My Favorite Guys Of 2009/2010

Reflecting on the past two years, there are a few guys I'd like to invite over for a "playdate". Check out what makes these guys awesome - and places them right on top of my "to interview" list!

PAULO COSTANZO

Currently playing lovable smartass Evan R. Lawson on one of my favorite TV series, Royal Pains, you might remember him starring as Friends actor Matt LeBlanc's sweet geeky nephew Michael on Joey.

The 32 year old Canadian of Italian descent practically inherited his artsy talent, considering his mother is a singer/songwriter and his father an artist.

What I think is pretty cool (not only because I share his affinity) is his love for old movies and music - in an interview with TV Guide Magazine he declared listening to the 40s station his "guilty pleasure".

In addition, his hilarious, lovable, hyperactive-ish type personality makes him my kind of guy.

JAMES RODAY & DULÉ HILL

The 35 year old West Wing (probably one of the best TV series ever made) alumn Dulé Hill currently stars as fake psychic detective Shawn Spencer's (Roday) equally handsome knowledgeable sidekick Burton "Gus" Guster on one of my all-time favorite TV series, Psych. His great on and off screen chemistry (check it out!) with his 34 year old co-star James Roday lifts my spirits every time I see them. What makes these guys even better in my eyes is their long-term commitment to their equally lovely leading ladies Nicole Lyn and Maggie Lawson.

BEN SCHWARTZ

This funnyman caught my attention with his portrayal of agent Bill Hoyt on the (unfortunately) cancelled TV series Undercovers.

As it turns out, he has already achieved notable success working as a freelance writer for the Late Show with David Letterman's monologue and Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update. His remarkable work as a comedy writer earned him an Emmy award, for writing Hugh Jackman's opening number at the Oscars as a matter of fact.

Much of his great stuff can be checked out on his website RejectedJokes.com - I'm curious about what's next on his agenda; I have a feeling this guy is going places!

ZACHARY QUINTO & CHRIS PINE

What these guys did was pretty remarkable - they were able to get girls like me who don't particularly care for science fiction to pay for watching a Star Trek movie - twice (not to appear overly obsessed, I had to see it once in English and once in German and both times with different people).

Their critically acclaimed revival of Spock & Captain Kirk made me want to join their bromance. Turns out I have a thing for sassy comments and special ears...

Anyways, there's a great amount of hilarious interviews with them on the internet, however, this is my favorite. Well then... let's all live long and prosper!

COLIN HANKS

Building a successful acting career is hard, but when you look like the outstanding Tom Hanks himself it might be even harder - considering your father is one of the greatest actors of our time, expectations are high and comparisons inevitable.

So far, Hanks senior's talented offspring did well for himself, best known for his portrayal of Jack Bailey on the short-lived TV series The Good Guys (co-starring the brilliant Bradley Whitford) and as Alex Whitman in Roswell, he also had substantial supporting roles in the 2005 remake of King Kong and the romantic comedy The House Bunny.

His witty and tremendously charming demeanor is really what caught my eye, he's absolutely fun to watch!

In the interview I linked above, Colin talks about his encounter with The Hoff which is the best possible segway to saying something that I've wanted to say for quite a while. As I'm qualified to clear up this urban myth due to my ancestry, I'd like to clarify that no German has ever thought that David Hasselhoff's Looking For Freedom was in any way responsible for, nor credited with the fall of the Berlin wall. The only reason why he's been famous in Germany is because of Knight Rider and Baywatch, two series that were hugely popular amongst Germans. Now he's just a buffoon... and I really hope he gets his act together some day.

JESSE EISENBERG

After his notable performances in The Squid And The Whale, Adventureland and Zombieland, the 27 year old New Yorker rose to great fame with his 2010 portrayal of Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination.

A self-proclaimed "naturally anxious person", he's kind, awesomely sarcastic, smart and obviously uncomfortable with attention which makes him also very sweet and down to earth. A great example is his interview with Conan - "My life is basically just... you know, feeding and cleaning cats... and then I get to be the sexiest geek alive..." - and of course, the interview with David Letterman.

