Just a Few Reasons to Love Leo Even More

Leonardo DiCaprio. Where does one start? I am a big fan. It all started when he was on Growing Pains playing Luke, a homeless teenager taken in by the wacky but loving Seaver family. Then came Titanic, and it's all uphill for him from there (aside from never winning an Oscar). I recently read a great Buzzfeed article that lists 34 things you never knew about good ol' Leo. For example, he was once stuck in a shark cage with a shark. Yep, and he lived to tell the tale on Ellen. There are other random facts like having his own fair trade coffee company and, of course, mentioning the small island he owns. Must be nice Leo. Who needs an Oscar when you have an island!

You can check out his shark story here, and for a good laugh at poor Leo's expense, check out this awesome article.

Don't worry Leo, we still love you, and there's always next time... Maybe?

Movie Review: Noah

SPOILER ALERT!

On Friday night, I went to see Noah. I had heard great things about this movie, but the selling point for me was a review I read about Emma Watson's performance. I have always been a fan of hers. I purchased my tickets, smuggled some snacks into the theater and was ready for what I thought would be a great movie about Noah, his family and the arc. What I saw left me confused and frustrated.

I am not an extremely religious person, but I know the story of Noah and the Arc very well. I do understand this movie was made in Hollywood, which means there will be some changes and tweeks to make the movie more appealing. But for anyone who went to see Noah expecting an adaption of a religious story, but in for some major surprises.

There were three main aspects of the movie that really irked me. The first being that there were mystical "things," for lack of a better word. Old snake skin that glowed when a boy was becoming a man and giant rock creatures that were fallen angles. Correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't you think that a movie about one of the most well known biblical stories that is being released right around Easter, should stay true to the story? I feel as though people will be upset about the idea of magic being involved. Look at how outraged people were with the Harry Potter books, and those books were not related to religion. Noah is a religious story.

Another interesting aspect of the movie was that the term God was not used. Not once. God was called The Creator. I just found that strange.

The last and final problem I had with Noah was Noah. I love Russell Crowe, but the character of Noah was lost, confused, heartless, and just plain horrible at times. I won't give away too much more than I already have, but trust me, if you go see this movie there will be numerous times you wish you could just shake Noah and knock some sense and mercy into the man.

Not everything was bad. The images  of the landscapes were beautiful and the acting was wonderful. Emma Watson was truly captivating, and Jennifer Connelly, who played Noah's wife, pulled at your heart strings. But the meat of the move, the story, was too far fetch for my taste.

The Most Dangerous Place on Earth: Target

Yesterday, my roommate and I decided to go to Target. She needed a new bathing suite for her trip and I was just tagging along. Sixty dollars later, my tag along turned into a full fledged shopping spree.
We started out in the bathing suite section, I quickly moved on to clothes with a bit more material. Not quite ready to even think about bikinis. As I skimmed the clothing racks I hit the jackpot. The Peter Pilotto collection on sale for 70% off! Bingo! Grabbed one of everything and hit the fitting room. Tried everything on, in record time may I add, and luckily for my wallet I didn't love anything. After leaving the fitting room, walking through Target became an intense inner battle between purchase or put down.

Next, I find myself meandering towards the shoes. Oh, those are cute Ked-like sneaks. No, no you have a pair of converse you barely ever wear. Alrighty, moving on to accessories. I do need a new belt. My favorite belt is about to fall apart. A new belt is a smart purchase. Let's just look at the sunglasses. I just bought a new pair last week, but these are so cute with the pink! Put them down. What's over here? Ohhhh! Cute PJ shorts! I have been wanting some new PJ shorts. And these are only ten bucks. Another smart purchase. Go me!

I knew I would want to check out the book section. I just finished Divergent, I should get Insurgent. I was going to buy it on my Kindle, but let's just check it out. Ohh, they have so many copies! And it's on sale! Okay, I'll just hold it and decide when I get to the check out. Let's get to the check ou.... OMG! Movies for $5!!! I just ahve to look. It's a rainy day I could use a good movie! Awww, Joseph Gorden Levitt. I love him. Okay, let's get 50/50. It looks great.

Now to the registers. Walking, walking. Don't look around. Ohh, I see pastels in my peripheral! Okay, just a peak. CANDLES! My weakness. You just bought some. I mean, I can smell them. Maybe I won't like the smell. Ohh, they are only $5! Target has the best prices! This blue one.. UGH! Awful smelling. The white one.. Yum! I definitely need this! They have a Clean Linen scent. My favorite! I need it! Okay, two candles, $10, not bad. Okay, this time to the registers for real!

