journey obama

Sen. Barack Obama journeyed to Middle America on Monday to lay out his vision of patriotism, conceding that he has learned in this presidential campaign that "the question of who is -- or is not -- a patriot all too often poisons our political debate."

"Throughout my life, I have always taken my deep and abiding love for this country as a given," Obama said in the 29-minute address to about 1,150 people crowded into a gymnasium at the Truman Memorial Building, named for former president Harry S. Truman. "It was how I was raised. It was what propelled me into public service. It is why I am running for president. And yet at times over the last 16 months, my patriotism has been challenged -- at times as a result of my own carelessness, more often as a result of the desire by some to score political points and raise fears about who I am and what I stand for."

... Obama has built his candidacy on the promise of change in a year in which a vast majority of Americans think the nation is on the wrong track. But he has repeatedly been forced to address false rumors that he will not recite the Pledge of Allegiance, place his hand over his heart during the national anthem or wear an American-flag pin on his lapel.

... Obama tried to take the offensive on Monday, saying that he "will not stand idly by" while his patriotism is questioned.

Former Senate majority leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.), a key Obama adviser, said by e-mail: "At times in the past, Democrats have given the impression that they would rather not have the debate. Barack would prefer to engage in the debate. I am pleased that he is."


Mr. Obama arrived here in Independence, the home of President Harry S. Truman, to open a weeklong patriotism tour. He sought to explain and defend his American ideals to ward off skepticism and silence persistent rumors about his loyalties to the nation.

“I will never question the patriotism of others in this campaign,” Mr. Obama said, speaking over the applause of hundreds of supporters. “And I will not stand idly by when I hear others question mine.”

... Mr. Obama sought to place his criticism into a broader context of American history, pointing out that Thomas Jefferson was accused by the Federalists of “selling out to the French,” and John Adams was derided for being “in cahoots with the British.”

“The use of patriotism as a political sword or a political shield is as old as the Republic,” Mr. Obama said.


[Barack] said that today's debate over patriotism is rooted in simplistic caricatures from the 1960s culture wars, and he defined patriotism instead as "loyalty to America's ideals."

... Turning back from the daily sniping, Obama concentrated most of his address on an appeal for Americans to come together for the good of the country behind the nation's ideals, with a readiness to sacrifice and serve.

"In the end," Obama said, what "best describes patriotism in my mind" is love for and faith in the American people, because all that America is results from "the energy and imagination of the American people; their toil, drive, struggle, restlessness, humor and quiet heroism."

"That is the liberty we defend … that is the equality we seek … that is the community we strive to build."
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says Harry Truman, the common sense everyman from Missouri, was one of his favorite presidents. On Monday, he took a few minutes on the campaign trail to soak up some Truman history.

After Obama delivered a speech on the meaning of patriotism at an auditorium in the Truman presidential library complex in Independence, Missouri, he strolled over to Truman’s old house a few blocks away.

He stopped to visit well-wishers along the way, shaking hands and joking with supporters, who poured out of neighboring houses to say hello and stopped on the street to cheer him.

... Once he reached the Truman house, where the 33rd president lived from 1919 until his death in 1972 (except for the years when it served as the summer “White House”) he received a tour from Norton Canfield, a gray-haired, bearded park ranger with a braided ponytail.

When he saw a portrait of Truman’s daughter, Margaret, he sympathized with the president’s threat to punch a newspaper critic who had panned her singing.

“I would have done the same thing if someone had said something mean about my daughter,” Obama said.

... When Canfield showed Obama a hat and coat belonging to Truman hanging beyond the foyer, the Illinois senator sounded positively nostalgic for the days when he could wander the streets without a tailing crew of media and security.

“The thing that I envy most about Truman was that when he was in the White House, he could go out and take a walk. He could put on that fedora and take a stroll, without someone following him,” he said — as the milling crowd outside waited to swarm him when he left the house.

fakta

An archaeological dig near Venice has unearthed the 16th-century remains of a woman with a brick stuck between her jaws — evidence, experts say, that she was believed to be a vampire, The Associated Press reports
The unusual burial is thought to be the result of an ancient vampire-slaying ritual. It suggests the legend of the mythical bloodsucking creatures was tied to medieval ignorance of how diseases spread and what happens to bodies after death, The AP reports.

gosif or fakta

Her modeling career originally began when she was cast in a lingerie spread for FHM in December 2002. The magazine later reported that following the submission, almost one-third of their mail was from readers demanding more photos of Vida. She was called back for more photo shoots and became "FHM's Model of the Year" in 2004

legenda musik

Evanescence didirikan oleh Amy Lee dan mantan gitaris Ben Moody. Mereka berdua berjumpa pada sebuah kamp anak muda di Arkansas, di mana Moody mendengar Lee bermain lagu I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That) karangan Meat Loaf pada sebuah piano.

