Some people choose the easiest path through life; David Belle prefers to take the most interesting. As the world's premier exponent of parkour, a physical discipline of movement that's as much a philosophy as it is a sport, Belle has carved a career out of taking the unconventional route.
The freeform method of getting around is based on techniques developed at the turn of the last century by a French navel officer called Georges Hébert. Belle's father picked up the baton laid down by Hébert, building upon his techniques while serving in the French military. The passion for the physical discipline-cum-artform was then passed down from father to son. The latter helped brand l'art du déplacement (or art of movement) with its popular name, bringing "parkour" to the awareness of the mainstream through gravity defying appearances on TV and film. Thrusting parkour further into the popular psyche, Belle's stunts have also been showcased on TV commercials for companies such as Nike, Vittel and the BBC that have since gone viral throughout the net.
In 2004 Belle starred in District 13, a French language action movie co-written and co-produced by Luc Besson (who was responsible for the 1997 sci-fi classic The Fifth Element). District 13 was set in the near future in a fictionalized dystopian suburb of Paris, and was the first major film to feature parkour-inspired action sequences. Belle reprised his role as the gang-busting Leïto in a sequel, District 13: Ultimatum, which was released in Europe last year. Featuring spectacular rooftop chase sequences that should thrill action fans, the film is finally getting a North American theatrical release on Friday, February 5.
I called Belle up at his home in Corbeil-Essonnes, in the southern suburbs of Paris to find out more. With the help of a translator, we spoke about the new movie, the stunts it features, the origins of parkour and where it's taking him now.
Read SuicideGirls' exclusive new interview with David Belle.
Scientists who built mathematical models to study the likely outcome of a zombie attack have concluded that an invasion by the walking dead would lead to "a collapse of civilization, with every human infected, or dead."
They predict that in a city of 500,000 people, zombies would outnumber the susceptible population in about three days.
"An outbreak of zombies infecting humans is likely to be disastrous, unless extremely aggressive tactics are employed against the undead," stated researchers from the University of Ottawa and Carleton University in a paper entitled "When Zombies Attack."
Since decapitation is generally considered the best way to deal with this specific type of undead plague, the team consider humanity's best hope to be a swift counter attack. "The most effective way to contain the rise of the undead is to hit hard and hit often."
“Only quick, aggressive attacks can stave off the doomsday scenario,” the team warns.
Are you prepared?
Image: Mike L. Taylor (based on a photo I took at Fangoria)
...And the Connection between Addiction, Universal Healthcare and our Wars on Drugs and Terror
Addiction first took hold of Richard Farrell after a torn knee put an end to hopes of a professional athletics career. That same injury started his relationship with pain medication. One thing led to another, as these things do, and by the time he reached thirty Farrell had succumbed to almost every aspect of the heroin lifestyle.
His journey to redemption is chronicled in his new memoir, What's Left of Us. Farrell was one of the lucky ones; after twenty failed attempts, he slayed his dragon at a run-down, state-funded detox clinic in Massachusetts, and went on to fulfill his potential as an author, journalist, teacher, filmmaker and screenwriter.
Many addicts will not be so fortunate. Clinics such as these are the easy victims of budget cuts. As bankrupt states struggle to pick up the incarceration tab for the collateral damage of the War on Drugs, and our federal government goes deeper into debt to pay for its War on (drug-funded) Terror, Farrell's life experience leads him to pose an important question: Have we forgotten the simple laws of supply and demand? By funding these two never-ending wars are we ineffectually treating the symptoms instead of battling the cause? Wouldn't our money be better spent reducing the demand for drugs?
The state-funded treatment of drug addiction has never been a vote-winning cause (just look at the tap dancing Obama was forced to do recently on the prickly issue of needle exchange programs). Here, in this special guest column, Farrell makes the case for a more enlightened drug (and healthcare) policy and talks of the horrors that will likely transpire if we continue on our current course, which is tantamount to treating cancer with a gold-plated plaster -- ridiculous, ineffectual, expensive and ultimately fatal.
Click HERE to read Farrell's essay, The Two Hour Orgasm, at SuicideGirls.com.
I was there for a friend's birthday party. He's one of the lucky ones who still has a job (he lost pension benefits however and is being forced to take two weeks unpaid leave). Sadly many of his friends haven't been so fortunate. Some had not only lost their jobs but had reached the limits of their unemployment benefit and were taking drastic measures to make ends meet (one ex-insurance agent is now a stripper, another girl with an accounting degree does odd jobs for $10 per hour). Several were also facing the loss of their homes (short sale anyone?).
