(M) Casino Royale. (Martin Campbell, 2006) Grade: B

Thoughts: There was a lot of talk and concern about Daniel Craig playing the new James Bond (he was the first one to be blond) but considering this was my first Bond film I think he did a nice job. Casino Royale introduces James Bond in his first 00 misson. It takes him to Montenegro to play cards against Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), who is funding terrorist. The action scenes were exciting and though some dialogue was cheesy the movie was actually quite witty. Oh and I liked that they casted Mads as the villian because he is well known Danish actor so it was cool to see him in an American film.

Count: 134 movies

Only four living presidents left ...

Watch these movies for my pop culture training:

(M) Girls Just Want to Have Fun. (Alan Metter, 1985) Grade: C

Thoughts: Janey Glenn (Sarah Jessica Parker) tries to become a dancer on a popular dance show called DTV with the help of her friend Lynne Stone (Helen Hunt). A pretty silly 80’s movie with a young Shannen Doherty and Jonathan Silverman and guest appearance of Richard Blade as the host of DTV.

(M) Stand By Me. (Rob Reiner, 1986) Grade: A-

Thoughts: Four friends, Gordie Lachance (Wil Wheaton), Chris Chambers (River Phoenix), Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman) and Vern Tessio (Jerry O’Connell), go on a boyhood journey to search for the dead body of one of their classmates. Along the way they make self discoveries about themselves, while avoiding dealing with Ace Merrill (Kiefer Sutherland) and his gang. Stand By Me was such a simple plot yet it was so effective. River Phoenix was a great actor and this movie just demonstrated it. It was cool to see a young Kiefer (yay Jack Bauer!) and John Cusack as Gordie’s dead older brother. Trivia - The movie is based on a short story called "The Body" by Stephen King from a book of short stories called "Different Seasons" which also includes "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" which became The Shawshank Redemption and to keep in character while off-camera, Kiefer Sutherland often picked on Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman and Jerry O’Connell.

(M) The Jerk. (Carl Reiner, 1979) Grade: B-

Thoughts: Navin R. Johnson (Steve Martin) wants to make it out on his own, too bad he is a complete idiot. The movie is silly and all over the place but I found it entertaining and funny. It did do a good job of showing Steve Martin’s comedy genius. Trivia – The mansion shown in the film is the infamous Sheik Al-Fassi mansion in Beverly Hills. The 38-room mansion no longer exists; it was torched by an arsonist in 1980.

Count: 133 movies

(M) Man Cheng Jin Dai Huang Jin Jia (Curse of the Golden Flower). (Zhang Yimou, 2006) Grade: C+

Thoughts: Emperor Ping (Chow Yun-Fat) is trying to slowly kill his wife Empress Phoenix (Gong Li) for who knows why. It could be because she is sleeping with her stepson Prince Xiang (Liu Ye) or because she is trying to make her biological son Prince Jie (Jay Chou) the new king. Either way the storyline was weak but the movie was visually stunning, which is typical of Yimou’s films (Ju-Dou, Hero and House of Flying Daggers). Afterwards, there was a Q and A with the director Zhang Yimou and stars Gong Li and Chow Yun-Fat. It was AWESOME!! I’m not going to lie … I was really excited. Chow Yun-Fat is very humorous and outgoing and Gong Li is such a beauty. It was a great night.

(M) Painted Veil. (John Curran, 2006) Grade: B+

Thoughts: Researcher Walter Fane (Edward Norton) falls in love with spoiled socialite Kitty (Naomi Watts) and marries her. Unhappy in her marriage she begins an affair with Charlie Townsend (Live Schreiber) only to be discovered and threaten with divorce. The alternative is to join her husband Walter as he goes into a rural part of China to help a cholera outbreak. The movie is based upon W. Somerset Maugham’s novel of the same name and it was an interesting look into relationships and British colonialism. Afterwards, there was a Q and A with director John Curran, Edward Norton and Toby Jones. Edward Norton is such an amazing actor and I love his voice. Apparently, Nicole Kidman was chosen for the role of Kitty but I think Naomi Watts was a better fit.

Count: 130 movies

I received $75 in Starbucks gift cards this Christmas. I guess my New Year’s resolution is to drink more coffee.

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!

Like New Wave, I’m counting how many books I’ve read this year via the blog page, and it’s 26 (with hopefully two more to finish before the end of this month). I guess that’s not too bad. About two books a month...

