Thursday, January 21, 2010

Stupidity Is A Disease: Heidi Montag Is A Victim


Sometimes I see something that irks me so badly that I need more than anything to just rant. So you've been warned-I might go a little crazy on this one because I've been bottling this crap up because the people around me have no choice as to whether or not they hear me. You do. Anyway, proceed at your own risk.

As you probably know, Heidi Montag got buttloads of plastic surgery in November and has finally emerged, with a new, android-looking face. She had ten procedures done in one day. It wasn't that bad until she started talking about it. That's when the stupid came out. Check out this interview she did with Good Morning America:


There are a few things I want to hit on that pertain to this interview.

  1. "It wasn't like I had 10 surgeries, or something. It wasn't a lot,"she says. The reporter, who I love for interrogating Heidi and making her look more idiotic then we thought she was before, says,"But you did have 10 surgeries..." Oh, it made me laugh.
  2. DDD isn't big enough. Um...what.the.fuck. Does she want to be toppling over? Oh.my.gosh.
  3. My favorite part was when the reporter asked her to sing something. I know, we all knew that she had no talent and couldn't sing in the first place, but this just...I don't even know what to say. It was like the curtain fell and she was exposed. Embarassing for her-hilarious for everyone else. You know what else is funny? Her CD sold less than 1,000 copies. That could be a new record for someone as famous as she is.
Okay, I realize now that this whole rant was really annoying, but kudos to you for reading it.
Hopefully you learned something: Heidi Montag is an android and that you must protect yourself from stupidity.

P.S. Sorry this was a crappy post.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Lack of Inspiration

I apologize for being gone for so long! I don't know if I can really use the whole, "I've been busy" excuse, seeing as I spend most of my free time(which I have buttloads of) doing puzzles(because, I'm apparently half old lady, half small child). I guess it's just the lack of any reason to write on this blog. Everytime I see a comment from someone new, it inspires me to write more and drives me to actually post something. But I haven't gotten any comments from anyone other than my friends lately and I kind of forgot about the blog for a little while. Anyway, I will try to post more often(as I've said a million times before) but I make no promises.
If you have any suggestions as to what you would want to see(I'm craving your opinions!) on this blog, I'd be happy to oblige(well, to an extent). Leave a comment. Make my day!!!
TTFN,
Alanna

Thursday, December 31, 2009

2009 in Retrospect

I made this collage in remembrance of this crappy year :) Click on it so you can see it full size.
Happy New Year!!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Perfect Twilight Song

I'm in a really Twilight-y mood right now. I was just listening to a song that I've always loved called "When You Come Back Down" by Nickel Creek. I can't remember whether I posted it a while back or not. But I'm going to post it again anyway because it's so beautiful. I think it's a perfect song for Twilight, no?

Emma Watson as Bella Swann?


Apparently, I'm not the first to come up with this, but I am probably one of the few who considered Emma Watson for the role of Bella Swann. I was thinking a little while ago, who would I choose to play Bella? I think Kristen Stewart has the look down perfectly, but I think Emma Watson is a much better actress. So I went on Picnik(and I don't have premium, so ignore the little ribbon that says "premium")-I really want Photoshop!-and I tried to make her a bit more Bella-ish.
So what do you think?

Twi-heartedness, Soundtracks, Haters, and the Strange Pet Peeves of SunnyD


Hello my darling readers!

Is that video not just amazing?
I just got finished listening to the Twilight audiobook(you can find it on Youtube for free). Can you believe this was only the second time I had read Twilight? I'd forgotten how different it was from the movie. I have renewed my love for Twilight and I am not ashamed. I even found myself saying some of the lines along with the person reading it. Dorky, I know, but satisfying still. Just to make the experience even more fun, I matched the soundtrack to the reading and had it going quitely in the background. I wish I had thought of it when I first started listening to the book, but it didn't occur to me until the baseball scene. So I played "Supermassive Black Hole" three times to make it stretch out throughout the entire baseball scene. I was excited for playing "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" at the dance scene, but I had forgotten that the dance scene in the movie was much differenter(yeah, I did say differenter) from the book version and frankly, I liked the movie version better. Anyway, enough of this uber nerdiness. I want to discuss the haters.

Haters are taking over the world. I hate it. I want to talk specifically about Twilight haters. It seems like everyone's turned into one. WHERE ARE MY TWILIGHT FANS?! It's like they've all went into hibernation or fallen off the face of the earth. Maybe all of the extremist haters locked them all up. THEY WON'T FIND ME! I WON'T LET THEM!!AHHHHH!!!! Sorry, spaz moment. But yeah, I can't stand it when people summarize the story. It always ends up sounding stupid and people base all of their judgements on those stupid little summaries. Grr. I don't really care about guy haters. They mock the fact that Edward sparkles, they call him gay, you know, the whole shebang. Not one of them will admit that they're just jealous. And I understand that I sound stupid saying this, but it's so true! Ever notice how guys tend to hate guys that girls like? How often do you hear a guy say Robert Pattinson is a great actor or that Justin Beiber is a good artist? Gay guys, maybe. Straight, no. Usually they say men that women like are "gay", as in, they like women and women like them, so they must be homosexuals. Yes, that made no sense. Which is my point exactly.

