Lights. Camera. Drama.

Over the course of this week, I thought about how I was going to write my Grammys preview because I could have gone down the obvious route and blogged who I think will win in each category, but there are over 105 categories so I would be wasting my time.  Plus, it will be hard to pick a winner for the major awards because they is stiff competition in each category. As a result, I have narrowed it down with my post about what I look forward to at this year's ceremony. Lets have a look shall we?

1. Taylor Swift is going to win the most awards. Period. It is sad, but true. I do not really like her music, but I hear she has had one of the best selling albums of last year. However, I do not want her to win the most awards just because Kanye West was a douche to her and that everyone including the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences that votes the Grammy winners felt sorry for her.

I want professional people within this advisory board to vote for the winners based on the number of record sales and number of times each artist was on the Billboard charts. Swift does not need any more "sympathy points" as Makael from YouTube's theSkorpionShow proclaimed. And trust me, if she wins all of her eight nominations, I will be pissed because there are more deserving artists such as the Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga who either outshine or rival her in fan popularity and music sales last year. We let her slide at the VMAs and the American Music Awards for some reason. But not at the Grammys.

2. This is also the late Michael Jackson's night. Although, he is not physical here with us, he will receive the Life Achievement Awards for his innovative contributions in popular music within the past thirty years. According to E! Online, Celine Dion, Usher, Carrie Underwood, and a slew of other musical artists that have been profoundly influenced by the King of Pop will participate in the MJ tribute. I personally think this tribute will top the BET Awards, the AMA's, and possibly the VMA's MJ tributes.

Also, MJ's three children will all present a speech on behalf of their late father. I think with great tragedy and controversy comes great respect for the craft. Without MJ, we would not have Chris Brown or Usher. Ironically, this tribute has sparked controversy because Chris Brown and Omarion will not be a part of the Grammy tribute. Omarion is not a major music artist like Chris Brown, but it has been almost one year since the Rihanna/Chris Brown abuse scandal and some people within the music industry are still blaming Chris Brown for the incident. With all the bad things and rumors that MJ had to live through all his professional and private life, MJ would have allowed Chris Brown to participate in his tribute because MJ was all for peace and love in the world. Not that I would!

3. Lastly, I am very enthusiastic for the array of performances this year. Lady Gaga and Elton John will do the opening act. Lady Gaga has had a stellar year in music and I know that she will bring us the originality and star power that we need in live performances these days. As the Wall Street Journal's John Jurgenson proclaimed about the rising star's entrance to fame, "Gaga may not turn out to be yet another fleeting pop novelty, but many other industry veterans see her as the real deal, and her ambitions and skill at navigating the turbelent industry make her a durable star". I think she is the real deal and she will deliver! Other artists that will be performing tomorrow night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles are Jamie Foxx and T-Pain, Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, Maxwell, Green Day, and Drake. I want these people to entertain me! Give me life or I will talk about you! You can find the complete list of Grammy performers and presenters here.

I am very excited about the Grammys this year because I believe this is going to be one of the most remarkable Grammy award ceremonies ever! You have the best musicians under one roof. I will be chatting on Twitter and BlogTV (with Kevin from TheSkorpionShow) tomorrow night as I watch each performance carefully and the winners get their deserved trophies. The Grammys will take place tomorrow night, January 31st at 8pm EST on CBS. Be there!

Lets get down to business. I have been reading and hearing mixed results about Apple's new "netbook". Wired.com senior editor Nick Thompson was a guest on CNN yesterday and he asserted that the Ipad was a good product but not revolutionary like how the Ipod and the Iphone revolutionized the music and smartphone industries respectively. According to a Gadget Lab poll, out of 892 Wired.com readers, 41% said that the Ipad did not live up to the hype but will gain traction among high end costumers. Only 14% believed that it was better than expected.

So what is my take on the announcement? Well, I think the Ipad will be revolutionary in the near future. Just like when the Ipod came out in 2001, it was a bit bulky in size and did not come in color. There were bugs and technical problems with it, but over the past several years and several Ipod generations later, the current Ipods are nothing like the first Ipods. They are more smaller and slicker and come in different vibrant colors and sizes than its predecessor. Plus, the current Ipods can hold more music, video, and audio files than the first IPod model.

I believe that the first model of the Ipad will be imperfect and it will take some time for the bugs to be corrected. But like many Apple consumers, they are going to buy this first model and purchase all the newest versions because this is Apple that we are talking about. Apple is going to reinvent the Ipad over and over again until new applications are added and it becomes the perfect netbook. Whether or not the Ipad will save the media and publishing industries, I do not know.

