Everything’s Bigger

Me and Lindsey Hollenbaugh, Editor in Chief of The Ithacan, on our plane! Notice the creeper in the background. Classic.

At around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, myself and four other editors at The Ithacan found ourselves in quite the predicament. Our flight from Ithaca to Newark had been delayed, thus ruining our plans to connect from Newark to Austin, TX, the site of the 2009 National College Media Convention. So, instead of following our original plan, we hightailed it to Syracuse, NY, took a new flight from there to Chicago and eventually ended up in Austin.

Our arrival was greeted by harshly humid weather and boiling rain. What a welcome.

So, the point of this rant is to let you know that while I am here, learning about how to be a swanky little journalist, I will be on hold on the blogosphere (I had to pay $14 just to get online in my own damn room and I’m never in here anyways).

Look for a post maybe Sunday night? That is, if I am cohesive enough at midnight to let you all know the latest of Lady Gaga or Liza Minelli…I’ll instead most likely be stressing about yet another deadline on the newspaper. Fun times. Adieu!

Kenny Ortega and Footloose: No More

He’s gone. Out. Done. High School Musical director Kenny Ortega, who was slated to direct the upcoming remake of Footloose, has cut the cord on his involvement in the movie. Apparently, Ortega wanted more musical numbers and a higher budget, whereas the producers wanted a heavier focus on the drama—less shimmer and jazz hands.

Of course, Ortega couldn’t cope and he decided it was best to leave the project to another ambitious director. Either way, whoever gets to work with Chace Crawford on a daily basis is…lucky. To say the least.

Phew. Got through that without a single Footloose cliché. Are you proud of me?

Lil Wayne: Locked Up

As much as I enjoy some of Lil Wayne’s music, I have to admit, the guy can be pretty sketch sometimes. The Grammy-winning dred-locked star will spend the majority of 2010 locked up behind bars for attempted criminal possession of a gun.

Wayne pleaded guilty, agreeing to a one-year prison deal. A duly noted .40-caliber Springfield Armory semiautomatic was confiscated two years ago from a “pot-smoke-infused tour bus,” says the New York Post.

I’m wondering if this publicity will help or hurt his CD sales. His new album, “Rebirth,” was set to release on Dec. 15, the same day that Wayne is now scheduled to appear in court. No news yet on if this will affect the release date. All I can say at this point is: bad timing, Carter.

Joss Whedon + Glee

I must say, tonight’s episode was not that great. The song choices were quite random and just didn’t do it for me. But, there’s good news.

Joss Whedon, director of the Emmy Award-winning “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog” starring Neil Patrick Harris and several episodes of “The Office,” is going to direct an episode of Glee. Hopefully, he’ll bring a fresh look and feel to the show — without changing what makes it awesome.

What ‘Glee’ Really Needs

More Musicals. We’re seven episodes into the season and I’ve been watching the viewership on my best friend, Wikipedia’s site. And what I’ve noticed is that the episodes in which the show returns to its roots of Broadway and Sue Sylvester-related humor are where it does the best.

Case and point? I want more Broadway in Glee. The only memorable instances where White-Way classics took center auditorium stage were in “The Rhodes Not Taken” (with guest appearance by Kristen Chenoweth) and in the Pilot (a short homage to “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ The Boat).

But am I a sinner to say that the fan basis of this show is comprised mainly of musical theater and Broadway buffs like yours truly? It’s a big audience. Don’t underestimate it. We will belt in your face. For those of you who don’t know what that means, here’s a good resource—search “belting”…there are 16 instances of it.

So, to the creators of Glee: remember this timeless mantra: Liza, Judy, Barbra, Bette, these are names you shan’t forget.

To be a REAL Wife

Did you watch The Real Housewives of New York? Because I did. It’s actually one of my favorite casts. Question Two: Remember Bethenny? The “Real” Housewife who was actually…not a wife? Well, she’s no longer a bachelorette. At least she won’t be soon. Frankel became engaged to her new beau Jason Hoppy on Oct. 8.

“He liked it so much he put a ring on it!” Frankel said to E! News.

They. Look. So. Adorable. Frankel’s ballsy personality and go-getter attitude is what kept me constantly rooting for her on the show. Hoppy even did up the proposal. I’m talking rose petals. Candles. Enough to make any chicky scream with joy. When will someone do the same for me? I like roses.

From NYC, With Love

Cheesy title? I know. Well I’m sitting here, freezing my patootie off in my aunt’s apartment in Washington Heights (struggling to refrain from singing In The Heights—it’s so appropriate). I’ve got a big Fall break ahead of me and I couldn’t be more excited.

I’m on a trip with Ithaca College’s chapter of Ed2010, a magazine networking organization, to visit some magazine editors and writers here in NYC. Entertainment Weekly, Star Magazine, Smart Money and Time Out New York are just a few on our list.

Can you say pumped? I can’t wait to get the ball rolling and meet people in the city doing what I dream of doing every single day of my existence. More updates to come. Live blog? Is that even possible for this? Maybe not. What you can do is follow me on Twitter for updates (not pointless, I promise). Maybe I’ll see Lindsay Lohan furiously walking through the doors of Star.

Sell The Vatican!

Sarah Silverman is one of my favorite comedians. On top of that, she is one of my favorite Jews. I haven’t seen or heard from her too much recently, so when wind of a new video from her came to me, I knew I had to spread the Silverman.

According to her, the only way to feed the hungry is for the Pope to sell the hub of Catholicism. Need I say more? Warning: This video has a few inappropriate statements (not by my book, but by, oh, I don’t know, the FCC?)

From J-Lo to Lola

I’d say “Move over, Sasha Fierce” like almost every news source covering this latest news has—if only that wasn’t completely blasphemous. I’ll just tell you the facts. J-Lo is back. And she doesn’t want to be called J-Lo no-mo. Her new alter ego and nickname is Lola. Just thought you should know.

This really messes up a lot of the phrases and jokes based around her name. I’ll stick the old one, thank you very much. Her new track “Fresh Out of the Oven” dropped a couple days ago also. K-bye.

There’s a He-Wolf in the Closet

I can’t believe I haven’t shared this with you all yet.

In light of the recent Shakira single, “She Wolf,” some dude on YouTube recorded a literal frame-by-frame parody/copy of the music video for the song. First off, Shakira looks ridiculous in her own video. Jerky movements, awkward caged poses and a she-wolf howl that sounds more like a miniature-schnauzer crying all add to the general weirdness of the video.

Plus, Shakira does all this weird crap with her shoulders. It’s like…come on. We know you are flexible. No need to pound it into our heads. Here’s a side-by-side video of the original and the He-Wolf remake. Enjoy.

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