"Octomom" craziness

The View is on fire this week! Nadya Suleman, the "Octomom" mother of 14 children, came by for a visit. I haven't seen anyone this crazy for a long time, this lady seems nuts. She is either completely insane or on some sort of prescription medication or perhaps both. She seems so weird, I can tell the ladies were uncomfortable speaking with her. The most interesting thing was that she doesn't completely rule out having more children (she doesn't have a job). She also says she didn't know that the fertility doctor had implanted all those embryos inside of her and that she lost all that weight from carrying the 8 children naturally with no plastic surgery. She is a mess and a half, please check her out.

Jersey Shore cast on The View

Where do I begin? I really know
nothing about the hit reality show Jersey Shore, except for the fact that everyone keeps making fun of them and that they all appear to be extremely famous right now (I've never seen the show, but know several of their names already). It's a little strange that the cast is on "The View," seems outside of their normal demographic(probably just for ratings). First off, Joy appears to really dislike most of them. She seems to have issues with the fact that they are misrepresenting Italian Americans as promiscuous toe-heads. Joy also makes a point to let everyone know that "Snookie" is not even Italian. Whoopi seems oddly maternal and is preoccupied about their futures and whether they are saving up their money. I'm not sure what all the fuss is about (probably because I haven't seen their show). Now that I have heard them speak, I can definitely tell why they get made fun of so much. They're not the brightest bulbs in the box.

Pushing Daisies gets another season as a comic

Critically acclaimed, but cancelled, Pushing Daisies lasted for two seasons. The story centers around an eccentric pie maker who has the ability to raise the dead with his touch (but the drawback is that they can only stay alive for one minute or someone else will die). He then partners with a private detective who uses this ability to solve crimes and then collect the reward money. The pie maker finds out that his childhood sweetheart is murdered and not only sets out to solve her crime, but also raises her from the dead and keeps her alive (he can't touch her or else she will die again).

What ensues is a delightful fairytale forensic that is breathtaking to see due to its special effects and expansive set designs. The show had way too interesting of a plot to last on network television, my hope was that another network (possibly cable) would pick up the show. That didn't happen, but the story is going to continue as a comic for now. Not my ideal way for the story to continue, but at least it does continue. Maybe the comics will be successful and then they will make a movie.

Shutter Island

Shutter Island came out this weekend and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, and Michelle Williams and is directed by Martin Scorcese. The movie is about 2 detectives (DiCaprio and Ruffalo) who visit an asylum for the criminally insane because a patient has escaped. The asylum is located on this creepy island and almost immediately strange things start to happen. For starters, there appears to be absolutely no way that the patient could have escaped. How did she get out? Is she still in the asylum somewhere? These are the questions that you are supposed to ask yourself. Ghosts and gory images from the past begin to pop up along with all sorts of creepiness while Leo tries to figure out what is going on.

The movie has a "twist" ending which I figured out within the first 30 minutes (but don't let this deter you, it's still good even if you figure it all out). Not being a usual fan of Scorcese's directing, I already knew the movie would probably run about 30 minutes to an hour longer than it should be (true to form it was). All of the actors, especially DiCaprio, put in excellent performances. In my opinion, this might be Leo's best performance that I have seen so far. The movie was worth the $7 that I paid to see it.

The Tooth Fairy

Does the Tooth Fairy still come around for children? And if so, how much cash is she leaving these days? My teeth are fine, but could be loosened for the right amount.

Fantasia Barrino has a problem... the problem is her brother.

Fantasia Barrino, the singer who rose to fame after winning season 3 of American Idol in 2004, now has a reality show for VH1 called "Fantasia, for Real." The show mostly chronicles her family life and the makings of her upcoming third album. Besides showing her excessive spending and family drama, the show sadly doesn't offer a whole lot more. Fantasia's older brother "Teeny" does his best to capitalize on his sisters' success. He lives with her (or off of her), has no job (he claims to also be a singer) and does nothing but constantly cause drama in her life.

