A Collective. And a Blog. And everything else in between.
I’m still keeping this site, but manly as a collective. I’ll post here whenever I feel like writing in English, but right now I need to write in my own language, which is Portuguese. If you can read it, please visit my new blog:
You know, when you think you’re over Jake Gyllenhaal, you’re really not! Don’t get me wrong, I still think he’s a hell of an actor, and he’s still hot and can be charming whenever he wants, but since he has started dating Reese Witherspoon, it’s like he changed. And don’t you even suggest this is fan jealousy: trust me, it’s not. I’d been saying for years that Jake should get a girlfriend, but I was thinking of someone like Natalie Portman, you know? Not his friend’s ex-wife, six years older and a mother of two. She seems really nice, but it’s easier for George W. Bush not to say any stupid things than it is for someone to find a Gyllenhaalic who actually thinks they’re a good match.
Anyway, when Jake was announced as the protagonist of Prince of Persia, a Walt Disney action film, based on a video game, I thought it wasn’t such a good move. It turns out it might still suck, but when you watch this tour of the sets by Jake himself, you can’t help but think: DAMN, HE’S HOT AND ADORABLE!
Well, check it out for yourself:
Postando rapidamente (e em Português, caso você não tenha notado) para te convidar para ler a minha resenha no Move That Jukebox! do Ode to J. Smith, o último disco do Travis - banda que, por sinal, batizou este blog com uma de suas canções. Pleeease?
After watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, at the age of 16, I decided that I wanted to be a filmmaker, so I could touch people’s lives with stories, like that film had touched mine. And for the first time in a long time, it lasted. Before that, I couldn’t decide between Tourism, Cultural Production or History as a major. The only time I felt certain about what I wanted to do for a living before that was between the ages of 12 and 15, when I wanted to be a journalist. That’s all I could talk about. For me, it was absolutely noble to inform people of what is really going on in the world. How naïve of me… After spending three years teaching English, which is nowhere near my second choice for a job, waiting for an oportunity to study Filmmaking, I’ve finally come to the conclusion that I’m only kidding myself, and if that opportunity isn’t coming along now, I need to move on. So I’m back to Journalism. I’m supposed to take a test to get into college before the end of the year. Wish me luck. The thing is, the way I see it, Journalism cannot be noble if it doesn’t care about reporting facts - it’s all about selling news nowadays. Take the American elections, for example. The media cared more about the fact that Barack Obama is black and that Sarah Palin is stupid than the real issues, like the environment and the economy. Don’t get me wrong, Palin deserves to be made fun of, with her $150,000 wardrobe and silly answers, and I too find it very important that a black man will be a in charge of the world’s most powerful nation. But we are on the brink of Apocalypse here and there are more important issues to be tackled. Another perfectly good example of how the media is not doing its job is how they deal with the whole Britney Spears stravaganza. I think it’s safe to say that most people in the western civilization care at least a little bit about what happens on the lives of famous people - I know I do. Hell, I run fan sites about two of them! And there is something quite recomforting about the fact that celebrities screw up too, just like you and me. But while People and Us Weekly get richer by the second, do you think they wonder what the consequences will be for those involved in their “scoops”? Some people might say celebrities know it comes with the job and they have no right to complain. Plus, a whole bunch of them actually enjoy all the attention. Well, I say screw that! That’s not the media’s job! News outlets can be fun - I even think they should - but they also have the responsability of informing people of what goes on in the world. Although getting substantial and unbiased information might not be the primary goal of most of us, no one can deny it’s part of what makes us the intelligent human beings we are today. Here’s a video of Craig Ferguson talking about why he chose not to make fun of Britney Spears when everybody else did. Some people don’t like Craig, which I’ll never understand. He might not be perfect, but in this video he shows what an intelligent man he is. Take a look:
If you’ve read this blog (or any of my previous ones) long enough, you know I don’t watch Brazilian TV shows. Don’t get me wrong, there are still some pretty decent stuff out there, like Rede Globo’s miniseries and… well, that’s pretty much it! I wish I had remembered to watch some of them, I truly do. But my thing, my real thing is American TV series. At the moment, I watch 11 of them: Prison Break, Dexter, The Big Bang Theory, Chuck, Brothers & Sisters, House, 30 Rock, Supernatural, Gossip Girl, Lost and Weeds (the last two on hiatus).
But let’s be honest: even American TV shows can suck - and suck they do! A bunch of them are about to be cancelled due to low ratings. I, for one, stopped watching some of them, not only for lack of time, but also for the lack of creativity on their part. So I thought I’d just share with you guys my opinion on what’s hot and what’s not on TV nowadays. Please note: spoiler alert!
YAY!
House, M.D.
House gets old pretty quickly, specially because the show’s format is basically the same. At least, it was. After the third season, it all started to evolve. Chase and Cameron started working for other people and there’s much less of Foreman, thank God! Don’t get me wrong, I too love Chase’s hair and accent, and I shared everybody’s opinion that it was a bad move for the show. But it turns out it wasn’t. The new cast members aren’t as likeable as the trio who preceeded them, but maybe that’s what makes it all okay after all. The new characters might not be as smart, but they are well developed and full of layers to explore. Season four wasn’t at all successful, but season five is on a roll of great episodes, more and more well written. Way to go, guys!
Dexter
I avoided Dexter as much as I could. Everybody talked about how great it was and I did my best not to watch it, ’cause I didn’t have the time to be hooked on another TV show, and yet, here I am. The new storyline, with Dexter becoming a parent and a husband and getting a partner in crime - literally - is working so well you hardly ever notice the weak serial killer plot this time. Plus, Debra cursing is always fun to watch. Michael C. Hall is as scary as I remembered.
