To Keep A Secret

Many of you have probably heard of the immensely popular website, PostSecret.  Every Sunday evening you can find me reading the many secrets posted at PostSecret in a last ditch effort to avoid my homework.

For those of you who don't know what PostSecret is, it's a website that was created by this guy named Frank as a place where anyone can anonymously send in postcards with their secrets written on them and have the chance of seeing their secrets posted online.  For people who have dark secrets weighing them down, it's a great way to anonymously get the secret of their chest, or to even help them open up to the ones they love.

What I find most interesting about this website is not only the amazingly weird, sad, funny, and horrible secrets that people are keeping out there, but also the interesting artwork that can be found on many of the postcards.  In fact, some of the art is so amazing that the website has been nominated for two Webby Awards, one of them being in NetArt.  (The other is for the Blog).

Over the pasts few years, PostSecret has become amazingly popular on college campuses.  In fact, it has become so popular that Frank has taken PostSecret on tour to colleges across the U.S., sharing not only the secrets posted on his website, but also allowing people to come up on stage and share their own secrets.

Unfortunately, PostSecret has yet to come to the University of Iowa, but I know that if and when they do, I'll be there.  I'm way too open of a person, so I really don't have any secrets to share.  Basically I have verbal diarrhea and will tell anyone anything, even if they really don't want to know, but if you have a burning secret, get it off your chest.  Send it in to PostSecret.

American Movie Classics just can't seem to define "classic"

Are you freaking kidding me!!!!!

Okay, I'll admit, I'm a little quirky. There are a lot of little things that really get under my skin and bother me to no end, here is one: how the hell does the channel, American Movie Classics, determine a movie to be a classic because their criteria sucks.

Pictured above is the movie poster to "Autumn in New York" an abysmal 22% on Rotten Tomatoes (in case you don't know, Rotten Tomatoes pools the opinions of both movie critics and the public to rank a movie) which puts it 15% behind the breathtaking classic that is "Space Jam" and yet Autumn in New York is an American Movie Classic.

"Spy Hard", one of Leslie Nielsen's 700 spoof films, is even lower coming in at 5% (that's lower than "Gigli" for God's sake) and yet it is an American Movie Classic. AMC does have classics like "The Good , the Bad and the Ugly" and "The French Connection," but for every "Death Wish" they play (78% on Rotten Tomatoes) there is also "Death Wish 4: The Crackdown" (17%)

It's probably blasphemy, but Chuck Norris' movies aren't American Classics

And that brings me to another thing: AMC stop playing crappy sequels to good movies. In May, AMC is playing five different "Death Wish" movies. The fifth one didn't even make two million dollars. AMC is even playing sequels to movies that weren't even good in the first place. Despite starring the great Chuck Norris, "Missing in Action" earned a 23%, its sequel isn't even ranked by Rotten Tomatoes.

So gosh darn it AMC start playing some good movies for once, or people are going to have to start watching Turner Classic Movies and nobody wants to do that. Nobody.

Covering Pay Per View for the Masses

Since we are really stretching the name "Screen Scene" beyond just covering movies on this blog, I thought I would take the advantage and promote something I do two times per month online on Sunday night's.

Tonight, April 27, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) will broadcast its "Backlash" Pay Per View live from Baltimore, Maryland featuring top matches involving the WWE Title (Randy Orton vs. Triple H vs. John Cena vs. JBL), World Heavyweight Title (The Undertaker vs. Edge) and more.

For those who are unable to purchase the event (or simply choose not to), the website I work for (WrestleView.com) will be providing *live* play-by-play updates of the event as it is happening. A new update is provided every 20 minutes or so for fans to follow online as the event progresses from 8:00 p.m. Eastern to 11:00 p.m. Eastern.

I've been doing this since 2002 and have grown quite a following for my Pay Per View recaps for WWE and TNA (Total Nonstop Action Wrestling - a growing competitor for the WWE). Roughly half a million visitors will flock to my website tonight to get the latest updates on the event and a full recap later in the night.

While it may not make the companies promoting these events very happy that some one could save $39.95 and instead follow results on the internet, it really is no different then an online correspondent covering a major sporting event such as boxing and providing updates to those unable to purchase or view the event. In reality, it is promoting the product to an even larger audience that would ever purchase it on Pay Per View. As the saying goes, there is no such thing as bad publicity and tonight is just another example.

