Another Update: I'm leaving the country!

Hello,

Quick update.

I am leaving the country, so I will not be able to bring the wonderful and weird things that make reading this thing so fun. I will be back in about eight days, but it might be two weeks before I am to post again. Wish me luck with my journey to the higher part of North America. I supposed i will see you all in a fortnight.

As they say on SNL,
Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow.

Jake And Amir

Is it just me or has the overall quality of that web show gone down considerably? The whole premise that made it popular in the first place was that Jake was the logical one and Amir was the dumb ass; in the latest episodes, they are taking turns being the dumb ass and sometimes doing it at the same time. This is not the Jake and Amir that I used to love so dearly. I'm not saying that the show is awful now, but it doesn't do what it used to, which was cheer me up, no matter what had me down.  


Lately it seems like only a few are watch worthy, and they are the ones that are reminiscent of the past episodes, where Jake is the logical one and Amir is the dumb ass,  and that is sad. What happened to the quality and the standard that they used to hold so high? I think that they need to reassess where they want this show to go, because I don't see them winning any awards for some of the stuff that they have been putting out lately. It's sad, but true. If you want examples, watch the past six. I didn't laugh out loud once and that was what I used to do constantly and now don't. 


I understand what they were trying to do; maybe show that Amir has been rubbing off on Jake, but the way that they are executing it; just isn't working. They have a fan base, who keeps watching out of loyalty, but one day that will drift away, as the jokes get stupider and stupider. 


Guys, you can do better; I know it. 

The Glee Project's Damian McGinty

I was watching the Glee Project on Oxygen and it is happening again; you remember the post I did about Dia Frampton. I think that there is a bit of a problem with Damian McGinty, According to my research, and the show Glee Project, Mr. McGinty is part of the Celtic Thunder, a five piece Irish singing group, and has been since he was thirteen years old, touring all over the world. The thing that makes him different, besides his fame, is that he is the only one on the show from a different country. 

Does that seem right that he has had success and is on a reality competition series? I’m sure that it’s happened numerous times and I just haven’t caught it, but now that I have been paying attention to the reality show competitions. I’ve seen two different instances of already successful individuals who see it fit for them to look for more fame. I suppose that is something there isn’t a clause saying that the people who try out for these things have to be amateurs. 

If you have been watching, last week’s episode was called Individuality, and for their music video of the week, they did Katy Perry’s Firework, and Damian McGinty was on the bottom three because he was not really coming out of his shell. The only thing that I am happy about is that the show is not judged by America’s votes, because they never pick talent over personality and good looks.

This week’s episode is called Theatricality, named after the Glee episode of the same name, airing at 9/8c for those in the East Coast.  I hope you enjoy. 

Three Car Shopping Websites

It has come the time for me to look for my first car. It's like a right of passage of every teenager and I think I'm ready for two reasons:1) my brother had one sitting in the driveway waiting for him as soon as he got his license, which is the bad part of being the last child, and 2) The only reason why I couldn't find a job was because I didn't have reliable transportation, meaning a car.


The real problem with getting a car for myself is that it is going to be a junker, I know that, I only have about 4 grand to work with, and financing is never a good option for someone who doesn't have a job, so my only choice is to find a "cheap" car. So for all of you who are in the same boat as I am, here are some websites to help you on your quest to finding the perfect cheap car for you.


1. Craigslist.
What's great about Craigslist is that it is a local venue so you don't have to go all over to find the right car, which is especially nice if you don't have reliable transportation. The only thing you have to look out for are scammers. Fraud guide has a nice article outlining the signs that you can look out for. Other than that, normally you can find honest people who will let you bring a mechanic to check out the car before money exchanges hands. There are number of mobile applications for Craigslist, which can make shopping for a car on the go, easy.


2. Cars.com
I found this site while looking through the Orlando Sentinel classifieds website, the great part about it is that it is mostly dealers who post on there. Dealers that are willing to give warranties on really cheap cars. You can be really specific, like with what model, make, and the mileage scale. Cars.com is as local as you want it to be, with a place to enter your zipcode and how far from that zipcode they should search. 


