paternity tests are riviting stuff !

what is it about paternity tests that keep us as TV watching audiences in rapture of our screens and shows??? i'm currently watching two shows right now and both of them have paternity tests as major plot points: Veronica Mars and nip/tuck. i know that the probable outcome of these paternity tests will not be nearly as intreguing as watching the process behind deciding to do them, but that doesn't stop me from loving the drama :)

false memories are closer than we remember!

About one-third of the people who were exposed to a fake print advertisement that described a visit to Disneyland and how they met and shook hands with Bugs Bunny later said they remembered or knew the event happened to them.

The scenario described in the ad never occurred because Bugs Bunny is a Warner Bros. cartoon character and wouldn't be featured in any Walt Disney Co. property, according to University of Washington memory researchers Jacquie Pickrell and Elizabeth Loftus. Pickrell will make two presentations on the topic at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Society (APS) on Sunday (June 17) in Toronto and at a satellite session of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition in Kingston, Ontario, on Wednesday.

"The frightening thing about this study is that it suggests how easily a false memory can be created," said Pickrell, UW psychology doctoral student.

"It's not only people who go to a therapist who might implant a false memory or those who witness an accident and whose memory can be distorted who can have a false memory. Memory is very vulnerable and malleable. People are not always aware of the choices they make. This study shows the power of subtle association changes on memory."

The research is a follow-up to an unpublished study by Loftus, a UW psychology professor who is being honored by the APS this week with its William James Fellow Award for psychological research; Kathryn Braun, a visiting scholar at the Harvard Business School; and Rhiannon Ellis, a former UW undergraduate who is now a doctoral student at the University of Pittsburgh. In the original study, 16 percent of the people exposed to a Disneyland ad featuring Bugs Bunny later thought they had seen and met the cartoon rabbit.

In the new research, Pickrell and Loftus divided 120 subjects into four groups. The subjects were told they were going to evaluate advertising copy, fill out several questionnaires and answer questions about a trip to Disneyland.

The first group read a generic Disneyland ad that mentioned no cartoon characters. The second group read the same copy and was exposed to a 4-foot-tall cardboard figure of Bugs Bunny that was casually placed in the interview room. No mention was made of Bugs Bunny. The third, or Bugs group, read the fake Disneyland ad featuring Bugs Bunny. The fourth, or double, exposure group read the fake add and also saw the cardboard rabbit.

This time 30 percent of the people in the Bugs group later said they remembered or knew they had met Bugs Bunny when they visited Disneyland and 40 percent of the people in the double exposure group reported the same thing.

"'Remember' means the people actually recall meeting and shaking hands with Bugs," explained Pickrell. "'Knowing' is they have no real memory, but are sure that it happened, just as they have no memory of having their umbilical cord being cut when they were born but know it happened.

"Creating a false memory is a process. Someone saying, 'I know it could have happened,' is taking the first step of actually creating a memory. If you clearly believe you walked up to Bugs Bunny, you have a memory."

In addition, Pickrell said there is the issue of the consequence of false memories or the ripple effects. People in the experiment who were exposed to the false advertising were more likely to relate Bugs Bunny to other things at Disneyland not suggested in the ad, such as seeing Bugs and Mickey Mouse together or seeing Bugs in the Main Street Electrical Parade.

"We are interested in how people create their autobiographical references, or memory. Through this process they might be altering their own memories," she said. "Nostalgic advertising works in a similar manner. Hallmark, McDonald's and Disney have very effective nostalgic advertising that can change people's buying habits. You may not have had a great experience the last time you visited Disneyland or McDonald's, but the ads may be inadvertently be creating the impression that they had a wonderful time and leaving viewers with that memory. If ads can get people to believe they had an experience they never had, that is pretty powerful.

"The bottom line of our study is that the phony ad is making the difference. Just casually reading a Bugs Bunny cartoon or some other incidental exposure doesn't mean you believe you met Bugs. The ad does."


(Bd, bd, bd, bd -- That's all folks!)

