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July 24th, 2008
07:26 pm - Why So Tedious?
One of the oft-repeated complaints about several recently popular comedies has been that they are in need of some editing. Forgetting Sarah Marshall clocks in at 112 minutes, Superbad lasts 114 minutes, The 40 Year Old Virgin comes in close to two hours (at 116 minutes), and Knocked Up is the longest of the three at 129 minutes. I enjoyed all four of these movies, but during each one I remember there being a moment at which I felt things should be wrapping up soon, only to find out later that there were still about fifteen minutes remaining.
Interestingly, this is my only real complaint about The Dark Knight, which I saw this afternoon. Sometimes by the end of a movie, I'm left trying to assess the relative importance of some of the plot points or moments from the beginning. This was one of those cases. I enjoyed the film, but it felt about ten minutes too long. That said, I'm not sure what I'd cut specifically.
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July 22nd, 2008
10:16 am - Spelling Bee
When A&M decided to hire Mike Sherman as the new football coach, I wasn't all that excited. I wasn't mad about the choice. I was kind of bored by it to be honest. I'm still taking a wait and see approach, but I'm hopeful.
That said, I am on board with his philosophy when it comes to text messaging. He stated the following at yesterday's Big 12 media day:
"I refuse to go 'U R' for you are," Sherman said. "I was an English teacher in high school and an English major in college. I just can't bring myself to do that. And it makes me very upset when my children do that to me. Spell the word out. I know it drives them crazy because I'm slow when I type everything out."
I'm the same way. I write texts as if they are e-mails, with all the words spelled out fully and with sentence structure. It may take a few extra seconds, but my brain won't allow me to do it with shorthand and substituting numbers for words and such.
In other news:
1) My TiVo is set to record about three things this week, so I've started watching the first season of Dallas. So far, so good. I can't say there are many shows from before, say, 2000 that I've wanted to sample, but this was one of them. I don't expect to get through all thirteen seasons (especially since a bunch are not on DVD yet), but it may be something I come back to now and then when in need of some retro entertainment.
2) I understand that golf has about eight thousand rules, but I'm not sure that "you can't leave the scoring area without signing your scorecard or else you'll get disqualified" should be one of them. In this day and age, I'm not sure how golf should deal with scorecards, but it seems like the procedures are overly strict given that the professional tours are, for the most part, highly monitored. Is actually signing a scorecard a necessary step in an age in which you're already physically required to present your scorecard to an official after your round?
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July 13th, 2008
11:51 am - Reality Bites
WGN America is showing a movie right now called The Little Vampire. It is a terrible movie, and you should do your best to avoid it if at all possible. It does star Jonathan Lipnicki of Jerry Maguire fame, which got me thinking: I'll bet after that movie, producers and studio execs had dollar signs in their eyes when it came to the kid. I'll bet they thought this kid was going to make them millions upon millions of dollars with his precociousness. Yeah, that never happened. The Stuart Little movies were successful, but you wouldn't say that was his doing.
I think I've figured out why it didn't happen, and this is probably painfully obvious: he can't really act. He just kind of says all his lines with the same inflection and goofily looks at the camera. I guess you can get away with that in a five minute performance, but it's probably not going to work when you have to carry a movie.
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July 2nd, 2008
03:33 pm - The Departed
Source: Favre has 'itch' to ditch retirement, report to camp.
When I read this latest version of this rumor (which we've heard about twelve times in six different forms over the past few months), I was, for some reason, reminded of this Dr. Seuss book.
My response: either do it or don't, but make a decision soon so I can stop hearing this same vague whisper of a story every two weeks. Obviously, I'd prefer he stay retired and just get off the stage completely. To paraphrase the aforementioned book, he can "can go on stilts...can go by fish...go in a Crunk-Car if you wish...the time has come, the time is now, just go go go, I don't care how." I know that Kornheiser and Wilbon are on vacation this week, but is there any doubt that if they were in studio, we'd be hearing them discuss this yet again?
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June 27th, 2008
12:09 pm - Sketchy Comedy
Have you ever met someone who was a fan of MadTV? Surely it must have some sort of fan base (it's been on the air since 1995), but I can't say I've ever known someone who was truly a fan (as in they feel the desire to watch it every week).
Maybe these are the same people who watch According To Jim, another show now in syndication that I have yet to hear anyone discuss positively.