3. Autotrader.com

What is great about this site is that if you are not like me, and are looking to trade your car in, you can get an estimate on how much your car is worth and where around you would give you the best deal. If you are an iPhone user, which I am not, you can access AutoTrader on the go. You can access new cars or certified used ones and directly contact the dealership which the car you are interested comes from. 


So I hope you have a better time looking for a car if you are, I hoped this helped. 

Birthdays

There are two things that people can't believe when they hear about me : 1) I don't like chocolate, and 2) I've never had a proper birthday party. The first I don't think I need to explain, but the second is seen as more absurd than the first. I never really had enough friends to have a birthday party and in my family, it was either the party or the gift. My older brother used to get both. Parties that weren't even planned by parents, but aunts and uncles instead. I didn't. People can say that the baby in the family gets spoiled but its not really like that, and if it was, then those days are over. By the time I was getting ready to turn eighteen, I had a boyfriend and assumed that he would plan something because my life had been so lacking. I was mistaken. The day came and went and so did the weekend. And now I have no big birthdays left. 21 doesn't matter because I don't drink. 25 doesn’t because I don’t intend on renting a vehicle or getting a CDL license. This may sound like whining, but it is simply to explain so that maybe when my birthday does come around and I'm all snippy, you all understand.



So what am I supposed to do? When shall I see it fit to have a birthday party, or perhaps one year I will get fed up enough to just do it myself? I hope this doesn’t sound like complaining, or rather perhaps I am complaining so someone can do something about this silent suffering. I don't know why I am thinking of this, my birthday is 3 months away, but it just crossed my mind. You know like a thought that doesn't come around, ever and then all of sudden, just like that, it hits you and you can't stop thinking about it.

Movie Recommendation of the Week : New Waterford Girl

On the left: Moonie played by Liane Balaban
On the right: Lou played by Tara Spencer-Nairn

I've decided to recommend a movie to you, and in my humblest opinion, it is one of the best things that Canada has to offer, besides free healthcare, and Avril Lavigne. It is called The New Waterford Girl. First off, I am jealous of the lead actress, Liane Balaban, because she got to touch Andrew McCartney's face. He is gorgeous. In any case, the movie is about a girl that is stuck, and she is really intelligent, so she has a chance to get out, but she's not "normal", so her parents won't let her go. Andrew McCartney plays Cecil Sweeney, her English teacher, or something like that. It is never clarified and she feels sorry for him, so she brings him stuff. She doesn't feel like she belongs in her family because she is so different from them all.
It is a great coming of age story if you are into introspection and all of that. Honestly, it is quite funny, and it seems like every country is capable of making a dramatic comedy but us. I have watched it several times and it never gets old and that is the appeal to it, because it never gets old. You can see yourself in her because she has to realize that in order to get her way, she has to submit but she has to do it in her own way. There is a growth in her that is so subtle that you don't see it until you don't expect it. The dialogue is witty and real, which is lacking in a lot of movies nowadays.
It took me a little while to realize that it was a period piece; there is no reference to the date or year, but you can tell that it is a 70's era film, if anything, by Andrew McCartney's kick-ass sideburns. If you feel like a good laugh, check it out. 

Too Comfortable

We spend our whole lives trying to be comfortable. We attend college, so we can enough money to make ourselves comfortable, find that one person that you can be comfortable with. When does that become too much; when does being comfortable turn into too comfortable?

"Saying you're too comfortable is like saying you're too happy."

We are never too happy, unless you live in a Jamaican household, when being happy is being too happy, and you get beaten for it. I think that a boyfriend or a spouse is too comfortable when they stop wooing you; they stop caring what you think and say what they think you want to hear and don't do the simplest things they ask of you and when they are kissing you, they do it out of routine, instead of affection. And in your mind, you make excuses for them; the same way you used to shell them out when your parents asked you to do something that you really didn't want to do. "I'm too tired." "I had a bad day" "My back/neck/stomach/feet hurt." Sometimes no excuse at all, because you are so comfortable that you would rather deny yourself another BS lie than hear it and know that it's an excuse. 

Why would they need to woo you? You sleep with them and do whatever they ask without them having to ask. Because they have won you, so they think they don't have to try anymore. Occasionally they do, but it's because they don't want you to have any fodder for an argument. "We never go out anymore." "We went out last month." 