Kemudian pasangan ini menemukan bahwa mereka sama-sama tertarik terhadap Jimi Hendrix dan Björk. Kemudian mereka bersama-sama menulis lagu (yang pertama adalah "Solitude" oleh Amy Lee, diikuti dengan "Understanding" oleh Ben Moody, "Give Unto Me" oleh Amy Lee. Kemudian lagu keempat yang mereka tulis adalah "My Immortal"). Lagu-lagu ini lalu dirubah sedikit secara lirik dan musiknya oleh Ashley Hincher. Oleh karena itu nama keduanya ditemukan pada bagian credit.

Untuk beberapa saat, mereka tidak dapat menemukan musisi lainnya yang bisa bermain dengan mereka dan tidak memiliki dana untuk membayar asistensi profesional, jadi mereka tidak bisa bermain musik secara live. Namun dua lagu mereka "Understanding" dan "Give Unto Me", bisa masuk tangga musik lokal dan permintaan untuk pertunjukan live mulai meningkat. Setelah grup ini akhirnya bisa berpentas, mereka akhirnya menjadi salah satu pementasan terpopuler di daerah mereka. Mereka berpentas menggunakan beberapa nama termasuk "Childish Intentions" dan "Stricken," sebelum memutuskan untuk menggunakan nama "Evanescence" (yang artinya adalah "berpudar", atau "menguap seperti asap"). Amy pernah berkata bahwa ia menyenangi nama ini karena nama ini misterius dan gelap dan meninggalkan kesan yang mendalam dalam benak seseorang. Oleh karena itu ia menginginkan nama ini.

Karya-karya awal

Album perdana mereka, Origin (dirilis tahun 2000), kurang dikenal oleh masyarakat pecinta musik. Evanescence juga merilis dua EP, yang sekarang sangat dicari-cari para kolektor karena sangat langka: Evanescence EP (1998) di mana ada sekitar 100 eksemplar dan, Sound Asleep EP, yang juga dikenal sebagai Whisper EP (1999), dan terbatas pada 50 eksemplar.

Tidak aneh, Origin dan kedua EP ini mengandung versi-versi demo dari beberapa lagu yang ada di album perdana mereka. Bahkan, rekaman lagu "My Immortal" juga ditemukan di Fallen selain terdapat di Origin, dikurangi beberapa instrumen pengiring. Namun Amy Lee sendiri menganggap bahwa rekaman ini bukan sebuah album yang sejati namun hanya sebuah kumpulan lagu-lagu demo (di mana beberapa di antara tidak dipentaskan secara baik) yang dikirimkan ke perusahaan-perusahaan musik. Hanya 2.500 eksemplar dari rekaman ini yang pernah dibuat dan dengan ini membatasi availability-nya hanya kepada beberapa yang mujur bisa membelinya pada tahun-tahun awal atau kepada mereka yang bersedia membayar ratusan dolar. Sebagai reaksi, Amy Lee bahkan mendorong para penggemar untuk men-download-nya dari internet pada sebuah wawancara.

Tidak mengherankan beberapa perusahaan pembajakan menjual rekaman-rekaman bajakan Origin, biasanya sebagai "rilis ulang Rusia" dan pada harga yang tinggi. Oleh karena itu disarankan bahwa para penggemar seyogyanya jangan membuang uang mereka pada sebuah eksemplar Origin karena kemungkinan besar bukan eksemplar asli dan tidak menguntungkan grup ini lagi.

Fallen
Gambar sampul Fallen

Album utama pertama mereka "Fallen" sudah mendapatkan penghargaan 6x Platinum, dan berada selama 43 pada Billboard Top 10. Lalu lebih dari 12 juta eksemplar album ini laku terjual.

Single Evanescence utama yang pertama; "Bring Me to Life" merupakan sebuah dobrakan dunia bagi band ini dan mencapai urutan ke-5 pada Billboard Hot 100 di Amerika Serikat, sementara "My Immortal" yang sama-sama populer mencapai urutan ke-7 di AS. Lalu dimasukkannya lagu-lagu ini dalam soundtrack film Daredevil menolong mereka menjadi populer dan membuat posisi mereka di dunia musik menjadi kokoh.

Lalu single "Bring Me to Life" juga mendapatkan pengakuan untuk band ini pada Grammy Awards of 2004, di mana band ini diberi penghargaan Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. Pada waktu yang sama, Evanescence juga diberi penghargaan Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

Dua single dari album Fallen yang dirilis termasuk "Going Under" dan "Everybody's Fool", yang juga dibuatkan video klip.

