You Don't Own Me

I absolutely love this song and this version done by these three fantastic women (Bette Middler, Diane Keaton, and Goldie Hawn) in The First Wives Club. Just a little bit of girl empowerment for the middle of the week!




You Don't Own Me - The most amazing home videos are here

Procrastination

I have definitely been bitten by the procrastination bug. The date for my GRE test keeps getting closer and I am no where near as prepared as I hoped I would be. Need to get cracking on that list of things to study. I think that means actually setting my alarm tomorrow morning despite my "vacation" status. Ah well...

Right now I am...

• Watching The Girl's Next Door and The House Bunny Special
• Downloading Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train"
• Burning Paddywax's Passionfruit Guava traveling candle
• Upset over the decision to push back Harry Potter :(
• Getting excited for Watchmen (hence why I'm reading it!)

The pretty much sums up my entire day, although I did get to attend a co-workers thesis defense and congrats Dr!!!! I cannot wait till I get the Dr. added to my name as well, but that will require me studying for these GRE's and getting into grad school...ahhhh! Well enough of that worrying here's a trailer for the upcoming movie Role Models which kept me laughing for quite a bit:

Jack Johnson

Love this song! I saw him recently play in concert and thought I would post this video just because of how happy it is!

Jack Johnson -- Upside Down

Vacation Day 1: British Encampment

So I finally made it out to the Boston Common today to kick off the start of my vacation. As you can see I made it to see the reenactment of the British encampment of the Boston Common. It was pretty cool. You got the feeling that most people had no clue that this event was going on and just happened to wander through the commons on the only nice day of the week. If you are around the are though it is definitely worth checking out. (www.thefreedomtrail.org)

Its Finally Over!!!

Summer classes are finally over and I am faced with the daunting task of actually having three weeks with nothing to do (other than study for the GRE's of course...). That being said I hope to actually make these weeks slightly productive, as I am prone to hardcore slacking off during vacation. This in itself is an oddity as "slacking off" is the purpose of vacation time, but for me this somehow turns into 24/7 couch time which I ultimately end up regretting. So hopefully I will be blogging soon about some "staycation" in Boston. Here's to hoping everyone had a great week and an even better weekend!

The British are Coming!

( picture from www.thefreedomtrail.org)

I love nothing better than the idea of a good reenactment. There is something about people reenacting key moments in history that makes me all giddy inside. So you can only image my excitement in learning that British re-enactors will be camping out on the Boston Common this month! With family activities during the day for children there is a historic tour of Dorchester and you get to witness the reenactment of some common activities that the soldiers did while on the common.




The encampment of the Boston Common begins on Friday August 15 and ends Sunday August 17. It is recommended to pick up the trolley tour of Dorchester tickets in advance as there are a limited amount. Check it out at the Freedom Trail Foundation (http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/)





Needless to say I cannot wait to check it out!

More than just pants...

The 16-year old girl in me was absolutely giddy at the idea of going to see Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 in theatres this weekend. I managed to miss the rain drops and get into a seven o'clock showing of the chick flick sequel. While the movie itself was just as cheesy and feel good as the first one there was one thing that caught my eye...the fashion!

I absolutely adored the clothes, hair, makeup, and jewlery of all the characters. Here is a bit of my breakdown of the movie:

Blake Lively: While this girl has been the talk of the town with Gossip Girl her start was definitely the pants series.

Playing Bridget:The movie showcased Bridget as she discovered more about her mother and her family through the help of her long-lost grandmother.

Piece of jewlery I loved in the movie: Bridget's wishbone necklace. While I am not entirely sure about who made the one that Lively wears in the movie the Dogeared Wishbone necklace is quite similar looking (pictured above). It can be found at http://www.dogeared.com/ (picture from website)

Alexis Bledel: I miss Gilmore Girls! My TV sarcasm meter hasn't been the same since this show has gone off air

Playing Lena: Lena ends up going to RISD to study art and still can't get her mind off of that Greek boy...

Piece I absolutely loved:During a scene with Kostos Bledel wears an absolutely adorable blue and white striped dress. It felt a bit nautical and added a bit of pizazz to the character's wardrobe up until that point. (picture http://sisterhoodofthetravelingpants2.warnerbros.com/)

America Ferrera: Ugly Betty this girl is definitely not. I loved her in Real Women Have Curves and am excited to see her get more publicity for the work she does.

Playing Carmen: While she most likely wishes she could fade into the background sometimes, Carmen finally gets her chance to be in the spotlight!

What I absolutely adored: The hair and makeup! Love the loose waves and the dewy makeup that they did on her...looked fantastic! (check her out in the main picture at the top of the post---picture from yahoo movies -- www.yahoo.com)

Amber Tamblyn:Don't know much about her. I vaguely remmber watching Joan of Arcadia years ago...

Playing Tibby: Apparently she has been with Brian (Dragon Slayer player from the first movie) for a bit and their relationship goes through ups and downs as the movie plays out.

