RECOMMEND: Friend Jeff's blog for April 21. Check it out, if you don't mind.
***

READING: This book currently -- "My Heart's Cry" by Anne Graham Lotz. I recommend it. I'm reading it slowly but will probably return to it. Will write an excerpt or two later.
***

DOVE AWARDS: These awards for the best in Christian music will be given tonight. Expect stories and/or photos in media but the show doesn't air on TV until April 20.

Eric Close, who starred with Renee and Kevin Sorbo in the movie, Hercules & The Lost Kingdom, is on a downloadable poster at http://www.verizonreads.net/posters/close_poster.pdf.

This is a literacy effort. The original link came off http://www.TheLiteracySite.com

Remember "The Greater Good."

PRAYER: Prayer: No. 1 Issue In Churches, Survey Of Evangelical Leaders Shows
Baptist Press

A LifeWay Christian Resources survey of more than 1,300 evangelical leaders from around the world revealed that the need for consistent and passionate prayer in church and personal life is the No. 1 issue in today's churches. The April 11 announcement of prayer as the No. 1 issue culminates a LifeWay e-business initiative to ask evangelical ministry leaders from a variety of backgrounds to rank the "Top 10 Issues Facing Today's Church. LifeWay's e-business department began the two-month online research project last November by distributing thousands of e-mails throughout the United States and world asking ministry leaders to cite top concerns in their churches. From the initial list of responses, the 20 most frequently submitted answers were sent back to all the ministry leaders who responded to the first round of e-mails. During December, these leaders used the same Internet survey tool to rank their top 10 from among those 20 issues. The resulting list of 10 issues includes such diverse topics as abortion (no. 10) and evangelism (no. 4). But it was prayer that ministry leaders cited as the most pressing concern in their churches. The LifeWay unit compiled information and multiple resources addressing each issue and has posted the materials online. For the complete survey results and reports addressing all the ranked issues, visit www.lifeway.com/top10

Click here: Zap2it - DVD

or URL: http://www.zap2it.com/index/dvd/reviews/1,1146,24786,FF.html

Text below:


Xena Warrior Princess, Season Six
By Mike Szymanski
Tue, Feb 22, 2005, 07:02 PM PT
STUDIO: Anchor BayRELEASE DATE: March 8, 2005PRICE: $79.98DVD EXTRAS: Deleted scenes, interviews of cast and crew, 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound and featurettes
INTERNET SITE: For more info go to http://www.xenacatalog.com/
ZAP2IT RATING:
All good things must come to an end and "Xena: Warrior Princess" ends after six seasons and a big fan following. The 10-disc final season is among the best, according to fans and Anchor Bay and Davis-Anderson Merchandising brings the final 22 episodes together in a nicely packaged collection.
This season finds Xena, played by Lucy Lawless, in her continuing quest to find out about her dark past and fight evil.
Like the other five seasons, this has a good share of featurettes and interviews, but it also has a lot of deleted scenes and surprising fun facts in a nice box set."Heart of Darkness" when Xena battles Lucifer himself
"The Abyss" where she battles bloodthirsty cannibals
"When Fates Collide" where she rules Rome with Caesar
"A Friend in Need" when she makes the ultimate sacrifice to save countless innocent souls.
The TV series mixed mythic gods and colorful beasts with incredibly imaginative storylines and some insights into the final series include interviews with Lawless as well as costume designers, producers, editors, writers and actors such as Liz Friedman, Eric Gruendemann, Jane Holland, Michael Hurst, William Gregory Lee, Joel Metzger, Renee O'Connor, RJ Stewart, Rob Tapert, Adrienne Wilkinson and many more.
Five featurettes include To Helicon and Back dailies; Bringing Monsters to Life at K.N.B. EFX Group  Part Three; Xena Live  Fan Convention; In The Beginning; and from the set of the final episode, A Fond Farewell. There's also an alternate director's cut to " A Friend In Need Parts 1 & 2."
The DVD also includes promos of the first season, a library of deleted scenes and bloopers, production drawings, a photo gallery and series trivia.
What began as a spin-off of "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" and premiering in 1995 ended up being a cultural icon and nominated for six Emmys.
As a testament to the Xena fan base, there are conventions every year where fans can recite whole episodes and dress up as the characters.

Zondervan rolls out Bible aimed at younger readers

http://www.democratherald.com/articles/2005/02/06/news/religion/religion01.txt

Ten Commandments Mini-Series In The WorksErin Curry, Baptist Press
ABC is working on the production of a four-hour miniseries called "The Ten Commandments," which, according to the Hollywood Reporter Jan. 13, will rely on extensive biblical and historical research for a realistic, truthful presentation of Moses and the exodus. Robert Halmi Sr., a veteran TV movie producer who is working on the project, said it will not be a remake of Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 movie starring Charlton Heston. "I felt that [the Ten Commandments] is the first written document of law, morality and order for the human race, and we completely ignore it," Halmi said. "I think it's time for the younger generation to revisit this biblical tale as they must realize the importance and consequences of the Ten Commandments." The mini-series will include elaborate special effects and has a budget estimated at more than $20 million, the Hollywood Reporter said.

