven sons. When four, the family boarded a boat, in steerage, and immigrated to the United States, settling in Cleveland where Hope's father's family had already begun their acclimation. He took the stage name of Bob Hope early in his career as an emcee in a Cleveland movie house; he later said that "Bob" had more of a "Hiya, fellas" feel to it than Les.

Zoglin's book then parades us through Hope's extraordinary career. The book is as much about 20th-century America as it is about Bob Hope. Hope and his show business career serve as an unintended, I imagine, but wonderful literary device for a grand tour of the history and popular culture of the past century. As we follow Hope's story through the decades he is a radiant mirror of the times. And the times they did change.

Vaudeville gave way to radio and that to television. Humor changed from Jack Benny, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Milton Berle, and Jackie Gleason (and of course, Bob Hope), with their quips that teased but did not slice the skin, to the irony, sarcasm, and confrontation of Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Woody Allen, Mike Nichols, and Richard Pryor. Improvisation replaced many a cue card and monologue. Hollywood gained ascension in films and celebrity. And films went from the dominant, staged, romantic comedies of the 1930s to big screen productions and the realism and noir that the 60s and 70s ushered in.

Bob Hope's status as America's beloved Ambassador was realized during World War II. He began a life of public service during the war when he began entertaining our troops. He was the bridge from home to battlefield for GIs and delivered the levity that was the best medicine for men in combat. With a beautiful babe at his side and a golf club in his hand he delivered morale booster shots to soldiers and sailors for the decades that followed, during the very different wars that embroiled and roiled our country, its politics, and its sensibilities.

After WW II, we lived through a paranoid, Red-Scare America that then saw the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union. America went from Roosevelt and Truman to Ike, then to JFK and LBJ, and on to Nixon, Ford and Reagan. The country left Camelot, entered Vietnam and bombed Cambodia and Laos.

That was when the ever affable Bob Hope crossed to the dark side, especially among liberals, for his hawkish, pro-war stance on Vietnam and public friendships with Nixon, Ford and Reagan. Hope had always been a vocal patriot, from the beginning of his WW II troop tours and during the Korean War and the Russian barricade of Berlin, and with his annual Christmas concert tours to enlisted men and women everywhere. But the 60s brought out a Bob Hope who no longer walked a political tightrope of humor careful to not fall off into one camp or another; for some he became more of a hero for his support of Republican Presidents and unpopular, highly divisive wars, but for others he fell from grace. He liked to say "I would rather be a hawk than a pigeon."

Bob Hope had an appetite for women. While married to a devout Roman Catholic, Delores Hope, and the adoptive father of four, he ceaselessly used his time on the road, for decades and into his senescence, to have one affair after another. Mostly kept from public attention, his infidelities also came to darken his reputation in later life, as did many of his public comments that struck out at feminism when our country first saw its emergence.

Hope was also a man known as a cipher, all surface, and offering no access to his interior, which some wondered if he had at all. As Zoglin tells his story, even his family barely knew him -- except as the tough, businessman who gave none of them a break and who was known for his cameo appearances at home. Yet Bob Hope was charitable to others, and stories abound about all those he helped, and the generosity of his contributions to the State of California and countless humanitarian organizations and causes.

But the entertainer of the century could not give up the stage. He trooped on well beyond his prime and into his failing years. In his refusal to quit, he used his acquired celebrity royalty to gain appearances on TV and in concerts where he appeared doddering and almost dead on arrival. That left too many of even his most ardent fans not recalling the amazing singer, dancer, comedian, story teller, and actor that captured the hearts of the American public for more decades and in more ways than any other performer in history.

Hope spent the last few years of his life largely homebound and bedridden, occasionally wheeled out for a tribute or award. He died 100 years and two months after he was born, succumbing to pneumonia in his home with his devoted wife at his side. He made it into this century in which it seems unimaginable that any other entertainer will gain and sustain his presence and celebrity.

.............

The author of Hope: Entertainer of the Century, Richard Zoglin, is a theater critic and editor at Time Magazine. Known as an historian of stand-up comedy, Zoglin's biography of Bob Hope is vivid and entertaining. He has given us a portrait full of detail, rendered with warmth and honesty, not to deify the man but to give him the extraordinary due he worked so hard to earn.

I wish my father were alive so I could give him a copy of the book.

Dr. Sederer's book for families who have a member with a mental illness is The Family Guide to Mental Health Care (Foreword by Glenn Close).

Dr. Sederer is a psychiatrist and public health physician. The views expressed here are entirely his own. He takes no support from any pharmaceutical or device company.

www.askdrlloyd.com

With the fifth annual Envision Festival in Costa Rica just around the corner, what better way to spread the vibes than with a pre-party? Lu Fam Pro and Luminous Movement presents the official Envision Fest L.A. Pre-Party on Wednesday, January 28th, 2015. Every Wednesday, Luminous Movement brings the best in the underground electronic music and art scene to Zanzibar in Santa Monica. With this budding new consciousness that is spreading to the minds of many, the world is learning the art of awareness through art and music, much like the Renaissance period.

For both those who are attending Envision in Costa Rica and those who cannot make the trek, the pre-party offers a delicious sampler platter of blissful beats. Kaminanda, Imagika Om, and Nicefingers will be providing vibey sounds to wiggle to. There will also be a sensory buffet platter that includes live painting, vendors, massage, and even a special kombucha drink at the bar. Benedigital will be caressing his canvas with strokes of color as admirers watch his every brushstroke. Vendors include Mostly Minerals, K'ulu Misk'i, Lumen Legacy, Earthdrop Designs, Create Awake Sacred Geometry Jewelry, Indradhuanu Designs, Massage Zone by KJ & Will Edmonson, and Starfire Water & High Country Kombucha.

The music of Kaminanda is a mixture of dark and light, uplifting and sexy, midtempo and downtempo. His transcendental tunes raise the pulse and the spirit of the dancefloor. He utilizes his own internal rhythm to create a unique style of worldly beats and heavy bass. His music is best enjoyed by the spiritually awake. Kaminanda is known for his integration of spirituality and world music into his bass-driven tracks. Imagika Om is a sonic alchemist who co-produces music for legendary circus troupe, Lucent Dossier Experience. Known for her earthy beats and cosmic layers, her music is a reflection of her multi-faceted connection to sound. An ordained Priestess of the 13 Moon with Ariel Spillsbury and initiated into the Sri Vidya tantra lineage in India by Sri Amritananda of Devipuram, Imagika is creating music that heals and awakens. Her music has been described as gypsy glitch, tribal trap and temple OMstep. DJ duo Nicefingers were reuinted in 2012 after traversing the world in the eternal search for intercontinental inspiration. With new perspectives in their eyes and new sounds in their ears, they released a four track EP titled imagiNative on Street Ritual Records in January of 2013. An ever-evolving entity, Nicefingers has joined the genre-bending revolution bringing astral beats and dirty bass to our auditory cortex.

Like the Envision festival itself, this lineup is a beautiful example of unity within diversity. Though each is very unique in sound, all three of these artists share a deeply rooted spiritual connection to themselves and the world around them. Music by itself already has a way of firing off neurons in our brain. This inter-connectivity of the human spirit with musical frequency creates an experience beyond entertainment. Music is where the secular meets the divine and dance is the manifestation of this union. With music as your loyal companion, the world is a much more colorful place.

Event Details: https://www.facebook.com/events/566572010143550/
Luminous Movement: https://www.facebook.com/LuminousMovement
Envision Festival: https://www.facebook.com/EnvisionFestival

Several weeks ago, Miss Universe pageant officials, naively or not, asked me if I wanted to come down for a few days for a Miss Congeniality-esque experience while the 88 women who had qualified from their respective countries got ready for the big night.

Of course I did.

Now, I am not exactly a pageant-type girl. I am small, I am prone to muffin top, and I shun high heels. But, in the search for new experiences, why not?

(Me: Before)

So I packed a bag and flew down with the A Broad Abroad crew to Doral, Florida, and primed myself for the Miss Universe Experience.

I showed up at the ballroom of the Trump Doral ready to represent the Galaxy of Ohio, quadrant Cincinnati, with a red T-shirt that read, "Nobody Puts Cincy in the Corner." The ballroom had been turned into a glam room, complete with rows of hair and makeup stands, racks of bedazzled dresses that would have made RuPaul's eyes bleed with envy, and more Chinese Laundry shoes than a Payless in Topeka.

While I had been warned by the Miss Universe PR person, Jackie, that she would "shut it down," if I asked Miss Lebanon or Miss Egypt about Miss Israel -- or tried to get Miss Russia to discuss shirtless Putin pics with Miss. Ukraine -- apparently Miss Israel didn't get the memo. She caused an international scuttlebutt a week later when she took a picture of herself and Miss Lebanon and put it out on her Instagram. Miss Lebanon later claimed, in an unfortunate choice of words, that she was photo-bombed. And I did get some other questions in...

WATCH THIS to find out how Miss Russia would bring peace to Syria, What Miss Korea thinks of Miss Universe not representing any other planet but Earth and How Miss Croatia feels about being ogled by old dudes in suits while in a bikini:

Everywhere you looked there were very tall, thin, and exceedingly pretty girls getting primped, fluffed, photographed, and outfitted. The girls don't go by their names. Instead, they are called by their country. "Slovakia, come here!" "New Zealand, time for pictures!' "U.S.A., looking great!" "Has anyone seen Ghana or Croatia?" "I need Philippines, stat!"

(on the bus with Miss Universe)

"This is like the Hannah Montana glam shop they had in the mall in Columbus, Ohio, for a few years," I said to Jackie, the PR woman for Miss Universe. "But for, like, adults?"

