Monday, May 31, 2010

Music: Ride by Ciara


Ciara returns with her new single and an upcoming album sometime in 2010 called Basic Instinct. I have always liked Ciara, I can remember always going to the dance floor in a club when 1,2 Step would come on. I really love her new song and I like the video a lot, considering its surprisingly strip down compared to the more and more over orchestrated videos were have been seeing. Thank you, Lady GaGa.

She has always been one of the best dancers out there, maybe not the best voice, but no one can say she can't dance. The video displays her talents well, she does some really neat movements...too bad there is no matrix move like in Like A Boy.

Ciara has a very fit frame, its more of an athletes body than anything else. She had an obvious six pack, incredibly arm and leg definition, which is rare in most women. I guess it doesn't help those rumors about her being a hermaphrodite or something. I believe the story is she was born with an ambiguous gender and her parents decide to raise her as a girl. I don't know nor do I care, I just think she's really impressive.

I liked her last CD even if it didn't do as well as her first two, I have hopes Basic Instinct might be her best work to date.

Summer Boy

Yea I kinda fail in keeping this going on a consistent basis, but thats just typical with me and writing. I have no problem with ideas and thinking up things to write about; its just that part of actually writing it all down. So hopefully, I won't have too many moments of weakness like this but might as well warn because its going to happen. I mean it happens all the time over at Vividblurry....

So what have I been up to?

Well I went to Chicago about two weeks ago to see friends in the windy city and go to an anime con. Yes, I do go to geeky conventions a few times a year. I have met a lot of good people by doing it, and its like I dress up in costumes....anymore. I do really like Chicago and its a possible move spot, but I do have reservations about it. The cost of living is high, its very spread out, but I do have a semi safety net. Everyone wants me to move there but its not like I'm getting any offers to stay with anyone while I am looking for a place. Something is holding me back from making a full commitment to moving to Chicago, more so than other places on my list. Anyway. Chicago was a good time. I got to drink, but not as drunk as normal, and everyone was a joy to be around. The convention itself kind of suck though, nothing really worth speaking about.

YMCA is getting on my last nerves, its become a love hate relationship. I love how close it is to my house, love how I can pretty much do whatever I want, love that anymore its slow enough I can work out on my shifts if I want. I hate the terrible organization and management, I hate that my hard work is never going to rewarded with a raise, I hate having to take shifts from other people to get enough hours, I hate being a janitor most of the time I am working. I have been too busy, surprisingly enough, to go look for another job last week but this week it won't be the case. If nothing comes of it, I will pursue getting a second personal training certification. I just hate having to feel like I can only survive with my job and not really live.

I don't understand or get men, I really don't. I thought men would be a lot easier to read and manage than women. I must have been wrong. All of the men I have dealt with seem to be hot and cold, enough to keep me around but not enough for me to believe they honestly care about me. Jonathan doesn't really answer me back when I text or call but he does respond enough that I just don't give up. I might just be desperate I suppose. I'm not really sure what I should be doing about it. I don't have any dating history to fall back on, which has been the downside of never trying to date when I was younger.

My new lifting routine has been really enjoyable, I realize I have been way too much for way too long. That is why I haven't gained or progressed as much as I could have, chronically under-gaining due to not enough rest. I'm hopeful following more reasonable bodybuilding routines and obsessively following my diet, I will be able to make some real progress over the summer. Not that I haven't made progress over the years, just hopefully this will speed things along.

Maybe get me into my stripping side job sooner....

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Music: Two Different Tears


Trying to catch up on being gone, and figured I would start out with some music news. Wonder Girls release their first English single, I say first because Nobody was just their last Korean single just done over with English Lyrics. Who are the Wonder Girls? At one time they were the biggest girl group in South Korea and have begun a push to cross over into the English market.

2 Different Tear is a rather good song, I like it a lot. I'm most impressed by the fact their English has greatly improved since Nobody and it doesn't sound weird or unnatural. It has a retro disco sound, so its at least different than most American pop songs out right now. I think it could do reasonably well if it gets enough promotion, so I am sure they will wind up on So You Think You Can Dance again for a performance. The dance routine isn't bad, its catchy and usually thats how pop songs in Korea get mega popular: great dance routine that anyone can learn.