I dont' know why I bothered writing all that...I don't know why you bothered reading it...I think I just wasted both of our times(?) at the same time....that was an awkwardly phrased sentence.

SunnyD is an interesting creature. She feeds on mint chocolate chip ice cream, supreme pizza, and frappachinos. She likes reading, hanging out with her friends, and watching sappy movies. Typical, no? That's how she appears. But she might be one of the weirdest people I've ever met. She despises when people clap at the end of a good movie. I was disappointed that no one clapped at the end of The Princess and the Frog because I love the look she gets :P She also likes to get angry with characters in movies. For instance, yesterday, she yelled at the screen because the firefly was dying and no one was helping it. And I know she hates me right now for this, but I'm okay with that. Now, here's the newest one: We went shopping downtown today and she made it very clear that she hates it when the shopkeepers wish us a "Merry Christmas!" on our way out of the stores. She's Jewish. But not very. And for some reason, she has nothing better to do than complain because someone wished her a merry christmas! It's a nice sentiment. It's not meant to be an insult to her religion. It's the thought that counts, right? I think SunnyD and Nikki have traded places. Nikki used to be the one who found things to complain about like it was her hobby, but now SunnyD seems to be the one who's constantly irked at the world. Le sigh.
So, do you guys think it's offensive when people wish you a merry Christmas instead of happy holidays?

Anyway, I'm sorry I just felt like I needed to write some stuff down. Thanks for bearing with me and my craziness.

Love you guys!
Alanna ^_^

P.S. I love all of those wonderful photoshopped Twilight pics. Don't you?

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Movie Review: The Princess and the Frog


I don't know what it was exactly that made me want to see this movie so bad. Maybe it was the animation, maybe it was the desire to reconnect with my childhood. Regardless, I went with my besties to the movies today and sat in a dark room with a bunch of little kids and loved this adorable movie!

The story follows a young woman named Tiana, who has worked hard her entire life and hopes one day to own her own restaurant one day. Meanwhile, Prince Naveen, who has never had to lift a finger his whole life, is cut off by his parents. Without money, he isn't sure what to do with himself. He meets Dr.Facilier, a creepy man who promises to make his dreams come true with voodoo. He ends up turning the prince into a frog. Tiana and the prince meet, he convinces her to kiss him, thinking she's a princess, and they both end up as frogs. The rest of the movie follows their journey to reverse the curse.

This movie had everything I like in an animated film-good music, a good length, an interesting plotline, charming characters, and enchanting animation. The movie took place in New Orleans during the jazz era, so a good bit of the music was reminiscent of that time-upbeat jubilent. The movie lasted only 97 minutes, which was nice. It seems like movies are getting longer and longer these days and I don't like sitting still for that long, so it was nice to finally have a movie that didn't take up my entire day. It also kept my interest, which even New Moon couldn't do. It was genuinly funny! The characters were cute and followed along the typical Disney lines. The animation was my favorite part, though. It was a feast for the eyes, with bright, eye-catching colors, beautiful scenery, and a prince that was actually pretty darn hot, considering he wasn't real. I also loved the combination of modern-day animation and the "old fashioned"version. The characters looked like they were from the Tarzan period, but the scenery was more modern. It was a good mix of both and they blended nicely.

I would definitely recommend this movie. It was definitely worth seeing. It was well done so that it was interesting for both adults and children. And Tiana is the first black princess! I'm surprised it took so long. I'm also surprised it took so long for a black man to be president. And both in the same year! Isn't it ironic?

Why Blog?


"A blog is merely a tool that lets you do anything from change the world to share your shopping list."

Nikki brought up a good point today-what is the purpose of blogging? Is there any? I began thinking about. The reasons I blog may be completely different from those of other bloggers. I'm going investigate these reasons. Feel free to add some in the comments!
  1. Money-We all love that nice green stuff. Though it's rare that you would actually make enough money to really make it worth blogging solely for the moolah, for some people, blogging could bring a decent amount of cash. It all depends on popularity.
  2. Change-Some people blog in order to change the world in some way, shape, or form. I think it's worth blogging about your opinions even if you can only change one person's mind.
  3. Connections-You meet so many people while blogging. It's one of the main reasons I love doing it. I think I would have quit a long time ago if I didn't enjoy every time I receive a comment in my email, especially from someone new. You can form so many connections through blogging. You meet people with similar interests, make friends, and sometimes even people who can help you reach your goal, whatever it may be.
  4. Journal-Blogging can often serve as a place to spill your guts. Like a public journal. Some people find relief in writing down all their feelings and telling other people about them.
  5. Moral support-I've found the Blogspot community to be a very friendly one, unlike Youtube and similarly popular sites. People have had nothing but nice things to say to me. You guys are like my cheerleaders! You get a lot of empathy and sympathy when you broaden your audience.
  6. Entertaining-Me, I like to entertain people. It's one reason I like blogging. If you read this blog more than once, chances are it's because it's entertained you. I like putting smiles on people's faces and I get satisfaction from it.
  7. Followers/Commenters/Fans-This is definitely my favorite reason for blogging. This blog started out so small. Only my best friends would read it. I haven't the slightest clue how it became so "big". Even having 18 followers seems like a lot. I love that feeling you get when you realize that people like what you are doing. It's a really good feeling. I love getting comments from you guys-keep 'em coming! The more you comment and follow, the more I write. And the better. Every time more people come, I feel the need to up the quality of the blog.
  8. Boredom-Not sure how I forgot this one, considering the URL of my blog, but Maria reminded me(shout out!) Why do I blog? Because sometimes I'm just so darn bored :)
If you're a blogger, tell me, why do you blog? If you're not, why don't you?

