Year End Countdown ’09: Just About Everything Else

2009 is coming to a close and I’m gonna kill as many of these year end countdown lists I can with a single post. So we’re gonna countdown the best of just about everything that happened in ’09. If you weren’t bored of countdown lists before, you’ll sure as hell be bored of them after this…

Top 5 Video Games of ’09

5. Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3, Xbox 360, Windows)

There is totally this thing in which comic book games are always total surprise game of the year. Mostly because it is usually a game hashed together to promote the superhero movie of the year. But once in awhile there is a gem that stick outs and it turns out that Arkham Asylum is that gem. Combining stealth, action, and platforming into a package while presenting a new vision of the Batman universe. This game barely beat out Infamous as the best “hero” game of the year.

4. Assassin Creed II (PS3, Xbox 360, Windows)

The first one was good, but had it’s flaws. The developers went back and for once listened to its audience and fixed everything up. This is much more than you think it is as the game catapults itself as a game of the year contender. The visuals are stunning and the gameplay is still fantastic. Some games wish they had this good of a sequel.

3. Dragon Age: Origins (PS3, Xbox 360, Windows, OS X)

Are the guys at BioWare on crack or something, cause they’re trying to pump out three really good years in one year’s time and they’re actually doing it? Well before they release Mass Effect 2 or The Old Republic comes out, they released Dragon Age: Origins which is easily the RPG of the year. Apparently a lot of people wanted a sequel to the Balder’s Gate series and the announcement to this one is like dream come true to them. It’s good to know they still make good RPGs that aren’t just another MMO rip off anymore.

2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

You’re still playing this online and I’m still playing this online. If you’re playing Halo still, then you are a loser. It has an incredible single player experience be it short. The spec-opts mode was surprising good, but we’re all here for the multiplayer. PC players got the short end of the stick in this department, but on Live and the PS Network, other games are still trying to match the multiplayer that MW2 has put up. Only problem is there isn’t anything really new here and its short like MW.

1. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

It plays like an f’ing movie, there are games that are like movie, but this one plays like one. Like Assassin’s Creed 2, the developers went back and fixed all the problems in the first one, but unlike Creed they added new stuff as well. Uncharted 2 has reset the bar on game visuals. The multiplayer is pretty decent, but no one is playing it like MW2. The other thing you can say about Uncharted is it is the game that single handedly revived the PS3 from it’s ’08 death and has set it up to dominate in ’10. More people probably are playing MW2 now, but Uncharted 2 is still game of the year. Can’t believe this is made by the same guys behind the Jak and Crash Bandicoot games.

Top 5 Movies of ’09 (that I’ve seen anyway)

5. (500) Days of Summer

OMG it’s a rom com that doesn’t suck. Mostly because this isn’t the normal romantic movie, as it is more of a get-over-the-girl kind of flick. Zooey Deschanel is still the queen of the indie flick and Joesph Gordon-Levitt is having a really good acting year. It is stylized in a way I can only call quirky and told in a non formal way that it makes it different. It won’t win an oscar or anything but to me it was one of the better movies of the summer and hey it’s out on DVD/Blu Ray now, so go rent it.

4. Inglourious Basterds

Oh Tarantino is good at making guy films. You’ve all seen World War II flick, yeah Basterds isn’t that movie. It is just a film all about badass-try. The performance by Christoph Waltz was strangely Oscar worthy, which is weird coming from a Tarantino flick. It isn’t thought provoking, but more than anything it’s just an enjoyable ride from beginning to the end. At no point will you be bored.

3. Star Trek

Some Trekkies are raging over this film, but a reboot was most needed and it actually paid off as it did what Iron Man did last year as the Blockbuster film of the year. The film was made a lot more accessible to the public (people who never watched sci-fi enjoyed it) and there was also a nostalgia factor created to make people reminisce about the original series. The cast dynamic was more incredible than anyone believe and Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto have taken over as the new age Kirk and Spock. A new story, a new cast, a new director, a new style, but an old concept made this a great movie.

