tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10501411808746591952024-03-05T08:54:08.546-05:00A Hand for the Man and a Hat for the LadyAn Elegant Blog, for a More Civilized InternetJoey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-90291139269923864382012-06-18T12:05:00.000-04:002012-06-18T12:58:26.004-04:00Perpendicular, Not Straight: A Review of PrometheusBefore digging into a review of <i>Prometheus</i>, I want to mention that yes, there will be spoilers. Make that assumption on every review of mine. But I'll be there to warn you beforehand, should you forget. That said, read on!<br />
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<i>Prometheus</i> reminded me a lot of <i>LOST</i>. A lot. While this might be Ridley Scott's movie, Damon Lindelof is all over it. Remember my <a href="http://madchops.blogspot.com/2010/08/lost-about-l-o-s-t.html">review of <i>LOST</i></a>? Substitute <i>Prometheus</i> for <i>LOST</i> and you have an incredibly accurate review. The same problems exist in both, and the same themes are visited, too. How did we get here? Why are we here? Science or faith? I think humankind has been asking these questions since we could ask questions. For some, there is no answer. For others, the "how" and "why" don't matter. It comes down to the individual, and unfortunately for us, the audience, the individuals in <i>Prometheus</i> all suffer from what the medical field calls being fucking idiots.</div>
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But what works with the movie? It's not all negative, not by a long shot. Just like <i>LOST</i>, Ridley Scott does some badass things. The ambition is there. <i>Prometheus</i> wants to do big things. It wants to expand on the mythologies of one of the greatest science fiction films of all time (I'm talking about <i>Alien</i> here). I do feel like the ending-ending was kind of shoe-horned on there as an acknowledgement of where this all winds up. I could've done without that (especially since it opens up more questions. There was a mural of the Xenomorph in the giant mound/pyramid, so clearly Xenomorphs have existed before that one). But the Space Jockeys are intriguing. Why did they have a ship full of Xenomorph eggs in <i>Alien</i>? Why do they have a whole ship full of ambiguous black goo in <i>Prometheus</i>? Did they create life on earth, or humans? Have they been around the billions of years necessary to start life? What then happens to evolution? You can see how the ambition can work against the movie, too. Especially when that last question is dismissed by the lead anthropologist/archaeologist with, "It's what I choose to believe." Which then leads to the film's problems with faith and science, and how poorly they try to address religion.</div>
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But we're supposed to be talking about positives! Every single frame is gorgeous. The production design and cinematography is probably the best we'll see all summer (at least until <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i>). Arthur Max (production designer) and Dariusz Wolski (cinematographer) deserve all the heap and praise they're getting. I regret not realizing the movie was filmed in 3D, so I don't feel like I really got to experience it like I was supposed to. But I've heard they did great work with depth of field.</div>
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You saw how easily the good turned bad, right? Happens that quickly in the movie, too. The only real constant is the beauty of the frame. The characters suffer from serving the plot. Bad, illogical decisions pop out of eggs and attach themselves to this movie and impregnate it like a facehugger (sorry, that was pretty heavy-handed). The plot suffers from not knowing what the hell its doing. Is it a sci-fi horror? Is it trying to answer philosophical questions about the nature of humanity and our relationship to the divine, if such a thing exists? Or is it a slasher? I honestly don't know, because it tries to be all of the above without committing. The writing is the problem. Whether that's on Damon Lindelof for re-writing Jon Spaihts' <i>Alien-</i>prequel script or Ridley Scott for OKing Lindelof's script, I leave that up to you. But bad decisions were made.</div>
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First, let's talk about a crew of 17ish. I think that was the number. Do you know how many names I remembered when I left the theater? Two. Shaw and David. Everyone else had nicknames. Like biologist, geologist, captain, pilots, and on and on. Most of these characters were fodder. Which is a gorram disappointment. We get to know precisely 0 characters. I'm talking knowing them the way we do Ripley after <i>Alien</i>. We hang out with this crew, these "experts," but there is nothing to them. Except idiocy. The biologist, who was just part of the first group of people to discover alien life by way of a dead Space Jockey, decides he doesn't want to be there. Has no interest whatsoever in the preserved head of the first alien humans have ever seen. He and the geologist leave and get lost. Fine, right? Wrong, dummy! The geologist is the guy who controlled the mapping drones. Not only that, but the captain is sitting in the ship, looking at a map showing precisely where everyone is. None of the involved parties thought to contact the other? And getting back to the biologist, what person, let alone one that studies life, animals, etc., would treat a clearly aggressive (mutated) worm-penis with a vagina mouth like a cat? That thing was acting like a cobra. Homeboy wants to pet it? Give me a frakking break. Not only did I not care when both guys died, I wanted them to. They were bad characters. I didn't know them. I wasn't concerned that they were lost. They were fodder and nothing more. Repeat ad nauseum, because that's every character in this movie. Poorly developed, if at all, and fodder. Or they just disappear (like the group who took off in the truck thing when zombie geologist showed up). It's just...it was such bad writing. Every character was written poorly. Even David was muddied and poorly developed in the movie. Did he hate his creators? Did he want to kill humanity as implied? If so, why help Shaw at the end? No motivation makes sense, or is ever stated. I know that Holloway wanted to talk to the Space Jockeys, and so drinks himself to death when it turns out SOME of them are dead (over-reaction, much?), disregarding the fact that they just officially discovered alien life and civilization, and have only been exploring this moon for a few hours. You'd think as an archaeologist or anthropologist or whatever he was, he'd be a little more excited. Instead, he's just an asshole to David, for no reason other than we need to get to their exchange of "Because we could." </div>
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What was the black goo and how does it relate to the opening scene? Is it a weapon? Is it life juice? I don't know, and the movie doesn't either. Maybe the director's cut will. But what we saw in theaters didn't know what it was. If that opening scene hadn't been there, implying it creates life, there'd be no question of its nature as a weapon. That would also lead credence to the captain proclaiming to Shaw (as if it's truth, which we can't confirm) that the moon was a military installation. His idea makes great sense but then why the hell would the Space Jockeys put star maps to the moon where they stored it? Why would they want to kill us? The going theory there is that we killed <a href="http://cavalorn.livejournal.com/584135.html">Space Alien Jesus Christ</a> (beware that guy's super creepy picture, also, his assumption that his theory is 100% correct), who might've been an ambassador from the Space Jockeys. That was the original idea, but it's never outright said in the film. So we're left believing the Space Jockeys created us (again, 3.5 billion years ago to let evolution do its thing, or 35,000+ years ago for only man?), then invited us to this moon with black goo, and then wanted us dead. Lindelof's script doesn't even pretend to care about answering why. Why the star maps, why the anger. Yes, a sequel can certainly answer some of this, but that just makes <i>Prometheus</i> all the weaker for needing a part two to flesh things out. Keep in mind, I don't need a monologue explaining all of this. I don't mind rhetorical questions in movies (<i>The Dark Knight</i> makes us ponder what makes a hero a hero, is hiding the truth sometimes the right thing to do?), but that wasn't what <i>Prometheus</i> did. It raised question after question based on poor consistency in the writing. And then ignored answering any of them. That's bothersome.</div>
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Also bothersome is spiral-ham-fisted twists, like Weyland actually being on the ship and Charlize Theron is his daughter. This is another way to drive home the whole "children want to kill their parents" thing that David brings up. Or it's another way to bring up the fact that everyone is an asshole to the android, David. I don't know, I don't really see the point of Weyland hiding or being there at all. He wants to be immortal? In that body? If I looked like him, I'd be looking for the fastest way out the door. And I'd probably treat my walking, talking, comprehending creation with some level of respect. But that's just me and I have no plot to serve by being douchey. </div>
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Overall? The writing really brings this down. Inherent in the writing is the lack of logic that leads to the title of this blog (save your life by running 15 feet to the right or left). Damon Lindelof and Ridley Scott shouldn't have to be going into interviews and explaining the movie, or that the sequel will explain it all. That ruins <i>Prometheus</i>'s singularity. Characters, instead of being the realistic crew of the Nostromo or the rowdy marines of the Sulaco, are plot pieces. They spout wanna-be philosophy or nothing at all, and die. Or get pregnant (You know I can't get pregnant!) and have an awesome, impromptu c-section. But then forget about the tentacle beast (not to mention that the people who were trying to quarantine Shaw totally don't care she just ran off, and then allow her into the room with the super old, frail, and susceptible to illness Weyland? No logic), and go about running and playing like a serious surgery wasn't just preformed. It's just, this movie took itself seriously. It wasn't a Michael Bay movie, it wasn't a Twilight sequel. <i>Prometheus</i> clearly cares about itself. Just not enough.</div>
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To sum it all up though, I leave you with Red Letter Media's take on it. Keep in mind, I don't care about all of the questions being asked. I don't think we need all of them answered but...we don't get ANY of them answered. As a pseudo-writer, my writing has left people with questions. Questions are what I wanted out of that particular piece, but not a lot of what I got. It was because I was being too subtle. I knew what was going on, so what I took as subtlety was really vague. That's the benefit of the doubt I'll give Damon Lindelof and Ridley Scott here.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="332" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-x1YuvUQFJ0" width="590"></iframe></div>Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-10332837226896307382012-06-06T13:23:00.000-04:002012-06-06T13:31:59.640-04:00Not-So Random Thoughts: A Sequel's SequelI was surfing the information super-highway the other day when I found myself reading a post on Reddit, as I am wont to do. Folks were discussing the rare instance of the third film of a trilogy being the best. I, being a man of refined taste (or being a picky bitch), disagreed with A LOT of the choices. What were these great big disagreements about? <i>Return of the Jedi</i>. <i>Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade</i>. <i>Return of the King</i>. One silly chap even said <i>Jurassic Park III</i>. Now of course, we all know these were based on opinions and film taste, much like taste in music and books, is incredibly personal and subjective. They all just happen to be wrong. Here's why:<br />
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Yes, there will be spoilers for all of the movies discussed. If you are reading my blog without having seen any of those movies, I don't really know why you're reading my blog.<br />
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We'll start with a topic I'm far too familiar with, and one that you all have read way too much about from me. So I'm going to breeze through why <i>Return of the Jedi</i> is far from the best of the Original Trilogy. It starts with the second Death Star, a rehash of big baddie from <i>Star Wars</i>. That's unoriginality at it's finest, combined with a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F4qzPbcFiA">trap</a> so many sequels are victim to: do the first movie, but bigger. This was taken literally, as the second Death Star is supposed to be bigger than the first. Moving past that, we have the fighting teddy bears and their rocks and arrows beating an armored military. Follow that up with the reduction of characters like Han Solo to one-note copies (<i>Ghostbusters II</i> is the best (worst?) example of this, with Peter Venkman, who becomes a walking one-liner). Truth is, <i>Return of the Jedi</i> does have some of the most powerful scenes of the series (you'll see this again): Luke unleashing all of his anger on Vader, Vader finally turning on the Emperor, Luke burning Vader. The best moments follow the main arc of the trilogy, Luke's journey.</div>
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So which of the Original Trilogy is the best? Look no further than this <a href="http://madchops.blogspot.com/2010/09/episode-v-writing-bug-strikes-back.html">post of mine</a> from a year and a half ago.</div>
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<i>Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade</i>, moreso than any other film I'm going to talk about, has endeared itself to so many of my friends. I think it has a lot to do with it being, for my age group, our first Indy movie. It's fun. It's funny. It's adventurous. I get it. I just disagree with it being the best. We'll start at the beginning, most literally. The movie starts with an explanation of how Indy became the Indy we grew to love after two movies. When I say explanation, what I really mean is that as it turns out, Indy got his scar, his outfit, his whip, and his fear of snakes all in one afternoon. Not through years of adventures, misadventures and fedora shopping. Nope, it all happened at once. And he stole his outfit from a graverobber (ironic? No, idiotic). You don't explain every awesome detail of a character. That's a bad idea. I don't want to know exactly how Jack Sparrow got the Black Pearl, or the compass, or his hat and jacket. Nor do I want to know where Han Solo bought that kickin' vest, or anything at all about Wolverine's childhood (those stories are bad). It's a bad way to open. But it makes sense to start with Indy as a kid thematically, since Indy is a man-child throughout the movie. And much like <i>Return of the Jedi</i> (and <i>Ghostbusters II</i>) suffers from "do the first movie, but bigger," <i>The Last Crusade</i> goes back to Nazis and Judeo-Christianity. Except they subvert the idea of Indy as this rugged hero by making him a child in front of his pops. I don't know, I just don't enjoy the complete turn-around of his character for this last movie. I feel much the same way about this as I do about Han Solo's character in <i>Return of the Jedi</i>. What <i>The Last Crusade</i> did right, though, was make Indy proactive. <i>Raiders of the Lost Ark</i> ended with Indy doing nothing. <i>The Last Crusade</i>'s third act was all Indy saving his dad. Indy doing, instead of watching. </div>
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So which of the Indiana Jones saga is the best? Before there was nuking the fridge, there was "closing your eyes while the mystical power of God burned holes into Nazis and melted faces." <i>Raiders of the Lost Ark</i> takes it. Great set pieces, stunts, villain, damsel, and on and on. It's as close to a perfect action-adventure movie as I've seen. All of the fun of <i>The Last Crusade</i>, minus the cheese. </div>
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<i>Return of the King</i>. Oscar-winning end of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. A mostly badass film. What this film does, which I find a hard time forgiving, is undermine a lot of what the prior two films set up: the time is now for men to take a stand and step into their role as protectors of Middle Earth. Gandalf and Elrond chat about it, and I'm thinking Gandalf and Aragorn, too. <i>The Two Towers</i> shows the capabilities of men, their heart and valor, and skill when led correctly. We see Aragorn step-up and show King Theoden how you handle the Uruk hai of Saruman. We see faith in allies rewarded, when Gandalf shows up at dawn of the fifth day with the Riders of Rohan. So come <i>Return of the King</i>, Gondor is in dire need of the Rohan to come mess up the army that is wrecking them. The beacon is lit, dramatic music plays, Rohan will ride. Awesome. Man coming to aid fellow man. Except that a day before riding to battle, Aragorn, the true king of Gondor, rides off to go get a ghost army that we just found out existed. Rohan rides without them, and does some damage, but the numbers are to much. Just then, Aragorn shows up with the ghost army and wins the battle. Let's go over that last bit again: Aragorn's ghost army wins the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Ghosts of men, not actual, living men, nor the alliance of Gondor and Rohan, but ghost men. I get the idea: Aragorn is the true king, he can unite and lead any man or group of men. But what this actually does is make the men who live in Gondor and Rohan, the men who will be fighting for Aragorn once he releases the ghosts from their oath, it makes them look weak. It makes them look incapable. It's bad storytelling. Especially the way it was told in the movies. I won't pretend to know how it was in the books, as I'm yet to complete the series, but all of a sudden, we hear about this ghost army. No real set up, no foreshadowing, just Elrond telling Aragorn to go get them. This is one aspect that should've been changed. Make it men's victory, not ghosts'. That said, much like <i>Return of the Jedi</i>, this has some of the best scenes of the series: Gandalf talking to Pip about dying, Aragorn kneeling before the hobbits, Sam being Sam. But the ghost army hurts the movie too much for me. Especially since, as Gimli suggests, maybe they should've hung onto them. Why not take them to Mordor to finish the job? Leaders need forethought, Aragorn.</div>
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So which of the Lord of the Rings movies is the best? The open, <i>The Fellowship of the Ring</i>. Our introduction to these characters, and the only time we lose characters we've come to enjoy being around. Between the time we spend in the Shire, Gandalf the Grey being the greatest wizard ever, Boromir destroying Uruk hai by the dozen, and the over-the-top cheese of the Council of Elrond, the first entry in the trilogy nails it. It's not as scattered as the next two films, due in large part to the characters later being scattered, but it's here that the tension that lasts the remainder of the trilogy builds. It's here that we see the stakes. Thus, I say Fellowship takes it.</div>
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We won't even get into why <i>Jurassic Park III</i> is the wrong answer to this question. There is no way of looking at that movie that won't make me sad and angry.</div>
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Satisfying third acts are hard to pull off in a movie, let alone a series of movies. It's commendable to get good, conclusive third films. I enjoy all of the above movies immensely. They all work excellently as the third and final stop for these characters (what's the Prequel Trilogy? <i>Kingdom of the Crystal Skull</i>? Never heard of it. <i>The Hobbit</i>? Mostly different characters...Mostly). They just aren't the best of the bunch (here's hoping Chris Nolan can come up with a great third act to his series). </div>
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Yep, so that's that. Think I'm wrong? I know some of you absolutely disagree about <i>The Last Crusade</i>, so let's make a discussion out of this! Leave a comment and I'll make the attempt to see things from your (deranged) point of view! </div>
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Next post WILL have something about <i>Prometheus</i>, and the new Batman trailer, Spider-Man trailer, new Batman footage, and an update on how much ass <i>The Avengers</i> is still kicking a month into its release! Until then, reading amigos.</div>Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-72696468616208360262012-05-24T11:57:00.000-04:002012-05-24T13:32:53.283-04:00Random Thoughts: The Good, The Bad & the MuddyWhat up, folks? It's me, it's me. I've been having difficulty writing a blog, or more accurately, finishing a blog. I've started two since my last post, written several Random Thoughts for each, and then abandoned them like my first wife and two kids. It doesn't help that I'm easily distracted by the internet, or Netflix, or shaving, or the cat, or anything else I do to procrastinate that is completely detrimental to my writing. Here's hoping I finish writing this one and get it out to all you fine, blog-reading peoples.<br />
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—Joss Whedon is awesome. Read <a href="http://whedonesque.com/comments/28797">this</a>, and then proceed with my blog. At the time Joss wrote that, <i>The Avengers</i> had broken every weekend box office record ever. Now it's at least the fourth highest grossing film of all time. Wow. Joss Whedon, the man who brought us <i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i> (which I've just started watching), <i>Firefly</i>/<i>Serenity</i>, <i>The Astonishing X-Men</i>, <i>Dr. Horrible</i>, etc., etc., he's king. He did exactly what he's always done: Delivered witty, fresh dialogue, (a) strong female character(s), a good story, and fun action. We get to share Mr. Whedon with the rest of the world now. That's awesome. The more opportunities he gets to kill it, the better. Movies and TV are better off with a Joss Whedon film being one of the top movies EVER. Congrats Joss, from all of us who have followed you from Buffy to the Browncoats, mutant cures to freeze rays. We'll be watching how you soar (like a leaf on the wind!).<br />
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<b>SPOILERS FOR <i>THE AVENGERS</i> FOLLOW. I'LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN THEY'RE DONE. SORRY FOR YELLING LIKE THIS.</b><br />
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—Going right off of that, <i>The Avengers</i> was more fun than most movies. By no means perfect (weak baddies), it got so much right (culture clash of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, all of Hulk and Bruce Banner), that I'm more than fine giving its faults a pass. Some of the problems were out of the movie's control, too: I felt a genuine lack of tension when Iron Man took that nuke through the portal. Why? Because we all know that <i>Iron Man 3</i> is shooting in Wilmington right now-ish. We know <i>Thor 2</i> and <i>Captain America 2</i> are right around the corner. We know our heroes won't be dying, so that can't be used for tension like in a normal film. And c'mon, there would've been serious loss of life during that battle. But not seeing normal civilians get offed makes it seem that much more cartoony and unrealistic. I'm not advocating gore or anything like that, just something that shows intergalactic invading armies are more than just fodder to Thor's lightning and Hulk's smashing. Again, fun to watch, but the battle had no depth. Plenty of nerd-outs, like Cap reflecting Iron Man's energy blasts off his shield, or Bruce Banner turning into Hulk on command, but little in the way of depth. But again, I'm all right with that. Bruce Banner was excellent. The moment where he and Tony Stark just go all super-science-y was beautiful. Black Widow's vulnerability mixed in with badassitude made her more than the pretty face with awesome moves that she was in <i>Iron Man 2</i>. They kept Hawkeye's villainous origins, which this geek enjoyed. Iron Man was exactly what we'd expect, Thor was more serious than we saw in his own movie, but I think it worked. And Cap was done as well as Hulk. Especially his line about gods and how they dress. That was Steve Rogers through and through. Without a doubt, we needed more Loki. Maybe. I thoroughly enjoyed the bits of the character we got, but he wasn't wholly defined, unless you also saw <i>Thor</i>. I got a kick out of him. And talk about subtle. Did you notice Great Odin's ravens fly past Thor and Loki? Or the deconstruction of the MetLife building around Stark Tower? Tony Stark's mention of Life-Model Decoys? That the final battle was very much a real life version of Galaga? That Iron Man landed in front of a shawarma place, leading to that extra-extra credits scene?! Go see it. If you already did, see it again.<br />
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<b>Ok, I'm done with spoilers, slight though they were. I'm also done yelling at you.</b><br />
