My 1st Blog

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Pet Tags

Man, I'm so irritated.

I just received four pets tags that I ordered for Bev and Mary Margaret (two for Brooklyn and two for LA) and they're all messed up. Not only did they leave off the "Margaret" on Mary Margaret's tags, but the text isn't centered correctly and runs off the right side on all four of them. (The last letter of the address is cut in half.) The tags themselves are also ugly. The edges aren't smoothed out... they look like someone just cut them from a piece of sheet metal and called it a day.

So anyway, I got them this morning on my way to Starbucks (yesterday's mail), so while I was there, I started drafting a strongly-worded letter in my head, like what I was going to say to these people when I sent them back.

And then I saw it.

In tiny print on the bottom of the invoice it said, "Our handicapped employees appreciate your order."

So now I can't send them back. If I did I'd be a total asshole.

I'm just going to order new ones from someplace else. Any recommendations?

Source: http://www.prettyinthecity.com/blog/2011/5/8/pet-tags.html

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Photos | MTV Buzzworthy Blog: Zombie Pop Stars

MTV Buzzworthy Blog: Zombie Pop Stars

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Robert Plant And Alison Krauss Win Grammy Album Of The Year

Raising Sand, from Led Zeppelin vet and bluegrass superstar, wins five Grammys on Sunday night.
By James Montgomery with MTV News staff

Alison Krauss and Robert Plant accept the award for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards on Sunday
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

"I'm bewildered," Robert Plant said onstage as he accepted the Grammy Album of the Year award with Alison Krauss on Sunday night. "In the old days we would have called this selling out, but it's a good way to spend a Sunday."

He was probably one of the few who were surprised, because Raising Sand, which won five trophies at Sunday night's show, is in many ways the perfect Grammy album. It features two respected veterans, a critically lauded producer, some sandpaper-and-velvet vocals and a baker's dozen of time-tested standards.

You're probably familiar with Robert Plant from his Led Zeppelin days, and you might be aware of producer T-Bone Burnett's work on the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack (it won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2002). And if you don't know who Alison Krauss is, she possesses a haunting set of pipes and is one of the meanest fiddle players in the world. Oh, and she's won 21 Grammys, more than any other female artist and the seventh-most in history.

Really, she's the key to Sand's success, and not just because of her voice (or her fiddle playing). She and Plant first met in 2004, at a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tribute to legendary bluesman Leadbelly, and the former Zeppelin man was amazed by her knowledge of American Roots music — so much so that they began kicking around the idea of recording an album together. Three years later, Sand was released.

And while Plant possesses the more famous voice, the album's finest moments radiate from Krauss. Whether she's getting bluesy on Little Milton's "Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson" or entwining with Plant's husky voice on songs like "Please Read the Letter" and Roly Salley's winsome "Killing the Blues," she more than carries her end of the bargain.

And perhaps that's also due to producer Burnett, who handpicked the 13 songs the duo cover on Sand. His arrangements are sparse — giving the two voices ample room to breathe — yet dense, warm and crackling at the same time. It's a testament to his work that he's often given just as much billing as Plant and Krauss on the project ... and it's certainly justified.

To date, Sand has sold more than 1 million copies, heaped tons of acclaim and actually earned a Grammy last year — "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" took home the award for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals.

One expert was surprised not by the album's success, but by the fact that it's actually quite a good album.

"At first, the album seemed like a vanity project. ... Two names, clearly a one-off record, didn't have to be any good, you know?" New York Times music critic Jon Caramanica said. "Led Zeppelin fans would buy it because of Robert Plant, Alison Krauss would get a check. But it actually turned out to be a really thoughtful, really good record. So when you combine all that with the fact that the Grammys love to lionize one of their own, I could really see it taking home some awards."

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Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars, Muse Added To Grammy Show

Usher, Jaden Smith, B.o.B, Janelle Monae and Lady Antebellum will also perform on February 13.
By Gil Kaufman

Justin Bieber and Usher
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage

While Willow Smith is the one who made music headlines with "Whip My Hair" last year, it's her brother, "Karate Kid" actor Jaden Smith, who will take the stage at the upcoming 53rd Grammy Awards in a special performance alongside Usher and Justin Bieber, with whom he collaborated on the song "Never Say Never" last summer.

