Thursday, April 25, 2013

A Fan Girly Post: Iron Man 3 Theater Dispute


As every nerd on the planet knows, May 3rd is an important day here for us Iron Man fans. The third installment will be released to theaters here in the USA, or at least we hope it will.

As a New Yorker, most of our theaters are part of the Regal or AMC theater chains, with the rest being that of the indie sort. So when the recent news came that Disney and the two most popular theater companies are in a dispute, my thoughts immediately go to rage mode.

Please Disney, get your stuff together with these companies and figure out what to do. I know that everyone and their momma doubted the Marvel cinematic universe and now is floored by the success and wanting in on the cash cow. But please, let them these companies do what they want, only so I can see my favorite snarky bad boy millionaire at midnight (as per my tradition with the Marvel movies!) And especially with their being many female Marvel cinematic fans, I’m sure many know my “feels”.

If indeed this deal is not agreed upon AMC, Regal and Disney will be missing on almost 800 + theaters getting absolutely no revenue from the film. This would be one of the biggest money loses of all time, especially since the movie is projected to make 100 million in it’s first weekend. Disney should prepare their tissue boxes, because it John Carter made them cry, wait till they see what would happen with this and November’s Thor: The Dark World’s loses. 

Are you wanting to see Iron Man 3? What are you thoughts on this news?   
Tuesday, April 16, 2013

New Writer on Feminerdity!


Hey readers! Just a magical heads up, I am officially a new writer for new website Feminerdity, and my first article, a column about introducing Lolita Fashion to the masses, has been posted only a few minutes ago. It's a much different sort of writing atmosphere for me, but so far I really love it and the other writers on here are fantastic. Please check them out and support the site! My column on Lolita goes up every Tuesday at 11:30am, and expect more articles on other topics in between.

Friday, April 5, 2013

A Letter To Some Heroes


Sometimes when you read of someone's passing on the internet, you take a brief moment to sigh and say that "well, that was sad" and then your life goes on, your day ends or begins, and you don't think about it again until it comes up briefly in conversation. But once in a while, you have to take a moment to remark on the passing of the important people that fundamentally shaped parts of your life and what you think overall. One of those people passed on April 3rd 2013.

To put this into some perspective for some of you: I know a lot of the time on this blog I talk about things that are cute, make me have a fan girl like moment, or something that is just a small fraction of my life as a whole. But sometimes there are things that are not brought up on this blog all the time that can be considered personal. So incase you couldn't tell, this is not going to be one of those tumblr picture filled posts that involve sparkle text and little graphics on the sides, instead I wanna paint a picture of something in my life that I want the whole world to know today and I hope someone will care to read a part of it at least.

Back in the 90's, I grew up in a town and even era that was just beginning to get the grasp of what Learning Disabilities were for kids. Sure, I was never the first kid in my school district to come in with some sort of "wrong wire" in my brain, and I of course was not the worst one in the bunch, but I wasn't an easy case by any means either. I was born with a mixture of dyslexia, dsycalculia, dyspraxia, dysphasia and Auditory processing disorder, along with a sprinkle of A.D.D. To put in a simple description: My childhood wasn't easy. Basically until I was about 7 years old, I couldn't speak for the most part or even learn proper words except for an occasional few. Even past that age, the majority of my life has never been a gentle walk down the yellow brick road, but instead it was a bumpy sharp turn on every corner.

While in my public school district years, the faculty and staff had no possible idea of how to deal with my "condition". Several doctors told my parents that I was never going to amount to much, only maybe a simple vegetable of a child, speaking a strange alien language and would have to have my mother tie my shoes and dress me everyday for the rest of my life. All these conditions together meant I would have no friends, no social connections, no boyfriends, no laughs, no political discussions, no life in general outside of the bizarre twisted mind that I would live in because I wouldn't know how to communicate.

Even though I was apparently cursed into a world in which I would never know its language, I seemed to actually all ready understand a different language perfectly well: Film. I was raised on movies from the moment I first sat in front of a coach. I constantly would react to parts in a movie, characters, dialog, scenes, music, I knew what I was watching and knew what they were saying - I just didn't know how to say it myself. The Little Mermaid taught me about the ocean, Gone With The Wind taught me about the South, and preview for Silence of the Lambs made me scared. But I understood it, I knew what I was seeing in front of me and this comfortable world I saw taught me everything I needed to know, or so I thought of course.

