I’m Just About To Set Fire To Everything I See

Question- What is better than live music? Answer- nothing.

Last night, I trekked down to St. Petersburg to attend my third John Mayer concert at the St.Pete Forum. I first saw him when I was in 8th grade at Atlanta’s Phillips Arena when he toured for his ‘Heavier Things’ album, and then again in 2008 in Hyde Park, London.  To be honest, Mayer confuses me. His music and lyrics seem to strike many a personal chord with just about anyone who listens, yet in person, he is notoriously arrogant. As a religious Twitterer, I frequent his page and it’s typically filled with tweets that attest to his conceit such as, “Just read my Rolling Stone cover article. I’m still not sure if I would want to hang out with me.” I just don’t get it. He even said between songs last night, “When you start at the top, sometimes it’s hard to appreciate it all.”

John Mayer

Anyway, back to the music. As you can see in the set list below, he played all but one song from ‘Battle Studies’. I love the album and was glad to hear the new music, but I am a huge fan of some of his older tunes. I was keeping my fingers crossed the whole show for songs like In Your Atmosphere, Comfortable, Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, Split Screen Sadness or Back to You, but I guess that’s the problem when a singer/songwriter blows up—you not only lose the intimacy of a smaller venue, but also the chance to stretch your boundaries. When 80% of your audience is under the age of 18, I guess you’re somewhat obligated to play the headache-inducing Waiting on the World to Change. Groan.

The one thing that hasn’t changed about John Mayer is his talent. Man, can he play the guitar. It was when he broke off from the singing and let his creative fingers juices flow that the arena really came alive. I guess I’ll stomach a cookie-cutter performance of No Such Thing if you’re going to riff through Assassin. My favorite moment of the night, however, was Edge of Desire. I swear that song is well on its way to becoming my favorite. Between the harmonizing and the electric guitar, the song really takes my breath away every time I listen to it, which, according to my iTunes, has been 58 times.

Final verdict. Would I recommend this show to others? I suppose I would, even though it definitely wasn’t the best concert I’ve ever been to. Compared with his contemporary Jason Mraz, I’d take the latter any day. But if you’re looking for a chill, laid-back Friday night activity, definitely pick up a ticket while you can. Plus, check out the set list below to compare!

Set List

1. Heartbreak Warfare
2. Crossroads
3. Bigger Than My Body
4. Belief
5. Perfectly Lonely
6. Assassin
7. Waiting on the World to Change
8. Edge of Desire
9. Half of My Heart
10. All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye
11. No Such Thing
12. Gravity

Encore

1. Who Says
2. Friends, Lovers or Nothing

Academy Awards Nominations continued!

They are here! The nominations have been announced! While there are a few surprises and snubs, they were mostly quite predictable. I have edited the post below, adding  a * next to every guess that I got right. Check out my accuracy- 5/5 in four categories! And once more, for a complete list of the nominees, click here.

Academy Award Nominations

Ladies and Gentleman, may I have your attention please. You may have noticed that my most recent posts have been about awards shows. Why? Because awards shows are one of my favorite things. I don’t know if I can explain it…there is just something about all that star power in one room that gets me hot and bothered. Having said that, the past awards shows pale in comparison to the next and final powerhouse of the year: The Academy Awards. Over the coming weeks, I will attempt to watch as many nominated works as I have time for and, of course, I will chronicle this adventure for you. But before I can continue on this quest, we have a precursor to this annual ceremony-the nominations.

Below, I have listed my predictions for the six major categories. I have based these not only on all that I have read and researched, but also on my own opinions, as I have seen many of the films listed. Will I hit the nail on the head… or be totally off base? It’s only a matter of hours until we find out!

