The Year of 50 Challenge – Reading Assignments #1 through #3
07/26/2011
Filed under Books, Entertainment, The Year of 50 Challenge
Tags: adele, andrew garfield, coldplay, Emma Stone, Entertainment Weekly, flares, friends with benefits, ginnifer goodwin, Glamour, go the f--k to sleep, katie couric, lace, linkin park, martin sheen, Rhys Ifans, Sally Field, shoe of the month, The Amazing Spiderman, will gluck, Year of 50 Challenge
When I read a magazine for the challenge, I’m not going to analyze every page. I don’t have the time and patience, and I’m pretty sure you don’t have the interest. Instead, I’m going to pick five things I learned from the magazine that stuck with me after I finished.
I read the last two months work of Glamour magazines and the July 22nd issue of Entertainment Weekly. Here’s what I learned from each:
Entertainment Weekly – July 22nd2011 issue
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- I learned how to direct a love scene thanks to Will Gluck, director of the romantic comedy Friends with Benefits. The article wasn’t really as informative as it was promotional and funny, but it was one of my favorite parts of this issue.
- The Amazing Spiderman is going to rock my socks off. I love Spiderman. I love Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dennis Leary, Martin Sheen, Sally Field, and Rhys Ifans (who are all in the movie). I love the look of the new Spidey suit. It’s just going to be the tits! End of story!
- Coldplay has a new song out called “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall”. I have no idea how this slipped under my radar. I love Coldplay and I had no idea.
- There’s a nonfiction book called Go the F—k to Sleep by Adam Manbach. The one thing I didn’t learn is whether or not this is actually a children’s book.
- At some point in time, Linkin Park did a cover of “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele. I have to figure out how to hear this.
Glamour – July 2011
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- If you want your make up to last longer during hot sticky summers, look for foundations that aren’t oil based. Good to know considering I spend all my day running around in a barely air conditioned building in a suit.
- Lacey clothing is in for the summer! I love lace.
- There are online shoe clubs that have things like “shoe of the month” and fashion tips. Call me lame, but I think that’s completely retarded. Women of our country need motivation to do a lot of things in life, but buying a super expensive pair of shoes every month shouldn’t be one of them.
- Ginnifer Goodwin is super cool. I’ve been a fan of everything she’s been in. After reading her interview with Katie Couric, I’m sold. She’s got a good head on her shoulders, she doesn’t feel pressured to be a stick figure, and she does charity work with St. Jude Children’s Hospital. What’s not to love?
- Multi-colored nails are in. I’ve never tried it, but now I want to!
Glamour – August 2011
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- I hate magazines with more than two perfume samples. By the time you get to the third, you can’t really smell it anymore.
- Flares are back in style for the fall. And we’re talking hippie flares. Why God? Why?
- Punky streaks are popping up more and more. I’m cool with that! I love seeing people bold enough to wear cool colors in their hair.
- 86% of Fortune 500 company executive officers are men. That’s just freaking sad.
- To combat puffy eyes during hot summer days, put a cold teaspoon on your lids. I don’t know why I never thought of that!
The Year of 50 Challenge – Album #7 – Michael Grimm
07/11/2011
Filed under Albums, Entertainment, The Year of 50 Challenge
Tags: album review, michael grimm, Year of 50 Challenge
For those of you who don’t keep up with reality TV talent competitions, Michael Grimm is last season’s winner of America’s Got Talent. And rightfully so! From the first time I heard him sing, I knew he would win. The man has the voice of a blues God. For this reason, I found myself patiently awaiting his debut album for almost a year.
In all its beautiful blues glory, the album is amazing. From the first track to the last, I love it. Maybe it’s because I’ve been in the mood for blues music lately, but I really just think it is because he’s an unnaturally talented musician.
There is a wonderful rendition of “Stay With Me” by Lorraine Ellison on the album. No one could pull off such a good version of a beloved classic without having a voice filled with heart and soul like Michael Grimm.
If you’re skeptical, check out “Gasoline and Matches”, “Red”, and/or “No Other Love”. You could download any of the album’s tracks and probably be convinced to buy it. Those are just my favorites.
The only song that I’m not crazy about is “Simple Man”. When I first listened to the song, I didn’t know that it featured Travis Tritt. When he started singing halfway through the song, I thought that Michael Grimm’s voice had suddenly changed A LOT. Call me an idiot if you want. Regardless, I just don’t think it’s as good as the rest of the tracks on the album.
Big thumbs way up for Michael Grimm. What a strong debut from an artist who clearly has a long amazing career ahead of him!
