Blog: Controlling Anger Starts Early

A Fairfax City blogger talks to her children about the death of William Hays O'Brien following the recent road-rage dispute.

A Stanley Cup Party for Naked Zombies in Walmart's Parking Lot? (You Should Really Let Your Neighbors Know)

Whether you're a business owner holding an event or just someone with something to say, here's how to share it with everyone in town.

No, as far as I've heard, there are no zombies at Walmart or anywhere else in town. But that, of course, doesn't mean you have nothing to tell your neighbors. And if you do, I'm here to help. Allow me to introduce myself: My name is Jessie Biele, and I'm your Community Engagement Editor.  What do I do? I help you reach your neighbors, right here on Patch. And why do I do that? Because Patch doesn't just talk to you; Patch gets neighbors talking to each other, too. So, if you're a business owner with an event to announce, a school teacher who wants to highlight student achievement, a gardener who wants to share tips to get the whole city blooming or a photographer who wants to share some great pix, I'm here to help. Posting announcements, …

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Jessie Biele

3:28 pm on Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Thank you Michael!!   more ›

Movie Reviews by Cinema Siren

Movie Review: 'Trance' a Hypnotic Head Trip Worth Taking

Rated R for language, violence, nudity.

  Director Danny Boyle, fresh off being dubbed a national hero for his triumph directing the Olympic ceremonies in London, took another big directorial risk with his new release Trance.  It is a frenetic, haunting genre-bender that grabs hold of and keeps your attention from its first moments to its last with such force you'll feel like you're falling through Alice's rabbit hole after being hurled into it by two burly six-foot bunnies in kilts.  This cinematic journey is one filled with confusion, illusions, violence and moral ambiguities, and not a head trip everyone will be willing to surrender to or appreciate. Much like the somewhat similarly convoluted Inception, it is a love it or hate it kind of flick. Whether it will be enjoyable …

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Police Presence in Greenbriar Rattles Residents

Locals turned to social media to share information as police surrounded what they believed was an armed man parked in a silver motorhome.

When several police vehicles, motorcycle officers and fire and emergency vehicles filled the Greenbriar neighborhood Tuesday afternoon, the first move by many locals was to social media to get a grasp of what was happening. Around 4 p.m., Fairfax County police began to surround a silver motorhome parked in one of the neighborhood's cul-de-sac after a 911 call suggested a man was inside with a gun case. Ultimately, police made contact with the man inside and determined he posed no threat to the community, but for about an hour many residents had little to no information about what was going on. A woman who works in an office building near Greenbriar first tipped Patch off to the situation, calling for more information about the scene. …

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Petersen: 'Anti-Texting Bill Identifies Problem, Does Not Solve It'

Virginia Sen. Chap Petersen speaks out against police power in bill headed to governor's desk.

Editor's Note: Written by Sen. Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax). One of the biggest public safety concerns over the past few years has been “texting while driving."  There have been countless accidents, including fatal ones, caused by foolish people who send texts while operating a moving motor vehicle.  It’s hard to think of a more dangerous activity. As with all public safety problems, the General Assembly of Virginia has the answer.  Or at least an answer. In 2010, we outlawed “driving while texting” and made it a civil infraction.  As noted before in this column, that was a mistake.  By establishing a lesser penalty for “DWT,” we essentially removed that activity from the list of “reckless”driving offenses.  So drivers who caused a fatal …

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'The Hobbit': An Only Sometimes Unexpected Cinematic Journey

Santa brings a very mixed bag to blockbuster franchise.

This holiday, with the expected blockbuster franchise The Hobbit (it has already broken records for midnight release of a movie more than two-and-a-half hours long) Santa brings a very mixed bag. First, let's talk about the coal-worthy aspects of the An Unexpected Journey. Unless you are a slave to technology, spend most of your days playing video games or crave seeing the next big thing, avoid the mercifully limited number of screens (10 percent) showing it in 3D filmed at 48 frames instead of the usual 24. Director Peter Jackson argues the high frame rate technology gives the movie a sense of reality, like "looking into the real world." Unfortunately, while it brightens the often-muddled look of 3D, it also points up every quirk and flaw…

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Welcome Our Newest Blogger: Unified Prevention Coalition

Fairfax County nonprofit will discuss issues with teen violence, drinking and substance abuse.

Today we get to welcome another new blogger to the Fairfax City Patch family: The Unified Prevention Coalition. UPC is a nonprofit comprised of more than 50 community partners in Fairfax County, whose goal is "to prevent violence, alcohol, and other drug use by youth and young adults in Virginia’s most populous county. Our hallmark is a commitment to community collaboration—more than 50 community organizations partner with us as health advocates in a shared vision of making our community a better place." It's behind several countywide campaigns each year, including "Parents Who Host, Lose the Most," "Perils of College Drinking Culture," Parents Reaching Out To Educate Communities Together (P.R.O.T.E.C.T.), "Saturday Night in the Suburbs" …

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Top 10 Christmas Cartoons of All Time

Cinema Siren's top picks for 2012.

Last year I offered my top 10 Christmas cartoons for the first time. As an animation art gallery owner of 25 years, and an animation historian, I have been studying and enjoying them a long time.   What an uproar I caused! I got a veritable avalanche of emails about the cartoons I "couldn't possibly overlook." While I stand by all last year's excellent offerings, I do have some amendments this year. Here is the list with some considered additions and subtractions.   The cartoons listed below are all classics and are wonderful opportunities for holiday viewing with friends and family. You can enjoy them while chomping down highly caloric peppermint bark, or swilling down highly spiked eggnog!   #10. Arthur Christmas - 2011  Such a new movie…

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Are You Choosing Between Exercise and Nutrition to Lose Weight?

I hope you’re not having to make this choice.

“Hmmm... Should I eat healthy or exercise to lose weight?” By 2015, nearly a third of people in the world will be overweight, and many will be asking themselves that very question. After all, there are only so many hours in the day, and priorities often turn a bedroom treadmill into a $1,500 clothing rack. Well, choosing between healthy nutrition and exercise to lose those extra inches is a subject that shouldn't be taken lightly.  “Generally, rising obesity incidence is thought to result from the current Western lifestyle, in which activity levels and diet deviate substantially from the conditions under which our species’ metabolic physiology evolved,” according to a recent article posted on PLOS One, a peer-reviewed open-access journal. …

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