"Exactly," Jackie said, introducing me to Linda, who ran the room.

Linda, who looks like a hot younger version of Hulk Hogan's ex-wife, also named Linda, was in charge of all production.

"We got some Chic-fil-A if you're hungry," Linda said.

"These girls eat fried chicken?" I asked. "You kidding me? They don't look like they eat."

"It's for the workers!" Linda laughed. "I treat my people right!"

I was assured there was food for the girls (although I just saw a table with beverages), who all looked like they were a size 0 to a minus 10 -- with the exceptions of Miss Great Britain and Miss Nigeria, who, upon introducing herself to the crowd at a welcoming event, would say, "Thank you, Doral! I love your food!"

Both were on the skinny side of normal, but compared to someone like a Miss Singapore, who looked emaciated, they were plump.

David, the dress man in charge of dressing the girls, told my producer, "We have dresses for all sizes! Well, there was Miss Great Britain ..."

Later, while talking with Nick, a comedian/host whose job was to "interview" and introduce the girls, Jackie, Linda, and Nick all professed that the Miss Universe pageant loves all sizes!

"So is there a plus-size girl this year?" I asked.

"Not this year," Jackie said.

"Any year?"

"Not yet! But the Miss Universe organization loves all body types!"

After the same line was given to me by Nick, almost verbatim, I said,

"But I'm only seeing one body type," holding up my little finger.

He laughed and changed the subject.

WATCH: The make over in action.. and I fall flat on my face. Not kidding

Overwhelmed by the cascading changes at Downton Abbey, Maggie Smith's snarky Dowager Countess complained way back in Season One, "Sometimes I feel as if I were living in an H.G. Wells novel." Wells, of course, wrote The War of the Worlds and other science fiction and fantasy novels.

Watching Downton Abbey, I've often found find myself feeling that I'm living in an Edith Wharton novel. More than one, in fact. Wharton's novel The Buccaneers, which was unfinished at her death, was all about young wealthy American woman like Cora who were launched like arrows to hit titled English targets. Born in 1862 to old New York money, Wharton observed this international exchange as America's Gilded Age burst into lavish bloom. Her native city of New York was a frenzy of building, money, and that modern invention we take for granted: publicity, which the family on Downton Abbey has been desperate to avoid.

The series is imbued with the preoccupations of Wharton's fiction. Just like the women in The House of Mirth, the Grantham daughters have had few choices aside from marrying a man, preferably one with money. New money may be suspect, but money is the drumbeat, even when people claim they don't care about it. Acquiring money, and the status and safety it brings, obsesses Lily Bart, the heroine of The House of Mirth, Wharton's 1905 best seller and an American classic the Granthams surely would have read.

Wharton lived in France during World War One, whose impact we're still see in Downton Abbey with the building of the war memorial, and she wrote a powerful novel, A Son at the Front, about the surprisingly high cost of war for those who aren't in the trenches. When war broke out, Wharton worked with astounding energy to aid the French war effort through fund-raising and solving the refugee crisis. But she was more than a combination of Lady Cora and Mrs. Crawley: she visited the front and wrote about it, and her extraordinary efforts earned her the highest civilian honors Belgium and France could bestow.

Wharton challenged convention by being intellectual and an author. But, she was still a product of her class, which frowned on social climbers of all kinds, especially Jews, who symbolized the vast social and financial changes rocking her comfortable world. In The House of Mirth, her sole Jewish character, wealthy Simon Rosedale, is frantic for status and vainly pursues Lily Bart, the faded society flower who finds him repulsive. Wharton relied heavily on stereotypes to create him: he's flamboyant, vulgar, buffoonish, and speaks bad English.

His portrayal is an aggravating flaw in a novel I've read many times and love for Wharton's profound understanding of how shame can crush our hopes -- something that plays out again and again in Downton Abbey. Having written two other books about Wharton, a mystery and a critical study, I decided to do something completely different: tell Rosedale's unknown story. Rosedale in Love is my reply to The House of Mirth, a book that gives Simon Rosedale a soul, a past, a family -- that makes him human, in other words.

Cora's father is Jewish, and we were reminded of that two episodes ago this season, but we'll soon have Downton Abbey's first major character who's a Jew, a banker's son with the improbable name of Atticus Aldridge. Though his parents are wealthy, and he's a hunk, his being Jewish is sure to provoke a mild sensation upstairs and downstairs, some acid remarks from Maggie Smith's character -- and who knows, maybe inspire a novel or too, as well. Some fan fiction at the very least.

Lev Raphael is the author of 25 books, most recently Assault With a Deadly Lie, a novel of suspense about stalking, gun violence, and militarized police forces.

The tragic death of actor and fitness guru, Greg Plitt has compelled me to write. Let me first offer my sincerest condolences to his family, friends and co-workers. Mr. Plitt was filming on railroad tracks in Los Angeles when he was killed recently.

Filmmaking is inherently dangerous, but it doesn't have to be. The problem is less about the actual dangers and more about a mindset. When I teach my students at USC, I always talk to them about "The Snow Globe Effect" and "Cinematic Immunity."

I once had a small group of students who wanted to do a documentary about a man who planted vegetables in a small urban public garden. The man did his planting at two in the morning. His plant plot was located in a gang-ravished neighborhood, under an overpass. I insisted the students have uniformed police with them. It was the only way I would consent. They hired two off-duty, uniformed Los Angeles Police and went away to film. Sometime in the middle of the night, two cars filled with gang members cruised by, saw the police and thought better of any attempted interference. The students weren't doing anything dangerous. The danger was in their isolation and their inability to accept the potential dangers of the real world.

That is an example of the snow globe effect.

So what exactly is the snow globe effect?

You have time to pass in an airport. You wander into the gift shop and there on a shelf is a little, idyllic, tableau encased in a little liquid globe. If you turn it upside down and then back again it may even snow inside. Impressed and momentarily enchanted, you buy it. But as you step back out onto the main concourse, the globe slips from your fingers and smashes on the floor. Gone are the idyllic tableau and the gently falling snowflakes. Why? Because:

THE REAL WORLD TAKES PRECEDENCE OVER ALL ELSE.

Cinematic immunity is the negative near-cousin and the logical extension of the snow globe effect. Cinematic immunity is the dangerous and inaccurate belief that because you are making a movie the real world can be held at bay.

I was the first producer of the long running prime time hit drama, Knots Landing. We filmed part of the shows in a cul-de-sac in Granada Hills. There was a house outside the cul-de-sac that faced our primary locations.

One day our cinematographer decided the electricians should place a light right in front of the house opposite the cul-de-sac. The homeowner's car was parked right where the D.P. thought his light should go. So what did the electricians do? They broke into the guy's car and rolled it down the hill. The only problem was, the homeowner saw them do it and called the cops. I spent a long and painful morning in the local councilman's office begging him not to revoke our permits to film.

When confronted about their behavior, the electricians simply explained it away by saying they needed to get the shot.

I have worked with directors who walked in front of moving traffic because they wanted to give last-minute directions to an actor.

I have seen grown men, professionals with years of experience in the film business, standing in an active bus lane because they are tech scouting a location.

I have to admit, even I have fallen victim to the sultry sirens of cinematic immunity. It was early on in my career. We were filming a movie on a street in Greenwich Village, New York. We were getting ready to roll camera when the director yelled: "Okay. Hold the traffic." Without hesitating I rushed into the streets, arms waving, hands gesturing for traffic to stop, right into the path of a large truck. The driver jammed on his brakes and the truck stopped about an inch from my nose.

Any of you remember the movie, North by Northwest?

In it Cary Grant flags down a truck, an eighteen-wheeler, in the middle of the open plains. When the truck stops an inch from his nose, the logo on the truck reads: "Peterbilt."

Mine said: "Franks Plumbing Supplies."

After we got the shot, the director called me over and said: "What were you thinking? You could have gotten yourself killed?" I replied, "You are right, sir. I will never do that again." But all the while, the voice in my head was yelling: "Hey man, we're making a movie."

So, I won't pontificate about permits and permission. I won't lecture about the lack of common sense involved in filming on an active stretch of rail. I simply beseech those of you who think you are above the mundane world of reason and reality to remember:

Cinematic immunity is a myth, the snow globe will not protect you forever and the real world will always predominate.

I had no intention of writing about American Sniper. Other film scholars, including my friend and Clint Eastwood expert, James Curnow have discussed it. And even more people, scholars and laymen alike, have weighed in on the various controversies swirling around this extremely popular movie. Is it accurate? What does it say about America, about foreign policy, about guns? Can you praise it without being called a fascist? Can you criticize it without being branded a commie? There are clearly many differing points of view on the subjects of snipers and Chris Kyle.

Then I read a remarkable interview with screenwriter Jason Hall in Time Magazine.

Before I get to that, let me make this perfectly clear. I never knew Chris Kyle. All I actually do know about him comes from the gallons of internet type I have read in the past week. And I would suggest that when it comes to internet type, words are cheap and truth is scarce. I know that Kyle fought for his country, which speaks to his heroism. I know he has been branded a liar. I know that men are capable of being both hero and liar at the same time. I will not be writing about Chris Kyle because I cannot. I will be writing about a movie based on his life, directed by one man, Clint Eastwood, and starring another, Bradley Cooper. Praise or criticism about the movie or the movie character should not be misconstrued as praise or criticism of the real man.

