Tuesday, February 28, 2006

sequel surprise

ever leave a theatre satisfied with the movie you just saw. then you notice everyone else realizes what a great movie that was. after it becomes somewhat successful, theres already talks for a sequel. thats when you lose respect for the movie and anything associated with it. you kinda like the original less for the sheer fact of a possible sequel. then the sequel comes out and the unthinkable happens, you actually like it better than the first. yeah man. ive had to chew back my words a few times because of these types of occurances. here is my own short list of sequels that surpass their predecessors.*

addams family values - i didnt think it was better than addams family (the original flick) when i saw it in the theatres but after watching it on the tube at least 5 times in 2006 alone, i can positively say that this sequel kicks the originals ass to the curb. sure chers "get out of my chair" dad from clueless and that fake russian dr pinderschloss made great villains but no one can beat joan cusack in the evil department (especially with her blonde bob and jackie o like dresses). plus, d-krum plays the nerdy allergic camper who befriends the addams kids when theyre imprisoned in the happy cabin. the best scene out of both those movies is definitely the pilgrim play at camp chipewa where pugsley (dressed as the thanksgiving turkey) sings "eat me." sadly, there is no 3rd movie (because if theres a sequel, theres usually a part 3 that follows). probably because raul julia (who brilliantly played gomez) died a short year after values came out. no one could play that role after him.

d2: the mighty ducks - who knew playing a washed up alcoholic lawyer forced to coach a kids hockey team would revive the career of ex brat packer emilio estevez. ill admit, i had my doubts about the first flick but of course it became a huge success. flying v! who can beat the flying v. i laughed at the thought of the sequel, especially after seeing clips of it (line dancing on the ice?!). oh but those mighty ducks (or team usa) not only won the junior goodwill games (they beat iceland or eeeeezzzz-land!) but they won my respect. yeah so the male figure skater and cowboy puck extraordinaire was a nice addition to the team but you know #22 luis mendoza was my fave. well, him and #99 adam banks. oooh that banksy. but the best scene of this movie is the cheesiest (because its the mighty ducks and the early '90s): street hockey with now snl start kenan thompson introducing the knuckle puck while whoomp there it is plays in the background. yeah. d3 is not a fave of mine. kinda unrealistic and charlie conway not looking at his finest. ill tell you this much, i never wouldve thought annoying charlie conway would turn into the teacher seducing, psycho dating, best friends girl stealing pacey witter.

sister act 2 - yeah like you didnt see this one coming. the original sister act was a surprise itself. come on. whoopi goldberg puttin' some groove and soul in a convent of the whitest of white nuns. still, the miracle that "sister mary clarence" pulled off wasnt what she did with the nuns but with the people outside the church and bringing them in. she made sunday services hip. ok, i had the same reaction with sister act 2. oh i thought singing nuns were cheesy but trying to put a little dangerous minds twist into a family feel good film is probably gonna be no good idea. i cringed with embarrassment the first time i saw sister act 2 but now its my siblings that are usually doing the cringing as i belt out the tunes with lauryn hill, ryan (city high) toby, and jennifer "in a role thats not a big stretch for her" love hewitt. i dont know what makes me happier, singing along to oh happy day or joyful, joyful. you know anyone who can mix a lil naughty by nature and janet jackson into a classic gospel song is a genius.

there are a few movies that have the reverse effect: remembering the sequel being better than the original then watching both again back to back and realizing that the original was in fact the better of the two (hello home alone!). and there are sequels that you have high hopes for and actually believe will be better than the first only to be seriously let down and completely embarrassed for making that assumption (hello waynes world 2!).

*i know a lot of people are gonna be like, wheres empire strikes back? its a shitload better than a new hope (ep 4). i have to be honest. the last time i watched the last 3 eps of star wars was back in the 80s and i guarantee i had no idea what was going on back then. i still had no idea what was going on when i watched the first 3 eps almost two decades later. i usually just went for the popcorn.

special mention:
just a shout out to theo fineo.

keepin' it real in murray hill.

Sunday, February 26, 2006

jackpot time!

ever have lady luck on your side? have one of those days (or weekends) when everything you encounter just aligns with each other? have you heard the saying "everything happens when you least expect it"? this past weekend has been such a classic example and answer to those questions. what i thought would be just another mini road trip to atlantic city the girls and i planned on a whim turned into a luck fest of fun surprises. instead of recapping this weekend like i usually do, im gonna list the interesting coincidences i realized even existed as we drove away from the cheesy lights of jersey slums.

ew and lost (my fave and my fave) - opened up my fave mag to see the first article was about my fave show. as i was smiling and shaking with excitement about this little fave-fave combo, i realized i loved this article that much more because:

  • its a list! - you know i love my lists. i love making them and i love reading them. i can never finish a book because i usually fall asleep before the first chapter ends but lists makes reading seem a lot shorter. me likey the simple stuff.
  • 5 reasons - lost doesnt just describe the state the characters are in on that freaky island but it also explains how a viewer feels if he/she doesnt pay close attention. theories, connections, numbers, ew did it again by breaking down the the monstrous mystery that is lost and simplifying it into 5 easy breezy (not really. its lost man, not freddie) reasons. loves it.
  • hit list - no, its not a list of people that are gonna die on my fave show but its my all time fave part of my weekly issue of ew. (ok, i was lying, stupid questions is my fave part but its not in every issue.) anyhoo, after i was finished with the delightfully easy to read reasons of lost, right next to it was the hit list. i didnt even have to turn the page to read the witty and sarcastic repartee of the past weeks pop culture events. and yes, hit list is a list. list love!

david krumholtz - scratching your head right? stop the scratching and start reading... my list of reasons why d-krum (i just made that up) is a part of this lucky trip to ac.

  • quality inn... not so quality - as well pulled into the quality inn, we had to run over a few slum lords that were hanging out in the middle of the parking lot. after getting our room key, we anxiously opened the door so we could put our bags down and kick our feet up. lets just say our faces were down and the nips were popping out because the room was freezing! heater was blowing out cold air and there was a mysterious door to the next room with a tiny metal bar that was keeping it shut. as the jiller called the front desk to change rooms (which we eventually did), i did what i always do which is turn on the tv. what was on? numb3rs with... d-krum complete with his pretty new flappy jew fro. awesome.
  • 10 things - i first noticed krumholtz as wednesdays fellow anti-sleepaway camper in addams family values. then he was thinking about getting a corrolla in 10 things i hate about you but my fave krumholtz movie is slums of beverly hills. slums of bh, and ac is the slums of nj. coincidence!
  • lucky be a lady tonight - my fave scene in slums of bh is when d-krum is in his tightie whities singing luck be a lady (pictured above). another coincidence: d-krums character was a stoner. what was i doing during most of my trip... do i really need to answer that?

slots, tropicana style - im not a gambler. i hate taking risks. walking by the $1 slots makes my knees tremble. how could i put in dollar in a machine and know that i possibly will never see that money again? still, i walked into the casino with the "lets just have fun" attitude. started with the nickel slots but i felt like one of the grannies who smoke too many cigarettes and wears ugly giftshop sweatshirts and fanny packs so i moved on up to the quarter slots. thats when the trip took a "lucky" turn.

  • win - as i was about to call it a night with the slots, i bet one more credit (aka quarter) and pulled the lever. 5 diamond, 5 diamond, 5 diamond. ding ding ding. the machine didnt have crazy lights going off but the credits kept rolling. as i looked up at the chart, 5 diamonds in a row = 1500 credits (aka 1500 quarters aka $375). woot! jackpot. i cashed that baby in and put $300 safely in my wallet and the remaining money to go gamble a little more. went to the pink panther slots and woot again! 80 more bucks! thanks lady luck.
  • spend - after gloating in my wins, the girls and i had to celebrate. drinks on me. cab on me. breakfast on me. road trip back snacks... on me too. its the best feeling. taking care of the ones you care about the most. but i didnt just spend my moolah on the girls either.
  • save - calvin. kenneth. ralph. no, theyre not male escorts but the outlets i went to go to spend some of my fun dough on myself. who knew ac had outlets. whoever thought of that is genius. instead of throwing the money you won in the casinos back into the craps or blackjack tables, you can spend it on clothes. at least then, youll have something to show for it when you open up your once again empty wallet. i have new pants, fun skank tops and an even fun new crazy silver bag to show for my winnings. and i got them all at great prices. yay!

coincidences. do you what else i like? its all in threes which is my fave number and now that i think about it, our room number at the quality inn was 233. 33! also, hot doc heros name on lost is jack and i like pot. jackpot. hmmm. ok, now im just being ridiculous.

special mention:
i cant believe this. this never happens to me.
oh no. rrj is back.
(rrj= road rage jiller).

i doubt this song is out of your head jamie but if it is, sorry but i had to. (naked)

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

random thoughts

ok, the lack of updates on this blog is just nerve and for that i am muy muy sorry. its been a combo of bloggers block and lazy/crazy tiredness. ive been wracking my brain trying to think of something stimulating to write about but all that kept popping into my head were just random thoughts. maybe its 'cause i read karos ruminations earlier this week or maybe its 'cause i feel like a moron, but here is my list of things ive been ruminating about. ew, im such a dork for using the word ruminating.

snow sucks. seriously, the damn shoveling the driveways, shoveling your cars on the street, shoveling the damn sidewalks. when kids see snow they think snow day but when i see snow, i think aches and pains, especially in my arms and lower back. oh man, i am getting old.

