Don't Dream It's Over

Don't let them win.

Don't Dream It's Over // Sarah Blasko 

Quick UFC 130 Review

Rick "The Horror" Story upsets Thiago "Pit Bull" Alves at UFC 130.

UFC 130 went pretty much as expected, maybe more dull than anticipated, if anything. Hit the jump for my thoughts on the event, and what to expect moving forward.

New Arcade Fire.

Hypocrite, reader
My double, my brother
Where did we lose our way?
It's like we're speaking in tongues
It's like we're speaking in tongues

Arcade Fire - Speaking in Tongues (feat. David Byrne)

UFC 130

UFC 130 is tomorrow night, and although the card was definiley hurt by the withdrawl of Frankie Edgar(back), Grey Maynard(knee) and especially Thiago Silva(alternative medicine) it should still be a pretty decent night of fights. The outcome of the main-event is probably a foregone conclusion, but the rest of the card is full of fairly even match-ups. Here are my thoughts:

Remembering Macho Man

The year was 1993. I had been an avid sports card collector, frequenting the local hobby shop with as much regularity an 8 year-old had the means to. On this day though, something strange happened. I was stunned by what I saw. It wasn't what I'd come for, and it certianly wasnt anything I would see on a hockey card. I don't even think I had noticed the shop had been primarily a comic book store until that very moment. It was Superman. Drenched in thick black blood, in the arms of a crying Lois Lane. His ripped and torn-up cape, a makeshift flag, flying half-mast in the wind over the cracked cement of downtown Metropolis. Superman was dead.

Radiohead - Lotus Flower

There's an empty space inside my heart
Where the weeds take root
And now I'll set you free
I'll set you free

 

Radiohead - Lotus Flower (Video)

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Lykke Li - I'm Good, I'm Gone(2008)

And if you say I'm not OK
with miles to go
If you say there ain't no way that i could know
If you say i aim too high from down below
Well, say it now 'cause when i'm gone
You'll be callin' but i won't be at the phone

MGMT - Flash Delirium (2010)

Video of the Day

 

66 55 red battleships
40 earthlike planets
3 holes 2 tits
1 fork in it's side
Zero tears in their eyes

See Bridesmaids.

It's been a while since I've eagerly anticipated the release of a movie. Sure, I wanted to see Scream 4 and Source Code upon seeing the trailer for them, long before their respective release dates(Neither film let me down, by the way) but Bridesmaids is a film I've looked forward to since reading the initial news of what the premise was and the names attached to star in it, like a Tolkien fanboy reading every last miniature detail on the production The Hobbit movie. I guess you could call me an SNL fanboy if we're going there.

Anyways, Monday night, I went to see Bridesmaids in theaters and was surprised by two things:
First, how packed the theater was. There wasnt an empty seat by the time the first opening trailers were beginning, which shows just how powerful word of mouth can be.
And 2, how great the movie actually is. It's much more than just a "female hangover"(it's way better) It was a female-centric comedy that I laughed at more times than any other movie I can remember, (except maybe duece bigalow 2:European Gigalo) and I'm sure any male movie goer would as well. It's just a great movie and no matter what sex you are, you will enjoy it.  It's funny, thoughtful, heart-wrenching, funny, unpredictable, funny, sweet and above all else, fucking hilarious.

It's not the perfect movie though. Like most modern comedies, it does run a bit long and having the tremendously goofy and weird Maya Rudolph play the bride was a bit of a waste, as she is talented enough to outshine most of the cast(as she did many times at SNL)playing the right role. But these are small issues, and I'm fairly critical so go see Bridesmaids and find out for yourself. I highly recommend.

Hole - Violet (1995)

 

You should learn when to go
You should learn how to say no

Aqua - How R U Doin? (2011)

Video of the Day

 

Hey remember Aqua? Well they're back!(in pog form!...not really) But yeah, everyones favourite danish-dance-pop duo(?) is back from the abyss with "How R U Doin?"

It's not my cup of tea, but it definitely sounds like it would fit into any dance radio playlist next to Far East Movement or David Guetta. So, good for them! Well almost, but no. (!!!)

The Aqua I remember had this kinda of alternative campy twist on generic eurotrash dance music and embraced that image, especially in they're videos. Barbie Girl was catchy and the accompanying video was equally ridiculous, as were most of Aqua's other hits from back in the day like Dr Jones which was my personal fav.  

How R U Doin? wreaks of mainstream conformity and simple for the sake of being simple lyrics that dont mean anything really. Just a catchy beat. NO campy ironic fun twists in either the song of the video. But I'm all for comebacks and I suppose if any genre of music need not have any deeper meaning, it's dance, so I hope they're find the success they are looking for. 

