Brad Pitt, Celebrity Extraordinaire

Like many of you, I was not surprised to see that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are gracing the cover of the latest issue of InTouch Weekly. It got me thinking, though--how and why is Brad Pitt still a celebrity?

Answer: he's got a fascinating, messed-up life. (Don't they all?) Here's what he's got going for him:
1. He's with Angelina Jolie
-They're not married
-She's a celebrity, too, with her own effed up story that includes Billy Bob Thornton and making out with brothers
-They have 3,744 kids
2. He's pretty hot
3. He was with Jennifer Anniston
4. I've heard he's in movies
5. He recently claimed that acting was his career, but architecture was his passion, which is hilarious

So, in conclusion, Brad Pitt has it made in the shade. He doesn't have to do anything and people will buy a magazine with his face on it. He lets himself go, and paparazzi swarm. He buys baby clothes, and the world goes nuts. Brilliant!

ULTIMATE SUMMER MIX

While your summer mix may appear to be the bomb diggity, it's a fact that mine is the Ultimate Summer Mix. It says so right on the CD. Because I wrote it on there.

I think the best summer mixes aren't timeless at all, but littered with one hit wonders that date it immediately. Much like summer loves, you should have fond memories of the fun you had for those few months, but it doesn't really translate past August (in this case, 2008). I did include some songs that have excellent connotations from other times for me, but those count as happy songs that are perfect for singing along in the car.

1. Steal My Sunshine- Len
2. Shake It- Metro Station
3. Superstar (ft. Matthew Santos)- Lupe Fiasco
4. Piece of Me- Britney Spears
5. Tune Out- The Format
6. Free at Last- G Love
7. Leavin'- Jesse McCartney
8. Ooh La La- Goldfrapp
9. C'Mon Baby- Wakefield
10. Walk Away- Kelly Clarkson
11. Smile- Lilly Allen
12. My Love- Justin Timberlake
13. Work That- Mary J. Blige
14. Pocketful of Sunshine- Natasha Bedingfield
15. Bicycle Race- Queen
16. Steve McQueen- Sheryl Crow
17. 4 Minutes (ft. Justin Timberlake)- Madonna
18. Bleeding Love (KlubKidz Radio Edit)- Leona Lewis
19. Valerie (techno remix)- Steve Winwood
20. Birthday Girl (ft. Patrick Stump)- The Roots

Conclusion: perfect for blasting from the car, jumping around with friends, and kickin' it in the baby pool in the backyard. Holler! Happy summer 2008.

Now That's What I Call Music-Vol. 13495262834

Jasmine challenged me to come up with the Ultimate Mix for Summer and let's just say I did not take to this assignment lightly. Each and every song on this mix was hand-selected, arranged, and prescreened based on the following criteria: a) timelessness b) pump-up factor c) awesome level

With no further ado, please feast your eyes on this masterpiece:

1. Got to Get You Into My Life- The Beatles
2. Need You Tonight-INXS
3. Here Comes the Hotstepper-Ini Kamoze
4. The Seed 2.0-The Roots
5. Girl-Beck
6. Lay Low- Snoop Dogg
7. Canned Heat-Jamiroquai
8. Beware the Boy-Punjabi MC (Feat. Jay Z)
9. I Can't Wait- Nu Shooz
10. Don't Stand So Close to Me-The Police
11. Jump-Madonna
12. Sunglasses at Night-Corey Hart
13. Amazing-Seal
14. Blister in the Sun-Violent Femmes
15. Sussudio-Phil Collins
16. Stacy's Mom-Fountains of Wayne
17. Into Something Good-Herman's Hermits
18. City of Blinding Light-U2
19. Bittersweet Symphony-The Verve
20. The Final Countdown-Europe

*Copies of this album will be available upon request

Sex and the City and Comm 101

I was embarassed to be seen at a 12:01 am showing premiere of Sex and the City for 3 reasons. 1) the line for the theater stretched 2 city blocks

2) the women in line purposely dressed in their fanciest Forever21 dresses and "designer" Steve Madden heels

3) My "date" for the evening asked me if I wanted popcorn(that is disgusting).

But that's besides the point. Fifteen minutes into the movie, I realized that I was basically watching one big advertisement. I became distracted by the label-dropping and extremely obvious product placement campaigns. There were approximately 40 unnecessary makeover montages throughout the movie, involving not-so-discreet mentionings of 5th avenue designers. It became extremely obvious that this movie was 100% about advertising during the Vogue/wedding dress photo shoot. "Vera Wang," "Vivienne Westwood," "Dior," were just some of the very well articulated names dropped during this ridiculously gratuitious scene.

Then I couldn't stop seeing all the ads in every scene. How about that scene in her new "big" closet and the single pair of electric blue Manolo Blahniks that conveniently stood out amidst the transparently lit shoe rack, whose shoe box was aptly displayed to the camera. Manolo's stock just went up by 100%.

And let's not forget the entire subplot about "Louise" from St. Louis who loved Louis Vuitton. Um. First of all, that entire subplot could've be edited out completely. Secondly, "Louise" from St. "Louis" who loved "LOUIS" Vuitton---c'mon people, this is marketing GENIUS at work here. And how many times did Carrie say the line "Louise from St. Louis"? About a bagillion times. This shit is ridiculous.

There were countless scenes in which Charlotte toted approximately 10 shopping bags up and down her arms with the labels completely in focus--"Chanel" "Bloomingdales." There was also a scene where Carrie and Miranda were eating Pret a Manger sandwiches--the wrappers were entirely exposed. Not to mention that Carrie's laptop is clearly an Apple. Samantha's iPhone that Carrie didn't know how to operate. What about the obvious cup of Cup of Noodles. Basically, the list goes on and on. One doesn't need to take Comm 101 in college to know that this movie was 100% made of advertisements---it was its own character in this movie.

Sex and the City: Better Than I Thought it Would Be

OK, OK, so I was one of the hordes of women who went to see the Sex and the City movie the day it opened. I'm a sort of if-it's-there fan of the show: I haven't seen every episode, but I did live with a girl who had a bunch of the DVDs, and I know the basic plot line. While I don't think the show is the paragon of great TV (I'm more of an Office fan myself), it is enjoyable in a very, very girly way. As in, lots of great shoes.

The movie didn't disappoint on the shoe point, but it also had lots of something I wasn't expecting: angst. (Yes, yes, insert obligatory spoiler warning here) I was expecting complete and utter fluff, but Carrie gets hurt--bad. The deep, utterly humiliated, sleep for 3 days in a darkened room kind of hurt. It was amazing: I completely felt it along with her. I think it's safe to say that I'm not alone among the key demographics for this show/movie, because your 20s and 30s seem to be prime time for those catastrophic breakups.

Shining star and best supporting role in this part of the movie: Charlotte. Not a huge Charlotte fan in general, but the look on her face when she screams "NO!" in the street was priceless. Side note: if people still said, "You go, girl!" this would have been a prime time to say it. She also gets completely wrapped up in Carrie's getting hurt and imagines what she'd say to Big if she saw him on the street, which is something the girl who's hurt does always, but her friends do rarely.

Miranda also gets cheated on, which sucks, but she's such a coldhearted (and now frigid, apparently) bitch that everyone takes Steve's side instead of hers. There is a great scene that results from this, though: she's home on New Year's, eating Chinese food by herself, when Carrie comes over and says, "You're not alone." Tear!

Anyway, bottom line is that I was very pleasantly surprised by this movie. Yes, there are 3.5 million things to point out that were all wrong about it (the girls at Slate do an excellent job), but overall it passed my test for an enjoyable Friday night.