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Gaga x Sugarland

As much as I love pop music, my heart will always belong to country music. I don't go to a lot of concerts (that shit is expensiiiiive) but two shows I have gone to since moving to England were Sugarland and Lady Gaga.

Whenever Iain and I go for a drive, we are listening to either Sugarland (his favourite) or Lady Gaga (my favourite). We had a Sugarland track in our wedding ceremony, and it was the first concert we ever went to together. So, yes, we love them.

Sugarland have collaborated with non-c0untry artists before, such as Beyoncé and Bon Jovi ("Who Says You Can't Go Home" is amazing!), and last night they performed with non other than Lady Gaga. 

My heart basically exploded when I heard this, and I would be lying if I didn't say it made me tear up. 

YES. On so many, many levels, YES.

Save Confidential!

Today, the BBC announced it was axing Doctor Who Confidential. Which is only, like, the best behind-the-scenes show ever. Maybe of all time. 

Confidential lets you in on all the secrets of Doctor Who, has excellent interviews with the cast, and basically gives you an idea of the all the work (and crazy hours) that go in to creating Doctor Who.

If you saw last week's episode, you recognize the AMAZING screen grab from above where Matt Smith and James Corden lose their minds while filming at 3am, and start recording their own Doctor Who scenes, complete with recreating the theme song. <3 <3 <3 <3

But, fangirl shrieking aside, I think I can help confidential in 3 easy steps. BBC, I hope you are listening. (Even though I know you are probably not.) (OR ARE YOU?!)

How to Save Doctor Who Confidential

1) Reduce to 20 minutes

As amazing as the information on the show is, sometimes it feels very stretched out and as though they are really hurting for content. We do not need a 10 minute commentary on how funny that one scene that James Corden did in the lingerie department that was actually almost entirely cut from the episode was. Reduce the time they need to fill and the quality will go up. There, BBC. There's your PRECIOUS TIME SLOT CUT HALF.

2) Scrap the ridiculous song choices

Confidential has an embarrassing habit of choosing a song to play during a scene because it uses a lyric that matches what they're talking about. For example, say they're playing poker in a scene, and they'll play "Poker Face". This is embarrassing and needs to stop, Confidential. 

3) Give us more of the cast

While it's great to hear Steven Moffat talk about how brilliant he is or see Piers and Beth looking annoyed as to why they need to be interviewed again  - what we really want is to see Karen Gillan goofing around, Matt Smith singing the theme tune and Alex Kingston trying on a fez. Give them all video diaries! Lock them in a room and see what happens! Either way, it will be HILARIOUS. Why wait until James Corden is a  guest star to give Matt Smith his own camcorder?

Also, sign the petition. Or write a sternly written letter. Retweet this blog post! I'm sure it will help.

 

Word Up to the Immigrants!

My mom's cousin, Jim Gion, is a fantastic scupltor and artist. He's also the same person who helped introduce me to the world of Jack Kerouac. Whenever he'd come to visit, he'd bring a bit of culture in to my life.

Jim has created this fantastic statue in Portland, Oregon, that represents the struggles and the triumphs of immigrants in Portland, and all of America. 

As an immigrant myself, with a Spanish last name that I don't know how to pronounce correctly - I love this video, and this sculpture. Well done, Jim.

Oh, Lisbeth....

MSN have just released an exclusive new trailer for the American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  Now, I've written before about how much the fact that this film is even being made irks me, and while this trailer is less dramatic and obscure than the first one we saw, I'm still not convinced. 

While, if you forget about Noomi Rapace and the original Swedish films for 3:43, it looks like an interesting film. However, let us discuss some glaringly obvious problems from this trailer:

1) Daniel Craig sounds like he's English. Wasn't everyone in this film meant to be speaking English but with a Swedish accent? I mean, they're Swedish in the book and, oh yeah, the movie is filmed IN SWEDEN, so therefore they should SOUND Swedish, NON?

2) This trailer puts much more emphasis on Daniel Craig's character than it does Lisbeth Salander, who comes across as being a bit more meek and vulnerable than Noomi Rapace's version of Lisbeth does. Perhaps in the film she'll surprise us all and be amazing, but even from this trailer I don't feel that Mara Rooney has enough presence. 

3) What is with her HAIR!?

Jane Eyre

Two weekend ago I finished Jane Eyre. I started reading it on Monday at lunch, and it was finished by Saturday afternoon. I was a woman obsessed. Never had I read a classic novel with such fervour - the only time I've ever been able to read a Jane Austen novel back to front is when it had been edited to include Zombies. 

However, the story of Jane Eyre was all encompassing. The language was difficult to get through sometimes, but the humour and the untimely strength in Jane was enthralling, I couldn't put it down. Staying up reading Jane Eyre on my Kindle in the dead of night, silently weeping as I read through that scene by the chestnut tree is now one of the best reading memories I have. 

I went to go see the film yesterday evening, with little hope of it living up to the grand novel. And I'm torn.