Category Archives: Anatomy

Friday, March 9, 2012 10:34 PM EST

By Evan Macy Staff Writer

HARTFORD The New Britain boys basketball team pulled off an upset for the ages Thursday night in Hartford, coming from behind repeatedly in a magical 66-61 overtime win over Hartford Public.

The Owls were unbeaten in regular season play. They were taller, more accomplished and held home court advantage.

So how exactly did the Hurricanes pull off the victory, advancing to face Fairfield Prep Monday in the quarterfinals?

Emotions in check

There is no denying New Britain is a team that plays with emotion. The key Thursday was not letting those it the better of them.

We had to stay composed, Stigliano said. Weve been talking about it all the time. I told them the team we played on Tuesday [Danbury] is much different than this team. This team is disciplined; they work hard and have a great coaching staff. Theyre going to come at us and they arent going to roll over and die. We need to make sure that if they make a run we stay composed. Its a long game, our back was against the wall and we just found a way to do it.

There were several points in the game where New Britain could have faltered, but they were able to keep it all business while on the hardwood.

Weve been preaching it, the coach said. The tournament is all about emotion. The environment is hostile. The team that stays composed the longest wins the game. The only way you can make a big play is if your mind is in the right place. As a coach, you try to teach it but you have to let them do it, and they did it. I give them all the credit in the world. They deserved it.

Go here to read the rest:
Anatomy of an upset

It's prom night for students at Community High School. Earlier this week, juniors and seniors witnessed a carefully orchestrated tableau, carried out by dozens of emergency and law enforcement personnel.

An annual tradition at many high schools, Prom Promise presents a graphic reminder to young drivers, through the use of staged accident scenes, of the dangers of driving while distracted or intoxicated.

'Tickets' issued

The storyline began several weeks ago as the Tennessee Highway Patrol ticketed Viking drivers for minor traffic offenses. So many, in fact, that Judge Charles Rich scheduled a court date in the school library to accommodate all the offenders.

Parents were required to attend court with their children on Wednesday, where Rich offered leniency. Charges would be dismissed if the group would agree to attend a safety class.

"The whole purpose behind this, it's prom time -- and the [highway patrol] can tell you, the last several years in this county, around this time of year ... we have lost one or more of our students here," said Rich.

Grim statistics

According to the THP, teen drivers account for more than 50,000 accidents each year in Tennessee, with fatalities occurring in over 200.

Once released from the mock court, students joined their peers just behind the school where an accident scene had been staged. The car and van selected for use had been wrecked in separate accidents involving Community students this year.

Horrific 'crash'

View original post here:
Anatomy of a crash: Mock accident motivates teens

Funny thing about the internet: you cant smell anything on it, but certain stories sure can cause a stink.

Two days ago, we told you about the meteoric rise of the latest viral video, Kony 2012, that didnt make the rounds on the internet so much as it grabbed the internet by the eyeballs and forced everybody to look directly at it. In the four days since it was uploaded to YouTube, the video has amassed nearly 58 million views while viral news of it has no doubt permeated your Facebook and Twitter feeds.

The video, in the impossible case it that hasnt yet osmosis-ed itself into your brain from at least one kind of media outlet, was created and released by Invisible Children, an organization thats been trying for years to draw worldwide attention toward Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony and his Lords Resistance Army. The Lords Resistance army is a special breed of awful because, aside from being Konys personal army, its made up of kidnapped children-turned-soldiers responsible for horrors ranging from hacking apart victims bodies to using abducted girls as sex slaves.

At any rate, you can see how theres high emotional appeal that would likely resonate with most people containing even a sliver of sympathy. More, as with all things that finally have A Moment in the media, there is now the inevitable backlash against Kony 2012 criticizing Invisible Childrens approach.

So it goes.

Whats odd about Kony 2012s success, though, isnt that it went viral so quickly but rather why it went viral in the first place. Invisible Children has been trying to raise awareness about Kony since 2004 when the eponymous Invisible Children film was released, the groups first attempt to bring attention to Konys atrocities. Invisible Children have released 11 films in all yet this is the first one to truly achieve a viral, nigh-zeitgeist status. In fact, its taken Invisible Children so long to finally land a hit with their films that Joseph Kony isnt even in Uganda anymore (he reportedly left in 2006).

