Music, Movies, and TV Shows

Everybody has those songs that remind you of movies.  And no I'm not talking about musicals.  Like You're the One That I Want reminding you of Grease.  I'm talking about regular movies that everybody thinks about when a certain song plays.

For example, Old Time Rock N Roll by Bob Seger brings back images of a young Tom Cruise in a pink dress shirt, tighty whities, and socks sliding across a hard wood floor singing into a candle stick like a microphone.  And speaking of TC, who doesn't think of Top Gun when they hear Danger Zone, right?

And everybody knows Ghostbusters.

Just like (I've Had) The Time of My Life always brings back memories of that final dance scene in Dirty Dancing.  Those are the kinds of things I'm talking about.  But, let's go a little less iconic in the film department, shall we?

For me, whenever Foxy Lady by Jimi Hendrix plays on the radio, I always want to run home and pop in Wayne's World.  Dana Carvey as Garth Algar, dancing along and acting out that song just makes my life every time.  And I keep hearing it on the radio, seriously.  It's kind of epic.  Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and Tia Carrere's cover of Ballroom Blitz, though the original version is what I hear on the radio all the time.  And while I'm talking about a Mike Myers vehicle here, let's not forget Do You Think I'm Sexy by Rod Stewart bringing back memories of So I Married an Axe Murderer.  That is one of my most favorite scenes ever.  And There She Goes by The La's also reminds me of that movie.

Back in Black by ACDC makes me want to watch Iron Man every single time I hear it.  That and, well, Iron Man by Black Sabbath.  But then I don't really need an excuse to watch a movie with Robert Downey Jr in it.

She's a Lady by Tom Jones brings back thoughts of Miss Congeniality.  Which brings me to To Make You Feel My Love (I could only find the Adele cover of the song) originally performed by Garth Brooks makes me remember watching Hope Floats and wishing I hadn't.  And Proud Mary brings back memories of a lot of movies, but also Miss Congeniality: Armed and Fabulous.

The Garth Brooks song When You Come Back to Me Again makes me want to watch Frequency again.  Though it's my understanding that the song was written specifically for that movie so that would make total sense.

Songs also remind me of various episodes of TV shows.  Or sometimes, of the TV shows themselves.  The various CSIs using songs by The Who as their themes means I think about them every time I hear those songs on the radio.  Who Are You, We Won't Get Fooled Again, and Baba O'Reilly.    You Can't Always Get What You Want (Band From TV cover) by The Rolling Stones reminds me of House, M.D.  Though Hugh Laurie covering the song with Band From TV does help.

Minnie The Moocher by Cab Calloway reminds me of a particularly hilarious episode of Jeeves and Wooster, from back in the early days of Laurie and Fry.  Or I guess I should say Fry and Laurie.

And both Twist and Shout by The Beatles, and Danke Schoen by Wayne Newton remind me of Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

I'm not going to mention Glee other than to say, it counts in the musical category.

Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones reminds me of a short lived TV show called Viva Laughlin.  The song was sung by Hugh Jackman, over the original track.   And, in that same manner, One Way or Another by Blondie makes me think of the English version of the same variety (it came first of course) called Blackpool in which David Tennant sings over the original track to a man he's trying to put away for murder.

You're My First, My Last, My Everything (I wish I could find the clip from the episode) by Barry White makes me think of the 4th season of Ally McBeal episode titled In Search of Barry White in which Taye Diggs, Robert Downey Jr, and Peter McNichol do a rather interesting dance routine in the unisex bathroom to this song.  For giggles, Just Dance 4 has that song on it including some of the dance moves from that episode.

Ben by Michael Jackson reminds me of an episode of Queer as Folk: US in which Hal Sparks sings the song to a man named Ben played by Robert Gant, in an attempt to keep him from leaving Woody's.  Hal did a very good job with the song.

And now I'm at a point where I am sitting here trying to actively remember songs that remind me of TV shows or movies which kind of defeats the whole purpose.  It's supposed to be effortless.  So I guess this is the point where I wrap it up.

It's amazing to me how music brings back memories like that.  It even triggers things you can't really reach out and grasp.  I've heard several songs on the radio that I think "That was in a commercial but I can't remember which one."  And things like that.  Like Too Close by Alex Clare reminding me of an Internet Explorer commercial.  There are several car commercials that I hear the songs on the radio but I can't remember which car it was advertising.

It all comes down to music bringing back memories that aren't all that bad and making me want to rewatch the various TV shows or movies of which they remind me.

