Lights. Camera. Drama.

This week has been a lucky week for moi. On Wednesday, I received a free month of Wow from the lovely CTRL ALT WoW crew! CTRL ALT WoW is a weekly World of Warcraft podcast hosted by four crazy WoW fans: Aprillian, Ashayo, El Jeppy and Vrishna. They discuss WoW politics and the entertaining process of creating alternate toons on multiple servers. 


I started listening to them about two weeks ago from a Ladies of Leet acquaintance of mine and I find them quite hilarious. When I heard my name at the end of the latest podcast, my mouth was literally opened. I had to play the end part like three times to make sure I was hearing right because I usually do not win anything. So this is a shout out to the CTRL ALT WoW crew, for making my WoW dreams come true. I love you guys! I cannot wait to return to the game!


In other news...

I received the Geek Girls Unite Award from the lovely Ray J! I must in return list ten geeky facts about me:


1. I am a casual WoW player. Been playing since Burning Crusade.
2. I am a popular culture geek. I know almost 90% about Hollywood and the entertainment industry. I have dozens of celebrity gossip, fashion, and media blogs listed in my Google Reader to prove it.
3. I am a video gamer, but have not play video console games for years. I still have skills. ^_^
4. I have a blog. 
5. I am a social media addict.
6. I went to Smith College.
7. I still have my Pokemon cards lying somewhere in the house. I remembered when having a holographic Charizard, Blastoise, or Venusaur 1st edition card meant you were a Pokemon master in training.
8. I took two years of Japanese at college and now in the process of relearning the language. Has not been hard until I start writing the kanji again.
9.  I was born into the world of 90s and 00s anime shows. I want Toonami back on Cartoon Network.
10. I read tech and social media blogs. (Mashable, TechCrunch, and Gizmodo to name a few). 


To keep the tradition alive, I am giving this award to:
Johana @ The Mercurial Wife


Johana has been my most active commentator and online friend. Her blog is amazing! She even helped me redesigned my Tumblr blog! Check it out! If Johana used her web design skills to make my blog links functional, then she is a certificated geek! :) Grats Johana! Come on down and claim your award! 


Finally, the Picture of the Week! Have a wonderful Memorial Weekend! Speaking of which, what are your plans for Memorial Weekend?

This year's MTV Movie Awards ceremony looks quite dull. All of this summer's promising mega blockbusters will be nominated next year, so you will have to watch through an entire two-hour show with tasteless nominated movies like New Moon, Dear John, and the humorless Hangover.

But never fear! I have this whole entertainment experience in perspective. There are twelve categories this year, four in which I feel are the most important to discuss on this blog. Here are my predictions:

1. Best Movie, Avatar: The movie has made over a billion dollars in ticket and DVD sales alone. Secondly, the movie is a cultural phenomenon. I even dubbed it as the "Lady Gaga of CGI film making", yet I still have not seen it. The movie did not win Best Picture at the Oscars, so you already know that it will win for Best Movie because 1.) the fans are the ones voting this time around, not the Academy. 2.) everyone except me saw it so it will win. However, I would laugh out loud if New Moon or Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland won the highest honor of the night.

2. Global Superstar, Johnny Depp: Hands down. He is quirky and sexy. He is a method actor. He is not a douchebagging celebrity that seeks the limelight every chance he can get. He is an ubiquitous and well-respected human being. Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson. You are not going to win this. End of story. And even if the Twilight fans pick Taylor or Robert, they could never stoop to Johnny Depp's level as an actor, father, and Hollywood heartthrob. I think I can rest my case.

3. Best Villain, Christophe Waltz: Landslide Victory. The man played an anti-Jewish, Nazi officer (Hans Landa) so excruciatingly well in Inglorious Bastards. The part where he chocked Diane Kruger's character to death was nefarious. Helena Bonham Carter does not even stand a chance against Waltz in this category. Sorry.

4. Best Breakthrough Star, Gabourey Sidibe. Gabby has had an amazing year. She was nominated for an Oscar, Golden Globe, and SAG award for her poignant portrayal of Precious. She was on SNL not that long ago and although I hate the SNL writers for not coming up with better material for her on the show (well SNL blows anyway), at least the American public was exposed to her. Plus, she seems very down-to-earth and unmarked by the social and beauty pressures of Hollywood. Gabby makes me believe that you can be black, big, beautiful, and successful in a world where critics shoved needles down your throat just because you need breast implants or liposuction.

Watch the 2010 MTV Movie Awards, hosted by Aziz Ansari on Sunday, June 6th at 9pm EST/8PM CST on MTV. You can vote for your favorite actor and movie until June 6th here. If 47 million people voted every week to decide the next American Idol, you can vote too.  What are your predictions and will you see it?

Summer is upon us and everyone will enjoy the sun and hot weather in their own terms-- not celebrities. Hollywood celebrities have it all: beautiful women, expensive yachts and cars, $$ to do the hell they want.  Lady Mel had the pleasure to sit down with some household names and ask them their summer plans. You would not believe the responses...

