All Shall Love Me and Despair

Originally posted by lunarising at All U.S. Internet Providers will be policing downloads by July 12, 2012

I just did my little bit to help Barack Obama get another vote: I am one of two witnesses on the absentee ballot of an American coworker. :)

It's a rather amusing thing though - you only put your signature and address on the ballot. How they want to decipher the name from the signature or check that the witness really is who they claim, I don't know!

Harry Knowles from Ain't It Cool News got a few exclusive glimpses of J.J. Abrams' new Star Trek film! The full report is here, containing some minor spoilers but it's random tidbits out of context which can't spoil the plot, IMHO. But I just had to quote what he said about Karl Urban, who of course plays McCoy:

But then there’s McCoy – when you see McCoy… you’ll realize how metaphysically perfect Karl Urban was for the casting of the character. He’s got that right cantankerous, best buddy, ethical, but anything for his friend type of doc attitude – and he has it down pat. He’s helping Jim to get onto a ship, but in a million years I wouldn’t spoil that. It’s funny, without being ridiculous. And it begins to exhibit the early kernels of a classic Bones/Kirk interaction. Best friends with a history – and perhaps this moment is a key moment of that history. The favor that launched a career? Perhaps that is what I saw.

Eeeeeeeeh!!! :D


Also about Karl, from this article about the charity KidsCan:

The charity also plans to start a "Stand Tall" initiative in August to give children excursions with high achievers such as Williams, TV3 journalist Mike McRoberts and Kiwi-born Hollywood actor Karl Urban.

"It's for kids who have never got past the corner dairy, to go on excursions with successful people," Mrs Helson said.

"They are going to learn values, goal-setting and things that are going to help motivate them to achieve."

Mr Nicholls said such role models showed students they could do anything.

Lucky kid that gets the excursion with Karl!



On to Neal McDonough - did I mention that I saw Tin Man in the meantime? Probably not. ( Ramblings about it behind the cut )

*ahem* Anyway, this is what I wanted to post:

Neal McDonough moving to 'Housewives'

Neal is another one of those talented actors who's been in several canceled TV series, so go him for getting a regular role on an established series, but did it have to be Housewives???!!! *sigh* (In case it wasn't clear from that comment, no, I don't like that series and frankly don't get why it's so successful.)

Right, I need to go, some more Hobbit related stuff later. See ya, have a great Saturday!

Thanks to jdsmylover for the heads up - I checked Myspace earlier today but this wasn't up yet.

From Daniel Dae Kim's Myspace:

STAY STRONG

Sometimes having some unexpected extra time can be a good thing - more time with your loved ones, catching up on movies, books or sometimes, just plain ole' sleeping. In my case, I've been able to use it for a labor of love. I just finished directing the video for a song by Harold Perrineau. It's called "Stay Strong." It's a kind of 'thank you card' to the troops in Iraq and their service to our country. Harold wrote the song over the summer and when he played it for me, I was so moved by it that I offered to direct the video. Not only do I think it's a great song, but I really respect that the fact that he agreed to donate the profits from the sale of the video to charity, specifically The Bob Woodruff Family Fund for Traumatic Brain Injury.
It was shot and edited here in Hawaii (except for the war footage, which was generously provided by ABC News) with some very talented young filmmakers at my side. Without their help, along with some incredibly bighearted members of the LOST crew, this video could not have been made. A big mahalo nui to all of you.
You can find it on my video page here, or on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrow1clxEdQ

Regardless of how you feel about the war, I hope you'll agree that our troops deserve our support - especially during this special season.
Speaking of which, happy holidays to all of you. Thank you for helping make this year such a great one, even through its darkest moments.
May 2008 bring you many blessings, and I'll talk to you again in the new year.

Cheers!

The song really is good - Harold has a beautiful voice - and the video is very fitting and well directed, IMHO. Well done you two and everyone else involved! ♥

Please help spread the word about this - it's for a good cause!

