Yes, I liked the movie Titanic. There. I said it. I even cried once. Or was it twice? I can’t remember. But I definitely did not cry three times. Nosiree. And no, I didn’t see the movie 3 times. ::shifty eyes:: Honestly, I cannot tell a lie. My hand to the Bible…
In addition to crying only once and seeing the movie only once (::eyes are still shifty::), I kinda, sorta, maybe like Celine Dion’s ‘My heart will go on’. But then I like Celine Dion so, that might account for why I think the song is good. But for those that don’t like her music (heathens!), perhaps you’ll like this version of ‘My heart will go on’ by Postmodern Jukebox. It’s vintage 50’s Jackie Wilson style remix and it’s really good. Trust me.
Natacha Atlas is a Belgian singer whose work is infused with Arabic and Western electronic music (particularly hip-hop). I may not understand what she’s saying, but there is no question that she has an amazing voice!
Chris Banner is a fan of Batman. That’s actually an understatement. ‘Obsessed with Batman’ is a better description of him (and I don’t mean this in a bad way; obsessions are not inherently bad, and Banner is harming no one with his).
You could call Chris Banner’s love of Batman a true passion. Well, it’s actually more of an obsession.
“I’ve got a problem,” he confessed. “Everything I have is a bat. All my tractors have bats; my trucks, bats. Socks, underwear, you name it. I’m bat.
From the boots to the bat-cave and a custom-built Batmobile, Banner has made his being Batman his third job. He even patrols his hometown of Valley Center, San Diego, as the Caped Crusader.
His ride, he built from scratch, stripping down a 1947 Ford Galaxy and rearranging its engine and radiator. The work took about a year to complete, and it includes a camera to help him back up, a custom-made dashboard, lights and a smoke machine.
“It’s all made of fiber glass,” Banner told NBC 7 Wednesday. “It’s 22-feet long, and it’s one heck of a machine to drive, especially when you’re Batman.”
The batty fanatic started collecting his favorite superhero’s gear after he got his first Robin costume at age 7. Now, he’s turned his love toward a good cause. He produces live Batman shows about 40 times a year, sometimes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
“You know some of these kids only have so much time left, and to put a smile on their face, it makes them happy. It’s worth it to me,” he said. “Makes that whole day better so hopefully I got to a good place.”
Bringing light to the lives of children? That’s a really awesome thing for him to do. I tip my hat to you good sir.
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By way of This is Colossal, here are some images of some amazingly beautiful hand-made resin bangles infused with bark, leaves, flowers, plants and shells. These bangles and more are available for purchase at Faerie and Etsy.
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Oooh, a new album from Florence and the Machine will be available on June 2. Here’s a video of the first single, ‘What Kind of Man’ (warning, the video is NSFW):
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You may have been miffed by the palpable lack of a juicy Sophia-based plot in the second season of Orange Is the New Black, but fear not: OITNB is no longer the only TV series on which actress/trans activist Laverne Cox will appear. It’s just been announced that she’ll be co-starring as Cameron Wirth, a transgender attorney, in CBS’ next legal drama, Doubt (no relation to nuns). The role was allegedly written specifically for her. Wirth is described in The Hollywood Reporteras being as “competitive as she is compassionate. She’s fierce, funny and the fact that she’s experienced injustice first hand makes her fight all the harder for her clients.” Cox will appear alongside a yet-unannounced star, who’ll lead the show with her title-influencing doubts: this main character is another attorney who’s romantically involved with a client being charged for an act of brutality. The script will be penned by Grey’s Anatomy writers Tony Phelan and Joan Rater.
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How the hell did Patrick Bertoletti consume 444 wings in 30 minutes?! Seriously, where did he put all that food? I love wings as much as the next guy, but after about 15 wings, I’m full. Does he have a few extra stomachs?
If your planning on serving wings at your Super Bowl party on Sunday, don’t invite Patrick Bertoletti. We have a feeling he won’t be craving wings anytime soon. The Chicagoan, known by his competitive eating stage name as “Deep Dish” gobbled up 444 chicken wings in 30 minutes this afternoon at the 23rd annual Wing Bowl in Philadelphia. By doing so Bertoletti smashed the previous record of 363 wings set last year and barely edged out his rival (and prior record-holder) Molly Schuyler, who came in with 440 wings.
About 20,000 people gathered at Wells Fargo Arena to watch contestants duke it out in the grand battle to be the one true supreme wing champion. “I have the sweats but I feel a lot better because I know I don’t have to eat any more chicken wings,” Bertoletti exclaimed after his victory. In the last two minutes alone, Bertoletti consumed 50 wings by ripping apart the wings and stuffing the meat into his mouth. Bertoletti was still chewing for two minutes after the contest ended.
