I Said Goddamn!

Once again, Josh Wald. He'll always be my 2,398th love.

Viva La Vida

I don't see what all the fuckin' fussin's for? Coldplay, the most feared and hated bands in the world, due to their success, might actually possess talent. Is this why people are afraid of them? Haha. I think it is.

On their fourth, and yes, best album, Viva La Vida, Coldplay churn out a album, not an record. Remember records? Yeah, me neither. But unlike filler albums of recent memory, all the songs on this album fit in their proper place.

The album is just that, a whole album. It tells a story like albums used to. It begins in "Life in Technicolor", the prelude that announces this will be a musical journey. The band accompanied by an orchestra are released from behind Chris Martin's possessed voice. His is a flow through the sound-scape in the background.

The album's songs are but chapters in a thematic book, unlike the many "filler" songs of X&Y. It interludes with much grace, like in "Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love" and switches themes altogether in songs like "42" and "Yes".



Musically the band has grown by leaps and bounds. On Viva the band is more of a presence. Guitarist Jonny Buckland is released and commands the air in which the music floats into. Many of the songs were recorded in churches and places where the sound can expand and echo, a trick Coldplay knows a thing of two about.

The album also features many points where the band is singing together, trading their sound-enveloping musical instruments for their own voices that get lost in the heavens. The album postludes in "Death and All of His Friends" just as how in begins, a sweeping instrumental, this time joined by Martin as he and his band members bid us a due.

Is this mass transition credited to Brian Eno, a producer who has worked with U2? Or is Eno a means to an end for a band that wants to grow creatively? The haters will give it completely to Eno. Can't win them all.

Truly a great album from a great band. Get over it haters. I want it on vinyl because I know it will sound perfect.

Garlic Orange Chicken

That's right. I made this shit! The idea as to how to make some really great Chinese chicken came to me why I was sitting brainless at my computer at work a couple of months ago. I'm pretty sure I've mastered whatever they make in Chinese restaurants.

It Never Occured to Me...

...how strange I am. I have nicknames for all my animals.

I call McCoy, McCoy Boy



I call Lucy, Lucy Cat



and finally I call Nala, Nally Pants



I have no idea why I find it necessary to do this. I am ate up. Eh.

I am in Love!

A big congratulations goes out to my home-boy Barack Obama. On Tuesday, June 3, 2008, in St. Paul, Mn., he took center stage as the official Democratic candidate for president. I'm so excited.



In much cooler news...when Michelle Obama introduced her husband, she greeted him to the nation with a fist pound. It was too cute. Have I mentioned how in-love with them I am? I wonder if they could adopt me.



"The country runs better with a good looking man in the White House. I mean, look what happened with Nixon; no one wanted to fuck him, so he fucked everyone." ~ Samantha Jones, Sex and the City

Sex and the City

Well, my absence from blogging has brought me back for my favorite season...summer movie season. Why I haven't seen Iron Man or Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull yet is beyond me. Those will be reviewed later. Sex and the City though was a must see for me.

I've come to the conclusion that being a fan of the series, and a movie goer, has both helped and hindered my enjoyment of this movie.



The audience joins Carrie and Co. right were those of us who followed the series left off (and expected)...Carrie is enjoying her flowering carrier as a writer, now with three published books, and her love life with Big (now with a "big" full name, John James Preston); Miranda is continuing her struggle to balance professional and personal life; Charlotte is enjoying family life with husband Harry (Evan Handler) and adopted daughter Lily; and finally Samantha has moved her business and boyfriend Smith (Jason Lewis) to L.A. to continue growing Smith's blossoming acting career at the sacrifice of Samantha's professional and personal life in New York.



My only grievance, which has yet to be determined as minor or major, with the movie is the significance of the movie. Yes, it's fun to watch the movie and its over-stylized decadence. But was it necessary to dust these characters off to live through that which fans of the show should already have known these characters to encounter?



The truth is, yes, I expected Big and Carrie to toy with the idea of marriage. I expected Miranda to seclude herself in her work, thus making a strain on her marriage. I expected Charlotte to continue blissfully growing her family. I expected for Samantha to struggle with her independence while in a relationship with Smith. Carrie and Charlotte's respective gays, Stanford (Willie Garson) and Anthony (Mario Cantone) are reduced to minor cameos while leaving the audience curious as to if they are in a relationship or not. Didn't they hate each other on the show?



The reason why the movie fails with substance is because the series was so well written, so well fleshed-out for the audience, that the movie really didn't need to happen for the audience to know what occurs in the lives of their fictional four best friends. I don't believe the movie was made solely to make money, but for the genuine love of the characters and to re-visit that world.



Okay, now I'm stepping down from my soapbox and will just bask in the delicious excesses of glamorama. The fans of the show will enjoy references to the show. Watch for series cameos like Carrie's infamous tutu, muskrat coat and rotary phone.



The stories of the four ladies are enjoyable to watch. Look for heartfelt performances from Sarah Jessica Parker after Carrie and Big's (Chris Noth) wedding fails to come to fruition. Miranada's (Cynthia Nixon) storyline is heartbreaking as she struggles to put aside her pride and save her marriage to Steve (David Eigenberg). And finally Kim Cattrall is great as the sexually and professionally frustrated Samantha. The audience really feels her dissatisfaction at playing second fiddle to a caring man, but longing to be the star in one's own life. Cattrall hints at that great acting intuition she got to show on the series in a moment when she realizes why she really is staying with Smith. Unfortunately there's nothing really new to tell for Charlotte (Kristin Davis) but reaffirm her loyalty to her friends. Watch for Davis shine when she confronts Mr. Big at the wedding and at a restaurant a year later.



Look for strong performances from Eigenberg and Noth (who knew Big could show such affection for Carrie? Isn't that one thing she wanted from the start?). Also look for a forgettable and unnecessary performance from Jennifer Hudson as Louise from St. Louis, big-up to STL!

While it wasn't a complete waste, it really wasn't necessary, which is what I've been saying ever since the movie was talked about since the show ended in 2004. Sometimes you have to let sleeping dogs lie. ***B***