My, oh my, how quickly things can change. I’m currently suffering and trying to recover from a blow to my ego that happened about an hour ago. In the matter of about 72 hours, I went from stumbling onto something that resembled a job, albeit per diem, to more or less being sent home before grabbing my cup of coffee. I’m taking blame for it though. I was told to arrive at a location between 5 and 6am to a place that would require at least a 30 minute commute. To make a long story short, I would’ve made it by 7, so I placed a quick call to my contact to let him know. And with a job like this, I wouldn’t blame my contact for telling me what he told me: you don’t have to come in [click]. I actually already forgot what he said verbatim, but the fatal blow was that he hung up immediately after he said it. I’ve only had angry girlfriends hang up on me with such coordination. (more…)
October 27, 2011
a new lifestyle – per diem
July 15, 2011
the emmy nominations of 2011
It’s that time again. I don’t think I cared much for the Emmys a few years ago, but I’ve managed to start watching more TV as I get older and more immersed in the entertainment world where now I can’t help it. In fact, I’m reminded that for a lot of entertainment reporters and personalities and the like, it’s part of their job to watch TV almost all the time. It might seem sarcastic in tone, but that’s hard work… seriously. I have so many hours of television backed up on DVR that it terrifies me to even think about sitting around all day watching it all. Okay, I’ll admit, a good maybe 50% of the disc space is Craig Ferguson and Conan, but still… that’s a lot of TV to get through. Congrats to Conan for his nod by the way. Team Coco FTW.
March 7, 2011
the “fringe” “event”
I recently read something that scared me: “Fringe is likely to be cancelled.” The show might not be cancelled at all, but it’s dipping dangerously low when it comes to viewership. What I had to realize is that it doesn’t matter how good a show is, no matter the quality or the talent or even critical opinion etc, if no one is watching, the show is going away. And it’s really too bad for an awesome show such as Fringe or past shows like Arrested Development and Undercovers. Yes, I’m still crying about those shows.
Sometimes you can tell from the premiere if a show is going to last. So many people wrote off The Cape after the pilot that by the second week you already knew it was doomed. I never did officially follow up on this show, so consider this it: it has been officially cancelled. Am I sad? No. Will I miss it? No. Did I even watch it? Barely. I continued to DVR the show, and would watch it with my parents… but the last few episodes it had been background noise. The last episode on TV I still haven’t watch and probably never will. (Ironically the same thing happened with Heroes.) There’s a final episode online that I also probably won’t watch. You know a show is in bad shape if they cut your 13 episode season to 10 episodes, then air the last one online.
The other show I follow… and I say “follow” instead of “fan” because I’m not devoted to it… is No Ordinary Family. I like the show. It’s fun to watch. But there’s just something about it that’s not keeping me hooked like appointment television. Like Lost was for me and several others, American Idol for everyone except me, and Fringe has always been for me, those are shows that must be watched when their aired or ASAP. I was devoted to NOF in the beginning, but… the thrill is gone. It became another show that sat in the DVR, collecting digital dust.
It’s not a good sign for a TV show just sitting in the DVR and you moan about watching it later. On the contrary, I actually have a few shows I’ve watched and saved to re-watch, or shows I just haven’t had time to watch yet but look forward to watching, and shows I like to build up so I have a few to watch like a marathon… like An Idiot Abroad.
I said all that to say that The Event is coming back on tonight. I really want this show to work. Around the end of the first half of the season, I was losing interest. But I heard word that they’ve done some retooling of the show and NBC seems to have some faith in it by promoting it almost every other commercial break. So with all the shows that are on the line (or the bubble) when it comes to May (or sooner), I’m pulling for Fringe and The Event to make it to the next season. A few of the shows are already dead or soon will be.
So if I were to make a plea… please watch Fringe. It’s awesome entertainment. It needs viewers. Check out The Event tonight. I don’t know if it’ll be better or worse, but I’m always looking for some high quality scripted entertainment… so we shall see.
Worst case scenario, if Fringe does get cancelled, I hope there’s a network out there willing to revive it. Please. Seriously, the show is really that good. It fills the void left open by Lost. Okay, I’m done now.
