Sideburn vs. Beard

I love this song. Check out the video to see Dan le Sac's awesome beard at a strip club. Quick shout out: I've been looking for some new music to listen to, as I have a ton of money to blow on itunes. Any suggestions?



Also, Alex and I went to see Michael Clayton yesterday, meaning we have seen all the movies up for Best Picture this year. Here's how, in my opinion, they all rank.

#1: No Country for Old Men--This one deserves to win. It is so damned good.
#2: Juno--I loved this movie so much, but its not the kind of movie that gets a lot of Oscar love.
#3: There Will Be Blood--This one is a close third. I was suprised at how much I enjoyed this one, particularly Daniel Day-Lewis' descent into terrifying madness.
#4: Atonement--This is a distant fourth for me. This movie was okay, but it had some serious flaws. I really liked James McAvoy, and I thought that the ending of this movie was awesome, but it dragged in the middle.
#5: Michael Clayton--While I thought this was a fine movie, it was nowhere near as good as the top three. I did like Tilda Swinton as the villain, (what else? She's nearly as scary as Daniel Day-Lewis!) but it kinda felt like a fancy version of The Pelican Brief, without the Denzel or chase scenes.

So that's how I see it going down. I think there is a possibility that There Will Be Blood will steal the top prize, I don't think it deserves it. If you have not yet seen No Country for Old Men, you are seriously missing out. It is... incredible. I loved it.

Harry Potter and Iraq... all in one post!

So I just read this article citing just how many lies were told leading to the Iraq war. This makes me sigh. If anyone has not yet seen No End in Sight, I would highly recommend it. Its a documentary about the disaster that is the Iraq war. It is very well-made and has some interesting points. I've been thinking a lot about the manipulation of language since my propaganda class and now, in thinking how to teach 1984, and the amount of crap that passes as truth is shocking, I have to say. I just read an amazingly awesome article called "Harry Potter and the Standardized Test: Some Thoughts for Teachers on Rhetoric, Magic, and Composition" from americanpopculture.com. It compared magic use in Harry Potter to contemporary rhetoric use:

"In the Harry Potter books, magic is always a means through which students use language to create something out of nothing, to impose their will upon others, and to defend themselves against those who would impose their will upon them. I believe students must learn this type of magic now more than ever, although we do not have to call it that; instead we can use a slightly more acceptable term, “rhetoric.”"

How's that for a mindfudge? I love this, partly because it is pretty geeky. But really, I think it is friggin' important to arm students with some skills to combat manipulative rhetoric. And to encourage them to actually think, but that might be a post for another day...

Anyway, that's my tirade for today. In other news, I saw Cloverfield and I loved it a great deal. This is one to see in the theaters, as its greatest strength is the fact that it is a moviegoing experience, if you follow me. I was worried about the movie going into it, but it didn't disappoint. Also, it is National Pie Day today, so go on out there and celebrate!

Boys becoming men, men becoming wolves

So I just saw a trailer that blew my mind. Hello, Escape from New York! And in no way do I see that as negative. I read it described as I Am Legend, deep fried in Escape from New York, with a dash of Road Warrior on top. How could that not be awesome?! Watch and be amazed.



Also, you must listen to this right now. Immediately. It made me chuckle. 30 Rock is so awesome. I love it. Tracy Morgan has the best lines on the show, especially "I am a stabbing robot" while trying to stab Conan. Priceless.

And speaking of knives, I finally watched Eastern Promises. I wasn't as gruesome as History of Violence, which I was fond of. Also, every time they used one of the three Russian words that Alex has taught me, I got a little excited. And since one of those is "yes," I was excited quite often. All in all, I liked it. Also, there's a naked knife fight. If you've been waiting for some Viggo nekkedness ever since the tender kiss on the bridge scene in Lord of the Rings, then here's your chance!

