Category Archives: That’s Entertainment

Shaken, Not Stirred: 50 Years of James Bond

It’s crazy to think that super spy extraordinaire, 007, has been shaking and stirring things up since Ian Flemming created his James Bond character back in 1953. My mom has been a long time fan of Mr. Bond and I remember when my parents brought home “The Connery Classics” 007 video collection (part of it is pictured above). I believe the very first Bond movie I watched was either From Russia With Love or Goldfinger, but I’ll have to admit that I only really started paying attention when the theme music started to include artists that I knew like “For Your Eyes Only” as performed by Sheena Easton and of course “A View To a Kill” by Duran Duran. It was very interesting to read in John Taylor’s book In the Pleasure Groove how Duran Duran got involved with doing the theme for A View To A Kill:

I went with Janine [one of John Taylor’s ex-girlfriends] to a party Michael Caine was having at Langan’s in honor of that year’s Wimbledon tennis final, and I recognized Cubby Broccoli, the producer of the James Bond films, sitting at a table.

Janine introduced me and we got to chatting.

I said, “When are you going to have a decent theme song again?”

He said, “Well, do you want to write the next one?”

I said, “Absolutely.”

When I got home, I called the guys, told them “I think we have a crack at the next Bond film.”

– From the chapter “Megalomania At The Wheel”

I was just looking at the list of Bond movie theme songs and honestly, I completely forgot that A-Ha did the “The Living Daylights” theme (I’ll have to go back and listen to that). I will have to say that other than “A View To A Kill”, Adele’s “Skyfall” is my favorite Bond theme. She was amazing on the Oscars.

I’ve been thinking about “the spy who loved me” recently because of the 50th anniversary, and I just realized that my husband and I have seen the last three James Bond movies together. We have really taken a shine to Skyfall, which we saw in the theaters last November (he loved it so much that he brought home the DVD, pictured below). What I enjoyed about Skyfall is that it felt more like the old James Bond movies in that it had a bit of cheekiness to it. Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace felt very heavy and dramatic compared to any of the ones with Pierce Brosnan just prior. Skyfall had a touch of that cheekiness, mainly due in part to the interaction between Daniel Craig and Naomi Harris. It made me finally believe that Daniel Craig was James Bond.

Cheers to James Bond and his adventures in the last 50 years and those to come. I’m raising my martini in your honor 007!

(This post was written in collaboration with Veronica Stone.)

V. Good: New Bridget Jones Novel This November!

I’m quite a fan of Helen Fielding’s beloved thirty-something singleton Bridget Jones. When I was trying to figure out the direction of my first blog, I tried out a bit of Bridget-esque writing after reading the original columns, then the books and seeing the first movie. I absolutely adored “Bridget Jones’s Diary”, and read that book over and over, and even bought the little “handbook” called “Bridget Jones’s Guide To Life” because I couldn’t get enough. I fell madly in love with the movie, particularly because they were able to cast Colin Firth as Mark Darcy, who we all know played Fitzwilliam Darcy in the British mini-series “Pride and Prejudice”, for which “Bridget Jones’s Diary” was loosely based on. Although I liked the book “Bridget Jones The Edge of Reason”, I felt the movie left much to be desired. The first Bridget movie was not exactly like the book, but I still felt that the spirit of Bridget remained intact. Bridget in the movie version of “Edge of Reason” was weaker than I would have liked her to be, and I didn’t care for the direction in which they took the antagonist, Rebecca.

Last year, I’ve been hearing rumours about a new Bridget Jones movie. It would be based on the continuing story of Bridget, Daniel and Mark, taken from the columns that came after the novels where Bridget is now in a bind regarding a baby. On IMDB, it’s tentatively titled “Bridget Jones’s Baby” with a release date of 2013, and some people on the IMDB message boards are up in arms about the direction of the planned story line: Bridget and Mark split up because they can’t have a child, so Bridget turns to Daniel (oh no!). I haven’t heard much else about the new movie, and I’m secretly hoping that they won’t go through with it (I think I can’t take yet another “fight scene” between Daniel and Mark). The good news that I have read is that there will be a new Bridget Jones novel to be released in November of this year, as reported by The New York Times Art Beats blog (post here). The post states from the publisher that new book “represents a totally new phase in Bridget’s life”. I was single when I first read the books and met my husband a year after the second movie, so I’m quite anxious to see if Bridget moves on to being a “smug married couple” with Mark, Daniel or someone new or if she is destined to be a singleton for life.

