A Piece of the Pi

Many people have been complaining about Seth MacFarlane's job hosting the Oscars the other night- a complaint I have found personally exaggerated and overly critical- but hardly anyone has mentioned the much more important topic, the protest movement that occurred Oscar night called "A Piece of the Pi."

Life of Pi, directed by Ang Lee, won four Oscars, including the Oscar for Best Achievement in Visual Effects. Four men went up to accept the award, and to the observant viewer, one might have noticed that the "hurry up and finish" music started playing rather quickly. This may have been intentional, as many believe the Academy was trying to prevent attention being called to the large group of protesters picketing the ceremony outside. The protest was in support of the visual effects studio called "Rhythm and Hues," and the four men accepting the award were likely to give it mention since without Rhythm and Hues, they wouldn't even have had a movie. 

Several weeks ago, the VFX studio Rhythm and Hues filed for bankruptcy and had to lay off around 250 employees. As of February 17th, Life of Pi has made over $111,000,000 at the box office, and won very many awards to boot- yet the very people who created the movie have yet to be paid or recognized for their work.

In fact, when one of the men accepting the Oscar for Best Achievement in Visual Effects, Bill Westenhofer, was unable to make mention of the studio directly responsible for his success, Twitter blew up.

But why has this happened? Well, apparently the poor state of the VFX industry has something to do with it. With overseas competition, domestic VFX houses must survive on less than 5% profit margin, and as a result, bankruptcy is quite common. 

As for why the Academy has chosen to cover up this great injustice rather than provide any sort of solution or publicity, that is a mystery.

Getting Laid

     If it's ever happened to you, then you know how it feels. Your bosses sit you down in their office, make small talk and watch you squirm. "Is it bad?" I asked my manager while we waited for another manager to join us. "Here's the thing," she started with. It was bad. I was being laid off. I cried. I need a job to pay rent! "It's nothing personal," my managers told me. "Everyone has said kind things about you, and you've never gotten a complaint," one said as she tried to comfort me. Too many people go through the terrifying experience of being laid off.
   
      Even some of the biggest and best liked companies have to go through budget-cuts. It's affecting a lot of us now. Think of these numbers from businessinsider.com. The unemployment rate raised 7.9 percent in 2012, Yahoo! announced their plan to cut 2,000 employes(14.18% of its employees), Colgate-Palmolive Co. plans to cut 2,316 employees(6%), Google plans to let go of 4,000 Motorola employees(12.9%), PepsiCo plans 8,700 cuts(2.93%), and Hewlitt-Packard plans to can a whopping  29,000 employees(8.3%).

                                                    





Getting laid off is hard and something too many people are currently going through. If big companies like these are having financial issues, then who is actually doing well? It's really hard to bring yourself back up after being laid off, but a situation like this can sometimes lead you to where you're supposed to be. These recognizable names know being laid off was a blessing in disguise.

1. Michael Bloomberg

After being laid off when his company was bought out, Bloomberg used his severance check to create his own financial services company. He's a billionaire now, by the way.















2. J.K. Rowling

Rowling got laid off of her secretarial job and used her severance check to support her as she took time to write a book series. You know what I'm talking about, right?


3. Marc Jacobs

From one fashion company(Perry Ellis) to the next(I'm sure I don't have to spell it out).




Lay offs can happen to the best of us, but sometimes it can make us better. For more information on lay offs that paid off, go to

 http://www.onlinedegreeshub.com/blog/2011/10-famous-people-who-flourished-after-being-laid-off/

(I do not own any of the pictures in this post)

Social Media Squared

As the definition of mainstream popculture has shifted to include (and even focus on) "the internet" over the past 20 odd years, movies and television shows have adapted similarly. The overwhelming majority of modernly-set media will show the presence of social media in at least one way, showing that change is really rather inescapable. Here are some examples of movies or television shows in which social media plays a leading role:

The Social Network

Obviously, this Best Picture nominee wouldn't even exist without Facebook, as it's about...the birth of Facebook, the most globally-used social media site to date. 

Catfish

This is a film about a New York City romance facilitated through the internet, especially Facebook. This movie is an interesting look into how much of our interpersonal communication and relationships have been affected through our online identities and hobbies.

