|
Latest Cool
Stuff!
Why is it cool? Because I said so!
Yes, it is your favorite
Pop Culture Diva guiding you through the rough waters of the rest of 2003.
Hopefully, you got a big kick out of the KYI Superstore for the first part of
2003, which notably brought you the TOP country music CDs, the books Seabiscuit: An
American Legend and The Devil Wears Prada: A Novel, and the My Big Fat Greek
Wedding DVD!
But now
what? In a year that can very underestimatedly be called "bumpy"
for just about everybody -- the economy that keeps drooping, the fighting
overseas which is clearly not over with, and thank your lucky stars if you have
a job right now! -- what in the world could be next? Well, you know I
got that covered! C'mon and scroll along with me...
Books |
Music | DVDs |
Video Games
Books
Overall, movies have been a big letdown this year (and don't
get me started on Gigli!).
At least it's made people appreciate the entertainment value of a good book--!
Check out the titles below...
1) The books everybody wants to read -- or have read already!
Just waiting for people to try to ban this from libraries, from
the teen girls who need it most--! See the memoir, Underneath
It All, by former "adult" (so to speak!) actress, Traci
Elizabeth Lords. |
A truly deep and necessary memoir, check out Maybe
You Never Cry Again by TV & movie actor, Bernie Mac.
And see his new poster below!
 |
This book has been called everything from a pack of lies to the longest
Presidential stump speech ever. Read former
First Lady and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's memoir, Living History,
and decide for yourself. |
Could Katharine Hepburn keep something -- like a tell-almost-all book --
under her hat or what?? Secretly written for twenty years (!), check out Kate
Remembered by A. Scott Berg. |
To get over four years of Huey & Riley in the 'burbs, changin'
street name signs and givin' some Star Wars love, see A
RIGHT to be HOSTILE: A Boondocks Treasury by Aaron McGruder. |
Ah, the book that touched off the infamous 2003 BookExpo tiff of
Al Franken vs. Bill O'Reilly, Al
Franken's Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced
Look at the Right. And you can watch
the C-Span Smackdown here. |
2) Maybe you haven't even heard about these books--!
Check 'em out anyway!
3) And these books, which I either already own or are on my Amazon.com Wish
List, prove that the film student/buff in me will never die :>!!
Music
DANCE: 2003 has been a good year for dance tunes, if nothing
else. So far, here's what's I thought really rocked!
[FYI: To see the music videos linked below, you may need to
disable any pop-up blocker programs, INCLUDING the pop-up blocker in the Google
Toolbar!]
|
Yeah, I know the phony lesbian relationship is a pretty tasteless deal,
but T.A.T.U.'s
All the Things She Said was a splashy return for 80s dance music producer
god, Trevor
Horn.
|
Because the USA is so slow to pick up on things outside of certain
former Mouseketeers, Lasgo's 2001 hit song
Something didn't properly reach our
shores 'til this year. |
Seriously, though, Justin put the mouse ears away a long time ago, and
is Justified
in becoming a real force to be reckoned with in the music world. C'mon
and Rock
Your Body! |
My eyes just about popped out of my head when I first saw
the video for Jewel's
song, Intuition, but once you get that it's supposed to be so
over-the-top, it's really fun. |
Guilty pleasure alert! Christian artist Stacie Orrico's
"crossover" hit, Stuck,
plays in my head incessantly for hours at a time! |
Sean Paul has taken the US by storm pretty much out of the box, both
with his own songs, like Get
Busy, as well as appearances on
other artists' tunes. Get busy
indeed!
|
ROCK: There's some great things going on in rock music, too.
Here's who's impressed me so much this year...
COUNTRY: I know, I already did
country. But I HAVE to mention
these records -- and their music videos!
Brad Paisley is SO crazy! Brad's
song, Celebrity, from his #1 CD, Mud on the Tires, and its
star-studded music video (William Shatner, Jason Alexander, Jim Belushi)
is just TOO funny! My favorite part in the video is when his
"kids" rip off these silly masks he has them wearing--! Which
seems familiar somehow... |
If Brad leaves you cold, check out Dierks
Bentley's song, What Was I Thinkin'. The music
video follows the storyline in the song, which is hilarious! And ya
gotta love the dog (which is Dierks' real pet
dog, Jake), he's so cute! And
find out all about the
lovely lady in the little white tank top, Lauren-Elaine, at the Dierks
Message Board. |
NEWEST MUSIC LOVER'S NECESSITY: Got your Apple iPod yet?
Whattaya mean, "No"--?! With artists themselves sportin' them in their
music videos, like Mary
J. Blige in her Love @ 1st Sight music video, ya better catch up!
Try RealOne Rhapsody for 14 days FREE and get unlimited listening access to 400,000+ songs from 1,000's of artists.
BONUS!: Thanks to Julie Andrews and the Sound of
Music,
people think that all that marionette puppets can do is yodel--! Watch the music
video for Tiga's remake of Nelly's Hot in Herre and you'll change your mind!
Find out all about the making of the video at the web site of the director, http://www.eyeballnyc.com/tiga!
