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posted by admin on Mar 27

Truly, truly a sad day.

posted by admin on Mar 24

I’m reading a CNN article about Camden, Alabama whose residents spend the highest income percentage on gas in the country. The people are factory workers spending $60 on gas a week with roughly minimum wage earnings. My empathy unit was running full circuit until I read the end of the article:

For people like Carrie Frye, 33, a mother who commutes 70 miles each day, the choice is about much more than simply cutting back on entertainment.
Frye works at a factory in Selma, Ala., making lawn chair cushions. If she makes her production quota, she might bring in $329 a week. If not, it’s $220. Either way, she says the $60 a week she now spends in gas comes out of money for food, the doctor, and buying clothes for her kids.
“I just hope they don’t grow that fast,” she says, filling her tank of her Jeep Cherokee at the Camden BP.

Are you fucking serious, CNN? In a human suffering fluff piece that is less about the gas prices and more about the state of the American worker you drop these bombshells? I’m all about full disclosure but this woman drives 70 miles a day in an SUV to make god damn lawn chairs!

I’m sure she loves her SUV and according to this article she loves it more then “food, the doctor and buying clothes for her kids.” What a great, Mom! Alright, clearly she’s stupid so she could not have anticipated her SUV would suddenly impact the family in such a way but your telling me she can’t find a job making between $5.50/hr and $8.25/hr closer to home? I know her intellectual stimulating job making lawn chair cushions would be hard to leave but sometimes you make sacrifices for your kids.

I want to feel bad for this woman’s family, I really do but I have no tolerance (or sympathy) for blatant stupidity. Trade in the SUV, get a job closer to home and save $40 a week. Some choices in life are that easy.

posted by admin on Mar 12

The arrival of tournament time pushes my procrastination into the theoretical, unmeasureable realm. Jay Bilas, during Nova’s route of Cuse, gave a lovely rant about the selection commitee’s use of the Final 12 criteria.

Supposedly, the committe heavily factors in the teams record in it’s final twelve games. Bilas’, legitimately, complains that this is ridiculous because teams play different schedules and may have their toughest/easiest stretch in those twelve games. I disagree with this, not because Bilas is wrong, but because I doubt the commitee ignores opponent quality when making their decision. But that’s not what really intrigues me about Bilas’s comments.

What Bilas was actually saying is he doesn’t believe Kentucky should make the tournament. This is why I love this time of year and can watch ESPN. The broadcasts are live, the halftime shows are live and everyone’s emotional. It’s one of the few times a year ESPN anchors aren’t obviously reading cue cards with someone else’s opinion.

Wow, Doug Gotlieb just said Syracuse pulled a John Daly. Ouch!

Now should Kentucky be in? At first it seems like a tough call. 18-11 but 12-4 in the SEC tied for #2 in the conference. But let’s look at how many of those wins came against tournament teams: 2. They beat Vandy in OT and beat Tennessee. That UT win looks good since UT is likely a 1 seed at worst a 2. That doesn’t sound like a Tourney team to me.

Let’s look at it another way. Wake Forest, no shot of getting in barring a miracle run, has a similar resume in my opinion. 17-12 record with 3 wins against Tourney teams: BYU, Miami and Duke. The ACC is the #1 conference by RPI, the SEC is #4.

Kentucky: 13 of their wins were against teams with an RPI over 100. 7 of those +200 RPI’s.
Wake Forest: 9 of their wins against +100 teams. 5 of those +200.

Sorry, Kentucky. 2 good wins, 3 average wins and 13 easy wins don’t get you in the tournament. And you lost to Gardner-Webb. That always knocks you out.

posted by admin on Mar 11

That pretty much sums up everything wrong with this country. No culpability, the rich protect the rich, etc. Ayn Rand’s worse nightmare. Seriously, is an Atlas Shrugged scenario that far away? I know it hurts in the short term but the government needs to stop bailing out these god damn people. What the hell has happened to the Republican party? Didn’t they believe in free market economics once upon a time?

Both parties have simply become unelectable for me. Honestly, I don’t give a shit about Iraq, the environment or gay marriage. They’re all progress issues that will be solved eventually. But these patchwork economic fixes are clearly going to lead to an unfixable problem but that’s all anyone has to offer. We have a one-party system that uses religion and race to create the illusion of two parties.

I remember five years ago my Dad explaining to me how all these sub-prime mortgages would end badly. I understood this, the concepts were so basic in a ten-minute conversation I could understand how stupid it was. But here we are throwing money at another failing industry.

I fervently believe in Capitalism. Some day the world will unite under a single government and free market capitalism is the logical stepping stone to this ideal. Everyone, the world over, equal with the best and brightest coming out on top. I believed America could lead the way there. It’s damn sad to watch a dream die.

posted by admin on Mar 10

The Silver Bullet.

