Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Its Not The Lizard Dance!

A couple of weeks back, Jake and I were driving and he tells me how much he likes a commercial on tv. He's trying to explain it to me and he finally tells me its the one with the lizards dancing - you know "like this" and proceeds to do the moves from Thriller.

Me: "Oh yeah, the Thriller dance"
Him: "Nooo....the lizard dance"
Me: "Its not the lizard dance!!"

This went on for about 2 minutes, when again the harsh reality of parenthood hit. I'm always amazed that I forget that I have to teach my kid things. Yes, I sometimes assume that he's automatically downloaded with pop culture and history knowledge every night when he goes to bed. So when he had this look of "What the hell is Thriller?" I knew something had to be done.

My dear sweet friend (who was as offended at this as I was) let me borrow his Michael Jackson dvd to school the child in Michael Jacksonness...and class was in session last night my friends. As I was making dinner, Jake started watching the video and couldn't believe the mania that followed Michael at the pinnacle of his career.

The videos begin...he loved "Black or White", he didn't quite get "Billie Jean" (which quite frankly I kind of still don't get after all these years), and he looooooved "Remember The Time". I had to downplay the scariness of "Thriller" - you know zombie references can't be good for a 6 year old. So I would tell him, "ok, here comes a scary part" or "zombies can't be THAT scary if they can dance like that - right?!?!" The great thing is that he was watching the dancing and saying "how can this be the lizard dance if they aren't doing this move?" and then the move happens. I kind of got too much of a thrill in seeing his little "lizard dance" bubble burst when I showed him the proof that he was wrong. Yeah, I'm a good mom.

So, defeated, he agreed that he will not refer to it as the lizard dance anymore. We watched all the videos and he also liked BAD and BEAT IT. I was rambling on about what the videos were about and then made a comment about Weird Al and his parodies of the songs.

Low and behold - he now has a new favorite video:

Point: Jimmy Kimmel

A few weeks ago, Sarah Silverman and Matt Damon proclaimed their "status" on Jimmy Kimmel's show. Now, Jimmy decided to get his revenge and steal something of Matt's: Ben Affleck. For as much as I loooooved Sarah's song (the damn song got stuck in my head once that I was actually humming it during new hire orientation) this video has to take the cake. Too many celebrities to name that are in this one, which proves that either A) they have nothing better to do or B) they have great senses of humor. I'm going with A.

Enjoy if you haven't seen it!



P/S You gotta love that Indiana Jones did this...

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Movie Reviews Galore!

I have been slacking in posting movie reviews so I'm just going to put all of them up at the same time. You all know how much I love to multi-task.

There Will Be Blood
This is a story of a man named Daniel Plainview who drills for oil and his rise to fortune. I will always remember how proud this man was (and I'm talking the 7 Deadly Sins Pride) and the portrayal of Eli Sunday by Paul Dano (from Little Miss Sunshine). Daniel's pride allowed him to have a drive to create his fortune, but what was the cost? And Eli Sunday, well quite frankly, freaked me out. Daniel Day Lewis deserves the Oscar for Best Actor. I was completely engrossed with his character and while I was sympathetic to his drive for success, I felt offended by the way he treated people around him - especially his son.
Rating: I highly recommend the movie and grab a bag of popcorn.

La Vie En Rose
The movie is the life story of Edith Paif, a famous French singer - and yes, its in French. Marion Cotillard transforms herself from a quiet street singer to a famous songstress to a woman who realizes her life is coming to an end. The story and the acting of Cotillard really suck you into Paif's ups and downs of her life. It amazing that she became who she was because of the life she had as a child. I was impressed by her drive to perform and her need to just sing, because its who she is. And honestly that is what I remember most of her, this image of her being ill and telling her manager to put her up in front of the microphone because she had to sing.
Rating: Awesome biopic - I recommend it highly as well.

La Dolce Vita
Fellini's classic about a journalist at a crossroads of his life and looking for maybe a meaning to it. You know, maybe it was because I saw this move right after I watched La Vie En Rose, but it didn't wow me as much as I thought it would. I was pulled into the story and the sympathized with Mastroianni's roller coaster ride but there was something, just not real. The sweet life that Fellini is a fascade that only exists with certain people. For some reason the one scene that did speak to me was when the paparazzi were waiting for the wife of Mastroianni's friend. It was heartwrenching and is the moment that made him change his way of life, to an extent. I think this is one of those movies that I have to watch again but I've learned that not all classics are classics for everyone.
Rating: Rent it to see it for its brilliance but don't expect it to be brilliant for you.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
This movie is a true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the editor of Elle, who suffers a stroke and has to live in an almost fully paralyzed body, only his left eye isn't paralyzed. One word: Magnicifent. I just can't convey how wonderful this movie is. Just watch it...seriously...just watch it. I have to admit one thing though - the movie is in French and it has subtitles. And one part of the movie, Bauby learns how to speak by blinking. The speech therapist says letters and when she gets to the letter that he wants, he blinks. Its tedious but he ends up writing the book that the movie is based on. Ok, back to my thing. So I'm listening to her ramble off the alphabet and I'm trying to guess what he's going to say along with her. And she says the letters - M-E-R..then the subtitle is saying T-H-A and I'm wondering why its not right...then I realized that they were translating what its going to be in English. Kind of messed me up for a minute there, thought that I completely forgot how to speak French.
Rating: GO WATCH NOW!

