Glee-Cap: The Imaginarium of Dr Stamos, Season 2, Episode 2

THE BRITNEY/BRITTNEY SPEARS EPISODE

Brittney S. Pierce finally is getting featured on this episode of Glee. Answering the question of "what is going on in there" definitively and authoritatively. Ha, I'm kidding, we still have no idea what is going on with Brittney. Though I have a theory or two, but until Glee actually puts more of her into the story there's no way to judge.

This episode featured the entrance into the Glee cast of JOHN STAMOS as dreamy dentist Dr. Carl, Ms. Pillsbury's new boyfriend who, through a commitment to the oral hygiene of the Glee Club students, hallucinogenic anesthesia and a Brittney Spears play list on Pandora.com sends a fair number of cast members on vision quests in the key of Millennial Pop Tart.

Luckily for us all, Santana and Brittney got a chance to sing and dance, which they do with feeling and frankly just make Rachel's songs in this episode look like a kids' jazz class recital. Sorry Rachel Fans, they do.

Lots to say this week, but ultimately, the more screen time you give Santana and Brittney the better, proven in this weeks episode... Spoilers after the break.
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FAT KIDS ON FIRE

Last night I saw the Pipeline Theatre Company's Fat Kids On Fire, an original play written by Bekah Brunstetter and directed by Peter Frechette. It was a funny, well-acted show that excellently captured the social awkwardness of teenagers with low self-esteem due to body image issues.

Fat Kids On Fire is about Bess, an insecure teenager who gets the opportunity to lose weight and build up her self confidence by going to Fat Camp for the summer. As the skinniest girl there, Bess immediately becomes admired and popular. But all the attention replaces her endearing quirkiness with bitchy egotism. In the end, being the hot, popular girl at camp turns out to be more isolating than being the invisible, slightly chubby girl back home.

The humor and the solid performances help keep the play's familiar themes fresh. During certain scenes, I genuinely felt uneasy watching the characters' insecurities unfold. All the actors did a great job of showing the gawkiness of being uncomfortable in one's own skin. Concepts like eating one's emotions or bullying as a means of projecting one's own insecurities onto others were also well-conveyed. Sydney Matthews did an especially fantastic job portraying Bess' character arc.

I really recommend that you go catch Fat Kids On Fire in its final week at The Wings Theatre. It's playing September 29-October 2; all 8 pm showings. For tickets and more info, please visit www.pipelinetheatre.org.

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Glee-Cap! New Directions... towards hell. Season 2, Episode 1

You'll have to forgive me this season my dear readers, I fully intend to re-cap Glee, but I also know that there are many things that will stand in my way of punctual re-capping: work, painful shoes one wears to functions, dinosaurs, and speaking engagements, but enough about me. Our plucky young show choir shares many of my challenges this fall in getting you an insightful and hopefully hilarious recounting of their antics, Cheerios, Schoolwork (HA! when have we ever seen this kids in a class), Football Season, and of course, DRAMA!!!!

They haven't won sectionals and now must prepare themselves for their own Autumn trials and travails. They have become minor celebrities on the blog of the school newscaster, but no one is signing up to audition for Glee Club!!! GASP!

"These girls have been lined up since mid-July, one girl ate a pigeon, a few started worshipping a dead possum carcass as their Lord" -Sue

Thank you Sue, I needed that.

The rest of this episode, I'm not sure any of us actually needs.

I know it's the first episode of the season, but wow. The only place you thought you could take this was "Lets make sure they're doing vile things all the time. That'll make you root for them and think of them as plucky underdogs."

As always, spoilers after the jump, also, ontology. Deep Breath and JUMP!

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90210 Semi Live Blogging - "Senior Year, Baby!"

Previously on 90210

Crap crap blah blah pregnant sleepy teacher, Annie & Liam totally lurv each other, Jasper looking sad (good, that's important, thanks recap...), rape! Naomi's starring in the live action version of the girl who cried wolf. Finally! That's never been done before.
...