(The photo is my personal collection of Bridget Jones’ books and movies)

More Holiday Gift Ideas: LeapPad vs InnoTab

My son Dominic loves our iPhones and my sister’s iPad. In fact, he thought for awhile that any screen in the house was a touch pad (he doesn’t anymore). To remedy this, we decided to get him a LeapPad Explorer. After seeing commercials and ads for this tablet for months, my husband and I thought that this would be a great present for Dominic for Christmas.

Little did I know that the LeapPad was the hot toy this holiday season! I was talking to one of my co-workers last week, and she found her son’s LeapPad at a local Fry’s and barely left with one. We searched all the major chains, both in the actual store and online, and they are sold out everywhere. My mother-in-law has searched in Las Vegas and even has a friend searching in Texas for this in-demand electronic device.

While in Target with my sister, discussing the unfortunate unavailability of the LeapPad, a nice gentleman said that the Vtech electronic toys are just as good as the LeapFrog toys. This prompted me to do a little research and I found the Vtech InnoTab. The price point is already appealing because the basic LeapPad is priced at $99 where the InnoTab is right around $66. Even with the added games and gadgets, the InnoTab was still less expensive than the bundles we have seen being offered for LeapPad.

I then found this detailed comparison between the InnoTab and LeapPad here, which gave me more insight as to what Dominic really loves about the iPhone and iPad. At the tender age of almost three, Dominic doesn’t take too many pictures or videos with our iPhones, but because he loves music, he likes using the iPod feature. He also loves games and is always watching his favorite “Cars” movies. Both tablets can run games and are both eReaders, which is what I think Dominic would enjoy. But while the LeapPad does have a digital and video camera, an SD card can be added to the InnoTab so it then becomes a portable DVD and MP3 player. This is what convinced me to lean towards the InnoTab.

If you’re grappling between the two devices, I suggest watching what your child already does with your current devices and make your decision. Happy shopping!

(Photos courtesy of Laptopmag and InnoTab Tablet For Kids)

Comic Genius: The San Diego Comic-Con International 2011

I posted about The Comic-Con International last year here. Please click both of the links to get to know the annual tradition (which we hope will continue to stay in San Diego). In the meantime, enjoy some images taken by my sister from this year’s Con. Doesn’t my niece make a great Wonder Woman?

(My niece and brother-in-law were caught on camera by DC Comics! Check out picture 55 of 57 here!)

At the Trolley Stop during Preview Night

A gift for my sister from her hubby from Preview Night

Inside the San Diego Convention Center

View from above the convention floor

My sister took that picture just for me!

GO GO Power Rangers!

Boy Wonders with Wonder Mei

The Wonder Triplets (with some goofy guy in plaid)

Ironman, Captain America, and Wonder Mei

Wonder Mei and a Wookie

Enterprise NCC-1701

Amazing illustrated Passat by famed comic artist Ken Lashley

Paint your Wagen

The art of South Park

(All images by Rholnna Jiao)

All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records

Last week, I became a backer for a documentary project by actor Colin Hanks. It’s called “All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records“. I first heard about it through a Tweet by Bella Q of The Citizen Rosebud, and immediately became interested. I recently wrote about my love for the independent record store here, and I mentioned that one of my favorites was Tower Records. The one I frequented was right next to what was then called The San Diego Sports Arena, which is pictured below (it is currently called the Valley View Casino Center). Whenever I would go to a concert at the Sports Arena, I would make sure to stop in at Tower. I’ve even attended a couple of signings at Tower Records: Robin Hitchcock and Maroon 5. My sister met Brian Setzer and Hot Rod Lincoln at Tower as well.

We went with my niece when she was merely a year old to shop one last time at Tower Records back in 2006. Even then we knew the impact of the store closing and made it an event simply because of our history with the store.

Funding for the project closed on July 15, 2011. The pledge I chose was the “VIP Package”:

PACKAGE INCENTIVE VIP Package: The Full Monty…sticker, poster, T-Shirt, DVD and vinyl record. Both DVD and record signed by Tower Records founder Russ Solomon and Director Colin Hanks and a special “Thank You” in the film credits. DVD and record shipping date TBD after film release.

I am unsure of the timeline of the project, but I will be sure to post updates as I receive them. You can follow the project through the link I provided above, or on the following links for Facebook and Twitter.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tower-Records-Documentary/150978738296041

http://twitter.com/#!/TowerRecordsDoc

: My eyes are closed! I guess I just couldn’t bear to look at Tower Records before departing its premises…

(Top photo, courtesy of kickstarter.com)

Randomness: Blood, Sweat & Joy!

Just two quick features to take you into the weekend, one is a new discovery and another I’ve been waiting for since last summer!

