Whooopppaaaahhhh!

My thoughts about "Whip It"...

• There was a really stellar cast. Especially Juliette Lewis. Why isn't she in movies more often?
• Despite the stellar cast full of comediennes, it wasn't very funny.
• It could've been called Juno 2. Ellen Page didn't really try something new.
• It was clearly directed by Drew Barrymore. That is neither a compliment nor an insult.
• It wasn't bad... it just wasn't very good.
• It was kinda really corny.
• There should've been a lesbian storyline.
• Then again, there didn't really need to be when it was about a roller derby. The lesbian storyline is implied.

**EDIT: I loved that Alia Shawkat (i.e. Maeby Funke from "Arrested Development") played Juno's Ellen Page's best friend in the movie. She deserves more fun roles. Ooh, when I IMDB'd her I noticed she's in "The Runaways". I really need to see that movie. Any good?

Forbessss

I don't think I know very much about celebrities. I maybe know more than average... or maybe not... Anyway, I just looked at the Forbes Celebrity 100 and I was shocked (in some cases) about who was there.

I always forget about the huge celebrity of athletes. I also forget that athletes who are no longer playing in professional sports still have a huge impact - for example, Michael Jordan. I figured Jordan was set for life, but because I haven't seen him around much, I was surprised to see him on the Forbes 100. Then again - Air Jordans and all that stuff? I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.

There are also a lot of actors/actresses who play a more behind-the-scenes role these days - executive producing, writing, directing, etc. They're still raking in the dough, even if they're not in the limelight.

I also forget that just because I don't like the hype of a particular celebrity doesn't mean the hype isn't HUGE. Lady Gaga is #4. She's huge. I have to admit it. Forbes doesn't lie. I'm just... not into her.

Book Update

Out of the 501 books they tell me I must read, I think I've read about 15. Pathetic, right? Well, maybe not. I have some friends who've probably read none of them. That's not the point though. I've got the rest of my life to read and I want to pick up the pace, and perhaps use this book as a guide...

That said, of the 501, there are a whole bunch I'm totally not interested in, so I need some suggestions. What are your favourites?

I finished Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Did I mention that? I know I said I was reading it... Anyway, I finished it, meaning I've read 4 books so far this summer. 3 of them non-fiction, surprisingly enough. I used to be a die-hard fiction reader. Maybe it has come with age.

Outliers was quite good. Gladwell is a great writer with awesome subject material and some great ideas and theories. If you read it, look out for the part about summer vacation. That portion of the book has really stuck with me. Like all Gladwell books, it's a bit simplistic at times, but that's also his charm. He feeds it to you easy. Kinda like the Michael Moore of literature... or maybe not. Malcolm probably wouldn't like that. Anyway, fabulous book! I want to read The Tipping Point next.

Now I'm on to my 5th summer book: Freakonomics by Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner. It's basically a book that applies economics to everyday puzzles, explaining why and how people do the things they do. There's a strong focus on the incentives that drive people. Very cool stuff. I'm on chapter 1 and very much enjoying it. My boss has been telling me to read it for years, so I'm glad I'm finally getting to it.

Now it's Chiddy Bang - Google me the images

Remember when I told y'all to check out Chiddy Bang?

Well I did, and then what do I see today on Twitter (tweeted by Steve Aoki)?

Finishing another track for my album w/ @realchiddy & @xaphoonjones http://twitpic.com/1z4rcuhttp://fb.me/BNy3lUgV

Ok, so maybe you didn't hear it here first, but I was pretty effing on it.

2 Things

1. If Jay-Z really did forget to pay the whole bill for a private plane, is it really that big of a deal? We all know he's good for it.
   
   
2. Drake's new album Thank Me Later is a goodie, I think! I really like the track "Thank Me Now". It's hot and arrogant and smooth and hard all at once! I love it!
   

Clones

Currently watching Season 1, Episode 3 of "Weeds". Yep - a new show. I really don't need a new obsession, but I'm really loving this so far.

One concern though: was it intentional to have Nancy (Mary-Louise Parker) and Celia (Elizabeth Perkins) look SO much alike?

Loving this, loving them

I can do anything!

A little trick if you're ever feeling down!

Asian Illusion

So... right now I'm working my way through "Gossip Girl" season 1. I know I'm like 3 or 4 years late, but I don't care. Anyway, I always find it blatantly racist that Blair's two friends Isabel and Kati are black and Asian (respectively) and barely ever speak, while the rest of the cast is white and has involved, speaking roles. What's worse is that Kati suddenly disappears and is replaced by "another Asian" named Nelly, who initially plays a dork, but is suddenly part of the group. Kati's disappearance is never referenced, and Nelly is just absorbed into the group. Anyone else notice this? Am I totally wrong, or is this actually what happened?