The Year of 50 Challenge – Movie #5 – Morning Glory
07/07/2011
Filed under Entertainment, Movies, The Year of 50 Challenge
Tags: diane keaton, harrison ford, morning glory, movie review, rachel mcadams, Year of 50 Challenge
I got this movie for free. Thank God for that too. If I had paid for the DVD, I would have shot myself in the face after watching it.
I can’t even begin to express how disappointed I felt with this film. One would assume that anything starring Rachel McAdams, Diane Keaton, and Harrison Ford would be a home run. It turned out to be more like a pop fly hit right over the catcher’s head.
For those of you who don’t know baseball that means it sucked pretty hard core.
The actors were great, but even the best cast can’t save a shitty script from being shitty. The story was dumb. I barely felt any rise and fall in tension throughout the film. That’s something that every story needs if it wants to stand a chance at holding the audience’s attention. This film felt less like storytelling and more like reading a whiny young woman’s diary. It was monotonous, shallow, and boring. I couldn’t figure out why a woman who kept doing annoying things to people kept getting her way. That’s not how it’s supposed to work, is it?
Don’t even get me started on the “young girl in a hurry runs through pidgeons in the park” scene at the end. I watched this movie with my cousin and that was her favorite part because it looked so stupid and cliché that it made us both laugh.
Thumbs way down for Morning Glory. My thumbs are so far down for this one that I’m thumb wrestling with the Devil. Winner gets to burn every copy of this script ever printed.
The Year of 50 Challenge – Movie #4 – Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
07/07/2011
Filed under Entertainment, Movies, The Year of 50 Challenge
Tags: film review, johnny depp, penelope cruz, pirates of the caribbean on stranger tides, Year of 50 Challenge
The Curse of the Black Pearl is one of my favorite movies of all time. Just like most other film series, I didn’t enjoy all of the others as much. None of them were bad per se, but none of them rocked my socks off like that first one did. I got annoyed with how cluttered and unemotional the stories could be. I found myself especially disappointed with At World’s End because it had the potential to be a really gripping and moving story with everything going on between Will and Elizabeth, but I found myself bored and not caring at all. No fault should be attributed to the actors on that one because it’s all about gaping holes in the writing.
The newest installment, On Stranger Tides, is a little better than the middle two films in the series. I think that’s partially because they had a chance to start the story over a bit. This reincarnation of Sparrow’s antics felt a lot more fun when placed with new conflicts and new characters.
I laughed a lot more in this film than with the previous two. Something that I loved about the first film was the humor in it and I’m glad to see the writers revive that with this film.
Just like the previous two movies, it still felt cluttered and slightly unemotional. If any of these films had been able to draw you into the characters emotionally the way the first film had, the clutteredness and boring parts may not have been as noticeable.
Johnny Depp is fantastic (dur). Penelope Cruz did well, but I thought her character’s story was insanely weird. In fact, there were points when I felt like shouting at the screen that she was an idiot that deserved to drink the water from the fountain of youth and die.
Overall, I give the film a thumbs up just because I enjoyed it a lot more that the two before it. It didn’t come close to how good the first one turned out to be. That’s what I keep waiting for. I guess I’ll just wait for the fifth. There WILL be a fifth by the way. They made sure of that with their silly little cliffhangers.
The Year of 50 Challenge – A change of plans…
07/01/2011
Filed under Contemplative, Entertainment, Personal Goals, The Year of 50 Challenge
Tags: books, magazines, Year of 50 Challenge
Okay, so there’s just no way I’ll be able to read 50 books in a year.
I didn’t realize the infeasibility of this goal until recently when I realized I would have to read about 5 books a month to get there. I don’t have time for that. And I love to take my time reading books. I don’t want to rush through them all.
I’m going to make an amendment to this goal.
Instead of 50 books in a year, we’ll say 50 books and/or magazines. With the magazines, they have to be read from cover to cover. Sound fair? I think so. Definitely more doable.
I’m more excited about this. I love me some magazines! 
The Year of 50 Challenge – Album #6 – Hanson’s “Shout It Out”
07/01/2011
Filed under Albums, Entertainment, The Year of 50 Challenge
Tags: album review, hanson, shout it out, the walk, Year of 50 Challenge
Okay, I’m gonna make this quick so that I don’t get a lot of shit for listening to this one. This album was terrible.
I’ve been a Hanson fan since before I hit puberty. I’ve followed the band all the way from Middle of Nowhere (literally and figuratively). They’ve gotten progressively better and better with every album. The Walk, which is the predecessor to Shout It Out, is an amazing album that I wish everyone would check out.
