XtineFiles

Tonight I'm going to see Duran Duran at Jones Beach. I think I'll wear my Jordache acid wash jeans, my pink Reebok sneakers and slouch socks, long neon t-shirt with safety pins and zippers, and do my hair in a side pony tail. Dont worry I wont forget the blue eye shadow, glitter and draw on mole. While I am getting ready, read this from the Evening Standard:

Listening to an iPod could leave you with psychological problems, an expert warns. Exposure to music is causing more cases of musical hallucination, where a song "plays" constantly in the head. "People find they can't sleep and can't think properly," said Dr Victor Aziz, a psychiatrist at Whitchurch hospital in Cardiff. Dr Aziz, said: "Having a song in your head every now and then is quite normal but musical hallucinations can be quite distressing." Research suggests sound hallucinations occur when people move from a stimulus rich environment to one with few auditory stimuli - for instance, from using an iPod on the Tube to entering a quiet office. With no sound via the ears, the brain generates random impulses it interprets to be sound. It then matches these to memories of music and a song begins in the head.

No-no-Notorious. Notorious. Ah. No-no-Notorious.

Fahrenheit 9/11 is on Showtime this month. I am sure most of you have seen it tons of times, but now in this post election 'politics are too painful' climate you may want to consider seeing it again (even though watching it again may be difficult).

For me, seeing it now reminds me of the hope for change I felt when I first saw it at the Cannes Film Festival a little over a year ago. I remember the French audience chanting "Bush out Bush out" during record breaking standing ovation. I guess the audience in the Grand Lumiere in Cannes didn't chant loud enough because apparently no body in America heard.

On a lighter note, if you are bored I suggest you do a Google search. Type in the word FAILURE and then hit the "I'm feeling lucky" bar. See what happens. (I cant take credit for finding that gem, you can thank a fellow blogger for that.)

Dear Keanu,

Why did you have to go and make that crap film Constantine? I rented it tonight on DVD and I have to be honest, it was terrible. You know how much I care about you and you know how much I enjoy seeing you on screen, but what the hell were you thinking!

First of all, there have been 4000 movies where the Angels are fighting with the Demons, did you see The Prophecy for goodness sake? Second, aren't you tired of saving mankind? I mean didn't the Matrix get that out of your system? Third, why did you have to star with that b*tch Rachel Weisz, you know I dont like her (and I am sure she has told you how much she hates me, please dont believe her until you hear my side of that story-she was out of line that day I mean it)!

I know you must have read the graphic novel "Hellblazer" (bet you didn't know I knew that, but I went to Comic Con this year and so I now know lots of things buddy) and thought movie franchise or something. Or maybe you were just bored and all and needed to make a movie and that's ok. I know, you are allowed a bad movie now and again. But please dont make a habit of it or I will be forced to remove you from my top ten, and once you are out, it takes a lot of hard work to get back in.

Fondly Yours,
xtine

I saw The Island tonight and enjoyed it fully. But lets be honest, any movie that has more than one Ewan McGregor, several kick ass car chases and a super hot pair of Puma's will always be great in my book. In a lot of ways this film presents a whole new take on the stem cell research issue. The film takes us from uber styled surreal environments to classic Michael Bay action scene assaults. I can see why this movie is tanking at the box office, its probably not for everyone. But I approve.

# of times Ewan McGregor made me go "mmmmm": 43
Hot Actor Factor: (1-10 scale) 10
# of times the phrase "There is no island!" was shouted: 4 (excluding my moment in the ladies bathroom)
Bathroom visits: 1 (during car chase 2)
Costar Chemistry: (1-10 scale) 10
Cry Meter: 1.5
# of Post Screening Phone Calls: 2
Cost of white Velcro Puma's as the films featured footwear: priceless
Overall: B

Long Island Blood Services has issued an Emergency call for blood donations. The report says they are 35 percent below what is needed to meet local hospital and patient demand. Tomorrow I'm going to donate blood. If you are on or near Long Island, I suggest you consider making a donation.

As a regular blood donor I can tell you the process is totally painless (minus a small stick of a needle). Your blood can save up to 5 lives, and that is a good thing.

