These Are a Few of My Favorite Things - in Entertainment

So...I've been MIA for about 4 months because I work at a Summer Camp which pretty much RULES MY LIFE between May 15 and August 15th.  So, there are lots of things that I've read/watched/seen, etc. that i need to catch everyone up on.  Now, without further ado - the list of things that make me jump up and down in excitement/anticipation.

NUMBER ONE:

I DEVOURED these books (pun intended).  The best way I can describe them is this: The action/adventure of Harry Potter married the romantic angst of Twilight, and they had a baby and named it The Hunger Games.  The plot is fantastic; the characters complex and mulit-dimensional; the protagonists sympathetic; the antagonists deliciously despicable.  If I have one gripe it's that the series ends after only three books.  Of course, that's not fair to Suzanne Collins, but if she could write twenty more books about Katniss Everdeen, I'd pay my hard-earned money for each one.

SECOND

Watch the teaser trailer HERE

I loved the books so much, I'm anxious to see how the movie's going to work out.

THIRD:

Although I'm not a big Seth Rogen fan, I have never been disappointed in any movie starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  Add to that the wonderful Anna Kendrick (who, as Jessica Stanley, outshone everyone except Billy Burke in Twilight, and an oscar-nominated turn in This Little Movie with George Clooney).  I really can't wait to go watch it.

THIRD:

Young Adult Sci-Fi at its finest.  Seriously.  This is the second book in the Lorien Legacies series by Pittacus Lore.  The first book, I Am Number Four, was turned into a movie and came out in February of this year and grossed 144.5 million this year at the box office.  Not bad.  Maybe this'll be optioned for a movie, too.  I know I'd go see it.

FOURTHLY:
Anna Karenina Movie

I have no idea how they're going to do it, but director Joe Wright (Pride & Prejudice, Atonement) is directing the big screen adaptation of Anna Karenina.  See the IMDB page Here.  The movie stars Keira Knightly as Anna Karenina, Jude Law as Alexei Karenin, Aaron Johnson as Count Vronsky, and Matthew McFadyen as Oblonsky...among others (seen above).  Having read the book several years ago, I'm super excited to see how this thing is going to turn out.  The films set to release in 2012, and I'm already holding my breath.

FINALLY (for now):

Hosted by a charming Nick Lachey, and judged by the musically-brilliant Ben Folds (of Ben Folds Five), the experienced and multi-awarded Shawn Stockman (of Boyz II Men), and the talented Sara Barellies.  This is, in my opinion, the BEST singing competition on TV today.  No instruments to mask pitch problems; no back-up singers who overpower lead vocalists; no judges more worried about reviving their own careers than helping people start in the business; no opening rounds filled with people whose voices sound like nails on a chalkboard or cats in heat; and no lecherous Steven Tyler leering at ever girl who walks in with a pretty face and nice rack.  This show is pure, unadulterated vocal brilliance, and, to top it all off, everybody on the show seems to get along.  It can't get any better than that!

Glee - Night of Neglect

So, I was really excited for the return of Glee last night.  As always, it was hilarious and entertaining and also had some incredibly sweet moments.  There are many reasons why I really liked last night's show.

Firstly: Gwyneth Paltrow's final episode was fantastic.  Her characterization of the allegedly hermaphroditic Nazi Sympathizer Wallace Simpson, (the woman who for whom King Edward IV to abdicate the British Throne) was brilliant.  And, as much as I like Gwyneth Paltrow, I was SUPER GLAD that she only sang one song during this show.  I love when awesome guest stars come on the show, but their musical/singing talent should NEVER steal the spotlight from the existing cast.  (And sometimes it does, as in the case of "Sexy" when Gwyneth sang lead in 3 songs).

Secondly: Thank You, Ryan Murphy, for not giving Rachel the episode-ending solo.  I love Lea Michele's voice.  She's a fantastically gifted performer, but hearing her week in and week out gets tiring.  This week Mercedes brought the house down with her Aretha tribute, and it was amazing.  Like that time she sang socks off "And I Am Telling You" in the first half of Season One.  As Oliver Twist would say, "Please, sir, I want some more."

Thirdly: Blaine was in an episode and didn't have a solo.  Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I'm a little tired of him being front and center all the time.  I love the character and Darren Criss is undoubtedly talented, but the powers that be have sort of turned him into the female version of Rachel.  And I agree with Kurt's statement in the "Original Song" episode stating that it's become a little like "Blaine and the Pips."

Fourthly: CHARICE!  Sunshine Corazon is back, and she KILLED "All By Myself."  Such an amazing talent.  I have missed her since her appearance in "Audition," singing "Telephone" with Lea Michele and then belting out "Listen" for her audition.  So glad she's back.

