MONTHLY REVIEW: March

MUSIC

We're still a little disappointed in ourselves (Mrs. Fitzsimmons 1, especially) but we kind of somehow maybe liked the Bret Michaels & Miley Cyrus duet "Nothing To Loss".

Check out country sibling-band, The Harters, and their debut EP Family. Love. Harmony. before they become the "next big thing"!

The newest video from She & Him, "In The Sun", had us smiling in anticipation for the duo's sophomore album.

In the spirit of charity, Canadian-Somalian hip-hop star K'naan redeems the travesty of the "We Are The World" remake with a sing-along version of his own "Wavin' Flag" courtesy of a slew of Canadian artists.

It's all over the radio dial, but be sure to get on board with Atlanta's own B.o.B. and his hit "Nothin' On You" featuring Bruno Mars.

Better late than never, but we're elated that Joshua Radin seems to be getting his dues with his bubbly single "I'd Rather Be With You".

Remember The White Stripes' song "You Don't What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)"...yeah, that was a good one. (sigh...)

There was some good coverage going on this month, starting with Phone Calls From Home's version of "Don't Matter", originally by Akon. Also check out R & B group Ahmir's de-countrified version of the Lady Antebellum hit "Need You Now".

MOVIE

If you haven't seen (or heard of) The Road, starring Viggo Mortenson, you're not alone. Change that.

The Cove, a documentary about the not-so-secret questionable killing and solicitation of dolphins in Japan, won this year's Best Documentary Feature Film Oscar and it's no wonder.

BOOK

ZONINO! favorite website Awkward Family Photos has compiled some of the best portraits into a great book, by the same name, for you and your family to enjoy together, and be thankful you're not in it!

For a fascinating non-fiction read, check out Charles Nicholl's The Fruit Palace, about the cocaine business in Colombia during the 1970's and early 1980's.

WEBSITE

Go Fug Yourself is one of the best gossip/fashion websites around. Did we mention the writers are hilarious?

Ever had the urge to ruin someone's photo? The people/animals at Photo Bomb did.

Be reassured; those annoying kids in third grade who always got snack time taken away from your class for making shadow puppets on the overhead projector did amount to something. Check out Shadow Art.

YOUTUBE

Not everything on the internet is "fake and gay" like the internet trolls would have you believe. Watch this College Humor Original and see how to defeat them!

Ok Go! has always been making impressive music videos that make you wonder what they'll do next. With "This Too Shall Pass" we now know.

Jimmy Kimmel's star-studded (no pun intended) sketch on what it means to be good looking introduced us to The Handsome Man's Club.

Watch the top four teams from the 2009 World Hip Hop Dance Championship and decide who you think should have been crowned champions!

Is Your Mom On Facebook? Commiserate with this farce of a music video.

RECIPE

Start with a PB Banana Tortilla Roll-up for breakfast, have a helping of Tori's Tasty Tuna Salad for lunch and by the time dinner rolls around just treat yourself to some Guinness Cake.

APPAREL

Want to look like you shop at the trendiest retro thrift strore ever? Check out Mod Cloth today!

Want to be ironical and maybe start a fight with the religious right? Do a little shopping at Teach The Controversy.

MUSIC: Volume Two

Earlier this month we ZONINO!ed the first single, "In The Sun", by duo She & Him, off their sophomore album Volume Two. Now that the full record has dropped, featuring the talents of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, its celebration time all over again!

The actress and singer-songwriter have compiled a set of tunes that will keep your playlist on repeat for weeks. Both bubbly, melancholy, and sweet, each song seems to be crafted with purpose and care. Lead off track, "Thieves" has a distinctly alt-country vibe that would surely make Ryan Adams proud and the bouncy and steady strings and drums guiding "I'm Gonna Make It Better" make it a delicious piece of ear-candy as well. Overall, everyone will find their own unique gems in this collection, even after only one listen.

Sergio del Limónar

YOUTUBE: No Arms, No Legs, No Worries

Need a pinch of inspiration to get you through the week? How about a whole heaping pile of it? Australian Nick Vujicic was born with no appendages, save for his "little chicken drumstick" where a leg should be. He is now a motivational speaker encouraging people to be thankful, positive, and happy. His No Arms, No Legs, No Worries campaign is inspiring for anyone. Watch and realize that making it through a dreary Monday is no big deal!