As I went on with my days at school, I continued to have difficulty processing what was going on around me. I interacted with kids, but it was no more then a simple laugh at my expense towards my issues or my physical appearance (rocking a kid mullet and vampire like teeth was not cool in '95) and thus I felt isolated and alone much of the time, with only having toys and picture books to entertain me in a mild manor. But then I would get home, and there is where my real friends would be. There would be Ariel going on a swim, Scarlet and Rhett having a lovers spat, and the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park screaming in my face. The world of movies were my real and true only friends, and they kept me company on the darkest of days. Suddenly, I met two new friends on the TV screen. One was a slim mild aged man slowly losing his hair, and another was a cuddly plump man with big glasses but yet very stone cold eyes. These two would be my favorite teachers, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert.



Everyday when I would come home from school or wake up Saturday morning, I would hear the familiar 70's jingle that would give me feel this warm fuzzy feeling, that I was about to hang out with the two coolest guys in the entire world for the next hour. Gene would offer the first usual punches, where his taste had a bit more of a modern flare and he embraced a lot of the new elements within films of the 90's. Ebert however was of a more classic period, and though he appreciated modern day films, he never saw many of them as classics and much of the time was always wishing and hoping they could be better than they actually were. At the end of the day, they would teach me how to properly express my feelings through my thumbs.


My favorite moments of watching these two were always seeing them spat at one another in disagreement, which was also probably my first lesson in arguing with someone. It taught me that even though these two men could bicker on and off about each other within their disagreements, they always would remain friends at the end of the day even if it wasn't perfect. This also, and was for many people in a general sense, the first introduction to real film criticism. While other critics would pop up on television giving reviews of movies, Siskel and Ebert were the first to truly give actual criticism, and not just be endorsed to give a positive review of a movie because that studio owned the TV station they worked for. Ebert was never always kind, and Siskel would rip movies to shreds. They both had their worsts and their bests, and most of the time they were different, which defined their unique taste overall and their legacy.

But then a dark and gloomy day came in 1999, and I lost one of my friends. Gene Siskel died of complications from a surgery he was getting after battling a brain tumor. From then on my heart felt a little empty, and even though other critics would come to fill in to review with Ebert, it never felt the same. Finally, a few years later, Ebert would battle his own form of cancer (this time thyroid) and have to depart from the show and review movies only in print form. Ebert then had his jaw removed, and was given the most badass honor of all: A permanent smile on his face. Ebert would continue to review films via Twitter and through other sites, connecting with the world to other film fanatics and making himself seem like the coolest 70 year old in the world.

Roger Ebert, with his piercing eyes.

But yesterday marked the end of an era. Roger Ebert died, and ironically only a day short of when Siskel passed (April 4th). It's clear that both of these heros of mine have left marks on the world and popular culture forever. But more importantly, they have left a mark on my life, and with that I want to take a moment to say some things I need to get off my chest:

Roger and Gene, thank you. Thank you for teaching me that I can have an opinion regardless of what anyone else thinks of me or that attitude I form, that regardless of who I am as a person that I am allowed to form a thought or feeling on something and its something that should be respected even if its not what someone else agrees. Thank you for proving to me that I am an important individual in society, that I matter, along with my mind mattering. Thank you for showing me the proper and hilarious way to have an argument. Thank you for everyday giving me insight into the art I was seeing in a detailed and yet understandable format. Thank you for the time and effort you gave into film criticism and giving it some credit within the world at large. And finally, thank you for inspiring me everyday to push forward towards my goal of being you one day. If it wasn't for you guys I doubt I would feel the encouragement and inner push to reach for my goals, regardless of my past or the way my brain works, and that I can do what I want to do.

I hope that many years from now, people will recount and think about these two as legends in their own right, and respect the changes that made in the world of forming opinions at large. If they gave a kid like me the incentive to eventually graduate high school and get a college degree, then I think they could do that for many other kids as well and eventually maybe people will listen to children of all kids and respect what they think at their young age, cause really children know a lot more then we give them credit for.

So to those teachers that in the past told me that they taught me how to speak, I have to retract their comment. They might have taught me how to properly form words with my mouth and give me the tools to eventually get where I am today. But no one ever taught me as much as Mr. Ebert and Mr. Siskel, who taught me the real language that I first truly spoke and will speak until the end of my days: My love of the movies and the love of speaking my mind. And to that I once more say thank you, and thumbs up I give to you for all time. 



If you are curious to know if Mr. Ebert's life affected anyone else, I recommend you check out Chris Stuckmann's video here and the countless other tributes you will see online for him, as you will know that I am not the only one that thinks these things, even if everyones story is different, its all a universal thank you at the end of the day. 





