Rihanna

Drew Barrymore

Jenny Lewis

Shannyn Sossamon

Fading Out

I have this miraculous way of missing important trends. One of the biggest things I missed out on was the Amy Winehouse craze. I mean, you know, her music, not her going crazy. I caught that part. Of course, pop music can be so ubiquitous, that a lot of it I absorb simply through osmosis (or you know, I'll hear it in a store, or blaring from car radios). I'll find myself humming songs not knowing where I've heard it, who it's by, only to discover that it's been the number one song on the charts for weeks and weeks. "Rehab" and "Back to Black" were two songs like this. I vaguely knew them, could utter a couple of words of the choruses, but knew nothing about them for quite some time.

On the tail of spending a couple of days listening to Nina Simone, Patsy Cline, Billie Holiday, and a few other soulful greats, I found myself itching to listen to "Back to Black" again. There's really something extraordinarily special about this...her voice, the words. I don't know if it's possible for anyone who does not feel some deep sense of authentic pain could sing this song the way she does.

Pink

Grace Jones

Recognition

Have you ever watched a commercial and recognized an actor from some obscure, long ago work?

Well, I was recently watching this CitiCard commercial and thought, "That looks like the chick who became the third yellow Power Ranger!" I remember her most from an episode in which she discovers that she's a great baseball pitcher and starts playing for the team. That episode made me cringe because her form was so terrible.

Her name is Nakia Burrise, FYI.

A shout out to VH1's 40 Least Hip Hop Moments List*

Um, I Created a Life.

Stuffy white lady pushing stroller, to friend: I can't believe people are actually taking Justin Timberlake seriously these days.
Hipster crossing East: He brought sexy back, bitch! What the hell did you do?

--Central Park West

Overheard by: Zora Zero

via Overheard in New York, Jan 15, 2008

*Justin Timberlake made the list

Not News

Senator Hillary Clinton narrowly won the New Hampshire primaries.

President George W. Bush began a Mid-East tour.

Violence is ripping apart the once peaceful country of Kenya.

White women across America are being kidnapped and butchered.

This is not a blog post about what should and shouldn't be considered newsworthy. I am one of those who believes that a couple of fluff pieces in a sea of death and politics and war can help to boost the morale of those who would become jaded by the dark world we live in. I think reading about the exploits of the rich and famous can relax someone's mind when in the middle of trying to decide what to do to help their working class family, help their country, help their community...

...but can we please heed the little Southern boy's cry and leave Britney alone? I am admittedly part of the problem. I have enjoyed watching the train wreck that is her life. But isn't it a bit disgusting the way we will exploit human beings (the way I am doing even now by blogging about her) who are the in the midst of great emotional and mental turmoil? And we write apologetics for it, justify it, "She's begging for the attention" or "Well, that's the price you pay for fame." It's one thing to have a little less privacy and another to have your problems fueled and intensified, scrutinized by the egging-ons of a world watching from the comfort of their own homes, thumbs pointed downward, waiting for you to finally meet your bloody end.

No, she is not innocent...but her children are. Maybe if we stop paying attention to her, she can start paying attention to the things that matter most.

Memo: In Sweeping Policy Change, AP Alerts Staff Britney Is Now 'A Big Deal

Sell Out of the Day: Gwen Stefani

I am not one who uses the term sell-out very liberally. I think anyone who believes that pursuing money for one's art makes that artist less devoted to his art is either independently wealthy or pretentiously misguided. While I do not believe in overly compromising ones art work and I never believe in compromising ones beliefs, I do believe that, as in relationships, one must often give a little and take a little in regards to making their art "presentable" to others. And besides...who isn't a sell out? What greater joy can there be than to make a living doing what one loves best? And who am I to judge if someone's style changes as they get older? I certainly don't dress the same way that I did when I was 16. I don't like to think that I've sold out my fashion taste...but I do believe that my style of dress has changed with my age and with the times.

This brings me to Gwen Stefani. When Rock Steady came out, I was one of the few of my friends who didn't hang her head in despair. I thought it was a fun record. I like dance music, so why isn't a band I like also allowed to like it and even *gasp* make it?! Even if it was not their usual style? (Don't you like to play dress up sometimes?) And even when Gwen's solo album came out, I just shrugged my shoulders. I didn't like it so much, but she was having fun. I just prayed that she didn't get caught up in the glamor and money that comes with going solo, killing No Doubt (just as Justin Timberlake killed 'N Sync and Beyonce killed Destiny's Child...hahahaha).

