MDNA

Madonna released her new 17 minute short film last week, co-directed with Stephen Klein, called secretprojectrevolution.  I didn't forget my spacing, by the way, that's what it's called :)  Anyway, it is....fantastic, scary, captivating, disconcerting and, in summary, FABULOUS.  I heart Madge in a big way.  Always have.  The woman is 55 years old and she is still unstoppable.  She's an artist, a genius, a mogul, a diva, an icon...and the list continues.

The film was released alongside the launch of Art For Freedom, an online global initiative to further freedom of expression, created by Madonna, curated by VICE, and distributed by BitTorrent.  "My goal is to show by the example of secretprojectrevolution my creative commitment to inspire change in the world through artistic expression. I hope my film and other submissions to Art For Freedom will be a call-to-action and give people a place to voice their own creative expression to help fight oppression, intolerance and complacency," commented Madonna.

Art For Freedom is a global digital initiative, led by Madonna, designed to fuel free speech to respond, address and protest persecution around the world. It is an online public art project encouraging the world to express their personal meaning of freedom and revolution, in the form of video, music, poetry, and photography. Public submissions will become part of the Art For Freedom platform: contributors can join the project by uploading original artwork or tagging original posts #artforfreedom.

Art For Freedom launches with the secretprojectrevolution film distributed as a BitTorrent Bundle. The film, plus bonus content, is available to the public for free download.  Anyone can download and unlock the secretprojectrevolution bundle to receive the film, plus bonus content, for free.The 

BitTorrent Bundle is a powerful new media format that's built to move freely across the Internet. It is designed to hold any file type, and any file size. And it's designed to encourage and empower free expression, beyond the Internet.

So, with all that^^^ being said, here is a link to the film.  Watch it.  It really hit home for me...made me want to do something.  Little ole' me.  What the Hell would I do.  I'm certainly not an artist.  Can't sing, dance, or write a poem.  Maybe I can just blog about it and get other people excited about expressing what freedom means to them.  Also released on YouTube last week is a forty minute interview with Madonna by Eddy Moretti from VICE (VICE Media) to talk about the film, and the events leading up to it.  She shares the pain of injustices she has experienced personally on tour around the world, and the complacency she has experienced in this, our great nation.  It certainly makes you think, if nothing else. In my humble opinion, thinking is what we do far too little of these days.

I did, after watching both the film and the interview, download the BitTorrent Bundle.  Great stuff, including a handwritten note from Madonna and Stephen Klein, and this cool billboard pic.

Time for a good gossip post...

WHAT IN THE FREAKING WORLD IS THIS GIRL THINKING????  I keep trying to give her the benefit of the doubt.  I keep thinking that she is just trying to shed that Disney image.  But every day she seems to come up with something more horrendous to do/wear.  She's wearing pasties.  Egads, Woman!  You're making an ass of yourself.



Here's a New Funny or Die video bit with Justin Bieber and Zach Galifianakis, who does a whole series of similar spoofs with celebrities, a 'talk show' called Between Two Ferns.  Very funny.  Loves me some Zach.

Now, for the gratuitous pic of the day...
You are welcome in advance.It's one of those
'who wore it better' faceoffs.  I'm ALWAYS going
 to vote for Mr. Beckham, but Cristiano Ronaldo,
who's new underwear line is available November
1st, is lookin' pretty damn fine.

Holy hotness, Batman.

In Fashion news, Hollywood A-listers are following a
new trend for Fall,  pairing really bright colored shoes
with things that don't match at all.  I don't get it, but I'm
 a freak about my shoes matching my outfit.  I guess if
you're famous, you can pull anything off.

In Glee news...

We are just two weeks away from the Cory Monteith
tribute episode.  I'm still way back in season three, but
I will definitely tune in to watch.  So unbelievably sad
and unnecessary.



Who said Hollywood love never lasts.  Just found this
adorable pic of Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell last week.
Love them.  THIRTY YEARS, folks.  And I'm sweating
bullets trying to make it to sixteen.

