Acheiving Happiness Without Pain

Epicurus was a Greek philosopher who was born over 2300 years ago. One of his major concerns was discovering how to achieve happiness. That his ideas are still widely known today, says that quite a few people over time must have found them of benefit. His basic theory is that all good and bad things come from sensations. All pleasure is good, and all pain is bad. Therefore, in order to achieve happiness, we should try to maximize the amount of pleasure we experience. He contended that nothing in life has any value except that which can bring us pleasure. If we focus on maximizing our potential for happiness, then ultimately we'll reap the rewards of this focus. Of course, Epicurus wasn't dumb enough to believe that we should instinctively try to experience only pleasure and always avoid pain. We live in reality, after all. Instead, he thought we should try to fill our lives with as much pleasure as possible, while experiencing as little pain as humanly possible.

So something like taking drugs, for example, doesn't fit with this principle. Even though it may give immediate pleasure in the form of a high, drug-abuse causes us long-term pain because it introduces addiction, bad health, and confusion into our lives. Epicurus warned against overindulgence, in fact, because it often leads to negative consequences. Likewise, some work which we don't enjoy and causes us pain may often be worthwhile if it increases the amount of pleasure we experience in the future.

He divided pleasures into two types: moving and static. Moving pleasure occurs when we are in the process of satisfying a desire— such as eating when we're hungry. Static pleasure occurs after a desire is satisfied and so we are no longer in need. Static pleasures are generally the more enjoyable. When a person has unsatisfied desires, this is painful. When those desires are satisfied, they move into the state of static pleasure. He felt the worst killer of happiness is fear of the future, as it introduces pain in the form of fear. If someone can face the future with the utmost confidence, then they are more likely to be happy.

Since pleasure involves desires fulfilled, and pain desires denied, Epicurus thought a great deal about the nature of desire itself. In order to increase your pleasure, you can either strive to fulfill your desire, or eliminate it thereby removing it as a source of pain. At the core of the Epicurean philosophy is eliminating as many desires as you can, so your remaining wants are easy to satisfy and you'll attain a state of tranquility. To identify which wants should be eliminated, Epicurus divided them into three separate categories— natural and necessary wants, natural and unnecessary wants, and unnatural and unnecessary wants.

Natural and necessary wants include the basics such as food, shelter, safety and so on. These are generally easy to meet and almost impossible to eliminate. Finding enough food is fairly straightforward for most people, while going without it is impossible. For this reason, you should work to satisfy these desires. Natural and unnecessary wants include things like luxury goods such as fine dining. While food is necessary for survival, and a source of pleasure, we can do without luxury food such as caviar and foie gras. In fact, it's arguable whether these expensive goods give us any more pleasure than simple foods such as eggs on buttered toast.

Another example may be spending a weekend at a luxury resort, which takes a month of work for two days of pleasure. Is there really more pleasure to be had from this than a picnic is a public park on a sunny day, which is so cheap that it's essentially free? Epicurus wasn't against luxury goods under any circumstances. He thought we should consume them if they're easily available. Instead he felt the pain of gaining them often wasn't worth the pleasure of consuming them. Because of this, becoming dependent on such needs is a path to misery, as it creates more pain than pleasure.

Unnatural and unnecessary desires include power, wealth and fame. These are very difficult to satisfy and relatively easy to eliminate. No matter how much someone who desires these things has, it's never enough. The desire for food can be met in a few short minutes of eating, the hunger for money can remain for an entire lifetime without ever being satisfied.

Epicurus felt that these wants were not natural, but given to us by society and false beliefs. The more we possess, the more we have to worry about. Therefore, unnatural and unnecessary desires should be eliminated as much as possible. Ultimately the outcome of this philosophy is to simplify your life by reducing your wants. Less wants are easier to satisfy, so you'll achieve tranquility earlier and have to expend less pain getting there. Once you meet your most basic desires, the amount of pleasure to be gained from meeting further ones is minimal, and therefore not worth spending resources on obtaining.

For Epicurus, one of life's greatest pleasures was to be found in friendship. He felt that good friends were relatively easy to obtain, and bought an almost endless stream of pleasure. A grand mansion filled with luxuries but empty of company would bring much less pleasure than a small basic flat which was shared with true friends, according to this belief. Because of this, he advocated that the first thing anyone who aims to be happy should do is strive to find friends. Join a club, start a course, or play a sport in order to form connections with your fellow humans. A sure way to happiness is to spend more time socializing.

He extended his philosophy to say that fear of death is silly. He believed death was simply oblivion with no feelings. Because there was no pain involved, as you can't feel anything he said: "death is nothing to us". Overall, Epicurus is a very interesting philosopher and well worthy of his fame. His recipe is simple and obvious once understood. I wonder if the modern thinkers we so admire today will still be having their ideas discussed in 2300 years?

Overboard—Fun With an Endearing Twist

Real-life couple Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn star in this enjoyable 1987 comedy by Garry Marshall (Pretty Woman) about an imperious heiress (Hawn) who loses her memory after a boating accident and is identified as the wife of a handyman (Russell). Russell's character brings her "home" to his messy house and unruly kids, and the laughs follow as the aristocratic Hawn tries fitting in. Marshall delivers the comic goods, the leads are entertaining (Russell needs to do more comedy), and the supporting cast is made up of happily familiar faces, including Roddy McDowall, Edward Herrmann, and Marshall favorite Hector Elizondo in an unbilled bit.

