Celebrity stalker….

Have I become one? This week it was Will Smith. A few weeks ago John Popper. Who will it be next?! All I know is, it really is a rush meeting talented, but down-to-earth people.

Please don’t make fun of my face/hair. A) It was windy. B) I have a hard time hiding those fat cheeks when I’m cheesing so hard…

He’s so pointing at me…

Missed the mark…

Kidd Rock and ‘Lil Wayne. I’m not a huge Lynard Skynard fan obviously (“That Smell”, “Tuesday’s Gone,” “Free Bird”…OK, I like FEW songs) but I’m sure Ronnie Van Zant is turning over in his grave after Kidd and Wayne’s performance a few minutes ago on the VMAs. What a joke.

That’s not MY MTV…

Why isn’t Paris Hilton so 15 minutes ago…?

Lessons to be learned from The Jazz Singer

When I was a very small child, any time I saw Neil Diamond on television or heard him on the radio, I would say, “Daddy! The Jazz Singer!” I think for the longest time I thought Neil Diamond’s name was Jazz Singer. I don’t really remember watching the movie. I mean, it came out in 1980. I’m 30 years old. But I remember that glittery blue shirt and scarf he wore at the end of the movie when he sang, “America.”  And he seemed to mean every word. In my book it’s America’s song. Or should be. I know this movie is a remake, but who knows much about the 1927 version? OK. That’s a lie. Al Jolson in black face…

But if you don’t know the 1980 movie, here is the long and the short of it: Jewish cantor living in New York sets out, against his traditional father’s wishes, to achieve his dream of being a singer. It’s such a basic plot, but something about it rings so true of lessons we should learn of tolerance, acceptance, forgiveness and being true to yourself. Maybe it’s female hormones, but I’ve just finished watching it on this lovely Sunday evening and balled my eyes out. Oh my goodness, when Neil’s character tries to set things right with his father by singing on  Yom Kippur (the day atonement) and hearing the power of those words I don’t even understand and his father’s expression along with his — oye, I’m getting vaclemped. Talk amongst yourselves while I collect myself. Topic: 2008’s choices of vice-president candidates and potential reality shows about them…

OK…I’m alright. If you haven’t seen it, all of this may seem silly. Actually if you have, I may still seem a little odd and blogging about it probably is odd. It’s just that it brought me back to being that silly little kid who ran after her father and spent Saturdays digging in the backyard for “fossils.” Things were not always simple back then, but the complexity of my life in those impressionable years was minimal. And looking at today’s world, the 80s had more than their share of, should I say, hiccups? But the place we are now scares the crap out of me. Maybe at the brink of when The Jazz Singer came out in theaters, words like tolerance and acceptance were still new and truly mattered. But today they can be, at times, stifled. Sure. We are in a new world where a black man or a woman can be president, but I find the fact that these two things are so landmark has exposed to the world how much we are still so behind in our thinking.

If we were ahead, these things maybe wouldn’t matter so much or be so landmark. Ok. Thinking about that after crying over The Jazz Singer might very well be very, very odd. Now all I need is ice-cream, a DVD of the last season of Sex and the City and a fuzzy white robe and I’m all set for estrogen-land.

Rate My Space: A kind of certain madness

If ever there was a more definitive moment where an individual is at his/her most self-important finest, it is when said person uploads that very first photo on the HGTV madhouse that is Rate My Space.

As long as I have been on my own, I have always felt that when I decorated the place I lived, I had what I would like to call eclectic taste on a budget. That said, I never really thought I didn’t have taste in decorating. I just was a victim of making do with what I had/could afford or what was given to me. And if I had the proper moola, every room would look a million times different. I am also a victim of an unhealthy HGTV obsession. And it has morphed into something really scary since buying my house. I watch everyday and now I’ve officially become a Rate My Space user. If you haven’t ever heard of this, it’s basically a part of the HGTV Web site in which you upload photos of your home, cross your fingers, rip yourself wide open and lie there as you let people dissect your furnishings and decor. Fun, right? Well now this concept has carried over onto the HGTV channel itself in that the lowest rated homes get renovated and are inspired by the top rated homes on the site. Madness, right? Why leave yourself open to such criticism, you might ask. Well, because I like the impartiality of it all…and I of course hope to one day be picked for the show. Sad, right?