Supernatural
Two very hot guys, nice rock n’ roll soundtrack, scary stuff all over the place and an always entertaining storyline, and I still don’t get why Supernatural is always so close to being cancelled due to low ratings. I know, I can’t stand horror movies either! They’re either gross or pathetic - and, sometimes, they’re both at the same time. I hesitated before watching Supernatural because of that. But my boyfriend asked me to watch an episode with him and I haven’t been able to stop watching ever since. Jensen Ackles is funny and hot at the same time, and who doesn’t like that? Plus, he’s getting better and better as an actor and takes every opportunity he gets to blow our minds.
NAY!
Heroes
The first season of Heroes was pretty darn good, and I watched it avidly. Season two, though, it was a total disappointment, at least for me, and I decided I would give season three a shot, but if I didn’t like the first episode, I’d stop watching it for good, and that’s what I did, right after watching the scene in which Surresh transforms. How lame! I later found out Sylar is Peter’s brother and - get this - he’s a good guy now. I mean, talk about pathetic. Not even Milo makes it worth it anymore.
Weeds
I know, the season is over, but I just have to say: what the fuck were you thinking, Jenki Kohan? Celia is a drug addict, Doug hangs himself and Nancy moves out of Agrestic, into a ridiculous little town and ends up killing her ‘grandmother’ and dating a Mexican drugdealer/mayor. Agrestic was the whole point of the show, for one, where she sold her dirty products to the perfect neighbors and citizens. Heylia and Conrad are gone, and now so is Doug, who provided the show with the best witted jokes. Shane losing his virginity and Silas hooking up with an older woman were kind of cool, I’ll give you that, and there’s always Andy. Still, this season was completely different than it should have been, from the removal of the intro song to the development of the storyline. It could have been way better!
Pushing Daisies
Okay, so Pushing Daisies is not so bad. I watched it because Luciana recommended it, and I thought it was cute, even though I didn’t really care for the “special” effects. But now, on season two, Olive moves to a convent. I mean, what’s that all about? Her whole storyline is just pathetic, and Chuck and Ned are the same old same old. The show is the one who needs waking up from the dead, before it’s too late.
There are some TV shows I still have to watch - I hear Damages and Mad Men are awesome - but I just don’t have time right now. Maybe during the summer holidays, which are a month from now. Who knows?
I don’t remember being this anxious in my life. Ever. 2008 flew by, with so many things to get done. I had to work, watch all the stuff I like watching (otherwise I wouldn’t be sane now), dedicate some time to my websites, obssess about the future, read a book here and there, try to catch up with all the magazines I subscribe to, download and listen to some new, decent albums, go to the gym, watch my diet and spend time with my boyfriend.
All the time I’m online, I’m constantly thinking I should be reading something serious and useful, but I can’t get away from the computer. I’m always looking for a new layout for the blog (as you can see), a new episode to download or a new subject to write about. I always feel like I should be doing something that matters and not be wasting my time with useless stuff.
Still, that’s all I do. Every year I read less and less and spend too much time online, even though my friends keep telling me they never find me on MSN. I feel like I don’t get anything done most of the time. I’m always late for things, as I lose track of time while I read not-so-important-things on the internet.
I’ve been trying to change that. I have even turned off the computer during the day a few times now - I know it sounds so little, but it’s actually a lot coming from me.
I just can’t wait for the term to be over, so I can have more free time. I could really use some.
The Very Sexuals is an indie band from the Netherlands founded by Joep van Son (from The Sugarettes) and Pien Feith (from NEONBELLE). Don’t know who they are, huh? Well, neither did I. I stumbled upon their music in a music blog and I’ve been listening to it ever since. Some say they don’t bring anything new to the table, and that may be right, but even so, their music is catchy and easy to listen to, and their lyrics are well written and poetic, even. I’d say it’s a mixture of NEONBELLE’s melancholly and The Sugarettes’ upbeat tunes.
I surely recommend. No wonder it’s the second most played artist on my last.fm profile.
Here’s a little something you might be interested in:
I’d vote for Obama myself, but it’s up to you - as long as you put your constitutional right to good use and vote next Tuesday. And may the best man win.
Life is a funny thing. When I wrote about going to Marcelo Camelo’s concert, my aunt had started feeling abdominal pain and she had come home from the hospital and was still feeling a bit sick. She went back to hospital on Sunday and died three days later. The doctors call it kidney failure, but nobody really knows what happened (the doctors around here are a bunch of irresponsible fucks), and honestly, I don’t even wanna know.
My aunt was like a mother to me, since she helped my working mum to raise me. She lived in the same house as me all my life and I already miss her terribly. But I don’t know exactly what I’m feeling right now. Grieving is complicated to understand. When my grandfather died it was a whole other story, cause he was 74, which is a good enough age to die (if such thing even exists). But my aunt was 53 and we thought we would get to see her grow old. She was so healthy… I guess I feel mixture of surprise and anger - I’m angry at the doctors, at God.
Of course I’m gonna miss the food she cooked or when she picked me up from my workplace when I got off a little later. But most of all, I’m gonna miss her laughter and her touch.
If there is one thing that makes this whole thing easier is knowing that right now she is better off than all of us, in heaven.
I said life is funny cause almost a week after my aunt Vera passed away, my cousin was born. Welcome, Gabriel.
