I was moderating my lj community, because I'm a fancy mod of a fancy two-member comm, and an advertisement caught my eye on the right side of the screen. It is very minimalist:
Of course it is. Tom Cruise always stays classy.
Of course I proceeded to click on the advertisement. I mean I NEVER click them, on principle, but exceptions must be made at times like these.
Now, the OFFICIAL TOM CRUISE WEBSITE. All I have to say is... what in the name of Tom Cruise's pyjamas is this fuckery? I know he is insane, but goddamn.
Here, a screen-capped tour:
When you first enter the site, you are confronted by a 10-hour montage of ***grand Tom Cruise moments in cinema***, including this scene from the lauded masterpiece Vanilla Sky:
The accompanying dramatic music is a very nice touch.
Next, an amazing "Message from Tom" that nearly made me weep, especially because there was a dream-like ADDITIONAL montage playing in the background and it's hard to read with that kind of distraction!!:
In his message, Tom graciously reveals that he has created this website to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of Risky Business, his "first starring role in a film." Got that? STARRING. He continues to say:
I created this site as a thank you, to you, for sharing the journey with me and to invite you to continue to explore what the future will bring.
Wow. More highlights.... all of Tom's STARRING role films:
A fancy photo gallery:
The "What's New" section advertises Valkyrie (and a link to buy tickets of course) and his appearance on Oprah. Also, a badass picture of Tom showing off his muscles (YOU CAN'T FOOL ME TOM I KNOW UR PUSHING THEM UP W/ YOUR HANDS):
EDIT 1/18: Okay more information from the official Coachella board- it's looking more likely that they will be there, but on Saturday since that is the only open day in their tour schedule:
04.16.2009
Phoenix, AZ
Dodge Theatre
04.17.2009 4.18.2009
Las Vegas Coachella???
The Joint
04.19.2009
San Jose, CA
Event Center at San Jose
04.22.2009
Seattle, WA
WaMu Theater at Qwest Field Events Center
Indio is apparently only 4 hours from Las Vegas so this is very likely. However, this puts the question of whether the Killers will headline under even more scrutiny- will the Killers really headline a Saturday? The day Prince and Radiohead have headlined before? But then to that I would say Coldplay also headlined the same day, at a time when they had the same amount of albums as the Killers right now, so this is not impossible in the least. Some on the board are predicting that the Killers will be listed as intial headliners and then later on a bigger surprise headliner will be announced and added above them. This happened last year when Portishead were originally named Saturday headliners and later Prince was announced and placed above them.
One more thing- I'm sick of people on that board saying that the Killers will not attract an audience or sell tickets. I'm not going to create a username and argue, but all I have to say is-
1. Their Madison Square Garden show sold out almost immediately. Both two years ago and a couple months ago. Even in their $$-costing fanclub presale! Literally one minute and gone for the latter. 2. and most important- the Killers have had no dates in Southern California throughout any of the three legs of the US tour that have been announced so far- there were a few in San Francisco, one now in San Jose, but NOTHING in any part of Southern California! And they have a huge following in L.A. (I should know. Quickly sold out Staples Center), not to mention the rest of the region. These people haven't seen them in two years and are dying to, so you can damn straight bet that they will haul ass to Indio just to see them headline. Alright? Alright.
/END EDIT --------------------------------------
One of the most buzzed about bands for potential headliner is, oh, what would you know- The Killers! Some boardies are saying they have had unofficial confirmations... and the writer of Consequence of Sound is claiming he got a confirmation from a source that requested to stay anonymous. All together it sounds pretty legit. I mean just look at the album art for Day & Age above- as my meticulous editing shows, it is practically a foreshadowing of a Coachella set.
Granted, just about everyone on that board (except the awesome person who started this thread) is bitching about the possibility of the Killers headlining. I bet none of them has ever seen them live. But after reading all of their nasty comments, I almost don't want the Killers to headline... I don't want them to be the laughing stock of music blogs and hipsters all over the US in the coming months. Really, no. There has been enough of that already. They don't deserve to experience the exhilaration of a Killers concert.
... Obviously I do personally think the Killers should headline and can pull it off in a huge way. But the haters at Coachella can be so vicious and I don't want them to have to deal with that shit. And what if the hipster crowd just stands and stares blankly during the whole concert? Yeah, I can just envision them doing that right now. It would ruin everything. That kind of crowd isn't meant for Killers concerts. It's just not right when people aren't singing every word and jumping along.
My teensy little hope is that, if the Killers do headline one night, they end up blowing everyone away and squash all the nay-sayers. However, I have enough experience with this band to know that is not likely to happen... indie snobs won't even give them the chance to impress them- most will just write them off before they even arrive at Indio. Just because they're played on KROQ. Or something stupid like that. Oh indie snobs, why must you be so pathetic.
Anyway. How do these videos on their own not make this band worthy of a headlining spot in Coachella? Someone Explain to me, please. From T in the Park 2007 (in Scotland, where crowds know how to go properly insane for a band, damnit)
All These Things That I've Done:
Enterlude & When You Were Young:
I rest my case.
So, if the Killers want to stay safe, they should avoid the headlining spot. Maybe be sub-headliners instead and later possibly-maybe be singled out for stealing the show (again, doubtful, but for some reason more likely as sub's). But if they want to take a risk- which they have done far too many times than is healthy already- they should dive in and headline. Why not. Prove those assholes wrong. And even if they don't change any snobs' opinions and the audience is completely unresponsive and leads to a flat set... even then, at least they didn't cower at the possibility of being ridiculed. As long as they try their best they will be, in my opinion, phenomenal. All the snobs whining that there better be a good band in the Sahara tent during the Killers set will eat their hearts out for missing them.
Now, let's wait and see what Coachella and the Killers have up their sleeves... expect a lineup announcement sometime in the next few weeks!
I'm trying to come up with creative titles. It's not really working.
So... Passion Pit. They're a band from Cambridge- no, not the UK, but Massachusetts.
