Video of the Week #2

Oopsies, I've been a little slack in posting these days, and it's been more than a week since my last Video of the Week. So, to make up for it, here's one of my favourite videos. Ever.



Love it.

The 2009 Oscar Fashions Round-Up: Best Dressed

As promised, here's part two - the best dressed!




Sarah Jessica Parker - The "Ugliest Woman in Hollywood." While I sort of agree with that comment, I think she looks pretty great. The dress is both beautiful, and flirty and fun. Great choice, SJP!




Penelope Cruz - Congrats to the Oscar winner! While I wish Penel would come up with a different style (she's rocked similar styles in the past), she looks great. The dress is gorgeous and romantic, and her hairstyle perfectly compliments the dress. Lovely. (Sorry for the small pic, but Photobucket is a little cracked.)



Natalie Portman - I might be a little biased, because I simply adore Natalie Portman, but she looks fantabulous! The dress is gorgeous, and the colour is so much fun. She really stands out against the more typical Oscar gowns we saw, so way to go Nat!

And the award for Best Dressed goes to....



Kate Winslet - As usual, she looks elegant and classy. I usually don't dig two-tone dresses, but Kate pulls it off with her usual eloquence. Her hair and accessories are just right, too. Best dressed, best actress...is there anything this woman doesn't do well?

The 2009 Oscar Fashions Round-Up: Worst Dressed

I love me some Oscars. The glamour, the glitz, the way-too-long ceremony. All of it is fun. But the most fun part is...you guessed it...the fashion! I've compiled my list of the best and worst dressed of the night.. Since this post is kind of long, this is my worst dressed list. Look for part two coming soon!




Miley Cyrus - Confession time, I don't actually hate this dress. I don't love it either, but it's not the worst thing in the world. It is a little bit much, and certainly something I'd never wear myself, but it's age-appropriate for a 16-year-old girl. So, keep trying, Miley. You have the potential.




Amanda Seyfried - What went wrong? She made my best dressed list for the Golden Globes - so what the heck happened? I'm really not feeling that giant bow, but even without it, her look is a little blah. The dress looks like it's made out of plastic, and her hair is too casual for such a big event. Sorry, Amanda. Better luck next time!




Tilda Swinton - A really boring, drab look for such a glamourous night? Please. This outfit doesn't do much for me.



Sophia Lauren - You'd think that such an acting legend would get this right, but I guess it goes to show you...we all still have a lot to learn. The dress is a cross between a 1980s high school prom queen and Belle's ball gown from Beauty and the Beast. Sorry Ms Lauren, but I think Belle's dress was prettier.

And the award for the worst dressed goes to....



Beyonce - While I think it's great she kept it all in the family (the dress is a design of her mother's), Beyonce should have gone for a different dress. It's unflattering on her figure, making her look much larger than she actually is, and the pattern is kinda hideous. Beyonce's a hit and miss kind of girl, and this was definitely a miss.

Look out for part two, the best dressed, coming soon!

A Bittersweet Win

Congratulations to Heath Ledger for his much-deserved win for The Dark Knight. Some people believe that Mr. Ledger only won because he's no longer with us, but I respectfully disagree. A lot of these naysayers only voice this opinion to cause a stir, but for those who truly believe this sentiment - go see the movie. Watch Mr. Ledger's chilling performance, and try to argue that he didn't deserve the award.

We miss you, Heath. I'm proud of your accomplishments, but it's still sad that you're gone. Rest in peace.

Who else was moved by the Ledgers' speech? And the fact that pretty much everyone in the room was moved to tears by Heath's win? A truly bittersweet moment in Oscar history.

The scene that (probably) won Heath Ledger the Oscar. (Sorry it's only a link, but the person who posted the video disabled embedding.) Once again, congratulations Heath!

Chris Brown vs Rihanna

By now everyone's heard the story of Chris Brown beating up girlfriend Rihanna. What I want to talk about today is some people's reactions to the entire thing. But for clarification, I should point out that while I obviously don't and probably will never know what actually happened that night, I do in fact believe Chris Brown abused her. I'm sure there is some exaggeration in the reports, but he did apologize (half-heartedly), and you don't apologize for something that didn't happen.

I'm absolutely sickened by some of the reactions I've heard, all of them from women. Chris Brown has a lot of fans, and they all seem to be sticking by him. Ladies: This man hit a woman. Repeatedly. No matter who he is, this is inexcusable. If it came to be that Gerard Butler, who is my celebrity love, did that to a woman, I would be so digusted by this, I wouldn't know what to say. I would not continue to support him, nor would I make up excuses for that behaviour.