No matter how many times I watch this movie (and believe me, I've watched it many, many, many times) it's always enjoyable. Goldie Hawn stars as Joanna Stayton, an incredibly rich, incredibly bored and incredibly bitchy woman with nothing left to do while her yacht is docked at a small coastal Oregon town called Elk's Cove but to hire a carpenter named Dean Proffitt (Kurt Russell, gotta love him) to remodel her closet. But when the job isn't done to her satisfaction, he winds up overboard along with all his tools. He vows to get revenge on her and the opportunity presents itself when Joanne falls overboard in the middle of the night and is later discovered by a crew of Portuguese men on a garbage barge. But Joanna has amnesia and can't remember who she is. And her husband Grant is all to happy to pretend he doesn't know her and leave her in the hospital. But when Dean sees the "amnesia lady" on the news, he recognizes Joanna and hatches a plan to get revenge and get the money she owes him. But neither one expects to fall in love with the other. Overboard is a fun and funny movie that also teaches us the lesson that money doesn't buy us complete happiness.

Nintendo Hits New York Comicon

When gaming and pop culture fans gather for the annual New York Comic Con— taking place October 13th to October 16th at the Javits Center in Manhattan— they’ll get a firsthand look at the wealth of exceptional video games and systems offered by Nintendo this holiday season. Show attendees will get a chance to play games such as The Legend of Zelda™: Skyward Sword for the Wii™ console as well as Super Mario™ 3D Land and Mario Kart 7™ for the Nintendo 3DS™ system. They’ll also be invited to take part in special activities to celebrate the upcoming release of the first Pokémon™ game created exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS system, Pokémon™ Rumble Blast, which arrives October 24th, and Professor Layton and the Last Specter™, which launches October 17th for the Nintendo DS™ family of systems.

Pokémon fans can participate in an expanded interactive experience at the nearby Pokémon Gaming Lounge on October 15th from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., located at Stage 37 at 508 West 37th Street (one block from the Javits Center). Pokémon Gaming Lounge visitors will enjoy hands— on game play with the Pokémon Rumble Blast game prior to its October 24th launch and participate in a wide array of activities highlighting the imaginative fun of the Pokémon franchise. Pokémon Rumble Blast is an action— packed Pokémon adventure and the first Pokémon game for Nintendo 3DS. The game lets players battle against more than 600 Toy Pokémon in full 3D without the need for special glasses. Planned activities include a Pokémon photo booth, oversized Pokémon AR Markers for the Pokédex™ 3D application, special appearances by Pikachu, Pokémon giveaways while supplies last and other fun Pokémon activities. The Pokémon Gaming Lounge will be free and open to the public.

On October 14th, Nintendo will host an exclusive screening of Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva, an animated feature film based on the fan—favorite series of puzzle— based mystery games and distributed by VIZ Media. Beginning at 8:00 p.m. in Room 1B01 of the Javits Center, the event will include appearances by costumed characters, trivia contests and a chance for fans to play the Professor Layton and the Last Specter game, the fourth installment in the Professor Layton puzzle adventure series. This game is the earliest story in the series and tells the tale of the case that made Layton famous. Nintendo will also give special recognition to the winner of the Professor Layton and the Last Specter Quiz Challenge, a contest that was recently conducted via Twitter. The screening event will be open exclusively to registered New York Comic Con attendees with a valid conference pass.

The Courtney Delusion Continues

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCMMZQFVf4U

Courtney Love Acts Out... Yet Again.

As strange as this all sounds, it's just yet another display of insanity from Courtney Love... who "would kill" Kurt Cobain if he were still alive. Now that's a twist. The Hole frontwoman admits she is still "mad" with her late husband— who committed suicide in 1994 when their daughter Frances Bean was just 20 months old— for his multiple attempts to end his life and battle with heroin addiction. Asked if she is angry with Kurt for killing himself, Courtney told Vanity Fair magazine: "Mad? Ya think?! If he came back right now I'd have to kill him, for what he did to us. I'd f%$king kill him. I'd f*#k him, and then I'd kill him. "He tried to kill himself three times. He OD'd at least five times. I was the f@!king E.M.S.[Emergency Medical Services] I was always sticking pins in his balls. I carried around Narcan [a drug used to revive heroin users]."

Courtney— who has been estranged from Frances since 2009— has repeatedly claimed she has been defrauded out of much of Kurt's money, but has also now insisted her financial problems began long before the rocker's death. She said: "We could never find our money. We had $135,000 in our bank account. They said that if he would go do Lollapalooza he would make $11 million. Do you think Kurt would have killed himself if he had known he had $54 million?"

All of us here at UPBEAT Entertainment News Syndicate feel that this is a very disturbing display of "acting out" once again on Courtney Love's part. She NEVER addresses the countless questions surrounding Kurt Cobain's death which still remain unanswered. Let's face it, in 1994 "forensics" weren't exactly the science that they are now. Conspiracy theorists continue to insist that the case be reopened to bring forth various pieces of information that were allegedly "passed over and dismissed" by the officers at the scene of Cobain's suicide. There are thousands of "Justice For Kurt Cobain" web sites out there all of which contain some very provocative arguments as to what may or may not have happened to Kurt Cobain. But until the case is "officially" reopened... no one really knows why or how or anything else... but Kurt Cobain.

