My Best Post Blog-a-Thon: Day Two

DAY TWO:

James at Rants of a Diva loves a lot of things. Classic film, pop music (including ABBA), celebrity gossip, and everything in between. If you like club bangers and Criterion Collections, go read the Rants of a Diva. James had some trouble narrowing down all his posts down to a single "best" so I'll let J.D.'s vote make the final decision. Plus, I'll be honest, I thought it was a funny post and any time Alley Cats Strike gets a reference, consider me on board.

Here's James' best post: Rants on Camp Rock

RC at Strange Culture is deep. He's also the writers of one of my favorite blogs. Strange Culture has it all: reviews, discussions on politics, controversy surrounding film releases (the blind protesting Blindness), and films in development. There's Top 5 lists and an awesome 10 Songs I'm Digging Right Now series which always pushes me to seek out new music. RC's best post will make you think. It's called "Inspiration over Information." I don't want to give anything away. Go read it for yourself.

Here's RC's best post: Inspiration over Information

James at Out 1 stands up for what he believes in, even when he's standing up for The Happening. He told me that he chose this post because it was one of his most controversial. Not everything he writes will push those buttons, James has quite a lot going on over at Out 1. His "Forgotten VHS" series is impressive and the number of films he reviews that get added to me "Watch These" list keeps getting bigger and bigger. So, check out the rest of Out 1, but first, go read the defense's case for M. Night's latest.

Here's James' best post: Invisibile Monsters

Paul at Careful With That Blog, Eugene has an awesome blog title. Sure, he's got an awesome blog to match, but that name! It makes "He Shot Cyrus" sound like "Movie Review Blog." His best post starts out with some fighting words. I'll let you read them for yourself but I wouldn't doubt that more than half of you readers would agree. But it's not until the third paragraph where the post really takes off. If you love Star Wars...read. this. post.
Here's Paul's best post: Greedo Lives

Evil Clown (a.k.a. Piper) at Evil Eye Theatre (a.k.a. Lazy Eye Theatre) is the proprietor of one of the best blogs in town. Seriously, bookmark this site. Between the October name change, the Top 5 Tuesdays, the constant support of his fellow bloggers, and the hella funny writing, there's no way you'll not love the Lazy Eye. There's too much to write about LET so I'll stop here.
Here's Piper's best post: Grandpa Joe: The Imposter

Bob at Eternal Sunshine of the Logical Mind loves screencaps and clips even more than I do. He also loves to participate in blog-a-thons (which is the coolest thing for a blogger to do, in my opinion). His best post was actually an entry in Film of the Year's Slapstick Blog-a-Thon. That's the best thing about these events, they inspire creativity and community. Bob explores the work of Buster Keaton and brings his family along for the ride. Really interesting post.
Here's Bob's best post: Slapstick - A Family Affair

The Lightning Bug at The Lightning Bug's Lair is the reason I put on this event. Before an e-mail showed up in my Inbox, I hadn't visited the Lair before. Helping others find new blogs was the main purpose of having you send in your best posts. From what it seems, The Lightning Bug is a bit of a horror junkie. His site reminds me of those great Geocities sites people used to make before blogs took over. You know, those fan sites with the animated GIFs and JPEGs and the love declared for cult classics.
Here's The Lightning Bug's best post: Sisters of No Mercy

mB at A Blog Next Door just sent me a link you're gonna like. It's the "20 Things I Learnt from Pixar Productions" list. Number 10 is my favorite. I'm a recent reader of ABND and mB's love for "Pushing Daisies" and Tina Fey and distaste for "Gary Unmarried" and Sarah Palin has made me a fan for life.
Here's mB's best post: Everything I Know, I Learnt from Animation: The Pixar Edition

Glenn at Stale Popcorn puts me to shame. A couple months ago, I started a "Films I Don't Ever Want to See Series." I watched three of the five films and then completely forgot about the list. Why does Glenn put me to shame? He started a seried called "The 100 Greatest Movie Posters" and finished. One-hundred posts. Are you kidding me? Glenn also started a series that has everyone talking lately. It's Black + White Friday and it pretty much blows my mind.
Here's Glenn's best post: 100 Greatest Movie Posters: #1 Here's Glenn's post about his post: My Best Post Ever

Brian from Dear Jesus hates Christmas (and Sufjan Stevens). This guy is hilarious. I'm not just saying that because he shares a blog with my fiancée. And even though I've yet to make it to one of his movie nights I hear they're damn good. Brian's blog started out talking about religion and slowly morphed into a movie blog. Go read his thoughts on the best Christmas movie.
Here's Brian's best post: Giving Them Cars Like That is like Putting Guns in Their Hands

Derek from Son of Double Feature is a friend of mine! We met during our MA program (in Cinema Studies, of course) and both started blogs around the same time. When he's not helping us struggling screenwriters with our movies-to-be, he's hyping us on all things Batman. I actually told Derek to send me the link for this specific post. It's great. Think you've read everything there is to read that's anti-Juno, go read this post.
Here's Derek's best post: Irony is No Longer Ironic

Adam from DVD Panache is an important part of the movie blogging world. A supporter of He Shot Cyrus from the beginning, Adam featured my blog on his Friday Screentest, among tons of other great writers. Even the post link he sent me featured a bunch of different blogs, including Cinema Styles, Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule, Lazy Eye Theatre, and more. Support Adam and DVD Panache; he's supported you, even if you don't know it yet.
Here's Adam's best post: The Blog Sleep


Thanks to everyone who's participated so far. I'd love to hear which posts are your favorites, whose blogs you've found, and anything else you want to tell me about. Tomorrow marks the end of the blog-a-thon. TELL YOUR FRIENDS! They've already written their post, easy stuff, so spread the word. Until tomorrow.