Friends of mine at work believe Rihanna "did this to herself" because she "seems like the type." Um, what? I don't honestly have a reply to that. I don't know what to say. I'm not really a Rihanna fan, but even I couldn't ever be that thoughtless and heartless. As it is, I feel so badly for her and can't imagine what it must be like to have to go through this.

Over at TMZ.com, a poster commented the following about the reported police photo from that night:

i believe that she provoked him into beating her down, and pretty much u can blame him 4 something he seen from his stepfather.

(Source: TMZ.com comments, #69.)

Another comment, on the same page, comment number 71:

WOW...SHE LOOKS HORRIBLE BUT I GUESS IF YOU PUSH SOMEONE TO A BREAKING PT. THEN I GUESS YOU WOULD HAVE TO SUFFER

I can't wrap my head around it. People actually believe that she provoked him and should have to suffer for it, and that Chris Brown isn't to blame because he saw it happen in his own household? Seriously? I wish I could tell these people

1. Violence is never okay or excusable. Even if Rihanna did "provoke" him in some way, there is absolutely, positiviely no acceptable reason or excuse for Chris Brown hitting/hurting her in any capacity. The same goes for all women out there who have been abused by their husbands/boyfriends - and yes, to all the men out there who get abused by their wives/girlfriends. (It does happen.)
2. Chris Brown should know better. If anything, he should have learned from his stepfather's mistakes. I have no idea whatsoever about his personal history, but if his stepfather was in fact beating up his [Chris's] mother, then he should know better than someone who has never witnessed abuse at all - know what it does to a person, and what the permanent effects of abuse are.

This should be taught in schools. If people really are that ignorant about abuse, then this sort of info should be grilled into people's heads: violence is not okay. Never ever, never once. (Well, with the exception of self-defense, but that's not the same thing.) And never should the victim be blamed for "provoking" or "asking" for it.

In conclusion, I hope Chris Brown's career goes down the tubes, and that he spends the rest of his life performing at malls and state fairs, at best. After he spends time in jail, of course. And Rihanna, and to any women out there who have to suffer through the same thing - stay strong. You're in our thoughts.

Video of the Week: #1

Here's your very first video of the week! The brand new, here-to-stay Simpsons intro. After 20something years, they've redone it. Ch-ch-check it out!




Thoughts: I like it! It's a little strange since I'm used to the old version, natch. But it's funny and cute. The only not-so-great change is Homer getting hit instead of screaming and running into the house. That scream is quintessential to the intro. Plus I love the Homer scream. But other than that, I like it! Thumbs up from this end.

Kristy and the Worst Young She-Goat Ever!

Here's an awesome way to kill time:

1. Find a BSC book. This works best with stranger titles and not the simple ones, like Hello Mallory.
2. Go to a site that can do translations. I recommend Alta Vista's Babel Fish.
3. Type in the name of the title, then pick a foreign language, and hit translate.
4. Once you get the translated title, copy and paste it into the text box (or wherever you typed the title).
5. Select the language you just translated, and translate the text back into English. (If you picked Spanish in step three, for this step, translate from Spanish into English.)
6. Voila! Hilarious titles ahoy! The phrase "lost in translation" has never been truer.

Some of my favourites include:

Little Miss Stoneybrook...and Dawn: Little Young Lady Stoneybrook...and Paddle

Dawn & the We Love Kids Club: Paddle and We Love You She-Goats Club

Get Well Soon, Mallory!: It Stars the Well, Mallory Soon!

Mallory Hates Boys (And Gym): Boys Mallory of the Hatred (And Gym)

Claudia Kishi, Middle School Drop-Out: Kishi of the Claude, Exit of the Average School

Claudia and the Recipe for Danger: Claude and the Perscription for Danger (This sounds like an actual title - Mystery #77: Claudia works at the pharmacy...)

Keep Out, Claudia!: Endure, Claudia!

Stacey and the Fahsion Victim: Stacey and the Way Victim

Kristy and the Walking Disaster: Kristy and the Running Calamity

Jessi's Big Break: Jessi's Large Discontinuance

Mary Anne Saves the Day: Mary Anne Keep the Day

Mary Anne and Miss Priss: Maria Anne and Priss of the Lack

But, in my opinion, these two take the cake:

Kristy and the Worst Kid Ever: Kristy and the Worst Young She-Goat Ever (Is she looking after Elivra?)

Logan Bruno, Boy Sitter: Dark Brown Logan, Kangaroo of the Boy