I love all of my readers so so much! Hugs and kisses to you guys-you make writing fun for me!
XOXO,
Alanna

Sunday, December 20, 2009

"The Yellow Handkerchief"

There are some moments that just make you go,"IT BLOG TIMEZ!" This is one of them.
I just watched the trailer for "The Yellow Handkerchief"
The first shocking thing is that Kristen Stewart is playing a totally different role. For like, the first time ever, I think. Second, SHE HAS A FREAKIN' SOUTHERN ACCENT! My jaw might have dropped just a little bit when I heard it.
Holy crapoli.
Check out the craziness for yourself:

Talk to the Moose



This commercial is so annoying, but the song is really catchy. I'm ashamed.
I love my comfy sweater.

Short Film Review: "Dennis"

I was bored last night and felt like watching one of the Youtube Screening Room's short films. The one I chose was "Dennis", a movie that, once I was done watching, I was shocked that I actually enjoyed. I'm going to use the summary from the video's description:

"When Dennis, an introvert bodybuilder, invites a local girl out on a date his mother is hurt and disappointed. Despite the pressure she puts on him to cancel the date, Dennis ventures into a night that he will never forget."

Honestly, this movie should have been extremely boring-it had very little dialogue, the storyline was about as exciting as watching paint dry, but the acting by the man who played Dennis is what I think made the movie. He said so much with his eyes and his timid and shy persona was extremely adorable. He reminded me of Edward Scissorhands, which I know sounds weird because Edward looks nothing like a bodybuilder, but it was the quiet, troubled personality that I'm so attracted to, that kept me going,"Awww", throughout the whole movie.

I don't know if anyone is actually going to watch this, but I'm going to post it anyway. It's really a work of art; it's very deep and has a lot of emotion to it. I'd recommend it, but it's not for everyone. If you need something exciting to watch, this isn't it. But if you want to ogle at a bodybuilder and watch him act like a shy 5 year-old boy, this is it.

I'm so good at selling these movies I write about, aren't I? Haha, NOT.


Saturday, December 19, 2009

100 Random Facts


I got tagged by XANABIOTICX, so I'm going to post 100 random facts about me. Brace yourself, this is bound to be a long one.

  1. I have an unhealthy obession with Chuck Norris
  2. I have straight A's right now
  3. I have never seen Star Wars
  4. I went to 3 concerts this year
  5. I'm a master at origami
  6. I'm basically an internet phenomenon
  7. I love food with faces
  8. I like things that are comically large/small
  9. I play the guitar and the piano
  10. I am a chocoholic
  11. I love photography
  12. I want to live in NYC
  13. Because I like lights
  14. My favorite color is purple
  15. Second favorite is green
  16. Third is rainbow
  17. I have never broken a bone
  18. Lady Gaga scares me, but I love her
  19. I'm short and I am frequently told that
  20. I'm a facebook addict
  21. I love old cars
  22. I'm Team Bella
  23. My mousepad has a Geico caveman on it
  24. I want to be an interior designer
  25. Or and SNL regular
  26. I have several alter egos, or "characters"
  27. One is a New Jersey therapist
  28. My best friend and I met in 1st grade and we're still BFFs
  29. Music is my life
  30. I'm not ashamed of liking Twilight
  31. Harry Potter was better
  32. Napoleon Dynamite is one of my favorite movies
  33. Edward Scissorhands is another
  34. I love writing parodies of songs
  35. I wear the same peace sign ring every day and it's very rare that I leave the house without it
  36. I love color. Lots of it
  37. I think Taylor Lautner's chest deserves an Oscar
  38. But face-wise I prefer RPattz
  39. I'm having trouble coming up with more facts
  40. I loved "The Host"
  41. And I tend to prefer shallow books about romance
  42. I hate almost all movies except comedy
  43. I don't like thinks that make you sad
  44. I loved Christian Bale's rant
  45. I love musicals
  46. The white tiger is my favorite animal. Wombat is probably second
  47. I like to draw
  48. I love Post-it notes
  49. I don't know why
  50. I like REALLY hot showers
  51. I like vintage stuff
  52. My hair is like, 4 different colors right now because I went through a dyeing mode this year
  53. My friends are the weirdest people ever born
  54. I'm an atheist
  55. I still celebrate christmas because I love it
  56. I spent the majority of today listening to the Twilight audiobook on youtube, so my mind is kind of in that mode
  57. My favorite game is Scattegories
  58. I love racket sports and hate all others-except volleyball and swimming
  59. I am not athletically skilled
  60. I think palm trees make everything look better
  61. I used to add eyeliner to every picture
  62. I started this blog because I was bored
  63. I only had 2 readers at first
  64. I want a 'dislike' button(who doesn't?)
  65. I worship Bono like he's God
  66. U2 is my most favoritest thing in the world
  67. I'm dying to go to another one of their concerts
  68. I love going to concerts
  69. I get an adrenaline rush from them
  70. I like to dance like no one's watching
  71. I don't really care what people think of me, so I have more fun
  72. I like oddly shaped erasers
  73. I'm going to see The Princess and the Frog on Tuesday
  74. Jack Sparrow's my hero
  75. So is Johnny Depp
  76. I love love love Tim Burton
  77. I'm dying to see the new Alice in Wonderland in 3-D
  78. I also want to see Avatar
  79. I want to travel the world
  80. My ipod is my sidekick and I can't function without it
  81. I don't text
  82. I use my phone maybe once a month
  83. I love food
  84. I think everyone looks 10X sexier with aviator sunglasses
  85. Mine broke :(
  86. I have a somewhat photographic memory
  87. In my dreamworld, I'm a pilot and I'm married to Tom Cruise(before he got crazy, old, and ugly)
  88. I think if every guy in the world was like Hugh Jackman, we wouldn't need laws.
  89. My birthday is in March
  90. I'm running out of facts
  91. My favorite TV show is Wings
  92. I also love Flight of the Conchords
  93. If I threaten to slap you, there's a 90% chance I will
  94. I love staring at the sky
  95. I find clouds beautiful and I don't like completely clear skies
  96. I'm obsessed with the 80's
  97. I prefer animals to humans
  98. I talk to my dog
  99. I'm a ninja
  100. I'm done with this list
If you endured reading that whole thing, I love you.
I don't have that many blog friends, so I'm just going to tag Shela.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Movie Review: The Hot Chick(2002)