That said, the movie American Sniper is quite good. Its action scenes are effective. It moves efficiently between war and peace. It captures the camaraderie, the energy and the terror present in any military struggle. But it is not a great movie for two main reasons. (WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD)

The ending, in which we learn that Kyle was murdered by one of the former soldiers he was trying to help readjust to life after military service, was a sizable letdown. Granted, this real-life event posed significant artistic problems for Eastwood and Hall. Kyle's murder occurred just as Hall was completing his first draft. One of the things Hall has mentioned in interviews is that he did not want to subject Kyle's son to his own father's death on screen. As benevolent an ambition as that may be, it doesn't work. It leaves an enormous hole at the end of the movie. Difficult as it may have been, it was incumbent on Eastwood and Hall to devise a way to end this movie that effectively dramatized that murder. It did not have to be graphic. It did not have to make a political statement. But by abdicating the artistic responsibility at the end, the filmmakers have opened up the film to many reasonable questions. Chris Kyle, and his friend Chad Littlefield, died from gunshot wounds. An upcoming trial will determine whether former Marine Eddie Ray Routh is legally guilty of the murders, but the fact that he shot and killed both men is indisputable. If you think the murder of America's most prolific sniper at the hands of a disturbed war vet is not dramatically, morally and intellectually significant, perhaps we should end our discussion right here. It is pure dramatic dynamite, and though I understand Hall's reservations, it was his job to figure out a way to incorporate it.

Endings, even unsatisfying ones, rarely make or break a movie. The more serious problem with American Sniper as a dramatic story is that Chris Kyle is never wrong. Not when it comes to pulling the trigger. If you saw the trailers for this movie, you may have been struck by an extraordinary piece of film. Kyle has his rifle trained on a mother and her young son as they approach a team of Marines. Their actions are suspicious but Kyle cannot be sure of their intentions. The clip shows him communicating with a superior who is advising him on whether or not to shoot. No one else can confirm what Kyle sees. The choice to shoot is his. His spotter tells him they will fry him if he is wrong. This is absolutely riveting material. In all the analysis of why American Sniper opened as big as it did, defying all predictions, I didn't hear anyone mention this sensational sequence. I would have bought a ticket for this scene alone.

In the movie, this event takes place rather early. These will be Kyle's first two kills. He is protecting his fellow soldiers from these enemy combatants who are attempting to throw a grenade at them. Kyle sees the grenade, then pulls the trigger. Both mother and son attempt to throw the weapon and both are killed. Later, Kyle will face a similar decision when another young boy attempts to pick up a rocket launcher and fire it at Marines. The device is too big for the boy and he never gets it into immediate firing position. Kyle watches, not firing, as the boy drops the weapon and runs off.

What these scenes do -- indeed, what all of the scenes of Kyle firing or not firing his weapon do -- is flirt with the moral ambiguity of warfare without ever directly confronting it. He must display great patience and restraint, but in the end he always knows that the kills are righteous. And we know it too. That's one reason so many people love this movie. But tell me, assuming all best intentions, is that really the way wars are prosecuted in the 21st century? I can't say what is true for Chris Kyle. It is entirely possible that he only killed enemy combatants who posed an immediate threat to U.S. forces. But that is only half the question. Assuming Kyle did show the restraint and judgment to ensure no innocents were killed, is it possible that he never then waited too long, and did not take a legitimate shot when he might have? Is it possible that he never erred on either side of this incredibly tenuous tightrope? That is the biggest single problem I had with American Sniper. The murkiness of war, even a righteous war, is never really on display because we are reassured that every step the hero takes is the right one. Even if this were somehow true of Chris Kyle, it does not necessarily work for the movie. And remember, this is a movie. This is not what really happened.

Which brings me back to screenwriter Jason Hall. One of the stories Hall tells in the Time Magazine interview concerns a fight he had with a Marine (most likely drunk) following Kyle's funeral. The Marine took exception to Hall's refusal to drink and it led to a physical confrontation. Actually, four physical confrontations. In the end, both men were bleeding. And in the end, they hugged.

Things can appear vastly different depending on the perspective you carry into the room with you. To a stereotypical man's man, such a trial by muscle might seem perfectly acceptable. Even essential. Hall stood up, held his own, and was rewarded. But I couldn't help thinking that had I been in Hall's place -- me, a 5'8", 175 pound man with bursitis in my right knee and a left shoulder prone to dislocation -- I may not have fought the Marine. If I had, it almost certainly wouldn't have lasted very long or ended in a stalemate. My point of view, my right to have my point of view without being beaten to a pulp, would have vanished. These are the actions of a bully. Fortunately for Hall, he had enough muscle to stand up to a bully, and therefore is wearing his story as a badge of honor.

All cultures need their heroes. Brave men and women of great strength and skill who are willing to sacrifice for the greater good. Especially since 9/11/2001, Americans desperately want to believe that we have moral protectors like Chris Kyle who can save us from the evil in the world. The perspective that writer and director carry into the fictionalized version of Chris Kyle in the movie called American Sniper doesn't seem to allow for the likelihood that having the greatest skill with the biggest gun automatically and erroneously makes your position moral by shutting up anyone who might have a different point of view.

There are 6,000 languages in the world, and half are endangered. Those 3,000 will be gone by the end of this century if we don't do something. What are we going to do? That is the situation outlined in a new PBS documentary, Language Matters with Bob Holman, by David Grubin and Bob Holman.

Why is saving endangered languages important?

These 3,000 endangered languages are part of the history, and the prehistory, of humanity. They are part of prehistory because many are only spoken languages, not written, passed orally from generation to generation, down the millennia.

Rupert Manmurulu and Bob Holman
credit: PBS, Language Matters with Bob Holman

As the linguist David Crystal writes, "Each language is a vision of the world. Each language says something different about what it means to be human compared with any other language."

Language comes out of the physical environment, the land, the winds. For aboriginal peoples, words are essential for survival. For example, the beautiful red Australian grasshopper called "Ngalyuur" in the local aboriginal language exists only in a tiny area, but it is crucial to the survival of the ecosystem and the aboriginal people who depend on it. At 28 minutes into the film, you will see why.

Caption: Charlie Mangulda
credit: PBS, Language Matters with Bob Holman

The beginning of Language Matters constitutes one of the great sequences in all of documentary film: Three aboriginal men are sitting in a cave in Australia. They are playing instruments. On the walls are ancient drawings.

One of the three, Charlie Mangulda, is singing. The face of Charlie as he sings is unforgettable.
The language he is singing in is Amurdak, and Charlie is the last speaker on the planet of this ancient language.

Charlie is 75. When he is gone, no one will speak Amurdak. The language will disappear save for the notes of linguists.

In Language Matters the filmmakers visit Australia, Wales, and Hawaii to portray the problem and offer solutions.

caption: Kealii Reichel Performing
credit: PBS, Language Matters with Bob Holman

In Wales, Bob comically grapples with Welsh, a notoriously difficult language, as he prepares to present a poem he wrote in Welsh at a poetry festival. In a funny scene, Dewi Prysor, a novelist, poet, and songwriter, tutors Holman in Welsh, though the two will be competing for first prize in the competition. Why would Dewi teach Bob so much that the novice beats the master?

Holman's advocacy of endangered languages grows out of his decades-long history as an advocate of spoken word poetry (as opposed to poetry that exists for the most part on the page and can be experienced in silence), hip hop, poetry slams.

Caption: Wales, Druid Procession to Poetry Festival
credit: PBS, Language Matters with Bob Holman

Bob and I have been friends since 1983, when we gave a reading with the Scots ballad poet Helen Adam at No Se No Cafe on the Lower East Side.

A wildly adventurous poet, Bob has championed the art for decades, as program coordinator at the Poetry Project at Saint Marks in the Bowery, a co-founder of the NuYorican Poets Cafe, and at his Bowery Poetry Club, all in Manhattan's East Village. His most recent book of poems, Sing This One Back to Me, includes his transcriptions of the great West African Griot Papa Susso.

You can see more about his work (which is often a lot of serious fun) on the web in "On the Road, with Bob Holman," where he visits West Africa, Timbuktu, and Israel and the West Bank.

"Unlike all the other global crises -- climate threats, species extinction -- the Language crisis is one that can be solved simply," Bob writes. "Speak your Mother tongue at home, respect your neighbor's culture, support governmental efforts to keep the planet alive and various in all its marvelous cultural diversity. ... Let the World speak!"

Language Matters with Bob Holman premieres on PBS: this Sunday January 25, in New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Washington, DC; then on January 27 in Columbus, Ohio; January 29 in Chicago and LA; February 5, Boston; February 23, Syracuse.

You can see Language Matters with Bob Holman right now online.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World

Courtesy Warner Brothers Pictures

"There's evil in the world... your either a sheep, wolf or sheepdog." And from the moment Bradley Cooper became Chris Kyle his Texan roots dug him six feet under ground.We live in a world where life defies death and calls upon young men and women to defend their country at all costs even if the sacrifice requires a bullet in the head. Based on the real life memoir of Navy Seal hero, Chris Kyle, Cooper deserves an Oscar for more than just a brilliant portrayal... it's his best performance yet.

I couldn't speak or sleep after I witnessed Cooper's flawless interpretation of the spellbinding, mind bending career of Chris Kyle, a true Navy Seal whose life lessons did put him six feet under but not until he became known as Legend. His universe was convoluted from the day he was born. His father taught him what was most likely taught to him; that violence begets evil and evil propels more violence and the real war of his upbringing created a mental addiction that balanced between vengeance and justice in a world gone mad.

Mad! That was my reaction to this stellar work! Clint Eastwood is the director of American Sniper and he too has balanced his career on the simple premise that men, even the best of them, like to fight for justice, live their convictions and face their enemies with a moral imperative and a gun.

