When I got home from dinner with my friend Andrew I sat down hit play on my Itunes and the shuffle picked the few random songs that I did not want to listen, but then one ironic song hit my ears. I have to admit back in the day (not that far back) but in 2001 I loved John Mayer and his guitar playing ways. "No Such Thing" was my anthem, but there was on other song on his EP No Room for Squares had one more song that used to be on repeat, and that was "My Stupid Mouth." The song had a certain power in its vocabulary, and always made me think of those times my mouth opened and well like in the song something stupid came out and I regretted it. Today was one of those days.
Today and maybe even yesterday I put my foot in my mouth. After a beautiful vacation in San Francisco, and a great time at the Mumford and Sons concert I thought I was prepped to get back to work. I was wrong. When I got back things got into full swing, and without giving away too much myself and a couple of my co-workers were left, well angry. I tried to talk to one of my big bosses no luck, and frustration ensues. Then thanks to a night of Bunheads, trivia, and show tunes i was saved I walked into my bosses office today, and then felt brushed off again, although both of us may have miss communicated, insert my stupid mouth and yelling something and acting stupid.
At this point it does not matter what I said, well except the words "I really want to quit!" Anger and frustration built up from not speaking my mind or saying something that could have sounded educated my anger got the best of me, and well I let it out. I think I felt so many things in that moment, anger, frustration, fear, etc., my emotions ran the gamut. How do you solve things like your stupid mouth, well I guess I write about them and eat BBQ. This moment or well these moments have forced me to pay tribute to the once relevant John Mayer, thanks for the words!
Last night after a fun vacation in California, and recovering from jet lag I drove with my friend Shawn to Providence, Rhode Island to go to a concert. Providence is about an hour outside of Boston so I fought off my jet lag to listen to one of my favorite bands, Mumford and Sons. My friend Shawn and I left Boston at around 4 pm and decided to grab a bite to eat at The Fez (solid mac and cheese) and walk around the city.
I had been to Rhode Island before, but never Providence. Providence is an interesting little city, but also feels like a cute small town. Shawn and I circled the various streets after dinner, walking around as most of the stores were closed which was interesting. Providence seems to have this incredibly unique balance of being city and while feeling like a small town. The population is around 178,000, which is interesting because there are numerous colleges within the city, so there is a balance of youth and vibrance that keeps this city pushing itself to stay hip while maintaing a unique culture.
Shawn and I wondered around the mostly closed street fronts,. I was surprised that the town appeared to be shut down. Providence has this mix between being a small hip urban environment matched with being a small college town, much like a lot of the Northeast. We ended our wandering at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC). PPAC represents Providence so well, the venue has this classical yet hip vibe that set the tone for one of the best concerts I have ever seen.
Aaron Embry came to the stage with grace and "providence" as he stated. This harmonica/guitar playing musician lulled myself and the audience into this uniquely beautiful trance. Aaron has a great presence, and brings a unique opening tone for the concert. Aaron has worked with a wide variety of musicians ranging from Jane's Addiction, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, and Elliot Smith. This alt rocker guy has a bright personality that showed his beautiful gratitude and soul within his music.
Dawes took the stage next. My friend Shawn has seen the band seven times, but this band was incredibly new to me. Shawn and I listened to Dawes on the way up, and their lead singer Taylor Goldsmith has a voice that sounds like the Boss, Bruce Springsteen. The band also sounds like the Jackson Brown Band, which my friend Shawn said, and he also told me me that the band had performed with them before. Dawes has a harder edge rock that set the path for the electrifying Mumford and Sons. Matt Mumford came on stage to jam with Dawes, and the chemistry was flawless. This proved to be one of the of the greatest build ups by opening acts that I have ever seen.
Describing Mumford and Sons on stage is impossible, they gave me chills with every strum of their banjo and guitar, all of their voices hit notes that sent shivers down my spine, and they rocked the house. This was one of the shows I have ever seen. Their numbers ranged from a rock the house encore of The Cave and Little Lion Man to and beautiful version of Awake my Soul, and the most beautiful version of the quietly beautiful Timeshel. They also debuted new stuff from their new album. This incredible music set with the background of an incredible stage set up and light show combined proved to be one of the bands favorite performance venues, and allowed to create a great musical experience. Mumford and Sons, Dawes, and Aaron Embry combined with the charm of Providence provided an incredible concert and travel experience that will be tough to beat.