Because I was sick, I also watched this movie yesterday. And I loved it!

The movie starts off with a legend of a princess who used magical earrings(I know, it sounds lame, but stick with me) to switch bodies with another woman. It then switches to modern day, where Jessica, a popular high school cheerleader(not unlike the girl from Sugar and Spice), lives the life of a regular high school higher-up. She ends up stealing the magical pair of earrings and, after a strange mishap with a man attempting to rob a gas station(Rob Schneider), wakes up the next morning with the man's body.

This movie was absolutely hilarious. Rob Schneider is a hilarious man and he played the role of a girl trapped in a man's body flawlessly. The majority of the movie was centered around him. I think if it wasn't, the movie itself wouldn't have been as good. Rob Schneider kind of makes it.

Anyway, not much else to say about this movie. I would definitely recommend it. It's kind of got a chick-flick feel, but I think both sexes would enjoy it!

Here's the trailer:


Thanks for reading guys!
Alanna

Movie Review: Sugar and Spice(2001)


I was sick yesterday and incredibly bored, so I decided to watch "Sugar and Spice", a movie I hadn't even heard of.

The plot line follows the life of a popular high school cheerleader named Diane Weston(Marley Shelton), who falls in love with the equally popular and extremely sexy football player, Jack Bartlett(James Marsden). Diane becomes pregnant with Jack's baby. When they become low on money, taking odd jobs to pay for the baby, Diane comes up with a big plan to rob a bank with the help of her fellow cheerleaders.

While this movie did have some pretty funny parts (and James Marsden was incredibly hot), I couldn't figure out, for the life of me, what the point of the entire movie was. I've come to the conclusion that there is absolutely no point. Even the stupidest of all movies seem to have even the tiniest lesson to prove. This had nothing. The ending was just plain stupid.

I did enjoy parts of it-it was pretty funny. I don't regret watching it, I just wish it had had a more clever ending.

Check out the trailer here:


Thanks for reading!
Alanna

2009's Resolutions-How'd I Do?


So I posted my resolutions for this year on the first of January(Right here). We're going to see how I do. I'm prepared to be very disappointed in myself. Ready? Here goes nothing