But what does an audience do to quell their own post-traumatic stress disorders when it comes to the pantheon and plague of hostile religious ideologies that can't exist with or without each other. Was Eastwood pointing his gun? ( Cooper's stark blue eyes fixated on the barrel in the film) on a much deeper revelation that man's inhumanity to man is primal and will never change. That war is a necessary evil. Or is it? The film penetrates us at our chore.

I caught my breath during credits. What opened my Pandora's Box to the reality of war was my faithful mother's dedication to ending it. She was one of a few women who founded Another Mother For Peace and their slogan, "War is not healthy for children and other living things," lives in my heart and echos my Buddhist principles (Nichren's Buddhism) that teaches us that we need to value all life of human beings. (Pictured below with congressional representatives in Washington DC during the Vietnam War 1965, Gloria Vanderbilt, Lenore Breslauer-my mother, Mrs. Elmer Bernstein, Joanne Woodward, and Barbara Avedon).

Mahatma Gandi said, " Good travels at a snails pace." "The peace movement cannot accomplish things radically and all at once. Often, it can only advance by gradual and protracted means. Gradualism does not, however, imply negative compromise or merely passing time. It means truly reforming our times by sowing seeds of peace in individual minds through sincere dialogue and, in this way, cultivating consensus." Daisaku Ikeda

Internet Photos Archive Credit President Daisaku Ikeda, SGI

What the film, American Sniper teaches us and what acclaimed director John Huston proved in his remarkable documentary, Let There Be Light in 1946, is that all human beings have a breaking point. That's what makes us human. And to witness the mental and moral decay of American soldiers returning after World War II, barely able to speak, walk, or remember, instinctive human traits, was a turning point for all to understand the neglect and secrecy of the United States military.

Internet Photo Archive Director John Huston, Let There Be Light.

If films can reawaken the human need for change then this one is our only hope. It is tough to watch. Worse to hear but sadly it is a necessity. And what makes it bearable is the human to human, man to woman interaction. Sienna Miller should follow Cooper in accepting her Oscar for a riveting portrayal of a Seal's wife, mother of their children, and offers the intuitive gift that all women possess. The preservation of human life. Miller is the true gift of this film.

Jason Hall's script weaves a longstanding memory for Chris Kyle. He mesmerizes us with a sensitivity writing from a woman's perspective, in this case,Taya, played by Miller. In her first pregnancy and his second tour on duty, she collapses knowing that his life taking missions might someday haunt her and his child. If that isn't a clear indication of how women perceive, postulate and predict while holding the stirrings of newborn life in their womb... for me that is what we celebrate. An instinct followed by an unbelievable fact of truth.

Internet Photo archive Chris Kyle in action

As Eastwood rolls towards the epilogue of Kyle's brave and short life we are stunned, humiliated, deeply pained, by the celebratory curse of Chris Kyle's Iraq where he served four tours of duty and killed up to 160 enemies. This was his reality. Confronting men that rape women and use children as suicide bombers, and who mutilate and torture anyone who opposes them. And we sit dumbfounded in our theater seats, reminded of our nations attacks, 9/11 so vividly penetrated in our minds. And we think about the pride and privileges we share as Americans. And we hold truth, honor and victory as we watch our American Marines, human beings, murdered on foreign soil for nothing more than to be counted as sheep in a line of fire in a far more evil world than can ever be imagined. And when Chris Kyle's coffin was lowered to the ground containing all the silver stars embedded on his wooden casket...it was hard to imagine and worse to believe that his life would be taken by a man, Eddie Ray Routh, a Marine veteran who gunned down Kyle and his friend. I ask, who is the hero, the man who dies or the man who pulls the trigger? WATCH Let There Be Light and share!!!

Photo by Internet Video Archive.

Sienna Miller. Credit Warner Brothers Pictures

The reason Dewey Decibel's rhymes go hard in the paint is because the MC is always equipped with a brush. The main draw of the video for "Cappuccino" - from his upcoming A Different Drum EP - is to see the creations of the Philadelphia rapper/illustrator in live action. Here, he emerges as the rap game Ralph Steadman. In the sense that Decibel's observations are cartoonish without losing their cool. He prides himself for his "triple OG Kush beatnik ethos." Later, he talks of "blazing Ganja with the Dalai Lama," as he drapes an American flag over his Illuminati hat.

Akin to the bohemian Beverly Hills rock and roller Ariel Pink, Decibel's lack of seriousness demands to be taken seriously. Sitting shotgun in his wild ride is Zilla Rocca, who brews a beat as jumpy as you feel after a shot of Moroccan espresso. Decibel may be a caffeine addict, but every livewire has his vice. At least he uses it for something worthwhile.

A Different Drum EP is available on World Around Records.

Hollywood, we have a problem. Once again the issue of whitewashing has reared its ugly head in the form of Scarlett Johansson being cast as the Japanese character Motoko Kusanagi in the remake of the Japanese anime film "Ghost in the Shell." This latest episode follows Rupert Murdoch's unabashed support of "Exodus," a whitewashed treatment of biblical events by director Ridley Scott. Since when are Egyptians not white? All I know are," Murdoch recently tweeted.

This and countless other Hollywood examples represent old messages to blacks and other people of color that at the end of the day, we can never be central characters. We are nothing more than historical footnotes: This is a white world where the most significant contributions to civilization have been made by white people, and we simply must accept that.

To be sure, Scott insisted this is not about race but economics: When asked why he cast so many white actors in a film based in Ancient Egypt, Ridley responded "I can't mount a film of this budget, where I have to rely on tax rebates in Spain, and say that my lead actor is Mohammad so-and-so from such-and-such. I'm just not going to get it financed."

What Hollywood insiders fail to understand is employing predominantly white actors is not simply about economic expediency. It is about attempting to maintain historical accuracy. After all, the consumption of movies, especially epic period pieces like "Ben-Hur," "The Ten Commandments," "Spartacus" and "Gone with the Wind" are considered cinematic classics etched in public consciousness. While not considered a classic (except perhaps in Quentin Tarantino's mind), concerns about accuracy were one of many critiques made about 2012's "Django Unchained," Tarantino's highest-grossing film to date. What was more disturbing, especially for me and other black psychologists, was the psychological impact of the oft light-hearted portrayal of slavery, and uncritical consumption by many moviegoers, especially black ones.

Concerns about whitewashing is about more than scoring diversity points. Portraying history accurately is important for ensuring a minimal level of historical literacy and cultural competency among citizens. Less acknowledged but equally important, accuracy is important for the psychology and collective consciousness of people, especially those who have been historically marginalized, under-represented and devalued.

According to the Asian American Performers Action Coalition, Asian-Americans were cast in only 2 percent of roles that were not racially specific, compared with 4 percent for Latinos and 13 percent for African Americans. Imagine how Asian-Americans must feel knowing they can't even be employed as actors in their own films.

For African-Americans, the lack of representation has been especially painful because of well-documented attempts to minimize or deny our historical contributions. In "My Life in Search of Africa," the late African-American scholar John Henrik Clarke talked about his love of history and how he learned Europeans had colonized history to the point that even the image of God was a white man. Clarke said, 'I could not find the image of my people in the Bible, so I began the search through the literature of the world until I found them and learned why some people considered it a necessity to leave African people out of the respectful commentary of history."

Clarke was more concerned about its psychological impact on black people and people of color. What is the psychological impact of always seeing white images as the only central historical figures of civilization? We know from the 1940s Clark doll studies that when asked to choose the "nice" doll and the one they liked the best, black children disproportionately chose the white one. When asked to choose the doll that looks "bad," black children were more likely to choose the black one. This study has been replicated recently with similar results.

I can tell you from years of college teaching the impact of always seeing white images is one where black students become socialized to thinking their history is one that, as Murdoch suggested, blacks were nothing more than slaves in the annals of history before becoming freed by good white people.

"Exodus" is culturally important because ancient Egypt has long been the subject of debate in the culture wars between multiculturalists, Afrocentrists and traditionalists, especially regarding the racial identity of significant historical figures. As a black psychologist, my perspective concerns why these issues of racial identity are so important for blacks and other people of color. It's because we have long been inundated with messages that we have not made any significant contributions to history, and the sum total of our existence is in reaction to being oppressed by white people. Or as argued by certain Afrocentric scholars, black people are always objects rather than subjects of human history.

Philosopher David Hume famously said, "I am apt to suspect the Negroes to be naturally inferior to the whites. There never was a civilized nation of any other complexion than white, nor even any individual eminent either in action or speculation. No ingenious manufactures amongst them, no arts, no sciences." This sentiment was, and I believe still is, the shared sentiment among many individuals.

So it should not be a surprise when black folks and other folks of color cry foul when movies like "Ghost in the Shell" are whitewashed. After all, we were expected to believe Charlton Heston's portrayal of Moses in " The Ten Commandments" was historically accurate. But any depiction of historical figures that erases the presence and contribution of people of color perpetuates a narrative of white supremacy and the inferiority of people of color. If the movie "Lincoln" had portrayed Abraham Lincoln as an Asian or black man, people would be up in arms.

We should be concerned about the impact of Hollywood's continual whitewashing on the collective psychology of people of color and it should be of concern for any educated person who wants to have an accurate understanding and depiction of history.

It's an All-American story -- poor but honest immigrant works hard, builds successful business and then sees it threatened by violence, corruption and power. Will he maintain his principles and take the high road or will he succumb and sell his soul to protect his business and family?

JC Chandor has written and directed what appears on the surface to be a uniquely American story of struggle, success, temptation and survival. Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac) has built his business from the ground up. He buys bulk heating oil and distributes it to residential customers in and around New York City.