No, no. I lost all hope when flipping through November's Vanity Fair. The ad caught my eye before I even realized what it was for. Now, I would like to believe that the ad is supposed to be ironic, poking fun at the double-entendres, sex-sells copy prevalent in most advertisement. But...it just seems too sincere in its efforts to be playfully sexy. But it's not sexy!! It's just sad!!

Favorite Link(s) of the Day

From Jezebel:

• Where Are All the Black Models?
• Can Rapists Get You Off? Our Questions About How Serial Rapist Jeffrey Marsalis Got Away With It, Answered

From Vanity Fair:

• A Death in the Family
  Having volunteered for Iraq, Mark Daily was killed in January by an I.E.D. Dismayed to learn that his pro-war articles helped persuade Daily to enlist, the author measures his words against a family's grief and a young man's sacrifice.

From CNN:

• 60 grams of fat for breakfast!
• Are record labels dead?

Movie Review: 30 Days of Night

Director: David Slade
Screenwriter(a): Steve Niles, Stuart Beattie, Brian Nelson

I'm not much of a fan of gore porn and unfortunately, most of the "horror" films that have come out in the past decade have fallen into this rather unfortunate category. Blood, guts, and over-drawn scenes of torture have replaced tension, suspense, and subtlety in the quest to frighten and entertain movie goers.

I regret to inform you that the film, 30 Days of Night, based on Steve Niles' graphic novel of the same title, finds itself at times skimming into this realm of blood and guts. I am happy to inform you, however, that other elements of the film completely redeem it and make you forgive its graphic displays of violence.

The movie tells the story of a group of vampires who travel to Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost point in the United States. For one month out of each year, the sun does not rise in this part of the world. A perfect place to take a vacation if you're allergic to sunlight, no? Josh Hartnett and Michelle George star as the hero's of this tale, which also stars Ben Foster, Danny Huston, and Mark Boone, Jr.

A large part of the film's success is due to the superb acting. Josh Hartnett is rightfully notorious for being rather bland and devoid of personality on screen. But his mellow energy is perfect for this role, belying a sense of calm and reason, giving a necessary strength to this common police officer cum hero. Michelle George is exquisite. Despite her pretty face, one never doubtsfor a moment that she isa tough woman, used to, and capable of, surviving the bitter colds and lonelinesses of the northernmost reaches of Alaska. Ben Foster, who I've loved since his days on Flash Forward, is mostly annoying with his overly contrived and unconvincing "accent." His performance is solid, but disappointingly overshadowed by the manner in which he chooses to speak.

The true acting prizes belong to the movie's antagonists: the vampires who invade this dark town. Their bizarre make-up could be laughable in the wrong contexts. However, these vampires, at times taking their cues from the recent influx of mainstream zombie films like 28 Days Later, speak little, but say much. Their movements and mannerisms are often comical, silly, causing them to resemble the dark clowns that haunt many a child's nightmares. But don't get me wrong: these are not to be confused with the clowns of Killer Klowns From Outer Space. The actors (and actresses) manage to frighten merely by cocking their heads to the side and opening their fang-filled maws. The laughter rising past your lips is a nervous, frightened laughter.

All of the displays of extreme violence in the film seems to be done as a service to its target audience, its assumed fan base: readers of the 30 Days of Night comics, horror fans, cynical young people with no interest in the Anne Rice take on the vampire myths. However, that is not the film's only trick. It is also full of tension and suspense, as the few remaining humans hide and plot and plan in efforts to survive.

Unfortunately, the suspense was not created to its full potential. Without the day stamps that occasionally appear in the bottom of the screen and without monitoring Josh Hartnett's unsightly facial hair, it is often difficult to tell accurately guage the passage of time. This could be a good tool to show the mental turmoil of our protagonists, but the pacing just does not work. As in the American version of Insomnia, a movie also set in Alaska but during the time set when the sun does not set, 30 Days of Night doesn't quite make the best use of the phenomenon which has the ability to wreak havoc on a person's ability to tell time and tear apart the fabric of one's sanity. The film just feels poorly paced. There are often times, such as when Hartnett and George see their enemies for the first time, when the moment would have been much more poignant if it had been put off, extended, for just a little longer, if the filmmakers would have been comfortable giving the audience just a few more seconds of nothingness.

Overall, the movie is frightening and exciting and invigorating. The changes made from the graphic novel were all quite wise, creating a film that is even more intriguing than its source materials.