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Kentucky

SENATE TRIES TO AVOID MILK PRICES SURGE AT DAIRY CLIFF

Dairy Cliff USA News 1 Jan 2013 Dinesh Ramde photo

In the USA, there have  been widespread disagreements as to how much the farm bill should cut spending in nutrition programs.

Without a bill in place, prices paid by the government to farmers would revert back to higher 1949 levels. That could double the prices  consumers pay for milk to $7 a gallon.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said she considers the slimmed-down extension to be “Mitch McConnell‘s version of a farm bill.” She was referring to the Senate Republican leader from Kentucky, who she said forced bargainers to accept the version of the farm bill that appeared in the deal. (more…)


WHEN I CRACK THAT WHIP – BRITNEY SPEARS TURNS 31! HAPPY BIRTHDAY

"When I crack that whip"--Happy B'Day... :)

As there are only two types of people in the world… the lovers and the haters…. here’s a fun news story from one of the USA’s brightest stars.

Momtrepreneur, multi-millionaire, mechandizing mogul, Britney Spears is having a birthday today.

The USA celebrates Britney’s birthday big time each year. This year, Pop Sugar shares a few of the pop stars song lyrics, through the years, that have fuelled the USA culturally for almost twenty years. There are few veterans in show biz with appeal of Spears in USA.

Some of the song lyrics being sung today in USA hoods right now from Brit Brit’s pop archives are:

“The reason I breathe is you.”–Hit Me Baby One More, when launching the USA into the internet age.

“But no way, I’m ever gonna fall for you. Never you baby.”–Womanizer, on reducing those fatal attractions, you just know are plain bad.

“We can get down. Like there’s no one around. We keep on rockin. We keep on rockin.”–Gimme More, on ensuring the USA stays sexy. (more…)


SADDLE UP YOUR HORSES, WE GOTTA TRAIL TO BLAZE – STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN SONG LYRICS


"Saddle up your horses
We gotta trail to blaze..."

–grammy winner, Steven Curtis Chapman song lyrics.

I was raised on this dude’s songs on the family stereo. Wow! Take a listen. Country music cowboy fun.

It’s about adventurous team achievement. Attaining imagination in journeying to new frontiers of change.

[Thank you for the built to last global music].

~Posted by Horiwoodblog, Aotearoa New Zealand, Polynesia Asia-Pacific. 18.9.12~


DROUGHT REPORT – USA – 22nd AUGUST 2012

Jack Tame updates New Zealand viewers on the USA’s drought that’s hit the Mid-West hard.

God bless America as it endures and pulls through this brittle and horrendous crises. Too harrowing to watch twice.

[Thanks Jack].

~Posted by Horiwoodblog, Aotearoa New Zealand, Polynesia Asia-Pacific. 22.8.12~


MUSTANG WILSON PICKETT – JUKE BOX MUSIC RETRO HITS

From the juke box land of 1000 dances, here’s some old school Wilson Pickett music.

Yihaaaa!

~Posted by Horiwoodblog, Aoteroa New Zealand, Polynesia Asia-Pacific. 25.7.12~


SHILOH JOLIE-PITT’S BIRTHDAY – MAY 27 2012

Shiloh Jolie-Pitt turns six years of age, Sunday (North American time). This explains why at the time of writing, the third-generation Hollywood star is the no.1 celebrity name rating on this blog.

It only seems like yesterday that little Shiloh arrived at the Cottage Medi-Clinic Hospital in Swakopmund, Namibia. Her birth was similar to the days when Prince William and Prince Harry Windsor were born, in regards to the amount of fascination that people gave Shiloh’s arrival in the world. She instantly became one of the world’s most favorite magazine cover girls from the time young Shiloh arrived.

Observations, while living in Hollywood are that Shiloh’s birth caused the city to melt like fluffy marshmallows in cups of sweet hot chocolate. An aura of kindness and joy swept across Los Angeles. The dynasty of Hollywood’s star system shined over the city. (Hollywood actually really does care about stuff like that).