They aren't all like that, the significant others of the world, but most will get that way. How do we fix it? People have all sorts of ways: the most popular being just to stick with it because we would rather be too comfortable and slightly miserable than be alone. 

The Voice's Dia Frampton

Dia is the one on the right. 

If you've been watching the Voice, then you know that Dia Frampton on Blake Shelton is going on the semi - finals. I feel like she doesn't deserve to be there because of the fact that she has already released albums with her sister, Meg, and been on tour. She had a record deal. In the artist interview, she forgot to tell them that or she omitted that. She said that she writes children's books, but she didn't tell them the rest of it. She's a liar. I feel like that competition is supposed to be for people trying to get a record deal and her on there undermines the whole competition, unless this whole thing is a publicity stunt, like with Daughtry on American Idol. In which case, she should stop wasting people's time. She is an indie artist, she doesn't have a big enough voice to be a big deal. Meg & Dia is a great band, don't get me wrong, but that's precisely the point. I know who they are; that means that they are something of a success already. They have toured on Warped Tour and gained a following; they have a website and three albums. They've been to Europe and toured with countless big names, and now that they have been dropped from Warner Bros. Records, they are looking for another deal.

So does she deserve to be there?
Tell me in your comments. 

Books vs. Movies : Part Trois

This week's Books vs. Movies showdown is between Lovely Bones, the book written by Alice Sebold and the movie adapted for the screen directed by Peter Jackson.

First on to the book, written in 2002 by an unknown, it became a hit and was an instant success staying on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year. The movie rights were purchased by Peter Jackson personally, so I thought that it would be well done but I was incorrect.

The girl that they got to play Susie Salmon was too beautiful. In the book, she is described as a plain girl and there is nothing plain about Saoirse Ronan at all. There were a couple things that were a bit over the top. Like the heaven sequence, and the fact that there was no transition; she just sort of walks away, and finds out that she's dead. That's not how the book has it. Other than that, the movie was alright. I will never get used to Mark Walberg playing a father, he seemed too young to be playing the father of teenagers. Everyone else seemed adequately casted, except the ones aforementioned. Don’t get me wrong, Saoirse is an amazing actress for her age, which is saying something because most of the teen actresses, such as Emma Roberts are quite awful. 

I didn’t really expect much, because of the fact that so far, the movie adaptations that I have seen that don’t have the author directly involved, with the exception of Chuck Palahniuk books’ movie adaptations, suck. They don’t stay true to the core of the book, because they are entirely unaware about that core. The interesting thing about the adaptation is that those who read the book were mostly on the fence about whether they liked it or not, and those who didn't read the book mostly loved it. But I think the movie will be forgotten, which is sad because Saoirse is such a phenom. 

The book wins this round, but check the movie out if you want. But don't say that I didn't warn you. 

Making a Choice

Tonight, I choose my friends over my family. I don't regret and maybe that means that I don't have my priorities in check but I think that when people say that you should always pick your family over your friends, haven't met these people. The only other people that I've ever felt at home with are my Theatre family, which is now and forever disbanded. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that my own family is not family like, it's just that these people have a way about them. They accept me for what I am. Warts and all, you know the saying.

My OHPC family. I don't feel like I have to change for them, or get perfect grades. I'm never disappointing them and I can always get a hug, without even asking. When I get to that point with my own blood family, then maybe I will choose them over DA, but for now, I will not be guilted into feeling bad. Deep down, I know that I made the right choice. No one can tell me differently.

That's what happens when you are at my stage of life, where you're in the nest, but you are partly gone as well. You have to start making decisions about what is most important to you. 

Can Everyone Stop Talking About Weiner?

At the beginning of the week, I started to hear jokes about Rep. Weiner and the scandal, about the tweeting of naked pictures of himself. At the beginning of the week, they were funny. Now, they are not funny; they are just pathetic. I hate to think the American people have nothing better to do with their time than make fun of a man that some Americans, his constituents, deemed worthy enough to represent them and their voice in a public office, for seven terms (14 years). Obviously, I'm not defending him; I don't know him personally; however, he hasn't done the worse of any of it. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a child with his own housekeeper and no one is insisting that he step down or resign from his office. Celebrities, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, do a lot worse and we still idolize them; we don't boycott their movies and we don't stop watching their shows. We don't think it odd for them to want to keep doing the job that we pay them to do.

