Where have I been?

Around the world a couple of times, and the only thing that could hold me in was a couple of inches of snow...

I need to get back into blogging, for my professional and personal sake....

although Twitter has got me quite occupied and satisfied without having to write more than 140 characters at once!

I told you the 40s were coming back!

Ryan leslie - How It Was Supposed To Be (Video 2) from Yuri Suitela on Vimeo.


Now it's one thing if a trend hits the mainstream pop scene with Katy Perry and the Jonas Brothers, but the 40s gone hip-hop, is a whole other ball game.
What I liked most though, was admittedly, the Pearl Harboresque themes. That was my Titanic of my middle-school aged years and I will never forget it!

I think Animals like Sigur Ros

At least Polar Bears and Slumdogs do.

I love trailers as some of you know, and in my recent venture to the movies to see Confessions of a Shopaholic (Isla Fisher is Brilliant), the trailer that stuck out was Disney's latest nature venture with Discovery Channel, Earth.



Now if you think I'm going weak sauce with having gone to see a chick-flick, I also have seen Slumdog Millionaire recently, twice in fact! and it was even more enjoyable the second time around.



If you didn't notice, Sigur Ros' melodic orchestrations and vocals of their song, Hoppipolla, pop up half-way through each trailer. Nearly to the same effect, the song builds wonder through the piano's chord progression and the addition of strings that slowly create a mix of fuzzy fantasy and reality through the eyes of a child. It works for both nature's divine creatures and for the story of a boy rising out of the slums of India.

But wait, didn't Slumdog Millionaire have a brilliant soundtrack that is Oscar nominated?
Yes, so although I am a fan of Sigur Ros, I question as to to why the editors chose that over any of the work by A.R. Rahman. His beats are moving, sharp, and carry the movie that could've been a cliche underdog movie into a hip, exciting, and enthralling story. Just like Jamal doesn't know what's around the next turn, it's hard to read what beat will be hit next by Rahman's music. Needless to say, you know who I'm favoring this Sunday night come Oscar time.

I work in DC which is "Drama Central"

According to my Newsweek pals

I think the 1940s are making a comeback

I know we have a new president, who in these dire times must remind us of FDR and the possibilities of greatness in solving the crises we are in that range from war to a falling economy. Yet culture is taking a second look at the culture of this era where a generation went off to war and when we learned to live again.
The Notebook (2004) starring a dazzling and beautiful Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams thrust the beauty of a time often depicted in gunshots and depression. Yet its through all the downturns and changes in life that love can overcome them all, and we can all dream that one day a guy will build us a house and infuse our lives with vigor unparalleled to their kiss in the rain. Watch the Trailer
Today, I've seen at least two music videos that remind me of this aesthetic.
And just to clarify, I've written about these two artists on multiple occasions, not because they're some of my favorites, but because they have become mesmerizing figures in today's pop world.





Let the style, innocence, and emotional roller coasters of the time flood us now.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button also makes the case for an infatuation with the time. All of these examples have one thing in common; they look back. They look back on love. The Notebook and Curious Case both narrate through written word, as the music videos narrate through pictures. Still what do we have in the past that holds true to youth and vitality that we want to hold onto forever?

I love the Movies

It's a known fact that I LOVE the Movies!
I also have a strong affection for Disney

Put the two together and you get the GREAT MOVIE RIDE attraction at Hollywood Studios.

When in Orlando New Years Eve and having to chose a theme park, what better place than Hollywood? Not having been there in over four years, I have an even great appreciation for all the little behind the scenes jokes and the 5 K lights placed throughout the park :)

So here's my capturing of some of the great moments in movie time :

I had to have a Top 10 List too!

After reading dozens upon dozens of lists that rank everything from the best sports moments to the best indie songs, and even the worst celebrities, I felt it was appropriate to have a top list of My favorite things of 2008 that made Pop Culture History!

10. Google and the Smart Phone
Has taken over my Blackberry and the thought process of millions... no longer are there questions of "How many Superbowls did the Washington Redskins win?" it's the question of who can type it into their QWERTY phone fastest on google...
9. The Return of the Superhero
You have to admit, Iron Man and Batman kicked some serious ass this summer, and have the box-office $ to prove it.
8. The Singer Songwriter
Jason Mraz, Sara Bariellis, and those lesser known folk like Taylor Swift and the Jonas Brothers
7. Apple
The company has taken over the world, my life, and my friends, one laptop at a time.
6. Live Sporting Events
TV has found life, not in finale shows of reality tv junk, but in the greatest battles ever to be seen. Who didn't cry with Michael Phelps' mom? or want to rip of Rafael Nadal's shirt? or give Tiger Woods a shoulder to lean on?
5. Rockin' Fashion
I haven't seen teens look this good in decades. Thank god sweaters and skinny jeans are in instead of tube tops and mini skirts! (Bye Bye Uggs... you're not cool enough to play guitar in)


4. The Belting Diva
I don't pay very often to listen to music, or whole albums for that matter, but I have to say releases by Jennifer Hudson, Leona Lewis, and Beyonce were pleasant surprises to my iTunes account, and now the Genius Bar thinks I'm Black.
3. Facebook
Although it's been redesigned, it has kept my life organized, and fully informed when my friends are upset by the result of a game or even do crazy things like get married or have a baby.
2. Ladies
From Beyonce, to Sarah Palin, and the Sex and the City foursome, Females everywhere strutted their stuff, broke through barriers, and looked FAB doing so!




