Hanson: Thinking 'Bout Somethin'

My favorite band of brothers, Hanson, just released the music video for "Thinking 'Bout Somethin'," the first single off their upcoming album, Shout it Out (June 8).


Thinking 'Bout Somethin'

HANSON | MySpace Music Videos

The video is sunny and fun, just right for a spring/summer single, I think. And the cameo by Weird Al doesn't hurt either!

Enjoy!

All New Glee: Hell-O

Spoilers below!

We're finally done with the Glee hiatus! And the show was back with a bang as far as I'm concerned, though the first few minutes were a little rough.

The show picks up shortly after "Sectionals" ended. Glee club are still social outcasts but Will gives them the assignment of finding a song with "Hello" in the title to symbolize a new beginning after Sectionals. Sue has to get herself re-instated by giving Figgins roofies and taking compromising photos of them together as blackmail. Other people liked this bit, but I didn't find it all that funny, which is why the beginning of the episode was rough for me.

Finn and Rachel are now a couple, with Finn not sure this is what he wanted. He's casting looks at Quinn, who is now with Puck (I guess? They didn't say for sure.) Rachel is bringing her usual over-enthusiastic crazy: Team Finn t-shirt (I want!), relationship calendar, etc. He finally admits that he's not sure he wants to be in a relationship as he needs to get his head on straight after the whole Quinn debacle. He's helped along by Santana and Brittany trying to date him on Sue's orders (she wants Rachel humiliated so she leaves glee club). His realization comes during a performance of "Hello, I Love You" by The Doors that rocked my socks off. Please let Cory Monteith sing in a lower key all the time! He was fantastic and sexy and cocky.

Rachel is heartbroken, and she performs a blistering rendition of All American Rejects "Gives You Hell" aimed at Finn. She's not heartbroken for long though, as she meets the lead singer of Vocal Adrenaline, Jesse St. James (guest star Jonathan Groff). I wasn't into Jesse until he opened his mouth and began to sing "Hello" with Lea, but then I was totally sold. Since I'm now shipping them, at least for now, I'm sure we're going to find out that he's romancing her for nefarious reasons related to VA beating New Directions at Regionals.

When Finn tries to reconcile with Rachel, she shuns him for her new man, thought I can't blame her because he goes about it the wrong way and is motivated by not wanting to be alone. Finn is suspicious of Jesse, and tells the rest of the club, who try to force Rachel to break up with him. Rachel is prompted by a scheming Sue (who gathers a lonely hearts club of school outcasts to convince Rachel she shouldn't give in to the club's demand) to go to Jesse, and she ultimately decides to stay with him in secret so the club doesn't kick her out. He assures her that he's on the level but shares a look with Shelby that could mean differently. Groff and Lea Michele have smokin' chemistry, at any rate.

Somewhere along the way, probably when he realizes Rachel wants someone else, Finn decides that he truly wants to be with Rachel, all in. You could tell a part of Rachel really wants to take him up on it, but she's secretly with Jesse, so she tells Finn they can't risk the drama of a relationship in the club and wind up with another debacle like Sectionals. Finn has a new swagger though and assures her that he's not giving up, which leads into the final musical number: the whole club doing "Hello, Goodbye." The tables have turned from the first part of the season, with Finn openly pursuing Rachel and her backing away visibly during the number.

Will and Emma try to date, but hit the breaks when Emma admits she's a virgin. Will meets Vocal Adrenaline's coach, Shelby (Idina Menzel) and makes out with her (Bad Shue!). Emma has a run in with Terri at the Schuster house, leading up to them deciding to cool their relationship so Will can get to know himself since he's been with Terri since he was 15 (and the show continues to push the Will/Finn parallels). Can you tell I don't really care as much about the adults in this show?

Overall, I was pretty impressed with the episode, though I would have liked more from the other glee club kids. All their stories took a backseat to Rachel/Finn/Jesse and Emma/Will. I think this episode showcased some of the best work we've seen so far from Cory Monteith, especially his performance while Rachel was singing "Gives You Hell." I'm interested to see where the Jesse/Rachel relationship goes, and if he's going to be good, bad, or somewhere in between. I'm also looking forward to seeing how Finn Hudson pursues a girl, and how that might affect the 'Kurt likes Finn' storyline.

Fox aired Sue Sylvester's "Vogue" music video (featuring Kurt and Mercedes) after the episode and it was so much win you have to see it for yourself, as I can't adequately describe it.

Lines of the night:

"Dolphins are just gay sharks." - Brittany
"No, she's dead. This is her son." - Kurt
"I'm engorged with venom and triumph." - Sue

Next week: "The Power of Madonna" and hopefully less gratuitous use of parentheses (maybe)

Trying Out Hipstamatic for iPhone

I downloaded a new photo app for the iPhone this morning, and its a lot of fun: Hipstamatic. Its meant to emulate an old plastic toy camera. You get a choice of three lenses, three film types (affects the frame of the picture) and two flashes for the 1.99 app download. You can also buy more lenses, films, and flashes from the Hipstamatic Mart. I haven't bought anything from the mart yet, but I probably will in the future. Its very easy to take pics straight from the app and upload to Flickr (as I have with the ones below) or to post to Facebook. My only complaint is that there's no option to tweet your photos, or if there is, they've made the option too difficult to find.