Some of the success has been attributed to Invisible Childrens goal of enlisting the help of culturemakers. Others have asserted that Kony 2012 succeeded due to clever marketing on social media. Both of these belie Invisible Childrens previous efforts by assuming such endorsements and technologies werent used to propel their videos into the limelight. For one, Lady Gaga endorses a ton of things but not nearly all of them catch on the way Kony 2012 has. She and others have got a magic, but its far from being a true Midas touch.

The most salient difference between Kony 2012s world and the world of Invisible Childrens previous videos, I believe, is something far more simple: timing. The towering success of the anti-SOPA movement, Planned Parenthood supporters organizing to turn back Susan G. Komens decision to de-fund the organization, or even the recent backlast that has sent supporters fleeing from Rush Limbaugh due to his misogynistic remarks about Sandra Fluke all have helped build and fortify the edifice of social medias power. It could be argued that Kony 2012 was a beneficiary of those previous campaigns that, one, established the social media political infrastructure, and two, demonstrated that it works.

As these movements cycle more regularly and enjoy an ever-quickening ascent-descent with the worlds favor, though, do we run the risk of diminishing the potency of the viral campaign-as-political device the more these campaigns happen? Im in no way saying that itll be Invisible Childrens fault were viral campaigns to falter in the future whatever your feelings about the groups methods, good on IC for finally getting the world to pay attention to how horrible Kony is but rather highlighting the fact that these viral campaigns seem to be happening an awful lot lately.

Indeed, you can have too much of a good thing and so I fear that, after eventually growing tired of the endless parade of Next Big Things from the internet, instead of catching wind of political campaigns that really deserve our attention, the public will begin to simply hold their breath until the trend passes along and disappears into the trunks of internet fads.

View post:
Kony 2012: The Anatomy Of A Viral Success

Getty Images

Kevin McKidd and Chandra Wilson

Grey's Anatomy stars Kevin McKidd and Chandra Wilson are returning to the director's chair.

The duo will each direct one of the remaining Season 8 episodes of the ABC medical drama, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.

McKidd -- who first stepped behind the camera last season and directed the sixth episode of the Shonda Rhimes drama this year -- is set to take the lead on Episode 21. Wilson, meanwhile, will mark her sixth time at the helm when she directs Episode 22 of Grey's 24-episode season.

STORY: 'Grey's Anatomy's' Kevin McKidd: Owen and Cristina Have 'Brushed A Lot Under the Carpet'

"In a way, it almost feels like there's more pressure the second time because people are going to cut you some slack the first time," McKidd told THR earlier this season of the experience. "But the second time people expect you to really know what you're doing, and you should."

STORY: Shonda Rhimes Talks 'Grey's Anatomy's' Live Musical Benefit

An airdate has not yet been determined for the episodes.

The duo join a growing cadre of stars who have stepped behind the camera for their respective series, including Parenthood's Peter Krause, Royal Pains' Mark Feuerstein and Mad Men's Jon Hamm, who will direct the long-awaited season premiere.

More:
'Grey's Anatomy's' Kevin McKidd, Chandra Wilson to Direct Again (Exclusive)

If youre looking for courtroom drama, you dont have to look far, with thousands of hours of Court TV, Law & Order reruns and plain-old courtroom news on your television.

But if youre looking for a truly great courtroom drama, one thats complex, funny, smart and surprising, you need to watch Anatomy of a Murder. Released way back in 1959 and featuring a one-of-a-kind cast, its no kidding the greatest courtroom drama ever made.

Based on a book by a Michigan Supreme Court judge (writing under a pseudonym), Anatomy of a Murder follows a small-town Michigan lawyer (James Stewart) as he defends a young lieutenant (Ben Gazzara) on murder charges. Where things get complicated is when Stewart examines the motive: Gazzara claimed he killed the local bar owner for raping his wife. But as Stewart gets to know the wife (Lee Remick), he begins to wonder if there was a rape or if, down deep, even Gazzara believes there was a rape.

Pretty adult stuff for 1959, and Anatomy of a Murder doesnt stop there. Theres much discussion over the word panties being used in the courtroom (again, scandalous stuff for 1959), but on a deeper level, Anatomy of a Murder hints that what really happened doesnt matter what matters is what the jury thinks happened. It might not be justice, but its the law.

