The cast of WHAS: First Day Of Camp The cast of WHAS: First Day Of Camp

Wet Hot American Summer: First Day Of Camp is the type of television project that evokes skepticism in the people most excited for it. Even some diehard fans of the cult comedy were worried about the risk of WHAS devolving from a lean, focused film to a bloated, meandering series (or, put another way, the risk of an end-of-summer Coop turning into a beginning-of-summer Coop.) Thats a concern for any film-to-television adaptation, but for WHAS, theres also the matter of Michael Showalter and David Wains comedic sensibility, which is almost always deployed in films with a running time of just under or barely over 90 minutes. Joke-a-minute genre spoofs are supposed to get in and get out, and its been that way since the days of Zucker, Abraham, and Zucker. So how will WHAS work as what is essentially a four-hour movie?

Thats not a simple question to answer, but Campers Arrive does a phenomenal job of laying any concerns to rest. Netflixs all-at-once distribution model will play a huge role in the response to First Day Of Camp, and it may put the audience in a bit of a bind. No one is obligated to barrel through the series in an afternoon, but its so easy to doespecially if all the episodes are as funny as Campers Arriveand still might not be the optimal way to consume a type of comedy typically doled out in fine-dining portions. Im reminded of that social experiment in which kids are offered a few pieces of candy immediately or a handful of candy if they can bear to wait for it. Im almost certain First Day Of Camp works better if the episodes are spaced out by a day or so (as my reviews will be), but if I wasnt reviewing them according to that schedule, theres no way Id be able to resist.

But these are heady concerns for another day, or rather, later in the day. For now, let us bask in the sunshine of Campers Arrive, a hilarious and pitch-perfect extension of the WHAS brand. Its June 24, 1981, eight weeks before the events of the movie, and the Camp Firewood gang is the almost the same as it ever was. Coop is just as much of a mensch, and is equally vulnerable to infatuation. Andy is already putting way too much effort into acting like he could care less. Victor has already established his undeserved Big Man Around Camp image. Katie is sweetness and light, and Beth has the same no-nonsense approach that will later help her avert danger from a falling chunk of space-station debris.

Then again, a lot can change over a summer. Ben and McKinley havent figured out their situation yet, and if there is any justice in the world, their love story will take up as much real estate as possible. Arty is discovering his passion for broadcasting, and probably his aversion to soap. Neil doesnt like having a p***s stuffed in his ear, but as I think about it, thats probably a consistent trait. Theyre the same characters we know and love, but the two-month-earlier versions. Its a testament to how meticulously Wain and Showalter reverse engineered the film that despite the visual joke of much older actors playing younger versions of their original characters, First Day Of Camp actually feels like watching the characters eight weeks before the movie. In truth, that joke only really works for Coop, who at 16 has the gut of a 54-year-old professional ice-cream taster.

Campers Arrive works admirably well as an episode of television as opposed to feeling like a 30-minute chunk of a really long movie, but it also has the first-episode advantage. It feels like a television episode because it gets to lay out all the plot elements First Day Of Camp will play with, including Camp Firewoods financial woes, its fierce rivalry with the rich snobs at Camp Tigerclaw, and the pools of apparently radioactive sludge being dumped at the campsite. That its jam-packed with hilarious lines and typically absurdist sight gags is merely a bonus. Its going to be a lovely day.

Stray observations:

• Its impossible to do a WHAS review thats just a hail of joke bullets, so Im not going to do that. Who has the energy? But the Strays will run long every time.
• Coop on Beths sense of humor: Its a very dry wit, but its very funny.
• Josh Charles is such a fine addition to the cast, and I want him to devote the rest of his career to comedy.
• Lake Bell man, where to even begin? Coops reunion with his girlfriend Donna is one of the funniest things Ive seen in a long time. Bell nailed Donnas reaction to Coops cloying sweetness: Awww ewww.
• This show is clearly going to be densely packed with callbacks, as when Mitch is having his snack, a can of mixed vegetables with the top opened just enough.
• McKinley, in response to Andys crack about his shorts: I got them from your moms dresser. Andy: Dont make fun of the guy who dresses my mom.
• Why is there a rich side of the lake? Id love to read a history of the region.
• Electro City sounds breathtaking. That said, I couldnt help feeling like John Slattery is slightly miscast, and I really liked him in 30 Rocks Brooklyn Without Limits, which was just as silly. Maybe Ill warm up to him.
• I love Drew. I love everything about Drew. I love every line Drew utters, and Thomas Barbusca is a genius. What?! I like doing stuff like that!