To Study or Not to Study

It's getting to that time where everyone is looking for a distraction from the papers and the studying and the stress of impending finals. For many people, these distractions can be found online.

My roommates are especially good at finding distractions on the internet. Their two favorite websites for stupid and entertaining games are http://www.addictinggames.com/ and http://www.bored.com/.

Right now, their favorite game on http://www.addictinggames.com/ is Bartender. In this game, you get to be the bartender and try to serve as many customers as possible in the given amount of time.

My favorite game of all time, and it's also fairly time consuming, so prime for paper distraction, is called Escape the Room. This game can be found at http://www.bored.com/ and is a lot of fun to play. Basically, you wake up in a room and you are trapped. In order to beat the game, you have to find things hidden about the room that will help you escape. There are many different versions of this game and they can be found at bored.com.

So enjoy doing everything but studying...but don't forget, finals are in two and a half weeks!

Xbox Live: The Life of a Gamer

It is amazing the amount of different game consoles that are available in stores today. There is the Wii, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and many earlier versions of these consoles such as GameCube and Playstation2 still for sale.

What is even more amazing is the lifestyles that revolve around the videogames that you can play on these consoles.

At the University of Iowa and at other universities around the U.S., students, especialy males, spend a lot of their freetime in a virtual world. In fact, it's easy to say that some people schedule their entire lives around the gamer lifestyle (with breaks for classes, well, sometimes).

Xbox Live is just one of those gaming perks that allows people to become more involved in the virtual world, and even get some social activity out of it. It is like an online gaming option where you can access the internet through your Xbox gaming console. At the University of Iowa, not only to several students have Xbox 360s with the Xbox Live option, but some even pay money for extra Xbox Live abilities.

My friend Mike recently purchased an Xbox 360 and loves the options that Xbox Live gives him. His gaming console came with the Xbox 360 silver package which allows him to voice chat with other players as well as download content, such as new games, a week after they are made available for gold members. With a gold package, players are able to not only do everything that is included in the silver package, but they are able to download content a week earlier, video chat, and have multiplayer gaming online. However, subscriptions are required for a gold package and it costs $49.99 a year.

You would think that being on a college student budget would deter a lot of university students form purchasing the gold package, but that just isn't the case. Mike says that he pays for the extended service because he is really into the games and since this is what he does with his friends, it's worth every penny to get the experience out of it.

"Some people pay money to go to the movies or the spend extra money going bar hopping. This is what I do for fun, so why not spend the money on it," Mike said.

Xbox Live is even working on expanding its services to cellphones and other handheld devices, bringing a whole new meaning to the term gaming.

I say if you're into it, go for it. Who knows, maybe I'll give it a go, but as long as I don't have to pay for it.

Does Marvel have a winner in Iron Man?

For the better part of the last ten years, Hollywood has tried to take successful comic book titles and hope that success translates to large dollars on the big screen.

To a degree, it has worked and more specifically with Marvel Comics. Successful titles such as Blade, X-Men and Spider-Man have done well at the box office and spawned numerous sequels as a result.

However, not everything has been a success. In recent years crowds were not in favor of titles such as The Punisher, The Hulk, Fantasic Four, Ghost Rider, Daredevil and Elektra. You also can't forget the 1986 classic "Howard the Duck." Yes, that was a "Marvel Legacy" believe it or not.

That could all change starting on May 2 when the highly anticipated film "Iron Man" is released nationwide starring Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow. Trailers alone for the film have been running for the better part of the last year. Every time I go see a movie and this trailer comes on, you can hear the sound of hundreds of whispers that I can only guess are saying, "I wanna see that!"

Judge for yourself. I know I will be one of the millions who wait in line to check out this movie the weekend it arrives in theaters!

YouTube: Taking Over the World

So, as everyone with a computer and an internet connection knows, YouTube is taking over the world. Not only is it wildly popular on the internet, but videos from the popular site are often featured on the news as well as in certain TV programs. YouTube is also looking to come to a television near you by making YouTube videos available for viewing on your TV.

Right now, YouTube is being used by college students across the country for a variety of different reasons. Some people are required to upload videos to the site for a class assignment while others are just trying to entertain themselves on a Friday night. While many people use YouTube to catch funny moments that they may have missed from their favorite sitcom or late night talk show, others want to check out the latest music video or see people doing dumb stuff. Politicians are even using YouTube for their own political messages and campaigns in an effort to reach more college-aged voters across America.