Picture

• (500) Days of Sumemr
• Avatar *
• An Education*
• The Hangover
• The Hurt Locker*
• Inglorious Basterds*
• Invictus
• Precious*
• A Serious Man*
• Up In The Air*

Actor

• Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart*
• George Clooney, Up in the Air*
• Colin Firth, A Single Man*
• Morgan Freeman, Invictus*
• Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker*

Actress

• Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side*
• Helen Mirren, The Last Station*
• Carey Mulligan, An Education*
• Gabourey Sidibe, Precious*
• Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia*

Supporting Actor

• Matt Damon, Invictus*
• Woody Harrelson, The Messenger*
• Christopher Plummer, The Last Station*
• Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones*
• Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds*

Supporting Actress

• Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air*
• Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air*
• Diane Kruger, Inglorious Basterds
• Mo’Nique, Precious*
• Julianne Moore, A Single Man

Director

• Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker*
• James Cameron, Avatar*
• Lee Daniels, Precious*
• Jason Reitman, Up in the Air*
• Quentin Tarantino, Inglorious Basterds*

Grammy’s

Let me start by saying that I was debating titling this ‘The Longest Awards Show Ever’ but decided that Grammy’s would suffice.

I had big plans for the Grammy’s, in terms of this blog. I was going to post my predictions of the winners, then live blog it, and then post my reactions. However, because I was home this weekend, and without a computer, none of this happened. I hope you can forgive me.

I am now utterly exhausted, which upsets me because I have so much to say about tonight’s never-ending Grammy’s. Nevertheless, I’ll have to make this short.

I would gamble that tonight’s ceremony was nothing less than anyone expected. The show was heavy on performances and light on awards. Having said that…

What I Loved:

• Dave Matthews Band performance of “You and Me”. I’ve seen the master live twice before and even sitting in my modest common room, I felt like I was right back at a live show. This band never, ever disappoints.
• The tribute to Michael Jackson performed by Smokey Robinson, Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood, Usher and my personal all-time favorite diva, Celine Dion. Aside from marveling at their gorgeous performance, I was struck by how their blend of voices created a beautiful vocal. Furthermore, I was thrilled to see two American Idol alums on stage. Take that, Simon.
• Lady GaGa and Elton John. I could go on about their performance and how the mash-up of John’s ‘Your Song’ and GaGa’s ‘Speechless’ simply took my breath away…but you all know what Lady GaGa does to me and if I were to describe the power and presence this duo had as the show’s opener, we would be there until next year’s ceremony.
• Green Day and the cast of American Idiot singing ‘21 Guns’- Man, oh man, do I LOVE me some Broadway at the  Grammy’s. I am not typically a fan of Green Day, but after this performance I might have to reconsider.

Ehh…not so much

• Out of all the songs in the world to sing, why on earth would Beyonce choose ‘If I Were A Boy’? Yes, I love the song. Yes, if R. Kelly had accompanied her, I would have enjoyed it more, but honestly, why would Queen B choose this one? Some might say that both ‘Halo’ and ‘Single Ladies’ might be overplayed, but I don’t think anyone, especially the viewers at home, would have complained over another powerhouse performance of one of these nominated songs. In the GaGa v. Beyonce showdown, GaGa won.
• Pink once more demonstrating to us that she has incredible acrobatic skills. During her performance, she swung high above the audience in a performance almost identical to her one at last year’s VMA’s. I get that your theme is ‘Funhouse’, but if I wanted to see an acrobat, I would go to Cirque du Soleil. My advice? Leave the distracting act at home and show us your fun side that we all love so much.
• Stevie Nicks and Taylor Swift. Despite the country princess and rocker legend on front and center, I just couldn’t get into this one. It probably didn’t help, that next to Nicks, Swift’s voice was all but drowned out.

Sorry for the abridged Grammy recap, everyone! But fear not, I will be back tomorrow, rejuvenated and refreshed and with a very, very exciting new post. I’ll give you a hint: It rhymes with Schmacademy Schawards. Until then…

Golden Globes

I’m going to make this short because I’m saving most of my juice for the article I’m writing for this week’s Avenue about the Globes. So let’s dive right in.

Uneventful. Disappointing. Boring. Those three words sum up my sentiments on this year’s awards. As the first in a long line of awards shows, the Golden Globes set the stage for how many of its followers will lean. Especially because Oscar ballots have not been turned in yet. So if the Globes were any indication on how the rest of the awards shows will follow, then all my hopes and dreams for this year’s batch of films are about to go up in smoke.

