8/23/10

Waddup Peoples. I know it's been a long hiatus. I just returned from a summer vacation to the beach, followed by a work business trip to the West Coast. So, my apologies for the abrupt hiatus. Nonetheless, I'm back...so here's the hot joints of the week. Enjoy!

Music:
Janelle Monáe --- Tightrope

I don't even know how to even begin to describe Janelle Monáe's style of music. You might have recognized her as the fantastically awesome house band for the 2010 Espy awards. She brings a hip hop groove to funky sounds that remind me of class Big Band type music. On top of that, the girl can sing! And if you happen to see the music video of this song, or any live performance by Janelle, you'll notice her zoot suit type fashion sense which for me, is quite refreshing. All in all, I can't say enough good things about Ms. Monáe. Watch for her to have her big break this year after collaborating with artists like Big Boi in the past, and making appearances in the film Idlewild. 5/5 Stars

Movies:
Step Up 3D

Ok, before I review, let's get the jokes out now. Step Up...really Nicky? Yes my friends, really. If you're at all relatively close friend with me, you should not be surprised. Everyone knows I love to dance, and everyone knows I LOVE dance movies. That being said, did I have high expectations for the movie? Nope. Was I excited to see it? Hells yes. Verdict? Fantastic. Perhaps the best of the three Step Up movies, this movie had everything you hoped for. Phenomenal dancing from beginning to end. Tons of dance scenes, minimal acting (which is a good thing considering none of the actors/actresses are winning any oscars any time soon). Music was great in the movie. Additionally, I'm generally not a big fan of 3D, but for this movie, I thought it was ok. Still not worth the extra charge on the movie ticket, but it had its cool moments within the movie. If you enjoy watching great dancing, plan on watching the third installment of this series. Fellow fans of the series, you guys will be glad to hear that Adam Sevani is one of the main characters of this film. 3.5/5 Stars

Restaurants:
Jimmy's Seafood Buffet (in the Outer Banks, NC)

I recently took a vacation with some friends to the OBX. It was the first time I had been to OBX in nearly 10 years, which was odd considering I went there nearly every summer as a child. As we made the commute down to NC, my friends could not stop raving about this seafood buffet that we MUST eat at while we're down there. Having been to my fair share of buffets, especially those of the crab leg variety, I had my doubts, but I trusted my friends' opinion so we went. And I was blown away. Hands down, the best crab leg buffet I've ever been to in my life. 9 different varieties of crab legs, all steamed to perfection with melted butter on the side. It didn't even matter that the buffet has 3 other hot bars of food including crab cakes, blue crabs, oysters, mussels, clams, shrimp, steak, macaroni, etc. because my friends and I spent our entire time at the legs bar. After eating enough crab legs to support all of the Deadliest Catch fisherman, our group indulged in the desserts as well...and they were phenomenal. Best soft serve ice cream I've ever had...no joke. The banana pudding was good too. If you're ever on vacation in the OBX, make sure you stop by Jimmy's...it's well worth the cost ($29). 6/5 Stars