The trio joins a list of new performers added to the show on Thursday (January 20) that will also include another power trifecta made up of B.o.B, Bruno Mars and Janelle Monáe, according to a press release from the Recording Academy announcing the additions to the February 13 telecast from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Also taking the stage next month will be nominees Muse and Lady Antebellum. They will join a roster of previously announced performers that includes Eminem, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Arcade Fire, Cee Lo Green and Miranda Lambert. It will be the first time on the Grammy performance stage for Bieber, B.o.B, Lambert, Mars, Monáe, Muse and Smith. Eminem, Green, Gaga, Perry, Usher and Lady Antebellum will be making return visits for the occasion.

While 11-time Grammy winner Eminem leads the pack in nominations this year (with 10 nods), Mars has seven nominations, and Gaga and Lady Antebellum are not far behind with six nods each. B.o.B has notched five, Perry and Green are each up for four, and Arcade Fire and Lambert are vying for three awards. Bieber, Muse, Usher and Monáe are each nominated for two Grammys.

No details of the collaborative performances were released, but the Grammy announcement promised a rare, never-before-seen event for the Mars, B.o.B and Monáe segment.

With the addition of Antebellum, all five Album of the Year nominees (Eminem, Arcade Fire, Gaga, Perry) are now scheduled to perform on the show. Additional performers, presenters and special segments will be announced soon.

Which Grammy performance are you most looking forward to? Talk about it in the comments!

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RZA Joins Cast Of 'G.I. Joe' Sequel

Wu-Tang Clan member will play martial arts character Blind Master.
By Gil Kaufman

RZA
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

When the "G.I. Joe" sequel gets under way, fans will see an almost all-new cast that not only includes Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson but could also feature Wu-Tang Clan rapper/producer-turned-actor RZA.

The beatmeister will play a martial arts expert named the Blind Master, who once trained Joe commandos Snake Eyes and Jinx (Elodie Yung of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"), according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In addition to returning star Channing Tatum, another potential new face will be D.J. Cotrona, currently appearing on the TV show "Detroit 1-8-7." Both RZA and Cotrona are in negotiations to join the movie, which is being directed by Jon Chu ("Justin Bieber: Never Say Never").

" 'Joe' is something I've loved since I was a kid," Chu confessed to MTV News when word of his possible involvement first leaked earlier this year. "My era was 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,' 'G.I. Joe' and 'Transformers.' When 'Joe' changed their theme song from the old-style 'Go Joe!' to 'Got to get tough, go Joe!' that was the era I was in. Those are the fun, glory years that I remember."

Cotrona is slated to play a character named Flint, one of Joe's soldiers best known from the 1980s comics for his signature shotgun and beret.

The mainstream flick is one of the most high-profile popcorn movie roles to date for RZA, who has previously appeared in films such as "Due Date," "Kill Bill," "Funny People" and "American Gangster." He recently wrapped work directing the martial arts movie "The Man With the Iron Fists," in which he co-stars with Russell Crowe and blaxploitation icon Pam Grier.

For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

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'Bad Teacher': The Reviews Are In!

Critics grade Cameron Diaz's irreverent flick as it enters a mixed bag of summer comedies.
By Eric Ditzian

Cameron Diaz in "Bad Teacher"
Photo: Gemma LaMana

As "Bad Teacher" opens this weekend, it joins a mixed bag of summer comedies. While we're still giggling over certain "Bridesmaids" moments and can't wait to take in a second viewing on DVD, "The Hangover Part II" left us reaching for a copy of the original film to remind us why we were so taken with that boozy cinematic bunch. But hey, the second "Hangover" has grossed almost $500 million worldwide, so what the heck do we know?

The Cameron Diaz-starring laugher, according to the critics, falls closer to the letdown that was the second "Hangover" than the revelatory "Bridesmaids." Reviewers have criticized the film for plot holes galore and poor character development, even as most have admitted it delivers a hefty helping of laughs. Read on for a deeper dive into the critics' take on "Bad Teacher."