99% Film

http://www.99percentfilm.com/

A film about the Occupy Wall Street movement is going to be created by 99 different award-winning filmmakers. The recent movement took off, largely with the help of twitter to spread awareness and information. 

The Social Media Film Festival

This international film festival lists this as its mission statement: 

"The Social Media Film Festival is an international film festival with films about social media, social change and technology.  It’s more than a film festival. It’s a movement. Being Social. Going Global!"

As we continue to evolve our technology, I wonder how social media's presence will also continue to evolve. It is certainly hard to ignore.

Tell it to Your Avuncular

Lately, I've noticed that I learn new words a lot more often than I used to. I'm kind of proud of that fact, but I shouldn't feel so special because I'm sure a lot of you are noticing your constantly growing vocabularies too. Though I've always been an avid reader and love to write, pre-iPhone I wasn't able to look up a new word the second I came across it. With my phone, though, every time a definition slips my mind or I see an unfamiliar word, I have an app for that.
I have the dictionary app for looking things up, but I learn new words through playing games like Words with Friends too. By the way, if you were wondering what the hell "qi" means, it is defined on my laptop's Webster dictionary as such:

qi | ch ē| |kiː| (also chi or ki)
noun
the circulating life force whose existence and properties are the basis of much Chinese philosophy and medicine.
ORIGIN from Chinese ( Mandarin dialect) qì, literally ‘air, breath.’

You no longer have the right to tell your opponents they're cheaters when they use this to get big points, sorry.

I also recently acquired an app called CultiWords. Every time I use it, it will show me a word, have me guess the definition, and then tell me the definition. Do you know what gorgon means? Because I do, and it's a little offensive.
My point is that even though technology is everywhere and we use it for everything and it might turn our brains into mush, sometimes our smart phones can make us smarter. Download wisely.



(Pictures I do not own of apps that I do)

Celebrity Samaritan

Every once in a while, a nugget of positive celebrity news wedges its way between the stories of trivial relationship gossip continuously flooding our senses. It's doesn't happen nearly often enough, but as it is, we are reminded that some celebrities use their powers for good instead of solely personal gain. We live in a world where fame often correlates to value, and the regular people we put on a pedestal to idolize don't have to do anything other than parrot words and look attractive to justify that superior standing. It's disheartening to think that a glorified parrot might be more celebrated and well-paid than surgeons or teachers but when faced with stories like these, the sting isn't so bad. 

Here are some celebrities you might not realize use their fame and fortune for incredible humanitarian work:

Richard Gere is so outspoken in his quest for Tibetan independence that he is banned from both China and ever presenting at the Oscars. He is also vocal in spreading awareness towards AIDS as well as land rights of Indigenous cultures. 

Jackie Chan supports hundreds of charities including UNICEF, Operation Smile, and his own Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation. He's been known to donate supplies to schools in China, raise money for drought or natural disaster relief, and help WildAid in the preservation of tigers. In the first 8 months of 2010 alone, he raised $36 million dollars for natural disaster relief for people across the world, and once he dies he wants half of his assets given to charity. 

Bette Midler founded the New York Restoration Project, which works to improve or create NYC parks in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. She's also worked with organizations like STOMP Out Bullying, Smile Train, and the Worldwide Orphans Foundation.

Sean Penn founded the J/P Haitian Relief Organization and is very outspoken in continuing relief efforts there, going so far as to deliver a passionate and colorful speech at the Cannes Film Festival of 2012, angry at people for "forgetting" about Haiti.  

These are few of many great things that often aren't reported. Whether from a desire of the contributing celebrity to remain anonymous, or due to the reporting bias of trash entertainment, it is hard to tell, but a stroll through http://www.looktothestars.org/ (a website about celebrity humanitarian work) might help lighten your day regardless.

Faith in Humanity Restored(For Now)

Despite the constant negative news coverage we see on a day to day basis, there are actually good people out there. I'm not sure if you knew this, but decent people do indeed roam this earth. Here are a few stories of good people doing good things that will hopefully make you smile.