Meanwhile, Kurt Cobain's only child recently purchased her own home in West Hollywood. She turned 19 in late August, having inherited 37 percent of her father's estate in August of 2010. Although both her parents were constantly in the limelight, Frances Cobain has shied away from publicity and only recently reached the public eye with a few modeling shots and an art show. Reportedly, she turned down the roles of Bella in "Twilight" and Alice in Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland." Frances is extremely aware of her status in terms of her iconic parents. "These people are fascinated by me, but I haven't done anything," she says. "If you're a big Nirvana fan, a big Hole fan, then I understand why you would want to get to know me, but I'm not my parents." Without dismissing the accomplishments of her folks (her father was dead before she was 2), Frances advises, "People need to wait until I've done something valid with my life." So what's next for Frances Bean? It's anyone's guess, but we're confident that whatever it is... we won't be disappointed.

Nirvana's "Nevermind" Turns 20

Twenty years ago, a naked baby diving after a dollar bill turned the rock world upside down, and Nirvana's absolute genius... "Nevermind", the record immortalized by so much more than just that image, became the soundtrack for a lost generation. "Nevermind's original release in late September of 1991 also sucked Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain into a whirlwind that he would not get out of alive.

Two decades on, Universal is marking the anniversary with the release Monday of a remastered box set of the album, complete with bonus tracks and demos. These include several pre-"Nevermind" recordings made at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin, with Chad Channing at the drums— before Dave Grohl took over for the recording of the album, and Nirvana's distinctive sound took shape.

Another nugget: the so-called "Devonshire Mixes", a version of the album as it was originally mixed by the band's producer Butch Vig. Also featured is the film of a concert in Los Angeles on Halloween, a month after the album hit the shelves, possibly one of the last carefree moments before Nirvana realised they had shot through the barrier separating the indie rock world from the music mainstream. When the album came out, Nirvana was a minor punk-rock band, having released a first album "Bleach" on the Sub Pop indie label to a small audience.

Back in 1991, the rock world was dominated by "hair metal", a genre defined by the permed hairdos and long guitar solos of bands like Guns N' Roses. Nirvana's new label Geffen was caught off guard by the runaway success of "Nevermind", spurred by an enthusiastic MTV airing the video of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" virtually on a loop. The record company initially ordered 40,000 copies of the album. One million were sold in the first six weeks. To keep pace with demand, Geffen was forced to delay other releases to free up some serious space on its production lines. "Nevermind" went on to sell 30 million copies worldwide.

In the space of a few months, the world discovered a new concept: "grunge". Teenagers the world over let their hair fall in lank locks over their checkered lumberjack shirts, dreaming of Seattle, capital of Washington state and the cradle of the movement. Generation X, the millions of youths who had grown up in the shadow of the baby-boomers, unhappy with the cut-and-thrust values of the 1980s but facing uncertain economic times themselves, had suddenly found a voice. "'Nevermind' came along at exactly the right time," writes Michael Azerrad, in "Come as you are: The story of Nirvana."

"This was music by and for a whole new group of young people who had been overlooked, ignored or condescended to."

Breaking Bad Continues To Seek Closure

Last time on "Breaking Bad," Walt found himself in a hole. He got himself and his brother-in-law Hank in a car accident to delay a stakeout of the superlab grounds. His partner and his employer both despise him. Gus resents that Walt is effectively guiding the DEA in their direction. Lacking Jesse’s blessing to execute him, Gus took the troublemaker out to the desert and threatened to kill his family. Ted met his end in a home accident after Saul’s goons mailed away more than half a million dollars of Walt’s cash right to the IRS. Saul then alerted the DEA to a hit the cartel may or may not (read: doesn’t) have on Hank’s life.

As the penultimate episode of the season opens, the ambient static is still briefly audible, as if “Crawl Space” and “End Times” are to be watched without intermission. DEA agents arrive at the Whites’ to take them to the Schraders’ as a courtesy to Marie. In order to keep his family safe, Walt decides to stay away. Skyler is obviously opposed. Then, Walt delivers what I consider to be a rational revision of his “I am the danger” speech: “I have lived under the threat of death for a year now. Because of that, I’ve made choices… I alone should suffer the consequences of those choices. No one else. Those consequences are coming. No more prolonging the inevitable.”

Walt tells Hank he won’t be joining everyone because he needs to run the car wash. When Walter Jr. gets wind of this, he calls it a pathetic excuse. (With two conflicting paternal figures in his life, the kid has a right to be brash.) Marie is the most upset of anyone, but Hank doesn’t believe the threat’s authenticity for a minute. He’s an off-duty, wheelchair-bound self-starter with a pair of binoculars a la L.B. Jeffries. But two men from the Mexican cartel put him in that wheelchair.

Hank asks Gomez to scope out the laundry, as it may support his deep-seated— and dead-on— hunch that Los Pollos Hermanos is a front for the biggest meth distributor in the bottom left quadrant of the country. Gomez is skeptical but attempts a “knock-and-talk” anyway, telling the manager Dennis (played by stand-up comedian Mike Batayeh) a convoluted story of chefs, heroin and politics— which senator? —to gain entry. He snaps photos and has a dog sniff around the facility, just a floor above the superlab.

Jesse is cooking alone now, but has to keep quiet while Gomey snoops upstairs. Gus, watching the surveillance footage from his office, calls the lab to remind Jesse that the DEA search is a result of Walt’s actions. And Jesse reminds him that if “something final” occurs to his former partner, there will be a problem. “There will be an appropriate response,” Gus says. (Jesse smartly parks his car far, far away from the workplace.) At the Schrader home, Hank and Skyler receive word that the search came up empty.