  1. Lose a decent amount of weight-I'd say I did a pretty good job. I didn't have that much that I needed to lose and, on a good day, I'd say I've lost about 15 pounds this year. #1? Check.
  2. Help bring Synfan back-Ouch. This one is kinda tough. We had a fight and stopped being friends early in the year. Too bad.
  3. Finish Grin and Bear It-This one wasn't entirely my fault. Nikki, SunnyD, and I all had a mutual agreement that we would stop writing because all passion for writing it was gone. I think it may be possible that we start a new one this year. Will it happen? Will it be finished? Stay tuned.
  4. Stay BFFs with my peeps-Check +. This year has been an awesome one for friendship. I've met so many wonderful people this year that I can't imagine living my life without while staying close with my best friends.
  5. Continue Blogging-Well, duh.
  6. Watch more movies-I think I did a pretty good job of this one, but I've still had a million people tell me,"YOU HAVEN'T SEEN (INSERT MOVIE NAME HERE)?! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!"
  7. Read more books-Fail.
  8. Re-read Twilight series-Didn't do it. I saw New Moon. That counts, right? I know, I know, another one that I failed.
  9. Rekindle my love for U2-Done. Big time. The concert was the best thing that happened to me all year.
  10. Find at least 30 new bands-I don't know if I can name them all, but I definitely did this. Probably three fold.
  11. Try as much as I can-Eh. Didn't do too many new things.
  12. Get back to playing music-Not really. I mean, here and there I've sat down at the piano or picked up my guitar, but not as much as I used to.
  13. Learn ukulele-Nope.
  14. Hang more pictures in my room-I don't have that many more, but it was a stupid resolution anyway.
  15. Try to see old peeps-Mostly failed.
  16. Spend more time with Maggie and Laura-Nope.
  17. I'm skipping this one.
  18. Try to be nicer-I think I did a pretty good job....most of the time....
  19. Francois Problem-100% fixed :)
  20. Stay in touch-With the help of Facebook, yep :)
  21. Stay off of Facebook-Heh..heh..um...well....yeah....
  22. Be happy-The first half of the year was rough, but I'm happy as a clam now!
Not horrible? Not good either...Well, I'm going to make better resolutions for '10.
By the way, how are we saying 2010? We can't say "o' ten"...or can we? Confused.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Quirky's the Shizz

I'm not sure if I like this center alignment, but I'm going to try it. Just for funsies ;)
So I wanted to take some time to discuss my love for quirky things and acknowledge the fact that the nerdy look is now "in" It makes me happy to see people proudly wearing nerdy glasses. In fact, I think I'm going to get a pair of my own ($2.90 + S&H Amazon)
So where did this new wave of quirkiness come from? Let's dig a little bit deeper to find out.
  1. Juno(2007)-I didn't actually watch this movie because I find it a little bit too quirky. Between the strange and incredibly horrid indie music, ugly outfits in 70's colors, and a hamburger phone, that movie is just about as quirky as the world can stand. I got a funny message from my friend, Twitch(how quirky is that name?), that kind of made my day. "If Juno Was 10 Times Shorter and 100 Times More Honest" is a screenplay who's title is pretty self-explanatory. It's pretty darn funny, so check it out: If Juno Was 10 Times Shorter and 100 Times More Honest
  2. Scene kids-We've all seen them. Their choppy hairstyles, the giant bows on their heads, the way they turn their feet towards each other when they stand(which is just plain weird). Although I think they look just plain weird, I find their quirkiness somewhat charming, if only it were in moderation.
  3. iCarly, Flight of the Conchords, and Other Shows With Uber-Quirk-iCarly and Flight of the Conchords are two shows that I absolutely adore(and no, I am not ashamed to say I enjoy iCarly). It's about as quirky as it can get without being annoying. Between the weird t-shirts and "Random Dancing" in iCarly and the strange and hilarious folk songs of the Flight duo, these shows definitely contributed to the wave of weirdness.
So how much is too much? We've all seen those people who pride themselves in being insanely weird. We know how annoying it can get. The status' that say,"Making dinosaurs out of Play-doh. My life is so cool," "Rainbows are the shiznit," or something along those lines. I know, it's tempting to make everything you do sound like that, but sometimes we need to step back and assess the sitatuion. Ask yourself,"Am I being annoyingly quirky?"

I just realized after writing this whole thing that it's kind of pointless and annoying. I think if it were an SNL skit it would've been much funnier. I apologize for wasting your time once again.
So what do you guys think about this abundance of quirkiness? How much is too much? Post your replies in the comments and thanks for reading!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Movie Review: New Moon


I finally saw New Moon on Saturday! This review might be a little bit difficult because I'm not 100% sure how I felt about the movie. But I will try to explain it.

As some of you may know, I used to be a huge Twilight fan(I still have Edward on my bedroom wall), but since it's become this whole big thing, it's not quite as fun anymore. So I went into this movie with my expectations set kind of low. I wasn't planning on enjoying it, but I wasn't rigid in my views. I was hoping to be pleaseantly surprised. Honestly, I wasn't. But that doesn't necessarily mean I thought it was a bad movie. There were parts I loved and parts I absolutely hated. I'm not sure if I can sum up how I feel about the movie as a whole. Let's break it up.