New couple alert!!!

Kate Upton and Maksim Chmerkovskiy (say that fast three times),
seen holding hands in NYC on Thursday.  Cute.

George Clooney (who by the way, while I'm still totally in love with him, is still very much gay) is quite the prankster these days, and his latest target is none other than the gorgeous Sandra Bullock.  Sandra appeared on Jay Leno promoting her new lost in space movie called Gravity (snooz), and shared the prank with Jay.

The top story on People.com today has absolutely no business being a top story.  Pamela Anderson is going to run the New York Marathon in November to raise funds for Haitian relief.  Bleh!  She makes me cringe.  Who cares where she's running, unless it's a long run off a short pier.  Furthermore, if she actually makes it halfway through the marathon, how is she not going to have two black eyes with those tatas flapping in her face?  Ugh...what a nightmare.

SEX!!!
Got your attention, didn't I? Haha.  I guess after my last post with interesting but not terribly exciting facts about Hungary, I can spice things up a little with some SEX.

Actually, I just added a new book to my ever-growing and rather long reading wish list.  A book called Masters of Sex, by Thomas Maier.  It's a biography that tells the story of Dr. William Masters and his research assistant Virginia Johnson, famously known as Masters and Johnson.  Their work in the 50's and 60's built on the previous work of Alfred Kinsey, and changed the way that Americans viewed sex.

I stumbled on the book after a friend introduced me to the new Showtime series, Masters of Sex.  The series stars Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan, and looks to be really good.  Not sure whether I shall read first or watch first, but thought I would share some of the reviews for the new Showtime series.  The entire first episode, which premieres this Sunday the 29th, is actually on YouTube.

Here is the official trailer...



The Hollywood Reporter says:  

The series was created by Michelle Ashford and stars Michael Sheen as Dr. William Masters and Lizzy Caplan as Virginia Johnson. The casting is impeccable. Caplan is magnetic as Johnson, the single mother struggling to survive in the '60s, getting a secretarial job and, because she’s in tune with her own sexuality, effortlessly conveying to the more uptight Masters just what a woman wants. The actress navigates her sexuality with ease and allows the mental and emotional elements of the character to stay front and center (there’s already enough nudity and sex in the surrounding environs of the show, so this is a fine choice by both Ashford and Caplan).

Sheen is equally compelling, and that’s a feat not without effort, given how unlikable Masters is when we meet him. In the two episodes sent by Showtime, Sheen manages to project Masters’ ego and drive as both his strengths and weaknesses — pushing the sex study when everyone is trying to kill it and, on the other hand, being unable to tell his wife, Libby (Caitlin Fitzgerald), that it’s his low sperm count, not an inability on her part to conceive, keeping them from having a baby – which is cruel and echoes his lack of passion for her. (It has a fine supporting cast as well, including Beau Bridges and Allison Janney.)  There appear to be myriad stories for the writers to mine in Masters of Sex, which lets the audience know that it’s not going to be a sprint from two disparate people to a couple on the cover of Timemagazine, spearheading a sexual revolution. But perhaps the best story of all is that Masters of Sexmanages, with lightning speed, to shed any preconceived notions about what type of show it will be and, in so doing, tilts the camera up from the breast to the brain.

The Washington Post says:

Liberally adapted from Thomas Maier’s thorough 2009 biography of the pioneering sex researchers William Masters and Virginia Johnson, Showtime’s provocative new drama has no problems whatsoever grabbing attention and whatever else that wants to get grabbed. The setting is the prim American ’50s, where well-respected St. Louis gynecologist Masters (Michael Sheen) is secretly exploring the greater mysteries of human sexuality, mainly by convincing prostitutes to let him spy on them through peepholes while they do their work.  What Masters doesn’t know about women could (and eventually does) fill several books, but things get interesting when a new secretary at his hospital applies to be his research assistant. She is, of course, Virginia Johnson (played by Lizzy Caplan), a single mother with a forward-thinking sensibility about her own sex life. As a science project, “Masters of Sex” is an early success; Sheen seems to relish playing the uptight doctor who is beginning to understand the way his world restricts women (in and out of the bedroom) and Caplan is instantly perfect as the woman who will both teach and enchant him.  But none of that is happening too fast. “Masters of Sex” masters the restrained narrative equivalent of seduction and foreplay, building its story in a controlled and stylish (and, yes, frankly adult-oriented) manner. This TV season has failed to arouse me, but if there’s one show that might hit the right spot on the Sunday DVR queue, it’s this one. Grade: B+