I have thought about switching to Wordpress. I've decided to not go with that plan. But I have decided to start a smaller, new blog on Tumblr! Expect it to come out next week! It is going to be separate from this blog. I have collected hundreds of random pictures online over the years. So many pictures, I have at least three USB flash drives full of them. Now, I can showcase them in a more simplistic form. I can find really good pictures, videos, and quotes. Expect to see my carefree, artistic side. Hopefully by Monday, I will post the Tumblr url. If you have a Tumblr blog, I want to connect with you.

In other news!

When was the last time I blogged about going somewhere other this house? Never. Remembered I said last month that I was going to the 2010 Bamboozle Music Festival at the Meadowlands? Well, I did on May 1st. What a beautiful day it was. Beautiful in the sense that I was with my good friend Shamirah on the road without the nagging of the parents and younger sister. Here are some observations I noticed while I was there:

Observations:

1. Too hot.
2. Hipster central.
3. Saw a F U Justin Bieber T-shirt. Made me giggle.
3. Could not bring water or any soft drinks past security, yet the vendors were selling drinks $4.50 and up...
4. Most people had either a Blackberry, Voyager, or iPhone.
5. Shamirah is a loyal Drake fan. She stood in front of the stage eight hours straight to watch him perform. Yes, no chairs or bathroom breaks at all.
6. I did not know this before but Taylor Momsen of the Pretty Reckless plays Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girls. Say what!
7. 90% of the people there were only there to see Ke$ha and Drake. Literally after they performed, everyone left.

Overall, it was a lovely experience. I got to watch semi-famous, underground rock bands and pop acts such as the Pretty Reckless, Hanson, Drake, Bullet For My Valentine, and The Maine perform for their fans. Ke$ha and Drake performed right before the festival ended. I ended up not leading down to the other stage to watch Ke$ha, because 1.) She cannot sing 2.) Wannabe pop star. 3.) No talent. 4.) Waste of time. 5.) Would not have made it in time to see Drake.

But enough of the blogging. You want to see pictures, right?! Here they are.

It's been a year since I have started working on my online personal brand, including my blog. I've talked about my New Year's resolutions. I've talked about my job hunting. I've talked about my favorite Grammy moments. Currently, I am a volunteer worker, yet my mission is not complete. Where do I go from here?

My latest rejections were the last straw. Enough is enough. I did not know how I would overcome the disappointment until I talked with professional bloggers at my last #blogchat session last night. Yesterday, I proposed to Mack Collier on Twitter, the moderator of #blogchat, that we discuss how people should leverage their blogs to land jobs and new clients. He went with the idea. What have I learn about my LinkedIn profile from others? Two words: outdated and unremarkable. I am innovative and remarkable with a strong passion for new media. The employers that check out my LinkedIn profile periodically do not know that because I have not clearly showed them that I am.

My blog is not a blog anymore. It is a business and it needs to be treated like a business. Work still needs to be done. I have seen little results. Time to act now. I will revamp my online presence by:

• Changing my LinkedIn summary to make it more professional and tell potential employers what I can do for them, instead of listing my skills like a resume.
• Changing my LinkedIn photo to a picture of me in a business suit. My current picture shows me in my cap and gown. I am no longer a recent college graduate. I have passed that title to the new graduating Class of 2010.
• Leaving out profanity and sexual language out of my blog. (Although I rarely used it.)
• Including a brief description in my "About Me" section of blog that I am looking for work.
• Checking out my local library for more marketing tutorials. Great resource that I have outlooked since my return.

I came across this disturbing video on BuzzFeed this Wednesday. Look. Look at our little girls growing up. What do you think?

Whomever came up with the question, "Is social media is a fad?" 1.) has been living under a rock his/her entire life 2.) does not know about how to live humanly. Social media is here to stay, but at what costs?

Happy Mother's Day to all the women out there that have made our lives better each and every day. I want to thank all the women who died for our rights and continue to fight for our rights as human beings.

I believe their work and perseverance go extremely unnoticed and taken for granted in this world. So my gift to all the women out there, dead or alive, is a song off the debut album of one of my favorite pop girl groups of all time, the Spice Girls. It's called Mama.

On Wednesday, my good friend Johana presented me with this baby here:

I want to thank Johanna so much. This is my first award! I was not excepted it. Johana has been one of my favorite active readers and commentators. I encourage all my RSS subscribers and followers to check out her blog if you haven't already. She is an amazing writer. If you need a laugh when you feel like kicking a can at a cute, innocent kitten, she will brighten up your day.

I also want to thank the Academy and my followers for believing in me! This one is for you as well. I'm suppose to divulge in 7 random facts about myself but like Johana, I am going to break the rules as well. You will know more about me as I continue with this blog. This award will be shelved on the right side of my blog so marvel it at its glory. Otherwise, have a wonderful weekend! ^_^

I have had enough of your fucking (5/17/10) name! Every single week, you are all what screaming, teenage girls talked about online. I have had enough and I am coming out of the woodwork. I will not be silent anymore! Here are the top ten reasons why I hate you, Justin Bieber:

1. You trend Twitter like it's no one business. You are ruining the authenticity and culture that is the Twitter brand. What does a teenage girl's misguided mind reveal? The Apocalypse!