So why is Rep. Weiner different? Is it the name? Because I know that there is a worse name out there: Rep. Boehner, (pronounced bo-ner), anyone? Is it so ridiculous that a Congressman actually uses his Twitter instead of making some unpaid intern do it for him? And yes, the pictures were inappropriate, but you have to be aware, if you aren't already, that we elect people to public office, not perfect people, just people, fallible people. People make mistakes. And ridiculing them for those mistakes doesn't make you better. Doesn't make the situation better. Whether or not, you find it funny, he's still going to have to answer for his mistake.

I just think that we should get over it, because using him as a punchline is getting old. 

Book Recommendation: Sum: Forty Tales From the Afterlives

I recommend a lot of movies on here, but never any books, unless of course, the Books vs. Movies Series counts. So instead of recommending a movie to you, and I watched quite a lot of them to pick a movie that would be suitable, then changed my mind, I drove to the library which I haven't been to in a long time and picked up a few books. I went through the motions of it all, going to the fiction, checking if my favorite authors had come out with something, if they had it here in their shelves. Score with Palahniuk: his new book "Tell-All" rests in my bag as we speak, Miss with Coupland: they only had "Hey Nostradamus" and I've read that one before. Then when I had given up and was making my way up the aisle to check out, I found a little book out of place, so I picked it up to put it in its right order and then I read the title, Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman, (it was with the Bs). It sounded interesting because I'm a religious studies major and the one thing that all religions have in common is that they have some theory about what happens after death. The book contains a series of short descriptive pieces called vignettes, which were about the various theories about life after death. My favorites were the pieces called : Mary, Mirrors and Search. There are a few others that I love. The best thing about this book is that it is memorable, almost addicting, last night, I couldn't put it down. Literally I had trouble with it. So much so that I was drifting off and parts of words were lost to me.

Reading it felt like I was entering a kind of new imagining. It inspired me to live my life, unafraid and trying to do all the things that matter most to me. I definitely suggest it for anyone looking for different perspective or even just looking for a good read. It's short, only about 100 or so pages, but after reading it you are going to want to carry it around with you. It is mind-expanding, and even if none of these tales are true, it's still a great thing to look at. 

The World Doesn't Take Visa

I was at my local neighborhood DMV, getting my license and I found that the DMV doesn't take Visa. It became part of the 21st century when it started taking Credit Cards in 2008, but for now, they still don't take Visa. When I asked why, I was met with "it's company policy". What kind of BS is that? The average American takes around a Visa, because "more people go with Visa."

However, in 2007, Visa launched a campaign, and had ads that said, "Life Takes Visa". It seems like the DMV is looking to make Visa look like a liar, because most of the people in America drive and so have to go to the DMV, which would make DMV a part of life. With the DMV being the cause of frustration of many Americans, this just adds to the stress of having to have cash, which not a lot of people carry around any more, to write a check, which the world doesn't take anymore.

So why make it so difficult? Are they doing this on purpose because they have nothing better to do that make restrictions that leave you angry and bitter? Who decided that the public sector can be issued Visas and then those same cards can't be used in a government office?

I'm at a loss. 

Random Fact about Me

I don't have a driver's license. My own family jokes about my competence, because of that fact, in fact, they are embarrassed to tell anyone that I don't have a driver's license. So much so that I have begun to feel ashamed about it too, so I thought that I would get it this summer. Not to get them off my back, but so that if there was a problem, I could actually do something about it, i.e., mother needing to be driven to the E.R.

I started driving around in parking lots about two weeks ago, and I'm progressing to roads, but I have this fear about speed, but I'm out of control if I go too fast (fast being like 20 MPH). I know it is pathetic because I'm eighteen and supposed to have been driving for almost three years now, however, I was busy. I thought that there wasn't a point. When my brother got to the age when he was supposed to be driving, there was already a car waiting for him. When I got to the age, that was when the recession hit and even if they wanted to, my parents couldn't afford another car, not even a used one.