What Alanna Liked About New Moon

  • The cast, of course
  • How Twilight was filled with Rob and New Moon was filled with Taylor. A nice switch off. It's always good to get the best of both worlds :)
  • That they didn't elaborate too much on the humans being eaten by the Volturi. I almost kind of laughed...but then I felt kind of guilty. Which is really stupid.
  • Jackson Rathbone. Every single thing that boy did was freaking hilarious, even the things that weren't meant to be. I've watched lots of Twilight parodies and, usually, they are very exaggerated with the characters' personalities-however, in the movie, Jasper seemed like a joke! His hair was about a half a foot off his head and he looked like a rapist throughout the whole movie. LOVED it.
  • The scenery. The opening scene was beautiful.
  • Taylor Lautner's chest-because you knew I had to say it.
  • The CGI. It was soooooooooooo much better than the first movie. The wolves looked somewhat real and didn't stand out extremely from the real-life objects.
  • The ending
  • The voting scene. Nikki Reed did a good job.
  • Alice's stolen car. That thing was bad.
What Alanna Didn't Like About New Moon
  • Kristen Stewart's constant pausing. I think the movie might have been an hour shorter if she didn't pause for a whole minute and stutter every time she was spoken to. It's fine in moderation, but when that's your whole acting method, there is definitely a problem.
  • Rob's chest was disappointing. But enough objectifying men.
  • Bella's extreme pause while running to Edward. He was about to kill himself and she stops and dramatically pauses to watch him, thinking "Oh noes, he's going to expose himself!", but, of course, taking those precious moments to watch him. Oh.My.God. I was about to yell at the freaking screen. Or punch her in the face.
  • How dark it was. I know the book was dark and the whole theme is that Bella was depressed, but they needed more comic relief. I think I could have counted the funny moments(the ones that were on purpose) on one hand. I'm not saying they should have made it too light and fluffy, but the monotonous darkness became exhausting and boring after a while.
  • It got a little bit boring. I will admit, I closed my eyes a few times because it wasn't interesting enough and I was tired.
  • The fact that Jacob's hair was long in the beginning. Granted that's the book's fault, not the movie's, I'll let it slide.
I think that's enough for now, though I could think of a million nitty gritty details. Hopefully this review was helpful. I also hope I didn't ruin it for anyone. I still think everyone should give it a chance, regardless of what I thought, because I lot of people loved it.

Thanks for reading!

New Template

I'm having mega trouble trying to pick a new template-there are a bazillion choices. I have more choices that I need your help with than I usually do. If you could leave your opinon in the comments ASAP, that would be amazing. Thanks!
http://www.pyzam.com/bloggertemplates/preview/from-the-snow
http://www.pyzam.com/bloggertemplates/preview/snowy-mountains
http://www.pyzam.com/bloggertemplates/preview/awesome-space
http://www.pyzam.com/bloggertemplates/preview/green-hills
http://www.pyzam.com/bloggertemplates/preview/soft-clouds
http://www.pyzam.com/bloggertemplates/preview/futurestarswillbedim
http://www.pyzam.com/bloggertemplates/preview/aurora

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Movie Review/New Obsession: Edward Scissorhands


I had good feelings about this movie from the very beginning. As soon as I saw it in the last-minute-as-your-checking-out-impulse-buy section of Target for $5, I threw it in the cart and bought it. Anything by Tim Burton is good, right? Wrong. Anything by Tim Burton is incredible.

This movie has everything-humor, romance, violence and action, and everything in between. Johnny Depp portrays the most loveable character I have ever experienced. He is extremely charming, vulnerable, and so flawed that it's impossible not to love him. I must have said "awww!" out loud at least every 5 minutes.
There wasn't a single thing I didn't absolutely love about this movie and I'm dying to watch it again, even though it's only been about a week since I watched it last. I am a huge fan now.
I wouldn't just recommend this one. I'd tie you to a chair, tape your eyelids open, or let you borrow the DVD if it meant you watch it.

Go out. Now. And get it. Watch it. Love it.

P.S. Edward Scissorhands kicks Edward Cullen's butt. And I personally find him more attractive.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Music Review: "Waking Up" Onerepublic


I've been a huge Onerepublic fan since the beginning. I was , like the rest of the world, hooked by "Apologize" and "Stop and Stare". I started to listen to more and more of their songs until I grew to love each and every one. So you can only imagine how excited I was for their new album. I bought it as soon as I woke up at 5:50 A.M. I waited out the whole day until my ride home when I could finally check this new album out for myself. I don't want to give it a bad review because the whole album wasn't bad, it just wasn't as good as the first album. It's got a bit of a different, more cynical tone to it, but they stay true to their hip-hop pop-rock sound with the use of electronic editing and violin.There are a few songs I absolutely LOVE, so I think I'll just review those so that those of you who want to check them out without having to listen to the whole CD can do so.

1."All the Right Moves"-This was their first single and it's a pretty good song. I'm kind of sick of it now because I listened to it too many times, but if you haven't heard it, check it out.

2."Secrets"-I think this was their second single. And it's awesome. One element I love about Onerepublic that sets them apart from other pop-rock groups is their use of the violin in a modern and beautiful way, which is done wonderfully in this song.

3."Everybody Loves Me"-This song made the album for me. It has the greatest guitar intro, an awesome bassline, and, as always, Ryan Tedder's phrasing is unique, fresh, and absolutely superb. Not only is his voice flawless, but the way he carries out the words to this make you completely ignore what he's actually saying(I haven't the slightest clue what this song is about) and get lost in his magnificent voice. DEFINITELY check this one out, whether you like them or not. It's freaking AMAZING.