That "previously" section made me upset. This show sucks. But - we must carry on! So carry on we will. 90210 Season 3 recaps begin in 5...4...3...2...


Damn. Dixon's still on this show. And has stupid hair. ---------------->

Annie has new hair too, but it's pretty. She wins this round. Though if Dixon is always her competition, she will win all the rounds.

Makes no sense that their parents split up, sorry, not buying it.

What is Dixon wearing? And why? WHY.

Teddy and Silver are still together cause he doesn't know he's gay yet. Aw. Poor Silver.

It seems so obvious now

They're all friends again! Lookit! Good times! Happiness! Friends!

But Naomi is still freaking out. And turning 18 in one week. Something tells me this will be important.

Dixon and Ivy are still dating, auughhhhhhhhhh whyyyyyyy his hair is so stupid, it's like a joke, an actual joke

YES! Ivy met a Brit. Do that instead.

Is this guy really British? But he's so unappealing! How do they manage to even screw up the Brits! Brits are supposed to ALWAYS be hot!

Looked it up. The actor is American. Explains everything.

The rest after the jump

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Bioshock: Infinite Gameplay Trailer HEEAAARRTTT

Things that are Bioshock related get entire posts, not just tumbles. Is that what tumblr posts are called? Tumbles? Whatever. Point is - BIOSHOCK: INFINITE. AHHHH. Wish it was coming out now instead of a whole effing year from now.

I'm dying to know how this game will tie into the mythology of the first two Bioshock outings. Obviously that tonic he drinks must have something to do with plasmids, right? Maybe we'll discover something a connection to Andrew Ryan somewhere? Or Dr. Lamb? Oh god, I can't wait I can't wait I can't wait. 

And ss if I couldn't love this trailer anymore than I already do, Elizabeth, voiced by my former classmate Natalie Kuhn, is not only in it but says *a lot*, showing off the awesome actress Natalie is. Notice how great she is with her voice? Multiply that by 100 and you have her talent on stage. She's GOOD, you guys. And happens to be voicing a main character in one of my all time favorite franchises. Fuckin cool. If Lone Star, Big Bang Theory, Community, The Event and the upcoming mid-season show Mixed Signals haven't convinced you yet - NYU breeds working actors like woah. So you should go there. If you want to do that. (Note: Natalie went to the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School at NYU. This is also where Eloise Mumford, Simon Helberg & Jason Ritter went. All of whom are in the tv shows I just mentioned. WIN.)

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Jonathan Safran Foer at NYU

Last night I was lucky enough to get into the Jonathan Safran Foer reading and Q & A for his book Eating Animals, held at NYU's Rosenthal Pavilion, Kimmel Center for University Life. It was hosted by NYU's Creative Writing Department where JSF actually teaches. As a book geek and a vegetarian, I really enjoyed listening to him discuss fiction v. nonfiction and why he wrote a book about vegetarianism and factory farming.

Eating Animals is JSF's third book and first non-fiction piece. Essentially, the book lays out the damages inflicted by factory farming. His previous two books are amazingly beautiful, critically acclaimed novels that you should also look into reading (Everything is Illuminated is one of my favorite books ever). At the event, he discussed how nonfiction writing was very difficult for him and how he found the process very restrictive and taxing. He said that with nonfiction he had to write with a purpose--a specific end goal. This was very unlike the process of writing fiction, for him. He finds fiction writing to be a freeing, open process because he believes fiction can exist just for its own sake. He said he doubts he'll write another nonfiction book again but that he didn't choose this topic or write his book because he's an animal lover or feels it's the most important political topic. JSF was not preachy. He explained that it took him several years before he could commit to a vegetarian diet and that he began working on his book out of curiosity about factory farming. After 3 years of research and writing, JSF published Eating Animals in an attempt to unveil some of the secrecy behind factory farming.

