Showing posts with label Social Media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Social Media. Show all posts

Monday, February 8, 2010

2010 Scandal #1?

For me, the 2010 Winter Olympic Games coming to my city is not so much about the sports. I have no tickets to any actual events - so if you have any Gold Medal Hockey tickets you would like to donate to me... that would be awesome. Ha! That is not quite true. I am going to the Dress Rehearsal for the Opening Ceremony on Wednesday. Which is pretty cool. And no, I will not be sneaking in a camera or spilling any secrets, so don't ask :)

I know it sounds trite and cliched and tacky, but this is honestly a once in a life time opportunity. In spite of all the other crap going on in my life.... this is it. In just over 2 weeks, this will be over. And how much would it suck to let it pass me by? I live so close to all the action, I would be a fool to sit at home and bitch and moan about a few disruptions to my life.
And my fellow Australians are definitely embracing the mantra of once in a lifetime opportunity. I am sure you have all seen this big ass boxing kangaroo flag that they hung in the Aussie quarters at the Athletes Village. It has made headlines around the world as one of the first bona fide scandals of these Games. They are not the only country to have flags hanging. They are not the only country to have massive flags hanging. The IOC (not Canada, Vancouver or VANOC) kinda sorta wanted it taken down. Something to do with it being a trademarked product and not an actual country flag. The whole thing was blown totally way out of proportion but praise Jeebus the IOC "backed down" and the Aussies can keep their Boxing Kangaroo flying high. Hello Mountain....meet the Molehill. People were freaking over nothing.
To that I say.... Aussie Aussie Aussie Oy Oy Oy!!!
XO

Saturday, January 23, 2010

The return of Joaquin Phoenix

Do y'all recall when Joaquin Phoenix had what appeared to be a very public meltdown on Letterman? At the time I was *this* close to calling bullsh*t on the whole thing. I expected him to reemerge in a few months, promoting the crap out of something. But no, he has been pretty much in hiding since the start of last year.

For some strange reason, Joaquin Phoenix chose to make his return to the public arena with Miley F*cking Cyrus. Trying to get people to vote for something to do with a Suicide Prevention website. I don't know. I stopped paying attention when Miley jumped onto the screen. She really is one of the most conceited individuals on the planet isn't she? I am all for self confidence, but come on. Ugh. She just bugs me more than words can say. The only redeeming thing in this entire video is the reunion of Joaquin and Liv Tyler. Apparently they were very very hot and heavy back in the day. It did not end well. They seem to be doing okay being in the same room. Maybe they could bond even further by getting rid of Miley.... They say that nothing brings a couple together like offing a teenage superstar.


To rid your mind of thoughts of the image of Ms Miley, check out these punk kids totally and completely rocking out to Party in the USA. I am sorry that you have to suffer through the song to get the full effect. I highly recommend only watching it once. That f*cking song gets stuck in your head.... trust me. I am sure every person in this clip is now in hiding. Any street cred they may have had is completely gone now that the world has seen them dancing and singing to Miley Cyrus. Ha!

PS: apparently Joaquin Phoenix has been working on his music in the time he has been away. Someone I can't be bothered to google said it is Ah-mazing. Too good to even be released. Cause Joaquin can't handle to inevitable fame and money and award shows and concerts that would result from said an-mazingness. Please.

XO

Grammy Preview.

You all know I am a big big fan of the music. I am fairly vocal about it. I have even bought my first concert ticket of the year - St Vincent - early February - at the worst name concert venue in the stratosphere - "The Venue". Gah.... Excited for the concert though! Anyways... music's biggest night in music is next week - The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards are next Sunday and I can't fricking wait. Tons of music, great performances, many outfits for me to mock :)

A lot of big names have been nominated for Grammy's this year. Everyone's favourite country sweetheart Taylor Swift has a ton, as does the wacky yet amazingly talented Lady Gaga. Beyonce, Greenday, The Black Eyed Peas, even my eternal beloved Dave Matthews Band. DMB has been nominated for album of the year and according to EW's insider, they are the front runners at this point. While I don't know if I agree with that .....it would be a nice screw you to the Grammy idiots who left LeRoi off of their "In remembrance" scroll last year. It is not that I don't think they deserve it. I am just not sure if anyone can derail the Taylor Swift juggernaut. And the rationale that the only reason they will win is because the Academy voter traditionally like "rock fare" is a little insulting.

