Twilight Coverage in Tokyo : Day 5 – Red Carpet

Okay, here’s the deal with Twilight’s Japan Red Carpet Premiere Event on the 27th of February. It’s a 3 part event that takes place concurrently – the Press Conference, the Red Carpet walk and the Fan Meeting. Its all done back to back so Aishah and I had to set up for each event to get the video footage as well as still photos. It was ultimately well organized and timely but the rain didn’t help much. But we managed to work with it though.

As for Robert, Kristen and Taylor – they were whisked off somewhere in the building each time and had to make a grand entrance at every event. I guess it just how things were done, and actually it made a great effect cos the audience were always different.

Note that Kristen had to change for each event and the guys didn’t have to, coz they were wearing suits which were appropriate for each event. As for Kristen, she had to change into the greek goddess white dress cos its more ‘red carpet’ (I think. ) And lastly, at the Fan Meeting, she changed into the white t-shirt (tied at the side )and jeans ensemble that looked more casual for meeting the fans. But then again, the guys looked over-dressed for that event! Haha… But I don’t mind they look spanking in those suits!

It was raining lightly and we found all the fans who were in a line before were asked to assemble onto the plaza, and they were divided into 2 groups on both sides of the red carpet.

The Red Carpet (a wet one today!)

The fans seemed to be in the rain for some time judging by the complaints we heard and the expressions on their faces. But for the love of Twilight, come rain or shine..WE WILL BE THERE!

The fans were asked to keep their umbrellas as the main cast were about to arrive.

The first of 3 Volvo XC90s drives up to the red carpet. (Black for the boys and Red for Kristen)

Taylor steps out onto the red carpet.

He heads straight to the fans with that drop dead gorgeous smile!

Kristen then arrives and starts signing autographs for the fans. We see her for the first time in that lovely Beautiful greek goddess white flowing dress.

Time to play where’s Kristen and where’s Taylor?…

Roberto arrives as well!

They’ve reached the finish line… Phew!

WOW! Oh my just look at the three of them…

Hmmmm… wonder what is Robert telling them?

Looks like Kristen’s giving her opinion on what Robert said..whatever it was…

A photographer at the press camp called out for Kristen to wave and be happy (I heard him!) – she smiled and waved back!

Apparently, a rush of wind blew by and Kristen got major shivers! Poor girl! Great that they just laughed it off! Believe me it was COLD & WET!! They were a class act too cos despite this they stayed quite a while on the red carpet to sign autographs for the fans!! Thank you guys!

HAHA Now its Taylor’s turn… looks like he’s saying, “IT’S COOOLD!!!”

The cast thanking the fans for braving the cold to come and see them. The fans were screaming when they spoke…

rc48

Robert: Thank you guys for coming, you all were great!

Kristen: Hi! Thank you for coming! Thank you so much!

We love seeing Kristen looking so elegant here…

Taylor: Yes, hello! I want to thank you guys for coming and seeing us even in this nasty weather. But we’re having a lot of fun and thank you again guys!

The cast waves at their fans for the last time at the Red Carpet..

The cast when back into another building to get ready for the Fan Meeting event.

There is still the last part of our Day 5, that is the Fan Meeting. We still need to organise the photos and videos that will be featured in the Fan Meeting post.

We’ll see you guys again!

Love,

MARIA & AISHAH.

[UPDATED 1st March 13:54 (Sin)] We’ve found more about who designed Kristen’s dresses worn at the Twilight Japan Premiere at Redcarpet-fashionawards.com.

Press Conference – “Kristen wore a very edgy Paule Ka black leather mini dress, with illusion straps, and a white origami detailed hem”

Red Carpet – She “wore a one shoulder white silk jersey gown by Parisian couturier Herve Leroux“….”swept lines, and the chiffon skirt. This really is an elegant gown”. Yaa…ha!!