First of all, yes, I love Avatar, the winner of Best Picture, Drama. I think it’s revolutionary and brilliant, blah blah blah. You know the rest. But its plot? Ice thin. I’m all for honoring achievement in the art of film, but let it be recognized through other categories, like Cinematography (a category not even acknowledged at the Globes) or Best Director, even.  I was a big fan of both Up in the Air and Inglorious Basterds, two movies rich in plot and character. I haven’t seen The Hurt Locker or Precious yet, but their reputations precede them in accolades. The win for Avatar, quite frankly, upsets me.

Secondly, Jane Lynch of Glee didn’t win for Best Supporting Actress in the television portion of the awards. Let me say this again. Jane Lynch, the snappy, sassy, sharp and hysterical actress who plays such a fun character, was not recognized in what was definitely one of the biggest surprises of the night. I won’t bore you with my tirade of how this INFURIATES me, but rest assured, that I am incensed. If anything, she should have won for the mere fact that her acceptance speech was bound to be more exciting than, oh, I don’t know, everyone else who gave one.

Thirdly, Ricky Gervais was boring. The Globes do not typically utilize a host…and now I see why. They gave Gervais no time to exercise his comedic abilities and he was absent for 99% of the show. Yes, he made some funny quips involving Mel Gibson and Steve Carrell, but overall he was merely a prop. That was not even used. Ugh.

Fourth, Alec Baldwin won for 30 Rock AGAIN. He has picked up the Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy/Musical Series, three out of the past four years. Listen, I love 30 Rock. Huge fan, actually. But, for the love of GaGa, give someone else a chance. Steve Carrell or Matthew Morrison would have been perfectly adequate substitutes. At least Tina Fey didn’t win again.

I’m sure at this point you’re tired of hearing me whine about the Globes, so let me leave you with a quick cut of some of the rare moments that I did find to be worth watching:

• Glee (yay!) picked up the win Best Television Series- Comedy or Musical. This made me extremely happy although I would have been equally as ecstatic to see Modern Family take the win.
• Mo’Nique, winner of Best Supporting Actress, gave a tearful and heartwarming speech that kicked off the evening
• Robert Downey Jr. made things more exciting in his acceptance of  his Best Actor, Musical/Comedy award
• The Hangover (another yay!) won Best Picture, Musical/Comedy. Although I was secretly rooting for my guilty pleasure, (500) Days of Summer, this summer blockbuster was a worthy replacement
• Michael C. Hall and John Lithgow picked up acting awards for Dexter. Dexter is my newest TV conquest, and although I’m only halfway through season 2, I’m in love with the show and can’t wait to catch up

Ok, I’ll wrap things up now. Let’s keep our finger’s crossed that next week’s SAG awards will bring a bit more excitement and energy to the floor. Until then, you can check out a complete list of tonight’s winners here.

A preview for your thoughts

Sorry, sorry, sorry. I know I’ve been MIA once more. What can I say, I’m taking a large course load this semester and currently writing for two different publications, INsite magazine, and The Avenue, a weekly entertainment section of The Independent Florida Alligator. Sometimes after all that writing, believe it or not, I get a little tired. Hey, I’m trying to prevent carpal tunnel here.  Anyway,  I added a cool feature to my blog in which I will post links to my stories as they’re published. Check it out on your right.

So, back to business. There is a lot going on right now. In the coming weeks we have the premieres of 24, American Idol, Project Runway, Lauren Graham’s return to primetime on NBC’s Parenthood and a delicious looking new show on ABC called The Deep End. Check back here for reviews on all of them. Furthermore, we are just weeks away from the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Gosh, I’m getting tired just thinking about this.

And as if that wasn’t enough, we are days off from entering my absolute favorite time of the year. No, not my birthday. Not Valentine’s Day, not spring break, not the hopeful break from this frigid weather. Two words. Awards. Season.

We’ve got the Golden Globes on Jan. 17 followed by the SAG’s Jan. 23, continuing to the Grammy’s Jan. 31, and then the Oscar nominations announcement Feb. 2, culminating in the mecca of all awards shows- the Academy Awards on March 7.

