Madonna’s new album MDNA was released today. I pre-ordered it a while ago and got a notification last night, downloading it at midnight. Most of the music is dance club style and reminds me of Confessions on a Dance Floor. So far my favorite songs are Turn Up the Radio and Beautiful Killer. Apparently her music video for Girl Gone Wild has caused controversy. While I’m not surprised that Madonna is able to cause controversy with one video, I am a little surprised that Americans are still so sensitive to nudity and sexuality. For all our freedoms, particularly free speech, we remain a very prudish nation within the developed world. Madonna’s always been my favorite artist and I’m glad that she continues to push the envelope, even though I’m disappointed there’s still an envelope to push. The music video of my favorite song of all time, What It Feels Like for a Girl, was completely banned from MTV (except MTV Europe) in the early millennium. Girl Gone Wild is below.
If you haven’t already, I highly recommend seeing The Hunger Games. I read all three books prior to opening night. I’m definitely team Peeta, hehe. If I had to choose, I would probably want to live in District 3 (computer technology) or District 4 because I could live on the ocean. The series is on par with Harry Potter, though my favorite fiction series is still His Dark Materials (the Golden Compass book series). The Hunger Games soundtrack is also pretty good, with genres similar to the Twilight soundtrack, which I love, even though I’m not a huge fan of the actual literature (with the exception of Taylor Lautner – go Team Jacob!). I’ve also been working on iPhone programming (if you have any ideas for Apps, let me know!) and continuing grad school at UMaine. Just picked up Kid Icarus: Uprising for my 3DS the other day, too. It’s pretty awesome and definitely worth the wait – I’ve had it reserved since January! You may recall that I made my own Pit costume for Halloween last year.
I’m looking forward to tilling a garden this Summer so that some of my potted plants can migrate outdoor and have a life outside rather than in the house or my greenhouse. An orchid I got from Florida is just starting to bloom. I have rice, radish, and bell peppers growing inside right now, and I’m trying out tea (Camellia sinensis) – it only makes sense considering I drink up to a gallon of loose tea every day (no exaggeration). Unfortunately the plant requires several years of growth before leaves can be harvested. I’ll be happy if I can just get some of the seeds to germinate. Here in Maine we got teased by the 80˚F weather recently, now back down in the 30’s. I’ve been rollerblading a lot and can’t wait to get back in the water to go scuba diving this Summer, as well as some archery.
