>> The Switch
>> Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
>> The Other Guys
>> Salt
>> Inception
>> Cyrus
>> The Last Airbender
>> Grown Ups
>> Toy Story 3
>> The Human Centipede

Opening 9.10.10
>> Resident Evil: Afterlife (R) [trailer]
>> Bran Nue Dae (Limited) (Not Rated) [trailer]
>> Heartbreaker (Limited) (Not Rated) [trailer]
>> I'm Still Here (Limited) (Not Rated) [trailer]
>> Legendary (Limited) (PG-13) [trailer]
>> Lovely, Still (Limited) (PG) [trailer]
>> The Romantics (Limited) (PG-13)
>> The Virginity Hit (Limited) (R) [trailer]

Coming To DVD/Blu-Ray 9.7.10
>> Supernatural: The Complete Fifth Season [buy]
>> The Office: Season Six [buy]
>> Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season [buy]
>> Jillian Michaels: Shred-It With Weights [buy]
>> Criminal Minds: Fifth Season [buy]

Las Vegas: Satan Vacations Here
by Victoria Alexander
June 19, 2006

One Skinny Blind Item, Esoteric Kriya Yoga, Stallone in Las Vegas, CineVegas Celebrations, Scores Las Vegas, The New Guy in Iraq, The Jesus Papers, Osama’s Book Club pick, The Real Face of Jesus?, Spielberg’s Wormhole, and more...

Skinny Blind Item. Once again, the New York Post’s “Page Six” ran a blind item worth running here:

“Which super-skinny celeb says she wants to gain weight but can't? Seems that when she was not so thin, she had her stomach stapled and is stuck with her skeletal look?”

Internet bloggers have named Nicole Richie as the “celebrity” since Richie told Vanity Fair magazine that she doesn't have an eating disorder and isn't addicted to drugs. She says she's naturally skinny and she eats, but she doesn't gain weight.

My question is this: What doctor performed stomach-stapling surgery on a young woman in her twenties not obese, just fat? What is his name and how much does he charge?

CineVegas International Film Festival. All week I have been covering CineVegas, seeing movies and chatting up filmmakers. (My daily report is on www.FromTheBalcony.com.) The big event this past week was the Wednesday night celebration of the 30th anniversary of “Rocky.” Sylvester Stallone was present and given the Brenden Theatre’s Star Award. Fully realized in his movie star charisma and self-effacing humor, he introduced his boxing classic. “Rocky” on the theater screen is certainly a treat for those who have only experienced it on videotape or DVD! Stallone was recently in Las Vegas directing the boxing finale to the sixth sequel to his Rocky saga. I can’t wait for Rocky to get Alzheimer’s and move to Florida in a diaper.

In the new film to be released later this year, called “Rocky Balboa,” Rocky is now a restaurant owner, still grieving over the death of his wife, Adrian. Rocky decides to fight his loneliness by returning to the ring to fight a few low-scale, local fights even though he is not relevant anymore and too old to box. When he accepts a challenge to take on reigning heavyweight champ Mason "The Line" Dixon, his comeback suddenly attracts the interest of the mass media.

The evening ended with a party honoring Stallone (not present) at the Voodoo Lounge at the Rio Hotel hosted by Penn & Teller (I didn’t see them either). The party was fabulous and we stayed late. Our friend, actor Mike Tessiero (pictured), spent six days on “Rocky Balboa” as “Ringside Highroller #3.” Mike kept praising Sly’s direction, taking real blows during his fight scenes, talking to everyone, and directing with astonishing vitality throughout the strenuous shoot. Mike also said Sly looked big and ripped. www.imdb.com/name/nm0856387/

Apparently, there is no contractual edict regarding extras, featured players, and “background,” working on a Sly film. According to reports, some A-list actors have the following written into their contracts: (a) looking at said Star is immediate firing; (b) approaching Star deems a caning; (c) smiling at said Star rates killing violator’s first-born; (d) asking for an autograph from said Star means your entire village burns, and (e) trying to give the Star your screenplay condemns your soul to the mud pits of Hell.

On Friday, CineVegas presented Dame Helen Mirren (pictured. I loved her in 2003’s “The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone” with the under-appreciated sexy Olivier Martinez!) its Marquee Award. Mirren spoke about her illustrious career and introduced her 1999 film “The Passion of Ayn Rand.” Interviewed for an hour by The New York Times film critic Sharon Waxman, Mirren easily looked 20 years younger than she did as Ayn Rand.

When philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand was 50 years old (pictured left) she engaged in an affair with a psychologist 25 years her junior by the name of Nathaniel Branden, played in the film by Eric Stolz. Branden built up an institute to spread Rand's ideas, but the two had an ugly, quite public falling out when he refused to resume his affair with her.

The volatile story of their affair is based on the book by Branden's wife, Barbara, who, along with Rand’s cuckold of a husband, accepted the affair. And, according to an Ayn Rand website, the events depicted in the film were accurate. What was left out was Barbara’s own affairs. But who could blame her? Nathaniel (pictured) dumped Rand while still married to Barbara for a younger student. It was a hotbed of sex, except for Rand’s weak husband (played by Peter Fonda in the film) who was a neglected and passive bystander.

As a wee teenager, I was Branden’s student. I was given a gift of a weekly course on Objectivism with Branden (before his break with Rand) in New York City. Rand, famous for "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged," was my mother’s favorite author.

An early Russell Crowe would have been a much better Branden than Stolz, but Mirren was sensational.

Esoteric Kriya Yoga. I was initiated by Paramahamsa Satyananda at his ashram in Munger, Bihar, India. At that time, Swami Satyananda was teaching the esoteric yoga, Kriya Yoga, at his modest rural ashram, The Bihar School of Yoga.

Paramahamsa Satyananda was born in the Himalayan foothills of Almora, India, in 1923. In 1943, at the age of 20 he met Swami Sivananda in Rishikesh and adopted the sannyasa way of life. Upon completing his sannyasa training he left the ashram to live as a wandering medicant for nine years, inspiring people from all walks of life. He founded the International Yoga Fellowship in 1963 and the Bihar School of Yoga one year later, to teach the ancient science of yoga with clarity and wisdom in an ashram environment. In 1988 Paramahamsaji renounced all that he had created and now lives a secluded life as a paramahamsa in Rikhia, India.

The Bihar School of Yoga (BSY) does not teach esoteric Kriya Yoga any longer. According to the internet research I did, “In 1988, Swami Satyananda retired from the mainstage, and his closest disciple, Swami Niranjanananda, took over formal administrative and spiritual charges. Arguably one of the youngest spiritual gurus in India, Swami Niranjanananda gradually began shifting the focus of BSY from providing spiritual and philosophical training to a more yoga-oriented education.”

"In order to systematize practices of yoga," says Swami Niranjanananda, "Swamiji (Satyananda) brought in new combinations of yogic techniques. He also incorporated various components of tantra in the yogic system. Even the sequences of pranayama taught today by most schools was propagated in Munger." Swami Satyananda's contributions include Yoga Nidra, the revised version of the tantric system of nyasa meditation that helps energize various parts of the body by specific mantras (chants), and the pawana-muktasana series—part one for rheumatic problems, part two for gastric problems and part three for shakti bandha or postures to release energies within the body.” The Bihar School of Yoga has elected not to use email. http://www.indiayogi.com/content/ashrams/bsy/main.asp

When I attended The Bihar School of Yoga’s sannyasin program, Swamiji taught Kriya Yoga dominated by mudras and bandhas. I am the proud owner of many gifts given to me by Swamiji, especially his blessings.

Osama’s Book Club Pick. I’m reading “Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower” by formerly obscure author William Blum, 72. Blum should be thrilled about bin Laden’s endorsement. Sales have sky-rocketed. Blum’s book is an indictment of U.S. global cruelty. bin Laden said in a January 2006 tape: “And if Bush decides to carry on with his lies and oppression, then it would be useful for you to read the book 'Rogue State,' which states in its introduction: 'If I were president, I would stop the attacks on the United States: First, I would give an apology to all the widows and orphans and those who were tortured. Then I would announce that American interference in the nations of the world has ended once and for all.'"

Scores Las Vegas. Waiting for an evening screening at CineVegas, a friend suggested I go with her to Scores Las Vegas. She told me she goes EVERY DAY with her buddies. Scores Las Vegas has a free, extravagant hot buffet from 5PM to 8PM prepared by executive chef Dennis Natoli. All drinks are free from 5PM to 6PM. This is the best-kept secret in Las Vegas!

