The Oscars: Formerly titled the Academy Awards

Hi everyone. It's Andrew with a review.

So the Academy Awards took place on Sunday. Hosted by Seth McFarlane (and not McFarland as some have actually thought), the show was as buzzed about as it should be. People thought he would crash and burn; some thought that he would fail the minute he stepped out on stage. And as much as I hate this guy for creating Family Guy, I was hoping that wouldn't happen. Fortunately, it didn't happen. He kept it classy as he kept it humorous. In his monologue, McFarlane mentioned some of the years' nominees and made some jokes at their expense. Some of my favorites include one including making Tommy Lee Jones smile, Daniel Day Lewis in character as Abraham Lincoln looking at Don Cheadle and trying to free him, Roman Coppola being nominated (like every other Coppola), and making a Django Unchained joke about Chris Brown beating Rihanna (not the first, not the last) though I admit that shocked me too.
At first when William Shattner (aka Captain James T. Kirk #1) appeared on giant screen from the future, announcing that McFarlane is going to destroy the show, I thought "Oh no, this going to be horrible", while at the same time thought "How did the producers know the show would this bad?". Kirk showed Seth reviews of his hosting duty, ranging from "Worst Oscars host ever" to a mediocre "Seth McFarlane proves to be mediocre host", which Seth settled on because it's the best review he's ever gotten.
Kirk then showed McFarlane recordings of the telecast, including a not-so-subtle ditty about...the titty, "We Saw Your Boobs". My favorite part was when Jennifer Lawrence actually smiled; I nearly died. Seriously, a gay men's choir? But over time my perception changed as the monologue went on. Kirk shows a reenactment of Flight...with sock puppets. That was absolutely hilarious.
Instead of the usual "stick-the-host-in-the-movie" shtick, McFarlane chose a song and dance routine with Daniel Radcliffe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Kirk then showed Seth making Sally Field uncomfortable as the Flying Nun. (At least he mentioned Gidget, which I think is better than The Flying Nun) And then they kiss. And so McFar responded with another (sigh) song-and-dance routine, to the tune of "Be Our Guest" which actually was masterfully done and made me want to sing along. During this monologue, it felt like I was watching another awards ceremony disguised as the Oscars. And that's a good thing concidering what we're about to see.

Some of the presenters were, at best, awkwardly funny. Octavia Spencer acted as is she was about to brag about her surprise-but-well-deserved win last year, but thank God she didn't; the cast of The Avengers tried to go through the speaking parts and go to the nominees, but one of them keeps pulling back, which is embarrassing and humorous at the same time; Halle Berry...Halle Berry. Her just saying "Pussy Galore" make all guys swoon for her. (Yes, I'm misogynistic. Whatever.) Some of the other presenters were and kept it classy. John Travolta was true to his word when he said Oscar a lot. Then came the winners. While some had their speeches short and sweet, others...well, let's say that one was so long that the theme from Jaws was used to basically say "All right, you said enough. Now shut up and leave!" It was used twice more, but fortunately the speeches were shorter.

Now to those who performed. The ever so beautiful Dame Shirley Bassey performed the title theme song from the 007 film Goldfinger in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the James Bond films. She looked as great as she sang. Even in mute, she is incredible. Next was a celebration of the musical films of the past decade, including: Chicago, with Catherine Zeta-Jones performing "All That Jazz" (I didn't notice she was lip-syncing because I was busy looking at her body.), Dreamgirls, with the always-amazing Jennifer Hudson performing "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (she didn't need dancers or SFX or even more than one light), and the cast of Les Miserables performed basically almost everything (actually it was "Suddenly" and "One Day More"). All three were magnificent. Later on Adele sang the title theme song of the current 007 hit Skyfall. She left her heart on stage, but picked it up later on with her Oscar win for Original Song. Finally, after the In Memoriam segment, Barbara Streisand performed one of the best compositions by the late Marvin Hamlisch, The Way We Were. Both beautiful and heartwarming in memory of a great composer.

There were a few moments that made me almost say "What The Serious F*ck" Basically the part with the German Nazi was the WTSF moment of the entire show. Then came Anne Hathaway...and her nipples. They was popping like the sun in your face. The aforementioned Avengers mess-up is another. Seriously if you mess up, improvise or say "the nominees are...", don't point it out. And the scariest moment was when the mention of Best Picture nominee Amour came up. Now I'm afraid to go see it. Jennifer Lawrence falling to the stage, thanks to the big ass dress she wore. That made me laugh at her and fall for her at the same time. At least she has grace. And last but not least, McFarlane was joined by Kristin Chenowith to perform a song to celebrate the losers of the show. I couldn't hear it, nor understood it.

