Awesome Picture of the Week: Tim Burton's "The Avengers"

Hey, have you ever looked at the trailer for Marvel's The Avengers and said to yourself, "Gee.  I really wish Tim Burton had taken control of that whole franchise, and made it all Nightmare Before Christmas-esque."?  I bet you haven't... Because no one wants that.  Not even Burton, I'm sure.

The crack addict version.

I came across this picture (honestly, cannot remember the source, again) and thought it was pretty funny/cool.  This is some artist's interpretation of what the Avengers characters would look like, if Tim Burton had made it his own.  I just love how they all look so fragile, yet they're supposed to be jacked-up superheroes.  My favorite is the depiction of The Hulk that was clearly inspired by Jekyll/Hyde. 

I'm Thankful for Things and Stuff...

Every November, Thanksgiving rolls around and fills people's hearts with warmth and their arteries with cholesterol.  For most people this is a time to reflect on the things in life that they are grateful for.  Most cite blessings such as family, friends, a regular paycheck...  However, I believe it's the smallest of things that we have to be thankful for.  Many minor occurrences and objects in life are not given full appreciation around Thanksgiving time, and I think it's time we acknowledge them.  There are tons of little things to be grateful for, such as:

• Phones with wireless and 3G.  For those times you get hopelessly lost in in Vancouver.
• Phones that are not made by Apple.  For those times that Apple makes you cry.
• Free music.  Let's face it.  Someone will always find a way to download free songs.
• People who actually buy full albums from artists.  Those artists should be veryyy grateful.
• Cable television that provides akabajillion channels.
• Netflix.  For when ALL of the akabajillion channels suck.
• Christmas specials.  For when winter season gets you sick and you just need to lay on the couch and feel human again.
• Bathrooms.  Because if you do Thanksgiving right, my golly, you're probably gonna need one.
• Those 30 second ads before YouTube videos.  Stop complaining.  These are the reason YouTube is free.  Dammit.
• Reality shows like Teen Mom, Real Housewives, Jersey Shore, and Honey Boo Boo.  To remind yourself that "at least you're better than that."
• Alternative rock radio stations.  Because we're tired of Maroon 5.
• Eggnog.  Because, no wait.  NOBODY is thankful for that shit.
• Coffee.  Because you probably wouldn't get out of bed, shower, and drive to your parents house for Thanksgiving dinner without it.  Truth.
• Colored highlighters and sharpies.  Just because.
• Saturday Night Live.  Because they keep us on our toes: "Is this week's episode going to be good or bomb?  The suspense is killing me!"
• The Parent Trap and Mean Girls.  Because we sometimes need a reminder of Lindsay Lohan's good ol' days...  So does she.
• Mitt Romney.  For his ever-hilarious 'condesending grandmother' look.
• Paul Ryan.  For being Paul Ryan.
• Barack Obama.  For being one of the most relevant presidents I've seen.  Seriously, I've never seen a politician be so into Internet memes.  Internet.  Memes.
• Joe Biden.  For having the best dentist ever.  Apparently.
• Twitter.  Because we don't read newspapers anymore.
• Cracked.com.  For entertaining us during our down-time at work.
• Internet Explorer 10 commercials.  For introducing us to Alex Claire.  Good job.
• Nicki Minaj.  For making Lady Gaga seem normal.
• Ryan Gosling.  Because.  Damn...

Hey, girl!  Happy Thanksgiving!

Little Notes: "The Hunger Games 2: Red Dawn"

Earlier today, I was checking my email, when at the top of my screen, I noticed this ad for the new movie coming out, Red Dawn.

 



Now immediately, I notice a couple of things about this picture.  First, one of the cast members displayed here is from The Hunger Games movie, and another is a brother of another Hunger Games star.  I don't know much about  the plot of Red Dawn, but I assume it's about a group of young-adults fighting for their lives...  The Hunger Games.  Boom.

Second, I notice that Josh Hutcherson has top billing.  Josh Hutcherson is the one hiding directly to the left of the guy in the middle, Chris Hemsworth.  Obviously, Hemsworth is the top dog in this film, so why doesn't he get his name up in lights?  Did promoters think he had too much publicity going for him after Thor and The Avengers?  Are they mad his brother put a ring on Miley Cyrus, and they're taking it out on him?  Apparently so, because according to this ad, he's not the reason you should see this movie.  Freaking Peeta Mellark is.  Peeta...

Genres, Basically: All Other Music

I'm not sure if a ton of people actually read my first Genres, Basically mini-article-list-thing-trash, but I had a lot of fun writing these...  So I'm writing more!  Ha!


Pop



This genre technically includes anything on the charts that is very popular (popular = 'pop'.  Get it?  Wow!), however it's been roughly defined by people who love to hate everything as "that mind-numbing stuff featuring no-talent artists that all sound the same."  I would normally agree with these people, except for the fact that The Beatles were once considered "pop".  Because they were popular.  Also, some really good indie rock groups have been making their way up the popularity ladder, so I'm not complaining about pop music anytime soon.  Good and well produced pop music, that is.


Hip-Hop



Much like "pop", this genre has evolved.  It is a music, dance, and sometimes life-style.  Highly influenced by Black culture, this genre features rhythmic beats and sometimes rapping.  Notable modern hip-hop artists include Kanye West, Jay-Z, Eminem, etc.  Currently Lil' Wayne and his army of "rappers" called Young Money are monopolizing the hip-hop scene.  Many are distraught because they're slipping into this genre:


House



This style used to be heard only in nightclubs that were open until 5 AM.  Now, you can hear this music as early as 7 AM on your way to work (Like seriously, no one wants to hear "Starships" while stuck in morning rush-hour).  I blame this on David Guetta.  And Cascada...  This genre usually is played by various DJs who feature popular artists in their songs.  Other people who were once hip-hop artists have found themselves in this genre, too (we're looking at you Minaj...  FloRida...  MINAJ!)