So I didn't learn to drive because I didn't see the point. I was focusing on my schoolwork and taking Driver's Ed wasn't an option because it's been eradicated from most public schools, including mine. Which, by the way is a travesty. People complain about the amount of accidents involving teens and instead of going back to what works, making driving something which was taught in the schools, something practical, they make it so you have to wait longer for your license.

One problem that I am having is that my significant other is teaching me how to drive. He is very patient with me, but I get upset really easily so it doesn't matter what he says or what I do, I get upset.

I bet you are wondering what the point is, and there isn't one. I'm really close to achieving one of the goals that I set for myself before summer began and I wanted to share that with you.

Happy day or night.

Books vs. Movies: Part Deux

Recently I watched It's Kind of a Funny Story, which is a movie adaptation of an amazing book by Ned Vizzini, who is a phenomenal writer. This movie, starring Keir Gilchrist, Zach Galifianakis, and Emma Roberts, was overall a good movie. IMDB gives it a 7.2 out of 10. This movie, even though it was released in theatres, is very indie.
There are three reasons as to why I say that: 1) It's about a very taboo subject, teen depression and suicide, which a lot of films are afraid to address because it's not a happy subject and happy subjects make money, 2) a fifteen year old says the f-word, which is actually quite normal but in the movie world, it's not, because that word usually makes the movie rated R, but this movie got away with a PG-13 rating, and 3) it takes place in a hospital, just like Girl, Interrupted, this movie will gain a following, who will then read the book and decide that the book is better.
There was a lot of casting against type, like Zack Galifianakis, who plays Bobby. I think because of his work in the Hangovers and Due Date and most of the projects that he has attached his name to that this role wasn't one of his normal ones. Bobby isn't meant to be funny, but Zach does a good job of taking the role seriously, which is something that we have literally never seen before. Jim Gaffagan, who is again known for comedy, such as TBS comedy series,My Boys. To see him as a father who is wound up too tightly, is not very believable. As for Keir Gilchrist, he was a let down, everything that I had hoped for in Craig's performance was sad and mildly ridiculous. He seems fine in the United States of Tara, however, in this, I felt that literally anyone would have been better. I didn't like who played Noelle (Emma Roberts) because she's not a very good actress, but I see how they could want to have her name attached to the project, because she is relatively well known and her aunt is Julia Roberts. Nia was played by Zoe Kravitz, daughter of Lenny Kravitz. The dialogue was great because most of it was taken straight from the book, but the actors were lacking. It seems like in casting it was just about whoever would take the work. The only one that I was happy with was Bernard White, who played Muqtada, Craig's Egyptian roommate and he's not even really Egyptian, he's from Sri Lanka. Overall, there is no contest. The book is better, but there is a scene near the end in which Muqtada is present; I will not ruin it because it is near the end. However this is an okay movie and if you really want to watch something interesting, watch it. 

Elopement

When one hears the word "elopement", they think about the extreme, they think Las Vegas. When I hear it now, all I can think about the recent elopement of two people from my church. When the pastor went up the altar/ podium and announced their union, there was a hush over the congregation. Not to get into too much detail, but here is the problem.

I am eighteen years old and the new bride is only a year older than I am. So the people around the church were drawing very negative conclusions as to why they, who still live with their perspective parents, would do such a thing.

I'm not going to make this about them, but let's talk about young marriage as a whole. People don't get married for the same reasons that they used to. There has been a trend in certain private religious universities that students will get married just to have sex because their religion says that sex can only occur in a holy union.

So I want to know what you think about marrying young and how young is too young? When you get married, what will be your reasons? 

Google's +1 Feature

In the wake of all things Google, such as the Chromebooks and the Chrome Web App Store, Google has come out with something else. A +1 feature. Apparently, it is for when you find something particularly witty or amazing and want to recommend it. It's like putting your badge of honor on it and saying that it was a good thing. Kind of like the Facebook "like" button, however overused, the Facebook like button is you telling people who troll your site that yes you "like" the fact that your friend who you haven't seen in person for the past five or so years, got a new haircut, so that it looks exactly like the haircut that they had five years ago when you last saw them on the street.