1. Politics
No matter what side of the aisle you're on or whether you dance in the middle, you live, breathed, and talked endlessly about it for at least 3 months this year.

Happy Holidays from G-Media!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I may not be updating this very often

I'm currently employed to the point where I have NO idea what city I'll be in from day to day...
I apologize!

I'm published on Newsweek!

It's been weeks coming
but the first installment of my Jonas Brothers Story is here!

I want to give thanks

Thanks Ourstage
and Thanks Tim Be Told for the great opportunity your music has given me :)

I won an internet contest? Wha??

There seems to be a million and two sites online for uploading video, music, etc and then being able to share it with the world, have others judge it and of course comment to their hearts delight.

And so in completion of the Gravity's Hold music video, I uploaded it to a couple of sights that coincided with the band's promotion as well as my own. This was easily over a month ago.

And then one day I get an email from ourstage.com that says I've made it into the quarterfinals of August's video competition. I think it's a fluke.
So I checkout ourstage.com, and see what's up and Gravity's Hold is number 1 on pop videos...
I also this is false, and attempt to reload the page because I don't believe my eyes.

Turns out, without absolutely no promotion, never looking at the site since I first went on, Gravity's Hold held strong to it's number one spot and in fact beat out ALL other videos for the month of August, winning the grandprize!


To check out the rest of the winner's for the month and the Grandprize feature spot go here:

http://www.ourstage.com/winners/2008/8


Also check out a review on the ourstage blog here: http://www.ourstage.com/profile/danielpalmer/posts/45

Thanks to all of those who voted and supported!

I am proud to be a Wahoo

You always watch tennis on TV and somehow out of a ball being hit back and fourth on the court there's a narrative. Tennis is a mental sport, so it's almost the emotion and the drama of the sport's ups and downs that overshadow the shear athletic talent to hit something over 100 miles per hour on a consistent basis. Play after play, then a victorious winner, and the player looks up to their respective box for approval and a moment to share in the glory. I've always wanted to be in one of those boxes, and none of my family is talented enough to get there... so I knew my next bet would be either 1) marry a tennis star... (I had my hopes on Roddick, but he's engaged to some supermodel, oh well) 2) Know someone...

So number 2 worked out this year as I was just about at the point of REALLY missing my Hoo Crew of Virginia sports fans, a sense of camaraderie and nostalgia, along came Somdev Devvarman who got a wild card spot in the qualifying rounds of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. It's become a family tradition to go these last few years and I've got to watch some greats play in my home town. Highlights being: throwing Michael Chang a ball he hit over the fence; watching Andre Agassi on his fare-well tour; and last but not least, seeing some Cavaliers succeed, first being Treat Huey, and now his old doubles partner Somdev!

Som is no underdog, having won TWO NCAA titles, and going nearly undefeated in his futures tour matches, he has had a great start to a professional career. I would give you more numbers, but I reserve that right to Steve Kirkland, who works for media relations at UVa and whom I found sitting on the sidelines of Somdev's matches. It was great to catch up, as I traveled with him and the women's soccer team to Orlando for the ACC tourney and as we know, the media must stick together!

Somdev breezed through qualifying rounds and made it all the way to the quarterfinals of the main draw before being ousted by Russian Igo Kunitsyn. My favorite night of tennis watching by far had to be a Roddick, Somdev double header as Roddick went 3 sets, coming back after losing the first set for a stunning display of sportsmanship, all to a packed crowd, that ended with a standing ovation. Somdev followed with another 3 setter, the stands nearly empty except for one corner that was filled with blue and orange, occupied by friends, former UVa teammates, and Athletic department staff. It was great to cheer him on, as the nailbiter nearly went till midnight. In those break points, deuces, and more we were there, almost part of the game without actually playing. It's nice to know I can still proudly wear my orange and blue (we won't mention football and basketball).

I can't live without the Olympics

Despite being incredibly busy, it seemed to be to my luck at coming home at 1 am almost every night meant that I could watch Olympic events LIVE (I found it hilarious though to watch the 7 o'clock news with Brian Williams expounding on the exciting events "coming next" although he already knew all of the results). I also fell asleep to some of those events out of exhaustion, but it did not stop me from enjoying the crazy mad exhibitions of human strength.


The opening ceremonies were a masterful display of artistry and precision. Every 10 minutes I found myself saying "did they just really do that?" Especially after the footprint shaped fireworks that marched their way to the Bird's Nest (it turns out that those actually were CGI). But the stadium could not have been more beautiful draped in video boards and filled with culture that honored the past while gave hope for the future. It was as if the director, Zhang Yimou, was unafraid to address the problems that China faced and how they could move on. My favorite quote from him would be, when asked why he used 15,000 performers, none of which repeated a performance, "we have enough people."