T C B

First of all - talk about a thrill! Today I get a direct message from @alexandluke (remember them?) telling me that I've won their most recent draw, meaning I get to choose their next destination. I had to choose between Tennessee, Virginia, or Missouri. I chose Tennessee - purely on the basis that it has 3 sets of double letters in it. Why not?

Update on the Reading Challenge: With 2 bus trips of 1.5 hours each this weekend, I got to work on finishing some books, and I did! I finished Cynthia Lennon's bio of John Lennon, entitled John, AND Sex Drugs & Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman. A short word on each...

John: Beautiful. Captivating. Upsetting. A tribute. The book sent me in a million different directions throughout. I mentioned before that John seemed to be much more loving with Cynthia than I would've first thought, and he was, but once I got to the divorce... Good God! It was hard to see my hero acting in the way that he did. Anyway, I won't get into a lot of details about it, but it was a great read! Cynthia wrote beautifully and honestly. I think for all of us die-hard Lennon fans, it's a necessary read. He's human, after all.

Sex Drugs & Cocoa Puffs: Oh Chuck Klosterman - you are a pretentious dork, but I love you anyway. A lot of his essays went over my head (I think because I was born in '87), but so many of them rung true to me, and often made me laugh hysterically. In many ways, Chuck is the male version of what I would aspire to be if I didn't have more than one passion. Anyway, I certainly plan on reading more of his stuff, that's for sure!

Now I've gotta finish Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers. It's a great book, but seems a bit more sophisticated after what I just got through with. I'll get back there though. And, what happened to my love for fiction? I've gotta get back to that, too!

Book Worms & Other Musings

Things I'm trying to do more of (and starting to succeed):

• Eat meals at my kitchen table (versus sitting on the couch or at my desk).
• Falling asleep without a TV show or a movie playing AND with my computer actually off.
• Reading before bed (and in general).
• Floss (you know this already).

That reminds me - I guess in a sense The Great Flossing Challenge is over. I used to have a chart on my bathroom wall with how many times I'd done it, but I took it down because now I don't have to see the chart in order to floss. I guess that means the Challenge was a success. YAY! I'll let you know how the next dentist visit goes. No more lying!

The reading challenge is going well, although I have to make myself finish one book before starting the next. I've got 3 books on the go right now:

• Sex Drugs & Cocoa Puffs - Chuck Klosterman (nearly done)
• Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell (about 1/3 to finish)
• John - Cynthia Lennon (about 1/3 to go as well)

So I'm nearly done all of them, but I haven't finished any yet. Time to really get to it! Last night I got into my bed (so, SO comfy) and read for an hour and a half before falling asleep... AT 10:00 pm!!! WTF?! It felt so good though. I should try it more often.

By the way - John is such a good book. I don't know if it's ghost-written or not (I like to assume it's not and that Cynthia is a brilliant and glamorous woman), but whoever wrote it did an amazing job. The stories are fantastic and new and fresh - it's like she's filling in the gaps in between the stuff that those of us who are Lennon-obsessed already know.

Thoughts so far... John is much less cruel and disinterested as I might've thought. I figured he would've neglected Cynthia more than it appears he did. He's much more loving and tender and reassuring than I imagined. Then again, I haven't gotten to their separation...

My Media

15-30 minutes and I'm already in withdrawal.

In TV: I finished season 2 of Sex and the City, which means since the summer's beginning I've watched season 6, 1, and 2 (in that order... I don't know why). I'm LOVING IT!!! but season 3 isn't done downloading yet, so what do I do? People always say, "Why do you download? Just stream it!" I'll be honest - that's not my style. I don't like searching through Megavideo and Yidio links trying to find something of quality. I like to wait it out and then have on-demand television (and not have to worry that pausing an episode will result in some buffering issue or something).

In movies: Speaking of SATC... I saw the movie. If I hadn't been on a SATC-watching marathon over the past 2 months, I wonder if I would've reacted differently to the movie. As it is, well... I actually don't know what to say. Overall? It was pretty bad, and I'm not saying that because of the "racism and stereotypes", because I haven't exactly wrapped my head around all that yet. It was because of the writing - it was BAD! I mean, the television show has many, many, MANY moments of bad writing, but those moments are offset by a lot of good quality stuff. The movie just didn't have that. The story was tired, the puns and quips were embarrassing, and even the acting was pretty bad. Never mind the fact that those women (except for Charlotte) are looking like hot messes these days. Glad I saw it, nonetheless.

In music: Die Antwoord. I'm all about them. They're sick. Check it!

SHARP. DRESSED. MAN.

This is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

B.S.C.

Dear Drake,

I've loved you for a while now. I was obsessed with your mix tape last summer, and I can't wait for the full album - it'll no doubt be epic.

That being said, your most recent video makes me wonder if you're not a little bat-shit crazy. I'd really like to be able to understand your artistic endeavors. What is going on in this video???

Sincerely,
Sugar&Gravy

Sugar & Obama & Paul

Combining two loves...