Although I haven't finished reading his book, I enjoyed JSF rational discussion about the destruction caused by the meat industry. Beyond the obvious unethical treatment of animals is another moral dilemma less discussed: factory farming is a massive contributor to global warming. As JSF stated, factory farming has rapidly changed the face of our planet. Not only does it create an insane amount of greenhouse gases but it wastes crops and changes landscapes. There's also the issue of an unhealthy product. The mass production/slaughter of animals, which live and die in inhumane, filthy conditions, often creates toxic meat. Just consider how often we have meat recalled due to some kind of infectious outbreak. The USDA seems conflicted about siding with the consumer or a national industry that makes so much money and stimulates the economy. JSF also raised another great political point: the misconception that vegetarianism and anti-factory farming sentiments are radical or leftist. He argued that it is actually conservative to want to go back to small farming and (beyond political labels) just a matter of health and humaneness to care about the current state of factory farming.

I encourage you all to go buy a copy of Eating Animals. And not because I'm trying to convince you all to become strict vegetarians or because I think it covers the most important political issue. Trust me, I'm not the poster child for vegetarianism or animal rights. I'm also concerned with a vast array of political issues outside this one. I want you to pick up this book because I really believe we should all question the current state of factory farming. We should become better informed of the methods used to provide us meat. We should hold this large, wealthy industry accountable for the effects their methods and products have on our bodies and our planet.

Let me end on two notes, paraphrased from JSF's discussion. Firstly, for most of us urban, middle class citizens becoming a vegetarian is easy. At the very least, it's easy to cut down your meat consumption. We have lots of access to nutritious foods that aren't meat. Vegetables, fruits, and beans are also cheaper than meat and we don't have to go to expensive, organic grocery stores to procure them. It's difficult to always know where your food is coming from (meat or not) but it's pretty easy to just not eat meat (or eat less of it). It's one small, simple way to help our planet. Secondly, the current state of factory farming is an important humanitarian and environmentalist issue that deserves attention just like any other global issue. As Jonathan Safran Foer beautifully stated, caring is a rare commodity that increases the more we use it. So you can continue to care about or be active in fighting other sociopolitical/environmental issues and still find room to educate yourself and concern yourself with the effects of factory farming and the benefits of vegetarianism (or less meat-eating). And I recommend you begin with Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals. Trust me, it'll be far better than going to PETA. See full post

Surrender to the Clint. CLIIINNTT!

After Fistful of Dollars and For A Few Dollars More, I officially think young Clint Eastwood was the sexiest poncho wearing sharpshooter this side of the Mississippi universe, holy crap you guys.

Since dedicating 50 hours over 3 months of my life to Red Dead Redemption, I've developed a love for Westerns deeper than I ever thought possible. Liiiiiike I love them. A lot. And want to watch all of them. Now. SO. Having already seen The Searchers, I decided to start off my reentry into the world of Westerns with the Man With No Name trilogy - Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More & The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Maybe I'll even watch Duck, You Sucker. You don't know!

For those of you who have *only* seen GB&U, I highly recommend going back and seeing the first two, especially the second. While oddly the least well known of the three (in the mainstream), A Few Dollars More is fan-effing-tastic and I keep hearing from A LOT of movie lovers that it's their favorite of the three. And for you GB&U fans - it's when we first meet Lee Van Cleef and it's fuckin badass. I loved Fistful of Dollars as well, but FAFDM had more heart, more at stake, and the beginning of relationship between two bounty hunters that I suspect has influenced most things ever in the ever.

I also loved the dubbing. The dubbing! I don't know who could actually speak English in any of these movies other than Clint & Lee, but it didn't matter - the dubbing never took me out of it, I found it to be charming. Plus, these films have practically NO exposition. Because fuck that shit. Sergio Leone trusted his audience to get what was going on. And sure my "raised on exposition/ born in 1986" brain had to ask what was going on a few times, but I didn't mind.

ALSO.

This guy.

