Fantastic Mr. Fox was fantastic!!!

Wes Anderson just came out with a new film called Fantastic Mr. Fox. My friends and I went to go see it yesterday. I knew that some of them were a bit apprehensive about it, but I know that all of us left the theater sooo satisfied. If you love Wes Anderson's style, you need to see this. Not only is it hilarious, but it is soo visually stimulating! I plan on seeing it again the next chance I get :)

Julian Casablancas- Phrazes for the Young

I am downloading Julian Casablancas' new cd as we speak-- Phrazes for the Young. I am obsessed with The Strokes, so it is only fitting that I am going to be obsessed the lead singer's side project. AH!!!!

Come on, JSF

I have been waiting YEARS for Jonathan Safran Foer to come out with a new book. My prayers were answered, however, not exactly how I would have liked them to be... His newest book, which just came out this month, is called Eating Animals. It is a nonfiction book about his decision to be a vegeterian... Blah! Not only do I dislike (for the most part) nonfiction, but I am an avid meat-eater so you can imagine my disappointment. I may have to read it anyway, just because my loyalty to JSF is out of this world. But yeah, lame.

Chuck Klosterman's new book!

Eating the Dinosaur, Klosterman's new book, just came out this month. I'm so excited to read it! He is a contemporary writer whom I look up to...His essays are insightful, funny and sooo true. I own Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs and IV...and I can't wait to buy this new one!! Ah.

Dear Jack=Awesome

I finally got my Dear Jack dvd in the mail, after like a week of waiting for it. It was sooo good, yet so sad. It definitely made me realize that this is real life... Andrew McMahon was 22 years old when he was diagnosed with leukemia, but he powered through it... And I'm so glad he did! I love him. I actually remember one of his shows being cancelled that I was supposed to go to (June 10th 2006) due to the fact that he had been diagnosed. So weird. I recommend watching this if you are a Jack's Mannequin/Something Corporate fan. It really made me learn so much more about him. I feel that you should get to know an artist on a personal level if you are a big fan, because it also helps you understand their music on a different level.

My Newest Obsession- The Coppolas

After watching The Virgin Suicides (directed by Sofia Coppola, 1999) last week, I decided that I needed to finally see Marie Antoinette (also directed by S. Coppola, 2006). I remember seeing the trailers when it first came out, and I really wanted to see it. I ended up not seeing it, however, so I walked over to my friendly video store--That's Rentertainment-- and I finally got it. I watched it and absolutely fell in love. It is by far one of my top three favorite movies of all time. Having seen Sofia's three biggest films (including Lost in Translation), I realized how much I loved her style. Not just that, but I became obsessed with her family. Three of her cousins include Jason Schwartzman (actor, love him), John Schwartzman (frontman of Rooney), and Nicolas Cage (the least legit of the three). Not to mention her uncle is THE Francis Ford Coppola. Anyway, the end of the story is that I love her as a director, and I also love her ridiculously multi-talented family.

ABC- Love that Wednesday Lineup

Yesterday I went over to a friend's house (because he promised to make me dinner), and watched a couple of shows on ABC: Modern Life and Cougar Town.


Modern Life is a mockumentary about three different families: a "normal" nuclear family, a gay couple with an adopted baby, and an older man married to a young Colombian with a younger son. This was the first time I had seen this show, despite the fact that many of my friends are newly obsessed with it. I thought it was pretty funny; definitely reminiscent of the office in its filming style. The dad in the "normal" family was really funny, always trying to be cool in front of the kids, and the gay couple was also really entertaining. I am going to have to watch it again to have more solid feelings on it, but as of now, I give it a thumbs up.


Cougar Town, starring Courteney Cox, was next. I had just heard about it the night before (on THS: Courteney Cox), and I was definitely curious to see how her acting is holding up after Friends. This show made me laugh out loud a few times, and I found it pretty entertaining. To be honest, I was kind of skeptical at first but the concept wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It's about a middle-aged divorceé who decides that she wants to start dating younger men. In last night's particular episode, she dates a college boy and ends up dumping him at the end. The interaction between this guy and her son is hysterical. This, like Modern Life, has my approval--for now.

Now I have even more TV shows to distract me. Nice!

Thinking of these two shows, however, really makes me realize how progressive TV shows are starting to become (here comes the media studies major in me). Seriously though, TV is now showing--more than ever before-- families that aren't your stereotypical two-parent, one boy, one girl family. I like it a lot! Way to go, USA pop culture. Starting to break out of your shell.

Zombieland: Jesse Eisenberg, I love you

I just saw the movie Zombieland last night, expecting it to be really shitty. I hate anything that has to do with zombies, after last year of having to sit through countless potential escape routes (I ate my meals everyday with 6 guys who were obsessed with zombies) if zombies were to take over the world. Anyway, it ended up being a hilarious movie, and I really enjoyed it.

Jesse Eisenberg, who also starred in Adventureland (yeah, apparently he is all about the 'land' movies), was awesome. He fits the classic nerdy, pushover, awkward guy--much like Michael Cera. He was really funny, and he fit his role perfectly. His lovable character made me want to take him under my wing, and steal him from initially-bitchy Emma Stone.

