The LOST finale was well worth waiting for. I very much enjoyed the purgatory spin on the glimpses of the alternate timeline we looked at during the final season. The mythological backdrop direction answers all the questions that smart viewers should have still had, without coming right out and saying it.
This final Lost episode was perfect, if you were a watcher of the show on a regular basis, which most haters of the finale clearly were not. Therefore, in my opinion, those who didn’t like it are probably most likely ones who didn’t really watch the show and probably just jumped on for the finale. These are the mainstreamers who really should have no say, as they do not have the full story arch in mind when they attempt to critique it.
All the important stuff was covered. The original of the isle was the only thing left a mystery, and that is totally fine. Would it have been better if someone came out and said, “Oh the island was a space ship,” or, “Oh the island was cursed place and the gate to hell,” ??? The show was clearly science fiction. No explanation is necessary, and to do so would discredit the charm of the story.
The other timeline is season 6 where the plane had never crashed was clearly purgatory. Whether it was all in Jack’s head until the spirits met up in the church, or a collective spirit world awaiting the afterlife, it didn’t matter.
For the non-thinkers, Christian Shepard came right out and explained it. Everything on the island was real. You can;t get more clear than that.
My overall thought on LOST as a whole is it clearly had a start, a middle, and an end. It was a great show that continued to make you think, even in the last episode.
QUESTION: How many other shows today make you think? How many other shows on television command their viewers to create theories and try to answer mysteries within it like LOST did? ANSWER: Very few. Today’s television has evolved into mindless crap like reality shows and competitive crap like American idol that involve very little thinking to watch, so little they are mindless.
I thank LOST for six years of daring to provide a show for the thinkers, and not a show that spelled everything out in black and white, to the mindless viewers who wouldn’t like it anyhow.
Quite often I get the uncomfortable question from curious brides and grooms about tipping. I always say the same thing. “It is optional at weddings. A tip for any service is appreciated, but usually not at all expected. Just tip if you were really really happy with your outcome.”
I did a little looking around on the net to see what other people say about wedding gratuity. Before sharing my findings below, I have read that for the most part, I am right. Tips are a voluntary thing, and you should really use your discretion.
So, how do you make the decision?
DO YOUR HOMEWORK – First off, if you are thinking about tipping, you may want to find out from your vendors if, tipping is allowed at all. There are many services, caterers for one, that include the gratuity for their staff directly in their quoted price, so they sometimes actually discourage tipping. In this economy, be sure not to double tip!
Giving wedding professionals and vendors a tip is completely up to the couple, how happy they are and how much they can afford. There is no percentage, if any, as you see expected by restaurants.
All tips should be given in cash. If the person serving you is an employee of the company, their tip should be in a separate envelope, so that the business doesn’t try to absorb it.
Tips should be given just before the party ends. That way you can judge how much to give, according to the job they did for you.
DOLLAR GUIDELINE ACCORDING TO SERVICES PROVIDED:
Limousine Drivers – 10-15% of the limousine bill, given at the end of his/her service.
Valet Parking Attendants – 50 cents to $1.00 per car, is about right.
Disc Jockey – When your guests compliment the reception later, remember it was the DJ that had created a big part of the fun stuff. While it is not expected, if there is one DJ, $50-100.00, isn’t totally unheard of. If you have two DJs, some people give each person $50.00 in separate envelopes. It’s really up to you, as, again, there is no need to tip at all.
Albany Wedding DJ
Photographer / Videographers – The tip is optional. Usually if they own the photography business, no tip is necessary. If they are employees, $50.00 goes to the main photographer and who splits in with any assistant.
The Wait Staff – Usually the tip is worked into the quote. If the tip is not in the contract, a 15% of the total catering bill is tipped.
Bartenders – 10% of the total liquor bill is normal, if you are not allowing your guests to tip.
Ceremony Musicians – $5-10/hr per person.
Wedding Officiate – Usually you do not tip. You pay the set amount, and offer a donation to the church, if you wish to offer more for their help.
Hopefully, you have a rough idea of what to give now, if you feel the urge to tip.
Again, the amounts above are only examples and are not written in stone. They are, however, what I have found people have suggested to give when you are impressed and overly satisfied with your service provider.
Every bride pictures the day they are to be married as being the perfect-ending of a fairy tale, when they are very young. If you want your big wedding to be a fairy tale come true, why not consider putting just the right theme to it? If you want to set an atmosphere of fantasy, enchantment and fun, then maybe a Cinderella wedding could be just for you!
DARE TO PICK A THEME – If you really want the groom to buy into the helping of planning your wedding, add a theme. From experience, adding any type of theme can really get your Prince Charming to buy into the whole party planning process, as many grooms do not really buy into the planning side. Add a theme, however, and the creative juices start to flow!
