Mel and Alf

Natalie Portman started acting at a young age, and she’s went on to obtain a college degree and win herself a Best Actress Oscar. If you’re unfamiliar with her work, I advise starting with the titles listed below, although there are many others to explore. Beautiful and talented, Ms. Portman is sure to be a fixture in Hollywood for a long time.

Cold Mountain (2003) – A Confederate soldier (Jude Law) deserts the military during the Civil War and tries to make it back home to his true love (Nicole Kidman). Portman and Rene Zellweger co-star.

V for Vendetta (2006) – Set in a dystopian Britain of the near future, this adaptation of the Alan Moore work follows a young woman as she falls in with V (Hugo Weaving), a masked freedom fighter who employs lethal means to set the country right. Stunning visuals courtesy of director James McTeigue.

Leon (1994) – Natalie Portman made her feature debut as a 12-year-old girl who takes up residence with a lonely hitman (Jean Reno) after her family is murdered by a rogue cop (Gary Oldman).

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) – Portman rose to stardom in the role of Queen Amidala, the young ruler who would fall in love with the future Darth Vader and give birth to Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. This is the best entry in the second trilogy, mostly because I’m a sucker for anything to do with Boba Fett.

Black Swan (2010) – Portman stars as a ballerina who begins to crack under the pressure while preparing for a production of Swan Lake. Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassell co-star. If you need the Black Swan ending explained, there are a number of online resources to assist you.

Heat (1995) – Al Pacino is a dedicated cop on the trail of a ruthless gang of thieves (led by Robert De Niro). Portman co-stars as his troubled daughter who longs for attention.

The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) – A look at the lives of Queen Anne (Natalie Portman) and Mary Boleyn (Scarlett Johansson), two sisters who shared the affection of Henry VIII of England (Eric Bana).

Thor (2011) – Portman tries her hand at comic book movies with this Marvel Comics release about the arrogant God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth) and his banishment to Earth to learn humility. Anthony Hopkins co-stars as Odin, and the film is directed by Kenneth Branagh.

If you’re into lovely Jewish girls with serious acting chops, then give the films of Natalie Portman a try. She’s worked in multiple genres, and her best years are still ahead of her. Move over, Meryl Streep, because there’s a new acting powerhouse in town.

Uncommon Costumes for Halloween Parties

Uncommon costumes for Halloween and costume parties set you apart from the crowd of people dressing up as sexy ghosts or famous baseball players. The best uncommon costumes stick to the spirit of Halloween without wandering into cliche territory.

Avoiding run of the mill Halloween costumes means you have to think long and hard about your costume and prepare weeks in advance of your Halloween costume party. The most uncommon costumes are sometimes the best. Just remember that Halloween is supposed to be a celebration of the changing seasons, a time to make fun of death and darkness and prepare for the winter months.

Here are some uncommon costume ideas to shake up the crowd at this year’s Halloween party.

Steampunk

The beauty of putting together a steampunk costume is that you combine Victorian-era dress with modern technology. A wool suit with a modern gun and welder’s goggles is a perfect man’s steampunk costume.

Surgeon & Nurse

Couples costumes are kind of “been there, done that”, but a surgeon and nurse combo is fairly uncommon and can be accessorized to make it personal. The more surgical tools and nurse’s accessories you can find the better.

Statue of Liberty

She’s one of the great American icons and we hardly ever think about her. Lady Liberty sits proudly in New York Harbor hoisting the lamp of liberty and aging gracefully. Celebrate your patriotism by finding the most authentic Statue of Liberty costume you can.

Toga

Toga parties were once all the rage. Togas are easy to make and easy to wear, very comfortable no matter if you’re inside at a party or outside Trick or Treating. Instructions for preparing togas are all over the Internet, so grab a sheet and party like a Roman citizen.

Don’t dress up in the same boring old costume this year. Surprise the other guests at your Halloween party and wear an uncommon Halloween costume.

As the name suggests, London Lowball is a card game that is mostly played in Europe and is a lowball stud poker game. Fans of Seven-Card Stud and Razz will understand the basics of the game. London Lowball is a variant of Razz that is played almost exactly the same as Razz, but it has one notable difference: straights and flushes count as high hands against a player, so the lowest possible winning hand is Ace, Two, Three, Four, Six. London Lowball is usually played as a pot-limit game, but the game can be played as a no-limit game as well.

All of the other normal Razz rules are followed in the game. Each player gets two cards face down and one card face up. The person with the highest card up bets first, and play continues clockwise. After the initial round of betting, all other betting rounds are initiated by the player with the lowest hand showing. The player with the best five-card low hand they can make out of their seven total cards wins the game.

It is very important to pay attention to the hands of your opponents in Razz and London Lowball. If you are showing Three, Four, Seven as your up cards, and there are other threes, fours and sevens in the face up hands of other players, then you know that the odds of you pairing up your cards is lower. It is unlikely that any player with a face up pair will end up with a good hand, so you should bet accordingly when players have pairs showing.

Guest post provided by Redkings poker code.