Welcome Aboard Oceanic Flight 815

Finally…the day we’ve all been waiting for…LOST premiere day!!! For those of us who have been following the show, today has been a day we’ve been anxiously awaiting for months, after being left with our jaws hanging and minds whirling with the finale of last season, not to mention being left with questions upon questions that need to be answered. And, if you know the cruel ways of the show’s producers, most likely tonight’s premiere will only answer but a few of them, and probably raise a few more, leaving us all in suspense for yet another week. And God help me if they run out of scripts before the strike ends, I will HURT someone. LOST is pretty much all I have left at this point.

Obviously, the biggest question deals with the “flash forwards” that were revealed at the end of the finale. So now we know that yes, they made it off the island, but everything is not well. And—gasp!—Kate and Jack are not together, and even worse, she’s with someone else. Sawyer? Maybe. So whose funeral did Jack go to that Kate was so adverse to attending? In regards to the whole Jake/Kate thing, personally I think they better end up together. I was really starting to hate Jack towards the end of the season because he was acting like a grade-A douchebag (and that slut Juliet needs to back off), but I still really loved him at the end. And as much as Sawyer is smokin’ hot, it wouldn’t be right if Kate and Jack don’t end up together? Right? RIGHT?!

According to the show’s producers, they’re going to be doing more with the flash forwards this season, and that part of the season will take place off the island. Which begs the question of how they’re going to sustain it for another two seasons after this one, like they’ve planned. Apparently, they know how the story is going to end, but how can they make it last for so much longer if they get “rescued” this season? Maybe some of them will go back to the island? Or maybe some will never leave?

Other questions: If Penny wasn’t the one who sent Naomi, how is she on the monitor in the underwater station? And what the fuck is Naomi’s deal anyway? There was some hinting that she’s going to be doing more harm than good.

What’s the deal with Jakob? Personally, I think that whole thing is making the show a little too sci-fi for my liking. And what caused Locke to turn on everyone? And are we EVER going to find out what the weird black cloud monsters are?

Is Sun really going to die because she’s pregnant? What is the deal with Ben’s accomplice (Richard?) who lured him away when Ben was a child? I mean, how has that guy not aged?

Remember the couple obsessed with diamonds who ended up getting buried alive? Are they ever going to be making a comeback? Will Rousseau and her daughter stay reunited? Where have Michael and Walt been all this time? What's the deal with that weird magic room where Ben had Locke's father?

There are more, but this is making me sound kind of crazy. Let’s just say I’m excited (understatement). As anyone who watches the show knows, its like crack. I started watching it with the DVDs from Seasons 1 and 2, which was a horrible idea. I don’t think I slept for a week. You think to yourself, “Hey, I’ve got forty minutes to spare, maybe I’ll watch an episode of LOST.” Hours later, its five A.M., you’re curled in the fetal position, bloodshot eyes, weakly lifting the remote with a whisper, “Just…one…more…”

It’s bad. Dangerous, really. But if you’ve never watched the show, you gotta do it. Bite the bullet, accept the fact that you will become a hermit and not work or do anything productive for a week or two. When your friends call and ask where you are, just tell them you’re catching up on LOST.

Trust me. They’ll understand.

And while we’re on the subject, I think a moment of silence is in order for the ridiculous and abominable devastating killing-off of Charlie. RIP Charlie.

Fun At The Grocery Store And The Garbage That Is MTV

So today I went grocery shopping with my mom to get a boatload of stuff to bring back to my apartment when she drives me back to New York tomorrow, since I certainly won’t be getting to Whole Foods anytime soon. However, hobbling around a huge store on crutches: no dice. But, lucky for me and cripples and senior citizens everywhere, my friendly neighborhood superstore has a little something that helps people like myself make grocery shopping possible, and even pretty fun.



(This was right before I managed an Austin Powers-style eight point turn.) Not only can you putter around with ease, people tend to stay out of your way. But if they didn’t, it even has a horn. Badass!

******************************

I hate MTV. I hate what it does to the "youth", I hate the messages it puts out, and most of all, I hate it on more personal level after having to work A LOT with them doing shoots when I worked at a production company a few years ago. Example: we were supposed to be doing a shoot for Jay-Z. Not one single person at MTV could tell us, up until AN HOUR before the start, i.e. when the crew has already arrived, if Jay-Z was even scheduled to be there. It baffles me how it still functions as a corporation with so many incompetent idiots in charge.