Saul leaves a barrage of voicemail messages on Jesse’s phone. In lieu of Walt actually disappearing, Saul has decided to follow his own advice and skip town “for as long as it takes.” He informs Jesse that Gus’ actions in the desert led him to this. Jesse had no idea. Saul makes sure before he leaves he makes one more “Godfather” reference, telling Jesse to put in a good word for him with Gus, “for old time’s sake.” Can’t do it, Sally. At night, Andrea calls Jesse. She says Brock is in the hospital, stricken with a steadily worsening flu. He rushes to the hospital and consoles her. It’s refreshing to see him exhibit normal compassion. But when he goes outside for a cigarette, he notices one is missing— the lethal smoke containing the poison he and Walt cooked in the lab and intended for Gus. He tears up each cigarette and panics. Storming through the hospital corridors, Jesse finds Andrea and takes her to the not-so-private waiting room. Brock may have been poisoned with ricin, he warns, as the camera rotates around them.

Jesse goes to visit Walt, who is armed and has his door barricaded. Walt explains what went down in the desert, and Jesse is at first sympathetic but that’s a decoy. Jesse takes the gun and shoves it in Walt’s face. He accuses Walt of poisoning Brock, because only two people on Earth knew about that cigarette, right? It was in his pack that morning, and he played video games with Brock the night before. Jesse guesses that Walt sought revenge and had Saul do it. He moves closer with the gun, pushing Walt to the ground. A light bulb turns on in Walt’s head, activating that obnoxious laugh… He theorizes that Tyrus (Ray Campbell, his first time credited as a guest star and not an end-titles player) lifted the cigarette from his locker at the superlab. Not only does Gus have cameras everywhere, he also condones the murder of children (that much is surmised from last season’s penultimate episode), Walt reasons. If Jesse willfully carries out the deed, Gus’ hands stay clean and Walt fades away. Jesse is so swayed by this rationale that he’s ready and willing to jump into the car and go about assassinating.

“I’m going to do this one way or another, Mr. White,” he says. “Then, let me help,” Walt says. Jesse spends the night at the hospital even though Andrea won’t permit him to see Brock. Tyrus tells him he must go back to work, or a full batch will be ruined. Jesse says he doesn’t care; he’s not leaving. When Tyrus accosts him, he shouts for security. Tyrus may need a refresher course on social norms after spending every day tailing people and brooding in a culinary crypt of crystal meth.

Meanwhile, in Walt’s camp, it’s D-Day. He’s cooking a bubbly blue substance on the stove and testing an explosive electronic chip that detonates with a walkie-talkie. Jesse texts him: “Think I got his attention.” Gus and a bodyguard arrive at the hospital, meeting with Jesse in a basement chapel of sorts. (Note: Mike’s fill-in is a much younger, healthier-looking man.) Gus can’t afford to waste time running a superlab when the overhead costs are so high. He says Jesse can return to the hospital when his work is complete. Jesse says he can’t abandon a dying little boy. Gus, acting like the boy’s sickness was of natural causes, offers to use his standing on the hospital board to recommend top doctors. Brock was poisoned and the doctors don’t know how, says Jesse. This is enough to change Gus’ tune. Jesse is permitted to stay with the boy and return when ready.

Gus, Tyrus and the bodyguard walk to their Volvo on the parking deck’s fifth floor with a sense of mistrust. Walt spies with binoculars from a rooftop across the street. He is ready to press the trigger on the walkie-talkie and watch his boss go down in a car explosion like Apollonia. Gus stops and looks out on the city; Walt ducks. Sensing someone tampered with the car, the men retreat to the ground floor of the deck, and maybe catch a cab? Walt is devastated by the failure. He needs to get a grip, more than the tape on his nose does. Planting bombs, spying from rooftops, cooking blue substances at home? This is a new stage of madness for Walt amid dire circumstances. He and Saul are the only ones speaking of “end times” as a dangerously approaching finale of doom, and, hopefully, that means some closure.

Thoughts on Highlander Reboot Part 1

Summit Entertainment has confirmed that its number one choice for the helm of the new Highlander film is Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. Fresnadillo most recently directed Intruders— which was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival— and is also set to direct The Crow reboot. While Fresnadillo has not officially accepted, he had expressed interest previously, so there is little chance he'll turn down this great opportunity. Highlander spent several years in development hell until this summer when the company decided that it was time to pull it off the shelf. The push to get the Highlander film out likely stems from Summit’s need to get another fantasy franchise going now that Twilight is finished. The Highlander script was written by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway and recently updated by Melissa Rosenberg— who also worked with Summit on the final versions of the Twilight scripts. Neal H. Moritz and Peter S. Davis are producing. Highlander is currently set to arrive in theaters sometime in 2012, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was pushed forward to the 2013 blockbuster season.

All of us here at UPBEAT Entertainment News Syndicate aren't very enthused about the reboot and we've made that abundantly clear on several occasions. Some films are better left alone and this is one of them. The original starred Christopher Lambert and regardless of the fact that CGI wasn't at the top of its game at the time, the film had what Lambert's character would say, "Magic." It was easy to understand why it has been a "cult classic" for several years.

