L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival and Screenplay Competition

Submit now to the L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival and Screenplay Competition - one of Moviemaker Magazine’s 2009 “Top 25 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee”! Now accepting entries in the following categories:

Feature Comedy Screenplays
Short Comedy Screenplays
Half-Hour Comedy Pilot Scripts
Short Comedy Films (30 minutes or less)

L.A. Comedy Shorts is currently the largest comedy film festival in the United States, dedicated to introducing the newest and hottest comedic talent to the industry. Sponsored by Will Ferrell and Judd Apatow's website FunnyOrDie.com, LACS is four, funny-packed days of screenings, parties, and panels, plus a star-studded red carpet awards event. Adam Carolla hosted last year’s gala, where actor/director Bobcat Goldthwait was honored with the first annual ‘Commie’ achievement award and Mark Hamill presented the Movie Magic Screenwriter Screenplay Competition award for best comedy screenplay.

In addition to exposure to the large industry and media presence at the festival, winners receive meetings with industry heavyweights, cash, and prizes. The 2009 winners met with Mosaic Media Group (Step Brothers, Talladega Nights, Elf), heads of production at Benderspink (The Hangover, American Pie), Generate (Comedy Central’s Chocolate News), Atomic Wedgie (a division of Fremantle), and Atom.com (Comedy Central's Atom TV). Winning films were also featured on the main player at FunnyOrDie.com. All finalists receive cash awards and Movie Magic Screenwriter 6 software!

Think you’re funny? Submit today! (Late Deadline: 12/02/09, Extended Final Deadline: 12/18/09)

As a special discount for Write Brothers fans… enter promo code "writebros" and get $5 off when you submit through the LACS website!

For more details, visit http://www.write-bros.com/12all_newsletter/lt.php?c=59&m=158&nl=11&s=e319e70d4569ed29e1497b278a842434&lid=534&l=-http--www.lacomedyshorts.com.

ErnestDempsey Interviewed

Publisher Victor R. Volkman spoke with author Ernest Dempsey about his new collection of short stories The Blue Fairy and Other Tales of Transcendence. Ernest Dempsey has authored four book and, in just the past few years, seen the publication of his poems, essays, short stories, and literary reviews worldwide. He is now the editor-in-chief of the print quarterly Recovering the Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing (www.recoveringself.com) and also works as the country editor for Pakistan on the celebrated internet news channel Instablogs. Dempsey's The Blue Fairy takes a subject that has been dreaded for centuries - Death.

In the book, he explores the manysides to the subject that make the final departure a meaningful reality of existence. Inspired mostly by real-life experiences, Dempsey's The Blue Fairy ingeniously integrates dying with living. It is a book for the soul.

W.I.S.E ( World Intellectuals' Social Establishment )

W.I.S.E. is an international organisation dedicated to the enhancement of intellectuals' communications and to the protection of their rights.
PRLog (Press Release) – Apr 03, 2009 – Started by Prof.(h.c.) Askin Ozcan, many years ago, W.I.S.E. endeavors to enhance the communications of intellectuals both among themselves and with the masses and to protect the rights of intellectuals, with the belief that this will result in the increased resolution of the world problems and in the betterment of living conditions for all, globally. W.I.S.E. aspires to achieve its goals by means of educational seminars, congresses, publications, multi-media publicity, an international network of associations and social clubs, cafes; international lecturer exchange service and close ties with the universities. It also aspires to issue an "intellectuals' passport" to the members, hoping that this will, sometime in the future, result in visa-free global movement of the intellectuals.

The manifesto of W.I.S.E was first published by Prof.(h.c.) Askin Ozcan in PEACE PROGRESS magazine in India, when Prof.(h.c.) was Associate Secretary General of I.A.E.W.P. (NGO- U.N.) and its delegate at U.N. Vienna.

W.I.S.E. found then much adherence and attracted much interest from the intellectual circles in many countries. Now, owing to the lack of financing, its organisation is undergoing a stand-still. Prof.(h.c.) Ozcan says, " Maybe by an agressive re-appearance of W.I.S.E. and its principles in the world intellectual media, we can cultivate some capital and new leaders for this organisation. The increased internet resources can be just what W.I.S.E. might be needing for its re-birth and growth." The idea of intellectuals' associations and communications and their value for solving the world's problems is a long recognized issue both by U.N.E.S.C.O. (its magazine had devoted an issue to this topic many years ago) and by well-known universities.