I'm not sure why she can't see this, seems pretty obvious. Perhaps she does know this and is simply trying to keep him out of trouble. "Teeny" drunkenly gets up on stage and embarrasses her and then commissions a studio in her own house that Fantasia never even asked for. She then gives him a budget for this studio, in which he goes over her head and almost triples the budget spending $40,000 (all of this without asking Fantasia who owns the house and is paying for the studio to begin with). She puts him out and then lets him come right back in after a few tears. Fantasia, you are very talented don't let your family drag you down to the ground (Keisha Cole has the exact same problem with her family). Hope Fantasia can keep it together and get her career back on track.

New Erykah Badu video, why did she even bother?

Erykah Badu has a brand new video for her upcoming album "New Amerykah, part 2: Return of the Ankh" that will be released on March 30th. The video is for a new song called "Jump Up In The Air (Stay There)" and features Lil' Wayne and Bilal. The song is interesting enough, but the video is so awful that it sort of ruins the song for me. That kaleidoscope effect that the video has makes me nausious. I don't think anyone would really want to watch this video as is. Maybe if the effect was only for a little while, it could be watchable. Towards the end of the video we actually get to see her entire face, I wish the whole video was that way. It will be interesting to see if this video actually gets played anywhere (do they still show videos on T.V.?)

Common, the actor?

Rapper Common has been quietly doing the intelligent rap thing for years now, since 1992's "Can I Borrow a Dollar?" His breakout masterpiece "Like Water For Chocolate" was both a commercial and critical success and he has been churning out pretty decent-selling music every few years or so. He has been keeping himself pretty visible in the hip-hop community by pairing himself with Kanye West and then joining Kanye's G.O.O.D. Music record label.

It has come as quite a surprise that he keeps getting pretty great roles in movies these days. You never know where he is going to pop up next. First he appeared in "American Gangster" with Denzel Washington, and then "Wanted" alongside Anjelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. We then saw him in "Smokin' Aces" and "Terminator Salvation" with Christian Bale. He doesn't usually have a lot of lines, but the roles seem to keep getting better and better and alongside A-List actors. This year he will appear as the Green Hornet in the upcoming "Justice League" movie and he is the lead in a new romantic comedy with Queen Latifah and Paula Patton called "Just Wright." Is Common really deserving of all these great roles or is he just being thrown into movies to snap up his urban hip-hop audience? I guess time will tell.

The video below is a personal favorite (from when he was dating Erykah Badu and started wearing knit beanie caps and eating vegetarian food like Erykah.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!!! As Bjork would say, "All is Full of Love"...

Elisabeth Hasselbeck, please calm yourself down!

Hot Topics indeed...anytime Sarah Palin's name comes up on The View, sparks start to fly and verbal cat fights ensue. Elisabeth Hasselbeck gets completely rude and defensive anytime that Sarah Palin's name is mentioned, whether it happens to be true or not. She climbs up onto her soapbox spouting her Republican B.S. propaganda. Myself and the other panel members of The View just start rolling their eyes when she gets going.

Not sure why she feels the need to defend her every time, especially since Palin started the whole thing by hating on Obama and his use of a teleprompter. Palin had issues with him using the teleprompter, but she writes things on her hands so that she can remember what to say (Who cares Sarah Palin?, get something else to complain about). Obama's press secretary,Robert Gibbs, made a slight joke and looked at his hand as if he had written things down just as Sarah Palin had done. Not really a huge deal. This sent Elisabeth into one of her Republican tirades. Please see the link below to hear her ridiculousness (you may have to copy and paste the link), and what the hell is she wearing anyway?

"For The Love of Ray J 2" Reunion

If you read my previous February 2nd posting about Ray J, I asked if he was finally ready to settle down with "Mz.Berry". I said we would have to wait to see if he comes back for a 3rd season to see if he really has changed. The wait is over. On the reunion special he was all over "Jaguar", a nice girl that he had previously dismissed. On the show, Ray appeared to really like "Jaguar". Her hesitation to kiss him on multiple occasions led to her being kicked to the curb. Ray J says in hindsight, that he has regrets about letting "Jaguar" go. He said this while Mz. Berry was backstage and not listening. "Mz. Berry" said she had not seen Ray J in an astonishing 5 months since the show has ended(sounds like he has lost interest).

