War of the Worlds

We saw War of the Worlds tonight, and I thought it was pretty impressive. It was definitely a hard movie to watch, but I liked it. It's well-made with really good acting from Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning (I love her... not in a sick way). I'm finally a fan of Tom Cruise the actor again, although i'm still against Tom Cruise the crazy celebrity. WOW is disturbing and it really leaves you feeling exhausted and depressed. I feel like I need to watch a sitcom right now. I loved the old-fashioned feel to the movie. The story does ask you to suspend belief along the way, but I think it's worth it. I can't decide if it's better than Batman Begins, which was more enjoyable on a fun level and I appreciated how it took great pains to be realistic. On the other hand, it didn't make me feel anything other than "hey, this is fun." With WOW, i was engrossed in a movie in a way I haven't been in a long time. I was totally wrapped up in the world it presented and it still stays with me. Grade: A

Wise Like a Fortune Cookie... But With Less Calories!

Things I've learned recently...

• the best way to play your iPod in your car is to use a cd car adaptor (if you have one that plugs into the tape deck). instead of plugging in your cd player, hook up the iPod. it sounds great. i learned this from jack who heard it from his brother. it has changed my life. weep.
• returning shoes two years after buying them may lead to some trouble. i didn't wear them and i had the receipt, but surprise, surprise, some stores like sketchers aren't willing to give you full price. especially when their policy is 30 days or less. i wanted to explain that i have a shoe-buying-phobia which prohibits me from making frequent trips to shoe stores, but i thought it best to keep quiet about that. thank god for stores like banana republic, which let me return pants 2 and a half years later.
• "Jurassic Park" holds up pretty darn well after 12 years. Can you believe it's been that long???
• guys who you think are good-looking but nothing special can suddenly move into the special category when they grow stubble.
• paigie is a very considerate friend and will go out of her way to pick things up for you from your favorite stores (even if you didn't ask for it).
• adam brody is a nice guy and quite photogenic. and doesn't smell.
• itunes does not sell sophie ellis baxter's "murder on the dancefloor." damn them!
• being a scientologist doesn't mean you can't also be christian or catholic. but it does mean you're allowed to be an asshole and spread unsubstantiated facts about psychiatry. i'm sorry, i'm being glib.

star sightings

today, carri, petros and i went to lunch at hugo's. it's one of those healthy-type restaurants, so i was reluctant to go, but carri insisted it was good and that many celebs go there. well, petros and i start playing this game of "oh, look, there's colin farrell" or "it's miranda from sex and the city!" to people who only vaguely looked like these stars. but then... we saw lindsay wagner ("bionic woman" aka the ford lady who kidnaps all the puppies in her trunk), peter krause ("six feet under") and matthew ashford ("days of our lives"). so to copy one of haeran's blog's, here are some of the my favorite celeb sightings from over the years.

i've gone to the tonight show several times to get autographs for people (this is one of my least favorite things to do... i always feel so stupid). so i've seen jay leno (duh). i've gotten autographs from reese witherspoon (very sweet and generous), johnny depp (it was brief but he was cool), and mark mcgrath (could not have been more friendly).

on the radford studio lot, i've seen george clooney (very handsome even in person), that 70's show cast (yay topher!), kerr smith (he smiled at me!), macaully culkin (at first i thought he was a little lesbian), snoop dogg, emilio esteveez, eddie cahill (tag from friends), melina kanakaredes (she for some reason thinks she knows petros and always waves to him) and gary sinese. on a different show and lot, billy campbell was always super nice to me and everyone else.

at jumpin java (where they have the best breakfast food), i've seen jordan knight (my fav!), james van der beek, james marsden, leah remini, gabrielle union, and jason geddrick. outside but still in the area, i've seen tiffani amber thiessen and david spade.

at various fan events, i've gotten autographs from/took pics with/of benjamin mckenzie, mischa barton, scott speedman, amanda foreman, tangi miller, amy jo johnson, bradley cooper, francie/evil francie and scott thomas and balthazar getty from ringside.

random spottings: antonio sabato, jr. (near the daily grill... HOT), brittany snow (at the arclight... sweet), justin whalen (in the men's room at a screening) , lance bass (with i think his boyfriend), david schwimmer (at pig & whistle), anthony clark (at a gay club in ny), robbie williams (the standard), tara reid (the standard), mark walhberg (outside coi), and cindy crawford (outside her house... don't ask).

on my wish list:
jude law
madonna
jake gyllenhaal
chris o'donnell
michael owen
ryan phillipe
sarah michelle gellar
jesse bradford
elijah wood
nicole kidman
andy roddick

if you can make any of those happen, i will give you one of my kidneys. thanks!