That being said, I am guilty of still tuning in to watch drivel like The Hills, Real World, and the RW/RR Challenges, which are probably my favorite. And honestly, "True Life: I'm From Staten Island" is borderline genius. There, I admitted it, okay? I'm guilty of sometimes watching MTV. I'm not proud of it, but it happens.

HOWEVER. I hate. Hate, hate, hate, how they suddenly seem to be dead set on taking several relatively obscure artists that I like and turning them into commercial bullshit. I used to like Tegan and Sara, until I saw them playing on MTV while they rolled highlights from "Life of Ryan". I cringe to think of teenyboppers listening to Matt White or The Shys on their iPod shuffles, in between Hilary Duff and Fall Out Boy, another band I despise. I almost threw my remote at the TV when I was flipping through the channels and heard Graham Colton during an episode of "Newport Harbor".

On a similar note, a friend of mine just won a trip to Egypt after playing a trivia game on TRL, which I'm pretty sure he entered as a joke. I'm actually surprised he wasn't too old to play. Anyway, here's the video. The end is by far the best. Who doesn't dream of running around the TRL studio getting high fives?



On a slightly less similar note, today I made a change that is probably the smartest thing I could possibly have done with respect to iTunes: I changed my store from US to UK. I know what you’re thinking: “You IDIOT, you’re gonna pay double for everything!” First of all, it isn’t double. Songs on iTunes UK are only 0.79. Yes, it’s in pounds. But it’s not double. And obviously I’m not going it for the bargains. Rather, let’s take a look at what’s on each store’s “home” screen.

On UK: Cat Power, MGMT, Lupe Fiasco, Mika, Kaiser Chiefs, Take That (!), Thom Yorke, Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson. A nice assortment of a bunch of my favorite artists, all right there on the home screen.

On US: Yellowcard, Timabland, Fergie, Soulja Boy, Britney Spears, Chris Brown, Taylor Swift, Lil Wayne. The Juno Soundtrack. AKA, crap. MTV vomit.

And the real kicker for me at least, is that iTunes UK gets in new songs from a lot of my favorite DJs/electronic artists like Justice, Simian Mobile Disco, New Young Pony Club, Bob Sinclar, etc, way before they come in on the US store. And so if every once in a while I have to pay a little extra, fine. A small price to pay (literally). And goddamn, Cat Power sounds better every time I listen.

And while we're at it, my favorite Justice video. It probably wouldn't even be that hard to do if you had a good editor, but it's so fun to watch!

Christmas In Review

With the holidays and all, I know many of you in the blogosphere are taking some time off, not updating as often, etc. Never fear! Such is not the case here. I am already significantly bored at home. And after New Year's I'm having oral surgery and will be completely beached on the couch, not to mention on all sorts of drugs, which should make the posting a little more interesting.

Now that you all know what I was doing on my holidays, I can give a little review. For the record: it all went pretty much according to plan, more or less. The curling was especially entertaining, and was actually kind of fun for a little while. It actually wasn't too hard once I got the hang of it. But I see why it's referred to as a "gentleman's game"--there is little to no aerobic activity involved. Pictures will be following in due time.

In other news, I, completely unexpectedly, really cleaned up on Christmas this year. My mother forced a wishlist out of me because I'm apparently impossible to shop for (I disagree) and all my relatives were asking for one back in November, so I sent her a list with a bunch of things of which I expected to get one, maybe two. Basically all stuff that I didn't want to pay for myself. Nope! I got almost all of them. Among other things:


An iPod Touch



Canon PowerShot



Tory Burch flats



New brown riding boots



Gawker Guide to Conquering All Media (a joke from Adam...but I love it)



More of my favorite perfume...Ralph Lauren Blue


Along with a bunch of other books, CDs, gift certificates, $$$, etc. I was blown away. I wasn't expecting anything, and I felt like a kid getting all this stuff. Getting the camera AND the iPod AND the TB flats was far too much. But yay! Sometimes it's great having so many relatives.

So here's the question: now that I have a functioning, quality camera, as opposed to my shitty old one or the two shittier ones before it, I intend to use it as much as possible. And I can only have so many Facebook albums before I feel like a loser. So, I need a place to put them all...do I jump on the Flickr bandwagon? Or is there something better out there? Joining Flickr feels like such a cliche, but I hate how places like Kodak or Shutterfly require other people to sign in to view your photos. Suggestions?