As we meet him, Morales (perhaps named for his vaunted morality?) has built a fleet of oil tanker trucks. He is on the verge of completing the purchase of his new receiving, shipping and storage facility which would dramatically expand his business. It is a cutthroat business, but supposedly he succeeds because of his work ethic and high standards. Morales has long been pursuing the deal for this property. He has three days to complete the terms or lose his huge down payment, his life's savings.

But on the verge of his triumphs, a series of misfortunes befalls him. Thugs beat his drivers and salesmen, steal his trucks and drain his company's oil. His home is broken into and his family is threatened. The local District Attorney, building his own reputation, investigates Morales' business practices to indict him and "clean up the industry."

Throughout Morales maintains that he has always met industry and regulators' standards, that he loves his family, that he is an honorable man. But is he? He refuses to accede to union demands that drivers are allowed to arm themselves for protection. He resists the temptation to call in the Mafia family of his wife (Jessica Chastain) to protect either his business or his family. Meanwhile, Chastain works feverishly on the company's second set of books to make them measure up to the law.

To even get to the point where we greet him, Mr. Successful Businessman, has already required a compromise of these insufferably touted values. A Most Violent Year suggests not only the dangers of such a business, but that there is no principled practice, no honorable way to grow such a business. Success in capitalism is rooted in crimes of law or against society. It does Morales no good to protest his virtue as he stands knee deep in the morass. He has long since sold his soul for the large new modern house he has moved his family into and the huge new facility for his business. He refuses to deal with his wife's organized crime family. But he is painfully dependent on bankers who are above the law in ignoring his good credit record. He knowingly subjects his workers to violence in order to expand his business. And as his wife complains, he hardly sees his family outside of business. Morales is only distinguished by the smaller size of his offenses.

JC Chandor has already illustrated how indistinguishable these boundaries become in Margin Call (2011) easily the best dramatic film on the 2008 financial collapse. Chandor's sharp writing and crisp direction similarly shed light on the dark transition to Reagonomics. As the film begins, the background soundtrack is a running account of criminal activity, perhaps a news account. But by the film's conclusion, we realize not just that the year is awash in such, but that perhaps Chandor is suggesting this violence is the new order. The real violence is the sea change of corporate consolidation in business, politics and culture... with the threat of more to come by the picture's end.

Matt Thomas believes in the power of positive thinking. Parmalee's lead singer experienced that power firsthand after his brother, Scott, was nearly killed in a shoot-out.

Even though Scott was shot three times and only given a five-percent chance of survival, Matt said there was no question in his or the other band members' minds: "He's gonna come through. We never thought he wasn't gonna come out." Their hope never wavered, he added.

Parmalee has had a wild ride over the last four years, one that almost didn't happen, after the Thomas brothers became victims of an attempted robbery in September 2010. "They had me at gunpoint and they fired on us," Matt said, "and Scott was basically just protecting (us)."

Anyone who has followed the group's rise to fame knows about the shooting, but in case you're a new fan, this is the lowdown: after wrapping up a show in Rock Hill, S.C., Dytavis Hinton and Demario Burris broke into the band's RV and demanded the hard-earned money the band had just earned playing a nearby gig. They shot Scott, who had his own weapon and fired back, killing Burris. (Hinton later received a 20-year sentence; prosecutors determined Scott acted in self-defense.)

Despite the slim margin of survival and being in a coma for 10 of the 45 days he was hospitalized, Scott pulled through. During that entire time, Matt said, "Everything was always positive . . . "We were in (Scott's hospital room) playing music and talking and (there was) a lot of positive energy."

The tragedy has given Parmalee's music -- and their lives -- more meaning. "It made us a lot closer, more focused and," Matt said, "more appreciative of our fans."

That's because those fans came together from around the country, showing support for Scott and the entire band. That support "absolutely" contributed toward their healing, Matt said. They received "emails and posts... from all over the country," and "many people also raised money" to help with their expenses.

"When something like (the shooting) happens, as bad as it is," Matt said, "you... see the good in things you never get to see."

To this day, Matt says he still isn't sure how he made it out unscathed. "We were in a hallway. If you've ever been in an RV, you know how small they are. I don't know how I didn't get shot, really. It was a miracle."

Since then, Scott has spent years in physical therapy. While "he's still scarred up really bad (and he's) never gonna be 100-percent," Matt only sees the bright side for his big brother. "Considering the chances of survival, he had a miraculous recovery," he said.

At Hinton's July 2011 sentencing, Matt said the shooting still haunted him. Today, he admits it's not something you quickly forget. "It was tough but I think as days go by," it goes out of your mind a little more and more."

What helped band members the most? "We had a lot of good, close friends (who) helped us out. That's the good thing about our friends and the people around us. We're really, really tight," Matt said.

They're also tight with family, who for ten, long years, loans them money to go on the road. At the same time, the band amassed more than a six-figure credit card debt. They would not give up, and kept hopeful their big break was near. It was.

The wild ride that began with Scott's near-fatal shooting was followed by a contract with Broken Bow Records in 2011. Then in 2014, Parmalee landed a priceless gig: the Thomas brothers, along with the two other band members, cousin Barry Knox and best friend Josh McSwain, were asked to open for Brad Paisley's 2014-15 Country Nation World Tour. And on February 17, they will play at the Grand Ole Opry.

During two recent "Country Nation" concerts with Paisley in Morgantown, W.Va., the band members gave a powerful performance the audience loved and responded to. That, says Matt, is his favorite part of entertaining. He loves hearing "the people singing back to you. Especially a song you've written and released," he said. "You can watch it grow and all of a sudden you're at a show and there's thousands of people singing a song that you came up with. That's really cool."

The band can likely expect fans at future concerts to continue doing just that, when their newest song, "Already Callin' You Mine," is released in February. It has the same catchy beat their music has become known for, with lyrics that make you feel like they're talking directly to you.

Like many of their country music predecessors, Parmalee came from humble beginnings: all four men have followed in the footsteps of musician parents. As teens, Scott and Matt joined their father when he played at college bars on weekends. Matt said Knox's mother played piano in church and he spent a lot of time around their dad, too, while McSwain traveled around in a van with his dad, who was a popular bluegrass musician.

By 2004, the group was ready to go off on their own. To do that, they needed a secluded place to play. "We had this barn out in Parmalee, which was our rehearsal spot," Matt said. "So we hauled everybody out there in the middle of the country where nobody could mess with us and we could just go to work. That's where we started the band and making our own sound."

The sound that most fans love is the #1 hit song, "Carolina," which Matt said is "about a girl (and) about home and how the people you love can make you feel like you're at home."

"We wrote it because we were always out, gone from home all the time -- and still are," Matt said. "I think anybody who lives on the road or has a job like we have (where) you miss all the birthdays, all the family events, everything that's important, pretty much," understands that feeling.

The song came to Matt almost effortlessly, after the band returned from a two-month stint on the West Coast. "I got home and... I walked in the studio... and (it) just reminded me of California," Matt said, thinking, "Man, I feel like I'm back in California. It reminds me of California, but I know I'm home. It feels like Carolina. It feels like home."

That's not the only song that came easily to the younger Thomas brother. Matt said he wrote "Day Drinking" in "just two or three hours." But most days the songs take more time. He spends days brainstorming on Music Row with other hit Nashville songwriters, some who have even written Grammy-winning songs. There, writers toss out their ideas and thoughts. And if they "have a beat or a song you've started on," Matt said, "you just throw it around the room and see what everybody's thinking."

"Nashville is amazing," Matt said. And sometimes, because there are "thousands of people in rooms writing songs every single day . . . you get great, great songs out of it."

The odds are good you'll at least get a good one, Matt said. Then, thinking positively, he added, "hopefully you'll come out with an amazing song."

(Photo credit: Ed Rode)

Three years ago, I was lying in bed with a terrible flu, flipping through the channels on TV to pass the time. I came across an episode of Piers Morgan Tonight featuring an independent filmmaker, Edward Burns, talking about how he made his new film, Newlyweds, on a low budget. At that point in my life, I was a senior in college and just getting my toes wet in the entertainment industry. I didn't know much about TV/Film production; I just knew that I wanted to make films and I didn't have the money to do it.

When I heard how Ed Burns made these story-driven independent films with a micro-budget, I knew I had to learn from him. From that day on, I watched his movies, listened to his podcasts, and read his screenwriting book. I did everything I could to educate myself on independent filmmaking. At the time, I was interning for Leftfield Pictures, a production company based in New York City. When I walked from Penn Station to the office everyday, I carried that book in my hand, hoping that I would run into him on the street and have the opportunity to give him my 30-second elevator pitch about why he should take me under his wing. That day never came, but it made me work harder.

During my time at Leftfield Pictures, I spent most of my time transcribing interviews, making cold calls, and going on coffee runs. Don't get me wrong, I know that's the kind of grunt work an intern does, but I knew I was capable of shooting and producing my own content. When I finished my office work, I spent my free time researching independent filmmaking and tweeting at Ed Burns, telling him that I was going to work with him one day. That internship taught me what I did not want to do in the entertainment industry. Sometimes you have to learn what you hate to find what you love.

September, 2012

2015-01-26-ScreenShot20150124at1.27.40PM.png

Fast forward to 2015. I had spent three unsuccessful years reaching out to Ed Burns, but I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to make my first short documentary called "To Be Strong," about a young man's fight with cancer while training to be a boxer. My friend and I shot this film with a Canon 5D on a micro-budget of $3,500. We didn't have a studio so we edited it on a laptop in my basement and recorded voice-overs into my camera. We were just a couple of small-town guys trying to tell a story with what we had, and what we had was the bare minimum.