I've just watched this movie, "The Devil's Arithmatic," and HIGHLY recommend it. If you ever get the chance to watch it, please do.

http://www1.bottomdollar.com/p__Showtime_Entertainment_Devil_s_Arithmetic_1999_DVD,__109518502

Friend Jeff Calloway has a daily blog that you may enjoy. Here's the link: http://jeffcalloway.blogs.com/jeff_calloway/

BABYLON 5, SCIENCE FICTION, AND CHRISTIANITY - posted by Andy RauJanuary 20, 2005 -- Religion and science fiction are topics thatintersect with surprising regularity, and we've noted in the past anumber of essays dealing with Christianity and religion in the StarWars and Star Trek mythologies. The science fiction show "Babylon 5"often incorporated religious ideas into its characters and plot, buthasn't received nearly as much analysis by Christian critics. Fortunately, Tim Enloe's extensive essay on Christianity, mythology,and Bablyon 5[1] offers us a very thorough look at the subject. Enloehas a number of other interesting pieces[2] on the interaction betweenfaith and science fiction, including a good post on humanism andamorality in "Star Trek Enterprise."[3]-- Links in this story --[1]

http://www.societaschristiana.com/archives/cat_the_high_crusade.html#000042[2]
http://www.societaschristiana.com/archives/cat_the_high_crusade.html[3]
http://www.societaschristiana.com/archives/cat_the_high_crusade.html#000043

___ Courtesy of Internet for Christians

It's Xena's 10th anniversary!


Click here: Zeal for 'Xena' on Display at Burbank Gathering

or use this URL: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/state/la-me-xena23jan23,1,2685939.story?coll=la-news-state&ctrack=1&cset=true

Here's a new Matt Damon article that includes mention of Martin Csokas, who played various parts including, "Borias," on Xena. You may also know him from "The Lord of the Rings." 

Click here: Matt Damon: Matt Damon left on his back while filming
 
or use this URL
 
http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/celebrity/2652004.htm

Site Feed

You can now pre-order Lucy Lawless' movie, "Eurotrip."
Be still my heart. ::heavy sarcasm::
I like Lucy a lot, but not interested in that movie.

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Xena's warrior cry is about to make beautiful music with Tarzan's monkey holler.
Lucy Lawless is joining the cast of The WB's "Tarzan" in the crucial (but only recently added) part of Tarzan's aunt.

The Kiwi actress will play Kathleen Clayton, a publishing magnate and younger sister of Mitch Pileggi's Richard Clayton, the acting head of Greystoke Industries. Kathleen and Richard have very different ideas of how to handle their recently rediscovered nephew Jack (Travis Fimmel). Richard believes that Tarzan must be rehabilitated and reintroduced to non-simian society, while Kathleen wants to give the monkey man time to find his own way.

Both may have ulterior motives, as they know that whoever controls Tarzan also controls Greystoke.

"Lucy has a tremendous sense of humor, warmth and grace," says The WB's Entertainment President Jordan Levin. "She has a fun, larger-than-life personality that will shape the character of Kathleen Clayton as she makes it her own and that is what attracted us to her for future development."

Lawless, who starred in "Xena: Warrior Princess" from 1995 until 2001, is only signed as a regular for the show's first season. Her deal with The WB also includes an exclusive series development deal for the 2004-2005 season.

"Tarzan" reunites Lawless with executive producer Laura Ziskin, who performed the same duties on "Spider-Man," which featured a small cameo from Gabrielle's former bosom buddy.

Xena paraphernalia going under hammer
The New Zealand Herald

28.06.2003


Decomposing bodies, a headless corpse and a large collection of
swords and medieval weapons will all be up for grabs today in an
auction of props from canned television show Xena:Warrior Princess.

Hundreds of props are on sale. They come from a private collection
that is taking up too much room.

More than half the swords are real but there are no dangerous items
and many of the props are made of polystyrene.

Thornton Auctions in Penrose will host the auction.

Owner Brad Jackson says Xena junkies have already shown overwhelming
interest.

Fans have come from as far south as Christchurch.

The auctioneers also received 125 hits a day on their website from
American Xena followers. Mr Jackson says some potential buyers have
medieval shops - he knows of one buyer who plans to make a "Xena
room" in his antique shop.

Other buyers will be Halloween tricksters and "someone that's into
playing tricks and things like that."

The prize items include a chaise longue adorned with skull heads and
a bust of New Zealand actor, the late Kevin Smit.

There are also two thrones with dinosaur backbones.