Update: Approximate time at home that the Broseph and I actually got along <24 hours. Better than usual!

This Week's Rants and Raves

Instead of packing for a month at home, where I am going tomorrow, I've decided to do a post of some of the things I'm loving and hating currently. First and foremost: the events of Tuesday night. I was supposed to go to the party that Model Behavior was hosting in Soho, and I invited my friend Shel to come with me. Shel's sister was in town visiting her, who I am not a huge fan of. She's two years younger than us, incredibly self centered, and an all-around ditz. Not to mention, sin of all sins, she can not handle her liquor. Shel also really wanted to go to this bar in the East Village called Angels and Kings that she and my other friend (and Shel's roommate) Julia frequent pretty often, mostly because it's owned by Pete Wentz, the "frontman" of a band I hate, Fall Out Boy. I know. They're really into that whole "emo" band scene, and I, clearly, am not. Apparently, Pete was supposed to be DJing on Tuesday night. So I agreed to go with the two of them to the bar for a little while before we went to the party. They came over to my apartment to have some drinks before we went, and by the time we got to the bar, it was about 12:15. Pete wasn't there, and ended up not even showing up, which was completely insignificant to me, but Shel and her sister were disappointed. Apparently there were also a bunch of other guys from other semi-famous bands that Shel is obsessed with. For example, some guy named Gabe from some band called Cobra Starship. Shel was practically having a panic attack, but was too shy to say anything to him. Since I have never heard of this person and wouldn't know him from any of the other wannabe-hipsters in the place, I took it upon myself to talk to him. So I approached him, told him my friend loved his band but was too shy to come up and talk to him. He introduced himself, asked me my name, and asked who my friend was. I pointed her out, and he came over a few minutes later to say hi. To his credit, he was incredibly nice, and I thanked him later for making her night. Meanwhile, Shel's idiotic sister is drunk off two weak vodka crans, has found some guy who she thought was a girl, and made out with him/her, because apparently making out with a girl does not count as cheating on your boyfriend. How does one make this mistake? Well, in such an establishment where the boys are wearing tighter jeans than me, have the body of a preteen girl, and have longer hair than I do, it could be confusing. But when she pointed out the victim to Shel and I, we both could immediately tell that she was a he. Nice one! So she is whining and moaning about what to do about her boyfriend, Shel is still not over the Gabe situation, and as it is now approaching 1:15, I am trying to get us out of there. Twenty minutes later, I have reached my limit. I'm waiting outside for the two of them after they told me fifteen minutes earlier that they were going to the bathroom and would meet me outside. I'm commiserating with the bouncer, who clearly hates his job. I barge back inside, find both of them talking to some dudes, and demand that we leave. Now. One of the dudes gives me a douchey look and says to Shel, "Your friend is kinda feisty. I like it." Even if I wasn't already thoroughly annoyed, that certainly would have done it. I grab both of them and head for the door, but suddenly the sister can't find her fucking coat. Great. We are finally in a cab and getting to the location of the party, only to find that it has ended. Shel feels really bad about the situation, but I was still really, really, pissed off that I missed a party that I later heard was a rousing success, and would have been indefinitely more fun than where I ended up instead. UGH.

********************

It is disgusting to me how politicians are spending more time talking shit about each other than actually making legitimate and convincing points. And their Christmas/Holiday television commercials make me want to vomit.


********************

Tomorrow, I'll be heading home to Boston via Amtrak. After far too many trips on the disaster that is the Fung Wah bus, and one attempt at flying via JetBlue which took a total travel time of seven hours, of which 40 minutes were actually spent in-flight, I've decided to stick with the train. I usually don't mind it because I actually enjoy traveling by train, but not during holidays, not when I have far too much luggage (and I will), and not on the Regional service (as opposed to the Acela), which is always--ALWAYS--delayed. Since I will be out of New York for a month, packing is going to be impossible. Especially with the added burden of somehow transporting the Christmas gifts I've purchased. I originally didn't want to do my Christmas shopping in the city before I got home specifically because of that reason, but no way in hell am I going near a shopping mall after I get home on December 22nd. I managed to do some of it online and have it delivered to my parents' house, but I still had to do some in-store shopping. I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to get my bags, and gifts, to Penn Station and on the train. I'm sure it will be really entertaining for those that are lucky enough to observe it.

On a similar note, it will be a mystery how I survive a month at "home" without completely losing my mind.