My Best Post Blog-a-Thon: Day One

Day One:

Fox at Tractor Facts writes some of the most varied posts in the blog-o-sphere. Hell, he wrote almost 800 posts last year, they can't all be about No Country for Old Men! Whether he's reminding me how much I love Critters or fighting against the imminent death of the mixtape, Fox always writes something insightful that seems to sticks with me. I'll be referencing something to my friends only to go back and find out that Fox had written it.

For his best post, Fox dug through the archives and found a damn funny post. Through "live blogging," readers get to experience the first season of Silver Spoons. There's some good ol' fashioned racism, a Mr. T cameo, and the most adorable picture of the Bateman siblings. What stuck with me was the constant struggle to reminisce about childhood crushes that just seem innappropriate today. Amanda Peterson was gorgeous when she was a teen (but I was a kid too!)
Here's Fox's best post: Silver Spoons - Season 1

Jason at Invasion of the B Movies is BACK! The famed host of the Guitly Pleasures Blog-a-Thon has defeated the AT&T devils and has jumped right back in the mix with some killer clown action. But the post we're talking about today is about a different kind of clown. This clown doesn't make us laugh. This clown produces Hollywood horror films. Go read Jason's transcription of a conversation between a Random Teenager and his movie-making financeer. My favorite line: That's better. Asian's don't get to be sidekicks in movies. It'll do the Asian people proud to help a hot white kid.
Here's Jason's best post: Day 14 - Disturbia

Caitlin at 1,416 and Counting is one of my favorite bloggers. There, I said it. Something about a talented writer taking on the task of watching ALL the Nightmare on Elm Street Movies in less than two weeks is just impressive. She's inspired one of my most popular posts (Guys I'd Go Gay For) and she's always asking her readers for recommendations. That always means a lot to me. Her best post is actually part of her Reader's Choice series. The post is chock full of nostalgia, humor, and killer rabbits. You read it right.
Here's Caitlin's best post: Flashback: Night of the Lepus (Mom's Choice)

Jeff at Culture Snob is one classy fellow. Don't be intimidated by his stylish layout or the lack of .blogspots or .wordpresses on his web address. He's a dot-com gentleman and his writing ability backs up his title: culture snob. I feel really special because Jeff hasn't participated in too many blog-a-thons but has made a special appearance today. This post is the best of the best. His site features a Best Of section so his archive digging had already been partially done. Jeff's best post has to do with an interesting film by an even more interesting director. Those who've seen Peter Wier's The Plumber might not be sure what to think about it. Needless to say, the Snob cleared up a lot of my questions. This one's definitely worth a read.

Here's Jeff's post: The Uncertainty of the Everyday
Here's Jeff's post about Jeff's post: My Best Post

The Film Fiend tells me about more movies I've never heard of than any other blog. My Netflix queue is now filled with horror movies from countries all over the world. Old films and new films. Good films and bad films. He's one of the few people I know who has given the 1990 version of Captain America the attention it deserves. The Fiend's best post is no different. The movie: Soul Vengeance, a blaxploitation film made by a UCLA student in the mid-70s. The reivew starts out with a question that will make you question everything you thought you know about yourself.
Here's The Film Fiend's best post: Soul Vengeance

J.D. at Radiator Heaven keeps with the Halloween spirit with his best post. To be honest, I've never seen the film he writes about. I dismissed it as having nothing to offer me. The director had burned me with other projects and I assummed skipping this particular film was a wise choice. After reading J.D.'s post, not only do I think I made the wrong choice about this film, I may need to revisit the filmmaker's other work with a more open mind. In 1,600 words, my opinions have been altered. That's pretty cool and a sign of his influencial writing style.
Here's J.D.'s best post: Devil's Rejects

StinkyLulu has been open for four years. This month celebrates Lulu's online writing anniversary. Lulu's one of the "celebrity bloggers" participating in this crazy blog-a-thon. It was pretty darn cool to see a comment from one of the most impressive bloggers this side of Film Threat. This post is really interesting because it's a He Shot Cyrus twist on a Stinky Lulu series. The Things to Do series was specially rescheduled for today. Want to know more about Stinky Lulu? Read this post. There's no doubt that you'll find a ton of interesting and exciting stuff to participate in.
Here's Stinky Lulu's best post: To Dos Day - Best of Stinky Lulu Edition

Scott of Mendelson's Memos is one smart guy. He has a way of saying exactly what I wanted to say but couldn't figure out how. Whitney and I both noticed that rampant sexism that flowed forth from critical fingers following the release of Sex and the City: The Movie. My conclusion: Men are assholes. Needless to say, Mr. Mendelson breaks it down quite a bit further. Great, great post. Go check it out.
Here's Scott's best post: Sex and the City (The Movie) and the Difference Between Male and Female Escapism

These were the links for DAY ONE. If you've sent me a link, don't worry, I've got it. Your post will be part of DAY TWO (which happens to be tomorrow!) Thank you all for your great participation, it means so much to me! Go read each other's blogs. I've read so many posts now and I've got to say, you summambitches can write! LEAVE COMMENTS FOR EACH OTHER. THEY'RE WHAT LOVE IS BUILT ON!