So I’m actually risking a lot giving you guys the link but why not? Feel free to make fun, but know that I’ve changed some stuff up since these photos but not much. Look, I had all this crap before I got the place. Minus the red couch. Just trying to make it all work somehow. Don’t even ask about the glass blocks. They were some kind of charming monstrosity (yes, I see them this way — good/bad, interesting/tacky). I keep trying something new to make those things work for me, but alas, I’m sure I’ve missed the mark and I’m exhausted. Some of the comments on my spaces are brutal but I think if I showed the culprits my debt to income ratio, they would understand! In the end, maybe it will result in HGTV FINALLY coming to my little abode.

Bottom line: What people think I suppose means squat but if the average person really believed that, a Web site like Rate My Space probably wouldn’t get as much traffic as it gets. A new photo is uploaded every 30 seconds. I’ve timed it.

I’m big in Japan…

Watch my wicked singing skills in this video.

But I’m kind of upset. They spelled my name wrong.

 

Post “Sex and the City” photo

 

For some reason, that movie really made me want to take photos in my semi-cocktail dress. You should go see it although I was kind of disappointed with the ending. If you are diehard fans, you will know why I was. If you aren’t, you will just say, “eh, it was supposed to end like that.”

Commercialism tests waters with Asian/White couples

I’ve noticed something interesting and pretty cool lately. But I’m not sure many others have (or maybe some have). And I am kind of feeling guilty that it stands out to me. But just take a look at the recent Volkswagen or Lowe’s commercials. You know the ones with couples in it all the time? Pay attention to how the couples seem to have a trend: White guy, Asian woman. But a commercial with a black female lead (HELLO OLD NAVY) eyeing and getting flirtation back from a white guy lasted a millisecond. And the Ikea one with the white guy and black girl in bed with their new sheets lasted even shorter. OK, yes. I’m going there.

Just for sake of argument, I’m not one who is against interracial dating. I’ve discussed it here frequently. And in today’s times, I’m still taken back by how incessant racism still is. But I am a person about observations and I couldn’t help noticing this commercial thing, shallow as it may seem.

What I don’t get is that you don’t really see much of any other mix-race couples being represented on television. Unless you watch Grey’s Anatomy or The Practice — both produced by the same open-minded folks. Boston Legal tapped into it on occasion. As a whole, the shows we watch, seem to tryto break this mold but never really are successful at it long even though those story lines may come up again in the future. But commercials  — consumerism — still seems afraid. Such fears are now, to me, archaic. These recent commercials I mentioned earlier; could it be that big business is trying to “test” the waters by starting with what is “more accepted?” I mean it is about time that they stop doing the generic commercials anyway where we are to assume most couples in America are only same-race. There is such diversity, even on normal programming, it makes me wonder when these advertisers will wake up. I’ve also wondered if it’s more of a matter of people complaining. For example, could people have complained about that Old Navy commercial and now that is why I can’t find it anymore? In fact, I have some search engine hits in my blog stats (I don’t understand why, though) from other people googling to find it as well as the Ikea one.

I promise I’m not bitching. I’m just observing. I’m happy to see that big business is at least trying to move pass the old-fashion thinking. I like those Volkswagen and Lowe’s commercials because they are starting to reflect realism a bit more in our world of today. But how much further are they willing to go? And you might be saying: It doesn’t matter. You are right. However it brings me back to the study of the little black girls who picked little white dolls over ones of their own skin color because they felt that the white ones were prettier, better and not perceived as “bad.” Are WE selling that idea?

 

Old friends.

It’s like being haunted by a ghost. Not creepy at all. Just ironic. I have an old friend that I’m now kind of estranged with who simply loves (actually LOVE isn’t a strong enough word) Jeff Buckley’s version of “Hallelujah.” That song has now received a resurgence of popularity by American Idol contestant Jason Castro, who just so happens to be from a community we cover at work. Did I say cover? I mean attack at all angles gorilla style— video, blogs, stories, photos…it’s crazy. But obviously entertaining as well. However I can’t help thinking how small the world is. Here is this kid, who we covered almost a year ago at a Battle of the Bands contest, and is now in the Top 12 on American Idol AND climbing the iTunes charts with my childhood friend’s song.

Video: Who hasn’t had a bad prom?

I know I have. If you want to read more about it, go here. But because my job is pretty cool (I have my moments), I got to go get my groove on and still call it work. Please forgive any darkness in the video, we aren’t really at a point of super fancy lighting yet. Ah, maybe one day…

Click the pic