Living in the Moment

I really don't have anything remotely resembling carpe diem on my mind.  When I say "living in the moment," I really mean my version of living.  Which is watching movies and tv.  Or Sims 2, but that's another story.  Lately I have been watching a lot of period pieces, depicting the different decades in the twentieth century.  I love putting myself in those times, seeing what those eras were really like.  But I guess that watching stuff made in 2009 (and probably before) about the 60s or 70s doesn't really show me what those times were like.  

And in comes Natalie Wood.  Others are soon to come, but right now its about Natalie Wood, the beautiful movie star who died a tragic death long before her time.  Ah the melodrama.  She helped revolutionize the 1950s by costarring in the classic Rebel Without a Cause.  The three stars of the movie all died before the age of 45.  Just mentioning that, because I think that it brings the movie that extra level of awe.  

I don't know why I have never thought to watch old movies to help fulfill my desire to time travel.  I have watched a lot of old movies in my film classes, but it never occurred to me to link them with my history fetish.  I have gotten so hooked on movies about the past, that I have forgot that primary sources are the best resource.  Even though all of my professors stress that fact.  

Oh yes.  Natalie Wood.  In the 40s, she was the adorable child actress from the original Miracle on 34th Street.  I have never seen it.  I am sort of just copying that from all of the stuff I read on IMDb, Wikipedia, and EW.com.  In the 50s, she was the beautiful, rebellious teenager, who slept with the director to get the part.  According to legend, but I think it's true.  In the 60s, she became this cool, groovy, sex icon who starred in the swinger flick Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.  She was Carol.  Ross and Monica's dad was Ted.  His back was incredibly hairy.  I gagged a little.  But these movies take me back to all of the times that I love hearing about and show me the way people dressed, the way they interacted, the way they spoke, and everything that I want to know more about.

I have been watching the show Swingtown lately, which came out last summer, about the sexual revolution during the 70s.  I also watched a little bit of Mad Men, because Entertainment Weekly does not stop raving about it and its sweet take on the ad execs in the 60s.  Both of them are really fun to watch.  Great depictions of those times, but they are so clearly from today.  The way that the shows discuss politicians show that they have seen how those politicians have turned out.  The cool, emaciated teenage chick who dates Kostos/Max loves Carter, because libs are the way to go, especially after Nixon.  The lame ones are the only ones who like the Repubs, because we all know that Hollywood is uber-lib, which I totally don't mind, but it does impact tv. Carrie's politician bf from SATC who wanted her to pee on him, who also dated Grace on Will and Grace and married Gabby before getting killed in a tornado on Desperate Housewives, mentions that Dick Nixon is the way to go, in an obviously ironic way. 

See, the real stuff is better.  No inclination of how things will turn out.  Rebel Without a Cause shows that time for what it was, unaware of the impact that it would have on the following years.  It's so cool to me.  Go watch old movies.  It's the thing to do.  And still, watch Lucy's video.  On youtube or facebook.

Totz Thpooky Thenthation

Being the ridiculous human being that I am, I have a million things on my mind that I want to blogscuss.  I want to talk about my new facebook about me, I want to talk about the movies I want to see, I want to continue talking about the Oscars, I want to talk about the retainer that Miley wears first season.  But all of that will have to wait for another time.  Because right now it is all about LRC's (Lucy Ruth Cohen's) newest internet sensation, "That's Not My Name."  Although I am totally jealous that I'm not one of the stars (just a measly guest star), I am still fully aware of how incredible this video, broadcasting the talent of up and coming music video director, the Lucicle herself, and featuring many of my closest Ithacomrades, is.  Go watch it ASAP at 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=esj_5nsvxe4

Promise it's worth it.  Look for more popwatch coming up later~!~

MTVBKA

Hear MTV Awards, thoughts go to Best Kiss, right?  Well, in Tropic Thunder, there is a line in a fake trailer saying "starring Academy Award Winner Kurt Lazarus and MTV Best Kiss Award Winner Toby Maguire."  Is the upside-down spidy kiss the best of all time? It might be, but two other MTV best kisses stand out in my mind to combat it.  Could it be the salavatastic girl on girl action that we see in Cruel Intentions or can it be the sweet, sexy, pre-coitus lovin between real-life loves, Rachy and Ryry, in The Notebook. Truthfully, I bet there are better on-screen kisses out there than any of them.  The Rachy/Ry one works because of the fab acceptance, the SMG/Selma one is obvs, because of the lezlove.  

