Join Team HTC for the Lexington, KY premiere screening of “Hitting the Cycle” on Thursday, October 11th @ 7:30pm! The film will be shown at The Kentucky Theater with an exclusive cast & crew after party immediately following the show at Portofino Restaurant (249 East Main Street, across the street from the theater).
“Hitting the Cycle” an independently produced feature film shot entirely on location in Lexington, Ky., was named Best Dramatic Feature Film at the 2012 Manhattan Film Festival in New York City.
The fictional story follows Jimmy “Rip” Ripley, a professional baseball player nearing the end of his career, who reluctantly revisits his long-forgotten hometown to face his estranged, dying father. While attempting to reconcile his fractured past with an uncertain future, Rip begins to gain insight into the choices, opportunities and sacrifices that people confront when they outlive the life of their dreams.
“Hitting the Cycle” screened at the 10-day Manhattan Film Festival in late June, and won the Best Dramatic Feature Film award at a ceremony on July 1st. Hitting the Cycle previously won an award in May at the Tupelo Film Festival in Mississippi.
Lexington native J. Richey Nash portrays the lead character of Rip in Hitting the Cycle. Now based in Los Angeles, Nash also wrote, produced and co-directed the film (along with Darin Anthony). Oscar-nominated actor Bruce Dern plays Rip’s father. Co-producer (and RP Sister) Jennifer Miller is seen in the picture above with Nash accepting the Manhattan Film Festival award.
Though many of the film’s stars and primary crew members are Hollywood-based, Nash decided to bring the production to Lexington because of the diversity of available filming locations and the growing number of production and talent resources (Kentuckians comprise two-thirds of the cast and crew). The opening scenes from Hitting the Cycle take place at readily recognizable Lexington venues, most notably the ballpark of the Lexington Legends, the popular local Minor League Baseball team. The remainder of the story unfolds in “Sayreville,” Rip’s fictional hometown. Shooting locations included public parks, private homes, bars, restaurants, a high school, and several University of Kentucky hospital buildings.
“Lexington was the ideal place to shoot this film not only for its beautiful scenery and varied locations, but also for the tremendous support of the local community,” said Nash. “We had such a great experience. I wouldn’t hesitate to come back to Kentucky for another film project.”
Don’t miss this opportunity to be among the first in Lexington to see “Hitting the Cycle” on the big screen, then mingle with the filmmakers and cast at the after party! Reserve your tickets today before this event sells out!
By Jason Grill, on Thu Oct 11, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET
As the country — and particularly Danville, Kentucky — gets ready for tonight’s Vice-Presidential debate, contributing RP Jason Grill shares his insights on where we stand in this debate season:
So we all know by now that sugar is detrimental to our bodies and can destroy all the hard work you are doing in the gym. As I have documented in previous articles, sugar is the main nutritional culprit in the obesity society that we have become, in my opinion of course.
So what happens when you are cognizant of nutritional labels but the food industry somehow hides a little secret?
That little secret is known as High Fructose Corn Syrup.
Now research continues to go back and forth on whether artificial sweeteners have the same effect on the body as sugar.
What is clear is High Fructose Corn Syrup represent 40% of all added sweeteners to food and beverages. It’s everywhere:
Common Foods High in High Fructose Corn Syrup
Regular soft drinks
Pancake syrups
Fruit Flavored Yogurts
Ketchup
Breakfast cereals
So what is it and high should I care?
HFCS is a corn based sweetener that is a mixture of fructose (fruit sugar) and glucose (simple sugar). As all carbohydrates is HFCS is 4 calories per gram. The fructose is the troubling issue.
Now that Congressman Todd Akin has been cemented in as the GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate in Missouri, his comments a few weeks ago about “legitimate rape” are being targeted in a series of very powerful ads run by his opponent, Senate Claire McCaskill. Check them out below:
Read the rest of… Powerful McCaskill Ads Feature Sexual Assault Survivors
By John Y. Brown III, on Wed Oct 10, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Funny the memories that get jogged.
On a Saturday night in the fall of my junior year in high school, I was at a friend’s house who took out an album and handled it with the reverence and care that might be expected if he were handling the Hope Diamond. Carefully, he placed the needle on the vinyl and announced we were listening to one of the greatest albums of all time…..and proceeded to read excerpts to me from a book about the Beatles and the White Album.
16 year olds aren’t supposed to be reverent about much of anything….so I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or listen with rapt attention as my friend went into this hypnotic Beatles mode. So I did neither. I finally just gave in and listened, somewhat reverently, to the music.
And got it.
“Dear Prudence” was my favorite song on album. And ever since that night I still to this day speak of the White Album in hushed tones. ; )
By Jason Atkinson, on Wed Oct 10, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET
Saturday I swam with 1,000 spawning salmon and I wondered what if they might be the last? Did I do everything in my power to fix the river my grandparents told me to restore? No. I’ve tried it with politics. I’m unfulfilled seeing what is happening and knowing I have the power to change it.
It was too late for the Hudson River in New York. The same was almost true with the Willamette River. While today the water around Portland is better, I wouldn’t recommend swimming in it. There are only a few rivers in the world, which could tip in either direction. My son will live with the results. So will yours.
I took this picture Saturday
Why laser beam on the Klamath? Because her champions are Government reports, bad politics, old hatreds, misinformation, and election cycles in both Oregon and California. The river’s future is stagnating like the water behind its lowest dam. Green, hot, and no one wants to touch it.