Web-site for Prof.(h.c.) Askin Ozcan: http://www.xlibris.com/AskinOzcan.html

Prof.(h.c.) Askin Ozcan is the author of : THE SECOND VENICE, SMALL MIRACLES, STOCKHOLM STORIES, WISDOM IN SMILE, LIGHTNING AND A BOUQUET OF ROSES, THE MINI-SUBMARINE which are available at 200 internet bookshops (incl. www.amazon.com, www.bn.com, www.libreriauniversitaria.it, www.ibs.it, www.alibris.com, www.adlibris.com, www.fishpond.com.au, www.infibeam.com, www.loot.co.za) and via 25.000 bookstores and writes regularly for: www.thesop.org, www.newsblaze.com, www.thesepultimes.com, www.americanchronicle.com, http://thesop.org/index.php?article=7680 http://newsblaze.com/story/20081217072706tsop.nb/topstor ...
# # #
Author: Has six published titles in the U.S.A. Also many articles published internationally. Currently writer at www.thesop.org, www.newsblaze.com, www.theseoultimes.com, www.americanchronicle.com

Win a Free Book!

What are book clubs reading? How often do they meet? Do they enjoy speaking with authors? Reading Group Guides is going to find out the answers to these questions and more with the 2009 ReadingGroupGuides.com survey.

The goal of the survey is to identify trends and topics that are of interest to book groups. The information will be shared with publishers and authors so they can provide the resources needed to enhance book group meetings and discussions.

The survey is only open to readers who are in book clubs. The survey can be found at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=JZxioOza4dvM_2byCHuqQb0A_3d_3dThe survey will take about 12-15 minutes to complete. As a token of the appreciation for filling it out, ReadingGroupGuides.com will award all participants (U.S. and Canadian residents only) with a free book, generously provided by their publishing colleagues. See the full list of 28 titles, each of which is perfect for a book group discussion, at: http://www.readinggroupguides.com/surveys/2009-reader-survey.asp.

We hope you will mention the survey on your site and encourage your readers who are in a book club to participate. And if you are in a book club, we hope you'll take the survey yourself. The survey will close on April 30th, or as soon as 2,500 prizes have been awarded, so visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=JZxioOza4dvM_2byCHuqQb0A_3d_3d to answer the survey now!

Other Sites of Interest

http://www.bookreporter.com/

http://www.readinggroupguides.com/

http://www.graphicnovelreporter.com/

http://www.faithfulreader.com/

http://www.teenreads.com/

http://www.kidsreads.com/

http://www.authorsontheweb.com/

http://www.authoryellowpages.com/

http://www.thebookreportnetwork.com/

What Kind of Literature Do We Need in the 21st Century?

The first decade of the 21st century is approaching its end. The Internet has revolutionized the world of communication, including that of reading and writing. Numerous online publications, discussion forums, blogs, and other publishing venues have opened up and continue to emerge, making the world wide web a truly global community of readers, writers, editors, and publishers. So what trends are evolving in our new world of literature? What kinds of stuff do the modern readers want to read and contemporary writers want to write? Is there some common point(s) that characterizes the 21st century literature? This is the topic we are going to discuss in our next issue of The Audience Review. Please send your opinion on the topic What Kind of Literature Do We Need in the 21st Century?

The opinion should be brief (up to 300 words) and should be sent via e-mail to dempsey87@gmail.com or vianna_renaud@yahoo.com. Please include the following information with your opinion.

Name:

Age:

Sex:

Profession:

Location (City and Country):

Looking forward to receiving your views,

Ernest Dempsey
Editor in Chief
The Audience Review
http://www.worldaudience.org/

INTERFAITH FREEDOM MARCH

Look around you and tell me what world you live in: one dominated by war or immersed in soothing peace? Given all the mayhem we witness through the media (and many a time directly all around us), the answer seems to be a world occupied by war. But there are people like Frank Romano who not only believe in peace but are also actively involved in precipitating peace in the world. Here is Frank's latest update on his peace efforts in the Arab-Isreal region.

INTERFAITH FREEDOM MARCH

The Interfaith Freedom March will take place on Feb. 23rd, 2009. The group which will set out at 10 am ---------- in front of Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, West Bank-------- to Rachel’s Tomb, near Bethlehem, West Bank.

The marchers will walk in the light of the creator, following the principles of non-violence and respect for all creatures which are common denominators among the Peoples of the Book (ahl al-kitab) who reside in the area, as it is written in their Holy Scriptures of the Qur’an, the Torah, the New Testament, and in other texts. Muslims, Jews, Christians, Sufis, Kabbalists, Buddhists, Hindus, atheists, etc., and members of all faith communities are welcome.

The truth is that residents of the area are ready for a durable peace, even those who were not ready a year or two ago. Similar to the situation in Ireland and other conflict areas, residents of the area have become fed up with, as well as exhausted and disgusted by the violence and truly seek peaceful coexistence.

As a result, many are laying down their arms, working on interfaith projects to take religion/spirituality out of the conflict and working within the political system to bring about change in a permanent, nonviolent way.