However, media and publishing industries that have been given consumers access to their free web content for years (I know who are you!) should not rely on just one company to save them from extinction. Apple is not the federal government, giving away our taxpaying money (bailout money) to the greedy media companies because print journalism in many respects is dying and free content generate little  profit. (I am so awesome). These companies should think of innovative ideas to gain more annual revenues and reach more viewers. That is why marketing directors and experts are hired to work in these organizations in the first place. Use them wisely.

If you want more information on the linguistics and highlights of the Ipad, click here. If you want to view parts of Steve Job's Ipad announcement online, watch it here. If you want a hands-on demonstration, Time Magazine's Techland site has it all.

I love Robert Downey Jr. from a distance. He is pretty hot but he is not on my top list of Hollywood hunks. There is this great charisma and confidence about him that allows him to engender any film role into something awesome. I was amazed at the first five minutes of the first movie when his character Tony Stark, the arrogant, yet super smart mechanical engineering billionaire, introduces his company's newest missile to the U.S Army in worn-torn Afghanistan. The monologue had Robert Downey Jr. 's signature "badassness" written all over it.

I really enjoyed the first movie for its action-packed scenes and the strong, sexual tension between his character and his secretary who is played by Oscar award-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow. I want a make-out session soon. I am looking forward to this sequel because Scarlett Johnassen is in it and that I know that Downey and Cheadle will persuade all the comic book geeks to spend their money on this movie. Don Cheadle will replace Terrence Howard (after an unsuccessful financial negotiation) in the sequel and he will continue to play the Rhodey Rhodes character and Iron Man's much anticipated sidekick, War Machine. Two Iron Mans kicking ass?! I'll have what he's having!

Guys, I just came out of an interview for a marketing intern position at Wired.com/Conde Nast! I'm sorry if I did not tell you sooner but I did give you an hint in the last blog post. I was a quite nervous but confident days before the interview. I told myself not to go overboard with preparation since I can be a bit of a perfectionist and analytical rut at times. But when I arrived at the Conde Nast building, I made sure to make eye contact, smile, and have one of my firm handshakes towards the interviewer.

He is the marketing guru at Wired.com. When my awesome aura activated, I knew I was ready to go. I answered his answers to the best of my abilities. He answered my questions to the best of his abilities. I think I am one of the most qualified candidates out of the 75 people who applied to the position, which is a shock to me because I know that there are more candidates with more marketing and graphic design experience than I do but hey, I guess I have that extra something. God, I am awesome. :D. Anyway, whether or not I do not get the internship, I am still thankful for this experience because I demonstrated my interview skills and I now know the little minor things I did wrong and other skills I need to work on. Anyway, I am working on a decent blogging schedule this week. I hope you like it. Salut!

I did not have anything planned to write today but I had to post this. As you guys may not know, I am a 20somethingblogger member and recently read a post from another blogger named Elle who encouraged 20sb.net members to guest blog on her blog, Chasing Education. The blog entails her passion for higher education and gardening. I thought it would be a great opportunity to meet with other 20sb.net members and market my blog so I contacted her.

She asked me a couple of questions about what I learned and what I should have learned in college and I emailed my responses to her as soon as possible. I just got an email from her and my guest blog post (final masterpiece) is on her blog as we speak here. I want you guys to check out her blog and follow it. I asked her if she could guest blog on my blog. I have never done it before, but it would be a nice experience. So check out her blog and read my words of wisdom especially for you college students out there. I'm a bit busy for the rest of the week so I will see you when I see you!

Sunday night was my first experience tweeting about a major entertainment event in "real-time". For three hours, I was tweeting about the major developments and surprises during the 67th annual Golden Globes with thousands of other Twitter users before, during, and after each winner was announced. I connected with people about my ideas and thoughts about who won, who should have won, and who worked it on the red carpet. I was retweeting Golden Globes news to my followers. I actively participated in the social media realm and I felt that it was more gratifying than watching Ricky Gervais host the Golden Globes on my TV.

If you remember from my What is Twitter is Good For? article last month, I declared that I was using Twitter solely to understand company politics, job postings, and read statements from my favorite Hollywood celebrities. Since then, I have expanded my membership by actively using Twitter to market my blog and reach out to people outside my inner circle. I am now following more technology and media gurus because I am interested in a career in new media. I am tweeting and retweeting about everything, from whatever I was thinking in a certain moment in time to a link to an article about Conan O'Brien's unexpected departure from the NBC network. I think I am becoming a Twitter addict and I think it is a good thing. Usually, addictions are bad transgressions that we cannot control, yet metaphorically I will use Twitter's marketing tactics to control my personal brand and its reputation on the Internet.