Some videos become so popular that they are well-known by students no matter what University you are at. One of the most popular videos at this time is a video of a guy, Nick Pitera singing "A Whole New World". Now, most of you will laugh and say, "Oh, I've seen that," but for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, check it out. I promise, just this one video will get you hooked on YouTube.

Nick Pitera-"A Whole New World"

8th annual WAVES Festival to screen free movies

As if you hadn't heard enough news about free screenings of movies brought to you by Iowa City or the University of Iowa, there's more....

The University of Iowa is bringing the 8th annual WAVES Festival to the Becker Communications Studies Building, BCSB, from Friday evening through Sunday afternoon.

The WAVES festival will feature eight different independent Asian/Asian-American films beginning with The King and the Clown at 7:30 p.m. Friday in room 101 of BCSB. All of the other seven films will be shown in this room, and a complete listing of times and titles can be found on their website.

Capitalizing on the popularity of MMA

As a fan of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), it pained me to see the preview for the new movie "Never Back Down" all over TV recently.

This is just another example of Hollywood trying to capitalize on a sport that is growing in popularity with the 18-34 year-old demographic in the United States.

It's not like I can blame them. With a production budget of $20 million, the film has already grossed a little over $22 million domestically and over $23 million worldwide. That my friends is a profit - and not yet including DVD sales later this year.

(Source: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/id=neverbackdown.htm)

But when you are a fan of a sport like this, the last thing you want to see is a production company trying to make it "look cool" when they clearly don't even understand the sport to begin with.

From the clips of the movie I've seen, they don't seem to get the first concept of MMA - RESPECT. Sportsmanship is a huge part of Mixed Martial Arts and this film instead portrays it as more of a "street fight" with MMA gloves. Granted, the film does move in a different direction when the main character Jake Tyler (played by Sean Faris) realizes he has to train to actually be good at the sport. What a concept!

Listen, I know there is a demographic for a movie like this out there. I'm sure little kids across America begged to be dropped off at the movie theatre a few weeks ago when this movie came out. But that isn't the audience who normally watches the real form of MMA. They just think it is cool or the current "fad" right now (what pro wrestling was in the late 1990s-early 2000s). This movie is basically the "Karate Kid" of this generation or what "Fast and the Furious" was a few years ago when cars becaming all the rage once again.

It's really sad what Hollywood will do to make a buck these days.

Iowa City Documentaries.... Coming to a Theater Near You

The Iowa City International Documentary Film Festival kicks-off its three day festival tomorrow at The Bijou Theater inside of the Iowa Memorial Union at Madison and Jefferson Streets in Iowa City.

Featuring over 30 documentary films in all, the videos will be played at both the Bijou and Public Space One, located in the basement of the Jefferson Building at 129 E. Washington St., over the three day showing, and the winner(s) will be crowned Saturday night at approximately 9:00 p.m. at Public Space One.

The committee behind the festival was found in 2001 and this will be the 7th festival. For complete information and details of when and where the doc's can be seen, visit the ICDOCS page.

Real-Time Instant Messaging!

Now you can see what your buddy is typing...as they type it!

AOL is now testing the first real-time instant messaging feature for their AOL Instant Messaging program, otherwise known as AIM.

Mostly created for the deaf and hard of hearing, this new feature offers a natural flowing conversation over the internet, without the use of expensive web-cam equipment, for everyone.

Real-time IMing allows users to see each individual letter that a buddy is typing, as they type it. This means no more waiting for your friend to hit the send button, although I guess sometimes the suspension makes it interesting.

Unfortunately, because the feature is still being beta-tested, both the IM sender and the receiver must have the real-time version of AIM in order use the function.

However, you can now download the beta version at http://beta.aol.com and try it out for yourself!

Spring Break = Catching up on Movies!

While most University of Iowa students were away for Spring Break and catching up on lost time in the sun, I decided to save some money and catch up on movies I didn't see yet (on a brand new 50 inch Samsung plasma TV no less!). Here is a quick review and recommendations of the movies I watched:

Eastern Promises: This movie was the direct opposite of what I thought it was going to be like. I expected a lot of "gangster action" with various gun and fight scenes. What I got was actually a lot different, yet still very entertaining and one of the better movies I've seen in a long time. Viggo Mortensen was very good and very convincing in his role as the driver for the Vory V Zakone criminal brotherhood. This is one of those movies where everyone said it was good and it actually lived up to the hype. Verdict: See it!