To Be Strong:

"To Be Strong" brought home "Best Documentary" in the Jersey City International Television and Film Festival, got accepted into the Garden State Film Festival, and won the first two rounds of the Katra Film Series in NYC. When we got to the final round of the Katra Film Series, we were competing against the top 16 films of the year. Every film entered was shot on the RED with a decent budget. We had the lowest budgeted film, but we competed with the best that night.

During the intermission at Katra, I met a man named Glenn. He told me how much he loved "To Be Strong" and he asked me who my inspiration was. Without hesitation I said Ed Burns. Glenn looked at me with surprise and told me that, a couple days prior, he was an extra on the set of a show called "Public Morals," a 1960s crime drama written and directed by Burns. I asked Glenn if he had any information about when and where they were shooting. He didn't know off- hand, but he gave me a casting number to call to find out the call-times and shooting locations. I called the next day and got all of the information I needed.

I stayed up late on Sunday night writing a letter to Ed Burns, telling him how much his work has inspired me as an independent filmmaker. I was hoping that I would be able to make my way on set to hand the letter to him. One thing I learned in life is that if you act like you belong, no one will question you. I had that in mind while heading to set on the lower West Side the following morning.

Due to car troubles, I missed the first two trains into Penn Station and my day wasn't off to a great start. I finally made it to the shooting location around 10am. As I approached set, I saw a PA locking down the street, not letting anyone through. I told him I was a PA for the day. He shook my hand, introduced himself and let me through. The street was full of actors, extras, cameras, and a bunch of people I didn't know.

I was just trying to stay out of the way, taking in everything that was going on around me. A staff PA named George approached me and asked who I was and I told him that I was helping out on set. He started to ask me more questions and I started to run out of answers. Finally, I told him the truth: that I wanted to get more experience and that I wanted to learn. He looked at me for a second and I thought for sure he was going to tell me to leave, but instead, he hired me on the spot.

Before I knew it, I had a walkie-talkie in my hand and was being introduced to all of the other PAs on set. George gave me a chance to prove myself and I will be forever grateful for that opportunity. It's not everyday that a stranger puts faith in a person he or she has never met. I was now on set with Ed Burns as a paid production assistant, watching him direct scenes and acting in them at the same time. When the last afternoon scene was over, everyone went to lunch and George put me on "Firewatch." I was responsible for looking over all of the equipment, making sure that nothing got stolen or caught on fire. Big responsibility for a brand new PA hired ten minutes prior.

Before Burns went to lunch with everyone else, he had an on-set interview with Entertainment Tonight and I was off camera, listening attentively to everything he said. I guess you can say my Firewatch took second priority at the time. My heart was beating fast because I knew that when the interview wrapped up, I was going to have my opportunity to introduce myself and hand him my letter.

When the interview ended, I waited a few moments trying to think of exactly what I was going to say. After all, I had waited 3 years for this opportunity and it was finally here. I went right up to him, extended my hand and said, "Mr. Burns, I just wanted to let you know that I am a student of your work and I think you are a tremendous storyteller. I'm an aspiring filmmaker and, believe it or not, twenty years ago you were in my shoes. Thank you for being an inspiration." Before he could respond, I took out the letter from my inside coat pocket and said, "You want to know a secret? I came from North Jersey to hand you this. One of the Staff PAs hired me on the spot about twenty minutes ago."

Mr. Burns told me that he was very impressed. He shook my hand and went off to lunch. Later that day, Aaron Lubin, one of the Executive Producers on the show, came up to me and asked me if I was the aspiring filmmaker. I said yes and he asked me if I wanted to stay on set for the remainder of the production.

I worked really hard the next few days, learned a lot, and met a bunch of great people who will be my friends for life. One thing I have learned is that you must capitalize on opportunity. Amazing things can happen.

Yes, it's hard for me to admit, but I am an American Muslim. This is my identity, but it's very difficult for me to say it out loud these days. I know it's wrong of me and I constantly get lectured by my other Muslim friends about how I should take pride in my identity and who I am, yet my heart still struggles with it.

I was born a Muslim in the U.S., as my parents had migrated to California in the early 1960s. Growing up I never felt that I was looked upon differently. I was me. This was my home and this is where I belonged. Religion has never been an outwardly beast for me; it was always an inner angel that lived within me and guided me towards kindness and gentleness.

But in the past few years after seeing what has been happening inside and outside of the Muslim world, I am torn. Many things have started to fall in place and make sense to me. This is not the first time in history where people have done crazy things in the name of religion. This is not the first time when wars were fought for political reasons and personal gains and they were covered with the cloak of religion -- but why does it hurt more now? Why do I want to scream when I hear about people calling themselves Muslims and killing innocent humans.

But then why do I feel lost and unloved in this country, America, which is my home that I love so much? I am as American as the guy that lives next door to me, yet I am looked at with suspicion. I live a good, clean, ethical life, yet I am made to feel guilty. I am told through the media that I need to apologize and condemns attacks that crazy people around the world are doing. Of course I will -- just the way I condemned the Columbine shooting, the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson or the torture chambers in Guantanamo Bay. I will always condemn the evil craziness of mankind wherever it happens not only if it's done by people who say they are "Muslims."

Already my progressive Muslim friends and I are feeling sad and upset, and then comes a string of hate tweets and comments all over the media. The release of Clint Eastwood's movie American Sniper was a box office hit, but it created more hate towards peace-loving Muslims like myself. I will not watch the movie and give my $12 to something that promotes hate towards a certain people. Maybe my $12 won't make any difference, but in my heart I will have a clear conscious about not watching a movie that encourages hate. I would watch the movie Selma 50 times if I had to because it carries a message of hope.

I will always be a peace promoter and a compassion warrior, no matter what color, religion and country I come from. So haters of the world, remember before generalizing a certain people of religion, be it Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus, etc. You will be defeated one day by the peace-loving citizens of the world.

As the hype around the TLC show My Husband's Not Gay begins to wane, I find it a shame that there has been little attention paid to the perspectives of straight women who have experienced being in a mixed-orientation marriage, where one spouse is gay and the other is straight. Most of the opinion pieces written about the show are by lesbian and gay individuals, religious writers and people trolling the Internet. Straight spouses who find themselves in mixed-orientation marriages generally do not end up on a reality show standing by their lesbian or gay partners. The reality is too complex, hurtful and shrouded in embarrassment.

This embarrassment is also felt by the lesbian or gay spouse and is not to be diminished. The straight spouse, however, experiences these things from a different angle, and it is important to not overshadow his or her journey.

There are two things that are frustrating regarding mixed-orientation marriages. The biggest issue is how religious and archaic thinking exacerbates the problem of lesbian and gay people entering into "traditional" marriages. Secondly, straight women and men who have been blindsided by a spouse coming out experience shame and embarrassment, so much so that they often do not receive the help and support that they need from others, who remain unaware of how common this crisis is and how hurtful it can be. Straight spouses are often considered naïve, victims or even stupid. So it is not surprising that people who need support and empathy are too afraid to reach out during one of the most difficult times in their lives.

TLC used to be known as The Learning Channel. If they truly wanted to live up to their legacy, here are the things that they would help viewers learn about mixed-orientation marriages.

1. Finding out your spouse is lesbian or gay is one of the most painful experiences any straight spouse can go through. Many people who have experienced a spouse coming out of the closet hear the following from well-meaning comrades: "Well, at least you aren't being cheated on with another woman. I mean, who can compete with that?" This is not accurate. When a man comes out to a straight wife who never saw it coming, she often cannot grasp the possibility that her husband might be truly gay. "Doesn't that make him bisexual?" is one of the many questions that might enter her mind. Think about it: Anyone whose spouse has been lying to them doubts their own sexiness and lovability and wonders what they could have done differently, but when a spouse comes out as gay, the entire marriage is called into question. There is an intense need to try to understand everything that the couple has ever been through, to figure out if it was even real or not. An affair with someone of the same sex is better? It isn't quite that simple.

2. A straight spouse can try to stay married with the knowledge that their spouse is lesbian or gay, but they will always live with an enormous amount of distrust and suspicion. Many couples do try to stay together. While it is difficult to understand, some of the reasons include the number of years they have been married, a desire to stick it out for their children, a desire to work through it with the possibility of having an open marriage, or pressure from perceived religious or societal beliefs. Ultimately, true intimacy is what a marriage needs to survive and thrive. But how can there ever be true intimacy if one spouse is attracted to people of the same sex and the other has to try to figure out how to deal with that? How can they trust that their partner won't seek intimacy outside the marriage? For example, on the show on TLC, everything seems great for one of the couples until the husband, who is "same-sex-attracted," announces that he is going on a camping trip. His wife's face betrays her suspicions, and she has to talk herself into trusting him, even though he has cheated on her before in their own home. She wants to keep her heterosexual marriage and family together so badly that she is willing to justify and overlook egregious things. Many straight spouses who have experienced mixed-orientation marriages have done so as well. People in mixed-orientation marriages can and do stay together, but suspicion and hurt are always lurking around the corner. This is not trust. This is not intimacy.

3. Conservative religious views, including archaic ideas coming from society, keep many gay men and women from living honest, fulfilling lives. Instead, they pull other people into their world because they want to change, desperately. They get married. They have kids. They take positions of leadership in their churches and in civil society through politics. They wax eloquent about how fulfilling their lives are -- when all the while they are hiding, lying to themselves and others. Eventually, under extreme pressure, they often explode and ruin everything around them. Worse yet, there is shame and embarrassment, which can cause couples to not be transparent enough to receive the very help they need. Religion and archaic societal ideas are the very things that exacerbate an already difficult situation.