The Cooler
William H. Macy plays this unlucky fellow that works for a casino who uses him to "cool off" tables when people are winning too much money. He then meets a cocktail waitress and his luck changes. The movie was, eh - ok. The movie has its moments and its really a dark film at times. If I wouldnt have seen this movie right after I saw The Diving Bell and the Butterfly then I probably would have liked it a little bit more. It is entertaining but I'm not running out and buying it for my collection.
Rating: Rental.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Reason Why You Shouldn't Date At Work

One of the joys of my HR job is to administer the sexual harassment trainings for the company. Recently, I logged into one of our resources and found this picture that accompanied an article about Workplace Romances.

Now...what is wrong with this picture? Everytime I see it, I actually giggle a bit. Why? Let me point out some things...

The most blatant observations is...no black man with ANY self respect will allow a white woman to do this. I actually can't believe that the guy in this picture allowed himself to be photographed for this. How much mockery is he getting from his friends over this? I'd use this picture to match up the ring and watch he's wearing to find this guy and smack him upside the head.

Ok - the look on the girl's face is hysterical! It looks like she's trying too hard to be tough and well, is not succeeding.

Doesn't it look like she's going to punch herself in the back of the head? She may need to work on that aim.

I keep thinking that the phrase "Bitch, Please!" needed to be said at some point before this picture was taken. Either she made a comment to him and he said it which made her fly into a rage (so to speak). Or she said it and cocked that fist back, triggering what could be a very embarassing moment in black history.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Ghetto-Fabulous

Driving into work today, I got flipped off by someone ass who felt that he owned lane #2 on the 101. Funny thing is that I went into lane #1 and totally passed him - so there! I felt it was going to be quite the day. I mean, who doesn't want to start their day off with an obscene gesture - right?

A few minutes after settling in at work, my coworker IM's me that they want to get a pool together for the big Mega Millions drawing tomorrow. All I needed was a $1. ONE DOLLAR. And I barely put that together...with change.

How ghetto is that? I'm paying into a lottery pool with 3 quarters, a dime, and 15 pennies.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

A Day Of Truthiness

According to AstrologyZone, tomorrow is this day of realization in my (Virgo) life. Read on...

"The month ends on a more serious full moon lunar eclipse, February 20. It will arrive in Virgo, bringing a matter of great importance to culmination. If you were born at the end of August, this eclipse will speak directly to you.

This eclipse is a somber one, because it will fall almost exactly on Saturn - within three and a half degrees. That's close. Saturn makes us become very realistic, for with Saturn there's never room for illusions or fantasy. It's time to see things as they are, and no matter what happens, there won't be room for a lot of negotiation. I am so sorry to have to say this to you, dear Virgo. At eclipse time, February 20, you will see what I mean. "


I read this a few days ago and let me tell you, it kind of freaked me out. I have no idea what to expect from February 20th and I'm kind of hoping the day comes and goes without any big revelations. I've had my fair share of honest, truthful conversations in the past 3 months that I'm done for a while.

So you know what Saturn...I don't need any more realism. I'm good, thanks.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

ARETHA!!!!

Valentine's Day actually had a happy tone to it this year for me. I was going to see Aretha Franklin!

Now, this isn't the first time I had seen her in concert, I saw her a couple of years ago at the Greek. But come on now...its ARETHA EFFIN' FRANKLIN!!!

My friend and I head to the Nokia Theater and after a couple of drinks we settle down in our seats and wait...wait for Aretha (effin') Franklin. Last time I went to see her, she seemed to be in major diva mode. This time, we got nice Aretha. She even sang some of her major hits! She sang Respect, Chain of Fools, Ain't No Way, and Bridge Over Troubled Water.

Not only was I singing and dancing in my chair, but we were entertained by the people around us by their singing and dancing. But in my opinion, the best moment happened early in the evening - when Aretha was introduced. She was introduced as the "Empress of Music". At least Beyonce' didnt introduce her...

Monday, February 04, 2008

Videos Of The Week!

This makes me like Sarah Silverman and Matt Damon so much more.



Best Infomercial Ever! I've never wanted to buy anything until I saw this.

Friday, February 01, 2008

The Return of Lost

LOST IS BACK!

LOST IS BACK!

LOST IS BACK!!!!!!!!

Yesterday morning I woke up with a weird sensation...the giddiness of having new television to watch, and LOST nonetheless!

Last night's episode was in a word: AWESOME.

It made me laugh.
It made me cry.
It made me cheer.
It made me freak out a little bit.
And it made me feel like someone drilled a hole in my head and mind fuck me.

Welcome back old friend...welcome back.