As Baratunde Thurston voiced in a recent Varity Fair article about what the late MLK would have thought of microblogging platforms such as Twitter if he was still alive, "Twitter is everything today: news source, stock ticker, pop-culture meme tracker, font of inane narcasstic chatter, time suck, marketing tool, and promised savoir of journalism/capitalism/democracy/[insert dying institution here]."

I could not say or phrase it in any other fashion. Twitter is now my source of news, fun, online politics, and guilty pleasure rolled up into one multifaceted online pool. And as the inquisitive person that I am, I am only dusting off the surface of my Twitter experience. There are still other Twitter techniques out there that I am still unaware of and I hope with online research, I will learn to use Twitter more to market my blog to new readers by finding new ways to effectively implicate my 140 character feed to attract new readers and industry professionals to my work. But life is all about learning and communicating, so I will get there in time. I hope to engage in more online "real-time" sessions in the future because my Golden Globe Party was quite fun. It would have a lot cooler if I had dressed up and met Gerard Butler in person. *Sighs*

Let me clarify my stance on current movies. I love goofy, silly movies, but when it comes to being nominated and being praised for one's work during awards season, mediocre movies should not be included within the lists and lists of potential winners. Avatar will win many technical and cinematography awards, but for Best Picture or Best Director, there are better candidates. I just want to clear that up.

Anyway, I will dedicate every Saturday or Sunday from now on with a Masterpiece Theater. Lots of good movies are coming up this year and I will be posting trailers and screenshots of movies that I think people should look more into. Now many will criticize me for being a hypocrite because some of my movie picks may be less credible than even Avatar. Well, you may be right, but these movies that I will promote are not Oscar material. Just the typical popcorn, soda, in your seat, entertainment movies. You see, I think there is room for these types of movies in Hollywood, yet I demand more original, innovative films in the future.

First off, Kick-Ass! I want to see this movie, not because of its main character played by Brit Aaron Johnson, but because of the supporting actress in this movie adaptation of the Mark Miller comic book, Chloe Moretz. She plays Hit-Girl, the quintessential bad ass, precocious "superhero" that I wish I could be. She is only 12 years old and she is shooting and dodging bullets that will make Keanu Reeves proud of for a daughter if he had one in the Matrix.

Moretz did most of her own stunts in this film! She is so young! I think it is the feminist in me that enjoys when female actresses do not portray the stereotypical female roles. I just hope this movie lives up or goes beyond my expectations of a comic book action movie because I have seen some failed comic book franchises. *cough* Spiderman *cough*. I might even check out the comic book before watching this movie to compare and contrast the movie and comic book. The movie comes on in theaters nationwide April 16, 2010. And it better be kick ass or I want my $10 back!

Hi, everyone. I have to make some good announcements. I am in the process of giving this blog a whole new template makeover. I am in talks with a fellow 20sb.net member right now to create a new blogger template for me. It is a new year and it is time to take this blog to the next level, so if you see that the whole format change within the next couple of weeks, do not be surprised. Also, if you would like to contribute to this task, email your ideas to christinabrown2009@gmail.com.

I am looking for something simple and elegant yet edgy and chic at the same time. Any color is accepted. I was this close to picking this template, but unfortunately someone else has already adapted it onto their blog and I hate unoriginal ideas. Also, I am going to move Tech Diva blog posts from the weekend to Tuesdays because I have more time on that day to actually research the latest technology news and trends and write about them. On weekends, I feel lazier so moving it to the beginning of the week is a good decision because I am more alert and energetic at that time. Other than that, carry with what you were doing prior to reading this post. hehe.

Update: I am entering in Indiechick Designs' New Years Giveaway! I think this is a great opportunity to give my blog a new fresh makeover. The grand prize is one custom blog makeover including a custom background and header! YES! Wish me luck. If you want to enter the contest, click here. Good luck!