I don't usually bother to know "up-and-coming" bands until they are established as mainstays, because I just don't have the patience or the iPod space for all those little bands vying for my attention. I know it's cool to name a bunch of unknown bands as your favorites, but I've accepted that I'm just not ever going to be that cool a long time ago. It would take too much effort.
So the reason I know about these guys is that they performed at my college during freshman orientation, right when I was freaking out and wondering where the hell I was. By the way, that feeling hasn't changed too much thus far. But I'll leave that for another post. They opened for Broken Social Scene (yeah, my school is cool like that) and I remember that- standing between my new friend who had never been to a concert before and a mustached hipster wearing a Dora the Explorer backpack, selling weed- I remember that I was quite impressed.
I like the opening beepy beat. And I especially love the yelpy "Have you seen me cryyy?" That part is awesome, I don't know why. My ears just like it. So I've been listening to that song over and over again right now.
Back to why I'm discussing the band- I read in my school's unoffical blog, Mads, that the band is signed onto a current junior's record label? wtff? Apparently she's also the head of the music section of our student association- so she brought MSTRKRFT, BSS, and last year M.I.A, Girl Talk, almost MGMT (they cancelled), Vampire Weekend, next semester Beirut... uhhh so yeah she has the skillz down pretty much. But seriously, a record label? Damn I need to get my act together.
It's called Neon Gold. Nice name. The strange thing is that Passion Pit's label is listed everywhere as Frenchkiss. But Neon Gold is on their bestest friends list on their Myspace. So I guess they're under both? Who knows?
Here's their new video for Sleepyhead (also a great song):
It's quite different from "I've Got Your Number." These guys are versatile.
Go to Passion Pit's last.fm to hear the rest of their tracks. I recommend "Better Things" as well. So keep your eyes on these guys, I have a good feeling about them.
The commenters on this video (The Killers' Human) are so fucking hilarious. I'm seriously cracking up reading them and I'm probably freaking my roommate out. See for yourself:
Oh WOW people are retarded. By the way, the lyrics to Human by the lyrics are DANCER. Not "denser" not "dancers" not "cancer" not "sweater" it's fucking dancer- "Are we human or are we dancer?" PERIOD. So accept it and get over the fact that you are too DENSE to accept that some things are not as immediate and obvious as "the sky is blue." Even though one can say that even that is arguable. See? So STFU. But actually don't because I am oh so highly entertained.
Comment winners:
Some of you are just so quick to judge, you don't even try to understand. Have you ever thought, may-be they're not saying "dancer", may-be they're saying "denser". Have you pondered that may-be if they were to say "dancer", that if it were gramitically correct it woud be "dancerS".
OR, 'may-be' it IS DANCER?!?!?
Yes they write about such things, but that's only half of the equation. That's like saying 300 kids in my school wear glasses, you might say "That's alot", but you're forgetting out of what? What if I were to say 300/1000 than that's not such a big number. White rappers do to. It's just that they're not as famous. You're forgetting about those rappers. How many white rappers can you name off the top of your head, honestly? In general it's usually just Eminem.
What are you talking about and what the HELL does it have to do with the Killers?
ILIKE THIS SONG!!!!!! KINDA
LOL UR SO SMART!!!!!!!!!!! KINDA
it has to do with stfu about it
Thank you I love you.
Great song, just a question, What where they smoking when they came up wiv these lyrics?
Good question.
this has to be by several streets the best song of the year
hahaha several streets.
it is the copy-mixture of the ¨Make a Move¨ of INCUBUS & ¨Minerva¨ of Deftones. And the song is a ¨churro¨
uh, no?
Ever notice that a recurring theme in those who think it MUST be denser is that they're wobbly on if not completely incapable of spelling correctly?
YES.
It is neither dancer nor denser, but CANCER! Because thats what humans are... they are cancer...
lol true dat.
the cd lyrics say denser
(keep in mind, Killers CD's don't come with the lyrics) Responses to that ^:
well you got a dodgy CD... it is D A N C E R
HAHAH. AM I the only one laughing from that answer? Yes? OK. Another response:
Brandon Flowers said its DANCER and I think he knows alot better then you
PREACH IT.
Okay I'm done!
And yes, this has been another Killers post. BUT I AM ALLOWED. The album came out two weeks ago, give me a break! I promise it will subside but this is the time when I go on my Victim craze. Just look away and let me be. It's my blog! HAHA. I need help.
And yes, I am reading comments on Youtube videos instead of studying for finals. And yes I am an idiot. Yes.
By the way this is the kind of madness that the Killers incite in people. After watching this, you will understand my malady:
This is what the videographer wrote to describe his video:
as watching the Killers perform.. amidst the rocking crowd were two very much in love asians! who thought they were so cool singing to each other the lyrics of every killers track, not to mention, their unfavorable public display of affection. it was a good song played in the background but thanks to them, it was destroyed. so who ever you may be... thanks for killing the killers concert.
It sounds even better than the recorded version... I might just have to see them live.
Although I don't know how I would fare standing next to all those nature hipsters in the crowd. They would probably throw up if they knew I was seeing the Killers at MSG soon.
YES, THAT'S RIGHT. The Killers at fucking MADISON SQUARE GARDEN. January 25th. It will be pure bliss. Oh my oh my. And I have floor tickets, don't ask me how I'm just the luckiest person in the world and braved the cold and lack of internet connection on this campus to get them from the fan club the moment they went on sale. Yeah, so you know I'm going to be standing out there in the snow from the early morning making sure to get front row at this concert!
I love how I can turn any topic to the Killers. Even Fleet Foxes.
I know, I've been neglecting my poor Sponge baby. But, who can blame me... only COLLEGE has been taking over my life. No big deal or anything. I'll get back in the groove soon, I just needed some time to focus on the non-computer parts of my life.
Personally, I think this is a genius step on MTV's part. And, obviously, they haven't made too many genius decisions in a long time so I am not just saying that lightly.