4."Good Life"-This song is perfect for a sunny, bright, and good day. It's about appreciating life and the lyrics make you feel good. Another one of my very favorites.

5."Marchin On"-This one has a great military theme, which they managed to portray perfectly in not just the lyrics, but the beat of the music and the voices. There's a part of the song where they sing,"right, right , right, left, right, right, right, right,left, right, right, right, we're marchin on" and it makes me walk with a perfect rythm. It shows a more hopeful, patriotic, and heroic side of war. It has the feeling of a proud soldier, marching on. You should definitely check this one out also.

Hopefully this inspired you to go on iTunes and check out a few of these new songs. If you don't want to listen, please at least try listening to "Everybody Loves Me" or "Marching On". Those two are my favorite.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Book Review: Peaches


I have a whole long list of books and movies to review, but I've been lazy and unmotivated. I figured I'd sit down for a couple minutes to tell you about "Peaches" by Jodi Lynn Anderson because I enjoyed it so much.
This is a story about three completely different people who are forced to work on a peach orchard, all for different reasons. The back of the novel reads."This summer at Darlington Orchard, three very different girls will discover the secret to finding the right boy, making the truest of friends, and picking the perfect Georgia peach. But at the start of the season, things aren't so...peachy."
This is one of those light reads that makes you feel happy and warm. It's a book about friendship that includes enough drama and comedy that it isn't that crappy, overly-serious, and borderline boring books about friends. It kept me interested-so interested, in fact, that it took me less than a month to finish it(I know, it's crazy). I'd definitely recommend it. It would be a great summer read. The feel of it reminds me of those cliche warm summer nights with a giant moon and fireflies in a garden in the country....ahhhh how nice.
The only thing I opposed to about this book was that once you got towards the end, it became sort of monotonous. It seemed like something I would write. However, it is worth reading anyway.
If anyone reads it, tell me! I want to know what you guys think!

P.S. Sorry I haven't been posting lately. Soy muy perezosa.

P.P.S. As I was searching for a picture of the cover, I discovered a sequel to this book! It's called "The Secrets of Peaches". Now I am excited! And wait! There's more! There's a third one! It's called "Love and Peaches".
At least, I think that's the order it goes in....I hope I didn't read the sequel...or the third...hmmm...

Friday, October 23, 2009

Outfit


I apologize for the uber lame title for this post. Honestly, I tried to come up with something witty. Failure.

Anyway, I felt like putting together an outfit just for fun and wanted to share it with you guys.

1.Blonde Ambition Dress-www.modcloth.com-$49.99
2.Take the Reigns Jacket-www.modcloth.com-$64.99
3.Electra Heels-www.modcloth.com-$47.99'
4.Delicate initial necklace-www.urbanoutfitters.com-$18
5.The Scarlet O' Handbag-www.modcloth.com-$59.99
6.Love Lila by round designs earrings-www.urbanoutfitters.com-$14.99
7.BDG ribbed slouchy beanie-www.ubranoutfitters.com-$28

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Negativity, Electrical Storms, Psychological Studies,and Changing the World


The over abundance of negativity has been on my mind lately. I am generally a positive, glass half-full, silver-lining person and it's become clear to me lately that I might be one of the few people like that left! I think negativity has become such a normal thing that we don't even realize when someone says something negative. This incredibly annoying girl that I cannot escape was the one to first spark this idea in my mind. Every word out of her mouth is something rude or negative. Her inability to be impressed or interested in anything is just annoying and just brings you down. She's a downer. She says just plain rude, mean-spirited things to me that make me wonder what happened to her in her childhood that caused her to be this way.
You're probably wondering why it is that I'm telling you this, no? It's because I want every person who reads this to be more aware of the negativity around them and what they emit. Be aware of how it affects the people around you and how it affects your overall mood. Silver lining is the way to go. You'll never be disappointed. Disappointment is a bad feeling and I like to do everything I can to avoid it. Shouldn't everyone? People are always wondering why we Americans use so many anti-depressants-here's your answer.

On to happier topics, I wanted to share my favorite music video with everyone. It was only about a week ago that I finally watched the whole video, though I've known the song for a while. It's a beautiful, breathtaking video from U2 for the song "Electrical Storm". For those of you wondering, the man is Larry Mullen Jr., the drummer for U2, and the girl is Samantha Morton, a British actress. No, they aren't a couple and they never were, but they have a great chemistry that makes this video magical. Oh, and did I mention that Larry is incredibly hot and that Samantha Morton is my new girl crush? If that's not enough motive to go watch it, I don't know what is.Enjoy!


So, in case you haven't noticed, I've become fascinated with human nature. Just for fun, I decided to start a little mini-study of people's minds(without them knowing). I've been asking questions in my facebook status' and checking out people's replies. Here's an example:

If you could be transported anywhere in time, where would you go?

The first response was:
"to a world where war, and stupidity didnt exist."

The second was:
"to the middle of the bloodiest conflict ever"

Can you tell which one was a girl and which was a guy?
Anyway, I've only been doing this for like, two days, so I haven't made any big conclusions yet. But if I remember, I will try to post some sort of result within the next week.