CDC: Beer Pong Causes Herpes

Ok so as I have pointed out I am a college student and one of the most prevelent drinking games in college is beer pong. So this story is just right for me to post here:

The Center for Disease Control released a report this week saying the game “beer pong” is one of the leading transmitters of the herpes virus, among other diseases.

In fact, the CDC said the game is nearly as dangerous as unprotected sex!

College campuses and other entities have attempted to remedy unprotected sex on campuses and educate students as to the dangers it presents. Now it looks like the “No Glove” folks may also want to adopt a “No Balls in My Cup” campaign (ping-pong balls that is).

Speaking Out against Victim-Blaming

This is way more rant-y than I would like it to be, but I wanted to post something. Training is tough and I am feeling a bit emotionally fatigued lately, but I promise regular blogging will be back soon. In addition, I’m still working on my first challenge to myself, to “raise awareness” for the causes I care about. This is a facet of that challenge…

****************************************************

Going through the training to work within the field of Rape Crisis Counseling causes a person to see the world in a very different light. Things that, once, we’re merely troublesome in an uncomfortable way that you could never quite articulate become clear. For instance, gender stereotyping; I’ve always know it was wrong, but I’ve never been able to fully articulate why it bothered me on such a personal level, until now.

We live in a society that helps rape and domestic violence to exist, whether we want to admit it or not. For starters, the gender norms that are perpetuated through the everyday stereotypes that we internalize (such as women are less capable of being self-sufficient, or men are supposed to be dominating and powerful) help to create a world where people believe that rape occurs because certain women are “asking for it.” If a woman is raped often it is assumed that she did something, wore something, said something, consented to something that made the rapist believe that what they did was acceptable.

The people who rape or abuse someone do so to feel powerful and important, in order to do this they must believe that their victim is worth less then them, a belief that can be derived in part from these damaging gender stereotypes that people in our society hold. If a society believes that women are supposed to be docile and compliant, and men are supposed to be uncontrollably sexual and strong beings… well, its easy to see how rape can become something that’s not viewed as such a big deal.

I want to live in a society where people question WHY a person is compelled to hurt another innocent victim, rather than why a survivor was in a certain place, at a certain time… or even worse what they did to incite the rape. This line of thinking places the responsibility for the crime on the victim’s shoulders, rather than the rapist’s where it belongs. As much as I resolved not to write about Rihanna’s domestic assault, I believe it is necessary to mention here because of the reactions that have been bubbling out of the mass media. For instance, the Daily News recently wrote, concerning the fight that incited Chris Brown to abuse Rihanna, “It didn’t help that Rihanna grabbed the keys out of his rented Lamborghini and threw them down the street. She knew it would really infuriate Chris, and it worked.”

Rather than focus the blame on the actual perpetrator of the violence this article, and many others, look to the victim and her actions to try and deciper ‘what she did’ to incite the violence. Society has conditioned a great majority of us to point the blame at rape and domestic violence victims for wearing suggestive clothing, having a drink, walking alone at night, being sexually active, getting into an argument… we should live in a society where women and men can wear what they like, go out to a bar and drink, even walk alone down a street and not have to worry they will be raped and even worse, if they are raped, they will be blamed for that rape.

We should live in a society where two adults can argue without violence, and if violence does occur then the violent party is held responsible for their actions, instead of the innocent victim.

So, today I ask how can you and I help make that happen?