Source: http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/wet-hot-american-summer-first-day-camp-campers-arr-223155

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Lynn Anderson releases first album in a decade

PHOTO PROVIDED BY PLA MEDIA

Wearing a silver bedazzled hat, Brentwood resident Lynn Anderson sits with her hands clasped, as she candidly talks about her first album in more than a decade.

The 67-year-old country star has only added to her genre repertoire with her newest gospel album "Bridges" that released in the beginning of June.

The Grammy winner is best known for her song "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden." Billboard also recognized her as "Artist of the Decade" for 1970-1980.

"A lot of people asked me why I didn"t have a gospel album," she said. "But I got baptized in the Rio Grande [River] and started going to the church in New Mexico I go to regularly. It seemed like a natural thing I needed to do."

Songwriters pitched Anderson their ideas for potential melodies and lyrics that could land on the album.

"I think the most interesting part was finding the songs," Anderson said after taking a sip of Diet Coke. "We had a big meeting at an office downtown. I was amazed by how sensitive the songs are. We didn"t do the songs we sang from the Baptist hymnal. Almost all of these are brand new. It"s a different feeling."

Anderson set out to sing a 12-song album about redemption and salvation. The Oak Ridge Boys and The Martins also accompany her on some of her new music.

Her favorites so far are the title track and "Drift Away," written by her boyfriend Mentor Williams, which is the first single on the record.

"The song has been a standard for pop music field and number one in country," Anderson said. "Only thing it hasn"t been is as gospel."

The name seemed kind of hard to come up with. Many of the album"s executives sat around a table and went through several options.

The title track of "Bridges" stuck out the most, with several variations strewn out on the table.

"This album is all about the gap between country and gospel and taking that step that I"ve taken to become that member of the church," Anderson said. "There were several names thrown about, and I said "Just The Bridge or Bridges" and that"s what it came to be."

Coming out again in a different genre after decades of music played differently means something for Anderson. She"s trying to connect with a younger fan base who might not have heard of her.

"There"s a whole generation since I had big hit records," she said. "This is a foray into a strange market. So it is a challenge."

Her new album is available on centersoundproductions.com/lynn/.

Fans can get her new work digitally and two forms of hard copy through CD and red vinyl.

Emily West covers Franklin for Home Page Media Group. Contact her at emily@franklinhomepage.com. Follow her on Twitter via @emwest22.

Source: http://www.franklinhomepage.com/lynn-anderson-releases-first-album-in-a-decade-cms-20893

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Box-office preview: "Mission: Impossible" to accept top spot

"Mission: Impossible" to accept top spot at weekend box office - L.A. Biz

Bo Bridges

"Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation" is expected to cruise to $40 million this more

Prognosticators are expecting a relatively slow start to August despite the arrival of another installment in a $2 billion franchise starring Tom Cruise.

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With $4 million in its coffers from Thursday previews, Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation is tracking at around $40 million on the low end for the nearly 20-year-old series. The first three films all bowed to more than $45 million, and Ghost Protocol the Brad Bird-directed episode credited with revitalizing the brand after flagging interest in M:I III was an anomaly, launching in a limited Imax run to $12.8 million but adding $29.6 million on its second weekend in December 2011.

Working in Rogue Nations favor is its 93 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing, so dont be surprised if it outpaces expectations on positive word of mouth. Even so, the weekend overall will have a hard time matching the comparable time frame last year, which saw $186 million in ticket sales led by the boffo bow of The Guardians of the Galaxy with a whopping $94 million. Year-to-date, 2015 leads last year by 8.3 percent and is ahead of the record 2013 by 0.8 percent.

Cruise returns in M:I V as Ethan Hunt, along with Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames, with Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson joining as a formidable foil. Playing in 3,956 theaters, Paramounts PG-13 actioner, which cost $150 million to make, also opens in 40 foreign markets including the United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico and South Korea, with the important Chinese market coming online Sept. 8.

Road-tripping to 3,411 locations, Warner Bros. Vacation sequel starring Ed Helms as Rusty Griswold and Christina Applegate as his long-suffering wife got a jump on the IMF by opening on Wednesday. With 25 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, the R-rated comedy with a $31 million pricetag is looking at up to $35 million over the five-day frame.