From HuffPo:
NEW YORK — MTV is staking its brand on a lesser-known one: Russell Brand.
The British actor and comedian will host this year's Video Music Awards, set to air live from Paramount Pictures Studios in Los Angeles on Sept. 7, MTV told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Brand recently co-starred in the Judd Apatow-produced comedy "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and the Reese Witherspoon-produced fairy tale "Penelope." He is currently filming the Adam Sandler comedy "Bedtime Stories," slated for release later this year.
Brand told the AP that he hadn't started thinking about how he would approach the assignment _ not that there's much planning to be done for the infamously anything-goes show.
"I've just been invited to do it," Brand said in a telephone interview from London. "It'll be good to preside over what is sure to be only vaguely coordinated televised insanity."
Not that chaos or improv a problem for the 33-year-old comedian.
"That's how I've made my name in this country: Flying very much by the seat _ and the crotch _ of my pants."
MTV hired Brand to be a VJ on its Britain-based show "Dance Floor Chart" after catching his comedy act in Edinburgh, Scotland. He also hosted a call-in show called MTV Select.
Why genius? Maybe I'm being hyperbolic, but I really am impressed by MTV actually taking a chance and having someone virtually unknown on this side of the pond hosting the VMA's. Who is an actual host and knows how to, you know, host. As opposed to, well, the typical egomaniacal, deplorable, half-witted tabloid celebrity. Let's face it, MTV barely takes any risks and so this is a refreshing surprise. Of course I, with my Anglophilia and obsession with all things British, am just about one of only like 100 Americans who knows who Russell Brand is. He's just a crazy man with crazy hair from England and he's sure to make the night fun. I might actually watch just because of him. So good job MTV! I'm proud of you for taking a risk! And for actually knowing who this guy is, I mean damn. And I thought your (MTV's) head was up your ass all along! Good to see it come out finally! And also, I haven't mentioned this, I laud you (MTV) for creating the show FNMTV. It is a very noble and admirable effort to inject music back into MTV, and although it is still a bit awkward, it has a lot of potential. And I love that it plays bands like Vampire Weekend, Slipknot, and the Jonas Brothers all together. That is awesome.
FOX News should go fuck itself. For one, I hate all those airheaded bimbos that only get the job there to look pretty. That's right, sweeties, they don't give a shit what you have to say- the slimy old creeps that somehow manage to watch this piece of crap channel just want to stare at your tits. Sorry, but that's reality. And the stupid passive aggressive guys that are on the fox News talk shows... they're just way past saving, way past anything. All of these people just need to fuck off and live under a rock in their own house, NOT in my television!
How dare they talk about Michelle that way. Michelle has more class and dignity in one finger nail then they can ever wish to have in their entire life. Bunch of pathetic fools.
This is amazing. FINALLY the rest of the US can witness the awesomeness that is Skins.
It's kind of crazy because this is exactly what I complained about at the end of this post back in February. But now my wishes have been answered and now I will be able to watch Skins in all of its non-crappy-internet-video-quality glory: on TV! That's right, Skins is going to be on BBC America (not quite as good as the major networks or even MTV, but good enough). Here's all the info:
Skins is set to air in the US on BBC America.
What on earth will they make of the outrageous, honest and buoyant kids when compared to the groomed kids of The OC or Gossip Girl?
Hopefully it will be a wake up call on depicting teenagers as true teenagers, not just young adults with adult values. But it will also push a lot of buttons for its use of sex, drugs and rock & roll. At least on cable it has a lot more leeway.
The series will air in a 9pm timeslot from August 13.
The second series of Skins airs at 10pm Mondays on SBS (although it's resting for 2 weeks during the Tour de France cycling -back July 21).
Producers have also indicated all but one of the current cast will be replaced for the third series.
I was rooting for him to do well. I mean, I get the whole problem with having a rapper- an American rapper no less- headlining this legendary, historically rock-oriented British festival. But the uproar just got kind of out of hand. It started making me uncomfortable- it's like big whoop, let him headline! It started looking a bit racist, although I'm sure that's not where people were trying to go. Well anyway, he did a great job. The crowd frickin' loved him. I love the site of everyone in the audience waving their hands back and forth together and singing along to "It's a Hard Knocked Life." Later in this video Jay-Z says in a sad voice, "so they say you guys don't want me to be here tonight." And everyone booooos. "Said you guys are not into hip-hop" Crowd: "Boooooo!!" (in a good way).
Another cute Obama video for public enjoyment. Here he is watching his daughters' soccer match with his wife:
Noteworthy:
-Obama's tucked in shirt- all the better to accentuate the ass. Oh, no she di'int! Yes, yes I did. And all those crazy Wonkette commenters said it before me.
-Michelle playfully "slapping" at Barack at the end of the video. Awwww! They are so adorable I just want to jump in and join them. That would be really awkward though, wouldn't it? But anyway, do you think this was staged? I choose to think not. And whatever I choose to think is always true, obvs.
-LOL at the AP photographer people's reactions to the Obamas' playfulness. (That is the voices we hear, right? The photographers'?). If I am not mistaken, and it is very likely that I am, when Obama first nudges/pushes Michelle, some guy says, "OH OH! That's a good shot!" And then when Michelle soon hits him some woman gasps and says "OOH OOH OOH!" It's called a paparazzorgasm.
Unrelated... I want to invent a new snack, which would be a combination of two great things:
-Bamba (an Israeli snack I have eaten all my life. It is sold in my local supermarket here in LA too. It is one of the most amazing snacks in the universe. If you love peanut butter. Which you should, duh).
Join me on this great journey through the fabled and whimsical lands of the hipsters...