Everyone is welcome, even people without money for lap dances and drinks! Scores Las Vegas was empty at 5PM, so no girls were dancing while I was briefly there, but I am told that the free food revelers start coming in later. My friend, who is there clockwork every day, did point out another daily buffeter: The world’s oldest living male stripper. She says he’s famous. (He’s not stripping any more but he was feeding himself.) Scores Las Vegas,3355 S. Procyon, Las Vegas, NV 89102 (702) 367-4000. www.scoreslasvegas.com

The New Guy. Is he now preparing to make a bigger name for himself? Will he (a) be a place-holder, (b) mere figurehead, or (c) “Praise be to Allah”? The U.S. military on Thursday revealed for the first time a photo of the man said to be the new leader of al Qaeda in Iraq. The military said Egyptian-born Abu Hamza al-Muhajir is the designated heir to the terror network after the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi last week. In the event you are looking for something to do this summer, al-Muhajir was placed on a most-wanted list issued in February 2005 by the U.S. and currently – though it might now be bumped up considerably - has a $250,000 bounty on his head.

Since I just finished reading “The Jesus Dynasty: The Hidden History of Jesus, His Royal Family and the Birth of Christianity” by James D. Tabor, I’ve been thinking about when Herod Antipas had John the Baptist beheaded for John’s condemnation of Herod's marriage to Herodias, the former wife of his brother. It not only did not solve Herod’s Jewish [insurgency] uprising problems, it paved the way for John’s cousin to take center-stage. Yes, his cousin was summarily crucified but we all know what that “supposed” death spawned.

Jesus’ Real Father Revealed? According to Tabor, Jesus had absolutely nothing to do with The Jesus Movement and the birth of Christianity. He would have been appalled! It was all based on Paul of Tarsus’ mystical revelations which he attributed to Jesus (don’t you just hate it when that happens?).

Tabor claims that the real leader of “Paul’s Christianity” was Jesus’ brother James but the Catholic Church expunged him from history. The Church decided that since Jesus was The Son of God, he had no siblings. They made Peter the leader of the fractious movement instead of James. Also, according to Tabor’s meticulous research, Jesus’ real father was a non-Jewish foreigner serving in the Roman army. Finally, a reason Jesus is always depicted as having blue eyes, blond hair, and taller than the average Galilean! His father might have been German!

However, according to medical artist Richard Neave, the man who galvanized crowds with his fiery preaching, exorcisms, and healing powers (including resurrecting dead people) was an ordinary looking Jew who stood 5-foot-1 and weighed 110 pounds (Neave’s representation below).

Starting with the assumption that Jesus resembled a typical peasant from 1st century CE Palestine, Neave, retired from the University of Manchester in England, and a team of researchers "started with an Israeli skull dating back to the 1st century. They then used computer programs, clay, simulated skin and their knowledge about the Jewish people of the time to determine the shape of the face, and color of eyes and skin."

Apparently Neave never heard about the Roman soldier, Pantera, who may have been either German or Greek, and impregnated Mary thereby contributing 50% of his DNA to the child. “The Jesus Paper’s” author found Pantera’s tombstone in Germany.

Finally, Tabor attempts to flame more Da Vinci Code controversy by saying that, contrary to the New Testament, Jesus and John the Baptist were twin Messiahs. There were really two Messiahs, John baptizing in the north and Jesus in the south. A recently excavated cave, the Suba cave (pictured), where numbers of people were assumed to have been baptized by John, is the basis for Tabor’s claims.

Will there be any other way left for scholars to discredit Jesus?

Spielberg’s Wormhole. Variety reports that Steven Spielberg is planning a multidimensional mind-bending space exploration film. The yet-untitled film tells the story of a group of space explorers who embark on a journey through a wormhole and enter another dimension. Using state-of-the-art special effects, Spielberg will draw on real-world, cutting-edge science based on Einstein's theory of relativity, namely the possibility for warping the space-time fabric via gravity waves and opening the door for time travel.

The story is based on a treatment by Caltech theoretical physicist Kip S. Thorne, one of the world's leading experts on relativity. There is a general concept in mind, but a script for the space saga hasn't yet materialized and it will likely spend several years in black-hole development.

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