The advertising campaign for the Grammy's has been decent this year. Capitalising on the social media frenzy going on all over the world, they launched the We are all Fans campaign. This is pretty cool. According to the Grammy website: this is " a first-of-its-kind interactive fan experience — featuring portraits of GRAMMY-nominated artists composed entirely of real-time, fan-generated YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, and Facebook postings. This user-submitted content is continuously gathered from these social media platforms and refreshed on the campaign site to form a constantly evolving, "living" portrait of each artist. TV, print, out-of-home, and interactive all support and will drive traffic to the site."
Super cool right? The still images above do not give the campaign justice at all. Check out this You-Tube video for Gaga. Ah-mazing right. Can't wait for the Awards. Will you be watching? Who do you want to win? How wrong is it for me to say I kinda want Taylor Swift to be completely shut out. I don't know if I can take any more of her "aw shucks....me?" schtick. I know I know. I am burning in Hell. Should I save you a seat?
XO

Sunday, January 10, 2010

KFC Ad = Misguided not Racist

The furor surrounding a 20 second ad about Cricket and KFC is just a little ridiculous doncha think? Apparently this ad was considered racist when it was uploaded to YouTube and was seen by American audiences. While I do acknowledge that at first glance this little ad may be seen to be promoting racial stereotypes that rowdy black people will calm down if you give them some fried chicken, a few contextual points should be noted.

First up these supporters are not African American. They are from the West Indies. That being said, there doesn't seem to be any negative stereotypes associated with people from the West Indies and Fried Chicken. One could make the argument that those who are condemning this ad are making offensive stereotypes themselves for assuming that the people in this ad are African American.

Secondly, when the white dude says he is in an "awkward" situation, it is because he is the lone Aussie supporter amongst a whole schwack of rowdy West Indies Supporters, not because he is surrounded by black people. I think it would have been prudent for the ad team to consider including one white supporter apart from the white dude.

Finally, I would hazard a guess that the majority of Australians are not aware of any stereotype regarding African Americans and Fried Chicken. Geez, outside of the US, there are probably not many who aware of this stereotype.

KFC quickly caved to the outcry and have removed the ad from the air. But the debate rages on. My opinion - for what it is worth. Racist - no. I do not think that the Ad men/women who came up with the concept for the ad made a conscious decision to make an ad that would be construed as racist. Oh and did I mention that the ad was never intended to air in the only segment of the population that would find it racist or offensive.

I completely understand that this ad viewed in a vaccuum may be considered racist. I understand why so many people are up in arms and offended by it's content. But I do not think it was intentionally racist. Misguided most definitely. I am pretty sure that a few of the marketing team at KFC Australia may be looking for new jobs right about now.

XO

Theatre Geeks from Yale are blowing up the Interwebs

I know I am very very late to the bandwagon about these dudes. You have prolly seen the last 2. But whatevs. These are new to me and they are fricking awesome. And they are posted in order of amazingness.

This is two kids from Yale - singer Sam Tsui and guitar playing/beat boxing/ producer Kurt Hugo Schneider who are in the unique and enviable position of having gone viral on YouTube multiple times. People post covers of them singing their favourite songs on YouTube all the time. That is not in any way unusual. But to have millions of people view said covers - and not because they are funny, cute or down right adorable - but because they are fantastically good - that is incredibly impressive.

Their latest is up first and features one Sam doing an awesome medley of Lady Gaga tunes. The arrangement is perfect and this has already had more than 1.2 million views. Great voice right?

The duo has also produced an outstanding version of Journey's Don't Stop Believing a la Glee. With Sam doing both the Lea Michelle and Cory Monteith parts. As well as all the back up and harmonies. Amazingness. The video - which has been viewed about 3.5 million times - is also super simple, but features Sam on stage with himself and himself and himself... you get the picture. If you scroll through the comments, there are people who are confused thinking this is the most amazing group of identical Quintuplet's ever.


Finally, is the - there are no words for how good it is - medley of Jackson songs. Holy F*ck. No words - right? The arrangement is mind blowing. The video is simple. But it gives you chills. Coming up on 4.5 million views. Chills I say.


Sadly, I suspect that these very talented dudes will not parlay this success into anything more than a trip to The Bonnie Hunt Show. As 99.9% of these Internet sensations are forgotten about in 6 months. Whatever, I will happily wait to see what they come up with next.

XO

Thursday, December 31, 2009

One Tweet is worth $10,000???

Up until now I had made a concerted and deliberate effort to keep this wee blog a Kardashian free zone. It is not that I have anything against them personally. I am sure they are all very nice people. But I just don't understand why they are famous? I don't get it. It bugs me a little. So why would I want to give them even more press. What with the sex tape (Kim), quickie marriage (Khloe ?) and the unplanned pregnancy (Kourtney ?), I figured they didn't need any more publicity. Sorry, the only one whose name I am sure of is Kim.

While I was aware that some celebrities were being paid to Tweet, I had no fricking clue that it was so widespread. Or so organised. That there was a company that would hook up celebrities with the products. I guess I shouldn't really be that surprised. It is just like any paid advertising right? I mean stars have been paid to carry specific brands of water (Jennifer Aniston) and even anti smoking aids (Lindsay Lohan - who still smokes so it clearly didn't work).

According to the Daily Mail out of the UK, Kim Kardashian is one of the highest paid to tweet celebs out there at the moment:


Some might question her apparent celebrity status, however Kim Kardashian certainly seems to have acquired some pulling power. According to a report out this week, the U.S. socialite allegedly commands up to $10,000 (£6,300) for every tweet she posts on her Twitter account as part of her contract with in-stream advertising company Ad.ly. Kim, 29, is the highest earner on the company's books and the most popular on their roster of celebrity tweeters.