In my mind, the only true winner is the one of the little superhero, who costars with Australian moviestar, Kurt Lazarus.  Kirsten Dunst and Tobey MaG sort of changed the whole meaning of movie kisses.  They spawned countless imitations (including a supremely sexy one between Seth and Summer, second season of TheOC), and showed how fab an anonymous makeout sesh can be.  I actually have no recollection of any other MTV kisses ever.  Because maybe they are totally unmemorable.

Ah, but TV kisses, that's another story.  Veronica and Logan, first season, after they battle my second grade crush, JTT, ah now that is passion.  And the following few episodes just keep getting better.  Ryan and Marissa on the ferris wheel.  Ryan and Marissa over and over again.  Just youtube best kisses, and you will see for sure, that TV, for some reason, expresses much better kissy passion than movies.  Maybe because movies can show sex, so they don't put as much pressure on the power of some lip action, as non-HBO/Showtime channels do.  Ross and Rachel outside the coffeeshop anyone?  How about Rory and Jess at Suki's wedding?  Okay, some movies can do it (we have all seen Titanic, I get it), but unless you are Zac and Vanessa, or in a cartoon, TV has the category topped.

Yesssss

Entertainment Weekly called Greek awesome!  I knewww I wasn't crazy.  Now I know why I love EW so much.

What's the Big D?

I sort of have so many things that I want to write about.  As the queen of random thoughts, really, countless ideas have gone through my head since my last post.  But, as probably everyone in the universe knows, except the kids that Slumdog is about, the Oscars were last night.  And I'm obvs supposed to discuss, since my first post ever was about the Oscar nominations.  Ohhhh but where to start?

How about with Hugh?  

Speaking of Hugh, my sister pointed out to me how chickflick appropriate Hugh Dancy's name is.  Part Hugh Grant, part Mr. Darcy.  Anyway.

Hugh Jackman is the Hugh I mean.  duh.  I know that they tried to pick a theater performer instead of a comedian this year, but I sort of missed the whole comedian route.  Like, everyone tries to make the entire show, except for the death and lifetime achievements, funny, so shouldn't funny be better with a comedian?  He tried to make every bit on the show into a funny musical.  Like Avenue Q.  Without puppets.  Some of it worked really well, while others made me cringe a little.  Everyone knows that I love Mamma Mia and HSM and Zac and Amanda and Vanessa and a little bit Dominic, but the whole musical montage, choreographed by Baz, was sort of a weird jumpy mess.  I would also like to point out that usually my opinions are generally swayed by reviews or my friends' opinion but I haven't heard any yet, so this opinion is pure-Sandy and subject to change.  The Anne Hathaway/Nixon bit was sort of funny, but they needed to decide whether or not she planned it or was surprised better, because she kept changing her mind.

I don't want to talk about the musical numbers anymore.  Normally the musical numbers are my best part.  But this time, I'm actually getting bored of them.  This from the girl who found Mamma Mia online every day and skipped to the songs.  

I would rather talk about Seth Rogen and James Franco's comedy bit.  Because, as I said, comedians are funnier than Broadway actors.  Ummm it was funny.  But it also made me think, was Seth Rogen in ANYTHING this year?  I know that he was in Zack and Miri but I didn't see it, so it like barely counts.  Okay, I could keep going but I am hungry and have written enough anyway.  I'll come back later to discuss the winners and whatever.  Adios.

