Beatles + iTunes: Pretty Please?

I'm starting to get upset. Despite various rumors that have been circulating for the past year or so, Beatles songs are still not available on iTunes. They keep promising that it will happen, but nothing yet. This is the latest I've heard on the issue.

All the trouble is caused by the whole "Apple" name...Apple computers and the Beatles Apple record label. Lawsuits have been filed and settlements have been made...it's time to resolve our differences! They're only hurting themselves. They would have made a ton of money off me so far, but too bad for them. They're just being selfish by denying me (and countless others) the joy of instantly downloading some sweet Beatles tunes.

In other iTunes news, I have iTunes at work and we can share our music libraries over our network. So there is an incredible amount of music that we can listen to, which is great. When you share your library, you have to pick a name for your list that will be displayed to everyone else in their iTunes window. Generally, people use names such as "Kim's Music" or "Todd's Mix" and so on.

If you've been watching American Idol this season, you're no doubt ill from having to watch Sanjaya, the talentless skinny kid with too much womanly hair, "sing" and prance about the stage like he's God's gift to teenie boppers. As a result of this teenie bopper following, he stays on the show, despite his obvious inferiority. The painful reality of having to see him every week so far apparently got to be too much for one of my coworkers, and in a fit of rage, she named her iTunes library "Why is Sanjaya still on American Idol??". This amused me to no end, so I named my list "I can't stand Sanjaya!". This trend quickly got out of control and today, more people started jumping on the Sanjaya/iTunes bandwagon. Here's a sampling of some of my coworkers' lists showing up in my iTunes right now:

-I'd rather poke my eyes out with Q-Tips than listen to SANJAYA!
-Sanjaya Love
-I liked Sanjaya in Nacho Libre
-I Had A Bad Case of Sanjaya Once

I am impressed with their creativity. And we should probably all get back to work now.

Manhattan Murder Mystery

I generally hate Woody Allen movies. I hate them a lot. That man drives me nuts and I do not think he's funny. But the other night, a couple friends wanted to watch Manhattan Murder Mystery, and it was two against one, so I consented. The only reason I really went along with it was because Diane Keaton is in it and I like her.

Surprisingly, the movie did not annoy me and Woody Allen was tolerable. In a nutshell, Diane Keaton becomes convinced that her neighbor murdered his wife, so she decides to investigate. She keeps an eye on the guy and even breaks into his apartment a few times. It's basically Rear Window, if Grace Kelly was a high strung middle aged woman, and Jimmy Stewart was an ugly short man who suffered from extreme paranoia. There were some pretty hilarious moments and, despite Woody Allen's involvement, it was rather entertaining and fun.

You know it's bad when your mother makes fun of you

This is an actual instant message between my mother and I today:

Me: now everyone's all abuzz about my computer issue
Me: :)
Mom: haha
Me: can you believe i said abuzz?
Me: that was weird
Mom: no i can't

I'm not exactly sure why I would ever use the word abuzz in casual conversation, but I'm blaming it on excessive viewings of The Music Man.

Something Fun!

I stole this from this fabulous site. It looked like so much fun, I couldn't pass it up!

1. Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times.

I'm pretty sure there are more than I care to admit. I like to watch movies multiple times, but this is what comes to mind at the moment:

-Probably every Judy Garland movie from For Me and My Gal to A Star Is Born. With a few exceptions, maybe.
-The Music Man (my current favorite)
-My Fair Lady
-The Sound of Music
-While You Were Sleeping
-Never Been Kissed
-The Parent Trap
-Singin In the Rain
-A Mighty Wind

The list goes on...

2. Name a movie that you’ve seen multiple times in the theater.

There are a lot of these too! Somewhere in the mid 90's, my mom and I went to see Sabrina, Father of the Bride 2 and Jumanji multiple times. I guess we didn't have anything better to do. More recently, I'm sure I saw both the the Pirates of the Caribbean movies twice (I love that Captain Barbossa), and I'm pretty sure I saw The Holiday twice. Clearly, I cannot pass up a trip to the movies.

3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie.

I'm going to list people that are currently alive and may actually be in a new movie:

Hugh Grant - he's cute
Meryl Streep
Jack Nicholson - I don't really know why
Bill Pullman - also cute
Diane Keaton
Christopher Guest movies

4. Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie.

Jim Carrey. It's kind of hypocritical of me because I do like some of his movies, but I mostly can't stand him.