on a lighter note, i got a pretty kickass pair of snow boots today for only $35! theyre so perfect for me: plain and black. and theyre multi-purpose too. i can wear them to work, in the snow, and you know ill be rocking those out at night too. my tootsies need a rest from the heels.

back to the crapassness of snow, city-folk dont have it easy either. they actually have to cross the streets on the corners because theres so much snow and nasty slush to climb over that it prevents you from jaywalking like a true new yorker does. screw the snow.

gayliestar - hope youre recuperation is going ok. how were the time mags?

code black bitches! i was gonna do a nice lil recap of the best two eps of greys anat but i got lazy and the show was so good, i didnt want to do a halfass job on it. besides, jo just picked up the season 1 dvd. hmmm, a dvd review. havent done one of those yet. maybe ill crack open my review writing skills again.

do you know what time it is. tenacious d time you motherf@#$er blaw! i was craving for their cd but i was too lazy to look for it so i popped in their dvd instead while i was defrosting my body from a few hours of shoveling (screw the snow!). yeah theyre funny but i really think theyre amazing musicians too. kyle gas is a crazy guitarist and jack black is crazy. no one can skit dattle doo doobie doobie doo like that man. i sat in my bed amazed at their musical talents. or maybe it was the bowl i smoked before i put the dvd on. hmmm.

other music i was digging last week? mariah carey 1s. i think it was her performance at the grammys that reminded me how fun her music is. i was gonna do a post on the cd, breaking down and rating each and every song but sloth took the best of me. blog vs sleeping. sleeping always won. until tonight.

the crazy clan that is my fam. if my house had cameras this weekend, it wouldve captured great material for a funny reality show. my parents warped thinking is pretty funny but i think the interactions between me and the younger siblings are hilarious. picture this: an angry jo standing in the corner glaring at rich and me. rich is playing random weezer songs on his acoustic guitar while i provided the vocal stylings and interpretive dance. you know i was doing air punches while he played hash pipe and jo was mumbling "how am i related to them" over and over again.

evite evite, whered you get that evite. dogsitting is the best reason to throw a party, jamie.

new ep of lost tomorrow night but the veronica mars ep with kristin cavalleri from 'guna is on at the same time. oh the dilemmas of a tivo-less girl like me.


special mention:
dr. bailey: omalley. stop staring at my va-j-j!

Thursday, February 09, 2006

breakaway is the best!!!

congrats to kelly clarkson!

girlie took home grammys for not only best female pop vocal performance but also best pop album of the year for what ive been calling the best cd ever for months now... breakaway! she won all the awards she was nominated for. kelly clarkson is proof that america can vote for the right person! so heres the vid to one of my personal faves on the album and her latest single, walk away. girl power (and not in a cheesy british spice-y way either)!

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

grammys cure bloggers block

i. am. back. i didnt want to keep rambling on about my loneliness and trouble finding love and/or play so i waited 'til something inspired me. ill be honest with you. i never found that inspiration. nah, instead i just got a few complaints about the update-less blog. wow, my readers are persistent. loves it. anyway, i actually found myself running to my room to grab a notebook and a pen after watching the first few minutes of the grammys so i could take notes. yeah man. i was that entertained and lost hadnt even been on yet. since i dont have tivo/dvr and i havent and wont learn how to use the timer on the vcr, i already planned to watch the first hour of the grammys, then turn my full and complete attention to lost (you need to when you watch this show), and then blab on about what i had seen. i wont give a recap of lost because that itself takes up an entire post on its own, but i will reiterate the notes i had taken about the grammys. yeah man, im a cheesehead but i like to think of it as still having a little journalistic urge in me.

gorillaz - ooh ooh. animated characters on awards shows can be cheesy and corny but gorillaz are hip so their performance was real and cool. my dad kept asking if their images were real, especially after seeing the one wearing tightie whities gyrating to the intro of...

MADONNA! - she aint who she is for nothing. my mom was fascinated by her body and is now contemplating taking up yoga. i was impressed because it seemed like madge was actually singing. seriously, i was amazed. the cage dancing with the half naked men was classic madonna. the whole performance was classic madonna. her dance moves arent as quick as this generations pop darlings but theyre still sexy as hell. sexy without the skankiness. thats how madge likes to do it even though you know shes probably the dirtiest ho of all. i think my favorite part was the mini quarrel my parents had over what she was wearing. my dad said she was in a bathing suit. madre stuck up for madge saying shes covered all over except for her legs. watching awards shows with the 'rents can be pretty entertaining itself.

kc is sunshine - oh you know i cried along with miss clarkson when she won the first award of the night for best pop female vocal performance with since u been gone. and you know i kept yelling kelly clarkson when the nominees were announced. KELLY CLARKSON!!!

