Jan 25, 2009

Rob Paravonian - The "Friends" Them Song Analysis

I just found this video deconstructing the "Friends" theme song and a Sugar Ray song that was popular at the time, and I have to say it's pretty insightful.

Jan 23, 2009

The Failure of Science in Public Schools

According to an article in Discover Magazine, as many as 1 in 8 teach Creationism in the classroom as a scientific alternative to evolution, and an astounding 1 in 6 espouse young Earth theories, which state that the Earth is only 6,000 years old. Sheesh.

Jan 21, 2009

Ahh, politics

Jon Stewart hits Obama early, and through clever editing, proves the consistency of rhetoric and lip service:

Jan 20, 2009

John Krasinski: Director?

The LA Times has an interesting article about John "Jim Halpert" Krasinski, who, apparently, has adapted David Foster Wallace's "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men" into a film. Wow! Who knew he had it in him? Only time will tell if it's a decent adaptation, but it premieres at Sundance this week, so cross your fingers if you're a Krasinski fan!

How to Clean When You're Exhausted

I am a disciple of Unclutterer, and, though I don't always follow their principles - I'm sure they would consider my DVD and book collections clutter - I don't want to keep you from benefiting from their expertise. My favorite recent article is on the subject of cleaning when you're exhausted. It's spectacular.

The Transition

I found an awesome quote about the incoming administration over at Andrew Sullivan's blog - who is, actually, quoting Mike Allen over at Politico:

Vans will be poised at the Capitol to take a few top aides of Barack Obama's to their new offices at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. as soon as he is sworn in, transition aides told Politico.

About 20 senior officials have had their paperwork cleared to enter the White House complex on Tuesday. Some will attend a traditional lunch with the new president in the Capitol, then get to work while the inaugural parade is under way.

The quick start on Tuesday is indicative of the months of planning that Obama’s transition team has put into preparing for his opening days in office.

Fifteen Movies That Influenced Metal Gear Solid

Over at Kotaku, there is a list of the fifteen movies that most influenced the Metal Gear franchise. It comes from an interview with creator Hideo Kojima, who recommends the movies for those interested in the influences of the series.

Fifty-Five Beers

I found a list of fifty-five beers that will know you flat on your ass, at least according to MyBadPad.com. I've tried quite a few of them, and I have to say I'd agree. My ass is quite flat because of a few of them.

Jan 14, 2009

Jan 11, 2009

The Echo Chamber: 'Morbius' Might Be in Spidey Four

Because of an interview with Sam Raimi, in which he says Morbius is one of his favorite villains, the internet is blowing up with rumors that he is going to be in Spider Man Four. Also in that interview, Raimi said that he'd like to shoot the fourth and fifth movies back-to-back. Holy Shit!

Source: io9.com

Jan 10, 2009

The Unborn is, to quote Christopher Smith, Stillborn

Given the fact that faux-J-Horror is about as fresh as the vegetables in my crisper (re: every movie in the last five years about a dead child), David S. Goyer and genre maniac Gary Oldman decided to make a stew out of it. The result is, well, I haven't seen it but just look at Rotten Tomatoes. Granted, I plan on going to see it, but the likelihood that I will come out of the theater with anything more than a belly distended from Diet Coke and Buncha-Crunch is dubious.

An added Rotten Tomatoes bonus, though: there's a pretty awesome list of The Ten Sci-Fi Flicks for the Thinking Man. The Adventures of Pluto Nash, not on there.

All DC Universe Movies 'Are on Pause'

According to BamKapow!, all current DC-based movies are "on hold". That includes a TDK writer David S. Goyer penned script for The Flash movie. The reason: the big-wigs have realized that comic book movies are now an entirely new genre - duh - and they're rethinking strategies, yadayadayada. Bummer.

Jan 9, 2009

UGA Gymnastics Begin Tonight

The UGA Gym Dogs will take on West Virginia tonight at 7:30 at Stegeman Coliseum, and I will be attending. The Gym Dogs are looking for their fifth straight (!) national title. Unfortunately, they will be doing so without Courtney McCool, who will be out for at least seven meets with a broken bone in her foot. Either way, it should be an exciting season. Hope I see you there!

UPDATE: Uh, yeah, so LP & I just got back from the Gym Dogs meet...and we didn't look very good. For a gymnastics team, yes, we looked above average. For the Gym Dogs, though, there were some evident problems. I don't think it was coaching or anything, just a few of the Gym Dogs totally dropped the ball tonight. So to speak. Abby Stack completely missed the higher of the uneven bars and ate the mat. That was the low point of the evening, but the floor exercises almost matched it. The only thing that would have made it worse would be if some rabid West Virginians had dragged a sofa out onto the mat and set it on fire. Not good.

Hopefully, things will look better at the next meet. Tonight, we looked as if we were playing "on the level" with West Virginia. The final score - 195.425 - was the lowest I've ever seen.

NYPD and Cell Phones During Terrorist Attacks

According to a Wired.com post from yesterday, it has become apparent that New York City police officials - including Commissioner Ray Kelly - believe that jamming cell phones during a terrorist attack may save lives and break up coordination. Kelly cites the attacks in Mumbai from last month as an example (the terrorists used cell phones for contact). What are your thoughts on this? Is the government overstepping boundaries here, or is the suggestion necessary?

Jan 6, 2009

To Get Caught Up - The Echo Chamber

Here's what is going on in the world of nerdy pop culture:

The trailer for the new Romero zombie flick - tentatively titled ...Of the Dead [I'm not kidding] - looks awesome.


Apparently, the trailer for the new GI Joe: Rise of Cobra movie is not very good. You can read a blow-by-blow description here. They're thinking of releasing it as a Super Bowl commercial. Hmm.


Nuking the Fridge is the new Jumping the Shark. Eh. I still liked the movie.


If you want to know how the 2008 WGA strike affected movies and television shows coming down the pipeline, you can read an excellent article over at io9.com. Terminator: Salvation, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Star Trek, and X-Men: Wolverine are all included in the article.


Dr. Sanjay Gupta may be the new Surgeon General. What!?


Nip/Tuck starts back up tonight. Pineapple Express is out on DVD.


The Earth is out of sync with time. RAD!


Plenty of comic books are being turned into movies over the next several years. If you want to waste several hours, please visit this link. I couldn't even get through it all.

Back From Staycation

I've been on vacation from the blog for the past few weeks, and I know how much you've missed it, but I had to take some 'me' time. Unlike New York, Athens is a city that does sleep, and I did plenty of that over the holidays. Now that I'm back into the daily grind, you can expect more of the same, only angrier, from me. Good day.