The son of a college professor and a former professional party clown, is currently (I don't know if he's graduated already) studying for a degree in Democracy and Cultural Pluralism - so maybe he'd like to compare notes sometime (as I'm currently studying socio-cultural geography - also referred to as the "anthropological part" of my environmental science degree)...

Anyways, I'm pretty sure we're going to see a whole lot more of this very talented guy in the future!

RYAN REYNOLDS

People's Sexiest Man Alive (2010) rose to fame with his portrayal of ditzy heartthrob Berg in Two Guys, A Girl And A Pizza Place, and became even more popular with the ladies after playing the lead in the romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe. However, starring as Deadpool in X-Man Origins: Wolverine proved he's not just the ladies man but also very capable of playing more serious roles - most recently portraying Paul Conroy in Buried, being another example. Fortunately, he decided to star in yet another romantic comedy, because The Proposal was just hilarious and probably one of the best movies that genre had to offer in a long time.

Married to, and now unfortunately separated from the lovely Scarlett Johannsson (I wished they'd work it out - I'd never give up so easily), the 34 year old Canadian enjoys traveling and riding motorcycles.

In November 2008, he ran the New York City Marathon on behalf of the Michael J. Fox Foundation, raising funds for research that will hopefully lead to the creation of better Parkinson's treatments - or even help find a cure! Click here if you want to help further this great cause.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

The 29 year old former 'N Sync member and Micky Mouse Club alumn caught my eye once he started his solo music career. Like I Love You, Señorita as well as Work It and Where Is The Love? - his collaborations with Nelly and The Black Eyed Peas respectively were some of my favorite songs at the time of their releases.

After that I lost track of him for a while until the avid amateur golfer who dated the "old all-American girl Britney Spears" (before she had her very public mental breakdown), the absolutely enchanting Cameron Diaz and since 2007 the equally lovely actress Jessica Biel, decided to pursue acting and designing fashion (his William Rast clothing line that he created with his childhood friend Trace is pretty damn awesome).

He also does a lot of charitable work, being very dedicated to promoting music education as essential to a child’s development and regularly takes part in charity events that raise funds for the Shriners Hospitals for Children.

His acting is also getting better by the year - he did an outstanding job with his 2010 portrayal of Sean Parker on The Social Network.

Also, he has shown that he's quite the comedian with his hilarious "Single Ladies" dance performance, his award-winning SNL skit "Dick In A Box", and the "History Of Rap" duet with Jimmy Fallon as well as his very amusing impersonation of John Mayer.

TANC SADE

The 30 year old Australian native is best known for his role of eccentric womanizer Finn on Gilmore Girls and has recently appeared in an episode of The Mentalist, entitled Red All Over.

In 2009, the avid Rugby player and mountain biking enthusiast, founded Five Island Films, an independent film production company for which he writes, produces and directs thought provoking short films. "We're a young passionate group of idiots who believe anything is possible with a good story and an active imagination." I think Flowers And Weeds is the best example of his dedication and appreciation of the art of storytelling. The well written, beautifully shot film engages the viewer with a heartfelt storyline, striking visuals and beautiful music - probably some of the best 15 minutes in film!

Mark my words, Tanc Sade is on the best way to becoming the Woody Allen of Generation Y.

LUIS BENAVIDES

And last but not least, my personal favorite (ok I admit I'm a little biased here) - definitely one of the greatest guys there is - Luis Benavides.

Born and raised in Colombia, Luis beat the odds early on in life. Graduating with a BSc in Telecommunication Engineering, he earned a scholarship for young gifted Latin Americans to work on his Master's degree in E-Business at the renowned Politecnico di Torino in Italy. Aside from co-founding and developing his family's online real estate agency and being fluent in Spanish, English, Italian and German, it wasn't long until Google realized his potential and hired him in 2007.

With great ambition and will-power, the 28 year old technology buff spends his free time furthering his language, programming and leadership skills. Considering his busy agenda, it still amazes me how he manages to be a kick-ass guitarist and loving husband!

Move over, Tim Ferriss - there's a new 21st century leader on the rise!

This is obviously just a small selection of great guys of 2009/2010 - so feel free to share your favorites! Who knows, maybe I'll get a chance to interview these guys for SOFIA magazine sometime...