Shoot 'Em Up: If anyone has seen tons of action movies and is ready for a movie that blatantly makes fun of the often impossible-feats many action stars achieve, then this movie is a must see. Clive Owen has become one of my favorite actors after starring in great movies like Sin City, Derailed, Inside Man and Children of Men. Owen again keeps it entertaining in this movie bringing a unique sense of humor to a very violent atmosphere. I can't remember the last time I've had so much fun watching an action movie. Verdict: See it!

The Bourne Ultimatum: I was a huge fan of the two previous films (The Bourne Identity & The Bourne Supremacy) and had big expectations going into this third movie. Once again I continue to be impressed with the way these movies are shot and how the plot keeps you entertained. The fight scenes in this film were top notch and the behind-the-scenes content on the DVD was great in seeing how everything was put together. This is yet again another great addition to the Jason Bourne franchise and Matt Damon has a winner with these movies. The best aspect of the movie is the ending, which I won't spoil, but it will put a smile on anyone's face who have seen the two previous movies. Verdict: See it!

iTunes: Not just for music anymore

Iowa City provides many movie rental businesses including Blockbuster, Family Video, and Movie Gallery. But what is better than being able to rent a movie from your dorm, apartment, or house without having to leave?

iTunes has provided movies for purchase for about a year now, but now they have ventured into the movie rental business!

Now, some of you might be thinking that we already have plenty of at-home rental possibilities, like On Demand and Netflix. However, what if I told you that you could rent from home without an annoying monthly fee and outrageous per-rental prices?

iTunes provides movie rentals for only $2.99 for older movies and $3.99 for new releases. This is a full 1-2 dollars cheaper than On Demand rentals and it's only a one-time fee, so no paying for months when you don't rent any movies!

iTunes rentals are also practical for college students on the go. If you're going on a long trip, or just want to watch something during class, you can transfer your rentals onto your ipod, itouch, or iphone. After your rental is up, it will disappear from your ipod!

I've tried it myself and trust me, iTunes is the easiest, cheapest, LEGAL way to get movies in your own home.

Drillbit Taylor; Comedy on a Different Platter

What is not to love about an overweight soon-to-be freshman who loves to talk like he’s from the hood, or how about his friend who clenches his biceps with a 60 pound body? With the release of Drillbit Taylor on March 21st, there came many expectations since it was produced by Judd Apatow and co-wrote by Seth Rogen, the same pair who created 40-Year-Old Virgin, Superbad, and Knocked Up. But one reaction by The Daily Iowan reporter Anna Wiegenstein in particular, didn’t find is rated up to par (Link to article).

According to Wiegenstein, the movie’s rating of PG-13 put it at a disadvantage, compared to other movies like Knocked Up, which according from the live labor scene had no limits. However, the story of Drillbit Taylor involves three boys who are stepping into the jungle of high school with bullies, which prompts them to hire a bodyguard. I’m pretty sure that the freshman boys in high school won’t be divulging themselves in illicit drugs or meeting girls at bars. The characters from the Drillbit Taylor are at a different age level than the boys of Superbad. And therefore, the movie needs to fit to the characters.

Even when the movie does fit to the boys’ immature outlook on life, it does well in creating comedy in what boys could come up with during dangerous situations. There is no need for topics like sex, drugs, or alcohol. It is enough when you see a young, overweight, smart-talking boy try to have a rap-off like Eminem in 8 Mile. Or how about when bodyguard Owen Wilson teaches the three boys his special techniques like the “hold me back” method, which in the end only gives the scrawny boy a black eye. Even when two of the boys end up wearing the same shirt on the first day of school on accident, I had to laugh when the bus driver asked them if there was a sale of “2 for 1 at Hot Topic.”

Ultimately, I haven’t seen too many movies come up with the idea of a low-price, homeless, and careless bodyguard for three scared and naive teenage boys.

Jump on the Blu-ray bandwagon!

If you haven't seen a movie in Blu-ray, you are truly missing out on a unique movie experience.

"I'm never going back to regular DVD's again," said Iowa City Kirkwood student Jordan Stamy.

First launched in June of 2006, Blu-ray discs were designed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition (HD) video with much larger storage amounts of data.

In comparison with other formats, Blu-ray technology uses a blue-violet laser as opposed to current technology that relies on a red laser to read and write data for technologies like DVD, DVD+R, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM.