DO SOME RESEARCH – So first, you have to do your homework. If you think that a Cinderella theme could work for your wedding, then make sure you re-watch the movie Cinderella, itself. You will see from watching the movie a number of things that can really add to the overall feel.
First off, Cinderella is from a kingdom and the messengers use scrolls. You can send your invitations out with that scroll feel, and also even create something like this for your guestbook. Since you want your guests to really know that they are attending a fairy tale wedding, a nice glass slipper or something from the film should be printed as a background of clip art on the invitations. If you can, also try sealing your envelopes with a royal wax seal.
COLORS – The official colors for the reception should include ivory, light pinks and white. These colors should be used for flowers, linen, and even the clothing. To get that ballroom feel, the bride should shoot for a bell-shaped gown, when possible, if it compliments her body well. She should try to match the style of Cinderella, of course, from Disney, as this is the image that is well-known. The groom should look at black tuxedos with tails.
PROPS – Props are everything and will really sell your theme, no matter what it may be. In this case, props should include, glass slippers, pumpkins and perhaps long red carpets. (At the ceremony, you may even want to have the ring bearer carry the ring inside a glass slipper or pumpkin!)
The venue will also play a good hand in getting the Cinderella feel across. A ballroom with chandeliers and fancy drapery and wall hangings would be the perfect setting for your Cinderella wedding reception theme and your fairy tale coming true. Locally Glen Sanders mansion, might be nice, or any place that has a cascading staircase for a grand entrance, too!
MAKE IT SPARKLE – For that added magical feel, you should use glitter everywhere you can. Table tops with tinsel pieces would be great and you have to make pumpkin couches your centerpieces. Also, small magic wands with stars on the tips provided as party favors would make for some fun pictures, as well. Also, if your budget allows, you may want to shoot for a giant ice statue of a slipper to add to the night.
This new system is all about projecting music further. This means that people hear a song at table four in the front of the room at the same volume that people at table 24 hear it! It is perfect for weddings! The black 2×4 looking thing in the center is a speaker! Compact & sleek, but packs a major punch, with better projection than peavey. Crazy right?!
Today, times are tough. We are seeing traditions broken daily and hard decisions have to be made. Maybe you really want to get married but know that your venue bill will be 15 to 20 times the size of what the DJ bill will be, and you know you can’t afford it. That’s right. Your average wedding venue bill with food is $10,000-$30,000 today! Weel, what can you do?
POTLUCK! BRING YOUR OWN FOOD?!
A Potluck Wedding Can Actually Be Better!
Before you dismiss this as an unacceptable option, let’s look at history. One hundred years ago, there was no prime rib. There were no candy tables. There was no open bar tab. Almost every wedding reception was catered by the guests!
Part of the wedding gift was your loved ones sweating over a hot oven. Then, they would show up with their labors of love bearing a covered dish for all to partake, in the name of the bride and groom.
Another trend of guests bringing their own food to a wedding reception to be shared by all happened a little more than only fifty years ago. In the ‘60s, dematerialization and sharing also was a big part of that generation’s mindset. This bled over into the matrimonial ceremonial trends. At this time, Potluck weddings were about sharing all kinds of things.
Believe it or not, the idea of guests bringing the food to the reception was not low-brow at many points in history. It actually used to be the norm. However, in the “instant gratification” materialist world that we live in, and now with the economic state that our country is in, this trend is making a comeback at weddings.
Here are a number of tips to keep in mind, in order to make the idea of covered dishes work at your reception:
PLANNING A POTLUCK WEDDING – While this is a great idea, there may be some materialistic money-grubbers who will oppose your quest for crockpots. Many wedding halls will not allow you or guests to bring in food or alcoholic beverages. In most cases, this directly affects their bottom line, as providing high end dishes is an integral part of their income and overall profit. In order to have a potlock reception, you will first have to locate an appropriate hall to your liking that allows self-catering, and one that still fits the atmospheric-setting role that you are looking for.
PROMOTING YOUR VISION – Whenever you can, consider a theme! For our house warming, we held what we called a “cultural covered dish party.” You couldn’t just show up with hot dogs and chips. We challenged our guests to recreate and share their favorite ethnic dishes from all around the world.
For our cultural covered dish party, we communicated with out friends and family to see what area their cuisine would come from. Once we heard one country or area was being represented, we might mention that to another person. Then, each guest would bring some really cool things to the table.
One friend could represent Mexico, another could represent Italy, and so on and so forth, so that many different and fun dishes were represented. We then put little flags in front of the dishes, upon receiving them. It felt like Disney’s “It’s a Small World” ride, but much tastier!