But if we are forced to [and as always, we are] to see the reboot then we hope that the casting will be dead on as well as the script. Actors Colin Farrell, Alex O'Loughlin and Joe Manganiello [True Blood's Alcide] would be our only choices for the brooding immortal Connor Macleod of the clan Macleod. As for the lead actress, we would love to see Amanda Seyfried, Sarah Michelle Gellar or Keira Knightley, all of which could "easily" make the role into something very powerful. The Kurgan could only be played by Tyler Mane who was last seen as Michael Myers in the Rob Zombie Halloween films. This actor is massive and menacing and would take The Kurgan beyond evil. As for the rest of the cast, we do have more choices but we'll continue that again soon.

Desperate Housewives: The Final Season

As we head into the final season of “Desperate Housewives,” I plan to savor every moment. I will openly admit that I am once again infuriated with ABC's decision to end the show this season. You see, "Desperate Housewives" was never clearly defined as a soap opera. The show's audience was far more diverse than ABC ever bothered to research. At UPBEAT Entertainment News Syndicate, we discovered that everyone from construction workers to professional athletes were GLUED to every single moment of this brilliant show. It never ever wavered from its title, "Desperate + Housewives", a combination of words that would prove to provide endless possibilities in terms of story. And over the last 7 years, we were NEVER left disappointed nor were we able to guess what was coming just around the corner. The plots were intricately woven to allow the audience to be taken on a ride, one that we feel should never end.

When it first premiered, I found it positively hilarious that everyone over at ABC was shocked at the success of "Desperate Housewives". It was SO NOT about the infusion of the soap opera genre or being 40-something [an audience all but ignored for the past 10 years]. It was about the irony of the hypocrisy of being a housewife; it was a show satirizing the supposed duplicity of placid suburbia and its emotionally turbulent underbelly while "mocking" an old Glen Campbell song.

For reasons far too irrelevant to go into— one of the few albums my parents let us listen to on family car rides was Glen Campbell's Witchita Lineman. Don't ask and I won't tell. It's not a bad album, but one song on there, The Dreams of the Everyday Housewife, was the kind of prepubescent consciousness-raising tool free to be… You and me could only wish it were. The song starts off clocking the everyday housewife's physical deterioration—

She looks in the mirror and stares at the wrinkles
That weren't there yesterday

Then it swings through verses detailing how the housewife makes it through the day— by pretending her apron is the ball gown she wore in her swinging single days, and by obsessively flipping through the scrapbooks she compiled back when she enjoyed her life. These verses are punctuated with the chorus—

Oh, such are the dreams of the everyday housewife
You see everywhere any time of the day
An everyday housewife
Who gave up the good life for me

I swear that song ought to have come with its own complimentary copy of The Feminist Mystique. Whatever the intended effect of the song, I came away from it determined not to spend my adulthood segregated from other grownups and reduced to poring over old photo albums lest I also be tempted to gargle with Windex. Despite later evidence that housewives were not, in fact, confined to the house, I still never shook my ambivalence about housewifery in general. A lot of people evidently listened to Glen Campbell or arrived at their uneasy regard of stay-at-home housewives and mothers by other means— a survey of articles in major publications over the last 18 months shows everyone from the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal discussing what my mother used to call "domestic engineering"— why people choose it, whether they're happy with it, how it affects the economy, whether it should even be a choice at all. Does it really matter? No.

To its credit, "Desperate Housewives" was always self-aware enough to at least be aware of these questions, even if it didn't bother to address them. The pilot— which was one of the most deftly executed inaugural episodes I've seen— was up front about the moneyed bubble in which all of its women floated. These housewives weren't desperate the way a young mother forced to feed a family of four on an E-2 salary might be. They were pinned by their own anomie.

In other words, this show was rapidly shaping up to be a peek at the lives of people upon whom we secretly wish plenty of juicy problems, served with a neat twist of self-conscious irony. These people appeared to have everything in life. So, let them all suffer. "Desperate Housewives" played up our darker desires to feel better at the expense of other people's personal train wrecks by giving us desperate divorcee Susan [Teri Hatcher], disgruntled trophy wife Gabrielle [Eva Longoria], manic Martha Stewart-esque Bree [Marcia Cross] and the trapped fertility goddess Lynnette [Felicity Huffman]. Over the course of the past seven seasons, they were all basically "put-upon" to some degree or another. They were all constrained by the exact kind of social pressure that hazing frat boys would find oppressive. Toss in a massive web of turmoil, twists, turns and mayhem to incite an explosion... and folks… we had lift off.

Okay, so the final season— the season eight opener (8:00 p.m. tonight on ABC) springs from what I believe is a fallacy: The “housewives” feel they have to hide the slaying of an intruder, namely Gaby's abusive stepfather, in order to keep the friend who killed him, Gaby's husband Carlos (S.A.'s Ricardo Antonio Chavira), from going to prison. Yet the act was clearly one of defense; Carlos hit him with a candlestick to protect his wife (part-time Alamo City resident Eva Longoria) from an assault. Despite this weak premise, the episode rolls along quite nicely, with loads of humor and moments of poignancy. We're also introduced to a sexy new neighbor, Ben Faulkner (Charles Mesure, “V”), who immediately catches the eye of Renee (Vanessa Williams).

The plot: It's been months since that fateful dinner party, which ended with Lynette, Gaby, Bree and Susan burying the aforementioned body and making a pact that no one would breathe a word of this “secret.” This causes all kinds of guilt-induced problems for our quartet, not to mention Carlos.