Let me be clear. If there was ever a time to read this blog- IT IS NOW. The gloves are coming off and the computer keys are getting primed because there will be posts pre-award shows about my predictions and post-award show about my thoughts. If you’re lucky, you might even see a live blog snuck in here once or twice.

In the meantime, let me advise you on what movies you should be checking out. If you haven’t seen Avatar yet, go hide in a corner because if I find you, you will be tarred and feathered. Not only is this movie on its way to breaking every single record in the book, it’s highly likely it will go head to head with Up in the Air for the coveted Best Picture award. Speaking of Up in the Air, you should also invest a Sunday to see it. It’s contemporary, it’s accurate and has a killer cast that will hopefully rake up honors for their work.  If you’re too lazy to get to a movie theater, then go pick up The Hurt Locker, out on DVD Jan. 12 (tomorrow). I will be renting it this weekend and plan to share my thoughts with all of you. It’s supposed to be one hell of a movie and there is talk of Kathryn Bigelow becoming the first female ever to pick up the Best Director Oscar. BIG DEAL, PEOPLE.

So there are three movies to keep you occupied for now. I’ll be back in a few days with a super-long post detailing my Golden Globe predictions for this weekend, but check back on Thursday for the newest links to my articles. I have two this week- one about dance troupe Groovaloo (they’re coming to Gainesville this weekend) and an editorial piece that could be quite controversial. What’s it about? You’ll have to check back here to find out!

Avatar

The season of worthy movies is beginning, with some of the year’s biggest films hitting box offices in the coming weeks. I already made my list of what I like to call a ‘Must See ASAP’ and first on it? Avatar.

Clearly, the hype for this movie has been unprecedented, as it marks James Cameron’s major return to the big screen. His last large-scale directorial effort was known as a little movie called Titanic. Never heard of it? Look it up. What Cameron was known for in Titanic translates directly into the heart of Avatar: big special effects that not only radiate, but leave you with a sore jaw from its continued dropping. From the opening credits to the last frame, this film dazzles with its technicolor creation.

Avatar takes place on the planet Pandora in the year 2154. U.S. military forces have inhabited the planet, hoping to not only learn more about it, but to also mine a rare mineral found there worth millions of dollars. The inhabitants of this planet range from tiny, multi-colored lightening bugs, to enormous four-eyed, multi-horned rhinoceros-like creatures. Pandora’s equivalents of a human race come in the form of Na’vi, a tribe of tall, blue-skinned, loincloth-wearing creatures who look similar to humans, but have the ability to leap and climb as lithely as tree dwellers.

Neytiri, one of Na'vi species

In order to win the Na’vi over and infiltrate their clan, the humans have created the Avatar program, where a human uses a pod-like device to create a state of subconsciousness in order to enter a Na’vi host body. Once they have fused their mind with a Na’vi body, they essentially can become one of the Na’vi…that is, until the pod is opened and they are brought back. Then, their host body falls to the ground, rendered useless until its human counterpart enters it once again.

Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), who is confined to a wheel chair, is the newest recruit to the Avatar program. When he enters his host body, he is able to use his legs again. And boy, does he use them. Seemingly fearless, Jake tackles Pandora’s fiercest animals the minute he touches down on the planet. Soon, he meets Neytiri (Zoë Saldana) who teaches him how take full advantage of his new chiseled, lean and agile body.

This movie continues in a fashion that is eerily reminiscent of Pocahontas. Jake (a.k.a. John Smith) is at first skeptical of Pandora and its riches..but then starts to understand all that it has to offer and falls for Neytiri. Next, the humans want to take over Pandora and exploit its resources and their leader, Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) has a clear intent: he wants to wipe out all that is valuable to the Na’vi, including -get this- their Tree of Souls. Starting to see the resemblance?

Other cast members include Sigourney Weaver as a sharp-mouthed, passionate scientist spearheading the Na’vi conservationist efforts, Michelle Rodriguez as the resident rebellious bad-ass, and Giovanni Ribisi as the comical, yet unrelenting, director of the program.

