"Long Way Down" by the Goo Goo Dolls

My friend Carrie showed me this performance of the Goo Goo Dolls doing "Long Way Down."
The Goo Goo Dolls are one of those bands I am vaguely aware of. I hear their songs when I am watching movies or sometimes at parties, but they are not a band I have ever listened to beyond those encounters.
This performance is changing my mind. I love 90s rock, and this is an almost perfect little slice of the sound that I liked in 90s rock, which was heavily influenced by pop but also the sort of pop rock that Nirvana was on its way to perfecting before they took a detour with In Utero. (That's not meant to be a criticism of In Utero, which I actually really love. It's one of those perfect albums.)

Lady Gaga's "Edge of Glory"

Lady Gaga recently did this great performance of her song "Edge of Glory" in France.  As much as I loved her mermaid-meets-Salt-N'-Peppa look at the beginning of the song, I really loved her second outfit, which is a simplier dress that could have been one of the costumes in "Alejandro." 
It is high time Lady Gaga got her own boutique, because I would love to wear some of her costumes. 

Suheir Hammad's TED Talk

I love Suheir Hammand. She's an amazing poet and performer.
One of the things I find interesting is how similar the first video she reads here is to another poem I saw her read, which ended with "this war drum ain't louder than my breath." I'm curious is this first poem is the same poem I heard read, but revised.
I also enjoyed listening to her when she wasn't reading poetry. I hate to admit it, but the few times I have performed my poetry, I have totally spent more time on my outfit than I should have.

Go Comedy Go!

I went to a performance at Go Comedy last weekend.  Back when I was in high school, I used to do improv as part of the normal diet for young actors, which is why I suspect one of my friends invited me to go.
We went for two of their shows, a showdown and Dark Matter.  The Showdown was two teams of actors competing with each other, somewhat similar to Who's Line Is It Anyway?  One of the actors even claimed to have played Punky Brewster (and she was one of the better actors.)  Dark Matter just featured the actors making new scenes over and over again.  That sounds potentially boring, but they were clearly having fun.  You got the sense that they were doing this just because it was fun for them.  
Between shows, one of the actors came up to me and my friends and thanked us for coming.  "Is that normal?" I asked one of them.
"They hang out at the bar a lot and will talk to people, so yeah."  I was surprised to hear that, because I figure people wouldn't be into that sort of thing.  
The only thing I was uncomfortable with was the audience participation.  I don't mind other people participating, but I don't like getting called on myself.  I like to sit back and enjoy the show.

House on the Haunted Hill

Readers: Spoiler Alert! Don't read if you haven't seen the movie.

House on the Haunted Hill follows a millionaire, Frederick Loren, played by the brilliant Vincent Price, and his contestants as they play a game in an old house believe to be haunted. The goal: stay for an entire night without dying. At the same time, Vincent Price’s Loren deals with his fourth wife, Annabelle, (Carol Ohmart) who is less than interested in playing this game. All of the contestants, predictably, have ulterior motives for wanting to win the game, most desperately using the money to save themselves. If this movie was being made today, things would quickly devolve into a dog-eat-dog reality show. The contestants are not all the kind to stick their necks out for one another, but they do show a lot more caring for one another than the average reality show contestants do.
The film is beautifully shot. The use of shadows in this movie is particularly impressive. Early on, there’s a scene in which Nora (Carolyn Craig) is stuck in the basement, and the light pools around her and Lance (Richard Long) in just the right way.
And, unsurprisingly, Vincent Price gives another wonderful performance. Price’s performance when interacting with his wife is particularly interesting . The story seems to be written with the wife being the villain, the one that the audience is suppose to root against. But Price is so menacing in the scenes with Annabelle that it’s clear he is abusive, probably to the point of being a murderer, since it's stated in the movie that all his other wives have since died under mysterious circumstances. Price’s performance subverts the intention of the script and complicates the movie. As modern viewers, we’re left to pity his wife, who dies trying to save herself from two unfortunate options. Price becomes the villain, one who is, by the end of the movie, triumphant.
This is definitively one of the better old horror movies out there. The special effects are not impressive, but few movies from this time hold up against CGI and hyped movies like Avatar. Price's performance and the cinematography make it worth watching.