I had some fun switching lenses and photographing the same Coke bottle on my desk:

Kaimal Mark II Lens

Jimmy Lens



John S Lens (my fave so far)

And just for kicks, here's my new Kindle skin:

Kaimal Mark II Lens

Music Monday: Wherein Holly is a Lounge Singer

I often have elaborate daydreams while on road trips. I've driven the roads between my house here in Conway and my hometown of Jonesboro so many times that its a great time to let my mind wander (not too far, no wrecks!).

One of my favorite things to do is to put the shuffle on my iPod and look for songs that suit my mood. Then I pretend that I'm belting them out in front of an adoring crowd. I have a fantastic singing voice in my day dreams, it never cracks or can't hit a high note.

Last night, the setting for my performance was an intimate club, just me and a piano. Today, I made a playlist with many of the songs I chose and some that I didn't get to on the trip that would have worked well. It turns out, lounge singer me is kinda depressing and whiney, but hey, we all get in that mood sometimes. For a giggle, picture me singing these songs in my car by myself at the top of my lungs.

Enjoy my playlist!

If I were a Lounge Singer

Fun Friday: The Mysterious Ticking Noise

Today's Fun Friday video is The Potter Puppet Pals' "The Mysterious Ticking Noise." Love this video and its catchy little song that is so easy to get stuck in your head. Also fun for assigning out parts to your friends and trying to recreate it!

When One Door Closes, a Window Opens

April 8th is the day TOMS Shoes sponsors "One Day Without Shoes" to raise awareness of the number of children in developing countries who go barefoot every day. People all over the world go barefoot for the day or just a few minutes to experience what its like to live without shoes.

A few facts from One Day Without Shoes:

* In some developing nations, children must walk for miles to school, clean water and to seek medical help.
* Cuts and sores on feet can lead to serious infection.
* Often, children cannot attend school barefoot.
* In Ethiopia, approximately one million people are suffering from Podoconiosis, a debilitating and disfiguring disease caused by walking barefoot in volcanic soil.
* Podoconiosis is 100% preventable with basic foot hygiene and wearing shoes.

After hearing about this event on Facebook, I really wanted to participate, mainly by going barefoot at my job so that I could raise awareness there. Let's face it, that's my main avenue for contact with people, a consequence of living alone. However, I made the mistake of actually asking for permission from my bosses to do so, and was refused (they're good guys, but HR has to be lawsuit conscious).

Then something awesome happened. Kris Allen, the American Idol winner from here in Conway, is involved with One Day Without Shoes, and it just so happens that I work with his Uncle Kenny. God bless him, when he heard that I'd been denied permission to go barefoot for this good cause, he wanted to do something about it.

Thanks to Kenny, I got pretty much the whole day off to go be barefoot. He also made sure I (along with my friend Sarah) got put on the VIP list for Kris' UCA show, where we got to sit in the friends and family section. Thanks to him, I got to spend the afternoon participating in the Barefoot Walk at UCA and seeing a fantastic little concert.

Tonight, my feet are sore and skinned, but I have the luxury of antibiotic cream and comfy socks tomorrow. My heart goes out to those who don't. This is a cause worth contributing to!

Check out the links above if you're interested in what you can do to help kids without shoes. I will be buying myself a pair of TOMS shoes very soon. I think its a win/win situation. I get a cute pair of shoes (there's a pair that sparkles!) and a child gets a new pair too! Also, I'll have pictures of today's walk and concert very soon!

This was such an inspiring day, and its amazing that I had no idea that any of this would happen when I got up this morning. In fact, I was convinced that I'd be going barefoot to get the mail instead of being out there, walking for the cause.

Thanks for being a window, Kenny.

TV Tuesday: NCAA Men's Basketball Championship

Close games raise my blood pressure. The closer the score, the lower the time clock goes, the more tense I get. By the last minute of the NCAA Championship game between the Butler University Bulldogs and the Duke Blue Devils, I couldn't even be in the room with the television. Instead, I was standing in my bedroom, peeking around the corner every minute or so to check the score.

I didn't have any particular loyalties going into this game. My only traditional loyalty is to the Razorbacks, then after that to the SEC. When those two rules aren't in play, I usually root for the underdog. This meant I was rooting for Butler, like a lot of other people. Duke came into the tournament as the first seed in their bracket, while Butler was 5th.

Butler also got my vote for having the cutest coach:


















And Butler has this guy:
















His name is Gordon. How do you not root for a guy named Gordon with big ears?

Anyway, Butler wasn't expected to give Duke much trouble, but it was a close game from beginning to end, making last year's North Carolina win seem boring in comparison, even though it was my beloved Psycho T's last college game. I never saw Duke get ahead by more than 5 points. Butler was down by 2 at the last second and poor Gordon's half court shot didn't fall.

Cinderella didn't win the game, but I don't think they really lost it either. There's no shame in being a 5 seed that lost by 2 points to a 1 seed. They fought hard and should be proud. As for Duke, I harbor no ill will towards them, but I'm pretty unmoved by their win. I'm sure the players are ecstatic, but I can't get too excited when a traditionally winning program wins some more, unless they've had a bad couple of years (which Duke hasn't).

Sorry, Gordon, maybe next year.