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Who Is The Tallest One Of All?

Ever since I was a teenager I struggled with my height. All of my friends - and to my dismay, all of the boys - were shorter than me. In order to fit in I used to duck my head, of course resulting in back pain for many years to come...

I come from an above average tall family - my mother, my sister and me are relatively tall women at 5 ft 8 ins (173 cm), my father is tall as well at 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) while my brother reached remarkable 6 ft 4 ins (193 cm)!!!

Well, I thought my family was tall until today when I came across an article on one of my favorite websites, oddee.com, titled 10 of the World's Tallest Women.

Yao Defen from China claims to be the tallest woman in the world. She is 7 ft 8 ins (233 cm) tall, weighs 440 lbs (200 kg) and has size 26 (UK) feet - just try to imagine that! (I've size 6 feet or a US size 8/European size 39 to give you an idea of how big her feet are.)

Currently the tallest man in the world is Chinese Bao Xishun who is 7 ft 9 ins (236 cm)!!!

Farewell, Prison Break! TV Show Producers Mess up AGAIN!

What is it about the American television series creators that they come up with an exciting show idea and then mess up the whole thing towards the end?

I'm a huge fan of Prison Break but I'm really disappointed regarding the story line of the show's final season. With every new episode the show loses credibility. 

Like the majority of people, I like Sarah Wayne Callies' character a lot but when they decided to kill her off the show, it should have stayed that way - at least until the final two episodes or so. I mean, this Bonnie and Clyde thing they have going on right now plus Sara's totally unfit pregnancy is just ridiculous and out of sync with the whole story line. What made the Sara-Michael dynamic so interesting in the beginning was their quest to overcome their physical separation, now that this is gone it's just like any other (romantic) drama series. This is the first thing that really bothers me.

Secondly, now Lincoln and Michael's allegedly deceased "mother" is the evil wannabe head of The Company - seriously? 

Thirdly, Michael, who got into all this trouble to save his beloved innocent brother from death row, the same brother who now made a deal with The Company to save him from dying of brain cancer (which is another ridiculous thing by the way) is determined to work against him - no matter what it takes?

Well, in my opinion, the show is just messed up now. Seriously, it should have ended when they got Scylla and handed it over to Don Self, who instead of screwing the convicts used Syclla to bring down The Company for good. Then, in the final scene they could have shown Lincoln, L.J., Michael, Sara and Sucre living in Panama happily ever after with their surf shop - ok, ok, and a baby to make the Sara-Michael fans happy!

The final three episodes of Prison Break air on Fridays, May 1st, 8th and 15th in the United States - let's see if it can get any worse! ;)

If you're a fan of the show and would like to give your opinion, please feel free to leave a comment! 

Prejudices Suck!

Today I want to talk about the prejudices that I have to deal with on a daily basis and explain the reasons behind my decision to follow Sean "Diddy" Combs (@iamdiddy) and Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) on Twitter - two issues that are somewhat interrelated.

So, yes, I do have a passion for philanthropy and environmentalism, and yes, much of my life does revolve around those two passions - but does that mean I have to be like the stereotype: a religious, "Jesus sandals"-wearing know-it-all wallflower? That's not how I see myself.

I do find it utterly important that people help each other, try their best to do the right thing - this is common sense to me! However, I am also an open-minded agnostic, I do make many mistakes, sometimes I'm funny, sometimes I'm deadly serious but most of all I want to make people feel good and I do have some sense of fashion! ;)

In fact, I feel offended when people imply that atheists don't do charitable work like religious people. Probably I even adhere to the 10 Commandments more strictly than many believers of God - seriously, do you need someone to tell you that killing, stealing and cheating is wrong? My parents are Protestants (who go to church every Sunday); I also have friends who follow different religions - and I do respect their beliefs but I expect that they tolerate my viewpoint, too. I love diversity and dearly hope that one day people of different religions, races, cultures and sexual orientation can coexist in peace - if my friends and I are able to do that, you can do it, too!

Now that I've got this off my chest, I tell you why I (like thousands of other people!) decided to follow Sean "Diddy" Combs and Ashton Kutcher on Twitter even though some of my fellow philanthropists and environmentalists may think that this was an unwise move. Maybe they are right, but as much as I enjoy taking over leadership, I still want to be a follower because there's so much to learn from others.