Masterfully directed by Otto Preminger (a guy who loved pushing the envelope, content-wise), Anatomy of a Murder is full of elements that make it a classic film. The cast also includes a young George C. Scott as the big-city prosecutor, Eve Arden as Stewarts world-weary assistant, Orson Bean and Howard McNear (Floyd the barber from Andy Griffith) as expert witnesses and lawyer Joseph Welch, the man who brought down Sen. Joe McCarthy, as the judge. Whats more, not only does jazz legend Duke Ellington supply the music, he also has a cameo as Pie Eye, who for some reason is playing piano in a tiny Michigan tavern. That Michigan atmosphere, incidentally, is one of the movies biggest stars. Preminger filmed the movie in the Upper Peninsula, and it gives the film a feeling like no other Hollywood picture. Heck, even the opening credits iconic images created by legendary Saul Bass are memorable. Its just a great, great movie.

Thankfully, Criterions new edition does it justice. Besides a remastered print of the film, it includes footage from the set; segments on Ellington, Bass and Preminger; the trailer and more.

The Town

Someone at Warner Home Video must really love Ben Affleck.

I mean, The Town is a fine film, with solid direction and acting from Affleck and a strong supporting cast. But its not a classic though you wouldnt know that from the packaging of The Town Ultimate Collectors Edition. The boxed set includes multiple versions of the movie on Blu-ray and DVD, a feature-length documentary, a map of the Charlestown area of Boston, a folder full of files about the films characters, a hardcover book of photos from the set, a letter from Affleck and, believe it not, temporary tattoos exactly like the one Jeremy Renners character sports in the movie (and that you only see on-screen for a split second).

Quite a package for a movie thats pretty good but not great. I liked a lot of The Town, including the well-staged robberies and the simmering tension between the various thieves. But I thought it was another example of a movie let down by its ending, one that does right by its star but not by its main character. I dont want to spoil anything if you havent seen it because it is worth watching but the final scenes make no sense. The idea that the FBI would just quit surveilling the one person with a connection to their fugitive, then ignore the expensive and public! gift made in the name of that fugitives mom is ridiculous.

Here is the original post:
Movie Man: 'Anatomy of a Murder' is top courtroom drama

A particularly savvy media campaign by a nonprofit group called Invisible Children has pushed a debate about Uganda and rebel leader Joseph Kony into a very bright spotlight.

Without getting into the arguments about the political motivations of the nonprofit and the consequences of its campaign check out coverage from The Washington Posts Elizabeth Flock for more information on the situation and its history its astonishing that the groups members have been able to draw this much attention now to a conflict thats been going on since the 1980s.

So how did they do it?

The group launched a campaign called Kony 2012, an effort to raise awareness about Kony and the small force the Obama administration sent to Uganda in October with the intent of killing or capturing him and combating his Lords Resistance Army (LRA).

To get the campaign off the ground quickly, the group had users send messages to 20 culturemakers and 12 policymakers with influential Twitter accounts urging them to support the effort. The list included names such as U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and former President George W. Bush, as well as celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Mark Zuckerberg and Lady Gaga.

The message that users could send to those people included a hashtag, #Kony2012, that gave the Twitter community something to galvanize around. It read: Help us end #LRA violence. Visit kony2012.com to find out why and how. @rickwarren Join us for #KONY2012

The group also made a well-produced short film that encouraged people to use social media to raise awareness about the movement, which spread quickly over Vimeo and YouTube, where it has garnered more than 57 million views.

The video boils down this complicated issue into a simple one, with a compelling narrative that tugs on the heartstrings and prompts outrage. And it gives users an easy way to take action: Share the video, share the story and dont stop speaking up until they get the result they want.

The group was also able to tap into an already strong social media presence on Facebook and other sites to get the message out in a big, noticeable burst.

And it certainly has worked. The hashtags #stopkony and #kony2012 have been on the list of trending topics worldwide on Twitter ever since launched its campaign Tuesday. Its been a fixture on Googles list of trending topics, and even the debate over the groups methods and message have kept its message afloat.

Read more here:
Kony 2012: The anatomy of a viral campaign