When people in the industry or the awards circuit talk about the the EGOT they are speaking about people who have won an (E)mmy, (G)rammy, (O)scar, and (T)ony. 30 Rock recently spoofed the concept of awards, and this honor, but winning every single one of these trophies is incredibly rare. Marvin Hamlisch is one of seven people to have this honor, and I am sad to say that he passed away today at age 68. Marvin was an accomplished composer of film, television and stage, and known for his work with A Chorus Line, and the film They Way We Were. Here are some of his most famous musical compositions and songs below. Your music will be missed.
My first post in August! I have been away, busy with work, and also on vacation in San Francisco since last Thursday so I did not have much time devoted to the world of popular culture, and not much happened, except everyone finding out J Lo's boyfriend may be gay. The big story was that I went on vacation to San Francisco. This was my first time in the city, and first time on the west coast. My goal this year has been to visit places I have never been to before, this started with St. Louis, then San Francisco this past weekend, Austin, Texas in October and Las Vegas next March (I need to save money!)
I am excited to visit all of those spots, but fell in love with San Francisco this past weekend. I may have in fact as the slogan goes, left my heart in San Francisco. My friends Jonathan and Dan took me on a tour of the city and while I did not see everything I had such a great time. The two were great hosts and tour guides showing me a lot of fun places around the city, and the fun unique history to many different parts of the city.
My plan landed on Thursday and like a whirl wind Jonathan and I were off to drop my bags at his apartment, and then on one intense walking tour filled with ever dreaded hills. I still do not know all of the exact sites we visited but the most interesting was Nob Hill and the Top of the Mark. Nob Hill is an incredibly large hill (for those who have never heard of it or seen it). Every time we reached a plateau of the hill I would add in a comment "There can't be more!" or "Wow this never ends." This hill is representative of the culture, and one of the most interesting aspects of the lay out of the city. Around the top of the hill is a place called Top of the Mark. Top of the Mark is at the Intercontinental Hotel, and is bar restaurant with a fantastic view the financial district, Chinatown, North Beach, The San Francisco Bay, and especially of Grace Cathedral and Huntington Park. While we did not stay to eat or drink, we stole a peak of the view and it was incredible. Thursday night was a mellow night in with dinner , wine, and the Olympics. After a day of hoofing it (not the sexual term), relaxing in was incredible.
Friday Dan took me, and we attempted to walk on the Golden Gate Bridge, but someone fell asleep on the bridge and they had to get him down which backed up traffic, and re routed buses in the area. We decided to take a bus to a different area and were able to see the Golden Gate bridge from a distance, was an incredible site even with all the fog. If we had not been re routed Dan would not have been able to show me the Palace of Fine Art, which is one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. Then we took another bus to the Hate, which was a neat area filled with cool stores, restaurants, etc. This is one of the best parts about San Francisco the city has such a uniquely rich point of view (as a city). The inhabitants of the city have come from all over, but the feel or vibe of the city has this wonderfully eclectic cohesion. While those two words are in opposition to one another this city feels or has that vibe, and is one of the most places I have ever visited.
What is a city, especially San Francisco without talking about the gay scene, which is an actual scene unlike Boston. Throughout the city San Francisco has gay bars all over the place, but the main area where they exist, and where there is an epicenter to the LGBT world, is the neighborhood referred to as the Castro. What a great area filled with numerous bars (I think I hit them all). My favorite place I visited was original store front for Harvey Milk's original store front for his camera store, which is now an HRC store. Being inside of this store had an aura which gave me chills, and it looked exactly as did on film in Milk. Walking around this neighborhood and visiting the different places was proof the city is an epicenter of welcome open minded individuals.
Every post I have written about connects the city to a film, although it was difficult to find one centered on Louisville. San Francisco has so many films that take place in the city, from Vertigo (which was recently named the best film of all time), all the way to Sister Act, which we drove past the church. While I was in the city I envisioned the set of Milk, and Vertigo and felt as though setting the film in this city is such an incredible choice because of the unique feel and character the city provides to the pop culture experience. As I walked into the comic store it made me think about where the X-Men live, well some of them, in the comics.
