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:
—As I mentioned, I was going to Pittsburgh to work on The Dark Knight Rises 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 Hanson brothers from Slapshot on the prompting of a magician. So yeah, great time in Pittsburgh. Go check it out if you've never been. Mucho thanks to Phil and Lauralynn for putting us up and showing us around!
—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.
—George Lucas changed Return of the Jedi 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.
—Steven Spielberg, on the other hand, seems to have realized a few things: Indy 4 sucked and fans don't want to see revised, edited, "special" editions of classic movies. In this case, he'll be releasing both E.T. and Raiders of the Lost Ark as they were originally seen in theaters on blu-ray. More than that, the man recognizes just what exactly editing a classic movie, or even a non-classic movie, really is: "
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."
Ya know, he had me worried. Since Jurassic Park, 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.
—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 www.reddit.com/r/buildapc, where there's a pleathora of information and advice. This is easily one of the nerdier things I've done, but I. am. pumped!
—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.
—And if only to end on a(nother) nerd note, Tatooine exists! 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!
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.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Help 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:
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.
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.
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?).
Converse in Love
Toryn Green: A Voice & The Instrument That Carries It
Kick Off Your Shoes
Converse Play Time
Partnership of B&W and Color / Water and Sky
Helping Hands & Feet
And as a thanks for doing this for her (and me), here's a few of the topic of the upcoming Random Thoughts:
—Freedom and liberty as the propagandist tools they've become.
—George Lucas, a bigger tool than propaganda.
—The little I can legally say about my time working on The Dark Knight Rises.
—My new obsession with building PCs.
—Plenty more, too. Probably no football though (sorry Beth). Maybe a dash of politics.
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.
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.
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?).
Converse in Love
Toryn Green: A Voice & The Instrument That Carries It
Kick Off Your Shoes
Converse Play Time
Partnership of B&W and Color / Water and Sky
Helping Hands & Feet
And as a thanks for doing this for her (and me), here's a few of the topic of the upcoming Random Thoughts:
—Freedom and liberty as the propagandist tools they've become.
—George Lucas, a bigger tool than propaganda.
—The little I can legally say about my time working on The Dark Knight Rises.
—My new obsession with building PCs.
—Plenty more, too. Probably no football though (sorry Beth). Maybe a dash of politics.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Remember 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 blog, but it was sans reveal! Instead, it was just another tease. 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:
Readers, adoring fans, friends, I'm working on the final leg of the Pittsburgh shoot of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises.
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 Batman 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.
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 The Dark Knight Rises. 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."
And so ladyfolk and manfolk, amigos and readers, I'll catch you on the flipside.
Readers, adoring fans, friends, I'm working on the final leg of the Pittsburgh shoot of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises.
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 Batman 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.
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 The Dark Knight Rises. 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."
And so ladyfolk and manfolk, amigos and readers, I'll catch you on the flipside.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Random Reviews: Movies, Teasers, Trailers, Musics
What 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 falling in love.
And a brief warning before we dive into it, I will be discussing Captain America: The First Avenger, 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.
—After close to a decade, and two years since announcing they were back together, blink-182 released a single, Up All Night. For those who haven't read about my love affair with Mark, Tom, and Travis, let me redirect you here 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 Neighborhoods 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 Up All Night. And here it is for you:
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 Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. 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.
—The trailer (teaser? It's 2 and a half minutes!) for The Amazing Spider-Man was leaked and has now premiered online and with Captain America. Watch it right this instant so we can have a conversation!
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.
That last sequence, from Spidey's POV? Pretty rad. I don't care about the comparisons to the video game Mirror's Edge. 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 Spider-Man 2: The Video Game and I'll buy it.
I'm also a fan of Marc Webb's approach to Peter being an outcast in high school: In this 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.
—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!
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 Batman Begins. 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.
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: "We were in this together. Then you 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.
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.
And now, folks, be warned. Minor and major spoilers abound below!
—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 Captain America: The First Avenger). 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!
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.
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 Thor. I've been worried about Joe Johnston's directorial abilities since the unmentionable (but watch me mention it) Jurassic Park 3, but this harkens back to his work on The Rocketeer.
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 The Avengers. 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 The Incredible Hulk and Thor, Loki pulls the same shenanigans he did in The Avengers #1 and makes Hulk out to be the bad guy.
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 Robots in Love EP and whatever movie I may have seen recently.
