Monthly Archives: June 2015

Television

Goofing Off With Mrs. Kim

I was watching an old episode of Gilmore Girls the other night – I’ve been re-watching the show, their reunion got me nostalgic – and I got to the part in season three where Lane wants to go to the prom with Dave Rygalski, the guitarist of her band, but she knows her mom won’t approve of a non-Korean.  So, Dave goes over to her mom and gives a whole speech of how responsible he is and how he is the proper date for Lane, and Mrs. Kim responds with “Let never day nor night unhallow’d pass, but still remember what the Lord hath done.”

Naturally, Dave thinks it’s from the Bible, so he spends the whole night reading it to understand what Mrs. Kim meant.  He later confronts her exhausted, desperate to know what she meant. She tells him that it wasn’t from the Bible, but Shakespeare’s Henry VI and that she likes to “goof off” every now and then.  She doesn’t actually explain her choice of quote, but allows Dave to take Lane to the prom because of his feat of reading the whole bible in one night.

Well, me being me, I was curious as what the quote from Henry VI actually meant, so I did some googling and I found this entry from a chatroom/discussion board that kind of blew my mind:

"The quote is a line from a play: Shakespeare's Henry VI. The King makes this statement to a man, formerly blind, who has gained sight. Hallowed means prayed over.

For those who are looking for the meaning of the line after hearing Mrs. Kim quote it: remember that Mrs. Kim has believed Lane's affections to have been previously unrequited. It's funny to think of her saying, subtly, to this boy, now proclaiming his crush on her daughter, 'Now you can see!'"

If you want to browse the chatroom/discussion board, click here

What’s fantastic about this is that the writers could’ve put any Shakespeare or Biblical quote there and the whole scene/episode would have worked because the point wasn’t really what Mrs. Kim said, but it was that she needed to say something to get Dave to read the whole Bible in one night so that she would think him worthy enough to date her daughter.  Instead, assuming this person is correct (and I think they are), the writers chose a quote that would give Mrs. Kim a kind of sass, where she’s basically like “yeah, my daughter is the amazing, took you long enough.”  And that’s the great thing about Gilmore Girls, the jokes and dialogue work on so many levels.  You could watch an episode like five times, and each time get something new from them.

So…there needs to be a movie….please?

Harry Potter

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child!!!

I woke up this morning, opened up Twitter, and saw that J.K. Rowling had announced that she is releasing a new installment into the Harry Potter world, entitled “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”  (!!!!).  Boy did that wake me up (!!!!)

Now this isn’t HP8 (sad face), but a play that will be in London next summer.

Rowling went on to tweet that it is not a prequel, but that she won’t say anything more.  I think, based on that, we can deduce that the cursed child is not Harry.  I think this may be our first taste as Harry as an auror and he runs into a cursed child.  Keep in mind, that all the other titles referred to a minor character or object that kind of impacted the whole book, so there’s a chance the cursed child maybe an object/myth/person that impacts how Harry and his friends go about their adventure. Rowling did tweet out a link to a website for more information, which you can read here.  From this website, I learned that Imogen Heap is working on the music, which got me even more excited.  Now there is no indication if they’ll publish the script after the play runs for the masses to read, but I hope they do because we can’t all get to London…I mean, they did publish her Harvard commencement speech, Very Good Lives, as a book (which you should read, it’s very beautiful and inspiring), so there’s a good chance they’ll make the play a book… Boy, 2016 is starting to be an exciting year: “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” 2016 Olympics, USA Presidential Race, hopefully T. Swift’s 6th album, and Anna Kendrick is releasing a book of personal essays (which if you follow her on Twitter, it should be hilarious). Now, if you excuse me, I have to go get tickets to the show and book a flight to London for next summer…

Phillip's Opinion, PHILS-osophy

Bending the Truth into a Lie

You know when you’re reading an article online and on the side they’ll sometimes have suggested titles with a picture like “14 Celebs That Hate Each Other.”  I really don’t care about that stuff and I usually just ignore it, but this time it was a picture of Lauren Graham and Scott Patterson, the actors who played Lorelai and Luke on Gilmore Girls.  It caught my eye because I remember reading something after the show finished where Graham said that she didn’t want Luke and Loreali to be together (even though at the Gilmore Girls reunion a couple weeks ago she said she wanted to see them get married), so I was curious if perhaps she said it because of her personal feelings towards the actor.

So I read it, and it legit said “[Graham] claimed they got along well enough to work together, but beyond that, they had their own lives and were not friends at all.”  So…how do you get “hate” out of this.  They were coworkers, nothing more.  I think most of us experience this type of relationship with our colleagues: we go to work, we exchange nice pleasantries, get through the day, and go home.  Just because we aren’t BFFs doesn’t mean we hate each other.

*sighs*

I’m just tired to people taking what other people say and bending it and twisting to make it seem shocking.  Really it was a waste of click.

#PhillipsSongOfTheDay, Music

You’d Be a Fool Not to Listen to Ryn Weaver’s “The Fool”

I actually heard about Ryn Weaver from a Facebook ad.  You know how you’ll be perusing Facebook and notice that they’ll have “recommended” articles in your feed/timeline that are basically just ads?  I remember multiple times scrolling through and seeing a picture/ad for Weaver’s Promises – EP.

