Friday, August 31, 2012

How to avoid Godwin's Law-ing yourself: A Handy Guide to Political Arguments

Okay, look.  I'm going to try very hard and keep this relatively non-partisan, because the fault lies on both sides.  But if there's one thing I hate, it's historically inaccurate name-calling.  As the political season heats up, I'm seeing more and more mistakes of that kind, and it is, quite frankly, driving me bonkers.  I don't mind political discussions, but I do mind when those political discussions get derailed by poorly thought out buzzwords that do not mean what you think they mean.

Also, for those of you not up with current internet lingo:  Godwin's Law states that the first person to invoke Nazis in a fight automatically loses.


Monday, August 27, 2012

Doctor Who: Irrefutable Proof I'm a Nerd

I really, really like Britain.  It's what I'm writing my dissertation on (well, mostly), and when it's disgustingly hot out I love nothing more than watching British murder mysteries and pretending that it's actually 50 degrees and rainy.  I'm also a huge nerd.  So it's kind of weird that it took me so long to get into Doctor Who, which is one of (if not the) longest running shows in Britain.  I haven't seen the "classic" version of Doctor Who because there's like 40 million seasons and I just don't have that kind of attention span, but I *have* seen most of the new version, which began in 2005.  It's impossible to describe the show without sounding like a massive dork, but I'll do my best.


Thursday, August 23, 2012

Stupid Things I'm Excited About

1) REVENGE returning to TV this fall.  Because who doesn't love vengeance sprees?  Especially when said revenger is a kick-ass, stone-cold bitch?  Also, I'd like to place an order for a bisexual billionaire best friend like Nolan.  He might be a sociopath, but he's damn funny.


2) This video: Wrong Direction 

It combines all my favorite things: One Direction's What Makes You Beautiful (poetry, those lyrics), politics, cleverness, arials into a pool, and good looking men.  No, I have no idea why it's so gay.  BUT I LIKE IT.



3) Revolution, the new J.J. Abrams show on NBC.  I am excited because a) who *doesn't* love a good post-apocalyptic setting? b) LOST was the bomb c) archery! sword fighting! and d) I really like seeing nerds on the internet lose their shit about the improbability of the scenario.  "Oh, there's no more energy?  What, did FRICTION suddenly stop working?"  Newsflash, dudes: it's called science fiction.  It is, by its nature, improbable.  It's like when you try to figure out how hyperspace works in Star Wars-- if we knew how it worked (and it worked totally in accordance with the laws of physics), WE COULD ACTUALLY DO IT.


4)  Bunheads getting a second season.  Look, until Netflix gets its shit together and puts Gilmore Girls on Instant Watch, Bunheads is all I've got.  Plus: Sutton Foster!


5)  ROCKETEER REBOOT!  This is, quite possibly, the best thing I've heard all week.  The Rocketeer is one of the most underrated movies of all time.  I had a hunch I just might end up marrying my husband when I discovered that not only did he share my love of this movie, he already owned it.  If you haven't seen it, do so.  Come for the pretty 1930s clothes, stay for the hilarious third act Nazi reveal, complete with ridiculous accent.



6) With reservation:  The Red Dawn remake being released this fall.  If you haven't seen the original, it's a jingoistic libertarian fever dream of a movie about high school kids (and The Swayze) fighting off Commies who have taken over Colorado.  It is simultaneously hilariously patriotic and incredibly depressing as pretty much everyone dies.  I am sort of excited for the remake, as it looks from the trailer they are dropping the "war is hell, you'll watch your friends die" motif and going with an "America!  Fuck Yeah!" motif instead, made extra hilarious by the fact that Hemsworth the Greater can barely conceal his Australian accent and the villains are North Koreans, because you know who we should be scared of?  A country that can't even build a missile.  Plus, this movie literally has everyone:  Thor (aka Hemsworth the Greater), Peeta, that guy who died on Grey's Anatomy, Tyra from Friday Night Lights, and Tasha from Home and Away, the Australian soap that Hemsworth the Greater also starred in (she was also in a Transformers movie, but Home and Away is way less embarrassing).  Apparently, Hemsworth the Greater started working out for Thor while filming this movie, and he is drastically different sizes depending on when scenes were filmed.  In short: ridiculous villains, bad accents, explosions, and little-to-no introspection on the way America appears to the rest of the world?  I AM IN.



Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Princess Movies: Superheroes with better clothes and less vigilantism.

So, since I've started this blog I've come to realize my taste in movies and TV falls largely into two categories:  sci-fi/fantasy, and teenybopper bullshit (I suppose "High Camp" could also be a category, but that's less of a type of entertainment and more of a way of life).

I make no apologies for this, as those two categories are infinitely entertaining.

Anyways, lately I've been burning through a whole mess of Young Adult fiction (thanks to Katie F. for providing most of it) and I decided to rewatch the Princess Diaries movies.  I'd seen them when they came out and vaguely remembered liking them (although the first is far superior to the second, for reasons I'll get to in a moment), and then figured I'd throw in a review of The Prince and Me, because what the hell, I like Julia Stiles AND it's set in Wisconsin.


Thursday, August 9, 2012

An Ode to LOST: A show that made me cry approximately 1,000 times

Oh, LOST.  You are quite possibly the most addicting show I've ever seen, and that includes Pretty Little Liars and Battlestar Galactica.  You made me happy, sad, angry, and really, really annoyed several times over, and even when you had an episode entirely on Nikki and Paolo (ugh, those two) I couldn't quit you.