I agree, the VMAs really did miss their mark.

So I watched last night's VMAs--I even live tweeted like a dork because I didn't have anyone to talk about them with because Ben refused to watch them with me. While perusing the Hollywood Reporter this afternoon I came across an opinion article about the show by Shirley Halperin called "MTV Video Music Awards: How the 2011 Show Missed the Mark (Opinion)." I am with ya Shirl, I agree on pretty much every single point you made, save a few. Let's hash this business out:

I did enjoy Gaga's opener. I found it really entertaining, even the drawn out monologue. I think everyone was expecting some crazy fashion masterpiece, but she went above and beyond and slapped us all in the face again by being a man. A pretty good lookin' one too if you ask me. Not gonna lie, it looked like she majorly biffed it hopping off her piano, but she rocked it nonetheless. Loved the line about Gaga putting on heels to take a shower.

Yes and Yes to the half-assed tributes to Brittney and Amy Winehouse. Those little girls were like mini-Brittneys on crack! Could it have been any quicker? And the tribute to Amy was really weird... very random feel with Russell Brand, then Tony Bennett, and then the odd choice of tribute song. Hello!!! Where was "Rehab" or "You Know I'm No Good" or "Me and Mr.Jones"? Honestly, the only reason I know the song "Valerie" is because I used to have a friend obsessed with Amy and he would sing me "Valerie" but would sing Mallory in place of Valerie as a fun joke. Pick what she's known for, for God's sake!

Beyonce totally stole the show. She is just an effortless classic diva like old school Whitney Houstin or Tina Turner. And that belly-rub!!!!! Could not have been more epic of a cute moment. She's gonna be performing till that baby pops out, I swear. Could you imagine "Single Ladies" with a prego belly? Beyonce could do it.

And I would like to add, WTF Chris Brown? First off, when was it okay to like him again? I thought he was on everyone's shit list still from the whole hitting Rhianna thing... guess I'm not up to speed. But the lip syncing and effing random time jump things? Where did "Smells like Teen Spirit" come from? So confusing. And the flying through the air thing got real old, real fast.

Who were half of those people???? I know I'm a little out of the loop with Top 40 most all the time, but I seriously didn't know half the damn songs performed! I agree with Shirley on all of the examples put out there--all but Adele. Yes-she could have sang "Rolling in the Deep" but "Someone Like You" did just fine. She made me cry.

There are lots of other little things--good and bad, as Shirley states. The no host thing = epic fail. The random set = utter confusion. I did enjoy though, as stated, all of Gaga, Dave Grohl's acceptance shout-out, as well as Katy Perry winning some shit.

All in all, kind of lacking in continuity and creativity. But as Adam Lavine said best, the VMAs are the “one day a year when MTV pretends to still care about music.” So true. So true. I could write an entire blog just talking about how MTV totally blows when it comes to their programming. But thats another blog for another day.


Thanks for reading--tell me how you feel and continue to rock on.

My Summer Bookshelf

Well hello! Hope your summer has been good, first off. Mine will officially be over in 2 weeks, but I don't regret the way I spent it. I had a great time watching movies at the discount cinema with Ben (my boyfriend) and not having a job. But the one goal I set for myself this summer was to do a shit ton of reading. And that I did. I read/finished 6 books--well, technically 5 because I'm still reading number 6. Why the big reading kick? I love reading for fun. Always have. But as a college student, reading for class and assignments eat up your life and your desire to read leisurely. Come September 7th I will no doubt be stranded in the middle of a book that I won't finish till winter break, but at least I got my fix while I could. Here's what I read and my thoughts on each. Enjoy!

1) "Let the Right One In" by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Let the Right One In is more commonly known for the film adaptation from Sweden. I am a huge fan of reading books that have been adapted to film. There is nothing better than enjoying a movie, finding out its based on a novel, and then reading that novel only to receive so much more of the story what was in the film. Several of the books on this very list of summer reading have been adapted to film. Anyway, I also love vampire stories (this isn't the only vamp novel I've read this summer either) and this one is particularly interesting. Not your typical seductive, all about sex vamp story for sure. Based on a boy named Oscar and the vamp "girl" Eli he meets. I'm not gonna lie, the book got a little stale after a while in terms of pace, but it was still a great story. The film totally captured the mood and vibe of the book. So, not my favorite read of the summer, but good just the same. If you like vampire novels, give it a whirl, or at least see the film. NOT the American re-make though. I don't care if you don't like subtitles, watch the Swedish version.