The Snowmen @bbcdoctorwho

Okay, this was one of the best Doctor Who episodes ever.  I loved the whole episode and I loved Clara.  I'm not going to go much into the details because it will be spoiler rich and I'm staying away from that for now.

I was a little iffy about Clara because I love Amy and Rory, but Clara is AWESOME!  She's hilarious and perverted and curious and wonderful.  She's not in love with the Doctor, but she obviously wouldn't mind a shag if he offered it, though she knows he never would.

The Snowmen were pretty amazing, and the whole concept was great.  I do love that The Doctor's go to way to admit that someone is right is to tell them to shut up.  I also love the reference of Conan Doyle.  That was pretty great.

Over all, I loved the episode, I loved Clara, and I am VERY looking forward to the next season.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

This was a good but sad movie.  Steve Carrell (I know I spelled that wrong) continues to amaze me.  He's not just funny. He's sweet and adorable and an amazing actor.  Keira Knightly is just as wonderful in this film.  I can't really say much more than that.  It's a beautifully tragic love story that makes you wish somehow the world didn't have to end. 

I highly recommend this movie. 

I do have a Texas temper, I admit that.

I wasn't going to say anything about this but I'm starting to get seriously annoyed by it so I am going to rant for a bit.  I see all these comments about "Texas wants to secede" and "please let Texas go" and snide remarks about "Good riddance." and things like that.

My biggest problem with this is that they are talking about THE ENTIRE STATE when it's actually just SOME of the people that want to secede.  And the last time I checked, it was less than 1/4 the population of the city of Arlington, which is not the biggest city in the state.

Yes, I understand that Texas has a lot of stupid, redneck morons that would make America a better place if they were not a part of it, but that does not mean that the entire state is populated thusly.  You're grouping all of us into a stereotype that does not actually apply.

I am a native Texan.  I was born and raised right here in this state.  Of my 34 years on this planet I have spent a total of 2 years outside of this state, not including trips to other locations.  I can not eat spicy food.  I can barely tolerate black pepper and I can't eat Taco Bell tacos without sour cream because they are too spicy.  I have never actually seen a horse in person unless you count the pony with which I had a picture taken when I was three or four years old.  The only farm that I have ever set foot on was my Uncle's farm in Ohio.  I do not like football and I don't understand it.  The only reason I pay attention to the Cowboys' schedule is because it effects my route to work.   The only oil derrick I have ever seen is the one at Six Flags over Texas.  And I do not want to secede from the United States.

Part of the reason is completely selfish.  I really like my rather large income tax refund every year.  I currently pay no withholding tax and because I make less than $36000 a year, I still end up getting nearly $5000 back each year.  That wouldn't happen if we weren't part of the United States of America.  Also, I don't want to have to get a passport to go to San Diego which is my current plan for 2014.  It'd be nice to be able to just drive from Arlington to San Diego for Comic Con without having to pass through border patrol.

My parents are already having a hard enough time paying their bills.  If Texas secedes, they lose nearly $1000 a month in income from Social Security.  They lose their medicare which means they have to pay for doctor visits as well as already having to pay for all of their prescriptions.  So that's even less money that they would have coming in.  I would have to get two more jobs in order to help support them and would end up working myself into an early grave because of it.

Yes, all of the reasons I have for NOT seceding are selfish and all about me.  But when you think about it, that's exactly what this request to secede is all about.  It has nothing to do with the wishes of the entire state.  It has to do with the selfish, annoyingly stupid, ridiculous desires of 0.3% of the population of the state.

So please, do NOT generalize the entire state because of the wishes of the few.  Understand that there are people that are nothing like the idiot rednecks that want to leave the US.  

RED DAWN Spoilers ahead

Okay, so I never saw the first Red Dawn but I know that it had Patrick Swayze in it and I know that it had to do with Soviet Russia invading the US.  This Red Dawn is a bit different but completely awesome.  In this one, North Korea takes over using an advanced EMP device.  Then baddassery ensues.  


First of all, let me say that Josh Peck has totally pulled a Jerry O'Connell.  He was an adorable little fat kid that grew up and got really freaking hot.  Though I could take Josh a little more seriously if he hadn't been doing intense face throughout the whole movie.  He did a really good job in this movie, though, and his deliverance of the final speech, one which had been previously given by Chris Hemsworth toward the beginning of the movie, was awesome.  Though Josh playing a high school kid seemed a little extreme, he did a very good job.