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—My hair is way too long. We're talking past my shoulders. I'm competing with my girlfriend at this point. Time for a gorram haircut, if you ask me. Nothing drastic, because I've come to enjoy my long hair, but something more manageable. I also need a non-humid climate. Long Island sucks in that regard and it doesn't take much for me to frizz out. Who'd have thunk any of this would ever be a concern for me, a man who used to get crew cuts that grew into emo-flips? Ridiculous!<br />
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—On May 4th, Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys died. People sometimes exaggerate when they say someone was a pioneer, or that music, as a whole, is less because an artist died. We like to glorify the dead, remember them as better than they were, especially celebrities. But in this instance, all the great words spoken about MCA appear spot on. The Beastie Boys changed the face of rap. Adam Yauch was a proponent of LGBT rights (I can't believe we're still in a time when that's even a thing) and a free Tibet. The man did good things. For that reason alone, we're a little worse off. Excellently enough, though, Adrock is working on getting a park in Brooklyn, State Side Park, where MCA used to hang out, renamed for the man. Here's hoping.<br />
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—You guys heard of <a href="http://runforyourlives.com/">Run for Your Lives</a>? Of course you have, I've mentioned it here at least once. If you can't seem to recall it, it's a 5K race. With zombies. And mud. So much mud. Obstacles, too. And a giant slip'n'slide. An electric fence, too. Throw in a dash of flag football, and yeah, you've got this pegged. My girlfriend, her (our) friend Dez, and I did this thing and walked away beaten and bruised and soaked to the bone. I cannot wait to do another one. In fact, we're looking into the Austin, TX one, all the way in December. If you like challenges, kind of running, and mud, get to one of these. It'll kick your ass and you'll thank it for that.<br />
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—So, <i>Community</i>. What an end to season 3. They could, realistically, end the series with that finale. But they won't. NBC has renewed <i>Community</i> for a 13 episode season 4, with the potential to add 9 for the spring. Will they? Probably not. Moving a show to Friday night is typically a slow and agonizing death (just ask <i>Firefly</i>). Especially when you fire the showrunner, who has been an essentially part of the show's success. Oh, you didn't hear? Dan Harmon, show creator, was removed as showrunner. This sort of thing happens, and the fans usually get the brunt of it (just ask Frank Darabont, former showrunner of <i>The Walking Dead</i> (I promise one day David and I will update <a href="http://amongthewalkingdead.blogspot.com/">Among the Walking Dead</a>)). You've got to be wondering why this is happening, since <i>Community</i>, while certainly wacky and off-kilter, has a strong, vocal, loyal audience. It's because it's Nielson ratings suck. Who the hell is Nielson and why do we care? The answer to both is outdated. Nielson ratings monitor who watches a show live. How many of you watch shows live anymore? How about on Hulu, DVR, or the network's website? The latter isn't taken into account with ratings. Couldn't tell you why. But it's a big part of the problem. The other part? NBC is incompetent. Cruel. Cruel, cruel, cruel. #sixseasonsandamovie<br />
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—After I wrote the above, I stumbled upon this: A <i>Community</i> cast member leaked a memo from Sony Pictures Television, instructing cast members on how to handle questions about Dan Harmon's departure. Check out <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/leaked-memo-dan-harmon-community-studio-talking-points-nbc-328815">The Hollywood Reporter's</a> article about it, which is really just the memo and some context. What it appears to boil down to is "let it blow over, the audience will forget who Dan Harmon is." What I want to see now is how the cast reacts to said directive in upcoming interviews.<br />
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—May 20th marked one year since Macho Man Randy Savage died. I tried to write a blog about it at the time, but really, really struggled. I couldn't tell you why. As a little kid, I loved Macho Man. Hell, I was dropping elbows left and right in high school thanks to him. I don't know that I could call him a childhood hero because I wasn't all about wrestling at a young age, but if you asked me at 5 who I'd pick: Hogan or Savage, it would've been Macho Man every day of week, dig it! Hate on pro-wrestling all you like, Macho Man was one of THE best wrestlers and entertainers to get in the ring. Dude was memorable like no one else, outrageous when most weren't and could go with anyone, from Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat to Hulk Hogan. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDvXVP2iSNs">So here's to you, Randy Savage</a>.<br />
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That's all for now, kids! This blog, like my hair, was getting a bit long. I'll follow-up (I swear!) with a long, deep look at the newest <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i> trailer. Hopefully with a mini-review of <i>Prometheus</i> which is coming out in a week and a half! Holy crap, that's soon. And looks awesome. I've been staying away from anything but two of the trailers, and damn. Damn, Ridley Scott.Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-16950219877653423962012-04-17T12:48:00.002-04:002012-04-17T12:53:11.293-04:00Random Thoughts: Randomly Entering Your InternetosphereAhoy maids and mateys! I'm getting tired of apologizing for being so damn sporadic with my blog posts, so instead of being sporadic with my blog posts, I'll just stop apologizing for it. Seems much easier than actually being a responsible blogger (if such a thing dares to exist). So what's been rambling through my brain these last few months? I'd wager if you read on, you'll find out!<br />
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—Let's kick this off with some good old-fashioned polka! But Joey, you say, I don't care about polka! Well you should, at least for the next 3-4 minutes while you watch this hilariously well-done music video by the Chardon Polka Band, featuring my very good friend Jake. The dude's a creative mastermind and I wish I could channel a quarter of his creativity and energy. And tell me his drummer doesn't look like Ian McKellen/Magneto.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="330" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cxF494XR__A" width="590"></iframe><br />
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—Are you reading the <i>Song of Ice and Fire</i> series? You should be. Well, if you like fantasy. And war, and sorta/kinda history. I've been plowing through these 800+ page books like they were <i>Goosebumps</i>. George R. R. Martin has backstory and history for this series that rivals Tolkien's own. I've finished <i>A Feast For Crows</i> and I'm getting a kick out of seeing how different characters and their stories intertwine. Book five is on its way. What strikes me most is the "realistic" approach Martin takes towards characters and their demises. This isn't a Hollywood epic, where the good guys pull it out because they're the good guys. Sometimes shitty people win, and sometimes they don't get their just desserts. Should you ever read the series, be prepared to pick your jaw off the floor by the time you get to <i>A Storm of Swords</i>. To be spoiler free, I'll tell you what I've been telling my girlfriend, who's on <i>A Game of Thrones</i>: No one is safe. <b>No one.</b><br />
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—I made the mistake of going to see <i>The Hunger Games</i> on opening weekend. It was Sunday evening, so I figured we'd have a quieter showing. Wrong. Wrongwrongwrongwrongwrong. Turns out, the cinema experience blows. And if the internet is any rightful source, and not just a bunch of people complaining, it appears this is a phenomena around the country. We had the stereotypical texters, we had the person who refused to turn off their phone, and of course, right behind us, we had three 20-somethings with their flatulence and running commentary. Seriously. Let that sink in. You're paying good money to sit in a theater and watch the movie, and this is what you get? What happened to theater etiquette? Are the days where people STFU when the lights dimmed gone? Are you really so important that you can't have your phone on vibrate? Is that game of Draw Something really that pressing? Go the fuck home if you're going to be treating the cinema like you're living room. Save your money and spare me your shitty existence. Please.<br />
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—Going off that, I wasn't wholly impressed by <i>The Hunger Games</i>. The movie was two and a half hours long, but it still felt rushed. I know there's a lot to cover, but I feel like the relationship development was all cut short. I can't say that objectively, however, since I read the book first. I'd love to hear what someone who has only seen the movie thought of Kat's relationships with Gale, Peeta, Haymitch, and Rue. What I missed sorely was the back and forth between Kat and Haymitch. I also missed an effects budget, but it seems the movie did, too. The presentation of the Tributes did not look pretty, so I understand their rushing through it. And did you catch the age-old corner-cutting they used with the muttations/wolf-things? They made it dark out. You can hide flaws in CGI better in darkness.<br />
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—Have you been watching <i>Community</i>, like I've been asking on here and on facebook? I sure as shit hope so. That is the best comedy on TV. Why? Because the characters are excellent, that's why. Britta Perry, Troy Barnes, Abed Nadir, Annie Edison, Jeff Winger, Shirley Bennett, Pierce Hawthorne, these folks have become good friends over the last two and a half years. I like seeing what they're doing, self-destructive or self-constructive (is that a word?). I like that despite over-the-top concepts, there's (usually) a real story about the characters underneath. That's not easy to get right, but <i>Community</i> has been nailing that since season one's <i>Modern Warfare</i>, all the way through season three's <i>Pillows and Blankets</i>. So please, watch it. Support it. Tell friends to get behind it. Maybe even form a...community.<br />
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—My buddy Matt sent me a horrible, terrible thing the other day. I'll link to it, but refuse to post the video on here. Watch at your <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lg_FoEy8T_A#!">discretion</a>. I'll be waiting down below.<br />
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Done? That's what <b>Star Wars</b> is now. I just...I'm tired of it. I'm tired of complaining about it. I bet you're tired of reading about it, too, since it shows up at least once a blog. Well, friends, I'm done. I'm done bitching about the whoring out of <b>Star Wars</b> by the powers-that-be. I'm finished complaining about the money-grubbing tendencies of George Lucas at the sacrifice of story and character and relationships and everything else that goes into making a tale work. As my friend Hugh put it, or rather, as his brother put it, "Our current relationship with Star Wars and George Lucas is like going to the funeral of someone who used to be a good friend but for the last 20 years has been a total dick. You ended the relationship long ago, and now you're going to the funeral out of respect for what the man <i>used</i> to be." I'll enjoy the Original Trilogy, dislike the majority of the prequels, and live and let live. But I'm through writing about it.<br />
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—In case you didn't know, we currently live in an age where our phone and internet service providers have no qualms about giving (not even selling!) our information to the government. Who we talk to, who we call, what we text, what sites we visit, etc. All of that is fair game for the government. What sucks, of course, is that with the big companies being complacent about it, there's little you or I can do about privacy. Truth be told, most small cell phone carriers and internet providers just can't compete. That's where <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57412225-281/this-internet-provider-pledges-to-put-your-privacy-first-always/">Nicholas Merrill</a> comes in. He's working to create an ISP that protects all of your information. Go click on his name and read the article. It's a good, quickish read, and incredibly informative. I'm still waiting for all the opponents of big government and big brother to come out against this sort of intrusive work by our "leaders," but the majority of them are too busy continually passing the Patriot Act to have time to actually think and openly discuss just what that act allows.<br />
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—At last, we've come to the end. We'll leave things on an aburd note, courtesy of the Macho Man Randy Savage:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="430" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rgq7LPF3Qfw" width="590"></iframe>Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-28793543819349148672012-02-16T12:21:00.000-05:002012-02-16T14:54:50.372-05:00Random Thoughts: BlogceptionThree blogs in two weeks? By Thor's hammer, what's gotten into me? I've no idea either, but I think you should read what I have offered, lest our friendship be in doubt! Just kidding, I really write this for me, and I'm flattered if anyone reads it. So flattered, in fact, I'm blushing right now. You should see me, all red-cheeked and meek-eyed (whatever that means). Enough rambling, Joey, on with the blog!<br />
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—It feels like there's a mention of George Lucas or Star Wars at least once per blog. Unfortunately, it's usually negative. In this case, it's because of George and his delusions:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">The controversy over who shot first, Greedo or Han Solo, in </span><em style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Episode IV</em><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">, what I did was try to clean up the confusion, but obviously it upset people because they wanted Solo [who seemed to be the one who shot first in the original] to be a cold-blooded killer, but he actually isn’t. It had been done in all close-ups and it was confusing about who did what to whom. I put a little wider shot in there that made it clear that Greedo is the one who shot first, but everyone wanted to think that Han shot first, because they wanted to think that he actually just gunned him down.</span></span></span></blockquote>This lovely snippet, <b>not</b> taken out of context to make George Lucas seem like he's willfully denying how things actually played out when <i>Star Wars</i> was released in 1977, is from an interview with <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/george-lucas-star-wars-interview-288523">The Hollywood Reporter</a>. George, we get it, you own Star Wars. But it wasn't a solo endeavor. It wasn't just your story that made it to the big screen. Film, as they say, is collaborative. Until you're writer, producer, and director. You've either lost your mind and believe your own lies, or you've grown so powerful you feel like you can actually rewrite cinematic history. In 1977, ONE shot rang out between Han and Greedo. There was no "shooting first." It was <b>A</b> shot. No confusion existed. Han shot Greedo. Why isn't that good enough? Why aren't these movies, pieces of film history, good enough for you?<br />
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—Creatively, the end of the world intrigues me. Especially if it's impending and everyone on the planet knows their doom is looming. I wrote a story about it years ago (was college really years ago at this point?), which I think is my very best piece of writing. People are tricky things, and when you remove societal restraints, any real reason to maintain order, what sort of chaos would things devolve into? <i>Seeking a Friend for the End of the World</i> explores that with Steve Carrell and Keira Knightley at the forefront. This trailer is good, people. Genuinely funny moments, tinged with an underlying melancholy. If this is the tone throughout the film, it'll be great. So enjoy:<br />
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—Since basically everyone I've ever been best friends with (omg besties!) was born within the last week and a half, I'd like to take this time to say happy 25th birthdays to Zac, Lauren, Chad, Jessie, Richard, and Melissa. Even though I may not be in great contact with some (read: most) of you right now, I love you all in a great many ways! As your elder by a month, I can tell you that 25 isn't much different from 24, but definitely better than 22 and 23. Happy birthday, comrades!<br />
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—And a happy birthday to both <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=34x6m-ahGIo">President Abraham Lincoln (Vampire Hunter)</a> and Charles Darwin, that dastardly fellow who introduced us to the theory of evolution. Remember, fair readers, though it may be called a theory, there's a distinct difference between a scientific theory, like evolution, which has been questioned and tested, tried and tested, and tested some more, and a regular theory, like George Lucas was murdered by Terminators back in the early '90s and replaced by a T-1000-like replacement, which is just a whole lot of conjecture.<br />
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—Dan Aykroyd has seemingly <a href="http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=33126">lost his mind</a> when it comes to <i>Ghostbusters 3</i>. For example, he wants to coax Rick Moranis, who played Louis Tully, out of acting retirement for the film, saying, "None of us would want to do the movie without him as a participant." But in the next sentence, we're told Mr. Aykroyd said that Peter Venkman, embodied by Bill Murray perfectly in <i>Ghostbusters</i> and horribly exaggerated in <i>Ghostbusters 2</i>, could just be played by another actor. I get what Aykroyd was saying: He really wants Louis Tully back. Not that they'd stop making the movie if Moranis said no. But to follow that up with saying whoever's playing Venkman can be subject to change? Mayhaps Dan should reevaluate this whole enterprise.<br />
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—Unfortunately for me, I've been missing a lot of <i>The Daily Show</i>. In fact, I can't remember the last time I watched a full episode. That sucks for me. Luckily, though, I have friends who sometimes post videos of Jon Stewart and the writers of the show doing work. Here's such a case, for your boring Thursday at work:<br />
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<div style="background-color: black; width: 590px;"><div style="padding: 4px;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="327" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/embed/mgid:cms:video:thedailyshow.com:408200" width="512"></iframe><br />
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 4px; padding: 4px; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-february-13-2012/the-vagina-ideologues---sean-hannity-s-holy-sausage-fest">The Daily Show with Jon Stewart</a></b><br />
Get More: <a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/">Daily Show Full Episodes</a>,<a href="http://www.indecisionforever.com/">Political Humor & Satire Blog</a>,<a href="http://www.facebook.com/thedailyshow">The Daily Show on Facebook</a></div></div></div>Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-31290487872144030942012-02-09T11:27:00.003-05:002012-02-09T14:12:03.097-05:00Random Thoughts: The BloggeningWhat up, foolios? This week has seen a lot in the way of superhero film news. Less news and more trailers/commercials. We got a geektastic look at <i>The Avengers</i> during the Super Bowl, and following Sony Pictures showing some footage from <i>The Amazing Spider-Man</i> in select theaters, we got a new trailer. It's kick @$$ (see? I was serious about cutting down on cursing!) so trust that we'll be talking about it. Who's "we"? The royal we, of course! I'm the king of this blog, or rather, we're the king of this blog, and we'll use whatever pronouns we choose (I feel like I've said this before...)!<br />
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—You know what happens on April 1st, besides a lot of terribly awesome pranks? This:<br />
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Without a doubt, I am most interested in Daenerys Stormborn's journey. Her story intrigued and had the fullest arc of all the many told during Season 1. I'm about to get started on the first book, and I imagine I'll finish it in about a year, considering the density.<br />
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—I know I'm well behind the times when it comes it music. I avoid the radio, especially up here, as it's all dance/club remixes. New music takes a while to filter down to me (much like trickle-down economics, except with filter-down music, I eventually get something!). As such, I just saw LMFAO's video for <i>Party Rock Anthem</i>. For those few of us who haven't seen it, it's a zombie parody, or at least starts off as such. Frakking appropriate, if you ask me. When I first heard the song months ago, it annoyed me. Its overplayed nature is a bother, but that can be said of anything on the radio. Now, I find myself humming it. It's damned infectious! And that chubby, dancing hipster makes me laugh. A lot. Tell me a line like "I'm running through these hoes like Drain-o," doesn't make you crack a smile. So go watch the video and have some fun.<br />
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—<i>The Phantom Menace</i>, in 3D, will hit theaters on Friday. I've been struggling with whether or not I'll go see it, or the other prequels, and ultimately, the Original Trilogy. I've never seen the OT on the big screen. When the Special Editions were released in 1997, they were sold out. Now, I have the chance to see them all. I won't. Like the Blu-rays, I'm passing. Reason after reason tumble through the vast space between my ears, but you've heard them all (and not just from me). Ultimately, I'm tired of George Lucas pretending <i>Star Wars</i> and <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i> and <i>Return of the Jedi</i> were ever unedited, untouched by new special effects, creative choices, and new dialogue. I'm tired of giving my money to an empire that has an agenda I don't support. So I won't.<br />
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—This summer will be huge for superhero films. Will it cause the market for comic book movies to collapse under the sheer weight of Spider-Man, the Avengers, and Batman? Maybe. But probably not. There's still too much money to be made from them. I mean look at all these characters in one setting:<br />
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The term "nerdgasm" gets thrown around a lot. So does "geekgasm." Finally getting a shot of Thor, Cap, Iron Man, and Hulk together, alongside Black Widow and Hawkeye? That's a nerdgasm. One of those things that up until now, we've only seen drawn or animated. Make no mistake, this is a big moment for comic book readers.<br />
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—I'm working out again. I've been eating well and healthily since last October, I just kind of...stopped working out. Motivation remains my biggest issue, but I'd like to drop a bit so I'm looking all sexy and fine for the topless beaches in Spain. Oh yeah, have I mentioned I'll be taking a summer vacation in the Mediterranean?<br />
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—In the world of good news, Prop 8 was <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2012%2F02%2F07%2FBA1H1N3T1H.DTL">ruled unconstitutional</a>. Mostly because it is but also because you can't hide behind bigotry and prejudice and the bible and make laws to make people who's lifestyles you disagree with second-rate citizens. Let's make something clear, too. Just because 7 million Californians voted for Prop 8 does not make it right. That doesn't mean it is any less unconstitutional. It just means there are 7 million Californians who need to look at themselves and ask why they feel they're better than homosexual couples. Did this ruling "ignore the will of the people?" Sure did, and it was right to do so. Sometimes, people are wrong. Like <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/02/us-ellendegeneres-idUSTRE8111Q420120202">One Million Moms</a>.<br />
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—It's getting to be that time when summer movies start kicking up their advertising (are you listening, <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i>?!). You already know that, though, because I put that whole bit about <i>The Avengers</i> before this (it is literally right there. You can probably still see it). Now it's Spidey's turn to show us something new:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="330" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-tnxzJ0SSOw" width="590"></iframe><br />
<br />
