White Nights (1985)

It's been awhile since I've had updates to my dance movie review series, but after lugging around Center Stage: Turn It Up and White Nights for months -- and bogging down my Netflix consumption -- I finally sat down to watch the latter.Many of you might be asking, "What is White Nights? I've never heard of it." Well, it's a dance movie starring one of the greatest ballet dancers of all time -- who also doubles as the man who almost stole Carrie...

Live Righteously, Takin' It Easy

Hello folks, my last summer mixtape came out in October so this time out I'm gonna drop it as the weather is warming up instead of cooling down. This mixtape a throw back. Eight years ago, a lot of our friends mysteriously ended back up in San Diego for a few months. Nobody was gainfully employed and we spent the summer making music, playing sports, fishing, hanging out at our pseudo clubhouse, and auditioning Smurfettes. That was the first summer...

Rumour Has It

Currently pushing: My guest post for the DIYA blog, about writing outside your experiences.A few weeks ago I put on my best adult-ish shirt and was at the San Franciso Public Library for my stop on the Diversity in YA Fiction tour. We had a great turnout and it was really fantastic to share the mic with Malinda, Cindy, and Gene. A few of my friends attended and my sister too, which was a first as she'd never been to an event where I actually talked....

Do You Hear the People Sing?

Listening to: Atmosphere, "Yesterday." I was in a rap mood the other day and this hit home. From Slug and Ant's album, "When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold." Not the most subtle title, I know.Last week we had the brilliant idea of all picking a sports team to randomly follow and obsess over. With the playoff demise of my Celtics and the NFL in lockout mode, we're staring at a summer with no sports to pay attention to. Plus, if...

Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)

Werner's back, and this time in three dimensions! Much parodied because of his distinctive voiceover style, Werner Herzog movies are always interesting to read about, and I intake the film as just a starting point of interest. Having read a lot about Cave of Dreams before and after watching it, I enjoyed the experience of learning about another Herzog fascination.The movie itself literally put me to sleep at times -- fuel up with strong coffee if...

Better Together Forever

Listening to: Nelson, "Can't Live Without Your Love and Affection." If you don't know what the Nelson twins look like these days, some of the imagery in this video may disturb you. I don't recall anything about their music except that George was really into them. I didn't understand then and I sure as heck don't understand now.Since two of my favorite people have recently blogged about weddings and plus ones, I thought I'd have to leap in there just...

Thor (2011)

Welcome to superhero summer! Actually every summer is superhero summer now, which is just fine by me. I can't say that I read much Thor growing up but he was an Avenger so I knew the basics. Then again, I had no idea who Jane Foster was so clearly I lost geek cred there. Speaking of Foster, Natalie Portman has long been number one on my list of actresses but she really adds nothing to this movie. In fact, I'd love to not have my Natalie in any big...

Stuck in the Fast Lane

Listening to: Berlin, "Take My Breath Away." But this version, paired with Michael Jordan highlights. The entire soundtrack to Top Gun is a gold mine. Previously I already covered how great the Top Gun anthem is, and how the song they play over Goose's death is the saddest song of all time. And you can't forget the contributions Kenny Loggins put into the soundtrack, although I still think this album was his greatest work.I went to watch Top Gun...

Something, Somewhere, Sometime

Listening to: Faded Paper Figures, "North by North." Very Postal Service, very fantastic song. I fell in love as soon as I heard it. It feels like a good traveling song.Hello Bay Area, or people with private planes and a free Saturday afternoon. I've told you about this before but it bears reminding because it's right around the corner. In less than a week I'll be at the San Francisco Public Library with Malinda Lo, Cindy Pon, and Gene Luen Yang...