Taylor Swift

Ok, just to warn you, this blog will be a long cynical rant about Taylor Swift, and the music industry in general. Here we go...

Taylor Swift performed on the Today Show this morning. Ugh. She doesn't know how to sing. She wasn't completely off pitch, and her tone wasn't bad (most of the time), but it was less than pleasing. I am also completely convinced that she doesn't know how to breathe properly (along with nearly everyone else in the music industry today). She compulsively breathes in the middle of words. I mean, what would possess you to breathe in the middle of a word when you're the only one singing?? It's okay when you're singing with a choir, because it's stagger breathing, and normally no one can hear a break in the middle of the word. But if Taylor Swift knew how to breathe properly, then she wouldn't have to resort to breathing in the middle of words.

She also can't enunciate well. It's ANNOYING! Should I ever want to listen to her songs, I'd like to be able to understand them! That's another thing singers today don't do: enunciate. I mean, I've heard heavy metal bands enunciate better than pop stars. It seems like there's something wrong with that.

Now this might be a little bit insensitive, bu her dancing looks like she's having convulsions, and crowds seem to scream in adoration over it. For some reason, they love it. I mean, if she actually started having convulsions onstage, the crowds probably wouldn't know the difference.

Okay, I've decided. My goal in life should be to teach the whole world to sing, because there are too many "singers" who don't know how to sing.

LAZY!

I've been feeling...so lazy lately.

One, it's been months since I've worked out. But that's because this past semester was such a bitch, and I was too busy to work out.

Two, I haven't practiced voice or piano since I left school. Must practice tomorrow. NEED to practice tomorrow.

Three, I haven't been creative in a long while. I haven't made anything, created anything. I haven't worked on the play I'm writing, I haven't blogged, I've barely written in my journal. I feel so uncreative right now. I made snowflakes out of teal tissue paper the other day, but that doesn't really count.

Four, I don't have a job. I NEED a job for the summer.

Five, (and this has nothing to do with being lazy) I miss Sanctuary. BAD.

Prayers Needed

I found out tonight that my grandfather is having a biopsy of his liver this week. He hasn't been well for a while now; in fact he's been anemic for a while, and they're trying to figure out the cause of it. They did a CAT scan, and found some lesions on his liver. It could just be lesions on his liver, or it could be liver cancer. We won't know anything until next week. But keep him in your prayers, please.

LOST (Do not read unless you have watched the Season 5 finale!)

Ok, my most recent obsession is LOST. Shannon and I were watching select episodes of Season 3 last night, and that sparked a question and subsequent conversation. The conversation was surrounding the time flashes that happened to the folks on The Island (Locke, Sawyer, Juliet, Daniel Faraday, Miles, Charlotte, Rose, and Bernard). The question is, why did some people flash through time after Ben turned the wheel ("There's No Place Like Home Part 3"), and others did not? For example, members of Oceanic Flight 815 (which include a Stewardess and 2 children) who were kidnapped by The Others and subsequently became "Others" ("The Brig") did not flash, whereas people who were not originally members of the Flight 815 group did flash, like Juliet, Daniel Faraday, Miles, and Charlotte?

Also, the character of Richard Alpert has lost his...mystery, I guess. I'm starting to think he doesn't know as much about the Island or things that are happening as perhaps originally thought. When we first met Richard, I got this impression that Richard was really wise, and knew a lot about the Island. But now I'm starting think that Richard doesn't really know all that much. To take it to an extreme, he seems like Jacob's lackey. I also have some reservations about Locke being The Others' new leader, before we found out in the Season 5 finale, that the Locke we've been seeing most of the season is actually Jacob's unnamed "Nemesis" (as he's being referred to). During the Islanders' flashes through time, Locke told Richard Alpert in 1954 that he (Locke) is the new leader of the Others. Now, did Richard tell Locke in 2004 that he's the new leader because Locke is actually the new leader (with orders fresh from Jacob) or because Locke told him he was in 1954? I'm inclined to believe that Locke was never supposed to be the leader of The Others. It's all one huge looped pretzel: Richard tells Locke he's the new leader because Locke told him that he was. Bottom line: in my opinion, Richard Alpert is nothing but a messenger.

Welcome Home...

"So Leah, how was your first Saturday at home?"

"Oh, it was okay. I went into town and got a Mother's Day gift and I made some cookies."