Legislating what marriage means in our secular world, keeping lesbian and gay people from having the same rights as everyone else, and preaching that being gay is a choice and a sin encourages people to be dishonest. It manipulates people into hiding this part of themselves by getting married to straight people, having children with them, and living a charade that will blow up in their faces -- and in the faces of those they don't want to hurt.

4. Until conservative religious people face the truth about what their beliefs do to people who are lesbian or gay and married to a straight spouse, there will be very little change in religious communities. The expression "Love the sinner but hate the sin" is not in the Bible. It is a philosophy that was devised by St. Augustine and has been taken out of context for entirely too long. St. Augustine was referring to his own sin, but today people use it to refer to the "sins" of others. Gandhi had this to say about the idea: "'Hate the sin and not the sinner' is a precept which, though easy enough to understand, is rarely practiced, and that is why the poison of hatred spreads in the world." As any critical thinker can see, this expression is not only unbiblical; it actually makes Gandhi a soothsayer. When we look at the "sins" of others and try to dictate what people can think and whom they can love, hatred abounds. It ultimately contributes to people entering into mixed-orientation marriages without the straight spouse knowing it.

Until a religious conservative experiences a child or a spouse coming out of the closet, the degree to which this belief hurts people -- and even contributes to suicide -- cannot be fully understood. People who claim to know how to "fix" something that isn't broken, and haven't walked in those shoes, have no business trying to lecture, counsel or legislate on these issues, unless they truly try to understand the situation. It's impossible to "pray away the gay." By definition, unconditional love does not place burdens on people, though that is exactly what happens when a conservative religious person deems an individual a "sinner" who needs to change.

5. A relationship can go one of two ways after a spouse comes out as lesbian or gay: It can remain tenuous and bitter, or it can be beautiful. With a lot of time, work and compromise, a couple (especially one with children) can have a blended family without being married. Amicable divorce is possible. While it takes two people for it work, change is attainable and can turn tragedy into something wonderfully unique. Some people cannot move forward, especially if one of the spouses is unable to do what it takes because of selfishness or bitterness. This kind of thing is very sad, because it could have been avoided completely if our society and our religious leanings weren't so guilt- and pressure-oriented regarding lesbian and gay people. If lesbian and gay people are able to live openly and honestly, a lot of heartache can be avoided. Mixed-orientation marriages can be a thing of the past if views on lesbian and gay people would evolve even more.

For people who are in this situation with kids, it can be a blessing. That may seem strange to hear, but ultimately, if it weren't for the marriage, the gift of being a parent would not have been experienced. This can be the silver lining that actually helps people choose the beautiful path of amicable divorce and living as a blended family.

Unfortunately, there is no how-to book for mixed-orientation marriages. One of the toughest things about experiencing this path is that every situation and relationship is unique. No one has cornered the market on how to survive a mixed-orientation marriage, so the best way to make it through something like this is to rely on the wisdom of others who have gone through it. If people are to receive the support they need, dialogue is important, and knowledge of the experience is necessary, even for those who have never been touched by it. Being aware of all sides of the mixed-orientation marriage -- from the gay spouse to the straight spouse to their families -- is the best way to have empathy for others. If unconditional love is the goal, starting with understanding is a great place to begin.

Find Emily's blog, SameSides: Your Spouse Is Gay. What Now?, to receive encouragement and find resources available to you, the straight spouse in a mixed-orientation marriage. Also visit the Straight Spouse Network, another excellent resource.

The availability of technology has redistributed the power of creation to the underdogs. While artists will always find a way to create despite all obstacles, there are many more accessible tools now to aid in this creation. In electronically produced music, elaborate studios are preferred, but no longer necessary. Like the era of garage bands, a new generation of artists are emerging from homes and bedrooms all over the world. Toronto, Canada native, Daniel Oh, has been experimenting with the art of arranging sounds from the comfort of his own bedroom since 2012. While attending the University of Tronoto, d.oh laboriously tinkered with his craft between, and sometimes during, his classes. After a few years, he created the electronically driven album Hole in My Sock. The six track album of bedroom beats retains elements of indie rock, blues and pop while properly doused in deep electronic sounds.

Each track on d.oh's Hole in My Sock varies in style and sound. His humble beginnings wrought humble songs that emulate a feeling of contentment and familiarity. They are deep, yet simple, smooth, mellow and romantic at times. D.oh's budding talent is apparent as he searches through different styles to find his ideal sound. Hole in My Sock is a perfect example of sonic exploration. Many artists begin with one style and are completely different by the time they find their signature sound. This debut album follows d.oh on his musical journey.

The lead single, "Alien Rooster," is reminiscent of '90s R&B with its creamy, harmonizing vocals, and a cute, energetic rhythm. It shows his skill at creating catchy beats and vocal melodies. The track "A Carver's Love Song" utilizes acoustic guitar and sounds completely different from the rest of the album. With its highly expressive and emotionally driven lyrics and instrumentals, this track is evocative of the emo music craze from the early 2000s. "Mountain of Glory" has potential to be a signature sound with its edgy lyrics and sultry verses, but the autotuned vocals make the track seem banal. Though the depth to this song is present with its eerie, dark, and soulful melodies, it is just not as powerful as it could be. Music can be like baking, sometimes just one wrong ingredient can ruin the whole pie.

The track that possesses the most fire, depth and soul is "Only to Kill." The song opens with the line: "You are neither paid to plan or to think...only to kill." Like something from an old, film noir, gumshoe thriller, the line is followed by a hypnotic beat and haunting piano melody. You are instantly carried into d.oh's sonic landscape, feeling the cadence of "Only to Kill" deep within your solar plexus. In addition to being the most well produced song on the album, his vocals are also the most controlled and soulful in this track. Even throwing a few emotional screams in the background paired nicely with this mesmerizing melody. The anthem-like chanting at the bridge of the song evokes an image of an entire audience chanting its melody together as d.oh performs this track live. The fervor and passion for his craft is the most apparent in "Only to Kill."

Hole in My Sock is an impressive debut from Daniel Oh. Being an artist means taking a risk in exposing the fruits of your soul to the world. Sometimes the world relishes in the sweetness of your creations, or spits your fruit out right in front of you. D.oh is talented and tenacious, two things necessary for success in the music industry. He took a risk and shared his creations which is always an admirable feat. Hole in My Sock feels more like a compilation of his various compositions than a cohesive album of one vision. Experimenting with different sounds, however, is the odyssey of the musician. D.oh is on his way to greatness. When he narrows down his vision to that one sound that will make him iconic, not even a hole in his sock will be able to stop him.

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ohitsdoh
Bandcamp: http://ohitsdoh.bandcamp.com/
Official: http://www.ohitsdoh.com/
Facebook: http://facebook.com/ohitsdoh

An oft neglected basic observation missed on the right and the left: virtues require a narrative and a context. For example: the Golden Rule -- do unto others as you would have them do unto you -- works quite well in a sado-masochist community. Or so Jim McClendon once rightly observed.

In other words, the content of all the virtues, and the moniker "hero," are dependent upon who is telling the contextual story. And this brings me to American Sniper, which could have been more forthrightly named "American Hero," because it is a story about the way in which America sees itself, and that story then gives content to the various virtues depicted therein.

[SPOILER ALERT]

Clint Eastwood developed with the story of Chris Kyle (for the sake of not confusing the historical Chris Kyle with Clint Eastwood's Chris Kyle, let us refer to "Eastwood's Kyle") the moral equivalent of Graeco-Roman hero stories: the young man who faces his own demons, but finds within himself and the Texas and familial fabric whence he comes the resources to become an exemplar of courage and the warrior virtues. With his lethal focus, he is fierce, loyal, disciplined, and patriotic; and then comes the tragic end in the midst of serving a fellow veteran.

Thus in his virtues and his tragic end, maybe he is not merely an American hero, but the American Messiah.

Eastwood does his kind of story-telling well. It's hard not to admire the extraordinary human being that is Eastwood's Kyle (or, Bradley Cooper as Eastwood's Kyle). It's something like the guilty pleasure of admiring the courage, strength, and skills of a UFC fighter: that sense of wonder that someone could be that tough, endure that much pain, have that much self-discipline, placing themselves in a situation in which they are sure to endure yet much more pain, in pursuit of the glory of the win.

I'm an academic, and even worse to many, an academic who teaches theology. And I've been at it long enough to know that right-wing stereotypes of academics and theologians as liberal, utopian do-gooders carries with it at least a germ of truth. So I sometimes need to be called to account by coming face-to-face with a kick-ass character who does not put up with any crap.

Nonetheless: this is a dangerous film, if not morally perverse. This is true because of what it leaves unsaid, and because of what it assumes.

For the idealistic, even perverse assumptions: the movie has young Chris at the dinner table with his father, his mother, and his younger brother. The younger sits at the dinner table with a black eye, having endured a brutal beating by a playground bully. Older brother Chris had rescued, and beaten the bully to a retributive pulp.

The father, sitting at the head of the table, says, to this effect: there are three kinds of people in this world: sheep, who can't take care of themselves; wolves, who prey upon the sheep; and sheep-dogs, who look after the sheep and keep the wolves at bay. I ain't raising no sheep, he says, and then pulling off his belt and laying it on the table, says further, and if either of you becomes a wolf I'll kick your ass. Instead, he makes the moral lesson clear to his sons: I'm raising sheep-dogs.

This is where the moral narrative becomes all important to the shape of the virtues: it is classic Hollywood, suffused with a bit of holiness as the hero carries about a New Testament with him, and the world is neatly divided between good and evil. It's a re-skinning of George Bush's axis of evil; of cowboys and Indians; and of course what no one wants to point out, is that it's the same sort of division of the world into good versus bad that ISIL and al Qaeda foist upon the world and their deluded adherents, to deadly and mass-murdering effect.