Gian Maria Volonte, oddly credited as Johnny Weis in Fistful of Dollars (playing a different character from his character in For A Few Dollars More, though both are villains) for no discernable reason. Apparently Volonte didn't take these movies too seriously, and just took the roles for the money. Cause he's a badass like that. He died of a heart attack at age 61, probably from all of that badassery. I LOVES him.

One of the greatest parts of watching these movies was seeing the clear inspiration for Red Dead. The landscapes, the towns, the music, the weapons, the duels, the transportation, the outfits, John Marsden himself, it's remarkable. And obvious - of course these movies would be a huge source to draw from for a western video game, but actually seeing it just felt really...neat. It felt neat.

And now for your enjoyment, a scene from For A Few Dollars More in which Clint is Clint and I die. Background: He is a bounty hunter and the dude he is about to interact with is his target. Video xposted to my tumblr.

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Geek Girl Anthem Of The Week

 

xposted on my tumblr, in which I say,

The singing is questionable, but the sentiment is right on. And I’m pretty sure these girls are actually geeks cause one of them is Seth Green’s wife. And he’s in it. And so is Stan Lee. And so is Katee Sackhoff. Worth a watch. 

Hat Tip: @winnie_tan

Update: Check out this feminist perspective on the video from geekfeminism.org See full post

10 Best SciFi TV Episodes Of All Time

I discovered Blastr this morning thanks to a link going around showing off an Empire Strikes Back chess set made of legos and have officially added the site to my ever growing google reader.

The first article I discovered was one naming the ten best Sci Fi Television Episodes of all time. And, I gotta say, it's a pretty damn good list. Open in up in a new window, read it, then come back here. Don't worry. I'll wait.

While I absolutely agree with their Buffy, Dr. Who, X-Files, Lost & Firefly episodes (and don't consider myself fluent enough in Outer Limits or Star Trek to have an opinion), I question their Battlestar choice. 33 is a great episode and as the first ep after the mini-series it DOES establish the tone of what's to come and all that, but I tend to lean more towards the season 2 or 3 finales...not that they were brilliant stand alone sci fi pieces, but they WERE breathtaking episodes of science fiction television. I won't be so silly as to suggest my own favorite BSG episode, Unfinished Business, as a candidate, considering there's practically no sci-fi in that episode whatsoever (but a whole of love and shipping!), but 33? I'm just not so sure.

Twilight Zone has so many classic episodes that Eye of the Beholder seems like a perfectly fine choice. It's classic, but disturbing & relevant classic, not almost-silly-at-this-point classic like let's say Nightmare at 2000 feet or overdone classic like To Serve Man. So while I suspect many will object to this selection, I'm actually fine with it.

If I had to add to this list...might I suggest a showing from Angel? If we are talking fantastic episodes that both played with & showed off the conventions of Science Fiction, it's hard to not look to season five's Smile Time. Watching that episode single handedly sold me on watching all of Angel's final season, and I sure am glad I made the effort - GREAT season, by far the best of the spin-off's five years.

So what would you add to this list? What would you take off? What would you tweak? Eager to hear your thoughts, especially from those of you who watch the Sci fi shows I haven't checked out yet i.e. Supernatural and....um...that might be it.

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BUHHHHHHHHHHH, Vox Style

There are new takes on the Inception trailer posted daily it seems, but since this one involved a capella, which I happen to also love...shhh don't you judge me...I'm gonna put it up here. All you web savvy readers have already seen it, I'm sure, but just in case All Things Fangirl is your only source into the world of pop culture and internet phenoms, a. I've been doing a horrible job keeping you informed, please check out my tumblr for slightly better service, and b. Enjoy!

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True Blood Original Score Soundtrack Giveaway!

To commemorate the end of another fantastic True Blood season, we’re holding another True Blood contest!

LoquaciousMuse and I are huge fans of the True Blood score and we’re thrilled to giveaway True Blood Season 1 Soundtracks to a few lucky contestants.

