Reason # 45498 I love MOViN 100.3

I thought that writing a front-of-book story for 20 Watts about the station would be a good declaration of my love for MOViN, but I can't stop the urge to shout it out from the rooftops: I LOVE THIS RADIO STATION.

Why this blog post declaration? Because the other day [more then a week ago, actually] I was listening to 100.3 and scooting around town to get some photogs developed when I flashbacked to one of my top-20 childhood memories.

Picture a summer youth basketball camp at the University of Maryland, being the youngest and feeling awkward. You're not really meshing with all the girls that you came to the camp with. All of a sudden one song appears that unites us all. That song?

"Too Close" by Next.

You know the words. "Baby when we're grinding, I get so excited, ooh how I like it, I try but I can't fight it." Yes, I think it's strange that this song is in my memory, much less an aspect of a GOOD, memorable memory. We can't help what we remember! Anyway this song is great. Thank you, MOViN.

Shattered Glass, 2003

Another Blockbuster rental [yuck, I know, but the library that I went to sucked big time, so when I spotted Blockbuster in that suburban stripmall, it was like a beautiful water fountain mirage in the desert].

I've been wanting to see Shattered Glass since it came out. I was in a journalism class and just cultivating my passion for the medium [oh okay]. I was reintroduced to the idea, I suppose, freshman year of college in a media class, where we talked about journalism scandals.

Stephen Glass was a young journalist who wrote mainly for The New Republic. [I was also interested in this movie because I have a friend who currently works at the magazine]. His stories were seemingly almost too good to be true- turns out they were.

The film chronicles the deception by Glass and skims the service of his motives. It shows him in the editorial meetings, charming his co-workers with his colorful story pitches. It's sort of confusing, though, because it shows realizations of the stories as he tells them. I don't mean to spoil it for you, but his stories are NOT REAL. But they show them happening. It's confusing, mostly because we don't really learn Glass's motives for the whole thing. Then again, Glass apparently hasn't been willing to explain why he's done either, even five years later.

Hayden Christensen portrays Glass. I was hesitant because of the way my peers lament the actor, claiming that he ruined Star Wars. But I think he did a good job of playing a man that was so in need of peer-approval and success. Glass is busy working at TNR but applies to and attends law school at Georgetown. He constantly asks his boss and co-workers if they are "mad" at him. Though Glass doesn't explain his full intentions after the fact, you can understand how something like this happens.

Also I think this is the first film of modern cool-girl fashion icon Chloe Sevigny. I like her. Also Peter Saarsgard is pretty cool, though I didn't get the praise from the back of the DVD case [loads of awards], but then again I liked him more then I did in Garden State.

Overall a worthwhile film, especially if you're interested in a glimpse inside of the magazine world, or interested in people who ... like to make things up?

[Photo from http://thecia.com.au/reviews/s/images/shattered-glass-poster-0.jpg]

BATMAN - Batman Begins, 2005

Again - those big-action Hollywood superhero films rarely catch my eye. I didn't even know that this film had come out until I started paying more attention.

This glossy, full-of-attitude and darkness Batman franchise is extremely stylish, and I like the way we're taught to really think about Bruce Wayne as a human, and the implications of his crime-fighting. That line of thinking is really interesting, and an asset to the film. 

That said, I really didn't like Batman Begins - not as a film on its own and especially not after having seen The Dark Knight. I thought that there was far too much focus on his strange Martial Arts fight training, and that plotline was weird - plus Liam Neeson looked like a catfish. There wasn't enough focus on Bruce Wayne's and Rachael's adult relationship, and also not enough focus on the public reaction to his superhero persona. I thought the crime plan was weird and not engaging. The shining beacon of light was of course Cillian Murphy.

[Photo from http://v4.valkiria.net/skin/film/pic/misc_img/b_batman_begins.jpg]

BATMAN - The Dark Knight, 2008

All the hoopla around The Dark Knight forced me into actually wanting to see it. I'm typically not interested in the big-budget Hollywood action films, but I have to say - I fucking loved TDK. It was shiny and action-packed and realistic in an unrealistic way. I don't know if Heath Ledger's death affected the way I judged his performance, but it was really, really great- dedicated and fucking creepy. I was engaged for the entire two-point-five hours, and would see it again in a second. I'm thinking IMAX.

Seeing TDK has gotten me on this Batman kick. I now plan to watch all its prequels. I should have done this before seeing it, but you can't always get what you want. I'll be talking about/reviewing those as I see them.