13

It is very possible that I was born about 7 years too early.  And that in reality, I should be 13 right now.  Most people think that I was born about 10 or 15 years too late, because of my fondness for 80s teen movies and Degrassi, but I am fairly certain that the HSM, Disneycrazed era was pretty much made for someone such as myself.  I mean, I think that Nick Jonas is cute, there is very little I find funnier than Wizards of Waverly Place, and I can totally relate to 12-year olds.  I am 20 and I still watch not-stop movies and tv about high school.  Granted, I also watch shows about college, but there aren't that many, so generally, it's much more high school.  

In the People's Sexiest Man Alive issue this year, they had a whole section on all of the sexiest 21 year olds.  Perfect age range for me.  And yeah they were totally some of the sexiest men alive (hellooo Zac Efron just keeps getting better) but I still think the prepub Benny (the Jet) Rodriguez is mad hot.  And Leo at any age.  I suppose that the 13-year olds probably don't know who Benny is, so maybe I am a product of my time. But I still wish it wasn't so lame of me to like the Jonas Brothers.

TheRealSandyFink

I can never sleep at night anymore because of the constant naps.  And instead of being productive during my sleepless nights, I troll youtube looking for more videos that will make me as happy as "Kittens Inspired by Kittens" or the promo for the next season of Greek (my god I talk about that show a lot).  My favorite feature is the section of videos recommended for me, because by this point it knows that I love Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Scrubs, and Charmin toilet paper.  

While I was watching Kate Winslet's Golden Globes acceptence speech part II, I saw a recommended video that I knew would make me happy.  It was posted by TheRealDemiLovato and was a video of Selena and Demi playing pretend instruments on Barney.  I KNOW.  So Selena was obviously adorable since she is maybe the cutest girl alive, but poor Demi.  The awkward chubster with glasses.  And I know that some people think she is ugly now (hem hem Emma), but she is sort of beautiful when compared to childhood her.  

So I decided to check out the rest of TheRealDemiLovato's (and SelGomez's) videos so I could see how nicely they matured and to admire their precious friendship and I saw some fab things.  In one, they danced around to "We Rock" from Camp Rock.  In one they tried to model, but Demi's mom got in the way.  And in my personal favorite, Demi decided to introduce the world to her little sister, Madison.  She should be adorable.  But she is not.  Instead she is an overweight, obnoxious girl who is missing her two front teeth.  Whom I know.  Because she plays Gabrielle and Carlos' older daughter, Juanita Solis, on Desperate Housewives.  In this video she kept trying to take over the camera and say "peace" in a ghettofab voice.  I'm sorry, Madinita, but you are totally not ghettofab.  But your sister is cute.  

Later!

Welcome to the deadzone

Hi blog.

Jason Mraz is sexy.  Ben Folds is not, but he is sort of incredible.  Minus the sort of. Like seriously, those men are born to perform.  Now I just need some help deciding what I'm born to do.  Besides to annoy my peers.  Hmmm.

Nothing but a T-shirt on

A plain white t to be specific.  I had trouble trying to choose between Jessica Simpson or the Delilah band that frequents my favorite show, and ultimately I went with J.Simp. But still felt the need to discuss both right here.  Lame.

Well, whether the under the label of the belted chubster or the talented, but ugly band, I still want to talk about white t-shirts.

I am wearing one right now.  Not sure if it's Hanes or Fruit of the Loom (but really who cares, that was a pointless statement).  But no matter what, I will call them my Hanes white ts, just because it's got that flow.  Nothing matters but the flow.  And the practicality.  Remember the time you went to Israel or on a hiking trip and got disgusting and sweaty all the time.  Ah, it was beautiful.  And white t-shirts were perfect, because they are cheap, comfortable, sold in mass, and don't show off sweatstains.

I always feel so badly for those girls at the gym (or Miranda on SATC) that wear gray and are nothing but one huge sweat stain.  That is why after my multiple hiking excursions, I have converted fully to Hanes white ts for workout gear.  And my strechy black pants.  Sometimes.  I'm wearing them right now.  In preparation for going to the gym.  But I am stalling by writing a blogtry about workout clothing.  

