Here’s what we know…

Watching the Oscars last night, I came to the realization that it’s been several years now that the winner of Best Original Song is some lame song that no one has ever heard of. So I decided to do a little research, and peek at the list of past winning songs. I discovered that the last track I would label as a hit to win the award was Eminem’s classic “Lose Yourself,” from his 8 Mile movie, back in 2003. The category has been a musical wasteland ever since. It’s now been 8 consecutive years that a mostly unknown song has won Best Original Song. When I looked at the list of winners from the 80’s and 90’s, I knew just about every one of them. They were all big hits on the radio as well. A song being a hit is not a prerequisite for winning the award of course, but if the song was really that good, radio stations would want to play it. So I guess we can draw the conclusion that there just isn’t good music being written for movies anymore, or perhaps artists aren’t giving movie studios music to include in movies as much as they used to. Movie soundtracks used to sell well in the past, when many current artists contributed songs to soundtracks that weren’t on their other CD’s. Although come to think of it, lately a lot of movies are using songs that are already popular, as opposed to thinking a new song could get popular just because it was included in the movie. Maybe that goes hand-in-hand with the fact that that movie studios produce so many sequels and remakes and the like. They’re so scared of losing money that they would rather make yet another Big Momma’s House movie just because it’s familiar, instead of giving a shot to something original. So I guess why take a chance with new music, when you could play the same old stuff people already know. Not sure if that’s entirely accurate, I really hope it’s not, but it was an interesting thought I had, which I bet is probably more true than we wish it was.

My new favorite quote is from Charlie Sheen.  When asked if he was on drugs, Charlie responded, “I am on a drug.  It’s called Charlie Sheen”.   Watch the video of the promo here:

Obviously the affects of “Charlie Sheen” are that the user parties with porn stars and threatens their boss. It got me wondering what other celebrity drugs would do if taken. Here are my thoughts. This is pure speculation:

1) “I’m on a drug. It’s called Justin Bieber”. Warning, taking Justin Bieber will cause young, teenage girls to scream, give white guys the ability to dance, and cause others to recognize your best personality trait as your hair.
2) “I’m on a drug. It’s called Lindsey Lohan”. Lindsey Lohan is the street name for a cocktail of ALL known illegal, and prescription drugs. Hits of Lindsey Lohan can’t be purchased. They can only be stolen.
3) “I’m on a drug. It’s called Miley Cyrus”. Be very careful when obtaining Miley Cyrus. Miley Cyrus is a very safe, placebo type drug until it ages 17 years. At that point, affects the incredible urge to take part in inappropriate sexual behavior, willingness to appear in creepy family photos, and an obnoxious, unrelenting drive to party in the USA.
4) “I’m on a drug. It’s called Kim Kardashian”. Taking Kim Kardashian will result in bloating, fullness, water retention, and loss of brain function. The first three side affects are exclusively seen in the buttocks of the user.
5) “I’m on a drug. It’s called Mel Gibson”. The most unpredictable of all the “celebrity” drugs. The Mel Gibson produces a high that you’ll never see coming. After taking a hit of Mel Gibson, violent outbursts are likely against your loved ones, which will put your career in jeopardy. Oh and you hate Jews.

Wanna burn a TON of calories and have a blast at the same time???  I have a new love and that is Air Robics at Skye High.  You’ve probably heard that sky high has trampoline arenas but you may not know that they have aerobics classes that are lead by an instructor.

I burned 995 in one hour and was giggling the whole time.  They have classes on Saturday mornings at 10:00am but I will issue a warning, especially to you moms… it will make you want to pee the second you step on the trampoline so plan accordingly.

Watch the promo for Charlie Sheen’s interview with ABC’s Andrea Canning where he says “I am on a drug, it’s called Charlie Sheen”:

Listen to the Wake Up Call talk about this clip:

It’s Called Charlie Sheen

A local group called SacTown Royalty, is putting together a grass-roots movement to try and keep the King’s in Sacramento.

Tonight is the official “Here We Stay” game at Arco Arena and SacTown Royalty has created some chants for the crowd to do during the game. (Check them out here)

Listen to the Wake Up Call talking about the chants, practicing the chants, and Gavin even comes up with some chants of his own:

King’s Chants

Of course she has a song called “Blow”. She can also turn down the weird a little too in the video. Check it out below! xoxo -OA

If you are someone who has recently started working out… or you just want a more accurate idea of how you are doing. A great place to start is a heart rate monitor watch.   A heart monitor watch actually tracks your pulse and so once you enter in your personal info like height, weight and age… it can tell you exactly how many calories you are burning while you work out.

You will get much closer to knowing how many calories you have actually burned then you will by just entering your info into say the tread mill for example.  I have found the most accurate style of these watches is the kind that includes a band that goes around your mid section…

Most are around $50 and they are the perfect addition any workout routine.

10.  The Kids Are Alright – I was late to the party on this one and only watched it a few weeks ago.  In a year when most of the Oscar-nominated films were dark and gritty, it’s nice to see a bright and colorful family dramedy.  It’s funny and touching and successfully shows the 21st Century family in all its timeless ways.

9.  The Town – This was the shock of the year.  Ben Affleck is a mediocre actor but is shaping up to be a superb director.  This crime drama was a wet dream for the Boston native and deserves to stand among the great crime thrillers of all time.

8.  Paranormal Activity 2 – To Hell with anyone who says this movie wasn’t scary.  It was not only scarier than the first one but more original too.  It was successful in keeping the same formula we loved from the first one without feeling forced or raped by Hollywood.  The fact that it was a prequel and sequel at the same time was brilliant.  Simply for being a horror sequel that was better than the first makes it worthy of the list.

7.  True Grit – The Coen Brothers almost never disapoint and this remake of the John Wayne movie was not acception.  It was one of the best scripts of the year and was performed by some of the best ensemble work too.  But the attention to detail is what widened my eyes.

6.  127 Hours - I saw this film twice and enjoyed it even more the second time.  People came to see this for the infamous arm-cutting scene but they stayed for the amazing soul it had.  The climax of this movie was enough to bring tears to my eyes and is a perfect send-up to the human spirit. 

5.  Inception – Director Christopher Nolan will get his respect one day but in the meantime it’s only his movies that do.  It’s rare that a movie astounds me with its special FX and this was one of them.  The originality of not only the story but the 45 minute long action sequence was flooring. 

4.  Black Swan – Sure the story isn’t all that creative, but boy was this movie intense. By the end of the film I felt like I was mentally assaulted by director Darren Aronofsky.  Natalie Portman’s performance is the stuff awards are made for and it’s overall a film that commands multiple viewings.

3.  The Fighter – The fact that I brought my wife to see this movie against her will and she ended up loving it so much that she saw it twice speaks to the level of achievement this movie has.  Christian Bale has finally given the performance that award-givers simply can’t ignore but the fact that he’s surrounded by top shelf talent helps.  One of the best sports movies that’s not about sports ever!

2.  The Social Network – A movie about the creation of Facebook shouldn’t be interesting but director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin flexed their cinematic muscles and made this an opus.  Creating an almost flawless film about the cruption of power and doing it despite doubts from everyone is a feat.

1.  Toy Story 3 – Pixar is the only group that can take a final installment of a franchise for children and create a parable for so many adult themes.  They over-performed their stellar record with this and made grown men cry (I do with every viewing).  It’s also one of the most impressive scripts of the year that was funny, tear-jerking and successful in taking a children franchise and morphing it into a prison break movie.