The X-Men have a base outside of the city of San Francisco and Cyclops has even worked with their mayor to help set up ways for them to stay protected. When Xavier's Institute burned to the ground Cyclops decided to move the team to an island where sanctuary for the different was a way of life, so he picked San Francisco. Makes Sense. Throughout the years super heroes have had the wrestle with their unique powers which provide them with great responsibility. All heroes whether human or not have taken on an identity to help them blend in within the non super world. People like Batman (Bruce Wayne), Spider-Man (Peter Parker) have had to live their life with a secret to protect the people within their world. Most LGBT folks live they have had to hide their identity or tried to pass among the heteronormative world in order for protection.
Throughout time comic books have provided outsiders an opportunity to feel like they had the strength, power an opportunity to seize the day. In the current state of comics Cyclops bringing his team to San Francisco and working with the mayor provides incredible insight into the way popular culture connects with present day issues. The city is a safe haven where culture infusion takes a hold and allows not only LGBT people, but people from a variety of cultures to come share in one of the most diverse places in the nation. The cities vibe allows people to be them self,not a place of tolerance but an integration of openly expressed cultural expressions. This city fascinates me and 4 days was just not enough! I will be back San Francisco, you have my hear after all.
Katy Perry has returned to be a major player at this award show two years in a row, this year with four nominations including Video of the Year for Wide Awake. Rihanna had 5 nominations, while she was featured in two other videos. Rihanna was featured in the videos of one of the other major nominees Drake who also 5 nominations. There is no nominee with more than this, the field is evenly spread this year which highlights a lackluster crop of potential nominees. Here is a list of all the nominees, and take a look to see some of the videos.
July has been the month of super heroes, namely the Spider-Man reboot, and the final chapter of the Batman reboot. The Amazing Spider-Man showed promise for a new franchise, while The Dark Knight rises was hit with a real life tragedy the film aptly concluded the films reboot (although there may be more). Ted which opened at the end of June carried out some big R rated numbers and made audiences laugh all the way to what will be a 200 million dollar domestic gross.
So what's in store for August? August is usually the month where Hollywood transitions from the bombastic summer explosions to the real transition month of September. August always feels like the Summer leftovers, but this month has an interesting array of films that may excite movie fans.
August 3rd
Total Recall (2012)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
Both films seem unnecessary. Total Recall was fine the first time, and this version with Collin Farrell, Jessica Biel, and Kate Beckinsale gets worse every time I see the preview. The Wimpy Kid films get bad reviews and the gross is so small, why are they making another one? Good question, but there is no good answer. I am glad I am going to San Francisco this weekend.
August 10th
The Bourne Legacy
The Campaign
Hope Springs
With Matt Damon stepping away from the franchise, or well not being brought back, I was hesitant about the future of these films. The truth of the matter is that Bourne is the American James Bond; he is interchangeable or well there is a lot to do with this CIA project, and Jeremy Renner, and writer/director Tony Gilroy should meet the challenge (Gilroy wrote Supremacy-the best Bourne film). The Campaign looks terrible, even punching a baby looks stupid. Hope Springs will bring out Streeps hardcore mom fans, but the film looks suburban painful.
August 17th
The Expendables 2
ParaNorman
Sparkle
The Odd Life of Timothy Green
Cosmopolis (limited opening NYC/LA)
What a weekend! I have to admit Expendables 2 looks fun! I am down. Sparkle is also the last film with Whitney Houston, but the marketing has been poor on this film this will be interesting. ParaNorman looks weird, and not in a good way. Timothy Green looks like typical Disney films that are so sacrine and sweet it's as if you just ate a lemon. Cosmopolis looks pretty cool, and who doesn't love a good David Cronenberg flick?
August 24th
Premium Rush
Hit and Run
Premium rush has my main man JGL (Joseph Gordon Levitt) and a solid cast but the premise never sold me. Hit and Run looks like one of the worst films I have ever seen.
August 31st
Lawless (Opens 8/29)
The Possession
Lawless look solid, while The Possession looks scary as hell. I am down for Lawless, but the end of August and early September are so crazy for me I will not be sad to miss either of these movies.
So for those who may not know, but odds are that if you read about pop culture you do, everyone submits an episode (s) for the perspective category they are nominated for. This is this year's comedy acting race, and some analysis on the race (so far).