For information where you can make a donation call (516) 663-9660.

and while we are on topic, here are some fun facts about Lestat de Lioncourt:
- nickname "the brat prince"
- his mortal birth was in 1760, becomes a vampire in 1780
- he became a rock star in 1984
- Stuart Townsend was a better Lestat than Tom Cruise, but Brad Pitt was a great Louis

For those of you living under a rock, the Space Shuttle Discovery blasted off into outer space yesterday after a nearly 2 year absence from the skies. Naturally I was glued to my TV for the entire launch but I appreciate that, unlike me, not everyone can watch TV at work. So for those you who missed it, you can watch the launch here:

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html?skipIntro=1

My brother and my sister in law are into the organic cleansing thing and have asked me to pass on this recipe for a cleansing tonic to all of you. (note: XtineFiles is NOT endorsing this, nor does XtineFiles accept any responsibility for what may happen to you if you take this tonic).

A Bag of organic Carrots
A Bushel of celery
3 Apples
Two Large Organic Tomatoes
A bag of Organic Broccoli

Put it in juicer. Refrigerate it. Drink it and then stay near a bathroom.

p.s. A shitty joke from Mark and Kristen:
"What time does Michael Jackson go to bed? When the big hand is on the little hand"

Today in my office we made a strategic decision to replace ASAP (As Soon As Possible) with PDQ (Pretty Darn Quick). As a group, we have decided that ASAP is past its' prime. We live in a world where everything is ASAP and as a result nothing is very ASAP- get it? Its overused to the point where people ignore it. ASAP no longer has the meaning it once had. We are hoping PDQ will rise the prestige ASAP previously had. Will you help us move the PDQ movement forward?

P.S. Do you have a new favorite word? Let me know, PDQ.

For those of you lucky enough to escape seeing Million Dollar Baby in the movies, I applaud you. I avoided it too. But, its out on DVD and against my better judgment I rented it. I don't recommend this movie. And here's why:


Number of times Hilary Swank made me want to schedule a dental visit: 4
Bathroom visits: 11 (but I think thats because I ran out of tissues and had to use toilet paper)
Number of times I expected the voice of Mickey to come out of nowhere and say, "You're gonna eat lightnin' and you're gonna crap thunder": 1
Number of times I expected Apollo Creed to say, "when we fought, you had that eye of the tiger, man- the edge!": 0
Number of times the film successfully pulled at my heart strings: 308
Number of minutes spent hiding under my bed like a crying weeping mess after the end credits: 53 minutes

If you need a Clint Eastwood induced melt down or if you are into that self torture thing, by all means see this movie. If not, I suggest you TiVo the Surreal Life and call it a night.

No, he's not back in jail. He is however running around NYC with his new fiance. On Saturday my sister, LC and I spotted Mr. Robert Downey Jr. eating lunch at Serafina in NYC. He ordered an iced tea and shared an egg salad wrap with the lady. After the meal, with TomKat style dexterity, he started licking her back. Yes, licking. In fact, I think he gave her a hickey. Ewwww.

Today LL, LC and I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to check out the Chanel exhibition. It was heavenly. The spirit of the House of Chanel was re-created in a presentation of iconic fashions from Coco to Lagerfeld. I will admit, upon entering the exhibit hall tears came to my eyes. I'm not sure why I got choked up, but I think it has something to do with my youth. On my 10th birthday my Grandma gave me a bottle of Chanel No. 5, she said, "Your double digits now and almost a woman." I've worn No. 5 ever since.

I thought we could all benefit from some Coco Chanel pearls of wisdom. Below are some of her most famous quotes (the last being my favorite):

I never wanted to weigh more heavily on a man than a bird.

There are people who have money and people who are rich

Fashion fades, only style remains the same

Elegance is refusal

A woman is closest to being naked when she is well dressed

I don't do fashion, I am fashion.

A women who doesn't wear perfume has no future

At first I thought it was a coincidence, passing the famed location somewhere along the 405 freeway in So.Cal. where the 1985 Depeche Mode video People Are People was shot. A day later I did an audio double take in a taxi cab outside The Con as a local station was playing a DM marathon. But after tonight I finally allowed myself to see. I was shopping in J.Crew (great sale this week) and what was playing? You guessed it. Depeche Mode. Three DMs in one week can only mean one thing...they are back!

