In the Loop with Cobras and Friends

First of all, let me begin by apologizing for my shoddy follow-through this week re: writing in.  Ye’ Old car accident has been acting up/hitting me with the ugly stick and I’ve spent the majority of the week on the sofa with an ice pack or at the physical therapists office in a headlock.  Good times, good times…

Today however, you’re in for a real treat because it’s Friday and I love Fridays.  Especially Friday nights because Sam and I always go to the movies on Friday night.  Last week it was 500 Days of Summer (thumbs up, see review), the week before it was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (I’m already ready to see it again; I laughed, I cried, I LOVED it), and this week it’s In the Loop, the trenchant political satire that’s taking the critics’ favor by storm.

On a side note, I just saw an old friend in the trailer; Enzo Cilenti, at the :58 second and the 1:35 mark.  Ciao, Enzo y uno beso por Sienna!

I’ll let you all know how it is so you can put it on your list…or not.  I might also try to throw in Funny People if I get a chance on Sunday.  If so, I’ll write in a double-feature review on Monday.  If, on the other hand, my day in the sun at polo matches sends me to bed early on Sunday, then (for those of you who do go to see it this weekend) write in with your own review.  I’d love to hear what you think.  And remember, only 1 more week until GI Joe kicks Cobra Commander’s ninja rear-end!

Wedding Dance! Dance! Dance!

Thank you to all of my readers who sent in their own favorite dance videos in response to my July 24th blog entry.  Some of them really blew my socks off and some of them, well…I don’t want to talk about those.  I’m still cringing from the one with the kids in army fatigues dancing in front of a faux Greek temple.  What was that about?

Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to share the good videos with the rest of the world.  A good dance routine always deserves an audience.

Winner: Groomsmen Zombie Sexiness

1st Runner-Up (it was the 2:45 minute mark that got me): Dirty Love

2nd Place:  (the 3-Man Worm gets me every time): Dance-Off

3rd Place:  Crazy Love

4th Place:  B-Boyz Mazeltov

And for comedy, try on this one for size.  It didn’t make the cut-off, but it’s still pretty funny.

Big Butts, but poor video quality:

And in case you’re a masochist and want to see the kids in army fatigues who I mentioned before, don’t say I didn’t warn you:

Gillian and Ed, Sitting In a Tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

Okay so I got sucked into another season of the Bachelorette…I know, I know.  But it’s like a romance novel and a car wreck all in one.  I can’t keep myself away.  Last night Gillian finally picked her prince charming.  She had three men to choice from.  Can you imagine?  Three men who want to propose to you all on the same day?  Sounds better than ice cream.  I’ve got to figure out how to get on this show.

First up was Kiptyn:

• 12-pack abs
• bulging biceps
• super athletic
• good at everything Gillian makes me him do
• surfer dude/humanitarian/businessman from Diego
• never had his shirt on all season

I was sure Gillian was going to pick him.  And then out of nowhere Reid showed up.  Reid had been one of my favorites, until he clammed up on expressing his emotions and got sent home.  So when he came back, as much as I had been rooting for him before, it was too late.  His ‘I Love You’ had passed the expiration window.  Poor Reid, he was by far the funniest and lord knows I love a funny man.

If it had been me, I would’ve gone for Reid.  I just couldn’t help myself.  Every time he came on screen I got a smile on my face.  He was so silly and ernest and when he put on his glasses and became ‘smart Reid’ I was done for.  Plus he’s from Philadelpheia!  Hello?

My favorite Reid moments are as follows:

Moment 1.  Gillian: “What do you want to do today?”

Reid: “Make-out.

Moment 2.  Gillian: “How much do you like me?”

Reid, spreading his arms wide: “This big!”

And then there was Ed:

• tall, dark, and handsome
• sweet, goofy
• technology consultant from Chicago
• left the show mid-season  (some say to ditch his ex, but the party line is that he did it for wok) and then came back because he missed Gillian so much
• totally in love with Gil and very verbal about it
• looks great in green short-shorts
• won the girl!

I am never watching this show again.  It’s way too addictive.

500 Days of Summer

Where do I start my professional, unbiased review of the movie, 500 Days of Summer?  How about with: LOVED IT!!!  or Genius!!!  or Yes!Yes!Yes!

Does that send a clear message?

This movie is not what you think it is, nor is it a love story, and yet it’s full of love and laughter and butterflies in your stomach…not to mention animated birds, dance scenes, and some crazy film editing.  The music meanwhile, rocks you from scene to scene like that Sony commercial from the 90’s where the guy is sitting in front of his speakers with his headphones on.  And when he turns on the speakers he’s blown back out of his chair.  (remember that one?)   In other words, the music is goooood, really goooood.