Father Abraham in Smurfland

Retaliation for the recent US bombing and subsequent occupation of Smurfland, which left large numbers of Smurfs dead and injured and their leader Papa Smurf incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay, has been swift and brutal, with Barney the Purple Dinosaur being the latest US casualty. "I regret to say that the video released to the internet which appeared to show Barney being beheaded by his captors, was genuine," a Defense Department spokesperson announced last night. "I'm sure that all decent people will unite in mourning for this well-loved TV personality, so beloved by our children. But they can all rest assured that he gave his life in the defence of freedom!" Barney was captured by blue-skinned insurgents whilst touring strife-torn Smurfland, entertaining the GI Joes who have been deployed there. "The kidnappers' demands for an immediate withdrawal of our GI Joes from Smurfland in exchange for Barney were, sadly, completely unacceptable," explained the spokesperson. "The US and its allies cannot give in to terrorism." The brutal execution of Barney comes only a week after the red Power Ranger was shot down by Smurf terrorists using a Surface to Air Missile, and is simply the latest in a series of atrocities perpetrated by Smurf terrorists against the occupation forces. Prior to the snatching of the dinosaur, the GI Joe forces had taken the brunt of Smurf attacks, with several patrols being ambushed. "Those giant mushrooms offer them the perfect cover," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield explained to a recent press conference. "One of the little blue bastards hides behind one of those thick stalks with his rocket launcher and takes out the lead vehicle of the patrol, then the rest of them leap off of the tops of the other mushrooms and massacre our boys!" Consequently, Rumsfield has ordered the immediate harvesting of the thick Mushroom fields of Southern Smurfland in an attempt to foil the insurgents. However, the Smurf resistance hasn't confined its campaign to occupied Smurfland, with attacks on GI Joes being reported in the US itself. "It was terrible," says eleven year old Timmy Cracowicz, who witnessed one of the attacks in the back garden of his Newark home. "One minute my four GI Joes were patrolling the along the back fence in their Humvee, looking out for crazy Arabs to shoot, the next there was this was this huge bang as they ran over a landmine and were blown up!" Timmy looked on in horror as a group of Smurfs, clad in camouflage battledress and armed with automatic weapons and machetes, rushed out from behind a rhododendron and machine gunned the smouldering wreckage. "They were laughing and cheering in those shrill little voices all the while," he relates, close to tears. "Not satisfied with just killing the GI Joes, they spat on their bodies, shouting 'Death to America', before beheading them and taking the heads as trophies!" Little Timmy remains severely traumatised and refuses to play outside any more, instead spending all day inside watching television. However, even this activity isn't entirely without risk. "The sight of any thing blue terrifies him now," confides his mother. "When Bear in the Big Blue House came on the other day he had a massive panic attack and hid under his bed, screaming his lungs out for two hours!"

Reprisals by US citizens against Smurf immigrants has been swift and terrible, with thousands of the blue midgets being rooted out of toy boxes and cupboards and burned on bonfires, particularly after unconfirmed press reports of terrible atrocities being committed against Barbie dolls in South Carolina. "We welcomed these little blue guys into our country by the thousand back in the 1970s and 1980s - we took them to our hearts and trusted them with our kids," declared Atlanta city councillor and part-time rabble rouser Kirk Dallins at a recent public Smurf-burning event. "How do they repay our hospitality? By defiling some our most potent childhood icons! American children will be traumatised for generations by what they've seen done to Barney and GI Joe!" However, the Smurf insurgents do have some sympathisers in the US, who refuse to condemn their actions. "As far as I can see, they've done us all a favour by killing that damned dinosaur," opines Maryland mother of three Marsha Ellington. "He used to drive me crazy with his inane and repetitive singing! I'm sure that seeing him on TV everyday must have been severely warping our children's mental development! As for those warmongering GI Joes - they deserve everything they get! All they do is encourage violence and aggressive militaristic attitudes in kids!" Ellington is one of a growing number of Americans who oppose the occupation of Smurfland and are openly questioning the government's reasons for going to war with the little people. "Those 'Mushrooms of Mass Destruction' they claimed were such a threat have failed to materialise," she points out. "All they've found there are regular giant fungi - certainly nothing which could be germinated within thirty-six hours and fire its spores at New York!" Indeed, many now suspect that the real reason for the invasion was oil. "The Smurfs are well known for their close connections with National Benezole and British Petroleum," explains Ellington. "Apparently they were instrumental in pushing up crude oil prices - face with the threat of gas shortages and higher prices at the pumps in the US, the President invaded Smurfland!"