And now the WINNERS:

Picture Argo (Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney)
Actor Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
Actress Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
Director Ang Lee (Life of Pi)
Supporting Actor Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)
Supporting Actress Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables)
Original Screenplay Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained)
Adapted Screenplay Chris Terrio (Argo)
Cinematography Life of Pi (Claudio Miranda)
Costume Design Anna Karenina (Jacqueline Durran)
Documentary Feature Searching for Sugar Man
Documentary Short Subject Inocente (Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine)
Film Editing Argo (William Goldenberg)
Foreign Film Amour (Austria)
Makeup and Hairstyling Les Misérables (Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell)
Original Score Mychael Danna (Life of Pi)
Original Song "Skyfall" from Skyfall (Music and lyrics by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth)
Production Design Lincoln -Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson
Animated Short Film Paperman (John Kahrs)
Live Action Short Film Curfew (Shawn Christensen)
Sound Editing TIE-Skyfall (Per Hallberg & Karen Baker Landers) and Zero Dark Thirty (Paul N.J. Ottosson)
Sound Mixing Les Misérables (Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes)
Visual Effects Life of Pi (Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott)

And that's my review of the Acade--I mean Oscars. (sigh)
Good night, everyone and see you next year.

OJ Part 2: The Oscar Pistorius Case

What's up, people? Andrew here once again.

So if you watched last years' Olympics and fell in love with the Blade Runner aka Oscar Pistorius, then please read this story.

Earlier this month, Pistorius' girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, a South African model, began to celebrate Valentines Day. She is also a supporter to end rape and violence against women. She was supposed to attend a seminar to end rape and violence against women the next day. Unfortunately that didn't happen. On February 13, Steenkamp arrived at her boyfriend's home, where Pistorius claims he mistook her for an intruder and shot her. The next day, February 14, Pistorius was arrested and charged with murder in the alleged shooting death of Steenkamp. February 15; Pistorius went to court, where he wept after prosecutors announced that a charge of premeditated murder would be pursued. Steenkamp perviously appead on a South African reality show "Tropika Island of Treasure" before her death. The show previously wasn't scheduled to air, but producers decied to air it after consulting with Steenkamp's family; the decision was not based on ratings.

I'll skip to the end of the of the story because this is too much for me. On February 22, Pistorius was granted bail. His next court appearance on June 4. As side effects of his bail, he must surrender his passport and all travel documents. He will also be forced to turn in all of his weapons and firearms, and is prohibited from purchasing or owning additional firearms. He will report to a probation and correctional officer upon his release and until the case ends.

Now to my point (sorry if you read all this): Pistorius shooting his girlfriend was horrible. I don't really believe he thought that he heard an intruder in his house, unless he knew that Steenkamp left the house and was sleeping at the time. There were rumors that neighbors heard an argument between them so I believe that there was an argument between them, Pistorius was furious for a dumb reason, wouldn't have it with Steemkamp, got a gun and shot her. He should be locked up for a long time for shooting someone anyway, and probably for lying too, if he was. Pistorius was a hero to not only to paraplegics but also to his home country. He deserves what he gets.
Good night, all.

MTV AND BET HACKED---No wait, they're not.

Hi-ho, dudes ans babes.

Today I'll talk about the show Washington Journal. This program is a call-in show on C-SPAN airing every morning at--wait a minute here. I just a better post. Instead I'll about what happened earlier today. MTV and BET's Twitter pages were hacked. Their pictures (their logos) switched with the other network's logo. And MTV's header had an ad for BET's highly-anticipated BET EXPERIENCE weekend concert and public events series. My embarrassed self thought that this was true, instead of going Genre Savvy. I actually thought that. And then I tweeted this.

OH MY GOD @mtv IS HACKED!!!!! @mtv IS HACKED!!!!!! SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!!

— Andrew Pollard (@AndrewPollard_) February 19, 2013

I was worried that MTV would follow Burger King and Jeep as the next account to be hacked. (Oh and it follows me too.) So I thought this would be over tonight or later this week. But my worry intensified as I noticed (by a tweet, no less) that BET was hacked too.