"The background detail is amazing. Everything is so much sharper. The detail is literally ridiculous," said Stamy.

Warner Brothers, Disney, Fox, Paramount, Sony, Lionsgate and MGM have all ceased making movies for the HD DVD format and have now gone Blu-ray exclusive.

Maybe it is time we all go exclusive with this new DVD format!

Gossip should always be FREE!

If University of Iowa students are anything like my sister and I, then they are ADDICTED to celebrity gossip. My sister is so addicted that she shells out over $50 for a subscription to US Magazine every year!

However, for those money-conscious, college-attending, gossip-addicted people out there, you can get your celebrity news for FREE online.

PinkIsTheNewBLog and PerezHilton are just two of the greatest celebrity gossip websites available at no cost.

My personal favorite, PinkIsTheNewBlog, is written by a very people-friendly guy, Trent. Trent writes as if he has a personal relationship with each and every one of his readers. Not only does he bring you all of the up to date celebrity gossip, but he adds his personal opinion in a very polite and interesting way. He is so lighthearted and friendly when it comes to his gossip, (even the negative stuff), that many celebrities admit to frequenting his website to keep up with their gossip.

If you are more into good, old-fashioned, celebrity bashing, then you should visit Perez Hilton's website at www.perezhilton.com. Perez Hilton has made many enemies with his harsh critiques and not so nice comments about todays celebrities, but to us normal folks it is horribly entertaining.

For example, recently Hilton posted a picture of Gollum from Lord of the Rings and a picture of the soon to be former New York Senator Eliot Spitzer, pointing out the obvious similarities between the two photos. Oh and he also claims they were separated at birth.

If this sounds like your kind of reading material, then head on over to either website for some free chuckles and oh my gosh's. Who says you have to pay for gossip these days!

Oscar's Best... FREE!

That's right: the Oscar-sweeping movie of the year, No Country for Old Men, is coming to a theater near you - for free.

The movie, directed by the Coen brothers, will play free of charge Thursday night at the Iowa Memorial Union at 9:00 p.m. in the Illinois Room. Seats are on a first come, first serve basis so be sure to get there a little earlier if you don't want to stand.

Having seen the movie before, I would definitely recommend it - it's about two hours long and follows the life of an ordinary man after he finds the scene of a drug deal that has gone extraordinarily wrong.

The movie moves a little slow at parts but overall has some really good themes behind the action that spawn a lot of conversation between friends when the lights come back on.

But don't take my word - go see it for yourself FREE and let me know what you thought!

Worthy of movie of the year???

Film Festival comes to Cedar Rapids

The Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival returns to Eastern Iowa on April 4 and 5 at Collins Road Theatres (1462 Twixt Town Rd. in Marion). The event is open to the public.

Over 40 films will be on display and all with some connection to Iowa - either being made in the state or from around the country.

The films slated to be involved will include feature shorts, documentaries, music videos, animations and experimental films. Three of the films were made in Iowa City.

From Big Screen to MP3 Scene.... Straight to your Computer

Trent Reznor, the brains behind popular rock/electronic group Nine Inch Nails, released his latest Cd, Ghosts I-IV, on Sunday.


The Cd, currently available only through a download on the band's website , is being released by one of the many new ways that artists are trying to get their content out to their wide ranging audience without the help of a giant media label [Reznor used to be under the Interscope Records label].

Because Reznor had a little bit more free space to work with since he wasn't attached to a record label, there are a variety of options available to his fans for his new album. The songs, 36 in all, are available for $5 download or fans can download the first 9 for free. For those feeling extra saucy, Reznor added in deluxe packages - the highest being $300 and including the tracks on Vinyl as well as Reznor's autograph.

One report has shown that all of the 2,500 deluxe packages have already sold out, meaning from the deluxe packages alone, NIN has grossed $750,000. One could only assume that with the additional downloads the band has already made over a million dollars - - and not a penny goes to a giant label.

Although NIN has been around for over 10 years, the band's eye-popping figures might soon catch on and encourage bands all over to drop their major record labels and become independent once again.

Iowa City's New Inforama

Ever wish that there was one website that could answer all your questions about which bars have specials on what nights, or what events were happening around Iowa City?

Well guess what. It does exist at OurCampus360.com.

OurCampus360 advertises itself as being the "premiere spot for all things Iowa City." Not only does it offer all the information you could ever want about bars and events, but it also includes info about dining, campus activities, concerts, art and more!