We are the Dead

So... first of all, movies. I have to make an adjustment to my top ten movies of the year. I just saw Once last week, and it blew me away. It was such a wonderful little movie that I want to add it to my top ten. I can't believe the two main characters aren't actors; they were so natural and their relationship was so cute (without being cute, if you follow). I also saw Charlie Wilson's War because I've heard so much hype about it. And let me tell you, that is one helluva mediocre movie. I mean, the story is mediocre, the performances are mediocre (except Julia Roberts, who is dreadfully miscast and is an ass-clown) (and Phillip Seymore Hoffman, who was actually really good in it), the ending is very mediocre. I've heard this movie described as "cute", and I agree. And that's cute in a bad way, not in a Once way. It was just so run-of-the-mill. I hope it doesn't get nominated for best picture.

I've been trying to figure out what should get nominated, and I'm not too sure. No Country for Old Men and Juno should definitely be nominated. I think Atonement is slightly overrated. There are a lot I still haven't seen. American Gangster didn't interest me much. It did have a kickass trailer though. I want to see There Will Be Blood, just waiting for it to show up here. I keep trying to talk myself into watching Eastern Promises, but after A History of Violence, it has been difficult. And all the flopping around.... Anyway, hopefully someday I'll at least watch it. Really, though, I thought A History of Violence was damn near unwatchable, what with all its gratuitous sex and violence. And that awful performance by... what's his name? William Hurt? I get the Hurts mixed up. I think John Hurt is V for Vendetta, William Hurt is History of Violence.

Anyway, I'm a little stressed right now (not because of the above, seriously, how nerdy do you think I am?). I have two big, expensive tests tomorrow that I have to pass in order to get my teacher's license. And a week from yesterday, I take over four class periods and start student teaching fo rizzle. I've got 1984 up first. Its funny; I seem more nervous for this than most of the other folks I've talked to. And don't get me wrong, I'm pretty excited for it too. There's just some nerves built in to that, what can I say? And for someone who thinks that they're pretty much awesome, I have too little faith in myself to be kickass in my student teaching. Not literally or anything. Like, I'm not going to actually kick anyone. Oh dear.

Lastly, I want to write a small ode to Battlestar Galactica. Me and Alex just started watching it again (he hasn't seen the first season), and it is just so good! All you people who refuse to watch it and have led to its imminent downfall, you should be ashamed! Ashamed! I know what you're thinking, its on Sci-fi, same channel that brought us such pieces of crap as "Fire Serpent," "Reign of the Gargoyles, and both "Minotaur" and "Manticore." But trust me, this is one of the smartest things on TV right now. The second season is brilliant. The third season finale was... just so good. Now I have to wait until April to find out about the final Cylon. Sigh.

Okay, that's all for me. Gonna go study now.

Behold!

Witness the gyrations! It is secretly my ambition in life to be as sexy as George Michael in this video.



Why am I posting this video, you might ask? Well, does one really need an occasion? I just loves it so much!

The Best of the Rest

After I did my movie list, then checked out Alex's sweet blog, I decided I wanted to weigh in on a few other favorites of mine this year. Behold!

Favorite Album:

Mark Ronson, Version
This album blew me away with its almighty awesomeness. The best part: Most, if not all, of the songs are incredible. My favorite tracks on this one are "Toxic," "Stop Me," and "Just." They caught me in their groovitational pull.

Runners Up:
Arcade Fire, Neon Bible. See them live. NOW!
White Stripes, Icky Thump. Wish I could have seen them live...


Favorite 5 TV Shows:

1: The Office
2: Project Runway
3: 30 Rock
4: Lost
5: Battlestar Galactica (psst, did you see the finale? Mind fudge!)

Runners Up:

Entourage, Flight of the Conchords, Iron Chef America, Big Love, My Name is Earl.


Favorite way to waste time:

Rock Band

I have spent WAY too much time playing this incredibly addicting game lately. But what can I say? I love to rock.

Runners Up:

My bee-utiful blog, pajiba.com, Entertainment Weekly, TV on DVD, and my Hollywood Video MVP account (hello, Xanadu!)