Sergio del Limónar

BOOK: The Fruit Palace

When most people think of Colombia, they connect the South American nation with drugs, specifically cocaine, and coffee. The travel memoir, The Fruit Palace, by British author, Charles Nicholl, does not refute this stereotype. More accurately, he exploits it to its core.

The title references the hostel slash refreshment tienda in the coastal town of Santa Marta where Nicholl spent an eventful few months as a journalist in the 1970's. During this time he met and accidentally stumbled upon the shady world of the cocaine business. A few years later he returns to the country with the explicit task of writing a book on the subject.

While Nicholl finds his book-smarts of the language, politics, and culture are up to par, most of the drug trade is still and ever-shifting mystery to him and he learns on his feet. While the information surround the illegal operations of producing and transporting "coca" is fascinating, I found Nicholl's descriptions of places he ends up in the most captivating. One of my favorite passages finds him in a bar waiting for an elusive contact in a sketchy part of Bogota, the capital city.

"The Paso Doble was a small, murky cafe-bar off the Caracas Avenue. If was one of a rwo of tumbledown, single-storey houses under a tangle of overhead cables. A bus lurched up the dirt street, listing like an overladen boat. This was a bad part of town...The cafe was quiet. Three dusty workmen sharing a half of aguardiente, an old woman in black nursing a bowl of milky coffee, a pair of corner boys lounging at the doorway, and the inevitable children running in and out, the dark-eyed grubby children that play round the edge of every scene."

Published in 1985, the situation has obviously changed much since then - production methods, politics, anti-drug enforcement, etc. - but the spirit of Nicholl's adventure, no doubt remains. While dated, this memoir is both interesting and educational. From this tiny part of the world, stems problems as far away as the U.S., Canada, and much of Europe. The game may have changed in the last twenty years, but there is no doubt it remains in play.

Sergio del Limonar

EARTH HOUR

If anything is ZONINO! it is saving the planet we live on. Join the over 60 other countries around the world who are turning their lights out from 8:30-9:30pm to bring attention to climate change. Participate in Earth Hour 2010.

APPAREL: Teach The Controversy

While I performed rather under-whelmingly in my high school science days, I do remember some of my classmates getting all up in arms whenever "evolution" was brought up; it seemed to make our teacher a little irritated too, but I guess I can understand that now. I never took a philosophy or religious studies class so some of the arguments surrounding science and other areas of thought often go over my head. However, the web-based company Teach The Controversy is much more "with it" creatively than I am or was.

I tried to get Sergio to post this one, being a sciencey dude (cough nerd), but alas, he did not bite. Regardless, I think the idea is great. Per the creator's own mission statement:

"Let sarcasm be your weapon in the great evolution vs. creationism debate! You don't have to be an atheist to want to keep science in science class, and sporting one of these graphic tees sarcastically urging schools to teach other pseudosciences, myths, and discredited theories is a fine way to show your pro-science stance. Darwin would be proud!"

The shirts come in a variety of colors and styles, with a standard t-shirt being only $15.99 plus shipping. There are also sweatshirts, tank tops, and messenger bags for all styles. If you're in a science class currently, this might be a good way to get your teacher's attention and maybe some bonus points!

Buzzy

MUSIC: "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)"

I've been waiting with baited breath for The White Stripes' newest album to come out ever since I heard the rumors almost a year ago. I know Jack White has a bazzillion side-projects (The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, etc.) but, I my humble and loving opinion, he is at his best when he's with his ex-wife, Meg.

In honor of that anticipation, I present to you one of my favorite songs from the band's catalogue, "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)" from their album Icky Thump. I love the plea to a complacent and misplaced love, saying "you're not hopeless or helpless, you just do as you're told." Hurry, Jack, and give us some more!!!

Buzzy

MUSIC: "Need You Now" cover

A great song is a great song, no matter the genre. About a month ago, Sergio ZONINO!ed the Lady Antebellum hit single "Need You Now". Not being a huge fan or follower of country music, it took me a second to figure out why the version I heard recently by R&B group, Ahmir, sounded so familiar.

The cover, done in four-part harmony with standard R&B stylings, holds true to all the pain, longing, and angst of the original version. Though not a duet this time around, the lyrics and message are just as powerful. The new single is available on iTunes so go download it now!