In limited release, the Weinstein Companys YA adventure The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet from director Jean-Pierre Jeunet travels to 100 cinemas. And Radius-TWCs doc A Lego Brickumentary builds in 93 theaters.

In addition, A24s David Foster Wallace biopic The End of the Tour starring Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg road trips into four theaters including the ArcLight and Landmark in Los Angeles. Magnolias documentary Best of Enemies debates in five movie houses including the Landmark in West L.A. before platforming to about 70 more venues. And Showtime Networks documentary Listen to Me Marlon starts out in two dozen cinemas with 40 more to come.

Also, IFCs lesbian romantic comedy Jennys Wedding starring Katherine Heigl and Alexis Bledel walks down the aisle at the Sundance Sunset in West Hollywood and the IFC Center in New York with more dates to come. Virgil Films documentary I Am Chris Farley plays in four theaters including the Laemmle NoHo in North Hollywood with about a dozen more engagements over the next couple of weeks. Samuel Goldwyns doc That Sugar Film sprinkles in 11 movie houses including the Sundance Sunset in West Hollywood. And Music Boxs biopic Paulo Coelhos Best Story journeys into five theaters including the Musical Hall 3 in Beverly Hills.

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Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/news/2015/07/31/box-office-preview-mission-impossible-to-accept.html

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Local Reaction to Deadly Cincinnati Shooting

LACKAWANNA COUNTY Security officers at Marywood University in Lackawanna County are not armed, but they are trained to deal with problems and call area police when they need to and they are allowed to make traffic stops on campus.

In most cases, there are passive ways to go about it and we have our protocol of keeping the situation as safe as we possibly can and if need be, we do have the authority to restrain the individual, said Sergeant Kyle Frick of Marywood University Security.

A University of Cincinnati police officer made a traffic stop near that schools campus recently and investigators say the officer ended up shooting the unarmed driver in the head, killing him. The university officer is charged with murder and voluntary manslaughter.

I think this whole thing is horrible. I really didnt know that most campus police officers have guns and when I saw the video, I was in shock because I couldnt imagine him asking for his license, and when he said no, all of a sudden he reacted when he tried to run with his car and all of a sudden he just shot the man and then he ran off, said Patricia Mota, of East Stroudsburg.

At East Stroudsburg University in Monroe County, campus police are armed. A parent of one student told Newswatch 16 that makes her feel more comfortable.

It makes me feel safer knowing hes here and they can protect him, said Chris Emery of Douglassville, a mother of an ESU student.

East Stroudsburg University police officials were not available to speak with Newswatch 16.

Some students said what happened in Cincinnati has them thinking about things a little differently.

I more so think of, do they have the right training and the right focus and moral values to know what is OK and what isnt OK? said Yiran Dacres, an East Stroudsburg University student.

Source: http://wnep.com/2015/07/30/local-reaction-to-deadly-cincinnati-shooting/

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Cincinnati shooting tests "blue wall of silence"

As a growing number of police departments are equipping officers with digital body cameras, the so-called blue wall of silence, the unwritten rule that officers never speak ill of one another to outsiders, is being tested perhaps like never before. The police-involved shooting in Cincinnati and specifically, the role of two officers who may have lied about what happened to their colleague is a case in point.

Ray Tensing, who was a University of Cincinnati police officer until this week, appeared at his first court hearing Thursday after being indicted for murder and voluntary manslaughter in the death of an unarmed motorist on July 19. He pleaded not guilty.

In the case, Mr. Tensing, who is white, alleges that Samuel DuBose, a black man who had been stopped for a missing front license plate, put his life in danger by starting the car, which began to roll forward. The officer said he feared he was going to get pulled under the car.

His account is corroborated by testimony from two other officers. In a report written the day after the shooting, they said that Tensing had small injuries that supported his assertion that he was somehow dragged.

But prosecutors say Tensings body camera suggests another scenario. In the video, Mr. DuBose is starting the car and slowly rolling away when Tensing appears to suddenly fire a single shot. Tensing, officials say, fell backward after firing his gun, causing some scuffs on his shirt and pants. DuBose appears nonconfrontational in the video.

It is these sorts of discrepancies that America is now parsing as it watches police interactions more closely than ever in some cases, with the help of body cameras.