Since I started this post, I have actually watched the pilot episode.  Two thumbs up from me :)

Update: found this amazing NPR interview with the author Thomas Maier.  Not to be missed.  It's 33 minutes well spent if you have any intention of watching the show.

Happy Friday!!!  It's been a long week here at Chez McGann.  I can speak for all of us when I say, YAY, FRIDAY!

Was deciding what to write about today when it dawned on me...Hungary.  I had a Hungarian friend here this morning for coffee, and we have a Hungarian couple arriving tonight from Budapest for the weekend, so it only seems appropriate.  Most of my American friends know that we lived in Hungary for 11 years (1997-2008), but that's about all they know.  They would have a hard time finding it on a map, and always ask me right away, "what language do they speak?" or "what kind of food do they eat?" or "did you really like living there?"

Tangent here for a minute, while I stand on my soap box.  My biggest complaint about the American education system is that we don't teach our kids enough about the world they live in.  Thankfully, my kids are lucky enough to have lived abroad and traveled.  They would never have received that kind of education here.  I can remember my middle/high school courses...a year of Ohio History in 7th grade, American History in 8th grade, World History in 10th grade, American History in 11th grade, and American Government in 12th grade.  That means that one out of five years (20%) of my education in history/govenrment was spent learning about anything outside of the US.  Even now, twenty five years later, my kids might learn something about Mexico or South America, but other than elective classes (Riley is taking a class this year called AP Human Geography), they wouldn't learn a thing about the rest of the world.  When I have that conversation with Americans, often their response is "Well, America IS a really big country".  Yes, it is.  That being said, the world is a pretty damn big place too.

So, your lesson today shall include, but not be limited to, ten things you didn't know about Hungary* 

Like neighboring countries, Hungary was part of the Celtic world, then the Roman Empire. following the fall of Rome, the Huns settled in the plains of Pannonia and gave their name to Hungary.

Hungary is one of the oldest countries in Europe. It was founded in 896, before France and Germany became separate entities, and before the unification of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

Hungarian language is known as Magyar. It is the direct descendent of the language spoken by the Huns, and is therefore not an Indo-European language. It has only two related languages in Europe : Finnish (Suomi) and Estonian (Eesti keel).

One third of the 15 million Hungarian speakers live outside Hungary, mostly in Romania, but also in all adjacent countries to Hungary.

Despite the country's name and its language, DNA tests have revealed that central Asian genes represent only a tiny percentage of the Hungarian population.

Around 1000 CE, the Kingdom of Hungary was one of the largest states in Europe, bigger than France. Later, it became of the the two "eagle heads" of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Hungary was one of the first communist-era country to oppose the Soviet regime during the Cold War, notably with the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The 1986 Hungarian Grand Prix was the first Formula One race to take place behind the Iron Curtain. In 1989, Hungary was the first communist-block country to open its borders with Western Europe.

In 1946, Hungary issued banknotes of a face value of 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 pengo (one quintillion pengo) - the world's highest denomination ever.

According to EU statistics, Hungary the highest death rate by cancer in Europe, and the highest female suicide rate.

Hungarian inventions include the noiseless match (János Irinyi), Rubik's cube (Erno Rubik), and the krypton electric bulb (Imre Bródy).  Several other inventions were made by Hungarians who fled the country prior to World War II, including holography (Dennis Gabor), the ballpoint pen (László Bíró), the theory of the hydrogen bomb (Edward Teller), and the BASIC programming language (John Kemeny, with Thomas E. Kurtz).