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: If you make yourself more than just a man...
And a brief warning before we dive into it, I will be discussing Captain America: The First Avenger, 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.
—After close to a decade, and two years since announcing they were back together, blink-182 released a single, Up All Night. For those who haven't read about my love affair with Mark, Tom, and Travis, let me redirect you here 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 Neighborhoods 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 Up All Night. And here it is for you:
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 Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. 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.
—The trailer (teaser? It's 2 and a half minutes!) for The Amazing Spider-Man was leaked and has now premiered online and with Captain America. Watch it right this instant so we can have a conversation!
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.
That last sequence, from Spidey's POV? Pretty rad. I don't care about the comparisons to the video game Mirror's Edge. 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 Spider-Man 2: The Video Game and I'll buy it.
I'm also a fan of Marc Webb's approach to Peter being an outcast in high school: In this 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.
—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!
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 Batman Begins. 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.
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: "We were in this together. Then you 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.
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.
And now, folks, be warned. Minor and major spoilers abound below!
—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 Captain America: The First Avenger). 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!
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.
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 Thor. I've been worried about Joe Johnston's directorial abilities since the unmentionable (but watch me mention it) Jurassic Park 3, but this harkens back to his work on The Rocketeer.
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 The Avengers. 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 The Incredible Hulk and Thor, Loki pulls the same shenanigans he did in The Avengers #1 and makes Hulk out to be the bad guy.
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 Robots in Love EP and whatever movie I may have seen recently.
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: If you make yourself more than just a man...
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
The 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:
—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.
—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 this!). Anyone who wants to witness such a thing, let me know. Because everyone I know up here is a gorram Muggle!
—Speaking of gorram (I promise, this will be the last "speaking of..."), I'm rewatching the totally badass space-western, Firefly, 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.
—Speaking of made-up space lingo (yeah, I'm a dirty liar. Deal), I'm three episodes into frakkin' Battlestar Galactica. 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 (clearly). It's not overwhelming, it isn't preachy, and I'm working on being a less sensitive little bitch.
—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.
—K-Swiss is a lot more awesome than previously thought. Exhibit A:
—Not only am I working through Firefly with my lady, but we just wrapped up both season 1 and 2 of Community. 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 AV Club (parts 2, 3, and 4), 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 Community is, and will continue to be, streets ahead.
—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.
—I regrettably saw Transformers 3. 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.
—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 The Dark Knight Rises was just released. It's very Inception-esque, much like the original Inception posters were very The Dark Knight-esque:
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.
—Sticking with Batman, the teaser trailer for The Dark Knight Rises has been confirmed as attached to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II. 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):
The Dark Knight Rises - Teaser Bootleg (2011) by CineHeroes
Editor's Note: 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!
Yeah, you can bet your ass I'll have a blog dedicated to analyzing that teaser. Until then, friends.
—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.
—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 this!). Anyone who wants to witness such a thing, let me know. Because everyone I know up here is a gorram Muggle!
—Speaking of gorram (I promise, this will be the last "speaking of..."), I'm rewatching the totally badass space-western, Firefly, 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.
—Speaking of made-up space lingo (yeah, I'm a dirty liar. Deal), I'm three episodes into frakkin' Battlestar Galactica. 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 (clearly). It's not overwhelming, it isn't preachy, and I'm working on being a less sensitive little bitch.
—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.
—K-Swiss is a lot more awesome than previously thought. Exhibit A:
—Not only am I working through Firefly with my lady, but we just wrapped up both season 1 and 2 of Community. 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 AV Club (parts 2, 3, and 4), 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 Community is, and will continue to be, streets ahead.
—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.
—I regrettably saw Transformers 3. 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.
—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 The Dark Knight Rises was just released. It's very Inception-esque, much like the original Inception posters were very The Dark Knight-esque:
—Sticking with Batman, the teaser trailer for The Dark Knight Rises has been confirmed as attached to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II. 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):
The Dark Knight Rises - Teaser Bootleg (2011) by CineHeroes
Editor's Note: 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!
Yeah, you can bet your ass I'll have a blog dedicated to analyzing that teaser. Until then, friends.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Random Thoughts: The Internet Video Killed the non-Internet Radio Star Edition
Welcome, 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!
—If you watch one video from this year's Grammys, make it this one. The passion and joy these guys showed made me excited about music. They were loving every second. So was I.