A purpose of this march is also to counter-balance the filtered and false information about the suffering of the people in the area, notably Palestinians and Israelis. Their suffering has become invisible in the face of narratives with no basis in reality and exaggerated reporting on incidents of violence and subsequent retaliation, often dominating the news and distracting the world from focusing on the day to day suffering of the residents in the area.

Moreover, removing all West Bank settlements would help in diffusing the tension accelerating since 1967.

As such, the occupation of the West Bank must end as a precursor to peaceful coexistence on the condition that adequate security measures are taken by both sides to preserve the peace.

Another purpose of this event is to facilitate working together of all active freedom/peace/human rights groups in the area and in the World. It is also dedicated to building on humanitarian efforts to improve the education of people in the area (cross-cultural dialogues, mixed student programs, etc.) and to improve the economic environment.

This event will set up a concerted and consistent effort in furtherance of freeing the area from the terrible bondage of continued conflict.

Let this march be a precursor to freedom through love and understanding by bringing all people together, as brothers and sisters and as children of the creator, showing the world that all people want peace in Israel and Palestine.

Call for Submissions on Mothering

I just got an update from the Association for Research on Mothering (ARM) on their extended deadline for receiving submissions on 'mothering'. The announcement is pasted below.

Wishes

Ernest Dempsey

CALL FOR PAPERS

In celebration of Mother’s Day,

The Association for Research on Mothering (ARM) and MAMAPALOOZA are hosting a two-day conference!

"MOTHERS GONE MAD: MOTHERHOOD AND MADNESSOPPRESSION AND RESISTANCE"

Thursday, May 28 - Friday, May 29, 2009 in New York City, venue TBA

FEATURING A KEYNOTE ADDRESS

BY:PHYLLIS CHESLER

http://www.phyllis-chesler.com/

ANDPAULA CAPLAN, Ph.D.

“Who Decides If Mothers Are Crazy? From Freud’s Mother to Today’s”

We welcome submissions from scholars, students, activists, artists, community agencies, service providers, journalists, mothers and others who work or research in this area. Cross-cultural, historical, and comparative work is encouraged. We encourage a variety of types of submissions including academic papers from all disciplines, workshops, creative submissions, performances, storytelling, visual arts, and other alternative formats.

Topics can include (but are not limited to):

Motherhood, Art, and Madness; Histories of Maternal Resistance; Historical Perspectives on Madness and Motherhood; Mothers, Madness, and Medicine; Maternal Anger; Mother Blame; Maternal Guilt; Racial Oppression, and Motherhood; Motherhood and Mental Illness; Psychoanalysis and Motherhood; Cultural Representations of Murderous Mothers; Depression, and Domestic Violence; Politicizing Motherhood: Maternal Activism; Post Partum Depression; LGBT Mothers, Oppression, and Resistance; Mothering and Disability; Mothers who kill; Motherhood in the News; Resistant Motherhoods; Momism and Oppression; Mothers who Live on the Edge; Working Mothers and Society; Raising Activist Children; Menopausal Mothers; Mothering and Eating Disorders; Demonizing ‘Bad’ Mothers; Madness as Agency and Resistance; Infanticide; Matricide; Grief, Bereavement and Loss; ‘Good’ Mothers versus ‘Bad’ Mothers, Medicalization of Maternity; Incarcerated Mothers; Mothers and Addiction; Psychology, Psychiatry and Mothers; Healing and Recovery; Feminist Mothering

EXTENDED DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS – February 3, 2009

*Please email 250 word presentation abstract and 50 word bio to http://us.mc568.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=arm@yorku.ca

MAMAPALOOZA Inc. connecting Mothers through Music, Art, Activism and Education for Cultural, Economic & Social awareness. MOMS ROCK!

Mamapalooza serves as a resource for mothers seeking support, awareness and education in the arts, entrepreneurship and areas of mental and physical health. We are a cultural and social service hub, fostering talent, and providing a network for professional advancement, creative fulfillment, and financial education, encouraging well-being for women and families. Founded in 1998 the Association for Research on Mothering (ARM) is the first and still only international feminist research devoted specifically to the topic of mothering-motherhood. Our mandate is to provide a forum for the discussion and dissemination of research on motherhood and to establish a community of individuals and institutions working and researching in the area of mothering and motherhood. ARM houses the Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering, Demeter Press, and the feminist mothers group MOTHER OUTLAWS.

Association for Research on Mothering (ARM)

Demeter Press 726 Atkinson, York University4700 Keele StreetToronto, ON,Canada, M3J 1P3

416-736-2100 x60366

(fax) 416-736-5766

arm@yorku.ca

www.yorku.ca/arm