And with the maximum unemployment benefit in Nevada coming in at $362 per week, health insurance -- especially COBRA -- was way beyond their budgets. So you'd think public health insurance might be a priority for those in Las Vegas. You'd be wrong.
Here's the Top 5 Reasons Why the Public Option is a Bad Idea as expressed to me by the folks I met in Sin City this past weekend:
1. There aren't enough doctors.
2. My health insurance costs $276 per month so I couldn't afford a $200 public option.
3. We need tort reform first.
4. As it is doctors only get 60-65% of what they bill.
5. I can only afford catastrophic health insurance, so for all intents and purposes I'm not insured for regular doctors visits.
You might be forgiven for thinking that the above statements would be reasons for the public option, not against it. And that's what disturbed me the most. These otherwise intelligent people would make a statement that was seemingly pro-public option, then follow up with a passionate argument about how black was really white.
The only explanation for this confused thinking that clearly defied logic was the decades of brainwashing by governments, politicians, and the "health" industry, which has falsely managed to equate universal healthcare with communism and lack of choice in most people's mind. Personally, I'd like everyone to have the option of health care that goes beyond mere emergency room triage. That to me is real choice.
I guess these people were feeling lucky, since they were all happy to roll the dice and play the health industry's wheel of fortune game. You'd think they'd know better -- and that the house always wins.
The health insurance companies have proven that they're no longer worthy of the very responsibilty they're there to uphold. I wouldn't trust them to bill me fairly or accurately for an aspirin, so why would I trust them with something as important as my life?
But at this point, with no general public option, I have no choice.
I make too much to qualify for Medicaid, however like 50%-75% of those that file for bankruptcy (depending on whose figures you believe), even with health insurance, any serious medical condition would still leave me with a level of debt that would be hard to recover from.
Furthermore, my premium has gone up 50% this year -- and at existing premium levels in another 10 years I won't be able to afford to be insured at all. I'll be forced out of the private insurance system at an age when I'll start to need it most -- which of course is precisely the intention of the insurance companies. They want to force out those that are statistically likely to become sick -- hence their rates increase exponentially to the point of unaffordability as one gets older.
According to a World Healthcare Organization survey, America spent 15.2 GDP on health, yet our nation was ranked at #37 for health system performance. Conversely Great Britain, which has a national healthcare system, was ranked at #18 yet spent just 8.2 GDP on health.
Those GDP figures are dated however. America now spends around 17% GDP on health and that's projected to rise to 20% by 2017. Think about it, $2 out of every $10 earnt will go on healthcare. If that's not a tax on life I don't know what is? And what do the poor and middle class get from that monumental healthcare spend? Treatment that's considered worse than that in Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic according to the WHO.
In times of record job losses, we also have record numbers of uninsured. This means the burden of emergency care is being placed on fewer and fewer companies and individuals that are able to pay for plans, which is compounding an already dire situation with massive premium increases and benefit cuts. And with big business failing under the weight of grandfathered in healthcare expenditure, the lack of a public option is even having ramifications for the rich.
It's not surprising therefore that according to a recent NBC/Wall Street Journal survey 76% of Americans now want a public option.
However, under a barrage of obscene spending by the health industry on lobbyists, Obama is folding, his plan for a public option is on the verge of being withdrawn.
Don't allow this to happen. Take action now. Call your representative in congress and demand a pledge to support the the public option. Click HERE for a list of their numbers. Call them -- and share what they say in the comments section below.
Are they choosing the health of the health insurance industry over your dead body?
Michael Moore has just confirmed the name of his new movie, Capitalism: A Love Story, which will explore the evils of corporate governance. The Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11 filmmaker released a teaser trailer (see above) for the previously untitled film last month.
Capitalism: A Love Story is set for release on Oct 2nd, which marks the one year anniversary of the Senate vote to approve the $700 billion Wall Street bailout/rape/pillage.
Earlier in the year Moore had appealed for whistleblowers from the financial sector to come forward. It'll be interesting to see who stepped up to the plate.
"It will be the perfect date movie," said Moore in a statement released to the press yesterday. "It's got it all -- lust, passion, romance and 14,000 jobs being eliminated every day. It's a forbidden love, one that dare not speak its name. Heck, let's just say it: It's capitalism."
