-Ugly Betty

We will be with extremely limited connection for the next couple of weeks as we move to the new office.  We appreciate your patience with any delay in returning messages that may result!

We’ll send out the new contact info once we are up and running again.

Hope everyone has a great week!

-Steve Jobs

-Zen Proverb

And to a country that banded together during a time of incredible tragedy.
Ten years later, it is still unbelievable.

Never Forget.

-Gabrielle Bernstein

We’ve all heard the news stories about our products from China.  How could we not when there seems to be something new every other week? I thought the lead poisoned children’s toys were bad, but now I find out there are high levels of ARSENIC in apple juice!

Mott’s Apple Juice, to be exact, had tested as having 55 parts per billion. The US Environmental Protection Agency’s limit of arsenic in public drinking water is 10 parts per billion. That’s a pretty big difference!! Now, since Mott’s is such a big brand name here in the United States, especially in homes with children, you would expect them to be a fully US product.  Nope – they get their apples from… you guessed it – CHINA. It seems that over 70% of the apple juice in the US actually comes from China – a place that regularly uses arsenic based pesticides. China’s food exports to the US have tripled over the past 10 years. And only less than 2% of imported food is inspected by the FDA. Does that number scare you? Because it sure scares the hell out of me!

Why are we allowing this to happen??

It’s pathetic enough that the government is not only allowing so much of our business to go overseas, but it’s not even regulating or inspecting what is coming into our country. And WHY are we getting apples from China?? Last I heard, New York and Washington State are two of the best places for apples. I do believe those two states are both from right here in the good ole USA. If our government isn’t going to protect us, then we need to start standing up and protecting ourselves! I don’t know about you, but I’m going to research which organic brand of apple juice gets their apples exclusively from the US.

But that’s only a start. Diane Sawyer recently did a special report and removed all items from an average middle class family’s home that were not USA made. They literally ended up taking just about everything except for the kitchen sink!

Is there any need for us to prove the stereotype of “Dumb Americans” as right? Let’s open our eyes and pay a little more attention. There’s no need for everything we buy and eat to be from somewhere else – especially a place like China that proves again and again how dangerous it is for us to do business with them. Time for us to start paying attention to labels!

Here’s a few numbers to think about -

• If 200 million Americans each refuse to buy just $20 of Chinese goods, that would be a billion dollar trade imbalance resolved in our favor.
• If every American spent just $64 more than normal on US products, it would create about 200,000 new jobs for AMERICANS right here in our own country, which in these hard economic times, we so desperately need.
• If we were to refrain from buying Chinese products for even just 1 month, it will hit the Chinese for 8% of their American exports.

I received an email this week about a movement to get as many people as possible to not buy any Chinese products from August 1st-Sept 1st – food, toys, appliances, anything. The more people that try it out, the more of an impact it will have on the Chinese economy (and hopefully in sending a message to our own ignorant government). We should all try this out. Enough is enough! There is no reason for China to keep poisoning us.

And in the meantime, better check your apples….

For more info on the Mott’s Apple Juice Test -
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/07/arsenic-laced-apple-juice-flowing-from-china/

Patti Rothberg exploded onto the music scene with her 1996 debut album, Between the 1 and the 9. The critically acclaimed album was an instant hit with songs that defied traditional genre lines and provided her audience with a unique mix of classic rock, pop, and new wave. Touring with such well-known groups as the Wallflowers, Chris Isaak, Midnight Oil, Garbage, and Black Crowes, Patti also performed on Late Night with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Her song, “Inside,” was #25 on the American Billboard, and “Treat Me Like Dirt” went all the way to #1 on the European billboard.

Patti made her way into the film world when a cover of her song, “Kung Fu Fighting” was featured in the 1997 movie, Beverly Hills Ninja, and “Forgive Me” was featured in the 1998 film, The Misadventures of Margaret.

Patti’s latest album, Overnight Sensation (2011), marks the reunion of Patti with her original producer, Dave Greenberg, and was mastered by industry legend, Herb Powers, Jr. (Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill, Justin Timberlake).

Other BSFF events include free film screenings, fire dancers, Q&A session, panel discussions, live music, award ceremony, and after parties. The featured films include local entries as well as professional and amateur entries from Australia, Russia, Poland, England, Germany, Spain, and India. The short films are judged by a panel of Hollywood professionals with credits that include Silence of the Lambs, Mystic Pizza, Rudy, So I Married An Ax-Murderer, O, Illusion, The Skeptic, Big Brother, Oprah Behind the Scenes, Hell’s Kitchen, Bugs Bunny Superstar, and Dorian Blues. All events are free and open to the public. For more information on the films, talents, events, or sponsorship, go to http://www.bspafilm.com.

HOLLYWOOD COMES TO TOWN…AGAIN

As Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling, and Eva Mendes roll into town to shoot their movie, The Place Beyond the Pines, in Schenectady County, we are reminded once again how much Hollywood loves the Capital District.