As for the video, its amusing. I think my favorite part is JYP's video mission message and especially the line, "Enjoys dancing with sexy ladies". It definitely has a cheese factor to it, considering it all reminds me of a 70's disco in Korea. Bobby Lee is in it, though I think having another Korean American comedian might have been better: Margaret Cho.

I wish them luck, and do something no Asian star has yet to do: Become a force in American Pop music.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Domino Effect?


So far the primary season has been relatively boring, nothing really surprising has happened...well till yesterday. The three term GOP senator from Utah, Bill Bennett, was bucked by his party and won't even be able to run in the primary for the Republicans Senate nomination. Its pretty significant to think that a senator of his clout would not only be defeated in a crimson red state of Utah but that he lost before the race even started is pretty amazing. This is definitely starting to turn into a year of anti-incumbency or possible a year of conservative resurgence.

Bill Bennett was definitely an old school kind of politician, and thats probably why he has been washed away by this wave. He was more about getting things done and working out deals to advance things, and not so much in the overblown ideology of the current day. He was very conservative but he also was a pragmatic man and knew he was sent to Washington to get things done. He will definitely be a loss for the Senate in general because it takes another cool head and respected deal maker out of the body. Not to say his replacement won't be just as good, but there is definitely a "Dumbing down" effect. You can't just replace someone of that experience overnight or possible even in one term.

In Ohio, we probably would have had the same thing happen if Voinovich had decided to run for another term. He would have not survived a primary challenge this year, especially with a energized conservative movement in the Republican party. Voinovich has dug his own gave though he has been constantly seen as more of an opportunist than a principled player, which is not something you could say about Bennett.

Its possible we could begin to see more long term senators go, Specter seems to be in danger now. He switched parties to avoid a primary loss and now it looks like he might lose the Democratic Primary. Guess we will see what happens in a few days...

A Gay Ultimate Fighter?

I actually enjoy MMA and the show Ultimate Fighter, it provides a nice hold over until football season starts again. Its definitely fast paced and violent, much like football, and provides some decent amount of eye candy. I had missed it recently due to work so when Outsports did a write up on a possible gay fighter, I was intrigued. I saw a few clips and was able to catch most of the episodes on Spike due to a marathon, they are almost as bad as Bravo with that rerun shit.

So here is Nick Ring, and he is actually fun to watch. He is a great fighter, smart and not a jackass like some of the guys on the show. Do I think he is gay, and that is a tough question. He does have a way of speaking where he stresses his S's but that doesn't automatically make him gay. He does play up flamboyant gestures and speaking, and he pretty much throws it back at guys who make allusions about it.

So is he gay or just playing gay? Really have no idea. Some of readers over at Outsports voice some unhappiness about the idea of him playing gay, as a type of mockery of the community. I don't see him being malevolent nor do I see him mocking anyone. The guys in the house are the ones trying to degrade him by calling him gay and he just throws it back like he doesn't give a damn. If he is gay, then it would be awesome and he would be a great role model for people. If he isn't, then more gay guys should watch him and see how he stands up for himself.

I would tell people to watch and see for themselves, he does do a great "Oh no you didn't" head bob and finger wave when his fight is called.

And if you don't like how he acts well, "Suck it up, Buttercup"

Guess it was true


Brian Cushing, former USC Trojan and current Houston Texan, was suspended for four games this coming football season for breaking the NFL's steroid policy. Rumors about Cushing's steroid use have been going on since his days at USC, and this picture is often used to point to that. So he finally gets busted and will have to sit out for four games, and two of them are rather important games. One is with their intra-division rivals the Colts and one is the intra-state rivals the Cowboys. The Texans will definitely be hurting without him, he has been an incredibly play and was the rookie defensive player of the year.

I'm actually a fan of his, and it really doesn't change my opinion of him. I pretty much assume that steroids are used in pro sports to varying degrees; the nature of the beast now is to perform at a superman human level to justify the expense of money. I think it was an open secret as USC what was going on, Pete Carroll had to have noticed the dramatic improvement in size...or someone on the staff did. College has become the same kind of environment that the NFL is, its very much about making money.