The first couple times I saw it, I ignored it.  Then, I finally clicked on it because the picture somewhat intrigued me, and also because the ad said something about her song “OctaHate,” which I thought was a weird yet interesting title.  I mean, what does the word “OctaHate” (if it’s a word) even mean?  I thought it was something like Pitch Perfect where that one singer kept saying “aca-scuse me.”

I finally found an interview where Weaver explained that the song was originally titled “OctaLoser” because they were using an Octatrack. From what I could gather from the interview, they were creating the production of the song so they just named it “OctaLoser” as a place holder, and then she went back home and wrote the words and finished the song.  She then changed it to “OctaHate” because she said the song is about “hate times eight.”  She then went on to mention something about an octopus and people be tangled together….if you want to read that interview, click here.

So, I finally listened to “OctaHate,” and then I immediately bought it from iTunes.  It’s a great little tune.  What I like the most about the song is how her vocals are aggressive, but in a pretty way (if that make sense).  I just mean that she has this way of attacking the song that emits the hate and angry, but it’s rather elegant.  If you listen to the second verse especially (1:05) below, you’ll get what I mean.

Weaver finally has released her debut album The Fool, and I’ve been thinking about getting it.  But then I decided to preview some of her songs before I invest the money in the album.  There’s nothing more annoying than buying an album because you really liked one of the songs on it and thought you’d like the rest of them, and then the whole album is just awful and you’re out like $20 (just an FYI, The Fool is only about $7 on iTunes…I’m still in the mindset that albums are $20 like they were when I was a kid in the ’90s).  The Fool  is definitely not one of those albums. It’s a  great vocal work; she absolutely shines in songs “Pierre,” “Sail On,” and “Traveling Song” (and “OctaHate,” which I already mentioned).

However, I think there are spots throughout the album where she and her producers took some risks that didn’t really work.  When I started listening to her song “The Fool,”  I really liked it.  Her swirling vocals and intriguing lyrics reminded me of “OctaHate.”  But then when I got to the end of the song (3:11-end), I couldn’t help wonder – and I don’t mean to sound rude/harsh/mean – what exactly the producer was thinking.  Pulsating sound?  It just hurts to have sound being pulsed in and then out, and it’s way too choppy.

Now, I’m not putting down Weaver or her producers, these are just stylistic options that wouldn’t have been my first choice.  However, I’m sure the more I listen to it (and I will continue to listen to the album), the more it will grow on me.  Ryn Weaver is a new, talented artist, and we need to support upcoming acts like her. The Fool  featuring “OctaHate” is a great start and certainly features unusual sounds.

#PhillipRadio, Music

Songs Written By Meghan Trainor

Meghan Trainor got her start by writing songs at a young age.  I read that when she left school, she had decided to focus a career in songwriting and publishing, not thinking she could fit the stereotypical role of a pop star.  Then when L.A. Reid, a major music executive, heard the demo of “All About That Bass,” and quickly signed her.

Still, Trainor has written many songs and sold them to different artists.  Some are well known, like the fact she wrote for Fifth Harmony and Rascal Flatts.  Others, it took some digging to find.  So, I created a playlist of songs that Meghan Trainor wrote or cowrote for other artists.  Someone of them you can prominently hear the ukelele and picture Trainor singing them (and I think they’d sound better if she sang them).  Others, I’m not so sure she wrote (like the dance song “Replay”), but according to her music publishing company’s website, she wrote them…

Music, Personal Experience

Funny How Things Happen

I went on my usual bike ride today and as usual I put my music on shuffle.  Just as I get to the part of my ride that enters a wooded area, my phone plays the theme to “Into the Woods.”  I smirk to myself because it all felt serendipitous.  I continue on my usual route, which leads me past a very historic battlefield.  And guess what song comes on.  “Battlefield” by Jordin Sparks.  I smirk some more.  Then, when I make my way back home (I turn around at some point…it varies every day, depending on my mood and the weather), as I’m leaving the wooded area, my phone plays “Out of the Woods” by Taylor Swift.  Just kind of funny how some thing just happen.

#PhillipsSongOfTheDay, Music

Elle King’s Ex’s & Oh’s

Elle King's debut album Love Stuff features the epic song "Ex's & Oh's."

Elle King’s debut album Love Stuff features the epic song “Ex’s & Oh’s.”

So, I’m in the car on my way home, fumbling through the different radio stations, trying to find something good to listen to.  For some reason, each station has been playing the same song today on repeat.  I wish I was exaggerating.  Then, I end up on a station that is playing “Ex’s & Oh’s” by Elle King and I’m obsessed.  Of course, I had no idea what the song was, but I loved her voice within the first seconds.  I quickly got my phone and asked Siri to listen in and tell me the name of the song (I wasn’t driving, so this was totally legal).  And almost immediately I downloaded the song from iTunes.