As a shocker, the show brought in "Cocktail" the winner from season one. "Cocktail" says that after the season one show, he flew to see her the next day. And then it gets worse for Mz. Berry. "Cocktail" says that even though Ray J has not seen "Mz. Berry" for 5 months, that he has ben in contact with her. "Cocktail" then asked the other women if they had spoken to Ray J since the end of the show and more than half of the women raised their hands. Why is he seeing everyone else besides "Mz. Berry"? She should ask herself that same question.

Alice In Wonderland 2010

Another version of Alice in Wonderland? Hasn't this story been done and redone? I have always been a fan of Tim Burton, he used to write his own stories such as Beetlejuice, which were both creative and original. Now he only does so-so remakes (remember Planet of The Apes and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?). While his movies are aesthetically pleasing, they do leave a bit to be desired.

So, needless to say, I wasn't very excited about yet another remake from Tim Burton. That is,until I heard that this offering would be presented in 3-D. While it still is unoriginal, at least we will pleased by the way it looks in 3-D.

We Are The World 2010

There are plans to remake the 1985 classic benefit single "We Are The World" for the survivors of Haiti. While its intentions are good, I feel like we should be able to come up with a new song for them. Are we so unoriginal these days, that we have to re-hash cheesy old 80's songs? Among the many voices of the massive 81 member choir will be Usher, Pink, Barabara Streisand, Lil' Wayne, Toni Braxton, Snoop Dog, Tyrese, Miley Cyrus, Kanye West, and Tony Bennett, Nicole Richie, Jennifer Hudson, Celine Dion, LL Cool J, and Jamie Foxx. It's disappointing that with all that talent, no one could come up with original lyrics for a song.

Whole Foods vs. Sun Harvest

I know, I know. Every time I say this someone looks at me kind of crazy. Why would I not like Whole Foods? It's not that I don't like them, I just think they are overpriced and over-rated. Sometimes (especially at lunch) there's no parking and you can't even properly walk through the store if you have a cart. It's too much! It isn't very cheap either. They do have healthy food choices and prepared foods, yes, but I can never leave there without feeling overwhelmed. They almost have too many choices for me.

I prefer Sun Harvest who has pretty much the same food (with fewer choices). I never really have to search very hard for parking and don't have to wait in line that long. I feel like anything that I would need to get at Whole Foods, I can usually find there as well and with less hassle.

A friend of mine once told me that she was out of cereal so she needed to go all the way over to Whole Foods (which was far away from her home), and I remember thinking "Really, is that the only place where you can buy cereal? NO ONE else has cereal?" I think she just liked saying that she shopped there. Here in Austin, I've never been able to figure out why people feel so strongly attached to Whole Foods.

I recently heard that Sun Harvest had been bought out by Whole Foods. Maybe they will leave the Sun Harvest stores as-is. It would make me a little sad to see them disappear or change into Whole Foods stores. I prefer the unassuming, corner store feeling of Sun Harvest as opposed to the flashiness of Whole Foods. Just my opinion.

Are you here "For The Love of Ray J", Mz. Berry?

For those who have been following "For the Love of Ray J 2", he finally made a decision and a surprising one at that. Ray J picked "Mz. Berry," an extremely attractive 32 year old mother of 2, to be his main squeeze. She's very classy. He discarded the younger, trashier women that he usually would pick to date. Maybe he really is looking for a real relationship this time. Good for you Ray! Is Ray J finally all grown up and ready to settle down? I guess we'll know the answer to that question if he returns for a third season. Mz. Berry seems nice enough, but she seems oddly possessive and overly jealous. Could be a problem for Ray J in the distant future. Hope he's happy with her.

The wait is over...long awaited new releases from Sade and Massive Attack

It really has been a long time for both of these artists. For Massive Attack, their last full-length CD "100th Window" was released in 2003 and for Sade it has been since 2000's "Lovers Rock."

Both artists have new releases that are scheduled for release next Tuesday, February 9th. Both artists usually take so long to release new material that I stop looking for new albums from them.

"Heligoland" is the title of the new full-length CD from Massive Attack, while the new Sade CD is entitled "Soldier of Love." Both groups have made us wait far too long, but great things do take time. Neither artist usually disappoints, so it will be exciting to hear new music from them both.