A New Year

With everyone celebrating the coming of a new year, it is almost impossible to ignore the fact that in just a few short hours, I will have to forget about putting 2010 at the end of documents and start putting 2011. That really is the only actual change that will occur as the clock strikes midnight and people kiss, drink, and pass out. Once everyone sleeps off the excess liquor and beer, they will begin a journey that many people refer to as a New Year’s resolution. Sure, we can all do with eating better, stopping bad habits, and promising to not call that person we have vowed to never talk to again, except those nights when you have too many cocktails and your friends don’t take your phone. I will admit to having made quite a few resolutions in the past but never sticking to them. I find the idea of forcing myself to do something or not do something for a full calendar year to be ridiculous. I have found that doing things randomly and for no real reason to be the things I stick with longer. So, instead of doing something that will make me miserable for two months until I decide to give up and forget I even tried, I am going to try to do something fun and different.

My New Year’s resolution was born around the idea that I want to enjoy life more. I have spent so much of my life stressed about the future that now I am in the future and have nothing to really look forward to. So, I am going to venture out of my shell and into the real world and not the adult world of working and raising a family. I am venturing into the world of happiness and experiencing new and different things. No, I won’t be getting random piercing or joining a cult (no matter how much fun they make it out to be). I am simply going to embrace the world around me and hope that something inspires me enough to make something more out of my life. Yes, this all seems like something out of Eat, Pray, Love or any independent film about finding one’s self, but this isn’t a movie or book. This is my life and I need to start living it before it is over.

So, starting January 1^st, I am going to make the most out of my life. Sure, I will have my days where I will not leave my apartment or those evenings where all I want to do after work is go to sleep, but I will try my best to do things differently. Now, since this is a resolution, I may end up scrapping this whole idea and deciding to become a recluse that never interacts with the world around me, but that is the risk I am willing to take in order to better myself.

2010 Video Music Awards

2010 Video Music Awards

One of the craziest nights in music is happening Sunday September 12th at 9pm in LA. No, it is not the Grammys or the CMA Awards. It is the Video Music Awards! Sure, the award isn’t that big of an honor, but it brings out the best (and worst) performances from our favorite music stars! If you look at the past 27 years of VMAs, you will see that there is always something that people will talk about the next day at work. What will people talk about this year? The rise of Justin Bieber? The fall of Ke$ha? Or another Kanye fiasco??? It really could be anything!

The nominees this year are not all that diverse or that shocking. Sure, we can be excited that Lady Gaga is nominated for her two huge hits Bad Romance and Telephone, but some people seem to be nominated just to fill up the categories. With that said, here are some of the bigger award nominations and how things might pan out.

Best Collaboration:
B.o.B. and Hayley Williams- Airplanes (Should Win)
Beyonce and Lady Gaga- Video Phone
Lady Gaga and Beyonce- Telephone (My Pick)
3OH!3 and Ke$ha- My First Kiss
Jay-Z and Alicia Keys- Empire State of Mind (Will Win)

Sure, I love Empire State of Mind and it is probably going to win, but Airplanes is an amazing song and probably the most unexpected pairing this year. Speaking of unexpected pairings, Beyonce and Lady Gaga paired up twice and one was great (Telephone) while the other was mediocre (Video Phone). Unfortunately for 3OH!3 and Ke$ha, they just don’t have the following of these others, which will result in no win for them. Jay-Z and Alicia Keys have been favorites for many years and will likely take this one home.

Best Female Video:
Lady Gaga- Bad Romance (Should Win, Will Win, My Pick)
Ke$ha- Tik Tok
Katy Perry- California Gurls
Beyonce- Video Phone
Taylor Swift- Fifteen

Alright, Ke$ha had a fun video for Tik Tok, but it doesn’t compare to the others. Video Phone was easily overshadowed by Telephone so that is out. That leaves Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and Lady Gaga. Taylor won this one last year and it would be great to see her win another, but does she have enough fans to make it a repeat? I would also love to see Katy Perry win this one because Lady Gaga will be taking home so many more, but Bad Romance was mind blowing and deserves this one more than both Fifteen and California Gurls.

Best Male Video:
Eminem- Not Afraid (Will Win)
Usher- OMG
B.o.B.- Airplanes (Should Win, My Pick)
Drake- Find Your Love
Jason Derulo- In My Head

This is going to be the most competitive category this year. Eminem came back bigger than ever with an amazing album, amazing videos, rocked out with Rhianna, and scored 8 nominations. This could be his night. Usher came back after a few years out and brought back his R&B/Pop mix and might take home another award. Drake, B.o.B., and Jason Derulo all hit it huge this year and either of them could win. When it comes down to it, the more experienced artist (Eminem) will probably win.

