I’m back?

8 12 2010

Well it is the middle of finals week and I currently cannot sleep. It is 1:52 am and I have got nothing to do so I figured since it has been quite awhile since I have even thought about my blog that I would give it some much needed attention. I am not sure if I will even keep up with it, my track record speaks for itself, but I have got nothing better to do. I keep contemplating the direction I want to go with my blog. Do I stick with random entertainment posts or do I go more personal and update on my life at the moment? Random topics that currently spark my interest? Who knows? I am all over the place these days but for this post I will leave you with two things: a book recommendation and things I am currently looking forward to.

I recently read The Death of Josseline: Immigration Stories from the Arizona Borderlands by Margaret Regan for a class at school and loved it. So much in fact that I finished this bad boy in one day. To be honest I was not looking forward to it but was pleasantly surprised at how suddenly I became fascinated with the immigration debate.  As most of you know illegal immigration is very relevant today, especially in Arizona, and is considered a top 5 issue when it comes to national politics. Margaret Regan, one of the nations leading journalists on immigration, chronicles various immigration stories over a ten year period at the Arizona-Mexico border. The book has no bias, it documents stories from immigrants detained by border patrol, residents of border towns, humanitarians, and even border patrol agents themselves. The book really puts into perspective how serious of an issue this has become. I had no idea until I read this book that thousands of people are dying at the U.S. Mexico border. Also you don’t ever hear about things such as the possible environmental implications of U.S. enforcement policy. This book addresses all these topics and many more. It is easy to be so disconnected from it all when you live hundreds of miles away from the border. Whatever political party you identify with, this book is a great read and worth checking out.

I know it may be five months away but I am so flippin excited for Scream 4. (You can check out my previous blog on the other three movies here).  Scream 4 combines two of my all time favorite things: getting screamed (being killed by ghostface) and Kristen Bell. Unfortunately I think her role may be a character in a movie-within-the-movie but still any movie with Kristen Bell has my approval. (side note: if you like Kristen Bell you have to check out Veronica Mars ASAP).

Award Season has officially begun! This is another thing I am looking forward to. Grammy nominations have already been announced so maybe you will see a predictions post from me in the near future. I have to get one thing off my chest now though… What the crap was the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences thinking when they decided to give Katy Perry a Album of the Year nomination? She has a song called Hummingbird Heartbeat for pete’s sake. Over it. Golden Globe and Oscar nominations come out in a month or two and that is what I am really looking forward to. I will have a lot of movies to watch this Christmas break. It is my goal to have seen all the best picture nominees before the show.

Speaking of Christmas break… I am super stoked for Christmas! Friends will be coming home and all the good movies come out around the holidays. I am going to be busy. I cannot wait to go to Dovewood Court, watch Christmas Vacation on repeat, and spend time with family and friends.





Happy Birthday Lady Gaga

28 03 2010

So it has been awhile since my last post. I am really bad about this whole consistency thing, but it’s my blog so I can do whatever I want, right? Today is Lady Gaga’s 24th Birthday. So in honor of this special occasion I have decide to put together some of my favorite things Lady Gaga.

The Monster Ball – Bill Graham Civic Center San Fransisco, CA – This was the best concert I have been too. I have been to a lot of shows and have never seen so much energy in one room. Lady Gaga is a master of performance art and I cannot wait until The Monster Ball arena tour comes to San Jose!

Endfest – Raley Field Sacramento, CA -  This is where I was first introduced to everything that is Lady Gaga. Sure I had heard her songs on the radio but my transformation into a “monster” started right here.

Lady Gaga on SNL

Lady Gaga Cookies – click the picture to check out the entire collection.