2. The Hangover

Spoiler: HE was on the roof the entire time. This movie year was one of surprises and The Hangover was the surprise comedy of the year. All we knew from the trailer was that there was tiger in the bathroom and you had to go see this. But the iffy thought in your mind was there’s been crazy bachelor party movies in the past what makes this one different? Well, the hangover of course, the act of putting the pieces together like solving a mystery combined with the hilarious scenarios the cast gets into makes a really good story. Once again amazing cast dynamic rules the day: the pretty boy Bradley Cooper, the comedic veteran Ed Helms, and everybody knows this guy now, Zach Galifianakis. Just like how Superbad was the must-see comedy of a few years ago, this is the new one.

1. District 9

I just love how this entire movie is just an F U to Hollywood. The exects of Hollywood were going to trash Neill Blomkamp’s attempt to make a Halo movie, but instead giving up he decided to use the measily budget he had and make an even better film. The actors were a bunch of nobodies, but they put up amazing performances and the CG wasn’t much, but it was better than the Michael Bay overload crapfest that was Transformers 2. The story was just something easy, it was what he knew and experience in South African aparteid, but told in a new way to make the audience able to connect. You know you’ve done something right when the audience is rooting for giant walking shrimp aliens. District 9 just brings cinema back to its basics and proves the audience will still find it entertaining. That’s why District 9 is my pick for movie of the year.

Close but no cigar…

• James Cameron’s Avatar, looks cool, but story is mediocre
• Up, fun Pixar animated film, but it’s a little depressing at parts
• Drag Me to Hell, one of the better horror flicks of the year
• Zombieland, a tossup between this one and The Hangover for best comedy of the year
• The Informant, Sherlock Holmes, Paranormal Activity, Whip It, The Blind Side, A Serious Man, Invictus, The Princess and the Frog, Precious, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Hurt Locker, Up in the Air  - all good films that I haven’t seen yet

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…

As ’09 rolls to a close, I guess I’ll do a shorter list that is more of a reflection of the year 2009 for me personally. We all have up’s and down’s as the days go by and let’s see what I can remember.

Server’s Top 3 Worst of Times of ’09

3. Losing My Wallet During the Freak Rain Storm

Yeah, that’s why I always check the weather before I leave the house now, because this was all on me. I decided to wait in a really long line to get football tickets to the Halloween Football game against UCLA. Was it worth it? Nope, it took 2 hours to wait in line and when I pulled out my wallet, since my leg was so numb from the cold rain coming down in torrents, I couldn’t feel if I put it back or not. Then I imagine a douchebag frat guy picks it up and walks away with it (and you really hope for Good Samaritans in the world, guess not).

2. My Laptop Dying Like 5 Days Ago

I hoped and prayed that this thing would last me until the summer and then die. But nooooo, it decides to black screen permanently now (black screening for me is when on startup it flickers once and then you can’t see anything, but if you hold it at an angle you tell it’s still running fine in the background). My laptop is kinda important to me, it is where I do this blog, the interRacials videos, and just the entertainment central of my life (yeah kinda sad really). The first thing to go out was the mic slot, then found out the graphics card was sucky, then ran out of space, then it couldn’t stand up straight, and finally it black screened. So yeah, f@#k you Dell.

1. “The Dorm Incident”

I still don’t want to talk much about this one and I don’t really want to offend anybody by talking about this one, mostly because I’ve moved on. But yeah this is the reason why I’m never living in the dorms again and this is why things weren’t the same for the rest of the last term of the year.

Server’s Top 3 Best of Times of ’09

3. Starting This Blog

I’ve always wanted to do daily vlogs like the others on YouTube, but I really didn’t know what to do to talk about or make mine different from everyone else’s. Then one day I stumbled upon someone else’s blog and it was an interest blog and I thought hey I could do that. It still isn’t much, but the summer of ’09 Everyday Blogs was an way to tell my closet friends about cool things that I’ve found out without having to repeat it over and over again to different people. Maybe in the future, I’ll try out vlogging for real, but for now I’ll keep a step behind in web 2.0 and keep this blog alive!