Nathan Barr is the amazingly gifted composer behind the True Blood score. His elegiac and beautiful music provides the perfect backdrop for all of Sookie’s twisted, dangerous, and romantic escapades. Barr’s score is also great to listen to on its own. So here’s how you can enter to win your free copy of the soundtrack:

1. Leave a comment below, telling us why you love Nathan Barr's True Blood score.
2. Go to Nathan Barr's official Facebook page and leave the same comment on his wall.
3. On that same wall comment, leave a link back to this post.
4. Wait for us to chose a winner!

See it’s easy. Just show some love on two different pages, link back to this post when leaving your comment on Nathan Barr’s FB page, and then you’re all set and entered to win a free copy of the Season 1 score. Good luck!

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500 Days of Summer Singing 'Sploge

It wasn't a premeditated form of demonstrating my love for 500 Days of Summer that led to seeing Joseph Gordon Levitt live on stage on Monday and Zooey Deschanel live on stage less than a week later, but I do love 500 Days of Summer and it did happen, so judge me as you will.

For those of you who don't obsessively study my tweets (i.e. all of you), Monday, August 30th, I attended night #2 of HitRecord.Org's Summer in the City, wherein Joseph Gordon Levitt did a bunch of artsy stuff I barely remember cause I drank five flutes of prosecco first. Oops. Luckily, I managed to film the entire show for posterity. Not so luckily, the video was taken by a DRUNK PERSON (me) so it's all shaky and filled with juvenile giggles. Sigh/fail. But I do remember this: He was adorbz, the show was awesomely fun, and JGL definitely called out our friend Pete for being awesome, as they worked together in Sundance.

Then, Sunday Sept 5th, I went to the LA Times Celebration of Food and Wine which closed with an amazing concert from She & Him. Like, amazing. I love them. I know most of everyone doesn't love them cause lots of people no like Zooey Deschanel, but like, I LOVE this band. And man, the guys in this crowd, were OBSESSED with Zooey. To quite the hilarious degree. Have some video featuring some of these crazies that may be going online soon.

Anyhoo, below are some videos from the events. Some are good, some are drunk, some are cell phoney, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless. 500 Days of Summer Singing SPLODE!!!

She & Him - Wouldn't it be Nice

Joseph Gordon Levitt accompanying an animation live

She & Him - Roll Over Beethoven (Cell phone camera)

Joseph Gordon Levitt - "La Valse à Mille Temps"- good close ups, but also, drunk

If you feel like tripping out...

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Back to the Future Card Game?!?!

Don't know. Don't care. WANT.

[Buy it for me]

Hat Tip: @dannytrs See full post

Don't Pretend Like You Aren't Curious What's Up With Billy From Gremlins

If you love Gremlins like I do, then you probs would have been as much of a freak as I was on the first day of class during my senior year at NYU when lo and behold Zach Galligan was my audition technique teacher at Stonestreet Studios. That was a long (but true) sentence.

He's totally effing cool and also happened to be a fantastic teacher. And with the 3G Art Show going on here in LA celebrating Gremlins, I thought posting a little something about this short starring Zach wouldn't be so random?

An official selection at the Boston Film Festival,

12 Floors Up is a dark comedy that follows movie producer Spencer Hawkins (Zach Galligan) as he tries to survive a pretentious Manhattan cocktail party. As he attempts to navigate his way through the evening unscathed, Spencer stumbles upon eccentric guests, annoying stories, and a murder.

Actually sounds pretty enjoyable, no?

The film also happens to co-star another face from my NYU days, an actor named Gil Zabarsky, with whom you are about to become obsessed. In fact, now that I've seen this clip, I have a new goal called "Make Gil Famous." Mission. Starts. NOW!

Am I right or am I right?

For more info on the project, head to their official site. To help make Gil famous and make Gremlins fans everywhere squee at the sight of Zach Galligan, post this clip everywhere and anywhere. See full post

I'll Never Pronounce Machete With A "Shh" Sound Again

That's kind of an awkward title for a post. Do I care? Nope!

Ma Che Te!