Given that this is “Desperate Housewives,” much of it occurs in the bedroom. Carlos' libido has been affected— so much so, in fact, that he dreads bedtime. Sleepless Susan (Teri Hatcher) forgoes her favorite bedroom activities with Mike to jump out of bed early to do what she normally dreads— cleaning. Lynette ( Felicity Huffman), now separated from Tom ( Doug Savant), brings on more emotional confusion when she has a nightmare about the dead man and jumps back in the arms— for one night, anyway— of her estranged husband.

The only one who seems to be thriving in the boudoir is Bree (Marcia Cross), who uses sex to distract new boyfriend Chuck (Jonathan Cake), a homicide detective.

It's ironic that the funniest sequence results from another death— of a hamster named Cupcake. Susan, who is called in to substitute teach an elementary class, recoils in horror when she learns she has to bury the remains of a hamster. Conjuring up the upsetting night of that other burial, she waxes poetically about the animal— and his grieving family and friends— while the kids look on, bewildered.

Then there's what struck me as a tribute to the old “Dallas”: a fight at a barbecue that ends up in the swimming pool. I'm also looking forward to scenes involving Brenda Strong (who married an S.A. man and said she frequently visits her in-laws here). Strong, alias narrator Mary Alice Young, told TV Guide that this season will revisit the day Mary Alice— who was pushed to the brink after harboring a deadly secret of her own— committed suicide. These memories may or may not teach some important lessons to the other “Desperate Housewives.”

So why cancel a show that has continued to pull in more than just a "target demographic"? We have our own theories. Perhaps the drama which "allegedly" had been going on behind the scenes (with Nicolette Sheridan and Marc Cherry being the topic of controversy) became far too overwhelming for the rest of the cast and crew to continue. Maybe they simply wanted to go out with a bang not a whimper. Whatever the case, make no mistake about to, "Desperate Housewives" will be sorely missed. And the forty-something audience will again be left to roam through the multitude of cable offerings to hopefully discover something even remotely similar. Our hats are off to EVERYONE at "Desperate Housewives", from Season One on... they deserve nothing less than a pile of Emmys, heartfelt thank-yous, and as much praise as anyone can muster up.

True Blood Ignites!

Last night’s episode of True Blood was just as "edge of the seat" as every episode prior to it. We cannot get enough of the madness, cutting-edge, gripping, biting and all around sexy hot feel of this entire season. After drinking Bill’s blood, Sookie has a dream about both him and Eric. In it, she tells them both that she is in love with them and wants to be with them together. After Bill initially says, "I'm the King of Louisiana— I do not share," he gives in. The scene ends with both guys biting Sookie's neck simultaneously... leaving the fans to use their lustful imaginations to uncover the rest of the fantasy/dream sequence. Props to Alan Ball for allowing Team Eric and Team Bill to unite for a rather titillating option that perhaps hadn't been added to the equation. This move was yet another example of Alan Ball's talent. If we could have, we would have dropped by his house and hugged him for allowing Sookie to take a far more "powerful" stance by bringing up (during her dream) that men are fine with two women and one man... but they tend to become far more uncomfortable with two men and one woman. Bravo Alan!

I believe that Jessica Tuck (Nan) had the wittiest comeback while listening to Jessica cry over all that she feels she's lost. "Sometimes I think I should put my career on hold and become a maker, but the past few hours have made me question that." Hoyt also had a clever one-liner about the door frame that he and Jason just fixed: "It looks great, if you ignore the bullet holes and general f&%kedupness of everything." Alcide is 6'6"! We knew Joe Manganiello was tall (and God knows the full nude body shot was even more helpful), but we're completely elated that someone finally revealed just how tall he is. Sookie takes off to warns Bill— their relationship has always been at the center of the show, complex, brooding and yet often hilarious, so we are all pleased that the writers are finally shifting back toward focusing on it.

We see an interesting side to a lot of characters in this week's episode of True Blood. Lafayette (as inhabited by the spirit Mavis) spends most of the episode squeezing in the word "bébé" into every sentence of dialogue, and Debbie and Antonia both begin to spin out of control. Perhaps jealously and revenge is a dish best not served when you've gone insane. The two episodes coming up in September are "Soul of Fire" on the 4th and "And When I Die" on the 11th, and information is out about both. So if you are anti-spoiler, we STRONGLY suggest that you stop reading right now.

In the first September episode, "Soul of Fire," As the Wiccan-vampire standoff reaches a critical juncture, Sookie summons her faerie powers to prevent Marnie from bewitching Bill, Eric and Pam into a suicide march, while Jesus casts a secret spell designed to un-bind Marnie/Antonia and break the witch's deadly defenses. Sam settles a score with Marcus; Alcide confronts Debbie about her allegiances; Andy finds unexpected passion in the forest; Lafayette is consumed by the past."