(B) The Captain and the Enemy (Graham Greene, 1988) Grade: B
Greene’s last novel is a mystery adventure about a young man trying to track down his adoptive father, The Captain, in Panama. Set against this story line is a theme about the true nature of love. The story itself was alright, and I was curious to know how the mystery would unravel, but nothing of real interest here.

(M) The Notorious Bettie Page (Gretchen Mol, 2005) Grade: B
Notorious is an entertaining film that gives some background on the pin-up queen, though Page is presented as a saint-like character who is completely innocent of the controversy behind her photographs. Mol gives an excellent performance, but I am hesistant to believe that the real-life Page was that much in the dark about the porn industry.

Hmmm the blog has been quiet but I'm sure it is due to the holidays. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas. Remember HE is the reason for the season. Oh and if anyone cares I'm pretty close to my 150 movies. I'm about 10 away or something :)

This blog is for New Wave following a discussion we had on how boring our lives are:
Our lives are geared mainly to deflect the darts thrown at us by the laws of probability. The moment we’re able, we insulate ourselves from the random acts of hate and destruction. It’s always been there--in the neighborhoods we build, the walls between our houses, the wariness with which we treat the unknown. One person in six million will be struck by lightning. Fifteen people in a hundred will experience clinical depression. One woman in sixteen will experience breast cancer. One child in 30,000 will experience a serious limb deformity. One American in five will be victim of a violent crime. A day in which nothing bad happens is a miracle, a day in which all the the things that could have gone wrong didn’t. The dull day is a triumph of the human spirit, and boredom is a luxury unprecedented in the history of our species. - Douglas Coupland

(M) The Chatterley Affair Grade: B
Written by Andrew Davies (Tipping the Velvet), this film focuses on the real-life obscenity trial for D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover, which serves as the backdrop for a fictional love affair between two of the jurors. Frankly, anyone who hasn’t read Lady Chatterley will have little interest in this film. Otherwise, it’s a so-so movie, but I didn’t care much for the main characters. I guess having a film on just the trial would have been a bore.

(M) The Painted Veil Grade: A
This film adaptation of the Somerset Maugham book is fantastic. Everyone is excellent here, from Ed Norton to Naomi Watts, and there’s interesting subplot about British imperialism on China. Great, great film.

(M) Sei Mong Se Jun (Abnormal Beauty). (Oxide Pang Chun, 2004) Grade: D

Thoughts: Jiney (Race Wong) is a rich latchkey teen photographer who becomes obsessed with taking pictures of death. Jin (Roseanne Wong) is Jiney’s lesbian lover/best friend. I usually do not watch horror movies because I find them cheesy and lame; this movie backed up that claim. I had to force myself to finish it and all the killing and blood was not until the very end of the film. One disturbing fact is the actresses Race and Roseanne are sisters in real life but they play lesbian lovers in the movie … WTF.

(M) For Your Consideration. (Christopher Guest, 2006) Grade: B

Thoughts: A pretty typical Christopher Guest film with his usual cast members. The film is about three actors who are buzzed to receive an Oscar for their performances in the fictional movie “Home For Purim”. The start of the film was a bit slow but by the end it picked up and really had me laughing. It was a good look into what is probably going on right now with the Golden Globe nominations just announced and the Oscars around the corner. Catherine O’Hara as Marilyn Hack was amazing. She was very dead on as an actress desperate to make a comeback. Actually the entire cast was great and I’m sure they had a good time making this movie.

Count: 128 movies

(M) Inside Deep Throat. (Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato, 2005) Grade: B-

Thoughts: This documentary was a look into the making of and overall effects of the first real mainstream porn movie “Deep Throat”. It also went into showing how the porn industry has developed and changed. Many pioneers of the industry are old now but at the time they were creating the start of something big. One thing I enjoyed was how Wes Craven admitted many new film makers made porn movies as their first jobs; basically admitting he has directed porn, neat-o.

(M) Ju-Dou. (Fengliang Yang, Zhang Yimou, 1990) Grade: A-

Thoughts: A woman (Gong Li) is married off to an older man who beats her until she is able to produce a son for him. She eventually does but not with him but his nephew, who she is having a secret affair with. A fairly simple plotline with complex characters and wonderful cinematography, this film was quite enjoyable. Gong Li is such a great actress; I can see why she was Zhang Yimou’s muse for so long.