1. Speak out against gender stereotyping in society; don’t let people believe women are inferior, or that men are uncontollable, or any other bullshit generalizations you hear people making… people are all different, the only thing that is reliably true about women and men is that women have vaginas and men have penises (and even this isn’t 100% accurate if you, like me, believe that transgendered women and men are just as much women and men as people who were biologically born into the gender they identify with.)
2. Speak out against victim blaming; if a friend or an aqquaintance on campus confides in you (or someone you know) about a sexual assault, hear them out and be supportive. Don’t hold a microscope to their actions because, even if they did do something to incite the other perty, rape/domestic violence are never acceptable forms of “punisment”. Remember, there is nothing a person can do to “deserve” to be sexually assaulted. In addition, anyone can be sexually assaulted; it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, a virgin or a sex worker… if a person does not consent, and sexual activity is still forced upon them then a sexual assault has occured.
3. Educate yourself and your friends about informed consent. Some basics: Consent is only present when sexual activity is coupled with a consistent enthusiastic YES; compliance does not mean consent. In addition, consenting to one sexual activity at one specific time does not imply any future consent, even for the same activity; consent must be gained every time one has sex/does something new with a partner. Finally, if a person is drunk they legally cannot consent to sex.

Emanuel says Limbaugh GOP leader, Cantor rejects ‘fail’ remark

From CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby

WASHINGTON (CNN) — White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said Sunday that Rush Limbaugh is the face of the GOP.

“He is the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican party, and he has been up front about what he views, and hasn’t stepped back from that, which is he hopes for failure,” Emanuel said on CBS’s Face the Nation.

“He said it, and I compliment him on his honesty,” Emanuel said. “But that’s their philosophy that’s enunciated by Rush Limbaugh and I think that’s the wrong philosophy for America.”

Limbaugh was the headline speaker at this week’s Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

Watch: Rush Limbaugh’s CPAC speech

“What is so strange about being honest and saying I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation?,” he asked the raucous CPAC crowd during his 90 minute address on Saturday.

Speaking on ABC’s This Week, House Republican Whip Eric Cantor said he disagreed with Limbaugh’s comments.

“And I don’t — I don’t think anyone wants anything to fail right now. We have such challenges. What we need to do is we need to put forth solutions to the problems that real families are facing today.”

How the Dead Dream

So I recently read How the Dead Dream, by Lydia Millet. First piece of actual literature I’ve read in a while – and it was intense, sad, wistful, and ultimately satisfying. My awesome friend Sarah, started an online book club – and this is the first selection. I’ve already posted my comments about it on her blog, so I won’t go into details here – but it spoke to me on several levels. The other book I’m still reading is Poemcrazy by Susan Woolbridge – I’m actually rereading it – I love it so much and can open it to any page to get a little inspiration to get me through the day.

So here’s by piece inspired by both of these books – it’s a little dark so I’m placing it behind the break – if you don’t like seeing dead things don’t go any further…

Ok, if you made it through here it goes:

little shell – do you see me?
does your soul feel my compassion,
can your husk hear me weeping,
take care little shell
i bid you peace
-and dreams of ocean blue skies

This poor bird was tied to the bars of one of the cells at the old state pen – this was in the area where the really bad stuff in the riot went down – things I can barely stand to think about. It was already a spook-filled place – and this little creature’s death was more than I cared to see – but I did. His tether was rather long with lots of room to move about – I can imagine him flying back and forth – trying to break free.

Aluminium: Precious metal?

Before chemists developed inexpensive ways to produce pure aluminium, it was considered a somewhat precious metal. In fact, in 1855, a bar of pure aluminum metal was displayed at the Paris Exposition. It was placed next to the French crown jewels!

Although Aluminium is an excellent conductor of electricity, Silver and copper are better conductors than aluminium but are much more expensive. Today, aluminium is the most widely used metal in the world after iron.

Aluminium Cap for the Washington Monument

Aluminium was not the first choice for the pyramid, nor did the choice involve any material design evaluation, extensive tests, or lengthy comparative competition among available materials. Instead, aluminium was selected as an alternative material during discussions between the engineer in charge of the project and William Frishmuth, the only U.S. aluminum producer at that time.

The engineer in charge of completing the washington monument was Colonel Thomas Lincoln Casey, Corps of Engineers, United States Army. He was familiar with William Frishmuth since Frishmuth’s foundry in Philadelphia had previously done some plating work for the monument. As the completion of the construction was nearing, Casey sent a request to Frishmuth asking if he could make a metal pyramid that was to serve as the lightning rod. Copper, bronze, or brass, plated with Platinum, were the preferred materials.