—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: Rock Your Baby!
—So I love Scott Pilgrim vs The World. I've been pretty clear about that. So when I saw Edgar Wright post this on his blog, well, I had to do the same:
—If you watch one video from this year's Grammys, make it this one. The passion and joy these guys showed made me excited about music. They were loving every second. So was I.
—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: Rock Your Baby!
—So I love Scott Pilgrim vs The World. I've been pretty clear about that. So when I saw Edgar Wright post this on his blog, well, I had to do the same:
—If you watch two videos from this year's Grammy's, make the second this one. I couldn't have been happier to see Arcade Fire win this. I wrote about their debut album, Funeral, but haven't shared too many thoughts about The Subarbs. It's killer. They can't make a song that's hard to listen to.
—Did you watch that Captain America commercial again and again, like I did, but think to yourself, "Gee, this is missing something?" Problem. Solved.
—Did you watch that Captain America commercial again and again, like I did, but think to yourself, "Gee, this is missing something?" Problem. Solved.
—You remember that video of my friends killing it in Wilmington to George McCrae's Rock Your Baby? 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: Maneaters from Outer Space!!!
—Between the song, the visuals, and the childhood adoration of the story, watching this trailer for Where the Wild Things Are still gives me goosebumps.
—A couple of years ago, I saw this video. It's a stop-motion short, set to Sigur Rós's Hoppípolla, 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).
A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.
—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.
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.
—Between the song, the visuals, and the childhood adoration of the story, watching this trailer for Where the Wild Things Are still gives me goosebumps.
—A couple of years ago, I saw this video. It's a stop-motion short, set to Sigur Rós's Hoppípolla, 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).
A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.
—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.
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.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Expanded Thoughts III: The Blog is Back...In Time
I'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!
—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!
Author's Note: And happy birthday Abe Lincoln! I can't believe I forgot him.
—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.
Author's Note: 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.
—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.
—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.
—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:
—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!
—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.
—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.
—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.
—With that venting out of the way, here's more comic book movie news! Fox just released the trailer for X-Men: First Class. 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 X-Men: The Last Stand or X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Especially not after Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Daredevil, or Ghost Rider. My trust, and faith, has to be re-earned at this point. This trailer is definitely steps in the right direction, though:
—Dear adults/middle-aged-individuals using social networks,
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.
Sincerely,
Joey
—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 Tonight's Entertainment. 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 Chardon Polka Band. Another band that's a blast to listen to.
—Glee, 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 Thriller was the Super Bowl of pop songs, and then mashing it up with another song. Now, I love the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Heads Will Roll is a killer song. But Thriller 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, Glee, really, I am. So please step it up.
—More superhero movie news! We finally got a look at Andrew Garfield in the Spider-Man costume. 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 symbiote (include the Scarlet Spider costume for me, too (although that wasn't really Peter Parker...it's complicated)), all the rest were trashed after less than a year (Iron-Spidey, anyone?). Spidey's looked a certain way 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 totally redesigning one of the most iconic hero costumes ever.
—If I have to choose, George Harrison is my favorite Beatle.
—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!
Author's Note: And happy birthday Abe Lincoln! I can't believe I forgot him.
—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.
Author's Note: 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.
—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.
—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.
—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:
—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!
—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.
—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.
—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.
—With that venting out of the way, here's more comic book movie news! Fox just released the trailer for X-Men: First Class. 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 X-Men: The Last Stand or X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Especially not after Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Daredevil, or Ghost Rider. My trust, and faith, has to be re-earned at this point. This trailer is definitely steps in the right direction, though:
—Dear adults/middle-aged-individuals using social networks,
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.
Sincerely,
Joey
—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 Tonight's Entertainment. 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 Chardon Polka Band. Another band that's a blast to listen to.
—Glee, 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 Thriller was the Super Bowl of pop songs, and then mashing it up with another song. Now, I love the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Heads Will Roll is a killer song. But Thriller 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, Glee, really, I am. So please step it up.
—More superhero movie news! We finally got a look at Andrew Garfield in the Spider-Man costume. 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 symbiote (include the Scarlet Spider costume for me, too (although that wasn't really Peter Parker...it's complicated)), all the rest were trashed after less than a year (Iron-Spidey, anyone?). Spidey's looked a certain way 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 totally redesigning one of the most iconic hero costumes ever.
—If I have to choose, George Harrison is my favorite Beatle.
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