It’s about bloody time!

I am a big fan of the show True Blood on HBO. The series came out when I was pregnant with Dominic. After seeing the first episode on an HBO preview weekend, I told my husband that he needed to sit with me and watch one of the repeats because I think I found a new favorite. We promptly ordered HBO just to watch the rest of the season. During maternity leave, I read most of the Sookie Stackhouse books and we have been hooked ever since. As to whether or not I am “Team Bill” or “Team Eric”, I love all sexy vampires equally.

One of my favorite bloggers, B of Beautifully Invisible, is also a True Blood fan. In honor of the arrival of season 4, I am featuring her post called “5 Things HBO’s True Blood Taught Me About Fashion & Beauty“. I’ve listed my favorite lesson, but the whole post is clever and absolutely brilliant. Sunday just cannot come fast enough!

4. There is a time and place for sweats and tracksuits

How many of you would wear your sweats to work or for a night on the town? Anyone? Unless you happen to work at a gym, the answer is likely no one. There is a definite time and place for sweats and tracksuits and, as Pam De Beaufort and Eric illustrate below, most have to do with physical activity. In those instances comfort is key and the appropriate attire will make your life much easier. That being said – don’t forget to add some edginess or glamour by accessorizing! – Beautifully Invisible

Love at first listen: The Joy Formidable

I love it when I stumble upon something that I can truly say has stirred something in me. Last weekend, I was on Twitter and saw a Tweet from Mark Hoppus (@markhoppus) from Blink 182 saying this: “This song gives me goosebumps every. single. time.” It was accompanied by a You Tube link. He’s quite the funny guy, so I thought maybe it was something humorous. This link was quite the opposite. It was to a song called “Whirring” by a Welsh group called The Joy Formidable.

I must say, I was moved. The live version of this song starts off quietly, but with atmosphere. The song then builds into a crazy frenzy that does not let go until the very end. “Whirring” is stirring and powerful all at once. I can see why Mark gets goosebumps every single time.

I’m still finding out about this fantastic new band, but here is the video that started it all. I will make the investment to buy their EP “A Balloon Called Moaning” and their album “The Big Roar” because it’s about time that something good gave me a bit of a break from my addiction to 80’s alternative.

(Top image courtesy of HBO. Photo disclaimer from Beautifully Invisible: All images courtesy of Google Images and used for entertainment purposes only. True Blood and all its characters are the property of author Charlaine Harris and HBO.)

Holiday Movie Guilty Pleasure: A Diva’s Christmas Carol

I’m going to admit right here and now that I watch “A Diva’s Christmas Carol” every year right around Christmas. It’s not the best version of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”, but I think it’s one of the more fun versions.

If you haven’t seen it, I think it’s worth a viewing. It solidifies the fact that Vanessa Williams makes a great diva (as further evidenced by her “Ugly Betty” character Wilhemina Slater). Let’s face it, she’s good at being bitchy, and there is plenty of that for most of the made for TV movie.

Williams plays Ebony Scrooge, a famous pop-singer who started out in a trio called Desire. But she ended up more successful as a solo artist, stepping on practically everyone she cared about along the way to diva-ville. Because of her wicked ways, she is warned by the ghost of one of her former band mates (played by Chilli from TLC) that she will be visited by 3 spirits in the hopes that she can mend her diva ways. Hilarity ensues, you get the picture.

My favorite parts of this movie come in the form of those spirits: Kathy Griffin is the awesomely snarky ghost of Christmas past; John Taylor of Duran Duran is the ghost of Christmas present (who plays a has-been rock star spirit with and exaggerated cockney accent); and finally, a “Behind the Music” VH1 special featuring Brian McKnight and Niles Rogers is the ghost of Christmas future.

I don’t care what anyone says, I love John Taylor’s rendition of the ghost of Christmas present. It looked like he had a lot of fun playing that part, and I’m glad they cast him. Just by the premise of the movie, this wasn’t going to be a Golden Globe or Emmy winner, so I’m taking it all for what it is. It’s also not the most clever part (those all go to Kathy Griffin), but my inner Duran Duran fan goes all a flutter when I see him on the screen.

This has now become a holiday tradition for me and my sister, who called me last night to inform me that it was on TV so that I could be sure to catch it again. Yes, there are much better versions of this classic Dickens tale, but the holidays are all about happiness and good cheer, and this movie always gives me a good dose of both.