You might think hipsters are randomly dispersed and have no correlations to each other (because that wouldn't be cool), but then you would be fiercely mistaken. If you thought that. So. Here I shall unfold connections between the following subjects:
-Phantom Planet -BlackBlack -M83 -Sixteen Candles & Pretty in Pink & Breakfast Club -The Cobrasnake
Get ready to have your mind blown. Alright, it's actually not that big of a deal at all. But this has taken years of Cobrasnake.com-stalking to figure out so I'm quite proud. In an embarrassed sort of way, anyway.
So once upon a time, about four or more years ago, I discovered this lil' website called The Cobrasnake, where Mark "the Cobrasnake" took pictures of hipsters in their prehistoric forms and posted them online. Prehistoric because it was before the threshold point that took place somewhere around 2006/2007 when the hipster style spilled out from Cinespace and such underground hipster-infested night clubs into the hungry mouth of the mainstream. The mainstream, that vicious beast, got tired of the "boho" (eww, remember that?) hippy style and also tired of the later quasi-boho Rachel-Zoe/anorexic-coke-addict/denim-mini-loose-top-vest-huge-sunglasses combo... and devoured the new hipster trend. And, behold, seas of neon wayfarers and bright skinny jeans took over the streets. This is not really important to the aforementioned "connections"... it's just background. To add richness.
So, back to those early prehistoric days... before Cory Kennedy's dirty hair ever graced our eyes... there was this odd girl on the Cobrasnake. She had a young face, kind of pretty in an awkward model sort of way, and she was incredibly lanky and such. Here she is, back in the day, the giantess in the middle:
Notice also a younger Mark the Cobrasnake there in the far left, with a huge jewfro. Nice. Watch that picture carefully because that's the hipster style before hipster was a widely used slur. It still had the annoying sporty vibe...but it was more innocent, don't you think? More prehistoric hipster styles can be found where that picture came from:
... which was Mark's website before he started the Cobrasnake. Luckily he hasn't removed it, so we can indulge in comparing and contrasting old hipster vs. new hipster.
But I digress. AGAIN. Ugh, it's so hard for me to stay on track sometimes. So, this was around the time that I obsessively read Elle Girl (RIP), aka the most amazing magazine to ever exist. Anyway, the magazine had some sort of young talent feature spread and in the section for bands, they featured a lil' band called BlackBlack. It featured Alex Greenwald, the singer in Phantom Planet, whom I recognized back then- probably because they sang the theme to the OC. Or something. Then with him was a girl about my age (back then) with short hair, and an older girl WHO WAS THE AWKWARD GIRL FROM THE COBRASNAKE. Mhmm, connections. Remember, keep track. The mini-article said that Alex, the Phantom Planet singer guy, was dating Diva Dompe (real name I think is probably Diva Haskins. Who knows.) aka lanky Cobrasnake girl. And the young girl was Lola Dompe or Lola Haskins- Diva Dompe's little sister. All three of them created this sorta-band BlackBlack. Sorta because Alex was already in Phantom Planet so how serious can it be, right? Here they are, all three of them together:
And here are only Diva Dompe and Alex Greenwald, in case you're still skeptical:
Oh, look! A hipster picnic in the background. Yay.
Something sweet about the pseudo-band is that they like to dress up in different themes for their performances:
Not so sure what the theme is in that one... Lola is wearing a flower heandband in the background. Oh- by the way- Lola is the drummer, Diva is the guitarist/singer, and then I don't even know what Alex does. Is he also the guitarist/singer? I don't remember and I can't bother to look through the Cobrasnake archives to find out. It was enough to find the photos I'm posting now!
About... maybe three or four years ago, I was watching some indie video show on TV (believe it or not, there are two- which no one knows about because they play at like 3 am (yay Tivo!)- they are Subterranean on MTV2 and The Dive on Fuse. So I was watching one of those and a video by an indie band called M83 started, and who should be featured in it but DIVA DOMPE, lanky cobrasnake girl herself, Alex Greenwald, her boyfriend, and little Lola too! And what do you think, of course you can see the video for yourself, right here. It's called ""Don't Save Us From the Flames" and I actually quite liked it, although it was pretty strange:
See, she just kept popping out at me, it's not my fault! It's like I was meant to find all these connections! Or something.
But that is not where the story ends. Oh no. So these people have kept showing up on the Cobrasnake throughout the years. They are Cobrasnake fixtures. Here are some pictures from just a few weeks ago-
Diva:
Lola:
But it's still not over. So recently- like two weeks ago- I was innocently scrolling through Stereogum, minding my own business, when this post showed up about a new M83 music video for the song "Graveyard Girl". I was intrigued, so I started watching it, and imagine my surprise...
Yes, that is Lola! That is Lola in that video and so not only does he put Diva in his first video, but now he puts the young Lola in his new one, and he makes me feel like a stalker. Damn him. So yeah, that's the connection web right there. Oh, the Pretty in Pink/Sixteen Candles/Breakfast Club thing is because that's the theme in the "Graveyard Girl" video with Lola. By the way, both girls are simply gorgeous in their respective videos. That's totally outside of my general tone in this post, but I've just got to put that out there!
One final touch to this long and pointless story- Lola and Diva are the daughters of Kevin Haskins, the drummer in the classic British rock group Bauhaus. Their mom (his wife) is named Pamela Dompe. I just found that out now from his Wikipedia. Well now we know where the Dompe/Haskins confusion comes from.
And that is the end of the epic journey. I hope you learned something. Because I sure didn't. Ha ha.
The Killers covered Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" this week at the Las Vegas nightclub Pure. So far there is only a 30 second clip available. It's awesome, of course (not that I'm biased or anything), but I'm crossing fingers for a full video.
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun:
They also performed the Thin White Duke remix of Mr. Brightside... which makes more sense than it might sound because he (real name: Stewart Price) is producing their next album (which will possibly be released late 2008!).
Mr. Brightside:
(try to ignore tone deaf person singing in background)
HOTDAMN this show is hilarious. I don't usually like these "online shows," but this is more like a sketch thing. An SNL writer named Liz Cackowski has a fake talk show on Youtube, where she plays a soccer mom that drives around in a minivan and interviews along the way. It might not sound promising but trust me, it's really good. I especially like the, er, dysfunctional relationship between Jeannie and her stepdaughter.
