This is Why You're Fat

Just like the header says. This site is alternately glorious and vile. Looking through the pictures, some of them made me feel ravenous while others were nauseating. One of the most impressive selections is above: the junk food pizza covered in mini tacos, onion rings, potato skins, jalapeno poppers, and mozzarella sticks.

Silly, brainless fun for a Friday.

Nick/Norman is the Next American Idol

I am reaaaaaally unimpressed with this season on Idol so far. Bad song choices are killing some talented people--haven't they learned yet? It's season EIGHT. You don't know by now not to sing Whitney, Mariah, Michael Jackson, etc.? Don't you know to pick a song that shows off your range and is age-appropriate? Le sigh.

One dazzling beacon of hope, however, is Nick Mitchell (AKA Norman Gentile). He's a comedian of sorts who surely tried out initially as a joke, but he made the judges laugh so much they put him through once, twice, three times. He will almost surely make it through to the top 12 based on last night's dramatic performance of "And I Am Telling You" from Dreamgirls. Most of the contestants last night were boring, pitchy, and overall awful. He was the most entertaining part of the night, which does not say much about the quality of contestants this season.

On a side note, I HAAAAAATED Adam Lambert's performance. I didn't like him in Hollywood week, and I like him even less after last night. I can't find a clip to it, but it's just as well. Self-indulgent, shrieky, melodramatic...go back to musical theater!!!!

The Musical is Back!

I used to be REALLY into the Oscars in high school...I would have seen nearly all the movies, ranked my favorites, organized pools with my friends, etc. In recent years, especially since I have had Netflix, I don't see nearly as many movies in the theater, which means I haven't seen most of the Oscar pics until after they come out on DVD. I've still watched the Oscars most years but not been very into it. There have definitely been a series of boring shows that didn't exactly have me on the edge of my chair.

Well....enter Hugh Jackman. What a great job he did last night! The show was funny, sharp, fresh, and frantically paced (in a good way). My top two moments:

2) Ben Stiller spoofing Joaquin Phoenix's weird appearance on Letterman. Dead on.

1) "The Musical is Back!" sequence: FABULOUS. This clip isn't the best quality, but you get the picture. Beyonce can do no wrong. My only complaint was that Amanda Seyfried from Mamma Mia is way more awesome than she sounded---I don't know if it was nerves or a bad mike, but you could hardly hear her and the guy from Mamma Mia. Also, I love Zac Efron and all, but if they were going to use him he should have sung songs from Hairspray instead of HSM.

Caturday returns

For old times' sake...a Caturday thread! LOLcats: mostly gone but never forgotten.

Go Your Own Way

The quality of this clip isn't great, but nonetheless...I heart it. Carrie Underwood and David Cook singing "Go Your Own Way," which is quite possibly my favorite song ever (at the very least, it's top three). I think they need to a) date and b) sing more songs together.

Whoooah-OH! Livin' on a Prayer!

Awesome guy dancing to "Livin' on a Prayer" at a Celtics game. Probably the world record for the longest the Jumbotron has focused on one person. That's kind of what I look like when I sing that song on Guitar Hero World Tour, minus the adoring audience and dramatic stairway descent.

Man on Wire

When I get movies from Netflix, they tend to languish for a week or two until I've watched all my discs of TV series. I had "Man on Wire" for three weeks before I finally popped it in the DVD player last night...and WOW. This film, though techically a documentary, views like a great suspense thriller. The story traces the events leading up to and following French tightrope walker Phillipe Petit's unbelievable feat of walking a wire between the Two Towers of the World Trade Center. He and a group of accomplices planned the stunt for years, beginning even before the Towers were constructed. Phillipe himself is the primary interviewee for the film, but many of his friends and accomplices are featured as well. It's amazing to watch his friends talk about the event: it happened over thirty years ago now, but the simultaneous joy and terror they felt is completely fresh on their faces. A couple of them are even moved to tears as they tell the story. Phillipe, on the other hand, talks about facing death with an astounding nonchalance that leads you to conclude that he is either brilliantly enlightened and spiritually secure...or 100% bat crazy. The reality is probably somewhere in the middle.

Watching video clips of Petit's FORTY FIVE MINUTES spent walking the wire (eight crossings in all, including rest time during which he lays down on the wire) is a very strange experience. There is no doubting the sheer beauty of what he did, for one. Sitting on my firmly grounded couch, thirty years in the future, my heart was in my throat and I felt extremely moved as I watched. At the same time, I felt it impossible to ignore the feeling that there is something insensitive about the way he discusses the events without a single mention of 9/11. It may have been the filmmakers' choice and not Petit's, but it feels very strange to have no mention at all of what his feat means today in light of the horrors of victims jumping from the buildings. I don't think acknowkledging this unavoidable lens would have taken away from his feat--it might even make it seem more triumphant and transcendent.

Kittens! Inspired by...Kittens!

