Monday, June 27, 2011

3 Cool Blogs for Media Mayhem

Now that it's Monday, it's time for my final post in RJR Daydreamer's Media Mayhem blog hop. Today, I'll be telling you about three blogs I follow. Since Ellie's Couch is dedicated to arts and entertainment, I chose three blogs that fall within this theme.

It's easy to see why La fotografĂ­a efectista abstracta has so many followers; it's the most visually stunning blog I've ever come across. Don't worry; you don't need to be able to read Spanish to enjoy this impressive image-filled blog. These posts would make a wonderful coffee-table book. Check it out and try to choose your favorite image. It's not easy!

The Pine Valley Exposer is for fans of the ABC soap All My Children. I don't know what will happen to the blog after the show ends, but I imagine it will continue with news about the stars.

Terror Titans is a cool blog I started following fairly recently. Blogger Steve Miller writes about vamps, werewolves, and other horror icons. Terror Titans is essential reading for horror fans.

Thanks to RJR Daydreamer for hosting this fun blog hop!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

3 Movies Worth Watching: Media Mayhem Blog Hop

This is day two of RJR Daydreamer's Media Mayhem blog hop, which means it's time to talk about movies. Specifically, I'll tell you about three movies I feel are worth watching.

Cold Comfort Farm
Cold Comfort Farm stars Kate Beckinsale as a young woman who moves in with some eccentric relatives. There are several memorable quotes in this movie, and they're repeated so often that you can say them right along with the characters. My favorite is, "There's always been Starkadders at Cold Comfort Farm," which involves a bit of action in addition to those eight words. Check out this PG-rated movie and you'll see what I mean.

Dick
Set during Nixon's tenure in the Oval Office, Dick stars Michelle Williams and Kirsten Dunst as teenagers who get caught up in the Watergate scandal. Rated PG-13, this is the funniest movie I've ever seen about Watergate.

Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko is in a class by itself. Dark, moody, and filled with '80s music, this is a movie most people either love or hate. I think it's great, but it's definitely not for everyone. As for the music, it includes some fantastic songs such as "Head Over Heels" and "The Killing Moon" (the director's cut substitutes "Never Tear Us Apart" for the latter). Jake Gyllenhaal has the title role in this R-rated cult classic.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

3 Terrific Songs for the Media Mayhem Blog Hop

Today is the first day of RJR Daydreamer's Media Mayhem blog hop, which means I'm writing about three songs I happen to like. They're not necessarily my top three all-time favorites, but they're certainly somewhere on the list.

This was harder than I expected. Sure, I can choose three terrific songs. I can choose a whole lot more than three--hence the problem. Whenever I thought I had three, I ended up changing my mind. I'd think of one I just had to include, which meant I had to eliminate one. This happened several times. I no longer remember what the original three songs were. In any case, here are the three I chose, in alphabetical order:

Buggin'
I have no idea why I like a song about bugs, but "Buggin'" by The Flaming Lips is pretty cool. That doesn't mean I want to hear any more buggy songs, though.

The Killing Moon
Echo and the Bunnymen's "The Killing Moon" is one of those songs I wish I'd found much sooner. I'm convinced I'd never heard it even once until just a few years ago. There are two versions of this song, and they're both long, with the All Night Version lasting over nine minutes. I can't decide which one I prefer; it seems to be whichever one I'm listening to at the time. The lyrics and the music are haunting and mysterious.

Who's Behind the Door
One day, my husband and I were listening to some music, and Zebra's "Who's Behind the Door" came on. I immediately grabbed the TV remote to use as a "microphone" as I alternated between actually singing and just lip syncing. I jumped up off the couch and got really into it, especially as the song progressed toward its climax. I was like a mad woman. When it was over, I sheepishly looked at him but then said I didn't understand why he wasn't acting in a similar fashion. His response shocked me beyond belief. "I guess I'm just not that into it," he admitted. I was so stunned that I almost dropped the remote. "What?!?" Since we have very similar taste in music and agree on well over ninety percent of songs, I couldn't believe it. How could "Who's Behind the Door" be one of the few? It was unfathomable. I had to find out what his deal was. As it turns out, he actually does like it; it simply doesn't evoke the same kind of response in him that it does in me. Sigh.

Friday, June 24, 2011

RJR Daydreamer Media Mayhem Blog Hop

I've decided to participate in the RJR Daydreamer Media Mayhem Blog Hop. This particular blog hop lasts three days and covers three different types of media.

Saturday's post will be about music. Specifically, I'll be writing about three songs that I like. They don't have to be my absolute favorite songs; I just have to like them. That's good, because choosing my three absolute favorite songs would be an impossible task. I'd be changing my mind every few seconds!

On Sunday, I'll be writing about three movies I like. This could be really interesting. At this point, I have no idea which three I'll cover.

Monday is the last day of this blog hop, and its post will be about blogs. I don't traditionally cover blogs here at Ellie's Couch, but I'm going to write about some entertaining ones to keep the theme going.

Time to sign up is running out, so add your link before it's too late!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Summer TV

Although it isn't officially summer yet, the summer TV season started a few weeks ago. My summer shows start tonight.

Pretty Little Liars returns for its second season tonight at 8pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). ABC Family is leading up to the premiere with a catch-up marathon from last season. Immediately after the new episode, there's a new show I want to see: The Nine Lives of Chloe King.

I'm also interested in four other new shows, which you can read about here. They should appeal to fans of suspense, science fiction, intrigue, and adventure--in theory, anyway. I hope they're good, but you never know until you give them a try.

At this point, I don't know of any other summer shows I'd enjoy, but there's always a chance I'll find out about something I missed. Most of my existing shows won't be back until the fall season. I'm glad Pretty Little Liars is back now, because my fall TV schedule looks really full.