The Cove is a new documentary that exposes the horrific flipside of Flipper. Shot in the historic town of Taiji, Japan -- which is the birthplace of modern day whaling methods -- the film follows activist Ric O'Barry in his crusade to save the 2,000+ dolphins that are captured and/or slaughtered in a remote cove there each year.
Before O'Barry became an activist, he was an unwitting beneficiary of the dolphin trade. A one-time dolphin trainer (the mammals are closely related to whales), O'Barry first made a name for himself in the 1960s working on the Flipper TV series. "I feel somewhat responsible because it was the Flipper TV series that created this multi-billion dollar industry," says O'Barry, who older and wiser is appalled at the idea of dolphins in captivity in zoos and amusement parks around the globe. He now works for the Earth Island Institute, trying to save these wondrous creatures from this fate -- and worse.
His undercover work at the cove, exposing the atrocious practices of the Japanese fishing industry, caught the attention of former National Geographic photographer Louie Psihoyos, who directed the movie about O'Barry's work at the cove. Using high-tech hidden surveillance equipment, the duo were able to capture the covert activities at the well-guarded cove, that had – up until now – been hidden from world view. Even the Japanese dolphin industry it seems is aware that it must remain concealed if it is to continue.
At the end of the film, O'Barry storms the International Whaling Commission with footage from the cove that convinces many to disengage from the corrupt organization which sets whaling quotas which are intertwined with the issue of tolerance for Japan’s dolphin trade. For O'Barry, giving interviews in support of the film is the next step towards exposing the practices of those in the dolphin trade who are happy to perpetrate unmentionable cruelty and ply mercury laden dolphin flesh that in truth is too toxic for human consumption.
Click HERE for SuicideGirls' exclusive interview with Ric O'Barry.
More from my favorite political columnist and voice of extreme reason, FearTheReaper:
It’s really quite interesting to watch the Democrats throw it all away. This time, they seem to think blowing the chance at decent health care reform will aid them in future elections. Or perhaps they have taken so much money from the health care industry that they don’t give a shit. Either way, it doesn’t matter. Fixing health care is the biggest problem facing our country. If we don’t do something drastic, it will completely destroy our economy in the years to come. As it is, we’re in bad shape. Democrats, specifically Senate Democrats, have decided to help the poor insurance industry out as much as possible. Es no bueno.
Click HERE to read FearTheRepaer's summary of the various sick options the Democrats are seriously considering.
My birthday's coming up towards the end o' the month. On April 30th my health insurance company sent me a lovely letter to let me know that to celebrate my big day they'd decided to up my premium by $35 from $191 to $226 starting July 1st.
Then, a month later, they sent me another letter explaining that they were raising my premium again, this time by a hefty $65, just because they can, you know, for the hell of it. What a gift!
That's a total premium increase of $100 effective July 1st.
Think about that. My premium was $191. It's going up to $291. That's an increase of over 50% in one year.
Can you think of any other product or service that's gone up by more than 50% this year? In this economy? Have health care costs increased by that much in the last twelve months? Really?
What do I want for my birthday? Universal health care please Mr. Obama.
Otherwise I can't afford to get any older.
The move will essentially be a death sentence for the 35,000 Californians who rely on state funding for their HIV meds. As FearTheReaper succinctly put it in one of his recent posts:
"Shit, I'm sorry, but Republicans refuse to raise any taxes. Bummer you have to die because of it, but it's a moral thing. It would be immoral to take money that is not yours, sicko."
However, even if you're misguided enough to fall for the Republican anti-tax/anti-healthcare bullshit, this move still doesn't make sense. You might save some cash now, but, when these folks succumb to full-blown AIDS, things will start getting very expensive, very quickly.
This sick army of individuals will be packing emergency rooms with what should be minor ailments, like strep throat, colds and yeast infections, that their compromised immune systems will simply be unable to fend off. Too ill to work, they'll be relying on disability, and too sick to look after themselves, they'll be relying on social services. Eventually, they'll become so ill they'll have to hospitalized -- at our expense. And sadly, many will die really horribly -- and really expensively.
In the not-so long run, it'll be much cheaper to allow these people to live with their health intact with the help of state-sponsored prescriptions, but apparently that's just not the Republican way. I'm not sure what is anymore. I don't expect moral responsibility from the GOP, but there's not any fiscal responsibility here either.
This not exactly legit app, which its makers, iPhone Savior, named the Star Radio Communicator (so it's safe to assume this is not an official Paramount-licensed Star Trek product), gives your iPhone the look of the classic communicator from the original '60s TV series.
