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Movie Review: “Saving Mr. Banks”

December 12, 2013 / David Medsker

Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Colin Farrell, Paul Giamatti, Bradley Whitford, Jason Schwartzman, B.J. Novak

John Lee Hancock

The trailer for “Saving Mr. Banks” resembles the film only slightly more than “The Shining” resembles that fake trailer for the film that made the rounds 10 or so years ago. In the trailer, “Mr. Banks” looks light and fun, with a little playful back-and-forth between the frigid, overprotective writer and the movie executive who’s looking to turn her pet project into box office gold. Nora Ephron made this movie with Meg Ryan four or five times (twice with “Banks” star Tom Hanks, strangely enough), and we all know that it ends with the two finding some middle ground while learning to be more understanding of others.

Except that this movie isn’t even remotely like that. Instead, “Saving Mr. Banks” is a dark, painfully sad journey of a grown woman still looking to redeem her long-lost father, occasionally broken up by moments of levity. This makes for a more emotionally complex story, which is a nice surprise, but it doesn’t always make for a better story. The flashback timeline is informative, but the present day timeline is more interesting.

It is the year 1961, and P.L. Travers (a spot-on Emma Thompson) has been fielding calls from movie mogul Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) for 20 years about adapting her book “Mary Poppins” for the silver screen. Her answer has always been a steadfast ‘no,’ but when a financial adviser friend of hers reminds her that she’s almost out of money, Mrs. Travers agrees to fly to Los Angeles, meet with Walt, and consider the possibility of allowing Disney and his team to work their “magic” on her beloved Mary. From the beginning, though, Mrs. Travers has objections to their treatment of the material, and in flashback, we see why: as a young girl in rural Australia in the early 1900s, Mrs. Travers had a wonderful relationship with her father (Colin Farrell), an otherwise unreliable and occasionally foul-tempered drunk who nonetheless adored his eldest daughter “Ginty” and encouraged her to think creatively. She lost him at an early age, and she’s clearly still stinging from the loss, and the fact that Disney and his staff doesn’t understand what “Mary Poppins” means to her, in both a literal and figurative sense, infuriates her.

Entertainment, Movie Reviews, Movies

Emma Thompson Mary Poppins P.L. Travers Saving Mr. Banks Saving Mr. Banks review Tom Hanks Walt Disney

Edge-Prepping Industrial Equipment: Benefits and FAQ

December 12, 2013 / Bullz-Eye Staff

In any business, it’s important to maximize the longevity and efficiency of all necessary equipment. Office jobs must invest in long-lasting computers; hospitals need durable, functional medical equipment. In fields that require industrial equipment, however, it’s even more vital to invest in durable tools to prevent unnecessary expenses and wasted time.

Edge-prepping is one way to increase the industrial tools’ lifetime. Not only will this reduce the cost of repairing and replacing the equipment, but it also will prevent broken tools from disrupting business processes. After all, a loss of production means a loss of income.

Lifestyle

maintaining tools

Did You Know… with Mike Furci: The Flu and Cold Edition

December 12, 2013 / Mike Furci

A column by Mike Furci that brings you research, trends and other info to help you with your fitness, health and nutritional needs.

…you should exercise with a cold? Dr. Kaminsky and other researchers at Ball State encourage people to exercise when they have colds as long as the symptoms are above the neck. It’s the types of colds that produce symptoms below the neck like chest congestion and muscle aches that they’re more cautious with.

Two studies were performed over a decade ago in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports Medicine and showed surprising results. The researchers found no difference in symptoms between those who exercised and those who didn’t; there was no difference between maximum exercise performance between the groups, and there was no difference in recovery time from colds. (Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1997, Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1998)

…that a fever is a natural beneficial function of your body to fight off invading organisms when the primary lines of defense, your immune system, fail? So many people misunderstand fever, and believe it to be dangerous. This is primarily due to our “take a pill for everything society” created by physicians and big pharma. Your body raises its temperature because most infectious organisms cannot survive this environment; the ideal temperature for fighting infections is between 102 and 103 degrees F. The problem is, just as our bodies are doing what’s needed to eradicate the infection, we self medicate with, or worse yet, give our children, anti-pyretic drugs like acetaminophen, ibuprofen and aspirin by themselves or in combination.

