Balrogs, Krakens, & Nazgûl, Oh My

While a good amount of my friends were living up the end of their spring breaks this past weekend, I decided to lay low, aka catch a movie & watch 2/3 of my favorite trilogy ever. No complaints here, especially when you add some cheap wine, fatty cupcakes, yummy leftovers, and a Rawfiki for some good company. It didn't even take that much effort for me to convince him that missing out on the Lakers game for some kickass fellowship bromance wouldn't be so bad.

Not only did I get my LOTR fix, but I ended up dragging Raf & Jay to go see "Clash of the Titans". I'm pretty sure I was laughing throughout the whole thing, but if you're going to remake a camp classic, I guess it's not totally unexpected. I'm still not convinced that Sam Worthington can act, but he's nice to look at I guess. Mads Mikkelsen was pretty badass and was the best part of the movie for me (he played Le Chiffre in "Casino Royale"). As ridiculous as the original is, it'll always have a soft spot in my heart since I've seen it so many times. And I wish they utilized this little guy more in the revamped version -

If you're in need for some lolz & cheesy goodness, I would save the $12 something and catch the original COTT on youtube. I can't get enough of movies with some epic movie creatures. If I had Netflix, I would almost put this in my queue:

"When I Think About Love"

Always down for some new R-Les stuff, even just a snippet or two.

Happy 100th!

Between last-quarter-ever anxieties, putting in more hours at work, the laziness-inducing weather, and basically just figuring out what I'm going to do with my life, I haven't had a chance lately to just sit down and think things out for a minute. There's also the fact that I've been resorting to Twitter to post random, useless thoughts that don't warrant their own post, but I digress.  I saw that this would be my 100th post on this site (whoopee!) and I didn't have any grand idea deserving of this spot, so I guess it would just be best to look back on some of my favorite posts.

Unlike looking back at my old Xanga, I actually enjoy going back and reading through some of my old posts here haha.  From politics and religion to relationships and social commentary in general, I definitely solidified some of my views on  - or am on my way to figuring out - these topics during the past 100 posts.  I remember back in high school I was pretty indif

ferent to a lot of things, but thanks to my experiences in college, life, and just plain ol' growing up, I've been able to open my eyes arguably for the better.  

Dating/Relationships:

- Soulmates, Shmoulmates: One of my usual relationship wanks

- The Sexy Post: My guide on how to be "Top Tier" lol

- Wifey Skills According to Him:I'm not a fan of lists like this but it was fun to make it anyways

Feminism & Sexism:

- Sex Sells, Female Chauvinism, Etc.: Thoughts about beauty standards, where to draw the line b/w sexy and trashy

- Give Me a Break: Double standards FTL

Religion/Philosophy:

- Science & Religion: Contradictory or Compatible?: I was compelled to basically write an essay after taking my philosophy of biology class

- Searching for Answers: A summary of where I stand right now in regards to religion in my life and how it's changed

- They Say You Want a Revolution: Thoughts on these 2 subjects after one of our late night 198 talks

Politics/Civil Rights:

- My Turn on Prop 8 Thoughts: An issue I was pretty passionate about this past year

- Obama takes a step forward for women's rights and the abortion issue: Another touchy subject, I just wanted to get some information out there for people to think about

Thanks to all (probably around 3 haha) of my readers and people who have commented on my stuff, I really enjoy reading your commentary, criticisms and compliments! Here's to the next 100 posts *crosses fingers*

The Harvard Hip-Hop Hustler

Every once in a while I'll post some movie reviews or stuff about shows that I love (i.e. Making the Band 4), but I think this is the first time I've posted about a particular music artist. So here's to a Not So Small Talk first, and right now I'll have to say that Ryan Leslie is NSST's artist-of-the-moment.

A quick rundown of Ryan Leslie, aka R-Les:
-Best known for producing Cassie's hit single "Me & U", but has produced tracks for Beyonce ("Keep Giving Your Love to Me"), New Edition ("Hot 2Nite"), as well as other artists including Danity Kane, Britney Spears, Donell Jones, etc.
-His Youtube Channel is within the Top 40 Most Subscribed Channels
-He sings/raps/produces/plays various instruments
-Scored a perfect 1600 on his SAT's, entered Harvard at the age of 15 and graduated at 19

Here he is in typical Ryan Leslie fashion recording "Addiction", the second single off his self-entitled album. The man is a one man band - I think his talent speaks for itself:



Before he started taking the music business seriously, here is an interview with him at age 14 before his departure to Harvard. This guy is the epitome from geek to chic lol. Hella flashback to the 90's:



Finally, here is probably my favorite video. Ryan thought his interview at The Invasion Radio Show was going to be your typical one until he saw they set up a keyboard for him. The results were improv at its finest - here he is playing over Lil Wayne's "Lollipop". R.Les over Lil Wayne any day, sorry guys!