The 67th annual Golden Globes is this Sunday night and everyone who loves the entertainment industry like I do should watch it because everyone will be there. I hope to watch more of these nominated films before the Academy Awards seasons really kicks in high gear next month. So before you use your remote control to turn in, I want to give you my insights on the renowed movies and television awards show:

1. More Brangelina Drama: Sources say that the Hollywood mega couple will not, I repeat will not attend the Golden Globes because Jennifer Aniston is an awards presenter this year and they do not want any more altercations. If even they do not appear on the red carpet because of this, it is still drama. Can people just move on? Plus, Gerard Butler is a presenter too. He has had a busy and successful year with a screw of movies including The Ugly Truth. He will probably co-present with Aniston since they have a movie together coming up this March called "Bounty Hunter". Woot!

2. "Avatar" Will Be the Big Winner of the Night: The new billion-dollar blockbuster of the new millennium is nominated for four Golden Globes including Best Picture and Best Director of a Motion Picture. Everyone is still talking about this movie. Most people that I have conversed to have stated that the movie is visually stimulating and awesome, but I personally am more likely to not watch the movie until it hits DVD and here is why. I do not have a grudge with the movie's director James Cameron except for the way in which he executed the movie. In a recent Wired.com video, Cameron confirmed that Avatar is not a movie; it is a marvel for its technical, CGI brilliance than its storytelling. This disturbs me. I know the visual effects are breathtaking and futuristic for a movie of its time, but I do not want this movie to win the most Golden Globe Awards just purely on this criteria.

What happened to movies with substance and great plot development? Underneath, the technicality of this film lies a predictable storyline. I do not want this Golden Globes to be reminiscent of the 1997 Oscars when Cameron's Titanic won eleven Academy Awards, although it was a typical love story. I want both. I want movies to be mentally and visually stimulating. Although, Blade Runner and the Matrix trilogy were similarly ground-breaking for their visual effects and dystopian landscapes, there were philosophical undertones to the plot development. Those films made you think. Avatar is purely entertainment.

 3. Gabourey Sidibe Should Win for Best Actress: When I saw her as a guest on the Conan O'Brien show before it got axed, she has this bubbly, precocious energy that is anything other her character in the controversial indie film, Precious. People think this film is dark and edgy for its openness to the domestic violence and rape epidemics in the urban culture in this country, but everyone is or knows someone who are going through these hardships regardless of race or social environment. 

Just because you may a wealthy white man with a fabulous AMG bonus and villa in the Italian countryside does not mean you can hide your father's drug problems and history of attempted suicides from the rest of us. Everyone has problems. This movie shows the realities of the human plight in its modern form. I am surprised that this movie is not even nominated for best Picture or best Director because this film is an accurate representation of what life is today. Maybe because the director is African-American or because the film was heavily financed by black media moguls Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry? I do not know. I hope that she also wins the Oscar for Best Actress, but I do not want her to win it and not get any future opportunities to showcase her acting talents. 

4. Sandra Bullock, Lucky Gem: Bullock has had a great year. Her two successful million dollars films, the Proposal and the Blind Side have made her an Oscar front runner for Best Actress. She will win for Best Actress in a comedy or musical for the Proposal, but like everyone else, The Proposal was not even a good movie and she should have been nominated for her touching role in the Blind Side instead. 

5. Other Highlights: On the television side, 30 Rock will win for Best TV Comedy series and SNL veteran Tina Fey will win for Best Actress in a Comedy TV series for 30 Rock. I really, really want True Blood to win for Best Television Drama because I am a big fan of the show and all the actors on there are phenomenal!  I am anxiously waiting for the HBO premiere of the third season as we speak, yet the hit HBO show will have some stiff competition with TV drama heavyweight Mad Men for the top spot.

The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards will be live this Sunday, January 17th live at 8pm EST on NBC. Be there.

So, I was on Twitter, minding my own business when I happened to come across LadyGaga's Twitter page. She recently tweeted her followers a link. If a celebrity posts a link to a blog, website, or video, you know it must be something big. I clicked on it, only to be transported to a Youtube video with some of her most loyal fans parodying her "Bad Romance" video in someone's house.

Not only it is funny and enjoyable, but Lady Gaga loved it. Trust me, if she did not, she would not have wasted her time posting it up on Twitter to spread the world. The power of Internet sharing and creativity is at all time high these last couple of years. I have seen my fair share of music, political, and movie parodies on YouTube. Even the "Twilight" parodies are more enjoyable than the actual movie franchise.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattering, I guess. Enjoy.

LadyMel had a spectacular time partying hard at an exclusive New Years party in Miami. Before she departed the sinful city to NYC, she asked your favorite and most admired celebrities their New Years plans. Disclaimer: You would not believe what some said.