So, what do these two nice gentlemen have in common? - Yes, both are famous and many will tell you they are also very handsome and talented - and I certainly won't dispute that; however, that is not what my decision to follow them was based on.

As for Sean "Diddy" Combs, my admiration for him goes back to the late 90s. His success story (from ambitious intern to millionaire within 18 months: check out the video below!) inspired me to never give up on my own dreams - because as Mr. Combs has demonstrated - with hard work, ambition and persistence they can come true eventually! And this is also what I like about his tweets: every day he reminds his followers that anything is possible and encourages them to be proactive - I think everyone needs a mental boost like that every once in a while...

With regards to Ashton Kutcher, I came to like him after I saw a VH1 special about him a few years ago. Two things he said there that stayed in my mind (I'm sorry I don't know the exact words as I saw it in German) were: 1. Always be happy, never be satisfied. 2. Aim for the moon, if you miss, you may hit a star (a Clement Stone quote). On a more superficial note, I think Punk'd is hilarious! ;) After reading an article headlined "Ashton Kutcher Twitters Against Sex Slavery", I decided to follow him.

In conclusion, both Sean "Diddy" Combs and Ashton Kutcher are the kind of 21st century leaders that we need right now. In my opinion it's worth following them!

Check out the Sean "Diddy" Combs interview with Carlos Watson below:

The One-Man-Living-Cartoon-Factory: Funny Medley!

Ennio Marchetto is the One-Man-Living-Cartoon-Factory! Check out this medley showing his hilarious impersonations of famous personalities ranging from Marilyn Monroe, Elvis and Stevie Wonder to Madonna, Whitney Houston and Tina Turner! For international tour dates visit Ennio's website.

And the Oscar Goes to...

Well, I think I wasn't too bad with my predictions after all: Slumdog Millionaire (among others) won best picture and best music like I said - "killer soundtrack"! :)

Look at the picture on the left: "Feel-Good Film of the Decade"???? I didn't feel so good after seeing the film! On the contrary, I was devastated by the poverty and the cruelty towards the poor that the movie portrayed. Those are real people and it is based on their reality - how can you feel good after seeing that? All it did was make me think about what we could do to rescue the people from living like that and how lucky I am to have been born in Europe. 

Ok, next, Sean Penn won the Oscar for best actor in a leading role and that made me really happy - although I would have loved to see Frank Langalla winning, too. 

Heath Ledger won best supporting actor for his outstanding Joker-portrayal - and deservingly so!  

Regarding the actresses, I must put straight that it was leaked that Kate Winslet (not Angelina Jolie as I stated in the previous post) would win the Oscar for her role in The Reader and she did. Also a winner, Penélope Cruz as best supporting actress for Vicky Christina Barcelona (even though I was told that the movie was really bad from people around the globe). 

So, that is it for 2008! I'm already curious what this year has to offer - 2008 is definitely difficult to top! ;)

My Oscar Picks - What A Great Year It's Been!

So, first of all I must confess I still haven't seen all nominated movies - mostly because some of them are still sold out - we managed it just yesterday to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button! Even though I wouldn't call myself a Brad Pitt fan, I think he did a great job and I can absolutely understand why he and the movie are nominated. 

It isn't my Oscar pick though - my favorite movie of the year was: FROST/NIXON and I would love to see Frank Langalla winning the Oscar for best actor in a leading role. Or Sean Penn (who is actually one of my favorite actors) for Milk. 

I think, however, that Slumdog Millionaire is going to win best picture - it's a truly touching and well-done movie with a killer soundtrack - so that's my best music pick. 

The Oscar for best supporting actor should go to the late Heath Ledger - his Joker portrayal scared the crap out of me! ;) 

As for the ladies I can't really say whose going to win as I have seen only Angelina Jolie in Changeling (I was told it was leaked she's going to win, but who knows...) and Taraji P. Henson in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. 

Well, that's my Oscar picks for this year! If anyone would like to share their favorite movies with me (nominated or not) please feel free to do so! I appreciate any recommendations! ;)