Today's Reviews

Random Reviews of the Day...

backstreet boys' cd "never gone"
listened to the new cd today... i grew to like "incomplete"thanks to anthony federov... the rest of the album is kinda not good. or rather, very pleasant but forgettable. besides the lead single, i do like "crawling back to you," "siberia" and "never gone." overall grade: C+

coldplay's cd "x&y"
not as good as their last one. a lot of songs sound the same. but i do like "speed of sound" and "fix you." overall grade: C

dancing with the stars
finally caught this summer's #1 tv show after two weeks of mocking it. it was fun, but good god, someone needs to up the production values on that show! my beloved joey mac was cute and i love that kelly monaco is getting all this mainstream press (aww, PC's livvie the vampiress has hit the big time). thus far, i like rachel hunter and her hot dancing partner and that john o'hurley is funny. grade: B

jeff
some guy who contacted me online. he's kinda old at age 41. but kinda cute. what to do. grade: B

my commute home
considering i left at 7:30, i should have gotten home much quicker than 50 minutes. minus points for the cheap chevron station not having regular unleaded gas. grade: D-

my lunch at kookooroo
i had a california burrito. sour cream on the side. grade: B-

this blog entry
pretty darn lame. i should have slept early instead. grade: F+

a boy named ryker

if i had a split personality, i think his name would be ryker. i think he would have longer hair and wear black leather pants. he would insist i go to the gym more often and get a barbed wire tattoo across my arm. he would be brash, but charming, say things like "fuck it" but also "thanks, ma'am." he might even have a black cowboy hat. and an eye patch. as caroline's friend pat once said, "ho's dig the eye patch." eventually ryker and i would duke it out over control of my mind. the fight is possibly triggered by my anal-retentive need to put my cds in order by year and then alphabetically. either one of my personalities will have to die, or maybe they can be integrated. sharlene frame on "another world" integrated sharlene (who was a homely farm girl) and sharly (who was a trick ass ho). sharlene became a more well-rounded person and stopped wearing her hair in a bun. i think that's what i would like to happen to me. if i had a split personality.

Only when I'm dancing can I feel this free, at night i lock the doors where no one else can see...

the other day madonna announced she will be releasing a new album in october consisting of all dance tracks. gay men across the world rejoiced and broke down in tears because the mothership is finally returning home. i'm excited about this, but i wonder what happened to the "rock" album she was planning (she had been inspired by franz ferdinand and the killers). i've really been into pop rock lately (the killers, ringside, garbage, keane, etc.) so i'm a little disappointed. dance music isn't exactly the most popular genre right now, but maybe she is trying to stay ahead of the curve. anyway she's touring in 2006 and i'm so there...

average day

today was a ho-hum day. on the way to work, i stopped to help an old woman cross the street. while sitting on the off-ramp waiting for the light to change, i gave a homeless man $100 and some nifty hygiene tips. at work, i found a way to save the show $1 million. everyone lifted me on their shoulders and sang, "for he's a jolly good fellow." i had lunch with caroline and rick from casting. caroline started to choke on her fish, so i gave her the heimlich and saved her life. on the way home from work, i saved a kitten from a tree. now i'm chatting with davey, and i think we've just found a cure for AIDS. such a boring day.

what happens in vegas doesn't stay in vegas

last memorial day weekend we all went to vegas to celebrate jack and ellen's birthday. haeran won $250 but spent it all on lap dances from a stripper named chico at olympic gardens. we had to drag her out of there because she kept trying to touch him. jack boozed it up and threw up all over the blackjack tables. the dealer wasn't pleased and jack was escorted out of wynn hotel screaming/singing, "baby, i got your money!" gee took to smoking and drinking quietly in the corner of the kitchen huddled in the fetal position. paigie stole tons of shrimp cocktail from the rio seafood buffet and pretended to set them free in our hotel bathtub. ellen began a career as a vegas showgirl and now wears exclusively feathers. she goes by the name bongquitha can cans. i bought about 10 escorts and now i think i have syphilis. all in all, it was a good time. except for the syphilis.

best songs ever

these are my all-time favorite songs. i know i have questionable taste, so don't even start...

#1: "like a prayer" by madonna
my favorite artist, my favorite song. killer hook, dramatic, great pace... i will never love another song like i love this one.

the rest aren't in any particular order... as a rule, i don't allow any song that came out within the last year to be on my all-time favorite list 'cause i get sick of songs real quick...

"damn i wish i was your lover" by sophie b. hawkins
great mood and as billie would say, "sexiful."
"hero" by enrique iglesias
perfect dramatic love song except for the "sexy" whisper in the beginning.
"faded" by soul decision
really cheesy boy band song that just glides along like a fun ride from beginning to end.
"son of a preacher man" by dusty springfield
great vocals, cool vibe.
"kissing you" by des'ree
ultimate depressing love song. i think i want this played at my funeral. instrumental version just as good.
"heart and shoulder" by heather nova
heartbreaking song about not being able to help someone you love.
"i wanna dance with somebody (who loves me)" by whitney houston
the first lines, "clock strikes upon the hour and the sun begins to fade..." take me back to being a kid. it was one of my first tapes. her joy and hope is contagious.
"still" by macy gray
an unusal love song about still loving someone even though they abuse you.
"here with me" by dido
very haunting. reminds me of watching roswell and drinking ice cream sodas.
"bootylicious" by destiny's child
the energy is infectious.
"angels" by robbie williams
very underrated.
"full of grace" by sarah mclachlan
i love this song because of buffy, the vampire slayer.
"nobody wants to be lonely" by ricky martin and christina aguilera
it's a fun combination, catchy tune.
"come what may" by nicole kidman and ewan mcgregor
beautiful song accentuated by the movie.
"love is" by vanessa williams and brian mcknight
simple, but true.
"she's my kind of rain" by tim mcgraw
silly lyrics but kind of refreshing.
"no me ensenaste" by thalia
to be honest, i have no idea what this song is about, but i LOVE the emotion of it.