OurCampus360 is a brand new website established by college students for college students, making it the best website to go to when you just want to know what to do on Friday night.

Not only is the information open and available to everyone, but if you are over 18 years of age, you can register for free and create your own profile at OurCampus360. Creating a profile allows you to add friends, post to the open forum board, and create your own personalized calendar so that your friends know what you are doing for the weekend. If you want to know what bar your friends are going to on Friday night, now you can find out.

There's also nothing better than getting exclusive coupons to some of your favorite places. Businesses such as Pizza Hut, Wig and Pen East, and the Futon Shop have coupons available at OurCampus360. Just sign on and click away for free savings!

OurCampus360 is still fairly new, so tell your friends and sign up together. Pretty soon everyone will have plans for Friday night!

A Touch of Home at the Oscars

Hollywood appears to be a lot closer than most of us would think....

Diablo Cody, the Oscar-winning screenplay writer for the movie Juno, took home the gold man while holding back tears Sunday night. Cody, originally born as Brooke Busey, has lived quite the interesting life since graduating from the University of Iowa.

After receiving her diploma, she moved in with her boyfriend in Minnesota and began working as a stripper there. It was her experience in this field that allowed her to write her first book, Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper.

From there, she began writing more and more and her screenplay was finally picked up and, well, we know the rest now don't we? Cody currently has 3 more movies in the making, and is looking to make a serious name for herself in Hollywood.

Did I mention she went to my high school, also? --Benet Academy in Lisle, Illinois-- Basically, after I get my diploma from Iowa, all I need to do is find a part-time stripping job and start writing....right?

If only it were that easy...

80 Years and Counting for the Oscars

On Sunday night, "The Daily Show's" Jon Stewart hosted the 80th Annual Academy Awards. This was the first time I watched the ceremony from start to finish. Plus, it was Sunday and I'm sure many University of Iowa students didn't have anything much better to do either! Here are some of my quick thoughts from the ceremony:

Things I Liked:

* I was glad to see some great movie choices for the "Best Picture" category. So many times before I would see movies nominated that I've never even heard of.

* Jon Stewart did another fine job with his hosting duties. I might be biased since I've always liked Stewart, even before his days with "The Daily Show."

* The tributes to those who have passed away in the last year was classy as always. To finish off with Heath Ledger was a very powerful moment. The video packages looking at past winners at the Oscars was a nice touch as well.

* It was awesome to see Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson present the award for "Best Visual Effects." I've been a huge fan of pro wrestling my whole life and it is amazing to see where The Rock has started in his movie career and to now see him at the Oscars presenting an award.

Things I Didn't Like:

* I saw some people were upset that people from different countries - or "ferners" as President Bush likes to call them - won so many awards on Sunday. I can't understand why anyone would be upset that someone who isn't American won an award. Do we really live in a country where people have that train of thought still? If anything, Chris Matthews pointed out on "Hardball" this week on MSNBC is that it shows that the academy choose on talent instead of how someone talks.

* I'm sure you saw this complaint coming - cutting people off during acceptance speeches. I'm all for keeping the show moving, but deliberately making more time for what some people feel are "more important" acceptance speeches isn't right. If you don't think that award should take up a lot of time, then keep it off TV and don't cut people off. I did like when Jon Stewart brought Marketa Irglova (who won "Best Original Song" along with Glen Hansard for "Once") back out to finish her speech. That was a classy thing to do.

* Wow, that was a long show to watch. By the time the more important awards were ready to be handed out, I was ready to change the channel!

Even though this wasn't technically the first time I've watched the Oscars, it was the first one I was able to sit through from start to finish and I enjoyed it. I plan on checking out next year's show if nothing else is going on that day.

It should be noted that this year's Oscars may have drawn the worst ratings for the ceremony ever according to an article by CNN.com (click here). The least-watched Oscars was back in 2003 and early ratings for Sunday's show had viewership at 14 percent lower than that show.

Trimming the Fat on Facebook

Facebook has swept the country as it has moved from a college-student-only network to a college and highschool-student-only network to a network that is open to anyone with internet access.

Students generally use it as a way to network with friends and display their interests and fun photos of good times with friends. At least this is what Facebook was and still is intended for.

Unfortunately for younger people, especially those who are looking for jobs, Facebook has been invaded by future employers. These employers, while not always trying to find reasons not to hire you, might want to confirm background information, see if your interests match those on your job application, and see if your personality is appropriate for the job. (Source)

I know that from all corners of the U.S. and maybe even the entire world, shouts of "unfair" can be heard in school corridors and dorm halls, but there is an easy way to avoid future problems.

