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Tag Archive: entertainment

boooooRAT

I thought Borat was a good laugh… but that might be because I was five feet in front of the screen with my neck at a 90 degree angle, and already predisposed to laughing.

But somebody didn’t like it, and there are a lot of other somebodies out there who didn’t like it either.

Is Borat’s humor insensitive? Repetitive? Is it funny or is it juvenile and raunchy? I think all of the above. It’s another testament to the uniqueness of human taste. I don’t like jokes about sex or women, and I thought the scene with the feminists and “pA-me-LA” were funny.

Unfortunately some of the people in the movie don’t think it’s funny, and it could cost Borat producers. This article on TMZ.com makes a good point.

More on Facebook

Ironically, I found this article by Time about the Facebook Protest on the Facebook, through the news feed. It was on a new note by Steve Russell. Good job Steve.

AND… I found last night (through the new homefront on Facebook) that you can join the group “Apple Students” and get a special playlist through iTunes, with 25 songs for FREE! And, you can get a new one each week for the next few weeks. And, the songs are good. Including Babyshambles, The Go! Team, Asobi Seksu, Boy Kill Boy, The Little Ones, etc. Join it. Do it.

I’m also compiling a list of the best blogs that I know of, so if you have any suggestions, let me know.

Heart Smart

USA TODAY linked to this picture today:It’s from a digital archive of 9/11 images, stories and audio. It is basically community journalism at its best-getting the people who were there to tell their own stories in their own words, using the things they saw and heard. The archive is really deep and some of the artifacts are really moving and unusual-very personal, although the navigation system could use some work. It could bring up the question of whether or not the internet will/can take over journalism- and it’s even more interesting to read the little link at the bottom of the site — “How do you know these objects are true/real?”- where the site architects said that as with any research, you should check your sources, and that even newspapers need to be read with that in mind. Will a time come when people trust the internet (their peers) more than their local newspaper?

I saw Little Miss Sunshine this weekend, and it was wonderful. I was falling out of my seat laughing almost the entire movie, please go see it. The soundtrack is pretty good too, featuring DeVotchKa and a couple of tracks by Sufjan Stevens.

This weekend Vanessa, Lisa, and I checked out the Museum of Natural History and the National Gallery of Art, which were both wonderful. Unfortunately we had to leave the gallery b/c it was closing, so we only got to see part of Rousseau’s “Jungles in Paris” exhibit. The Museum of Natural History was really detailed and fascinating. We went through the dinosaur and insect exhibits. The dinosaur bones are really amazing. We saw hundreds of species of bugs and a bunch of tarantula’s with super-cute names like “pink-toe” and “orange-leg” (i think orange-leg, not sure.. maybe orange thigh? orange foot?). All the insects looked like sticks and leaves, we felt like we were in the jungle. Wild.

We also had a little fun, we went to the Liberation Dance Party at DC9, where Vanessa got all her drinks free (not so for the rest of us), and we danced some crazy dances.

I have also added a link on the right panel to the excellent website Pandora. It’s a site where you can listen to a radio-like jukebox that figures out what songs you like based on your suggestions of favorite music. It makes some pretty cool suggestions that can introduce you to new bands. The only annoying thing is that because of licensing issues it will only let you skip a certain number of songs and it won’t let you go back or request specific songs.

Less than one week until I start the new job! If you know of anyone in DC that is looking for a roommate, let me know!

Subliminal Messages, Munch, & TV

Everyone hears about subliminal messaging and how it affects you in your everyday life.. but do you really know what types of things make you think and act the way you do? Probably not. I heard on 99.5 that restaurants make plans to sell you more food by lowering the temperature (so you’ll order hot soup, hot coffee, and hot dessert) and playing classical music- to make you feel like you’re a fancy person with a lot of money to spend. The same goes for economy-priced joints, where techno or pop music gets you in the mood. Today, USA TODAY printed a Money cover story about retail and the subtleties of influencing consumers.. ranging from Sony Style’s vanilla-mandarin signature scent to Home Depot’s new floor layout. Pretty crazy. I can tell you though the the store I work at doesn’t employ any of these tactics, except perhaps the techno music.

In another vein, two of Edvard Munch’s paintings, including The Scream, were recovered by Norwegian police. The paintings were stolen at gunpoint from the museum a while back. I wonder why people steal art sometimes.. of course, for the money they can get by selling it to private collectors, but what do those collectors do? Lock the painting up in a tiny room where you can go sit and look at it? It’s not like you can go be like “What’s up Friends! Check out this new Munch painting I got off the black market!”

And since I just spent a week cutting clips for our Fall TV preview, I can recommend a few shows for those of you who enjoy television. The ones I thought were funny and/or really dramatic (!) are:

1. Twenty Good Years (NBC)- It’s about 2 older guys who decide they only have 20 years left of life and they’re gonna live it to the fullest.
2. Friday Night Lights (NBC) — I saw one clip about two dorky guys who got rejected by the coach’s daughter. She said “I don’t eat with football players.” He said, “I’m not a football player.” She said “I don’t eat with you.”
3. Ugly Betty (ABC)- Looks GREAT! It’s about a fashion-challenged girl who starts her first job as an editorial assistant, played by America Ferrera, at a fashion magazine.
4. The Shark (CBS) — A crime drama.. about lawyers.. Yes, another one. But I have to say this one looks very clever. The “Shark” is a former defense lawyer who switches to prosecution, where he aims to turn the DA’s office around…

And tonight, Vanessa comes! Whohooo!