happy thanksgiving

so hawt

Britney graces the cover of next month's Rolling Stone which also coincides with the release of her sixth studio album Circus. She looks beautiful and fresh, so happy to see the return of the old polished Britney. It just keeps getting better.

a new strain of anal-retentive

A weekend or so ago Michael and I trekked out to Boston to visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. It is a beautiful old home a block or so from the MFA. They have a great collection of Renaissance Art, and it was a perfect place to find some art work for my final paper.

This was my first time going to the ISG so I wasn't sure what to expect. The museum does have a great collection. The encased courtyard is breath taking, it is a shame you can't walk through it. There are a lot of elements to the place is are very weird and a little intimidating (I heard that Isabella's ghost haunts the closed off fourth floor).

First off the lighting sucked, there are no plaques on most of the art work to identify them, and the gallery attends exhibited a super strand of anal-retentiveness. Other than that it was a really interesting place to see, with some amazing art work. We spent a good three or four hours looking around until I found two paintings of the Madonna and Child I decided to work on. It was worth going to and I would like to go again now that I am more familiar with what to expect.

this picture says it all

Nothing Douchier then a segway!

This picture was on the BBC News homepage. This picture may look like a beautiful sunset sky but it is from the fires currently ragging in southern California. I just thought it was rather funny and typical of so-cal. Homes are a blaze and this douche is riding on his segway with a face mask, texting away on his blackberry.

genie 2.0

Christina dropped a greatest his package this week and I'm lovin the new tracks. While I have always enjoyed Christina's songs in a general way, her albums tended to not get a lot of play time on my iPod because she tends to over sing every thing. But on the few new songs on her greatest hits she seems a lot more in control over her powerhouse vocals and to have dropped her flight of the bumblebee vocal style.

The last 4 tracks of the album, two new and two new interpretations of old songs, are perfect pieces of high end style pop. They work great on the dance floor with her vocals more layered and less belting. "You Are What You Are (Beautiful)" is Goldfrapp-esque reworking of her hit "Beautiful" is elegant with layers of synths and one of the highlights for me.

The two new tracks, "Keeps Gettin Better" and "Dynamite" are also fun slices of high energy dance pop. Hopefully this is the direction of her new album. While Christina has gotten flack lately for her similarity's in style to the genius of Lady GaGa, I will not hate on the girl. Originality in Pop never truly existed and people who appear to be original are just good con-artist.

the l word returns

So this is the new promo for the final season of the L word. I am not sure what to make of it. I have such a love/hate relationship which seems to be shared by every other fan I come across. The first season was excellent and then it has been hot and cold since then. If rumors are true about plot lines for the final season, it may well be a dud. So far I have read that transgender Max will be a focus of season 6... eewww no!!! Don't take a boring character and make them central.

This is what I wish they would do for the final season, get rid of characters that are fillers (I am looking at you, Max and Cybil Shepherd) and focus on the core group. Give them real story lines, including Pam Grier's Kit. You have the amazing Pam Grier on your show put her to good use. Secondly flesh these characters out. Bette was so intriguing to me because she had so many dimensions, now she is all about Tina and her love of Tina. Give them real careers and make them care about them. What happen to Bette's passion for the arts we say in season 1 that was so inspiring to me?? Give Jenny back her writing and Kit her music!! Anyway this concludes my rant for today.

rachel getting married

I saw a great movie this past weekend titled Rachel Getting Married. It stars the amazing Anne Hathaway as a young woman dealing with addiction and the stress and turmoil it brings to her fractured family.

What I loved about this film was how authentic it felt. This did not seem like it was a group of actors working off a script, but rather a family dealing with their emotions and dysfunction in real way. I believe part of the realness was due to the way it was shot. The cinematography was done in such a way that it had the feeling of a home movie, with off center angels and camera movement giving the viewer a sense of a real person filming it. Anne Hathaway was brilliant as Kim, an addict that has to deal with her past sins and their effects on her loving but tense family. I've begone to really enjoy Hathaway as an actors and icon of intelligence and glamour. It doesn't hurt that she is an outspoken activist for gay rights.

She handles her first dramatic role well, and the rest of the cast is phenomenal. Sometimes the family and extended group of friends is a little to hipster chic for me, but it doesn't seem that contrived or outside of the realm of their world. My suggestion is to go see this film, it might rip your guts out but you will feel better for it in the end.

new hope but still a long road

Today is a great day in American history, the history of the world. The face of America has changed to one that greater represents who we all are as a nation of many. Tears came to my eyes last night after watching Barack Obama make his winning speech. He embodies the hope I have for this country, to turn away from failed policies to a brighter future.

This morning when I woke my happiness over the events from the night before became bitter sweet. California, the second state in the union for recognize the full rights of its Gay and Lesbian citizens wrote discrimination into its constitution under the guise of protecting the "family." Yet, how does protecting "family" then mean tearing apart the family of Gay and Lesbian couples? Are not Gays and Lesbians part of families or are we as a group separate from the greater nucleus of humanity?? It makes me wonder.

Social justice is not easy to create and it will be a long and hard road until every American is recognized and treated the same under the law. It is my belief though that in electing Obama we are sending a signal that we are finally on the path to true equality of all people. Brave citizens are already challenging the discrimination of Proposition 8 as I write this. We must be a bold unified people and fight for the rights of others and not just ourselves. When discrimination is allowed it does not just hurt the group that it wishes to remove from the larger social structure of America, but it damages all Americans. Hopefully with a leader like Barack Obama we as a nation can come together instead of separate, and remove hurdles that bar equality.

YES WE CAN! YES WE DID!

election night

So tonight is the big night. Thankfully I am going out with a friend for drinks and dinner so I won't be pealed to the television watching the results on t.v. biting my nails. I have been so on edge about this election. We as nation can not afford more of the same.

Whatever your reason is that is bringing you to the poles tonight make sure to vote smart and responsibly. Know the issues well before casting your ballot. Voting is not just a right but a responsibility.

I hope America has a collective wake up call and heeds to the promise of hope and change. Yes We Can!

i wanna take a ride on your disco stick

I've been waiting for this album to drop since I first heard the song "Just Dance" way back in April. It seemed like forever till the official release date of Lady GaGa's first album The Fame. While I was lucky enough to get a leaked version of the album to stave off my craving it wasn't enough. I was yearning for her album.

Well the wait is finally here. Lady GaGa's official entrance into the pop stratosphere has arrived. This album has been on constant replay since I've gotten, and if I include the leaked version I have been listening to it straight for the last four months and have yet to be tired with it. Her lyrics are sharp and the songs vivacious and full of energy.

My only fault with the album is that after the first five tracks, it starts to loose stem in the second half. This could be easily solved by changing up the track listing. Over all The Fame is a great dance record for a night full of sweaty dancing, sex and a disco ball. Stand out tracks are "Poker Face," "Paparazzi," "Just Dance,"Love Game," "Summerboy."