According to Gizmodo, "the 99 cent app gives you a dialing interface to place calls from within the app, making you feel like you're about five seconds away from bitch-slapping a couple of Klingons."
Yet another reason for those that held out on buying an iPhone (like me) to get the 3G S.
Political columnist and voice of extreme reason FearTheReaper talks Cheney:
Our media is pretty much a sad, dried up piece of dung. They sat idly by as the Bush Administration lied about intelligence and took us to war. Actually, they kind of gave Bush a wrap-around the while it was going on. They decided not to tell us about the Bush torture program for one whole year after it was uncovered. Their coverage of the current economic crisis has been woeful, to say the least. Those are just the big examples. The media is a shell of its former self and has basically become a national embarrassment. Nothing exemplifies how lame our media has become more than Liz Cheney.
Liz Cheney is the daughter of Dick Cheney. You may have possibly seen her spewing nonsense from her hate hole over the past couple of weeks because she has been invited on news program after news program to espouse torture and criticize President Obama. She is qualified, after all, because she was raised by a monster. And worst of all, she’s usually allowed to be the only guest, so her lying goes unchallenged, because our journalists are cowards and lack knowledge. Being the lone guest is considered a privilege and is reserved only for high officials and newsmakers, which she is not. She is someone’s daughter. The daughter of a man no one will defend. So, naturally, our media allows her to step up and defend dear old dad...
Click HERE to read the full post:
And, hey, stick around, Pol Pot’s daughter chimes in after the break!
When is a book not a book? When it's an alternate reality game!
(And for that matter, when is a games columnist not a games columnist? When she's a character in a book writing real posts for a popular pin-up website).
Click HERE to go down the Personal Effects: Dark Art rabbit hole with author and podcaster J.C. Hutchins and ARG mastermind Jordan Weisman (creator of The Beast, I Love Bees and Year Zero).
Extreme political columnist, FearTheReaper, makes the case that those who supported the killer of abortionist Dr. George Tiller should be treated as terrorist sympathizers and placed on our No Fly List. After all, this actually IS a matter of homeland security.
Conveniently many of these terrorist sympathizers have put their names next to Twitter updates supporting Tiller's killer, Scott P. Roeder, so they should be easy to identify.
Click HERE for the shocking Twitter terrorist list -- and their incredibly disturbing comments!
(I have 14 Spymaster direct messages clogging up my inbox so far....Ugh!)
More from FearTheReaper, my favorite political columnist and voice of extreme reason:
I was very sad to see Obama pass on my gay pick for the Supreme Court. I really wanted the Republicans to be forced to show their colors as they made homosexuality the main issue to keep someone off the bench. It didn’t happen. Fortunately, Obama went with a pick that is so politically shrewd it is astounding: Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Turns out she’s not white. After the dust settles, the Democrats will have created a majority for many, many, many years. Why? Because Republicans can’t stop their racist nonsense from spewing forth out of their loud holes. By the time this nomination process is over, America’s Hispanic population will be done with the Republicans for a long, long time....
Click HERE to read the full post.
24 Hours of LeMons, an endurance race for cars worth less than $500, was started by Jay Lamm, in response to the elitist racing industry. “Regular racing had gotten way too expensive and took itself way too seriously, ” Lamm explains. “Anyone who thinks racing is going to be their career is probably high, but that's what racing has become by and large.” This year there are more than 10 LeMon races scheduled all over the US.
My buddy Heathervescent entered one of these races this past weekend. "A friend had an '83 Toyota Supra that had seen better days," says Heathervescent. "Rather than take it to junkyard for demolition, we took it to the racetrack to participate in the 2009 Goin' For Broken 24 Hours of LeMons race at the Fernley Raceway in Reno, NV."
Click HERE to find out what happened!
The second installment in SuicideGirls' two-part special report on our nations onerous usury laws and credit crisis:
Last week we covered the horror of America’s usury law problem and how it has caused a massive imbalance of where our money should be. It has shifted dramatically to the financial sector, where it is used to produce nothing. The worst of the worst of the financial sector are the payday lenders. They are scum of the earth and should be shut down immediately. They prey upon the weak and cause endless suffering. Other than that, they are great guys....
Click HERE to read the full article from my favorite political columnist and voice of extreme reason, FearTheReaper.
This is genius! Runpee.com is a site that tells you the best points in a whole database of new and classic movies to take a pee. It then has a scrambled section that will fill you in on what's happened once you return to your seat. Be sure to bring your iPhone next time you go to the pictures!
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