Fifthly: The Brainiacs, and the fact that Brittany was the biggest contributor during the competition.  "Feline Aids."  I mean, seriously, it's awesome.  And then the final question of the championship competition being "Hermaphrodite Nazi Sympathizers" was brilliant.  Love it.

Sixthly: Welcome Back WEMMA.  I don't know anyone who isn't a Will/Emma fan.  As much as I enjoy seeing John Stamos on my TV screen, I've been itching for more Will and Emma interaction.  The way he sweetly cleaned off her grape was beautiful.  So sweet.

Lastly: Santana has a heart!  Of all the people in the glee club, or in the school for that matter, to stand up to Karofsky and defend Kurt and Blaine, Santana might just be the last person I'd expect.  Of course, I understand that she sympathizes with Klaine because she's "realized" she's gay...and there's some kind of kindred spirit business there, but really, it's so out of her character to protect people.  She's usually the one doing the bullying.  It was nice to see the compassionate side of her character shine through.

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All that being said, there are also a few bones I have to pick with Glee this season.

Firstly: Where was Terri?  I missed her a lot - she's so good at stirring up trouble.  I realize that the actress has had some personal issues she's had to take care of, which is probably why her screen time has been diminished this year, which is why her return this episode was so exciting to me.  Last night's episode was supposed to be her big return, but she was virtually non-existent.  NOT COOL.  Hopefully, they were just setting up for something huge in the next couple of episodes.  I've missed her CRAZY. 

Secondly: Why is Mr. Schuester incapable of coming up with good ideas on his own.  All of his fundraising ideas are so dumb!  He's an intelligent guy.  He's no idiot.  But for some reason it's as if he has zero common sense.  Last season all his good ideas came from Emma; this season it's been Holly.  And let's not forget how he's mooched concepts from Sue (Power of Madonna) anyone?  I love Mr. Schue, but that part of his characterization is just plain annoying.

Thirdly: in a night of neglected artists/singers, why isn't Quinn performing?  SEriously, she hasn't had a solo since last season's Funk when she sang "It's A Man's World."  She's had some duets, "Lucky" and "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," and she's shared vocals with several people in "Time Warp" and "Marry You," but the girl hasn't sung a solo IN A YEAR!  Sorry, but that's unacceptable.  I mean, even Mike Chang has sung this year, and it was basically a solo...so, we're due for a Quinn song.  Until we get it, I will feel totally ripped off.

Fourthly: I LOVE Jenna Ushkowitz's character of Tina on the show, and I think she's a really fantastic singer.  Some of my favorite songs are songs she has lead vocals on, "Dog Days Are Over," "Proud Mary," and "True Colors."  So, my bone to pick is that the last two times she's had an opportunity to sing, she's dissolved into tears.  First with "My Funny Valentine" and then last night.  On top of that, we've never had a legit "Tina" storyline.  She took the forefront in "Theatricality" last year when she sang lead for "Bad Romance," and there was that little sidestory of her and Artie's romance, but beyond that, zilch. As a fan of the character and the actress, I feel decidedly dissatisfied and wish like crazy that the writers would give Jenna some really good material, instead of just using her as a backdrop one-line, one-note character.  She deserves better. 

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Anyway, I really did like last night's episode.  I'm just a little disappointed that some of those folks aren't better utilized.

Swiss Family Awesome

Even as an adult I wouldn't mind living here...

Especially if Francis was there to protect me

Now tell me that wouldn't be awesome!

Four Perfect Songs

The Swell Season - In These Arms




Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Carries On




Iron and Wine - Such Great Heights








The Avett Brothers - January Wedding

Thanks for making my day better.

Big Bopper - Chantilly Lace

Oh, baby, that's what I like!!!

And it's been in my head all day.

Why Ms. Bailey will ALWAYS be my favorite teacher

Yesterday I was sitting out on the back porch I share with my duplex neighbors, eating dinner and shooting the breeze, and we got to talking about family, and how some families favor heavily while other families almost don't look alike at all.  And so, I went inside to grab a photo album and show them exactly how much I look like my dad.  I didn't find the picture I was looking for, which bummed me out a little, but I figured it was in with my stuff somewhere.  So, last night, I pulled out all my scrap books and pictures, looking for a couple of particular pictures.  I never found them, but came across something fantastic instead.

It's a letter from my Junior High teacher, Mrs. Bailey.  I was in an advanced program throughout elementary and Junior High that my school called the VANTAGE program.  Basically, there was a teacher each year who was trained to cultivate the growth of students who had tested "advanced" or "gifted and talented" in some IQ and standardized testing.  They put all of us in the same class and this teacher gave us more advanced reading, more difficult schoolwork, etc, to stimulate us in order to keep us from being bored out of our minds in class.

