Sherlock

I'm fairly sure I've made it apparent by now that I'm obsessed with England/Britain/The UK/whatever you want to call it.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that I completely love BBC's miniseries Sherlock.
It's just what you think it is: An updated take on Sherlock Holmes set in the modern day for the modern audience. But the best part is that is so much more.
Sherlock is by far the most intricately plotted crime show I've ever seen. Whereas you could sit down and deconstruct an episode of CSI by the second commercial break, Sherlock constantly keeps you guessing and glued in place. There's only three episodes in the one existing season, but each one is superbly done and riveting.
The Victorian style of the original book is gone, and there's not even a steampunk aesthetic like I thought (that would be cool). It's like Criminal Minds and Bones moved to England, had a super smart baby, and watched as it became so much smarter than either of them.
Playing the lead role in Sherlock is Benedict Cumberbatch, who nails it. Sherlock is dark, moody, and a "high functioning sociopath". He's a wizard with a smartphone and a blog and is a fascinating character.
Martin Freeman stars opposite as John Watson, a war vet back in England after sustaining an "injury" (side note: He's also playing Bilbo in the Hobbit). He ends up rooming in Sherlock's flat (Still  221B Baker Street, no worries) and tags along to the crime scenes. Watson also has a blog prescribed by his therapist, where he writes up all of the misadventures.
While this is a crime  show, it's not nearly as trashy as anything in America. No boobs, no sex, nothing objectionable. I wouldn't call it family friendly but it's as close as a show with a body count could be.
The next season of Sherlock starts on January 1.

-Randi

In Which I Question Female Superhero Outfitting

Hi everyone :) So today, after a few action movies, I have written a post I've been meaning to do for a while on action heroes and their clothes.
Superficial? A little, but stick with me here.
I've noticed some things when I stroll down the action movie aisles lately. All the "Female empowerment" films with women in their title roles taking names and kicking butt are dressed like sluts (Did you like my little un-intentional rhyme there?). Halle's Catwoman (which flopped anyway), the aforementioned Sucker Punch fiasco, more recently Columbiana, etc.
First of all, it doesn't even make sense to be a slutty superwoman simply for the fact that  it's not good gear for combat. I wouldn't want  a lot of bare skin if bullets were flying at me! You'd want the standard catsuit (Michelle Pfeiffer) but bulletproof, waterproof, flameproof, and no heels on the boots.
It honestly bothers me that directors try to market more towards boys than the girls that film was supposedly made for. It doesn't win over too many people, besides middle school boys with too much money and time. I know more girls who didn't go see the aforementioned movies because of all the boobs and butts. But maybe that's just the crowd I know.


-Randi

Random Quiz From Tumblr.

Yep, I'm on the Tumblr now (all the time). Here's a random quiz I found so as for you all to know me better.

1. What was the last movie you watched? It was either Hanna or Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

2. The last noteworthy thing you did? Started recording a song with my brother. Or held a door open for an old lady. I suppose that's noteworthy to her, right?

3. Last book you read? All the way through would be Lost Voices by Sarah Porter (mermaids, singing, competition, cool world building, and all that other stuff). Last book that I just randomly read was Julie and Julia.

4.  Last thing you felt guilty about? I recently bought Sucker Punch, a movie I've blogged about before, and it made my mom really uncomfortable because of the movie cover and how they were dressed, which I completely understand.. I actually threw it away a couple weeks ago. I also had issues with the way it was marketed. When I saw the film on Red Box, it was cool, but they used a slutty dream sequence for the cover of the DVD, and it really made me question to whom the film was aimed towards; Middle school boys or girls? So yeah, not the best purchase I've made. Mom, if you're reading this, sorry about that.

5. Last thing that scared you? It was either a horror movie TV spot or my cat trying to kill me.

6. Something you still wonder about? Mermaid anatomy. How do they go to the bathroom or whatever? Stupid, I know.

7. Last album you listened to? The Slytherin EP by Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls.

8. What is something you're proud of? My musical skillz. I got 'em. Music is one of the things I'm really good at.

9. Name one friend of yours? The Diabolical Diabetic. We watch actions movies together and scare people at Target.

10. Last question. What do you want for Christmas? It's a long list, but a TARDIS with the Doctor, a hippo, the Weasley twins, Dobby, and some good movies.

Thanks for reading this stupidity. I swear the next post will be about something more serious.

-Randi

7 Things That Irk Me In The Twilight Saga.

As I was looking through my local events paper this morning (no good bands coming here, no good movies coming out this weekend) there was a cut out poster for the new Premiere of Breaking Dawn part 1 featuring Edward and Bella pretty much naked and wrapped around each other as per usual. My mum and I both flinched.
"Part 1. How original." I snickered.
In honor of the new Twilight movie (honor isn't the right word, but craptastic didn't fit my flow of words), I have to admit something very shameful I did around a year ago.
I read every single last page of the Twilight Saga. No joke. And almost barfed when I finished, 'cause that stuff is ridiculous, disturbing, wrong, and poorly written.
So Here's 8 reasons why it's disturbing in no particular order.
NOTE: This isn't hating on Twilight fans (only the crazy ones who throw things at you if you don't like them. I've met some of those). Just the horridness that is Twilight.
Some of these are for the books, some of these are based from the movies.

1. The Vampire mythology is all wrong. Vampires don't sparkle, they aren't fairy princesses. They also by nature don't want to spend their life in high school over and over as Edward does. That's wasting your stupid immortal life. And boring. All the time in the world and you picked to go to school? That's just messed up.
2. The acting in the films is some of the worst I've seen. The first movie was on FX the other day (I was going to see if Wilfred was on) and I burst out laughing a couple times at the stupidity of the screenplay, the acting, and reminding myself I read this piece of work. Kristen Stewart has no emotion what so ever, and couldn't convince me of anything she was saying. Robert Pattinson is particularly wooden and there's really nobody else in the film to alleviate any of this. That one Taylor kid shows up twice, and he's here just to show off his six pack (which I will admit is kind of hot, but no me gusta).
3. Edward and Bella's relationship is....disturbing. He watches her while she sleeps. He stalks her everywhere because he "just knows" that she's going to get in trouble. I just can't stand to think of anyone I ever date watching me sleep. It's completely wrong. And yet, girls are all "EDWARD IS THE HOTTEST AND SWEETEST AND KINDEST AND MOST CONSIDERATE VAMP EVA OMGZ". Not really.
4. Bella has issues. She can't do anything without Edward, tries to kill herself when he leaves her "for her own good" or something like that doesn't make sense, and she literally only cares about her precious fairy boy friend. The only person who exceeds Bella's level of obsession with Edward is Edward's obsession over Bella. She was not fun to read about, she annoyed the living life out of me, and was depressing in all ways possible.
5. When Bella has her demon baby, it grows up really fast because Stephanie Meyer is a cop out and Jacob starts to be in love with it or something. It's disturbing. I constantly wish I'd never read these stupid books, but I really really really wish I'd never thought to pick up Breaking Dawn. Ugh.
6. If there's one thing that was only mildly bothersome while reading the books, it's that Bella's dad isn't in the picture. At all. She has no parental guidance and it shows. That's unrealistic to me. Parents are never not involved when their kids fall in love with sketchy vampires. It was like Stephanie Meyer just said "I hate parental guidance, but I don't want to kill them, so let's just have all the parents be super spaced out." Not particularly sure why this bothers me so much, but it does.
7.Every single time I walk into a bookstore, there is some girl wearing a "Bite Me" shirt browsing in the young adult section for RPatz posters. She'll see me and smile ravenously, bounce up to where I'm picking my latest escapes and ask with much enthusiasm "Don't you just love Twilight?" and smile in anticipation of the imaginary fangirling we're about to do.
"No, I found them disgusting." I mumble and wonder where they put the Neil Gaiman books.
She will then promptly insult me and bounce away, off to pay for her hundreds of dollars in merchandise.
I can't do into a book store without this happening. No joke. It sucks. Yes, I know, not completely related, but close enough.

So what I'm really trying to say is.........
1. These books are disgusting.
2. These movies are horrid.
3.....


HARRY POTTA FO'EVA!

-Randi

Quick Announcements

-I'm going to be blogging more in 2012.
-My cat is a murderer.
-I'm watching more movies to review.
-Happy?

Ceremonials Review!

Florence and the Machine are bank after two years with the mind-blowing Ceremonials!

