Friday, August 22, 2008
Stage Diving Gone Wrong
I was in a debate with Jynx over whether or not she survived. Jynx says she did, so I guess Travie won't be filing any missing person reports anytime soon.
3OH!3 - Katy Perry stage dive
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Pockets Full of Sunshine and Showers
We knew we had to get there early for good seats. My friend and I wanted to be closer to the stage than we were when we saw Teddy Geiger last year. We got to the park around 4:15 and so did a thunderstorm. We huddled together surrounded by camp children and two girls from the stage crew for almost a half hour. When the storm ended we rushed to get seats and luckily found some in the seventh row. Mom watched the seats while Lauren and I fetched food.
Natasha came onstage at 8PM decked out in a black dress, a purple belt, and cool heels. She, her backup singers, and the band were amazing. When they put on a show, they put on a show! She sang with all her might, as did the backup singers and the band played with passion.
Natasha worked the stage as she moved from one side to another, which made it hard at times to get good photos of her, but I liked the challenge. One of my favorite parts of the show was when she read a sign that said "Natasha, can I sing with you?" and she replied, "You just did. You sounded good."
Natasha got the crowd to stand up, wave their hands, and sing along as she sang a slew of songs from her new album mixed with old favorites and a cover of Madonna's Ray of Light. The last song in the set was Unwritten. As she started singing, the rain started falling, but I kept on filming. I was literally "feeling the rain on [my] skin" and "reaching ... in the distance" to get a good video as the people in front of me started putting up their umbrellas.
Seeing Natasha Bedingfield live was definitely a dream come true and the highlight of my summer. Now one can only wonder how Playland will top this next year. Justin Timberlake anyone?
Here's my vid of Natasha singing Unwritten. Sorry the audio's so sketchy, but you can totally see those people putting up their umbrellas in the front rows.
Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten Live
Sisterhood 2 - Story of My Life
Two weeks ago from today I celebrated my 20th birthday. That was also the day Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 came out. My mom took me to see it as a surprise bday gift. I was glad she did. The movie was awesome and just what I needed. I felt like my life could have fit seamlessly in the storyline.
Sisterhood 2 finds the girls now in colleges scattered around the country. Carmen (America Ferrara) is involved in theatre, Tibby (Amber Tamblyn) is studying film at NYU, Lena (Alexis Bledel) is studying art, and Bridget (Blake Lively) is playing soccer. Each of the four lead actresses does a great job handling what comes her character's way.
Change ::
Everyone has that one friend who hates change, and in this movie, Carmen is that friend. Unfortunately for her, she has to deal with a lot of it. Her mom is now married and pregnant. Plus, her family's moving to a new house and she must leave her childhood home behind. Of all the girls, Carmen is the most dependent on the circle of friends and feels lost without them. When the four friends finally reunite for their Friday night ritual, she is shocked to learn that the other girls made plans for the summer. She just planned to catch up with them all summer. Luckily, a college "friend" is able to get her a job doing backstage work at a summer theatre in Vermont. It's there that Carmen meets Ian (Tom Wisdom), a Brit who gets her to audition for the play.
You totally feel for Carmen. Changes are hard getting used to sometimes and she's so bombarded with them. America pulls this role off well. You feel she could really be the innocent backstage girl one moment and a drama queen the next. (Although, I'm pretty sure America's not much of a drama queen.)
Love ::
At a funeral in Greece Lena finds out that her now former flame, Kostos (Michael Rady), is married with a baby on the way. She's really upset that her first love has moved on so quickly. While trying to take her mind off Kostos, Lena spends her summer taking an art class. It's there that she crosses paths with Leo (Jesse Williams ... a.k.a. my new husband). Did I mention that after Lena meets him, he strips down in front of her in under a minute? He's the nude model for her art class. (So believable. Have you seen that body?) There's no actual nudity, except for the hottest six pack I've ever seen on the big screen. If that doesn't capture your attention, I don't know what will. Of course, Kostos returns with major revelations and Lena must choose between Leo the artist and Kostos her first love. (Lena, go for the abs!)
Lena kind of reminds me of me. I'm not Greek and I can't draw, but temperament-wise we're similar. Plus we both like Leo.
Pregnancy ::
Tibby's story is way more nerve wracking than the other girls'. She loses her v-card to her boyfriend Brian (Leonardo Nam) and of course there's a pregnancy scare. Amber does a great job making the pregnancy scare believable. You feel like the situation's taking place in the real world, not a movie.
Tibby and Brian also break up and he moves on with Lena's younger sister Effie (Lucy Hale). I found that part of the story semi-odd and semi-believable. Why would he go out with Effie? Then again, he'd still be in shock from the pregnancy scare and wouldn't be thinking straight.