1. According to a recent Yahoo! News article, a homeless man returned a diamond ring to it's rightful owner after it was accidentally included in the change she gave to him. The site quoted the man, Billy Ray Harris, as saying "My grandfather was a reverend. He raised me from the time I was 6 months old and thank the good Lord, it's a blessing, but I do still have some character."

2. goodmood-news.com is a website dedicated to reporting only pleasant news, including this story. For his 18th birthday, Blaize Richard, who is autistic, was given a special surprise. Because he wanted to be a police officer, his mom coordinated a meeting in which a group of officers presented Richard with his very own police uniform. One of the officers, Mike Hill, decided not to stop there and routinely visits Richard.

3. The Animal League just announced that 60 rescued dogs were brought to their facility on February 7th. These recently saved dogs are now up for adoption. The site says the rescue was a collaboration with The Jason Debus Heigl Foundation, founded by actress Katherine Heigl and her family. Nancy Heigl, a Heigl Foundation co-founder said "Our collective goal is to reduce the euthanasia rate at three L.A. County shelters by transporting animals to forever homes in New York communities where the demand for companion pets is high."

Here's a pic of some of the newly adoptable dogs(taken from the site www.animalleague.org)

Surprising Faces of Bipolar Disorder

In the movie Silver Linings Playbook, the main character suffers from bipolar disorder. Bradley Cooper plays the role of Pat convincingly and the movie itself is filled with realistic aspects. Most of you probably know someone with this illness, and it’s possible that you are actually affected by it personally. You might be surprised, however, at the high amount of people with this illness.

According to the site statisticbrain.com, there are 5.7 million adults living as bipolar. 25 years old is the average age of bipolar onset. Sadly, many of those with the illness suffer depression and 20% of the people diagnosed with the disorder commit suicide. In the movie, Pat was an optimistic man and proved that you don’t have to let a disease take over your life. Many celebrities are bipolar themselves. Here’s a list of just a few big names who have the disorder:  

1.Catherine Zeta-Jones 

2.Demi Lovato

3.Jean-Claude Van Damme

4.Linda Hamilton

5.Britney Spears

These celebs all have bipolar disorder!

Silver Linings Playbook

I went to see Silver Linings Playbook last weekend since it was nominated for Best Picture and I wanted to see what was so great about it. The short answer is: a lot of things.

In the movie, Bradley Cooper plays a newly released mental patient with bipolar disorder, sent away after a violent attack on the man he caught having an affair with his wife, Nikki. He is a new man- pounds lighter and with the optimistic worldview to look for the silver lining. Also, with a restraining order. Despite said obstacle put forth by his estranged wife, Bradley Cooper's character Pat is determined to reconcile their relationship and continue on as usual. Jennifer Lawrence plays Tiffany, a widow and the sister of Nikki's best friend, who  professes to being able to pass on a letter to Nikki in exchange for Pat's help in a dance competition.

Both Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper gave outstanding performances, and both deserve the Oscar nominations they've gotten as a result. The director, David O. Russell, was also brilliant, creating a harsh, yet funny world where (like Pat's moods) we fluctuate in highs and lows.

But what I loved most was the obvious implication that "craziness" wasn't something limited to patients in a mental institution. Craziness in varying dosages is a part of life, present in the family that is supposed to be your stable environment, present in the choices we make, and in the idea that we can control anything. 

Pat's father, played by Robert De Niro, is convinced his OCD tendencies and superstition influence the outcome of the Philadelphia Eagles' football games. Pat's friend Ronnie is afraid of his bullying wife, and thinks his life is stuck in that fear. Tiffany understands Pat because her own wild experiences after losing her husband have put her in a similar place of emotional distance. And even with rampant personal problems of everyone's own, that doesn't prevent anyone from caring about each other, or showing support when it's needed.  

"There's always going to be a part of me that's sloppy and dirty, but I like that. With all the other parts of myself. Can you say the same about yourself? Can you forgive? Are you any good at that?"

Tiffany tells the above line to Pat about halfway through the movie and I think it's one of the most important lines of the film. Being partially unhinged is not a death sentence or an indication that you need to be banished or even necessarily "fixed." It's a part of you that you accept and cultivate any way you know how.