The numbers are the track numbers on the disc, keep that in mind.

1.IT’S HERE AND I LOVE IT! Here’s a track by track review for Only If For A Night. I’ll be posting all the song reviews here and then at the end of the week I”ll put them all together into one post.

Only If For A Night is one of my favorite songs on the album. From the cascading pianos to the great backing vocals, this song really convinced that the sophomore slump wouldn’t affect FATM like so many others. 

First of all, the whole song is a beautiful poem like a vivid fever dream. I love the inclusion of the title in the song as well (dancing on tiptoes, my own secret ceremonials).

The instrumentation is lush but not cluttered.  There’s a piano riff, the signature harp, thundering drums (have no fear, they’re prominent but not obnoxious) and hints of bass.

It’s danceable, the loveable melancholy drama-rama of Florence and the Machine, and a very strong start to one of the albums of the year (this, along with 21 and Who You Are are my albums of the year). I’m thinking this might be the next single after No Light, No Light.

2.Song number 2 and lead single of Ceremonials.

Shake It Out was the first official single for Ceremonials released a couple weeks before the album. I’m pretty sure I already posted a review for this song but it won’t hurt to give it another go.

Shake It Out is kind of like Dog Days from a more mature mind. Florence has aged since Lungs, which is perfectly logical and fine with me. It’s anthemic and tribal and primal. It took some time to grow on me.

This is the big introduction the latest obsession instrument on Ceremonials: The big churchy organ. On Lungs it was the harp, and that still has moments on Ceremonials, but the organ is the instrument of the hour. It’s quite nice and works so well with the tone and songs.

Shake It Out is not my favorite on the album, and I don’t really know why. Don’t get me wrong, I love love love love it, but not as much as Heartlines, What the Water Gave Me or Breaking Down. Again, I’m not entirely sure why. Still thinking about it.

But still a wonderful song! The video is beautiful and I love the guy randomly dancing with the chair.

3. What The Water Gave Me might be my favorite track from Ceremonials. The harp is spotlighted again, the guitars are vintage and twangy, there’s an absolutely amazing bass line, and the organ comes back even more psychedelically gospel than before.

What The Water Gave Me has been described as a scrapbook of a lot of things by Florence Welch herself. There’s drowning, Virginia Woolf and I like to think of the period of time before a tidal wave when this plays. Or mermaids. This is a mermaid-in-love-with-a-human type kind of song.

I love how the song just elevates you and makes you feel bursting with some kind of emotion that resembles happiness over such a dramatic and melancholy topic. But when you look at the water, you automatically want to just leap in and stay there forever, and just be carried away by it. Or at least I have. Florence + The Machine get that perfectly.

One of the standout tracks of Ceremonials for sure.

4. ever Let Me Go is the obligatory but amazing ballad on Ceremonials. The album’s been moving pretty fast up until now, and this song really is one of the standouts.

The songwriting reminds me of mermaids, but in a different way than What The Water Gave Me. Maybe the siren has killed the man she’s in love with and she feels remorse possibly. I don’t know if they ever did, but that’s what I picture, cheesy I know.

The drums and background vocals lean a bit toward the eighties power ballads. But that’s ok, because in all honesty I like those sometimes. It’s a kind of slow dance song.

The lyrics are insanely beautiful and make me so envious I hadn’t written them. It’s hugely romantic and if you’re writing a romance for NaNo this month, I recommend this song. Great for snogging under the moon.

A solid cut from Ceremonials all in all.

5. Breaking Down is one of my most favoritest tracks from Ceremonials, not going to lie.

I love the sharp strings (They remind me of Swimming Song) and the slightly out of tune piano and just that feeling of going down.

This is one of two experiments in old soul/R&B type songs. Flo said she was listening to a lot of Otis Redding and such, and it’s more apparent on the next track but kind of so here. 

I just like that the song is happy and yet you can feel the sadness in it. It’s kind of like wonder-band-song of the year Foster The People’s Pumped Up Kicks. It’s like FATM’s take on that. It’s something catchy and light if you want it to be and something else deeper if you need it to be.

One of the best cuts. No doubt in my mind.

6. Lover to Lover is by far the blusiest soulful song on Ceremonials. Flo’s love of olf soul/funk/R&B is worn on her sleeve here while still making it her own song.

The song is very piano and bass driven and features a kind of gospel choir to give Flo something to paint on. There’s a great organ as well, much like the rest of Ceremonials, played by the ever excellent Isabella Summers.

If anything, I’m not the biggest fan of the lyrics. I don’t really know why, because I love the song, but the lyrics just don’t impact me like a lot of other Ceremonials cuts. But the chorus soars and it’s so danceable that it’s easy to forget.

7. This might be the best on the album. It’s drama and soul and dance and poetry in that signature Florence way, and very reminiscent of the fan-favorite Howl from Lungs.

This song reminds me of a mixture of all of Lung’s standout moments. And I hate comparing the two so I’m just going to keep it to this one song. Anyway, the drums form Cosmic Love and Howl, that kind of feel as My Boy Builds Coffins, the harp sounds like Rabbit Heart, and yet No Light, No Light sounds new and futuristic. 

As far as lyrics, this is again, a strong moment after the two lyrically weak songs beforehand. I think this is one of Flo’s more personal songs that doesn’t sound as abstract to the casual listener, which is why it’s perfect for the next single. Plus, think of the video! I love Flo’s videos, and I plan on doing a post for those later.

If you’re only planning on buying a few songs from Ceremonials, this would be one to get. Cannot wait for the video and single hype to come for this one!

8. This is where the Flombies attack me……

I don’t like Seven Devils. 

I’m trying to justify myself here, because a lot of people are raving that this is the best song on the album and that it’s just the best, but I don’t really see that. 

I think it’s not musically interesting, and the piano riff becomes annoying after a while. Maybe I just haven’t listened closely enough in the two full days I’ve had the album, but this one has not stuck with me. If my mind changes, I’ll let you know, but for now, this one is filler.

NOTE: After more days spent with the album, I know find this song more bearable, but still, not the best cut considering everything else. A bit disappointed with this one.

9. After the musical yawn that was Seven Devils, this song really put my faith back into the album.

Heartlines is battling for my favorite song off Ceremonials. With the same drums from Rabbit Heart and a kind of epic battle feel, Heartlines is a knock-out.

Florence described this song as mermaids vs. pirates, and she communicates just that. But at the same time, I think this song is where Florence really knows she has impacted her Flombies a lot. “Just keep following the heartlines on your hand-keep it up-I know you can” and other lines really lead you to believe she really cares. If there’s one thing I would like to see more of from FATM is that kind of fan relationship the  Heartbeats with Jessie J, or something like that. Just because  I think it'd be cool. But off the fan ramblings.

Again, standout track. One of Flo’s all time best.

10. The most dazzling song that really does remind you of illuminations and prisms and science.

Once upon a time, people thought Ceremonials was going to be called The Chronicles of Science and that it was going to be all about molecules and quarks and atoms. Strangeness and Charm helped thing theory along, and then Florence said she was working on a song called Spectrum, so we were all getting THE CHRONICLES OF SCIENCE hyped up. Or at least my group of Flombies did.

While the thread of science has largely been abandoned for that of drowning and water, Spectrum is one of the few vestiges of that short era in FATM history.

Where Heartlines is a tribal dance, Spectrum is some kind of alien ritual type dance for me.  The beat is faster, making for more of a dance of a madwoman/man which you are when you listen to a Florence record.

I like the vibe of being strong in the song. It’s a great song to work-out to and it makes me feel like I could run a marathon to the moon. Please don't make fun of me for that, I'm just telling the truth.

On another note, this song is most reminiscent of the album cover to me. With the sparkly dress and mirror type of view. Oh and she mentioned “silver in our lungs” which to me seems like a kind of metaphor to Lungs itself. Maybe that’s just me.

If there’s one thing to complain about this song it’s that Rabbit Heart register of Flo’s voice. I’m not particularly fond of that range on her. She can’t sing it live and it sounds a bit too squeaky for my taste.

One of my favorite and highly recommended.

11. Alll This And Heaven bears a big resemblance to Between Two Lungs, with the spritely piano and soaring chorus. This sounds like it could be form Lungs, which isn’t a bad thing seeing as there needs to be a song the really bridges the gap between two albums (get my pun? I’m just the best right?) 

If anything, the rhythmic timing here is completely weird to me until the song really gets rolling. It messes with your head.

