The Master Cleanse diet was developed in 1941 by Stanley Burroughs. It calls for the practitioner to starve his or herself except for a concoction of lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup. At night you're to take a laxative tea and saltwater which, through a top-down enema, is said to remove toxins from the … Continue reading The Lemonade Diet — Master Cleanse Miracle or Dangerous Snakeoil?
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Happy Valentine’s Day
It's Valentines Day. Pshaw! A Hallmark Holiday, you say. Singles Awareness Day, another jokes. I guess every holiday has its Scrooge. I have my Ngoc-Thu. My friend Nick Pinto would gripe about Valentine's, Christmas or (especially) 4/20. He doesn't need holidays to legislate his behavior. And yet his love of Halloween never once carried … Continue reading Happy Valentine’s Day
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Dancicals! A Concept Whose Time Has Arrived
Last year on Amoeba Hollywood's mezzanine there was a serious debate about possible new sections: Sports movies, Christian movies, Tween movies, Women's Pictures, Edwardian Movies, Midwesterns, &c. Most were shot down as stupid, unattractive and inadvisable. One that didn't get the official OK and yet sprang up anyway was "Dancicals." In musicals (dancicals' aging sibling), … Continue reading Dancicals! A Concept Whose Time Has Arrived
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New Zealand Day or, Happy Waitangi Day
Happy New Zealand Day! The Haast's Eagle, the largest bird of prey (until extinction) attacking a flightless moa (also extinct) The islands that make up what today is known as New Zealand were, for centuries, uninhabited by people. Due to isolation, the islands hosted many distinct creatures and were dominated by large birds. There … Continue reading New Zealand Day or, Happy Waitangi Day
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Black History Month & Black Cinema
1915 Birth of a Nation was released. It was the most profitable American film of all time until Disney's Snow White & the Seven Dwarves (1937). In this critical darling, director D.W. Griffith dramatically depicts a mid-19th century south plagued by mulattos and abolitionists who scheme to keep the white man down and raise … Continue reading Black History Month & Black Cinema
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Happy Australia Day
The Flag of Australia, the Australian Aboriginal Flag, and the Flag of Torres Strait Islanders Australia was discovered about 45,000 years ago when they either walked or made short sea-crossings from Papua to the north in what is now the Torres Strait. In Australia they grew into diverse cultures with around 250 languages spoken by … Continue reading Happy Australia Day
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Yellowface — Hollywood Chinese
Famed Asian-American rights activist Ngoc-Thu Thi Nguyen and I watched this documentary about depictions of Chinese in Hollywood film called ... Hollywood Chinese. I love observing how Hollywood deals with all races and ethnicities. Sometimes it's hilarious and sometimes it's pretty appalling and then there's the rare occasion on which it rings true, which usually … Continue reading Yellowface — Hollywood Chinese
Eric Brightwell 