What a film release date can tell you about a

What a film release date can tell you about a movie

One of my first jobs in New York was working for the Gersh Agency, a talent and literary agency, at midtown. In the world of entertainment there are the "Big 5" agencies - William Morris, CAA, Endeavor, IMG and one other whose name escapes me - and then the next level of about ten smaller agencies. Gersh was somewhere in that next level. They'd have you believe they were at the top, but I'm not so sure and didn't stick around long enough to verify one way or the other, anyway.

We did have some big clients, though. David Schwimmer from Friends was our biggest breadwinner (out of the New York office, at least - the Los Angeles office had even bigger names). Sam Rockwell was also on our list, as were Josh Duhamel and J.K. Simmons. They'd all stop by the office every now and again, and we'd roll out the red carpet so-to-speak, treating them like a-List stars and doing our best to pamper them so they wouldn't run away to a bigger agency.

What I learned during my time there was that a film release date can tell you a lot about the film release itself. Agencies don't actually release films - studios do - but they have some say in it. And it's simply bad news for an agency if one of their star's films is released in January or February. Because it means the studio thinks the film is going to bomb, and nobody wants their star to be in a bomb.

It's a simple fact that people spend less money in January and February. Whether that's because it's colder throughout most of the country during those months so people stay inside more, or whether it's because people have less money because of December's holidays, it's tough to say. My guess is that it's a bit of both.

But it results in studios dumping films that they've already made but think are crap into the theaters during that two month stretch. Whether it's something like Denzel Washington's "Book of Eli" or Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island," even having the biggest stars or biggest directors attached won't save a bad film from a bad film release.

The flip side is that every agent wants their client's films to be released during the summer, preferably some time from May til about mid-july. These are called "tentpole films" because the money they make acts as a tentpole to hold up the rest of the studio, and a tentpole film release is a great way for a star - and their agent - to build their brand and name recognition.

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fibroids pregnancy and a healthy baby

My nephew, Connor, was born on July 28, 2009, and it was a bit of a miracle that he was healthy. Because, as it turns out, he wasn't the only thing growing in my sister in law's midriff.

The simple fact is that fibroids pregnancy is one of the hardest kinds of pregnancy to go through. And when it comes to a fibroids pregnancy, my sister in law takes the cake. Because she had a fibroid so large that they essentially delivered it along with Connor during the procedure. It was larger than a hockey puck, and the doctor had never seen one that big before. She actually had my brother take a picture of it (and being of that sense of humor, he happily obliged).

It wasn't all smiles over the previous nine months, however. At various times the doctors thought that they might lose the baby because the fibroids pregnancy was so severe. She had specialists from all over the northeast part of the united states come and examine her (which she jokes about now, but at the time was pretty uncomfortable. Something about being in the stirrups and having a dozen strangers looking at one's nether bits was just a bit more than she, or anyone really, wanted to go through during a pregnancy). They blasted her with x-rays, debated endlessly over how to treat the fibroids, and basically treated her like she was the greatest science experiment they had ever seen.

This isn't to criticize the doctors that worked on her. Fact is, their interest - even if it comes off as cold - is a damn good thing. They're trained professionals, men and women who have helped decrease the infant mortality rate to unheard of depths, and she was lucky to have them all there. But, as my sister in law said, it is a rather dehumanizing situation. Even if it was all for the best.

Anyway, they had trouble even identifying the fibroids pregnancy in the first place, and it was only a very astute and experienced x-ray technician who first caught it. Because the thing is, fibroids don't actually show up on x-rays or ultrasounds. So what the technician saw was an empty space where there wasn't necessarily supposed to be an empty space. It's not the kind of thing you'd notice unless you had years of experience working on pregnant women, and - again - it was lucky for brother's family that this technician just so happened to fit the mold.

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Feeding Baby Solid Food

When should you start feeding baby solid food? Should you start when they are four months old, or wait until they are six months? What happens if you are raising a preemie? Do you go by the real age or the adjusted age? These are just a few of the questions that parents ask themselves and their doctors when they are wondering how to and when to begin feeding solid foods to their babies. Each baby is different, and they all start comfortably at a different time. There are cues you can look for, and you should always listen to your doctor.

Many can start feeding baby solid food as early as four months, but do not do this without the blessing of your doctor. Most start out with rice and then oatmeal cereal made just for baby. There are some that believe that these are not the right choices, even if they are the easiest to digest right away. Some believe that rice cereal can lead to diabetes or weight problems later in life. They skip right to simple vegetables first, like peas, green beans, or carrots. Your doctor can talk to you more about it. They may feel the cereal issue is a myth or they may tell you to do what you think is best.