*source: www.eupedia.com 

How's that for informative? :)  I actually learned a couple of things too.

It's a place that I love dearly, and in all honesty feels more like home to me than where I live now.  They were great years, living there.  We traveled, made lots of friends, and in truth we became adults there (I was 25 when I went, but a far cry from an adult in the true sense of the word).  We drank like fish and celebrated anything there was to celebrate.  Our kids were born there and spent their formative years there.  It remains, and always will, a part of me.  With a bit of luck and my husband's ingenuity, we will return in the not so distant future for round two.

Thought I would add some pictures of Budapest, although if we are friends on FB, you probably have had  more than your share show up on your wall over the years...

The utterly amazing parliament building

Heroe's Square

A vegetable stand in the great Market Hall

The Fisherman's Bastion

Nyugati train station

Dobos Torta --- the yummiest of cakes!

So....who wants to go?  We still have a house there.  We're going in March.  Come on along!!!

Good Morning!  I laid in bed half the night, wide awake, thinking about things I need to blog about :)  I know, I really should get a job or something, maybe volunteer in the community, get out of the house more...

My guest this morning will be a bit controversial.  After I told you yesterday that I steer clear of news/politics, I'm making a beeline right for it. Haha.  Anyhoo, the man of the hour is none other than Richard Dawkins, renowned author and scientist (technically he's an evolutionary biologist).  In case you aren't familiar, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dawkins.  I'm a big fan.  I'm actually reading his book, The God Delusion, on my Kindle right now.  I will qualify that by saying that I'm reading a few pages at a time.  It's HEAVY reading, certainly for me.

Mr. Dawkins is actually here in the US on a book tour right now, lecturing and promoting his new book, An Appetite for Wonder, which not coincidentally was reviewed by NPR yesterday:  http://www.npr.org/2013/09/25/223174504/richard-dawkins-opens-up-in-appetite-for-wonder.

In this, his TWELFTH book, he opens up for the first time about his own life.  It will definitely be my next non-fiction read.  The NPR reviewer refers to Dawkins as 'the most controversial atheist on the planet'.  In my opinion, that means that he's done a very good job of making people sit up and take notice of his thoughts and ideas, which also makes him a successful atheist, if there is such a thing.

He appeared Tuesday night on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, yes to promote his book, but also to discuss the topic of whether the eventual doom of our civilization will be the result of science or religion.  He then goes on to discuss science vs. religion in general and why the two are incompatible.  This is the first part of a three-part interview (the rest of the interview is posted at:  http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-september-24-2013/exclusive---richard-dawkins-extended-interview-pt--2).  Great stuff.  Watch all three parts.




Did I mention?  LOVE Richard Dawkins.  Another product of his AMAZING BRAIN is a series, originally airing in the UK, called Sex, Death, and the Meaning of Life.  The three part series tackles all kinds of questions...How can we be moral without religion? How can we find comfort in the prospect of death without religion?  What happens if we leave religion behind?  How can an Atheist find meaning in life?

This is the first part of the series...Great stuff :)  Watch all three!!!



One more video, okay maybe two, and I'll stop.  As two of my favorite people's worlds collide, we find Richard Dawkins interviewing none other than my other true love, Ricky Gervais.  FANTASTIC!




Last one!



Lots to ponder, that's for sure.  Will close for now, with the thought that atheism makes as much sense to me as anything else, so I'm putting my eggs in that basket :)


PS.
Unrelatedly, a follow-up to my comments on Miley Cyrus and her new video yesterday.  I found this article to be absolutely hysterical...http://jezebel.com/an-encyclopedia-of-diseases-miley-cyrus-can-catch-by-li-1379909484.

X Factor.  Who loves it?  I do.  I don't watch TV, but I love these goofy singing shows.  The Voice comes in second...not quite as entertaining.  Keira and I watch it every week on the DVR, as she also enjoys it.