Oh well, he's still hot.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Fight Cancer with Fried Chicken


Probably one of the weirdest promotions with the best of intentions, is KFC's Pink Bucket campaign. Every time you buy a pink bucket of chicken, part of it will go to breast cancer prevention and research. Talk about the road to hell being paved with good intentions, bad diet is one of the factors that leads to cancer. I don't mean to come down on KFC but come on, you are selling a product that leads to bad health to raise money to treat health problems. You could at least push the grilled chicken only buckets for this promotion, it would at least seem less....two faced? I know KFC doesn't intentionally put out a product that can lead to issues like heart disease and cancer but everyone knows that eating fried food is bad for you.

I just find it to be a very weird campaign, its hard for my mind to put it together. I hope it does bring in a good amount of money to fight the disease but I also hope its based more on grilled chicken sales rather than fried. Cause it seems like a pointless enterprise, you are filling people's body with terrible food while getting money for treatment. I suppose actually more fast food places should do that, at least people then could be treated for the side effects of a diet of fast food.


NFL Casting Couch


Two stories recently make me wonder, what exactly is going on during the interview process for NFL . One story deals with round one draft choice Dez Bryant. It came out that Dolphins GM had asked Bryant whether his mother had been a prostitute and also rumored, I believe, he asked if his dad had been a pimp. What kind of ridiculous series of questions is that? I can't imagine Bryant felt very comfortable after that and is probably happier he got chosen by the Cowboys in the Draft.

Outsports then reported a story, that another draftee was asked about his sexual orientation. Geno Atkins was asked by the Bengals, who did pick him up, whether he was gay or not. Atkins doesn't say how he answered but guess the answer didn't bother the Bengals, which could either mean there is more social understanding in the NFL than some people assume or he is straight, heh.

With all the power that goes to these players, especially first round picks, its not surprising that the questions veer into incredibly personal areas. I think, at least in the Dolphins case, they could have done a background check and have found out if that was true or not. Teams don't need revelations about their players, though it probably not affect their playing status, it would effect ticket sales or endorsement deals.

Now I am curious to know what is being asked by these GMs or organizations about their players. The picture of Tebow, besides being hot, was used to illustrate a point. The questions really make me think that these young players get stripped down ala Hollywood Casting Couch. I don't remember much being made out of the interviewing process in previous years and it might be something that isn't discussed. I would like to know more but its all very secretive is seems like, wonder why...

Power of Fox News


The AP noticed something that other people will probably start talking about, that three of the supposed contenders for the Republican 2012 nomination are all employees of Fox News. Huckabee has his talk show, Gingrich is an often used commentator and Palin, to much fanfare, was just brought on and has her own show. This speaks to the ever blurring line between media celebrity and politician, one can be both anymore. Palin is the poster child for this transition, because she doesn't have an overly impressive political resume but she does have an ever growing media influence. It will be interesting to see if she can translate that media presence into votes and political power. She hasn't faired so well in straw polls taken at CPAC and the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, while Romney and Ron Paul have actually done the best and neither are paid Fox News personalities.

I am not really sure if this will hurt any of them, it will probably help them in the primary process. Fox News has the largest of the cable news audience and easily has the largest conservative/Republican viewer-ship of any of them as well. The more people see your face and hear your opinions, the more they can form an opinion and consider voting for you. However, anyone who wants to be the Republican nominee will be making frequent trips to Fox News and I have seen them all on there at one point or another. The biggest pitfall to being a media star while working on becoming a viable presidential contender is it only takes one misspoken word to undermine you.

During the 08 Democratic Primary, Fox News was also a campaign issue. A lot of Democratic primary voters didn't want any of the candidates to appear on Fox News, since it is the mouthpiece of Devil. Hillary was pretty vilified, not that she wasn't being already, for going on the O'Reilly show to do an interview. But at by this point, Hillary had turned into the "conservative, blue collar democrat" and it was one of her best ways to get around Obama and go to a network more sympathetic to her. Yes, Fox News became sympathetic to her and if you don't believe me, go watch some of those primary election returns.