For some reason all of my white ts have green stains on them.  Looks more like mouthwash than sweat.  No idea.  

In conclusion,  white t shirts are good.  So is Greek.

What a Girl Needs

What a Girl Wants, starring Amanda Bynes and Colin Firth is truly one of my favorite movies of all time.  Call me pathetic, but I think it mixes humor, sentimentality, cute singing boy, and London to the perfect degree.  Like, how sexy was Amanda during her runway show?  That girl has moooves.  I mean, you allll have seen She's the Man, so you know what I'm talking about.  The girl can work a runway almost as well as she works the soccer field in sideburns.  Oh also, we love Big Fat Liar.  That we refers to me and Liz Steele.  And she hates every movie.  

Usually when I say Amanda, I refer to Amanda Seyfried, because I have had a girl crush on her ever since Mamma Mia, but I may like Amanda Bynes more.  Her movie commentaries are great.  And even though Amanda Seyfried, is hot, can sing, and starred in Mean Girls (with a recurring role on Veronica Mars), she is beyond dumb, based off of her IMDb quotes about jeans.  Check them out, seriously.

So back to the Bynesicle and what she wants.  She is adorable when she and cute boy Oliver are trying on skirts and bracelets.  And when she is listening to English Turkish Kiss.  Yup, she is totally on my hot guy collage too.  And I'm a creep.  Obvs.  I saw this movie 3 times in theaters.  Go watch it now.

Love Sandy

French Toast

Have you ever uttered the phrase "we're toast"?  Probably not.  It's kinda passe, like the cat's pajamas, swell, groovy, all of that sweet slang that has faded with time.  But when I called this post "French Toast", I meant that toast in the former, not so hip anymore slang.  Because I am learning about the French Revolution in class, and those French nobles were totally toast.  

Why is the French Revolution so crazy interesting?  I kinda wish I could learn more and more.  I need to find some really good movies depicting the French Revolution, because I think that film is the best way to really put myself right in the aristocratic bloodbath. Kirsten Dunst's Marie Antoinette sooort of works.  It gets me all the imagery and some interesting background, but I need more.  Even though I think she is pretty.  Someone please give me some French Revolution film suggestions.  Les Miz does not count, because I don't understand how the fighting goes along with the revolution.  Plus, the movie doesn't have singing, so what is even the point of a Les Miserables without "On My Own"?  Well, I do have a mini crush on Liam Neeson, who just happens to play Jean Valjean, but I can just watch Love Actually for that.  So bring on the Revolution epics.  As Britney would say, gimme more.

I have a sister whom I imitate

Okay, well really I have two sister whom I imitate, but this post is about one in particular.  Hello, I mean this is the sister who has a blog and convinced me to start one, no matter how little I really have to say.  In the latest entry of her blog, which I believe was actually written by her friend, she made a mock Facebook post of the 25 random things about her.  Like my sister and her friends, the random facts were sarcastic, bizarre, and kinda clever.  And because I clearly desperately want to mooch all of those characteristics from my sister, I want to do a riff on the 25 facts post.  Although, because I'm a Jewcamp extraordinaire, I will put an icebreaker twist on it.  Welcome to my very own 25 random facts, of which there are some truths and some lies.  Duh, it's 2 truths and a lie.  So I will write 15 true facts and 10 lies.  Feel free to start guessing.

1. I stole a six-year old's chocolate chips last week.

2. I eat Splenda straight

3. Sometimes I can't color in the lines

4. I watch Hannah Montana while I work out

5. I enjoy eating prunes

6. I haven't read a book for pleasure since Gossip Girl in middle school

7. I read People and Entertainment Weekly religiously

8. I don't sleep with any pillows

9. I rarely wear socks

10. I used to have lazy eyes

11. I have 3 iPods.  Maybe 4.

12. I bought mini diet cokes to prevent me from drinking too much soda.  Instead I just drink more cans.

13. Sometimes I buy disposable cameras

14. I lost my baby blankie while playing hide and seek with it in Disney world.  I hid it in a cabinet.  I forgot to seek it.

