Trisha's Blog

So i finally got around to watching Twilight: New Moon this weekend, and I was not impressed. From all the teenage screams and all the entertainment shows’ talk, I set my expectations high. The cheasy romance lines and continued lack of good special effects did not meet my expectations.

I was convinced that this followup of the Twilight Saga would be better than the first film because it was directed by a different director. Twilight (2008) was directed by Catherine Hardwicke, who also directed the teenage drama Thirteen (2001). The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) was directed by Chris Weitz, who also directed The Golden Compass (2007) and About A Boy (2002).

Some Twilight fans thought that Weitz, as a director of more movies than Hardwicke, would bring justice to the book as a film. Maybe he did for some, but I think that my problems with the film go deeper than the film. Perhaps I just need to read the books.

Whether your heart is fluttering over Robert Pattinson’s character Edward in Twilight Saga: New Moon or your heart was fluttering over Keifer Sutherland’s character David in Lost Boys, young vampires have got girls by the neck.

As Pattinson himself said, “I just don’t take any of it seriously. It’s just a job while it’s a job I love, girls scream out for Edward (Cullen), not Robert. I still can’t get a date.” So if the girls aren’t screaming for the actors, then why are they screaming for these fictional, fantasy, characters? Looking at the Lost Boys and today’s vampire phenomenon, these are the trends found in most vampire characters that seem to make girls go crazy.

Pale skin, colored lips

In a film mixed with mortals and vampires, the characters’ complexions could say a lot. The pale complexions are usually the vampires, since they’re forbidden to tan by the threat of melting and dying by the sun. Perhaps it’s the pale skin or the blood they drink, but vampires also tend to have rich colored lips. This is a traditional characteristic of a vampire because it is so embedded into the idea of vampires only lurking at night.

Rebellious attitudes

If you haven’t heard of or started watching the CW’s The Vampire Diaries, then this photo needs some explaining. Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) is the bad brother of the two brother vampires in the show that premiered in late August 2009. Though vampires overall seem like bad beings, they are still divided amongst themselves as bad vampires, who might feed on fresh humans, and good vampires, who might feed on animals or blood donations.  Because vampires are overall not accepted in a community, they become rebellious to the society. Whether they’re skipping school on a sunny day or hunting a human, vampires have a rebellious nature that seems to attract young girls.

Sexy and charming to the ladies

Even if he kills her and uses her to feed his hunger for blood, a vampire will be romantic and charming to his victims. The female character, Star, of the Lost Boys was the love interest of good vampire, Michael, while she was the item of David. Today, Bella, of the Twilight saga is the love interest of Edward. In both of these films, the vampires were tragically in love with the leading ladies, but were challenged by their way of life.

The shades

Sunglasses may be necessary to block the unwanted sun from a vampire’s eyes, but it also makes him look mysterious and cool. Wearing dark shades is a very common characteristic of vampires.

Physical vampire attributes are not the only thing about vampires that teenagers adore, but the sexual metaphor of being bitten is also admired. As a teenager, girls and boys are told by teachers, parents, and older relatives that sex is bad and horrible. Teenagers are taught to stay away from sex, just as these female roles are told to stay away from these pale creatures. The vampire trends and the teenage phase all have one thing in common, the rebellious attitude.

I remember days of coming home from high school when my mom and I would watch the five o’clock news before dinner. But before the five o’clock news, there was the Oprah show.

Watching the Oprah show for 15-30 minutes, I thought at first, “She’s too emotional. Why does she yell every last word of a sentence?” But as I got older and actually listened to the topics of her shows, I begin to like the Oprah show.

Now that I can say that I like the Oprah Show, Oprah announced on Friday that the last episode will air in 2011.

Oprah will be turning her focus from the Oprah Show to an entire cable network, OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network).

While filming his new film, Orson Welles and Me, on the Man of Isle, Efron was suprisingly bombarded by his High School Musical fans. The Man of Isle is located in between Britain and Ireland, and is a small island that Efron never thought his fans would follow him to. But apparently he was wrong.

Thursday night, my fiance and I saw Dane Cook’s performance at the Frank Erwin Center, and it was not as bad as I thought it would be. . . I actually laughed.

As I expected the jokes ranged from sexual content to the perspective of a “dude/broh” in his 20′s, which isn’t really a range at all. However, I didn’t expect the sensitive side in which Cook talked about his parents who passed away a couple of years ago.

Though his ego and “dude/broh” personality came out a lot, the points of his life that he made laughter on were recognizable and obviously recognizable from the audience’s reaction.

Cook’s show was the first comedy show that I have attended, and I’m glad that it wasn’t an absolutely horrible first experience.

From the popularity of shows like Dawson’s Creek and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I think that nearly everyone of my age has a guilty pleasure that either involves vampire dramas (Twilight, True Blood) or the CW network. My guilty pleasure involves both, because every Thursday night my TiVo is set to record CW’s The Vampire Diaries.

I first started watching the show when I came down with the flu at the end of August. I was desperately flipping through channels and had no idea what I would get myself in to.

The show is drenched with teenage, vampire drama. The two main characters of the show are ancient vampire brothers who both have an interest in Elena (Nina Dobrev) who is similar to a past love who caused tension between the two. One brother, Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley), is the innocent, good vampire who refuses to drink human blood and feeds off of animal blood. The other brother, Damon (Ian Somerhalder), only feeds on human blood and prefers that of the teenagers.

The show has its cheesy lines and sometimes terrible effects, but the bad guy character, Damon, makes the show better than what it sounds. Damon reminds me of Keifer Sutherland’s character in The Lost Boys. His cocky, selfish, evil attitude and cool looks drives him to piss off his younger brother and basically cause every problem in the show.

The Vampire Diaries airs Thursdays at 8/7c on the CW.

Last week, local author, David Rice, was the guest speaker for the Freshmen Studies: Borderlands class which I intern for.

I’ve never read any of his work, but after the visit I’m interested. He was, surprisingly, hilarious. Much so to the point that he had professors blushing and freshmen unsure if they should laugh or not. Rice may not be a comedian, but he surely knows from life experience how to provoke laughter from any story.

David Rice is from the Rio Grande Valley, which is where he sets many of his coming-to-age short stories. His first collection of short stories was published as the book Crazy Loco in 2001 and has received a lot of recognition.