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June 25th, 2008
04:20 pm - The Beautiful Game
I sometimes claim that going to grad school has turned me into a bigger sports fan than I ever was before I made the trek to Texas. Part of it is schedule-related: my time is pretty much my own these days, save my teaching schedule. I have a lot of freedom to structure my activities around watching the games I want to watch. The other reason why the general level of fandom has increased is because I'm surrounded by many many other intense sports fans constantly inviting me to watch sports or discuss sports. This has also intensified my love of certain specific sports: I'm way more into college and pro football than ever before (although that also may be a function of the state I'm living in and its focus on football at all levels).
Moving down here has also had a huge effect on my desire to view and discuss soccer, which has always been a sport I had a passing interest in every four years or so. Two years ago, a group of us went out for World Cup matches on a regular basis, and now we're going out regularly for Champions League and Euro 2008 matches. I'm still not caring about MLS (and I'm not sure I ever will), but the only thing keeping me from a true intense fandom seems to be the fact that I don't have Fox Soccer Channel. That and not having a specific rooting interest I guess. It will be interesting to see if I can watch a sport more regularly without having a team I feel I must root for or against.
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June 22nd, 2008
05:55 pm - Too Close For Comfort
VH1 is showing I Love The New Millennium this week. There was a sneak preview of the 2000 episode this morning, and as with all of the "I Love The" series, each segment has a hit or miss feel. Much like with the 1990s episodes, it doesn't seem like these will hold up as well (in terms of rewatchability) as the 1980s or 1970s versions do. Maybe it has something to do with proximity, whereby the things I lived through and remember clearly are things where the jokes seem easier because I too have poked fun at them over time. How many jokes made about Dennis Miller on Monday Night Football are jokes I haven't heard or made already?
The thing I found funniest was how many commentators had "Actor/Host" as their profession. What are all these people hosting? Also, I was able to renew my "I Love The" crush on Molly Culver, who I enjoy despite never having seen her outside this format because I never watched V.I.P. during its run in syndication.
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June 12th, 2008
09:03 pm - Take a Letter
Zowie has given me the letter "T" in a meme floating around where, as she put it, "someone gives you a letter and you post five songs that start with that letter." Simple enough. I'll go one further and make it five songs in my ITunes playlist that I really enjoy.
1. Templeton Rye by The Nadas
I've come to learn about The Nadas thanks to The Steve Dahl Show, and I saw them in concert about ten months ago. Templeton Rye is a great story song about bootleggers in the 1920s. If you listen to the clip linked above, it starts at about the 3:40 mark.
2. Tennessee by Arrested Development
This song reminds me of the radio-listening explosion that happened for me in the early 1990s. I have never considered myself a music person, leaning more toward television and movies. That said, there was a time when I was listening to all sorts of stuff. This song reminds me of those times.
3. That's Life by Frank Sinatra
I've been a Sinatra fan for a while now, and I've always thought this song doesn't get enough play, especially in comparison to a lot of the ballad-type songs. I love to use the "ridin' high in April, shot down in May" line to describe the ups and downs I see around me.
4. This Is How We Do It by Montell Jordan
Can't quite explain why I like this song so much. Perhaps it's mid 1990s nostalgia. I get very disappointed though if I hear it and they do not include the "once upon a time in '94" rap interlude.
5. Tiny Dancer by Elton John
One of my favorite Elton John songs. It always reminds me of Almost Famous, one of my favorite movies of the past ten years. The right song used at the right time in the right film can be pretty sweet. This was one of those cases. I rarely condone characters in films singing together (I'm looking at you, films that use "I Will Survive" or "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" in bonding montages), but this is an exception.
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June 10th, 2008
11:53 pm - Not As Such, No
I forget how many of you are big fans of The West Wing, but to those of you who are, I pose this question: was Ainsley Hayes a wasted opportunity, or was she what she should have been in the grand scheme of things?
Tonight I cracked open the season two DVD set (as if I needed another distraction in my life) and watched the episode "In This White House," and I'll surely be watching "And It's Surely To Their Credit" tomorrow. I remember thinking back in 2000 that the Ainsley character provided a fresh perspective and proved to be a nice foil for a few episodes (plus there was interesting tension between Ainsley and Sam). In addition, Emily Procter's performance rocked. Then, the character kind of disappeared, making a few more appearances but never rising to the level I thought it would.