It sounds like they have plenty on their hands in Bon Temps, and some new alliances are going to form to take on Marnie/Antonia. Meanwhile, other allegiances and relationships could be falling apart, as Alcide may be torn between his loyalty to the new pack for Debbie and what is right. He saw that they weren't exactly holding back when they were beating up Sam, nor did they care when it turned out to be Tommy in episode 9. What will he do in episode 10 when he has a bleeding Tommy in his truck? Meanwhile, in the second episode and True Blood season 4 finale, "And When I Die," It's Samhain, Wicca's greatest holy day, and spirits of the dead surface in Bon Temps, giving Sookie valuable allies to combat Marnie’s newest incarnation. Lafayette’s latest medium encounter imperils his relationship with Jesus; Jason finds confession good for the soul, but not the body; Alcide makes a heartfelt appeal to the woman he loves; Terry receives an unexpected visitor at Merlotte’s; Sam and Luna envision a storybook ending, for once; Nan wears out her welcome with Bill and Eric. Debbie confronts Sookie and Tara with deadly consequences, and the denizens of Bon Temps brace for a new crisis with a familiar face.

The season finale is the episode set to introduce Scott Foley's character, someone from Terry's army past. He'll be a recurring character, coming back in season 5, so it will be interesting to see just what he reveals in this last season 4 episode. Foley is positively thrilled to be joining such a stellar cast. "I'm thrilled to be joining True Blood and looking forward to meeting everyone," he said with a major glint of respect. "I've bought the previous 3 seasons of True Blood and I am catching myself up on all the goings on in Bon Temps." That is a WHOLE lot of catching up Scott!

Meanwhile, what's going to happen when Sookie tries to take on "Marnie's newest incarnation"? What will this incarnation be of? Who will end up on which side, and will everyone survive for the new season? There's also a "familiar face" returning, and it'll be interesting to see who that is and how it all goes down. We are glued to True Blood and we refuse to forgive the Primetime Emmys for all but snubbing this incredibly executed show. So it's filled with supernatural beings? That does not make it any less phenomenal. It's time for the Emmys to "step up" and honor a show like True Blood. During Buffy The Vampire Slayer's run, the show was only given one Emmy for "Hush", which played out with over 30+ minutes of absolute silence and no dialogue. This is absolutely inexcusable.

A Bohemian Outlook

It would appear that matters of money consume and dominate everyone at one point or another. In my travels, I am always mystified by the too frequent mention of money. Some have little else to speak of. Money is forefront in our consciousness and our mental focus is monetary and materialistic to the exclusion of values which lead to our well-being and greater growth. And I do believe that the pursuit of money is the greatest of foibles and truly a deleterious superficiality in the greater scheme of life. Why agitate your minds and live in a state of perpetual privation in the pursuit of the undesirable and unnecessary? Focus your minds and souls upon growth and fulfillment by being grateful… showing compassion and love. I do believe that what we focus our minds upon will come our way in life with sufficient effort. Our mental focus determines our consciousness and subsequently what we will inevitably attain in life.

And I do believe that the majority of us live with the deluded belief that satiation of material desires and the fulfillment of a lavish lifestyle will lead to meaning and fulfillment and happiness. But the fulfillment of outward desires does not make for meaning in life nor fulfillment nor happiness. The endless quest to amass one’s fortunes and material possessions merely makes for true poverty. Poverty is defined as being in want of the necessities of life. Yet we have become a society in which the vast majority cannot distinguish between monetary and material wants and the necessities of life and live in perpetual want of their superfluous desires. Man has become a slave to his own desires. And this is true poverty, is it not? Life becomes a struggle. This has always been an obstacle to human growth, contentment, peace, happiness, and meaning and fulfillment in life. Happy is the man who can live without, for his life is not consumed with want.

Dwell less on inquiry into the meaning of life but rather devote your energies to seeking, discovering and dwelling in the meaningful in life. A search for the meaning of life is nebulous thought akin to a dog pursuing his own tail without hope of ever grasping it. Seeking, discovering and dwelling in the meaningful in life is both life-enriching and pragmatic, and akin to the clever coyote who forever lopes onward, happy with his lot in life and always content his tail will follow him wherever he goes.

Middle age might be seen as a new chapter in life and a time to renew one’s growth or an opportunity to better one’s life in finding meaning and fulfillment. The same might be said of retirement. There is a new beginning in each and every day. The highly acclaimed and very prolific painter, Grandma Moses, began her career in painting in her elderly years. One is never too old to begin anew. Life is an ongoing progression with many chapters rich in meaning and fulfillment.

I roam free and my Bohemian range is wide in a perpetual quest for fine coffee and stimulating conversation. I am a café prophet and I do confess your conversations have been titillating. I have so often lent you my uninvited ear. Were I not a reticent and solitary creature I might have asked to join you, but I choose not to divulge indiscriminately in conversation but rather to contemplate and share my thoughts more exactly. Perhaps my collection of brief thoughts will be of service to you. They are some of the spiritual conclusions I have reached in my existence, tried and true. Spiritual I define as of the human spirit as opposed to of religion although there is a great deal of richness on matters spiritual to be found in some religious thought. This is for the young and old alike who seek answers to the great question that life is, in and of itself. And life for the curious of heart is like the world to a child, a great unanswered question unfolding in each and every day of our short lives. I share with you my rambling thoughts on life… but I am still evolving… so I often learn far more than I teach.

The Dark Knight Rises Wraps in Pittsburgh

'The Dark Knight Rises' is just finishing up its time in UPBEAT Entertainment News' home city of Pittsburgh. The production was filming for the better portion of the month of August, with most of the exciting stuff seemingly finished. More recently, Anne Hathaway has been spotted on set in full Catwoman garb, as has an aerial vehicle of sorts being piloted by Batman. Thanks to Superhero Hype, a couple of new pictures of a Tumbler that has found itself in one of Gotham's greatest potholes. In a video which comes from the YouTube channel of pittsburghmovies, people are seen posing with the very same Tumbler once it was hauled out. Keeping in theme, subaruwrxfan has posted a video of one of the Tumblers showing off a new addition, a rocket launcher of sorts.