R&B



Not heard as much today as it was in the '90s, but this genre, standing for 'rhythm and blues' is still quite popular among those who love listening to smooth, romantic music.  Usher is included in this category, even though he also belongs in the 'house music' category.  If you want really good R&B, hit up Robin Thicke.  I'm also not mad at him for looking so good.


Country



If you included Taylor Swift in this category, you're doing it wrong.


Gospel



Nobody except for people at church and your Aunt Gladys listen to this.  Remember that song, "Stomp"?  I think that's the closest gospel music has come to being mainstream.


Christian



This genre plays on that one radio station your mom turns to on the way to church.  It's just music with a dose of Jesus.  I don't even know why it gets it's own category.  If you didn't understand English, these songs would sound just like any other song by The Fray or The Goo Goo Dolls.


Reggae



You're probably thinking about Bob Marley.  That's okay, because so am I.  Also, you should really check out Matisyahu.


Dubstep



Features 'wub wub wubs', and bass-drops.  Now this is a genre of music of which most songs sound all the same.  Apparently came out of Europe.  Skrillex is the most popular dubstep DJ in the states, so far.  This dancer almost makes it worth listening to.  Warning: You either love it or you hate it, and if you hate it, we're tired of hearing you talk about how much it sucks.


Christmas Music



If you are caught listening to this before Thanksgiving has passed, you're dead.


Acoustic



This style includes all those people who like to play their instruments by themselves and acoustically.  Technically, anyone can go acoustic.  Remember that whole "Unplugged" thing Nirvana did?  That was awesome...


Classical



Whether it be opera or gold old piano music, some people love chilling out to Mozart, Beethoven, or another notable composer's work.  If they're really adventurous, they'll listen to some Stravinsky.  Now that guy was nuts!


Soundtracks



They sell albums featuring music from certain movies and video games for a reason.  One being because the composer worked really hard on it and wants all the money he/she can get.  The other being that people love a good soundtrack.  For instance the Inception soundtrack may just be the only movie soundtrack that I can listen to from start to finish.  In short, Hans Zimmer is a genius.


Indie



This is the genre that includes artists people love to listen to when they get sick of listening to "mind-numbing pop".  However, fun. and Gotye are sometimes considered indie, but are also on the pop charts...  Now we don't even know what we're talking about anymore.

What to Do on Saturdays?

Saturdays are the best thing going on in my life right now.  I recently just started my first full-time job.  I get up at 6 AM every Mon-Fri morning to drive 45 minutes to my office where I type emails from 8 to 12, go out for an hour-long lunch, then come back and type some more emails from 1 to 5.  The worst part is just waking up in the morning.  It feels like I'm back in high school (note: I never had many classes in college that started earlier than 9:10 AM).  Needless to say, I love my Saturdays because I get what I yearn for all week: SLEEP!

So this Saturday was great.  Friday night I went to sleep at 4 AM because I was playing in the forums at Cracked.com and drafting my next blog.  I slept Saturday morning until 10 AM, when my roommate walked in to ask if I fed our cats.  I went back to sleep for 30 more minutes, then woke up to go pee (having your own bathroom is great).  I then went back to sleep.

At 12 PM I was woken up again by my roommate, so I decided that I should probably get the hell up.  Well, kind of.  I laid in bed staring at the ceiling for about another hour.

At around 1 PM I made an awesome sandwich with a side of veggie chips.  Deciding that was was not chipper enough, I then got in my car and drove to the nearest Caribou Coffee to get a medium Vanilla White Mocha.  I came back and sipped my coffee all while reading Les Miserablés and watching Jersey Shore at the same time.  Like a boss.

By around 3 PM I got off the couch to do what I had intended to do the previous day: clean my room.  I started that, took a break, started again, took another break, organized, looked out the window while petting my cat, then finished organizing my closet.  At the end of it all, I have to say that my room looks...exactly the same.  My loveseat is clear and my dresses are finally hung up.  That's all that matters.

And now, its 7 PM and I am currently writing this blog.  I'm 23 years-old, I'm going to go out with some friends tonight, right?  Nope.  I'll probably wash my hair and do my nails like the loneliest girl in the world.  The most important thing to remember is at least I got some sleep.


I love Saturdays!



If I didn't have to wake up to eat/stay alive, I probably would never get out of bed.

Awesome Picture of the Week: President Who?

Can you name the 20th President of the United States of America?  Without Google?  Yeah, neither can I, but what's important is that I'm pretty sure most Americans can remember the important ones.  Observe this picture found via 'some random meme website I stumbled upon while browsing Facebook'.  It illustrates most people's view of our 44 presidents.

Guy on the quarter, white guys, cool tall guy, white guys, dumb white guy, black guy...

This picture is funny because we all know it's true.  Not enough time was spent learning about other presidents besides the highly significant ones and the ones whose terms we lived through.  There's no one to blame except our history teachers, of course.  I would have loved to learn more about John Quincy Adams and his blah, blah, blah... you know, never mind...

P.S. - The History Channel has this show called I Love the 1880s (a clear satire of those "I Love the [enter date]" shows on VH1).  It's actually rather hilarious and provides a lot of interesting little facts about figures in history that you probably didn't know (like how Benjamin Franklin hated eagles and would've liked a turkey better as a national bird.  A damn turkey.  Oh, Ben...).