I get the idea that the show operated from the left, but one thing that always bothered me was that there was never truly a strong defined opponent or perspective on the right. I suppose that, to some extent, season five offered a strong Republican Speaker, but even that never truly took root. Ainsley, even if she would have continued to work for the Bartlet White House, might have provided some of that.
So, to put it in Deadspin's Media Approval Ratings vernacular: do you like the Ainsley Hayes?
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June 3rd, 2008
05:25 pm - A Word From Our Sponsors
Pardon The Interruption just had a segment during Toss Up where they debated which will be the worse summer movie: You Don't Mess With The Zohan or The Love Guru. I, for one, am torn when it comes to this. They both look awful to me. Zohan may have the slightly dumber premise (if there's a "dumb premise scale", it's at a 9.9 while Guru is at like a 9.8), but Robert Smigel and Judd Apatow are involved, which leads one to believe there might be some laughs.
That said, here's why I'm bringing this up: there was an advertisement for Zohan during the commercial break right after the PTI segment. That strikes me as odd, or at least careless on the part of ESPN.
In other Mike Myers-related news: seeing a Wayne's World segment on the MTV Movie Awards was kind of neat. It's been fourteen years according to Myers and Carvey, which makes me feel old.
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May 28th, 2008
03:59 pm - Watchin' You, Watchin' You
So, Superstation WGN has changed their name to WGN America. I'm not sure how this positively rebrands the station in any way, shape, or form. I guess it makes them sound like they are more national or something, but I'm not seeing any news that the station is broadening its reach on cable systems. Also, they've yet to change any content from what I can tell. According to Phil Rosenthal, they want to be more like TBS and are introducing some retro television evenings and some original programming. More power to them. So long as they keep the Cubs and Bulls games I'll be pleased.
That said, here's the reason why I'm writing about this: what's with the new logo and slogan?
The eyes are freaking me out. They're incredibly creepy. And seriously, "TV you can't ignore?" Let me tell you: I'm doing a pretty good job of ignoring their ever-present four hour marathons of America's Funniest Home Videos and Funniest Pets and People.
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May 23rd, 2008
11:15 pm - Be It Ever So Humble
I made it back to Streamwood for NAQT HSNCT without a single setback in the schedule. All the flights went well, and other than a slight delay leaving Dallas it was all smooth sailing (or flying as it were). This obviously means that getting back to College Station will be an adventure.
Whenever I'm home, for some reason I watch a lot of two shows I never seem to watch while in Texas: Cheap Seats and Judge Judy. The motivation for watching Cheap Seats here is a little more obvious: I enjoy the show and I don't get ESPN Classic through my apartment complex-sponsored cable package. I guess I could watch all the Judge Judy I wanted in Texas, but I'm never home in the afternoons there, whereas when I'm in Illinois, I always seem to be free from 3-4 PM.
Judge Judy is my favorite of the televised legal shows. I think that stems from the fact that she's willing to call out the stupidity of others more than most do. It never ceases to amaze me how individuals think that their friends are giving them "gifts" of hundreds of dollars, when in fact they are receiving loans they must pay back.
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May 20th, 2008
12:09 pm - Puddle Jumping
I'm headed to Chicago this weekend to be a moderator at the NAQT High School National Championship Tournament. Well, in theory I'm headed there. In practice, tradition has dictated that the path to Chicago for this trip has been paved with mishaps. Let us recall the adventures of years past:
2006: I made it to Houston just fine, but the flight from Houston to Chicago took off late, wasn't allowed to land in Chicago due to weather, was forced to land in St. Louis instead, and sat in St. Louis for a while. I made it to Chicago the day I had planned, but several hours late.
2007: I made it to Dallas, but horrible weather there forced me to spend the night in a hotel. I was scheduled to leave Dallas at nearly 6 PM the next day, but I was able to convince American Airlines to route me through Madison on my way to O'Hare. I made it to Chicago about eighteen hours after I had planned.
The weather in College Station, Dallas, and Chicago is all supposed to be excellent tomorrow. Fingers are crossed.
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May 17th, 2008
04:52 pm - Cover Your Heart
In preparation for the new Indiana Jones movie coming out in a few days, I've been going back and watching the first three. It's not like you need to see the first three to understand the fourth one I guess, but it had been a while since I had seen any of them.