Now lets all keep our fingers crossed for an Ace of Bass reunion.

Brandon Flowers - Only The Young (2010)

Video of the Day

 

Baby you can start again.
Laughing in the open air; have yourself another dream.
Tonight.
Maybe we can start again.

Nirvana - In Bloom

Video of the Day

He's the one who likes all the pretty songs.
And he likes to sing along. And he likes to shoot his gun.
But he knows not what it mean. Knows not what it mean.

Kamail Nanjani is actually funny

 

Pakistani-American stand-up Kamail Nanjani is extremely funny and although he isnt very famous yet, being the true talent that he is, it's only a matter of time before he's well known. Inevitably, comparisons will be made with the other brown stand-up, Russel Peters but this is totally unwarranted. They have two very different styles and focus on different themes in their act. Peters, to me, has always been a one-trick pony of sorts in that he relies on his unmatched talent in mimicking foreign accents as the basis for his act. He's lucky that his "one-trick" is amazing, and has carried him as far as it has. In his last stand up special Red, White and Brown, Peters attempted some alternate material which wasn't as focused on stereotypes and race. The result was surprisingly average. In comparison Nanjani has the superior materiel and doesn't overly-rely on his race or racial comedy to get laughs. He's just funny. Check out the few videos he does have youtube. You wont be disappointed. And if you still prefer Russel, well he's doing a show tomorrow night in Mississauga...A far cry from the 2 back to back sold out shows he did at the ACC a few years ago.

Little Thoughts

Jon Bovi dying on a prayer

•  Today the trailer for Horrible Bosses debuted and it looks like it has the potential to be the funniest movie this year. The ensemble (STACKED) cast includes Jason Bateman, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, surprisingly hilarious Colin Farrell and my personal favourite Jason Sudeikis of SNL fame. Much like Kristen Wiig’s Braidsmaids, I look forward to new audiences being introduced to the witty and charming (man crush alert) Sudeikis who, while not as insanely funny as his SNL contemporaries, has this sort of charisma that is very likeable. Out of the current batch of SNLers, I predict the biggest level of stardom will be attained by the former member of Jon Bovi. Also in this movie, Jennifer Aniston who looks to redeem herself from the Sandler film Just Go with it. That’s a pretty big hole to dig yourself out of, but Rachel does have her moments and hopefully she can add something to this all-star cast.

• NO I haven’t seen THOR or Fast Five, nor do I plan on it. I don’t know much about the Thor comic books, I’m unfamiliar with the actor who plays the title character and I’ve soured on Natalie Portman since watching  the almost unwatchable No Strings Attached. I dont think they'll miss my $8 though as THOR already passed the $300million mark after less than a week. Also, Action movies aren’t really my thing. Which brings us to Fast Five which has sort of been 2011’s version of The Expendables in that it’s aware that it’s a mindless action movie full of explosions and car crashes and embraces that fact, not trying to be anything more. Good for you guys! Still not interested.
• I AM however interested in seeing my beloved Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph kill it in Bridesmaids, which opens today and is currently sitting at an impressive 91% at rotton tomatoes. Cant wait to see it. Hopefully it does well at the box office, but I doubt it. R- rated female-centric comedies dont really have that broad of a demographic, especially considering the stars arent very well known to the paying majority out there. Oh well, quality over quantity I guess.
• Brock Lesnar is apparently sick again and out of his UFC 131 bout with Junior Dos Santos who will now face the equally as monstrous Shane Carwin. I like Brock and hope he’s okay but man oh man this is a WAY BETTER fight. Carwin poses the same problems that Brock did for JDS but he can stand and bang with him as well. The winner of this fight faces Cain later this year and again Carwin vs Velasquez is the real money fight of the UFC heavyweight division and if JDS can get by Carwin (I strongly doubt it) he’ll certainly be qualified to dethrone Cain….So I’m excited for either potential match-up. It boggles my mind however that JDS opened up as the nearly 3-1 favourite over Carwin. That's way off.
  
• In “Almost But No” blog news, I’ve been extremely preoccupied with getting my school business sorted out while working and getting to the gym more so the blog has kind of devolved into me just posting my favourite music videos.  Sorry to those (both) of you who actually care to read what I have to say, but I’ll try to actually blog more of my thoughts going forward although… 
• I Fucking Love summer. I plan on enjoying it this year for once.    

Bloc Party - Little Thoughts (2004)

Been thinking little thoughts
Keep on walking try to stay up
Pay Attention to the details
We go slowly, slowly down

traffic test.

Video Of The Day

 

Maq Osman feat. Mandy - Ciroc (2011)