I’ve always been a fan of Zoey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, you know the kid from Third Rock From the Sun.  He’s been in some other small flicks and what I see I always like.  He’s funny, real, dour, and just dorky enough to be cute and cute enough to be interesting.  Not movie star handsome by any means, he still fills the screen with his talent and persona.  I can’t wait to see what he does next.

For 500 Days for Summer, for Zoey, and especially for Joe, I give two arms up, fingers spread, eyes open, and mouth smiling.

And for the Los Angelenos out there reading this, this one’s for you!

Hot Hot Mess – the Wedding Procession

My future sister-in-law sent this to me yesterday and I don’t know what to make of it.  Does she want me to do this? Not want me to do this?  Hopes I’ll learn by example; not all music is good music?  It was like a train wreck I couldn’t stop watching.  Why this song?  Why this dance?  See for yourself what I’m talking about, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.  You’ll get sucked in for the entire five minutes just waiting to see the bride.

As you can see, the only people of the bunch who could dance were the first few couples.  The rest should’ve made-up a routine rather than winging it.  Knowing Duncan (sister-in-law) she probably saw this and thought I’d get a good chuckle out of it.  I did.  I still am.  And I won’t be dancing down the aisle to techno.  Lesson learned.  I’ll do hip hop instead – She’s a very freaky girrrl.  From her head down to her toenails…

The Flip Cup Tournament

Flip Cup, a game for everyone, has made a comeback.  “Several annual tournaments are held in the United States.  New York City hosted the ‘World’s Largest Flip Cup Tournament’ on October 11, 2008. The event hosted 64 teams from the United States and Canada. The creators of the tournament donated a portion of the proceeds to a charity designated by the winning team. On July 7, 2006, sixteen teams competed in the Major League Flip Cup’s first annual ‘World Series of Flip Cup’ in Baltimore, Maryland.  In 2007, the series was moved to Towson, Maryland on April 28 and had forty teams in the competition.  The 2008 series was held on May 3, 2008, and 44 teams competed. The 2009 World Series of Flip Cup was held at the Recher Theatre on May 30, 2009. 46 teams competed.” (Flip Cup)

In San Francisco recently, a flip cup (FC) tournament was held where dozens of teams competed for the FC championship.  This is the seventh year of the tournament and participation and viewership has reached an all-time high.

The rules are as follows:

• two teams with at least two players on each team; one player must be of the female persuasion
• each player has a cup with one shot of beer
• the first player drinks his/her beer and flips the cup afterward until it successfully lands upside down
• the next player repeats the process
• the first team to successfully achieve all cups down/flipped wins the race

This year, an all-time new happened, a team made entirely of women entered the tournament.  The rules state that one woman must be on each team, but this is only to level the playing field with a ‘weak link’ so that each team has a fair shot.

Predictably, the all-female team lost in the first round as females have no business competing in a contest based on drinking beer and manual dexterity…NOT.  In fact, the brassiere-wearing brigade mopped the floor, dusted the drapes, and walked over the competition barefoot and pregnant all the way to the top.  The team was called Lick It and in the final hours they defeated We’re Wearing Spandex in an upset never before seen by male players across the globe.  Lick It won the Flip Cup Tournament and took home the championship trophy for 2009.

There’s a YouTube video to prove it.  Check out the fourth woman, second from the end…Abby Jacobs is her name and Flip Cup is her game.

Pet Travel Made Easy

I know, I know, I’ve been on a pet kick lately.  Maybe it’s because I spent last weekend away from my little havoc-makers in Newport celebrating my upcoming nuptials.  Or maybe it’s just because I spend so much time trying to get Kiki to eat and Hank to stop eating everything he finds on the ground, that they’re always on my mind.  So without further ado, here’s my last pet entry for at least a week.  I promise.

PetAirways, the new all-pet, in-cabin airline (PetAirways.com) is launched and ready for your four-legged friend.  I went on today and was told the dates that I picked were full.  Looks like the airline is doing well and why shouldn’t it be?  I’m sure I’m not the only pet owner who thinks it’s absurd to pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars each way so that my dog can either be stuffed under the seat in front of me or locked in a crate in cargo.  It’s horrible.  Kiki Wonder gets in her bag and for 8 hours the poor doll doesn’t get out.  No potty breaks, no stretching, no nothing because while the airlines love taking money for her to fly, she’s not allowed out of her bag at any point.

Big dogs have it even worse in the cargo hold with loud noises, strange handlers, and vacillating temperatures.  At least Kiki is with me for those 8 hours of suffering.  If I flew back to Maryland with Hank, I’d have to turn him over to who knows who in the hopes that it would all work out in the end.  Often times, it doesn’t.

PetAirways is a genius idea and one that I think will give the major airlines a wake-up call.  Pets are part of the family these days and while some of us might not mind crazy Uncle Vernon riding in the plane’s belly, alone, and out of earshot, we don’t want Fido there.

Paws Up on MSNBC