JulietteTerzieff.com

Every once in a while my curiosity gets the better of me. You know – like the spooked collegian who insists on going up the darkened stairs unarmed, wearing nothing but an oversized  t-shirt, tube socks and thong to investigate the thumping noises? Yeah … that never ends well.

Yesterday was a fine example (well, minus the thong ….).

“Somehow” (*she grins*) my followers and I ended up voting in an Oscar-weekend movie poll. Actually it’s all @JeremyCShipp ‘s fault. A tweet came through my twitter stream Friday afternoon from the aforementioned offender “what are your favorite five movies?” I answered and then couldn’t get the question out of my mind.

So last night Twitter, I asked. You answered. Oh, boy, did you answer! Dozens responded to the call. In the end the individual movies mentioned as favorites topped 240. A very diverse bunch of amazing films! Everything from Finding Nemo and Aladdin, to Jaws and Jurassic Park, to The Shining and Nightmare on Elm Street.

My eyes are still crossed from all the vote counting!!!!

(For the record, my original choices were: Night of Living Dead (orig.), Arsenic and Old Lace, Resident Evil, Edward Scissorhands and Galaxy Quest.)

So, here they are folks, your winners for FAV 5 MOVIES EVER ….

(hush descends over the crowd) …. “May I have the envelope please?”

Top 5 Vote-getters:

1. The Princess Bride (by a landslide!!!)
2. Lord of the Rings trilogy
3. Resident Evil and Wizard of Oz
4. Star Wars (pts IV,V,VI) and Night of the Living Dead
5. Star Trek (2009)

Honorable Mentions go to Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Crow –both of which, once tweeted by a single individual unleashed passionate pleas from others to increase the vote amount to 6 favorite movies. LOL ….

Old Schools FAVS:

Gone With the Wind, It’s a Wonderful Life, Giant, Vertigo, Mary Poppins and 2001: A Space Odessy

Foreign FAVs:

Il Postino, Jean de Florette, The Gods Must Be Crazy and Lapa Sela, Lepo Gore

SciFi/Fantasy FAVs:

Serenity, Dark City, Labyrinth, Brazil, the Jacket and The Fifth Element

Sports FAVs:

The Replacements, Remember the Titans, The Longest Yard and The Waterboy

 Thinkers FAVs:

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Last King of Scotland, Blood Diamond and Finding Forrester

Most Unusual FAVs:

Touch of Evil, Powow Highway, The Third Man and Blue Velvet

So tell me folks — are you as suprised by the results as I was?!?!?!

Thank you to everyone who voted! This was amazing – and I have a significant number of movies to add to my “must see” list as a result.

One of the most wonderful things about social media tools like Twitter and Facebook is the ability to locate and connect with people who care about the same issues as you do – and try to do something about them.

The Twitterverse is loaded with great individuals and groups hoping to raise awareness and campaign on everything from human trafficking to health care, from sports teams draft choices to saving favorite television shows.

(Yes, #heroes fans, I’m getting there!!!)

Here’s just a sampling of my evergreen favorites:

1. Women’s issues/rights: @safeworld4women, @thewip, @GlobalFundWomen and @Womens_eNews are just a few of the tweeters out there raising awareness on women’s issues
2. Rare Disease: @GlobalGenes and @rarediseaseday are among those raising awareness about #raredisease and what families face in battling rare, debilitating conditions
3. Autism Spectrum: @autismtoday and @AutismMomExpert are among hundreds campaigning for #autism awareness and acceptance
4. HumanTrafficking: @27millionslaves and @TrafficInPeople are among those campaigning to end #humantrafficking
5. Human Rights: @witnessorg , @EnoughProject, @AmnestyUK and @jonhutsun  

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Here are my questions for the day …

1. should director Kevin Smith be getting an apology from Southwest Airlines because he was pulled off a flight for being too large?
2. And if he did deserve the apology – why him and not every other fattie who has ever been pulled off or charged extra for taking up too much space?
3. And more broadly, what do we all think about airline plans to charge obese people more for air travel?

I mean seriously, at a time when a higher percentage of Americans, Europeans and Asians are overweight than ever before, these are questions that get some seriously emotional responses.  

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Honestly, what is Danica Patrick thinking?