DVDs
1) MOVIES: The buzz is all about B-movies
and cult movies this year -- especially the titles getting A-level remake
treatments this year (most notably -- and unfortunately, because there's
just not a way a remake could be any good -- The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre). With a nod to the list compiled by Entertainment
Weekly magazine earlier this year, here are some modern day cult flicks!
Office
Space
As the Entertainment Weekly article pointed out, the advertising
poster really hurt this film. No, that's not some big bird guy covered in
feathers, it's a guy covered with yellow post-it notes! Get it? Got it?
Good! Find out more at the Office
Space Movie Fan Site hosted at Bullsh*tJob.com -- only, y'know,
without the asterisk--!
|
The
Big Lebowski
Maybe you never saw this movie, or any of your friends, or any
of your family, or any of your co-workers, or... wait, what was my point?
Ah, screw it -- what other film do YOU know of, outside of your usual Star
Trekkers, that has its own annual Big
Lebowski What-Have-You Fest?!
|
Psycho
Beach Party
Ok, how to explain Charles
Busch's oh-so-homo 1960s murder mystery/Frankie & Annette beach party
movie parody? Oh, wait, I think I just did :>! Lead role "Chicklet"
was gender re-cast with Lauren Ambrose (currently starring on HBO's Six
Feet Under), making the main relationship(s) in the film het, but you'll catch
on. Also stars "what I did on hiatus from my TV show" actors
Thomas Gibson (starred on ABC's Dharma & Greg), Nicholas Brendon
(starred on UPN/WB's Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Beth Broderick
(starred on ABC/WB's Sabrina the Teenage Witch).
|
|
Valley
Girl
One of life's little mysteries will always be that the poster for this
film, a drawing, is dead on for lead Nicolas Cage, and then
features a blond female standing beside him who looks NOTHING like the the
film's star, Deborah Foreman. What??! Whatever!!
Anyway, see the film's two CD soundtracks below. Oh,
why are there two soundtracks? They're not tryin' ta milk ya, it's
just that the first one didn't (couldn't?) include such major tunes
from the film as the Sparks' "Eaten by the Monster of Love (Don't Let
It Get Me!)" and Bonnie Hayes's "(They Got A Name for) Girls
Like Me." Like, gag me with a spoon!! |
|
Valley
Girl: Music from the Soundtrack
|
Valley
Girl: More Music from the Soundtrack
|
|
Frank
Zappa's Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch
The album/CD from Frank Zappa that includes the song, "Valley
Girl," a "duet" of sorts with daughter Moon
Zappa, that started it all! Like, oh-mi-god!, it was all
supposed to be a joke, but a lot went over 1980s America's
head...!
|
Plus did you know Mystery
Science Theater 3000, a TV show responsible for bringing attention to bunches
of obscure movies (worthy or not!), is out on DVD?
2) TV: Now your favorite TV shows can be found on DVD! Make up
your own "Must See TV" schedule! Watch your favorite shows, in
episodes that are uncut! No commercials! Bunches of extras!! Check out the
current selection below.
 As Seen on TV -- The Best of the Muppet Show Collection, all 15 volumes! Exclusively sold by Time Life Video in conjunction with The Jim Henson Company. The most sensational, Muppetational show on TV is back. These hilarious, uncut episodes are filled with the skits, music hits, guest stars, and Muppet(TM) moments you love...plus some extra tunes and sketches never before available
Get your favorite Biography videos at A&E Television's Online Store.
Homicide: The Complete First and Second Season DVD set from A&E.
Video Games
It's official! Video
games ARE good for you! Check out the latest aids to your own personal
health improvement :>!
Search for more games!
Val's Little
Shopping Corner
 
 
 
|
Order the Finding
Nemo DVD (or the Finding
Nemo videotape)!
Finding Nemo
(2003) VHS
In this spectacular animated family adventure from Pixar Studios, young clownfish Nemo is separated from his anxiety-ridden widower father Marlin on the first day of school. After Marlin discovers Nemo has been captured by a diver and placed in a dentist's office aquarium in Sydney, he frantically tries to rescue him with help from a forgetful blue tang named Dory. With voices by Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush and Barry Humphries. 100 min.
Finding Nemo [DVD]
(2003) DVD
In this spectacular animated family adventure from Pixar Studios, young clownfish Nemo is separated from his anxiety-ridden widower father, Marlin, on the first day of school. After Marlin discovers Nemo has been captured by a diver and placed in a dentist office aquarium in Sydney, he frantically tries to rescue him with help from a forgetful blue tang named Dory. With voices by Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush and Barry Humphries. 100 min. Standard and Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1 EX, French Dolby Digital 5.1 EX, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 EX; audio commentary; "making of" documentary; featurettes; bonus short "Knick Knack" (1989); games; more. Two-disc set.
|
See all the latest
entertainment headlines at the
Keeping You Informed Page!
See the latest
covers of all the coolest magazines at the really new
Keeping You Informed Newsstand!
Also see the 2002
Keeping You Informed Superstore (as well as the Val's
2002 Wish List edition) and the Keeping
You Informed Archives (1999-2001).
See my other web sites...
|
