I've moved!

Please check out my new blog location here:

http://myopinionatedblog.wordpress.com/

Update - Zynga may be in the clear!

Thanks to my friend Laura, I got an update about this whole Zynga fiasco. 

Here's a link to the article explaining it all:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/04/the-zynga-haiti-controver_n_485919.html

So it looks like there was confusion among some people about the two different campaigns.  I'm not sure where that confusion came from since I saw that there were two campaigns when I read the articles yesterday.  To me, the fact that they only sent 50% of the proceeds in the first campaign was shady enough on its own. 

I still think Zynga is shady.  I'll post the articles I've found about them when I have time, but it isn't my top priority.  I'm not asking any readers to stop playing their Zynga games.  I have my own reasons for stopping.  My opinion of Zynga being shady is just part of it.  The fact that the games are a huge time suck are another reason. 

So enjoy your games and just make sure to read the fine print if you buy anything from these apps. 
It's just my opinion, after all. ;)

Something to Chew On - Zynga's Shady Dealings

Upon reviewing my Twitter updates this morning, something caught my eye.  Apparently Zynga, the company known for such popular Facebook applications as YoVille, FarmVille, and MafiaWars, to name a few, kept 50% of the money they raised for Haiti.  Now, in fairness to Zynga, they didn't keep that a secret.  But they didn't make it clear either, in my opinion, and that's the problem.  In fact, one of the messages that would pop up in FarmVille was outright deceiving.

But you don't have to take my word for it.  Check out the article at Gawker for more information:

http://gawker.com/5485675/

In my opinion, it sucks and I don't think I'll be playing my Zynga games on Facebook anymore.  No big loss to them, right? I never paid real money for anything anyway.

ali

Welcome to my new world!

First, let me give a public thanks to my friend Jennifer for providing me with my new blog title.  I was looking for something that was a little more descriptive of the types of things I'd be blogging.  In the end, with Jennifer's help, I've decided on "In My Opinion..." 

The main goal of my blog is to give everyone my ever-so-important opinion on whatever catches my fancy.  For the most part, it will be movies.  Every so often there will be a book or two.  And on a whim I'll post about products or articles I see online.

So welcome to the new format, I hope you like it.  If you do like it, please pass my link along to a friend or friends.  Feel free to add me to your own blog, Twitter, or Facebook.

Hopefully I'll bring you some entertainment.  Thanks and enjoy!

Ali

Banks at risk of going bust tops 700

I feel I should have the right to see this list:

Banks at risk of going bust tops 700

Posted using ShareThis

Go, Diego, Go! (Work that dress, girl!)

So lately I've come to realize that my only television exposure these days has been to either Logo or Nick Jr.  I've begun joking to my friends that I'm going to start having nightmares about Go, Diego, Go! in drag.  I joke, but it could happen.

Lately that's all I see.  My son is going on four and most of his TV viewing interests are geared towards Nick Jr.  I see Diego, Kai Lan, Dora, Max and Ruby, and Olivia more than I see my own friends and family.  Sometimes their songs get stuck in my head, often in a loop.  Even worse is when they turn into a medley.

I also have a one year old.  She is a miniature ball of energy that doesn't stop moving until she lays down at night. 

By the time I get some grown-up time to myself, it's almost my bed-time.  Inevitably I'll spend thirty minutes or more searching for something decent to watch before bed.  Just lately, most of my 'good' TV has been on the Logo channel.  For those of you not in the know, that's the LGBT friendly channel.  So I've gotten to see loads of Buffy re-runs (I guess because Willow turned gay.  Yay, Willow, you did something right!)   While getting sucked into episodes I've seen half a dozen times or more, I've also forgotten to change the channel after Buffy ends.  This will often lead to me watching something I'd never considered watching before.  Such as, Ru Paul's Drag Show.  LOVE IT!  Except now I'm totally fascinated.  Season 2 justs started and now I'm desperate for the next episode.  I want to know why the queens won't talk about how you tuck.  I wonder these things...because some of these girls look better in a dress than I do.  I also wonder about their make-up.  Is it so over-the-top because it's made for stage?  Or is it just a whole different visual culture?

Just when I'm ready to try another channel, on comes The Birdcage.  So it wasn't a huge hit.  I loved it.  I loved it so much that I saw it in the theaters about eight times.  (No, really, I did.)  I have it on DVD.  Yet, when it comes on TV, I still can't turn it off.

So now, thanks to Logo and Nick Jr., I fully expect to have weird dreams where Dora is really Diego wearing a wig and where Ru Paul yells "Swiper, no swiping!"

Somebody help me.

Random Thoughts on Aging Stars

The other night I got sucked into "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert"  It's an Australian movie about 3 drag queens who take a long trip into the desert to perform their big show in Alice Springs.  Their ride; an aging bus named Priscilla. 

Now, I'd heard of this movie before, but never paid it any mind.  I'm a fan of horror flicks, comedies, the occasional drama, and documentaries here and there.  I'm generally not a big fan of indie films or anything that hits big in Cannes.  Now that I've finally seen it, I only wish I had seen this movie sooner.  

The stars of this film surprised the hell out of me.  Again, having only been aware of it in the periphery of my movie knowledge, I had no idea who was in it.  For starters, Guy Pearce was in it.  (You know, that guy from Memento.)  He played a total bitch and pulled it off.   Another surprise for me was Hugo Weaving.  Remember Lord Elrond?  No? Ok, how about the Matrix?  "Missssster Andersennnnnnnn"  Agent Smith (or as I think of him from the second Matrix movie..."The Smiths"

But the grand shocker for me was Terrence Stamp as the aging, yet stunning Bernadette.  His sexy, English accent, those smoldering blue eyes...how can you not find him totally irresistible?  Of course my first exposure to him was in Superman 2 as Lord Zod. "Kneel! Knee son of Jorel! Kneel before Zod!" (Oh my god, that was all from memory.  I am such a geek-a-thon.)  He was attractive then.  I saw him in the 90s in Young Guns.  Mmmm.  Sexy older man, sexy foreign accent.  To see him as a woman, but still hear that voice and see those eyes was a bit jarring, but he did it and did it well. 

The actual purpose of this post, though, is because I feel the need to share my lament over my favorite aging stars.  Terrence Stamp is old enough to be my father.  He is almost old enough to be my grand-father.  Almost.  The last updated picture I saw of him on IMDB had him finally starting to show his age a little.  He still looks fabulous, but how long can a man go without starting to look older than 55?  What bothered me was not his looks.  I was saddened by the fact that many of my favorite actors, such as Terrence Stamp, are going to die.  Some of them will die soon.  I know this is sort of a 'well duh' moment, but it just happened sooner than I'd expected.  Of course you know everyone is going to die someday.  You know that includes actors, singers, artists of all sorts, and even your favorite teacher in high school.  But having the reality hit me when I figured out how old Mr. Stamp was...well that was a slap in the face.

There's no point to this, really.  I just had to share.