For that matter, how did Schulyer consume 440 wings?
So I’m just sitting here on my day off, catching up on news, checking out social media…that kinda thing (yes, I’m fully prepared to be depressed about the state of humanity). In the background, I have Pandora set to alternative radio (for a short time I had the radio blaring away Xmas music, but damn, I’m sick of religious-themed Christmas music…there are a lot of us non-theists and many of us sure would like to have some non-theistic holiday music to listen to…hmmm, maybe I’ll go looking for some). Next thing I know, I’m jamming to a song I’ve not heard of before. ‘Flaws‘, it’s called. By an English band called Bastille. It’s pretty darned cool.
When all of your flaws and all of my flaws
Are laid out one by one
A wonderful part of the mess that we made
We pick ourselves undone
All of your flaws and all of my flaws
They lie there hand in hand
Ones we’ve inherited, ones that we learned
They pass from man to man
There’s a hole in my soul
I can’t fill it I can’t fill it
There’s a hole in my soul
Can you fill it? Can you fill it?
You have always worn your flaws upon your sleeve
And I have always buried them deep beneath the ground
Dig them up; let’s finish what we’ve started
Dig them up, so nothing’s left unturned
All of your flaws and all of my flaws,
When they have been exhumed
We’ll see that we need them to be who we are
Without them we’d be doomed
There’s a hole in my soul
I can’t fill it I can’t fill it
There’s a hole in my soul
Can you fill it? Can you fill it?
You have always worn your flaws upon your sleeve
And I have always buried them deep beneath the ground
Dig them up; let’s finish what we’ve started
Dig them up, so nothing’s left unturned
Oooooh
Oooooh
When all of your flaws
And all of my flaws are counted
When all of your flaws
And all of my flaws are counted
You have always worn your flaws upon your sleeve
And I have always buried them deep beneath the ground
Dig them up. Let’s finish what we’ve started
Dig them up. So nothing’s left unturned
Oooooh
Oooooh
All of your flaws and all of my flaws
Are laid out one by one
Look at the wonderful mess that we made
We pick ourselves undone
(and of course I just found out that this is the same band that performs ‘Pompeii’, which I like as well)
During the opening of his performance at Seattle’s Key Arena, legendary artist Stevie Wonder weighs in on the grand jury decisions in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases.
(here are the lyrics)
“Living For The City”
“A boy is born in hard time Mississippi
Surrounded by four walls that ain’t so pretty
His parents give him love and affection
To keep him strong moving in the right direction
Living just enough, just enough for the city.
His father works some days for fourteen hours
And you can bet he barely makes a dollar
His mother goes to scrub the floor for many
And you’d best believe she hardly gets a penny
Living just enough, just enough for the city..
His sister’s black but she is sho ’nuff pretty
Her skirt is short but Lord her legs are sturdy
To walk to school she’s got to get up early
Her clothes are old but never are they dirty
Living just enough, just enough for the city.
Her brother’s smart he’s got more sense than many
His patience’s long but soon he won’t have any
To find a job is like a haystack needle
Cause where he lives they don’t use colored people
Living just enough, just enough for the city…
Living just enough…
For the city..
[repeat several times]
His hair is long, his feet are hard and gritty
He spends his love walking the streets of New York City
He’s almost dead from breathing on air pollution
He tried to vote but to him there’s no solution
Living just enough, just enough for the city.
I hope you hear inside my voice of sorrow
And that it motivates you to make a better tomorrow
This place is cruel no where could be much colder
If we don’t change the world will soon be over
Living just enough, just enough for the city.”
I really love getting to hear new songs that just rock. These are songs that I hear and immediately want to bust out on the dance floor and move to. Over at Weodmusic, I discovered one such song, Ingrosso & Alesso’s ‘Calling (Lose My Mind)’ featuring Ryan Tedder. As soon as I hit play, I could feel the music move through me and there I was, washing dishes, and jamming in the kitchen to a song I’d never heard before, but am incredibly glad I did.
oooh, and here’s another one:
and now, because I’m in a Deborah Cox mood a song that makes me feel so good that it makes me cry (yes, I’m crying as I listen to this song. It strikes such a powerful chord in me. I can’t explain it. It’s like when I get extremely angry, I cry. Starting to wonder if emotional extremes just cause me to cry…)
‘Absolutely Not’
Uh-oh, I’m on an old school (for me) roll. Here’s some Melanie C ‘I Turn To You’:
Aaaaaand one more. A little Tamia ‘Stranger In My House’ remix by Thunderpuss:
Damn! I’d forgotten how powerful the natural high of being amped up on good music can make me. Wish I lived in a city with a good gay bar to go dancing at (well that and some money to go partying with).