I'm hesitant about the CGI. You need it to convincingly pull off a Spider-Man movie, but those moments at the end seemed a bit...unrefined. Keep in mind the movie won't be out until July so there's about 5 months for polishing to continue. That gripe out of the way, I liked what we got. The Lizard was on display here, but wasn't overexposed, which is a great way to go. On the other hand, we pretty much know what the movie is about and I wish the trailer gave us less of the story. <i>The Hobbit</i> and <i>Prometheus</i> trailers are my prime examples of how big blockbusters are advertised. I'm still excited about this movie, just less enthused about the revealing nature of the trailer.<br />
<br />
—Last year around this time, I mentioned in an <a href="http://madchops.blogspot.com/2011/02/expanded-thoughts-iii-blog-is-backin.html">Extended Thoughts</a> how I no longer understand the hatred so many Carolina fans bestow upon Duke and vice versa. People get nasty over this rivalry and it boggles me. There's a difference between a good natured "Go to hell Dook" and whatever Duke fans say about Carolina, and getting personal and rude to opposing fans. Some people are dickbags though, and if I can contradict myself, they earn any nastiness sent their way. Let's clarify things, shall we? You didn't play in the game. You weren't a part of the coaching staff. You didn't have a hand in the victory or loss. You are a fan, whether alum or not. Relax, and enjoy the game for what it is: college athletes busting their asses for their fellow students and fans while the folks who run the NCAA make loads of money off them. When you find yourself sputtering out facebook statuses that seek to demean and belittle those on the other side of the rivalry, maybe take a step back and reevaluate what the hell you're doing. Be good to each other. Also, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2reDMDy6eGo">suck it, Carolina</a>.<br />
<br />
—Excellent follow-up news from the excellent announcement in October that <i>Arrested Development</i> was coming back: The entire cast will be back. It was in doubt only so far as scheduling, I believe. Every actor involved has only ever spoken of their love and desire to keep going with the series. Jason Bateman has stated the plan, or hope, is to film this summer for a release early 2013.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="430" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SYna20nzVGQ" width="590"></iframe>Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-74338689370578444242012-02-06T12:27:00.000-05:002012-02-06T12:27:50.527-05:00Random Thoughts: Building Better BlogsHappy (month+ late) new year! Is "new year" supposed to be capitalized? I think it is, but I now disagree with that policy. And since this is my blog, my rules rule, unless you all hate them in which case I'm sorry and let's talk about it, OK? Moving on, it's randoming time (any Power Rangers fans? Not the new stuff, but the dino-zords and ninja-zords. Let's hang out and watch the movie. I still have it on VHS)!<br />
<br />
—For the first time ever, I've watched some Clint Eastwood westerns. Namely, I've watched the Man with No Name Trilogy. I had no idea <i>A Fistful of Dollars</i> was a remake/adaptation/retelling of Akira Kurosawa's excellent <i>Yojimbo</i>. That said, I enjoyed <i>For a Few Dollars More</i> more, as it was fresher to my eyes. <i>The Good, the Bad and the Ugly</i> was a little less excellent than the second entry to me. And maybe I'm an idiot, but it was confusing to see Lee van Cleef playing a totally different character. Either way, thoroughly enjoyed them. Excellent movies, and I can't help but feel that were X-Men movies made in the '70s, Mr. Eastwood would've been spot-on as Wolverine.<br />
<br />
—<i>Community</i> also made itself more beloved to me after I realized the two-part end of season 2 was named for those two above movies (<i>A Fistful of Paintballs</i> and <i>For a Few Paintballs More</i>). Of course, that also makes it that much sadder than the jerkwads at NBC have still not given us a date for the "return" of the best comedy (not) on TV. Maybe instead of relying on an archaic ratings system, they should take into account things like DVR and Hulu or nbc.com viewings. But then they'd get a more accurate rating, and wouldn't be able to use ratings as an excuse to keep intelligent programming off my television! /rant<br />
<br />
—The big news recently? The Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation pulled funding from Planned Parenthood. Why, you ask? Possibly because of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/04/health/policy/komen-breast-cancer-group-reverses-decision-that-cut-off-planned-parenthood.html?_r=1&hpw">political pressure</a>. See, Planned Parenthood has been under attack by conservative politicians for at least a year now. Anyone who supports Planned Parenthood supports abortion, is the general idea behind a lot of the attacks. Which is absurd. But either way, Komen pulled funding back in December. Then people went nuts this week. And rightly so. After much rabble-rousing, Komen changed their policy on funding organizations under investigation. But their image has been hurt in a very big way. Hopefully they recover.<br />
<br />
—So I probably should've seen <i>Warrior</i> in theater so it could've gotten my money. Hell of a movie that wasn't a cliché fighting/sports movie by any means. The writing was superb, and the characters were all captivating, disturbed, and sympathetic. I disliked and rooted for Brendon, Tommy, and Paddy. It was shockingly sad and hard to watch at some points. And that last fight was done with serious care. This has been added to my Amazon Wish List, believe it!<br />
<br />
—Unfortunately, the lady and I have had to cancel our trip to Austin, TX during SXSW this March. The reasoning is simple: my older sister is getting married in August. We'll need to save up money (and vacation time) to go. Why? Because it's in Spain. But not just Spain, amigos, no no. It'll be in Mallorca. Never heard of it? Well, it's an island. In the Mediterranean. Stop and let that sink in. As neither of us have been to Europe before, we're going to take a full two weeks and see Italy, some more of Spain and maybe France, too. Frakking stoked, to say the least.<br />
<br />
—I got myself a LinkedIn (which means you'll see a reduction in the amount of cursing I'll do here) because it struck me that I have no connections in the field(s) I want to be in. Like me and/or my writing? Be a connection! Or share a connection with me. So long as it isn't like the tendril-connection-thing from <i>Avatar</i>. I think that was supposed to be sex without being sex. Or did they have actual sex? I can't remember. All I know is a porn parody exists, and I want nothing to do with it.<br />
<br />
—Bamboozle is getting headlined by Foo Fighters and blink-182 (and Bon Jovi, but I'm not into them the way I was back in 7th grade. Which is funny because I'm still into blink the way I was in 7th grade) this year. And it's in New Jersey, which means I'll be going on the Saturday. Tickets are $89, but for an all day music festival that will also be featuring Jimmy Eat World and The All-American Rejects, I'm game. It'll be fun and I think you should come and join me.<br />
<br />
—And now, for the end! I leave you with food for thought from the always hilarious, often thought provoking, Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2507"></a></span><a href="http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2507"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"></span></a><a href="http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2507"><br style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><img src="http://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20120201.gif" /></span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"></span>Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-75247806276943753512011-12-31T15:06:00.000-05:002011-12-31T15:06:11.114-05:00Random Thoughts: Year Ender, Part III: The Saga Continues (and Ends!)Oh, what up readers? Cool, cool. Me? Oh, I'm chillin', draped in my Batman blanket (I seriously am). It's the final day/afternoon/night (depending on when I actually post this) of 2011 and time for me to end this charade of Year Ender blogs. I can't guarantee any of those lists I did last year or mentioned just 2 weeks ago, but I promise I'll instead give you tidbits about my life you don't care about, things that entertain me, and things that bother me. So pretty standard Random Thoughts, then. Except it's about to be our last year on earth, 2012! Which makes this all the more thrilling.<br />
<br />
—Thursday night, Ridley Scott released the first teaser for his next movie, <i>Prometheus</i>, which, let's be honest, is a prequel of sorts to his 1979 masterpiece, <i>Alien</i>. You know the drill (but I'll repeat it anyways): Watch it so we can discuss it:<br />
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Wow, is this tinged with elements of the <i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEVY_lonKf4">Alien</a></i> trailer. The title, the beats, that giant chair, the horse-shoe ship...It all looks grandiose. It looks like it belongs in the world of the xenomorph. It doesn't feel nearly as claustrophobic as the <i>Alien</i> trailer, but instead more open. Which would make sense, as in <i>Alien</i>, the threat was inside, while in <i>Prometheus</i>, it may well be from outside. After this trailer (and working my way through the Alien Anthology on blu-ray), I'm keeping an eye on this one, with hopes it turns out better than <i>Robin Hood</i>.<br />
<br />
—Well, I made the switch to Sprint last week. Got myself an iPhone 4S and my own cell plan/bill. It's about time, frankly. I'm like a small child, diving into this world of smartphones. The simplest things make me giddy. Words with Friends sucks, because "qi" is not a word and I refuse to accept that any of these words should count. So if I'm taking forever to respond to your game, it's because I'm being petulant about it. Other than that, and the far-too-often-occurrence of the phone forgetting I'm authenticated, this thing rocks. Oh, the future. So crazy.<br />
<br />
—Since work has decided to treat us like high schoolers during "training," I've decided to act like a high schooler and ignore the "training" and read instead. I blew through <i>The Hunger Games</i> on Wednesday and Thursday, and have started book two, <i>Catching Fire</i>. I definitely enjoyed it, as it was a captivating, easy read. My one complaint is that a lot of the descriptions felt more like the author, Suzanne Collins, telling me how everything looks than Katniss seeing all of this for the first time. Which I'm willing to forgive because first-person present is a bitch to write in. And <i>Catching Fire</i> already seems better in that regard. I still question the naiveté of Katniss, since she seems an incredibly observant girl in the woods. I want to know what happens next, which is something I've only been getting from TV lately.<br />
<br />
—Speaking of TV (not that again), NBC can suck it. <i>Community</i>, regardless of its ratings, is one of the best comedies on the boobtube. Put them on a hiatus for Chelsea fucking Handler? Really? Really? REALLY?! I just...I don't understand. This season has been a little back-and-forth from my eyes, but it's also provided some of the best of the series in <i>Remedial Chaos Theory</i> (who wouldn't love Evil Troy and Evil Abed?) and <i>Regional Holiday Music</i> (I love spoofs, kinda hate on <i>Glee</i> a lot now, and a horror Christmas story? Heck yes). This show grabbed me by my cajones two years ago and hasn't let up for 2 and a half seasons. Everything about it rocks. Support it however you can, friends, because it may well go the way of <i>Firefly</i>, <i>Arrested Development</i>, and the freshly cancelled and forever awesome <i>Bored to Death</i>.<br />
<br />
—For those of you I'm friends with on facebook, you saw that I lost a dear companion right before Christmas:<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's a cliché, but they really don't make them like they used to. That Game Boy lasted twenty-two years. My first generation Xbox 360 lasted...four? Five? That's a badass piece of gaming history I don't intend on tossing out, even if it is gone. Worst of all, I'd just bought a few games on ebay and was so very excited to play them. For the curious, they're two Jurassic Park games I never got the chance to play as a child. Now I'm a child with money, so it only makes sense that I'd spend it on childish things. </div><br />
—Wondering what movies I loved this year? Me too! I don't remember all the movies I saw, but I know only a few stuck out. Maybe more than a few, but we'll see. Of what I've seen, the best of the year can be nothing but <i>Drive</i>. Words cannot express how much I loved this movie. Such a shock, as it was marketed as another heisty, driving type of movie. What we got was a noir, plain and simple. A long look at a character and his interactions. Brillant.<br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>—Rango</i> was also a ton of fun. Excellent animation, a fun, if classic, story, and great voice acting. For all the hate it may garner, <i>Fast Five</i> was good, too. It wasn't a racing movie as much as it was a heist/action movie. It delivered and managed to not take itself too seriously.<br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>—Hugo</i> was the sort of film you want to see again and again, but probably sans 3D. I had a bad headache by the end of the movie, which was a first for me and 3D. That kept me from fully loving it, but there was a lot to appreciate: it was a child's story, but at no point did it feel childish. As a hater of children in movies, I realized it was the lack of respect for children in films I hate. In <i>Hugo</i>'s case, the children were treated with the utmost respect and I didn't think twice about it.<br />
<br />
—What music did I like this year? blink-182's <i>Neighborhoods</i>. "Ghost on the Dance Floor" gets me excited and pumped up (I put it on my cardio mix). Florence + The Machine's <i>Ceremonials</i> has some amazing pieces of music on there. Absolutely worth a listen. So is <i>Drive</i>'s soundtrack, now that I think about it. I listened to and enjoyed a lot of Johnny Cash's American Recordings albums. The man only got better as he aged.<br />
<br />
—Remember how I told you I was in the middle of reading <i>Catching Fire</i>? Well, between the time I wrote that and now, I finished it. My criticisms stand: the descriptions don't impress me and either does Katniss's obliviousness. This was definitely a stronger book, but it felt much more like a piece of a story than a stand-alone. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I just wish it didn't end as it did, relying on the reader to get <i>Mockingjay</i> to have a complete tale. Still worth checking out.<br />
<br />
—Brock Lesnar retired from the UFC. He had a short career there, with more ups and downs than most athletes see in a lifetime. He went from UFC Heavyweight Champion to getting diagnosed with a nasty bit of diverticulitis, to pummeling opponents in no time to getting pummeled in no time. Let the pro wrestling fans among us (myself included) begin speculating on a potential return to the WWE.<br />
<br />
—I got my hair flat-iron straightened today. It feels weird. Really strange...like it lacks volume. I don't know that I like it, but I don't think I dislike it, either. My hair is an odd thing for me: I love it long, and want it under a bit of control, but don't want to do anything to it. Doesn't really make sense, does it? Either way, I've entered a new chapter in my hairs existence, and we'll see how it goes.<br />
<br />
—Sooooo, what are you guys doing tonight? Something baller, I hope. Me? I'm heading to a classy place with some classy folk to drink all night and eat delicious food. Even my little sister will be there! Unfortunately, I've gone and screwed up the trimming of my beard (I blame the trimmer), so I'm going to have to do something to distract from it. Maybe face paint. Probably nipple clamps. We'll see. Sometimes, dressing to the nines, getting shitty, and distracting from a poorly trimmed beard is just what you have to do. And whatever you do, be safe and have fun. I expect all of you to make it to the new year, if only so we can face the impending Mayan apocalypse together.<br />
<br />
I don't think there's anything else I wanted to mention. As such, enjoy tonight, tomorrow, and forever on until I blog again!Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-6824157383906274982011-12-23T12:52:00.000-05:002011-12-23T12:52:58.857-05:00Random Thoughts: Year Ender, Part II: The Fire RisesWelcome back to my year end celebration! It really isn't so much a celebration as much as it is a bunch of blogs in rapid succession. And there really isn't much tying them together, except for the "Part I" or "Part II" in the title. Heck, there may be a "Part III" but I bet it's still only loosely connected to the first two (aside from my raving wit, charming sarcasm, and undeniable good looks). Get on with it, I hear you exclaim, and so I shall! (Oh, and if you've just come for talk about <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i> and <i>The Hobbit</i> trailers, just skip down past the clip from <i>The Daily Show</i>.)<br />
<br />
—Last week, in a shameless, cowardly act, Congress passed the NDAA, the National Defense Authorization Act, which has a few provisions causing a bit of unrest. What provisions, you ask? Sections 1021 and 1022, which make it a-OK to detain anyone, including American citizens (why the big stink over Americans and not anyone else? Because! That's why!), without trial, indefinitely. IF they get themselves caught as part of a group associated with, or maybe might've supported terrorism. We don't get specifics here, which is the scariest part. I'm not one for conspiracies, but we've seen a metric shit-ton of liberties taken away since 9/11. This has happened under both Presidents Bush and Obama. Who'd have thought that Barack would have as bad a record on civil liberties as Dubya? For more info on the NDAA, check <a href="http://www.berthoudrecorder.com/2011/12/19/more-about-ndaa-indefinite-detention-of-americans/">this</a> out and read up on it yourself (always, always, ALWAYS research!).<br />
<br />
—To continue with a bit of negativity (I want to get it out early), a television show, <i>All-American Muslim</i>, has come under fire from the supremely bigoted group, Florida Family Association. Lowe's pulled advertising, and more recently, so has Kayak. You see, Muslims are evil and poisoning the rest of 'Murica. Bet you didn't know that (unless you watch FOX News). The AV Club has a good <a href="http://www.avclub.com/articles/lowes-pulls-ads-from-allamerican-muslim-to-avoid-c,66453/">write-up</a> about it, but Jon Stewart and <i>The Daily Show </i>crew really said it best:<br />
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<tr style="height: 14px;" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;"><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-december-13-2011/kabulvision" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Kabulvision</a></td></tr>
<tr style="background-color: #353535; height: 14px;" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align: right; width: 512px;"><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/" style="color: #96deff; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.thedailyshow.com</a></td></tr>
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<tr valign="middle"><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/" style="color: #333333; font: 10px arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Daily Show Full Episodes</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a href="http://www.indecisionforever.com/" style="color: #333333; font: 10px arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Political Humor & Satire Blog</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/thedailyshow" style="color: #333333; font: 10px arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Daily Show on Facebook</a></td></tr>
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<br />
—And for my last politically-tinged bit, we have <a href="http://cleanandsafeports.org/blog/2011/12/12/an-open-letter-from-america%E2%80%99s-port-truck-drivers-on-occupy-the-ports/">this letter</a> from America's port truck drivers. See, last week, the Occupy movement occupied Seattle's ports amongst many others. They shutdown business, essentially. The letter is an incredible read that puts on display the underhanded, disturbing, disgusting, profits-first/people-last, mentality of, at the very least, those companies in control of shipping. It shouldn't come as a surprise, because hey, if you can take advantage of people who need a job and can't afford to be unemployed or on unemployment, why not? That's the free market, baby, that's capitalism. No, excuse me, that's corporatism. When those corporations hold the same rights as you and me? I say bullshit. And good on the truck drivers AND the Occupy movement!<br />
<br />
—Now that all of that is out of the way, let's get onto the juicy, movie tidbits! First up? Of course, Batman! Where would this blog be without Batman? Rotting in Arkham Asylum, most likely. So, what happened with Bats, besides that prologue? How about the release of the trailer? Watch it now because I'll be diving deep into it:<br />
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Let me say up front I feel that this is much more of an extended teaser than a full-on trailer. Maybe my expectations were a bit high for the first trailer (how couldn't they be after <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqmTxTnlJck">this</a> from 4 years ago?).<br />
<br />
And again, fair warning: What I say here may be spoilers. I don't know, because I've kept myself as in the dark as possible regarding this movie. It's really all just speculation.<br />
<br />
Our old pal, Bruce Wayne, has grey hairs. More importantly than that, he's using a cane in a lot of his scenes (a lot but not all). You all know what Bane did to Batman in the comics? He broke the Batman's back. I imagine one might need a cane after that.<br />
<br />
Is there an Occupy Gotham? Selina Kyle seems to be implying a revolution against the rich, in an incredibly sultry, awesome delivery. I can't wait to see more of her.<br />
<br />
The football field could stand some polishing. I'm not worried about it right now. Bane's voice doesn't bother me either, as I haven't had much problem understanding him, but I get the criticisms.<br />
<br />
Bane's one single line in the trailer: "When Gotham is...ashes, you have my permission to die." Bad. Ass. Intentional or not, I love that his mask, if you squint, resembles the luchadore mask he's known for in the comics. And it's also an inversion of Batman's mask: mouth covered, face mostly revealed.<br />
<br />
What is that stair room? At first I thought the Batcave. Then I thought flashbacks to Bruce's training with the League of Shadows, but it can't be, because he's sporting greys. So now I have no idea.<br />
<br />
I fully intend on going much further in depth in a later post, which will include the prologue.<br />
<br />
—And lastly (for this post, anyways), Tuesday saw the premiere of the first trailer for <i>The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey</i>. Take a gander!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="271" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JTSoD4BBCJc?hd=1" width="533"></iframe><br />
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Now, tell me you didn't get chills when you heard Sméagol's voice. Wonderful tease there, especially with the addition of The Ring's theme. This is exactly the sort of trailer I love to see: characters introduced, a taste of the plot ("I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure..."), and some serious foreboding. And how good was it to see Gandalf the Grey again? He's easily my favorite character from the movies and was sorely missed in the latter parts of <i>Lord of the Rings</i>. I'm feeling good about Martin Freeman as young Bilbo, especially since, when not watching the trailer, I had trouble distinguishing the transition from Ian Holm and to Mr. Freeman. As an unabashed nerd who just received the Extended Edition LotR trilogy on Blu-Ray, a year is too far.<br />
<br />
—Well, this wraps up Part II of my neverending Year Ender! I hope you've enjoyed it, as there will be more to come after the holidays but before the new year. I know for sure I'll be talking about Ridley Scott's debut teaser for his <i>Alien</i> prequel, <i>Prometheus</i>, and I can see a mention of the late Christopher Hitchens. What else have I got? I don't know! I'll surprise you!<br />
<br />
Until next time, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Winter Solstice, etc., etc., and so on and so forth!Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-5687808998250687592011-12-16T12:09:00.001-05:002011-12-16T12:58:11.064-05:00Random Thoughts: Year Ender, Part IAfter a lengthy, unexplainable absence, I'm back! Complete with Random Thoughts, too, in case you were sick without them. If so, please see a doctor. There are side effects, but I'd rather not get into them here. That said, let's get into Random Thoughts:<br />
<br />