Family ::
As we learned in the last movie, Bridget's mom committed suicide. In this movie, Bridge discovers letters from her maternal grandmother that her father kept hidden from her for years. She confronts him and heads to Turkey for the summer where she's working on an archaeological dig. It's there that an archaeologist gives her a lesson about family. She then bolts and heads to Georgia for a long-awaited reunion with her grandmother (Blythe Danner) and discovers more about her family.
Bridget's storyline was a bit farfetched in the beginning. Why would she go on an archaeological dig in Turkey? Then again, she is an adventure-seeker so this totally works with the storyline.
Greece ::
I love that part of this movie, like the last, took place in Greece. The scenery's so beautiful. Jynx and I have to stop off in Greece when we go to Helsinki.
Boys ::
The love interests for all the girls were really good. They fit perfectly with each character, and the boys looked good with the actress they were placed with. By the way, are washboard abs a requirement for these roles?
Overall, Sisterhood 2 was very enjoyable. It gave a realistic view of what life is like for college girls these days. Each girl's storyline could happen to me and anyone of my friends. All the actors in this movie were great, and the leads were amazing! It's hard to believe that these actresses (especially America and Blake) were relative unknowns when the first movie came out. Oh the difference 3 years makes.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Carrie Bradshaw 2.0
In The MANual self-proclaimed bad boy Steve Santagati plays the part of male best friend for women everywhere. He provides the dos and don'ts of attracting men while interjecting anecdotes from his life throughout each chapter.
Unlike Santagati's book, Neil Strauss' The Game was written for men, specifically pickup artists (PUA) in training. My philosophy is where best to learn what's going on in the mind of a guy, than from their guru.
The Game is Strauss' autobiography about how he transformed himself from a gawky rock and roll journalist to a Pickup Guru (PUG). Strauss' techniques aren't your run-of-the-mill cheesy pickup lines. They're actually quite technical and have their own set of terminology. This book gives an intriguing look into the social dynamics involved in picking up women.
I know you're wondering why I would even recommend these books to you. I think reading them gives girls the upper hand. This is especially true in the case of The Game. Knowing PUA terminology can come in handy when you least expect it.
It all started two weeks ago on Facebook. I was on Facebook chat with one of my friends when I checked to see who else was online. That's when I spotted it: the Facebook status of he-who-shall-not-be-named. It stated that he was "out sarging the night away."
I gasped, my eyes widened, and my heart skipped a beat. HWSNBN was using a pickup artist term for picking up girls. I was (and still am) in shock. I would never have taken him for a pickup artist.
After hours of debating whether or not to call out the potential PUA, I jokingly wrote on his wall, "Since when did you become a pickup artist?" The following morning I received a wall post from him saying, "... when did you discover the terminology?"
What followed was a series of messages between me and HWSNBN. I told him I had read The Game, and he said he had read it too. I had shocked the hell out of him when I called him out. Taking my initial wall post very seriously, HWSNBN said he was a minor league PUA back in the day (i.e. pre-sophomore year), but he lost a bit of his game after being in a relationship. The Game helped him fine tune his strategies.
Why he felt the need to divulge his dating history to me, I don't know. Jynx thinks he's feeling guilty. Maybe he is. He did delete my wall post that called him out.
After the messages with HWSNBN, I started thinking about the guys who've approached me. The ones who expected a response after an absurd pickup line were dutifully ignored. Guys who used some of the strategies I later recognized in Strauss' book got responses from me. Not major responses, but responses nonetheless.
The MANual and The Game are really excellent guides. You'll be able to navigate the dating scene more efficiently after adding these books to your reading list.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Movie Dates for Harry Potter and Twilight Moved
It has just been announced that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been postponed until July 17, 2009.
According to Warner Bros. president and chief operating officer, Alan Horn, the change was only done in order to "take advantage of an open weekend in Hollywood's busy summer season."
Source
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was originally set to open on Nov 21st of this year, but instead Twilight will be taking it's place. Twilight's original release date was set for Dec 12th , 2008. But I guess Summit thought us Twilight fans couldn't wait that long. =]
It also has been announced that the date changes for Harry Potter and Twilight are completely unrelated.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Breaking Dawn by SMeyer: Stuck in the Middle
Here are some issues I thought I should bring up.
Pregnancy:
I know that Bella being pregnant is what sent readers up the wall. And I admit, when Bella confirmed it, I thought in my head “How ridiculous.” But I quickly got over it and thought “Oh wow, that was completely unexpected. How exciting.” And I know people have said that the pregnancy was completely bizarre and a little too grotesque. I would usually be the first one to agree in those types of situations, but surprisingly I was fine with the whole thing - the breaking of ribs, drinking blood, vomiting blood, and even the giving birth scene. (Although, I would probably faint or throw up if I actually had to watch that.) I mean come on people, it’s a half-vampire baby, those types of things are expected! But the baby’s name is where I draw the line…Renesmee? Come on, LAME.
[Then of course there are the questions, “How did Bella get pregnant? That’s impossible.” To my knowledge, vampire’s can either use the blood that they drank to create an erection or can use the venom in substitution for the blood. Also, I heard that frozen sperm can still be used to impregnate woman. And that’s exactly what Edward has.]