coldplay - funny intro. nice fro chris martin. classic coldplay performance.

john legend - ordinary people. ordinary performance. nah. i dont wanna hate but im just not into him. my fave part of the performance was the standing ovation from half of maroon 5. pretty boy adam levine just sat there. whatever. hes still hot. id still sit on his face.

sugarland - i think this was the groups name. i couldnt really hear. anyway, it was country music and i had to pee but the guy in the band was having mic problems and you know i love watching technical difficulties. anyway, the song was actually kinda catchy but right after their performance, the band walked over to the podium and started talking about merle haggard. i dont know who he is and once i heard "the nominees for best country album are..." i knew it was bathroom break time. im efficient like that.

u m-f'in 2 - hello hello. im at a place called vertigo. amazing perf and just when i was sitting in entertainment bliss, mary j pops out behind bono and the two belt out one love. u2 +mjb = passion!

8:56 - who starts to perform? yeah man, my main ho kelly clarkson. she sang because of you (sorry dee) and blew me away. i love that song. i love her whole album. she belted in all the right places and ended at just the right time. I <3 KELLY!

get lost
- ep started out slow but this show never disappoints me. at least it didnt tonight. the writers are so smart. the show is so smart. i wish i was that smart. anyway, i was kinda smart because i still turned to the grammys during the lost commercials. like im one to sit through an entire show without changing the channel. ive got work and tv a.d.d. deal with it. there was one commercial that im so glad i caught: greys anatomy, code black ep, encore presentation 2/9 at 9:30 pm. jamie - dvr this now!

bobby womacks on the radio - so some goss sites have been calling her mooriah but i think she pulled off her white dress pretty nicely. homegirl busted out we belong together and she busted out! its seriously the guilty pleasure song of '05. please, like you dont get any enjoyment out of rap/singing the verses of the song. i almost feel like ive accomplished something when i nail the faster than usual lyrics to this cheesy pop tune. damn you mariah. i even like glitter. its definitely on my best worst movie list except its the worst worst movie. i even like her bad stuff.

what the hell are you waiting fo-or - as i was writing this very post, i got to catch numb by jay z and linkin park. ooh, i even caught them winning their best collabo award during a lost commercial break. anyway, jo has turned me into an lp fan and their collab album with jay z is easy to listen to. paul mccartney poppin out and doing yesterday with them was sweet too.

so ill probably be watching or should i say rewatching greys anatomy tomorrow night. maybe ill do another recap. the ep was crazy intense. code black bitches! code freakin black!

a few grammy performance links courtesy of youtube:
gorillaz and madonna
kelly clarkson

special mention:
jamie:
(about jiller) she told me youre done with your blog.
me: absolutely false. i was just tired.
jamie: tell her to stop telling rumors.

Thursday, February 02, 2006

wanted: s.w.m w/tivo or dvr

after talking to one friend about her new relationship with her boyfriend and having dinner with another friend whos dating her high school sweetheart, it totally hit me that i want to stop searching. i wanna just finally have a boyfriend because then, i can stop going out. lets face it, i dont love going out to the bars. we all know im not a huge drinker and im also a cheap ho that would rather spend $10 on a six pack of amstel and chill in an apt instead of $6 for a bottle and stand in a noisy bar.

the damn noise. going out is all about meeting people but how can you get to know someone if you can barely hear what their names are. and its already hard for me to have a conversation with anyone in a crowded bar because im usually getting nauseous from the two beers ive had mixed with the sweaty heat from the packed bar. awesome.

so thats its. im sick of being tired from spending my late nights out and waking up alone. dont get me wrong, i love my friends. i love hanging out with them and just plain old spending time with them. im such a lucky girl because i have these amazing people in my life. but even so, this hot mama aint gettin' any.

im not asking for a prince charming. please. i dont want to meet the one right now. that would suck because then i would feel compelled to marry him. you never let the one slip away. nah. i thought i wanted my 20s to be a skankass ho and run rampant around the city but i didnt expect to get so tired. to not be able to go out every night of the weekend because it wears down my bod. and also, i didnt expect people to be so ugly. seriously, i havent really seen anyone im even slightly attracted to in months. sad. makes me so sad.

so thats it. im lowering my standards a bit. ive got to. and since i just want someone to chill with for the time being, i should lower my standards. this is basically what i would want with my "just for a while" boyfriend: tivo, sex, pot. not in any particular order but now that im looking at it, that looks about right. in that order, or another order, or even some at the same time. whatever. tall funny guy with tivo and who either smokes or doesnt mind that i do... a lot. if you know of anyone who fits that description, send him on my way. or just send me the addy to his apt, ill go there. with a six pack of amstel and a dutchie.

special mention message to jamie: heres a vid to start your day with a fun bust out!