Anyway, like I said, Between Two Lungs resemblance, but it’s for the better. B2L was one of the weaker tracks of FATMS debut and this seems like it’s stronger sister track.

 You feel as if you could fly through fluffy clouds when listening to the chorus, it’s just that big and beautiful. Love love love this song.

12. Leave My Body is what Seven Devils should have been. Kind of dark and brooding but also elevating you to higher ground just as the lyrics as well.

There’s a great lyric in here: “I don’t want your future, I don’t need you past.” 

That’s really what I needed to say to a few people here and there and I really love thi song. One of the great gems of this album.

The instrumentation is bass-y and there’s the gospel choir again, and it makes for a strong closer to the standard album.

Bonus Tracks

Remain Nameless- This one hasn’t clicked with me yet.I usually love electronic music but this one is just kind of a yawn right now. I’ll try to listen to it more closely, but meh so far.

Strangeness and Charm- It’s so nice to hear a studio version of this, but I think the live version had so much more energy. If you can get the Live at the Wiltern copy of this song, it’s better. But not dissing this version, it’s very clean and has it’s sparkling moments.

Bedroom Hymns- A deliciously blasphemous bluesy tune from some part of Florence she hasn’t put into music yet. If Lady Gaga and Madonna think they use religious imagery well, they just got blown away by Florence. I love the bass and drums intro.

What The Water Gave Me Demo- I love this track, not going to lie. I love the album album version more, but this a fun, dance-y take, on a great song. It’s interesting to see where the song started and ended.

Landscapes (Demo)- How this didn’t make the standard album is beyond me. A great song with wonderful poetic lyrics in true Florence style.

Acoustic tracks- I haven’t kept track of them all, but my favorite acoustics are Heartlines, Shake It Out and Breaking down. I know some people have complained of not liking big song after big song but these track really throw in some relief. I personally like the big sound, but hey, these are really beautiful pieces. Shake It Out is especially great acoustic. It’s mainly guitars, keys, and  harps for these, and they’re truly highlights and a worthy addition to the deluxe editions.

Hope you enjoyed!

-Randi

Harry Potter Summer Memory (Part 2)

And not only is this my fiftieth post on my blog, I've decided to  make this post pretty darn special and recall one of those events that changes the way you think about stuff.

It was  this summer that I had to break it off with a friend that had long abandoned me for a cooler crowd. I don't want to do any name-calling on the Internet. This post is not to rag on this person. This is to tell my side of the story about one of the events that seems to have shaped my adolescence.

Lets call the girl Tuesday. I think that will do.

Tuesday and I met when I was younger and she younger than me by a year. She seemed nice enough. We talked some. And then I found out she liked Lord of the Rings. Now I had an obsession with LOTR, not to mention my first crush on Elijah Wood was still in tact (and still is) so we get to talking. And apparently, Tuesday had been living under a rock, because I asked her if she'd read Harry Potter, and she didn't even know anything about the Boy Who Lived.
So I start explaining all things Harry Potter to her, and her eyes became wide with excitement, and within the next three months she finished them all. And she became more obsessed than I was. Which is saying something, as I'm the crazy chick who has a wizard rock project.
And for a while, everything was great. We wrote, well, I wrote a Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter musical (I still have them. I hope to preform one of them someday) and she gave occasional input. We read some of the same things. But Harry Potter was really the only thing we had in common. And I mean the only thing. Tuesday didn't care much for music (except for Taylor Swift), and I probably cared too much about certain artists (I'd just discovered Florence + The Machine.... if you know what that feels like, cut me some slack). I was into weird hipster films and she was still watching Megamind.
And then we just stopped hanging out. She didn't call to have me over or spend the night or anything. And I didn't either. The only way we talked was over the phone when Tuesday was really bored. And that's where the real trouble began.
Tuesday called me up one day, and started going on about how she'd been trying to change her image, to be more girly at her mom's insistence. I told her I believed one shouldn't have to do that and it turned into a very big argument. She told me people thought I was a lesbian, I could get a boy-friend if just wore some make up. That I could be as pretty as a beauty queen. But I didn't want that.
That thread continued for while with lots of continued phone hang-ups, name-calling, and exasperation. And then the Midnight premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 came. Tuesday allegedly had tickets. And if you've been reading closely, you know that some friends took me with them and I cried and it was great.
But Neville's story really stuck with me after the movie. How he grew from a scared kid to a super hero who led a rebellion against one of the most powerful wizards of all time. And when Tuesday called me the next day, saying she'd forgotten about the premiere and didn't go and simply wanted to know every detail. But for some reason the conversation veered off and I ended up hanging up on her after she called me a whimp that played too much music and watched too many movies for her own good.
That night I was flipping through Philosopher's Stone, and read that famous Dumbledore quote:
"It takes courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends."
And then something clicked.
When Tuesday called again, I refused to talk to her. She left a snarling message for me, but I was done. And with that it was over. I took a page out of Neville's book, and I think I'm better off now.
I still see Tuesday at church. We don't talk. I think she's happy with the arrangement. She's got new friends and so do I. I'm trying to move on as best I can. You just have to be bulletproof in situations like this.
But Tuesday, if you are reading this, which you probably aren't, but that's ok, I do forgive you. I understand that you want to go be a popular kid and you weren't happy with being a nerd with me anymore. But you really left me high and dry. But I'm better now. So much better than I used to be. You really did pull me down. I don't think you meant to at first, but you did. But I'm happy to say I've learned from experience.
It's ironic how the thing that brought me and Tuesday together also gave me the courage to break it off. Thanks Neville, and thanks J.K. Rowling.

-Randi

Harry Potter Summer Memory Part 1

 know, I haven’t finished the Director’s  series I did, but I figured I could start another series since I am a DISTRACTED genius.

Summer 2011 was Harry Potter summer for me. The premiere, the coping, the friends I lost and made, it all happened.

But today I want to concentrate on a one of a kind totally awesome most amazing HP-related thing I did: Hogwarts Vacation Bible School.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with  VBS, it’s basically this thing that goes on for a week and it’s got a theme and kids go and learn about God and Jesus and all that cool stuff.

So a local church here in town chose to eschew those lame themes and do a Hogwarts Vacation Bible School, which was a very bold move on their part. 

I don’t actually attend this church (I go to one down the street) but I play music for them at their cool midnight church service and my sister went to pre-k and Kindergarten there.

But they were having this thing. So I went and helped.

It was so adorable.

The main room was decorated like the Great Hall and Hermione taught you songs and Dumbledore told you stories in the basement and Professor Snape gave you challenges to do and it so frakkin’ adorable. The four hoses were re-named after the four gospels. I was very impressed. And as far as the lessons, they were using symbolism from the Harry Potter books to teach Christian values and principals. I also heard John Granger came to speak at the thing, but I missed that bit.

I brought along one of my friends and we did house-elf duties, and I was playing Kreacher and she was playing Dobby.

But what was so cool is that this church had the boldness to do a Hogwarts Bible School. A lot of other churches wouldn’t let their kids go, because they think Harry Potter is a how-to Wiccan Handbook.  But on further inspection, this was a perfectly legitimate church outing. I was so impressed.

-Randi 

Hipster Movies

-So I want to see all these crazy underground movies lately. And a lot of people are, to put in meme terms, "coming at me bro". Just because you went to  see Transformers 3 and I went to go see the King's Speech doesn't mean the world is going to end. I honestly don't see the problem. Do hipster films translate to, like, Black Swan or something? I don't even know. Either way, nothing shall deter me!

The Great Week of Movie Watching! Part 1

Hi everyone! I've been watching a ton of movies lately, new and old. So I'm gonna sum 'em all up in a four part series.



The Help- First of all, I loved the book to the point of suffocation and this movie had high expectations. And it got as good as it could get. I'm not going to go into plot detail, just general over-view.
1. There's one of thing that the movie has that the book didin't: Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, and Emma Stone with an amazing cast of supporting characters. I forgot the name of the lady who played Celia Foote but lawdy she was funny. The ending made me want to cry more than the book did and I really loved watching it. Like, I never thought WHEN IS IT GONNA BE OVER!?!?!? I loved sitting in the theater with my mum and laughing and crying and listening to other people have the same reaction

NOTE: The following review is writted (that was on purpose) by my fantabulous brother CALEB...