The peace Shiloh’s birth news brought to The City of Angels really did happen. In a quirky way, the child was like a satellite of peace from Namibia. Guys at the office in the Universal Building in North Hollywood, bragged about donating to Angelina’s favorite charities in Africa (guilt money) and all the thin-stick Hollywood girls in the neighborhood rushed out to get puppies that they’d names like “me-me” [sic] and Chloe.  I stayed in the home of Papa Elie, a California proud patriarch, who was married to the gracious daughter of a Kentucky Senator. Margaret and Elie were founding members of the infamous Sierra Hiking Club. In his late 80′s, Papa Elie (whose mother Ramza had lived to a young 110), was nearing 90. This was a remarkable feat because due to a fire on a train, as a girl she’d missed her passage aboard the Titanic, days before it sunk. As Papa was of Hasbaya Lebanese and Canadian origin, home-made hummus, promegranites and copious amounts of fresh luscious fruit of California, defined our home’s daily diet while we watched Quiz Shows on TV. Dude still went to the gym three days a week too. Lol!

Papa Elie of California taught me that happiness happens when you choose it to, each day. He lived to make check-out girls working at superettes where he got his fruit from each day, smile. His own constant smile, a living witness of his faith in God. During these days staying with Papa Elie in Walt Disney’s hood, I worked at the entertainment red carpet events office with Jodi Hannah – a producer of Extreme Days -an extreme sports action-packed documentary. Hannah has a producing partner in Christchurch City, New Zealand. Jodi doubled too as a humanitarian mother who prayed each day (in the office) for lesser fortunate children to have a better life of opportunity in the USA before she began her work day. A remarkable person that works with Fortune 500 company sponsors, she creates events from the heart that do this. So with an Eli and a Hannah ever constant, the year Shiloh Jolie-Pitt was born, was a surreal moment, I’ll never forget.

The name Shiloh itself is also of significance in Jewish history as it was the name of the place where Samuel, Israel’s ancient prophet child was raised by Eli, the high preist of Israel at the temple. At a young age, the child Samuel would hear from God at Shiloh. Samuel went on to pray prayers that held back disasters and enemy onslaughts against Israel all of his days. He also was a judge and kingmaker. It was a time in history where people could not get could spiritual guidance easily in uncertain times (eg: they did not hear ‘the word of God’ in that time). So at a pivotal time in history the story goes: ”And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, because the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD.” Clarity returned to Israel’s people in murky times again.

Wayne Blank of Keyway.Ca websites defines Shiloh Jolie-Pitt’s name or origin as being: “After the Israelites crossed The Jordan River into the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua, The Tabernacle, with The Ark Of The Covenant inside, was established at Shiloh. The name means peaceful, or tranquil, and no doubt it was with The Lord’s Presence. No place on earth could have been more secure. It was “God’s country,” and they were “God’s people.”" Or, in other words, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt is named after the place where peace totally jammed.

Her birth is perhaps a reminder that peace comes when you pray it into being each day and choose happiness by living life more peacefully with a smile.

[Happy Birthday SJP].

~Posted by Horiwoodblog.Com, Aotearoa New Zealand, Polynesia Asia-Pacific. 27.5.12~


I’LL HAVE ANOTHER ON TARGET FOR TRIPLE CROWN AT THE PREAKNESS – KENTUCKY DERBY NEWS

Here in NZ we know of Black Caviar in Australia. We’re not too au fait with The Kentucky Derby’s line up this year. I think Kentucky humor is the real winner in this display of racing sports humor today. The story reads, very ‘southern gentility funny!’

In Preakness News, I’ll Have Another Targets Triple Crown: “I’ll Have Another” did just that, winning another Triple Crown race with even more flash and dash than he did in the Kentucky Derby.

By bolting past “Bodemeister” — again — this time in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course, all that stands in the way of racing glory is the Belmont Stakes in three weeks.  Win that and the smooth-striding 3-year-old will find himself in the company of “Secretariat,” “Seattle Slew” and “Affirmed,” the last to win thoroughbred racing’s most coveted prize in 1978.

That’s heady company for a colt who has yet to be favored in any of his seven races. That should change in the Belmont. ”We’re thinking Triple Crown, baby,” elated winning trainer Doug O’Neill said. ”He’s a special horse. We’ll see how he comes out of it, and if he comes out of it in good shape, we’re heading to New York, baby.”

I’ll Have Another won by 1-1/2 lengths in the Derby and by a neck in the Preakness — the same margins Affirmed posted in wins over rival Alydar in those two races 34 years ago. But there’s one big storyline difference this time: Bodemeister is skipping the Belmont.