August 16, 2010
more “power”-ful insights
I’m back once again with a somewhat ongoing debate with the interwebs. I’m also here to give an update on what I’ve more or less been obsessed with for the past week or so. But this is my blog; it’s my own soapbox to declare whatever I would like to talk about instead of going on various message boards, forums and comment boxes to all the YouTube users who have an opinion different than mine. Plus, people are still looking for answers, meanings and interpretations about this whole Power video thing, and I feel I could help out by briefly educating them on what they think is going on. Or for the people who disagree with me, provide meaningful and educated rebuttals.
First of all, according to Mr. West himself, this clip is in fact part of a much larger project. I’m excited about this; however, I hope in order to see it won’t cost me an arm and a leg. I’d buy a DVD if that’s what it is, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Probably more images to decipher? First thing’s first: how about we buy the album first? He seems to be so busy creatively that everyone is eagerly waiting for the remix to “Power” …so in the meantime he threw us the awesome “See Me Now.”
Second order of business of “Power”: there is an alternate and uncensored video clip floating around on YouTube. I actually saw it the other night and it explains reports I read (and cannot find to cite here) about naked women all over the set. Granted, the “real” video aired on MTV has to be censored to a degree, but this version fits in a lot better to the videos I tend to find on Kanye’s artistic blog of pretty things and pretty girls who tend to be pretty naked. I’m only posting a link to the video and not the video itself due to its NSFWisticness. I feel like I’m going against my “for the sake of art” rule, but this is my soapbox, I can post what I want. So there. There are major differences and subtle ones… more women, some of them in different positions, some of them look different altogether. The lady with the wings, were wings are different. You also see more of the portrait, and it’s not in “ruins”. There are no explosions or cool close ups. In fact, it’s shorter. But you’ll see all of this for yourself. My analysis stays the same for the most part. I’m not sure which I like better though. Probably the first version.
Lastly, and I really don’t want to write a novel like I did last week, but I did some further research into what many claim about this “Power” video being influenced by Free Masons, the Illuminati, and a new world order. And I read that someone mentioned tarot cards used in this video, which I know nothing about but may research in the future. I may have mentioned this before, and basically, conspiracy theories are just that: theories. Ideas that haven’t been proven to be true or false. So I don’t see a reason to get all bent out of shape for something that may not even be there. Some people will go to great lengths to make a point and may end up stretching the truth so it reflects what they believe, thus, make it more of a theory and a distorted truth. But those are the people who have actually done the research and might have bent what they learned for their own use. (I’m not saying all theorists do this, I think some of them are real.) Then there are those who grab a nugget of what they heard or saw and run without fully understanding all of what they heard, and this is how high school rumors start, also known as mass hysteria. Remember Y2K? Good times.
Once again, this will be continued. I would really like to write about some other topics even though I’ve enjoyed doing all this research and analysis. I’ve seen a mailbox worth of movies that need reviews, plus I still have to give my three cents about the VMAs. Although, in the end, it’ll still be a popularity contest. All hail Lady Gaga?
August 4, 2010
2010 mtv vmas: lady gaga vs. everyone else
In case you haven’t heard, it’s time for the 2010 MTV VMAs. (I’m a bit late, but it’s also Emmy season too, but I’ll talk about that later.) It’s too early for me to say whether or not I’m actually going to tune in. For the past few years, MTV’s award shows, like many other award shows actually, have been hit or miss. Plus, even if you miss it when it airs, there’s always the chance to see it immediately afterwards and various times that month. However, there are those classic moments like the now infamous “Kanye incident.”
Something else I’ve been hearing a lot lately is that MTV is losing its relevance. How it relates to pop culture or just entertainment altogether, I’m not sure. One thing I am sure is that it makes me feel old when I utter the phrase to kids “When I was your age, MTV played music videos.” Actually, anytime anyone says “When I was your age…” you are automatically outdating yourself. “Back in my day…” is included too. I hate that you either have the extended cable if you want to get to the old school MTV that plays nothing but music videos. And of course there’s always YouTube. But it’s the way of the world. Everyone wants reality TV starring Snooki.
Anyway, the nominations for the 2010 videos were announced yesterday. To be honest and frank, I don’t like it. Kudos to Lady Gaga and all for a record 13 nods, I’m not hating on her. When I first saw “Bad Romance” I predicted it would win a couple VMAs. But seriously! Take a look at the list!
My problem with this list is the lack of variety. According to the nods this year, it looks like we only had a few popular songs and videos out there. Or maybe just a few artists. I have no problems with any of the artists or songs mentioned. And if I continue with my honesty, I will admit that I haven’t seen most of them up until last night and probably throughout the rest of the week. So again, credit is given where credit is due. But aren’t there more artists and songs out there? Or is death of the music video a growing trend? Is it tragic irony that MTV killed the music video? Okay, so I don’t really believe that since most videos premiere via internets anyway these days. But I actually liked watching videos on TV once upon a time.
I won’t even mention VH1 or BET… even though I just did. In BET’s defense, they never set out to be a music video channel.
So now that my rant is over, I will revisit this topic with my picks of who I would like to see win in their respected category. As I am an admitted fan of Gaga, I don’t necessarily want her to take home every award. Besides, it’s not possible since she’s nominated twice in a couple categories. I can’t be mad at her for staying busy and highly creative and productive. Consider this “to be continued…”
I might write about the Emmys before the VMAs… just saying.
June 19, 2009
death of the gentleman generation
I have a few friends that, unfortunately, keep running into idiots. Some call them “dogs” or “pigs” or “man whores” or much worse and vulgar terms I choose not to publish. Such dudes are only out for one thing: to bed any attractive female they see. This is a problem for me because the majority of my closest friends happen to be attractive females. And growing up in a house of sisters, I acquired an overprotective trait, particularly to any male that might peak at any female close to me. I can’t help it. It’s not that I consider them my property and I’m ready to grumble “get off my lawn!” all Clint Eastwood style, but I just don’t want to see them disrespected or hurt. I perfected a specific “back off” look so well, that I didn’t even need to speak.
I recall walking aroung a store with my sister one evening. In the distance there was some dude checking her out. I suppose one could compare “the look” to what is called “the crazy eyes” in the movie The New Guy which is a movie I love by the way. Need a reminder? Here’s a couple…
Anyway, while I didn’t give an actual “crazy eyes,” I gave a look that had the same effect and said dude effectively looked away from me and my sister and began walking in another direction. Another instance, I intimidated a guy taking my sister out on a date of sorts by going out to the car to meet him. For some reason, I was holding a broomstick and brought it with me as I went out to chat with the dude. I wasn’t going to hurt him, I just wanted to say hi.
My sisters have since been married to wonderful, loving gentlemen and I am not worried about anyone disrespecting them whatsoever. If they were, their husbands will handle it, then my father, then me. Not necessarily in that order, but whatever.
Speaking of fathers, that’s the very reason why I’m the kind of guy that I am. And today, I became an angry man due to such an idiot disrespecting a wonderful female friend of mine. I was taught that a woman should be treated with the utmost respect at all times. You know, opening their car doors, pulling out chairs, giving them compliments, etc. All of that and more my daddy taught me. And not just by sitting me down and going, “Boy, this is how you respect a lady.” It was more of a learning by observation. Not only does this make the woman feel good, but it shows others that she is in good care. In fact, I’ve heard other women complain to their man when they see another man opening a door for a woman. “Look at that! You never do that for me.” And the guy groans, secretly hating the gentleman. Sadly, I feel like guys are doing less and less of this as time goes on. I hope I’m wrong.
I don’t do the opening-her-car-door all the time, especially with my car, Sam, who’s doors continuously lock every time it rains which makes it difficult to keep it unlocked while I’m outside. Forget the car remote, it makes it worse. But when I can do it, I do. And sometimes, the girl I’m with will race me to the car door just so she can open it first. I have weird friends.
Anyway, from what other women tell me, this classic gentleman is a dying breed. And it’s a shame. The stories I hear these days about how their men treat them angers me because it goes against what I’ve been taught about how to treat women. There are some guys that are out there that still believe women are objects. You see it in the music videos or maybe you know someone who does it. And it’s not all guys, of course. But I know a specific group of guys who go around to see how many women they can sleep with before they move on. Like a conquest contest. The catchy title is not meant to be flattering in this instance. It’s quite sickening.