In Junior High, that class was expanded to include about fifteen kids, and from 6th - 8th grade, we had Mrs. Bailey for two class periods each day.  In sixth grade she taught us reading and world history, making it fun.  We made fairytale hats and went on an archaeological dig.  In seventh grade she taught reading and language arts.  We read Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, I believe, and composed our own poetry.  In eighth grade she taught us geography and language arts, tackling O Henry and Shakespeare again, A Midsummer Night's Dream, invented our own countries, establishing the government and writing legislation for it, as well as creating maps of said country.  (Amanda C. and I created Whopperland, and everything in our country was named after a candy or snack of some sort from Candy Corn Creek to Blue Razz Barrier Reef to M&M Mountains).  And we also did Model UN, the fantastic GTV, and tons of other things I'm sure I'm forgetting.

Although, I'll never forget Aundrea's Limmerick about Kermit the Frog:

Kermit the frog ate a fly
Then he used drugs to get high
Then he did choke
From the weed in his throat
Now to Kermit we say "Goodbye."

I fell in love with the English language, with composition and grammar, enjoyed the heck out of history, and got to read fantastic authors like Poe, Shakespeare, O Henry, Ray Bradbury (just to name a few) in Mrs. Bailey's class.  But the main reason Mrs. Bailey will always be my favorite teacher is because she loved us like her own kids...and she invested in us and cheered us on and challenged us to be BETTER.  She made us think, forced us out of the typical educational boxes, taught us more than statistics and facts and rules.  She fostered in us an ability and a drive to be creative, to be truthful about who we are, to be unapologetic about who we are, and to strive to be great.  I have never had another teacher do that for me, not in high school and not in college.  Nor have I ever had another teacher care for me and my fellow classmates in the same way Mrs. Bailey cared for us.  The proof of that is in this letter that she wrote us as we left her in 8th grade and went on to high school:
 

 So, Mrs. B, in case we haven't said it before -- or even if we have, it bears repeating -- thank you so much for pushing us when we needed to be pushed, challenging us when we needed to be challenged, and loving us even when we were getting on your last nerve.  We love you always, and we are truly better people for knowing you and being taught by you.

Glee Celebration Playlist



Glee has done some AMAZING covers, and some not so great covers of songs.  I don't have all of the music from the show, but I do have most of them (166 to be exact).  If I listened to them all back to back non stop, it would take 9.4 hours to get through the list.  Anyway...while I really like almost all of the songs, there are a few tracks that just stand out as being wildly better than the rest.  My current 15 favorite songs covered by the Glee Cast...in no particular order...and the lead vocals are going to by actor name, not character name.

1.  Dog Days Are Over -- lead vocals by Jenna Ushkowitz and Amber Riley (orig. Florence and the Machine)
2.  Don't Rain on My Parade -- lead vocals by Lea Michele (orig. Barbra Streisand from Funny Girl)
3.  Sweet Caroline -- lead vocals by Mark Salling (orig. Neil Diamond)
4. And I Am Telling You -- lead vocals by Amber Riley (orig. Broadway play Dreamgirls)
5.  Jessie's Girl -- lead vocals by Cory Monteith (orig. Rick Springfield)
6.  Lucky -- lead vocals by Chord Overstreet and Dianna Agron (orig. Jason Mraz & Colbie Callait)
7.  Valerie -- lead vocals by Naya Rivera (orig. Amy Winehouse)
8.  Over the Rainbow -- lead vocals by Matt Morrison (orig. Judy Garland in Wizard of Oz)
9.  Blackbird -- lead vocals by Chris Colfer (orig. The Beatles)
10. Fat Bottomed Girls -- lead vocals by Mark Salling (orig. Queen)
11.  True Colors -- lead vocals by Jenna Ushkowitz (orig. Cyndi Lauper)
12.  Proud Mary -- lead vocals by Kevin McHale, Amber Riley, and Jenna Ushkowitz (orig. Ike and Tina Turner)
13.  On My Own -- lead vocals by Lea Michele (orig. Broadway play Les Miserables)
14.  Dream a Little Dream -- lead vocals by Kevin McHale (orig. The Mamas and the Papas)
15.  Hello -- lead vocals by Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele (orig. Lionel Richie)

How He Loves

I Love Crowder.  That is All.

When I Grow Up...

I want to be like these girls.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghgpz0IWV0E

Highlights from California

so, as most of you know, I spent four days this week in sunny California visiting my very good friend, Wendy.  We had tons of fun and ate a lot of great food and hung out on the beach and relaxed with "mixed beverages".  There isn't enough time to go into a whole lot of detail, but there are a few things I wanted to throw out there.  Mainly new friendships and wonderful restaurants you should eat at if you're in LA or Orange County.