”He’s getting off the bus here,” trainer Bob Baffert said.

“Creative Cause” was third, 8-3/4 lengths behind Bodemeister. “Zetterholm” was fourth, followed by “Teeth of the Dog,” “Optimizer,” “Cozzetti,” “Tiger Walk,” “Daddy Nose Best,” “Went the Day Well” and “Pretension.”

Trainers comments of the winning horse were “he gutted it out,” “he has a tremendous kick in the end.”

Lol!

- – -

People are asking, was this race won fair and square? Or was a milkshake involved?

Sports writer – The AP, Fox Sports.

~Posted by Horiwoodblog.Com, Aotearoa New Zealand, Polynesia Asia-Pacific. 20.5.12~


SHABAZZ MUHAMMAD SIGNS WITH WESTWOOD UCLA BRUINS – THE HORIWOOD TOP TEN 12.4.12

Rising basketball star, Shabazz Muhammad is headed to Westwood, California.

The 6-foot-6, 222 pounds, scoring sensation out of Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High announced for UCLA over Kentucky and Duke during an ESPNU program Wednesday night that followed a report by CBSSports.com indicating he would pick the Bruins. More at Zagsblog.

Photo caption: Las Vegas’ Bishop Gorman’s Shabazz Muhammad’s signing leaves Ben Howland positively giddy. “Needless to say,” Howland said, “I’m very happy right now.” Photographer’s credit: Rex Arbogast – Associated Press – March 28, 2012 – published LA Times.

The Horiwood Top Ten today are:

1. Titanic in 3D – The advent of 3D movies & 3D TV streaming from New Zealand

2. Billionaire Graeme Hart - Sploshes of Liquid Cash

3. Australia Morning TV Shows  Humor

4. Sam NeillThe Central Otago interview in Queenstown

5. Michel Telo live music

6. A new Homophobia study

7. Spirit: See Visions. Dream Dreams – Youth in Dreamtime.

8. William LevyPeople Magazine‘s cover interview

9. Kaitiakitanga – The Hauraki Gulf

10. IT Tech Ideas – Google’s Project Glasses – Critique

In other basketball signings news: Nerlens Noel, the 6 foot 10 teenager whose wing span rivals that of the albatross and whose the brotha that’s got mo’ lip than … even… Chris Rock, signed to Kentucky Wildcats in razor back style. Noel is the top-ranked prospect in the ESPNU 100. Photo credit: Bill Shettle AP – Washington Post.

Where are we watching from today?

USA, New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, India, Canada, Sweden, Philippines.

~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Aotearoa New Zealand, Polynesia Asia-Pacific. 12.4.12~


ACTOR JOSH HUTCHERSON OF KENTUCKY

Joshua Ryan Hutcherson of Union Kentucky plays Peeta Mellark in the upcoming Lionsgate film, The Hunger Games.

To learn more about JHtuch, jet here.

~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Aoteaora New Zealand, Polynesia Asia-Pacific. 19.1.12~


CLIFF CURTIS ON HOLLYWOD CASTING AND MOVIE ROLES OFFERED

“I put a thing out to my Hollywood agent saying, ‘Let’s try a year where I don’t play a terrorist or drug dealer, where I don’t kill anybody, and see what happens’.”–Cliff Curtis.

Um… did that ever happen? Oh yeah Trauma & The Last Airbender.

Photo caption – Actor Cliff Curtis is pictured here playing Pablo Escobar from the movie Blow with the Oscar winning Penelope Cruz, Johnny Depp playing George Jung and Melbourne’s Rachel Griffiths – a film that aired on TV in the US tonight. Photo via FW. At the time of writing “Blow” is the 8th most requested search term in the USA.

Oh right… it’s the weekend.

~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Aotearoa New Zealand, Polynesia Asia-Pacific. 7.1.12~


BRITNEY SPEARS – 46th MOST VOTED STAR – 2011

Britney Spears, the child performer and pop star survivor, has clocked in as the 46th most voted star of 2011 on Horiwood.Com.

Nine Things About Britney Spears:

1. She’s a working mother.

2. Rehab is a mark of her star crown.

3. She’s Kentucky in California.

4. Her marketing model is highly advanced. Spears was one of the first stars ever to create an app for her own fan base. Consequently, when she tours, her concerts sell out time after time.