The Story
"Director Jake Kasdan coaxes some laughs out of the film, but only Jason Segel, as a cynical gym teacher, seems like a real person instead of a caricature. Everyone else seems like they're trying just a touch too hard. Elizabeth Halsey (Diaz) gets dumped by the rich guy she was going to marry for money, forcing her to come back for another year of teaching junior-high English. But she is not without goals; her immediate one is to figure out how to get enough money to pay for breast implants, which she thinks will help her more easily land a replacement sugar daddy. The operation is tough to afford on a teacher's salary, of course. But one day handsome Scott Delacorte (Timberlake), the heir to a watch-making fortune, shows up as a substitute teacher, giving Elizabeth a suitable target." — Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

The Performances
"The movie, of course, belongs to Diaz. She's always projected a sort of girlfriend-gone-wild sass that suggested she's a hell of a lot of fun after a couple of mango margaritas; 'Bad Teacher' is one of the few films that's allowed her to show that. And not only does she show it, she flaunts it, from a wardrobe that's tighter than next year's school budget to a vocabulary that's definitely not on any standardized test. But she's not alone. The wonderful Lucy Punch — the gold digger from 'You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger' — is a nagging toothache as a too-perfect teacher. Comic actors such as Thomas Lennon drop by for brief but marvelous scenes, and Jason Segal is a menschy gym teacher. Justin Timberlake, however, remains too cool to really commit to his oddball character, a substitute teacher that the man-hungry Diaz fixates on." — Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger

The 'Bad' Comparisons
" 'Bad Teacher' wants to be 'Bad Santa' but it's afraid to go as far as Billy Bob Thornton's gleeful middle finger to holidays and proper treatment of children. So it ends up trapped in a nowhere middle-ground, somewhere between 'Bad Santa' and the equally hilarious but family friendly Jack Black movie 'School of Rock.' Both of those movies had somewhere to go and a way to get there, but 'Bad Teacher' just goes and doesn't really seem to know where it's going. The script has its moments and the cast has a few too." — Josh Tyler, Cinema Blend

The Missteps
"The main problem with 'Bad Teacher' is that it's really just one joke, which is stretched further than the uneven script by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg (vets of TV's 'The Office') will permit. Jake Kasdan's flat direction doesn't help. ... 'Bad Teacher' has its amusing moments, but also many where you can't help wondering about the comedic choices. If you're going to have the hung-over instructor getting her young charges to watch movies all day, aren't there funnier picks than just a succession of teacher-themed movies? And if you've already decided your film is going to get an American 'R' rating — the profanity alone guarantees that — then why not take a few more risks with your comedy?" — Peter Howell, Toronto Star

The Final Word
" 'Bad Teacher' does not always connect with every joke, and there's one character in particular that seems to have been abandoned by the screenwriters midstream, but when the film works, it contains some wicked belly laughs, and I'll give Cameron Diaz credit for this: she seems delighted to play a total a--hole." — Drew McWeeny, HitFix

Check out everything we've got on "Bad Teacher."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666388/bad-teacher-cameron-diaz.jhtml

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David Cook Jokes He's Still 'Bothered' By Simon Cowell Nightmare

'This one kept me up a lot of nights,' Cook tells MTV News of recording brand-new This Loud Morning.
By Jim Cantiello

David Cook
Photo: MTV News

It's been more than three years since David Cook won the seventh season of "American Idol," but the TV show that launched his career resurfaced, in his sleep no less, while he was working on the brand-new This Loud Morning.

"There was a dream last year where I auditioned for 'Idol' again," Cook told MTV News. "I got in front of Simon Cowell and he reamed me and I didn't make it. For some reason, that bothered me a little bit."

There are no songs on This Loud Morning titled "Snarky Brit (How Could You Say No to Me?)," but the Kansas City, Missouri, rocker insists his album was inspired by his nighttime adventures into the subconscious, or perhaps the lack thereof. "I've never immersed myself in a record as much as I immersed myself in this one," Cook said. "That's not to say that I was phoning it in on the nine [albums, including eight pre-'Idol' indie releases] I did before this. But this one especially, I never had problems sleeping because of records, and this one kept me up a lot of nights.

"The other [recurring] dream was something about being chased by a witch and I hid in the vents of my childhood home. I got issues, man," Cook sighed. For the record, Cook clarified that the witch was from "The Wizard of Oz"; no flying monkeys were present, however. "Usually, those strange dreams occur when I eat late," David said he finally discovered.

Cook's This Loud Morning hit stores on Tuesday (June 28), courtesy of 19 Recordings and RCA Records.

What do you think of David Cook's nightmares? Have you ever had a dream about Simon Cowell? Leave a comment below!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666539/david-cook-this-loud-morning.jhtml

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