"Circo Aguilar" One Reason to Boycott Westminster Mall

Step right up, folks! The Westminster Mall has done it again.

They've invited the circus to come to town!

This year it's Circo Aguilar.

Aguilar Circus, is also the same circus that recently let three beautiful Bengal tigers escape in Mexico.

Oops! I'm sure if that happened here those poor animals would know to stay off the busy 405, even though that's right where their circus tent went up today.

It was only a few months ago that Sea World had a tragic death from a killer whale that snapped. These are wild creatures that often can't endure life in a cage.

Now, don't get me wrong, if this were a people-only circus, I'd be thrilled about it.

But, this is the "old" kind of circus. The lousy kind with loads of animals kept in cages and forced to perform for their meals.

And the truth is, I think that stinks.

Especially when it's capitalizing on endangered animals. Those animals belong in the wild, not in a cramped cage in a mall parking lot.

What are three Bengal Tigers (click link to read story about this) doing in a circus to begin with?

Secondly, what family entertainment act lets three tigers escape and what business continues to give offer them employment at the Westminster Mall?

I should also note that this circus drew protests earlier this year in Morelia, Mexico, too.

(members of the Association Friends of the Animals in Michoacan (AMICHAA, in Spanish) came to the circus Aguilar Brothers, where they protested for the use of animals for amusement of the public. This circus announces that it possesses camels from Mongolia, horses, guanacos from Peru and 16 tigers.)

I mean, it's 2010: Who hires a circus that still relies on animal acts, to begin with?

Actually, that business would be the Simon Company. They own Westminster Mall.

Here's their corporate address:

Corporate Headquarters
Simon Property Group, Inc.
225 West Washington Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204

(317) 636-1600

______________________

I invite people to give them a phone call to let them know you don't care to shop at Westminster Mall while the circus is in (their) town.

I also advise you to share the same thoughts with the Westminster Mall:

WESTMINSTER MALL

1025 Westminster Mall

Westminster, CA 92683

(714) 898-2558

And so, if you feel like sending a message, please join me in the following protest:

BOYCOTT WESTMINSTER MALL FRIDAY APRIL 2 THROUGH TUESDAY APRIL 6, 2010.

To sum it up, I really encourage you to read this great piece by a mother about this subject:

It's called "Four Reasons Why I Won't Take My Kids To The Circus"

Either way, just do something.

These animals don't have a voice. You do.

HBO series "TREME" re: a post Katrina New Orleans

There's a new HBO drama series called "Treme" about a post-Katrina New Orleans that looks like it's going to be amazing.

It's created by some of the same people who wrote and produced The Wire and it features some really moving, original music that I am so happy is finally being captured on film and given some of the attention it so deserves.

The HBO show debuts on April 11. So, set your DVR's and Tivos.

And, I'm also really excited because it stars one of my personal favorite actresses : Melissa Leo.

Read more via Huffington Post about what I predict will be a massive hit.

Cranky reporters on air

"I know you are, but what am I?"

If you thought sharks were scary...

...then you haven't met the Giant Isopod:

One of the creepiest things On. The. Planet.

Another great reason not to go too far away from shore.

What Prince's Sister's Breast Implants Have To Do With Golf

Another fine excuse to get to know Prince Gomolvilas.

( Bamboo Nation)

Check out his What My Sister's Breast Implants Have To Do With Golf"

"Scarface" Worst kids play: Pretty good prank

I'm such a dork.

Of course it was a prank.

*sigh.

Anonymous said...

Marc Klasfeld Says:
March 30th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
No this isn’t a real school play. Its a video directed by Marc Klasfeld, who also directed Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” among many other videos. It features kids that were found through a casting agent

Back on the left again

Did I even question this?

Right now with Sarah Palin declaring "open season" on Democrats?

(Yeah. She did this. And put a gun sights on the addresses of all Democrats she wants gone.)

No.....no, no, no.

I may not like all the name calling and deal-making that goes on inside both parties in Washington, but after the past week's angry, tantrum throwing, hate-fest by the Republican Party -- well, it just proved to me that there is NO way that am I not anywhere but firmly on the left.

My own "imaginary friend," Bill Maher, says it best with his latest "New Rules" from Real Time:

Rare cut of Hey Jude

All that raw creativity being squeezed through the hit mill.

All that beauty amid the talent and exhaustion.

Not all children's dance studios are alike

So, my third grader decided to make this year the year she fell in love with dance.

I was happy she found something, some form of expression that spoke to her, but I figured all kid's dance classes would be similar to what I'd already found in Orange County, CA.

Well, I'm happy to report that not all dance classes (or dance studios) are alike.

Take, for instance, Elevation Studios, in Long Beach, CA.