Potluck Wedding Dishes Are Fun and Can Be A Great Conversation Starter at Your Party
CHEF TO IMPRESS & RESTRICTIONS – Tell your people to all bring entrees, not side dishes. Push the idea of “CHEF TO IMPRESS!” You always have the handful of loser relatives who want to only bring soda and chips. Make it clear that side dishes will make for a poor spread. Side dishes are very lame and that each guest needs to try and provide at least one entree, with any amount of supporting sides that they wish! If you get entrees across the board, there will be some really great food and fun for all!
TAKE INVENTORY & COMMUNICATE – It is crucial that you make an ongoing list of what guests would like to bring so that you don’t get a dozen meatball dishes, for example, and nobody shows up with some succulent shrimp or chicken! (Gotta have chicken!) Consider using facebook to make communication easy.
TIMING & STORAGE – Let the people plan early. Put your food information/request right on the invitation. When the wedding day finally comes, the best way to organize is to put someone in charge of receiving the food, before the ceremony actually starts.
CROCK POTS – Rule. Enough said.
PREP TEAM & CLEAN UP TEAM – Since there are no caterers waiting on your guests, this does mean that there will be more work that will need to be done on your behalf. It is best to ask for volunteers to man food prep & clean up. With two separate teams, the brunt of work doesn’t fall heavy on one or two people’s shoulders. You will need one group to organize and set up the food, and also another to break down, preserve and get the containers ready to go back to the original owners.
MUSIC – Everybody knows that music makes it better. Food is best consumed with music, so get a DJ! (I know a good one!) Your savings on food allows for even more fun to happen!
DISH PRESENTATION – We don’t want this to look like your average party. Since you are potentially saving thousands on the food bill, you may want to make everything look as classy as possible.
To avoid the stigma that a hodge-podge potluck wedding reception could receive, try and create some kind of uniformity in presentation. Another trick is to elevate entree dishes on your buffet tables with some kind of milk crates or soda riser-trays, then cover the boosters with linen.
If you really want to change people’s minds about being thrifty, stay away from dollar store table cloths to avoid cheap presentation of good food! To remain classy but still save money, if your hall does not provide linens, you can always purchase sale fabric at a discount fabric stores.
If you don’t want to go all the way with a potluck wedding, you could just do potluck desserts!
POTLUCK DESSERTS – Maybe you still want the dinner catered, but love this idea. How about potluck desserts only?!
ADDITIONAL GIFTS ARE OPTIONAL – Remember, since guests are providing the food, it is customary to accept the fact that the dish could be considered the only gift to you, or at least a portion of the gift. Encourage this and embrace it! You are saving thousands of dollars!
Food is love and when prepared by your friends and family, love as well as scrumptious scents will be in the air. The possibilities are endless. People will go out of their ways to really show off their skills, and at the same time, impress you.
Having a successful covered dish wedding reception is all about cooperation and fun with people who are important to you. Your friends and family will love the idea and probably go out of their ways to really make it a spread that will impress everyone.
If done correctly, your wedding reception could turn out to be much better than any catering company could ever deliver.
Custom Decorations For Dishes Can Also Be Fun
A Potluck Wedding Can Actually Be Better!
If you don’t want to go all the way with a potluck wedding, you could just do potluck desserts!
Potluck Wedding Dishes Are Fun and Can Be A Great Conversation Starter at Your Party
East Providence, Rhode Island – On April 18th 2010, the 5th Annual New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame Induction ceremony held its second annual dinner banquet (with the first three ceremonies taking place during wrestling event intermissions.) The New England PWHOF honored twenty international wrestling superstars and personalities for their impact on the professional wrestling in and around New England. Kenny Casanova was inducted for the class of 2010.
DJ Kenny Casanova has been a wrestling personality since 1994. In this realm, Kenny Casanova is a wrestler, a wrestling manager, a ring announcer, and also a color commentator who has provided sports broadcasting voice overs for hundreds of international wrestling shows and DVDs.
Inducted Into the Class of 2010
Kenny’s wrestling and managing (acting as a villianous mouthpiece for “bad guy” wrestlers) was based on crazy showmanship, humor, interacting with the audience, and spontaneous improv when needed. His character was and still is a big success in the professional wrestling world. However, the character eventually also, as you know, morphed into a second brand of entertainment.