The highest price may be fetched by two "cobra" candelabra.

They are each more than 2m high and are estimated to fetch $3000 as a
pair.

The props are on sale because a Xena fan who bought up to 600 Xena
props has reluctantly decided to sell them because he no longer has
room.

From Mary D's ausxip.com updates:

The following is from Renee via Missy Good

Renee will be doing a signing session of 2 hours at Comic-Con on Saturday, July 19. The information about the con - from the official site is:
July 17-20 at the San Diego Convention Center

Comic-Con International sees an incredible migration of professionals of all walks of the creative life each and every year. In addition to the largest contingent of professionals working in the comic book industry of any convention, Comic-Con attracts creative people from movies, television, animation, gaming, and the toy industry.
For more information go to: Comic-Con

New Renee O'Connor movie begins filming in Las Vegas
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

SHOOTING STARS: NBC's `Las Vegas' pondering how much time to spend in Glitter City








Hello ... and goodbye again. (At least temporarily.)

Shooting Stars returns after two weeks on hiatus (showbiz-speak for "vacation"). Next week's column will be missing-in-action once again, due to an out-of-town assignment.

So this is it until July 7. Let's dig in -- and catch up on NBC's upcoming "Las Vegas," which launches production July 29.

Exactly how much time the series will spend in its title location, however, has yet to be determined, show creator Gary Scott Thompson noted during a visit to last week's CineVegas Film Festival.

NBC is considering four options, Thompson says. The first (and unlikeliest) involves shooting everything in "Las Vegas' " namesake. The second involves a 50-50 split between Glitter City and Hollywood. The third (also unlikely) calls for construction of a soundstage casino, where special-effects backdrops would create the Vegas atmosphere.

The likeliest prospect, however, involves periodic treks from Los Angeles to Las Vegas "to get the scope of what Vegas is," Thompson explains, much as "ER" and "NYPD Blue" do in Chicago and New York, respectively. (And "CSI" does occasionally here in Neon Nirvana.)

With eight-day shooting schedules for each hourlong episode, "you do either five, six or seven days" in the studio, Thompson explains, then "bank the extra days and wait until you have three episodes to shoot and then you come here."

Thompson anticipates that the series -- which stars James Caan as an ex-CIA agent who heads security for the fictional Montecito casino empire -- will begins its production schedule in Las Vegas.

Shifting from the future to the here and now, two independent features are filming today -- one on the Strip, one downtown.

The comedy "Diamonds and Guns," starring Renée O'Connor (alias "Xena: Warrior Princess' " longtime sidekick Gabrielle), begins a seven-day shoot at the Riviera, with locations ranging from the parking garage to the pool, the convention center rooftop to the casino, according to the Riviera's John Neeland.

Writer Dawn Higginbotham, who's also co-producing the project, describes the farce as " `Swingers' with girls" and " `Romeo and Juliet,' Vegas-style," centering on two friends (O'Connor and Helena Beaven) whose one last fling turns into a comedy of errors.

To that end, "we wanted to stick to the classy-style, old-school" Vegas look, according to Higginbotham, which explains why "Diamonds and Guns" wound up at the Riviera.

An even older-school Vegas casino, -- Las Vegas' oldest, Main Street's Golden Gate -- welcomes "@lien," which is scheduled to complete a two-day shoot today, according to producer Melissa Berry.

The quirky tale, from Haxan Films (home of "The Blair Witch Project"), deals with young lovers on a cross-country trek -- one of whom is using the odyssey as an excuse to rendezvous with an Internet romance known only as (you guessed it) "@lien." (Before arriving in Las Vegas, the production shot in Georgia, Louisiana, Texas and New Mexico; the movie's final destination is another place with a Golden Gate, San Francisco.)

Also downtown, the History Channel's "Hands on History" visits the future neon museum's boneyard as part of a segment devoted to the history of neon, according to associate producer Brandy Downing of Jupiter Entertainment.

In addition to the boneyard, the Young Electric Sign Co. -- better known as Yesco -- also will host "Hands on History" host Ron Hazleton and crew to demonstrate "how neon's developed and made," according to Downing.

Elsewhere on the documentary beat, "Big Rig" rolls into Las Vegas Thursday to continue production on a "portrait of America told through the eyes of truckers," explains producer Brad Blondheim.

In addition to capturing the action an international trucking show at the Las Vegas Convention Center, director Doug Pray (who's also directed the theatrical documentaries "Scratch" and "Hype") plans to film interviews with truckers at other locations around town.

Another documentary shooting this week focuses on longtime Las Vegan Dolores Fuller, onetime muse of cult director Ed Wood -- and a music industry veteran who wrote several songs for Elvis Presley. Shooting on the hour-long project began over the weekend at the Alexis Park, where Fuller signed autographs as part of the Starstruck in Las Vegas event. The documentary's Presley connection extends to producer Don Wilson, a former member of Presley's entourage who's made several Elvis-related projects.