She's signed up for their kids' dance recital (contemporary dance) which I assumed would be your typical "jazz" stuff complete with sort-of bouncy, kitchy music and glittery outfits.

Mind you, I kept my feeling about this to myself, so that I wouldn't ruin her fun. I wanted to be positive about it all, but I have to admit, my oldest daughter's forays into kiddie dance perfoming always seemed to be in recital-mills requiring a nearly " Jon Benet Ramsey"-like appearance from all their kiddie performers. One reason we never really embraced dance before now as a good extra-curricular activity for my girls.

Until now. And, happily, I'm happy to report that I was quite mistaken about all children's dance schools being alike.

This is no ordinary dance studio.

It even looks different in the office, there.

I met her rockin' ballet teacher, with her tattoos and strict, no-nonsense professionalism toward the children there -- and fell in love with the place.

It's got a hip vibe with a very professional air which expects the very best from those attending the place.

As parents we sit under the neon Buddhas in their mod lounge while reading Mac Addict and Harper's Bazaar while listening to fierce hip hop and/or gorgeous art house compositions.

Yep, this is a place I'm really happy to have on my carpool route. The music is always moving and interesting and the folks who work there really do seem at the top of their game, and passionate about what I feel like is a newer breed of dance professionals.

This studio treat even their youngest dancers with respect and dignity capable of totally thinking outside the box.

No curls and make up on many of these junior dancers.

In fact, I'm addicted to the following two pieces they're using for their spring performance.

The first is the lyrical "Comptine D'un Autre Ete," from the film "Amalie."




And their other song is by Rachael Yamagata called "Be Be Your Love."

Pretty sophisticated fare for the kiddie set.

Elevation Studios: I love this place for dance.

 

A Grandmother and her kitty, "Fukumaru"

Click here:

Link to beautiful photo gallery featuring Miyoko Ihara's award-winning photos of a grandmother and her cat, Fukumaru.

(Note: To scroll through the gallery -- click on photo in the middle of the image -- on far side of photo. I'm a dork so it took me a while to figure this out.)

How to make a cute little monkey head

Just the other day I was wondering how to make a cute little monkey head.

And now, thanks to "Judy" at Reborn Nursery, I have a tutorial on how to do just that. As well as a slide show for all her creations. Human, chimps, whatever it is that these really are. (Creepy)

"Sculpting a Mini Monkey Head Tutorial

I have created the following tutorial in order that others can see how I create my monkeys. I am starting with a mini monkey - a chimpanzee

I start with a ball of tinfoil, which I roll up on the end of a screw, my aim is to make a shape that resembles the skull of the monkey."

I'm not sure which is creepier, her "baby" recreations, or her cute little monkey heads.

HOW TO SCULPT A MONKEY HEAD TUTORIAL

in praise of sassy friends everywhere

I guess this post has been making the rounds on the internet for a while already, but it's the first time I ever saw it. Had to repost.

So my question is, where were all my gay friends during all my Shakespearian tradgedies?

*Note of apology to my feminist friends re: last line of video clip. Ophelia is not a stupid bitch.

Louise's fav videos: Save Me

There is some music which never ceases to grab me by the heart.

Take this classic Aimee Mann video woven in and around clips from the 1999 film "Magnolia."

If you've never seen this Paul Thomas Anderson masterpiece (an entire film built upon Aimee Mann songs) then I advise you to find youself a copy and savor every moment of it.

You could say Magnolia is the operatic version of Altmans's similarly themed (1993) film Short Cuts.

Truthfully, any of the work of Aimee Mann is worth spending time with.

And if you're a Julianne Moore fan, then you'll be pleased to know that she's in both these films. Actually, if you're really, really a Moore fan, and you haven't seen Short Cuts, then you'll be really grateful you did. * I digress.

In any case, here's the video of "Save Me."

How is Dental Care not Health Care?

I'm not sure if I'm on the left or the right anymore.

This is an unlikely time to question my political leanings...after all "we" just had a huge, historic win with the passage of the Health Care Reform bill which promises sweeping changes for time to come.

But, the truth is, I just don't like the "we's" or the "them's" anymore and I sure don't feel inclined to associate with either team. Not after this week.

On the one hand, too much was left out of the bill that should have been in there, and on the other hand, too many people stood in it's way for ALL the wrong reasons.

The process of how we got here to "our victory" was so downright ugly that I seriously worry that all those little things that got brushed under the carpet to get the bill passed will end up being quite dangerous.

Unless the bill, I mean, law, can really be fixed.

Look, I love Obama, I do. And I wanted this to pass, but done the way it was meant to be done.

This issue is so very close to my heart that all party affiliations are off the table right now until I see it becomes truly the bill it was meant to be.

Don't get me wrong, I still despise the insane "Baby Killer!" shouting Republicans who stooped at nothing to kill any idea of Health Care Reform.