Well now here's your chance - particularly (but not exclusively) for the Pervy Hobbit Fanciers among us. :)

********

Nothing makes a group of friends feel more helpless than one of their own being ill. In turn, nothing can pull together a group of friends more than a desire to give that dear friend as much caring and loving as possible. This book is the result of our desire to support our dear friend, lorie945 (a.k.a. Laura Mason), who is gallantly battling ovarian cancer.

The Three Hobbit Stooges (a.k.a. baranduin, claudia603, trianne) are happy to announce that For Lorie, a multi-fandom collection of stories and artwork, is now available for purchase on lulu.com:


Buy Lorie's Book!


For Lorie consists of:

- 44 stories
- 14 illustrations
- 6 fandoms: Lord of the Rings (the great majority of the stories), Lotrips, Mary Renault's The Charioteer, The Faculty, Due South, and Alias Smith & Jones
- Slash and gen genres, with ratings ranging from G to NC-17

The book is available in several formats:

- paperback perfect bound with black & white illustrations ($21.51)
- paperback spiral bound with black & white illustrations ($21.51)
- paperback perfect bound with color illustrations ($50.63)
- paperback spiral bound with color illustrations ($50.63)
- hardback with color illustrations ($53.05)

$8.00 will go to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund from the sale of each book. The remainder of the price represents the cost to produce each copy. Lulu.com accepts a variety of payment sources, including PayPal, and ships worldwide.

This book was made with a lot of love, and all of us involved in its production are very proud of what we've made and hope that you will enjoy it. Of course, feel free to spread the word about it. We'd be very grateful.

Happy reading!



( List of stories/authors/illustrations )

****

Thanks to baranduin for providing the text for this announcement, and to the Three Hobbit Stooges for organizing everything! *hugs them*

It's an impressive list of authors and for a good cause, so go ahead, you know you want one! :D

Brazil creates largest tropical rainforest preserve

Mon 4 Dec 2006 22:24:51 GMT
BRASILIA, Brazil, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Brazil created the world's largest tropical rainforest preserve on Monday in a section of the Amazon scarred by illegal logging and decades of violence between loggers, ranchers, conservationists and land rights activists.

The preserve covers more than 58,000 square miles (15 million hectares) -- an area larger than England -- across seven parks in Para, an eastern Amazon state heavily exploited by illegal loggers and land speculators.

A U.S. nun named Dorothy Stang was gunned down there last year, allegedly by ranchers who wanted her to stop helping locals fight for land rights.

Para state Gov. Simao Jatene said he created the new parks to stop land speculators from selling fake titles. He also said sustainable economic activities will be allowed in some areas so locals can support themselves.

"We're trying to avoid this trap of preservation versus production. Quite frankly, this bipolar view has done more to hurt than to help," he told Reuters by phone.

The Amazon, the world's largest tropical rainforest, is the planet's most diverse terrestrial ecosystem and is thought to hold a quarter of all species.

In Brazil, the Amazon covers an area larger than India and huge swathes of land have already been cleared. Para has suffered particular damage because it lies along the southern and eastern borders of the Amazon and is more easily accessible than areas further inland.

The preserve expands a key wildlife corridor for jaguars, monkeys and birds in northern Para and also protects areas in conflict-ridden central Para.

Jatene, whose term ends Dec. 31, said he worked for years to demarcate the new parks. Recent changes to national forestry laws gave states more power, paving the way for the preserve's creation.

Environmentalists said creating the parks was an important step, but that there is more to be done.

"Just creating protected areas isn't enough," said Claudio Maretti of the World Wildlife Fund, which supported the new parks in Para. "You have to develop an economy for the forest."

Jatene acknowledged that the parks will require continued care after his term ends.

"In Brazil, maintaining something can be as challenging as doing it in the first place," he said.

Oh wow - I never expected something like this to happen, and part of me fears it's too god to be true/more than a propaganda ploy! But the other part of me - well it's quite speechless with joy! Now let's hope they manage to pull this off and serve as an example for others... *crosses everything she can*

Because these wonderful news need to be spread! serenitysangel I hope you feel proud! :D (Thanks to forestrane for passing it on!)

S. Africa's Top Court Blesses Gay Marriage

Off now for real - byyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeee!!!!

I really love this design - and not just because of who made it! :)




The background

The auction