The production leaves Pittsburgh on Sunday. It will pick up filming again this fall in the city of Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Times. Unless a couple of interesting occurrences happen on the Pittsburgh set over the weekend, there won't be any leaked photos from the film for a little while.

In addition to the aforementioned Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, the cast includes Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate, Tom Hardy as Bane, Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Michael Caine as Alfred, Liam Neeson as Ra's al Ghul, and Josh Pence as the younger years version of the character.

Christopher Nolan is at the helm of 'The Dark Knight Rises,' which hits theaters on July 20th, 2012.

"Conan the Barbarian" Works as a Reboot

Directed by Marcus Nispel, “Conan the Barbarian” works as a reboot. "We're going back to the mythological Conan as he's described in the Robert E. Howard stories," he explains. "But at the same time, we can't deny that the popular consciousness has changed and things have shifted. People's demands of who Conan should be have changed, and yet there's a certain amount they wouldn't want us to change. So the mantra in making “Conan the Barbarian” is 'give people what they want but don't give them what they expect.' " The obvious first step in this endeavor was finding Conan himself— no small task considering the character's towering physicality and stoic charisma. In December 2009, the filmmakers had been actively reading actors for over a month when casting director Kerry Barden suggested Jason Momoa, fresh off of shooting HBO's upcoming "Game of Thrones."

"When we first met Jason, we saw everything that we hoped Conan would be," remembers Weldon. "He has the imposing physicality. The confidence. And there's a sense of unbridled energy to him that's essential for the character." Adds Lerner, "I can't imagine a single actor that I have worked with or seen on screen that could fit into those shoes as perfectly as Jason does. He is a natural athlete. He has the aggression, the power, the energy needed. And when you actually read Robert E. Howard's descriptions of Conan, they describe Jason exactly."

The half-Hawaiian, half-Irish actor made his name in the globally popular "Baywatch" series, followed by extended runs on "North Shore" and "Stargate: Atlantis." Momoa was only six years old when Milius' film was released, but he remembers encountering the images of Conan created by visionary comic book artist Frank Frazetta, whose darkly sensual, lush style helped define not only the Conan comic book universe (and the film's poster) but the entire sword-and-sorcery genre. "When you see those drawings, they just they speak to you," says Momoa. "Our goal has been to capture the hero featured in Frazetta's pictures. That was our aim." Frazetta's images also considerably impacted Nispel's and production designer Chris August's vision of the film. "You can't shoot Conan in a vérité style," says Nispel. "You have to paint it, choose new angles, light it all very graphically, and then you're able to tell the story in such a way as to easily suspend the disbelief of an audience."

That said, both Nispel and August agreed that the film should feel like a lost piece of history, an epic about real people in a real ancient time. Explains August, "We decided the environment should become a huge part of the film and that it should have a very dirty, gritty feel. Magical, but in a more brutal way. Marcus had this vision to try to do as much of Conan as possible in camera, meaning we actually saw what was being filmed without adding a whole lot of CGI," recalls Weldon. The reality-based approach that Nispel proposed married well with Lerner's and Weldon's plan to shoot the film at Nu Boyana Studios and locations throughout Bulgaria. Says Lerner, "In terms of production value, it was far easier in Bulgaria to create the set pieces and props and dressing to bring Hyboria to life and create a visceral experience."

Nispel and August found everything they were looking for during an extensive location scout across the country. "Bulgaria has an amazing landscape and a long cultural history that was perfect for the project," reports August. "While scouting along a river, someone would point up and there would be caves that monks had carved out of the hills. It really felt like Conan's world, very tough and harsh but at the same time stunningly beautiful."

"Nowhere are the middle ages more prevalent than they are in Bulgaria," avows Nispel. "Why create fake digital sets when there's a gigantic cave (Prohodna Cave in Lukovit) or a prehistoric forest (Pobiti in Kamani, Varna, near the Black Sea) right there in front of you?" With a production schedule taking shape, Momoa headed straight into an intensive training regime, spending six hours a day for a month and a half with the Los Angeles based action design team 87eleven before heading to Bulgaria. "That process really helped me understand the character," says Momoa, who did most of his own stunts. "Conan speaks through his sword. He's got to because he's not one for words. So the sword training with Master sensei Chad Stahelski really helped me find Conan's core." Weight training with Eric Laciste rounded out the day's work and helped the six-foot-five actor bulk up before cameras rolled.

As casting continued, the role of Tamara, Conan's accomplice and eventual love interest, went to action-veteran Rachel Nichols (STAR TREK, G.I. JOE). A novitiate of a Greek-influenced monastery and a master of martial arts, Tamara is a "pureblood," a direct descendant of the Sorcerers of Acheron whose blood will awaken the power of the Mask of Acheron. After meeting with Nispel, Nichols jumped at the chance to play a smart, capable woman who breaks the mold of typical fantasy heroines. "This is not a case of Conan doing all of the action and Tamara sitting by passively as the damsel in distress," explains Nichols. "Tamara is smart and strong and if given the choice of fight or flight she chooses to fight. She's Conan's female counterpart and she goes toe to toe with him."