2) "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger

Yet another novel that was adapted to film, this book was so good! Technically I didn't read the entire thing this summer, I had started reading it during the school year last year and never finished it. But this is such a great love story! The writing was phenomenal and it was so well organized. The book flips back and forth between Henry's POV (the time traveler) and Clare's POV (his wife) while also flipping through time. It may sound confusing, but it makes total sense while reading it and creates such a magical world where Henry gets to see his dead mother on occasion, meet Clare as a young child, see his own future child, as well as many other escapades-both dangerous and endearing. READ THIS BOOK! Seriously. Could not put it down. Good movie too. I absolutely love both Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana. Perfect casting.



3) "Push" by Sapphire

First off, if you've seen the movie Precious, you know how sad/inspiring/crazy this story is. Well, take the intensity of the movie and multiply it by like 5 and you get the novel. I don't think I could even put into words all the things this book made me feel. Mostly, it just made me sad. So many people like Precious are out there in the world, and they don't do a thing to change it because they've never known any different. This story is a perfect example of how kids get lost in the system and get fucked by the system. No child should ever have to endure anything near what Precious fictionally did. That's all I'm going to say or I'll start ranting. If you can handle it, read the book. It will blow your mind and see the world a little differently.

4) "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger

While being an American classic and a title I had often heard of in my life, I had never until this summer read Catcher in the Rye. It was at the suggestion of my boyfriend Ben that I give it a whirl. He thought I would like Holden (the main character) because he talks constantly about people being phony--a concept I too am not fond of. There are a lot of legit points that Holden makes about people in general, but I'm not going to lie--not my favorite book. His ranting got really old a lot of the time and he was really self-centered. Holy crap was he self-centered. The style of writing wasn't really my cup of tea either with it being in a style of speech rather than an actual novel. Don't really have much exciting to say about it because I simply didn't care for it too much. Can't win 'em all right?

5) "The Tale of the Body Thief" by Anne Rice

Okay, just to get this out in the open: I LOVE ANNE RICE'S VAMPIRE CHRONICLES!!!!! These books are by far my favorite vampire stories. Although I have only read the first 4, I've read Interview With The Vampire three times, The Vampire Lestat twice, and would gladly go back and re-read The Queen of the Damned, that book was awesome also. I love Lestat. I won't lie, I fell in love with Louis first in "Interview," which is through Louis' POV. But with the following novels being in Lestat's POV, I learned to love him more. "Body thief" was a really interesting concept, allowing Lestat to once again inhabit a mortal body. I won't spoil the story with any details, but its an interesting ride. Memnoch the Devil is in my bookshelf waiting to be read next :D

6) "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown

Currently reading this one right now, but it shouldn't be long before I'm finished. I seriously cannot put this book down! I know I'm a little behind the times in reading it, but whatever. I'm reading it now and thats what counts. Sorry to all you Christians out there, but this book makes me glad I'm not religious. It is ridiculous how much of Christianity is just copied from other religions--nothing is original!!! I don't want to religion bash so I'll just leave my comments at that. On another note, with this being yet another novel adapted to film, I'm very muchenjoying the extra detail of the book, but I'm finding that the movie is surpassingly accurate tothe novel. So, if you've seen the movie, you can definitely guess every new plot development, but it by no means ruins anything. So if you're like me and still haven't picked it up, I encourage you to.

WHEW! Sorry for the massively long first blog! Please don't let the longevity keep you from reading my future postings. I'm usually not this long winded, I'm just proud of what I read this summer :P As far as reading goes, the books on my "to-read" list still are Memnoch the Devil, Silence of the Lambs (yet another book adapted to the screen), and a must-re-read of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I'm sure there'll be a HP posting to come after that one.

Thanks again for reading my blog, comments welcome. Rock on!