5. Name a movie that you can and do quote from.

I've never been good at quoting movies until I saw Napoleon Dynamite! Your mom goes to college! I'm also pretty good at the Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn quotes from The Music Man. Oh and the Christopher Guest movies, specifically, A Mighty Wind.

6. Name a movie musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs

Again, there are a ton. Judy Garland movies of course (am I obsessed??) The Music Man, Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Annie, Disney movies, White Christmas, and so on...

7. Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with

If I'm at home by myself I will sing along with all of them, but then I wouldn't be "known" for it because no one else would be around.

8. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see.

I've stopped recommending movies. It never works out and people think I'm nuts.

9. Name a movie that you own.

How is this even a question? I own way too many movies to list, but I think from my previous answers, you can guess quite a few of them.

10. Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops.

Nothing comes to mind, though I'm sure there are quite a few good ones. Maybe.

11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what?

Yes, I don't really want to admit it, but Matilda and Phenomenon...it was a double feature. We were on vacation and that was all that was playing the week we were there!

12. Ever made out in a movie?

Not that I know.

13. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven’t yet gotten around to it.

I would like to see Dreamgirls.

14. Ever walked out of a movie?

When I was maybe 5 years old, I had to leave Benji the Hunted, I was so traumatized. There was animal slaughter going on and I couldn't deal with it.

15. Name a movie that made you cry in the theater.

Finding Neverland, but really only because this lady behind me was weeping.

16. Popcorn?

Yes, but I don't usually get it. When I worked for the movie theater place and got in for free I got the popcorn, but not so much anymore.

17. How often do you go to the movies (as opposed to renting them or watching them at home)?

Depends on what's out, but probably at least once a month. Mostly to the bargain theater!

18. What’s the last movie you saw in the theater?

The Music Man and Oklahoma. As far as a new movie...I think it was Music and Lyris...it was alright.

19. What’s your favorite/preferred genre of movie?

Musicals!!


20. What’s the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?

Well, I remember seeing Benji the Hunted, only because of how horrible it was, so I guess that would be it. Otherwise, probably The Little Mermaid.

21. What movie do you wish you had never seen?

Dumb and Dumber!!

22. What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed?

Maybe this Lifetime movie about this house that caused the people living in it to have affairs and kill each other. Quality programming.



23. What is the scariest movie you’ve seen?

Child's Play. I have a real problem with dolls coming to life and killing people. Big mistake. The Ring freaked me out too.

24. What is the funniest movie you’ve seen?

I enjoy A Mighty Wind very much. And the other Christopher Guest movies, of course, but Mighty Wind takes the cake. What About Bob is always funny. Two moments that never fail to crack me up: Forget Paris, when Debra Winger gets the bird stuck to her head and Tom Hanks' series of mishaps in the Money Pit when he ends up in the fountain with the statue peeing on him. Hilarious!

Lawrence Welk??

Today, on PBS, I watched this amazing special about the Lawrence Welk Show. I'd never actually seen the Lawrence Welk Show, but I've certainly heard everyone make fun of it. Basically, it's the most insane show that has ever aired on television, but I'm pretty sure that I would have watched it religiously had it been on at any point during my lifetime.

Insane might be a bit harsh, but I stand by it. The show is hosted by a German man and he hired a bunch of pretty cheezy people to sing really cheezy songs on his show. He also has an orchestra comprised mostly of middle aged men. Yes, this is right up my alley. By far, the most amazing clip involved three ladies dressed in bright yellow/orange bunny and chick outfits. One of them (the bunny) was playing ragtime piano, another was dancing about, and the third (the chick) was popping out of a giant Easter egg. Brilliant.

Apparently PBS shows old episodes on a regular basis, so I'm going to have to keep my eye out! It almost makes me to want to donate to PBS. Almost.

I Love Cary Grant

A couple weeks ago a friend of mine, much to my surprise, suggested starting a monthly old movie night. Of course I jumped at the chance and I hosted the first one last night. We watched Charade and it was a huge success. Way more people showed up than I ever thought would...we actually ran out of room.

What I learned from watching a 60's movie in a room of about 20 people my age is that I'm completely detached from my generation. I'm really ok with this...my generation is kind of lame. The mildly disturbing thing is, I don't know what's normal to them. They made fun of certain parts of the movie and I really couldn't see what was so funny. It seemed perfectly normal to me! I think everyone really enjoyed it though. They got pretty into it and there were definitely some big laughs. I'm looking forward to the next old movie night.