Such arguments are dismissed out of hand by supporters of the war, who maintain that the giant mushrooms posed a genuine threat to US security. "Everybody knows that they were planning to contaminate our water supplies with those magic mushrooms," asserts Kirk Dallins. "The hallucinogens from that fungi would have turned us into a nation of hippie perverts, tearing each others clothes off and cavorting naked whilst preaching peace and love! The country would have been left defenceless and ripe for conquest!" There have also been allegations that the Smurfs were undermining the moral values of America's children by promoting unnatural sexual relationships. "One girl Smurf and God knows how many guys - led by some kind of old pervert? What the hell kind of message is that sending to our kids?" Dallins demands to know. "The fact that new Smurfs are created without any kind of normal sexual liaison between couples in a loving marriage is obviously some kind of endorsement for masturbation!" Apologists for Papa Smurf - found hiding in a forest grotto by GI Joe infantry three weeks after the end of hostilities- and his regime claim that their misdemeanours were the result of the malicious influence of their 'spiritual leader' Father Abraham, who used the Smurfs as a vehicle for his twisted anti-western terror campaign. "They were all perfectly innocent until that bearded weirdo came along," opines Ellington. "He's waged a campaign of terror against the west - starting with those incredibly irritating records!" Father Abraham - who escaped the US invaders - is apparently co-ordinating the worldwide Smurf resistance from his secret hideout beneath the mountains of Northern Smurfland. According to intelligence sources, he is currently attempting to build up a network of sympathisers amongst other popular children's characters. Indeed, British police have already moved to detain Wallace and Gromit, after intelligence reports that the inventor had been seeking supplies of radioactive cheese. "Our worry is that he'll use his moon rocket as a delivery system for nuclear terror attacks," explained a Home Office spokesperson. In separate development, it has emerged that Wallace is also under investigation by the RSPCA for alleged cruelty to animals.

Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor)

this film is the first in a trilogy of horror/vampire/sci-fi/action/period piece/epic films that are already a HUGE hit in russia. the basic premise of the movie is that long ago, there was a fierce battle between the forces of light and the forces of dark. in order to stop everyone on both sides of the battle from being killed, the two leaders got together and formed a truce that would allow both sides to live in peace, each with their own perks. the darks can live their lives but they have to be given licences to turn others into vampires. the lights are the ones who control these licences and also make sure that the truce is upheld. this is a very VERY brief summary of the film, but i wouldn't ever be able to get it all into this blog. it is one of those films that is very visually stunning, and to watch it in russian with english subtitles just adds to the visual effects as they turn the subtitles into a part of the film. it's not just subtitles... it's art. if you like those kinds of films where you like to be visually stimulated, then totally go check this movie out. i'll admit that nothing in this film will surprize you, the "twists" are kinda predictable, but just watching it all unfold is a pleasure in and of itself. 4 out of 5 stars.

Whisper of the Heart

i don't know what it is about Hayao Miyazaki films that make me so at peace with the world, but i figured i'd share. late last night i got home from watching a movie with laura... (Night Watch... awesome film by the way) and i had 2 disturbing phone calls on the way home... needless to say, both of these phonecalls put me in a very uptight mood... not angry persay, just in the need for a massage or something. anyway... i got home, made some hot cocoa, and started watching Whisper of the Heart, and i went to bed more contented and calm then i have in a long time. odd?? so, if you are stressed out after a long day or if you are just feeling lost or alone or sad, pop in one of studio ghibli's films and you'll probably feel better :)

CGI 2006!

hey, i found this article on CGI animated films being released this year. it's really interesting... i dunno if you know or not, but the academy award for best animated feature is only given if there are at least eight animated feature films (with a theatrical release in los angeles). if there are 16 or more films submitted for the category, the winner will be voted from a shortlist of five films, otherwise there will only be three films on the shortlist. so, it looks like we may be choosing from 5 films for next years best animated feature award... what would your choices be??