Here is the first one I saw, which has her interviewing Bill Hader from SNL (I love him):
...and at alarming speed! Idiocracy is a movie by Mike Judge that barely anyone knows about, because it was dumped by FOX in very few theaters with virtually no promotion. It's a shame because the movie is absolutely hilarious and, just, classic. Go see it- rent it, find it online, whatever- if you haven't already. You can watch the whole movie here whenever you have time. Highly recommended! The situation is just like Judge's earlier movie, Office Space. That was a box office flop as well and now it's one of the greatest cult classics.
Idiocracy is a prediction of the future. However, instead of flying cars and space suits, people according to Mike Judge's brain become very very stupid- they're all just a bunch of fat slobs, basically. The movie's premise is that the smart people reproduce slowly and thoughtfully while the dumb ones breed huge, dumb families. Over time, the dumb dumbs monopolize the population and voila- a future of idiots. Which, if you think about it, is a credible scenario, however crude. Everything is controlled by a select few corporations. Water is replaced by a Gatorade-like drink called "Brawndo"- it waters the plants (obviously unsuccessfully) and comes out of all the drinking fountains. Fuddruckers hamburgers has turned into Buttfuckers hamburgers, and Costco is the location of a law school. It's all a bit scary.
Well, I was watching TV yesterday, and came across this commercial for a new ABC TV show, "Wipeout". Watch:
This show is disturbingly reminiscent of a show in Idiocracy's demented future, cleverly called "Ow My Balls." The name says it all- it's a guy who constantly gets hit in the balls. And that will supposedly the most popular show on television. Now I know Jackass was a lot like that already, but there are some important differences:
1. It was on MTV, on cable. It was not in a prime time spot on ABC on Tuesdays. 2. Jackass was more of a show about disturbing other people in public and generally, well, acting like jackasses. It was rebellious from the get-go, it wasn't meant to entertain the masses. However, this "Wipeout" show appears to feature normal people and simply has them go through obstacle courses to get hurt. There's no rebellion, no clever tricks, not even any variety. And the commercial actually tries to highlight the fact that this is all about watching people get hurt!
Just so you know what I'm babbling on about, here is "Ow My Balls" from Idiocracy:
(if you have no patience, skip to 0:20)
[oh, and just so you're not totally confused- Luke Wilson plays a very average guy that was preserved from the past (our present) for an army experiment, but it didn't work out and they forgot about him and now he finds himself in the "future" after a trash avalanche. Apparently, in the future, the trash is piled high. In this scene his preservation box lands in a random guy's (played by Dax Shepherd) house. And the guy happens to be watching "Ow My Balls." Oh, notice the advertisements around the screen- remind you of the internet by any chance? Ah yes.]
Here is the latest installment (June 19th) of the most consistently awesome show on television right now: InfoMania on Current TV. It's a recap of stuff that happened during the week- online, on TV, in the world, in magazines, etc- kind of like Best Week Ever but about 500% better. And I do like BWE. Just watch:
It always makes me laugh. And the main host, Conor Knighton! Gaah I love him. Does he know how amazing he is? I bet he doesn't. And everyone else on the show is so spot on as well. I hope this show never becomes crappy, although that's a lot to ask for since pretty much all shows deteriorate at some point.
The Viral Video Film School guy is my second favorite and he looks like Jim Halpert in the Office. Which, speaking of- I just watched the whole last season today (yeah, I'm behind)- and what people said was wrong, it didn't become worse! I loved it.
Alexander McQueen has created some *scandalous* tights and leotard-type-things for his Resort 2009 collection. Maybe they are an "F you" to hipsters who wear these things (have you ever noticed the word "tard" is in leotard? There is a reason for that. Unless we're talking about ballet of course. They have no choice). Or maybe he's joining in on the hype, albeit quite late. Anyway, behold:
Yup, I'm graduating from high school tonight. In about 4 hours, I will be walking down the football field, with my burgundy cap and gown, to the sounds of that universal graduation music. Dunno what it's called... But basically high school is over. Today was the last time I had to wake up early and drive to school. The last time I woke up my mom and took the food in the lunch bag that she makes (made) every day. The last time I thought I was late every single day (actually that might still happen in college...). The last time I go to school from my own house :(. Oh man... it really didn't hit me this morning when we were doing graduation rehearsals. Probably because the sun was SO FUCKING HOT holy crap we were all going to get heat strokes... or as my friend said yesterday at the beach, "The sun is so hard right now." And then my other friend sort of ruined the brilliance of that statement by saying "That's what she said." But we laughed anyway. We're a bit mentally challenged. But now it's all definitely starting to hit me. I mean, I'm not a high schooler anymore. I might not even be a teenager anymore. I don't know what the fuck I am! I always get sad when I get older and this is no different. I feel like every time like this, every year that passes by, is another push towards the evil fiery pit that is the real world. And I don't think I'll ever be ready for that. I'm just used to being young... I'm not used to actually being accountable for things and responsible! Oh wait, I actually sort of am... but not really. I don't know. This is so weird. And I need to treasure this moment because it's really the end of an era. 1st grade to 12th grade... that was always a sort of timeline in my mind... and now it's just over.
But enough of this freaking out. I will miss so many people in my high school and my class a lot. I'm probably going to cry a lot tonight, oh my. Okay, yeah, plenty of time for that later. Now is my relaxing in-between time, which so far I have been using up by just perusing the internets... because my dad is watching The Wire on DVD and my mom, well God knows what she's doing... and I don't feel like reading. So yeah.