Thursday, April 4, 2013

Goo Goo Dolls Live Concert via Youtube


I haven't really talked too much about my actual music taste here on this blog, except for a small post on things that relate to my frilly moments that involve some tunes. But now I wanna take a moment to talk about my favorite band in the whole universe: The Goo Goo Dolls. Yeah, yeah, most people don't like the Goo's, mostly because they are used to their modern sound that is a bit more tame and Lite FM specific, and sure they would be right that the Goo's have made their sound much more commercial then it was back in the day. But I would like to offer a refreshing take and knowledge to those haters that have no idea about the Goo's prior to modern day albums Let Love In or albums that came after. But what am I a fan of? Well, as did many people, I learned of the Goo's via their first big commercial success Dizzy Up The Girl, which was my first album/CD I ever purchased as a child. With the nostalgia, its an album that has stuck with me as the sound of my childhood, including songs that I continue to sing obnoxiously loud all the time. 

Ever since that purchase, I have been a fan of the band more than any other. If you were to compare my love of all things Disney to anything else I treasure, The Goo Goo Dolls are probably the closest other thing I can speak of in equal amounts of fandom love. I have literally (since 2006) seen this band 8 times, and will hopefully be seeing them at least one more time this summer (though I am trying to make it to more then one show during this tour, especially since they are touring with another 90's nostalgia group: Matchbox Twenty, who I have always wanted to see live!) But I guess I can add a 9th show to my list, since last night I was lucky enough to catch a very cool event via the god like force that is Youtube. Since The Goo's are releasing a new album in June titled Magnetic, Warner Bros Music is pimping them out more then ever. Maybe its because of the commercial sound with their first single, Rebel Beat but I think they are hoping for this more happier album to be a bigger hit than prior album, Something For The Rest of Us. So in promotion of the album, a live concert was streamed from LA's famous Troubadour, and it was fantastic to say the least.


Most of the first couple of songs were big commercial hit songs from the past, including Slide and Here Is Gone. Then they drove straight in the new single, which is slowly growing on me, even though it sounds like a rip off of One Republic's B-Side catalog. Finally, the Goo's then dived into the new material and it was almost as if I time traveled back to not Dizzy Up The Girl era, but definitely of the Gutter Flower (my other favorite album) for sure! Sadly, because it was close to midnight, I don't remember much of the song names, but once the album drops I'll be sure to know these new songs by heart as they are precious and pure Johnny Rzeznik romantic goodness. There was especially one song, which Johnny added that he loved, that when listening you could tell the effort and fun he had writing it. It gave off a Tom Petty sort of vibe, which is always a good thing. 


The show kept going on, with some funny remarks here and there from Johnny talking to the audience, which is always a highlight of mine when seeing them. Though nothing yet topped such classic moments as when Johnny found out what the name of the Goo Goo Dolls were in German (link here if curious) or the various marriage proposal's, it was cute to hear the audience immediate reactions to the new material and to see the smile on the band members face as a result. Of course though, as much as I love Johnny and Mike, Robby will always be my favorite member of the band, and I am always the happiest fangirl when I see that big nerdy smile on his face. Robby, co-vocalist and bassist of the band, I am convinced was once a raccoon or a flying squirrel in another life. No, he doesn't look directly like an animal, but Robby has so much spunk and energy (especially for his age and height) that I am of the thought that he must not be from this world. Detected in Badtz Maru stickers and his barefoot punk rock attitude, Robby always shines to me in his performances.

(picture from Instagram)
This was definitely apparent when Robby debuted his new (or one of his new?) special vocal songs from Magnetic. Though most of the time Robby's songs come off more like the B-side material and are never singles for the album, I really was impressed by the incredible improvement I felt in this new jam, almost to the point where I would dub sections of it as beautiful. Robby sounded incredibly confident and on point when performing the track, and I give major props to him for sounding the most like he does "on the record" he ever has, though for Robby's case thats a bit easier due to his unique raw vocals. Even though many of his songs are a hit or miss for me, this was definitely 100% a hit! Go Robby! 

So the burning question, will I be going out on June 11th to buy Magnetic? Duh! The concert wasn't gonna sway me from not purchasing it, but I will say it has improved my overall thoughts of what the album was gonna be, since the first single left me feeling empty. Now hearing a crop of the new material, I feel much more excited and interested to take a good listen to the new songs and embrace them as part of the Goo Goo Dolls discography. Granted, it might not sit right next to Boy Named Goo or Superstar Car Wash comfortably on my shelf, but I see it definitely pushing Let Love In to the side for a good long time. And with that, maybe then people won't look at my confused when I say these guys are my favorite band. 


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