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – Hollywood is gearing up for a major cartoon showdown.

Pixar and DreamWorks Animation dominate the market for animated films using computer generated images. But several other major media firms are hoping to make a crack in this lucrative area.

"Hoodwinked," a novel take on the tale of Red Riding Hood, was a surprise hit in January.

Paramount hopes to cash in on the CGI craze with "Barnyard" due out later this year.

"Ice Age 2: The Meltdown" will be released in March. The first "Ica Age" movie was a blockbuster for Fox.

"It used to be that Pixar was the only game in town. But now other studios have gotten into the fray," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co., a box office tracking firm.

The theatrical release calendar is littered with CGI films this year. The Weinstein Co., the independent film studio founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein after they left Miramax, have already released two CGI films: "Hoodwinked" and "Doogal."

"Doogal," which came out last week, has been a commercial and critical flop but "Hoodwinked," a Rashomon-esque take on the tale of Red Riding Hood, has been a surprise hit. "Hoodwinked" has grossed more than $50 million since being released in January, according to movie industry tracking firm Box Office Mojo.

Later this month, News Corp (Research).-owned Fox will be releasing "Ice Age 2: The Meltdown." The first "Ice Age," released in 2002, grossed $176 million. Fox is also the distributor for a CGI movie called "Yankee Irving" this summer.

Sony (Research) has two CGI films on tap for later this year: "Monster House" and "Open Season." Time Warner's (Research) Warner Brothers studio also has two CGI movies due out this year: "The Ant Bully" and "Happy Feet." (Time Warner also owns CNNMoney.com.) And finally, Viacom's (Research) Paramount is releasing "Barnyard" in October.

But are people interested in seeing this many animated films? After all, the industry's two pioneers also have movies coming out. Pixar (Research), which is being acquired by Walt Disney (Research), has yet to have a movie that's flopped and hopes are extremely high for this summer's "Cars."

And DreamWorks (Research), which has had hits with its two "Shrek" movies and last year's "Madagascar" is releasing "Over the Hedge" in May and has "Flushed Away" tentatively scheduled for the fall.

"Some of these movies could be in trouble. I suspect that a bunch will fall by the wayside. There is not enough demand," said Dennis McAlpine, an independent media analyst.

Dergarabedian agrees with that assessment. "There seems to be an insatiable appetite for family films but if you have too many coming out at the same time some of these movies will get hurt," he said.

Clearly, the box office allure of CGI films has attracted the interest of all the major studios.

The two "Shrek" movies, for example, have grossed more than $700 million in the United States while the six Pixar films have combined to generate nearly $1.5 billion in U.S. ticket sales. And that doesn't even factor in the international box office gross and DVD revenue from these movies.

"The temptation is too great for Hollywood to resist," McAlpine said.

Still, McAlpine said other studios should not necessarily expect similar success. He argues that it's the characters behind the hit Pixar and DreamWorks movies, not the mere fact that they are computer-generated, which has made them popular with both kids and adults alike.

"Hollywood has never been bashful about its own competence," said McAlpine. "If studios see somebody else do something, they think they can do it better. But it's not as simple as it looks -- the story has to attract people."

What's more, traditional forms of animation aren't dead yet either, despite the hubbub about CGI films.

Dergarabedian points out that "Curious George," a hand drawn movie based on the popular children's book series about an inquisitive monkey, has done well since it was released last month. It has grossed about $65 million. And none of the films nominated for Best Animated Feature in this years Academy Awards were computer-generated either.

Finding Neverland

Neverland is closer to us than we think. Maybe it surrounds us all the time but we never stop to see it. There is so much around us that we never take the time to see or hear. I've been listening to the Finding Neverland soundtrack today and the music here truly captures the essence of what Neverland is. Just take some time to sit back and listen. Sometimes it's not what you're seeing or listening to. It's how you listen to it that changes everything.

TEAVANA

this tea, lapsang souchong, has GOT to be the most foul smelling thing i've ever had the pleasure of offending my nose with. someone left a can of it at work, and i smelt it and almost died. it smells like a mixture of really bad barbeque, forest fires, and dead rotting animal. do yourself a favour and STAY AWAY from this tea!