The former best friend of Paris Hilton currently has over 2million followers on Twitter and Ad.ly have put her tweeting services up for hire alongside U.S. stars such as Lauren Conrad and Dr. Drew. It is thought some of Kardashian's advertisers include Reebok EasyTone and Carl's Jr, the fast food chain. The reality TV star often mentions using products from both companies, in fact out of 30 tweets on her page, five mention products from either company. Which means, if the reports of her earnings per post are to be believed, she was paid $50,000. Derek Rey, co-founder of Ad.ly, told U.S. website PRNewser that Kardashian can command $10,000 per tweet and that his company limits its publishers - as it calls Kardashian - to one paid tweet per day so as to not alienate her audience. 'We're not a polluter,' Rey said.

Source

Kardashian has
taken to her blog to explicitly refute the claims that she is being paid to tweet about Carl's Jr. But strangely no mention is made of the shoes - Reebok EasyTone? Hmm.... It is the absence of the rebuttal that makes this so much more fun!


So I went to the site mentioned in the above article and I have to say, that in spite of it's douchebaggery, it is actually a pretty smart idea. According to the site: "The end of every Ad.ly tweet (except tweets for charity) is marked with "(Ad)" notifying your audience that this is an advertisement. In order to ensure authenticity, every Ad.ly Tweet has to be explicitly approved by the Twitter publisher and is disclosed as an ad."

I like that celebs can use it to raise cash for charity. That I am fine with. I still think they should let us know if it is a paid tweet. Big ups to Samantha Ronson, Greg Grunberg and the others who are doing it for charity. I am assuming that they are giving it ALL to charity, rather than just a little. But for the rest of them out there? Get a f*cking real celebrity endorsement. None of this paid to tweet crap.

Oh, and Kim honey, you ain't fooling no-one. You are a paid spokesperson for Carls Jr. Do you think anyone is gonna believe that anything you say about them is sincere? I don't care that it is insincere. I just wish you would own the insincerity. And speaking of insincerity, I am truly shocked that Spencer and Heidi have not jumped on this bandwagon. Srlsly. Wouldn't you think Speidi would be all over this?

XO

Friday, December 11, 2009

Chris Brown is a whiny little bitch

Poor Chris Brown. Apparently he thinks that a few half assed apologies and some carefully orchestrated puff piece interviews should be sufficient to make up for the FACT that he beat down his girlfriend. Chris is whining to anyone that knows how to search on Twitter that some retailers are refusing to stock his album. Awww. Boo f*cking hiss to him! Could it be because he was convicted of beating the crap out of his girlfriend less than a year ago? And that maybe some consumers don’t want to see his f*cking CD on the shelves? In the 10 months or so since Chris Brown viciously assaulted Rhianna he has done nothing beyond what was mandated by the courts. And do not even try and argue that a half assed insincere apology on you-tube, followed by a useless interview on Larry King equals redemption.

And don’t even get me started on that smarmy, conceited interview on ABC a few weeks ago, where he basically accused the girl he beat of lying on national Television. That smirk on his face when he told Robin Roberts that Rhianna had heard his stupid f*cking apology song. I wish she had had the guts to call him on it as opposed to pandering to this little sh*t. Sorry, he makes me so furious. His arrogance and sense of entitlement is ridiculous.

Image courtesy of eonline

So poor, picked on Chris Brown is mad as hell that some mean retailers have chosen not to stock this new CD and he doesn’t care who hears saying both “I ain’t retracting sh*t” and the “industry can kiss my ass” on Twitter. For anyone and everyone to see. Oh Chris Brown. You arrogant, whiny, ignorant little prick. Why won’t you just go the f*ck away?

And when I innocently pointed out to Chris (on the Twitter) that perhaps the fact that he has been convicted of assault may be the reason said retailers are hesitant to have his CD in stock (okay, so maybe I also called him a whiny little bitch), the response from one of his fans (@AnthonySereda) was…… “I hope Chris Brown beats another woman….and I hope that woman is you”. Ladies and Gentleman. I bring you fans of Chris Brown….. hoping he beats women. My response to this? I hope he fucking tries.

XO

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

To Glee or not to Glee!!

I came home from work both super excited and vaguely depressed at what would be on my PVR. Super excited because Glee! was going to be on there. Bummed because it was the mid-season finale. Boo f*cking hiss to that. We have to wait until what, April for new episodes. Further proof that the Powers that be at Fox are the devil. Not Devilish. The actual Devil. Mother f*ckers.

Then I realized that Glee is on tomorrow night. Balls. Not enough sleep last night and too much sugar while attempting to fake my way through the Christmas Decorating contest at work. Gingerbread House – this is ours – it is a “Vancouver Special” and it is pretty awesome. I don’t really understand the whole Vancouver Special thing – as I am an Aussie, but I think it has something to do with tacky Italian design. Whatevs. Ours rocked.