Meanwhile, Charade is a fabulous movie. I had never seen it, but it's been recommended to me many times and I always meant to rent it. It was perfect for mixed company...action, comedy, romance, everything we could ever want. Also Cary Grant. He's pretty amazing.

There were some great lines and enough action to keep the guys entertained. I feel like I need to watch it over again because naturally, with 20 people in the living room, I don't think I caught everything. After a particularly amusing scene involving fruit and a lot of borderline inappropriate touching, we all decided a trip to Paris must be added to our to do lists.

Did I mention I love Cary Grant?

Judy Garland + Diet Coke

I was pleasantly surprised last night when a Diet Coke commercial came on TV with Judy Garland singing What'll I do? Two of my favorite things, together at last!

You can view the ad on their website by clicking on "Ads & Downloads" at the top. It's the "Empty" ad.

Judy/Mickey DVD Set

Word on the street is a Judy/Mickey DVD set will be coming out soon. While these are not my favorite Judy movies, they are always a good time. My favorites are Strike Up the Band, Babes on Broadway and Girl Crazy. So I haven't yet decided if I'll be purchasing this, but let's face it, I can't resist some new Judy DVDs. More info here.

Meanwhile, after my amazing weekend of Shirley Jones movies I really want to buy The Music Man DVD. I know, it's slightly shocking that I don't yet own it. I've been stalling because I'm convinced that two months after I purchase it, they're going to come out with a new "Collectors Edition" with a million extras that I'll absolutely have to own. I'm a sucker for Collector's Editions. I'm starting to think this is never going to happen, but the version that's currently out is essentially the same as the VHS with one little "making of" documentary. I could really use some Shirley Jones commentary. What do I do?? My solution is to try to find it used. Then I won't feel so bad when I have to buy it again.

Oklahoma - Shirley Jones Day 2

Oklahoma was last night. It was pretty great except they showed the DVD which kind of feels like cheating. Although, The Music Man was a print and there were some rough parts, so I guess it goes both ways. I didn't get to meet Shirley. I thought about it, but the line was pretty long so I skipped it. I did take some pictures! I mostly took pictures of her with random people I don't know, but that's ok. She looks really good.

She talked before the movie last night quite a bit more than the night before which was nice. I learned that she was inspired by MGM musicals and Judy Garland, Gene Kelley and Fred Astaire. We have so much in common! Her favorite Partridge Family song is "I Think I Love You" which got quite a big reaction from the audience, probably because it's the only Partridge Family song anyone actually knows. She also said she really enjoyed working with Marlon Brando which is unusual, and he really loved to do comedy. He also apparently did 20-60 takes for a scene. Crazy!

So overall, Shirley Jones is great. She was lovely and seemed very nice and normal. She also has the best posture of anyone I've ever seen.

I guess if I had to choose between The Music Man and Oklahoma, Music Man would be my favorite. Mostly because of Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn. She's amazing and I hope to be just like her someday. But I prefer the songs and there are some truly hilarious lines.

I have to stop writing now because Anatomy of a Dancer is on!

The Music Man - Shirley Jones Day 1

Went to see The Music Man last night on the big screen. It was excellent. I love that movie and it's even better in the theater! I almost broke out into song a couple of times, but luckily I was able to control myself.

I wanted to go to the matinee show to save a little money and I arrived a half hour early, but it was sold out! I was disappointed, but I bought tickets for the later show. I'm glad it was sold out though, at least people have an interest in these movies. The show I went to as not as well attended, but the theater was more than half full.

Shirley Jones was there in the lobby before the show started, signing autographs and such, but you had to pay $20 for an autograph! Even if you brought something of your own for her to sign! So forget that, I say. I'm thinking about at least getting a picture with her tonight when I go back for Oklahoma.

Shirley also introduced the movie and answered audience questions which was the best part. She seems very nice and everything she said was interesting, although some of the questions asked were just dumb. Seriously, people, ask intelligent questions. Anyway, she talked a bit about her career. She mentioned that one of her granddaughters is playing Amaryllis in her school production and Shirley was very proud. She also talked about working with Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda in The Cheyenne Social Club. She said Jimmy Stewart is just wonderful and a completely natural actor, but Henry Fonda was not so friendly.

So I'll be viewing Oklahoma tonight and I'm pretty sure it's going to be amazing. More on that later, plus pictures.