Here's something that I found of interest in case you also have nothing to do:
Michelle Obama on the View. I think I love her! This is a real woman right here, no frills and such about it.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
Part 4:
Now compare that to this video of Cindy McCain on Good Morning America, which I got off of Wonkette. I really tried to like her because I hate when people say evil things about these women all the time... but I can see where they're coming from. She is a bit odd, cold, and well I don't know. I just don't like her very much. She seems like one of those women that think the woman's place is in the kitchen... inferior to the husband. Michelle, on the other hand... you can tell she is strong.
This is proof that humans are just like monkeys. These are possibly the ugliest fucking shirts on the planet, with that random crap all over them. And yet, everyone is wearing them now. Why? Well, as far as I can fathom, there's the answer right there. Because everyone is wearing them. It doesn't matter that they look like a graphic design machine exploded on the shirt. The point is that lots of people wear them, which means they are cool, which means everyone else should wear them. But they have to realize that a lot of people are idiots, and therefore they should not follow their example. Ed Hardy was ugly before it started becoming the most random trend evaaar, it is ugly now, and it always will be ugly. That is all. Can someone please do humanity, and my eyes, a favor and burn all Ed Hardy stuff please? Thank you.
Is the backlash against Keith Olbermann warranted?
Fuck yes it is! Ugh, that man pisses me off so bad. And I'm not a Republican, I'm a Democrat all the way (obvs). So no bias here. He's just so uppity and snooty and nasally-voiced and UGH. Go away Olbermann. Do you know who is the "worst person in the world"? YOU.
Oh fine, no you're not. You're not even close. Probably 70% of the reason I hate you is your damn snobby stuffy-nosed voice. And also that you're always like "waah, everyone is evil. Hillary is EVIL because some woman that supports her said some BS about Obama; Hillary had nothing to do with it, but still this is why she's an EVIL satanic bitch." Yeah, um, no. Just, maybe, be a little self-deprecating from time to time and all will be fine. Only criticizing others ain't a good idea. I know, I like Brandon Flowers a.k.a major ego #1, but it's not the same. He says a lot of stuff and he doesn't really mean it. And then sometimes he does mean it, but then it's true. Or funny. Ugh, I don't know, there's no point in explaining. BFlow I do like as a human being, Olbermann no. End of. It's like an intuitive thing.
He went to Cornell University when he was only 16 so that might be part of the problem here.
BUT, ever since I heard that he beat Bill O'Reilly's #1 news network ratings for the first time ever last week (why the fuck do so many people watch that crazy bastard?!)... and even if it's Keith Olbermann, I mean... that's BILL O'REILLY we're talking about. So good for him, in that sense. As long as his voice stays out of my ears, all is good.
Oh, and he will never be on the level of Jon Stewart. Never ever EVER. So give it up, Olbermann groupies!
This pretty much speaks for itself. Muse performing "Knights of Cydonia" at the sold out Wembley Stadium in England. Insane.
How awesome are UK crowds? I would have to threaten to shoot Americans to get them into this sort of a frenzy. Actually then they would just run away. But back on topic, I love how they even sing along to the musical parts- like the "DUN, DUN, DUN... DUN, DUN, DUN...", complete with fist pumps.
Here's the audience perspective, which is arguably even more awesome:
Clearly Muse deserve every single "Best Live Act" award they've received...
Aww, this is so cute. Michelle Obama congratulates Barack on finally officially clinching the nomination in a way that beats just any lame feminine kiss- pounding it!
If that isn't a true "we did it" then I don't know what is. I don't know why this is so endearing to me, but it just is. I love that Michelle isn't the typical prissy half-brain-dead presidential nominee wife. She's got some balls yo.
I just watched a random video of her on Nylon's Youtube channel and decided to look for some old pictures of her again. I think it was 2005 when I first saw her pop up in the Cobrasnake with her friend. They were "interns." Ha, suuure. I used to stalk that website and was fascinated by the hipsters... you know, before they started infesting every corner of L.A. Oh innocent, naive youth!
Anyway, she always fascinated me. She was (is) pretty much the same age as me. But she looked a lot older, and dressed a lot, well, if not necessarily older what with the messy hair and the messy everything, at least a lot more originally and stylishly. I just remember looking at pictures of her hanging out at exclusive 21+ Downtown LA parties, or frolicking with a 22-year-old hipster dude (Mark the Cobrasnake) around the Santa Monica beach. And I just thought, wow. I can never be that cool. I'm still not that cool. And I still, despite Nylon magazine and every other hipster-hungry media/brands' greatest efforts to overexpose her... I still think she's special.
Okay, maybe I liked her a lot more back then. The disheveled, young rebel look was intriguing to me- I had never seen anything like it before. She was only sixteen and she looked better than all the poseurs well into their 20's and 30's on Cobrasnake...
But then, you know. She got a little older. More famous and sought-after. For some reason the clothes just don't work as well as they used to.
She started pissing me off by hanging out with my luva, Andrew Vanwyngarden of MGMT. And, just, generally giving off a bit of a lame-o groupie vibe.
But I'm sure she's still pretty cool. We'll see what happens with her. She's starting to "sell out," if you even believe in the term, by promoting random products:
Her deep voice is always so unexpected. But anyways, at least she's a little real- not like people who are all like, "ohmigod! This prodcut is sooo great!" She knows she's shilling for this random thing and at least she tried to be genuine. I like the part about how the foam looks like whipped cream. That's something I would like, too. So she's still got it going on, somewhat. But we'll see.
Yesterday was really scary. I noticed since the day before yesterday (on Monday) that when I laughed, the left side of my face went higher. But I didn't really bother and just thought it was odd that I had never noticed before. Well, the next morning, I brushed my teeth and noticed that I could only spit to my left. I looked in the mirror, and literally my mouth only functioned on the left. I'm not a stranger to this feeling because my mouth has been numbed before for cavities and pulling out teeth, but um, let's just say I haven't seen a dentist recently. Also, when I tried to raise my eyebrows my left functioned normally but the right was a lot weaker. A little panic ensued, I went to my mom and she didn't really notice but she looked worried. I had had tooth ache in my right teeth for a few weeks and I assumed it was a cavity, so my mom said it might be infected and it's numbing out the rest of the right side of my face.