To put it simply, Avatar is mesmerizing. The consortium of colors and wildlife overwhelm; you simply don’t know where to look. Where the film really comes alive is when night falls and the ground glows and neon insects hum about. The constellation-like freckles on the Na’vi’s faces and their brilliant blue hue is magnified by this and the effect is dazzling. Furthermore, the action scenes are just as impressive. Cameron’s hiatus was well worth it once you see his finished product.

The only thing that Cameron asks of his audience is simple acceptance. Like other sci-fi movies, you truly must accept what you’re seeing, accept that these creatures can coexist on such a planet, or the film will be lost on you. Sure, there are some times where you can’t help but scoff, like when Jake, in his human form, strokes the face of Neytiri, but other than that, the overall experience depends on believing. If you don’t, then the whole movie will not translate.

Overall, Avatar is a sensory experience. The action, romance and adventure pale in comparison to the rush of  color and movement filling the screen. While the plot could be less convoluted and slightly more convincing, the thrill of this new world will be enough to leave you wanting more. Already nominated for four Golden Globes, including Best Director and Best Motion Picture-Drama, Avatar is guaranteed to make you want to book a one-way ticket to Pandora.

If I had a hammer…

Hi, everyone. Before we begin, let me address two things:

1. I know, I know. I’ve been off the map for what feels like months. Years, even. Your life was a littler darker without me, perhaps? Did you wander around in a daze trying to figure out what to do without my voice in your head? Forgive me, please. A small thing I like to call finals (insert groaning here) got in the way and I had to buckle down and plow through them before I could return to you. But I’m back now, just in time for the holiday season. Which brings me to #2…

2. Hopefully you noticed the snow falling at the top of your page? No, this is not your imagination and no, snow is not falling on top of your Apple. I worked some magic and got snow to fall to get everyone ready for the holidays. So don’t be alarmed. Rather, enjoy the ambience of it.

So enough jabbering, let’s get down to business. While most of my fellow classmates spent their Sunday holed up in some dark, dusty corner of the library drowning themselves in Starbucks and refreshing Facebook 30 times in one minute in order to evade studying, my day started off with a bang…err, should I say hammer?

I spent yesterday building a house. But not just any house, the newest house to be chosen by ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The family chosen was Tobin and Jill Wagstaff and their four children: Dallas, 5; Rudy, 6; Tobin James, 7; and Jolene, 4. The family runs a nonprofit music school in Gainesville, but has been struggling to make ends meet.

I arrived at 11:45 a.m. and was given a hard hat and blue shirt with instructions to wear both at all times. The site was pretty chaotic. Yards had been taken over, trailers and barricades lined the streets and camera crews weaved through saws and ladders. Luckily, my shift was on day 6 of the build, so the house was essentially finished, save for painting and moving furniture in, so I got to see most of the finished product.

My first duty as volunteer was to line one of the rooms with paper so painting could be finished. As I’m doing this, who walks in? Ty Pennington himself. The first thing I noticed was not his good looks, but rather his height. Believe it or not, he’s pretty short. To top it all off, he actually filmed a segment of the show with me in the background, which was pretty cool.

Ty Pennington giving instructions on how to finish the studio

Sorry for the quality of the picture. We weren’t allowed to have cameras, so I had to snap this one from my phone. After finishing up my lining, I was sent to the paint tent. I spent about three hours in there, under the direction of Didiayer Snyder, another one of the designers. I helped paint one of the wall unit’s for one of the kids’ rooms and also some furnishings for the master bedroom.