BEST COMEDY SERIES: 30 ROCK * Season 6 * NBC Tape A: "Idiots Are People Two!" & "Idiots Are People Three!" Tape B: "The Tuxedo Begins" & "St. Patrick's Day" Tape C: "Meet the Woggels!" & "Murphy Brown Lied to Us"
THE BIG BANG THEORY * Season 5 * CBS Tape A: "The Hawking Excitation" & "The Countdown Reflection" Tape B: "The Russian Rocket Reaction" & "The Beta Test Initiation" Tape C: "The Ornithophobia Diffusion" & "The Shiny Trinket Maneuver"
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM * Season 8 * HBO Tape A: "Vow of Silence" & "The Hero" Tape B: "Palestinian Chicken" & "Car Periscope" Tape C: "Mister Softee" & "Larry vs. Michael J. Fox"
GIRLS * Season 1 * HBO Tape A: "Pilot" & "Vagina Panic" Tape B: "Hannah's Diary" & "Hard Being Easy" Tape C: "Leave Me Alone" & "She Did"
MODERN FAMILY * Season 3 * ABC Tape A: "Door to Door" & "Aunt Mommy" Tape B: "Leap Day" & "Baby on Board" Tape C: "Punkin' Chunkin'" & "Egg Drop"
Analysis: Comedy series seems locked up, but with these episodes, and recent developments there is always some doubt. Modern Family has won twice, and the show is favored to win for a third time this year. I would say that their recent contract disputes, weaker set of episodes, and lack on nominations in the writing category, which they won two years in a row, sets them back. The biggest spoilers are HBO's Veep, Curb Your Enthusiasm and CBS's The Big Bang Theory. Curb had an incredible season, and the show is beloved, Veep has a hip factor, and started out strong, while Big Bang harkens back to the traditional sitcom. Curb is the biggest spoiler, but it feels too late. Big Bang would make the most sense, because its well liked and popular. Modern Family is the most nominated series, I predict it wins one last year (this one) and is done. 30 Rock may have scored a lot of nominations, but the show is done, and I am shocked Girls made it into this category, but I do not think the average voter will get it.
1-Modern Family
2-Curb Your Enthusiasm
3-The Big Bang Theory
4-Veep
5-30 Rock
6-Girls BEST COMEDY ACTOR: Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock ("Live from Studio 6H") Don Cheadle - House of Lies ("Gods of Dangerous Financial Instruments") Louis CK - Louie ("Duckling") Jon Cryer - Two and a Half Men ("Frodo's Headshots") Larry David - Curb Your Enthusiasm ("Palestinian Chicken") Jim Parsons - The Big Bang Theory ("The Werewolf Transformation")
Analysis: This race boils down to three men, two playing themselves and one playing a geek. At the moment my predicted front runner is hip comic Louis C.K.; he is hilarious and heat warming in his episode where he is going overseas to perform for the troops an his two daughters pack a baby duck in his suit case to keep him safe. David picked one of his funniest episodes ever, where he goes to a Palestinian restaurant because he likes there chicken, one funny thing happens after another. Parsons is the perennial favorites with two wins under his belt (they love repeat winners). Parsons episode is solid. I personally would pick David based on the tapes, but I think he's in third at the moment. Louis C.K.'s show is more current, and hes a triple nominee, with a great tape. Just watch out for that threepeat from Parsons!
1-Louis CK 2-Jim Parsons 3-Larry David 4-Alec Baldwin 5-Jon Cryer 6-Don Cheedle
BEST COMEDY ACTRESS: Zooey Deschanel - New Girl ("Bad in Bed") Lena Dunham - Girls ("She Did") Edie Falco - Nurse Jackie ("Disneyland Sucks") Tina Fey - 30 Rock ("The Tuxedo Begins") Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Veep ("Tears") Melissa McCarthy - Mike and Molly ("The Dress") Amy Poehler - Parks and Recreation ("Win, Lose or Draw")
Seven nominees! Lots of contenders, but two are out, the F's Fey and Falco. The two women have their trophies. Dunham picked a poor tape, I would say she's out. And then there were four. McCarthy won on a weak tape last year, but I do not think she will repeat, look for her to take Guest Actress. Deschanel submitted well, but will the Emmy voters love her quirck enough? My thoughts are no. Leaving two women Poehler and and Dreyfus to battle it out. Both have solid tapes, and are well respected, but look for Dreyfus to win out. Dreyfus is nominee from a Best Comedy Series nominee this year, while the Emmys snubbed Parks and Recreation. Will this matter ? Maybe. Looking at the past winners many of these ladies shows were ignored, especially in recent years, Melissa McCarthy, Toni Collette, Julia Louis Drefus (Old Christine), and Helen Hunt for the last two years of Mad About You. Tight race and data matters so the edge goes to Dreyfus.