Okay, I've been seeing a non stop barrage of dislike/indifference for Machete over the Twitters and I just gotta put it on the record that I 2000% disagree. I don't know if my opinion was affected by the fact that I knew next to nothing about this film beforehand, especially any critics' reviews of it, but I loved it. I thought it was ridiculous AND ridiculously fun, possibly the best time I've had at the movies this year. Yes, Scott Pilgrim was epically joyful, especially considering I saw it with thousands of fans & the cast at Comic-Con and Metric performed afterwards, but I was also so high on just the experience, that I don't remember much of the actual movie AND I had so much riding on the movie being awesome, that I was almost too concerned with that to fully enjoy myself. Machete, I didn't give a shit whether it was actually good or not, I didn't know what to expect, I only assumed that it would probably be silly and violent, and I had a great effing time.

I've heard criticisms that there wasn't enough action and between the action the film was dull. Maybe I'm easy to please (Yes, I'm easy to please), but I thought there was a lot of action and didn't find any part of Machete to be dull. I was actually completely engrossed in the story - I wanted to see the bad guys get their intestines ripped out and the good guys have lots of sex at really inappropriate times. And whattya know, they did! I've also heard the opinion that there is too much plot for such an ill structured narrative, but again, lots of plot goes with the territory with this genre of movie, but I understood everything that happened just fine. So. Don't get that criticism either. Also, I would switch teams for Michelle Rodriguez. In a heartbeat. Damn. The entire movie may be worth it just for her.

I never understand vocal distaste from bloggers when it comes to movies like this. Sure, it was silly, and sure I'd expect confusion from non-genre fan critics, but like, really? Genre fans hating on it?  So many fun items were used as weapons! Steven Seagal had a stupid accent! Frank Lapidus in a suit! Lindsey Lohan showing off her busted meth face! Danny Trejo! A taco truck! What's not to enjoy?

After the movie, I definitely had vegan tacos and sparkling margaritas. Delicious and perfect way to cap the evening. See full post

Simon Pegg Finds Me Geek Art

Reason #94 you should follow Simon Pegg on Twitter: He links to things like this, James Hance's Relentlessly Cheerful Art. Pegg's favorites were the Muppet paintings, but I was more partial to the ones featured below.

"Help"

"The Dark Starry Night"

"These Are The Droids We're Looking For"

Check out the rest of his art and purchase some for yourself here.

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Publishing Houses of Interest

I want to recommend two small publishing houses that I think might be of interest to you ATFG readers.

The first is Pill Hill Press, a small publishing company based in Nebraska that specializes in sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. Their novels are fun, pulp reading. I recommend reading Matthew Moses’ Proxies of Fate, a sci-fi/historical fiction thriller set in the Great Depression about aliens who battle over the fate of Earth. Yeah, I said aliens AND the Great Depression. Awesome.

The second is PM Press, an amazing publishing company based in California with a wide selection of fiction and nonfiction works in different mediums. I like their selection of books, which include leftist political nonfiction, noir, and graphic novels. Check out Rick Dakan’s Geek Mafia, a fictional crime novel about a man working in the comic book and gaming industry. Also, I highly recommend Summer Brenner’s I-5: A Novel of Crime, Transport, and Sex. It’s a dark story about sex trafficking that takes place on the dismal Interstate 5. Brenner writes in this beautiful noir style that sucks you right into her novel.

So if you’re looking for some new reading, check out what Pill Hill Press and PM Press have to offer. See full post

Joseph Gordon Levitt + Rian Johnson at Summer in the City

Screenshots from my 87,736 videos of HitRecord.Org's Summer in the City, run by Joseph Gordon Levitt. Here, Rian Johnson joins JGL on stage to read a Tiny Story. I almost forgot this happened because five glasses of Prosecco happened first.

Head here to watch the evening in its entirety, though the stream is not close up as my videos are. I'm the drunk girl swooning over JGL. Oh wait. That was everyone. At one point my Inception ring tone goes off a bunch. Fingers crossed you can hear it in the live stream?

xposted at Cineboobs See full post