Count: 126 movies

(M) Charlotte's Web (Winnick, 2006) Grade: B+

I would have given this movie an A if it had come out years and years ago, if the cast wasn't filled with all these "stars" and if they had all the same songs as the cartoon version. Not to say that the actors who voiced the animals didn't do a good job, but it always bothers me when I "recognize" somone's voice and I spend half the movie trying to figure out who the heck it is haha. I wish they had cast an unknown as Fern. Dakota Fanning didn't do a horrible job, but it would have been refreshing to see someone new. Steve Buscemi as Templeton was spot on though. They did a great job with all the animals and I liked watching Charlotte spin her web hehe. I'm a kid at heart so this made me a bit nostalgic.

I really liked the beginning and end credits which had animation similar to the book. Sarah MacLachlan sings a song at the end which is nice as well. Overall solid movie and I think kids will really enjoy this, successfully introducing this classic to a new generation.

My computer took a nose dive last weekend so now I only get to go online at school and work, it sucks quite a bit.

(G) Love Like Fire / Sky Parade / Eskimo Hunter

Love Like Fire did a rather decent set. They have some new songs they are playing and still sound rather tight. I'll give their performance a 'B'.

Sky Parade is a band who probably LOVES the music I love like Ride and The Verve and Slowdive and all those great bands but they don't make songs as good as those bands, though I am sure they wish they did and I wish they did too because sitting through the failed attempt was not too much fun, Grade: D

Eskimo Hunter. HOLY HELL! This band was AMAZING! I think this band has the ability to gain a LOT of indie buzz and be as popular as a band like Mates Of State or something like that. I was so glad I stuck around after Sky Parade to see this band. I recommend checking them out, especially Pigern who should have gone to Spaceland last night to join me. Grade: A

It is very quiet in the office today because everyone was at the holiday party last night. I did not get to go due to other things. Oh well. So I decided to blog what I am doing until it is time to go home.

2:22 pm - Pigern just left AIM to go on a break. I was chatting with her but now I'm bored again. I'm thinking if I should blog about movies I have seen or just read stuff off the Internet.

2:27 pm - Got an e-mail from Darth saying he gets to go home already. Man I want to go home. I have movies I need to watch. (sigh)

2:41 pm - Sleepy. Just finished moving prior month folders into current month folders and folding some cranes. I'm trying to fold 1,000 cranes for fun.

3:07 pm - Just got off the phone with Darth. He is sitting in traffic going home and I am sitting at my desk staring at my paycheck. I get paid the same every week BUT I am interested to see my vacation balance grow ever so slowly. So I did the math and by May I will have earned 4.3787 days off. Oh my gosh this is taking too long.

3:20 pm - Got an e-mail from a temp here who is leaving for South East Asia (Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indoesia) for 60 days. Geez!! He leaves Christmas Eve and comes back Feb. 21. I like to travel but that is A LOT of time away from home. I think even two weeks is too long for me. I would like to do a month in HK and China though.

3:51 pm - Working on a spreadsheet off and on. Listening to Arcade Fire because today on some blog sites it talked about a new song out called "Intervention" off their new album Neon Bible. My gosh I miss them. I want them to come back so badly. If you call this number you can list to the song, which I did earlier today: 1-866-NEON (6366)-BIBLE (24253) ext. 7777.

4:26 pm - I was trying to fix our History/Archives on our blogpage to look different but it became this pain so I'll do it at home. Wow it is almost time for me to leave ... less than an hour and I can head off.

4:32 pm - Super ANNOYING co-workers are talking near me. I love (really mean hate) people who think their jobs are so important. News flash jerk-holes, you are NOT saving someone's life here okay. You are looking at an Excel spreadsheet or creating bank accounts. GET OVER YOURSELF. Ugh!!!

4:34 pm - Pigern just left work. Man I want to leave!!! I just ate a gingerbread cookie from this morning's holiday breakfast we had. It was tasty.

4:46 pm - Chatting on AIM with Darth now. The guy next to me is listening to some Top 40-ish cd. Right now JoJo - A Little Too Late is playing. Ugh make it stop. My music is not loud enough to block his out.

4:57 pm - I would like to leave now but I feel bad considering I came in at 9 am. I'll hold out for 20 some more mins.

5:09 pm - My boss asked if I was leaving soon so I guess I will go. Yes!! End of the day for me.

The movies I watched on my way back from HK. Yup they were that bad.