There really are no words I can use to explain this, just watch. Happy Friday! ( and thanks to Leslie W for the link)

Brazen Careerist

"Penelope Trunk's Brazen Careerist" is a great blog I just discovered thanks to a Facebook friend's status post. It's officially a blog about careers, which includes commentary on the economy (how to talk to a friend who has been laid off), why not to use grad school as an escape during the recession, negotiating salaries, etc. She also writes about relationships, therapy, politics, parenting (hold CEO's accountable for bad parenting), and her personal life.

This blog will definitely be a new addiction for me! Many of the topics are of particular interest to those who work in higher education and those in graduate school.

Darwin Was a Quirky Dude

Some random facts about Mr. Evolution himself. My personal favorite:

Iffy on marriage — As a young man, Darwin made a list of marriage's pros and cons. Cons included loss of time and no reading in the evening. Pros included companionship ("better than a dog anyhow") and children. In the end, he concluded: "Marry — Marry. Marry Q.E.D." Q.E.D. stands for the Latin phrase "quod erat demonstrandum," which is used at the end of mathematical proofs to indicate that the proof is complete.

Her Morning Elegance

Awesome stop-motion video. I've never seen anything like it. So creative and graceful! Thanks to the Kate for the link.

Jericho

I'm about halfway through the first season of "Jericho" on DVD, and I know understand why my friends who were fans during its short run were PISSED when it got cancelled. What a great show! The premise is that various cities across America have been nuked, leaving small town Jericho, Kansas cut off from all communication from the country and world and struggling to survive. It takes a pretty freakin' good show for me to compare it to the greatness of "24" in its best seasons (1, 4, 5), but I think it stands up to the test. It's suspenseful, scary, stressful, shocking, and entirely addictive (whoops, messed up my stellar alliteration).

I hate knowing that I only have half of season one left and a meager two discs or so of season two. At the same time, though, I can see how a show like this could become ridiculous and repetitve after going on much longer than two or three seasons (ahem, Prison Break? Heroes? Lost?Are you listening?). Most of its appeal is probably in the initial intrigue of the first season. But who knows...it could have stayed great. We'll never know. Rest in peace, Jericho, with your other comrades felled too young: Arrested Development, Freaks & Geeks, My So Called Life, Pushing Daisies, etc.

Those of you who have Netflix or Blockbuster Online, definitely add this to your queue.

Gossip on (What Else?) Gossip Girl

For Gossip Girl fans out there, this NY Magazine article is a glorious treat. Chock full of gossip about the stars themselves and how much the show imitates real life (or real life imitates the show, it seems), it also talks about the way the show's success is almost entirely grounded in new technologies: online viewings, texting, blogging, etc. Cleary the show is a hit, just not for The CW during its actual airtimes. The tv station, and other stations as well, have got to figure out a way to make money from their shows in an era when more people than not choose to watch the show any of a million ways EXCEPT sitting patiently through commericals as the show airs on tv in its neatly assigned timeslot. The article was written near the end of the first season, so I'm not sure how ratings may have changed since then, but it's a great read nonetheless.

"Is this real life???"

This poor, poor kid is going to die of embarrassment when he is a teenager and all his friends see this video of him on YouTube. In a nutshell: kid needs dental work, kid gets the happy gas, dad videotapes wasted kid on the car ride home. Comedic gold.

Dumpster Diving

When I saw the headline for this article, I predictably cringed. I can hardly get through an episode of "Dirty Jobs" without almost gagging, so the idea of dumpster diving is far from appealing to me. While I don't expect I'll be taking it up soon, I did enjoy reading about some UGA students who are happy and successful dumpster divers (so successful, in fact, that most of them don't even have to buy food anymore). They find fresh and package-intact food that's often quite expensive and frequently organic. Most stores discard the food because it's past the display date but not the expiration date. One student says he eats much better now than he did before taking up this, er, hobby. Apparently there is a larger movement in support of dumpster diving as a way to reduce consumer waste ("freeganism").

There are certainly some health concerns that arise with this practice, and it does seem like ultimately there has to be a better way to procure this food from stores through actual partnerships (not foraging), but in the meantime it's still a quirky and novel idea to cut back on waste and spending. Good for these guys.

Psychological Causes of Gay Bashing

This article from Scientific American describes research being done by a group of UGA professors on the subject of homophobia--the researchers "report evidence that homophobic young males may secretly have gay urges." This conclusion in itself is not exactly shocking (well, I should speak for myself, but I'd venture to bet others of you would agree). The fact that there is now a scientific basis for this claim, however, is what makes this study cutting edge. The article gets a bit graphic at places, so I won't go into much detail here, but it's a interesting and important read. It delves into not only sexual attraction and arousal but agression of homophobic men toward gay men as compared to straight men.

"I Love Jesus, But I Drink a Little"

I'm not a big talk show fan (unless you count The Daily Show and Colbert), but I do enjoy Ellen. The star of this clip, however, is not Ellen but her 88-year-old fan Gladys from Austin, Texas. Gladys has a few helpful suggestions for Ellen and some priceless comments about her own life. I love funny old people. I wish I could hang out with Gladys.