I love the rock vibe of the song and King’s husky vocals.  The song has just a badass attitude to it, with catchy lyrics and a great beat.  After the song finished, the radio DJs (there were like three), were like “that song is cooler than all of us combined.”  I especially appreciated the title…”Ex’s & Oh’s”…sounds like XOs, get it?

As far as I can tell, Elle King is an upcoming artist and from what I’ve just begun to hear, she’s incredible.  I can’t wait to listen to her album, Love Stuff.  The album was released in February, so if you want to check her out on iTunes, you totally can.  Listen to “Ex’s & Oh’s” below:

Television

Gilmore Girls Reunion

Over the weekend, the cast of Gilmore Girls had a little reunion and discussed their experiences from the show at a panel at some festival.  I found out about it the other day on Twitter, but learned I couldn’t stream it.  Finally, Entertainment Weekly posted the video, and so I decided to share the link.  Even if you aren’t that big of a Gilmore Girls fan, it was actually interesting to learn about how they created and casted the show.  Click here to see the video.

There’s still no Gilmore Girls movie in the works, but I think especially with its release on Netflix, there should be one coming…fingers crossed!

What’s interesting is that Alexis Bledel says during the panel that Lauren Graham had to “man-handle” her to keep her on camera during the pilot because she kept missing her mark, and if you rewatch the pilot (which I’m doing) you actually can see Graham grabbing Bledel and guiding her into rooms.

UPDATE:

EW uploaded an unedited version of the panel…if you watched the above link, you may have noticed some random cuts.  Here’s the link to the unedited version.

Music

We Are Never Ever Getting Bad Blood

I’m a fan of mashups…when they work.  I’m amazed when people take two completely different songs by different artists and put them together to flow seamlessly as though they were meant to be together, regardless of tempo and key signature.  But then there are some where they speed up a song to fit with the other and it sounds like chipmunk…

Anyway, someone put together Taylor Swift’s number one hits “Bad Blood” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” and it’s awesome.  I would post the clip of the mash up, but any time I find it on YouTube it gets taken down…

Personal Experience, StoryTime

You Can Have Nice Things

So I was outside today, basking in the warm spring air when I realized that I haven’t posted in like a week.  I’ve been spending a lot of my time outside biking.  My siblings surprised me a couple weeks ago by getting me this amazing new road bike which has been so amazing.  My old bike was a mountain bike I bought when I was thirteen after saving money up from my paper route.  But that bike was so worn out; it would squeak, click, clang, make any sound that a bike shouldn’t make.  And I really realized it when I was test riding bikes  because the new bikes were just so amazing (by the way, if you want to kill some time, you should totally go to REI and test ride bikes…it’s so much fun, but you may end up leaving with a rather expensive bike).

I got this new bike about two weeks ago, and the ride was as smooth as butter.  I was in heaven.  The first week in, the pedal breaks.  Now, the road bikes tend not to come with pedals.  A total scam, but it kind of makes sense…people who tend to ride those intense bikes have their preference in pedals…although why they can’t throw in a choice of pedal for the ridiculous asking price for the bike, I don’t know.  Anyway, the lady who helped us at the store told me I could just put on the pedals from my old mountain bike.  A solid theory, except the bike is like ten years old with ten year old pedals that are just as worn out as the bike…so naturally, one breaks from age and use.   So, I go back to the bike shop to buy pedals.  Another week passes, and now my fancy, beautiful road bike has started squawking at me.  I’ve treated this bike that it was my baby: I bathed it, I dried it, I kept it in a very safe spot out of harms way.  It should not be squawking at me.

So  I attended a bike maintenance class a REI, and I learned a lot about taking care of my chain and tires.  The guy who taught the class even said “if you’re bike is squawking at you, it means you need to clean and lubricate your chain.”  So I buy the special degreaser and lube (notice how they have me going back to buy more stuff), and I clean my chain just like he taught me to.  It still squawks.  I’m at the point where I seriously don’t think I can have nice things.

On a whim, I googled this problem.  I mean, this is a ridiculously expensive bike, it should not be making irritating sounds, especially since it’s brand spanking new.  I find a bike forum where another rider is experiencing a similar problem.  He explains how his gears seemed to be making a clanking/clicking sound (like mine) and how he was told by the manufacturer to take the bike’s gears a part and degrease and lube them up.  So he did all that, like I did, and still the bike would click.

So, I’m scrolling through these posts and I find the solution to my answers (I think).  Someone made a very simple post that basically said that squeaks or clicks from bikes have to come from somewhere, and the sound is usually produced when something isn’t tightly secured.  In particular, the pedals and the metal arms that the pedals screw into tend to make irritating clicking sounds when not properly tightened.  This person was suggesting to go back and tighten up the pedals.

Now, let’s go back and think of what changed between the time when the bike was perfect and riding like butter and then when it started squeaking.  Yup, I changed the pedals.  So I went to my bike, I unscrewed the pedal and took my time putting it back in.  I made sure it was fastened tightly, and I took a little test spin around the block.  No squeak, no squawk, no click, no clang.  I mean, I have to take it out for a real ride to see if I fixed the problem, but it turns you can have nice things…you just have to slow down and fix the problem one step at a time.