Tired of the stupid sidebar being broken, I am now hard at work on taking this template, that you see right now, and carefully modifying it to look more like the old design. Unless everyone really likes this, in which case I don’t have to do anything. Stay tuned.
Edit: OK, I think I’m pretty much done.
Oops, we missed another deadline. I guess everybody was too busy watching videos that parody that scene from The O.C. where the girl gets shot. Another point of interest (which will be irrelavant to anyone reading this in another region and/oor in the future) is what’s with these snow flurries in Spring? This was my Spring Break and there were two days where it snowed. Is this global warming? I wish it rain… Or should I say “Cherry Chocolate Rain”
So I was surfing around IMDB today, when I found something quite to my liking. Yes, for those of you who love ridiculously elaborate death sequences combined with weak teenage drama, then get ready for “Final Destination 4” due out in 2009. Now why should a series of a somewhat mediocre teen thrillers excite me? Well I must say and I think the other Cat Fancy contributors will agree, that we all have a soft spot for the Final Destinations series. I mean they’re cheesy and stupid but god damn, they are actually really entertaining and never fail to deliver. The elaborate deaths are gory and fun and sometimes even funny, thus they’ve kept me coming back.
Now something I think we all get curious about when a new F.D. comes out is, “What’s going to be the inciting incident that starts all the teen deaths” Well according to IMDB this is the scoop “After a teen’s premonition of a deadly race-car crash helps saves the lives of his peers, Death sets out to collect those who evaded their end.” Oooh a race-car crash, I was guessing the next one would involve a train but who really rides trains anymore? Definitely not hip teenagers. The cast is of course a bunch of young beautiful people who I’ve never heard of (but that’s what I come to expect from this series) and the film will be written by Eric Bess (The Butterfly Effect, Final Destination 2) and directed by David R. Ellis, who brought us such masterpieces as “Final Destination 2” and “Snakes on a Plane. So get ready for January of 2009 cause that’ll be a good time to see some quality entertainment… Will this be the Final Destination?
Now over the last decade or so, there have literally been hundreds of internet fads or phenomenon’s (or whatever you want to call them) floating around in cyberspace. So I thought I’d make a list (not really in any particular order) of some of the most memorable to hit the web. Now there are tons of new internet celebrities or videos every year, so this list will be pretty obsolete soon enough… Maybe only a in a few months, that’s just how fast these fads can hit. (Thanks a lot Youtube) So until than, please reminisce with me and we’ll look back at some of the most popular videos of the past decade or so. Also instead of pictures I’m going to post links to the videos themselves.
So sweet, so beautiful.
10. The Aicha Guy
When?: Sometime in the early 2000s
Who?: Belgian teenager Jelle Buelens A.K.A. “GellieMan”
What?: A guy singing a Backstreet boys esq. pop song in his room. Complimented by some dancing and some less than stellar production quality.
Why?: I think something that puzzles most is “Is this guy serious?” Because though this video easily borders around the lines of “pathetic” there doesn’t seem to be any indication that he made this as a joke.
Yeah, that’s cool
9. Leeroy Jenkins
When?: 2005
Who?: A guy named Ben Schultz playing as a paladin named “Leeroy Jenkins” in the popular online game “World of Warcraft”
What?: He’s some guy who was playing WOWC who ruined his teams plan by charging out carelessly into battle while yelling “Leeroy Jenkins!” Automatically making him a legend in the digital world.
Why?: I guess people really dug that guy yelling out a funny name and ruining the game for everyone else because I certainly don’t get the appeal. Perhaps it is more memorable to online gamers in general, like when you end up playing with one of those guys who just doesn’t give a shit.
Di Da Di Da Di Duh Doh Doh
8. Hamster Dance
When?: August 1998
Who?: Canadian Art Student Deidre LaCarte who made a website full of dancing and singing hamsters.
What?: They sing and dance… That’s it.
Why?: Combining cute with catchy music is always a deadly combination. I just wish I hadn’t missed my chance to get in on this back in the day.
The man behind the moves
7. Evolution of Dance
When?: 2002
Who?: Motivational Speaker/Comedian Justin Laipply
What?: A guy that imitates a plethora of famous dances from the 1950s to present day.
Why?: People love memorable dances, and when they are all combined? Well then you’ve got them eating right out of your hands. I mean last time I checked this was the most viewed video on Youtube, so obviously this guy knows how to give the people what they want.
It’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time!!!
6. Peanut Butter Jelly Time
When?: The late 90s
Who?: A Flash animated banana dancing to a song I guess about Peanut Butter and Jelly. The most popular version being done by Ryan Gancenia Etrata and Kevin Finn
What?: I pretty much just summed it up already, it’s a cartoon dancing to a song on loop.
Why?: People like that catchy song but I don’t think anyone could care less about the banana… Though they did parody it on Family Guy.
Some stay dry and others feel the pain
5. Chocolate Rain
When?: April 22, 2007
Who?: 20 something singer/songwriter Tay Zonday
What?: A young looking guy with an incredibly low singing voice, singing a song about who knows what.
Why?: I’m gonna go out an a limb here and assume most people just like this guy because he sounds funny. Maybe some people like the song, but I’ll bet that ain’t the reason this guy was on The Jimmy Kimmel Show.
I don’t know which part of his rant this is, but I really don’t want to watch it.
4. Britney Spears Guy
When?: September 9th 2007
Who?: Britney Spears fanatic Chris Crocker
What?: A very effeminate and emotional guy pleading with the media to stop slamming Britney Spears.
Why?: Now you know you’ve hit it big when you’re parodied in “Meet the Spartans” what an honor that is. I think people initially found it bizarre that this guy is practically sobbing over the portrayal of a pop star in the media. I mean I actually first heard about this guy on CNN! It’s amazing that it even reached that kind of national attention, I guess people just wanna know “What’s the deal with this?”
