(B) Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man (Joseph Heller, 1999) Grade: B
If I could develop a theme for the type of books I have been reading, it would probably be “creative stagnation.” Heller’s last novel, finished shortly before his death, focuses on a writer writing about the struggles of writing. Though it meanders in parts, it’s creative and unique structurally and a solid end to his career.

I’m starting a new series on the blog called

I love Cable TV. We all love basic tv but there are certain reasons to love cable tv. Reason #1: On Food Network - Unwrapped:

When: Random times on Food Network but usually 7pm, 9 pm or 12 am.
What: Ever wondered where the tiny marshmallows in your breakfast cereal came from? Have we got a show for you! Each week, Unwrapped uncovers behind-the-scenes details on classic American food, from peanut butter and chocolate syrup to French fries and bubblegum. Join host Marc Summers as he explores the test kitchens and the secrets behind lunch box treats, soda pop, movie candy, and more. (from Food Network)
Why: Marc Summers from Double Dare fame is the charming host in this educational yet highly entertaining show. I love learning about all my favorite foods even some I do not eat.

FLAVOR OF LOVE!!!!
reminder: season 2 begins tomorrow!!!

Also, I'm soooo excited because I just saw a commercial (during the season 1 marathon that is on right now) for the SEASON 1 DVD!!! I'm soooo getting it.

So I was having dinner with Darth today and he was telling me about one of his coworkers. Apparently this guy scored in the 99th percentile for the LSAT and will most likely be attending Harvard law school. He works for a district member in OC and is white and I’m assuming loaded with money. I thought to myself oh great just what we need more Regan loving,
WASP freaks getting their law degrees and keeping the poor and weak underneath their thumb but then Darth informs me he is a registered Democrat.

I was amazed and informed Darth I would like to have sex with him. Ha Ha :)

Speaking of law school, I miss my cousin who is in Washington D.C. for the summer doing lawyer-ish stuff before school starts again in the fall.

Oh how I want fall to hurry up and come. Although I will dread the drive to work I will love the fall programming. My friend and I were discussing what new shows to watch. I’m not warming up to anything really. I just want my regulars to start again like Veronica Mars and Battlestar Galactica.

Until then I have increased my Netflix for one month to compensate for my lack of good TV.

Oh and did you know they have a Battlestar Galactica credit card? I’m considering getting it. Oh yea.

(M) Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. (Adam McKay, 2006) Grade: C+

Thoughts: Don’t let the C+ discourage you; it is a loving C+. My cool friend Charles took me to a free screening of this movie and I figured hey I was going to see it this weekend why not earlier. Talladega Nights is Anchorman expect instead of Will Ferrell being Ron Burgundy anchorman, he is Ricky Bobby NASCAR driver. Sacha Baron Cohen plays Jean Girard a French Formula One driver and Ricky Bobby’s biggest rival. His role as Jean was awesome and extremely hilarious. The random cameos through out the movie are entertaining and it was all in good fun. Oh and Amy Adams, John C. Reilly, Gary Cole and Jane Lynch do great jobs. However, I was disturbed at the massive amount of product placement but according to Darth that is what NASCAR is all about – the sponsorships. I read on IMDB that to pitch the movie they just said six words – Will Ferrell as a NASCAR driver. Ha ha.

- Technology is rapidly changing every second. Microsoft is releasing their new OS (operating system) Vista early next year and to prevent security issues they are letting hackers try to break into their system.

- AOL is cutting 5,000 jobs because they finally realized no one uses dial-up anymore.

(B) Sputnick Sweetheart (Haruki Murakami, 1999) Grade: A
An absolutely stunning book. I was so engrossed with it that at its conclusion, it took me a few moments to reorient myself from the very real world inside Sputnick Sweetheart. Murakami is an amazing writer, and this book is evidence of his talent.

(M) The Matador. (Richard Shepard, 2005) Grade: C+

Thoughts: Julian Noble (Pierce Brosnan) plays a hit man heading into retirement. After two botched jobs and on his way to a nervous breakdown, Julian turns to cautious and safe salesmen Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear) for help. Julian and Danny crossed paths a few months ago in Mexico City and fostered a friendship. At least that is what you are led to believe. The movie was too short to develop any of the characters so you just had to believe that Julian and Danny became life long friends after knowing each other for only a few days. Hope Davis who plays Bean Wright, Danny’s wife, is so cute and charming but her role was brief. Overall not a great movie but it was neat to see Pierce Brosnan play this has been hit man considering he use to be James Bond.

(M) Underworld. Evolution. (Len Wiseman, 2006) Grade:B-

Thoughts: I liked the first Underworld movie and figured I should give the second one a whirl. Surprisingly it did not suck as much as I expected. Underworld: Evolution picks up right where the last one left off and the film does a good job of explaining to you what happened in the last film (because I sort of forgot some stuff). Kate Beckinsale is super hot in black leather as Selene the vampire and Scott Speedman is not hard on the eyes either as Michael Corvin the werewolf/vampire hybrid. I would like to see them continue with this series but we’ll see. I read they might do a prequel to how Selene because a vampire but Kate Bekinsale would not play the role which is crap because she is Selene. One thing to note is the movie is extremely violent with tons of gore though I didn't mind. I was looking on Yahoo! Movies and apparently critics hated the film giving it a D+ but viewers liked it.

