...Belated Birthdays

Belated Birthdays can be an immense joy. Not only do you get to celebrate the intended day, you also get to relive the magic and excitement of birthday greetings mere days after the blessed event.

Please take the time to dwell on this special opportunity.

P.S. This post is in way related to the fact that I thought my friend Melissa's birthday was tomorrow - a week later that its actual date. Happy Belated Birthday Mel!

...Dove Chocolates

I have found myself eating a lot of Dove chocolates this week. It has been making me feel quite elated with a slight side of nausea. However, part of the joy has been the sayings inside the wrappers. Here are a couple that have been quite apt for me this week:

"Be mischievous. It feels good."
"Naughty can be nice."
"You're allowed to do nothing" (which I have made my personal motto today)

I am finding that the dark chocolate contain the better sayings so far. However, I am going to have to stop keeping all the wrappers that amuse me or people will become aware of how much I am eating this yummy goodness.

...No Whammies

R.I.P. Peter Tomarken and his wife, Kathleen. Sadly they died in an airplane crash yesterday.

Peter is best known for his hosting duties on "Press Your Luck". I have nothing but fond memories of that show and wish his family the best during this hard time.

...The Birthday Girl!

A very happy birthday to my friend, Liz. One of the reasons I love her is that she will be understanding when I tell her I have not sent her present yet. In fact, I am afraid she will already have a couple of the things I have in mind. I will need to be more creative...fast.

...Crash?!

Okay, I know I am late to add my two cents to the Oscar ceremony, but it's my blog and I'll blog when I want to.

Anyway, I was still getting over "Crash" taking the best picture prize. I mean it could have been worse - "Munich" could have won! Okay, reality check, "Munich" would never have won.

Please bear in mind that I think "Crash" was a good movie with some great acting. However, it relied a bit too heavily on coincidence. I can let things pass more than some other movie-goers, but when Sandra Bullock fell down the steps it was a bit much. That was one heck of a bad day she was having.

Here is a small list of things I was happy about:

• Reese winning Best Actress: After re-watching "Walk The Line", it was abundantly clear that she deserved it. Plus, she gave a wonderful acceptance speech.
• Philip Seymour Hoffman winning Best Actor: In a perfect world, it would have been shared with Heath Ledger, but PSH definately earned this recognition. I was sorry that he did not bark his entire acceptance like he and his buddies claimed they would do when they were young and idealistic.
• Three 6 Mafia scoring the Best Orginial Song award: Although the live performance left a lot to be desired, this song has not left my mind since watching "Hustle & Flow" and it was essential to the movie itself.

The rest was as expected including the fact that I cannot properly guess Best Makeup, Best Costume Design and such awards correctly.

Now, I wait patiently until next year.

...March DVDs

March 7th:

Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire: The fourth installment of the series does not disappoint. Yes, the book is better but it takes so dang long to read. Have you seen how thick that book is?!

Jarhead: Sam Mendes, Jake Gyllenhaal and a stratigically placed Santa hat - sounds like a winning combo to me.

Howl’s Moving Castle: A deserving nominee for Best Animated Feature, this whimsical film is gorgeous and must be seen to be believed.

March 14th:

A History Of Violence: My second favorite film of the year is divisive at best. The Oscars largely ignored it, but give it a try!

Good Night, And Good Luck: The first of two Best Picture nominees coming out this month, George Clooney takes an artistic look at the McCarthy era and how one tele-journalist bravely and publicly took him on. However, this movie in no way is a commentary on current events (wink, wink)

March 21st:

Capote: The next Best Picture nominee is an unflinching look at a flaming queen who wrote a literary classic. P. Hoff gets lost in his role and deserved his Oscar win!

The Squid & The Whale: A touching and comedic look at the effects of divorce. Although it was robbed of more nominees, it was up for Best Original Screenplay… and lost to the trite dialogue of “Crash.”

March 28th:

King Kong: Kong scaled the Empire State Building faster than it took this one to become a blockbuster hit. However, Peter Jackson’s pet project delivered on entertainment, effects and emotion.

...March Movies

March 3rd:

Dave Chapelle’s Block Party: Don’t call it a comeback since, well, Dave is not the big star of the show. Instead he hosts a slew of R&B artists for this concert movie.

16 Blocks: Mos Def is on the verge of breaking out with his talent, but I am sure this is the vehicle that is going to get him there.

March 10th:

The Hills Have Eyes: The horror remakes are getting out of hand (have you heard about the Michael Bay-produced Friday the 13th remake?), but the TV commercial for this one looked genuinely creepy. Does creepy = good? That remains to be soon.

Failure To Launch: Bring on the fluff! Sarah Jessica Parker is greatly missed (ooops! I forgot about “The Family Stone” - didn’t we all?) and this one looks cute.

Basic Instinct 2: Sharon Stone is greatly missed…oh wait…never mind.

March 17th:

V For Vendetta: Nat Portman is looking bad a** in that shaven head. Will her bold new look pay off? Or will the movies by the makers of “The Matrix” just continue to get worse?

Ask The Dust: The trailer for this drama looked boring, but Salma Hayek and Colin Farrell get it on. And that is hot - REALLY hot!

March 24th:
Thank You For Smoking: Will the missing Katie Holmes sex scene ever reappear? Or will Tom continue to hold it hostage like his bride-to-be? Too bad the movie cannot be judged by its own merits thanks to TomKat.

March 31st:
Awesome - I F****in’ Shot That!: Sadly, I did not shoot any of that since I was not at the Beastie Boys concert in question.

Sl1ther: No, I did not type that wrong (I know you are all used to my misspellings and bad grammar anyway.) Isn’t it cute how they put the “1” in place of the letter “i”? Okay you caught me, I know nothing about this movie.

...March Music

I have been sending out a monthly newsletter via email for a while now. So I am glad I can now also post it online! I will work on making links for these releases, but for now I will start off easy. Here are some notable music releases.

March 7th:
Matisyahu – Youth: Despite the fact that this Jewish rap artist’s new single is getting significant play on college radio and MTV2, I find it hard to shake the fact that Mat is dressed exactly like the men on the 2 Live Crew parody album, “Kosher As We Wanna Be.”

Goldfrapp – Supernature: One of my fave imports from last year gets a stateside release. This is easy-going electro-pop at its best.

March 14th:
Prince – Ultimate: In case you do not have one of the other hits collection, this one may work for you. Of course, you would be supporting his Purpleness’ slave era.

Chris Isaak – Greatest Hits: A not-so-apt title for a collection of songs by he of “Wicked Game” fame.

March 21st:
Prince – 3121: “Musicology” was a return to form, but how will the Artist-Formerly-Known-As-Prince-That-Became-Prince-Again fair chart-wise without counting concert freebies in the tally?

Josh Rouse – Subtitulo: He may be one of those sleepy singer-songwriter types, but Josh is well worth a listen.

March 28th:
Tim McGraw – Greatest Hits, Volume 2: Curb Records is one of those hits collection happy record labels, but who can blame them for milking their only cash cow? However, McGraw is also one of the few contemporary artists that actually earns another hits package. It is also a handy way to not have his overly long CDs (although in this age of iTunes, who needs to do that anymore!?)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Show Your Bones: Their blistering debut made some waves and spawned a minor hit with “Maps,” but can the band take it to the next level?