GLEE'S 100TH EPISODE

I think I've waited a sufficiently long amount of time to write this given how excited I am about Glee's 100th Episode. Every US time zone should have seen it by now, but just in case I will tag this post with a spoiler alert. :)

Anyway, this episode of Glee was magical, to say the least. The original cast (most of them, anyway,) returned to sing some of their "greatest hits," if you will. Quinn, Puck, Rachel, Mercedes, Kurt, Sam, Tina, Santana, Britney S. Pierce, Mike Chang (the two-name Asian wonder,) and a few of the best guest stars, including Holly Holiday (Gwenyth Paltrow) and April Rhodes (Kirsten Chenoweth). There was a Diva-Off, Coach Sylvester shenanigans, a small but not too heart-wrenching Finn tribute, and beautiful re-renditions of some of the best songs from the show. My favorite by far was the redone version of "Defying Gravity" sung by Lea Michele, Amber Riley, and Chris Colfer, (Rachel, Mercedes, and Kurt, respectively). It was absolutely, positively perfect in every way and if I had any left over iTunes money I would buy it in a heart beat and maybe even the ringtone, as well. Actually, scratch that. I will buy the entire album for the episode (because you know there is one, right?) and I will download it and I will enjoy it for years to come and listen to it as I'm driving home from somewhere I hate (cough cough school) and feel all better. That's what I will do. And when this season of Glee ends, (which it will, and then the show ends forever - hold me while I sob,) I will buy the DVD set of the seasons that I don't have (seasons 4 and 5, to be exact), because Netflix cruelly takes away shows after a while, (thanks for that, by the way, I was just about to watch Teen Wolf).

Well, I guess I'm done with my ramble. For now. I just can't right now. I just can't.

PS - CHACE CRAWFORD IS IN THIS EPISODE AS QUINN'S BOYFRIEND AND I ABOUT DIED WHEN I SAW HIM BECAUSE HELLO GOSSIP GIRL FEELS. I CAN'T.

"That's So Heterosexual!"

I've realized that the majority of the words we use on an everyday basis have become so screwed up. We use terms referring to mental illnesses or handicaps, like "psychopath" and "retard" and things like "I'm totally raping you right now," and even "That's so gay," and it's all become so normal and practically okay. But the thing is, by using these slurs in every day conversation, we're promoting the dismissal of these types of people as less than human, like they aren't good enough to even be referred to as just as human as the rest of us. We are using these words as labels for things we don't like, for things we find derogatory or not normal. What we forget to realize when we use these words are that they aren't supposed to mean the things we are using them for. "Gay" shouldn't mean cowardly or bad, "retarded" shouldn't mean stupid, and using the term "rape" to talk about being victorious over someone else is just on another level of wrong. It's hard to understand how these terms might be offensive if you're not gay, not mentally handicapped, and have never been raped. I, myself, do not fall under any of these categories, and I risk sounding ignorant by saying these things. But I feel that it should stem from basic human compassion to realize that these adjectives shouldn't be used for anything other than what they were intended for. To further prove my point, check out this short film I found a while ago on Tumblr, in which the homosexual/heterosexual situations are reversed. 

Progress in Progress

Currently, I am preparing two separate posts, but am much too tired to create anything worth publishing at the moment. So instead, I'm going to quickly present to you the new music video for the song "Boomerang" by The Summer Set. It. Is. Wonderful. :) Enjoy. ;)

Netflix is My Hero

Now that we've got the rescindance review out of the way, we can move on to an actual review. (I swear, this blog is not going to be purely reviews, but sometimes it will be so just bear with me.) Today, while searching through Netflix again, (thank God for instant streaming,) I found a movie that I'd seen at the library on DVD plenty of times but never cared to watch. It's called "Dakota Skye." It's about this girl, named Dakota Skye, from Scottsdale, Arizona, who knows the truth behind everything everyone says, and is kind of bitchy and cynical as a result because she realizes that nearly everyone she knows is a liar, even if they don't know it themselves. She has a boyfriend she tolerates and a best friend that is only her best friend because they've known each other for "the better part of 12 years" and no real academic desire. She is tired of being pressured to figure out her life at 17 years old. Then one day, her boyfriend's old best friend comes to visit from New York, and she is surprised to see that he doesn't lie. It's both refreshing for her and confusing. She quickly comes to like him and is more attracted to him than her boyfriend. I won't give away so much of the ending like I did with "Dare," because while both of these are worth seeing, this one is more evidently worth seeing. ;) Both are rated R though, so if you have either a problem with foul language, however humorous, or teenage sexuality, than you probably shouldn't watch either of these. But you're totally missing out on some real cinematic genius. Just so you know. ;) (P.S.- This movie has an excellent soundtrack, despite the intolerable boyfriend's band.)