1-Julia Louis Dreyfus 2-Amy Poehler 3-
Zooey Deschanel 4-Melissa McCarthy 5-Lena Dunham 6-Tina Fey 7-Edie Falco BEST COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTOR: Ty Burrell - Modern Family ("Lifetime Supply") Jesse Tyler Ferguson - Modern Family ("Leap Day") Max Greenfield - New Girl ("Control") Bill Hader - Saturday Night Live ("Host: Katy Perry") Ed O'Neill - Modern Family ("Baby on Board") Eric Stonestreet - Modern Family ("Treehouse")
Analysis: If this were based on tape alone I would pick Max Greenfield, but the truth is that with four nominees the other Modern Family guys help each other out. My guess is that like The West Wing the show will have every supporting male win. With that said who stands the best shot to win next for the show? This year the tapes are proving to be in Jesse Tyler Ferguson's favor. Each tape seems to help him out while none really help Ed O'Neil. Eric has a strong tape on his own, and is great in many of the other tapes so look for him as a spoiler. Burrell's character is beloved, like Stonestreet's because their humor is more laugh out loud than dry so he could spoil as well. Hader is out!
BEST COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mayim Bialik - The Big Bang Theory ("The Shiny Trinket Maneuver") Julie Bowen - Modern Family ("Go Bullfrogs!") Kathryn Joosten - Desperate Housewives ("Finishing the Hat") Merritt Wever - Nurse Jackie ("One-Armed Jacks") Kristen Wiig - Saturday Night Live ("Host: Mick Jagger") Sofia Vergara - Modern Family ("Tableau Vivant")
Analysis: Look for three women to dominate this, Vergara, Wiig, and Joosten. Why? Vergara has finally submitted an incredible tape, and she steals the show on Bowen's tape as well. If they go for the best they should pick her. Why the other two ladies? Sentimentality. Sure Joosten and Wiig are both talented, but sentiment will play a major role here. Wiig's swan son on SNL highlights her funniest moments and sends her off with graceful dancing so touching! Joosten is a favorite among the Academy, and her death could have a major impact on voters. This happens, but mainly when the performance is so out of this world like Heath Ledger or Peter Finch.
BEST COMEDY GUEST ACTOR: Will Arnett - 30 Rock ("Idiots Are People Three!") Bobby Cannavale - Nurse Jackie ("Disneyland Sucks") Jimmy Fallon - Saturday Night Live ("Host: Jimmy Fallon") Michael J. Fox - Curb Your Enthusiasm ("Larry vs. Michael J. Fox") Jon Hamm - 30 Rock ("Live from Studio 6H") Greg Kinnear - Modern Family ("Me? Jealous?")
Prediction:Jimmy Fallon vs. Michael J. Fox-This is a nail biter, but I think Fallon will win.
BEST COMEDY GUEST ACTRESS: Elizabeth Banks - 30 Rock ("The Return of Avery Jessup") Kathy Bates - Two and a Half Men ("Why We Gave Up Women") Margaret Cho - 30 Rock ("The Return of Avery Jessup") Dot-Marie Jones - Glee ("Choke") Melissa McCarthy - Saturday Night Live ("Host: Melissa McCarthy") Maya Rudolph - Saturday Night Live ("Host: Maya Rudolph")
Prediction-Dot Marie Jones has a shot this year, but look for Melissa McCarthy to actually make the judges laugh
BEST COMEDY WRITING:Community - Chris McKenna - "Remedial Chaos Theory" Girls - Lena Dunham - "Pilot" Louie - Louis CK - "Pregnant" Parks and Recreation - Amy Poehler - "The Debate" Parks and Recreation - Michael Schur - "Win, Lose or Draw"
Prediction-They are always the wild card group, and I think this is between Girls and Parks and Recreation, with Girls squeaking out the win for four time nominated Dunham.
BEST COMEDY DIRECTING:Curb Your Enthusiasm - Robert B. Weide - "Palestinian Chicken" Girls - Lena Dunham - "She Did" Louie - Louis CK - "Duckling" New Girl - Jake Kasdan - "Pilot" Modern Family - Steven Levitan - "Baby on Board" Modern Family - Jason Winer - "Virgin Territory"
Prediction: Louie vs. Curb, look for Duckling to steal their hearts and impress them with great direction.