So tonight I am Gleeless. Sadness. But thankfully there is this to keep me amused until Glee returns tomorrow. I think there is almost as much autotune in this as in one scene with Cory Monteith (Finn). I hope they give it a rest in the back 9 episodes. I think this two and a half minutes is pretty amazing. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if there was a kicky beat and autotune following you around your whole life. And writers. I would also like people to write the lines of my life for me. Preferably Joss Whedon.



If you could work on that for me, that would be awesome. Thanks.

Until then, I warn you: this is one of the catchiest songs I have heard in a while. Srsly. This sh*t gets stuck in your head.

XO

Saturday, November 28, 2009

What's your Tweetcloud look like?

And no, this is not some crazy new pick up line. I am so not hip to what the kids are saying when they are out. Cause it is Saturday night, and I am watching some random Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane, Joseph Gordon-Levitt flick called Killshot. So far, JGL is the best thing in it. Basically cause I didn't know he was in it - his appearance in this flick is like a shiny toy surprise at the bottom of the cereal box.

Anyways, someone I follow on Twitter did this Tweetcloud thing, and I thought it was a little interesting. It is basically the words I have tweeted the most in the past 3 months. Apparently I like the word love. That concerns me, because my cold black heart doesn't really "love" easily. Interesting. I am also fond of awesome and amazing.

The one word that totally stands out is barbie. When the f*ck have I used the word barbie on Twitter.... Why the f*ck would I use the word barbie on Twitter. I think if this program could recognise words with "*" in them, this happy little cloud would be chock full of curse words.

I am enjoying making somewhat sensical phrases out of my cloud...... "wine time" "barbie monsters" and "Franco finally" are my faves so far. "Kanye fuck" is also amusing. He he he.

Holy crap! JGL just pulled a deer's head off a wall. And got thrown out a window. This movie is all kinds of crayzee. Prolly not in a good way. And they just mentioned the Toronto MAFIA. Bwahhhhh. Who knew?

XO

Saturday, November 7, 2009

"F Love"

I have made my opinions on the Chris Brown - Rihanna situation very very clear. See here, here, here, here, here and even here for my thoughts on this situation. I didn’t have this wee blog back in February when this all went down (which I just realised was on my birthday!), I can only imagine what I would have said about it……

Last night on ABC's 20/20 Rihanna spoke publicly for the first time about the horrific beating she took at the hands of her then boyfriend –Chris Brown - why she went back to him after he had slammed her head against a windshield, choked, bit and punched her on February 7th 2009, and why she finally came to the realisation that she could not stay with him even though she still loved him.

Rihanna on Friday described the horror she felt as her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown was biting and punching her during a violent argument in February, saying she saw "no soul in his eyes."
"There was no person when I looked at him," the 21-year-old singer recalled during the second installment of an interview airing on ABC's "Good Morning America." "He had no soul in his eyes. Just blank."
Brown was arrested Feb. 8, hours after he was accused of beating Rihanna after the two argued over another woman. He later pleaded guilty to felony assault.
In the interview, Rihanna, who is no longer with Brown, described him as "definitely my first big love." She said their relationship was intense.
"The more in love we became, the more dangerous we became for each other — equally as dangerous," she said. "It was a bit of an obsession almost."
The attack occurred in Los Angeles' Hancock Park neighborhood as Brown drove a rented sports car. She said it was triggered when she saw a text message on his phone from another woman and confronted him about it. She said he lied about it and "I wouldn't drop it."
A search warrant affidavit filed in the case stated that Brown hit, choked and bit Rihanna and tried at one point to push her from the car.
"It was ugly," she said.
During the beating, the singer said she had no idea how it would end: "That's all I kept thinking the whole time, 'When is it going to stop? When is it going to stop?'"
Brown was sentenced to five years' probation, six months of community labor and a year of domestic violence counseling after he pleaded guilty to felony assault.
In portions of the interview aired Thursday, Rihanna warned other women facing domestic violence to not let themselves become blinded by love. She also said she regretted going back to Brown, saying it sent the wrong message to her fans.
Brown, 20, has apologized to fans and has said he has repeatedly apologized to Rihanna for the attack. Brown will recount his perspective in an interview to air Friday on MTV.
Despite the beating, Rihanna said she still cares about Brown.
"I don't hate him at all," she said. "I actually love and care about him and I'm concerned about him doing well. I want him to do well — have a great career, have a great life, and grow up. Just take this as something that you had to go through to grow up and learn."
Rihanna's interview coincides with the debut of her new single, "Russian Roulette," from her upcoming album, "Rated R."


For me, it was an extremely powerful and emotional interview to watch. Rihanna appeared uncomfortable discussing certain aspects of what happened, and refused to allow the interview to descend into a “Chris Brown did me wrong” sob-fest. She spoke articulately and carefully, in very even tones - there was no breakdown, she did not weep in Diane Sawyer's waiting arms. And I am sure that Diane was a little bit pissed about that. Such a coup to get this interview and not one sob, not even a voice quiver.