Schindler's List- I spent most of my life hearing about Schindler's List as a really great, really graphic, really emotional kind of movie. but in my whole life, I had never seen it. so Randi got it off Netflix. I watched it, and I must say that it was one of the best I've seen. I love Liam Neeson for his always epic acting, and this movie's probably his best (that I've seen at least. I've yet to see taken, which I was told is great). The black and white is hard to get used in a way, but it's not a negative at all. The picture quality itself is just as good as any movie made today and seeing that kind of quality in black 'n white is definitely a great effect. Color is used only twice in the movie, both times to show significant important things. If you wanna see what the holocaust was like, the closest depiction of it is this movie. No hidden violence here. All shown, all the time. Best movie I've seen in a while.

KEEL BEEL VON AND TWO (otherwise known as the two part film known as Kill Bill)-  Quentin Tarantino has one of the best imaginations. Ever. I know, ranking such abstract things as imagination is super unfair. But Quentin Tarntino must be something of a genius. I think so anyway. But alas, I'd never seen Kill Bill, which is like his second most popular, well-loved, well-reviewed film (first goes to Pulp Fiction obviously). So I invited my best friend, the Diabolical Diabetic overe to watch them with me. And I loved them more than I loved the previous two movies. It had everything I love: Action, drama, weird swords, weirder people, long lost kids, tricked-out trucks, assassins, crazy asians, all done tongue in cheek. I won't give anything away, 'cause youu need to see these for yourself. It's a thrill ride fo' sho'.

That concludes part 1!

Love and sonic screwdrivers,
Randi

Florence and the Machine's New Single "What the Water Gave Me"

So I'm a huge Florence and the Machine fan. So natrually this new single already had high expectations. Produced by Paul Epworth (he's worked on Adele's new album as well) and brilliantly done, "What The Water Gave Me" is exactly what I thought it was going to be and more.
The song starts out pretty relaxed. Some of Isa's famous keys and a delicioius bass line and Florence basically setting the format.
Then the chorus has some nice jazzy organ, and the lyrics really kick in. And then the Machine gets the groove on and it blows up by the bridge and it's the same exhillirating feel as other Flo classics like Cosmic Love and Dog Days Are Over. This song reminds me of a cross between My Boy Builds Coffins and Hurricane Drunk from the previous album with some newly discovered groovy bass thrown in and a bit more guitar than Lungs.
If Dog Days was the apocalypse, Cosmic Love was the meteor shower, Hurricane Drunk was the Hurricane, than What The Water Gave Me is the Tidal Wave.
You can hear the song on youtube. Job well done to Flo and the Machine once again!


Much love and sonic screwdrivers,
Randi

Wilfred Confuses Me

Thanks to my brother and a very funny youtube comedian who's even more ADD than I am, it seems I've discovered the whereabouts of Elijah Wood the Hobbit Boy.
He's on FX on this insane show called Wilfred.
And I haven't seen a single episode, but this sound whack, so somebody correct me if I'm getting this wrnog.

So there's this guy, and he's depressed and there's this dog that's actually a guy but nobody else thinks it's a guy in a dog suit and they go off and have silly misadventures to make depressed guys's life better and depressed guy is Elijah Wood.
Am I with it so far?
I'm generally confuzzled at this point. This shouldn't work, but apparently people love it...I need closure.

Much love and Sonic Screwdrivers,
Randi

Casablanca: Lives Up To the Hype

So Casablanca is one of those classic movies that nobody I know seems to have seen, so I decided to finally use my powers of Netflix and check it out.
In short, this is one of if not the best romance I've seen. And the answer is simple.
It's so darn good.
There's no other excuse. It's just good.
The dialouge is beautiful (here's looking at you kid) and there just isn't anything that annoyed me int he movie. It was delicious from start to finish.


You should check it out. I know a lot of people have issues with it because it's old and what not but put black-and-white aside and turn on subtitles and you'll get caught up in it anyway.

Much love and sonic screwdrivers,
Randi

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Review

Well, considering the first time I tried to do it I ended up crying, here is a full, very biased review of the last Harry Potter adventure.
SPOILERS FOR THE SUPA FANS AHEAD!
We start off where we left off in Part 1 with Voldemort stealing the Elder Wand from Dumbledore (small tear ensues).
Then the trio rob Gringotts, sneak back into Hogwarts, you know the story.
First all the stuff I liked:
-McGonagall (Maggie Smith) dueling Severus Snape (The great Alan Rickman) in the Great Hall and then bringing the light back to the room just made my heart swell.
-The Dragon!!!!!! DRAGONS!
-Helena Bonham Carter did a wonderful job of pretending to be Hermione pretending to be Bellatrix. That's a hard task to accomplish and she does it so well.
-Neville (Matt Lewis) really gets to step up in this part, and Matt really just topped off the whole film. It's been a joy to see him grow from scared little klutz to the hero depicted here.
- The Prince's Tale/ Snape's Death are the only places I let myself sob during. I loved it to pieces. I was so happy.
-The Room of Requirement chase scene with the Fiendfyre and everything. Oh my Lady Gaga, that was awesome.
-The awkward Voldemort/Draco hug of AWESOME! That made me laugh so hard.
-Ron's little one liner as he gets Hermione into the Chamber of Secrets. The whole theater laughed.
-Yes, you knew it was coming. THE RON/HERMIONE KISS! It was tremendous and funny and the theater cheered loudly the two times I've seen it.
-Molly Weasly/ Bellatrix. I'd been waiting for that since the first time I read the sequence in the books.
-VOLDEMORT CONFETTI!
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:
I think the Prince's Tale could've been a bit better, but I had such high expectations that would've been impossible to reach them in the first place.
-THEY DIDN'T MEND HARRY'S WAND!!!!!! What was this?!?!??!!??!?!/ It would've taken five seconds to film! I would rather have Harry mend his wand than Neville's motivational speech.
-As much as I like the Bellatrix and Voldemort confetti, I would've prefered the original deaths.
-What happened to the Cloak of Invisibility? Not even mentioned even though it's one of the freakin' Deathly Hallows!

I was happy with the film. It was a fitting send off. I'm gonna miss the premieres and such as the years wear on. But knowing Hollywood, be prepared for re-makes.
I'll write a report on the premiere itself when I get the time.


Much love and Sonic Screwdrivers,
Randi

Linky Thing!

http://merbooksblog.blogspot.com/
That is where you can find the lovely merblog. Note that I only co-write. The other posts are done by the founder of the blog, Garrett.

Merpeople ahead!

Hi everyone! So I'm writing for another blog at the moment called the merbooks blog! As you assumed by now (I expect you're smarter than the average bear) it's about merpeople and I'm three quarters of the way through a four part series about how to cast our wonderfully fishy characters on the big screen. It's pretty darn cool if you wanna check it out. You'll find everything you need to know over there about merpeople!



Much love and sonic screwdrivers,
Randi

It All Ended (Sort Of) Deathly Hallows Review

Well the End of an Era is here (song necessary).
My little promo poster is hanging above my bookshelf. My tie and Spectra Specs are in a keepsake box. I've picked it over with other Potter fans.
Deathly Hallows part 2 made me laugh, cry, cheer, scream (mentally) and many other things. It was a wonderful wild ride that I'll never forget.
Everything I doubted in this film worked. I was disappointed with only two details but otherwise I was completely overjoyed. Harry Potter gets the send-off he deserves with a big bang and crying fans.
Go see it. I can't even talk, just go see it.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Pre-show

Harry Potter is my biggest obssession. I'm not gonna lie. Doctor Who and Music are a close second and third, but I'm a Harry Potter fan at heart.
And this week the last movie makes it to the big screen.
Where did all the time go? It seems like yesterday that Dan, Emma, Rupert, Tom and alll those other kids were like, ten. And Alan Ricman, Michael Gambon, and Maggie Smith weren't as old as they are now.
Wow. That's all I can say. Time flies and we're finally at the last chapter.
I'll be attending a Midnight Premiere here in town with this family that I love a lot from our chruch (Thanks Z's!) who bought my ticket with their own. I'm quite looking forward to all the nice chaos out there.
I have faith in the film makers. Part 1 was fantastic, and I mean that as a Harry Potter fan and a film critic. Sure it was a little boring but I think that was the point, so we'd a have a nice contrast with the huge battle that ensues here.
For those of you who haven't read the books, these next parts are gonna contain some spoilers so all us supa supa fans can nerd out together :)
THINGS I'M EXCITED ABOUT:
Helena Bonham Carter playing Hermione playing Bellatrix.
DRAGON DRAGON DRAGON DRAGON! (I have a thing for dragons)
Ron and Hermione's big kiss in the Chamber of Secrets ( Yes, deep deep deep deep down I'm an old softie. Sometimes).
The Prince's Tale. Oh God, I'm going to try and keep crying to a minumum because I don't want to be too distracting to all the other Vulcans watching, but oh God. So sad.
Molly Weasly and Bellatrix facing off (quite possibly my favorite part of the Final Battle).
Many other things that will come to mind when I'm reviewing the movie here.
THINGS THAT KIND OF LOOK OFF:
This is referring mostly to the things I've seen in the trailer.
Harry and Voldemort going off the cliff. What was that all about? I've been puzzling over it in my spare time and I can't work out how that fits in.
Some other little details. Way too excited.