 It goes something like this: "Look, I tweet in 140 characters or less about Justin Bieber all day long instead of discussing about more important issues such as national security, illegal immigration, and health care reform. I will use my power to put Justin Bieber on the top of the trending topics list every fucking week!" *Prays in front of her Justin Bieber shrine before running off to watch Twilight*.

2. Your stardom puts you in the company of other talentless, overrated child stars such as the Jonas Brothers, Lindsay Lohan, and Miley Cyrus. Speaking of Miley, I saw your lame new video.

3. Every mobile-texting, teenage girl tweets about you, but the rest of us are still wondering why in the hell you are famous in the first place.

4. Three-year-old toddlers kiss the ground you walk on when they should be playing with Legos instead.

5. My own mother gushes like a high-school virgin every time I mention your name.

6. You took a picture *coughs sex tape* with Hollywood socialite and Fox News loving famewhore Kim Kardashian. Enough said.
7. You dissed Mariah Carey in a recent interview. We all know that her voice is not what it used to be (Hello crack), but she is a legend and has sold more records and awards than you will ever receive!

8. You make the fangirls of the 90s boy band era, including myself, look like bunch of 60s hippies compared to your bra-throwing teenage groupie fans. They even make us feminists look bad. At least, the Backstreet Boys were talented!

9. You performed at the 2010 White House Easter Egg Roll with Glee.... Glee and Justin Bieber should not be in the same sentence. The reason that President Obama invited you makes me wonder if the world is really in peril.

10. Your name is my death sentence.

 So there you have it. My ten reasons for hating your popularity Mr. Bieber. Now run along before I go madly insane. What is with the flipping of the hair? Afraid I will go and shave it all bald? Muhahahaahha! Give me your reasons why you love and hate Justin Bieber. Post them in the comment box below. I want to be mildly entertained.

Hello, everyone! This afternoon, I attended the Apple hiring event at the Residence Inn in Times Square. I wore my business suit, walked into the room, filled out a survey, met with several Apple employees and recruiters, and took part in a two-hour seminar. I listened to other candidates' Apple moments with enthusiasm. But during those two hours, something was wrong.

I was not concerned that more candidates have more experience with Apple products. Each and every candidate came with a different, diverse background, including myself. I am worried  because I did not get it to show my personality more in front of the Apple crazed audience. When I presented my introduction and group activity, I stumbled on words and took longer to make my points. I felt like I was inadequate.  But I can be delusional. Perhaps the Apple recruiters loved with what I had to say, but I sure did not feel the same way. I just do not know from this point. I am proud that I went to college, got an college education, and soul-searched for the past year. But, something was missing in the equation and I cannot put my finger on it....


Then as I listened to the young applicants retrospect their previous Apple retail experiences as customers, I felt almost completely left out because I have not been to an Apple Store before. I live in Newark, NJ. If you do not know about the history of this city, google it. There are not any Apple Retail Stores in Newark or in nearby towns.

The closest Apple Stores are in Manhattan, but my parents and I do not travel to New York City as often unless to drop off things for my sister at LIU. They have jobs. Currently, I do not have a paying job so if I were to commute to NYC to visit the 5th Avenue or Upper West Side Apple Store, I clearly don't have the finances to buy new Apple products unless it is a iPod Nano. I wish there was an Apple Store at Jersey Gardens in Elizabeth, NJ. It is the largest mall in the state and only 30 minutes from my house and it does not even have an Apple Store. Is it unacceptable for someone to apply to an Apple retail position, but she/he has never been inside an Apple Retail Store prior? I have not thought about it until I arrived at the hotel....

Luckily, I have learned that I need to do a little more research on Apple, specially about its Mac OS X system. I have no idea if I will receive an individual interview with an Apple representative or not. I tried my best to demonstrate my best personality traits in this recruitment seminar. If I am given another chance, I will do everything in my power to prove that I make a great fit as a part-time, Inventory Control Specialist at one of Apple's Manhattan stores. On one side I think I belong in the Apple subculture but on the other, not so sure. I guess I have to wait and find out.

Hi, everyone. First day of a brand, new month. Lets review what I have done last month:

1. Make sure I schedule and prepare for my BuzzFeed interview! (Yes, I got an email. Yay for me! ^_^)
2. Blog at least three times a week (4.18.10) and write as concisely as possible. Make sure to create a sense of community and answer comments.
3. Buy a camera so that I can take pictures of the Bamboozie Festival/concert on May 1st. (Finally getting out the house!)
4. Watch the entire third season of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer on Hulu.com. 
5. Study for the written portion of the Driver's License test. I want to get my permit by the end of the summer.
6. Practice speaking and reviewing vocabulary and linguistics of the foreign languages that I have started learning in my lifetime: Spanish, French, and Japanese. I will start the reviewing process for 15-30 minutes a day. If it does not work, then 10 minutes each day or every other day. I do not want to feel like I am back at college or high-school. No more homework! I will start with French and Japanese first for now. I want to be fluent in these languages.