First of all, Facebook allows you to use privacy settings beginning with very broad settings where you can choose which of your networks are allowed to see your profile to strict privacing settings where you can select only very specific people who can view your profile and what parts of your profile you want them to view.

A more drastic and probably smart way to go about it is to trim the fat from your Facebook. If you are old enough that it is time for you to start looking for a job, maybe it's time to untag those pictures of you out drinking with your buddies on Friday night. Maybe it's even a good idea to remove "streaking" from your lists of interests. And, while I know the "Naughty Gifts" application is fun, maybe it's time to remove it before your future employer or Grandma sees it.

Hey, you never know who's on Facebook these days.

Cloverfield: To go or not to go?

Since the rush to see the film has died down quite a bit, I decided to check out "Cloverfield" on Wednesday night and was not disappointed.

This was a classic case of a movie that really got you excited to see it, yet you didn't know a whole lot about the plot and had no clue what was attacking New York City (that is unless you did a ton of research before you went to go see it).

I had seen more negative than positive reviews of the film courtesy of publications like "Rolling Stone" and in syndicated columns by Robert Ebert. The film was even panned early on by fans on the popular IMDB.com website comparing the camera work to "The Blair Witch Project" and that the action was overdone a bit too much.

Five weeks and $78 million later, the film has to be considered a success with just a budget of $25 million.

I will say this...don't see this movie at the theatre or on DVD later if you get motion sick really easy. If you can handle it, you will enjoy the movie and won't have a problem. However, if you are fan of seeing a story told from a different perspective and enjoy getting a majority of the plot out of the way in the first 20 minutes or so, then I highly reccommend it.

"Cloverfield" definitely follows the pattern of past tragedy films where something happens and you are along for the ride with the characters. It takes that formula (think about all the zombie movies that have come out in the last few years), but puts it right in the middle of New York City along with other screaming and confused bystanders. While there are moments where the action stops and gives you a chance to catch your breath so to speak, you are still left with more questions than answers as the fast pace of the movie continues.

One scene in particular was eerily similar to the famous video footage from September 11th when a cloud of dust and smoke fills a city block. Seeing people covered in dust coughing and confused takes you right back to one of the darkest days in the history of the U.S. and marks just the beginning of a wild ride.

If you are a fan on nonstop action and confusion (not plot wise), I highly suggest checking out "Cloverfield" before it leaves theatres soon. This is a movie you have to experience on the big screen as the small screen won't be able to do it much justice.

Final Verdict: See it!

Link to Trailers

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367882/videogallery

Here are the links

Old Movies[tars] Come Back to Life

So the trailers for the newest installment of the Indiana Jones series were released over the last week - check them out here:



Not that I don't like Indiana Jones, cause I do, but why is it that Hollywood is obsessed with bringing back old movie series? Harrison Ford, who plays the role of Indiana Jones, was 65 during the filming of the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
.
Sylvester Stallone was 60 during the Rocky Balboa and 61 when he shot Rambo.
So even though these movies continue to make money at the box office, doesn't anyone else wonder when some of these movie stars are going to call it quits?

To Stream or To Download

At the University of Iowa, students are always looking for the new, cheap and usually FREE way to get movies right on their own desktop. Now, students aren't looking much further than 66stage.com.

Video streaming is all the rage on college campuses across the country because it does not leave a trail like video downloading. Because streamed videos are hosted by internet sites, law officials are unable to punish those who stream copyrighted material, mainly because they can't find them. 66stage allows the streaming of unreleased movies, TVshows, cartoons, etc, for free, making it one of the most popular sites among students on campus.

Mike, a sophomore at the university, enjoys streaming videos with his roommates. "With the price of movie tickets getting more and more expensive every day, it's fun to be able to watch new movies at home at no cost."

Mike and his roommates have also hooked up their TV to their computer modem so that they can enjoy the movies they stream on a big screen.

If you are interested in streaming online movies, but are looking for a more guilt-free way to enjoy them, try joining a program such as Netflix. Not only do they offer movie rental by mail, but you can also stream movies with the click of a mouse, at a small fee of course.

For those of you who opt to stream for free, I hope you enjoy it while it lasts. It's only a matter of time before the law catches up, and streaming is out.