—The marketing of my pet project with British up-and-comer Christopher Nolan, <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i>, has finally moved into second gear with poster number dos:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2FiGkAY5mpf56pnJSc88vUhhMpp7cCEQ4bTFHZvzi9ScMgLnHg2qJDuZy3oF5Py6vspS2lyIfAA2xe-iq5Iocdo6bnRRVqmZYNCbJJfo4ziJO7RshWmVKWLEwzCAOohWtIThaVSiUHgdJ/s1600/tdrp2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2FiGkAY5mpf56pnJSc88vUhhMpp7cCEQ4bTFHZvzi9ScMgLnHg2qJDuZy3oF5Py6vspS2lyIfAA2xe-iq5Iocdo6bnRRVqmZYNCbJJfo4ziJO7RshWmVKWLEwzCAOohWtIThaVSiUHgdJ/s640/tdrp2.jpg" width="432" /></a></div>Let's take a moment to discuss the badassery of this, shall we? First of all, it's badass. Incredibly so. The shattered cowl goes right along with the comic book tale of Bane, the Bat-Breaker. It also reemphasizes this will be the final piece of Nolan's Bat-trilogy (as if the teaser trailer wasn't enough). But it offers something beyond the teaser's text ("Every Legend Has an End," "The Epic Conclusion..."): that shattered cowl. Is this Batman's end, too?<br />
<br />
—I'm not sure how long the smartphone has existed, but I'll finally have one this Christmas: the iPhone 4S. What am I most looking forward to, you (didn't) ask? Siri. And hopefully the ability to rename her Jarvis and get her to speak with a male English accent. Also, the ability to grow a goatee and be a billionaire playboy with an ass-kicking iron suit. That'd be the ideal iPhone package.<br />
<br />
—No Shave November has transitioned into Don't Stop December. I'm at nearly two months with my beard; I started with a completely shaved face back in October. I'm pretty much OK with it. My only problem? When I wear my hair down, everyone calls me Jesus. Instead of explaining that if Jesus existed, he'd have been brown all around, I'm going to start replying, "Yes, my child?" and ask for your love, devotion, and souls.<br />
<br />
—Speaking of Jesus Christo, did you guys see Rick Perry's "Strong" ad? I'm not going to link to it here, but here's the transcript of the 30-second commercial:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a Christian, but you don’t need to be in the pew every Sunday to know there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.As president, I’ll end Obama’s war on religion. And I’ll fight against liberal attacks on our religious heritage. Faith made America strong. It can make her strong again.</span></blockquote>Do I need to point out the ridiculous bigotry on display here, the absurd, revisionist view that America was founded as a Christian nation when it clearly was not, or can we all just sit back and laugh at the insanity that is Rick Perry? I almost feel bad for the Republican party. They have no one likable enough, smart enough, or charismatic enough to come close to beating President Obama (I'm not counting Ron Paul among them since he's a Libertarian in Republican clothing).<br />
<br />
—Appropriately enough, here's Jesus' response to Rick Perry:<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="342" src="http://www.funnyordie.com/embed/e23d1c26d4" width="534"></iframe><br />
<div style="font-size: x-small; margin-top: 0; text-align: left; width: 534px;"><a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/e23d1c26d4/jesus-responds-to-rick-perry-s-strong-ad" title="from DC Pierson, Ryan Perez, Funny Or Die, BoTown Sound, and Alex Richanbach">Jesus Responds to Rick Perry's "Strong" Ad</a> from <a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/dc_pierson">DC Pierson</a> <iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?app_id=138711277798&href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.funnyordie.com%2Fvideos%2Fe23d1c26d4%2Fjesus-responds-to-rick-perry-s-strong-ad&send=false&layout=button_count&width=150&show_faces=false&action=like&height=21" style="border: none; height: 21px; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: middle; width: 90px;"></iframe></div><br />
<br />
Should any of Jesus' claims about Rick Perry frighten or disturb you, I encourage you to research Rick Perry and the execution of not just the mentally handicapped, but also of the potentially innocent. You won't have to search too hard.<br />
<br />
—You all didn't think I was done writing about <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i>, did you? Of course I wasn't! Because last week, Christopher Nolan and wife/producer Emma Thomas (both of whom I could've reached out and touched on set) showed the 6/7 minute prologue to the film to select filmmakers and film critics (there will also be a free early showing Tuesday night in select IMAX theaters). The response is, as expected, incredibly positive, with one consistent criticism: Bane's voice. Turns out, he's hard to understand (I think this is a theme for the Nolan Batman movies). Hopefully Mr. Nolan hears this criticism (unless it's a point to make Bane hard to hear) and fixes this before release in July. Or before the trailer (hopefully later this month).<br />
<br />
—The lady and I just finished watching season 1 of <i>Game of Thrones</i>, or as we've called it, Incest of Thrones, Game of Incest, Incest Thrones, and Awesome. Now, I tend to be the nerdy, geeky one in the relationship, so I wasn't expecting her to really get into it too much. That said, I'd like to share my favorite of the texts I received from her while I was at work and she was watching it: "OMG if you watch 8 you can go to bed, but if you watch 9 you HAVE to watch 10!" Needless to say, if you haven't watched the show, get to it. We'll be reading the books soon, so one day, I'll tell you about them.<br />
<br />
—My old home state is <a href="http://our-compass.org/2011/12/01/new-policy-requires-all-chows-danes-dobermans-mastiffs-rotties-shepherds-all-bully-breeds-to-be-killed-nc-shelter/">stupid and cruel</a>. This is very clearly not a helpful situation. What does killing these breeds accomplish? Nothing. Because the people who train those types of dogs to be vicious and mean will be able to do that with any dog. And what happens when a more cuddly dog starts to pick up that reputation? The problem is not the dogs, it's the people raising and training them. It's sickening.<br />
<br />
—But to end on a positive note, and give a big middle finger to Cumberland County, a <a href="http://www.thedogfiles.com/2011/02/03/stray-pit-bull-saves-woman-child-from-attacker/">pit bull saved a woman and her toddler</a> from a potentially violent mugging. In case you're too lazy and/or scared to click the link, a mother and child were leaving a playground when a man with a knife approached her. This dog came out of no where and started growling and baring its teeth at this tool bag, who, like the superstitious and cowardly lot he is, ran off. The lady didn't know the dog, but it stayed with her until the cops came. If no one claims the dog, she plans on adopting it. Awesome.<br />
<br />
—I have plenty more to say, and so I will, but in Part II. It'll definitely have more Batman. Maybe I'll have some of those Year End Lists people love. Maybe it'll be more topical, featuring the absurdity of President Obama and Congress passing the NDAA. Who knows?! Well, I do, but soon you will too!Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-50329937475351335882011-11-18T14:18:00.002-05:002011-11-18T14:53:21.330-05:00Random Thoughts: The "Proud To Be An American" EditionAmigos! I bring to you a special edition of Random Thoughts, the 'Murican edition! Make no mistake, this will be snarky, sarcastic, and in its own way, patriotic. Because what says patriot more than sitting at a desk, typing at a computer made by children in the third world (huzzah Apple!)?<br />
<br />
—The 99% movement, or Occupy Wall Street, or Occupy America, or whatever you want to call it, is really being put to the test. In the last few days and weeks, we've seen raids on the tent cities in Oakland, SoCal, Portland, and earlier this week, in New York City. Despite a general lack of coverage (or shitty, biased coverage when there is) on mainstream news channels, the Occupy movement is growing. Seriously, no city is too small for it. Last week, while visiting friends in Raleigh, NC, we stumbled upon the Occupy Raleigh protests. They're everywhere and that's exciting. It's this sort of demonstration that excites me, much like when Madison, WI was occupied by citizens tired of their corrupt governor and officials. Folks are finally remembering their first amendment rights and finding that freedom of speech, freedom to peaceably assemble, isn't quite so simple when the 1% is ordering parks evicted, SWAT teams to raid encampments, and forcing hundreds, if not thousands, to leave their personal belongings and property behind to be trashed (which is exactly what happened early Tuesday morning at Wall Street).<br />
<br />
—I'm sure I'll come back around to the protests, but here's another little something worth paying attention to: <a href="http://healthland.time.com/2011/11/14/mind-reading-what-we-can-learn-from-the-dutch-about-teen-sex/">Mind Reading: What We Can Learn From the Dutch About Teen Sex</a>. I've mentioned in the past America's over-reactions to sex in media, while being a-OK with violence, and this article speaks to that (well, to the sex, not the violence). Sex is such a taboo, parents won't/can't/don't talk to their kids about it openly and teenage pregnancies are through the roof. Is it really that much of a surprise when "abstinence only" education is in place? Or when Sex Ed is boycotted by religious groups? We have a youth that is being told to believe sex is something they can't have, that's dangerous, so of course they want it. Of course they're going to dive into it. And they're doing it without education, without understanding it. The longer that goes on, the longer we're going to see huge numbers of teenage pregnancies and abortions and STDs amongst those of us just entering sexual maturity. Sex shouldn't be a taboo. It should be respected and discussed, with younger-than-me folks. Because gorram it, they are going to get down and dirty regardless. May as well make it so they aren't ashamed, embarrassed, and uneducated about it.<br />
<br />
—To get someone else's take on the Occupy protests, let's turn to comic book legend, <a href="http://frankmillerink.com/2011/11/anarchy">Frank Miller</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; font-size: 19px; line-height: 22px;">"“Occupy” is nothing but a pack of louts, thieves, and rapists, an unruly mob, fed by Woodstock-era nostalgia and putrid false righteousness."</span></blockquote> I highly recommend you take a gander at the entire rant, because it's absurd. More than anything, I feel bad for Mr. Miller, whose fame exists because of the rapists and louts he's deriding. There's no denying the man was talented. He did things with Batman that genuinely revolutionized the character. Same with Daredevil. His runs on those series' are among the best in the business. But, much like Alan Moore, Frank Miller has gone nuts. He sounds paranoid and a good bit like the ever-present talking heads from <i>The Dark Knight Returns</i>. I don't know where he's been getting his information about the protests (I imagine FOX), but he's totally unaware that some of the protestors themselves are veterans, whether from Iraq and Afghanistan or Vietnam, Korea, and World War II. The man deserves all the negative attention he gets from this. Hopefully it'll keep him from writing another <i>All-Star Batman & Robin</i>.<br />
<br />
—You all remember how Bank of America was going to start charging their members a monthly fee to use debit cards? Well, they dropped that plan. But mostly because <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/11/14/367467/bank-of-america-unemployment-benefit-fees/">they didn't need the money</a>. Turns out, they've been getting it directly from the most well-off among us: the unemployed! Apparently, 41 states (that's out of 50, for those keeping count) have deals in place with major banks when it comes to allowing the unemployed to collect their benefits. Said deals allow the banks to charge a ridiculous amount for citizens to withdraw their benefits. Very classy, very stand-up work from some of the nation's largest banks. Nothing really screams 'Murica to me more than corporate greed, screwing the citizens, and big banks and governments in bed together.<br />
<br />
—I don't know what to make of <i>American Horror Story</i>. My problem right now is that I'm expecting sense, logic, and consistency. This show is pulpy and over-the-top. The sooner I make amends with that and accept what it is, not what it could be (I have the same problem with the Star Wars prequels), I'm sure I'll enjoy it more. Are any of you watching it? What do you all think of it?<br />
<br />
—Here's a <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/164501/paramilitary-policing-seattle-occupy-wall-street">great read</a> a friend of mine on thefacebook shared during the week. It's by the former chief of police in Seattle, Norm Stamper, and he's examining the paramilitarizing (that is not a word) of the American police force and how that affected his response to the World Trade Organization protests in the '90s to the police response now, with Occupy Wall Street. He makes a plethora of great points about not just how police are responding, but why they are responding in this way. Mr. Stamper isn't the only former policeman unhappy with how things are playing out, and how the police are being played and portrayed: Retired <a href="http://www.observer.com/2011/11/former-captain-ray-lewis-charged-with-three-violations-more-photos-of-his-arrest/raylewisweb/">Captain Ray Lewis</a> of Philadelphia found himself in a pair of handcuffs for his own civil disobedience. There's also World War II veteran, <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wwii-veteran-murray-gittelman-90-lends-spirited-support-occupy-wall-street-article-1.975010">Murray Gittelman</a>, who also protested the Vietnam war. In Oakland, there's ex-marine <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/14/scott-olsen-first-statement-occupy-oakland">Scott Olsen</a>, who was hospitalized after police in Oakland fired either a tear gas canister or a rubber bullet that struck him in the head. My point? These protestors aren't the dirty, jobless hippies our wonderful media has been portraying them as. This is a group of people, all <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/photo-of-84-year-old-woman-hit-by-pepper-spray-at-occupy-seattle-protest-goes-viral/2011/11/16/gIQAAK7lRN_story.html?tid=pm_national_pop">ages</a>, races, <a href="http://boingboing.net/2011/11/18/nypd-cop-pushes-new-york-supre.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=36761">occupations</a>, and backgrounds, coming together because they recognize a broken system. Whether you agree or disagree with them, if you're reading this blog, odds are you're part of the 99% and they're fighting for you. I don't want to preach about this, so I'll leave you with this (and kudos to whomever created it, anonymous internet!):<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGJ482baBd_1oYXCFMbEK2mUcNZWqM19WRVM_GROUgVASdlAL4YXrQRIl4O6scYvGgX55eQ8C_T2syKLjTPvjHeal9mOPelzP60p0copU-5sAJT2B4FhVznvx4zzU46kmvvmnBNv4Xtj2a/s1600/Nc0z6.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGJ482baBd_1oYXCFMbEK2mUcNZWqM19WRVM_GROUgVASdlAL4YXrQRIl4O6scYvGgX55eQ8C_T2syKLjTPvjHeal9mOPelzP60p0copU-5sAJT2B4FhVznvx4zzU46kmvvmnBNv4Xtj2a/s400/Nc0z6.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-49002722047649251962011-10-14T13:07:00.000-04:002011-10-14T13:07:27.804-04:00Random Thoughts, Now with Extra Random!OK, so that title's deceptive—nothing here will be extra random. It's all right in line with my other "Random Thoughts": Nerdy things, whether TV, movies, comics, books, etc. This time, it might be a tidbit less nerdy. No, scratch that, I've got <i>The Avengers</i> trailer to discuss. It'll be pretty nerdy.<br />
<br />
—The oft dreamt of movie follow-up to the incredible TV series <i>Arrested Development</i> may be happening. When I first heard about the <a href="http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/10/03/arrested-development-reunion/">Bluth family reunion</a>, I was understandably enthused. Here we have every major character from the show saying they are on-board and want it to happen. We have creator Mitchell Hurwitz telling us he has a story for not just a movie, but also 9 or so additional episodes that would lead into the movie, each focusing on where a different character has been (smart). But then I talked to a more tempered friend, who's been burned before. Every 6 months or so, we do get new rumors about this movie, ever since it went off the air. It was apparently a sure thing that the show would move to Showtime. Clearly, none of this has happened. And even after the reunion, we're still at that phase where a schedule needs to be set, a studio needs to greenlight it, etc. There is no guarantee. As much as I want to freak out and be overjoyed, I realize the tempered approach is the way to go here. Hopefully it happens, and we get another 9 episodes and a 2ish hour long movie.<br />
<br />
—Aaaaand just because I like to group similar things together (or split them up by one random entry—seriously, go back and check my other "Random Thoughts," I do this all the time), my ladyfriend and I are working our way through <i>Arrested Development</i>. To say the writing of this show makes me feel small isn't saying enough. The layering, the referencing, the foreshadowing...I would take a class on the writing of <i>Arrested Development</i> that started at 6 a.m. and went for 3 hours with no break every morning. But it's not just the writing, it's also the set design—an episode after the whole lesson teaching (where George teaches the kids a lesson about leaving a note when they use the last of the milk), we see hanging on the fridge a note from George-Michael about using the last of the milk. COME ON! These people knew what the hell they were doing and it makes for multiple, enjoyable rewatches.<br />
<br />
—Keeping with TV, I just started watching <i>Breaking Bad</i> last week. As of today, I just finished season 3. More than anything, I'm embarrassed it took me this long to start watching. I'm loving every moment of the transformation of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman into different people. More than anything, I want to like Walt and Jesse and Skylar and Hank and Marie, but I can't. They're all bad people! They do a lot to make me like them, but then go and flush all that goodwill away. Me, I'm liking Gus and Mike. Those guys are badass. There's genuine tension, and for that, I'm glad I have it all on Netflix and don't have to wait a week for the next episode. One of my favorite aspects, from a technique/craft standpoint, is the up from underneath shot. Now, that's not a good description, but they've been doing it since season 1. It can be from up through the bottom of a pot, a tray, a vat, whatever. It's awesome. What I really appreciate is how they don't even attempt to glorify drug dealing or manufacturing. The show is brutal about it, in fact, whether the consequences, the struggle to sell, or even just making crystal meth, this is not a pretty show.<br />
<br />
—Have you seen <i>Drive</i> yet? No? Then do it. Now. Go to moviefone, or wherever, find the next showtime, and go watch one of the best movies of the last several years. Don't be fooled by the trailers; this is NOT a fast cars, crazy chases, lots of heists kind of movie. It's wonderfully quiet, a subtle, beautifully crafted character study. Ryan Gosling astonishes as the Driver (a man with no name...) who gets tangled in some dangerous stuffs. Honestly, if you are a fan of film (i.e. don't believe the <i>Transformer</i> films are worth their weight in box office profits), if you enjoy subtlety, and quiet, compelling characters, check this out. Buy it on blu-ray or laserdisk or whatever. Just go and support it, because movies like this, nowadays, are rare and wonderful little gems. And keep in mind the story of the scorpion and the frog.<br />
<br />
—I finally decided on my Halloween costume: Nurse Joker. Yup, I'll be wearing a cute little nurse's dress. Now, I'm a nerdy nerdnerd, so I'm slightly bothered that it won't be screen accurate (my dress will be a button-up instead of zipper-up, and the belt he has on in the movie is only made in the UK), but nerds like me are few and far between. I've been wanting to do this costume since 2008, when <i>The Dark Knight</i> came out, so I'm pumped to get around to it. Trust, blog-reading amigos, there will be pictures. From the application of the scars, to each layer of makeup. It'll rival my Wolverine costume, I promise.<br />
<br />
—Saturday, I'm going to the New York Comic Con. Expect a whole blog all about it. Picture heavy. Maybe video heavy, too, if I can manage to get into <i>The Avengers</i> panel. I managed to sneak onto the floor Thursday, but was sans camera. Needless to say, it looks awesome down there. Can't wait to harass some favorite artists and writers. AMC's <i>The Walking Dead</i> panel looks informative, too, but I'm still going to be apprehensive about the new season, with the dumping of Frank Darabont. New footage will be shown, along with the cast and remaining creators. It'll be pretty rad just to be there, even if the season doesn't turn out as well as the first. Which reminds me! I realize we dropped the ball in a most dramatic fashion, but with the new season kicking off Sunday, expect to see a revival of <a href="http://amongthewalkingdead.blogspot.com/">Among the Walking Dead</a>.<br />
<br />
—And now, friends, behold, the trailer for <i>The Avengers</i>! Watch it now if you haven't, because I'm about to dive into it, nerd-like.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SDV-t5sgDgI?hd=1" width="534"></iframe><br />
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First off, YESYESYES. That scene with Cap giving Tony Stark hell? That's the dynamic I wanted to see. That's the dynamic that needs to be there, between the greatest hero America has ever seen and the biggest playboy in the Marvel universe. What I wanted to see more of was Thor with those two. But it was just a trailer so there's no reason to be worried just yet. You know what did get me even more pumped about the movie? Seeing Iron Man flying through the skyscrapers of New York City. I understand the reason Jon Favreau moved Tony Stark to Los Angeles, but there's still something supremely, nerdly satisfying about seeing Iron Man in his city. On top of that, we get a shot of the Quinjet, Loki being a d-bag, lots of explosions, Black Widow looking supremely hot, a brief bit of Hawkeye, and at long last, the Hulk. Another dynamic I really look forward to seeing is that of Bruce Banner and Tony Stark, two geniuses of the Marvel universe. So overall, I'm excited. I'm stoked. Joss Whedon is a master of ensembles, and I'm hoping to see a bit more come the panel tomorrow night.<br />
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All right! I've got a busy rest of the month ahead of me, but I'll get to stepping on the NYCC post, and some video game reviews (Gears of War 3 and Batman: Arkham City). Until then, amigos!Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-26526638798799297672011-10-03T11:56:00.000-04:002011-10-03T11:56:51.300-04:00A (Not So) Random Review: blink-182's Neighborhoods<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY0IHVJsz1sfSmledODXmVRCg26WP42VTq5avrVNUj4erVDdzRmLKjlgAQp8Fd3Q_l67W_npjUGhIAPgLXRDtkmvlLeDI7iAvczqpjGdb2pjLz8jCz3Ut7sP84-dc9jCAFmP4sGYbp44Eh/s1600/Blink-182-Neighborhoods-Album-Artwork.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY0IHVJsz1sfSmledODXmVRCg26WP42VTq5avrVNUj4erVDdzRmLKjlgAQp8Fd3Q_l67W_npjUGhIAPgLXRDtkmvlLeDI7iAvczqpjGdb2pjLz8jCz3Ut7sP84-dc9jCAFmP4sGYbp44Eh/s400/Blink-182-Neighborhoods-Album-Artwork.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I was 12, maybe 13, when <i>What's My Age Again?</i> took over MTV and the radio. Within a year, I had a bass guitar, a copy of "Enema of the State," and more tabs than you could shake a redwood at. I tried to start a band, with friends Zac and Drew. We, or at least I, wanted to be blink. I wanted to be Mark—I started spiking my hair, playing my bass as low to the ground as possible, even ran around naked. More than anything else at that time, blink-182 defined me. Besides my sideburns, I mean, scraggly, unkempt things though they were. And in spite of the shit I get from friends (from high school to college, bandmates to gaming buddies, hipster classmates to roommates), I won't let them go (the color scheme of this blog? The white, pink, tealish blue and black? Straight off the artwork of their self-titled album). They are my favorite band. Doesn't mean they're the best band I've ever heard but I enjoy them more than any other group...period.<br />
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This album is a long time coming. As such, so is this review. Last summer, I took a crack at "<a href="http://madchops.blogspot.com/2010/07/sorry-i-got-distracted-and-wrote-bad.html">Take Off Your Pants and Jacket,</a>" which was, admittedly, a biased review. I can't subjectively look at/listen to that album without remember that time in my life. "Neighborhoods" is different. I'm a wee bit older, a smidge more mature, and a tad more cynical (OMG just like the guys in blink!!@!1!).<br />
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I want to take this review song-by-song. At the end, I'll wrap it up like a beautiful, baby burrito. So if you don't want to read all of this (and there is a lot), just skip down to the bottom for my overall thoughts of the album. <br />
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<span style="color: #1fa6c7;"><u><b>Ghost on the Dance Floor</b></u></span><br />
What an excellent way to open. And what an excellent way to open the opener: It fades in, with Travis doing what he does best on the drums, then introduces a bit of synth (not too new to blink, but more associated with AVA), and then a barebones guitar line. It's like a reintroduction. By the time Mark comes in, you know it's a blink song: driving, simple bass backed by drums that are distinctly Barker's, accompanied by a guitar that is strung-out just enough. It's grandiose to a point, and then tempered by Travis and Mark. Please pay attention to the little bits that Travis is doing on the verses. The dude knows how to add that little bit extra without drawing in all the focus. Speaking of, hearing Mark back Tom during the verse/pre-chorus got me excited. <i></i>There's no other song on the album that gets you hyped to listen quite like this one. And how about that ending? With that ending, it easily could've been the last song on the album. The break into the last chorus is chaotic and fun and leads wonderfully into...<br />
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<span style="color: #c71fa6;"><u><b>Natives</b></u></span><br />
The reviews I've read all compare <i>Natives </i>to <i>M+M's</i> from "Cheshire Cat," but they're a good bit wrong. See, <i>Natives</i> has an urgency and a tension right from the start (it pervades the entire song), in large part to Travis' drumming and Mark's guttural bass line. Both keep the guitar (which is where the comparison to <i>M+M's </i>comes from) from feeling upbeat or easy going. When Tom's strained vocals come in, it pushes the tension and feels paranoid. The lyrics aren't uplifting and nothing relents until Mark's chorus. And even then, it's not necessarily relenting. Because it's still angry and the urgency remains throughout, pushed along by the drumming and vocals. It works well here, to the point where I actually thought the intro was a continuation to <i>Ghost on the Dancefloor</i>.<br />
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<span style="color: #1fa6c7;"><u><b>Up All Night</b></u></span><br />
I reviewed <a href="http://madchops.blogspot.com/2011/07/random-reviews-movies-teasers-trailers.html"><i>Up All Night</i></a> when it first came out back in July, so I won't dwell here too much. I was cautiously optimistic and I stand by my original opinion—it's a good blink song. And it's still awesome to hear Mark and Tom trading vocals during the verse. However, as a part of the album, this song goes from good to better than good, but not quite great. The song has grown on me like a beard, and in context, as part of an album, it works that much more. It fits the tone set by the first two songs, and carries it on: this album, this blink-182, is a bit heavier. And that's a good thing (more on why when I'm making that baby burrito at the end). <br />
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<span style="color: #c71fa6;"><u><b>After Midnight</b></u></span><br />
If you don't pay too much attention to the lyrics, this song comes off as a sweet, love-songy type. But there's a definite melancholy. It sounds like a song about a couple right at the edge of a break-up, especially during the verses. The chorus follows suit, but is more focused on just how they deal in the moment. It's sad, but not heartbreaking. This is apparently lined up as the next single, and I hear why. I've always appreciated when Mark and Tom split the verse and chorus, much like in <i>Feeling This</i>, where they're clearly singing about the same subject but from two distinct and different points of view. <i>After Midnight</i> encapsulates that. <br />
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<span style="color: #1fa6c7;"><u><b>Snake Charmer</b></u></span><br />
This one's a little nugget of awesome. First off, I love what Mark's doing on bass. And I love the minimalist styling of the verses, which just stand to make the choruses that much more powerful and fun. The break is particularly full of rockin', with Mark providing vocals that just click, and Tom throwing out lines as they build to the last chorus. Solid, solid, track.<br />
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<span style="color: #c71fa6;"><u><b>Heart's All Gone Interlude/Heart's All Gone</b></u></span><br />
If anything will convince you that the blink-182 of yore is forgotten, it's the interlude. OK, maybe not as much as <i>The Fallen Interlude</i> from "blink-182," but it's decidedly not blink-ish. And if anything is going to make you think the blink-182 of yore is still around, it's <i>Heart's All Gone</i>. It's super fast, with vocals more strained than we're used to from Mark. In that way, it's a lot like "Dude Ranch"—fast, frenetic. Except, as per the rest of this album, the lyrics are heavier than anything you'd hear on "Dude Ranch," and decidedly less uplifting and feel-goody. Once again, pay attention to Travis, this time in the chorus. Dude rocks hard. I prefer this song live, with Mark and Tom trading lines in the verse. Again, it's reminiscent of "Dude Ranch," particularly <i>Pathetic</i>, which is a very good thing.<br />
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<span style="color: #1fa6c7;"><u><b>Wishing Well</b></u></span><br />
Is Tom singing about his departure from blink? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, it's Tom's most open song on the album. The song benefits from the honesty ("I'm a little bit shy, a bit strange and a little bit manic" Tom sings before super catchy la da da's kick in. Seriously, they stay with you). The song is one of the catchier, if not the catchiest, on the album. Even in spite of self-conscious, uncertain lyrics. As per the usual, the final chorus brings the energy just a bit higher, in this case with an extra guitar thrown in. <br />
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<span style="color: #c71fa6;"><u><b>Kaleidoscope</b></u></span><br />
This one I tend to skip. It doesn't click for me and I couldn't really tell you why. OK, I probably can: I don't like the start, with Mark coming in. It's off-putting to me. If they had cut out just that bit, and kept just the bare intro into the little piano bit and then the verse, I think it'd be a stronger song. Which drives me crazy, because I prefer Mark's voice on this song than I do on <i>Heart's All Gone</i>. In fact, beyond the intro, I don't mind the song. I just really think it could've started a lot stronger and been more appealing minus Mark in the intro.<br />
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<span style="color: #1fa6c7;"><u><b>This Is Home</b></u></span><br />
First thing I thought of when this song came on was the '80s. Between the synth and the drum clap, this feels like some sort of hybrid of The Cure and blink. I dig that the guitar is going throughout the verse because it's a cool little line. Lyrically, this one is all about remembering the pit, going to shows and having a riot. Folks who didn't really like Tom's vowel-elongation that really blew up in AVA will probably be turned off by the chorus, which sees a good bit of it. I could stand to have a bit less of it, but let it go because of the heart behind the last line of the chorus, "Because this is home." I really Tom believes what he's singing, not that he just wrote some lyrics to go with a cool hook.<br />
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<span style="color: #c71fa6;"><u><b>MH 4.18.2011</b></u></span><br />
Here's another darker (lyrically) song masked by pop-punkier, uptempo music. I don't really know what to make of this one. It doesn't offend my senses but it doesn't send out any sparks, either. It's a fine listen, just not particularly exciting to me.<br />
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<span style="color: #1fa6c7;"><u><b>Love Is Dangerous</b></u></span><br />
Another one that could be out of the '80s. Tom has primary vocals here, but Mark is singing along with the entire verse, which makes for a really cool harmony. This is one of those songs where I'm glad they're back together because their vocals work together. Especially in the chorus, where Tom's singing one thing and Mark another. It was a good touch having Mark's lines come in in the second chorus. Another good guitar line, and synth line, too. This is the regular edition's ending, which makes me appreciate the fade out even more, since <i>Ghost on the Dancefloor</i> fades in (I like cyclical! Or parallel. Whatever you want to call it, I like it).<br />
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<span style="color: #c71fa6;"><u><b>Fighting the Gravity</b></u></span><br />
Here's the biggest departure from the blink-182 of the '90s and '00s. It's the most experimental of the album. It doesn't really fit on here, so I understand leaving it off. It's not one I've listened to very much. But if you're in the mood for something spacey, dark, and resonating, put on some good headphones and listen.<br />
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<span style="color: #1fa6c7;"><u><b>Even If She Falls</b></u></span><br />
Remember above where I said <i>Love Is Dangerous</i> was a good closer? So is this. Particularly with the delivery of the first verse and chorus. It's more spoken than outright singing. Until the second verse, where it becomes more singing. Now, that may sound weird, but that's just because I'm bad at describing. It's a more subtle song, more in line with <i>Love Is Dangerous</i> and <i>Wishing Well</i>, but not quite as '80s as them. Again, I love the little bits that Travis is doing during the chorus.<br />
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<u><b>Overall</b></u><br />
The first half of the album is fucking solid. I'm still on the fence about <i>Heart's All Gone</i>, but even so, it works incredibly well with the first half of the album. I find the first five songs (<i>Ghost on the Dancefloor</i> through <i>Snake Charmer</i>) to be the strongest part of the album. Even on the slower songs (<i>After Midnight</i>), the album's pace remains intact. <i>Wishing Well</i> takes us in a different direction and it's here that the pace falters, that the guys seem a bit more unsure. It's like they weren't sure which way they wanted it to go, so they alternated between two different types of songs (<i>Wishing Well, Love Is Dangerous, Even If She Falls</i> vs <i>Kaleidoscope, MH 4.18.2011</i>).<br />
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Now, blink-182 has never been known for its lyrical content, and that's still dead. There are some really heavy-handed lines sprinkled throughout, some that probably sounded like a great idea but just didn't translate well. But if you listen to blink, you know that and you expect that. Some of the vocal work leaves a good bit to be desired. Neither Mark or Tom have ever been touted as great singers, but age hasn't helped. And this may sound odd, but the more Mark tries to sing well, the more I want to switch tracks. I don't know how else to explain it. You should also expect a good bit of influence from the side projects: there's a heavy influence of AVA and +44. In the same vein though, what else would you expect? Each of those bands had traces of "blink-182" in them. It's a natural progression. And at no point do any of these songs sound like AVA or +44. You know it's blink-182. Mark and Travis rein in Tom's grandiose stylings that have been let loose on the AVA albums and Tom adds a bit of scale to Mark's simpler sounds. It's why these guys have worked so well together since 1992. Travis Barker is MVP of "Neighborhoods." He just adds so much more to each song, but without being the focus, without hogging the spotlight.<br />
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So, friends, this one is worth a listen. No, it isn't as upbeat and happy-go-naked as "Enema of the State" or "Take Off Your Pants and Jacket," but it shouldn't be. These guys went through an ugly break-up, public potshots, Travis nearly dying, and two good friends (DJ AM and Jerry Finn) dying. So the album's darker. It's a bit more brooding. But it still has fun and more importantly, is fun to listen to. <i>Ghost on the Dancefloor</i> will get you moving. You'll be humming <i>Wishing Well</i>'s prechorus after one listen. This is still blink-182. It's just an older blink-182. But really, all that needs to be said of the album is simply this:<br />
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I guess this is growing up.Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-6413385404854002512011-09-18T14:42:00.000-04:002011-09-18T14:42:40.747-04:00Randomly Extended Thoughts! Yo, faithful fams/friends/readers! Good to see you again. It's been a bit. Thanks for coming. Did you get a haircut? No? Well, something's different...A good different. No, I like it. You're looking good. Enough with the compliments! Let's get to the blogging:<br />
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—As I <a href="http://madchops.blogspot.com/2011/08/remember-all-that-teasing.html">mentioned</a>, I was going to Pittsburgh to work on <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i> with my buddy, Greig. Well I did that. And it was awesome. I can't tell you what I saw because I signed a piece of paper that prohibits me from doing that (which, in and of itself, is pretty gnarly). What I can tell you is that Pittsburgh was frakkin' cool. It helped that Greig and I stayed with a great host who showed us around South Side. Had a lot of good drinks and food, not to mention a day of classic arcading at Games N' At (I know people rave about it, but Primanti Bros. was over-rated and overpriced). Met a bunch of cool people, some sketchy folks, and Christian Bale (not really). I pretended to be one of the <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/sioncampus/04/11/weekend.primer/cc_hanson.jpg">Hanson brothers</a> from <i>Slapshot</i> on the prompting of a magician. So yeah, great time in Pittsburgh. Go check it out if you've never been. Mucho thanks to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6fka74ZnpU">Phil</a> and Lauralynn for putting us up and showing us around!<br />
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—Also out in Pittsburgh is this cool little shop, The Exchange, where I was finally able to pick up some original Xbox games: Knights of the Old Republic, KotOR II: The Sith Lords, and Spider-Man 2. Now, you all know by now I'm a Star Wars fan. So, in 2003, when KotOR came out, I fell in love. I stand by that that game is one of the best. It's absolutely a favorite, along with its sequel. The first is one of the most compelling stories told in the Star Wars universe, and I'd argue both are a metric shit-ton better than the prequels (which were a metric shit-ton themselves). So needless to say, I've been adventuring with Bastila, Mission, Zaalbar, Carth, Canderous, T3, HK, Jolee, and Juhani for the last several days. <br />
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—George Lucas changed <i>Return of the Jedi</i> for the blu-ray release of the saga. George Lucas is a disappointment and a shell of a creator. Granted, I've never made a movie, had my vision put on screen, or had a studio sit there and tell me parts of my vision don't work, that I need to do things differently, etc. I've only workshopped stories, but as that's what I have, that's what I'll compare here: At some point, you stop editing and let the story stand. I've reread what I had published in the Creative Writing department's collection of graduates' work, and I laughed, to see just how different the stories are now. But I didn't then ask them to republish with the new version. I let it stand as a moment in time. George Lucas can't do that. He has full control, and keeps right on meddling. We need to accept this fact about him, and just stop buying his movies. We're enablers, even if we bitch and moan on the internets. Because most Star Wars fans will cry foul, but still drop their money on the blu-ray set. What is that doing, but encouraging George Lucas? There's also got to be some sort of willful ignorance of the backlash. Or he's just really turned into the Emperor and doesn't give a crap about us.<br />
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—Steven Spielberg, on the other hand, seems to have realized a few things: <a href="http://www.slashfilm.com/harrison-ford-turned-down-jurassic-park/">Indy 4 sucked</a> and fans don't want to see revised, edited, "special" editions of classic movies. In this case, he'll be releasing both <i>E.T.</i> and <i>Raiders of the Lost Ark</i> as they were originally seen in theaters on <a href="http://www.slashfilm.com/steven-spielberg-regrets-altering-et-raiders-hit-bluray-original-forms/">blu-ray</a>. More than that, the man recognizes just what exactly editing a classic movie, or even a non-classic movie, really is: "<br />
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For myself, I tried [changing a film] once and lived to regret it. Not because of fan outrage, but because I was disappointed in myself. I got overly sensitive to [some of the reaction] to E.T., and I thought if technology evolved, [I might go in and change some things]…it was OK for a while, but I realized what I had done was I had robbed people who loved E.T. of their memories of E.T. [...] If I put just one cut of E.T. on Blu-ray and it was the 1982, would anyone object to that? [The crowd yells "NO!" in unison.] OK, so be it."<br />
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Ya know, he had me worried. Since <i>Jurassic Park</i>, I'd lauded Mr. Spielberg with praise. A lot of it. But his last few movies have made me reconsider. But then he does this, and reaffirms that he has an understanding of film other directors ought to take note of.<br />
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—Guess what I'm doing by the end of the year? Yup, building a PC! How spectacularly awesome! I'm pumped about it and open to advice from any experienced builders. I'm trying to keep it around $900 and wow, friends, can you build a rad machine for that money that blows the specs off the standard HP, Dell, Mac, etc. My buddy Jason will be giving me a hand with it, since I've no idea what the hell I'm doing. I've been checking out <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc">www.reddit.com/r/buildapc</a>, where there's a pleathora of information and advice. This is easily one of the nerdier things I've done, but I. am. pumped!<br />
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—Well, the government brought me back to work, if only until the end of the month. Since I've been back, Matchbox 20 has popped up on my iPod's shuffle a lot. You know what? They rock. They're one of the bands of the '90s that really was talented, both lyrically and musically. Just good music to listen to.<br />
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—And if only to end on a(nother) nerd note, <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/news/kepler-16b.html">Tatooine exists</a>! Not entirely, but kind of: it's a planet orbiting twin suns, which may as well be Tatooine, desert, Tusken Raiders, and Jawas not withstanding. This whole discovery just keeps up with my whole "space is mind-boggling" mind boggle. It's really humbling and exciting to stop and look up at the stars and realize that you aren't just looking into the past, but also millions of miles away. Billions even! Goodness, amigos. The 'verse is something to behold. Here's hoping for interstellar space travel!<br />
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That's all this time, folks! I left out the propaganda stuffs because it was bringing me down. Maybe some other time when I'm pissy. Right now, though, I'm going to enjoy this wonderful weather and the Jets' throwbacks! Happy Sunday, folks and friends.Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-69387051197138304402011-09-14T11:48:00.001-04:002011-09-14T11:48:56.600-04:00Help Me, Blog-Reading Friends, You're My (Girlfriend's) Only Hope!I had a whole parody of Princess Leia's plea written out, but re-reading it, well, it kind of sucked. I'll just stick with my own words:<br />
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My galpal is currently partaking in a contest on SmugMug. In case you aren't aware, she's currently in the process of building up her photography portfolio, getting a better, killer website, and making moola off taking pictures of things and/or people (which she happens to be very good at). Now, this contest is pretty neat and will go a long way in helping her set herself up as a professional photographer.<br />
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If you don't want to do it for her because you don't know her, do it for me. Because she hits me. But only when my friends don't vote for her photos in SmugMug contests.<br />
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All I'm asking of you, faithful readers, is to click these links, click the "Like" button, and maybe add a comment should you feel inclined. Then pass it along to a friend you think would like it (see what I did there?).<br />
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<a href="http://perfectpairsphotocontest.smugmug.com/Competitions/Perfect-Pairs/18457550_nJKbLV#1478272187_JNdT2zH-A-LB">Converse in Love</a><br />
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<a href="http://perfectpairsphotocontest.smugmug.com/Competitions/Perfect-Pairs/18457550_nJKbLV#1469767510_k6KC83V-A-LB">Toryn Green: A Voice & The Instrument That Carries It</a><br />
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<a href="http://perfectpairsphotocontest.smugmug.com/Competitions/Perfect-Pairs/18457550_nJKbLV#1468504975_vkvLLVW-A-LB">Kick Off Your Shoes</a><br />
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<a href="http://perfectpairsphotocontest.smugmug.com/Competitions/Perfect-Pairs/18457550_nJKbLV#1478272317_ZTCCbK8-A-LB">Converse Play Time</a><br />
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<a href="http://perfectpairsphotocontest.smugmug.com/Competitions/Perfect-Pairs/18457550_nJKbLV#1468958100_GT2TfT2-A-LB">Partnership of B&W and Color / Water and Sky</a><br />
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<a href="http://perfectpairsphotocontest.smugmug.com/Competitions/Perfect-Pairs/18457550_nJKbLV#1478272240_vH6hFJH-A-LB">Helping Hands & Feet</a><br />
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And as a thanks for doing this for her (and me), here's a few of the topic of the upcoming Random Thoughts:<br />
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—Freedom and liberty as the propagandist tools they've become.<br />
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—George Lucas, a bigger tool than propaganda.<br />
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—The little I can legally say about my time working on <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i>.<br />
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—My new obsession with building PCs.<br />
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—Plenty more, too. Probably no football though (sorry Beth). Maybe a dash of politics.Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-11561900213292067382011-08-17T15:56:00.000-04:002011-08-17T15:56:39.547-04:00Remember All That Teasing?Many weeks ago on that facebook site, I teased that I'd be revealing a sort of life thing in my soon-to-be-released blog. I released said <a href="http://madchops.blogspot.com/2011/07/random-reviews-movies-teasers-trailers.html">blog</a>, but it was sans reveal! Instead, it was just another <a href="http://i.imgur.com/QuHJw.jpg">tease</a>. No one's been chomping at the bit to find out, because frankly, I'm terrible at keeping life-secrets secret. I've been leaking like a 10-day old balloon. So enough with all of this pretense:<br />
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Readers, adoring fans, friends, I'm working on the final leg of the Pittsburgh shoot of Christopher Nolan's <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i>.<br />
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I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I'm doing anything essential; I'm not. I wasn't picked out of a large group of talented people with incredible résumés. It was that old adage: not what you know, but who you know. Because of my friend Greig (who's coming up to work the weekend, too), I'm going to be one of the many, many, many Additional Production Assistants. What that will equal out to is getting coffee for the coffee-getters. But I'll be doing it for the god-damn Batman! Here's a character that has genuinely been part of my life since...forever? Yeah, forever. My earliest memories are of watching Adam West's <i>Batman</i> with my dad and older sister. Batman's my first TV memory and the first superhero I ever knew. So to say, some 20+ years later, that I got to help out on the best Batman stories to be put to celluloid (and make no bones about it, Nolan's Batman films will go down as such)...words are hard to find. Here's the crossroads of two of my biggest loves: movies and comics. And I'm getting to actively participate. I'm thrilled. I'm stoked. I'm chomping at the bit.<br />
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Expect this blog to disappear for a bit (as if it hasn't for all of this month already). I left for a week-long trip to Portland, OR right at the beginning of August that I intend to write about. Now, it's to the set of <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i>. And once I'm done with that, I'm heading down to Raleigh, NC for a week. I promise to share tales of the Dark Knight once I can, even if it's nothing more than, "Yeah, I got to stand in the far-back corner, keeping people from running on set. But I kept them from the god-damn Batman's set."<br />
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And so ladyfolk and manfolk, amigos and readers, I'll catch you on the flipside. <br />
Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-76663172723017951972011-07-23T15:39:00.002-04:002011-07-23T15:46:47.148-04:00Random Reviews: Movies, Teasers, Trailers, MusicsWhat up, readers? I got to thinking that I could make it look like I'm writing more if I separate any reviews (TV shows, movies, songs, teasers, trailers, albums, etc., etc.) from my Random Thoughts blogs into their own "column." So here we are, trying this out. I'll give you a warning now, before we jump into Random Reviews: I like pop-punk music. I like superhero, fantasy, sci-fi movies. Those things make me excited. Those are the things I'm going to write about. You won't see many reviews of Oscar-bait. If you don't like my taste in music or movies, recommend me something. Because I don't want to hear you bitch about how blink-182 isn't anything to write about (yes, yes it is—just look below), because then everyone has to hear ME bitch about you bitching about it. See where this is going? I'm always down to watch a new/old/classic movie or listen to a band I've never heard of. I may wind up <a href="http://madchops.blogspot.com/2010/07/ok-music-that-joey-finds-more-than-ok.html">falling in love</a>.<br />
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And a brief warning before we dive into it, I will be discussing <i>Captain America: The First Avenger</i>, which means minor spoilers and major spoilers when it comes to the after credits scene. I'll warn you again when I get to it.<br />
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—After close to a decade, and two years since announcing they were back together, blink-182 released a single, <i>Up All Night</i>. For those who haven't read about my love affair with Mark, Tom, and Travis, let me redirect you <a href="http://madchops.blogspot.com/2010/07/sorry-i-got-distracted-and-wrote-bad.html">here</a> for a sec. For better or worse (probably worse), these three guys impacted the way I've understood music more than any other group. I've been elated since they got back together, and dying for any information about their new album (it's called <i>Neighborhoods</i> and should be out mid- to late-September), let alone new songs. So I was all over KROQ's website, waiting for them to play <i>Up All Night</i>. And here it is for you:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="337" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JkoCkva-rBc?hd=1" width="540"></iframe><br />
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I've been listening to it a lot since it came out on Thursday, July 14. My first reaction was a simple, quiet, "Oh." It's definitely blink, but with a lot of Boxcar Racer (Tom and Travis's single-album side project) in the verse and a bit of Angels and Airwaves (Tom's band) in the chorus. I listened and listened and listened. The intro and main riff just didn't click with me. The intro still doesn't. Either does the ending. At all. The riff has slowly started growing on me, but we're still a ways away from saying I dig it. I accept it. It just seems so far removed from the rest of the song. Like the verse/pre-chorus/chorus are for one song, and they pulled in this guitar to fill some space. Because I like the pre-chorus and chorus. It has the energy of blink-182. Especially the pre-choruses where we hear Mark and Tom singing together. That, more than anything, got me excited about the song. It's just nice to hear them singing together. The lyrics aren't anything to be blown away by, but they never really were known for their lyrical prowess (or musical prowess. Whatever, I love them). It's taken the song a while to grow on me. I say that as a fan of their 2003 self-titled album, which was a huge departure from 2001's <i>Take Off Your Pants and Jacket</i>. It's a different blink, which makes sense: People change, writing styles change, tastes change, etc. It's not a great song, or a great blink-182 song, but it IS a good blink song, and I'm more than happy to take it.<br />
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—The trailer (teaser? It's 2 and a half minutes!) for <i>The Amazing Spider-Man</i> was leaked and has now premiered online and with <i>Captain America</i>. Watch it right this instant so we can have a conversation!<br />
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I've been excited about this particular reboot for a while now. I trust the people involved. Every time a new casting choice was made, it was a great get. And really, I was sold once they announced Marc Webb as the director. Now, you can definitely argue the merits of rebooting a series that is barely ten years old. I'm not interested in that conversation just yet, although I am getting tired of origin stories, but I'd argue it makes sense in this movie since they're sticking with the timeframe immediately after the bite, as opposed to jumping ahead months or years. ANYWAYS...I like what we see. I definitely appreciate that we're seeing Peter Parker's parents. That's something barely touched upon in the comics and has never graced the silver screen.<br />
<br />
That last sequence, from Spidey's POV? Pretty rad. I don't care about the comparisons to the video game <i>Mirror's Edge</i>. I care about the fact that I'm seeing through Spider-Man's eyes. At the very least, if we don't see much action like that in the film (I don't expect us to, given all the talk about practical web-swinging by the stunt crew and Marc Webb), the video game developers now know which way to go with the game. Give me that POV and the wide-open playground that was <i>Spider-Man 2: The Video Game</i> and I'll buy it. <br />
<br />
I'm also a fan of Marc Webb's approach to Peter being an outcast in high school: In <a href="http://www.slashfilm.com/marc-webb-finally-opens-amazing-spiderman/">this</a> interview, Webb rightly mentions that being a "nerd" is no longer such a vehemently looked down upon thing. Knowing things about computers isn't nerdy so much as useful. And that's what Peter Parker was when Spider-Man was first created; that's what set him apart as a nerd and outcast. Marc Webb never outright mentions what they've done to maintain that, but I like the little hints we get throughout the trailer: People staring as he passes through the hallway, head down, hood up, scribbling in the classroom. It's easy to be an outcast in high school, but as I've been out for six years, I'd love to see how they're approaching it.<br />
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—At last! I tried to get the bootleg up here last week but failed (and failed, and failed one more time, just to really drive it home), so believe me when I say I've been antsy about diving into this teaser since then. And now I get to treat all of you to a very dorky, in depth analysis of the teaser. Lucky you!<br />
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The first thing that stands out to me is the voice-over: We have Liam Neeson's Ra's al Ghul, (presumed) dead leader of the League of Shadows, who trained Bruce/Batman in <i>Batman Begins</i>. It's important, both its context and the simple fact that it's being used. Will we see the League of Shadows go after Gotham (third time's the charm!) now that Harvey Dent is dead and the Batman is hunted? I think it's certainly possible, especially if Marion Cotillard is playing Talia al Ghul, as originally rumored. Currently, she's billed as Miranda Tate, a Wayne Enterprises board member. Liam Neeson was also billed merely as Henri Ducard, so this wouldn't surprise me at all.<br />
<br />
The bulk of the teaser takes place in a hospital room, with none other than Commissioner Gordon. He's not in good shape. This, I did not expect. And who's he talking to? Assuming the response audio isn't being cut from another scene, he's talking to Bruce. Not Batman. On top of that, it's Bruce's voice that we hear, not the ridiculous Batman-voice. But they're talking about bringing Batman back—it's like Gordon knows Bruce is Batman. Listen to the dialogue: "<b>We</b> were in this together. Then <b>you</b> were gone." (The bold is my emphasis.) Gordon is talking to Bruce about their crusade against evil in Gotham. I want you to let that sink in. There have been moments in the comics where Bats has toyed with the idea that Gordon knows who he is under the mask, but here, it sounds like Chris Nolan is going all the way.<br />
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And what about Bane? We get some creepy close-ups of him while Gordon talks to Bruce. The real take-away, besides Gordon being in baaaaaaad shape, is that final shot, which lasts all of 1.5 seconds, of Bats, soaking wet, breathing hard, backing away, and this hulking mass coming into frame. That's Bane and that makes me excited. One need only look at the body language of the two to see that Batman is getting his ass kicked, handily, too, I'd imagine.<br />
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And now, folks, be warned. Minor and major spoilers abound below! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeSgXmDZgKk035U8fhePN415JRZv7G1H31UzRYT6yv-rraBBh_wUeDnsJEYVhckInCVgJs8DJkPu5x2TT7pu1m7jATZqyMvl-1HV99YU8JpVAW3oeBDklObz-Lmc9_z_mviCB1nn17ePWG/s1600/CapPoster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeSgXmDZgKk035U8fhePN415JRZv7G1H31UzRYT6yv-rraBBh_wUeDnsJEYVhckInCVgJs8DJkPu5x2TT7pu1m7jATZqyMvl-1HV99YU8JpVAW3oeBDklObz-Lmc9_z_mviCB1nn17ePWG/s640/CapPoster.jpg" width="410" /></a></div><br />
—I got back into my old ways Thursday night, going to a midnight show of a superhero flick (in case you couldn't tell, it was <i>Captain America: The First Avenger</i>). To be blunt, I had a lot of fun watching Cap on the big screen. I've always had a bit of an aversion to the really GOOD superheroes: Superman, Cyclops, Captain America. Maybe I wish I was more of the dark and brooding type, like Batman or Wolverine, because them I love. But the true and blue good guys? Never had much of an appeal. But while the credits were rolling, I genuinely wanted to be a better person after watching the erstwhile Steve Rogers. What cemented him, really, was the time we spent with him pre-super soldier serum. In case you haven't seen the movie, or don't know about Cap, here's the skinny (get it?!): Steve Rogers was a weakling that wanted to join the war effort to help fight the Nazis, but was rejected left and right because he was too small. He gets selected for a special program and BOOM! Captain America!<br />
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But what makes Cap great in this movie is how well Chris Evans plays Steve Rogers throughout. You can tell, up and down, that the man throwing the vibranium shield is the same guy that volunteered time and again at the beginning of the movie. There's a consistency of character, moral character, that's honorable and downright inspiring. As such, there isn't much growth for Cap. Take Thor, for example, from earlier this summer. At the start of that movie, he's an arrogant d-bag. By the end, a humbled hero. Here, Steve Rogers is the exact same, albeit taller, stronger, and more muscular. I'm still not sure how good or bad that is. We don't see him struggle with his new-found size and power. We do see him struggle, briefly, with how he's used by the USA, but even that's resolved quickly.<br />
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But again, this movie was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the pseudo-campiness, how they managed to leave certain things open (did the Red Skull get taken to Asgard?), and the subtle inter-connectivity to other Marvel movies, namely <i>Thor</i>. I've been worried about Joe Johnston's directorial abilities since the unmentionable (but watch me mention it) <i>Jurassic Park 3</i>, but this harkens back to his work on <i>The Rocketeer</i>. <br />
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Now here are some real spoilery bits about the post-credits scene: It was much less a scene and much more a teaser trailer for 2012's <i>The Avengers</i>. In one word? Totalnerdboner. Seriously. Thor in in his Ultimate-universe costume, talking to Tony Stark, a quick shot of Cap's new costume, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Loki...Everyone's there, except the Hulk. Bruce Banner doesn't even make an appearance. My guess? Based on the post-credits scenes from <i>The Incredible Hulk</i> and <i>Thor</i>, Loki pulls the same shenanigans he did in The Avengers #1 and makes Hulk out to be the bad guy. <br />
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Wow, that was longer than expected (that's what she said). I'll save a few other reviews for next time, like Beautiful Small Machines <i>Robots in Love EP</i> and whatever movie I may have seen recently.<br />
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But wait—what about that tease from facebook, to the tune of a cool life update? Well, I haven't been updated about it yet, so it'll have to wait. I will tell you it has something to do with an item I've blogged about several times in the very recent past, and that it's something that means an enormous amount to me. I'll leave you with yet another hint, and then I'll be off: <a href="http://i.imgur.com/QuHJw.jpg">If you make yourself more than just a man...</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-85786212947247772692011-07-13T11:46:00.004-04:002011-07-13T11:57:55.387-04:00The Long-Awaited Return of Random Thoughts!Ahoy, howdy, aloha, blog-reading-pals! I've clearly been out of it for some time. Sorry about that: I have no real idea how to properly managed my time with what amounts to an evening/night-job. Or amounted to. I'm officially on summer vacation—sorry, furlough. The good ole IRS let me and mine go at 11:31 p.m. Friday, July 1st. I spent my first week off as any 24-year-old should: playing video games needlessly. Now that I've gotten that mostly out of my system (that's a pun, I do hope you caught it), it's back to blogging! So enough with the delay, let's splash into it:<br />
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—I went ahead and got myself an Xbox 360. Most of that is thanks to my pal, Matt, who got those of us in his wedding party t-shirts with our Halo emblems. Pretty sweet gift, and I had no choice at that point but to return to my gaming ways. MischiefManaged is back.<br />
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—Speaking of mischief being managed, the final Harry Potter movie comes out on Thursday. I guess technically it's Friday, but whatevs. Here's the rather gnarly final trailer. I fully expect to weep and weep and weep (for a brief history of me and HP, read <a href="http://madchops.blogspot.com/2010/06/joey-bear-and-pretty-awesome-trailer.html">this</a>!). Anyone who wants to witness such a thing, let me know. Because everyone I know up here is a gorram Muggle!<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="329" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5NYt1qirBWg?hd=1" width="540"></iframe> <br />
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—Speaking of gorram (I promise, this will be the last "speaking of..."), I'm rewatching the totally badass space-western, <i>Firefly</i>, with my girlfriend. This show is always good. No matter how many times I've watched it, it doesn't fail to entertain. It's like a better Star Wars universe. And I don't say that to put down Star Wars; I say that because what Joss Whedon created in 14 episodes and a movie genuinely compares to a mythology that's existed for over 30 years. So expect to hear "shiny" and "gorram" out of me a lot. And other made-up space lingo.<br />
<br />
—Speaking of made-up space lingo (yeah, I'm a dirty liar. Deal), I'm three episodes into frakkin' <i>Battlestar Galactica</i>. This last episode was absurdly tense. I started off with it as a step-up from background noise, and within 10 minutes, it had all my attention devoted to it. My only problem with it thus far? I'm a sensitive little bitch when it comes to religion (<a href="http://madchops.blogspot.com/2010/07/separation-of-church-and-everything.html">clearly</a>). It's not overwhelming, it isn't preachy, and I'm working on being a less sensitive little bitch.<br />
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—It's that time of year, folks, where I have to figure out what to do for Halloween. After a kick-ass Wolverine costume in 2009, I epically failed in 2010. I apparently looked too much like Judah Friedlander in my everyday life that no one noticed/realized I was going as him. They just thought I was lazy. I refuse to cut my lusciously long locks, so that rules out fellows like Han Solo, Indiana Jones, and so on. But it does leave wide open Nurse Joker, Gideon Gordon Graves...I don't know folks. Halloween is tough.<br />
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—K-Swiss is a lot more awesome than previously thought. Exhibit A:<br />
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—Not only am I working through <i>Firefly</i> with my lady, but we just wrapped up both season 1 and 2 of <i>Community</i>. For months, or at least the months when I actually blogged, I've been mentioning this show as a favorite of mine. I <3 it a ton. That doesn't stop season 2 from being seriously flawed, though. Seriously is a bit harsh. It suffers from a lack of planning, from too much flying by the seat of one's pants. Reading Dan Harmon's interview with <a href="http://www.avclub.com/articles/dan-harmon-walks-us-through-communitys-second-seas,57085/">AV Club</a> (parts <a href="http://www.avclub.com/articles/dan-harmon-walks-us-through-communitys-second-seas,57209/">2</a>, <a href="http://www.avclub.com/articles/dan-harmon-walks-us-through-communitys-second-seas,57252/">3</a>, and <a href="http://www.avclub.com/articles/dan-harmon-walks-us-through-communitys-second-seas,57312/">4</a>), it became clear that was the case: between studio nonsense and running behind schedule, the reason particular stories, namely Pierce's and Chang's, seem short-changed or different each episode, is because they were. There was an overall theme to Pierce throughout the season, but it seems that once the studio nixed an early idea for Chang, he became way too much: Comic relief, resident crazy person...There was no consistency with him and the group. That bugged me more than anything. But on the other hand we had Troy's 21st birthday, or the bottle episode, or Dungeons & Dragons. Those episodes reassure me that <i>Community</i> is, and will continue to be, streets ahead.<br />
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—In case you haven't heard, Netflix is upping their pricing: They're officially splitting Instant Queue and DVDs come September 1. Lots of folks are up in arms, especially since we used to get both products for $9.99, and now they'll be $7.99 each. Much as I'd like to be a rabble-rousing, pitchforking townsperson, I can't. This was inevitable. Netflix got a shit ton of content on the cheap many, many years ago. Those contracts are all ending, and the movie studios realize how profitable all of this actually is. So they're going to charge more for their content. And Netflix will need to make up that cost somewhere. Be pissed, folks and friends, since we'll be the ones shelling out. But keep in mind the good of Netflix. They've given me discounts any time there's been a glitch or problem with my Instant Queue. They offer rad "Welcome Back!" deals if you ever leave. They're a good company providing a good service. Want to bitch? Bitch to the studios that want more money.<br />
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—I regrettably saw <i>Transformers 3</i>. I hate myself for it. Now, the 3D was awesome. The idea that there's a plot, in the sense that most movies have a plot, is nonsense. No, this movie reminded me of the Star Wars prequels: a whole lot of scenes, bad dialogue, and shiny objects. The first one was fun. Scenes were more than 30 seconds a piece. You could follow the action. The second one is a disgrace to turds everywhere. This one, well, it's a turd with a cherry on top. A rotten, decrepit, cherry.<br />
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—If you read my blog way back in January, you probably know that I'm a fan of Batman. Or that I can be depressing and a bit of a downer (that was a weird blog. Sorry). I'm more concerned with the former, as the official poster for <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i> was just released. It's very <i>Inception</i>-esque, much like the original <i>Inception</i> posters were very <i>The Dark Knight</i>-esque:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_tHUwNkZvpGRWrgqQUSAY8EzwFmISPgmYgUqCbyACly2o2Cbpz7Tn0XkSWPgV4CWXMS4qXxwTote8NMyfZ6VFJEwS9aNlGmpxMkOF6FdFX5yRQF6GzQdXMTJ7dUKpT7JlRkLhmsUtNfLf/s1600/tdkrposter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_tHUwNkZvpGRWrgqQUSAY8EzwFmISPgmYgUqCbyACly2o2Cbpz7Tn0XkSWPgV4CWXMS4qXxwTote8NMyfZ6VFJEwS9aNlGmpxMkOF6FdFX5yRQF6GzQdXMTJ7dUKpT7JlRkLhmsUtNfLf/s640/tdkrposter.jpg" width="433" /></a></div>Awesome. I love the implications of the poster: the crumbling buildings, the look up towards the bat-symbol. Chris Nolan has become a master of the tease, which is a lost art in the world of movie advertising.<br />
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—Sticking with Batman, the teaser trailer for <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i> has been confirmed as attached to <i>Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II</i>. Of course, gracious nerds recorded it and put it online, so here's a crappy version of it (once an official version is posted, I'll update with that): <br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/26375165"></a><iframe frameborder="0" height="303.75" src="http://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/xjw984" width="540"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xjw984_the-dark-knight-rises-teaser-bootleg-2011_shortfilms" target="_blank">The Dark Knight Rises - Teaser Bootleg (2011)</a> <i>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/CineHeroes" target="_blank">CineHeroes</a></i><br />
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<span style="color: #1fa6c7;"><b>Editor's Note:</b></span><span style="color: #c71fa6;"> First, I had the youtube video. That was removed. Then, the vimeo. That, too, was removed. And finally, I had this dailymotion video. Seems Warner Brothers doesn't like the leak, because it has now been removed. Sorry, faithful readers!</span><br />
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Yeah, you can bet your ass I'll have a blog dedicated to analyzing that teaser. Until then, friends.Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-18228412999002467192011-02-26T12:33:00.000-05:002011-02-26T12:33:30.943-05:00Random Thoughts: The Internet Video Killed the non-Internet Radio Star EditionWelcome, one and all, to an awe-inspiring, show-and-tell edition of Random Thoughts! Each thought, randomly selected, will include a video presentation to go along with it. So I hope you like Youtube, Vimeo, and links to both, because this post will be saturated in them!<br />
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—If you watch one video from this year's Grammys, make it this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtEasM--AQg">one</a>. The passion and joy these guys showed made me excited about music. They were loving every second. So was I.<br />
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—Honestly, I don't know how I haven't shown this video on here before, but believe me when I tell you it's the best thing you'll watch all day, weekend, week, month, year, decade, quarter-century, half-century, century, millenia, and possibly even your life: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsUOqOtXPuQ&feature=player_embedded">Rock Your Baby!</a><br />
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—So I love <i>Scott Pilgrim vs The World</i>. I've been <a href="http://madchops.blogspot.com/2010/08/scott-pilgrim-vs-world-epic-review-of.html">pretty clear</a> about that. So when I saw Edgar Wright post this on his blog, well, I had to do the same:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="329" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/iPvU8FH6oL4" title="YouTube video player" width="540"></iframe><br />
<br />
</div><div>—If you watch two videos from this year's Grammy's, make the second this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOqBuY2ISBA">one</a>. I couldn't have been happier to see Arcade Fire win this. I wrote about their debut album, <i><a href="http://madchops.blogspot.com/2010/07/ok-music-that-joey-finds-more-than-ok.html">Funeral</a></i>, but haven't shared too many thoughts about <i>The Subarbs</i>. It's killer. They can't make a song that's hard to listen to.<br />
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—Did you watch that <i>Captain America</i> commercial again and again, like I did, but think to yourself, "Gee, this is missing something?" <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZgKEe6wxUc">Problem. Solved.</a></div><div><br />
</div><div>—You remember that video of my friends killing it in Wilmington to George McCrae's <i>Rock Your Baby</i>? Of course you do, there's no way you forget that. Also, you probably just watched it a few minutes ago. ANYWAYS, there's another video. Chase, as it turns out, has a mind for what will be amazing to watch and be a blast to film. I was fortunate enough to help on this next one (by help, I mean stand there, off-camera, while Stephen filmed, Chase directed, and Matt and Ben acted). Trust me when I say this is the second best thing you'll watch all day, weekend, week, month, year, decade, quarter-century, half-century, century, millenia, and possibly even your life: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpwQdGNeiCo&feature=player_embedded">Maneaters from Outer Space!!!</a><br />
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—Between the song, the visuals, and the childhood adoration of the story, watching this trailer for <i>Where the Wild Things Are</i> still gives me goosebumps.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="329" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gFk7kYa_i0s" title="YouTube video player" width="540"></iframe><br />
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—A couple of years ago, I saw this video. It's a stop-motion short, set to Sigur Rós's <i>Hoppípolla</i>, which is an unfairly beautiful song. It tells a sweet little love story, so of course I like it (I'm a sap, through and true).<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/877053" width="533"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/877053">A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/carloslascano">Carlos Lascano</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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—This has nothing to do with videos, but the ladies that work on the other side of my cubicle have given me a nickname based off my phone voice: Mr. Smooth. They're convinced I could work at a sex line if this gig fails to stimulate.<br />
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As always, thanks for reading folks! I guess watching would be more appropriate this time. Tune in next time for what the French call a certain...I don't know what.</div>Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-29912555452634656302011-02-12T11:02:00.003-05:002011-02-12T14:38:43.491-05:00Expanded Thoughts III: The Blog is Back...In TimeI'm starting to think Random Thoughts/Expanded Thoughts might become my norm, with full-length posts being a special treat. My mind is all over the place as it is, and since I'm distracted by anything and everything, this caters directly to that. So take a seat at your desk, relax on your bed, or gather around the PS3 (yes some of this blog's traffic has come from PS3s) for another thrilling edition of Expanded Thoughts with your host, Joey Bear/MadChops/Joe Joe Binks/Jo Bo/Jo Co/Captain Really-Good-Looking of the S.S. Hot Stuff!<br />
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—BIRTHDAYS! Happy birthday Zac (Feb. 8, and congrats on the track coaching job, dude!), Chad & Jessie (Feb. 10), and Richard & Charles Darwin (Feb. 12)! Happy belated birthdays to me & Bobby (Jan. 5), Jake (Jan. 6), Ben (Jan. 8), and Matt (Jan. 15)! Hooray aging!<br />
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<span style="color: #c71fa6;"><b>Author's Note:</b></span><span style="color: #1fa6c7;"> And happy birthday Abe Lincoln! I can't believe I forgot him.</span><br />
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—Egypt is in the midst of a revolution. The people are rising up and fighting against tyranny, hoping to finally have a real democracy. Millions have shown up to protest, and their numbers have consistently been in the thousands. I don't want to acknowledge our government's reactions to this, and especially not the media's, except to say that it is utterly deplorable for a nation that was founded on revolt against tyranny to call foul because the current tyrant is pro-USA. You see, my fellow 'Muricans, democracy is not spread by invading a nation, dismantling said nation, and sitting there expectantly while the people try to figure out what just happened. It starts with the people because it's for the people. While I doubt I have anyone from Egypt reading this, if there are, here's one more fan of true democracy cheering you on. Live long and prosper.<br />
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<span style="color: #c71fa6;"><b>Author's Note:</b></span><span style="color: #1fa6c7;"> Mubarak has officially stepped down. Egyptians, I am humbled by your determination to make this a peaceful, non-violent revolution, and by your resolve. What you've done is incredible. Congrats on getting your country back. </span><br />
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—Could it really be? Has Long Island really gone 2ish weeks without snowfall? It's about damn time, comrades! I thought snow was something to miss, thought it was fun, and pretty, and a tid bit exciting. I was wrong.<br />
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—So the Super Bowl happened. Congrats to the Green Bay Packers on the win. Shame on the Black Eyed Peas for that half-time show. I'm OK with Christina screwing up the national anthem—I feel like it'd be harder to get it right in front of that many people at that sort of setting.<br />
<br />
—The commercials weren't so impressive. What caught my eye was the Captain America trailer. It's about time we got some footage, even if it was just for 30 seconds. The effects team did a great job making the biggest and buffest Chris Evans we've ever seen look like the smallest weakling on the schoolyard. The suit looks good in action, but I still worry about that blatant blue. And what about that little tease of Hugo Weaving's Red Skull? Oh, oh, oh! And we got a frame or two of the Howling Commandos. Can you tell I'm excited for this? Oh yeah, here it is:<br />
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<br />
—Now that I'm getting close to my target weight, I've been looking more at what kind of foods I want to eat again, but shouldn't. Taco Bell naturally found it's way onto that list and I'm genuinely surprised that it's better for me (and you) than McDonald's, Wendy's, or Burger King. Granted, no one ever gets just one burrito or chalupa, so when you combine everything it's almost certainly worse. But item to item, it's not too bad. Looks like there's a Quad Steak Burrito in my future!<br />
<br />
—Despite the fact that the UNC Tar Heels have beaten the Duke Blue Devils more often than not (the record stands at 130-101) and that nearly every single meeting between the two teams is decided in the last 10 minutes of play, when Duke wins, it's because Coach K has the refs in his pocket. Tell you what, Carolina fans (and since this is coming from a Duke fan and NC State alum, I'm sure it'll be taken with a grain of salt), how about the bitching stops? That goes for Duke fans, too. But this time, I'm talking to you, Tar Heelians. The refs didn't blow a 14-point lead, the players did. Did the refs miss calls? Yes. But it happened on both sides, not just one. Duke outplayed Carolina in the last half by an extreme margin, just like Carolina outplayed Duke every moment, every play of the first half (seriously, if they can bring that intensity for another half, they've got another ACC title coming their way). Blaming the refs belittles the actual efforts of human beings who busted their asses for our entertainment and their own passions. Good grief.<br />
<br />
—I will forever be perplexed by pro-life and/or Christians/religious folks who are so adamantly pro-death penalty. Abortion is a topic I won't jump into here (right now, anyways), but the execution of an individual I will discuss. Especially if I get to call out the hypocrisy of an entire group of people! Nothing like feeling superior, eh? Anyways...Yeah, the death penalty is barbaric and if Texas is any indication of the rest of the nation, we've been putting plenty of innocent people to death to satisfy our vengeance/bloodlust. Were it up to me, every death row case would be reopened and looked at with our current investigation techniques. It's not like life-in-prison is some sort of luxury we'd be affording these people, disgusting and wretched creatures though they may be.<br />
<br />
—Going off that, our society's acceptance of violence, but not sex, makes no sense. Sexuality is the most natural of our human tendencies, yet children are bombarded with the evils of premarital sex, masturbation, oral sex, etc., etc. Where's that same condemnation for violent acts? Look no further than the way sex is treated on the big or small screen, compared with violence. You can get away with shooting up a neighborhood, but not teenagers being sexual (they are sexual, and will continue to be). I like to think if we were more open and forth-coming about sexuality, its implications and consequences, people would be smarter about their bodies. Maybe I'm just dreaming.<br />
<br />
—With that venting out of the way, here's more comic book movie news! Fox just released the trailer for <i>X-Men: First Class</i>. Does it look good? Yup. Cool idea, great cast, creative minds behind it? Check. Am I skeptical? Absolutely. As my facebook pals will attest, I don't trust Fox. Not after <i>X-Men: The Last Stand</i> or <i>X-Men Origins: Wolverine</i>. Especially not after <i>Fantastic Four</i>, <i>Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer</i>, <i>Daredevil</i>, or <i>Ghost Rider</i>. My trust, and faith, has to be re-earned at this point. This trailer is definitely steps in the right direction, though:<br />
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—Dear adults/middle-aged-individuals using social networks,<br />
<br />
Hi. It's Joey. You don't need to keep the caps lock button depressed whilst typing. Exclamation points are good for one per paragraph. Ellipses work like this "...", not ".....................................................". And please, please, please stop commenting completely out of context. When someone posts about a puppy, refrain from telling the poster all about your house on the beach and your recent engagement. That's what the wall or private messages are for.<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
<br />
Joey<br />
<br />
—If you live up here on Long Island, or you're ever visiting me because you can't stand to be away from me, you/we need to go see <a href="http://www.terockmusic.com/">Tonight's Entertainment</a>. These guys kill it every single time. Even on an off-night, which is rare, they bring an energy and rock it something fierce. If I lived in Ohio, replace Tonight's Entertainment with the <a href="http://www.chardonpolkaband.com/Home_Page.html">Chardon Polka Band</a>. Another band that's a blast to listen to.<br />
<br />
—<i>Glee</i>, you have been a mountain of disappointment this season. Throughout my years of watching TV and movies, I've learned how to suspend my disbelief. Hell, I used to be a fan of pro wrestling (may still secretly be), and if I can watch that, I can suspend disbelief. But everything about that episode just screamed stupid. The biggest offense, though, was stating that <i>Thriller</i> was the Super Bowl of pop songs, and then mashing it up with another song. Now, I love the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. <i>Heads Will Roll</i> is a killer song. But <i>Thriller</i> doesn't need help, doesn't need back-up. And to make it worse, a character then asked who the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were. I chuckled because that was funny. But it was actually very bad: You were mashing up the Super Bowl of pop songs with a song from a band you're acknowledging not a lot of people know? Tuesday's episode was better, but it feels like characters are acting out-of-character simply so we have storylines. That's a mark of bad writing (yeah, I said it). I'm rooting for you, <i>Glee</i>, really, I am. So please step it up.<br />
<br />
—More superhero movie news! We finally got a look at Andrew Garfield in the <a href="http://uristocrat.com/files/2011/01/Andrew-Garfield-Spider-Man-costume-745x1024.jpg">Spider-Man costume</a>. I'm on the fence. It makes sense to want to differentiate the look from the recent Tobey Maguire/Sam Raimi costume. But their costume so closely matched the comic book counterpart. This one, less so, and there's been a lot of resistance to it. Nerds (and I include myself when I say that) are very protective of their/our superheroes. The only alternative Spidey costume that was ever totally embraced was the <a href="http://www.comicbookmovie.com/images/users/uploads/19735/Symbiote%20Spidey.jpg">symbiote</a> (include the <a href="http://www.samruby.com/Heroes/ScarletSpider/Scarlet01.gif">Scarlet Spider</a> costume for me, too (although that wasn't really Peter Parker...it's complicated)), all the rest were trashed after less than a year (<a href="http://media.photobucket.com/image/iron%20spidey/alds47/IronSpidey003.jpg">Iron-Spidey</a>, anyone?). Spidey's looked a <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJRxhbgZmWZ_BIxJbyZdzDgbgGeGb03M0gbCK5JVsptFfIg2ligGwUAEd8Htqd5VLOLj578ZW0ZAPn6LFzdC6CT3-G2y8bfz04aSE6VBnP3pwhGR9wXyQTC1kF5OHlridbzgUcE0CFOc/s400/ultimate+spiderman.jpg">certain way</a> in the comics for decades. Suddenly a movie comes around and starts tweaking that? But it could be a lot worse, Spidey-fans! It's not a bad costume, just different. It's not like they're <a href="http://www.comicsalliance.com/2010/11/01/costume-tim-burton-superman-lives/">totally redesigning one of the most iconic hero costumes ever</a>.<br />
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—If I have to choose, George Harrison is my favorite Beatle.Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-90151671955730491852011-01-27T12:03:00.003-05:002011-01-27T12:09:07.834-05:002011: A Random (Thoughts) OdysseyYou might've noticed I didn't blog for over two months. There was no real reason. Well, nothing concrete, anyways. I just didn't have anything to say and would've felt like an egomaniac blogging for the sake of blogging. Granted, you've got to have a bit of egomania in you to blog in the first place, but I'm talking about Lex Luthor-type egomania. Anyways, here's what's on my mind:<br />
<br />
—As of this morning (1/26), I'm three months and a day into my diet/health kick. I'm down to 181 lbs., for a total of 35.5 lbs. lost. The last time I weighed 181 lbs.? Sometime in 2004 or 2005. That was my senior year of high school. I'm in better shape now and healthier, too—45 minutes of cardio a day and eating with my head instead of my stomach. I feel good and I plan to drop an additional 11 lbs., if only to see 170 again. Those V-lines (or hump-lines or sex-lines or whatever you kids call them), too.<br />
<br />
—The 83rd Academy Awards nominations were just announced. At this point, I don't care. I'll watch them, sure. But do I have a vested interest? Nah. They gave <i>Alice in Wonderland</i> a visual effects nomination, a movie with atrocious effects, but couldn't find room to nominate <i>Scott Pilgrim VS the World</i> for visual, sound, or editing. Shenanigans!<br />
<br />
—Speaking of movies, lists, awards, etc., some friends and I have spent the last monthish talking about the best movies of the year. Here's my revised list, with brief snippets of reason:<br />
<br />
1) <i>The Social Network</i>: Could it be anything else? Aaron Sorkin's writing is bloody captivating and makes me greener than the Hulk. I never thought watching someone type away on a computer would be fascinating, but I was proven wrong. Jesse Eisenberg was amazing, with more than just his delivery. His body language was phenomenal and by Zeus, did you see his eyes? They could've murdered the sun. Andrew Garfield made the movie though, by being the one completely likable fellow. He was the beating heart. David Fincher made it work, and Trent Reznor's score was great in its subtlety.<br />
<br />
2) <i>Scott Pilgrim VS the World</i>: Easily my favorite movie of the year. I prefer this version of Scott Pilgrim's tale to Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novels, which is usually blasphemy in the nerd world. I know the movie has some issues (just read my <a href="http://madchops.blogspot.com/2010/08/scott-pilgrim-vs-world-epic-review-of.html">review</a>!), but it did so much so well. The editing was, as my pal Chase said, revolutionary. Edgar Wright assembled a stunning ensemble that worked together like old friends. The visuals, the sounds, it all clicks. And the bonuses make me wish I had been a part of the production.<br />
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3) <i>Toy Story 3</i>: If you've seen this movie, you cried. At least twice. I think I did three times. Looking back, I don't believe I was manipulated through the score, or by blatant attempts at sentimentalism. The trash disposal scene rests soundly as one of my favorite movie moments ever. We witnessed characters facing the worst possible situation, and instead of wasting that moment with panic or desperation, they reached out to one another. It was tragically heroic and I applaud Pixar for giving us something as real as that scene.<br />
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4) <i>The Town</i>: Ben Affleck, though the (former) butt of a lot of jokes, has a serious future in directing. He can handle action, knows how to build tension, and can get the best out of his actors (as evident by Jeremy Renner's Oscar nod). The crime movie has been done to death, but this felt fresh and invigorated. I appreciated the homages to <i>Heat</i>, too. At this point, it's hard not to take cues from Michael Mann's opus; even <i>The Dark Knight</i>'s prologue was a love letter of sorts to <i>Heat</i>. I'd say Affleck and co. did a hell of a job keeping the standard high.<br />
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5) <i>Black Swan</i>: This spot was a tough race with <i>True Grit</i> and <i>Inception</i> right there. In fact, for a while <i>Inception</i> was in, but after a second viewing of <i>Black Swan</i> it won out. Haunted and disturbing, this movie stays right in your face and really doesn't let go. I love following an unreliable narrator around, especially when it's Natalie Portman at her best. She played this part so well, which is thanks to her skill and director Darren Aronofsky. The man cannot make a bad movie and each one will stick with you long after you've watched. Nina's trip throughout the film is horrifying and we feel as frightened as she does.<br />
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—I'd like to thank FOX broadcasting for canceling the excellent <i>Firefly</i> after all of 14 episodes. Now what the hell am I supposed to elliptical to? <i>Arrested Development</i>? Oh. Right.<br />
<br />
—Just in case you haven't been visited by the Obvious Fairy, fallen out of the Obvious Tree and hit every branch on the way down, or been beaten with the Obvious Stick, read <a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/201101260032">this</a>.<br />
<br />
—Before training ended at my job, we were told that in the last seven or so years, we'd only ever closed for snow three or four times. So far this year? Twice. We've gotten out early twice, too. Best part? I don't have to make it up during spring break or summer vacation. Of course, I don't have a spring break or summer vacation, but that's the price of adult(ish)hood.<br />
<br />
—Over the summer, during the height of the Park 51 Muslim Community Center mania, no one seemed to notice that Republicans shot down a health care bill for 9/11 first responders. It came to a vote again in December, and the Republicans voted against genuine heroes one more time. But this time, a few people had enough. Shepherd Smith, over on FOX News, went off on a rant about it. Jon Stewart and all of <i>The Daily Show</i> took it up as a personal cause. They dedicated an entire show to it and invited a panel of 9/11 first responders onto the show to tell the truth about their situations. It was heartbreaking and disgusting how these men were treated. After that episode, the corporate media finally picked it up. Then the bill went to vote again and passed. So when people say that Jon Stewart isn't in the news business, you can agree. He's in the getting-shit-done business.<br />
<br />
—The Superbowl is set! The Pittsburgh Steelers vs the Green Bay Packers. I'm rooting for Steelers even though they beat my (newly) beloved Jets. You can't argue against their defense and even if Big Ben is a sketchy/creepy/downright horrible person off the field, on it, he gets work done. But really, I love Troy Polamalu. It's hard not to. Even if he's not integral to the stop, he's there at the end of every play. There's that <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/early-lead/troyhair.jpg">hair</a>, too.<br />
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—Far too often, hosts at awards shows take the event deadly serious. Not Ricky Gervais. He recognizes the absurdity of a bunch of overpaid entertainers patting themselves on the back. I loved every joke, every line, every awkward moment. Everyone ever should take a cue from Gervais and not take themselves too seriously.<br />
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—<i>Losing My Religion</i> will be 20 years old on February 19. This song cannot get old. It's as powerful a listening experience now as it was when it was first released. I got to see Peter Buck (R.E.M.'s guitarist and writer of the classic riff) play the song live with Hootie and the Blowfish in 2006. Pretty awesome moment.<br />
<br />
—I got my first gray hair. Two days after my 24th birthday, one of my fellow trainees, Maureen, looked over in my direction and gave me the wonderful news. Two others confirmed it. I'll take gray over bald any day. Gray has a certain prestige to it.<br />
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That's it for now, amigos! I'm (still) working on a blog about the greatest comedy currently on TV, <i>Community</i>, so that may or may not be next. So until next time, remember that only <b>you</b> can prevent forest fires.Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-69769210665428078062011-01-22T15:46:00.001-05:002011-01-22T15:50:54.643-05:00It Happened On a Dark Knight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVZvE04qLPKB0OVmNxGCcrGGjeWKfqiLc9Pdp0_PHeYY1YtnI6hqRJMBLSwEEa_SfjbhB-bROsiRlWYDVMmf19DsxiH8Xb5uORy_angh6QqLhE7qeCn6wcV0v1L5uGExwLS7lILcBrn9j/s1600/darkknight-jokercards-poster.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVZvE04qLPKB0OVmNxGCcrGGjeWKfqiLc9Pdp0_PHeYY1YtnI6hqRJMBLSwEEa_SfjbhB-bROsiRlWYDVMmf19DsxiH8Xb5uORy_angh6QqLhE7qeCn6wcV0v1L5uGExwLS7lILcBrn9j/s400/darkknight-jokercards-poster.jpeg" width="283" /></a></div><br />
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For those unaware, Batman was my first superhero. My dad, older sister, Cindy, and I used to watch the old Adam West re-runs in the den when I was little. How could I not be captivated? I fondly remember my Batmobile toy from Burton's 1989 movie, and the Batman action figure with the belt that acted like a grappling hook. I've been sporting Batman t-shirts for nearly two decades. I'm proud to say I've never seen all of <i>Batman and Robin</i>. I saw <i>Batman Begins</i> after graduating high school and loved it. The Caped Crusader is in my blood. I'm actually writing this blog draped in my Batman blanket. So, by January 2008, I had binders and notebooks covered in Joker smiley faces, Bat-Symbols, and "Why So Serious?". I think I might've even been working on a Joker voice because yes, I am that kind of person. Once we started seeing footage from the movie, I was nerding out hardcore. The entire summer before the release, all we talked about at work was <i>The Dark Knight</i>. I saw it at midnight in Joker facepaint and green hair because, once again, yes, I am that kind of person. What Heath Ledger did with the role blew me away. I immediately planned a trip to Raleigh for an IMAX screening. I saw it again when I went to Greensboro to visit friends. I may or may not have acquired it to watch while waiting for the DVD/Blu-Ray release. And you bet your ass I was there the day of the release to get the Blu-Ray. I love it and count it among my favorite films.<br />
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Yes, it has problems. Chris Nolan has trouble figuring out how to film Batman's fighting style. In <i>Batman Begins</i> it was fast and blurred and tight. We were supposed to feel like one of the guys getting pummeled. A lot of folks complained about that style, claiming the action was hard to follow. I agree and disagree with that; it was hard to follow every single hit, but I don't think Batman's fights are about individual moves. What they did in <i>The Dark Knight</i>, though, was a bad call. They pulled the camera back and didn't have much in the way of quick cuts. Sounds good in principle, but the choreography for the fights made Batman look slow. Really slow. It didn't feel right. That Batman-voice was bad news, too. Yeesh. Harvey Dent's arc was rushed, no two ways about it. Whether or not Nolan had any plans to do a third movie, killing off Dent after a rushed descent into madness and climax was not the right call. That's one of those threads you could leave open-ended and still have it feel satisfying. In that same vein, Nolan seems to struggle with the third acts in his Batman films. The first saw a main villain tased and a fight on a train. The second was drawn out. The idea was good, but the execution just felt off. And that shot of Batman running from the cops looked silly, like a kid in a Halloween costume. There's slight series inconsistencies, too. Wayne Enterprises is in a different building and the old one is completely ignored, despite the truck flip occurring right in front of it. There's not a single mention of the Narrows, or its current condition. And what about the train? We see it in one, maybe two shots. These latter two things were such huge, huge parts of the first film that it was odd to just completely move on from them. But I let myself look past all of that. Here's why:<br />
<br />