Unbeknown to my friend and I, one of these conquistadors was attracted to my friend. She, at first, thought the guy was cute and even her type. After meeting him after weeks of shyness from both parties, she got a bad vibe and it turned out that she was correct in thinking he was trouble. Instead of a formal meeting, or even a friendly greeting, she gets a very vulgar R-rated text message from this guy. (I’m not going to talk about texting someone for the first time because it doesn’t matter to me. I’m a person that texts a lot more than calls, but that’s not the point I’m making today.) Really? Who does that? For the sake of argument, let’s just say the text said, “Let’s hook up tonight.” It was worse than that, and when I heard it, even I felt insulted. Again, there are some women out there that don’t mind one night stands or hooking up with random strangers they just met… this isn’t about them. This is in defense of those girls who like to get to know somebody first and take things slow. The kind of girls that are looking for a good man.
And I do know quite a few guys who like to cut to the chase, and perhaps that has worked on some women. Good for them. But my beautiful female friends have class. They have morals. Values. And they want to be treated and talked to like the beautiful women they are. And that’s where my a lot of my frustration comes from: I think some guys just don’t know how to talk to a girl they admire. I guess it’s different if you aren’t really looking for a relationship, but still. I’ve also heard stories of some dudes that think they are giving compliments, but come off as rude insults. Many of my female friends are sensitive about their hind parts and guys who “compliment” them in their guy-ly way only makes them feel worse. Again, I repeat, this does not apply to all women, nor am I talking about all guys. I just need to voice some frustration since I’m not the violent type. If I was, I might be in jail by now for knocking out the guy who said some pretty nasty things to my friend.
This really isn’t anything new, its just never been this bad for her. I think these kinds of guys should really keep their thoughts in their heads. But that’s my opinion. It angers me because it upsets her and other girls like her. It might even cast doubt on the next guy she meets that could be a genuinely nice guy, but is turned down because of a bad experience. So now, what’s left of these gentlemen must work even harder to prove that not all men are pigs. Some of them are actually looking for friends, girlfriends, companions, wives and not just a one night stand or bed buddy. They also call these guys keepers. So ladies, I think if you know any like that, you should let them know. Not that you want to keep them, but that they are someone who should be kept.
For the record, I’m aware of Ne-Yo’s album “Return of the Gentleman” or something like that, I haven’t listened to it and have heard good things about it, but I’m glad someone else has the right idea. Leave it to the soulful singers to get it right. Thus ends my rant. Goodnight and Happy Father’s Day to the real men doing it right.
June 3, 2009
drama with squirrels? i think not
May 4, 2009
holding out for some heroes (until the fall)
I’d like to open up discussion for the Heroes season three finale. Technically, volume 4 finale. No reruns tonight. It’s been a week since the season finale aired. You’ve had time to catch up. So it’s fair game to talk about, especially for those who might have Heroes withdrawal already. But I will say SPOILER ALERT to be fair for those that are like me, and watch shows a month or so after the air date.
I’m upset with the big fight scene with Sylar, Peter and Nathan. I understand why they did it, to see if Peter managed to get Sylar’s power… but still. Only showing flashes of light that flashed on Claire’s face as she watched behind closed doors? Boo! I’m glad network TV is free. I’d want my money back for a fight scene that you don’t even get to see. Especially a fight scene as climatic as that. During the season finale! However, I understand why they did it like that. So they could set up for the twist in the limo when Sylar goes to shake hands with the “President” who really isn’t. Turns out, it was really Peter! And then Peter get’s the upper hand, by stabbing Sylar with that drug that knocks him out.
But having Sylar brainwashed to play the role of a deceased Nathan? Interesting… I don’t really mean that in a good way, but maybe the writers have something cooked up for that twist. I admit, I was shocked that Nathan was the one to be killed off (again). I was under the impression it was a female cast member. Then again, I was under the impression three people would be killed off… or leaving the show… or something. Then I started to worry it might be Hiro. No, not Hiro! Way too early to say, since he was shown walking away at “Sylar’s” burning. (I think, my memory is fading.) So we’ll see what develops next season with that.