I'm also deeply disturbed by the Democrats who caved in at the last moment without sticking to their demands about the bill so that it really could have been sweeping and inclusive.

For instance. There is no dental coverage in the bill.

None. Our mouth is in our body, right? Since when did that cease to be a medical issue? 1560?

Do you know how many diseases and medical issues technically not considered dental? If you have poor dental health it can kill you. It's a fact, and yet the ADA got left out of these "sweeping changes."

It's been proven that gum disease can give you heart disease. The new Health Care Reform Bill scrapped pediatric dental health care. So, when a little kid is born with a cleft palate, who covers getting that fixed? Nobody? This is the tip of the iceberg, on this topic.

It's not fair and it's not right.

I want Health Care Reform to work, but it has to function so that people are there to provide quality health care and I worry that we are not thinking inside the box.

The new sweeping changes need to be a good thing for our medical profession, too. It can't work if it isn't.

Right now, it's not so great for my child's pediatric dentist who has spent countless of his own hours and dollars helping bring needed children's dental health to children -- all over the world.

On his dime. Because he cares that much about this subject.

He flies to D.C. to get his allotted 20 minutes with our good senators and they made all sorts of promises to the ADA that they just scrapped and deserted just prior to the final stages of it. Naturally, right after the ADA and the Pediatric ADA finally agreed to support the bill.

That stinks.

From what he's said, the ADA is very upset right now. And I can't say that I blame them. It's a massive injustice.

It's personal to me because my child was born with a few health issues which I have not discussed here in my blog (because it was simply not the right place for that till now) but I will share that it affected the enamel on her teeth, among other dire, costly things.

And if we didn't have good medical and good dental insurance (from my husband's job) then I just don't know how we'd have handled it all. This is on top of several other medical issues which we also juggle on a daily basis.

Decent quality comprehensive medical and dental insurance is a subject that matters to me.

This is a very personal issue for me. I want to be very clear that I just can't dance that victory jig just yet. Not the way things stand. I don't like what I've heard about the way deals were struck regarding the passage of this bill.

Great doctors and dentists are our heroes. They're the ones who save our life. Who save our children's lives. This bill really does need to put their needs at the top of the list, or there won't be people there to save our life anymore: They can't afford to be there. Most kids getting out of medical school have $300,000+ medical school bills. How are they supposed to pay for this right now?

So, we need to invest in quality health care professionals. Find some way to forgive medical school bills, or, I don't know -- I'm not PAID TO FIGURE IT OUT. The pros in our nation's capitol are.

We elected them, and frankly, they have a job to do.

I want them to roll their sleeves up and listen to the ADA and Pediatric ADA and find a way to make this right again.

We need to see that we attract and nurture medical and dental champions and I just don't see where that's happening in the bill as it stands. I am just going to hope that even more sweeping changes take place that put this law into place the way it needs to be.

Doctors, dentists, medical care specialists are the true heroes who keep us alive and well.

Without our health we are nothing. And I worry this bill may not be enough to keep talented medical and dental professionals in business. I hope I'm wrong. I really do.

Am I still "Louise on the left?" I don't even know anymore. Maybe I'm not. I suppose this is odd time to question this.

There's so much room for improvement on both sides of the debate and I've always been perversely inclined to think upstream, so perhaps that's all I'm doing.

Perhaps, in the end, all good things will happen, after all.

I guess I'm just running low on partisan trust these days.

Return Dental Health Care to the Health Care Reform bill, I mean, the law, and then I'll start to feel better.

_________________________________________

Follow up: On a repost of this post at REDDIT some readers commented:

cmschmidt 2 points 4 hours ago[-]

People (in general) don't usually die if they never see a dentist. There aren't too many life threatening things that can happen to you that require emergency dental care. Also, last time I checked my tax dollars don't go to paying uninsured dental patients like they do for uninsured ER patients. I believe the main points of the bill are to provide equal opportunities for people to live healthy life's no matter what your "social class" and while it may be a necessity to most, in the grand scheme of things it's not something that needs to be as highly regulated by government as the healthcare system has gotten.

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NotLikeYou 1 point 4 hours ago[-]

Exactly... you aren't going to die if you lose a tooth or get a cavity. You will live with it even if you aren't pretty anymore.

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louisellarsen [S] 0 points 80 milliseconds ago[-]

Note back to "cmschidt" & "notlikeyou"

You both agree that you "can't die if you don't see a dentist," so it makes sense to separate dental from health care coverage...Well, hate to tell you this, but you sure CAN die if you have poor dental care.

Click this link to find out: http://cmr.asm.org/cgi/content/full/13/4/547

-- Louise on the left.

Systemic Diseases Caused by Oral Infection