Atmosphere does it again!

I can't believe it's taken me this long, but I finally got around to listening to the new Atmosphere that came out in September, "To All My Friends, Blood Makes the Blade Holy: The Atmosphere EPs." Here's a hip hop group that has released countless songs over the past 17 years and never ceases to get boring. In the newest EP, they bring more unique sounds to the table. You've got their traditional hip hop sound ranging all the way to something bordering on chill alt-country. The single off this EP is "To All My Friends," but I think my favorite may be "The Number None," which is full of Slug's smart-ass sass. But most of the songs are filled with hints that these two hit-makers are slowly growing up, but not out, of their fan base.

Attention Shoppers....

The future is here and its crazy!

Cisco's future of shopping: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDi0FNcaock&feature=player_embedded#

This could really help, I can never understand IKEA building instructions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4b4ArHZupM&feature=player_embedded

This is really neat for Webcam users: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnBcqV9POkY

Golden Globe Nominations are out!!

And I am seriously confused. I thought 2010 had a bunch of great movies but some of the nominations are for movies that got bashed by critics. Full list of nominees here: http://www.goldenglobes.org/blog/2010/12/the-68th-annual-golden-globe-awards-nominations/

My comment by category: 

Best Picture (Drama) and Best Performance Male/Female (Drama): These are the 2 categories I totally agreed with. I love all the movies in this category I've already seen and can't wait to see the others.

Best Picture (Comedy/Musical): Didn't Burlesque get dubbed "the new Showgirls"? How is it up for an award?? And "The Tourist"? I just got done reading about how it was not good and bombed at the box office.

Best Actress (comedy/Musical): I hope one of the women from the "Kids Are All Right" wins. Emma Stone for "Easy A"? That's a bit random...

Best Actor (Comedy/Musical): Johnny Depp is up for 2 and I heard his performance in "The Tourist" was sub-par. Jake Gyllenhall should get it for becoming incredibly ripped in "Love & Other Drugs."

Best Animated: I haven't seen "The Illusionist" but the other 4 up are great.

Best Supporting Actor/Actress: I heard Mila Kunis in "Black Swan" and Amy Adams in "The Fighter" are both amazing. For acotr, I hope it goes to Jeremy Renner for "The Town." I'm so happy Andrew Garfield is up for "The Social Network" instead of JT!

Best TV Series (Drama): I love all 5!! I'd be happy if any of them won.

Best Actress/Actor (Drama): Piper Perabo is up?? I watched "Covert Affairs" because it was awesomely bad (especially her acting) and made me laugh... For actors, I love them all. Let the best man win.

This is going to be an interesting awards season! Happy viewing :)

J.C.'s In North Minneapolis

Last weekend we ordered takeout from J.C.'s, a new restaurant over on West Broadway in North Minneapolis. We found a takeout menu for it a few weeks before and were excited to order it. The menu showed a variety of items that sounded perfect for a hangover and were reasonably priced. I read a couple reviews online that raved about the BBQ. Well.... to start from the beginning, my first issue was with their tagline, "the taste of Chicago." As someone who has lived in Chicago, there was nothing about this placed that reflected the culinary range available in the Windy City. Our order took 2 hours to come. The delivery man had to stop by Walgreen's to get the soda I had ordered. He didn't want to even leave his car when he pulled up to our apartment. We were excited to see what our order of "Gyro Fries" would entail. Turns out it was super greasy fries, with nacho cheese, lettuce, tomato, and burnt Gyro meat. My actually Gyro was just dry meat. There was no tzatsiki sauce  or feta on it at all. My boyfriend got the chicken philly, which also severely lacked flavor. Maybe we'd have a different review if we'd gotten ribs or BBQ but I can tell you we will never, ever order J.C.'s again.

New Matt & Kim!!

I know a lot of people don't like Matt & Kim. Yes, they're not the best musicians in the world. Kim is not a precision drummer and Matt is not lyrically complex. But I think their sloppy, synthy style brings out a unique, raw punk sound. The new album, "Sidewalks" is not as good as last year's "Grand" but I think its perfect for those moments when you just need something to spaz out to! And if you ever get the chance to see them live, go! Their energy is contagious, they're all over the stage, and I love Kim's badass drummer girl act.

Movie Night: The Girlfriend Experience

Last night it was my boyfriend's turn to pick the movie, so we watched "The Girlfriend Experience." The concept was interesting enough and it took 2 weeks and less than $2MM to film. The only "actor" in the movie is professional porn star Sasha Grey (now of "Entourage" fame). She was actually much better than I expected. The rest of the roles were played by normal people and was mostly ad-lib, which you could tell but I liked because it gave it a realness you don't find often. The film was short in short vignettes and shown in a non-sequential order, so you have to re-piece the plot together. Downside, there wasn't a whole lot of plot. She's a high-priced call-girl with a boyfriend. I mean, just guess what happens....

Awards season is upon us!

To those of us who don't care about American Football and are more interested in sparkly dresses and good movies, the winter is all about awards season.

Gotham Awards: The first to happen, took place on November 29th, 2010. It was hosted by two wonderful actors, Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson. The red carpet was full of beautiful outfits and fashion mishaps. For nominees, go to: http://gotham.ifp.org/

The Critics' Choice awards is the first award show of the new year. They will air on January 14th, 2011 on VH1. Nominees have not been listed yet from what I can find.

Screen Actor's Guild Awards (SAG): These are rumored to be the most important to people in the industry, since it's chosen by their peers. This year's airs on TNT/TBS on January 30th. The nominees will be announced on December 16th!

Independent Spirit Awards: Airing on IFC on February 26th, 2011 and hosted by the funny JoeMcHale. The nominees are: http://www.spiritawards.com/nominees

The "Superbowl" of awards season: the Oscars! Nominees are coming out soon and everyone's trying to guess who will get a nod. I most agree with Gawker's predictions: http://gawker.com/5707238/the-oscar-predictions-youve-been-waiting-for

Happy viewing!