Also on this week's location calendar: "Around the World in Eight Days," a Hungarian TV show with Tamas Frei, which begins a scheduled three-day shoot Saturday at downtown and Strip locations; Bellevue Entertainment's documentary "Las Vegas Live," scheduled to wrap production Thursday; and the Sci-Fi Channel's "Scare Tactics," which continues its hidden-camera antics for the next few months.

Finally, two British-related casting notes.

The BBC needs (more than) a few good men, fit and 40-plus, who have military fatigues, to work as extras for a computer fraud documentary shooting July 11 at Red Rock Canyon. It's a nonunion shoot and pays expenses only; if you're interested, e-mail information and pictures to the BBC's Liz Collier at liz.collier@bbc.co.uk.

And Britain's ITV needs British families who vacation regularly in Las Vegas for a show about Brits who can't get enough of Glitter City. (British families featured on the show will receive free trips back to Vegas.) E-mail samantha.williams@rdfmedia.com for more information.

From Creation Entertainment:

Hi,

Here's a recent article from the "Ireland on Sunday" newspaper. Reports are that Lucy is being a real trooper and not afraid to get "down and dirty." She's having a great time and is fun to work with.

"Grainne Mhaol" By Siobhan Gaffney

Lucy Lawless stars in the adventures of the formidable statuesque leather clad fighter, Xena Warrior Princess amassing a massive cult following throughout the world as she battles barbarians, oppressors and demigods.

But now the Xena Warrior Princess' actress is coming to Clew Bay and Clare Island to get face to face with the myth of a real warrior woman; 16th Century pirate sea queen Grainne Mhaol.

The adventures of the 16th Century pirate queen of the seas are to feature in a special Discovery Networks Europe series exploring history's most fearless female warriors.

LA based actress Lucy Lawless told Ireland on Sunday that she was 'really looking forward to getting to the west of Ireland to see first hand where the amazing Grainne Mhaol ruled the high seas'

Lawless has a strong connection to the area where the real life warrior woman, Grainne Mhaol controlled. Her family, the Ryans originially from Quilty in Co. Clare ended up in her native New Zealand when her great grandfather had a 'scuffle with the police and was sent down under for
punishment'

The Warrior Woman who is anxious about leaving her three children from 14 years down to 10 months for 3 weeks, 'turned down many lucrative but dissatisfying offers from US TV to do make this fascinating series.

I just can't wait to get to Ireland and to start filming, running around the Irish countryside with a film crew will be just fantastic' she said.

Grainne Mhaol -mhaol meaning cropped hair- was known to have chopped her long hair off to survive in the mainly male dominated world of pirate infested seas, controlling Clew bay with an iron fist from her castle on Clare Island

Grainne who was known as Grace O'Malley by the English was married with 3 children before she began her famous career on the high seas, marshalling 3 pirate ships and up to 200 men as she opposed the English attempts to remove her from her kingdom.

'The facts are thin on the ground about how exactly Grace become this amazing and feared warrior, she was a women who had no English but decided she wanted to meet Queen of Elizabeth so that's what she did, she sailed up The Thames river in London and demanded an audience with the Queen,
something that was completely unheard of.

Grace had no English but excellent Latin forcing Queen Elizabeth to talk to her in a foreign tongue.

They were two women in a tough mans world separated by tradition but who experienced many of the same hardships'

After Grainne's first husband was been executed by Queen Elizabeth's troops she remarried in 1556 Iron Richard Burke and had a son named Tibbot. She was captured by the crown's forces and jailed for 2 years returning to her castle on Clare Island to continue her defiance.

In 1558 Elizabeth I pardoned her in an attempt to bring peace to the region but his attempt failed as the local English administrators continued to go after the woman who had been a thorn in their side for years.

'She was a woman who paid a heavy price for her strong beliefs and has to some extend been written out of history' Lucy Lawless told Ireland on Sunday.

Fighting was her only means of survival and this she did until the Irish defeat at the Battle of Kinsale in 1601 ended her dominance. She died in 1603 and has since been, to a large degree, overlooked as a genuine heroine of Irish history.

Her career spanned from the supremacy to the suppression of Gaelic rule. Folklore conveys her alliances with English forces, her imprisonment in the goals of Limerick and Dublin, and her partial submission to Elizabeth Ist, Queen of England. Her actions were brave attempts to uphold her government over her fast retreating Gaelic kingdoms.

The series entitled 'Warrior Women' presented by Xena Warrior Princess, Lucy Lawless will also feature other fierce women including Joan of Arc, Boudica, Queen of the Iceni Tribe, Chinese heroine Hua Mulan and Apache warrior Lozen and will be broadcast later this autumn on the Discovery Channel.