[Photo from: http://www.reelmovienews.com/images/gallery/the-dark-knight-characters_472x312.jpg]

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People who need to GTFO

Any vacation from school where I'm spending any time at all at home equals one thing: SO. MUCH. TELEVISION. And internet and etc.etc. As a result, I'm developing some strong opinions on the people of pop culture. Here's a short list of some people who I think need to GTFO [get the fuck out, in case you're not in the know]:

Ali Lohan. Like, are you fucking serious? Physically, she's such an awkward caricature of Lindsay. I won't even get started on her mom. Does this 14-year-old really deserve a singing career? I'm glad that your sister is famous, but do you really want to end up like her [not to be harsh, I'm thinking of the natural child star fate]? Please, Ali, go enjoy your childhood.

Jo de la Rosa. You might be wondering, who? I wish I could say the same. One of my usual TV channels is Bravo. I was glued to the screen during The Real Housewives of Orange County, which is where I first took notice of Miss de la Rosa. If that was where her career started and ended, I'd be fine with her. But no, reality television is not a subtle creature. Now, probably in an effort to promote her singing career, we get to watch Jo be set up with random dudes, on the show Date my Ex. It's been on Bravo at least 65 times in the past week, and is seriously the most boring thing, probably less thrilling then Moment of Truth. I think her song is the intro to her show- more worthless pop dribble.

Josh Peck. I know, I know- I shouldn't judge people based on appearance and should give former chubby child stars a chance. But I don't think that the premise/hype for The Wackness could be any more obnoxious [too soon, and too much Olsen]. Are we trying to say that this dude is a sex symbol now? Like, ten seconds ago you were the goofy fat sidekick to the somewhat attractive Drake Bell, but now you went to a gym and stopped smiling in photos and I'm supposed to take you seriously?

I know that this is not in-line with the purpose of this blog, to increase our cultural knowledge. I can't be meaningful all the time. I should go out and give all these things a chance, but instead I chose to share my irritation with you. Harsh? Probably. I need to get out more.

[Photos from: http://content8.flixter.com/photo/11/07/11/11011146_ori.jpg, http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/09kpe759ue2UL/349x.jpg, http://images.starpulse.com/Photos/pv/Josh%20Peck-6.jpg, http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/04cl6617lzaE2/610x.jpg]

CD Store Chronicles

I have yet to talk about music on this blog yet, which is strange because it's one of my most favorite things. Mostly I kind of don't even like talking about it because i feel that my knowledge isn't deep enough. So I'll use this space on the internet to declare: I don't know everything about music! Not even that much. This explains why I'm less interested in the new bands and obsessed with trying to fill in the gaps, constantly trying to learn about bands from earlier years. I'll chronicle my learnings here. If anyone reads this silly thing, feel free to leave any sort of suggestions. Right now I'm very focused on rock music, and that is honestly a shame.

MY TRIP TO SOUNDGARDEN:

I couldn't sleep the other night, because I was pretty stoked on music. I was on last.fm for hours, clicking on the "similar artists" links and writing down bands that I am not familiar with. This forced me to go to my favorite record store, Soundgarden in Baltimore to spend some money that I shouldn't be spending. Here's what I bought:

-Lou Reed - Transformer -- Obviously "Walk on the Wild Side" is a classic, but I'm not entirely crazy about this one. Mostly probably because I incorrectly thought that there was a song from The Squid and the Whale on here - oops.

-Television - Adventure -- We were in Alto Cinco late night a week or so ago and they were playing Television. I didn't know them and it sounded so great, I vowed to learn. Turns out Alison didn't do her research and this is NOT their seminal album. Ah well. It's not bad. Needs more listens.

-Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti -- The Doldrums -- Ariel Pink is my latest obsession. I discovered him while looking at some dude's myspace. He had a song on that player thing and it was unlike anything I'd ever heard. Pink is apparently a one-man show? Apparently the drum sounds are all made with Pink's mouth? Innovation, people! I can't get enough of this music. It's got this way of sounding retro yet completely fresh. I honestly thought this was made at least ten years ago. Not quite, try three. Either way, I love it. ALSO! He is playing at Sonar on Saturday and I plan to be in attendance. I can't believe it because Tickley Feather is also playing. I can't believe I love this weirdo lo-fi sound.. but I can't stop listening.

Wait, wait:

I bought some 7". I'm trying to feel out this whole "having a record player thing." I've been making a list of bands whom would make a worthy addition to my collection, but I still don't quite understand the whole thing yet. What is the appeal of 7" and why am I buying so many? I bought a No Age disc as well as a Black Moth Super Rainbow one. I like them because they are cheap, why do you like them?