Buzzy

MUSIC: ""I'd Rather Be With You"

Sometimes it seems to take the longest time for the truly talented musicians to reach the mainstream. This is definitely the case with Ohio's own singer-songwriter, Joshua Radin. Hopefully, his single "I'd Rather Be With You" change that. If he sounds familiar its probably because you've heard him before on any given number of television and feature film soundtracks, as well as collaborated with such prolific industry greats as Ryan Adams and Patty Griffin.

Off his second studio album, Simple Times, from 2008, the single is finally gaining some attention and climbing the charts. With a slightly folk slash Jack Johnson vibe, the guitar strumming love song is about what you would do (or would rather do) for the one you love. We need more happy and harmless ditties in our lives!

Sergio del Limónar

YOUTUBE: My Mom's On Facebook

When my university got added to the Facebook network, the only other people on the social networking site were other current college students. Then things got a little more inclusive; college alumni and certain business networks were allowed to join, as well as high school students. Then came the inevitable: anyone could join without a network. This included your mom.

Now, friending your friends' moms isn't a huge deal, necessarily. It's when your mom friends you that things get ugly. Suddenly you're doing a quick edit of your interests and quotes, as well as the drunken party pics where you "don't look that drunk." I have a great relationship with my mom, but she doesn't need to see the words "spooning" or "beer pong with mixed drinks" on anything associated with moi.

This parody, entitled "My Mom's On Facebook", features a hair metal bad decrying the pitfalls of the day in age when mothers everywhere can join Facebook. Those into classic rock from the '70's and '80's will enjoy the variety of mini-parodies inspired by videos from different artists of the genre.

Sergio del Limónar

MUSIC: "Nothin' On You"

Atlanta just seems to know what's going on in the rap game! New-comer B.o.B. (also known as Bobby Ray Simmons) and his single "Nothin' On You" is burning up the charts, all of them! Not only is this jam ZONINO! but you pretty much have to know this if you're not going to make an ignorant fool of yourself at the bars. Featuring vocals from Bruno Mars this slow groove is perfect for a remixed dance track and as a funky cruising tune in your car.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned but I like a hip-hop love song that never mentions "ho-in'" or "pimpin'." So thank you, B.o.B., for saying that "they [the girls all over the world] got nothing on you [me]."

Buzzy

RECIPE: Guinness Cake

A friend of mine served this at her St. Patrick's Day party this past week. She wouldn't tell me the recipe and when I finally got it out of her it turns out she was embarrassed for to reasons. One, she found it on YouTube, and two, it is from a Spanish cooking show (in Español, no doubt). Thank goodness for "subtitulos."

I know this is a little late for this year, but print yourself a copy and make one next year; its worth planning ahead for! Slainte!

Ingredients:

- 1 cup Guinness dark beer
- 10 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 cup chocolate powder (coco works fine)
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 cup heavy cream (35% MG)
- 2 eggs

- 8 ounces cream cheese (for frosting)

- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar (for frosting)

- 1/2 cup heavy cream (35% MG) (for frosting)

What To Do:

Watch the video.

Buzzy

YOUTUBE: 2009 World Hip Hop Dance Championships (Series)

As an avid "So You Think You Can Dance" fan, I am enamored each and every time a contestant is selected to do a "hip-hop" routine. I, shamefully, have to admit though, that I don't always 'get it.' I mean, half the time, to me, it looks like The Matrix with extra pop 'n' locking and weird facial expressions going on.

Whatever the case, this series of videos of the finalists and winner of the 2009 World Hip Hop Championships is entertaining. The 4th place Philippine All-Stars (from the Philippines, no doubt) were actually my favorite but only because of the Michael Jackson sequence and their general ability to sacrifice their bodies by flying haphazardly through the air a lot. Singapore's own razor sharp Joyce and the Boys earned a 3rd place finish and Neutral Zone, from Mexico, was the first runner-up.

France's R.A.F. Crew took first place though I couldn't tell you why. But then again, I don't understand what is technically "hip-hop" about any of this. I've never seen LL Cool J or Mary J. Blige bust these moves on BET any time recently...

Buzzy

MOVIE: The Cove

Did you know that most dolphin meat today contains around 2000 ppm of mercury? Did you know people even ate dolphin meat legally? Neither do most of the people of Japan, where the slaughter is happening, despite the fact that many of the fisherman doing the hunting claim it is part of the culture. The recent Academy Award winner for Best Documentary Feature, The Cove, exposes these "secrets" and more.