Best New Artist:
Ke$ha- Tik Tok (My Pick)
Jason Derulo- In My Head (Should Win)
Justin Bieber- Baby (Will Win)
Nicki Minaj- Massive Attack
Broken Bells- The Ghost Inside

Broken Bells and Nicki Minaj are awesome, but neither is going to win this award. Ke$ha had a great year, but I am not sure if her fan support will be enough. Jason Derulo had a good year but it won’t be enough. Justin Bieber has the hearts of every female under the age of 15, and since you can text your vote during the show, he will win thanks to the quick fingers of his young fans.

Best Pop Video:
Lady Gaga- Bad Romance (Will Win, My Pick)
Katy Perry- California Gurls
Ke$ha- Tik Tok
Beyonce- Video Phone
B.o.B.- Airplanes (Should Win)

This is another really tough category. Lady Gaga is looking to dominate and that could very easily happen. Katy Perry is great, but does she have the amount of fans as Gaga? Ke$ha and B.o.B. are the new kids in town, but both had a great year, so can they pull off an upset? Beyonce could win, but that would be a shame because she has had far superior videos and songs. I will have to give this one to the Lady of the night.

Video of the Year:
Lady Gaga- Bad Romance (My Pick)
Florence + The Machine- Dog Days Are Over
30 Seconds to Mars- Kings and Queens
Lady Gaga- Telephone (Will Win)
Eminem- Not Afraid (Should Win)
B.o.B.- Airplanes

This award has went to many amazing artists (Madonna, Britney Spears, Aerosmith, Green Day) but will this award go to the underdog like some years (Panic At The Disco anyone?) or to the dominating forces (Rhianna, Beyonce, Eminem). I cannot say who will and won’t win this award for the sheer fact that every year is different. It could be a sweep of awards like Britney did in 2008 or a spread of winners like last year’s Beyonce, Taylor, Britney, and Lady Gaga wins. Even with that said, Lady Gaga is a clear front runner with 2 videos in the category, but will that hurt her chances of winning the award for one of them? Tune into MTV on Sunday September 12th at 9pm to find out!

Superheroes Unleashed Upon Society

As almost everyone knows, Comic Con happened this past week. I was not able to attend, for the main reason that it occurs all week in San Diego, California. Even after pretending to be dying for the week so that I could get the time off from work, I would still have to either drive 3 long days, hitchhike, or pay several hundreds of dollars for a plane ticket. Since I do not want to pay the money, wait in massive lines to get inside, spend the week before creating a wizard or Green Lantern costume, and fighting the crowds for a chance to touch Ryan Reynolds and Angelina Jolie (which would end with lawyer fees and possible 3 days in jail and bail money), I decide to watch all the action from my computer. For future reference, maybe they could have Comic Con in DC or NY one year? Please??

Now on to the point of this blog: Superheroes!! For the past 4 years, there have been a dozen of huge superhero blockbusters that have done really well with keeping to the original story and even entertaining the masses. With that said, I have mixed feeling about what is ahead of me in the next few years.

First, there is the Thor film. I am not very familiar with this Norse God who is also part of the Avengers. The only footage that I have seen is the hammer in the end of Iron Man 2, which left many people asking “What the fuck is up with the hammer???” This is proof of how unknown Thor is compared to the big names (Iron Man, Superman, and Batman). The movie does have two things going for it: Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins. These two actors take only the best roles (except for Beowulf and Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium), so there is hope that this movie is going to be an intelligent, dark film.

Second, there is the Captain America: The First Avenger film. This has one major thing going for it: it CANNOT be as bad as the 1990 version! The film could be shot with a digital camera and a budget of $10.57 and it would still be better than that version. I love the story behind Captain America and the awesome shield. The one thing that I am conflicted about is the casting of Chris Evans as the hero. If you remember, he portrayed the Human Torch in the not so fantastic Fantastic Four movies. He is good at playing the cocky badass, but that is not what the Captain is all about. It is my hope that he took some acting classes before he began filming. Regardless of how bad this film ends up, I will no doubt see it opening weekend.

There is also the Green Lantern film. I will admit that the Green Lantern is one of my top 3 favorite superheroes ever. I love the back story, the ring, and the fact that it goes beyond our universe (which gives me hope of life elsewhere). When I discovered that Ryan Reynolds was cast as the lead hero, I nearly fainted. It gave me so much hope that this would be a top tier superhero film. Unfortunately, that hope did not last very long. Shortly after discovering the casting of Ryan, I found that Blake Lively was cast and fury went through me like bad egg salad. I don’t hate her as an actress, but I definitely do not think she will help this film. The other thing that crushed my hopes was the reveal of the Green Lantern suit. Seriously?!?! It is completely CGI!! I can understand some CGI because he has to glow and such, but it looks SOOO fake!! Ugh, I will stop this now, before I am placed on DC Comics hit list.