As much as some people wish to deny it, Fox News' power has only grown and will continue to grow in the coming election cycles.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Nightmare on Elm Street Review


I think this blog could use some reviews, and I have nothing to do on a Saturday night, so why not?

So Sad...

Spoiler Warning

So last night, with much anticipation, I went to go see the remake of Nightmare on Elm Street at a Drive In. Yes, we still do have drive ins in Ohio; they are just in really terrible areas. This one had two strip clubs down on the road and the smell of pot was lingering for the entire movie. So it was definitely the right atmosphere for romance.

So the movie opens with Kellan Lutz, mostly the reason I cared more than usual, sitting in a dinner looking strung out. He is hated by a burned man in his dreams, and ends up dying like 5 minutes in the movie. This sets things into motion and gives us four characters to watch die off during the film. The film, at least I didn't think, isn't as violent or gory as I was expecting it to be. Its all very to the point with this Freddy, which kinda sucks. The series, even in its low points, had some very creative death scenes. I don't think anything has freaked me out more than the time I watched a girl get transformed into a roach and smashed under Freddy's foot. I guess that is my big complainant about the film, they didn't push it far enough.

I can compare two scenes directly from the original Nightmare and the remake. Chris' death scene is suppose to be the well known scene in the original, where a girl is lifted into mid air and beaten against the walls while being slashed up by an invisible force. The 80's version seemed a lot messy and violent while the new one was just a little too neat and clean. You would think they could have made it more a wow moment and its like, yea I saw this wire move in Crouching Tiger.

The remake does bring in several things that I did end up liking. I do like the the fact that turned Freddy into a child molester, it just adds a very dark side to him. I honestly don't think they used it enough. Dreams are often sexual things and they really don't get into that till the finale with Nancy and Freddy in her dream. I think they should have pushed that more, because as a sexual predator he would really be able to abuse people in their most vulnerable and potentially sexual moments. I honestly was most uncomfortable and sick watching Freddy getting all on Nancy and pushing the sexual violation angle, and it hits at your core. A horror movie should either make you scared or make you incredibly uneasy and uncomfortable, this movie could have done more of the later.

Another good thing was the introduction of these micro naps, where if someone has been up for so long they begin to slip into sleep without realizing it. This is actually used to pretty good effect towards the end of the film. The scene in the pharmacy was good, and before that with the body bag in the school. I wish had been used more and to more extreme effect, like really warping reality. I know part of the point of keeping it subtle was to make the audience question what was a dream and what was reality, but it just seemed muted. Its a dream world, push it some crazy limits. They probably didn't want to make it feel like it was campy or over the top but thats some of the charm of Nightmare on Elm Street.

The imagery was solid. I definitely like some the industrial settings used in the film, which fits with Elm Street being in Ohio. Yes it is in Ohio, the school had an Ohio state flag on it. And the idea of a bunch of Ohio parents going vigilante on a child molester makes sense, we roll conservative and mean here.

On some random points...

A lot of MILFS in this movie, like jeez, everyone had a hot mom. One was even a flight attendant, come on!

I'm not sure how I feel about Nancy being an emo, outsider artist...it wasn't bad but I didn't think it made her a better character. She also draws scary things, should make a film about that.

A franchise staple was altered as well, the little girls. The girls were suppose to be souls of children killed by Freddy but obviously now they are suppose to be the children he molested. They are more memories than spirits, which makes me wonder how they would carry on in sequels...

They only did the rhyme like once, you would almost miss it if you weren't aware of it.

I was expecting some kind of cameos from the original Nancy or Robert Englund, but they were not to be found. That was kind of a bummer.

When compared to other films in the franchise, I think it is definitely one of the better films. I would put in the class of the original, Dream Warriors, and New Nightmare.

As a stand alone film, it is alright. I think it had some good moments but it was a missed opportunity for me. I wish they had pushed things further and really used today's technology to make horrifying and twisted dream killings.