Last, but definitely not least, changing the world. Easier said than done. In the words of the Notorious B.I.G.,"Before we can change the world, we have to change ourselves."
I can't describe how inspiring the U2 concert was. This may sounds silly, but it changed my life. Bono is my idol and seeing what he's been doing his whole career to benefit people in 3rd world countries is just astonishing and incredibly inspiring. I've decided to try to immerse myself in charity like he's done. I'm going to go with my family's church to feed the homeless every saturday starting a couple weeks(because I have plans that cannot be changed for the next two weeks) and I'm hoping on doing some more charity work. I have so much time on my hands on the weekend that I use for virtually nothing. Why not help someone?
I'm not sure how these changes in character are supposed to occur. Are they fast, like mine? Or do they take time? Regardless, I hope to change at least one person's life for the better. I also hope to inspire others to do the same.

P.S. It's weird how many semi-naked girls show up when you type in "charity" on google images. I love that Bono and Ali Hewson show up, though :)

Well, guys, thanks for listening!

Friday, October 9, 2009

Movie Review: The Nanny Diaries(2007)


I expected something completely different than what I was expecting for this movie. What I was expecting is what the trailer made it come off as-a light-hearted, warm, chick flick about the comical horrors of nannyhood. The reality is a depressing movie about what goes on behind the plastic-surgeoned smiles of the rich and famous and how their spawn suffer.
Check out the trailer here:


Annie Braddock, played by Scarlett Johansson, is trying to figure out who she is and where she's going. She takes up what she believes is just a temporary job as a nanny for one the uptown, snot-nosed wealthy families. She forms a special bond with Grayer, the child she nannies, and in turn, finds her true self and her values.

This movie was not light-hearted, but it did have a few funny parts(most of them-correction-ALL of them-are in the trailer). The rest of the movie dealt with affairs, divorce, child neglect, and losing people you love.

In the end, I would not recommend this movie. While the ending was cute and happy, the rest of the movie was dark and depressing. I wouldnt' have finished it had it not been for the need to see the happy ending that I knew was coming.
Don't watch it.

The Greatest Experience in The World(U2 360), Stressful Week, and Sleepy Confusion


Hola, ustedes!
It's been a very long, frustrating, and stressful week and I couldn't be more glad it's Friday. I'm currently listening to "Friday I'm In Love" by The Cure; it's my Friday theme song and is 100% sure to lift my spirits. Along with that, my November issue of Glamour just arrived a couple hours ago. Just finished looking through it. That magazine is a self-esteem booster and I always learn something knew and useful! One of the few magazines I actually read(I'm more of a picture person!)

So last Saturday was the greatest night of my life. After waiting in traffic for about half an hour before giving up and walking for a mile, I was at the U2 and Muse concert! Unfortunately, I missed all but 2 songs of Muse's set(I got to hear "Supermassive Blackhole", but not see it, but I did get to see "Starlight"-my favorite of all their songs-and "Undisclosed Desires", a new song that's pretty good!) After waiting for about 45 minutes after Muse's set was over, U2 took the stage, brining the energy to an insane high. And guess where I was sitting? 3rd row. And I know what you're thinking,Oh my god, that's crazy!, but there was a big gap between the seats and the stage(it was in a football stadium) for general admission. However, I was still close enough to be...well, close. I can't describe in words what this concert was like. Astonishing, incredible, unbelieveable, and in the words of Bono, magnificent. I've never felt so inspired! I'm now more obsessed with them then I've ever been. I'm ordering two posters, I bought the tote bag at the concert, my background on my iPod is an ancient picture of them, and they're basically all I listen to. It's so cool how after seeing a song performed live, once I listen to it on my iPod, I listen to it from this whole new perspective.
Nothing in the world is more wonderful than Bono and his passion.

This week has been very stressful. I'm not sure what happened this year, but I've suddenly completely thrown my entire self into my schoolwork-all work and no play has made Alanna a dull girl. However, I have the best grades I've ever had. Trying to balance out your life is complicated. I don't want to miss out on the wonders and joys of being young, but I also don't want to screw up my entire life by not doing my best right now. See my dilema?

Yesterday was an interesting story. My alarm goes off at 5:30 A.M. I rolled over in bed in the morning and looked at the clock, still, for the most part, asleep. It read 5:45 A.M. Oh shit, I thought, I must have slept through my alarm. That's not good... I had enough time to get ready because I wake up earlier than I need to so I can try to wake myself up before school. Anyway, I got on my makeup, my layered outfit, washed my face, and the whole she-bang. I had, what I assumed, was about 15 minutes left. I check the clock. It read 3:00 A.M. I did a double take. WHAT?! I checked the other clocks in the house-it was, in fact, 3:00 A.M. In my sleep daze, I had mistaken the "2" on my clock for a "5". Grr. So I changed back into my pajamas, took off the load of jewelry off, and climbed back into bed for the next 2 and a half hours.
What a crappy way to start the day.

Hopefully your week has been better than mine! I also hope your weekend is pleasent and relaxing-or busy, in a good way, of course.

Happy weekend!