I went to school still a bit apprehensive but feeling assured that that was the problem. I talked to people about it, and my friends just sort of laughed at me and said they didn't notice. But I also kind of covered my mouth when I laughed hard because I could really feel only the left side going up. I also noticed that when someone yelled it was abnormally loud in my right ear. The same ear was kind of weird the night before as well. Ugh, it was very confusing but I didn't totally freak out, not even close, because 1. I had no idea what the fuck it could possibly be so I guess I was just numb to the whole thing and 2. I assumed it was probably just a problem with my tooth.
Right after school I went with my dad to a dentist my mom found through her friend. My parents fight with all of my dentists for some reason, so this is my third one, not counting elementary school. He was a weirdo and this might be pathetic but I don't like that it's a guy- he was kind of creepy and would stare a bit too intensely into my eyes. Not cool, not cool. he would also lay his hand on my shoulder and make contact too much and stuff and when his hand was in my mouth he lay his arm on my boob. I care verrry much about my personal space so that's just not cool. He is also obsessed with Israel and only plays Israeli music throughout the whole place- he also had a hearty conversation with my dad about their Israeli past and tried to force me to go with Birthright there even though I lived there, hello. But this is all beside the point.
I told him I thought I had a cavity and he asked when it hurts, and I said, well, pretty much constantly- a low pain. He looked confused- turns out cavities only hurt when you eat something cold or something. Whoops. Panic bubbles up inside again. He finds no cavities, infections- nothing whatsoever. I get frustrated when he tells me that everyone has some asymmetry in their face (ugh, I know that, but I think I know my face well enough to figure when it's acting pretty strange!). We went to schedule a tooth cleaning and I started getting teary eyed because I had no idea wtf was wrong with me. My dad told me I could go in the car and I had a kind of mini hyperventilating/crying attack. My dad came and told me to go back because there's a dentist that also studied nerves. he was much nicer, Australian, and he told me to do all kinds of stuff like follow a light with my eyes and scrunch my face. It was pretty damn obvious that my right side was extremely weak. I could scrunch my left eye but my right eye would only close. He said, yup- you have Bell's Palsy. I freaked the fuck out inside- my heart rate probably increased 100x- because I was not expecting some kind of fancy diagnosis. And I had only heard the word "palsy" a few times and could not associate what it was exactly but I thought it was definitely some kind of disease or something. He said I should go to my doctor, blah blah. So nothing whatsoever to do with my teeth.
Long story short, we ended up waiting at an emergency room at a hospital for hours and leaving late at night. they also said it was Bell's Palsy and they were all reeally nice- they calmed me down a lot. I found out it was a problem with the 7th nerve in the right side of my face, which connects the ear, nose, mouth, eye- all of that. It also makes the ear more sensitive, which is why my friend's yell sounded so loud in my ear. Possibly I had some kind of virus or something and it severed the nerve, so now it has to heal. It is most likely temporary, and will probably heal in more or less a month. The worse possible thing to happen now is permanent damage to my right eye because it doesn't close as fast as the left and it also only lightly closes so it does not have normal reflex. It's bad if it gets dried out or dust goes in. So I had to get fake tear drops- basically just eye drops- and apply frequently. I also got some perscriptions- antiviral pills and-get this- steroids. I have to take them 5 times a day for 10 days. ugh, so weird. Apparently it's for inflammation. I don't know... I just don't want to turn into a man.
But everything is fine now, I guess. It could have been SO much worse so I'm actually very glad this turned out as it has. It seemed so foreign and, believe it or not, my pathetic self was already thinking about possible death on the way to the emergency room because that was listed as one of the possible consequences on Wikipedia (I looked it up at home right after the Australian dentist mentioned the name). But it's Wikipedia for God's sake. So everything is fine. One thing I have definitely learned from this is to appreciate when I'm healthy and, just, to appreciate everything. Things can be so much worse. I saw all the people in the emergency room and I was just like, man. That is trouble. No one is beyond catching diseases, and they are so much worse than minor drama in life. I assumed (without really thinking about it) that I'll never get this sort of stuff, and then bam. That's how it felt. Life is just so damned fleeting, and precious.
pic taken from deadstockdon.com sidebar my jacket look crazy short lol!!!!
I don't even know why but the highlighted part made me crack up. I can't believe Kanye writes "lol!!!"
Oh, and update about the crap day I had today- the make-up AP Calc test was horrible (but at least I showed up at the right time) and then I lost an event for my relay team at swim city finals. I dove off of the diving block too soon, apparently- before my teammate touched the wall. I had no idea. Ugh, this type of shit happens to me too much. I'm starting to think "I had no idea" is not an excuse. But anyways... we would have gotten fourth place in the city, but with my stupidity we got disqualified and get nothing- no metals, nothing. Nice end to my swimming career, right? When will this hell end... I'm like a magnet for chaos. .
I will continue updating after Wednesday. Sorry about the hiatus. Here's a fast update about the craziness that has been going on lately:
-I took three AP tests. I had four. I missed the AP Calc BC tests because, wait for it- I thought it was in the afternoon. I was 100% sure. Pretty pathetic, I know. And embarassing. And annoying- having everyone in my class ask me what happened. Apparently people thought I either had a freak accident or overslept. Nope, I was just an idiot! But the good news: I wrote the College Board a letter and my high school college counselor talked to them, and they're letting me make up the test on Wednesday morning. Three days from now. So that's good.