Last night I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark and today I watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Temple of Doom takes a lot of heat for some reason; it's probably the weakest of the three, but that doesn't make it a bad movie. It's pretty much all action, save perhaps the scene in the village in India, and most of the action is clever stuff. I guess Kate Capshaw and her constant shrieking and complaining is what weighs the movie down. I can live with the Short Round antics, but I can't handle the damsel in distress who does pretty much nothing.
I might be the only person out there who has seen Temple of Doom about twice as many times as the other two films combined. I think that when I was younger and first watching movies, they showed it on HBO constantly. Perhaps familiarity has led to added appreciation.
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May 14th, 2008
12:05 am - One Doesn't Dissect Gossamer
I already knew that Ziggy is one of the worst comic strips out there (maybe the worst?), but I am now left to wonder how this strip even gets the go-ahead to be printed in newspapers. Seriously? What does that even mean? Why is the toilet talking? Are we supposed to take this as some sort of commentary on how you can access e-mail through a increasingly wider variety of sources? Or is it the nonsensical drawings of a madman?
If you're not reading The Comics Curmudgeon on a regular basis, you should be. It will take you down a path of analyzing Mary Worth and Apartment 3-G that is well worth the journey.
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May 13th, 2008
07:24 pm - Mercy Rule
ESPN2 is showing a softball game between the University of Michigan and the US National Team. It's in the fifth inning and Team USA is leading 4-0.
Here's my question: why is ESPN2 interested in showing this? I've seen something like 4-6 of these games between Team USA and a university televised over the past few weeks, and every time it's on the university is being absolutely destroyed. The current 4-0 margin is the closest I've seen. The USA Softball page reveals that there have been a handful of close games (and Team USA even lost once to Virginia Tech), but for the most part these games have been noncompetitive. I even saw one game where Team USA won by twenty plus runs.
Even if you're a fan of softball, do you want to watch games that you pretty much know aren't going to be close games? If you're ESPN2, what's the motivation to show potential blowouts in a sport that's not popular? I get showing the NCAA games over the next few weeks, but I'm failing to see what's interesting about these scrimmages.
Edited to add: on top of this, I've just realized that the games are tape delayed. That adds another variable to this oddness.
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May 2nd, 2008
02:50 pm - Down The Stretch They Come
Just so I'm on the record: I like Colonel John in the Kentucky Derby tomorrow.
If we're talking trifecta possibilities, I like Z Fortune and Big Brown to finish in the top three.
We'll see if we can keep the good prognostication mojo going. Fingers are crossed.
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April 30th, 2008
02:16 pm - Safety First
At Easterwood Airport in College Station, there is a sign that advises pregnant women against drinking, seeing as alcohol might hurt their unborn child. This is important information no doubt. That said, I'm not sure how effective this sign is, seeing as it is hanging next to the mirrors in the men's restroom.
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April 23rd, 2008
08:46 pm - Against All Odds
I have to teach myself not to get mad at the ignorance surrounding the race for the Presidency this electoral season. When I read stories like this one where a preacher used a sign in front of his church to ask if Barack Obama and Osama Bin Laden are brothers, I get so annoyed at how incredibly dumb people are. Just assess the preacher's statement:
"It is absolutely not a racist sign or a political sign...it's only meant to encourage people to think about what they're doing. (Obama) said he's not (a Muslim), but that's why I asked the question. I would put the same sign up if he were a white man."
Seriously? How is it not a political sign? It mentions a political candidate and it links said candidate to a highly political issue. Don't even get me started on the people who both think he's a Muslim and are mad at what Reverend Wright has said.
I'm at the point where I don't know if I should even bother correcting people I know who believe these kinds of falsehoods. I just received an e-mail with this misinformation in it. People will believe what they want to believe I guess.
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April 18th, 2008
11:56 am - Performance Enhancing Drinks
I have been told by several individuals that I am an atypical academic because I am not a coffee drinker. I'm not totally against coffee, and I've been known to enjoy coffee-flavored ice creams and such. The thing is: I'm not a fan of hot beverages for the most part, namely because I don't want to burn my mouth and I'm not patient enough to wait for things to cool down.
That said, I've been pretty tired and listless lately and I can only drink so much Diet Coke or Coke Zero for energy boosts. It was recommended to me that I try iced coffees, and I did so today. The verdict: I do feel like I have a bit more pep, but that is balanced out by a stomachache. I'm not willing to take that tradeoff on a regular basis.
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