"Oh, that sounds fun."

"Oh! I almost forgot! I also helped my parents clean our basement, since the breaker for the septic system tripped yesterday, and backed up into the basement."

Welcome Home.

James Bond

Goldfinger is on TCM tonight. And I feel like doing a review of all of the men who've played James Bond, complete with fun facts.

Sean Connery as James Bond:



Fun Facts about Sean Connery:

• He placed 3rd in the 1950 Mr. Universe contest
• He had to wear a hairpiece in every James Bond movie, because he was balding already
• During the filming of Never Say Never Again in 1983, he made the martial arts instructor angry. The martial arts instructor then broke Connery's wrist. The instructor? Steven Seagal.

George Lazenby as James Bond:

Fun Facts:

• Born and raised in Australia
• Served in the Australian Army
• Was offered a seven movie deal for James Bond, but quit after one movie, because he thought the series would die out in the 60's and 70's. Ha. Sucks to be him.
• Was only in one Bond film: On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). James Bond actually got married in this movie. She dies at the end.

Personal Opinion:

Has anyone even HEARD of George Lazenby? I haven't. I always have to be reminded by my mother that he even exists when I'm thinking of all the actors who have played James Bond.

Roger Moore as James Bond:


Fun Facts:

• Before he did James Bond, he was in a TV show called "The Saint." There was a movie in the 90's made of it, with Val Kilmer. I've seen "The Saint." It seems rather like James Bond training.
• Was the oldest actor to play Bond. He was 57 in A View to A Kill.
• Succeeded Audrey Hepburn as goodwill ambassador for UNICEF

Timothy Dalton as James Bond:

Fun Facts:

• Was in 2 James Bond movies: The Living Daylights and A License to Kill.
• In 1997, starred in The Beautician and The Beast with Fran Drescher. He must have been really desperate for work...

Pierce Brosnan as James Bond:

Fun Facts:

• Is Irish by birth
• Before he was James Bond, he starred in a series called "Remington Steele." He played a thief who solved crimes with a private detective. Like Roger Moore's "The Saint," "Remington Steele" (which I have also seen clips of) also seems like Bond-in-training.

Personal Opinion:

Pierce Brosnan is the sexiest of any actor who's played James Bond. The End.

Daniel Craig as James Bond:

Fun Facts:

• Made his film debut in a movie called The Power of One, which we watched freshman year in Freedom and Responsibility class. Ha.
• When he was a teenager, he was part of the National Youth Theatre in the UK

Personal Opinion:

While Daniel Craig does not have that suave look like James Bond traditionally does, he does have the most beautiful eyes of any actor who's played James Bond. I can't stop staring at them.

construction, etc.

The Village of Forest Park is doing construction on our street. Their jackhammering is not only loud and obnoxious, but it also shakes our entire building. The construction also blocks off the parking on our street. Not really a big deal for me, since I'm leaving tomorrow, but still a pain for my roommates who are here all summer.

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And now for something completely different. This will be mostly a rant. So if you don't feel like reading it, I understand.

But you know those people who are really good at reading other people, like studying their facial expressions and actions and then pretending like they know everything about you? I know a person who does that. It's really aggravating and kind of infuriating. He will pass judgement on my entire day based on "hi" and my facial expressions. The worst part? Normally this person is right. I'm not angry about the fact that he is correct. I'm angry about the fact that he can see things about people that they don't necessarily want to share. It's like he steals their secrets. Ok, this analogy is a little explicit, but everytime I'm around him, it's like he's undressed me against my will just because he could. I constantly feel like I'm trying to hide myself around him, but it doesn't work. I don't want him to know the things about me that he knows without me even telling him. And the worst part is, he claims he can't not do this. I don't buy it. I think he can turn this ability off and stop analyzing people. He wonders why people think he's a jerk. It's because he analyzes people and finds out things they don't want him to know. There's a reason people keep secrets. It's because they don't want other people to know.

I don't know, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he can't really turn this off, maybe this is just who he is. If I'm wrong, tell me. But I don't think I'm wrong. If his analyzing me is making me feel the way I feel, that's not something wrong with me, that's not something I just have to get over. He needs to learn to control his analytical side. It's not appropriate in all contexts. I can't be friends with him anymore. I don't feel safe with him. You're supposed to feel safe with your friends.