People have been questioning the timing and the motivation. There have also been many comments about both her hair and her outfit. For fu*k’s sake… #rihannasforhead has been a trending topic on Twitter for almost 24 hours. Srsly.

Yes she has an album coming out. But can you please explain to me when is the right time for her to discuss this? When do all of you out there on the interweb feel it is appropriate for her to talk publicly about what was likely the most traumatic experience of her life? Rihanna’s motivation is irrelevant. Do people honestly think she wants to talk about this? That this is fun for her? That she is using the hell of the past year to promote an album? When would have been the right time? 6 months? 2 months? 2 weeks? When do all the judgy people feel she should be discussing being beaten senseless by the man she loved?

She not only went through abuse in the public eye. She went through the aftermath in public. Most abuse victims do not have millions of people scrutinising everything they do, dissecting the most traumatic experiences of their lives, judging them for not talking about it, judging them for smiling, judging them for seeing him, following them wherever they go, looking at leaked police photos.

I commend her for speaking about it. She didn’t have to. She could have promoted the f*ck out of this album by skirting around the questions and refusing to discuss it. Many others would have.

She is using the media because she went through this in the public eye. We all “know” what happened. Most of us saw that photo. We have all been speculating what exactly happened that night. Chris said nothing on his “interview” on Larry King. 99% of people in abusive relationships or those who suffer any form of abuse are not going through it with millions of people watching. People are going to talk about it regardless of if she does press or not. She is taking control of this situation and doing what she can to shut down the speculation.

For Rihanna to speak publicly about this and use what happened to her as a forum for others to learn from her experience is very commendable. There is no right time for her to discuss this. If she had come out right after so many would have been on her back about it. If she refused to talk about it now, there would have been an outcry.

The poor girl cannot win. I really wish people would listen to what she is saying instead of judging her for her timing, her hair or her outfit. All of that crap diminishes the importance of what she is saying. She is saying something that is really hard to hear and I think many people don’t understand about abusive relationships. That you love that person, even though they hit you. That you love them and go back even though they destroy you. That in spite of what they do (be it once or over years), you love them. This is a powerful message for young girls. That even though you love them, you can leave them. That even though you love them, you should leave them. That is is not always about love. As she said….. f*ck love.

I am not a particular fan of Ri-ri. Her music is fun and okay I guess. I would never spend my cash on her album. But now, I have an urge to buy anything she has released.

I am also not going to read comments on any more blogs cause they just make me angrier and angrier. People are so unbelievably ignorant and narrow-minded and stupid. I am getting riled up just thinking about it. Boo f*cking hiss to you all who are judging Rihanna for any of this.

XO

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Miley's done with Twitter Ya'll

How will the tween tweeters and celebrity bloggers of the world cope? Miley Cyrus has deleted her twitter account.

It all started on Thursday with this cryptic tweet coming from the 17 year old superstar: "FYI Liam doesn't have a Twitter and he wants ME to delete mine with good reason." Liam is Miley's costar in her latest film project and her rumoured boyfriend. Miley's account then disappeared and the outcry began. Fans were shocked, outraged and disappointed - #mileycomeback became the number one trending topic on Twitter.

Miley's father - Billy Ray - then got in on the action and tweeted his own impassioned plea to his meal-ticket/daughter to return to the twitterverse. "Miley. You are a light in a world of darkness. You were born "Destiny Hope Cyrus" for a reason. You can't leave everyone now.We r countin on u". Seriously? This is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read. Were Miley's tweets solving world hunger? Discovering a cure for cancer? Ending the war in Afghanistan? Ridding the world of inequality?

Oh and Billy-Ray.... In your creepy soul patch stroking state I guess you forgot that that Miley deleted her f*cking account. Which means she is not going to read the f*cking drivel you are spouting in an effort to get her back on board. And I also guess you forgot that she is more than just your meal ticket. That she is your daughter.... pretty sure that you have her cell phone number. Use it. Douche.

Miley has since released a fantastic rap video explaining to her fans why she deleted her account. Yes, a rap video.



Some are saying this is all a big publicity stunt. Perhaps Miley (and her publicist) is bummed that Taylor Swift has been getting all the press over the last month or so with the whole Kanye is a douche situation. So has Miley very publicly deleted her account and will we see her in a few weeks make an even more public return to Twitterverse? Possibly. For now, I am just happy that the world of Twitter will not be subjected to her misspelled rambling or photos of her sexing on her random guys who are old enough to be her father.

XO

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Mike Seaver: Don't Waste Another Minute on your Crazy.

Warning: This has a little bit of a religious discussion in it ... well, my opinion on religion. If you are a religious (not that there is anything wrong with that), I would skip this post.

Did you watch Growing Pains? I did. Did you love Kirk Cameron as Mike Seaver? I totally did. I would spend $7.00 on Tigerbeat just to have the little poster in it. Did you find it kind of sweet that after he married his wife Chelsea, he refused to take off his wedding ring for filming? I did. Did you wonder where he had been since Growing Pains went off the air? I kinda did.