2. The TV Station

So far it’s just been one term of it, but working with KBVR for credit has been the most fun I’ve had at college in awhile (well not really the social side, but more the academic side). Besides the stress of actually getting the time needed to pass for the credit for the station, the stuff you do isn’t that hard and it’s pretty fun to do with other people in your major. And for the first time ever I actually feel like I’m contributing to the school in some way. I don’t really know where my major will take me, but I guess the more random skills I pick up the better. Unless something absolutely terrible happens I’m probably going to keep on doing this until my senior year, so whoo!

1. 2 Guys, 1 Wand

Our little summer project from interRacials video was our best yet. It’s not one of the better produced videos on the net and it’s not a viral vid of a cute kitty or a nut shot, but to us it’s the best thing ever. We’re getting better with every video we make, but because of the distance between the members it’s difficult to get our stuff out consistently. We hope to make another video before the break is over. To tell you guys the truth, I’m not sure how long the three of us can keep our group together, but if the others are in, I’ll always be.

Last Words for ’09

To me 2009 was really meh, for me nothing is really getting any better and everything just feels dull. I hold onto every exciting moment that is presented to me, but it’s just not the same as it has been in the past. But being the optimist that I am, I really see good things happening in 2010. The 2000′s was just a landslide down of fail and heartbreak, but for the first time ever I think things might be going up for once…and it’s not just because Obama is in office.

Year End Countdown ’09: Server’s Top Ten

Really wanted to do an entire series of Year End Countdown posts for the week, but I’ll probably only end up doing 2, maybe 3. One of the most consistent post I’ve done ever since this blog has started. So this one will be THE Server’s Top Ten Countdown based on all the songs that came out this year. And I’ll be going off of when the music video was released and not when the album the song comes off of was released.

But first the Top 5 Songs of ’09 from other sources…

source: Spin Magazine’s website Top 20

5. Use Somebody – Kings of Leon

4. My Girls – Animal Collective

3. Hellhole Ratrace – Girls

2. 1901 – Phoenix

1. Zero – Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Spin chose a more indie top 5, but they are right Kings of Leon and Phoenix both had break out years and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs the best album they’ve ever made.

source: Billoboard.com’s Hot 100

5. Love Story – Taylor Swift

4. I Gotta Feeling – The Black Eyed Peas

3. Just Dance – Lady Gaga

2. Pokeface – Lady Gaga

1. Boom Boom Pow – The Black Eyed Peas

Billboard released the most pop oriented top song list. Everyone should know that I hated everything off of the Black Eyed Peas newest album The E.N.D. which is the pure definition of hip-hop lite. I personally thought Lady GaGa had a better year than the Peas. As weird as she is, she brought electropop to the masses and wrote some really decent songs.

source: Rolling Stone Magazine’s website Top 25

5. 1901 – Phoenix

4. Party in the USA – Miley Cyrus

3. Outlaw Pete – Bruce Springsteen

2. Empire State of Mind – Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys

1. Moment of Surrender – U2

Yeah, the writers of Rolling Stone must be really old and conflicted to mix a chart with U2 and Springsteen and then throw in Jay-Z and Miley. I think they’re the kind of people who wonder what the kids are listening to these days.

source: Top Selling Songs according to iTunes

5. Gives You Hell – The All-American Rejects

4. I Gotta Feeling – The Black Eyed Peas

3. Pokerface – Lady Gaga

2. Right Round – Flo Rida feat. Kesha

1. Boom Boom Pow – The Black Eyed Peas

I just face palm at what the masses ended up buying this year on iTunes. But that is kind of a hypocritical statement with me downloading 4 out of the 5 songs on this list only to never listen to them again after a week. But anyways…

Server’s Top Ten Countdown of ’09

10. Love Game – Lady Gaga

Putting Gaga on here is more of a necessity than anything else. Everybody has heard a Gaga song sometime this year and it’s not just one, there are like 8 of them. She has to be doing something right? Just Dance was more from ’08 though people didn’t start listening to it until ’09. So it came down to Pokerface, Love Game, Paparazzi, or Bad Romance. I liked Love Game before anything else, but Pokerface is her most well-known song. Oh yeah and I heard something really interesting on a podcast recently that I might do a post on in the future, but think about this…could Lady Gaga just be a stage character? And one final thing..what the f#*k is a disco stick?