(M) The Break-Up. (Peyton Reed, 2006) Grade: D+

Thoughts: Tour guide Gary Grobowski (Vince Vaughn) spots art dealer assistant Brooke Meyers (Jennifer Aniston) at a Chicago Cubs game and decides they are going to date. So begins the train wreak that is entitled The Break-Up. The happy times are in the opening credits and the actual film is them fighting and arguing and breaking up (for no apparent reason). I never got why they didn’t talk to each other about their problems. Instead, the characters felt it was good to express what they should be telling each other to their friends, family members and co-workers. It was like watching two people in high school break up instead adults who have careers and a mortgage. The supporting cast was misused as well. Joey Lauren Adams could have done more as well as Jon Favreau, Vincent D’Onofrio and the wonderful Jason Bateman. What a waste of film space and the disturbing part is the movie made $118 million at least.

(M) Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. (Justin Lin, 2006) Grade: D

Thoughts: Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) is a bad boy sent to live with his Navy father in Japan. There he meets Twinkie (Bow Wow), who introduces him to a world of Japanese drifting and car racing. Mix in good girl Neela (Nathalie Kelley) and bad villain Drift King (Brian Tee) and you have the third installment of Fast and the Furious. Oh and yes I have seen all these movies (please don’t ask why), so it made sense I watch this. The movie is awful and I won’t even go into why, however I did respect the drifting part because if you see it live it is pretty impressive. Oh and I like how Sang Kang (Han) is actually Korean but I guess he had to pretend to be Japanese and young (he is 34 in real life).

(M) John Tucker Must Die. (Betty Thomas, 2006) Grade: C-

Thoughts: John Tucker (Jesse Metcalfe) is dating three girls at the same time – Heather (Ashanti), Beth (Sophia Bush) and Carrie (Arielle Kebbel). They find out about each other and with the suggestion of new girl Kate Spencer (Brittany Snow) seek revenge on John Tucker. I found it interesting that they downplayed Brittany Snow’s character role when they were marketing the film and went with a whole different angle. The actual movie was about Kate finding friends and a love interest and NOT about John Tucker and how the girls wanted him to die. Brittany Snow did a good job with her character and I wish they focused a bit more on her love interest with John Tucker’s brother and less on the other girls but whatever.

Count: 124 movies

They announced the nominees for the 64th Golden Globe Awards today and I'm a bit surprised at what got picked.

For best drama - The Departed and The Queen are good but I heard Bobby and Little Children were just alright. I do want to watch Babel but Brad Pitt for Supporting Actor?? I thought he was the lead. The only one I do not get is Devil Wears Prada becuase the movie was pretty typical.

As for TV, no BSG or Veronica Mars (what a shame) but I am glad Ugly Betty got on there and America Ferrera for best actress because she is so charming. Oh and it is nice to see Gillian Anderson and Kyra Sedgwick there.

Too bad we could not keep blogging everyday. Oh well. Here are some movies I watched on my way to HK.

(M) The Devil Wears Prada. (David Frankel, 2006) Grade: B-

Thoughts: Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) arrives in New York and lands the second assistant position with Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), the biggest fashion magazine editor in the industry. So begins this typical movie about - girl goes to big city, changes to fit in, realizes she is good as who she is and thus ends her trip on self discovery lane and the film in about 1 hour and 49 minutes. Anne Hathaway is lovely and charming and Meryl Streep is on top of her game in this not terrible but not terribly amazing film.

(M) Duk Ga Si Oi (Marriage With A Fool). (Patrick Kong, 2006) Grade: C+

Thoughts: Wah (Lik-Sun Fong) and Bo (Stephy Tang) have recently married and right away begin facing some marital problems. The movie was an interesting look into trust and how much people are willing to take to be loved or to love. The ending was slightly realistic because after all the cheating and lying they took each other back knowing things would never be the same, but pretending they could make it work.

Count: 121 movies

"Are BlackBerry users the new smokers?"

I read this article and found it quite interesting and true. While second hand texting won't kill you, someone texting in a car might, so I will welcome the parallel. More importantly, I've felt what the author has felt with certain people who text/answer phones during a dinner out. I understand answering a phone call if it's "important" or if it's someone you really haven't heard from in a long time, but as courtesy, one should excuse themselves and walk away from the table if the conversation is going to last more than a few seconds. Furthermore, I think it's rude to text back and forth with someone while you're eating dinner with another person. My mom does this ALLLLL the time. I feel like the parent(which isn't a new thing) wanting to just make the rule of no cell phones or gadgets at the dinner table.