The Doggie Gaga Project -  click the photo to check out the entire Doggie Gaga project gallery from photographer Jesse Freidlin

Lady Gaga ft. Beyonce Telephone Music Video

President Obama opens for Lady Gaga at Human Rights Campaign dinner


Jason Mecier’s Lady Gaga trash mosaic portrait – click the picture for more info

Ryan Singer’s Valedictorian Speech “Ode to Gaga”

Gagadaily.com – mine and Lady Gaga’s favorite fansite





52nd Annual Grammy Awards

31 01 2010

THE GRAMMY’S ARE TODAY! If you don’t know by now I am a huge award show fan. Why you ask? Well other than the fact that I love entertainment, I think its great to be able to recognize not only artists success but also various achievements in the music industry.  Instead of posting my predictions for the Grammy’s (the list would be way too long, 109 categories in 29 fields) I decided I would post who I would like to see win in the four main categories of the show.  These four awards are great not only because the represent the best of the year but they also are not restricted by genre.

Album of the Year
I Am… Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé
The E.N.D., The Black Eyed Peas
The Fame, Lady Gaga
Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux Kings, Dave Matthews Band
Fearless, Taylor Swift

Lets face it, love her or not Lady Gaga was everywhere in 2009. The Fame has been on the Billboard 200 charts for 65 weeks now and still holds the number 3 position! On top of that the album has gone 2x platinum and has sold over 8 million copies. Lastly the album produced 4 hit singles, with “Poker Face” and “Just Dance” ranking 2nd and 3rd on Billboard’s Hot 100 year end chart. Taylor Swift may have sold the most albums in 2009 but my vote goes to Gaga.

Record of the Year
“Halo,” Beyoncé
“I Gotta Feeling,” The Black Eyed Peas
“Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon
“Poker Face,” Lady Gaga
“You Belong With Me,” Taylor Swift

When I was younger I always got confused as to the difference between Record and Song of the Year. Record of the Year goes to the artist and producer of a particular song. It is the recording of the song and not the song itself. This award usually goes to the most successful song of the year. In terms of the charts “Poker Face” was the most successful song based on radio airplay. However the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” spent and impressive 14 weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Based on my dislike for the Peas, I am also rooting for Gaga to win Record of the Year. Plus this past year no one could escape the infectious robotic hook of “Poker Face.”

Song of the Year
“Poker Face,” Lady Gaga
“Pretty Wings,” Maxwell
“Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It),” Beyoncé
“Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon
“You Belong With Me,” Taylor Swift

Song of the Year is awarded to the songwriter who actually created the song.  This award has nothing to do with the recording but instead for the individual song written. With past winners such as Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida”  and U2′s “Beautiful Day” I feel like “Use Somebody” would be a good fit. The other nominees, excluding Maxwell, songs sure are catchy but not very substantial lyrically. While many critics predict a “Single Ladies” win, I am pulling for Kings of Leon.

Best New Artist
Zac Brown Band
Keri Hilson
MGMT
Silversun Pickups
The Ting Tings

While I am not expecting a win for MGMT, I truly believe they deserve it. Their album, Oracular Spectacular, was one of my favorites this year. The album was ranked by Rolling Stone as the 18th Best Album of the Decade.  Additionally the albums two big hits “Time to Pretend” and “Kids” were ranked 11th and 46th respectively as the Best Songs of the Decade.





Favorite Movies of 2009

18 01 2010

So I know I am a little late on this one but I thought I would share my favorite movies of 2009. So here they are in no particular order.





Golden Globes

17 01 2010

So many of you know I am really big on pop culture and this year I really got into film and have decided to share my predictions for the 2010 Golden Globes. I have not seen all the films nominated in every category (I have seen over 20 of them) but I have seen all the best picture nominees for both drama and comedy or musical, except Nine (which apparently was not so good.)

I also must note that I was more focused on the Film nominees rather than Television.

So here is my list

BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
Up in the Air

BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
It’s Complicated

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

BEST DRAMATIC ACTOR
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

BEST DRAMATIC ACTRESS
Carey Mulligan, An Education

BEST ACTOR, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Matt Damon, The Informant!

BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mo’Nique, Precious

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Up

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE PICTURE
Broken Embraces

BEST SCREENPLAY
Inglourious Basterds

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Avatar

BEST SONG
“The Weary Kind,” Crazy Heart

BEST TV SERIES, DRAMA
Mad Men

BEST TV SERIES, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Glee

BEST ACTRESS, TV DRAMA
Anna Paquin, True Blood

BEST ACTOR, TV DRAMA
Jon Hamm, Mad Men

BEST ACTOR, TV MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

BEST ACTRESS, TV MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie

BEST MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Grey Gardens

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Jessica Lange, Grey Gardens

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Brendan Gleeson, Into the Storm
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Jane Lynch, Glee

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother





Scream Weekend

21 08 2009

What is Scream Weekend you ask? Simple, each night this weekend a group of friends and I watched one of the Scream films. First off let me start by telling you the escapade it was to rent these movies. I go to the local Blockbuster to rent all three but they only had scream 2 and 3. I asked if they had the original but nope they do not even carry it in the store which was surprising to me since they had 2 and 3. So I call Hollywood video and they do not carry it either. I call Blockbuster in Folsom and still no luck, however they told me Blockbuster in Roseville does. So at this point I am just ready to buy the movie at Target because I was running out of time and we planned on watching the movies that night. So I browse Target and no luck and I could go to Walmart but that was a bit of a drive so I call Hollywood video in Cameron Park. They have the film! So I finally am holding the movie at the checkout counter and apparently my family closed our account without notifying me, so I had to get my own account. It was a hassle but I finally had the movie. Side note of the films: Who doesn’t love a masked killer and an all star 90′s cast? Come on were talking Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, Drew Barrymore, Jamie Kennedy, David Arquette, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jada Pinkett Smith, and the list keeps going. Need I say more?

Scream Movie Poster

So Friday night we watched the original Scream. I have to say that the opening scene with Drew Barrymore is probably my favorite scene out of all 3 films. It still freaks me out every time I watch it (I posted the clip at the end of this post, check it out.) The original is also my favorite film of the Scream “trilogy” becuase it’s the original. It’s the first time we are introduced to the masked killer and also they do a great job at making every character a suspect. You are constantly guessing who could the killer be.

Scream 3 Movie Poster

Saturday night was Scream 2 which many critics agreeing that it was funnier and scarier than the first. Twice the laughs and twice the screams, we were in for a treat. However in my opinion Scream 2 was a lot funnier then the first (mainly because Jada Pinkett Smiths line “B****, hang up the phone and star-69 his ass!”) but I don’t think it was much scarier.

Scream 3 Movie Poster

Sunday night Scream 3. Welcome to the final act. Definitely the scariest of all 3! Also the killer in my opinion was quite unexpected and this one had a crazy plot. The writer, Kevin Williamson, did a good job at coming up with the story. This one however was not my favorite because some of the stuff was a little confusing. I still don’t get how they were working on Stab 3 set in Woodsboro. Wouldn’t that have been in Stab 1? Sorry for those who haven’t seen it you have no clue what I am talking about. Overall though Scream Weekend was a success. Good times making memories and who knows maybe I’ll pull out my old Scream mask for Halloween this year.

Scream Killer

Scream 4 (2010)

A fourth movie was announced by The Weinstein Company in July 2008. On update, the Arquettes have confirmed they are returning. Jamie Kennedy has stated he will be in the film, despite his character being killed off in the second film. Wes Craven said that he wouldn’t mind directing this film, but it would take a very good script to get him back. Craven also went on to say, “It would take it being really as good a script as the first one was, and the pay day reflects what I’ve done for that company.” Not only has Williamson the writer of the first two films, and story of the third, been hired to pen a draft for the fourth film, but also a new trilogy. Recently, Craven stated that it isn’t very probable that Neve Campbell will return. Therefore, a younger cast is likely to be set. In recent interviews Campbell has been stating herself she is currently in negotiations to star in Scream 4.

Clip of Drew Barrymore Scream 1 Opening

I got the one that’s a bit short so it leaves you hanging, go rent the movie (if you can find it!)









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