Lalu lagu Breathe No More yang sebelumnya belum dirilis, termasuk pada soundtrack film Elektra yang dirilis tahun 2005.

Kepergian Ben

Pada 22 Oktober 2003, Moody secara tiba-tiba meninggalkan band ini, padahal sedang berada di tengah-tengah tur Eropa. Alasannya mula-mula yang dilaporkan karena mereka mengalami "perbedaan secara kreatif." Namun pada sebuah wawancara beberapa bulan kemudian, [1], Amy Lee berkata: "Kami mencapai suatu titik di mana jika tidak sesuatu halpun berubah, kami tidak akan bisa membuat album kedua."

Setelah saat itu, Amy Lee pernah berkata bahwa kepergiaan Ben hampir bisa dikatakan melegakan karena keberadaannya menciptakan ketegangan dalam band. Terry Balsamo dari band Cold mengganti Moody. Belum lama ini Moody mengaku dalam sebuah wawancara bahwa ia mengidap bipolar disorder, namun meninggalkan terapi narkoba dan alkohol ketika ia sedang terlihat pertikaian dengan Evanescence. Ia juga berkata bahwa lagu yang ditulisnya ketika kepergiannya secara tiba-tiba dan berjudul "10/22", mula-mula ditulisnya untuk menjelek-jelekkan Amy Lee. Namun setelah berintrospeksi Moody membeberkan bahwa ia sebenarnya membicarakan dirinya sendiri dan bukan Lee.

Gulat

Walaupun bukanlah sebuah bagian penting dari karirnya, beberapa karya Evanescence pernah dipakai di dunia gulat. Sebelum lagu "Bring Me To Life" dirilis di Amerika Serikat, lagu itu sudah menjadi musik tema untuk WWE No Way Out 2003. Christian Cage, seorang pegulat, memakai versi lain dari lagu "My Last Breath" sebagai musik iringannya.
Kontroversi Kekristenan

Pada awalnya Evanescence dianggap sebagai bagian dari Christian rock dan bahkan album mereka dijual di toko-toko Kristen. Namun para anggota band ini sudah menyatakan bahwa mereka tidak mau dianggap sebagai sebuah grup Christian rock, apalagi setelah Moody memaki-maki pada sebuah wawancara. Tidak lama kemudian toko-toko Kristen menghilangkan album-album mereka dari rak-rak mereka. Setelah itu Amy Lee menyatakan bahwa mereka BUKAN sebuah grup Kristen dan akan menghargai apabila gosip ini akan berhenti.

Namun biar bagaimanapun terdapat bukti bahwa Evanescence merupakan sebuah grup Kristen dan hal ini terutama terlihat atau terdengar jelas pada lagu mereka "Tourniquet".
Persamaan

Band ini seringkali disamakan dengan band nu-metal seperti Linkin Park, P.O.D. dan Papa Roach, namun banyak penggemar yang menolak karena persamaan ini kurang tepat karena hanya berdasarkan lagu "Bring Me to Life" saja, yang juga menampilkan vokalis 12 Stones; Paul McCoy yang bermain musik bergaya rap pada beberapa bagian pendek lagu ini. Namun hal ini tidaklah representatif bagi kebanyakan lagu-lagu mereka, baik di album Fallen maupun karya-karya mereka yang lebih awal. Evanescence juga disamakan dengan band-band seperti In Winter, Lacuna Coil, Nightwish, dan Within Temptation, yang semuanya memakai vokalis wanita dan tema-tema lirik yang gelap, namun band-band terakhir ini biasa dianggap symphonic metal/gothic metal dan bukan rock.

Pada saat pementasan secara live, Evanescence seringkali memainkan lagu-lagu cover dari band-band semasa seperti A Perfect Circle, The Offspring, Garbage, Metallica, dan Korn. Mereka juga pernah mementaskan lagu-lagu grup rock alternatif yang sudah dibubarkan seperti Soundgarden dan The Smashing Pumpkins.

Anggota band
Anggota terkini

* Amy Lee - vokal dan piano
* Tim McCord - bass
* Terry Balsamo - gitar

Mantan anggota

* Rocky Gray - drum (pisah Mei 2007)
* John LeCompt - gitar (pisah Mei 2007)
* William Boyd - bass (pisah Juni 2006)
* Ben Moody - gitar utama (salah satu pendiri - pisah Oktober 2003)
* David Hodges - keyboards (pisah December 2002)

terlibat narkotika

Los Angeles - Kirsten Dunst revealed Monday that she checker herself in earlier this year to an exclusive rehabilitation center to battle depression rather than an addiction to alcohol or drugs.

"I didn't go to Cirque Lodge for alcohol abuse or drug abuse," Dunst told a reporter for Entertainment TV. "I went there for depression."