Almost five years after a rebrand that abandoned the Sci-Fi moniker and enraged fans, NBCUniversal brass is aware that its attempt to lure a broader audience might have lost it some clout in the increasingly lucrative genre that shares its former name. Now Syfy president DaveHowe is trying to rectify the perception problem with changes in the executive ranks that will translate to new programming more familiar to its core audience.
“We want to be the best science-fiction channel that we possibly can, and in some respects, that means going back to the more traditional sci-fi/fantasy that fans often say they feel we’ve exited,” Howe tells THR. “We’re going to occupy that space in a way we haven’t for the past few years.”
As part of the pact, Disney-owned Maker will work with the Latino talent found across MiTu’s 1,300 partner channels to produce English- and Spanish-language programming.
MiTu chief revenue officer Charlie Echeverry called the deal a turning point for brands. “It’s no longer only the responsibility of those in multicultural disciplines to plan and execute against the Latino opportunity — everyone along the marketing value chain is interested in these capabilities,” he added. “We are confident that this partnership will provide world-class Latino branded content and social amplification solutions to Maker’s extensive portfolio of current partners, and serve as a vehicle for any brand eager to reach today’s digital Latino consumer base.”
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I wanted to like this song-‘Hard Out Here’-by Lily Allen. It’s all about the difficulty she had getting back into the music industry following the birth of her children. The industry’s sexist standards for women-to sell albums, women have to adhere to inhuman standards of beauty while being sexually objectified by male consumers. Allen seems to want to give a ‘Fuck You’ to those standards, but as Julianne Escobedo Shepherd writes, it doesn’t go quite as planned:
It starts out promising enough: Lily’s lying on an operating table being liposuctioned by rough doctors with American and British accents. They prod her and marvel at the amount of fat she must have removed. Her manager stands bedside, reporting to her which late-night hosts have rejected her services. “How can somebody let themselves get like this, you know?” he complains. She responds sweetly, “Well I’ve had two babies!” The manager shakes his head. It’s all good, winking commentary on the entertainment industry’s rigid, unsympathetic body standards. We can get down with that, no? We’re all familiar with the disapproving tabloid headlines about how pregnant celebrities have “ballooned,” and then the praise heaped upon them when they whip their “post-baby bodies” into shape in record times. It’s unrealistic. Let Lily Allen have babies like a normal, my dudes!
Things go south right around the time the vocals drop in: “I suppose I should tell you, what this bitch is thinking.” Go on… “You’ll find me in the studio and not in the kitchen.” Preach! And? “I won’t be braggin’ bout my cars, or talkin’ bout my chains, don’t need to shake my ass for you cause I’ve got a brain.”
OHHHH!!!!!! FOUL, LILY. And therein begin the false equivalencies—that bragging about material goods is exclusively stupid (and not, say, aspirational or representational), and that women who dance or shake their asses are stupid. The latter is made especially ironic by the fact that Allen has chosen to populate her video with women, mostly of color, who twerk in slow motion and pour champagne down their breasts like errant ejaculate. These are all things that we have seen in rap videos, of course, but it doesn’t make it any better if it’s executed under the guise of satire: this is the exact kind of shit that got Nelly banned from Spelman and BET Uncut cancelled.
I agree. Allen does seem to be setting herself up as superior to others in the music industry-those she deems too focused on material goods. Yet material goods aren’t inherently bad and there’s nothing wrong with wanting them. Had she continued her critique of the impossible standards for women in the industry, I think the song would have been better (even though it has catchy lyrics). This isn’t the only area where the song fails. You can read more of Shepard’s criticism atThe Hairpin.
I’ve been using the Gillette Mach 3 razor for years (not the same one…wow that would hurt) and it more than suits my needs. I just wish razors weren’t so blasted expensive. Thankfully I reuse them a few times before I chuck them.
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This is 2 parts cool, 3 parts scary. I think he should have had more protection on.
Also, I kinda wanted the Road Runner or the Flash to zoom up next to the guy and ask him why he’s going so slow 🙂
One day I need to sit down and analyze the lyrics to music that hits me in the gut and evokes a strong emotional reaction. I don’t know why P!nk’s song ‘Fuckin’ Perfect’ has that reaction, but it does. It’s a powerful song, and I dearly love it. It’s probably NSFW since it contains coarse words (as many probably know I think people are far too anti-profanity).