********************

And now on a lighter note, some things I think are awesome: first and foremost, the iTunes Alarm Clock. If you're someone like me who hates the sound of her alarm so much that hearing it elsewhere causes heart palpitations and a cold sweat, this will be a godsend. You can set several different alarms, for different times or different days, and set what music you want it to use. So, instead of being woken up by some awful beeping, you can awake to the sounds of whatever your musical taste prefers. It can shuffle through your entire library, or start from the beginning, or you can use a playlist. So now, I awake to G. Love and Special Sauce, get out of bed to Brendan Benson, wash my face and brush my teeth to Ari Hest and Tom Waits, and stand in front of my closet trying to decide what to wear to the sounds of Prince and Regina Spektor. And best of all, if you don't like to leave your computer up and running all night, the computer will wake itself from sleep mode when the alarm is supposed to go off. Nice!


********************

If you're ever in the downtown-ish area, I strongly reccomend you try Tavalon. I'm a big tea drinker, and I stumbled upon this place as it's sort of on the way during one of my commutes. It's located on 14th street between 5th and University Place, and it's actually good enough to get me to brave 14th street. Granted, the stretch of sidewalk that Tavalon is on isn't quite as bad as, say, 14th between University and Broadway, but it's still 14th street. But, the chai at Tavalon is worth it, in my opinion.


********************

Britney Spears' 16-year-old sister is pregnant. Christmas came early this year!

********************

Those that know me know that I have a serious thing for Anderson Cooper. I would say its a healthy obsession, which I'm aware is an oxymoron. I also will remain in denial about his homosexuality until I hear it from the silver fox himself. And it goes without saying that age is not an issue. I watch his broadcast every night, sometimes more than once as it's aired several times. I read his book when I was in Africa last summer and it blew my mind. Everything I was never able to explain about why I went, why I couldn't rest until I could go, and what it meant to me, he perfectly put into words. I highly recommend it to anyone, but it might not resonate as much with others as it did with me. He's one of the people I admire most, and it's no secret that I can be more attracted to someone for his mind than anything else.

But it doesn't hurt that he looks like this:







He didn't really do anything special or noteworthy this week, but if I'm doing any sort of list involving things I like, he automatically gets a spot on it. And in case you were wondering, he's 40. As far as I'm concerned, it's just a number.

Christmas is in 4 days? What?!

And Now, Your Daily Dose of Entertainment...

Courtesy of Overheard In New York:

Dude #1: Yo, check it out: this chick in the lecture I was just in -- huge tits, bro.
Dude #2: Yeah?
Dude #1: Yeah. Fucking bombs.
Dude #2: That's it? That's the story? I mean, I like tits, but there's gotta be a point to a story, man.
Dude #1, after long pause: ... Fag.

--Kimmel Center, NYU


Seven-year-old on cell: Emily, I've been trying to call you, like, three times! Are you still mad at me about... [looks around crowded bus and lowers his voice] ... you know...?

--Shuttle bus, Flushing


Guy #1: God, this girl is a terrible text messenger. Look at this -- it doesn't make any sense!
Guy #2: Yeah.
Guy #1: You love texting, though, right?
Guy #2: Yeah, and it's only gonna get worse when I get my BlackBerry. I plan to cut off voice communication altogether.

--The Burger Joint

[Ed. note: Story of my life.]


Gay barista with asymmetrically-fashioned hair: Oh, yeah, I had really fancy ear bud headphones, too... But then I dropped them in a puddle of my own vomit on the subway, so now I have cheap ones. Yeah, that sucked.

--Bushwick Ave, East Williamsburg


Tourist kid: Look! The Empire State Building!
Tourist mom: Where? I don't see it.
tourist kid: The big, pointy one!
Tourist mom: Oooh, let's take a picture!
Passerby: That's the Chrysler Building, you fucking niggers.

--Outside NYC Public Library


Happy Holidays!

Excuses, Excuses and the Procrastination Solvent

Why I Know I'm In The Right Business, Exhibit #327628:

After being thirty minutes late to meet me one afternoon, a colleague rushes in and explains, only half-apologetically, "Sorry I'm late, I was having lunch with Javier Bardem."

---------------

Meanwhile, if you, like me, are a procrastinating champ and/or if you are, also like me, someone who can not get any work done without music playing in the background, this will be your saving grace next time you need to accomplish anything work or study-related. [Courtesy of HackCollege via LifeHacker]