Owl City's Newest: All Things Bright And Beautiful (Review)

So Owl City brings to mind "Fireflies" or "Vanilla Twilight" or "Cave In" for most of you, but we've got new tunes from Adam Young to get on to.
First of all, Adam is awesome. Great vocals, totally trippy instrumentation, and even trippier lyrics, if not slightly hilarious.
The first time I  listened to this album  I was driving around with my brother of awesome, and it was just the perfect soundtrack for the moment, so I'm going to take the time ro review it.
The Real World- One of my favorite songs on the album hands down. Very quoteable, great way to get started off. 
Deer in the Headlights- Funny lyrics do well for Owl City. This song will make you laugh AND it's insanely catchy.
Angels- This is Adam's "Aaron Gillespie moment" as my brother put it. It's a pretty darn dramatic tune for being on an Owl City album.
Dreams Don't Turn To Dust- This song really reminds me of Fireflies. The more electronic-y OC songs and a superb example of an earmole.  Prepare to be singing it for the rest of your life.
Honey and the Bee- Kind of the answer to The Bird and the Worm from Ocean Eyes. Features that one European chick that's kind of sort of not really famous in America (not Lykke Li, the other one). I frimly believe girls everywhere are gonna fall in love with this and put it's lyrics in their emo Deviantart pictures.
Kamikaze- Your formulatic Owl City song, but it's such a good formula. Play on words, insomnia inspired lyrics, one of the more toe-tapping, energetic in an album of more chill music than I'm used to
January 28, 1986/Galaxy- The former is an intro composed of sound clips from the Discovery Space Shuttle lift off while Galaxy is a praise to the Creator. Another one of my personal favorites. Very very cosmic.
Hospital Flowers- Adorable. That's all I can say. Another favorite (in the top five songs on this album).
Alligator Sky- This features some rapper guy who I'm too tired to find. Trippy trippy trippy.
I have two tracks that I haven't throughly picked apart yet, but I'll be happy to post them later.
Night all. I'll start updating more, I swear.

-Randi

True Grit REVIEWED!

Hello faithful readers! I'm here to review the 2010 remake of the already fantastic True Grit. Cohen Brothers always do a really good job with whatever they're doing and this is no exception. Starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and bursting onto the scene in her first mainstream role Hailee Steinfeld.
Story- The typical I WILL AVENGE MY FATHER! Type deal, but it was still interesting to watch. Mattie Ross' (Hailee Steinfeld) father has been killed by some guy named Tom Chaney and she hires Marshal Rueban "Rooster' Cogburn to go kill him/bring him in to the authorties to be killed. Then LeBouef (that's the only part of his name I remember, played by Matt Damon) joins the mix. So those three go out to catch this guy in unsettled Indian country.
Action, laughs, tears, whiskey, shooting contests,  awkward silences, and general awesome ensues.
Go watch it. I'm too lazy to write more because I want to watch it again.

Starship The Musical

Alright, so first of all, if you don't know, StarkidPotter are the creators of such musicals as A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel. Well, they've come out with Starship.
Yes, the  Little Mermaid set in space with a bunch of other little subplots. It's excellent and you should go watch it now. I'm going to cut this post short 'cause I'm tired and I'm not going to link it 'cause it's easy to find on youtube.
I know I know I know.
Longer posts coming soon.


Contains some mild swearing.

Much love and sonic screwdrivers,
Randi

Pirates 4 and Inception

What? I thought it was a nice contrast to a do a summer blockbuster, and a long overdue viewing of one of the most mindbending movies ever experianced.
Lets start with Inception shall we?
Alright, basically, everyone's favorite movie ever about dreams and dreams and dreams is incredible.
This is such a rare piece of film. How is this is coherent, how this worked, how this EXISTS just makes me so happy. If you haven't checked this out, you really should. Listen to the enthusiasts. They're right.
I can't even describe it. Just trust me.

Now Pirates 4.
This movie is surprsingly good for a third sequel. I have to say, while I also love films that give you something to think about and philosophical speech therapy, I also love a good summer action blockbuster. I mean, if I keep watching films like The Social Network and Inception all the time, I'm pretty sure I'll get something called depression. You need something fun to go see with your friends and Pirates fills that task so perfectly as Johnny Depp dons the eyeliner once more.

So altogether, two flicks to see most certainly.


Yeah, I know, short. Whatever.

Much love and sonic screwdrivers,
Randi

30th post Interview! With Ashley Knight

Hi everyone! So I've reached my 30th post and  decided to do something cool with someone I really like.

Ashley Knight is the author of two books about merpeople (Fins and Fathom) with a third book on the way to complete the trilogy.  And it just so happens that I met her on a goodreads book for merpeople as well (There's a blog for that too that I'll be doing posts for). I've read Fins and it's a fantastic blend of romance, action, and drama. She let me ask her weird questions, and she answered them without being half as weird :)
So without further ado, the interview:

What inspired Fins aand Fathom and Forever?

My love for my husband. We are  true loves - corded right from day one. We knew we were going to get married when we met!
Wat do you think is the sudden appeal in mer-culture?
Mermaids are mysterious, beautiful, awkward, dangerous, helpless, powerful - everything all embodied in this strange, exotic creature, rather like the teenagers of today. I think they are easily relatable because of their fragility, but heaven help you if you mistake one as vulnerable who is strong willed & determined. Merpeople completely embody the wide variety of young adults today. They seemed the next logical step to me - every YA can find something about a merperson to connect to.

Are any of your characters based off people, and similarly any events relevant to your life?

Yes, some characters are based off real people! I mention them in the acknowledgment section. Thayde is loosely based off my husband who is tall, dark haired & gorgeous! There's a character in Fathom named Jacob Mac who is based off a sweet friend in high school who was very kind to me.


From the few bits I've read, Fathom sounds a lot darker than the relatively happy Fins. Would you say that's true?
Oh yes - it was always going to be that way. Fins is about discovering who you are & accepting what makes you unique. 
Fathom is about learning to cope with the mentally crippling problems that affects us all.  Dealing with depression, anger, hurt, & inadequacies that we face day to day as teenagers is often so overwhelming that many choose a negative, more violent way out. This book shows you the positive, better way; that you're not alone & we all go through this. It's how we choose to overcome that defines us. Fathom delves deep & comes up brighter than ever. It's perfect as a stepping stone to Forever.

How has becoming a writer affected your life?
I've had to tell my children "I'm working now!" a lot more, especially as I'm writing three books at one time. I've had to set aside family time to make sure we have it - that's new. 
I've had fan mail & fan phone calls which is wonderful - I love talking to people who have enjoyed the books. Don't be nervous - come & chat with me! 
I am proud I fulfilled one of my life goals - it's a wonderful feeling. 

You've mentioned you're in a band that's touring soon. Can you tell us about it?
Actually, we lost two members of that band & have reformed. We will be performing this late summer/early fall. It's disheartening to dedicate so much time into a project and have people drop, but we have a great group now who are eager to perform - I think we will do well! 


What music did you listen to while working (it's ok it's a really long list)
I dont listen to music when I write as it tends to distract me, but when I needed inspiration, I listen to Pandora. Artists such as Brandon Flowers, Muse, Coldplay, Amy McDonald, etc., bring me back to the writing frenzy. The list for both books are on my site as are both of the first two chapters of the books - check it out! 

Your mermaid lore is a nice mix of new and old. Were there any older myths that inspired that? Where did your ideas of the new stuff come from?