"Predictable doesn't always mean boring, lust doesn't always mean love, near doesn't always mean close. New doesn't always mean exciting, different doesn't always mean better, far doesn't always mean distant."

Speaking of Summer...

Clearly, I've spent waayyyy too much time on the Internet today, because I have yet another thing to tell you about that I found via the interwebs. It's a band called The Summer Set. I've liked them ever since I heard their songs "Punch Drunk Love" and "Chelsea" on Pandora maybe 2 years ago. They've released 2 albums since that first one I heard, ("Love Like This",) and each one was better than the last. Their most recent album, "Legendary" is amazing, in its entirety. I absolutely adore every single song, and that rarely happens. I think the last album in which I loved every single song was "Electra Heart" by Marina and the Diamonds. Those kinds of albums, along with those kinds of artists, are a dime a dozen.



"Legendary" is packed with catchy rhythms, poetic lyrics that are constantly stuck in my head, (I had the chorus of "Boomerang" on replay in my head for days,) and overall, it's an album that shows the utter growth of a band that truly loves and cares for what they do.

Not only do they care for and put immense effort into the music they make, they also truly care about their fans. So much so, in fact, that they started a program called Half Moon Kids. Half Moon Kids is a program in which The Summer Set help kids "follow their dreams, overcome their fears, and be the best version of themselves they can be." Basically, the band seeks out kids and empowers them, gives them confidence, and provides amazing opportunities. I feel like, for a band to take that kind of time and show their fans that they can meet their goals or overcome their fears, is such a great display of a group of people that really want to give back to their fans in ways that no one has ever done before. By doing this, they've deepened my respect for them not just as a band, but as really good people in general. Because of this, I will be a fan of The Summer Set for a very, very long time. :)

Makes Me Cry Every Time

I was just browsing through YouTube and I started watching clips from this past season of The X-Factor USA (which I loved, btw.) I found the tribute video they did on one of the final episodes of the season for the Sandy Hook victims. I remember watching it when it aired on TV and how my mother started to cry watching it. I didn't really understand why, though I knew it was sad and that the whole event in itself was a tragedy. But after a while of letting the whole event at Sandy Hook sink it, it now makes me cry every time I think about all of the little kids and innocent teachers that will never experience things as simple as the sun after a rainstorm, or bad reality TV, ever again. So I rewatched the clip of the tribute and it made me cry. Honest-to-goodness, I cried. My throat was all choked up and my vision was blurry, but I watched the entire thing through, and now I want to share it with you. Because even though the shooting and this episode happened back in December, I think it's important that we never forget what happened, and we should never let the memories of those people fade, or something like that could happen again.

Aren't Movies Supposed to Have Endings?

Yesterday, I was on Netflix (as per usual,) and I found a movie that looked kind of interesting. It was called "Dare." The movie is based around 3 teenagers, Alexa, Ben, and Johnny, who are seniors in high school. Alexa is a smart, well-mannered, well-behaved girl who, instead of wanting to be a doctor or lawyer as people expect, wants to be an actress. She is told that she is too sheltered and hasn't had any pain or heartbreak in her life to draw from that can make any of her performances believable. Ben is Alexa's best friend, and she is his only friend. He is shy and dorky, and becomes jealous when Alexa starts becoming popular, and spending more and more time with Johnny, (who is her costar in the school play). Johnny is the most popular guy in their school, but he is unstable, detached, and depressed. He has "sexual relations" with both Alexa and Ben (who turns out to be very gay,) and they all become a weird set of friends. Johnny hooks up with them to feel closer to people, because he realizes that he doesn't have any actual friends that know him, and his dad and step-mom couldn't care less about him, while Alexa and Ben are just thrilled to have someone want them in that way, especially someone as popular as Johnny. They care for Johnny, but not in the way he believes they do. The movie ends with Johnny disappearing for months after an incident at a party, and Alexa eventually sees him again outside of a restaurant.

Overall, this movie was kind of a flop for me. I've been thinking about it since I watched it, and I've figured out that it's supposed to be hugely metaphorical and deep, and I get it. But I just feel like it had no real plot line. The movie is centered around Johnny, but it's hard to gauge that from the way it's set up. The exposition sets you up to believe the movie will be about Alexa becoming a bad girl to get the guy and her best friend is jealous of the time he's missing out on with her, and in a way, it is about that. But it's more about what's wrong with Johnny and the void in his mind and heart. The actors were pretty good, but the entire movie felt awkward and the plot totally bombed. I'd give this movie a 2.5 out of 5, possibly a 3 if you're looking for a teen movie that makes you think (really, really hard.)

Here's the trailer: