The Lady Gaga album “Born This Way” is pretty out there. It doesn’t stick to any one style which in some ways is a disappointment. There are some songs on the list that are electronica, some that sound like really bad techno, and some that sound like country.

I normally don’t like country, though “You and I” was actually decent. Having listened to the country version of “Born This Way” was actually pretty cool too.

During the dog days of summer, hydration is vital — but that Aquafina bottle can start tasting well, tasteless, after a few sips.

Powdered water flavorings have become the next vogue thing, with companies like Crystal Light and even Kool-Aid capitalizing on the billion-dollar trend.

But just when you thought there were no new ways left to enhance water, Kraft jumped on the bandwagon with MiO, a zero-calorie, zero-sugar, liquefied water enhancer.

The six different flavors of MiO are sold in sleek, palm-sized plastic bottles that look like silver water droplets. Each container retails for about $3.49 at stores like Walmart and, according to the label packaging, contains enough liquid to flavor 24 glasses of water.

Yet again, Johnny Depp succeeds in stealing the hearts of women of all ages as Captain Jack Sparrow in “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.”

Captain Sparrow continues the “Pirates” saga on his quest to find the Fountain of Youth. Instead of co-stars Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley from the first three films, Penelope Cruz steps in as Angelica, who happens to be searching for the same treasure.

Many thought the third movie, “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” was going to be the last.

However, at the very end the crew of the infamous Black Pearl agrees to search for and bring Captain Jack back.

From capturing a mermaid to trekking through the jungle, the film provides the usual sense of humorous suspense.

Sex, drugs and hip-hop beats mixed in with jail time and murder raps are an unfortunate side to the realism of music.

Viral hip-hop group Odd Future may indeed end up going down in the history books alongside such groups as N.W.A. and The Wu-Tang Clan.

Although not nearly as polished as the above-mentioned groups, Odd Future has such a wide fan base that this premonition may actually become reality.

The song “Yonkers” by Odd Future creator Tyler has a cool and slightly angry lyrical flow. It is a good song that flows well, if one can get over the blasphemy against Jesus.

If “Wedding Crashers” and “Something About Mary” had an affair, “Bridesmaids” would be their love child.

Easily the best comedy of the year, even in the face of adversity with such films as “The Hangover Part II” out, “Bridesmaids” holds its own.

Judd Apatow, the King Midas of comedy producers, and Kristen Wiig, with her spot-on comedic timing, joined forces to create a dream team of sorts.

The two ingeniously created a balance of the unforgiving honesty of boy humor and effortless chemistry among the cast.

The two-hour comedy starring Wiig and Maya Rudolph follows two friends through the sometimes-absurd rituals of marriage.

Let us recap for a moment. In “The Hangover” there was a wedding that was almost missed, four friends, a missing person, and strippers.

This plot was the anthem for the summer of 2009. The movie was refreshingly funny and brought scenarios to the silver screen that had not been seen in that light before.

In “The Hangover Part II,” Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), Alan (Zach Galifianakis) and Doug (Justin Bartha) travel to Thailand for Stu’s wedding.

After the unforgettable bachelor party in Las Vegas for Doug’s wedding, Stu is taking no chances and wants nothing more than a pre-wedding brunch.

However, with this group of guys and Alan behind the wheel, things don’t go as planned.

What happened in Vegas is one thing but what happens in Bangkok is another.

In south Oklahoma City, good pizza is hard to come by.

If your taste favors the cardboard-flavored, heavily processed fare from joints like Mazzio’s and Pizza Hut, you should probably stop reading now.

But if you’re a southsider who yearns for something more than the usual suspects, then Marco’s Pizza, newly opened at 12201 S. Pennsylvania Ave., is the place to go.

Philly neo-soul singer Bilal released his most current album, “Airtight’s Revenge,” last September.

While possessing many vocal ranges, Bilal sometimes puts his listeners in the mind of modern-day Prince, but incorporates his own style without sounding like a wannabe.

Many times Bilal is placed in the neo-soul genre, but he also infuses rock, pop, reggae, and even heavy metal into his music.

“Borderlands” might have come out in 2009, but like older women, older games have a certain appeal to them.

“Borderlands” is a sci-fi shooter that has taken several things from “World of Warcraft.”

The list is quite expansive, actually. One of the borrowed concepts is the talent sheet, which modifies your abilities and gives you new ones.

Another is the actual use of quests in a shooter, which is quite novel.

But I’m not here to talk about the original version of the game.

Sookie Stackhouse returns in the 11th installment of Charlaine Harris’s “Southern Vampire Chronicles” in “Dead Reckoning.”

This is the book series HBO’s hit television show, “True Blood,” is based on.

In “Dead Reckoning,” Sookie finds her life threatened at every turn, just like in every other book so far.

Sookie spends much of the book alternating between being a quick-thinking, resourceful woman and a whiny, naïve girl.

It’s amazing how some realizations creep up on her like they do, while she somehow manages to work out problems with solutions that even centuries-old vampires can’t grasp.

This book doesn’t seem as believable as earlier books in the series.