9. You Belong With Me – Taylor Swift

Yeeeah, this is just the taylor-maniac in me. ’09 was Miss Swift’s year and she made up believe that she is America’s princess or something like that. It wasn’t until You Belong With Me that I decided to find out what the fuss was all about and I finally listened to Fearless. Swift is probably the most country that I will ever listen to, I don’t think I can handle anything beyond it. The music video proves once again apparently if you take the glasses off a nerdy girl she becomes like super-hot (might be some truth in this, maybe).

8. Use Somebody – Kings of Leon

Well I liked Kings of Leon too world so they get to be on my top ten list also. According to my own rules, Use Somebody should be on the Best of ’08 list, but I’m jumping on the bandwagon and throwing it on my list. It’s not even my most favorite song off the album (that would go to the closely named Be Somebody), but this one actually has a music video. But don’t get me wrong Only by the Night is one of the best albums of ’09. Also its one of the few albums that I enjoyed from beginning to end. The question is, will I ever go back and listen to their old stuff, answer is – most likely yes if I got the time. Good job to the Followill boys on an amazing album.

7. Substitution – Silversun Pickups

Swoon is the sophomore album from the rising indie rock band the Silversun Pickups. Mostly known for their one single Lazy Eye from a few years back. It was really tough to pick between their two top singles from the new album, it was between Substitution or Panic Switch. Really, both should be on this top ten list. Most likely these guys will never get the mainstream coverage they deserve, but maybe it’s better than way. They’ll never have to sell out like the bigger bands. But enough of that rant, they have a really unique sound and they’re really good at it. Hope to hear more from them in the future.

6. Medicate – AFI

When I found out AFI was releasing a new album, I had to see if it was any good. Medicate proved one thing, AFI got a lot less emo and more The Killers-ish. Their guitars are just fantastic on this song especially the solo at the end. This song could’ve been ranked higher, but I never actually listened to the rest of Crash Love (mostly off of laziness). So yeah, should totally get on that.

5. Good Girls Go Bad - Cobra Starship feat. Leighton Meester

I really really liked Cobra Starship this summer. And it was a tough one to choose which song was best for ’09. But because I want to do a countdown with actual music videos, I’ll go with Good Girls Go Bad over Move Like Your Gonna Die. So if the public didn’t know Cobra from the Snakes on a Plane song or the Hey Mister DJ song, they’ll know them from this one. Also in a double whammy, miss Blair Waldorf of Gossip Girl fame gets to show us if she can sing (pretty meh, but better than most).  Why like Cobra? Cause they make funny music videos, their music is good, and they make you want to dance even if you can’t.

4. Ignorance – Paramore

Many pop punk bands, like Paramore, seem to be able to make only one good album, then completely change their sound to something horrendous and fail miserably their sophomore run. Technically Brand New Eyes is their third album, but it is the follow-up to Riot! which launched them mainstream. And surprise to me, it didn’t disappoint. I found Ignorance a few months before the album release and it got me in the right mindset to accept what was coming. Careful and Brick by Boring Brick are great tracks and later into the album they experiment with ballads that actually work. So kudos to you Hayley and the gang, here’s waiting on your next music video.

3. 1901 – Phoenix

Pretty much a surprise find for me this past year. SNL introduced me to them when they still showcased indie bands for their show. It was just in time for the release of their ’09 album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. It was a toss-up between 1901 and their other big single Listzomania. With their almost electro-indie rock mix sound and really catchy lyrics, Phoenix barely beats out Kings of Leon as my favorite new band of ’09 (well new to me anyway).

2. Uprising – Muse

Muse’s new album, The Resistance, was hyped to me by YouTuber Supadupaflygirl for the past year and when it finally came out, yeah it was worth the hype. Muse consistently has released good music and they do have a pretty long discography. Uprising somehow has become the “it” track for TV as they use it for just about any promo they want: the new show V, college football intro, comedy sitcoms. If you haven’t listened to The Resistance, you’re really missing out.