What I liked: The earrings. A pair of black tangle hoops with a crocheted like feel to them, dyed black. I have a similar pair in silver from H & M

While the movie was ever bit as sappy as I hoped for, the fashion was absolutely fantastic!

War of the Infomercial Guys

So i was recently watching my nightly infomercials, when much to my surprise I ran across an ad not featuring my favorite spokesperson Billy Mays. Instead it featured Vince Offer, who was trying to sell me something called Sham Wow. Intrigued I watched as this super- caffeinated individual tried to get me to buy some super cloth from Germany that could apparently dry just about anything. Anyway I write this I cannot do the commercial justice...luckily the video is on youtube!




And here is one from my favorite infomercial man...Billy Mays!

Don't Call It a Comeback...Role Models

I opened up the newest Glamour today and was amazed. There gracing an article is Anne Hathaway who recently survived a very public and very messy breakup. In the article she talks about becoming stronger through an exercise routine, but I was more interested in the fact that she talks about being "stronger." There is nothing that empowers me more than watching people who get kicked down only to rise back up again. In that same Glamour there was an article about Nicole Richie, who is as well known for her famous father as she is her slender figure. The article praised Richie as a role model to those who wish to break out of the style mold and experiment with different looks. Its amazing how much public opinion changes as just a few years ago Richie was scrutenized about her weight.

It always amazes me how resiliant individuals are, that in spite of everything they can still stand up at the end of the day and do something. I was reading recently that Britney Spears got a nomination for an MTV Video Music Award. The same girl who we have watched have a messy divorce, shave her head, go to rehab, go to a mental institution, lose custody of her children...need I go on. While there are those who tear her down, there are still those who applaud her for her sheer will to get back up.

There are plenty of people who say there are no role models left for children in today's media. I agree that there are few and far between, merely I am suggesting that perhaps we are focusing on the wrong things. We watch the fallout with great awe as those we admire fall from grace in the eyes of the public, but perhaps we should be paying more attention to what they do after the fall...

(image from Lancome website - www.lancome.com)

I <3 Dinosaurs!

Ever since Jurassic Park (and possibly before that!) I have had some weird fascination with dinosaurs. That's why when I saw the "Free Download" sign on iTunes for History Channel's "Jurassic Fight Club" I just knew I had to check it out. This show attempts to recreate battles of prehistoric creatures by using clues from fossils, imaging, and clues about animals today. Its like the CSI for dinosaurs. The episode that's available for free on iTunes is "Cannibal Dinosaur," and follows a battle on Madagascar between two Majungatholus (say that five times fast!). The show allows viewers to get an inside peak into how they recreate these scenes and what tools the researchers use to piece together prehistoric history. At the end the whole battle scene is put together using very cool (and sometimes very graphic) CGI.

While the historians and researchers cannot conclusively say anything about these battle scenes the technology they have to hypothesize about these events is absolutely fascinating to watch. Even if you aren't that fascinated in the mechanics of they were able to piece together these scenes, the CGI battle at the end is worth the peek at the great new show. Check it out on the History Channel (http://www.history.com/) or on iTunes. Here is one of the History Channel's trailers for the show:

Mae West

Just a few of my favorite quotes of hers:

• You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough


• Marriage is a great institution, but I'm not ready for an institution yet


• Too much of a good thing can be wonderful


• Its not the men in my life that count, its the life in my men


• Save a boyfriend for a rainy day-- and another in case it doesn't rain

Clearly I'm on a Mae West quoting kick. There is just something about a strong woman who is not afraid to say it like it is! Enjoy this little clip and hope everyone had a great Monday!

(pic from http://www.wikipedia.org/ - Mae West in "I'm no Angel")

Watchmen

So I can honestly say that I cannot wait for the Watchmen movie to come out. The more I read about this graphic novel by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons, the more I can't wait to see it on the big screen. I am always a sucker when it comes to bigscreen adaptations of graphic novels, but this one has me intrigued mainly due to its high fan following and accolades.

I enjoy reading graphic novels from time to time, but pick them usually with great care as they tend to be more expensive than regular paperback books. Finding a good selection at most stores is somewhat hard to do, although I did see this one shelved in Newbury Comics collection of graphic novels. It was priced around $20 there, but is set on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/) at around $10.

I think this will be my next read. Its huge fan following aside, I am more intrigued by the darker and more psychological elements that fans and critics have professed this graphic novel contains. As a psychology major and a fan of the genre in general this intrigues me and I hope to read it before the movie comes out next year.

Here is the trailer for the movie, either way it looks absolutely incredible. (Aside: the music in the trailer is "The Beginning is the End is the Beginning" by Smashing Pumpkins - but according to a byte (who knows accuracy sometimes) on IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/) it was reworked a bit specifically for the trailer- nice song though and fits great with the mood of the trailer!)