15. My hot guy collages have a lot of MaryKate and Ashley on them.

16. I liked high school better than college

17. I wish that I could time travel.

18. I swallowed a goldfish on a dare once.

19. When I'm stressed, I eat starburst and buffalo wings.

20. I have 7 posters of Miley in my room at school.

21. I spent all of my last paycheck buying tv shows on iTunes

22. On my wall, I have an old Shabbat-o-gram in which someone asks to make out with me.

23. I wear colored contacts

24. I spent $200 on a signed O*Town cd

25. Every night, I watch televangelists to help me fall asleep.

Enjoy figuring it out!

NOT FUNNY

OH MY GOD THIS STOPPED BEING FUNNY.  Pause, this blog is doing a remodel.  Prepare. For some awesome.  I'm sorry, but awesome is on my mind because I have been watching too much How I Met Your Mother.

Not about pop culture!?

This is just too good to not write about on the blog.  So I was just talking to Danit, who seems to have a strong aversion to America lately, and she reminds me of a former plan that we made to spend a summer living at her grandmama's empty apartment in Jerusalem.  It's kinda far-fetched since I need money and job experience and college credit, but I may have something sort of worked out in my head.  

Ew, no, I never wanted to use my blog as a diary.

But whatever, I want to talk about this, no one is online, and my throat hurts.

So I'm thinking that maybe I can get some job in Cherry Thrill for like a month and a half or so, while taking an online course for my major.  Raise me up some money and use that money to support me for a month of not working and having crazy fun in Israel.  This is likely a terrible idea, since I use my summer money to support me for the rest of the year and if I take a month to party, I will be broke for the next year, but I want to indulge in the fantasy.

This fantasy involves me and my best friend living by ourselves in a Jewland, making friends everywhere, because duh, we're cute and friendly, going to the beach, shopping, being ridiculous and having the best summer EVER.  Ugh now I'm soaking up the daydreams of Michal Negrin, Magnums, bonding, and total freedom.  Totally too good to be true.  Rationally, I will stay at home/go to New York and work all summer.

BUT, either way, the summer ends with me taking the Best on the annual fam cruise to the Carribbean (like Pirates of, just needed a little pop culture somewhere in here), in which we will both be 21 and we will be amazing.  Okay, it's only February though, so I have some time to freak out.  Okay now I can stop with the diary level ranting.

Villains

A lot of kids think that they are being clever by starting an essay with a dictionary definition of the theme that they are covering.  Teachers can usually see through this simple introduction method and recommend a more original formula.  I have perfected the art of intros for essays, so I am going to ignore that teacher suggestion at the moment and start with a definition, provided by Dictionary.com.

A cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime.

Heroes called its third, and often berated, season "Villains" because of its focus on the apparently evil in almost every character, and the unability to determine who was a villain and who a hero.  What?  All of a sudden Sylar is good and Mohinder is killing guys?  No no, I don't see that.  It made it hard to understand what the show wanted to do or see happen, but I didn't hate it.

However, typically when I hear the word villain, I think of Disney villains, not NBC villains.  Who is the first villain that you think of?

The wicked queen from Snow White?

Jafar from Aladdin?

Malificent from Sleeping Beauty?

All of these and more are the most hated, scariest characters that we could imagine when we were little.  They were always in purple or green, maybe an homage to the Wicked Witch of the West (whom we now love, thanks to Wicked and the charming Elphaba), and they were always fierce.  The fiercest, meanest, scariest character of all to the still blonde, pre-walking Sandy was the demonic octopus of The Little Mermaid, Ursula. 