I had heard that he had found God. Good for him. What I didn't know was that had created a ministry with Christian minister and Evangelist Ray Comfort. Comfort is the guy who used the ridges of a banana as proof of the existence of God. Their ministry - The Way of the Master - teaches Christians how to promote their faith..."simply, effectively, biblically....the way Jesus did."

Kirk Cameron is again back in the news, this time for a little something he has planned for the 150th Anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's groundbreaking book on Evolution - Origin of the Species. According to an online video (below), three days before this anniversary, Cameron and his followers will be distributing free copies of the book at 50 of the top universities in the United States. Sounds good right? There is just a teeny tiny little catch. This fancy new edition includes a brand spanking new 50 page introduction written by Ray Comfort. The new introduction can be read here.





This new introduction (which I must admit I have not read all of, as it made me want to throw my laptop out the window) includes, amongst other things, an explanation of Hitler's "undeniable connection" to the theory of evolution. It also exposes the multitude of "hoaxes" surrounding evolutionary theory as well as Darwin's apparent "disdain for women" and racism. Oh and it also presents a "balanced view of Creationism."

According to a report in PEOPLE, Cameron believes that "Atheism has been on the rise for years now, and the Bible of the atheists is The Origin of Species...." He goes on to say that "We have a situation in our country where young people are entering college with a belief in God and exiting with that faith being stripped and shredded. What we want to do is have student make an informed, educated decision before they chuck their faith."

And apparently to do that, they feel the need to present a completely one-sided, warped view of Darwin and the theory of creationism. Many others have expressed their opinions on Kirk's video far more eloquently that I ever could (my person fave is below - this chick is awesome). I am not going to get into a discussion of Evolution versus Creationism. Or my opinions on religion. Suffice it to say, my Catholic upbringing and Catholic education went a little off track when I was told that it was in God's plan that my father died when I was 14 years old.




What I find interesting beyond the introduction and the obvious inaccuracies and half-truths presented in Cameron's 6 minute calm rant, is the fact that they were allowed to reissue a book with an introduction that completely refutes everything in said book. I don't understand this and how this is done.

I also find it very amusing that Cameron honestly thinks Christian teens are so weak minded and have such a shaky faith that they would be so easily led astray by their agnostic and atheist professors. Could it not be that said teens grew up having been taught only one belief system - then they enter college and are exposed to masses of new ideas and notions presented not only by their professors, but also by new roommates, new friends, TA's and all the other groups at college. Is that not a much more plausible explanation for college students losing their faith in Christianity?
Cameron's idea is something completely new for the religious zealots. Normally, the holy rollers have book burnings. Now, they are having, what, book givings? I am sure some of them will forget, and will show up on November 19th with marshmallows, ready to make s'mores. Hmmm S'mores.
XO

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Michael Bay versus Megan Fox versus Random Crew from Transformers

So Megan Fox is also at TIFF promoting another movie I am very much looking forward to seeing - the Diablo Cody penned - Jennifer's Body. I follow Diablo on Twitter - she is very very funny. In this movie, Megan plays a high school cheerleader who is literally a maneater. Part of the reason I want to see this is to see if the girl has any acting chops beyond being half naked, running from giant robots. Admittedly a comedy-horror film may not be the best indicator of acting talent, but anything has to be better than Transformers.

Cause, in spite of a lot of the bulls*it that comes out of her mouth, she did get one thing right in my opinion. Transformers and other action movies are not driven by the acting ability of their stars. They are about fast cars, explosions, half naked chicks being saved by the hero, fighting - not about acting. And that is fine. These big blockbuster action movies are escapism pure and simple. you pay your money, get your popcorn and forget about the real world for a few hours. You don't need to think. You just watch the big screen and see things blow up. Ooh Aah.


But Megan's continual badmouthing of director of Michael Bay - she compared him to Hitler in a recent interview - has prompted a strong response from some people claiming to be members of the crew on his films. In a letter posted on Michael Bay's official site, these 3 unidentified crew have slammed Megan. Here is the letter in full (it is rather long, but funny, so rather than summarise, I thought I would let you read the whole thing):

“This is an open letter to all Michael Bay fans. We are three crew members that have worked with Michael for the past ten years. Last week we read the terrible article with inflammatory, truly trashing quotes by the Ms. Fox about Michael Bay. This letter is to set a few things straight.

Yes, Megan has great eyes, a tight stomach we spray with glycerin, and an awful silly Marilyn Monroe tattoo plastered on her arm that we cover up to keep the moms happy.

Michael found this shy, inexperienced girl, plucked her out of total obscurity thus giving her the biggest shot of any young actresses’ life. He told everyone around to just trust him on his choice. He granted her the starring role in Transformers, a franchise that forever changed her life; she became one of the most googled and oogled women on earth. She was famous! She was the next Angelina Jolie, hooray! Wait a minute, two of us worked with Angelina ‘ second thought ‘ she’s no Angelina. You see, Angelina is a professional.