Until tomorrow.

Slight Delay

So, I'm headed to a wedding. The MY BEST POST BLOG-A-THON is officially underway. Leave all your links here and I'll post them in a few hours. Sorry about the delay! To keep you entertained in my absence, here's a picture of Diane Lane.

You're welcome.

Raped by the Special Edition Gremlins

10th Anniversary Special Features:

*The Show: An in-depth look back at Sports Night with creator/writer Aaron Sorkin, directors Thomas Schlamme and Robert Berlinger, cast members Felicity Huffman, Peter Krause, Josh Charles, Joshua Malina, and Robert Guillaume, Emmy(r) award-winning editor Janet Ashikaga, Emmy(r) award-winning director of photography Peter Smokler, producer John Amodeo, and set designer Thomas Azzari. Includes never-before-seen behind-the-scenes home movies shot by John Amodeo.

*Face Off: ESPN's SportsCenter vs. CSC's Sports Night - Sports Night's real-life ESPN counterparts discuss what the series got right and wrong.

*A Conversation with Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme

*Inside The Locker Room - A look at the innovations of Sports Night with Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, Robert Berlinger, Janet Ashikaga, Peter Smokler, John Amodeo, and Thomas Azzari.

*Season Gag Reels

*8 Episode Commentaries including creator/writer Aaron Sorkin, director/executive producer Thomas Schlamme, director Robert Berlinger, editor Janet Ashikaga, and cast members Peter Krause, Josh Charles, Joshua Malina, Sabrina Lloyd, Greg Baker, Kayla Blake, Timothy Davis-Reed, and Ron Ostrow.

*Original Promos

*36-Page Booklet including an introduction by creator Aaron Sorkin

Damn.

oh HELL no

I understand wanting to pay tribute to a legend...but damn.
This is just rough.

He Shot Cyrus

Three Scenes I Love: Hip-Hop Docs

As a lifetime fan of hip-hop, the music and the culture, I'm constantly seeking out films that handle its numerous elements in a skillful and respectful manner. I'm talking about emceeing, turntablism, graffitti, breakdancing, beatboxing, etc. What I'm not talking about is 50 Cent. What I'm not talking about is commercial radio rap. I'm talking about hip-hop. The stuff KRS-One raps about and Michael Eric Dyson writes about. Here's three scenes that mean a lot to me and capture my love for this culture.

Scratch - Mixmaster Mike Scratching and Cutting Robert Johnson

This scene is special because it introduced me to Robert Johnson and the Delta Blues. In forty-five seconds, I loved a new genre of music. The next day, I was the owner of every Johnson track in existence (which isn't that many, as it turned out). Hip-Hop draws influence from every genre of music, film, and literature. Studying hip-hop brought me to R&B, funk, blues, doo wop, and jazz...hundred of artists, albums, record labels, all from finding out my favorite artists' favorite songs.

YouTube Link
MP3 Download

Style Wars - Opening Sequence

The film opens in a dark subway tunnel. A train turns through the dark. One curve lines the train up next to a bright lamp. That's when the magic happens. Graffiti. Names written in spray paint by young artists attempting to go "All City." Chalfant and Silver 's opening is one of the most effective I've ever seen.

YouTube Link

Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme - Mos Def in the Park

YouTube Link
MP3 Download Link

Mos Def, one of the best, raps straight off the top. I've freestyled in battles, cypher circles, and even with a couple accomplished rappers, but I've never been anywhere close to Mos' lyrical skills. I've got a lot of "Yo...yo...'s" and filler lines, but Dante Smith drops an amazing sixteen filled with references to older hip-hop groups, his hometown, an ex-President, and even raps one line in Spanish.

Slim brown skin I be/standin' 5'10'' I be/rockin' it/when I be/in your vicinity/

Raw style energy/recognize symmetry/constant to the edge of me/broken down chemically/
Ain't another ten emcee/talkin' 'bout how been I be/styled like Kennedy/
Late like a ten to three/when I say when I be/girls say venga aqui/
'Cause they tend to be...way out like Tennessee/
Take me to a place called the BK/without pause or delay/ yet run like Penn relay/
don't deal with he say she say/ain't workin' for no cheap pay/the Mos Def beat play/
this is what the streets say/Hey Mr. DJ: Play that devil MO'gain/that jam got me open/
Beside to break it broken/from front front side to side middle to back/
Never the wack/I come from Bedstuy, black/From Louis A-V-E to be exact/
Brooklyn, where you at?/