-I had decided on Berkeley, right? Well... I got an email last week, on Wednesday, from none other than Vassar College. It was a bit bizarre. It was from the representative of my area or something, and she informed me that she had my file in her office as a person she wants the admissions committee to consider taking off the waiting list. She said a "few" people would be taken off in the next couple days. Basically, she wanted me to tell her how badly I wanted to go. I said I wanted to go really badly. But in the back of my mind, I had gotten used to the idea of UC Berkeley. Again, choosing between polar opposite schools! But I was just like, I'm probably not going to get in off the wait list and I don't want to regret missing an opportunity to get into Vassar. So basically I wrote back that it was my top choice yadda yadda, but hoping I wouldn't get taken off so that I won't have to make a difficult decision like that. Well, lo and behold, I checked my email the very next day and what was there but another email from Vassar, congratulating me on being accepted to the class of 2012. WTF. I was in shock. But also more than a little horrified that I would have to make this decision. And worst of all, they only gave me one day to choose. Actually less than a day because I came back from swim city finals late, and I had to decide before 5 pm the next day. Which probably meant 2 pm for me, because of eastern time.
I was so confused. I didn't know what to do. I worried about the money- $50,000 for Vassar, $25,000 for Berkeley. Quite a big fucking difference! But my parents told me that's how much they paid for my siblings' education, and I deserve the same. Well, I wrote back saying that I accept the offer. The thing is, I still haven't retracted my Berkeley spot. Ha. Trying to elongate my decision-making time, you see. I've been reading a lot of good and bad stuff about each school in the last couple days... but I have a feeling I'm going to choose Vassar. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, what is there to lose. Plus they're almost too good for me since I was only acepted from the wait list, which make it all the more appealing. We'll see though.
So yeah, pretty crazy. More from me after Wednesday then... see yalls then.
I'm going to be studying for/taking AP tests all of this week, next week, and half of the week after that. I'm taking 4 of them- US Government, Spanish, Physics B, and Calculus BC. I know, fun. I mean, who in the world would rather be hanging out at Coachella right now when you can try to memorize the amendments of the Constitution, right? So yeah, just a heads up, I'm probably not going to update much if at all in the next two weeks. Unless of course some sort of breaking news occurs, like if Brandon Flowers gets a new haircut or something. Hawww, just kidding just kidding. Wish me luck, I don't know if I can get through another excruciating, brain-frying AP exam marathon like last year.... eesh. At least this is the last.
Oh yeah, I've decided on a college. UC Berkeley. It's not so much that I love Berkeley- it's more that I just really didn't click with Oberlin or Macalester. I'm a little confuzzled now because my mind was so set on liberal arts schools, i know I'm veering in a completely different direction- the direction I had established in my head as WRONG up to less than a month ago. So I'm trying to reset my brain, let go of some previous feelings... the dumbest thing is that I didn't apply to a lot of schools specifically because they were big and career-oriented and blah blah... and that's pretty much exactly the kind of school Cal (Berkeley) is. But it is in a city area, it is well-known and whatnot, it has a variety of people so it's safe to say that if some people want to burn me at the stake for liking the Killers, at least it's not everyone. I mean, in the facebook group music section for Berkeley 2012 a lot of people mentioned The Killers, Muse, Arctic Monkeys... yay! Also there was rap, hip hop, and plenty of indie snobbery as well. A good mix, that's what I like. So I'm warming up to the whole thing. But I've pretty much decided for sure. I don't feel like I have but I have, haha.
I found this show through BuzzFeed, and it's pretty awesome if I may say so myself. It's not, well, overly pretentious as you might expect from a channel that exclusively covers indie rock.
This is how BuzzFeed describes it:
A NYC cable-access show featuring well-curated music videos picks up where MTV left off. Online episodes are now available. If you live in New York, you’ll find comfort in knowing that your precious tax dollars are going towards educating the masses about important life topics like indie rock bands and rediscovering irony. Anyone still unwilling to throw out those tattered VHS tapes of old episodes of 120 Minutes will surely appreciate this show.
There are only three full episodes up right now, but they have only just started putting them online HERE.
And the official website has a schedule of the shows and featured artists- who include Klaxons, Vampire Weekend, Yeasayer, etc.
They play music videos, interviews with bands, and so far my favorite feature- commentary by bands on other bands' music videos. It's like a sort-of-not-really resurrection of Beavis and Butthead!
Add this onto the growing list of shows I have to watch online because my vicinity over here does not have cool state shows like this, nor does American cable in general have too many worthwhile shows.
Also, this is so easy to do. Why can't MTV do this? Just make some freaking music shows. Goddamn, MTV. Goddamn.
It's true... Brandon Flowers has shaved his mustache after two whole years of letting it cover that pretty face of his. I must say, I'm s bit ecstatic. How pathetic that this sort of thing can make my day? Damn pathetic... But whatever! I had nothing against the 'stache, it was nice while it lasted... but bring on the changes, I'm up for anything. People are saying this and it's so true: when BFlo first grew the mustache, there was this whole uproar over it with little teeny boppers complaining about it and critics saying he was trying to be taken seriously. But he refused to shave it off, and left it on for two fucking years... then, seemingly right at the moment that people got used to the look and no longer minded, he went and shaved it off. This is why I love him!
Go HERE for a lovely and sentimental ride through the mustachioed Bflo days, courtesy of those crazies over at caps_thekillers.
Here's a hilarious interview with NME (Dave is druuunk) after yesterday's American NME Awards here in Los Angeles, where the Killers won Best Band and Best Track for "Tranquilize" with Lou Reed. This was also where Brandon debuted his new look, which by the way makes him look about 10 years younger. And gives me some serious "Hot Fuss" days déjà vu:
And here they are accepting the awards:
^ Ronnie is so awesome. I love that he makes everyone stand up for his wife. And then he effectively kills time because the producers ask him to.
HAHA I love that Brandon just straight out says "I'm going to be sincere unlike everybody else." To his defense, I watched the live stream and people were truly being douches, just going on stage, slurring a half-hearted "thanks," and leaving. Dude, this was voted for by your fans! But still, gotta love Brandon just undermining every single person at a room in a single sentence. Aaah- with anyone else I would probably scoff, but this guy can never do wrong in my eyes. Especially when he looks all shy and nervous on stage like that!