The reason why I even know about this feature is not because I'm hip and keep up with all things Google, but simply because when I loaded my blogger site, on which this post appears, this little logo thing parks itself on the right of "share this" bar (you know the one with facebook and twitter on it and other social networking sites that no one goes to). Now I'm seeing it everywhere. News outlets, fiction sites, the whole shebang. I'm not frightened, but think about it, Google implemented something, and just like that *the snap of my fingers* it's everywhere. Which makes me think of what else Google can do. 

The End of Everything

I couldn't think of anything to post today but I wanted to post today, so I'm going to share with you a poem I wrote.

The End of Everything

Movie Recommendation of the Week : Taxi Driver

Made in 1976 and featuring a skinny Robert DeNiro. a young Jodie Foster, and a gangster Harvey Keitel, this movie confused me. Maybe it was just the DVD that I had but it just started, like an old VHS tape. No menu, no nothing. Part of me likes that because of the era that it is from and part of me feels like it is very much out of my control. This movie was recommended by that film analytics teacher that I told you doesn't like Ellen Page, for some stupid reason. Anyway, I got around to watching it last night and this morning. After the initial issue with the DVD itself, (I paused it for close to thirty minutes) it was interesting. I was disturbed, which is new for me. There were so many things that were vulgar and crude. I felt dirty watching it, but it was all very beautiful. It was odd to see DeNiro as a young man, so open and expressive and talkative,  I think that took away from the movie a little, because he talked so much that after a while I got annoyed with it. I had always known about DeNiro's "You Talkin' to Me"thing but I never knew where it was from. His language was so vulgar that sometimes it was hard to listen to. I think he felt guilty for taking a life. Harvey Keitel as a skinny pimp is odd to see. I kept thinking that the presidential candidate Palantine wasn't a very good speaker. In any case, DeNiro's character was believable, but I couldn't get into the movie.

Don't get me wrong; I didn't hate it but I didn't understand the motivation behind a lot of his acts. Until the last one. I think that it's a good movie, if you have the will to sit through a bunch of monologues and voiceovers by Robert DeNiro. I think it's a movie that people tell you to watch because of the pop culture references. My opinion, if you are watching it for the performance of Jodie Foster, I recommend it. 

Books vs. Movies : Part One

Since it’s the beginning of the month, I would like to introduce a segment that I like to call Books vs. Movies. I do a lot of versus articles on here and something I hear a lot when a book is going to be made into a movie is that “they are going to mess it up”, and sometimes “they” do, but here is the arena where they duke it out and where I am the judge and you are the jury. 

We all know that Hollywood is pretty much fresh out of original ideas, so let’s talk about those adaptations and if you think of any that you want me to talk about, feel free to comment below. 

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief: 

Based on a children’s series called Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan, this movie confused audiences when it came out at the same time as Clash of the Titans, whose main character is also named Perseus. The confusion came over the fact that the fathers were different; in Clash, Perseus’ father is Zeus and in Lightning Thief, Perseus’s father is Poseidon. I don’t think people were aware that Lightning Thief was a work of fiction and that Clash of the Titans was meant to be an adaptation of an actual myth, however inaccurate it was. Nevertheless, the inconsistencies between the novel and the movie are not too great, however the little things have large consequences. Like the fact that in the first book, Percy is 12 and in the movie, he’s more along the lines of 16. I assume the reason why they did that is so that Percy could have a romantic interest in Athena’s daughter, Annabelle, which I think wasn’t necessary because the building of it through a series of movies, like for instance Hermione and Ron from the Harry Potter series, would have gone over better, in my opinion. The reason why I think the age change wasn’t a good idea is because there are five books and it’s a gradual progression of age, by the end of the series, he’s 17 and done with adolescence. By starting the series in movie form with Percy being older, it is going to be hard to make the rest of the books in the series without encountering the whole college thing. Besides that, the movie did a good job of portraying the particulars of the Greek mythology. When I read the books, and generally when I read books like this, I try to cast them in my head because a lot of books are becoming movies, like the Hunger Games. I think it was well cast. I was surprised by the choice of Pierce Brosnan as Chiron/ Mr. Brunner, though happy surprised. When it comes to being true to the words, sometimes there are things that you cannot do when converting to paper to film, but I believe that there was a great effort made and that should be acknowledged. 


However, only one can win. So I'm leaving it up to you. Leave in the comments below which you think is better.