It appeared as a finely detailed, five-color lithograph in the December 20, 1884, issue of Harper’s Magazine. [The sketch is included at the beginning of this article ] While the art of photography was well established by 1884, the gale force winds and driving rain at the 169 meter platform level precluded the taking of an actual photo of the Cap. An artist’s sketch of the event had to suffice.

In 1884 price of aluminium of $1 per ounce ($16 per pound) to the fact that in 1884 the wage of a laborer on the Washington Monument was $1 per day, and the workday was typically 10 hours or greater in length. Thus, the cost of one ounce of aluminium was equivalent to a full day’s work. The highest skilled craftsman on the monument project was paid $2 per day.

Frishmuth’s public relations savvy and skills were exemplified by his ability to get the attention of the famous Tiffany’s jewelry store in New York. In late November 1884, Tiffany’s displayed the polished aluminium pyramid for the benefit of “thousands of New Yorkers who delighted in being able to later say `I stepped over the top of the Washington Monument’.

How Aluminium losts its Precious Metal Status

Charles Martin Hall (1863-1914) was a student at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, when he became interested in the problem of producing aluminium. Using homemade equipment in a woodshed behind his home, he achieved success by passing an electric current through a molten mixture of cryolite and aluminium oxide (Al2O3).

Hall’s method was far cheaper than any previous method. After his discovery, the price of aluminium fell from about $20/kg ($10/lb) to less than $1/kg (about $.40/lb). Hall’s research changed aluminium from a semi-precious metal to one that could be used for many everyday products.

So Why the History Lesson in Alumnium?

Harlette Luxury Lingerie, asks this question for a great reason. Why use a product that is no longer considered a precious metal in luxury goods. Why settle for aluminium, that has a relatively low value when you can have a far more superior material such as silver to be used as a supportive underwire.

Harlette Luxury Lingerie sets a new benchmark for the luxury lingerie elite as the Harlette collection is created using precious metals such as silver for this very reason.

Would you like to know more about the Harlette’s Luxury Collection

The Global Warming Hoax And Scam

This article was written in response to an article published by this tool on WordPress, which conveniently left out these truths in his article.

The facts that Al Gore’s carbon tax collection company doesn’t want you to see.

CO2 is 3.168% of the total greenhouse effect. Around 0.117% is man-made CO2 greenhouse gas effect. CO2 is an insignificant greenhouse gas, especially in terms of man-made contribution. Water is the only significant greenhouse gas.

Furthermore, you leave out that oceans and volcanos release more CO2 than humans.

Furthermore, you leave out that CO2 is part of the life cycle.

Futhermore, you leave out that CO2 levels tend to follow warming rather than cause warming.

Furthermore, you leave out the impact of the sun spot activity, which is thoroughly studied, and it’s impact of warming/cooling on the solar system as a whole.

Furthermore, you leave out that the solar system as a whole had been warming.

Furthermore, you leave out that the solar system and earth has cooled down due to lack of sun spot activity this past year.

Furthermore, you leave out that carbon taxes will not solve the problem but will be used to fund global government and bombing of nations.

Furthermore, you leave out that big corporations, especially big oil, actually support the global warming hoax because it helps them eliminate their competition who can’t afford the taxes while big oil gets the big grants from the tax payer to reduce and meet emission standards.

Furthermore, you leave out that carbon taxes will do nothing but hurt the poor.

Furthermore, you leave out that polar bears can easily swim over 100 miles and swim as much as 300 miles. They hunt for seals and buluga whales.

Furthermore, you leave out that the ice caps are always melting and refreezing with the seasons.

Furthermore, you leave out that the government was caught making up temperature data to make it seem the planet was warming rather than cooling this past year.