As filmmaker Louis Psihoyos and his, to use his words, "'Ocean's 11' team," attempt to capture on film the dolphin harvest taking place in the coastal town of Taiji, Japan, an incredibly interesting and tragic film unfolds. The most intriguing aspect of the documentary is the involvement and leadership of Ric O'Barry, one of the world's first dolphin trainers and the original keeper and trainer of the famous "Flipper" television show. O'Barry has since changed his tune on domesticating dolphins and believes they need to be free. Dolphins in captivity die earlier that wild dolphins mostly due the stress of hearing their own sonar bounced around their aquarium tanks; often these dolphins are heavily medicated for their constant ulcers earned through this stress.

One of the greatest travesties exposed in the movie was both the politics at play in one of the largest Cetacean organizations in the world, the International Whaling Commission (IWC), and its practical ineffectiveness. The Japanese delegation, for example has basically bought entry to many other small island nations, several in the eastern Caribbean with no whaling interest (or information) such as St. Kitt's and Dominica. Japan has been attempting to overturn the IWC's limitations on whaling since the early 1980's; more "bought" members means more votes in Japan's favor. One interviewee stated that "any cetacean known to man is in danger just by going anywhere near Japan."

"The nail that sticks up must be pounded down"
~Japanese Proverb

The filmmakers and their rougue semi-undercover operation to place hidden hi-def cameras disguised as rocks on cliffs, in bushes, and underwater, in order to capture the brutal and abundant herding and killing of the dolphins in a visually secluded cove proved difficult and suspenseful. Ricking both Japanese incarceration and injury, it was clear the filmmakers felt passionate about telling this story. Hopefully, now that the film has received so much praise and accolades, more people will be educated to this unfortunate plight that extends far beyond animal cruelty.

A website is shown at the end of the film: TakePart.com/TheCove I encourage you to visit this site and check out the film.

Sergio del Limónar

MUSIC: "Wavin' Flag" charity cover

Toronto (by way of Somalia) artist, K'naan, has been making waves all over the music world with his unique style of hip-hop as well as the messages of his songs. His internationally released second album, Troubadour, have down well in the both the US and Canada and has had several hit singles. One of these, "Wavin' Flag" was selected as the 2010 FIFA World Cup theme song. But K'naan clearly wasn't done working with this catchy and inspiring hit; the songs latest incarnation isn't going to do anything to impede skyrocketing career any either!

Joining together various other Canadian artists in a "We Are The World"-like fashion, the Young Artists for Haiti charity campaign re-worked the tune as a fundraiser and tribute to the earthquake ravaged people of the Caribbean island nation. Featuring performers such as Nelly Furtado, Avril Levigne, Kardinal Offishal, Deryck Whibley (Sum 41), Fefe Dobson, and Justin Bieber (yeah, I know) among others Canadians are probably more familiar with, the recording couldn't come at a better time, as it seems our collective attention span has forgotten the number of people still in dire straights that still need assistance. Rapper/singer Drake asks it best with the new line "how come when the media stops coverin', and there's a little help from the government, we forget about the people still strugglin', and we assume that's really all love again?"

Buy this single on iTunes and support the rebuilding efforts, especially if you didn't want to get the remade "We Are The World" abomination, as good as the cause was!

Sergio del Limónar

YOUTUBE: Handsome Man's Club

Late-night host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel had a sketch on his show earlier this month in which he poked fun as himself with the help of some of music, movie, and television's hottest stars. The Handsome Man's Club is a secret organization where celebrities like actors Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, Patrick Dempsey, Rob Lowe, Taye Diggs, and Josh Hartnett; football player Tony Romo; and musicians Lenny Kravitz, Keith Urban, and Sting, amoung several others "handsomes." Its fun to keep watching just to see who else is going to pop up.

Any sketch making fun of "Twilight," spanks, Romo's ears, and red-haired beards, borders on pure genius. I would have loved to have been there during the filming of this bit just to see how much was ad-libbed and what, no doubt, went on that ened up on the cutting room floor, despite its hilarity. Plus, watching Kravitz call Kimmel a "punk-ass bitch" live would have been epic. Make sure you watch it all the way to the end for one last special guest star.