1. Weightless – All Time Low

For some reason, All Time Low turned out to be my favorite band of 2009 after the release of their newest album, Nothing Personal. Everything on it was fun to listen to. Weightless was my favorite track and it was also the debut track for the album. The music video pokes fun of themselves along with their contemporaries and yes, the origin of their music totally is Blink-182. This was a great bounce-back from All Time Low and I hope their popularity grows and overtakes Fall Out Boy (who just kinda suck these days).

Should’ve Made It Top 20…

I most likely forgot some song that I really liked this year. And there were a few outliers that could’ve broken through. I’ll just list off what I can remember and comment on if you disagree or agree or whatever. 2010 looks to continue with good music, whoo 2010!

• Green Day’s new album 21st Century Breakdown especially 21 Guns
• Drake had a breakthrough year, I really liked his 4-way collab on
• Even though he’s in jail, T.I. is still my favorite hip-hop artist, Paper Trail was a good album
• Knock You Down by Keri Hilson caught my ears for awhile
• 3 words: Taking Back Sunday
• Rising Hip Hop stars to look for: Kid Cudi and Wale
• You just gotta love 3OH!3 and along the lines of humor rap, LMFAO
• like I said way above, I really liked the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’s album It’s Blitz!
• Katy Perry was more 2008, but she released some stuff in ’09 and we started noticing her giant rack
• Umm…experimental super-groups: Dead by Sunrise, Street Sweeper Social Club, and Them Crooked Vultures

Still probably forgetting something, but I’m done with this post, I’ll just add it on if I remember.

Winter Blogs on Hiatus

So yeah yesterday I couldn’t post my usual winter vacation post and I’ll probably won’t be able to for the rest of the break. My laptop finally met it’s end and even though it works, I can’t see anything on the screen. So the winter blogs are on hiatus unless I get on another computer. This really sucks cause I still had more interesting posts to do…oh wellz. Hope to keep this going again spring vacation.

-Server

Happy Holidays! All Video Post

It’s Christmas Day and I’m going to keep the blog going even with everything going on. I have a brief moment to myself so I decided to do a post. To make it easy it’s just going to be a bunch of videos I’ve watched and found interesting in the last month or so. There will also be some Christmas vids from YouTubers. So here we go…

Christmas Vids-

iJustine’s All I Want For Christmas Parody

Spricket24′s Rant of Christmas Cookies

makemebad’s Christmas with the Wooden Alligator

Kevjumba and his Dad’s Christmas Greeting

G4′s All I Want for Christmas (Is To Rock)

sxephil’s Holiday Philip DeFranco Show

clipcritic’s Holiday Vids

hot4word’s Christmas Vid

Fred’s Christmas Cash Music Video

Hank and John Green’s Christmas Facts

meekakitty’s Christmas Vlog

TotallySketch’s Shamwow Holiday Parody

The Leader of My Religion getting Attacked

Jake & Amir in Miami Miniseries-

Other Vids-

sxephil’s “Your Face” Music Video

Shawn Johnson Jumps a Bobsled

2009 in Review Sock Puppet Theatre

Shane Dawson’s Jizz in the Hair Sketch

and just because you can’t go a week without seeing it… surprise kitty

Happy Holidays from the interRacials!

Double Crush Girl of the Week: Amber Heard & Emma Stone

In holiday laziness I didn’t really want to come up with a creative post idea, so I’m doing Crush Girl of the Week a day early this week. And in my own little gift to you all it’s will be a double crush girl. Overwhelming you with their hotness are the rising stars from teen flicks, Amber Heard and Emma Stone. So here we go Amber first and Emma second.

Amber Heard

-Her birthday falls on April 22nd

-Amber’s parents are David and Paige Heard, who are a contractor and internet researched respectively, she also has two sisters one is named Whitney

-Amber was raised Catholic and attended St. Michael’s Academy in Austin, Texas until her junior year when she dropped out

-While in school she was very active in her school’s drama department and even starred in some local commercials, when she dropped out she moved to New York to model, but eventually headed west to LA to pursue acting (yes, she is one of THOSE people)

-Her acting career started with small roles on the shows Jack & Bobby, The Mountain, Criminal Mind, and even one episode of The O.C.