Many films have been shot throughout the area over the years, including Seabiscuit, Salt, Scent of a Woman, The Other Guys, The Horse Whisperer, The Time Machine, Ironweed, The Age of Innocence, and Taking Woodstock (just to name a few!). And the historic village of Ballston Spa certainly has had its taste of Hollywood as well, with the 1973 Oscar winning movie, The Way We Were, partially filmed downtown and starring Robert Redford and Barbara Streisand. Olympic bobsled coach, Pat Brown, a native of Ballston Spa, was portrayed by John Candy in the 1994 movie, Cool Runnings, about the historic 1988 Olympic Jamaican bobsled team. And since Daniel DeFabio started the Ballston Spa (International) Film Festival (BSFF) four years ago, Hollywood has been taking even more of an interest in the area.

2009’s festival saw its winner of the Best Animated Short, French Roast, by Fabrice Joubert, win several international awards before garnering an Oscar nomination for the Academy Awards. This year’s festival again includes an Oscar nominee. The Gruffalo from Magic Light Pictures, features the voices of Helena Bonham Carter and John Hurt. Aardman Animation (Wallace & Grommet) also shows up this year with 2 new submissions. For the first time, the BSFF will screen a feature film. Mineville, shot in Essex County, NY stars Paul Sorvino, Michael Sorvino, and William Sadler in a period piece about miners fighting for safer work conditions.

This year’s festival features professional, amateur, and student films from around the world (including Mexico, England, Poland, Australia, Argentina, Spain, Russia, India, Germany, New York, and California) and right here in the Capital District. Locally, audiences will see submissions from festival veterans Dan Masucci, high school student Jacob MacAuliffe, Kevin Craig West, and Michael Feurstein among several other local names. Entries are in a variety of genres including animations, documentary, drama, and comedy.

The finalists will be judged by a panel of Hollywood professionals with a list of credits that include Silence of the Lambs, Mystic Pizza, Rudy, So I Married An Ax-Murderer, O, Illusion, The Skeptic, Big Brother, Oprah Behind the Scenes, Hell’s Kitchen, Bugs Bunny Superstar, and Dorian Blues.

The festival runs August 4-6 and is free and open to the public. In addition to the screenings, other festival events include fire dancers, panel discussions, photo booth, after parties, and music by Vesper and Billboard recording artist, Patti Rothberg. Plus, you never know who might just show up….

LIST OF FILMS

Thursday, 8/4/11
8:00pm Ballston Spa High School

By The Score – Mikhail Kanaev
Know Candy – Jon Russell Cring
Extinction II – Fernando Uson
Elephant Room – Silvana Jakich
Mineville – Lori Bailey

Friday, 8/5/11
9:00pm Wiswall Park

The Grufallo – Jakob Schuh, Max Lang
Olivia Explorer – Hayley Stuart, Francesca Sophia
Montgomery – Rob Fried, Chris Common
Laybabb – Mike Feurstein
Frog and Buddha – Ron Taylor
The Astronaut on The Roof – Sergi Portabella
Grasshoppers – Julian Gorski
The Beauty Inside – Kevin Craig West
Woodstock – Kerri Rubino
Phenomenon – Shira Siegel, Max Gaba
Salvacion – Pedro Jaen
Coming Home – Aksel Stasny
Oh Sister – Susan Hippen

Saturday, 8/6/11
1:00pm Ballston Spa High School

Serendipitous – Anna Cardillo
Chicken Feed – Kathleen Carey, Kevin Craig West
Fresas – Jason Otenreath
Mindset – Katie Pyne, Carolyn Tan
The Man with the Spying Glass – Magda Olchawska
Fly – Alan Short
Communication Revolution – Chris Finn
Terrible Parkour – Mike Feurstein
The Trampoline – Dan Masucci
The Tale of the Dog Chew Toy – Jacob MacAullife
Resume – Jack Durnin
The Third Rail – Darian Henry, Michael Mejia
Blind Date – Nigel Davies
Phoenix Tears – Alec Acevedo
Men of Mamoni – Amy Seidman
Ven Dimensional – Alex Burnstein, Matt Nicoletta
El Cortejo – Marina Seresesky
Seeds of Hope – Mohamed Gardne, Imani Peterkin
Beyond Words – Armand De Saint-Salvy

Saturday, 8/6/11
9:00pm Wiswall Park (Includes a few words by the directors)

Mirror Image – Emily Foreman
Tale of the Dog Chew Toy – Jacob MacAullife
Seeds of Hope – Mohamed Gardne, Imani Peterkin
The Man with the Spying Glass (Clip) – Magda Olchawska
Bad Conscience – JP Whitehead, Matt Lingenfelter, Manu Berduc
Chicken Feed – Kathleen Carey, Kevin Craig West
By The Score (Clip)– Mikhail Kanaev
Boom – Manu Berduc, Matt Lingenfelter
Azan a Call to Prayer – Meena Bukhari

The BSFF is put on by the Ballston Spa Business and Professional Association, a non-profit community organization committed to making the Village of Ballston Spa a better place to live and work, and to bringing quality arts and entertainment events for all ages to the community.  Funded in part by the Saratoga Program for Arts Funding and by area businesses, all proceeds go toward future festivals and other community events presented by the Ballston Spa Business & Professional Association. For more information on the films, talents, events, or sponsorship, go to http://www.bspafilm.com.