This whole incident [in Cincinnati] is a classic illustration of the problem, where you have [other officers] reflexively supporting the officer [Tensing], says Samuel Walker, a professor emeritus of criminology and a police accountability expert at the University of Nebraska in Omaha. Theres a lot of concern about police lying whats called testi-lying in court and there are a lot of people who dont believe that occurs, and if it does, its just a couple of bad cops. This incident dramatizes the seriousness of the problem, and it comes as no surprise to a lot of us who have been working on police misconduct.

According to a recent presidential task force on policing reform, body cameras should be part of a major thrust toward making police work more transparent and, thus, more trustworthy in the eyes of Americans, especially in poorer, crime-ridden areas.

Moreover, body cameras are widely seen as an effective way to illuminate incidents in order to protect both citizens and police officers. Video has been crucial in some investigations into questionable policing that led to citizen deaths over the past year, though it"s also not always been conclusive.

In that light, the Cincinnati shooting is one of a number of emerging cases that could show how body cameras can help reform police culture, even in the midst of what Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell called the most difficult policing environment in the history of our nation.

A tendency among police to cover up bad behavior in the ranks has a long history, and many Americans see such impulses as understandable. Police, after all, do a difficult, dangerous job for relatively little pay and even less thanks. Attacks on police integrity are often viewed by union leaders as baseless griping by miscreants.

But cop solidarity has also gone wrong. That fact has come to light in places like North Charleston, S.C., where an officer has been charged with murder in the shooting of an unarmed black man. In the aftermath of the shooting, other officers arrived more concerned about the officer involved in the incident, even as no one administered medical care to the man on the ground, who had been shot in the back.

Officials acknowledged that only a cellphone video led to the arrest of the officer in North Charleston.

Similarly, immediately after the Cincinnati shooting, officers listened to Tensing characterize the danger he faced and describe his alleged injuries. Nobody offered medical care to the man who had been shot in the car.

Officer [Phillip] Kidd told me that he witnessed the Honda Accord drag Officer Tensing, and that he witnessed Officer Tensing fire a single shot, Officer Eric Weibels report reads.

Tensing"s lawyer, Stewart Mathews, says the former University of Cincinnati officer is innocent.

"He was afraid that he was going to lose his own life," Mr. Mathews told reporters. "He thought he was going to be run over by Mr. DuBose"s car. It sped away."

When asked if Tensing, backed up by other officers, was trying to mislead investigators, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said, Yes. He added, "I think he was making an excuse for a purposeful killing."

To be sure, body cameras are far from a panacea for police misconduct. And video isnt always decisive. Despite cellphone video showing the chokehold death of Eric Garner last year, a grand jury decided that the officer was not responsible.

But video can also give prosecutors the hard evidence they need to override deflections by police officers who go beyond the constitutional protections they enjoy. Those protections include US Supreme Court rulings that give officers wide leeway to make mistakes as they make split-second life-or-death decisions.

"People want to believe that Mr. DuBose had done something violent towards the officer he did not. He did not at all. I feel so sorry for his family and what they lost, and I feel sorry for the community, too," Mr. Deters said.

The shooting has also put a spotlight on the fractured nature of policing in the United States, especially as it relates to university police departments and police training. Some university police focus mostly on misbehaving college students in rural towns. Others, like those for the University of Cincinnati, have different responsibilities, including protecting the campus and tuition-paying young people from local ruffians.

But whatever department an officer serves, the blue wall of silence has emerged partly out of necessity, as police officers create a tightknit fraternity for their safety and job protection.

In some recent police shootings, police union heads, who represent officers, have blamed the media, social activists, and citizens themselves for the problems, rarely putting the blame on officers.

For example, after defending the officers" actions in the shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland last year, union head Jeffrey Follmer said the officers bore no responsibility, even though Tamir was shot within two seconds of them pulling up to the park where he was playing with an Airsoft gun.

According to a Washington Post database, at least 550 Americans have been shot and killed by police officers in 2015. Many of those shootings were undoubtedly justified, but just three officers have been charged with crimes two of the cases being in Cincinnati and North Charleston, where video evidence has been key.

Police reformers have recently focused on creating policies that would more closely track police shootings and other incidents, as well as reform police union contracts that give officers far more protection than a citizen would have in the wake of misconduct allegations.