Furthermore, you leave out that scientistics receive tons of funding by promoting global warming scares while skeptics don’t receive funding.

Furthermore, you leave out that the Al Gore hockey stick graph was generated using a statistical analysis computer algorithm that weighted data towards the mean the further out in history you go.

Furthermore, you leave out all the various drastic cooling and warming trends throughout the history of the Earth.

Furthermore, you leave out that global warming is actually preferred over global cooling because food production increases, namely because CO2 helps plant growth, absorbing that 0.117% man-made CO2 like candy. Not to mention that you’re more likely to freeze to death than die of heat stroke.

Furthermore, statistics are lies, lies, and damned lies. Scientific models don’t represent reality. Any decent college professor in scientific modeling and statistics classes will tell you these things on the first day of class.

In conclusion, you’re being scammed by the New World Order with this global warming hoax to pay carbon taxes to them, and you should be mad as hell.

–jeepndesert

Julie Bowen Expecting Twin Boys!

When she announced her pregnancy in early November, Julie Bowen stayed mum on the details, including when the baby would be arriving. CBB can now confirm that she’s due to give birth in April — and it’s twin boys!

The former Boston Legal and Ed actress let the news slip at giggle’s Pasadena store opening (that’s her with founder Ali Wing at left) on Tuesday evening, and her rep confirms the good news to CBB/PEOPLE.

These will be the second and third children for Julie, 38 and husband Scott Phillips. The twins will join big brother Oliver McLanahan, 22 months.

Michelle Obama’s Right to Bare Arms

it may be February and freezing, but Michelle Obama is heating up D.C. with her toned arms — often bared and on display in the First Lady’s fearless fashion choices. From the Inaugural Ball, where Obama showed off her shoulders and arms in a Jason Wu strapless gown, to the pink Tracy Reese frock she chose for her PEOPLE cover, her lean limbs are what everyone is buzzing about. But don’t think they come that easily. Her workout regimen includes cardio, calisthenics and weights, she told PEOPLE when she was on the campaign trail in 2007, and don’t forget good old-fashioned pushups. “It’s jump squats, you go down into a pushup then you jump up,” she said then about her routine. “What does [my trainer] call it? Squat thrusts! That’s the one I really hate. Squat thrusts with a pushup.” Celebrity trainer Elisa Gulan said not only push-ups, but probably light weights and heavy repetition helped sculpt her arms. “She has amazing tone and definition, but her arms are also sleek and streamlined,” said Gulan, whose clients include actress Becky Newton and host Terry Seymour. “You don’t get arms like that just from being on a diet.” And how does the American public feel about her predilection for sleeveless dresses? In a USA Today poll, 2,600 readers weighed in on whether it’s appropriate for the First Lady to go sleeveless so often. Forty percent said, “Yes, she’s a modern first lady,” 11 percent said, “No, it seems too informal.” The remaining 49 percent said, “Who cares [DASH] it’s her decision.” After all, voters did choose change in November! – Additional reporting by Sandra Sobieraj Westfall

For more on White House life, including family games, dinner-table conversations and new bedtime-reading habits, pick up this week’s PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, and check out Michelle Obama’s First 100 Days of Style on InStyle.com.

Senator calls Obama ‘world’s best salesman of socialism’

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Another prominent Republican told the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday that the president’s spending plans are pushing the country to the brink of socialism.

Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, the only member of the senate to earn a perfect rating from the American Conservative Union, called President Obama “the world’s best salesman of socialism” on Friday in describing his prime time speech earlier this week.

DeMint, a fierce opponent of government expansion, told the CPAC crowd that conservatives might have to “take to the streets to stop America’s slide into socialism.”

His remarks comes a day after Mike Huckabee told the conference of conservative activists that “the Union of American Socialist Republics is being born” with the president’s stimulus package.

“Lenin and Stalin would love this stuff,” Huckabee said of the government bailing out financial institutions.