We know this quite intimately because we’ve had the tedious experience of working with the dumb-as-a-rock Megan Fox on both Transformers movies. We’ve spent a total of 12 months on set making these two movies.

We are in different departments; we can’t give our names because sadly doing so in Hollywood could lead to being banished from future Paramount work. One of us touches Megan’s panties, the other has the often s–ty job of pulling Ms. Sour pants out of her trailer, while another is near the Panaflex camera that helps to memorialize the valley girl on film.

Megan has the press fooled. When we read those magazines we wish we worked with that woman. Megan knows how to work her smile for the press. Those writers should try being on set for two movies, sadly she never smiles. The cast, crew and director make Transformers a really fun and energetic set. We’ve traveled around the world together, so we have never understood why Megan was always such ‘ the grump of the set?

When facing the press, Megan is the queen of talking trailer trash and posing like a porn star. And yes we’ve had the unbearable time of watching her try to act on set, and yes, it’s very cringe-able. So maybe, being a porn star in the future might be a good career option. But make-up beware, she has a paragraph tattooed to her backside (probably due her rotten childhood) easily another 45 minutes in the chair!

So when the three of us caught wind of Ms. Fox, pontificating yet again in some publication (like she actually has something interesting to say) blabbing her trash mouth about a director whom we three have grown to really like. She compared working with Michael, to ‘working with Hitler‘. We actually don’t think she knows who Hitler is by the way. But we wondered how she doesn’t realize what a disgusting, fully uneducated comment this was? Well, here let’s get some facts straight.

Say what you want about Michael ‘ yes at times he can be hard, but he’s also fun, and he challenges everyone for a reason ‘ he simply wants people to bring their ‘A’ game. He comes very prepared, knows exactly what he wants, involves the crew and expects everyone to follow through with his or her best, and that includes the actors. He’s one of the hardest working directors out there.

He gets the best from his crews, many of whom have worked with him for 15 years. And yes, he’s loyal, one of the few directors we’ve encountered who lowered his fee by millions to keep Transformers in the United States and California, so he could work with his own crew.

Megan says that Transformers was an unsafe set? Come on Megan, we know it is a bit more strenuous then the playground at the trailer park, but you don’t insult one of the very best stunt and physical effects teams in the business! Not one person got hurt!

And who is the real Megan Fox? She is very different than the academy nominee and winning actors we’ve all worked around. She’s as about ungracious a person as you can ever fathom. She shows little interest in the crew members around her. We work to make her look good in every way, but she’s absolutely never appreciative of anyone’s hard work. Never a thank you. All the crewmembers have stopped saying hi to Ms. Princess because she never says hello back. It gets tiring. Many think she just really hates the process of being an actress.

Megan has been late to the sets many times. She goes through the motions that make her exude this sense of misery. We’ve heard the A.D’s piped over the radio that Megan won’t walk from her trailer until John Turturro walks first! John’s done seventy-five movies and she’s made two!


Never expect Megan to attend any of the 15 or so crew parties like all the other actors have. And then there’s the classless night she blew off The Royal Prince of Jordan who made a special dinner for all the actors. She doesn’t know that one of the grips daughters wanted to visit their daddy’s work to meet Megan, but he wouldn’t let them come because he told them ’she is not nice.’

The press certainly doesn’t know her most famous line. On our first day in Egypt, the Egyptian government wouldn’t let us shoot because of a permit problem as the actors got ready in make up at the Four Seasons Hotel. Michael tried to make the best of it; he wanted to take the cast and crew on a private tour of the famous Giza pyramids. God hold us witness, Megan said, “I can’t believe Michael is f—ing forcing us to go to the f—ing pyramids!” I guess this is the ‘Hitler guy’ she is referring to.

So this is the Megan Fox you don’t get to see. Maybe she will learn, but we figure if she can sling insults, then she can take them too. Megan really is a thankless, classless, graceless, and shall we say unfriendly b—-. It’s sad how fame can twist people, and even sadder that young girls look up to her. If only they knew who they’re really looking up to.

But ‘Fame’ is fleeting. We, being behind the scenes, seen em’ come and go. Hopefully Michael will have Megatron squish her character in the first ten minutes of Transformers 3. We can tell you that will make the crew happy! -Loyal Transformers Crew”


Ha ha ha. I totally love this. This is almost as good as the whole Rachelle Lefevre v's Summit story from last month. And what is up with this sh*t happening so often. The last one I recall is the letter to Lindsay from the producers of Georgia Rule. That too was awesome.

This letter doesn't really tell me anything new though. So Megan is trailer trash. We knew that. And I really don't think there are that many young girls that look-up to her? We also know that she curses like a sailor and I am not at all surprised that she is a bratty princess. get that these guys are loyal to Michael Bay, But seriously? Do they really think he needs defending from mean and nasty Megan Fox? Do they not realise that they are just prolonging this discussion by writing this letter.