Yes, the myth that once mermaids die they turn into sea foam was one I kept. I refused to keep the one where merpeople automatically phase when they touch water - what a pain! The special powers was inspired by the Japanese belief of focusing Chi & the rest of the powers grew from there. Many of my ideas come to me in a tidal wave of thought & I have to write them down or they disappear!


Trademark questions?
Who designed the cover? Ken Koeberlein at koeberdesigns.com
What is your website?
www.ashleylknight.com
What is the name of the last book in the Trilogy?
Forever
Any books besides Forever you're working on?
A completely separate YA fantasy fiction called Falwyn - a tale about a princess who falls in love with a commoner but - he's a Falwyn - half human, half fairy!

Do you know the Doctor?

Um, the doctor? Is this from a previous interview? There's a Dr. Foster in the book, but he's a fiction character. 

(Side note: It didn't work. I was hoping for Dr. Who?)
What did you eat while writing, and what is your favorite food?
Lots of carrots - I actually lost over 12 pounds with FATHOM unintentionally. I just got too involved in the book. 
My favorite food is, hands down, Indian Cuisine! (Cue angelic choir)

What was the weirdest thing that happened while writing?
My cat climbed my back. That hurt as she's the only one we adopted that wasn't declawed! Painful!!


Ashley's Fathom was just published and Fins is available in Paperback and E-book format.
I hope you liked the interview!

Randi

YOU'VE BEEN WHO'ED!

So guess what? I'm going to catch you silly Americans up on the my favoritest show ever :)
So off we go.
WHOVIAN DICTIONARY TIME!

The Doctor- The awesome alien Time Lord dude who saves the Earth every single second, every minutes, every hour of everyday. The cool thing about  the Doctor (And the main reason the show is still around and the longest running sci-fi in show in history) is that he can regenerate when he's about to die. Right now he's re-generated eleven times and is currently played be the adorable, bow tie wearing, geeky Matt Smith (small fangirl squeal). In short, he's 900 and something years old
Companion- The Doctor usually picks a couple awesome people who usually deserve a way out of normalacy along for the ride. Right now it's the supposedly happily maried Amy and Rory (Karen Gillian and Arthur Darill play them respectively) and they usually add some drama and humanitarianism to the show. There's only been a few episodes that the Dr. has traveled alone.
TARDIS- (stands for Time and Relative Dimensions In Space) is the magical time Machine the Dr. stole in his youth and has been traveling around Earth and other planets ever since. Sometimes it breaks, and it recently  had a human body for a little bit in one of the more recent episodes.
Dalek- Daleks are the Dr.'s oldest enemy. They look like some kind of robot from Power Rangers, but their real bodies are on the inside. It looks like a jelly fish. Anyways, with annoying voices and unthinkable weirdness, they give the Dr. a headache (me too)
There's a bunch of other villians too (Cyberman, Weeping Angels, most recently The Silence) and a variety of other aliens and stuff.
Sonic Screwdriver- The coolest little tool ever. It doesn't actually look like a screwdriver, and it fixes a heck of a lot more. Comes in handy in a fix. I squeal everytime it does something epic in the Dr's hands.
Sometimes the Dr. goes back in time, sometimes the future, sometimes different plants, sometimes Earth, always very fun, always quirky, and better than most stuff in America.
Dr. Who is a big part of British culture like we American's really around..... Happy Days or Full House or wahtever.
Having a favorite Dr. is a hard thing to do. I constantly have arguments in my head about who's better: David Tennant, Matt Smith, or Tom Baker. (I still can't pick just one).

Anyway, I skipped over a lot of stuff (seven hundred episodes in a couple hundred words is pretty impossible).
So Whovians, feel free to add more :)

love and sonic screwdrivers,
Randi

Waiting For Superman: Review and Thoughts

If you've been watching all the good movies of 2010, you've stumbled upon Waiting for Superman. It's a relevant documentary on our school system and why it needs change, taking you inside the lives of the families so caught up in the struggle of good education.
This is an important film. This will blow your mind.
Anyway, this movie goes into areas such as:

-The inefficient things needed to be completed to fire an incompetant teacher (I believe there are 24 complicated, often un-necessary steps)
- Some of the people who are stepping up to help reform education and get the ball rolling in  the right direction (People who have started KIPP and the Canada schools).
- A handful of families and their journey to a better education for their kids, sometimes ending in heartbreak, which only brings the whole reality of the situation closer.
-The politics and unions who are causing some pain in the lives of the good teachers and how the horrible teachers stay in schools.


This movie in one word is bittersweet. About half of the movie is spent in the lives of the families who are in the "lottery" to get their kids out of the "drop-out factories" (the term for thousands of schools where less than half the classes will graduate). We find out who goes in the end and who stays. IT's very powerful and hugely gripping It's insane the fuss made over this. People are screaming for a better education for their children.
That's another thing. This movie is largely saying that we get away from what this is about: Preparing kids for the future. IT becomes about the adults as it leans more towards politics, more towards correctness, and inefficientness.
Being a middle-schooler and watching this was so odd. They're talking about my peers in public school.. It's weird. In some odd way, it hits close to home.
The title comes from one of the educators in the movie (it's very late here so some of it is slipping away but I believe his last name was Canada). He said one of the most heartbreaking moments of his life was when his mom told him that Superman wasn't going to be there to save the day. It works so well, 'cause I believe a lot of people really are waiting for some super hero to come in and get us out of our mess. It's relevant.
I've experianced the bad teachers of our system too. I had a third grade who used a microphone to yell at us, refused to teach sometimes, complained about how stupid we were, and couldn't teach when she did. I'm not legally allowed to mention her name, but it was bad. The prinicipa who had hired her had retired the previous year and the powers that be soon got the message that this person could not teach. Loud and clear. At least six kids requested a change of class or switched schools (I was transferred to a private school where we go to church) and soon, that angel prinicpal took steps necessary to get her out.
But the fact is, most of the time, requests like these are ignored, and kids educations are damaged forever.
So it's time to stop waiting for superman
Or the Doctor to come in with his sonic screwdriver.
Or.... well you get it.

Love and sonic screwdrivers,
Randi

Dr. Who Season Six Premiere- Thoughts

French the Llama that was good!
Dr. Who is back with a bang this year. Here's a step by step evaluation!


Acting- All the actors, while still very good in season 5 have become so much better over the break. It's so much fun to watch them even when it's the saddest episodes I've ever seen (it's a two part thing instead of an hour season premiere).
Story- Does everybody remember how Inception confused you after you finished. You sat there on your couch with your popcorn and Diet Coke thinking "What did I just watch and how is this coherent?"
But it is  in a weird way and it leaves a lot of stuff up for grabs. I also heard Nail Gaiman was on board with this season and that definitly makes a mark, coupled along with the genius mind-boggling writer Steven Moffat.
Scary Stuff- The Slience (lead baddies) are rivaling the Weeping Angels as the scariest aliens in Dr. Who history! Unlike the Angels though, it wasn't a non-stop scare fest with sharp jabs and electrifying shocks. The Silence pop up quickly, scare you a little bit and move on only to do the same thing again five minutes later. They're some of the scariest looking things I've ever seen, although mostly, they just stand around and do nothing (they do kill somebody once though). I do have a question though, why are they wearing suits? It's a bit confusing.
WILL THS PREMIERE GIVE YOU ANY CLOSURE?
NOOOOOO! OF COURSE NOT, THAT'S SILLY!

One thing that annoys me about viewing a new season as it comes out is that I don't have anyone to tell me what's up and how cool it is. I'm caught up with everybody else now and we're all on this weird rollercoaster that has lots of off angles and turns. It's quite exciting.

What were your thoughts on the premiere. Is the bowtie still as cool when it's purple? (Yes it is)


Love and sonic screwdrivers,
Randi

DR. WHO SEASON 6!

So after a highly addicting, wonderfully plotted, Inception- y season of Dr. Who with the adorable Matt Smith and Karen Gillian, they're back!
Season 6 premieres tomorrow on BBC America, which means I won't be able to watch it until Sunday, but I'm still excited.
So what do you guys think is going to happen? So far, we know there's gonna be some stuff on River Song and it's set in America. AHHH!