-Her first film role was in the film Friday Night Lights as Maria, afterwards a bunch of small movies: Side FX, Drop Dead Sexy, North Country, Price to Pay, The Prince, and You Are Here; though finally she was in a bigger movie Alpha Dog

-2007 was another weak year for her as she was in two small films Day 73 with Sarah and Remember the Daze, she was also on the short lived CW show Hidden Palms and a guest role on Showtime’s Californication

-2008 was her breakthrough year off of two big films: the fight drama Never Back Down and the Apatow comedy Pineapple Express, she was also the lead actress in the slasher flick All the Boys Love Mandy Lane that same year

-As an established young star actress 2009 she ended up in a bunch of films including The Informers (and her infamous three-some scene), Zombieland (the zombie floormate that attacked Jessie Eisenberg’s character), the thriller remake The Stepfather (so yeah she’s officially a scream queen at this point)

-She is it the “it” girl for whenever a director needs someone to play an oversexual teenager  (Friday Night Lights, Alpha Dog, Hidden Palms, Never Back Down, and I guess The Informers (but not a teenager))

-She has made it onto the Maxim Hot 100 for the past two years, highest point at #21

-RAPIDFIRE QUICK FACTS: Amber reads novels in free time, drives a ’68 Mustang, owns a gun nicknamed .357 magnum, hates to watch TV,  her friend’s death made her atheist (???), in music videos for country stars Brooks & Dunn and Kenny Chesney, had a boyfriend named Jaime, and she owns a teacup yorkie named Pistol

-The motto to her life is “Today is what I Have”

Miss Heard isn’t done for the year, she will be in two unreleased small films ExTerminators and The River Why. Next year she’ll be in drama comedy The Joneses with Demi Moore, horror remake And Soon the Darkness with Karl Urban, novel to film The Rum Diary with Johnny Depp, and one more horror flick The Ward

Emma Stone

-Her birthday turns out to be November 6th

-Her real name is actually Emily Jean Stone

-She is the daughter of Jeff and Krista Stone and she has one younger brother Spencer

-During her childhood she was greatly involved with the Valley Youth Theatre apperaring in 16 of their productions

-She attended Xavier College Prep for one year and apparently after a powerpoint presentation set to Madonna’s “Hollywood” she convinced her parents to let her drop out and pursue a career as an actress in Hollywood

-Even weirder her first acting role was winning a cancelled reality show The New Partridge Family becoming the new Laurie Partridge, afterwards she got small roles on TV on the shows Medium, Malcolm in the Middle, and Lucky Louie; bad luck strikes again when she finally got a recurring role on the show Drive, which Fox ended up cancelling.

-Her one recurring voice over work is for the Disney Channel show The Suite Life of Zack & Cody as the internal voice of London’s dog Ivana

-Finally in 2007 we all of us discovered Miss Stone through an Apatow film called Superbad, she played Jules the love interest of Jonah Hill’s character

-Following year Emma was kept in the comedy genre with the films The Rocker with Rainn Wilson and The House Bunny with Anna Faris

-’09 she is still doing comedies, this time a romantic one: The Ghost of Girlfriend Past with Matthew McConaughey, she played the Ghost of Girlfriend Past; she was also in the independent comedy Paper Man; and finally in a strange coincidence for this blog she was also in Zombieland but as the lead female character “Wichita”

-She has been romantically linked to singer Teddy Geiger who she acted along with on The Rocker

-Even though we recognize her as a red head, she has also acted as a brunette, and she is naturally a blonde

-She has been on Maxim’s Hot 100 list for the first time this year landing at #66

-RAPIDFIRE QUICK FACTS: her parents own the Camelback Golf Course, City Lights is her favorite movie, her favorite musicians are The Beatles, her roommate Martha MacIssac was her costar from Superbad

Emma will be returning to films in 2010 so far with two flicks: the comedy Easy A with Amanda Bynes and comic strip to movie adaptation of Marmaduke with Emma doing voice acting for a film.

The Pics-