Michael Bay does. Hitler himself has pulled the letter from his site and posted a response:

"I don’t condone the crew letter to Megan. And I don’t condone Megan’s outlandish quotes. But her crazy quips are part of her crazy charm. The fact of the matter I still love working with her, and I know we still get along. I even expect more crazy quotes from her on Transformers 3.
Michael"

Ha! The fact that Michael Bay - the man who included Megan Fox washing his Ferrari as part of her audition process for Transformers - seems like the mature one in this whole situation makes me laugh.
Megan Fox is kinda trashy. She doesn't censure herself. She may not be "book-smart", but she is most definitely not dumb. She knows exactly what she is doing when she poses like a porn star on every red carpet, sticks her thumb in her mouth and calls Michael Bay Hitler. I find her super entertaining. A little annoying at times, but entertaining none the less. And I don't think she is going anywhere. not for the next few years at least.
Jennifer's Body opens next weekend. It also stars the gorgeous Amanda Seyfreid and the cutie Adam Brody. Can't wait!
XO

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Why is this guy still single? He is such a catch

I saw this gem on the interwebs the other day. It's from a while ago, but I think it is getting it's second wind on the social media sites. Apparently Dimitri approached Olga on King Street (Toronto) and began hitting on her. In an effort to get rid of him, Olga gave him her business card. These are the actual voicemails that Dimitri left for her in the coming days. They are awesome. I am thinking of cancelling my trip to Boston and NYC and heading to T.O. just to find this amazing specimen of a man..... What a catch.




Olga did not call back....... the saga continues with this......


I love it. So all my single ladies out there.....don't fret. There are still amazing men like this out there. And maybe you could be lucky enough to meet him and be elegant enough to capture his attention.
The more I listen to this, the more I love it. This guy is awesome. Why is he still single? And why can't I meet a winner like this? Although I am on medication and wouldn't really consider myself psychologically normal. Hmph. And I am also super passive aggressive and don't return phone calls in a prompt manner sometimes. Damn it, another great guy slips through my fingers.
XO

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Jessica Biel can be hazardous to your Computer

According to McAfee, if you search for Jessica Biel online, you have a one in five chance of stumbling across a website with malaware. Poor Jessica can't catch a break anywhere can she!

She works so hard being the perfect Hollywood girlfriend to Justin Timberlake, auditioning for so many roles that she knows she will never get. Trying to be taken seriously as an artist in Hollywood. And that is going really well for her right?



Poor Jessica. Now she can't even rely on horny desperate teenage boys doing a search for some old topless shots of her to keep her star somewhere on the horizon. So sad.



Maybe it is time to pull out a sex tape Jess? Cause what else is there for you?



XO

Monday, August 17, 2009

Date My Avatar #1 on I-Tunes!

Okay, my geek level is about to go way up. There is this web series I discovered a little while ago called The Guild. Starring Buffy alum Felicia Day, this award winning show is about the lives of a group of on line gamers. It follows the life of Codex (Day), Healer of the Knights of the Good, who vainly tries to lead a normal life after one of her guildmates shows up on her doorstep. I know I know. I don't get why I love this show either. I have never played D&G or any other equivalent. I don't know my MMO from my elbow

Felicia was in Season 7 of Buffy as one of the "potentials", and then starred in Joss Whedon's fantastic Dr Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog - alongside Neil Patrick Harris (who still needs to be my gay best friend) and Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Castle). Joss has stated that Dr Horrible was partly inspired by The Guild.

But the show is awesome. Funny and smart and fantastic. I have watched 2 seasons through their You-Tube Channel, and this show is another reason that I am very sad I did not make it down to Comic-con as the cast was in attendance. At Comic Con they announced Wil Wheaton was joining the cast in Season three as the leader of a new rival Guild - Axis of Anarchy. Yay to that.

I am such a dork......

There is a point to this. Trust me. During the panel at Comic Con the cast also debuted the video below for the song, "Do You Want to Date My Avatar", which was released today on I-Tunes. After a mass rallying cry on social media networks like Twitter, this video was Number 1 earlier today. The power of geeks should never be underestimated!

I am not super clear on what an avatar is or does. I am pretty confident that I do not have an avatar though. I am guessing it is your online character? Hmmm. The song is very catchy and the cast are all in their World of Warfare avatar costumes. Felicia write the lyrics and the music and video were directed by Jed Whedon (brother of Joss). This could become the summer jam of gamers everywhere!!


Season 3 of the Guild Premieres on August 25th on the interweb. Felicia currently has over one million followers on Twitter. And you probably have no idea who she is right? She is a world of awesome and you should follow follow follow Ms Felica Day.

XO

Monday, August 10, 2009

Cautionary Facebook Tales #2

What is it with the Brits? A little while ago, I posted a fun story about the wife of the brand new head of the British Secret Service (or something like that) who posted some questionable material on Facebook for the entire world to see. It was awesome.

Now this Facebook entry out of the UK again, is the new reigning WTF were they thinking story regarding Facebook. Honey child, if you chose to allow your boss to be your friend on Facebook, it might not be the smartest thing to diss him and the job....... Sigh.




Some people do not deserve to have jobs. This girl is one of them.

XO