Here's an example of improper use of cell phone etiquette. I was at an interview today and during the noon conference(where a member of the faculty or a guest lecturer gives a talk) one of my fellow interviewee's phone goes off. It takes her about a good minute to find her phone in her purse as it continues to ring, not even bothering to apologize. I give her the benefit of the doubt and maybe she forgot to turn off her phone ringer. It goes off AGAIN a minute later. You know what she does? SHE ANSWERS THE PHONE! Tells the caller, "I'm not done yet. I'll call you back." Doesn't apologize again and really pretends like nothing happened. What's wrong with people? You're interviewing at this place!! Why are you so blatantly rude? I was beside myself.

so much for a blog every day...sorry FTC :(

(A) Follow the City Lights, Dover (2006) grade: B

So Dover is a band from Spain that's been around since the 90's. They've always made English-language grunge-style songs...until this album. Follow the City Lights is their experimentation with electronic sounds. The music reminds me of The Sounds. I've always liked Dover's lead singer's voice; it's interesting to hear her slight Spanish accent as she sings.
I've included the video for the lead single, "Let Me Out".

- Oh neat. There has been a blog done every day so far. Okay new thing is to have a blog on here each day no matter who does it :)

- Apparently the New York Times thinks they know some of the best Chinese restaurants. Their picks are Triumphal Palace (too expensive for most cheap Chinese people), Mission 261 (going to check out this weekend), Chang's Garden, Chung King and Foo Chow. The reviewer seems to really like Chinese food. Honestly, I pick a good Chinese restaurant by my mom's factor - look to see how many old Chinese people are in the restaurant. They are the ones who really know how to eat.


- Darth, Darth's older brother and I got ourselves an interview and chance to compete for the World Series of Pop Culture on VH1. Honestly, I think our chances are pretty low due to a few factors - 1. I am not as hardcore as Darth and his brother so I am the weakest link 2. We are in the LA market - do you know how many pop culture freaks live in this freak city 3. I think the questions are going to amazingly hard and even if we get past the test/interview we still have to compete for the Regional. I'm not being "Debbie Downer" here; I'm being realistic. Ack.


- Lots of Cure news coming out right now. Big ones are they are coming to the States in March/April and so far have confirmed to be playing the Ultra Music Festival in Florida. In addition, Robert is having some writer's block on the new album that might be a double disc coming out maybe May 2007. :) Oh and the Festival 2005 dvd came out and I tired to get it but it sold out everywhere ... a good sign but a bummer for me so I just ordered it on Amazon. Oh the Cure, how I love thee and yes there is still news about them because they are such a great band.

Ok I feel bad for neglecting the house because of my newfound dedication to my personal blog, thanks to the NaBloPoMo. I try to stay active by commenting, and have luckily escaped any death threats from New Wave. This blog will be more of me venting about my rotation. I figure I can vent here since the blog is not directly related to me.

I'm doing Cardiology right now at a certain hospital in LA. It's been OK so far. Nothing too intense, but I feel invisible to my preceptor who will be grading me. He's a very busy man and doesn't really have time to teach. Sometimes I wonder if he even cares/knows that I'm here. Like this morning I saw him on one of the floors and he just said hi like I was just a random person. He didn't even ask me if I wanted to go with him to the Cath lab. I suppose I could be more proactive, but I just feel like I'm in his way whenever I'm around him. When I am with him he teaches, but then that makes the day even longer especially in clinic.

I have been working with colleagues of his, one in particular who is really nice and pushes me to be thorough and do my best. I'm also working with a resident who teaches while he can and is open for me to ask questions. I just wonder what kind of grade I'll be getting, even though it doesn't really matter. At any rate, I feel more comfortable managing certain cardiac patients and with EKG's on a primary care level.

On a totally different subject, I'm in the doctor's lounge and there are like 5 kids in here playing on the pool table. The "mom" or whoever that adult is with them is sitting here quietly babysitting them. They have the TV on full blast watching Star Wars III. It's kind of annoying, but I don't want to say anything because the "mom" might be an attending and this is the only time she gets to see them?? I just don't think it's appropriate for them to be here hehe.(Ok I think they're family of a high profile patient....some lady just came in and asked if they were doing ok and was talking about a surgery etc etc.) Oops. But still.

Well, the Grammy nominations have been announced. There are several surprises for me. One, why is James Blunt nominated? He’s horrible! Same goes for the “Bad Day” singer. And who would have thought that one day Death Cab for Cutie would be up against The Black Eyed Peas?