Sergio del Limónar

WEBSITE: Shadow Art

Art blog Beautiful/Decay has an interesting post about the newest in shadow art. Forget the hand puppets you made on the overhead project in elementary school when your teacher wasn't looking, these will blow your mind! According to the website, "the main artists featured here are Kumi Yamashita plus the art team [of] Tim Noble and Sue Webster." (Pictured below is a piece by the later.)



Bee

WEBSITE: Photobomb

Have you ever been flipping through your digital camera the day after a great night out only to notice, upon closer zoomed in inspection, that the "super cute" picture you took with your friend has a creepy guy lurking in the background over your left shoulder making perverted slash constipated face. Not funny, right?

Well, This Is Photobomb* would like to disagree. As will anyone who visits this site, since it is funny, as long as it's not your pictures someone is hijacking! My favorite "photobombs" are ones where animals or unsuspecting people are the ones ruining the photos. The copulating horses in the background of an otherwise nice beach portrait or the girl checking something in her swimsuit while her friends take a self photo in front of her (at right) are both classic examples.

So, enjoy the photobombs and hope people continue to jump in where they don't belong, but hope they don't do it to you!

Sergio del Limónar

*The site often times contains nudity in the form of bare bottoms and an occasional "side boob."

RECIPE: Tori's Tasty Tuna Salad

I had a roommate in college who would make the best tuna salad. She used no recipe. It was more of an emptying of the fridge followed by a half hour taste-testing session that culminated with a finished delicious salad and an already full stomach. I was reminded of this frequent bi-weekly event recently and attempted to recreate the spirit of Tori's culinary masterpiece; here's the basic idea:

Ingredients:

- 2 cans of dolphin-safe tuna
- mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip)
- an apple (Granny Smith works well) cut into cubes
- chopped celery
- 1/4 large onion, chopped
- shredded parmesan cheese
- oregano
- anything else you want, really!

What To Do:

1 - Put tuna into a large-ish mixing bowl or tupperware container.
2 - One at a time, mix in the other ingredients to your liking.
3 - Whatever you haven't eaten by the time all the ingredients have been mixed in, place the rest in the fridge for another day!

Sergio del Limónar

MUSIC: "In The Sun" video

Let's ignore for a second that the alt-folk duo comprised of actress Zooey Deschanel (Almost Famous, Elf, The Happening), and M. Ward is sorely under-appreciated for a moment. Their first full-length studio album, Volume One, received much critical praise, and for good reason. Their second album, appropriately titled Volume Two, comes out later this month. But let's instead focus on this:

While their first disc was ZONINO! in and of itself, as will be their next, the music video for the lead single, "In The Sun" is campy romp of youthful abandon.

Combine Britney Spears' "Baby, One More Time" video with the scene from Hairspray where Tracy Turnblad sings "I Can Hear The Bells" and a pinch of ballet. If this doesn't make you smile in a wow-that-was-awesomely-bizarre-but-I-liked-it kind of way, then don't talk to anyone the rest of the day because clearly you're a little crabby and you might ruin someone's day. Just saying!

Sergio del Limónar

WEBSITE: Go Fug Yourself

So, I was stumbling around the internet at work on Monday, looking for the latest on what the critics thought of who's Oscar gown (or lack there of) with one eye and scanning the office for my boss with the other, when I came across what might be my new favorite website. Go Fug Yourself: Fugly is the New Pretty is a blog written by two hilarious ladies who give praise and pity in equal doses, when stars head out to a red carpet.

Therefore, Sunday's Oscar ceremony was a doozy! Not only was there the red carpet at the awards show, but there were the after-parties; and no self-respecting Hollywood starlet would dare show up to both wearing the same dress! Did I mention these gals were hilarious?!? One of my favorites from the Oscar run-down was their description of, country singer, Faith Hill's frock (pictured wi

thout permission at left). The ladies described her as wearing "what is essentially the love child of a creepy old lady's nighgown, and...another creepy old lady's nightgown. Plus the top of Catwoman's discarded bandeau bikini top." Looks about right to me!

Want to look for your favorite fashion-challenged star? Use the "Fug Me" search function and see how they've been doing with dressing themselves for public appearances! It might be worth getting caught on this site. By my boss, not the red carpet photogs!