The 26-year-old Hollywood star said it took her six months to make the decision. "I was struggling, and I had the opportunity to go somewhere and take care of myself," she said. "I was fortunate to have the resources to do it.

Dunst said she was going public with the medical matter to put an end to rumours about her personal problems and to shine a spotlight on the fact that depression can strike anyone.

"We're all in the same boat together," she said. "Depression is pretty serious and should not be gossiped about." (dpa)

gosssif

Kirsten DunstMelbourne, May 28 : American actress Kirsten Dunst has revealed that she checked into rehab to seek treatment for depression, not drugs.

Speaking out for the first time about her admission to rehab, the ‘Spiderman’ star revealed that her rehab stint came after months of feeling low.

“It was a good six months before I decided to go away,” News. com. au quoted Dunst, as telling E! Online.

“I was struggling, and I had the opportunity to go somewhere and take care of myself. I was fortunate to have the resources to do it. My friends and family thought it was a good idea, too," she added.

The 26-year-old actress had checked into the Utah treatment centre in February without revealing the reasons behind the stint, which in turn sparked off rumours the she was also struggling with drugs.

“There’s been a lot of misrepresentation about what is going on in my life, and it’s been very painful for my friends and family,” she said.

“Everyone feels like they have to defend me. They hear the rumours, and it puts them in a defensive position. Now that I’m feeling stronger, I was prepared to say something,” she added.

A source close to Dunst also revealed she was into depression.

"She does drink and she does have wild nights, but that was never the root of her issues. She couldn't control her depression," the source said. (ANI)

profesi

Kirsten Dunst

Interview By: Benjamin Lee
BenjaminLee@TheCinemaSource.com

Managing to graduate from a mere love interest to an integral part of the story, Kirsten Dunst returns for the third, and possibly final, part of the superhero series that has become a box-office behemoth for the 21st century.

The New Jersey native has been acting for 18 of her 25 years now, first breaking out in the 1994 thriller Interview with a Vampire before finally coming of age in the 1999 drama The Virgin Suicides. Her adult career has also included Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Marie Antoinette and Elizabethtown, although her defining mark will forever be her work in the Spider-Man trilogy.

What differentiates her Mary-Jane character, going through yet more relationship crises with Peter Parker in Spider-Man 3, from for example Katie Holmes in Batman Begins is her importance to the overall story. It may well be the reason why the Spidey movies have transcended in a way that no other superhero franchise ever has. Dunst admits that it�s the filmmakers refusal to turn it into just another love interest role that keeps bringing her back.

�Its always been important for Sam [Raimi] and I to make Mary-Jane a brave character,� she tells. �Obviously I have the damsel in distress card which just comes with the job but then we also wanted her to have a career and to be doing things and be a little active in this one. I mean I got to throw a cinder block which was exciting!� It�s the action side of things though that Dunst tends to be less interested in. �I�ve been very familiar with it now and it�s not my favorite aspect of making these films,� she confesses.

In Spider-Man 3, we see Mary Jane�s career as a Broadway actress take off and get to see Dunst sing for real. �I was just happy that Mary Jane finally got a gig!� she laughs. �It was fun. I had to pre-record it so I had to lip-synch. I�ve sang before in films so it wasn�t new.� In the film however we see Mary-Jane get some terrible notices for her performance. It�s something Dunst can identify with. �I can relate to those feelings because I�ve had them before,� she admits. �But I�m in a place now where I really don�t care.�

She has every right not to care anymore. Third time round she�s triple the star she once was. However her status as one of Hollywood�s leading ladies hasn�t changed her down-to-earth attitude when it comes to returning to the fold. �Well this is just like coming back to a family who just keeps getting to know you better,� she informs. �So for me I�ve always looked forward to making these films. When I know they�re coming around, it�s a nice safety net in a way.� It�s the relationship with director Sam Raimi that Dunst looks ...

Kristen dunst

Name: Kirsten Dunst
Birth Name: Kirsten Caroline Dunst
Height: 5' 7"
Sex: F
Nationality: American
Birth Date: April 30, 1982
Birth Place: Point Pleasant, New Jersey, USA
Profession: actress
Education: Notre Dame High School, a private Catholic high school, in Los Angeles (graduated in May 2000)
Relationship: Jake Gyllenhaal (actor; born December 19, 1980; dated from 2002- 2004), Ben Foster (actor; born October 29, 1980; dated from August 2000-March 2001), Jake Hoffman (actor; born March 20, 1981; son of actor Dustin Hoffman; dating as of 1998; broke up)
Father: Klaus Dunst (medical-services exec; separated)
Mother: Inez Dunst (former art-gallery owner)
Brother: Christian Dunst (born in 1987)
Claim to fame: as Claudia in Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)