I'm not sure if you guys have been following this story but a tech editor from CNET and his family were stuck in the snowy wilderness of Oregon. Apparently, the wife and two young kids, one only 7 months, were found 2 days ago after surviving in the cold since Nov. 25. However, the father James Kim was not with them because he had gone off to search for help for his family. It was announced today they found him dead in a mountain creek. It really made me sad because if he had stayed with his family he might be with them today. He was brave to go and search for help for his family. It is just a really sad story.

(TV) For all of you who missed it....here's the preview for "I Love New York", which premieres on January 8, 2007.

I have mixed feelings about it. I know it's going to be ghetto and dramatical (mostly from NY herself), but I don't think it will be as great as "Flavor of Love". We'll see.

Sorry no blogs from me. I have seen like 11 movies I need to write about and I still need my HK trip review but I've been busy with my one db class and work. Hey just curious ... did you guys like me blogging every day? Let's take a poll here. Thoughts??

(M) Airplane movies Grade: C
I saw three movies on the flight back to L.A. and thought to review them all in one go since they don’t warrant individual reviews. First was The Break-Up. After 20 or 30 minutes of watching Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn bickering, I turn to New Wave and ask, “This is supposed to be a comedy, right?” Next was You, Me and Dupree. Wow. Who wrote this script? Even cute Kate Hudson couldn’t save this one. Last was John Tucker Must Die. Hollywood high school movies are always so unrealistic. Brittany Snow was charming, but it was pretty predictable and prepared me for the flight nap.

(B) The End of the Affair (Graham Greene, 1951) Grade: A
This novel has a great first sentence: A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses a moment of experience from which to look ahead. And with that begins this analysis into the intensity of human emotion in which one can feel both love and hate simultaneously toward another.

(B) Norwegian Wood (Haruki Murakami, 1987) Grade: A
The book that made Murakami a celebrity in Japan is like most of his other books: a deceptively easy read that actually offers a lot of depth. Titled after the Beatles’ song, Norwegian Wood is just as bittersweet.

Here is a crazy story I just heard today and maybe Hedwig would be interested in this since she is going into the medical profession. I know somebody who is a social worker and she was in a meeting or conference the other day and heard about this. You know how people will cut themselves when they are depressed? Well there was this surgical nurse who would cut herself but instead of cutting herself along her wrists, or legs, she would give herself the surgical 'Y' cut on her chest and open up her chest and abdomen and move around her organs. She was discovered because normally she is able to un-clamp herself and stitch herself back up but one time she was unable to and had to call the paramedics. Isn't that crazy? Can you imagine surgically operating on yourself, opening yourself up, moving organs around and stitching yourself back up. That's NUTS!!!

(A) The Sweet Escape, Gwen Stefani (2006) grade: B

This album comes out this Tuesday, the 5th, but I had the chance to listen to an "advance" copy :)
Overall, I like the album. It's not as strong as 2004's Love. Angel. Music. Baby., which had the 80's influence that made me love it. The weak spots are the collaborations with Pharrell/The Neptunes (Gwen needs to move on). Mind you, "Wind It Up" has grown on me tremendously, and I now enjoy the song. Other notables are "The Sweet Escape (feat. Akon)", "Early Winter", "Now That You Got It" (produced by Swizz Beatz), and "4 In The Morning" (produced by No Doubt's Tony Kanal).

WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, I can't believe I forgot to blog about this:

(TV) Flavor of Love 2 (DVD, 2006) grade: A+

So season 2 is now out on DVD, so run out and get your copies. This season was more flavtastic and way more ghetto-fab. From cat fights to booty shaking, its a must in everyone's collection.
oh yeah, and "I <3 NY" airs in January.

The end of the year is coming... is anyone doing top of the year lists? I can probably do mine now, except I have one more concert to attend and so I can't do a top concert yet.

I think my favorite album of the year was Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit.
This is funny to me since my initial opinion of the album was mediocre but it got better and better with more and more rotations. My number two album of the year is Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye.

For films, I hardly saw ANYTHING new this year and I really can't remember anything I saw this year so I am probably forgetting something really good. I am going to have to say Little Miss Sunshine is the only movie that stands out to me.

This was a great year for concerts for me. Belle and Sebastian twice. Radiohead. Ladytron. Camera Obscura. Next week is The Faint/Ladytron/Ratatat. A favorite will be hard to choose.