What I have a growing interest in is Tracy’s revenge or redemption… I’m not sure. But she formed out of liquid all T2 style to kill a man who wronged her. And she was naked. For stunts like this, and the violence Heroes has already shown, they might need to make the jump to HBO or Showtime. Or maybe Ali Larter just likes being a tease. Let’s not forget, her original Heroes character Nikki/Jessica was an online stripper and call girl for a certain currently deceased senator. I’m just saying.
So after the little teaser for season four, or volume five, will I return for more in the fall? Probably. I’ve been around since the beginning, and it’s been a staple in my Monday nights ever since. Plus I feel as though the show will be as awesome as it once was. A lot of people lost faith in it since the second season. Even I’ll admit it lost me. I personally liked the “Villains” volume, many people didn’t. But you can’t win them all, right? So let’s see where this adventure takes this time, shall we? Your thoughts, feelings, for this season and/or the next, let me know.
April 29, 2009
it’s rollercoaster day!
October 7, 2008
guess who’s (what’s) back?
SAM’S BACK!!! Finally, after about two months, Sam finally comes home from the hospital and sounds better than ever. It better, costing me about 2Gs. I only paid half because that’s all I can afford right now. The longer the doctor made me wait, the more the money burned in my pocket. And it wasn’t really me that wanted to spend it… It was the bills that took it.
Fortunately, I negotiated to have my car loan extended, and my car insurance payments dropped. That allowed me to pay off other things like my speeding ticket, AAA membership (I’m now a Plus member, yes yes yall!) and my Espanol classes.
What’s left on my tab is paying off Purchase loans and Middlesex loans. My wallet won’t ever stop crying. Middlesex first, so I can go back to higher education in January. That’s the plan anyway. If I can’t make it–prostitution. I JEST! I jest. Drugs. Definitely drugs. Again, jokes. I may just take another adult education class, possibly Spanish Dos, or something else like “How to get published”… I think that’s what I saw in the catalogue. But that will be a fun class for me. Then I could put some of my typing energy to use, other than entertain the thousands that read my blog.
I wrote another post earlier today which I don’t think I’m going to post, or maybe I’ll post it later. It was more of a rant on the bipolar disorder, and how it possibly may be linking it to creative people, like myself. I stopped everything to read it, then I responded via my blog in a much longer entry than I usually write. Like I said, it was a rant. To make a long story short, people have suggested I’m bipolar because of the way I am, how I act, and how I feel which changes on a daily basis. A lot of those traits I have are symptoms of bipolarism. I don’t think that’s a word, but go with it. According to what I read on CNN.com, those same symptoms can be applied to just being human. A crazy human, but a human nonetheless. I go into more about the crazy part, but I’ll save it for later.
I had a long meeting today. It was more of a training class. But it was kinda long. Learning a new process to process our files. It’s not important. But I love not having to go to the office for these things and practically everyone is on the phone. Unfortunately, people still don’t know how to use the MUTE button. Sigh. Moving on…
I also wrote about some redecorating in my office, but I’ll save that for later too. I want to try to take pictures and post them at the same time for once. I was going to take a picture of my car, but I had to get back to work and didn’t have time. Plus right now, it’s not that deep.
What I really want to do is go to sleep. But I want to watch the debate (on CNN). Then tomorrow, I need to make sure I’m registered to vote. I don’t think I am. Before I hear gasps across the nation, let me explain–I am registered to vote, I just need to make sure I’m registered in Connecticut. The last time I voted, I was in New York schooling at Purchase. See? Fortunately, CT laws say I have until the day before Election day. Again, don’t worry, I’m not going to wait that long. I’ll do it a week before.
I may have another post before the night is through, dealing with books. Why the stank would I have a post about books? Well, it interested me when I read it and I want people to know I read more than just Entertainment Weekly. But don’t hold your breath… it’s not much of a reading list, but possibly insightful nonetheless. (That’s twice I used that word today.) Plus it’s me we’re talking about, of course you’ll be interested in what I do when I’m not writing, watching movies or stuffing my face with nutrients. Cinnabon, anyone? (I wish.)