But to be honest, was Bella really ready to have a kid and a whole family? I know that she supposedly has an “old soul” and is very mature, but I think she’s still too young and naive. Also, Bella's only reason for staying human is to have sex, and that doesn’t exactly show mature reasoning. Anyway, I have also heard a lot of complaints about Bella giving up an independent life and an education in favor of getting married and popping out a kid. However, Bella has the rest of eternity to get an education. She can have both a child, which most woman do want, and an education. Nothing wrong there.
Perfection:
I loved book 1 and book 2, but book 3 was somewhat boring. I had to force myself through it. I think what annoyed me the most is that everything was too prefect and happy. I think Stephenie went out of her way in order to make sure everything turned out that way. Come on, Bella is a vampire. I know that's what she most wanted, but she had to give up something to get it, and I do not think she had to give up anything. Maybe its just me, but when I think of vampires, I don’t think of them as happy-go-lucky people. There is a darkness and despair to them that’s just a part of who they are, and I do not think Bella is anything like that.
Then again, I am not sure what else could have been done to make things less than prefect…With Charlie, for example, Bella had to tell him the truth and the only way to do that was for Bella to have self-control. (Although what about Renee? Stephenie never resolved that issue. Was Renee just supposed to forget she had a daughter?) Also, Bella had to have self-control in order to protect Nessie. And when the book says, theoretically, that self-control and the “shield” is her special ability, I say that her real special ability is love. Bella has had so much love for Edward (that she would risk death to be with him) and the other characters, that it would only seem natural that she would bring this love with her to her vampire life. She has a natural urge to protect those around her and die for them. So her having the ability to shield anyone she chooses and her amazing self-control makes sense. In addition, Bella somehow had the power to block her thoughts while she was human, so it would be expected that this would be amplified in vampire form.
Closure:
Overall, Breaking Dawn differed so drastically from the other three books that it did not seem I was reading a book from the Twilight Series. However, like all last books in a series, this change was necessary in order to bring the entire story together.
But even there, to be honest, the book did not tie up loose ends. With the Volturi, for example, I felt there needed to be closure and I didn’t think we got that. There was so much anticipation building up for the big climax of the book, and even the characters were preparing for the biggest fight of their lives, but alas, there was no fight at all. I mean I am happy that no one got hurt or anything, but it just felt so anti-climatic. It didn't feel like anything had been resolved. All we are left with is an embarrassed Volturi and a possibility of them coming back, which we’ll never know.
Imprinting:
Speaking of imprinting, I don’t really have a problem with Jacob imprinting on Nessie. In fact, the moment I found out he did, I was ecstatic. Here was Jacob’s happy ending. He can't have Bella, so here’s another version of Bella that does love him back. I thought it fit together perfectly, especially since I knew Jacob had an inevitable role in Bella’s life. Although, when I do think about it, it’s creepy how Jacob can fall madly in love with Nessie, when he has been after Bella since day one. (You don’t love the mother anymore, but you now love her child?) Oh well, I can get over that.
These were just some of the thoughts that crossed my mind once I had finished reading Breaking Dawn. Perhaps I’ll have a different view of the book once I read it again, but for know I’m in the middle. I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it. I’d really love to hear what you guys have to say about the book. So please leave some comments, because I’d really love to have a discussion with you.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Concert Announcement! Natasha Bedingfield at Playland Tonight!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
The Swedish Furniture Name Game
Find out your name here: link
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Boys and Their Cribs
Bow Wow's?
Or Omarion's?
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Boys and Their Abs
Tom Felton?
Or Dan Radcliffe?
By the way, did you know that Tom sings?
Last Weekend As A Teen
- blue nail polish ... check
- pretend Joe Jonas is my boyfriend ... check
- listen to boy bands on a loop ... check
- call out a pickup artist ... check
You know I'm still going to do these things in my 20s. Who am I kidding?
- Ace out!
Boys and Their Pants
Follow along.
The first pictures of Shia LaBeouf post-accident and surgery have come out. Here he is outside of Cedars-Sinai taking a smoking break. I was going through the pics and couldn't help but notice the blood stains still on his pants. Poor baby. Too shaken up to find other jeans.
Wednesday night Jesse McCartney came out of a restaurant in LA with white stuff on his pants. Some say it's powdered sugar, and of course others says it's cocaine. What do you think?
Ed Westwick's Gossip Girl character Chuck Bass is known for wearing the most out-there outfits of all the male cast. Tuesday's filming of the show in NYC was no different. Peep the purple pants.
I'm not sure what the story is behind this photo of John Mayer, but I believe he was leaving a gym in LA. I just wish he had a cool bag with him to carry his clothes in.
This next pic has nothing to do with pants. I just wanted to point out that while John Mayer cut his hair off, Kanye West let his hair grow. Check out the beard.
- Ace Out!