What are your top 5 CDs/albums of 2006?
Submitted by eliz. s.
Honestly, I probably couldn't even name 5 CDs/albums from this year!!! And I'm pretty sure I haven't listened to an entire album all year! I just don't have that kind of patience; I figure if it's good, they'll play it on the radio, and maybe I'll hear it. I'm guess I'm not really that into modern music. At all.
A Book Review by abcdefg81:
Um, this wasn't the cover on the edition I read, but whatever.
Since I know one of my two loyal readers owns, and is probably planning on reading, this book, I won't spoil anything.
Overall, pretty good. Got you kind of down and depressed at times, with all the references to porn and how the whole world revolves around sex. Which you know all too well when you're female and in your 20s, particularly if you've ever lived in LA.
Other than that, a pretty good read. It's basically about a girl in her mid-twenties, who graduated from a prestigious college back east, and can't get a "REAL" job. She's pretty stressed about what she's going to do with her career and how she's gonna get started. Of course, I can totally relate to that, and it was that basic storyline that got me to check the book out.
Like The Nanny Diaries, also written by the authors, the book got kinda whiny at times, and as I mentioned, kinda got my spirits down. And I don't think I laughed once reading this book. But, it was definitely entertaining enough!
MY RATING: Three Stars
What's your favorite Thanksgiving dish?
Submitted by Brennan.
Stuffing! It's all about the stuffing! And of course, the dessert!
What's your favorite music for a Sunday morning?
Submitted by Nick.
what a random question! umm... i'm gonna have to go with the pre-game show theme song.
What's your favorite kind of Girl Scout cookie?
Submitted by My Lovely One.
I'm gonna have to say Samoas. The ones with coconut, caramel, and chocolate. Yum!
If you're reincarnated, what do you think you'll come back as?
Submitted by Diana.
I HAVE NO IDEA. A dude??
What song makes you rock the karaoke mic?
Submitted by Ann.
I don't sing in public. You all should thank me!
What's the worst pickup line you've ever heard?
Submitted by ShellEy.
Whenever I'm at the mall, doing nothing, all by myself, I'm prone to getting variations of the following: "I, uh, have my learner's permit, and uh, I uh, turn 16 next month, and uh, I have my own car, and uuh... did you maybe wanna hang out sometime?"
A Movie Review/Reflection by abcdefg81:
Saw this movie over the weekend. I totally expected something brilliant... from what I gathered from the trailers and the ciritcs, it was supposed to be like "Crash," where there's a bunch of stories being told simultaneously and there's supposed to be some connection between all of them and a profound theme. I thought "Crash" was the best movie made in a loooong time, so I expected this one to be at least somewhat brilliant. Don't get me wrong; it wasn't a terrible movie, but it was kind of disappointing. Definitely an attempt at a copy of "Crash," and you know how copies are never as good as the original... And some editing would have been nice.
Yes, there were a bunch of stories being told. One story in Japan, one story about an American couple in Morocco, one story about some kids and their Nanny in San Diego, and one story about the Nanny and her family in Mexico. But I just didn't get any thought-provoking or moving theme out of it. Which is why I'm a bit disappointed.
If you haven't seen the movie yet, and don't want the story to be ruined, stop reading now! But if you've seen it, and can maybe shed some light on it for me, please keep reading.
One thing I didn't like was that the connection between everyone seemed so linear. The Japanese dude gave his rifle to a Moroccan hunting guide, who sold it to a family, whose kids shot the American tourists, whose own kids are left in San Diego with their Nanny, who takes the kids to Mexico to see her son's wedding. I hate to keep comparing it to Crash, but in Crash, the characters were interrelated kind of in a more "web-like" manner; that made the characters seem much more alive, because you got to see all these parts of them.
One of the things I did like about the movie was that it tried to bring you into worlds that aren't your own. Much of the movie takes place outside of America, and you can see the different cultures and hear different languages. And the movie does a good job bringing you into other people's worlds; probably the best example is when you see things from the deaf-mute Japanese girl's point of view. The film just goes silent and you kinda feel like you're in her shoes. It doesn't sound like a very impressive or insightful technique, but it's quite effective, and it really makes everything feel chaotic and confusing.
I think that one of the themes of the movie was that no matter how different we are as people, we're essentially all the same. Like the Japanese girl mentioned above... her mother had died and she feels like she's being ignored by her father, so she throws herself at every male character she comes into contact with. It just goes to show that it's natural for a teenage girl (or immature woman) to go slutty when she's craving attention and approval, even if they're disabled and from another part of the world.
Another point I got from the movie was that "everything you do has a consequence, and in these times of global communication, what you do can have a global impact." Which was part of the message in "Crash," except it focused on LA, and had more to say about our own society's racism. "Babel" didn't really seem to have much more to say than just "we're all connected and we're all the same."
But I think that some of the other points of the movie didn't really seem to fit.... Like the integrity and selflessness of the guy that wouldn't take Brad Pitt's money after saving Cate Blanchett's life. And the courage and sudden "growing up" of the kid that admits to having had shot Cate Blanchett. So maybe you could say that "everything we do has a consequence, and those consequences can bring out the best in people." Okay, but what about the Nanny who treats her American employers' kids like her own, but gets caught working in the country illegally the one time she does something for her own kid? What are we supposed to get out of that?
And what about Brad and Cate? So Cate had a miscarriage, which threatened her relationship with her husband, and now that she's gotten shot, she realizes that life is important and she's gonna go and be a good mom to her kids and they're all gonna live happily ever after? Oh, and as far as we can tell, she's not gonna do a damn thing to save her kids' deported nanny, other than to not press kidnapping charges?
I just don't get it. There didn't seem to be a unifying theme to the whole extremely long, two and a half hour movie. And it didn't really make me look inside myself and see something that I hadn't seen before, which I think all great movies need to do.
Overall, not a bad movie. But I definitely didn't get any moving message from it... Am I missing something... thoughts anyone?
My Rating: Three Stars
What comedian makes you pee your pants laughing?
Submitted by pookieb.
um, no comedian really. i generally think they're kinda lame.. it's not so funny when people are trying to be funny. i think the funniest people in the world are the people i know!
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