Buzzy

APPAREL: Mod Cloth

Its a good thing that ModCloth is not an actual physical store because I would be there all the time. This online women's clothing, shoes, and accessories shop is one of a kind and very stylish if you're in to modern clothes with a non-thrift store retro vibe.

The site is super easy to navigate and they even have a special "Twelvsies Tuesdays" where you can buy twelve items and receive 12% off the total. There is also a mod fashion blog and a pretty cool "Be the Buyer" feature where we, the shoppers, can have our say in what designs make it into the store by voting for samples that you like!

I bought a pair of wedge sandals and a dress for my day to day grind at the office when I want to look super cute. (These were not to be worn together, mind you; I've got more sense than that!) I got both items in a timely manner and I can definitely say a chunk of my next paycheck will be going to this fabulous company come pay day!

Buzzy

YOUTUBE: "This Too Shall Pass" video

Remember when indie-rock band Ok Go! broke into the public conscience, riding treadmills in a one-shot, choreographed (and oft-imitated) music video? Their creative streak continued with other impressive videos but their latest, for the song "This Too Shall Pass", off their new album "Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky", is another work of how'd-they-do-that art.

Taking a cue from the Mouse Trap board game of my youth, the band has surrounded themselves with various everyday items in a large warehouse or studio back lot to pull off one of the biggest cause and effect series pieces I've ever seen. I mean, if one piece of this massive sequence was even slightly out of place, none, of it would work! May favorite parts are the falling umbrellas and when the electric guitar with the spoons dangling from the neck spins around in a circle, hitting the glasses filled to different levels of water synched to specific tones in the song. Also, dropping a piano always looks cool!

Judging by the fact that this video already has over 5 million views, we might be a little late to the game but that doesn't cange the fact that it is ZONINO! I'm wondering though, does anyone really pay attention to the song during this video? Just asking...

Buzzy

MOVIE: Academy Awards VICTORIES

Our mothers have always cautioned us about tooting our horns, but we never listened. So today, the day after the biggest night in motion pictures, The 82nd Academy Awards, as the stars themselves are undoubtedly waking up with a monster hangover or just heading to bed, we say "told ya so" about the movies we ZONINO!ed long long ago. We're all winners on Oscar night!

Precious - We actually first profiled this film about an abused girl from Harlem just trying to find someone that actually loves her back in May of 2009 ...when we saw the preview! It made our Year In Review Top 5 List as well. The movie was up for several awards last night but walked away with a huge and deserved win for Mo'Nique in the Best Supporting Actress category.

The Hurt Locker - Back in September we told you about this film centered around the dangerous lives of the soldiers involved with deactivating bombs. The story told about those in the military bomb disposal team is both timely and touching, as well as Oscar gold. The film took several technical and writing categories as well as bringing in the big prizes of Best Director for Kathryn Bigelow (the first for a woman) and Best Picture.

Avatar - The ground-breaking film - both technologically and financially at the box office - about the conflict between humans and natives on a new planet, which was featured here in January, might not have taken home any of the big prizes, but it still coveted its share of statuettes. It was not a good year to be another movie in any of the technical categories this year as James Cameron's epic won Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects.

Also nominated but,unfortunately, leaving empty handed last night were ZONINO!ed performances by Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman for Invictus and the Science Fiction film about alien apartheid, District 9. If you haven't seen any of these films yet, you need to put them on your list immediately!

Sergio del Limónar

MUSIC: The Harters

One of the newest country acts to hit the Nashville scene is the sibling band The Harters. Hailing from Arizona, and composed of brothers Michael and Scott, along with sister and lead vocalist, Leslie, the group and their air-tight harmonies are a throw-back to classic country ballads with a modern update. The trio recently released their debut EP, Family. Love. Harmony. on iTunes with a full-length album to follow later this year.

ZONINO! featured their single "Jenny" back in August and the other songs on the aforementioned EP are just as phenomenal. Check out the catchy and sliding "Gettin' Out of Dodge" or the call-and-response "Why I Cry" and be the first of your friends to say you new the band before they exploded out of our radios and are showered with Grammy's, CMA's, and ACM's.