Here are my two favorite performers so far...

and...

Can't wait to see who survives next week's round of cuts.

We were watching it last night and I said something to Keira about one of the acts that was about to perform.  She looked at me, straight-faced, and said "Hello! Spoiler Alert".  She takes this stuff seriously.

Back to the old days for a moment, when I blogged only about life with three (no longer) little monkeys.  My friend Patricia did a photo shoot of them last weekend, and I think the photos turned out great.  By the way, if you're in the market for a photographer in Tampa, look her up.  Her Facebook page is called Staples of Life Photography.  These are the black and white version, to which I am always partial.

SPOILER ALERT!  Here is a sneak peek at this year's Xmas card, which is ordered and on it's way.  Earliest I have EVER gotten it done...so very proud of myself...

Love my babies :0)

Wednesday.  Hump Day (sidenote...who is tired of that damn Geico camel??).  It's raining cats and dogs here in the TPA, so I decided it is as good a time as any to attempt getting back on the blogging bike.  I was just looking at my posts through the years and laughing at how this little piece of me evolved.  It started out as an inane rant about kids and motherhood, then took a turn to become mostly a rant about nothing in particular, then there was this little itty-bitty self-help phase I felt the need to share at the time.  I thought about just deleting all those posts and starting fresh, but in the end decided to leave them there for the time being.

So what shall I rant about this time??? Hmmmm....  Perhaps a bit of this and a bit of that.  Guess that's why I like to call it 'celebrating randomness'.  You just never know what you're gonna get.  A lot has happened, and yet nothing has happened in the 2.5 years since I've been here.  Look for a significant number of dog photos, as we have six now.  Oh, and lots of delving into the teenage brain, or lack thereof.  Marriage is treatly me absolutely fabulous at the moment, so you won't hear me complain much about Sugah Daddy, although I'm certain there will be the odd annoyance. Haha.  If you know me at all, you know that I'm ADDICTED to the Hollywood gossip scene, and I love a bit of scandal as much as the next guy.  That being said, if it's not on People.com or in People magazine, chances are you won't see it here - People is the one and only source for such fodder.  Current events and political mumbo jumbo?  Not so much, although I do dabble in being informed.  I sound like I'm as deep as a puddle, don't I?

Health and Fitness?  Sorry...you're going to have to head elsewhere for that.  I am, however, about to embark on a journey to drop 40 pounds that I have somehow acquired in the last two years, so I'm sure you'll get to hear about that.   Food and recipes?  Now were talkin'.  I am a total foodie, and I'm always happy to pass on something I've tried or that sounds good, although most people can just go to Pinterest for that nowadays.  In summary, I have no idea what this will be, which always makes things interesting.  Probably won't even put it out there that I'm blogging again for a few weeks, just to see what transpires.

Guess that I will take the narcissistic route for today, and babble about myself incessantly.  I was born...just kidding.  Seriously though, how about ten things that I absolutely adore, for a start?