(M) Wordplay. (Patrick Creadon, 2006) Grade: C+

Thoughts: Other people have reviewed this movie so I won’t bother but to say it is better as a rental than in the theatre. I’ve seen a few documentaries and Wordplay was one of the weaker ones. The scenes showing celebrities doing puzzles was a bit pointless and I wish they focused more on the players of the ACPT (American Crossword Puzzle Tournament). However, I did enjoy the history of crossword puzzles and how they were developed and made. Oh and the winner in the film, Tyler Hinman won again this year and so did Ken Jennings (from Jeopardy fame) but in C division.

I LOVE Infernal Affairs. I found it to be one of the best Asian films out there. I have to admit the American remake had me wondering but I think Scorsese will do justice to the film. Check out the trailer.

time for me to blog about so you think you can dance again. i'm so upset that Allison got voted off this week....ANYHOW here are the 2 performances i really liked this week and then Allison's farewell solo(there is a rumor she's going out with travis--mohawk guy, but then again there's a rumor that he's gay so i don't know haha...)

YouTube - So You Think You Can Dance - Ivison/Allivan

Natalie and Ryan Contemporary to I will get there by Boyz II Men

Allison Farewell Solo

(M) Little Miss Sunshine (Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris, 2006) Grade: A
This indie black comedy achieves the perfect balance of human emotion, tragedy and humor without overdoing any element. Very true to life, Little Miss Sunshine captures the dysfunctional realities of life and gets it just right. Highly recommended.

(A) Impeach My Bush by Peaches (2006) grade: A

So I'm finally going to review this album (after promising New Wave I would do it sooner). I'm really enjoying this album. It follows in the same manner as her previous two albums, with her usual mixing of Rock, Electronic, and some Hip-Hop. The insanely dirty lyrics are still there, and I LOVE it! Oh yeah, and it features guest vocals by Joan Jett and guitar by Josh Homme.
"Hurts so good I got a sore-gasm."
The lead single, "Downtown", is just okay, but still a good listen. It sounds rather polished up for radio.
I definitely recommend this album (if you can take it), and I just found out that the iTunes version has 5 extra tracks (boooo to them!).
My faves: "Tent In Your Pants", "Boys Wanna Be Her"

(M) Our Brand is Crisis (Rachel Boynton, 2006) Grade: B+
It’s politics as usual in the U.S., but filmmaker Boynton explores how well those politics travel internationally in her study of the 2002 Bolivia presidential campaign of Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada (“Goni”), who hired a team of American political consultants to help him win the election. Of the talking heads here, strategist James Carville offers the most interesting and amusing insights, comparing a political campaign to intercourse: “You don’t have all that control over when you’re going to peak.” The tactics used by Goni’s team mirror those in the States—focus groups, smear campaigns, political ads—but Bolivia is obviously a very different country; though Goni wins the election, he gains only 22.5% support. Goni also faces a poverty crisis—nine out of 10 indigenous people are poor—and must combat the general fear of foreign investment, which most Bolivians believe is a threat to jobs. All these obstacles prove too large for Goni to overcome, and he flees for Washington, D.C., after 14 months in office. The self-assured strategists are left somewhat flabbergasted during Goni’s short term, watching as more than 100 Bolivians are killed in violent riots. Reflecting on his team’s role, pollster Jeremy Rosner says, “You come in as an outsider and you advise people and you have an impact … so you do feel responsible.”

(G) Buzzcocks @ Henry Fonda (July 26) Grade: B+
Time has a funny way of catching up with you. One day you’re penning irreverent songs such as “Orgasm Addict,” and then the next thing you know, some 30 years have passed and your band is considered part of the first generation of punk bands from the late ’70s. Tonight’s opener, The Strays, looked like the archetypal punk band: skinny boys in tight jeans and leather jackets, legs splayed with just a hint of a sneer. But they hardly elicited a response from the punks in the crowd, both young and old, who were waiting for the headliners: men in their 50s with visible potbellies and white hair. Though the Buzzcocks started with several tracks from new album Flat-Pack Philosophy, they knew what everyone was really waiting for, performing “Orgasm Addict,” “What Do I Get?,” “I Don’t Mind,” “Autonomy,” “Noise Annoys,” “Ever Fallen in Love,” “Love You More”... Each classic turned the crowd into a frenzied, crowd-surfing mob. I could smell the strong stench of male aggressiveness by the end of the night. And for a moment, it seemed Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle forgot anytime had passed at all. (That is, until the next day, when Diggle has aches in his legs after too many air kicks.)

So I need some help. Back in 2005, I received a claims letter from Apple stating if you owned a first, second or third generation iPod whose battery has died, which I did, you would get a $50 dollar voucher to use at any Apple store.

Well the last date to turn in the form was Sept. 30, 2005 and of course I waited until the VERY LAST minute, like I had to beg the post office guy to take my letter because I got there just at 5pm or something.

Fast forward to last night when I was opening my mail and what should I get but a letter stating I had $50 dollars worth of store credit I can only use online or at a store (excluding iTunes downloads, iTunes Music Store Cards, or anything iTunes related). Now the issue is what to get? I was going to use this money to buy a new iPod but I already got a new one.

Any suggestions?