“Kenny Casanova” the wrestler is a lounge-lizzard/karaoke-singing wrestler that would sing his own entrance music, as he walked into the ring for a match on a cordless microphone. It was only a matter of time before select wrestling fans wanted “The Karaoke King” for personal appearences. They booked Kenny to MC karaoke parties and events, as a spin off from his staged personna. The party thing caught on, and because Kenny Casanova also has a very musical backgound, the MC / ring announcing hype-man side of him easily transitioned into providing the entire entertainment needed for full-fledged disc jockey gigs, including sweet sixteens, proms and even top-notch weddings.
However, Kenny did not turn his back on the original brand; pro wrestling entertainer.
On April 18Th 2010, the 5TH Annual New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame inducted Kenny Casanova for his impact on the wrestling circuit in the North East.
Two Fan Festivals kicked off the event. On Saturday, a memorabilia and meet-and-greet autograph signing took place to hype up the fans for the next day. Vendor guests included Former ECW Heavyweight Champion Justin Credible, WWE and WCW Superstar Brian Clarke (Adam Bomb aka Wrath), Rick “The Model” Martel, John Cena Sr. (The current WWE Champion’s Father), Matt Bourne aka Doink The Clown, and Barbie Menegan.
Fans were also pleasantly surprised to see Mick Foley (Mankind aka Cactus Jack) do an unannounced drop by run-in on the fun.
Superfly Jimmy Snuka also inducted.
On Sunday, the day of the induction, the Fan Fest meet-and-great was extended. Highlights for fans included pictures and signings with “The Living Legend” Larry Zbysco, Referee Danny Davis, “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka, Ox Baker, Melissa Coates, Lushious Latasha, “Spirit Squad’s” Kenny Dykstra, and Japanese Wrestling Sensation Shockwave The Robot who was added special to the Sunday line up. There was also plenty of food for everyone, on the house. (Mmm… Delicious premium calzones! The Philly steak and cheese calzone was scrumptious!)
Come time for the actual Induction Ceremony itself, the seats were practically sold out with standing room only, with about 200 plus guests. The Class of 2010 New England Pro Wrestling Inductees included some very well known wrestlers:
Superfly Jimmy Snuka (Inducted by Rich Palladino)
Larry Zbyszko (Inducted by Mike Messier)
Dangerous Danny Davis (Inducted by Mike Sparta)
Public Enemy (Inducted by Joel Davis)
Kenny Casanova (Inducted by Referee Todd Taylor)
“Duke of Dorchester” Pete Doherty (Inducted by Peter Riendeau)
"Living Legend" Larry Zbysco, another inductee.
Tony Ulysses (Inducted by Paul Richard)
Angelo, Mario, and Tom Savoldi (Inducted by Brian Webster)
John Rambo (Inducted by Chuckie Manson & Cory Bush)
* John Cena Sr. received The 2010 Manager of The Year Award.
* Robbie Ellis received The 2010 Life Time achievement award
* Referee Tim White received The 2010 “New England Icon” Award
Kenny Casanova was inducted by referee and long time friend, Hotbod Todd Taylor. Taylor roasted Kenny for being a big mark for the business. He cited several ridiculous quick antidotes including Kenny being kicked out of several WWF locker rooms for his shenanigans by Tony Garea and fellow inductee Referee Tim White, as well as scrambling to pick up “Golddust” Mylar chips from an arena floor.
Kenny walked up to what was a rather tame induction to a chant of, “SING! SING! SING!” and decided to turn it up a notch. “The Love Boat” television theme kicked in and Kenny gave the audience what they wanted. He lap danced and serenaded Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka and Lobsterman, then moved towards Larry Zbysco, who sold it hard and ran out the door! Kenny thanked the late Captain Lou Albano for giving him his first opportunity in the business and also thanked Superfly Snuka for singing inappropriate blues songs with him in several locker rooms before shows. Kenny also mentioned how as a baby, he had won a beauty contest where the Pennsylvanian town had dubbed him, “The Duke of Carlisle.” Kenny recalled asking his mother at his first live wrestling event if Pete Doherty, who was also known as “The Duke of Dorchester,” perhaps had won a beauty contest, but then confided that, “after seeing Pete Doherty here today, …I now know the answer.”
Kenny Casanova finally thanked promoter Mike Sparta for booking him on many occasions in New England with WWA wrestling, he thanked Maria and Buttery Bert, then thanked the New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Joe Bruen for the honor.
Recognizing all of New England and the entire east coast, Hall of Fame Commissioner Joe Bruen created the venue because he wanted to recognize North East professional wrestling talent in a public forum for the impact they have had in the area, over the years. “There hasn’t ever been proper recognition for local wrestlers and might have never been,” said Bruen, who himself is a former ring announcer, as well as manager, booker, and promoter.
Again, in his own public forum, Kenny Casanova thanks Joe Bruen for the call.