Another film coming out soon is The Avengers. This will bring together the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and War Machine. First, I have to ask one question: What the hell is the budget for this freaking movie?!?!?! Robert Downey Jr. is not a cheap actor, neither is Don Cheadle and Scarlett Johansson. Then they fire Edward Norton as the Hulk, which I think is a horrible mistake. I loved Norton as the Hulk and he is a genuinely good actor who takes chances. Instead, they cast Mark Ruffalo, who is best known for 13 Going on 30 and Shutter Island. I am skeptical as to how this will work out. Either way, I am just glad the Hulk is CGI intense and acting is secondary. With all of this said, I am not as excited about this film as I thought I would be. I would much rather see a Justice League film with Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and some more likable villains, but hopefully this movie will be successful enough to end up with a Justice League film coming soon after.

Last but not least is Batman 3. I am a little biased on this film since I am currently watching The Dark Knight and am in love with the entire Batman universe (minus some of the shitty films made in the mid-90s). There is speculation from every source of media about the villain in the new film, which is what seems to make the movie popular or not (The Scarecrow was lame and the Joker was epic, as were their respective films). We know only a few facts about the villains. It will not be the Joker because replacing Heath Ledger would be the worst mistake he could make. Nolan also does not want to bring in Mr. Freeze because it is hard to portray, which is the same with the Penguin. Now, there are some great villains that I would love to see. Catwoman makes the most sense because she is smart, cunning, and a freaking woman villain, which is badass. This would be easy to portray for Nolan and it would fit with Fox’s line about how the new bat suit might not do well for dogs but it should hold up against cats. Connection! Then there is one of my favorite villains: The Riddler. I am also in love with the rumors that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is being looked at for this part. He is a great actor and would make a fabulous villain. I would also love to see Thomas Schiff, the paranoid schizophrenic from Arkham. He was in The Dark Knight, the crazy guy who Harvey tries to get answers about the Joker. He would be perfect because he is crazy, connected to the Joker, and would have a reason to want to continue the reign of terror in Gotham. I also have to throw out Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. These two could make one hell of a splash in the Nolan universe and add some much needed estrogen to the films. Regardless of who plays whichever villain(s), it is going to be one amazing Batman film that I will see opening night.

With all this said, I am glad that Comic Con is over. As people go back to their normal lives, the epic trailers and teasers from the convention will finally make its way online for those of us unfortunate enough not to go to the event to see the footage in person. It is my hope that all my worries and fears about how bad some of these films will be is going to be destroyed with some amazing teasers. Let us all pray for the best!

Highlights of the past few weeks:

Highlights of the past few weeks:

Getting a Job
For the past 8 months, I have been searching for a job. At first, it seemed like fun trying to find jobs, submit resumes, and trying to set up interviews. That fun ended once crunch time came. It was two months before graduation and I had nothing in front of me except my childhood bedroom and the movie theater. Luckily, I had kept in touch with different companies I had met with throughout the year and got some interest expressed from some of them and eventually landed a job! Having a job before graduation is a huge accomplishment in this economy and it is becoming very evident that I am one of the lucky ones.

Apartment Hunting
After getting a job, I realized that I had nowhere to live and needed to find a place ASAP! So, my mom and I went a week after getting the job to look at apartments. We saw huge apartments with the most amazing surroundings, which were so far outside my budget that I nearly lost hope. Then we ventured to downtown Richmond and found the most amazing apartments in my budget. Luckily, I kept an open mind throughout the entire day and didn’t make any decisions until we saw all the apartments because the last place we saw sealed the deal. I put down a deposit and got a great 1 bedroom apartment!

Graduation 2010
On May 8, 2010, I graduated college. I will be honest, I was extremely sad. It wasn’t until the night before graduation that I realized that I was actually graduating and the realization that life as I had known it for the past 4 years was coming to an end. There were tears and lack of sleep that night, but then graduation came and went as if it was just another bump in the road. I sat out in the heat for 3 hours listening to speakers I did not care for talk about next moves in our lives and all that crap. The most amusing thing of graduation (besides people’s mortar boards blowing away in the wind and them running after them) was the fact that two of my fellow staff members were watching from Wheeler and nearly got arrested. That made graduation so much better!

Moving
On May 13, 2010, I moved into my first apartment. I had moved most of my stuff into the apartment beforehand, but I spent my first night in Richmond, without anyone with me, on that night. It was quite sad, venturing around Richmond, going into the scariest Wal-Mart ever, and trying to put together furniture with very vague instructions. I survived the move and managed to get most of my stuff unpacked in two days. That is a huge accomplishment when you see how much stuff I have. As I enter the working world, I look forward to living in Richmond, working, and experiencing city life for a change. As I live my new life, I plan to document it and share with anyone that reads this. Until next time, this is Life As I Know It!