It is, as a colleague of mine said, terrifically uncomplicated.

If virtues get their content from the communities whence they arrive, and if it is true that Eastwood's Kyle derives his character from a long-tradition of American story-telling, then what do we see? The all-American good ole boy, a former rodeo-man from Texas no less, who has a handsome swagger, a drop-dead gorgeous wife, loves his children, and who will kill anybody who picks up arms on the wrong side. And in the end, he has zero regret, and according to the historical Kyle, only wishes he had killed more.

So what's the problem with such assumptions? For one, it leaves unasked so many important questions: Have we forgotten that in between the two Iraq wars, the U.N. and U.S. sanctions contributed to the deaths of one-half a million children? It refuses to ask what role our own nation's violence contributes to the development of the violence of other nations, or to remind us of the fact that Saddam Hussein, as one diplomat famously said, when the U.S. was beginning to give support to the despot and responding to the charge that Hussein was an SOB, replied that now "he was our SOB." It refuses to take seriously that there is a cycle of violence in the world, and that retribution fosters counter-retribution which fosters counter-retribution in an endless cycle. There is no historically primitive goodness and badness in the political sense, and for us to continue to believe and perpetuate this myth is sheer madness that will even yet more rapidly throw us into the pit of hell which we are enlarging at an alarming rate with our fetish for military might, and increasingly, our fetish for killing at a distance -- through the drone's video screen or the sniper's scope.

There are indeed wicked people in the world, who have become perverse. But refusing to ask about context and narrative and history is no virtue, is in fact, a malicious vice. Undoubtedly there are numerous insurgents in Iraq and the Middle East who carry about deep resentment towards the great foreign imperialistic power that showed up in their streets with Abrams tanks, demolished their homes, and killed their children. (Let us not forget that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. But Eastwood's Kyle, and George W. Bush's administration, would lead us quickly to the false connection.) But Eastwood's Kyle begins his sniper career by shooting a boy and a woman who have carried a grenade into their own street to try to stop an Abrams tank and a patrol of marines. He kills them both. And though he shows a modicum of anguish over his killing, he insists that he had never seen evil like that.

This is the problem with the white-hat black-hat narrative of Hollywood: when "they" do what "we" do (though "they," of course, poor saps, are just not as efficient in their killing as "we" are) it is evil, but when Americans do it, it is heroic. Eastwood's Kyle insists he is doing what he does because he does not want terrorists in our neighborhoods here. Yet he participates in the invasion of a country that had nothing to do with 9/11; a country who was headed by, no doubt, a despot but a despot who had furthered his hold on power by the support of our own country; and when those people fight back because they don't want foreign invaders in their streets, it's "evil" like Eastwood's Kyle has never yet imagined.

The climactic moment of the film comes when Eastwood's Kyle kills a sniper on the other side, who, not surprisingly, has been dressed in black throughout the film. The shot is impossible. But the impossible shot shown as possible is the overarching vice of the film: that the world is neatly divided up, and good guys can destroy the bad guys, and all is well. It's as unrealistic as the foolishness that got the United States into the war in Iraq in the first place: the George W. Bush rhetoric that insisted that it is possible to "defeat evil" and to win a "war on terror."

This is Messianic language employed in service to militaristic politics, and it is idolatrous as it was employed by Bush, and though more subtle in American Sniper, still as dangerous.

Then there is the laughable employment of the New Testament, which Eastwood's Kyle carries about with him on his killing missions. (It says a great deal, however, that Eastwood's Kyle merely carries it, but never reads it.) The militaristic, nationalistic tyranny over Christianity in America remains shocking to me. I cannot understand why people who say they read the Sermon on the Mount, or Romans 12, or 1 Peter, continue to let the Eastwoods of this world get away with such subversion of the Christian tradition. Little would most non-Christian Americans have any idea that the New Testament is, in fact, a text subversive to imperialist agendas. The New Testament is subversive to imperialist agendas because it refuses to prioritize the "American" story Eastwood is telling: it refuses to prioritize a good guys versus bad guys narrative, and instead insists that we are all caught up in the drama of brokenness, and that the only solution in the long run is some sort of politically-realistic, patient and suffering good-will for all, brought in not by an overbearing Messiah bearing the sword, but a suffering Messiah bearing a new way of life.

Eastwood's Kyle an American hero? No doubt. But Eastwood's Kyle increasingly shows us that what has become equated with "American" is increasingly dangerous, naïve, and ignorant.

Ruth E. Carter is a four-time nominated African-American costume designer of Los Angeles, California. Carter is known for her work in films such as Malcolm X and Amistad, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Designer.

Ruth's roots began in Springfield Massachusetts. As a little girl, Ruth dreamed of becoming a dermatologist, yet her mother encouraged her to become a special education teacher. Growing up, she was in Upward Bound, which is a college prep program, and later attended Hampton University in Virginia where she majored in education.

Though she loved teaching, it was during her sophomore year in college that she discovered her passion for costume design. She had a love for theater, and after graduating, she then returned to Springfield, Massachusetts where she interned at the Santa Fe Opera. While working at the Los Angeles Theater Center, she met a young man by the name of Spike Lee, and it was then that he brought her aboard to design the costumes for his second film, School Daze in 1988.

Ruth continued to design for Spike Lee films such as, Mo' Better Blues (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), Malcolm X (1992), Crooklyn (1994) and Clockers (1995). She has also had the pleasure of working on Serenity in 2005 and the Lee Daniels film, The Butler 2013.

Ruth's designs have graced the silver screen for over 28 years. Recently, she had the pleasure of working on the 2014 Oscar-nominated film Selma that was directed by the incredible Ava DuVernay, and featured the amazing actor David Oyelowo as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

When asked where her passion comes from for designs, Ruth said: "My designs come from my passion for people and the collaboration of incredible and creative minds."

She shared with me the process in her creating the 1965 vintage designs in the film Selma. Ruth researched historical books, such as: Freedom, Civil Rights Chronicle, and King, which spoke of the men in King's camp, such as Abernathy and Andrew Young. The collection of Garments she brought from L.A. to Atlanta to pre-fit the actors were of actual vintage. They were the same authentic garments worn in 1965. It amazed her how they dressed in long trench coats and wore layers to protect themselves from the blows that they received while being beaten as they marched. When I asked what it was like working with such amazing talent she replied: "Extremely fulfilling, to the highest."

I chose to do a write up on Ruth Carter, not only due to her creative designs, but the fact that she proved that when you follow your dreams, the opportunities are endless. Many are wondering what is next for Ruth Carter; well, she will be designing for Being Mary Jane, Season 3, which will soon be airing on BET.

Pictured here is Ruth E. Carter

What a weekend for Birdman! First, the Producers Guild, then the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) -- everyone seems to be lining up to honor Alejandro Iñárritu's film in the month leading up to the Oscars. But does that mean the race is over? The math suggests it is not.

Over the past ten years, the Directors Guild is the most accurate Best Picture predictor. I give the Producers Guild half credit for last year's tie between 12 Years a Slave and Gravity. And the BAFTAs (which, like the DGAs, have not yet occurred) are also more accurate than the SAGs.

The point is: What we have so far could be midway through a dominating run through awards season for Birdman, much like The King's Speech enjoyed in 2010. But if the DGAs or BAFTAs go a different direction, it could be a much closer two or even three-film race. In the acting categories, however, the SAGs are a much more definitive predictor:

While my precise percentages in every category will not be released until closer to the Oscar ceremony date, I can now announce that each of the four SAG acting award winners -- Eddie Redmayne, Julianne Moore, J. K. Simmons and Patricia Arquette -- will enter the Academy Awards as the mathematical favorite. It's not just that they won the SAG (the math is rarely that simple); each of them also won the Golden Globe as well. That combination is nearly impossible to overcome in the standings.

That's not to say that each of those four actors will win -- upsets do, of course, happen every year. It just means that if any of them lose, it will in fact be an upset. And that's precisely what Michael Keaton, Reese Witherspoon and a host of other hopefuls will have to start hoping for.

Ben Zauzmer, an applied math major at Harvard, uses only data -- no personal hunches or opinions -- to predict the Oscars. He has served as a columnist for The Hollywood Reporter, and his work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Economist and publications across the globe. Follow him on Twitter: @BensOscarMath.

E-mail: bzauzmer@college.harvard.edu

What Happened When My Husband And I Tried A '50 Shades Of Grey' Sex Scene

Hope: Entertainer of the Century -- A Book Review

Envision Festival Official L.A. Pre-Party on 1/28

Behind the Scenes at Miss Universe: What Really Happens

Downton Abbey, Edith Wharton, and the Jews

The Snow Globe Effect and Cinematic Immunity

American Sniper: The Danger in Always Being Right

Let the World Speak!

American Sniper Review: Bradley Cooper's Real Breaking Point Sheds Light On Who Really Pulled The Trigger

Video Premiere: Dewey Decibel & Zilla Rocca - "Cappuccino"

Hollywood, We Have a Problem

'A Most Violent Year': Year of the Wolf

Positive Thinking: The Key to Parmalee's Wild Ride

The Road to Burns

Why I Won't Be Watching American Sniper

The Real Learning Channel: A Straight Spouse Of A Gay Husband Speaks Out

New Artist Reviews: d.oh

Clint Eastwood's Sniper, and the American Messiah

Passion Meets Purpose With Ruth E. Carter

How the SAG Awards Predict the Oscars