1. Sleep.  I love it.  I crave it.  Can't get enough of it.  Naptime?  I'm there.  Early to bed?  You betcha.  I'm convinced I must have been a sloth in a former life,  because I would seriously have no problem staying in bed for eternity, moving only to feed myself and work the tv remote.  Does this mean I'm lazy?  I don't think so, I just love, love, love to sleep.
2. Music.  What do people do without music?  I have pert near 7,000 songs on my iPod, and I usually have some form of music playing in the background.  You may have noticed the music player at the bottom of the page.  The current playlist, which I actually like very much, makes me look like a hipster, which I actually am.  Not.  I do like the top 40 garbage though, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.  
3. Ricky Gervais.  I'm not sure why he is number three, but I adore him.  Everything he touches is, in my humble opinion, pure comedic genius.  He is truly one of the funniest people on the planet.  Don't believe me?  Pick up or download the UK version of The Office, or another little-known (in the US) show called Extras, or his most recent comedy called Life's Too Short.  Brilliant.  Even better...his stand-up.  Here's a link to his blog...http://rickygervais.com/thissideofthetruth.php
4. Macarons.  Hands down, the most delightful treat you will ever have the pleasure of plopping in your mouth (http://www.laduree.com/).  AH-MAZING!!!  They just opened a shop in New York, which is a bit out of the way, but most cities have a bakery that sells macarons.  A quote from their website..."We firmly believe that a weakness for sweets is a noble approach to everyday living."  You had me at 'a weakness for sweets'.
5. Facebook.  #totallyaddicted. Again, what do people do without it?  The Hubster says it is delivered through the internet directly from Satan's laptop.  He HATES it with a passion.  Why?  What's so bad about it?  Oh, the fact that I completely ignore everything around me, including my children, so that I can tune in to see what so-and-so had for lunch?  Ha.  I know it's ridiculous, but it's my little connection to the outside world.  Haven't really racked it up in the friend department since we moved to Tampa five years ago, so FB is my one big friend.  I suppose since nobody is really reading this, my blog is my other BFF.  Geez, Ker, you might need to get a life one of these days.
6. Justin Timberlake. Swoon. This guy...he can sing, dance and act, he is beautiful, and full of comedic ability.  I heart him. alot.  He's coming to Orlando December 19th.  Tickets are going for around $200, just in case you're thinking about the perfect Xmas gift for yours truly.
7. Dogs.  I suppose this one goes without saying, but I had to put it on the list.  Love my four-legged furry friends, some days more than my children. Haha.  Have no idea what we were thinking when we acquired number 4, 5, and 6, but now I love them all and I'm stuck with the circus that has become my household.
8. Technology.  From the iPad to my Galaxy S3 to my shiny new laptop, I am most content when surrounded by technology.  I'm even pretty good at figuring shit out, if I do say so myself.  I mean, outside of installing printer drivers and new software I'm a little challenged, but I will happily try to tackle anything gadget/tech related.
9. Gerbera Daisies.  My favorite flowers on the planet.  All colors.  Not sure why.  I used to buy them all the time when we lived in Budapest.  Maybe they just remind me of my other home :)
10. THE Ohio State Buckeyes.  I saved the best for last.  ANYONE who knows me knows that I'm a HUGE fan of Buckeye football, and that I will go to just about any length to catch the game. OH Baby!!! If you're not from Ohio, you just don't understand...best fans in the land.

And that's a wrap.  Ten things that you should know about me :)

Bonus: here's the trailer for the new Muppet movie, coming next year, starring RICKY GERVAIS.

What else to talk about today?

Here's something random....Cher.  How freaking fabulous is she?  Also coming to Orlando, May 16th 2014, and I'm going.  Not sure I can convince Sugah Daddy to come along, so if you're up for it, let me know.  That bitch is 67 years old, and she doesn't look a day over 40.  So what if she had 143 plastic surgeries.  She looks fantastic.  We saw her in Budapest back in ???? and she knocked my socks off.  Seemed like a costume change with every song. Love her!  The new album just dropped on Tuesday and it is great.  Lots of dance tunes and a couple of sappy ballads that I could leave or take.

Her latest single...Woman's World.  Check out the wacky newspaper wig...she totally rocks it.




Also in entertainment news this week...Miley Cyrus, rearing her ugly head again for a new rap video, in which she is equally, if not more, repulsive than she was in her VMA appearance a few weeks ago.  Even better this time, though, she is smoking in the video.  Yet again, Miss Thang, way to represent for your fan base consisting of millions of young girls.  Bleh! Doesn't even really warrant a mention here, but the song is so bad it's worth a giggle to watch.  My guys love their hip-hop...this one, however should fall under the category of hip-stop!  Can't believe I just put Cher and Miley in the same blog post.  Did I mention? Bleh!




Okay kiddies, it's time for me to sign off for now.  Before I go, though, let me leave you with this, my thought for the day...

Peace, out....xoxo