—The story continues in a logical way. As <i>Batman Begins</i> ends, Gordon talks to Bats about escalation. We have Batman copycats, trying to fight crime with guns and hockey pads. The mob's getting desperate and dangerous. And of course, there's the Joker. He pushes Gotham to the brink, to what he sees as the next step. One of the few times he speaks honestly is in the interrogation room with Batman. There's no normal anymore in Gotham. Only freaks.<br />
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—The camera work and cinematography. Holy crap did this movie look amazing. Wally Pfister deserved an Oscar for his work, especially with the use of IMAX. Honestly, I have no idea why Hollywood hasn't jumped on that bandwagon. Yes, the cameras are heavier, harder to work with. Bigger, too. And louder. But if James Cameron can develop new technology to film 3D, why not IMAX, too? Why spend tons of cash to convert movies to crappy 3D in post when that money could go towards improving IMAX cameras?<br />
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—Harvey Dent. While Two-Face gets the shaft, Aaron Eckhart does a great job as Gotham's White Knight. He balanced the good, lawful man on a mission with a violence and anger just under the skin. Watching him fall was a pleasure, as bad as that sounds.<br />
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—The subtlety. In the opening heist, Joker gets himself a sawed-off shotgun. He also leaves in a school bus. He uses that shotgun at the fundraiser and again in the tractor-trailer. He leaves the hospital aboard a school bus, which is probably how he got there in the first place. There's also Scarecrow showing up again. Even if Nolan relegated him to a drug dealer (stupidstupidstupid), it's nice to see that these characters are still in Gotham, and not disappearing after the credits roll.<br />
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—Heath Ledger's Joker. Plenty has been said about this performance. Heath ate up scenery like it was edible underwear. If he was on the screen, he's all you watched. The Oscar was more than earned. Heath transformed himself into this character. He's completely unrecognizable, and it's not just the voice and make-up. Even when we see him sans facepaint, that's not Heath Ledger. It's the Joker, through and through.<br />
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Comic aficionados have also said plenty about this interpretation of the character. No, this it's not the playful but morbid Joker from <i>Batman: The Animated Series</i>. It's also not the insane Clown Prince of Crime from the comics. It's not Nichelson's Joker, or any other Joker. As it turns out, there is no THE Joker, no definitive take on the character. Alan Moore has a version. So do Grant Morrison, Tim Burton, Jeph Loeb, Chris Nolan, and so on for seventy-one years. He changes based on the medium and the writer. He changes based on the context of the story. Maybe Heath's Joker wasn't so playful. He didn't laugh as much as some might've wanted. He used facepaint instead of being scarred. But so what? This Joker was as charismatic and engaging and thoughtful and destructive as any we've seen. He was Batman's foil. And those, I think, are keys to the character.<br />
<br />
Central to this version was manipulation and planning. This plays out beautifully in a bedside chat in a hospital, between Dent and the Joker. Every sentence is there to serve a purpose, to take Dent on a very specific journey down, down, down into madness. He masterfully shifts the blame of Rachel's death from his own shoulders to Gordon's and the mob's. Joker claims he's not a schemer, when in truth, no one schemes more, or better, than him. From the top of the movie, the bank heist was thoroughly planned. His meeting his the mobsters? Watch how he carries himself. He's reciting a practiced speech. When Gambol interrupts and calls him a freak, we see Joker go off-the-cuff. He planned out killing Gambol. He planned out the murders of two public officials, attempted the assassination of two, and one of those was in plain sight. And of course, there's the tractor-trailer/SWAT chase. Now, I read a lot of people complaining about this. How could Joker have planned all of that to work out that way? Well, readers, he didn't. Unless he had a crystal ball, there's no way he could've predicted the Batmobile's destruction or Gordon being alive and well. No, I think he just planned for lots of scenarios. There's also the meeting with the Russian mobster. Again, a rehearsed speech and act. He even had a cue for his goons to come in and douse the money in gas. I love it. I love that he lied to everyone except Batman.<br />
<br />
I've waited to post about <i>The Dark Knight</i> for a while now. I meant to over the summer, but there's a ton of things I meant to do over the summer I never got around to. When January rolled around and I realized I still hadn't blogged about anything in over a month (now over two months), I got to work. And I waited to post this today. Three years ago today, Heath Ledger died. I remember coming home from my screenwriting class, heading into my room, and getting a call from my friend, Chad. He told me Heath Ledger was just pronounced dead. I called bullshit. It just seemed so far-fetched. The timing felt wrong. If you remember, the first teaser for <i>The Dark Knight</i> had just been released ahead of <i>I Am Legend</i> in early December 2007. It was a true teaser, too: no images from the film, just dialogue and a chilling laugh. The seven minute bank heist had also been attached to the IMAX screenings of <i>I Am Legend</i>, and the viral marketing, which had started in May 2007 (revealing the first image of the Joker), was in fifth gear. Word was starting to spread about his performance, even before we got to see a trailer. And then his death. Selfishly, the first thing I wondered was whether Chris Nolan and co. had everything they needed, or if reshoots were necessary. I was worried about whether or not <i>The Dark Knight</i> would be finished and released. Later that day, I read about Heath's little girl, Matilda, his relationship with her, and some anecdotes from their Brooklyn neighbors. Then it became about a person, a father, not a character or a movie. Here was a kid who would never get to know her dad but from the movies he made and the stories she's told. And the thing is, this happens all the time. Children lose parents every day. This isn't uncommon, but we're all taken by surprise when it happens to a celebrity. We hold them to some odd, immortal-esque standard, when really, they're just as fucked up as you and me.<br />
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<span style="color: #c71fa6;"><b>Author's Note:</b></span><span style="color: #1fa6c7;"> Why so serious, Joey? That ending's a bit morbid. I should lighten up. Next blog will end on a happier note. Funnier too, maybe. I promise.</span>Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-165826389033720322010-11-19T18:22:00.002-05:002011-09-16T10:13:41.209-04:00Expanded Thoughts or: How I Learned To Stop Procrastinating And Love The BlogI'm working on a couple of ideas for full-length posts, but until I stop and write them, you'll just have to deal with another stupendous edition of Expanded Thoughts, with MadChops! Shall we? (We shall.)<br />
<br />
—This diet is doing good things. I'm eating healthier and smarter, I'm losing weight, and I'm feeling good. Wednesday marked 10 lbs. loss since my official start date (13.5-15.5 lbs. since the unofficial). Thanksgiving scares me though. So does the pizza party that's just been planned for the Friday after. This is where I up the exercise and control how much I eat.<br />
<br />
—The <span style="color: #01df01;"><i>Green Lantern</i></span> trailer leaked. I'll link to it/embed it once there's a high quality version available sometime this weekend. I'm glad we're seeing it so early, because if this was closer to release, I'd be worried. CG is a blessing and a curse and you really see that here, particularly at the end. On the other side, Kilowog looked awesome. So did Abin Sur, Sinestro, and Hector Hammond. Still looking forward to this in big ways.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #01df01;">And here it is! I couldn't imbed it, so the link goes to Quicktime's site, which has several HD versions: <a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/greenlantern/">http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/greenlantern/</a></span><br />
<br />
—That wasn't the only trailer to come out this week. We finally got a look at Jon Favreau's secretive <i>Cowboys and Aliens</i>. In case those words don't get you excited, let me introduce a few more: James Bond. Han Solo. Olivia Wilde. Cowboys. Aliens. Favreau does amazing things with genres that could just as easily cheese out. But when you take the story seriously, like with <i>Iron Man</i>, you can get great results. Jon, I've added this to my anticipated movies.<br />
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<br />
—You probably thought that after <i>Cowboys and Aliens</i>, I was done with trailer talk. You were, as it turns out, totally wrong. Because you see, the red band trailer for David Gordon Green's <i>Your Highness</i> came out a day or so ago. In case you have no idea, it's about James Franco and Danny McBride in the middle ages. They may or may not be stoned. Also, supreme-crush Zooey Deschanel as Franco's wife-to-be and Natalie Portman as a badass not afraid to show off her ass. To me, it looks as funny and nonsensical as <i>Pineapple Express</i>, which I loved.<br />
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<br />
—I'm re-reading <i>Jurassic Park</i>. But this time it's with the critical, editorial eye I developed the last few years at UNCW. Don't get me wrong, I adore the book and love the story, but it would take months to cut out all the superfluous words, monologues, and get the dialogue into something that resembles the way people communicate with each other. All the references to dinosaurs as lizards, too, and their flicking tongues (they're a type of reptile, but not the type you're familiar with). It's still a blast to read, flaws and all. If only I could watch <i>Return of the Jedi</i> and <i>The Last Crusade</i> with the same mentality.<br />
<br />
—<i>Glee</i> is at its finest when it is dealing with the students. When they have the A storyline, the show kicks ass. See last week's episode. When the teachers have the A storyline, I get annoyed. See this week's episode. And I sure as hell can't understand why every single song on this episode had a teacher singing with the students. This is not a show about an eclectic group singing a musical. It's about a high school glee club. The adults should rarely, if ever, be singing with the kids in performances. The adult cast is full of great support characters, but their issues should not be the forefront unless it directly affects the glee club. Yeesh.<br />
<br />
—Comic Book Movie News Time! Denis Leary is the latest edition to Marc Webb's Spider-Man movie, in the role of Gwen Stacy's father, Capt. Stacy. Tom Hardy has been cast in Christopher Nolan's <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i>, but we don't have any idea as to who he'll play. Maybe Dr. Hugo Strange, maybe Croc. Maybe neither. There's also two female roles open: one to play a love interest, and the other a villain. Darron Aronofsky's <i>The Wolverine</i> will begin shooting in April of next year. I stand firm that I will not purchase another ticket for a FOX-produced comic book movie.<br />
<br />
—I'm done saying anything after you sneeze. There's plenty of origins for "God bless you" after a sneeze and not a one makes any singular type of sense. Some think it originated during the plague and sneezing was a symptom. Could be people thought your soul was escaping and the devil might've found a way into you. Either way, it's old, archaic, and to me, foolishly outdated as a tradition. Sneezing is something our body does. It's extraordinary in its unextraordinarily commonness. So don't think me rude when I say nothing after you sneeze. Just think me crotchety and grumpy about traditions no one thinks to examine.<br />
<br />
—I have to say it again: <i>Community</i> is one of the best comedies on TV right now. There's no excuse not to watch it. Old Chevy Chase as a racist? Yes please. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zvTRQr7ns8">Donald Glover</a> on a regular basis? Heck yes. Alison Brie in the occasional cleavage revealing sweater? Say no more! It's also uproarious and well-written. But that's minor in comparison to Alison Brie's cleavage.<br />
<br />
—Freddie Mercury was the last great front man. He may very well be the best. Do you think there's one better? Let me know, because I'd love to hear a case for someone else.<br />
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—<i>Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1</i> came out. I didn't see it at midnight. This breaks my heart in terrible ways. I'm hoping for a Sunday showing. But it may have to wait until after work Monday. I need some nerds up here.<br />
<div style="width: 535px;"></div></div>Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-42554752372700392332010-11-05T12:13:00.006-04:002010-11-05T12:55:09.380-04:00Expanded Thoughts: The Regular New Edition—I've always wanted to be in a female-fronted band. Recently, I've been listening to a ton of Stars, Rilo Kiley, Feist, Regina Spektor, No Doubt. The sung female voice holds something in me hostage. I can't explain it, I just know that it hits me in a different way than a male voice. But again, I couldn't tell you about the difference, just that it exists. It's rather abstract. Maybe you get it, without the proper words to explain it.<br />
<br />
—The midterm election has come and gone. Republicans took the House and gained seats in the Senate. Prop. 19 was defeated, but so was Prop. 23. I hope things go the way they have in the past, especially during the Clinton administration: President Obama gets a second term, and we see the economy continue its climb. What will we see? A lot of bullshit political posturing. Republicans have made it known if they gained the House they'd investigate the Obama administration. For what, you ask? Whatever they can imagine. They'll work to repel health care reform, according to Rep. John Boehner, the soon-to-be Speaker of the House. I'm sure my parents will appreciate that since I'm scheduled to hop back on their health care come January thanks to the reforms. It'll be an interesting few years, that's for sure.<br />
<br />
—How did the Republicans win? Turns out the Democrats didn't really believe in the things they accomplished. I mean, if they did, why weren't the immediate benefits of health care reform touted? How come the tax cuts of the stimulus package were hardly mentioned, if at all? Why wasn't <a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025514.php">this graph</a> shown on major news networks, or in campaign commercials? Where was the backbone of the Democratic Party? Unfortunately, it was nonexistent. Maybe two years will shape them up.<br />
<br />
—And for my final (maybe) political rant: Two parties does not work. It hasn't worked in decades. Every election cycle, the party talking points come out, and it's always the same. Real Libertarians need attention. So do Independents and members of the Green Party. Why these aren't considered serious in the political system drives me crazy. You get a better media narrative when it's the same two parties against each other, and I imagine it's easier for lobbyists to buy-off a politician when they have a big (D) or (R) next to their name. My pal David argues that the introduction of a third party means someone who didn't get a true majority of votes could be elected (that sure sounds like the 2000 election to me). But they would have a majority of the votes cast, and I'm OK with that. I guess now's as good a time as any for third parties to really get their names out there.<br />
<br />
—Growing up frightens me, and everyone else, I think. All of a sudden, I'm going to be working 40 hours a week. I'll be paying off my student loans starting Dec. 4. Soon after, there'll be a car payment and insurance. Eventually, rent and utilities again. Then it's a house payment. An engagement ring, diapers, baby food, strollers, doctor's appointments, clothes, birthday parties, more insurance, another car, tuition, etc., etc. See how quickly it can spiral out of control? People I graduated high school with have kids. Several. Good friends have gotten or are getting married. Kids I went to middle school with, that I knew in 3rd grade have kids and a ring. That's what I see, and I don't know how to respond.<br />
<br />
—I've had a surprisingly hard time getting into a couple of books. I won't reveal titles because I'm not trying to lose friends, but know that I'm as surprised as you would be if I were brave enough to say which books they are. Taking a break from them is about all I can do, and I hope in a few weeks I've got the urge to restart them. I don't think it's my attention span, or lack thereof. I wish it were that simple.<br />
<br />
—<i>The Walking Dead</i> finally premiered on AMC, and what a show it was. It pulled in 8.3 million viewers. Wow. Want to read more of what I think of it? Of course you do! Well, head over to <a href="http://amongthewalkingdead.blogspot.com/">Among The Walking Dead</a>! David, Chase, and myself will be doing write-ups, recaps, op-eds, massages, and conversating about the series after each episode airs. Make it your new home for <i>The Walking Dead</i> based opinions.<br />
<br />
—Everything about Sony's reboot of the Spider-Man franchise has sounded like webbing to my ears. Wait, what? That analogy makes no sense. Can we move past it and pretend it didn't happen? Thanks. First bit of good news: they want to take the story to high school. Second bit of good news: Marc Webb of the amazing, spectacular, astonishing, friendly neighborhood <i>(500) Days of Summer</i> will direct it. Third bit: Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker and (spoiler alert!) Spider-Man. Fourth bit: Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. AWESOME. But there's more, webheads! Rhys Ifans will play Dr. Curt Connors and the Lizard. It's about time we get to see him on the big screen. And just announced today: Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben! AND Sally Field as Aunt May. With such great casting, it's hard not to wonder who they'll get for Green Goblin or Harry or Kraven or Doc Ock, Mary Jane, Eddie Brock, J. Jonah Jameson, Betty, and on and on and on! They are doing it right, friends.<br />
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—Sorry to bring politics back up, but some news came out Thursday about former-President Bush, and I'm not sure which is worse. He admits in his memoirs that he did order waterboarding. Now, depending on your humanity, you see waterboarding as torture. In fact, the United States of America, back in the '40s, thought of waterboarding as torture when the Japanese used it against American troops. So adamant was the USA that it was torture that Japanese soldiers were tried for war crimes for waterboarding. Fast forward 60 years, and apparently we're a-OK with NOT prosecuting an admitted war criminal for war criming. Classy. But not as classy as this: Bush feels that Kanye West's outburst over the federal government's response to Katrina was the lowest point in his presidency. Not the murder of over 3,000 innocent civilians on 9/11, not allowing a city to drown, not lying constantly about Iraq, not torture, the worst deficit in history, or the collapse of the economy. None of that compared to Kanye's insinuation, if not blatant naming, that Bush was racist. Sometimes I'm not sure if George Walker Bush is a bumbling idiot, evil mastermind, or plainly tragic. I'm a very empathetic person, but the man makes it so hard.<br />
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—Not watching <i>Community</i>? Start! The show rocks. Definitely one of the best 3 comedies on TV.<br />
<br />
—So, last week was kind of a scrimmage for my diet. During said scrimmage, I lost about 10 pounds. Then Halloween weekend happened. Yikes. I started it for reals on Monday, beginning at 212.5. I'm at 209 right now and was here yesterday, too. I'm adjusting what I eat/when I eat as I see different results. Big giant thanks to Bobby, Zac, Cindy, Beth, and Hope for good ideas on getting myself back into shape! You're all awesome.<br />
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—I'll be posting my weight every morning on Twitter if you want to keep tabs at home. I won't judge you for being a little creepy. Don't have Twitter? Check out the little Twitter box on the right-hand side of my blog!<br />
<br />
—I got my hair trimmed on Thursday. On discussing blow-drying and its effect on my hair, my hairdresser said, "If I blow it, it'll get big, ya know?" Yes, yes I do.Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1050141180874659195.post-15937514253342922252010-10-27T13:34:00.001-04:002010-10-27T19:34:34.652-04:00Random Thoughts: October Edition—Nothing makes me more nostalgic than autumn. Despite making great friends up here, the Gang is missed.<br />
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—I'm going to Raleigh in mid-January and I am pumped! I haven't been that way in a while and it'll be great to see old, familiar faces.<br />
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—Wikileaks released an unprecedented amount of information about the Iraq war. But none of its content is getting legitimate coverage from the US media. That sucks.<br />
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—For the last seven years, if not longer, we the people were lied to. Hundreds of thousands of people, whether American, Iraqi, Afghani, have died. Who knows how many more were tortured. No one will be held accountable, and that is unacceptable.<br />
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—You know who else won't be held accountable? The white-collar criminals and their cronies who brought the economy to its knees. But you and me will get 10+ years for possessing an ounce of pot or more.<br />
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—<a href="http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2010/10/27/christopher-nolan-reveals-title-of-third-batman-film-and-that-it-wont-be-the-riddler/?_r=true">Christopher Nolan</a> has given us the title of his third Batman movie: <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i>. I like the implication in the title; in <i>The Dark Knight</i>, Batman became the Dark Knight. This may not be a persona he wants, but it's one he'll carry. Chris Nolan also revealed no Riddler, which I like. It opens the door to a lot of other great villains the movies and mainstream public haven't seen.<br />
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—I'm super-pumped for the Rally to Restore Sanity and for all my friends going. It ought to be a blast. And seriously, get Jon Stewart or someone to give me a call.<br />
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—<i>Back to the Future</i>'s 25th anniversary has come and gone: on October 26th, 1985, Marty McFly went back in time to November 5th, 1955. Putting serious thought into it, this is probably my favorite trilogy of all time.<br />
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—Congrats to the Texas Rangers on their first World Series appearance. I may be a Yankees fan, but it'd be a lie to say anything other than Texas outplayed them.<br />
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—For the uninformed, I finally got a job. Forty hours a week, salary, benefits...An adult job.<br />
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—Did you hear Mitch McConnell of South Carolina say the Republicans' number one priority is keeping Barack Obama from getting a second term? It's great to know we have elected officials looking out for us and not their party. This is how I know the two-party system is broken, and why we need viable third-, fourth-, and fifth-parties.<br />
<br />
—This upcoming election is crucial. Read <a href="http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2010104222/false-things-public-knows-they-go-vote">this</a> and tell your friends, parents, etc. Misinformation is everywhere and it's disturbing. There's no slant, no bias to facts. Use them.<br />
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—Speaking of this election, VOTE. Tell your friends, parents, enemies, frenemies, acquaintances, whoever! I don't care who you vote for, just that you are voting. If you're in California, might I suggest voting for Prop. 19 and against Prop. 23. The former legalizes possession of pot. The latter will cost billions of dollars in clean energy and jobs.<br />
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—The rumormill is a-churning: George Lucas is planning a new <b>STAR WARS</b> trilogy, well after the events of <i>Return of the Jedi</i> and with no connection to the Skywalker Saga. I can and will be OK with this if Lucas isn't writing or directing, and he surrounds himself by greater talents who will challenge his decisions.<br />
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—Once again, I <3 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS9h_MSs4eo">Rachel Maddow</a>.<br />
<br />
—Something to keep in mind when discussing/reading about politics, faith, discrimination, etc.: Be a skeptic. Just because it confirms your bias does NOT make it true. If it elicits a strong emotional response, take a step back and re-evaluate it. People are manipulators, regardless of political party, religion, etc. Keep you head up and eyes open.Joey Blancohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04652298446990825870noreply@blogger.com0