Speaking of Hemsworth, he was very good in this movie.  His American accent is pretty awesome.  He had good chemistry with Peck, who played his younger brother, and the whole thing was done really well.  Him being a marine that rallies the troops was awesome.  Sometimes he was a dick, but that's because he had to be a dick.  And he got to be the one to drop the single F bomb in the whole movie.  It was completely appropriate though.  "You fucked with the wrong family."  God that was amazing.   I am still wondering, though, why in the scene when the truck was stuck in the mud, Thor was letting all the weak humans try to push the truck out of the muddy spot while he stepped on the gas.  And yes, I just made that joke.

Now, on to Josh Hutcherson.  Let me just say, Peeta got bad ass.  At first he was this adorable little nerd that threw up when he saw a dead guy and couldn't even handle shooting a deer.  By the end of the movie, he was wielding that gun like Rambo and inspiring the citizens to rise up.  If The Hunger Games had guns, Peeta would have won in about 2 seconds flat.  That's all there is to it.  He did a really good job.

And let me tell you, NOTHING screams America like a Mustang with a 50cal strapped to the top and followed by a HMMWV.  Now, why did I spell out HMMWV rather than just saying Hummer?  Well my friends, that's because a Hummer is a pretentious asshole "I have a tiny penis and a lot of money" luxury vehicle that is driven around every day streets.  A HMMWV is the military version, called a hum-v.  High Mobility Multi Wheeled Vehicle.  There you go.  Those were not Hummers in that movie.  They were HMMWVs.  Just saying.

Now on to Jeffrey Dean Morgan.  He made an awesome retired Marine.  And I loved the accuracy of their M16 rifles only firing one shot at a time, unlike some movies that have M16's going off like AK47s.  Also, THEY HAD SILENCERS!  I never got a silencer for my M16.  It made me seriously jealous.  Can you tell I like weapons?  I know, it's kind of sad but at least I don't go on murderous rampages with the weapons I so adore.  I just like them.  Anyway.  JDM was good at rallying the troops as well, very good at getting things done and just all around awesome.

I was a little happy to see Kenneth Choi too.  He didn't have a very big part, but he was also in Captain America so there you have 2 Marvel movies represented.  I was trying to see who else from Marvel would pop up.  Just saying.

The only other Asian face I recognized was Will Yun Lee and that made me happy.  I'm glad that they didn't round up every recognizable Korean face for this movie.  He played Captain Lo, the prefect for that area or something like that.  Basically he was in charge of the bad guys in the city.  He's the one that fucked with the wrong family.

Let me tell you a little bit about Connor Cruise too.  He did a great job.  Very good actor.  Not as bad ass as his daddy TC, but still good nonetheless.  Very emotional.

Over all I give this movie my seal of approval.  It was very well done.  It wasn't overly effects driven and it wasn't horribly ridiculous.  There were a lot of funny moments in it.  A lot of warm moments.  There is blood and death and violence but that's what happens in war.  And that is exactly what this movie is all about.

MAJOR BIG ASS SPOILER AHEAD DO NOT READ PAST THIS POINT IF YOU PLAN TO GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!   And I do recommend you go see this movie.

I was extremely disappointed when they killed off Hemsworth's character.  I said "Why'd they kill the pretty?"  But, he wasn't the only pretty.  But I realized something.  They had to get rid of his character because he was stealing all the badassery and they needed the Joshes to have some of that.  He needed to share and when you're Thor, sharing the badassery is just impossible.  So he had to die.  It was very sad, though.  Very sad.

Disney Logic

So my daughter showed me this picture that said "if Cinderella's shoe fit perfectly, why did it fall off?".  That got my brain thinking. 

When you run in high heels, they slip a bit even if they fit perfectly.  And that's leather shoes.  Now you've got a girl in glass shoes.  Glass is already a slippery substance.  Add to that the fact that she had been in them all night. Most people don't like to think about it but feet sweat.  And she was all giddy and heart racy from meeting her true love.  So there she is, sweaty feet, slippery shoes, and then she starts running.  It's amazing she only lost one shoe. 

Just saying. 

@rattyburvil @karengillan2 @bbcdoctorwho

This is going to be a short blog entry because I have just one thing to say. Whoever created the My Little Pony named Dr. Whooves NEEDS TO BE SEVERELY DAMAGED! That's all there is to it. Although I will give Kudos for having this abomination patterned after the 10th Doctor as he is one of my favorites. And now, the proof.

Though the image says "Dr Hooves" the t-shirt at Hot Topic says Dr. Whooves. SOCIETY AS WE KNOW IT IS OVER!