Adventures in Boy Band Land

With O-Town at Knotts Berry Farm 2001

My husband was backing up our computer one night and was talking about how many pictures we had saved on our laptop, which was really taking over some space. I ended up looking at some of those pictures and came across some old pictures from back in 2001…

How many of you out there remember a show called “Making The Band” back when it was on ABC? This is long before the P-Diddy version currently on MTV. If you do, you’ll recall that a boy band called O-Town was born out of that show.

Now, I pondered on how much I would divulge about my adventures in boy band land, especially since I am so very much more a Depeche Mode fan. But I think I should just embrace my time in that world because it was actually a lot of fun.

My sister and I started watching the show because there was much hype about the fact that it was basically a made for TV version of *Nsync. At the time, I know it reminded me of when Beatles fans were upset when the Monkees hit prime time (a whole decade before I was born). The premise was the same as “Real World” and actually was the predecessor to “American Idol”: potential candidates tried out for the band by auditioning and submitting videos. The final 10 actually lived in the house together, went through eliminations until the final five were picked. The final five were as follows: Ashley Parker Angel, Jacob Underwood, Trevor Penick, Eric-Michael Estrada, and Ikaika Kahoana. Due to family issues and differences with the band members, Ikaika was later replaced by Dan Miller.

As with many reality shows, “Making The Band” built a following, and we followed right along with it. We went to appearances and concerts. I created a Yahoo Group dedicated to the guys, which somehow had it’s own following. Soon, the Yahoo Group wasn’t enough to contain my creativity in the way I wanted to present the information I had, so I created a website.

I made sure to create a site that was anything but the typical fan site. A graphic designer friend created all the images for the site after I bought the domain name, and soon the phenomenon that was Destination O-Town came into being (see the flier image). I had a staff that I affectionately named the Destination Crew, later abbreviated as the D-Crew. We were fans from all over the world, including my sister. We really hit the ground running and passed out fliers at concerts and events. Due to a few contacts in the entertainment industry and contact with family members of the band by different D-Crew staff, the guys in O-Town knew us by name and often mentioned our site during their radio and TV appearances, which always increased our traffic by thousands. We were invited backstage often by their families, and at one show Ashley Angel himself saved meet and greet passes for me and my friends.

Whenever we attended a concert or event, we covered it on our site and we became the next best O-Town resource to the official site. Their management and record label recognized us, so we always had exclusive interviews, pictures and news stories because I could guarantee the authenticity. My site appeared in domestic and international pop magazines and I was even interviewed by Ladies Home Journal because I was a fan over 30. Our most prized feature was “D-Crew Radio” which was a radio graphic that you could “play” and hear exclusive interviews with the band, their crew and their families. We even had a mini promotional spots where the band themselves would say “Hi, We’re O-Town and you’re listening to D-Crew Radio on Destinationotown.com!” As our sites’ popularity grew, I personally would receive gifts from fans (both in person and by mail). I even had a difficult time attending concerts and events because fans would recognize me and my crew and bombard us with questions and requests to meet the guys.

Wow, that was a lot of memories that just came flooding through! I have some friendships that remained from the whole experience: one of my crew members remains a good friend today and was a bridesmaid in my wedding; I keep in touch with a great gal who worked on their tour crew; and I even still have contact with one of their mothers. It was an insane time in my life, but through the craziness, I had great fun. It’s amazing the memories a few pictures can trigger.

Speaking of Mr. Darcy…

He’s been called “The Thinking Girl’s Hunk”. I don’t think it takes a whole lot of thinking to recognize the talent (not to mention sophisticated good looks) of Colin Firth. I’ve come to admire Mr. Firth ever since “Bridget Jones’ Diary” and the BBC mini-series “Pride and Prejudice”. I then began building a mini Colin Firth DVD library for myself including movies like “Girl With a Pearl Earring”, “The Importance of Being Earnest” and even ordering an import of “Fever Pitch” (the Amercian version with Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore was based on the book by Nick Hornby, and Colin Firth appeared in the original British version of the film).

Now it seems that Mr. Firth is everywhere. After getting the critical acclaim he so richly deserves due to the film “A Single Man” (directed by Tom Ford), Colin’s star is truly rising (although I thought it had been doing so for quite sometime). But my worlds collided when I saw the article in the newest Vogue. Check out the picture of Colin Firth for “Holding Court”, an article about his newest movie “The King’s Speech” (which is getting buzz of a possible Oscar for Colin). Photography for this article was done by Anton Corbijn. Not only did he direct one of my favorite movies, “Control” about Joy Division (see my post here), but he was also the long-time main photographer and video director for Depeche Mode.

Now when someone asks me to do “Six Degrees of Separation” with Colin Firth and Depeche Mode, it can be done.