Nothing’s more refreshing than an ice cold Coors Light. Their unique Frost Brewing process delivers that crisp, refreshing taste you can’t find anywhere else.

Taste the Mother Fucking Rockies or I’ll Eat Your Throat!

posted by admin on Mar 10

My mistake. Mario Kart Wii does not come out this week but the new Super Smash Bros. came out yesterday.

I wouldn’t want the two people who read the original post to be misinformed.

posted by admin on Mar 9

Is there anything better than a Sunday afternoon with nothing to do?

No, no there is not.

I’m cruising through the intertron and looking to buy some new music on iTunes. They’re having a decent sale of classic indie albums for $7.99. That Black Star album is damn hard to resist but I’m really just looking for a couple singles by bands I’ve never heard of (and this week sees No Country For Old Men and, I believe, the new Mario Kart released, so a playa be strapped for cash, yo). My usual tactic is just to click around and preview songs until something strikes my fancy. Tonight I went for a different tactic.

The top 100 singles list. I figured somewhere between Soulja Boy and Miley Cyrus there had to be something. Within sixty seconds I’m pissed off.

One of the columns describes the song’s “genre”. I always new this was loosely applied but COME ON!

Matchbox 20 - Rock

Are you fucking serious? Is there a band that more defines pop music than Matchbox 20. I’m not looking for Industrial or Death Metal but good christ I though Rock, well, you know, ROCKED! It seems the music industry’s real problem is not knowing shit about music. When Jack Johnson pops on my search for new Rock music I feel like my grandmother is sending my recommendations.

And if Good Charlotte, M.I.A. and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are all Alternative, what the fuck does that term even mean? Whatever your personal feelings about those bands might be they sure as shit aren’t in the same genre. But I guess “Faux-High School Punk” doesn’t sell records quite as well.

But some good news.

The White Stripes “It’s My Fault For Being Famous” kicks some serious ass! It’s off the Conquest EP, which speaking of “Conquest”, has a pretty solid video. A nice silent-movie vibe going on here:

posted by admin on Mar 6

I hate you Wes Anderson, I hate you so much.

In 2003 I bought The Kinks album “Lola Versus the Moneyman and the Powergoround”, or whatever the hell it is called. Since then I’ve been dying to make a film using “This Time Tomorrow” and “Strangers”. There simplistic yet melancholy melodies are the perfect compliment to visuals, providing an emotional subtext rich with meaning. I have this feeling with many songs but most I don’t pay attention to because they’ll be used in films before I have a chance. But I always believed no one would use a couple of obscure songs by The Kinks.

And then here comes Wes Anderson.

It’s not enough to be ultra-hip with some Brazilian guy covering David Bowie songs, oh no, not for Wes Anderson. No, Wes Anderson has to have Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman walking in a slow-motion tracking shot through a funeral with “Strangers” playing. You son of a bitch!

The Darjeeling Limited was alright. It’s a well directed film but at the end of the day the screenplay just wasn’t very strong. The characters suddenly decide to change and cast aside their emotional baggage, literally and figuratively. Anyone who thought The Life Aquatic placed visuals over character and story will not enjoy the film. Anderson really gives in to his directorial inspirations, the film is clearly inspired by the Indian master Satyajit Ray, and recycles his usual quirky characters and overwrought dialogue.

It’s hard to criticize Anderson too much, though. His grand vision might fail but there are things worth seeing along the way. At some point I’d love to see Anderson direct another writer’s work. It’s no coincidence that Jason Schwartzman shares a writing credit and plays the richest character in the film.

Is Bill Murray there father? I think he is, why the hell else would Bill Murray play the role?

posted by admin on Mar 2

Oh, Television Gods, why have you forsaken me?

Sunday, typically the day I make up for my procrastination the rest of the weekend, has recently turned into me watching movies on TV for 12 hours.

Let’s review what has been on today, this is just off the top of my head:
Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge Over the River Kwai, The Matrix, Ace Ventura 2, Wayne’s World, Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban, Super Troopers, Napoleon Dynamite, Big Trouble in Little China, Mission: Impossible, The Wedding Crashers, The Bourne Identity, need I go on?

That’s one helluva line up. A great mixture of quality, hilarity and action. How I am supposed to write with Big Trouble In Little China on FMC? Learning more and more about the film and television industry I understand why Sunday afternoon cable is filled with movies but it’s so much more fun to believe capricious TV deities dictate programming to thwart my efforts in life. Only the watching shall appease them.

“If we’re not back by dawn, call the president.”