I want to. We’re Americans. We fix problems. We build our country. We leave it better.
Americans knew “super-sized” fast food was bad for our health. All the Government reports said so. But it was not until a documentary called Super Size Me made the emotional connection by laser-beaming on one man who ate too much, destroying his health, did America change. Within weeks of the films release, McDonalds ended “super-sizing.”
My laser beam is focused on the Klamath because I know a spotlight will be shown on how Americans do conservation. Our emotional connection is with America (like Super Size Me), and our story is the families who depend on a restored Klamath River.
I know the people of the Klamath. I am one. I know what is at stake, the competing cultures, the way of life in Oregon and California. I also know my great-grandfather swam with thousands and thousands more fish than I did Saturday.
The Klamath matters because restoring this river and her people reflects who we all are as Americans.
Help us finish up our grassroots push. We are just $19,250 to go.
Q: I recently lost a primary race, largely because a bunch of elected officials I had helped for years ended up screwing me. What’s the best way to get back at them? —Name and location withheld
By not spending another minute thinking about getting back at them.
One day in prison, a veteran convict pulled me aside and told me that his brother-in-law had told the feds where his (cocaine) bricks were. “Wow,” I said. “What did you do to him?”
“Thought about the motherf—– for my first three years straight,” he said. “Laid awake every night. Worst three years of my life. But then one day I let it go. Just like that. ’Cause you can’t do time like that. Your boy with the wire…you can’t even think about [the] dude. It’ll make you crazy.” It was the best advice I got in prison; after that, I rarely thought about my ex–best friend.
Your resentment is weighing you down and will reduce the odds of you succeeding in your next endeavor, which would be the best revenge.
By the way, in the future, don’t help others in the hope that they’ll reciprocate. Help people you truly want to see succeed, and then be pleasantly surprised if they reciprocate.
Q: In your last column, some would-be candidate told you he hated asking for money. Instead of providing constructive advice on how to do it, you gave him glib advice about marrying a rich person and other long-shot strategies. How about a better answer? —J.J., New York City
Asking for money can be soul-crushing. But unless we enshrine the public financing of campaigns, it will be a necessary evil. That said, here’s some practical advice about how to make it feel less seamy—and how to succeed at it:
When you first meet a prospective donor, ask for general advice. A few weeks later when an issue arises on which she has expertise, call her and ask for specific advice, but do not ask for money. Then two weeks after that, ask her if she’d be willing to serve in an advisory role on your campaign, a member of “Businesswomen for J.J.” or something. If she agrees, ask for money two weeks later.
Why will this work? First, because now she’s much more invested in you than she would have been had you asked initially. Second, it’s like dating: An attractive woman at a bar gets hit on 10 times a night. A guy can distinguish himself by approaching her without asking her out. When he leaves, she often thinks about the guy who didn’t hit on her more than about the dozen who did.
In other words, after the first few conversations, your prospective donor may be intrigued by the fact that you haven’t asked for money. It’s a fine line to walk, but you can be persistent without being desperate.
Read the rest of… Jeff Smith: Do As I Say — A Political Advice Column
In last week’s debate, Mitt Romney opened a can of worms, threatening to cut PBS funding even though “he loves Big Bird”. People started tweeting, chirping, and otherwise chiming in almost instantaneously – sure, there were plenty of comments about the basic math mistake (PBS funding is .012% of the national budget, so it hardly counts as responsible for our borrowing from China), misplaced priorities (how come adding a $5 trillion tax cut and boosting an already inflated defense budget don’t also concern Romney), and more, but the biggest outcry came on behalf of the big yellow bird himself. Now even without public funding, Sesame Street would go on, thanks to generous viewers, sponsorship, and highly successful merchandising (“Tickle Me Elmo”, anyone). But it was a fascinating illustration of the huge impact of public television for children, now that a couple of generations have grown up with Sesame Street and the other popular shows.
I’m going to date myself here by admitting that Sesame Street didn’t go on the air until I was already in elementary school, but I still remember it vividly (and loved to watch the other shows from my day, including the original Electric Company). My husband was 3 at that time, so he was the absolute perfect target audience and watched avidly. (Yes, I’m a cradle-robbing cougar, and I love it!) And I was re-introduced to PBS kids’ shows when I had my own kids – they particularly loved the music videos, like “Put Down The Ducky (If You Want To Play The Saxophone)”. I loved the puns that were clearly designed to keep us bleary parents entertained, like Ethel Mermaid singing “I Get a Kick Out Of U”. And PBS was great about generally making sure its kids programming appealed to parents – I can’t be the only mother who noticed that the adorable young men who hosted Blues Clues were pretty easy on the eyes.
Whether you agree or disagree with him, Romney clearly touched a nerve – so in tribute to PBS programming in general, Big Bird in particular, and the Sesame Street tradition of fun music, here’s a musical plea for our favorite large yellow non-flying bird . . .
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Tue Oct 9, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET
Welcome to the new and improved Tuesday edition of your Recovering Politician Bowl update!
Our low scorer of the week, at 70 points was the aptly named Bungals, managed by RP Webmaster Justin Burnette, while the week’s high scorer at 126 points was The Dirty Diapers, who are managed by Friends of RP Rebecca and Jacob Parker.
This week saw yours truly, the hero of this story, take his rightful place at the top of the leaderboard with a 4-1 record. Bringing up the rear of the standings are the Bandits and Augies, each at 1-4.