First, as soon as we picked up Michelle "Reeder" Reed from the airport, we went to a Mexican food restaurant, where we met Wendy's friends, the wonderful Shannon, the Fabulous Matt, and her roommate, Javier, for lunch.  (I'll stop and say, something here: yes, Javier is a man.  No, he's not Wendy's boyfriend.  And if you're still worried, don't be.  Three people split the apartment, kind of like the TV show "Three's Company.")  Anyway, the meal was fantastic.  I can't remember the name of the place, but the table we sat at was in a little nook, and over Reeder's shoulder there was this resin bust of Jesus.  Very typical idol-like little statue.  Wendy raised her margarita to it, and I, jokingly raised my water and asked for wine.  Some of you guys may think that's offensive and horrible of me, so I apologize for any offense.  But, honestly, it was a shrine of Jesus in a restaurant.  Kind of ridiculous to begin with.  I had pulled beef tacos and a few margaritas.  Again, don't be alarmed.  We were there for about three hours, so I wasn't trashed, although I did feel very good when we finished.

I didn't have my camera out during the lunch, though I wish I had, because it was outrageously fun. But I did get it out in the parking lot before we went over to the beach, and snapped this fantastic picture of Matty.  After I snapped it, I said, "Now I have a gay picture!" and we all laughed SOOOOOOOOOOO hard.

After lunch we went to the beach.  I won't go into details.  Here are a few really neat pictures.

Wendy's friend Shannon, (And I guess she's my friend now, too) snapped this picture of Wendy, Reeder, and I walking along the beach.

This is one of my favorite shots from the whole vacation.  That's Reeder, walking down the beach, looking for rocks, with her cowboy boots tossed over her shoulder.

Wendy's feet buried in the sand. 

 Rocks on the shore, washed up because of the tsunami

 Wendy's writing in the sand: "Kasidee and Reeder Week"

Day two, we went down to San Clemente for Crepes.  Again, I can't remember the name of the place, but it is literally right across the road from the fishing pier.  So if you're ever there, pop in.  I had a breakfast crepe with applewood bacon, scrambled eggs, and cheese.  Then the three of us split a wonderful berries and creme crepe, stuffed with fresh strawberries and blueberries.  Super yummy.

I don't know why I make the most awkward faces when I take pictures, but, oh well.

After crepes we went down to the end of the pier and watched this adorable man fish off the side.  And then we watched some teenagers who were playing hooky, attempt to surf.  They weren't very good, and weren't following appropriate surfing ettiquite, which was really irritating to another guy out there who was.

Later that afternoon, we went to Irvine, to the mall, and ate at the Yard House.  I had a Mai Tai, and a Margherita pizza.  If you've never had either, I suggest you try both.  (Wait for the Mai Tai until you're 21, though.  I don't want anyone getting arrested for underage drinking.)  But the Margherita pizza was to-die-for.  It was literally the best pizza I've ever eaten in my entire life, and I've eaten good pizza.  Then we went to see Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon and Emily Blunt.  It was actually a really good movie.  then it was back to the apartment to watch Connie and Carla, and eat gooey butter cake.  YUM!

On day three we went to Hollywood and did a bus tour of LA, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica.  I didn't see anyone famous, or if I did, I didn't recognize them.  But, I did get a couple of great shots.  Breakfast was bagels from Panera, lunch was burritos at Chipotle. But dinner was the highlight of the day. We ate at an Italian Restaurant called Trastavere, and I had the most amazing meal: Ravioli Riccotta e Spinaci. It's hand-stuffed spinach and riccota ravioli, covered in a tomato basil sauce. So good. Wendy got butternut squash ravioli, and couldn't finish her last one, so I ate that, too. And it was heavenly. I don't have any pictures of our dinner, but many thanks go out to our amazing waiter Luis, who took very good care of us, and paired our meals perfectly with wine. (I actually didn't drink any wine because it gives me headaches, but Wendy's muscato was perfect with her meal). Needless to say, Luis got good tips from us.  Here are some pictures from day three


Of course, I had to get a good picture of the Hollywood sign.  It's actually no longer owned by the state because CA is in such debt.  They sold it to a citizen for private upkeep.  Movies have to pay bookoos to use it in film, and tourists are no longer allowed anywhere near the sign.

I can't get this picture to rotate, but this is Billy Graham's star on the walk of fame.  I'm not really sure what I think about that.

 This is a fountain in Beverly Hills.  I thought it was really cool and beautiful.

This is part of the Berlin wall, which went up under JFK and came down under Reagan. 

I thought this was funny...that someone would advertise their STD screening company in such a way.

Day four started early with us getting up at 6 to take Reeder to the airport.  We ate cold pizza and got Starbucks for breakfast after Reeder was on the plane.  Then Wendy and I chilled at her aunt's house, watched Burlesque and part of Chicago, then went to a sandwich shop called Togo, and had turkey and guacamole sandwiches.  Again, very good.  Then it was off to the airport so I could get back home.

All in all, this was a wonderful trip, and I'm ready to go back.  Hopefully I can manage that again soon...and hopefully i can stay longer than four days next time.