The first week was drizzled with swimming, which meant Michael Phelps was a headliner, keeping us as entertained as a scripted drama. I stoodup when he won a gold by only one one-hundreth of a second. I cried when his mother cried, I relished in his story of just a young boy in Baltimore turned superstar in a matter of years.

There was also gymnastics. Now, I grew up with Shannon Miller, Dominique Dawes, Kerry Strugg vaulting with the bad ankle greatness... so I have high standards for girls flipping about while trying to stay atop a 4 in wide beam (you know you're older when you no longer look UP to 16 year old gymnasts and instead remember when you used to be able to spend hours running about and not be sore afterwards [ok Dara Torres makes me feel even worse]).

I can't help but admit that I LAUGHED at the name "redeem team" I mean, yes, they needed to redeem themselves, but I mean, it was funny that it was newsworthy that Kobe, Kidd, and Lebron watched other sports (gasp) and said hello to other US athletes (oh my!), yet at the same time it was nice to hear that egos were set aside fo world-class competition and (like a great olympic movie stated) it's about the name on the front of the jersey and not on the back that matters (thanks, Miracle).

By the second week I was overwhelmed by all the coverage and found myself catching up with highlight reels online. I do have to give NBC credit though, as it never failed to keep up with all the action and allowed lazy viewers like me to was all or part of events by scowering through all of their content. In the end, it was a great olympics and I can't wait for Vancouver in 2010!

Check out highlights HERE!

I have double proof

After sifting through HOURS of footage
I found the matching still of my Jonas Brother's celeb gossip fame
The photog in the Hollister shirt must've been the one who snapped the pic that made my mom, and a few other friends believe me when I said I was following them around for the day starting at the White House :)

I look like a member of the paparazzi

I REALLY need to update this blog with MANY things.
But this couldn't wait

I spent the day with the infamous Jonas Brothers
by spending the day, I mean everything from the white house to wax figures all the way backstage to the concert.

don't believe me?* Photo from Celebrity Gossip along with many more

Yup, that's me in the back with the white sunglasses.
and I look like TMZ trash.... oh wait,
I made it on TMZ as well..

I'll explain more of this craziness later...

I love American pastimes

I used to have a back-row seat because that's where the press box or control room was. Now I observe from afar because not only is it all I can afford, it also gives me a birds eye view of what its like to be be a fan.
My co-workers decided to venture to the Nationals Park after our last day of teaching. Why we thought we could survive nine innings after a 40 hour work week producing over 20 videos and controlling middle-schoolers, who knows? Regardless, we enjoyed burgers and a view of the park, but since we were on the top row, the city skyline was right behind us. As I was coming in with my camera the lady checking bags told me to make sure I made it all the way to to top because the views were so spectacular. Little did she know that my seat was at the top.
The first thing I noticed once entering was of course the big board in center field, and the ribbon boards around the stands. I believe this is the first sporting event I've attended that I haven't worked. With every change of video, stat updated, and advertisement flash the cues run through my head as I visualize the operators hitting a few simple buttons to make the red white and blue flash before our eyes. I miss being behind the scenes, but it was nice to just enjoy a game with friends.
The nationals were on a nine-game losing streak, and every joke about how terrible they were was made on the way in, but they scored an impressive 5 runs against the Cincinnati Reds in the first two innings and they never looked back. That made the fireworks display at the end worthwhile. I congratulate the city on such a spectacular park that entices fans, families, and forward thinking, as I hope DC becomes a sports powerhouse (I can dream right?).

I love my international friends

Since my friends have left me for other countries, technology has allowed us to keep in touch.

This is Ayesha, she's in India.

Yay Skype!

I am working on a SAG Indie

After last summer's "Just Lucky"
Comes the short before the feature "Grace"

Meet the cast at HERE!

I've been working with director Anne Welles, who after a trip to LA has begun pre-production on her scripts. I'm acting as assistant director and producer of the SAG Indie. I'm excited about the process and the scheduled five action-packed shooting days in varous loactions in Falls Chruch and Arlington.

Last summer's experience was an awesome one as I met and worked with photographer Barry J. Holmes, and other actors from LA. Having just completed casting it seems as thought the talented cast will serve well to garner excitement and funding for the project.

Check out Lunatic Fringe Productions.

I take back my earlier Katy Perry comment

I was so hurried in my criticism of Katy Perry, or maybe just her single that has been at number one for 4 weeks, that I failed to overlook her path to stardom.
Instead of being a pop icon glimmering in the moment as young fans worship her for her catchy lyrics instead of musical clout, Katy Perry instead paid her dues and can actually carry a tune. I thank Entertainment Weekly for pointing this out to me as my jaw dropped to the bombshell-cross wearing girl posed in a barber-shop chair (an allusion to her "One of the Boys" title, maybe?).
Her soulful, jazzy, mixed-media album released in 2001 under her name "Katy Hudson" (changed to Perry, her mother's maiden name not to be confused with Kate Hudson), actually has gut, worthy of play in any coffee shop. So I take back my comment and throw to the wind what pop-star may pop up next with a bag of great tricks.

Check out some of Katy's songs like Growing Pains or When there's nothing left.