Moon Man to make special appearance on @betawards #MTVhack

— BET (@BET) February 19, 2013

So I did this too.

OH MY GOD @bet IS HACKED!!!!! @bet IS HACKED!!!!! SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!!

— Andrew Pollard (@AndrewPollard_) February 19, 2013

Yeaaahhhh. So I was scared for them. I feared for them. I almost prayed for them. (why?) I thought someone else's account would be hacked too. Like mine. But...there is a weird twist to this story. A few minutes later (while still on Twitter) that some websites reported that...this was all a fake. A stunt. A sham. A lie. And it made me laugh, admittedly. It was hilarious and clever. Something I haven't seen before. And like everyone else, I went on with my day, forgettimg this ever happen-
MAROON MONDAYS SUCK. THIS BLOG IS HACKED. HitFix, The A.V. Club, and The Daily Beast ROCK!!!! McGee rules!!!!!!!!

Chris Brown feels like Jesus on the Cross...REALLY?!

Hey guys. It's Andrew.
As soon as I read the title of a story I'm gonna talk about, I almost immediately started typing. But first, let me explain. The reason why I'm typing this is because someone is referring himself to Jesus Christ. On the Cross. Ugh. This just really grinded my gears. So here it is.
You know Chris Brown, right? International R&B artist, Sex symbol, the reason why girls masturbate, the guy who beat Rihanna...that guy? No? Oh well. Anyway, a few days ago, Brown was at a recording studio, listening to music made by one of his artists, I assume. After finishing up, he, along with some of his entourage, walked outside when, coincidentally, fellow R&B artist, and member of Odd Future, Frank Ocean--(know him? Sings great? Had a song called "Thinkin Bout You"? No? Anyway...)--he walked in with his entourage, fuming mad. Brown claimed that Ocean told him, and I quote, "This is my studio, this is my parking spot." After an exchange in words between them, Brown reached out and wanted to shake hands with Ocean. And seconds later, one of Ocean's goons attacked Brown, beginning the fight. Sources say Brown attacked Ocean; others say Ocean attacked Brown. No one was charged.

Days later Brown took to social media (don't care which) and released a photo of Jesus Christ being crucified and hung between two convicted thieves with a caption "The way I feel today. Focus on what matters!" This is how you feel? This is how you feel? You feel like you've been convicted of of a crime by people who think you're a rebel to their religion, sentenced to death by crucifiction, hurt emotionally as you've been beaten and spit at by Roman guards and nailed HARD to a life-size wooden cross by those guards, and spending the rest of you life looking at people crying for you as you spend 6 long hours of excruciating pain and torment on said cross, barely happy your legs aren't broken? IS THAT HOW YOU FEEL CHRIS?!?!? This really makes me sick that someone with half a brain and no-good talent is referring himself, as if he is the victim, to Jesus Christ, our lord and savior, and the cross on the day of his crucifixion. This son of a bitch doesn't even know an eighth of what Jesus was feeling when he was crucified. He beat Rihanna senseless, curses off people who (deservedly) mock him, and looks like he could beat up someone right now if he had the chance, yet he says he feels like Jesus...after he was in a fight...with a man...who could take him down. I guess he forgot how to hit back. And, almost unsurprisingly, his sad, pathetic, simple-minded, near-illiterate (non-celebrity) fans are backing him up as if he didn't have chance. One of them wrote, "People, please make sure you're perfect before you attempt to judge this young man". I'm sorry sweetie; THERE ARE NONE. So there are those who have to, including me.

I'm not done nor am I going to let Frank Ocean off the hook. Frank, you can't just come into a recording studio and say it's yours. Do you own it? No. Do you have your own parking spot? No. Should you come and say that to someone who also doesn't own the studio or parking spot? HELL NO. Why would come to a recording studio and tell someone leaving that you own the place and that you own a spot? I didn't hear that you have a spot with your name on it. And why would you pick a fight with someone who got in the news for beating another international R&B artist until she passed out? He could've beat your your candy ass if you came alone. In fact, I'm glad you got in a fight with Chris, because I hate people who are selfish, arrogant, obnoxious, and/or downright stupid. And I think that you may be one of those people. You have no right to come to a random place with 4-6 people, tell someone you own this place and a parking spot outside, and later start a fight with them. It makes you look foolish, no matter how famous or gifted you are.