Miya-hee!.
3. Numa Numa Guy
When?: December 2004
Who?: New Jersey native Gary Brolsma
What?: Some fat guy (Gary Brolsma) sitting in a chair while dancing and lip synching to an Eastern European techno song.
Why?: Now people love catchy pop songs and stupid dancing… And a fat nerdy guy is just icing on the cake.
The Saga Begins
2. Star Wars Kid
When?: November 4, 2002
Who?: Quebec teenager Ghyslian Raza
What?: A kid swinging around a large pole (imitating Darth Maul from Star Wars) and looking like a damn fool.
Why?: This poor kid looks pretty funny trying to look cool. Only heightened by the fact that he isn’t the most hip looking kid. I hear he had to transfer schools and sue people to keep a normal personal life.
I Can’t Stop this Feeling
1. The Dancing Baby
When?: Fall 1996
Who?: A 3D-rendered dancing baby created by a Character Studio development team.
What?: A digital baby doing a wacky dance with The addition of Blue Swede’s cover of “Hooked on a Feeling” (added later for commercials and television appearances)
Why?: The internet still felt like a new fresh thing to everyone, so seeing a digital baby dancing on the web was like a milestone in technology. Plus being on Ally McBeal? That was a big deal.
P.S. If I missed any of your favorites, than feel free to tell me. tHopefully none of these videos will be taken down
Tuesday evening Colin, John and I had the privilege of seeing Lawrence of Arabia for the first time on a tremendous Cinerama screen. We all came into it with the knowledge that it would probably be good, and really long, and really epic. I can’t speak for the others, but at least I did not expect to be quite as blown away as I was.
If you do not already know, Lawrence of Arabia is the story of T.E. Lawrence, a British officer who finds his loyalties torn between his native peoples and the Arabian warriors with which he sympathizes. A recurring question is the film is, “who are you,” and Lawrence spends the film trying to find that answer.
The script is tight, calling for many epic sequences as well as plenty of humorous and emotional moments. Steven Spielberg considers it perhaps the greatest screenplay ever written, how can you argue with that?
All the actors are very strong in their roles. Peter O’Toole truly embodies his character, no other man could play Lawrence as well. Omar Sharif is outstanding as Lawrence’s best friend Sherif Ali. You could complain that it is not P.C. to have white actors playing non-white parts, but that’s the way they did things back then. Alec Guinness and Anthony Quinn both look and sound Arabian as well, props to them.
The cinematography and editing are a big part of why the film is famous, and with good reason. Every frame is gorgeous. To see it in anything but widescreen would be a travesty. Some sequences are just awe-inspiring; how often can you saw that about a movie? Everything we see in the film, except for a few shots of the sun, is real. That might not seem like something that important to those who have not seen it before, but when you know everything that unfolds its quite incredible. This is a movie that could not be done with special effects and computers toady.
The editing is inspired, to say the least. Some of the scene changes are just awesome. Lawrence blowing out the match cutting to a sunrise, the long shot of the retaking of Aqaba, the use of direct cutting. If you have aspirations of becoming an editor, or really any job in film, this is a required viewing.
But you probably already knew all this, didn’t you, you smart Cat Fancy reader? You know that films like this are often surrounded with hyperbole. Well this is one case where it’s definitely all true. The movie is nearly four hours long but there isn’t a boring moment. Honestly, Lawrence of Arabia is probably the best film I have had the privilege of seeing on the big screen. If you ever get a similar opportunity, take it.
I decided to go all the way back to the distant future of 1994 with an album very dear to my heart, Dookie by Green Day. As “lame” as they’ve become lately (which I disagree but won’t get into that), this album will forever be a classic.
Some say Green Day did to grunge what grunge did to hair metal. Coming out with a not nescisarrily new sound, but a quality produced version of what their ancestors had done before them. With only 3 insturments, they managed to mix and re-mix until they got a great full sound. Using simple, yet effective harmonies, it strengthens Billy Joe Armstrongs voice to a new level then heard on previous releases, and makes Mike Dirnt a starting member of my back-up all star band.
Not only was it a musically sound album, but lyrically it dealt with an array of different issues. Key subject matter included anxiety and panic attacks, boredom, sexual orientation, and past loves. Although some of the songs still have the fun, imature attitude, Billy Joe’s lyrical skills can be described as “serious”.
Well all in all you won’t find a better pop punk album, so if you don’t have it, get it.
MGMT – Oracular Spectacular 
As Nancy once said in an earlier post, it’s always fun to find music on your own and it was pretty neat when I found about Brooklyn Synthpop duo MGMT pretty much by accident. I just accidentally clicked on some article while browsing through Yahoo News and then somehow stumbled upon the video for MGMT’s latest single “Time to Pretend” which I found to be pretty catchy, so I though I’d check out their new debut album.
Released on the interweb back in October and into stores last January “Oracular Spectacular” is an almost epic blending of pop music and synths with almost every song sounding as if it were recorded in a stadium. The songs here incorporate elements of psychedelic rock, electronica and even disco to give a nice blend of pop experimentation. Though not all the songs have the same punch as some others do, probably due to a few songs feeling somehwat dry, they all at least have some unique instrumentation going on. Like I said, “Time to Pretend” is a standout track with it’s heavy orchestra of keys, visual lyrics and dance beat, “Weekend Wars” sounds like a spot on Bowie tribute and the toe-tappingly fun disco/funk “Electric Feel” is nice little number to add to this collection of poppy tracks. I’d definitely say this album draws some influence from glam music and adding that to synth pop certainly leaves for an original and creative work from this up and coming duo, not half bad.
Favorite Tracks: “Time to Pretend”, “Electric Feel”, “Kids”