We have to bring some sunlight into this, expose this, and discuss the cost, because there are social costs, an impact on police-community relations, and a financial cost, says Dr. Walker at the University of Nebraska. This is an extremely important incident, and it highlights a pervasive problem.

Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2015/0730/Cincinnati-shooting-tests-blue-wall-of-silence

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"Once in a Blue Moon" Happens on Friday -- Why?

On Friday, much of the world will have the opportunity to observe a Blue Moon: A somewhat rare occurrence that doesn"t have anything to do with the moon"s color.

During most years, the Earth experiences 12 full moons, one in each month. But some years, such as 2015, have 13 full moons, and one of those "extra" lunar displays gets the label of Blue Moon.

Moonwalkers: Stunning Photos from Apollo 11

The lunar or synodic month (full moon to full moon) averages 29.530589 days, which is shorter than every calendar month in the year except for February. Those extra one-half or one-and-one-half days accumulate over the year, causing some years to have 13 full moons rather than 12. [Video: What"s a Blue Moon, Is It REALLY Blue?]

To see what I mean, here is a list of full-moon dates in 2015: Jan. 5, Feb. 3, March 5, April 4, May 4, June 2, July 2, July 31, Aug. 29, Sept. 28, Oct. 27, Nov. 25 and Dec. 25. In 2016, the first full moon falls on Jan. 23, and each calendar month has only one full moon.

The expression "once in a blue moon" has a long history of being used to describe rare events; but it was also used in the Maine Farmers" Almanac to describe the third full moon in a season that has four (normally, a three-month season will only have three full moons).

In 1946, Sky & Telescope magazine published an article that misinterpreted the older definition, defining a Blue Moon as the second full moon in a calendar month. This has become the most recent and perhaps most widely accepted definition of a Blue Moon. And hence, the full moon on July 31 is referred to as a Blue Moon, because it was preceded by the full moon on July 2. By this definition, a Blue Moon occurs roughly once every 2.7 years.

ANALYSIS: "Blood Moon" Myths: Superstitions in the Skies

The full moon appears to last for at least the length of one night, but technically speaking, it is an instantaneous event: It occurs when the sun, Earth and moon fall close to a straight line. It takes place at the same instant everywhere in the world, whether the moon is above or below the horizon.

The full moon on July 31 occurs at exactly 6:43 a.m. EDT (1043 GMT).

So, when you look at the Blue Moon on Friday morning, don"t expect to see a different color scheme (although it is possible for the moon to appear to have a bluish hue). Just be aware that the so-called Blue Moon is a byproduct of the contrast between the calendar month and the lunar month.

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Original article on Space.com. Copyright 2015 SPACE.com, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.discovery.com/space/astronomy/once-in-a-blue-moon-happens-on-friday-why-150730.htm

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Ben Affleck Has Been Dating Nanny Christine Ouzounian

Nearly one month after announcing the end of his 10-year marriage to Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck has begun to move on. And the two-time Oscar winner, 42, didnt have to look far to find a new romance. In the new issue of Us Weekly, multiple sources reveal Affleck has been dating 28-year-old California native Christine Ouzounian, a woman he and Garner hired as a nanny for their three kids this spring. The issue also features exclusive photos of the two.

PHOTOS: Ben and Jen, the way they were

When Ouzounian an employee at a high-end Beverly Hills nanny agency first started caring for Violet, 9, Seraphina, 6, and Samuel, 3, Affleck and Garner, 43, were in the midst of a secret 10-month trial separation. The Arizona State University communications grad soon developed an attraction to the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice star.

PHOTOS: Celeb splits in 2015

They would hang out without the kids, explains an Ouzounian pal. And they were very flirty.

When Garner discovered there was something going on between her estranged husband and Ouzounian, she let the babysitter go. But the ex-sorority girl wasn"t cut from Afflecks life.

PHOTOS: Jen Garner through the years

The pair spent time together at Afflecks new L.A.-area rental on July 17 and, says the Ouzounian pal, were in constant contact over text and email. She says Ben really, really likes her, says the friend. Shes saying this is true love. (A rep for Affleck tells Us all allegations of a romantic relationship are baseless and untrue. Ouzounian couldnt be reached for comment.)

PHOTOS: Celeb couples and how they met

For more details on how the romance began and Garners reaction pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly, on stands now!

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Source: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/ben-affleck-has-been-dating-nanny-christine-ouzounian-2015297

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