As I write in this blog billions of people across the planet are eagerly awaiting the release of the new Depeche Mode album, "Playing the Angel." It has been described as a "dark, thunderously rocking album, which lyrically digs into the infinite abysms of human existence with a musical range from industrial to contemporary electronic avant-garde."

Ok, so maybe its not 'billions' of people. But DM is following me and that is a soundtrack to my life I will not ignore! I better go dust off my combat boots and purchase a vat of black nail polish before its too late.

If you grew up in the northeast you are exposed to many different cautions and warnings. This is not one of them.

While on my road trip from Los Angeles to San Diego we passed this sign. It is called the "road runners" sign. It alerts drivers to be careful, you never know when a running illegal migrant may be dragging his wife and child across the highway in search of a better life in Southern California, take caution.

After we passed the sign I found myself clenching the dashboard as I kept a vigilant watch. It reminded me of the time my mom and I drove to Pennsylvania, I swore I saw a deer cross the road but she claimed it was just my imagination.

I didn't see any illegals running, nor did I see US Boarder Patrol, but boy that would have been fun.

I have safely returned from Comic Con (street name: The Con). I managed to avoid being attacked by cling ons, escaped a near death experience with a band of vampires, and sidestepped a few light saber swings.

Armed with only a bottle of Chanel No. 5, I managed to fight off the evil forces of the darker side of The Con. I used my power spray to evaporate and destroy the legions of toxic uber geeks that tried to infiltrate my chic.

It was bloody, it was smelly, and it was a whole a lotta fun!

Xtine is off to Comic Con in San Diego!

This will be my first comic book convention (yes, I said it, I know you can't believe it, but it is true). Pop Muse, Dougie Darko and Me are off on a NEWS assignment to San Diego to hang with comic book geeks from around the world. We are hoping to report and uncover the true joys of geekdom- from the Masquerade Ball (people dress up as their favorite comic book characters and compete for prizes) to the celebrity panels, to the behind the scenes moments of film fanatics. Can we turn Geek into Chic? I Don't think so, but we can certainly try!

I will admit though, I am afraid, very afraid. Will report back as soon as I return.

I always love when words emerge into the mainstream pop culture vocabulary (remember Bling Bling?). I first heard this word the other day used in a sentence (yo MBP!). Then suddenly I heard it again, and again, and again- it is spreading across the country faster than the speed of sound.

Apparently this word was first recorded in England in 1906, and has since been labeled as British Slang. Well, it seems the word has crossed the pond and is finally getting its due. In fact it was recently used in NY TIMES article, "The Stars of Reality TV Are Snarky, Whiny and Loud. But They Look Fabulous."

So here it is, use it wisely:

Snarky - When the word "bitchy" is too negative, use "snarky."
(adjective) describes a witty mannerism, personality, or behavior that is a combination of sarcasm and cynicism

Dr. Cruise? Paging Dr. Cruise?

So we all know he is a bit of a nutter, but this S-Tology (no I wont say the full name for fear of having my fenons targeted) is really over the top. In case you've been living under a rock or if you need a recap- here is a breakdown of some of the Cruise + S-Tology theories:

#1. He said, "There is no such thing as a chemical imbalance"
#2: He said, "There are ways of (treating depression) with vitamins and through exercise"
#3: He said, "Psychiatry is a pseudoscience"
#4: He said, "And I talk out against...electroshocking people against their will"

And the medical response:

The president of the American Psychiatric Association said, "It is irresponsible for Mr. Cruise to use his movie publicity tour to promote his own ideological views and deter people with mental illness from getting the care they need"

And my response:
Buy this T-Shirt: http://www.misswit.net/cruise.html

Top 5 things that made this week (7/3-7/9) O.K.

5. Tasting and loving Coca Cola ZERO

4. Hearing the Gillian Anderson commentary on the X-Files season 7 DVD, where she explains the "did they do it or not?" theory behind Fox Mulder and Dana Scully's relationship

3. Christian Bale in the bat suit

2. Learning that Coldplay did a version of Kylie Minogue's "Cant Get You Out of My Head" at the Glastonbury Festival in England (Minogue canceled her set because of her recent Breast Cancer diagnosis)... "Shouldn't we remember absent friends?" said Chris Martin to the crowd.

1. The calm with which Londoners handled the tragic attacks in London. We NY'ers should use them as an example of resiliency and humility.