But don’t get this P.O.S. pictured to the left.
I hate being so brutal. It feels like kicking a tiny puppy in the nuts. However, it’s just bad. Something must have happened between The Walk and this album to make them lose what little edge they had.
There are a few good tracks, but they aren’t worth mentioning because I don’t want you to get the album.
I also might be a little bitterly biased considering that they play “Give A Little” on a loop on our lobby TVs at work.
The Year of 50 Challenge – Album #5 – Matthew Morrison
07/01/2011
Filed under Albums, Entertainment, The Year of 50 Challenge
Tags: album review, Glee, jc chasez, kris allen, matthew morrison, sting, Year of 50 Challenge
The self-titled debut album from Matthew Morrison was one I had been looking forward to for a while. I love Glee and I’ve always thought Matthew was one of the show’s more talented performers. I had high hopes for this album.
Some of the songs exceeded my expectations and others fell short. I especially love “Hey” which shows a playful energy I really liked hearing from him. I should have known that would happen as soon as I read that one of the song’s writers was JC Chasez, who has a tendency to write those flirtatious, fun songs. It felt kind of like “Summer Rain”, but a little less goony.
The album’s two best songs are easily “Still Got Tonight” and “Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot”. The latter is the album’s pinnacle, but how could you expect less from a song by Sting? I was surprised to see Kris Allen getting a writing credit for “Still Got Tonight”, but I’m not sure why. He’s a great songwriter, so I shouldn’t have been shocked.
I feel like the album was tent-poled by these few really great songs. The rest were just okay. None of them sucked, but they weren’t hit singles either.
Mr. Morrison, I give you a thumbs up on your first try at record making. I know you can do something extraordinary though, and this wasn’t it. You’ll get there…
The Year of 50 Challenge – Album #4 – Jennifer Hudson’s “I Remember Me”
06/16/2011
Filed under Albums, Entertainment, The Year of 50 Challenge
Tags: album, I Remember Me, Jennifer Hudson, Year of 50 Challenge
I’ve been a fan since American Idol. The girl is amazing, no doubt about that! However, this album fell slightly short of my expectations just as Esperanza Spalding’s album did. It was an entertaining album to listen to. There are several great songs on it, but I just feel like she never lived up to her full potential on any of them. Except maybe “Where You At”. Or “No One Gonna Love You”.
I think you would be safe with downloading those two songs and skipping the rest. This one gets somewhere in between a thumbs up and a thumbs down. It’s not terrible, but it could be better.
The Year of 50 – Album #3 – Esperanza Spalding’s “Chamber Music Society”
06/16/2011
Filed under Albums, Entertainment, The Year of 50 Challenge
Tags: album, Chamber Music Society, Esperanza Spalding, Year of 50 Challenge
As the winner of this year’s Grammy for Best New Artist, I expected a lot more out of this album. Don’t get me wrong. The girl is insanely talented. However, this album is insanely boring. I put it on in my room and I couldn’t stop walking out of the room to do something else. I just didn’t care.
There are a few song’s that aren’t as bad as others, but it’s just a boring album to me. Sorry, Esperanza! You may be a great talent, but this one gets a thumbs down from me.
The Year of 50 – Movie #3 – African Cats
05/23/2011
Filed under Entertainment, Movies, The Year of 50 Challenge
Tags: African Cats, cheetah, Disney, documentary, lion, movie review, Year of 50 Challenge
Lions are my favorite animal. From the day I found out that Disney planned to release a documentary on African cats, I grew giddy with excitement. Who doesn’t want to watch oversized, majestic cats roam the plains and play with their cubs? Count me in!
You definitely get all the greatness you would expect from a film about lions and cheetahs. I found myself letting out tears of happiness when I saw the mommas taking care of their cubs and tears of sadness when I saw the cubs taken by hyenas. You get wrapped up in the sentimentality of the animals’ bonds with each other. That’s a great achievement for a documentary.
That being said, I’m not sure I learned all that much from it. Maybe someone who didn’t know a lot about the big cats would have gotten more out of it, but I don’t think they gave very much information even for someone who is educated about such things. I have no idea how much time lapsed from the beginning of the film to the end. They didn’t say anything about the animals other than how they hunt, guard their territory, and take care of each other. I just felt like they could have made it a little more educational.
I want to give it a thumbs up, but I don’t think it was as good as Oceans or The Last Lions. I’ll give it a sideways thumb.