When you start, you have to watch your baby for signs that everything is okay. Before you even consider feeding baby solid food, there are some things you should see. For one, your baby should be able to sit up with assistance rather well. They should show interest when you are eating, and they should have some hand control. They will have to master keeping the food in the mouth as the tongue pushes outwards when drinking a bottle. They should get the hang of it rather quickly, but if not, don't push it. Put it away for a later date.

You want to watch for some types of reactions when you start feeding baby solid food. Start with just one food and feed them just a few bites of it a day for four days. See how their body responds. Some babies simple are not ready and they may develop painful gas or diarrhea. This usually means their digestive system is not ready. In some rare cases it may mean an allergy, but don't assume that without talking to your doctor. Discontinue or try something else if you have these issues.

Allergies can happen more often with babies than in any other age group. An allergy can sometimes be temporary. Their digestive systems can not handle all foods and you have to keep your eyes open. Never introduce more than one food at once so if there is a problem, you know what the problem is. Don't force too much at once when feeding baby solid food either. Some suggest vegetables should come before fruits or they will never eat the veggies, but others say that is not true. Use your best judgment, and of course, talk to your doctor about your concerns and for their advice when you start and as you go along.

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Getting over your fear of flying

The scientific term for a fear of flying is "pteromechanophobia." It can also be called "aerophobia," "aviatophobia" or "aviophobia." By any name, it indicates the same thing: A fear of flying in an airplane, helicopter or other similar means.

Fear of flying is closely related to acrophobia, which is a fear of heights. Acrophobia is, in itself, one of the most common phobias among the adult populace of the western world. Fear of flying can also be related to claustrophobia, which is a fear of enclosed spaces. If you've ever been on an airplane, you know that even though you're out into the great wide open, the cabin itself can be uncomfortably cramped. Especially if you happen to be sitting next to Kevin Smith.

I, personally, had a mild fear of flying throughout most of my twenties, though it was never related to a fear of heights or a fear of enclosed spaces. Rather, it was a combination of a fear of death and a fear of not having control of the procedings.

By the way, isn't it weird that there's no scientific name for the fear of death? It's the one thing most of us fear the most, yet the scientific community has yet to name it. Maybe the theory is that it is such a prevalent and natural thing to fear that there's no sense in naming it. It's right to be afraid of death; it's not a medical or mental condition. It's simply how all living things are wired. You see it in nature as much as in human behavior; animals fight to their last to survive, no matter the situation.

Anyway, for me a fear of flying became closely related to a fear of death after the attacks on the World Trade Center's Twin Towers on 9/11. I was living in New York City in the time, and was able to watch the whole thing unfold from my front stoop. The end of my street used to end in a view of the twin towers, so I had a perfect view of the day's proceedings.

The fear of losing control is probably related to that day as well, since it's so well documented that the terrorists were able to take control of the airplanes before crashing them into the buildings, and no one on board was able to stop them. Anyone who's flown since then has to have asked themselves how they would respond in a similar circumstance.

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Fatty Foods and winning the battle of the bulge

Throughout my youth I was skinny. Not just thin, not fit, but actually skinny. My friends used to joke that I looked unhealthy, and I couldn't get near a dinner table without someone - usually an aunt or the mother of a friend or some such - trying to stuff me as full of potatoes, beef, and other fatty foods as was possible.

And I gladly indulged. Part of being skinny was a bottomless pit of an appetite, one that was particularly insatiable when it came to meat. Whether it was steak or hamburgers or fried chicken or pork chops, if it once was alive then I wanted to eat it. And to eat as much of it as I possibly could.

That was how I exited, culinarily speaking, from the time I hit puberty til the time I was twenty five. Fatty foods, and as much of them as I could find, was always the menu of choice.

Then, one day right around when I turned twenty five, my metabolism stopped. Overnight I went from six-foot-one, one-hundred fifty-five pounds to six-foot-one, one-hundred ninety-five pounds. It took maybe a month to pack on that weight, the first I had gained in over ten years. And it was ghastly.

Seriously, I had man boobs. Moobs. They jiggled when I walked up or down stairs. I began busting out of certain shirts I had worn forever. I couldn't exercise - I never exercised growing up, so the prospect of doing so, now that I was grossly overweight, was just out of the question.

I had to improve my diet. And I really, really didn't want to.

But making those choices, the tough choices that we really don't want to make, is what makes us an adult. You get to eat all the fatty foods you want when you're a kid, all the mashed potatoes, all the steaks, all the cheeseburgers with extra bacon, all the ice cream, all the anything, because you're a kid. Your body can process tupperware at that age, for god's sake.