5. One of the few artists to sell out arenas in the USA, by valuing the art of dance and the gift of dance in America’s trajectory from a tradition of being unjust slavemasters towards freedom and equality.She brings the dance of the South, with Bollywood choreography infusion these days. Wow!

6. Her smile is iconic American apple pie. Something Kiwis have yet to cotton on to. (Cosmetic dentistry is an art form we’re still yet to discover in New Zealand).

7. Spears has moved over 1.3 billion in signature fragrance sales alone.

8. Her infamous Hollywood meltdown was a metaphor for the American people battling through economic recession.

9. She’s brilliant in concert. Her petite size is scary, perhaps noting the strength of her strong spirit.

[Featured Music - Spears with her current hit, Criminal]

~Posted by Horiwood.Com,


NIKKY FINNEY WINS 2011 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR POETRY – CHICAGO NEWS – 18.11.11

According to The Chicago Tribune, “Nikky Finney has won the 2011 National Book Award for poetry. Her collection, Head Off & Split, was published by Northwestern University’s Triquarterly imprint. Finney’s acceptance speech for her award combined poetry with a gorgeously stated discussion of race, writing and reading. “That was the best acceptance speech for anything that I’ve ever heard in my life,” Lithgow said, after the applause finally died down. Finney lives and teaches in Lexington, Ky”

Kwane Mawes writes: With Head Off & Split, Nikky Finney establishes herself as one of the most eloquent, urgent, fearless and necessary poets writing in America today. What makes this book as important as anything published in the last decade is the irresistible music, the formal dexterity and the imaginative leaps she makes with metaphor and language in these simply stunning poems. This is a very, very important achievement.”

Carolyn Kellogg for the Los Angeles Times writes, “Jesmyn Ward‘s Salvage the Bones, about a family hit by Hurricane Katrina, received the National Book Award for fiction on Wednesday at a black-tie gala in New York. Ward’s novel, her second, was a surprise winner.

The 62nd National Book Awards were hosted by actor John Lithgow, who published a memoir in September, and included an appearance by poet Elizabeth Alexander, who read at President Obama’s inauguration in 2009. Poet John Ashbery, 84, was presented the foundation’s lifetime achievement award, the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. In his acceptance speech, he noted that since he began writing, “difficult poetry” had lost traction in the literary world.

Ward said “I understood that I wanted to write about the experiences of the poor and the black and the rural people of the South,” she told the audience, “so that the culture that marginalized us for so long would see that our stories were as universal, our lives as fraught and lovely and important as theirs.”

The nonfiction award went to Stephen Greenblatt for his book The Swerve: How the World Became Modern. He thanked Lucretius, whose 2,000-year-old poem On the Nature of Things is at the center of his literary and cultural history. In The Los Angeles Times’ Arts & Books section coming Sunday, reviewer Nick Owchar writes that The Swerve is a “wondrous book about how this classic was nearly lost and why Western civilization would be much poorer if that had happened.”

The award for young people’s literature went to Thanhha Lai for Inside Out & Back Again. Lai is a Vietnamese immigrant who once wrote for the Orange County Register and now lives in New York. This is her first book.”

Good stuff. There’s a few literary trends mapped out right there. :)

Did I mention that in New Zealand, it’s a great time to be reading good books, cos it is!

Nick Owchar in his LA Times’ review of Greenblatt’s (pictured) book can be read here. An additional snippet of the review goes like this: “The prime hunting grounds for Poggio and his fellow book hunters were the libraries of old monasteries, for good reason,” Greenblatt explains. “For long centuries monasteries had been virtually the only institutions that cared about books.”

Such hunters risked beatings by the monks — if they tried to steal the monasteries’ books — and often they used gold and flattery to win over a stern abbot and receive permission to make a copy on parchment.”

Relevant literary stuff.

~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Aotearoa New Zealand, Polynesia Asia-Pacific. 18.11.11~


BORN THIS WAY TO DRINK CLEAN WATER – WATER ROYALTY RIGHTS FOR ALL CHILDREN OF THE WORLD

Born this way – I believe that all children of the world were born to have access to clean drinking water whenever they need it.

BTW: At the moment 1 billion people don’t. 2 million children die through not having access to clean drinking water each year.