Sergio del Limónar

MUSIC: "Don't Matter" cover

Massachusetts-based band, Phone Calls From Home, has a new album out, Connected, with a killer cover of Akon's hit, "Don't Matter". While its use of auto-tune (like the original) is disappointing, the more rocking interpretation is fitting of the song. I also love that the video is shot in some strange city where waitresses at "mom-and-pop" diners dress like they're going out to a night club and there is an exclusive park for punk/emo dudes to go for walks in.

Check out the single and album on iTunes!

Buzzy

MOVIE: The Road

Every once and a while a decent film slips through the cracks, going unknown to most of the movie-watching public. Earning positive reviews at several film festivals in 2008 and 2009, The Road, starring Viggo Mortensen as a father trying to survive with his son after something has turned Earth into a lifeless landscape, is worth checking out. Set in some near-future world filled with skeptical wanderers, scavengers, thieves, cannibals, and murderers, the father and son (we never know their names) traverse the cold dead and dying world looking for something, anything, to keep them alive.

Incredible computer graphic images of ruined cityscapes and roadways coupled with an almost constant sepia-toned coloration creates a feeling of unsettled fear and worry for the viewer. Appropriate, as the characters - good guys and bad - are constantly looking over their own shoulders, as no one can trust anyone. The film does a great job of contrasting the son's earnest innocence and unjaded kindness with the father's world-weary knowledge, protectiveness, and growing pessimism.

My favorite line happens when the traveling duo encounter an old man on the road to the coast. After much convincing from the son, the father offers him some of their food. While eating the old man confesses that when he saw the boy, he thought he had died and the boy was an angel. He then confides that, at times, he wondered if he was the last man on Earth. The father asks him how you would really know that. The old man responds, "I guess you wouldn't know it, you'd just be it."

Based on the 2006 novel, The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, the film is both beautifully told and thought-provokingly tragic. A study in human nature and dealing with consequences, this is definitely not a "feel-good" film, but is a good one.

Sergio del Limónar

MUSIC: "Nothing To Lose"

I'm a little confused and disgusted by the latest musical collaboration, which, incidentally, is what lead me to investigate it in the fist place. Off of ex-Poison front-man Bret Michael's next as-yet-untitled solo album comes the single, "Nothing To Lose" featuring...(wait for it)...Miley Cyrus.

I don't know if this is some last desperate attempt at getting Bret some new younger fans (younger than the girls that watched the VH1 celeb-reality sex romp "Rock of Love") or Miley using daddy's connections to access a more mature and possibly edgier audience. Either way, I really don't want to know. I feel I would be disappointed in someone and some point in this musical journey.

Regardless, its a pretty good song and I think it has potential to chart well. With a slightly rock, slightly country vibe, Michaels sings about asking a girl to fall for him after she's been burned too many times before.

"If been totaled and put down,
Wearing my heart on my sleeve,
Yeah, those scars that you wear,
Well, I've got them to can't you see?"

If you don't think about Micheals' sexual reputation and Cyrus' age, it's a sweet song.

Sergio del Limonar

BOOK: Awkward Family Photos

ZONINO! has done it again! Remember way back in May of 2009 when we made you want to revisit your parent's attic and burn and strange family moments captured on film?

Well, Mike Bender and Doug Chernack, the creators of the ZONINO!ed Awkward Family Photos website, have compiled many of their collection into a book! Order it now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and other booksellers or click on this link.

Sergio del Limónar

YOUTUBE: Internet Bridge Troll

You know you've seen it before. You're on YouTube or watching a video on another site and you glance down to the comments section only to see bully-like comments made for no apparent reason. This is the work of the "troll." A newly coined name for the pessimist who makes comments either to simply start a fight from safety of their own bedroom or because they have nothing better to do than take out their misdirected anger on innocent videos. Either way, these "trolls" bait more people than they should. And that is the point of this video from College Humor entitled "Internet Bridge Troll". Always clever and topical, the creative team at CH have done it again with this clever video showing us that the "trolls" can be beat, you just have to know how.

Buzzy

RECIPE: PB Banana Tortilla Roll-up

This is a fantastic breakfast option or even just a snack. It is super easy to make so show your kids and then let them do it themselves!

Ingredients:

Peanut Butter

Tortilla (flour or wheat)

1 Banana

What To Do:

Sorry, you might be an idiot if you can't figure this one out, which is a shame since it is so delicious! Watch this video starting at about 1:43 and bon appetite!

Buzzy