But when you get older you have to be realistic. Everyone's metabolism slows down one day, and the risk isn't just weight gain. You're also risking your health and your very life, and that's something everyone should be willing to take into account.

So I cut out the fatty foods. Dairy was the first to go, and red meat soon followed. Desserts turned from ice cream or pastries to fresh fruit. And within a year, I had dropped twenty five of my new pounds.

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Fat loss for idiots

I don't want to be mean or petty, but if you need help losing weight, then you're just not paying attention. There's nobody - literally nobody - who doesn't know how to lose weight. You just eat less and exercise. That's what it comes down to. That's fat loss for idiots.

So let's lay out some specs in our fat loss for idiots bible. Like I said, "eat less and exercise." But what, exactly, does that mean?

Well, "eat less" means eating two thousand calories or fewer per day if you're an adult male. If you need to measure portions to do that, then measure portions. If you don't know the calorie count of something, do some research on the internet or talk to your doctor. Part of fat loss for idiots is not being a passive idiot; make sure you're active in your approach to what you eat, when and how much.

So step one in fat loss for idiots: Cut down to 2000 calories or fewer if you're an adult male. For an adult female, you'll want to cut down to 1400 calories or fewer.

Step two is understanding when to eat. Humans are animals, and like all animals, we've evolved over the millennia to eat a certain diet at a certain time. Humans, until the last five hundred years, were largely "grazers." That means we would eat a little bit of food a lot of times during the day. Rather than having a giant breakfast and a giant dinner, humans would generally eat smaller portions at proper meals then have a handful of nuts, or berries or fruits at various times in between meals. Our bodies are still evolved to process this kind of calorie intake more efficiently, so do as our ancestors did and graze. Keep almonds, or baby carrots, or strawberries by your desk eat them when you get hungry.

Also, make sure you don't eat close to bed time. When you take in calories, if you immediatley go to sleep they'll be much more likely to turn to fat rather than become stored as useable energy or built into muscle. So no food two hours or less before bed.

And finally in our fat loss for idiots tome, make sure you work out every day. It could be something as simple as taking a long stroll around the neighborhood or something as vigorous as a 25 mile bike ride; regardless, you need to burn the energy you take in or else you'll never lose your fat. If you can build muscle at the same time, your fat will disappear even quicker.

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In Poor Neighborhoods, People still Gorge on Fast Food Calories

In Poor Neighborhoods, People still Gorge on Fast Food Calories

You remember that documentary don't you, about how fast food outlets like McDonald's, in poor neighborhoods, often cause a great deal of obesity among residents in those areas? Basically, poor people have little choice, but to go to the restaurants that are around, and are cheap. When unhealthy fat-filled $1 hamburgers are all they get, they gorge on them, and end up with such massive quantities of fast food calories you would not believe. Actually it wasn't just any one documentary; a few years ago, this was a hot button topic, and there were plenty of reports that went into this problem. New York's City Council swung into action, and brought down a heavy-handed calorie labeling law that it expected would help end the problem. As it turned out, said a report released a couple of months ago, that action had really no discernible effect; New York's poor still had the same amount of fast food calories in their diet in the rundown neighborhoods. But the city disagrees - and reports that at McDonald's, KFC, and other such outlets across the city, people are seen to order fewer calories. Why doesn't the city agree with that independent report?

The independent report actually says that at places like the Subway chain, a cheap five-dollar offer on foot-longs has them flying out the door, and raising the unhealth index around the city. Actually, the City was cheating; while the independent study looked at what happened in poor neighborhoods, the city has been trying to look at what happens in the rich neighborhoods, mainly. Of course the neighborhoods with better access to healthier foods, would try those. There's hardly anything of intellectual worth in the City's report. The middle class, is going to be able to pay a premium on healthier low calorie food. The poor just tend to buy whatever comes in at under a dollar. And fast food calories tend to really add up in that price range.

But any way you look at it, New York certainly was the first city in the country to ask restaurants to post the energy content next to the prices of orders. Everyone else came after. Most states in the country still haven't caught up. The City tries to put a good face on it any way it can; for instance, they report that the fast food calories ordered at coffee shops are down 10%. How much the city can take credit for this is kind of up in the air, as customers at coffee shops pay no attention to calorie labeling. Only about one in ten customers actually even knows that they need to pay attention to this. However, one in ten isn't that bad. Food habits are about the hardest to change,and this does make for good start.

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