Born this way to drink clean water – is these kids and their parents’ dream day. We can make it a dream day everyday for them. Let’s make it happen fun people, by clicking on UNICEF’S TAP PROJECT link. Let’s FLOW! Thanks groovy people.

~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 12.29.10~


KLUTZ CONFESSIONS 12.27.10

I’m such a Maori Hollywood klutz. I just spilt red wine down my Ngapuhitonunui tee shirt, given to me by my bro-in-law on his last visit to L.A while I was eating my KFC. I love all things Kentucky. I don’t know why, I’ve never been there yet, but I just know I do.

Wine I can do with or without, but KFC? no, gotta have that. I’m a Maori for goodness sakes, we’re kinda black or from Kentucky like that. Samoan are the same with KFC too.  :)

Anyway, how klutzy is that? Totz a klutz to the days. lol!

~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 12.27.10~


GUESS WHAT? BRITNEY SPEARS ANNOUNCES A NEW ALBUM

While her pop star competitors have been trying to wipe her off the pop music landscape by doing “I sing live” Vs those other people who do “lip service’ or lip syncing performances–disses as she’s had a few months off performing–Britney Spears isn’t having a bar of it.

She’s back, announcing a new album. In fairness to Brit Brit –she’s like Janet Jackson‘s baby white sister from Kentucky who values Dancers as much as live singers who don’t dance but that Spears knows are equally important in entertainment. She values dance as an art. I go for that.

Spears is as American as MacDonalds. She can never be replaced. To see her live is to see a living tabloid star turning on a show. She’s quite surreal live. Here’s her promo album teaser.

Hot!

~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 12.2.10~


RADIANCE TVC by BRITNEY SPEARS

Choose your own destiny–2010′s wisdom

Just thirty seconds of camera work towards her next ten million dollar check, Britney Spears releases her new TVC for fragrance Radiance at the same time her BFF Neil Patrick Harris is at the Emmy Awards 2010 in the world spotlight.

Spears is one of the savviest marketing stars in the game. Good work.

A single word (you can now smell -clever!) is Britney Spears’ message today. Which is

“glowing. glow. aureole. corona. the outermost region of the sun’s atmosphere. visible as a white halo during a solar eclipse. light. visible light. visible radiation. physics-electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation. ie: light was filtered through a soft glass window. effulgence. radiancy. refulgence. refulgency. shine. brightness. ie: the location of a visual perception along a continuum from black to white. gleam. lambency. gleaming. glow. an appearance of reflected light. sheen. shininess. luster. lustre. the visual property of something that shines reflected light. burnish. glossiness. polish. gloss. the property of being smooth and shiny. an attractive combination of good health and happiness; “the radiance of her countenance.” happiness or felecity: state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. good health. healthiness. the state of being vigorous and free from bodily or mental disease.”

What a powerful message in a single word as Spears reminds her fans, what a star means and the purpose of what ‘celebrities’ are meant to do in the world too. Go Southern girl now in L.A!

After reading all of that, how can you not feel radiant? Just reaffirm these words daily and you’ve got the message. What a word! And isnt being ‘celebrity’ all about marketing the five senses of you audience fanbase. Spears does it the best. 

~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 8.29.10~


WHEN THE BOYS LIGHT UP

… the room. Bruce Bryan M.D with my original Californian ‘Godfather,’ Papa Elie

Back in California’s early history, Elie Kanim was a founding member of the Sierra hiking club. Mountains are where California’s leaders can be found.

 Although I never had the honor of meeting her before she passed away, Elie’s wife Margaret Kanim was said to be the sweetest lady ever. Here’s what the Sierra Club’s website has to say about Margaret as a founding member of the club too.

Margaret Kanim went ice skating at Dollar Lake with this group of Sierrans on Nov. 21, 1948 with Chuck and Lilian Gerckens.” Margaret’s legacy is one of love and Papa Elie is the happiest man in the world. I swear. :)


[Photo of Margaret Kanim [nee Hilkie] from Charles & Lillian Gerckens Collection, Angeles Chapter Archives, because Senators daughters of Kentucky as leaders of California, should be remembered on Hollywood news blogs. Always. xox].

~In Celebration of California family life. Posted by Horiwood.Com, 8.7.2010~


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