It’s very important to think of a fever as a healing response. And contrary to popular belief, the best action is almost always little or no action. Rather than trying to lower a fever through medication, try to work through it and allow it to run its course. To support a fever, Colleen Huber and other naturopathic physicians recommend consuming liquids such as broths and water until the fever breaks. The body slows down the movement of food in the gut (peristalsis), so avoid solid food. Another and perhaps most important recommendation to support a fever is rest. Activity uses the body’s essential energy needed to fight invading organisms, and hinders the immune function.

The benefits of a fever:

• Directly kills invading organisms through heat.
• Stimulates antibody production more specific to the infection than any antibiotic.
• More interferon is produced to block the spread of viruses to healthy cells.
• Stimulates production white blood cells which mobilize and attack invaders.

When to seek medical attention for a fever:

• Anyone with a temperature above 104.5 degrees F.
• Infants 100.4 degrees F. Seek care right away.
• Infants from 1 month to 3 months old, with a temperature >100.4 degrees F, if they appear ill.
• Children between 3 months and 36 months, with a temperature above 102.2 degrees F, if they appear ill

For anyone not in the above categories, employ rest and fluids to support the fever and allow it to do its job. (Naturopathyworks.com, Mercola.com)

Fitness, Lifestyle

Did You Know disease flu and colds flu prevention

The Advantages of Playing Blackjack Android Apps

December 12, 2013 / Bullz-Eye Staff

Playing blackjack on android has long shed the stigma of having to settle for less, in just about every respect. Mobile devices are perfectly capable of handling graphics just as good as you’ll find in the full, downloadable clients of online casinos, and blackjack (like slots and other casino card games) is wonderfully suited for being played on the smaller screen of a mobile phone or tablet.

Vices

Andriod apps apps betting blackjack wagering apps

5 Global Cars with Excellent Gas Mileage

December 11, 2013 / Bullz-Eye Staff

With the onset of the credit crunch and increased fuel prices, motorists are increasingly seeking out vehicles with long term affordability and lower running costs. Where once looks and performance played a major role in choosing a new car, in recent years this has often been replaced by questions about reliability, low service cost and good fuel economy. Manufacturers have played an important part by employing new and improved technologies to not only meet ever-demanding emissions standards and Green agendas but also to improve fuel consumption and make their vehicles more attractive to the discerning buyer. This article features five cars that top the tree when it comes to fuel economy.

Kia Rio

At one time Kia was viewed as very much a low-budget, inferior-quality alternative to more traditional manufacturers, but in recent years the company has evolved into one the world’s foremost automotive companies. With vehicles boasting a surprisingly high level of equipment and a wide range of options, the Kia Rio has undergone several incarnations. The most recent ‘Ecodynamics’ versions boast extremely frugal petrol and diesel engines, with some models claiming fuel economy approaching 90 miles per gallon (mpg). This is one small car not be overlooked.

Toyota Yaris Hybrid

Toyota are renowned for launching the world’s first mass-produced hybrid, the Prius, and have now extended the technology across the range. The Yaris, already a very fuel efficient and highly-respected supermini, is now available as a hybrid, and boasts economy in the range of 80 mpg. There’s an added premium to pay for the car, but the accompanying lowered emissions and great economy make this a terrific vehicle.

Citroen C3

Another car which has been refined over the past few years, the C3 ‘Airdream’ model can attain a fuel economy around 83 mpg, and features many of the associated benefits in lowered emissions and comfort as its immediate competitors. With low provisional insurance and new driver costs, coupled with its great environmental credetials, this is a very worthy contender among the most efficient and economical cars in its class.

Renault Clio

The Clio has been around for many years, and is extremely familiar to the UK market thanks to an impressive marketing campaign in the 1990s. The bolted-on ECO credentials have once again put the Clio to the fore, with the latest models reputedly rivalling the Kia Rio’s 88 mpg performance level at a very similar cost. In a market consistently dominated by Far Eastern vehicles, the French are definitely catching up again.

Chevrolet Volt

No look at the most economical vehicles on the road would be complete without mention of the remarkable Chevrolet Volt, and its sister car, the Vauxhall Ampera. One of the first truly next-generation cars to hit the market, the Volt is the European Car of the Year 2013. It boasts an electric battery with relatively limited range, but with a petrol-powered electricity generator as backup, tests have reportedly shown that the Volt can, remarkably, produce fuel consumption of 235 mpg!

As new technologies are introduced into the market, no doubt fuel economy among all classes of car will continue to improve. The five examples above demonstrate that fantastic fuel savings can be made without compromising great performance and comfort, and have ushered in a new era in car manufacturing.

Cars

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