Patrick has an impressive racing resume as the most well known female contender in the Indy Car series and the ARCA Racing Series in recent years. She was the first woman to win an Indy car race with her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan Race and her 2009 third place finish in the Indianapolis 500 was the highest finish in the event’s history for a woman. Patrick is on track to make her debut in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this coming weekend.

In that respect she is a great role model. She’s a capable, determined, gutsy lady breaking down barriers. And she and/or her managers are smart enough to market Patrick elsewhere while she’s a hot commodity.

But beside her late night talk show guest spots, most of her appearances outside the racing world – including two Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues (like this one from 2009), numerous racy photos shoots and the GoDaddy.com commercials – seem more apropos to a centerfold wannabe than a race car driver.

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So a few not-so-random thoughts as a follow-up to my post: Perils of Living in a Fast Food Nation.

 According to this Der Spiegel article from Germany, governments across the European continent are examining legislative ways to trim the fat out of their nations’ diets. Like residents in the U.S. and other regions, Europeans are seeing an explosion of expanding waistlines. Proposals on the table reportedly include more taxes on chocolate in Denmark and fast food in Romania, limits on the use of trans fat in Spain and an end to advertising of sweets to children under 12 in Germany.

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If there’s one thing guaranteed to foil my best attempts at a healthier lifestyle, it’s not remembering to stock the fridge with better-for-you snacks; and it’s not getting in a 30 minute walk at least 3 times a week — it’s fast food (following very closely by rich, chocolate desserts). It’s a battle I’ve fought – fairly unsuccessfully – for years, … and one that society in general also seems to be losing.

But not anymore!!! Two really gross stories this week may finally tame my FF addiction.

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As a devoted fan of all things bloodsucker, I was delighted to read about all of the bloody creatures snapping up honors at last night’s Peoples’ Choice Awards.

The New Moon installment based on the Twilight saga phenomenon sucked up four awards, including favorite movie, franchise, on-screen team and breakout male actor for Tayler Lautner. My other current favorite fang-fare, HBO’s True Blood (based on Charlaine Harris’ series) grabbed favorite television obsession, while CW series The Vampire Diaries won for new television drama.

My joy in this news is twofold. One, it means we’re likely to see more bloodsuckers soon rising to feast in contemporary literary fiction works, on television and in the movies. Two, the popularity of these walking dead – who tend to either glory in the hunt or live in eternal torment – means that I am definitely NOT alone in my not-so-secret infatuations. (phew!!!!)

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Every once in a while (though it seems more frequently in this oft-strange world we live in) a story comes along that, while true, seems to be the work of Hollywood writers.

Case in point: Russia’s battle plan to save earth from an asteroid collision.

In this case – unlike virtually, every single Hollywood movie (…yawn…)- it won’t be the U.S.A. that saves the day. Russian scientists have stepped forward with a (vague) plan to send a spacecraft up to bump the asteroid off course.

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Just when you think the world can’t get any weirder, a story comes along to make you question absolutely everything.

Case in point: Peru’s alleged fat harvesting gang.

In mid-November Peruvian police warned the public of a gang of killers stalking people in the Peruvian jungle for three decades to harvest fat and sell it to the European cosmetics industry. Police named the gang pishtacos – based on traditional folklore of a tall, white male in a big hat who roams the countryside stealing the fat and eyes of unsuspecting travelers. According to the allegations the killers would cut off “victims’ heads, arms and legs, remove the organs, and then suspend the torsos from hooks above candles that warmed the flesh as the fat dripped into tubs below.” Police produced suspects who claimed a gallon of the human fat was worth $60,000. Sounds like something out of a Stephen King novel, right? Uber yucky….

But then the story got worse …. Within a week or two the cops’ allegations began to unravel as medical professionals and local journalists attacked the veracity of the claims.

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A South Korean grandmother is celebrating the attainment of a dream. After 950 attempts, the 68-year old finally managed to pass the written exam for a driver’s license.

 It took Cha Sa-soon the better part of 5 years and $4,200 in application fees, but Cha reportedly told Reuters “don’t give up your dream, like me. Be strong and do your best.” Cha, who wants a vehicle so she can better sell vegetables, still has to pass the practical road test before getting an actual license.

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