The other main actors were also great, including Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin. Stone and Breslin's characters intrigued me-- they were the badass chicks who kept tricking/escaping from the two guys... But in the end they were obviously rescued by the guys (blah, come on!).

Oh, and not to mention Bill Murray's cameo appearance was hilarious.

Anyway, I would definitely advise anyone to go see this movie. And Jesse Eisenberg, will you date me?

Pam and Jim finally tie the knot

The Office definitely used to be one of my favorite tv shows, and although I still watch it religiously every Thursday at 8pm, I don't know how much I love it anymore. After season 3, it started to go downhill.

I love that Pam and Jim got married because they are tv's cutest couple, but what does it mean for The Office now? The entire premise of the show was getting these people together, and now that they are married, what else can they really do to keep the audience on their toes?

Don't get me wrong, the episode was so cute and I think they did everything they could to make it all that we wanted/had expected it to be, but the issue is what this happy ending means for the actual show. I can't imagine the show being centered on Pam and Jim having the baby. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

the online world

So, I just watched "True Life: I Live Another Life on the Web" for my new media class. It's about three girls who are essentially addicted to the internet, and who spend the majority of their time online meeting people. This topic is interesting to me because last year I was really good friends with three guys who lived on my floor...and they were addicted to online social networks/games (to say the least). My roommate and I talked about their addiction on a daily basis, and argued with them about it. Randi (roommate) I always told the boys that it is not possible to maintain the same kind of relationships online as with actual people you see face-to-face, and the boys always argued otherwise. They claimed that relationships via the internet are actually better, because more attention is paid, etc etc.

I guess watching this episode really intrigued me because it made me think that it seems inevitable that people are going to start spending even MORE time on the web via online gaming/networking... Pretty soon people may even start going to work in virtual worlds. I love the internet, but I don't think it's ever going to stop progressing. Who is going to put limits on how much time people can spend online? There has to be a limit, right? Or else eventually no one is going to want to leave the safety of their home to venture out into our vast world...

Anyway, it was just a thought.

True Life

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Death Cab News + More

First of all, I would like to say that the music video for "Little Bribes" (off the Open Door E.P.) is awesome, and you should check it out here.

Secondly, Ben Gibbard is coming out with a new project on October 20. The album was made in collaboration with Jay Farrar, and is called "One Fast Move Or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur". Also, it should be mentioned that it is the soundtrack of the movie with the same name. The documentary is about Jack Kerouac, an author that inspired both Gibbard and Farrar. Pre-order is available now. I'm really excited to hear the soundtrack!

Finally, Death Cab For Cutie is going to be on the New Moon (Twilight) soundtrack. Their new single, "Meet Me On The Equinox" is on their myspace page, and can be streamed at anytime! Check it out here.

Dear Jack

I am SO excited (understatement). Yesterday I pre-ordered my copy of "Dear Jack", the documentary about Andrew McMahon (Lead singer of Jack's Mannequin and Something Corporate) battling cancer and producing Everything In Transit (Jack's Mannequin's debut album). The trailer has been around for like a year, so I pretty much gave up on it actually coming out. But thankfully it is, and it will be in my possession on November 3rd. The dvd also comes with a limited edition signed poster. To understand the gravity of the situation, you need to know that I am legitimately obsessed with Andrew (and have been to 9 of his shows). So anyway, if you like Jack's Mannequin, check out the trailer. It's going to be awesome.

Dear Jack Trailer

"Tell Me You Love Me"- ick factor

Last night, a couple of friends and I decided to embark on a new television series adventure: "Tell Me You Love Me" (on HBO). We watched the first episode of the first season. It's about three couples: one in their late twenties, one in their thirties, and one in their forties. About twenty minutes into it, I kind of wanted to shoot my brains out. Watching this show is like hearing about your parents' sex life. Seriously. When I watch sexual scenes in other shows/movies, it's not gross because usually it involves people in their late teens or twenties. Young(er) sexual occurrences are fine with me, but when it moves into the same age range as my PARENTS, noooo thanks. Terrible mental images just started flying in my head, and it just wasn't great. Not to mention that this show is extremely depressing. HBO, you were better off with Sex and the City.

hello, bloggers

Hello everyone! Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Stephanie, a media studies major at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It took me a while to realize what I liked studying, but after countless hours of facebook, gmail, twitter, concerts, reading, watching films and television shows, etc etc, I realized just how much media fascinates me. Yeah, sure, people don't consider media studies a very prestigious subject to study, but I bet they also don't realize just how much we encounter media every day. It is the single most influential aspect of society, one that teaches us how to live our lives (even though people claim they are not affected by it), and one that keeps us constantly informed about the outside world.

That said, I'd like to analyze all different forms of media on here. Ok, maybe "analyze" is too pretentious...I'd like to comment on different forms of media. Specifically, I am interested in music, photographs, films, and social networking. I hope to learn more about myself and about popular culture by keeping this blog. Thanks for reading :)