-Randi

#3 Response to Katy Perry's Teenage Dream

What a surprise!
As you know, I'm very very very very very very very very very critical of new music.
This song restored a little piece of my hope in humanity


This song is like  a doughnut. It's sweet delicious, doesn't last long, will make you fat if you eat too maany, but every once in a while it's the best thing ever.
Katy Perry has always annoyed me somewhat. Her first album was immature,  California Gurls made me feel insulted I was born there in the first place, but Teenage Dream is a song I would actually listen to in small doses.
I don't know man, it's just good.
It's a perfect pop song. Light fluff y stew. Hits the spot when you need it.

Response the Kesha's BLOW

First of all, dealing with Kesha, my first thought at hearing the title was that this song was aboout cocaine. I was wrong.
I don't know what the heck the song or video is about.
First of all, I really don't like Kesha. She's dirty, she can't sing, her songs are dumb. But frankly, I got up early this morning and both MTV and VH1 were showing the video. And even then I don't know why I was watching either of those.
Anyways, this video, much liked drunk dollar sign girl herself, is ridiulous. What with Mr. Hot dude, making out with unicorns and rainbows, and the whole breakdown convo thing. What the heck. Makes no sense, and not in a Gaga way.
My suggetions for Kesha is that she:
1. Take a bath.
2. Get some voice lessons
3. Stop brushing her teeth with Jack Daniels.
4. Get some help
5. Re-start her career when her life is back under control.
6. Take another bath (we must instill cleanliness in her)
7. Write some good party music, not bad party music (You can take Kesha out of the party, but you can't take the party out of Kesha)
8. Get her a better video director.

What is it with our fascination with drunk crazy people? I'm moving to Mars.

Thoughts On Lady Gaga's Born This Way

I like to peek in on pop culture once in a while, keep up with what my friends are talking about so I'm not completely left out. One of the few things I can stand is Lady Gaga. Usually. Maybe it's in small doses. I haven't tested my limits.
Anyways, so I was looking at her famed music videos, and I just want to say before I start flipping out, I think Alejandro, Bad Romance, Paparazzi and Telephone are some amazing music videos. They make no sense yet fit their songs so well.
Born This Way was creepier and disappointing.
First of all, the manifesto of Mother Monster? That was un-necessary, annoying, gross, and puzzling.
It was cool for about the first two seconds really. I don't know. I just couldn't get into it.
Second, the video itself is kind of a let down. I mean, the song is cool if not a Madonna rip off, but I just fely like it was almost normal compared to her others, and that's saying something for Lady Gaga. It failed to amaze me as her videos usually do. It just creeped me out and made me glad they used camera affects.
The thing is, I think Mother Monster is trying too hard. I mean, showing up in an egg at the Grammys? She's running out of crazy stuff to do, and it's starting to show. I honestly think I'd like Lady Gaga more and actually buy her music if it wasn't for her crazy image. I just.... I don't know, I think music should be about the music  and not just about the fact that you can pull off wearing meat. Gaga is actually somewhat talented (GASP) and I think her image is really distracting.
I don't know, what do you guys think?

More Things That Are Not Normal Anymore

Willow Trees (Harry Potter)
The words Totally Awesome, Redvines, Did you get my text? and last but not least, Butt Trumpet (Starkid)
M. Night Shaylaman (Avatar. Erg. I don't even care that I probably spelled my name right. But then again, that's nothing compared to the horrid things he's done to perfectly awesome TV shows)
Vegans (Scott Pilgrim VS. The World)
Cracks in walls (ordinary in my house) (Dr. Who)
William Shatner (DUH!)
Big Black Dogs (Harry Potter)
Seventeen Year Old Asian Fan Girls (Scott Pilgrim VS. The World)
Train Stations (Harry Potter)
The (somewhat) word alot (Hyperoble and a Half)
Little Old Ladies knitting (Various sources, including Dr. Who and Percy Jackson)
Plastic Surgery (Uglies
Reality Shows- Survivor especially. (the Hunger Games)
Pictures on Walls (Blues Clues and Harry Potter)
Deserted Anything (Anything scary you've ever watched)
Potatoes (Lord of the Rings)
Puppets (Potter Puppet Pals)
Flesh Wounds (Monthy Python) (Ok, not terribly common, deal with it)
Hipsters (Scott Pilgrim)

Things I Cannot Think Of As Normal Anymore

So while watching some Savid Tennant episodes of Dr. Who, I realized some of the must mundane objects of life have become absoloutly awesome/scary/hilarious.
So here's the list :) I'll note the source of why said objects are not normal anymore.

Blue Ford trucks (Harry Potter)
Beer  bottles (Paper Towns)
Ke$ha (Alex Carpenter)
Statues of people, angels specifically (Dr. Who)
Rings (Lord of the Rings)
Pens (Percy Jackson AND Dr. Who, therefore making them made of awesome)
Red Dresses (The Hunger Games)
Wardrobes (Narnia)
Phone boxes (Dr. Who and Harry Potter)


It's late and I'm tried so my creative juices need some caffiene. The list continues tomorrow.

Overnight Sensation

If you  missed my previous post on the amazing Patti Rothberg in February or January (it seems like such a long time ago) you've probably forgotten about it. I did too for a while, until I finally got my hands on Overnight Sensation, Patti's latest album (yes, plug, plug plug, plug).
Let me just say it's quite refreshing to hear some good music after a while. Anyway, I decided to ask Patti a couple questions about the album. Check it out when you have the time :)

1. The first couple tracks on Overnight Sensation are quite dance-y. What was the motivation for trying out the new genre?
PR: My producer Dave and I had been writing dance tracks during my creative period with Freddie Katz' rock indie albums hoping to place them with the likes of Britney and or Kylie but ultimately decided my own voice was perfect for the tracks! I've always been a fan of late 70s disco (Donna Summer, Funkytown) so this was a chance to live out my fantasy as a disco diva! Last night my DJ friends spun "Make it REal" and I was just enraptured...people dancing and singing along, I LOVED IT and can't wait for it to happen again and again
2. When I first heard the album, I kind of thought it could be a rock musical and that it told a story. Was that intentional or a complete accident?
I'd love to see it become a rock musical. Concept albums have always inspired me even tho "Sensation" can easily be either a single oriented or storytelling one. Whatever you see in it it can be, to me that is success with an album:)
3.What were the influences on this album?
Each song has varied influences. Make it real is very "Rock with You" M Jackson and also Rhianna's "eh eh eh umbrella which was popular at the time of its inception. Personally I adore it when you record something at a time and nod to a song that is popular to a specific time or era. It dates it but only in the BEST wonderful way!!
4. What was the weirdest thing that happened while you were recording this?
The wierdest thing that happened while recording was how UN-wierd it is for Greenberg/Rothberg to collaborate again after years of missing each other; that look of suspicious knowledge between us when things just WORK like magic. It was like time standing still creating those great stacked harmonies, knowing how RIGHT it is and how much it deserves global limelight and repeated personal ipod repetitions;) Thank you and enjoy! XO P



I'll have a full album review here when I can pull it together and find time. I wanna thank Patti for answering my questions and  you whoever you are for reading this :)


Much love,
Randi

Wrock out my friends

I released a wizard rock album! It's awesome and full of cover 'cause I was too insecure to put out my originals album first!



Happy Chinese New Year! I'm well aware it's already over!

What Ever Happened To Disney?

My brainwashed, somewhat adorable at times little sister is OBSSESSED with Disney Channel. Thats the only thing she watches. As you know, I've abandoned American TV for movies and Dr. Who but ovccasionaly, Disney will show a Tim Burton movie and I'll be captive audience. But then there's the commercial breaks.
Disney's latest project, Selena Gomez (the next Miley) has a song out (Who doesn't on Disney Channel) somwhere along the lines of be yourself and happy things will happen, even if you will never be as beautiful as me! There is absoloutly no interpretation of the "Ugly side" in this video. Selena is dressed in beautiful fany gowns and prefect make-up and flaunting of the thin-ness.
I then flipped channels, much to my sister's dismay. It fell on VH1, which was playing music videos in the afternoon hours for some odd reason.
I recognized it from the radio. Pink's Effin'Perfect.
That is an uplifting music video.
If you presented me with the horrer that I could only listen to one popular female pop singer's discography for the rest of my life, I'd pick P!nk. She has nice pipes, has overcome a troubled past, and this song  makes little Gomez's song look like "I'm Too Sexy". The video is beautiful, so is the song (and I am normally not tolerant of swearing).
It was so refreshing to know someone is not afraid to expose the ugly side of low self-confidence.  I mean, this was the real deal. After just reading Wintergirls, it was so wonderful tosee.
On that subject, Katy Perry's "Firework is somewhere in the middle. If I was given the choice of two female pop singers on the top ten, it'd be Katy Perry and Pink. The music video is somewhat leaning more towards Selena over there, but it's more serious (except for the part where pyrotechnics explode from Perry's boobs. I thought the whipped cream was bad enough.)
But anyway, at least the issue is being addressed at all angles. Hope for the future, man.

Wintergirls

Chances are, you've probably heard of Laurie Halse Anderson. She wrote the controversial, challenged every other day, excellente, important novel known as SPEAK. Now she's written another powerful book, Wintergirls.
Lia and Cassie have been best friends for a long time. But in recent years, they've been competing in the deadly battle so many girls find themselves in: Who can be the thinnest?
In the process the two girls get two different eating disorders. Lia has Anorexia (starving yourself until you die or get dragged to the clinic) and Cassie bulemia (you stuff yourself full and full and then puke it all up after a meal.
But then, Cassie dies alone in a motel room from the erosion of her stomach lining. She literally died from puking.
So Lia, dangerously thin and cutting herself, can't rely on her family, stepmom, stepsister, or anyone to help get over Cassie's death and I don't want to spoil the rest for you, but it's an intense and powerful ride. If you were to hand this book to a girl with an eating disorder as I'm writing this and have her finish it in a day (it's a fairly short book) I have no doubt she would most likely at least consider getting some help. Thsi book could save lives, I have no doubt. Ms. Anderson could very well save a generation of weight obssessed girls who are going to kill themselves to be pretty.
The book was written just as strong as it's content. There are phrases that are crossed out because Lia doesn't want to think that (it's mostly stuff like I'm So Hungry, or I Want To Eat The Whole Thing and stuff like that). You can basically see Cassie calling herself a stupid fat loser even when she's not saying it directly.
But on the subject of beauty, why so thin?
Why are we as Americans so obssessed with being thin that we drive ourselves into the ground, quite literally?
In Africa it is beautiful to be plump, seeing as so many are starving. Large women are married faster and are considered super model hot.
I think it's crazy what we do to ourselves. I was already aware of eating disorders before this and know that they can kill people if they go at it long enough. But this book really drives the point home.
Thank you Ms. Anderson. Here's to more eye openers.

Ah, 2011 movies.

So being my nerd self, I'm looking ahead at different movies that are coming out and I'm a bit disappointed myself. Here are some of the highlights and lowlights.


Red Riding Hood- All the signs of a despicable movie. Twilight director, sexy male lead, whimpering female lead.... well no. I'm not going to call it a lead. More like a tag-a-long to male lead because said female can't defend herself and must depend on dude to do everything for her. *rolls eyes* Not to mention paranormal romanticizing (Sp?) of an old myth.

Beastly- This SHOULD be in the same vein of RRH, but it isn't. Beauty and the Beast was originally a very romantic fairy tale, so the romantical aspect of Beastly doesn't bother me, as it's a modern retelling. And from all trailers, I really love the makeup. It's perfectly horrifying (mind spelling, I'm still retired from the church retreat).

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2- Nuff said. It's going to be epic, and I don't mean that in the slang term. I mean it in Middle-Earth-Is-About-To-Blow-Up-Because-of- Daleks EPIC!

Britian and it's Awesome

Alright, for some reason I've been on a rant about how Britian is much smarter in their culture and music than America. Don't get me wrong, I love my country. But our music falls flat (literally) and our TV Shows are all racy and get old reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaly fast.
Yes I just started watching Dr.Who. And it blows my little American mind with it's awesome.
But why is this? Why does it seem Britian is doing it better right now? And why can America not air doctor Who on Sci-Fi or something! I can't keep renting these episodes off iTunes, it hurts the planet and my wallet!
Anyway, end rant on how Britian does it better, I'll just keep talking about Dr. Who.
It's really hard to be a nerd for me right now. It seems that hardly any of my friends are into nerdfighting or British genius or books. I was around typical specimens of teenage girls this weekend (I don't know why I don't consider myself a teenage girl, considering that's what I am, bt these girls take the cake for defnition of teenage girls), and the conversation went in circles like this:
Justin Bieber Movie
Disney Channel
Miley Cyrus
Make-up
Nike Shorts
Uggs
Glee
Twilight
Insert Latest Trend here
*repeat cycle until you rip out your hair*
Yeah. Meanwhile I was hiding out in my sleeping bag and wondering if on the occasion I found a sonic screwdriver, would it make them shut up? If I knocked them all dead with my fake vegan powers, would the vegan police come and take it all away for abusing said powers? Would calling in my hobbit army do anything at all?
I pondered these while my peers became wired on sugar.
After two whole days with these trendy zombies, I was allowed to escape their grasp. Thank God.
And now I'm bursting  at the seams to go back to making nerd referacnces every few minutes as oppsoed to not talking at all for fear of having large volumes of paranormal romance books I so despise thrown at me.
So here's to you nerds out there. This is a place for you to take refuge. Ten points to your respective Hogwarts houses for every referance made! LIVE LONG AND PROSPER!
-Randi

Hunger Games Movies Do's and Don'ts

Allrigt, you know what the Hunger Games is. You have to by now. But if you don't, here goes:
*deep dramatic voice*
In the post apocalyptic place where America once was lies PANEM! Twelve Districts, one captiol and the Hunger Games every year.
Basically, the Captiol sends two tributes from each district to fight to the death in an arena for their enjoyment. And whoever is the last one standing gets fame, glory, immunity from other games, and food for their poor districts.
Katniss and Peeta get sent to the games, yadda yadda. I won't tell you the rest because you probably know it by now.
Anyway, Lion's Gate is doing a movie adaption of it. And here's what's up:
They've approached ALEX PETTYFER as Peeta. Now I think this would be fine but for one thing.....
Alex is a fan girl's dream, and then the Hunger Games will turn into Twilight if he is cast.
Otherwise, I think he'd be cool.
THE ACTRESSESS FIGHTING FOR KATNISS:
Oh my gummy bears are actressess desperate these days! Alyson Stoner and Jodelle Ferland, both former Katniss hopefuls have posted pictures of themselves dressed up as Katniss, complete with fake bows and climbing rocks. I SAY THIS IS IMPROPER! The Hunger Games was all about media fraud and propaganda and fame and other things. These two should be condemned from Katniss Movie Portrayal.
IT'S A BOOK TO MOVIE ADAPTION
I mean, honestly, there's going to be something wrong. We all know it. let's just set our expectations low and see what happens.

Grammy Review

I know, like three weeks later, I finally get over my rage and decide to write a review.
THINGS I LIKED:
Lady Gaga's egg entrance. I thought it was really exciting and took the attention offf Miley Cyrus' boob revealing dress.
Florence Welch's dress on the red carpet. She was radiant even though not everybody thought so.
The cover of "Joleen" that night was excellent.
THE RAMONES WON THE LIFETIME ACHEIVEMENT AWARD!!!! PUNK FINALLY WON SOMETHING!!!!!! Isn't that wonderful. Dolly Parton, one of my favorite personalities also won. So congrats guys!
Justin Bieber did NOT win best new artist! But I'll get to that later.
As much as I hate to say it and I will NEVER admit this again, I think Eminem's preformance was exceptional that night even if they did have to turn his mic off about four times. A lot of the preformances fell flat that night (including Rhianna's in that same song, but she had laryngitis I later found, so she is excused from my wrath) but Eminem knows what he's doing by now, so props to you man.
The tribute to Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul! All Hail! That was truly inspiring. And again, Florence Welch is amazing, as well as Martina McBride (total childhood flashback to when Concrete angel was a huuuuuuge hit).
Katy Perry's set surprsingly enough. She sounded pretty good and I loved the set thing.

THINGS I DID NOT LIKE:

What was up with Esperanza Spalding! That hit me out of nowhere! Although it was quite funny to see the Belieber's reactions.
What was up with Cee Lo Green? Rejected Henson Puppets? Granted he preformed well, but it was definite WTH moment.
There was an excess of rap this year. I wish there would have been a little more variety.
I remember that fateful Sunday night well, and I think I saw maybe three awards handed out in an HOUR! Time efficiancy, people! I don't have time to sit around and watch people I don't really wanna see just to find out if Mumford and Sons for Florence and the Machine or Neil Young win anything AND NONE OF THE DID!

Well, end rant. Good night to you all.