You know what, Im gonna stop there, because this shit is really a part of what wrong with the world today. People ending up in fights for no good reason at all. Helpless good people killed without a chance. Culprits likening this to being bored and doing something random. It really makes me fucking sick. Our world is filled with psychopaths, perverts, convicts, nutjobs, people with no soul, ect. With them there, I (along with many others) fear for our lives every day. We can't even look out the window without reprocussions. I can't stand it.
And to both Chris Brown and Frank Ocean, you're both idiots. Chris for referring your "pain" to Jesus (Sigh). And Frank for fighting someone for something you don't own. (Double Sigh)
That's it. I'm done.
Goodbye for now.

(I just want to take a bath...)

106 & Changed?

Hi all. It's Andrew once again.

Have any of you heard of 106 & Park? Of course you have; we all have. 106 & Park is a music video countdown show airing on the Black Entertainment Television network, better known by all as BET. The show has been on the air for a decade since September 11, 2000 (yep, you read right). The show is known for its countdown format, urban flow and hyped-up audience. It's kinda like a black TRL. It's also named after its first studio address, 106 Street and Park Avenue. Its hosts become household names by their first show. Recently the show said goodbye to host Terrence Jenkins and Rocsi Diaz and said hello to new hosts, previously-unknown radio hosts Shorty Da Prince, Paigion, and Miss Mykie (fortunately that's not their real names) and hip-hop superstar Bow Wow (this is his first major television role [and BET's perfect excuse to keep the show relevant]).

Now the reason I am making a post on this show is because 106 & Park has completely revamped itself. The network tore down and figuratively swept down its previous logo, set and graphics under the rug and built a brand new set from scratch and made the show look like TRL in some era of that show's history. Basically it's not very urban anymore; it's more mainstream. It's like 2 hours of Yo! MTV Raps and Entertainment Tonight. Plus this is a new "season". I didn't know the show had seasons; I thought it was all one continuous season with cosmetic changes thrown in. I figured this all happened when the show went on the road to LA for about a week last week.

I couldn't watch the the first show because I don't have cable. So go ahead and laugh. I don't cry from internet mockery anyway. I had to wait until the next day online to watch and discuss. Yes I have the Internet, so careful with your mockery; I might not read it anyway.
By the way, it you want to watch this, here's the link: http://bet.us/WdqE4G

Now here's my thoughts about the new 106 and I'm a little mixed. I love the set; it looks less crowded and much more clearer than the last one. I love how the interview and stage areas are connected and that they're not connected by a zigzagged walkway. Of course the "livest" audience is still there, so they are in the left and right sides with a little in the middle. The special guest entrance is awesome; the doors are TV screens and open like entering a supermarket. I don't like how the direction the show is going however. I feel like BET is pushing the new co-hosts waytoo hard, as seen in the open, and there is no use for segments for the co-hosts when the real segment is the Top 10 countdown. And most of the videos that day didn't even air for a full 30 seconds. They should fix that. And they need to slow down and let the new hosts find their footing. Shorty is trying way too hard to be like Terrence and both Paigion and Mykie are trying way too hard to be like Rocsi with Paigion having her calmness and Mykie with her hype tendencies. Bow Wow is fine on his own. Don't get me wrong; I like the new hosts a lot, but they remind me a lot like Terrence and Rocsi, and even some of former hosts AJ Calloway and Free. And the graphics look like TRL; I'll get used to that. I thought they look nice and colorful.

So in conclusion, Set looks great (and should stay), new format is not (and should go), hosts are trying too hard and need to find themselves, the show is a Top 10 countdown (and needs to stay that way), (no hosting segments; just keep Wild Out Wednesday and Freestyle Friday). Anyway, I think I need to watch more of the new 106 & Park to solidify my opinion. Will it get more better? Depends if you watch it. Don't watch it? It's fine. I admit I don't watch a lot of BET anyway except for 106 and reruns of The Parkers.

Later, guys.

Introduction

Hello ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, hipsters and hackers of the world. My name is Andrew and I welcome you to a new blog Maroon Mondays. Here I bring you all opinions of all I have opinions of. Pop culture, world news, my life and the occasional talk about why everything isn't up roses for me (it may never will). Also I can accept your opinion on topics and my blog itself (as long as you can spell and not type like a borderline psycho.) I'll be ready for anything and will not hold back anything. I hope you will too.