Since my last post (and with the help of Pop Muse and Alanis aka 'my aloe vera') I've purged the Punk and decided to return to a simpler time. Below is an excerpt of an interview I did several years ago.

Xtine: What’s the best part of being in REM?

Michael Stipe: The best award that I ever received, and it happens on a daily basis, is someone walks up to me on a sidewalk and says ‘this song meant this to me in this time of my life.’ That to me is an award so heavy that I cant carry it off the stage.

Xtine: What keeps the fans listening?

Stipe: I don’t know why people like us, but I know why I like us. I know the music that I try to make. It tries to jump over the bar of music that I find to be the most inspirational. That includes my top ten. Artists that I followed, Radiohead, U2, Patty Smith, PJ Harvey, Courtney Love, Bjork, those are the people that I watch and in my sweetly competitive way I want to do something just as good.


Xtine: So you have this band, you are this big rock star and

… (Interrupts)

Stipe: I'm a pop star. I've decided in 2003 that I am a pop star. The one time that I met and spoke with Andy Warhol he asked me what I did and I said ‘I'm a singer in a band.’ I was 26, I was terrified and scared, he was my hero. ‘I’m a singer in a band,’ I mumbled. And he said ‘Oh, you're a pop star.’ And I said ‘No, I’m a singer in a band.’ But I think Mr. Warhol was correct.

Yeah, I know is REM still relevant? They are to me.

The above quote was spoken by Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols at one of their last shows in San Francisco. The band was feeling screwed by their managers, f*cked over by label politics, and terrorized by drug addiction and in fighting. They took to the stage and sang only one song. A five minute song that had only one discernable lyric, "No Fun, This is No Fun No Fun." After the last "No Fun," Rotten shouted into the audience of disillusioned San Fran Punks and said "Ever Get The Feeling You've Been Cheated?" and promptly left the stage.

I thought of this moment this morning, the morning after a harrowing day in the entertainment business. After dealing with many many celebrities from movie stars to rockers - you sort of get immune to the bullshit that tends to circle around you, their people, their politics, but every once in a while you get zonked. You get thrown to the wall and pulverized by the people pulling the strings--the soul-dead people that reside behind the curtain of creativity.

Yesterday I got pulverized. Not because I did anything wrong, but because sometimes things get dark in this business, and thats "no fun."

I was going to launch into some huge rant about Punk being Dead along with several healthy band bashing paragraphs... but I've lost the energy to do so. Instead I put it on you...

Ever Get The Feeling You've Been Cheated? ;)

p.s.
a couple of strategically placed tatoos means nothing and just because someone says they are Punk, doesnt mean they mean it

Robbie Williams proved the biggest draw for television viewers during the Live 8 extravaganza on Saturday, his audience peaking at 9.6 million...but did we see this in America? Nope.

However, the excitement was not just happening on stage. It seems Mariah Carey invited Robbie Williams on a dinner date after he impressed her with his show-stopping Live 8 performance.

Ms. Carey was blown away by the hunky star's charismatic set (who wouldn't be??), which included his hit songs Angels, Let Me Entertain You and Feel, and she is said to be keen to work with him (among other things I am sure).

So shortly after the show, Mariah - who sang Make It Happen, Hero and We Belong Together at the show in London's Hyde Park - reportedly sent him a message, suggesting they get together (at her hotel).

While I was watching LIVE 8, Sandra Day O'Connnor was working on this:

Dear President Bush:

This is to inform you of my decision to retire from my position as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States effective upon the nomination and confirmation of my successor. It has been a great privilege, indeed, to have served as a member of the court for 24 terms. I will leave it with enormous respect for the integrity of the court and its role under our constitutional structure.

Sincerely,

Sandra Day O'Connor

Xtine saw Batman Begins this weekend.

...And so should you

Batman Begins:

For me this tale of the dark knight makes all the other Batmans seem like goofy cartoons. This is far and away the best Batman ever (cheers Christian Bale).

Cry Meter: 9
Hot Actor Factor: 10
Bathroom Visits: 1
# of Miscast Overexposed Female Costars: 1 (but bearable)
# of Post Screening Phone Calls: 6
Overall: 10
Christian Bale status: A (but if there is another Batman he'll be an Icon soon enough)

Welcome to my blog.

why? because I've got stuff to say.

enjoy!
-Xtine