This line isn't too long. Yay! Ohh, I need gum. Ooooo, those M&Ms look good. No. Yes. No. No... Okay, my turn to check out..... $60! Geez the belt, PJ shorts, book, movie, and candles really added up. Grrr, Target. You got me again! But I still love you! I definitely need to come here more often!

#TBT: Sky Dancers

Do you remember the days of trudging down the sidewalk backpack in tow due to the exhaustion of learning the multiplications tables? I do with great fondness. I would somehow make it home, give my dotting mother a hug at the door, while she takes my backpack and ushers me into the kitchen for a snack. I would sit, half asleep, eating cookies and once I had my last bite, a second wind came over me and I was back to my old energetic self again. That is when the real fun began. I would run up to my room and grab all the toys I could fit into my little arms.
Toys in the 90s are so different from what I see my younger siblings playing with now. Half of the time, physical toys are not even involved. They are staring at the television playing video games. I was thinking back to some of my girly toys I had growing up and one in particular came to mind: the Sky Dancers. Do you remember those? Little fairy-like dolls on a stand and when you pulled the string they would fly up into the air, well, at least 50% of the time they did. The other 50% they barely took off and just pathetically plummeted to the ground.

My neighborhood girl friends would come over and we all had a Sky Dancer, of course. So we would count to 3 and all of our fairies would take flight at once. The beauty, the magic, the terror. Yes, terror. One wrong angle and these babies were flying at your face. Once the boys discovered what damage these angelic faced dancing dolls could do, no one was safe. My brother and his gang of hooligans would steal them when we weren't paying attention and use them against us. Our own dolls turned into monsters. That would end rather abruptly when one of our parents caught sight of 4 girls running around the backyard frantically covering our heads for protection. I guess it is no surprise when researching these toys that they eventually became banned. This is why we can't have nice things. Even the most innocent looking toy can be a weapon of destruction.

But banning the Sky Dancers hasn't stopped some other uncreative soul from making Flutterbye Flying Fairy Doll. Available at your nearest Toys R Us for the low, low price of $34.99. I give it a few months before these are also taken off the shelves for scratching one too many retinas. 

I mean, looks how sweet and fun these are.. until somebody looses an eye. Forget the Red Ryder BB gun, the Sky Dancers/Flutterbye Flying dolls are what we should really be concerned about! Maybe if a pair of safety goggles were included, we could all feel a little bit safer.

Lady Gaga Does It Again

Lady Gaga's new music video for G.U.Y. from her Artpop album is another tastefully confusing arrangement of clips.

We have the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills all wearing pink shift dresses and "playing" instruments.

Giggy even has a moment of spotlight. 

Andy Cohen also makes an appearance and references God or possibly Zeus. 

There is "dance" number that may rival the Kama Sutra. 

Jesus and Michael Jackson make an appearance, and so much more. If you have 7 to 11 minutes to spare, you can watch the crazy (read: normal) Lady Gaga video. But don't say I didn't prepare you for this odd ball. 

Dear Vogue

Dear Vogue,

What, what, what are you thinking?! (See hilarious video related to that line here)

People are outraged! Sarah Michelle Geller was upset! I mean, Vogue ticked off Buffy. That's pretty serious. Her tweet and many others were quite interesting. You can check out more about that here, as well as other upset tweeters who are thinking about ending their Vogue subscription.

Personally, I am not upset about this cover choice. A little confused, maybe. I thought Anna Wintour was not the biggest fan of Kim K. so I find it odd to have her as the cover start when she has so openly been opposed to her. I will most likely be purchasing this issue if only to read Anna's editor letter. 

What do you think about this cover star choice? Will you be purchasing this issue?

WTF Wednesdays: Dog Strollers

Hello! And welcome to the newest (and first) weekly series of Culture Shock. The Wednesday Edition of WTF. This series will touch on various topics that just make you say "WTF?!" The first topic will be something that has, and will always, elude me: Dog Stollers.

Dog Strollers. Oh, you have never heard of them? You already think they are obsurd? Why yes, yes they are. And they are real. Feast your eyes on the image below.

Walking around the Upper West Side, I cannot tell you how many times I have seen this very sight. I have even witnessed a double stroller fit for two dogs. Dogs have two more legs than us, they do not need to be in a stroller! Perhaps if the dog was injured, maybe it would be appropriate to cart it around in a stroller until the little guy was healed, but I have only seen healthy, four legged pups strapped into these strollers. What is going on? Dogs are man's best friend, not an American Girl Doll to dress up and push around! I just can't. 

And if the strollers were not enough, take a gander at this puppy purse.

Yep, that happened. 

See you next (WTF) Wednesday!