After my hands and  arms were covered in paint, I headed back towards the house, just in time to see the UF marching band parade down the street. The procession was quite a scene. Headed by our mascots Albert and Alberta, it also consisted of the UF men’s basketball team, our cheerleaders, members of the football team and Billy Donovan, the head basketball coach. As the parade came to a halt in front of the house, the designers, Ty, Didiayer, Paul DiMeo and Eduardo Xol ran out. See below for photo.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition designers Ty Pennington, Didiayer Snyder, Eduardo Xol and Paul DiMeo

After the brouhaha ended, I got back to work. This time, positioning myself in an assembly line leading from a large truck into the house in order to transport the family’s clothes. After that, it was on to the furniture. Everything was brand new and everything was beautiful. If you watch the show, it truly is an accurate depiction of what goes on. In the six hours I spent there, people were working relentlessly, shouting orders through headphones and directing people in order to get everything in its proper place. When the sun started to set, the spotlights went on, illuminating the site in order to ensure maximum productivity throughout the night. Spectators came and went throughout the day, not only hoping to get a glimpse of Ty on the roof, but also to support their neighbors and friends that were working around the clock on this project. Although I was unable to stay to see the “Move that Bus” moment today, I know there was no possible way that the Wagstaff family couldn’t have been in awe of their new home. Rumor has it that the episode will air in February, but check out The Gainesville Sun’s photos of the reveal to hold you over until then. As for me, I’m still sore from the painting and lifting, but it was more than worth it to spend the day helping out this deserving family.

I want to be a part of it….

It’s Thanksgiving morning!  Ovens are heating and turkey carving is put on hold as television sets all over America switch on to watch The 83rd Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. This Turkey Day event is stuffed with performances and floats meant to showcase America’s favorite performers, as well as shamelessly plug host-channel NBC’s own stars. Case in point- they cut the cast of Glee’s performance once NBC execs realized that they would be promoting a competing channel.

Anyway, I digress. Here are some of my favorite moments of this year’s parade, as well as some that I could have done without:

• Highlight- the digital aerial map that took those of us not too familiar with the NYC grid through the 2.5-mile parade route. Great way to make those sitting at home feel like they are in the midst of the action.
• Low Point- Cyndi Lauper’s performance on top of a giant pink castle. Her hot-pink,tinged mohawk hair hardly seemed appropriate or necessary when she is performing with several young girls below her.
• Highlight- The Broadway cast of Hair kicking off the show with “Aquarius.” Maybe those oblivious Americans who hadn’t yet had the privilege of watching this Tony-award winning cast perform will finally realize what they’ve been missing.
• Highlight- the New Jersey Nets dance-off between kids and seniors. Even though their performance was only about 45 seconds, it was by far the most heartwarming performance of the show.
• Low Point- Jane Krakowski’s singing some hokey Christmas song on an even hokier float that served absolutely zero purpose other than to plug her hit show, 30 Rock.
• Undecided- While the Yo Gabba Gabba performance quite frankly creeped me out, my 7-and-8-year old cousins took this as an opportunity to jump and dance in unison.
• Highlight- Jimmy Fallon and The Roots performing a medley of Christmas songs atop a huge electric guitar. It looked like Fallon was having the time of his life. My favorite performance of the morning.

Need something to do while the turkey’s in the over? Keep NBC on to check out The National Dog Show. Happy Turkey Day, everyone!

We now interrupt our regularly scheduled programming…

To my loyal readers,

While I would love all of my fellow entertainment fiends out in the blogosphere to think that my life is chock-full of entertainment 24/7…there are other tasks at hand that need tending to, which, to my dismay, occupy the time that would otherwise be spent writing rants and raves for all of you. So, I figured that it might be a good idea to let you peek in to my interests (albeit miniscule) outside of the entertainment realm. Here we go!

I LOVE:

• staying in when it’s raining
• driving with the windows down
• sarcasm
• memorizing lyrics
• Deer Park sports water bottles
• sleeping with lots of pillows
• taking Body Pump at the gym
• grammar

I HATE:

• when my road rage gets the best of me
• eating chocolate without milk
• not being able to fall asleep
• long waits at restaurants
• doing laundry
• feeling uninformed
• when something I’ve liked for a long time suddenly blows up…like Twilight. Posers.
• not being in town for a concert I want to go to

So that’s a bit about me, readers. Clearly a life without entertainment is no life at all, but hey, call me multi-dimensional. Furthermore, I encourage all of you to share what your life is like when you’re not burying your nose in the latest news. Don’t be shy…speak up!

I extend my deepest apologies if my out-of-the-ordinary post threw you for a loop. And now back to your regularly scheduled programming.