To target my baby bulimia problem when I was about two, my parents took me to the hospital for some tests.  They strapped me to a table and apparently Joel had a fit.  I don't remember any needles or stool (poopy I guess to a 2-year old.  Or to me when I'm feeling young) samples or straps or panicked fathers.  I just remember Ursula. While I was on that table, the nurse put on a copy of The Little Mermaid and left me along with the movie and my blankie.  Maybe the most terrifying moment of my life, because I have never forgotten, despite the 18 years since and the inability to retain memory at that age.  

Every time that stupid Ursula came onscreen, I would panic and cover my head with Blankie.  Why would a children's movie create such a terrifying character?  I bet I am not the only person with some traumatizing memories of Disney villains.  I realize that Disney made those films for adults as well, duh, we have all seen the boner on the priest, they were primarily for kids.

The point here is, is that villains are scary.  Whether on Heroes, in Disney, in The Dark Knight, or in Camden, all villains are scary.  Except for the bumbling ones, like in any Mary-Kate and Ashley movie.  Or in Home Alone.  1 and 2.  I don't approve of any of the Home Alones (Homes Alone?) after that.  

If I ever start showing villainous characteristics, please point them out to me, so I can cease and desist.  

Love always, 

Sandy

I'm Cold

I'm Cold: Sung to the tune of I'm Yours by Jason Mraz

Oh, upstate New York has got some good potential

They make their own glass and homes are cheap for rental

But it's got this thing I hate.

The weather isn't great

Because Ithaca, New York in the winter is the tundra

No one enjoys it, not even the Sim, Sundra.

But none of you know her

Except Danit and her sister

But I will never be to old to rock a Northface hat

I'm cold

I get my parkas at EMS

My cashmere scarf, it is the best

But it's all incomplete without my long underwear.

The winter can last from Halloween til the late Spring

I can never feel a thing

My whole entire body is going numb numb numb numb numb

So I will layer all my clothes

Right from my head down to my toes

9 degrees is such a paltry temp, I've told

I nearly freeze, I'm cold.

It Goes There Too

Angela Anaconda, Big Wolf on Campus, even Full House, none of them went there, back in the early days of ABC Family, back when it was still called Fox Family.  No, those shows were sweet little stories without a sexual bone in their recipes.  

Well guys, the times have changed.

ABC Family has morphed.  I can't decide yet if it's good or bad.  Is it assuming that little kids are corrupt beings, totally turned on by sex and alc?  Or is it assuming that the pre-teens that loved ABC Fam so long ago have grown up and now want some action? The whole system is a little confused, because each show caters to a slightly different market.  

Take Kyle XY, for example.  I have never seen it.  So I don't want to discuss it.  Moving on.

There is Greek, for one.  Which is awesome.  I don't even to attempt to deny how much I crazy love it.  It brings it.  Like Torrance.  It's got the comedy, sex, pop culture references, and typico college lifestyle that I love to watch so much.  Really, it's a show made for me.  And maybe some people similar to me.

And then there is The Secret Life of the American Teenager.  Truthfully, I am writing this whole weird, long entry just so that I can discuss this show.  I just don't know what to make of it, or what it's aiming for.  Does it want to shock viewers?  Does it want to give an accurate portrayel of high schoolers?  I mean, even the title seems questionable.  It looks like a wannabe life time movie that should be really good, just to say booyah to all of the people doubting it.  But no, no booyahing yet.  

But for some reason, I watch it.  I like slutty, smart Adrian.  And I could keep listing all of the characters, to prove that I know their names, but she is the only one that I like. The rest suck.  They have zero likeable traits and their plotlines are dumb and dragging and completely uncompelling.  Ugh, Boyfriend Ben Boykovitch is the worst. All "I love you"s and "I will raise your babies."  He is just so pathetic I could vom every time he comes on screen.  And his love, the main character, Amy, is nearly as lame as him.  Pretty much because she has no character or personality.  Although she was the original Kaitlyn Cooper on The O.C., before Kaitlyn got superhot and GG worthy.  

Why am I still watching this travesty of a show?  I'll tell you why.  So that I am informed enough of it, so that I can discuss it with my friends and followers.  The end.