As of late I've been getting into old music. I don't mean the Doors and Buddy Holly, I mean stuff from middle school that made the transition from boy to young teenager a little easier. I'm talking LIMP BIZKIT! And I have actually seen some musical qualities that the boys have that I overlooked in my angsty youth. But here is one example of why they deserve the hatred they recieve.
I love it!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Necro Butcher
Okay, the Oscars sucked. The music numbers were decent, the awards were predictable, and the one shimmer of hope of Rourke winning and truly crowning himself as champion once again was tainted by the Acaedmy's desire to show that it cares about homosexuals. Not to bash Penn's performance, I've only seen pieces of it, but no way was it as moving as Mickey, and he even acknowledged that. But all that aside there was an Apatow piece which had a noticeably skinnier Seth Rogen and James Franco revisiting their Pineapple Express roles, and at one point they show a scene from the Wrestler in which one guy, Necro Butcher, takes a dollar bill and a staple gun to the head. They make that a running joke for the rest of the segment, with Rogen having a dollar bill stapled to his head. I was reading the Baltimore Sun's Ring Post Blog, in which columnist Kevin Eck mentioned Butcher in a post Oscar rant, and I decided to search him on Youtube. And what I found is intense, this vid is only a small fraction of the damage this guy has been a victim or cause of.
I thought they hired some guy to do that, I didn't know he was a real wrestler!
I thought they hired some guy to do that, I didn't know he was a real wrestler!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
It's here!
While the Transformer 2 trailer was easily the one I was most excited for in recent weeks, this one has got to be number two. I am a huge Apatow fan, and his two directed movies are my favorites out of his entire produced-catalogue. This one looks different, which is good, so hopefully my faith in him won't be shaken. But I guess it already has been with You Don't Mess With the Zohan and Drillbit Taylor.
Friday, February 20, 2009
ANOTHER FUNNY THING?
Dunno if you watch Tim and Eric, but I've been getting into it lately. Here is a clip I find funny.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Uncler
Check out this funny vid from people that get like 10 more hits a day than I do, Funny or Die.
Alyssa Milano looks an awful lot like Marisa Tomei.
Alyssa Milano looks an awful lot like Marisa Tomei.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
FUNNY THING!
I know it's a few weeks late. But here's a new feature for the site: WACKY PHOTO CAPTIONS!
Finally the three fried eggs, three slices of French Toast, two ham and cheese sandwiches, pasta and whole pizza make sense.
Finally the three fried eggs, three slices of French Toast, two ham and cheese sandwiches, pasta and whole pizza make sense.
TNA Critique 1/5
Okay before I start let me say something. Some people smoke cigarettes, some people drink, some people do drugs…I watch professional wrestling. It’s one of those things my parents go, “You’re still doing that?” when they see me watching, and it’s something I’ve tried to drop in every way, replace it with something else, go cold turkey, but at the end of the day I’m still a fan. It’s not like I’m a child who believes it’s all real, nor do I idolize any of these wrestlers, I just appreciate it as a form of entertainment. I think it’s a very interesting style of entertainment, that given the physical limitations of how it can pay off for fans, is blessed to have lasted this long.
And if there is one thing that I think wrestling fans and non-fans can agree upon it’s that a lot of the stuff that’s put on TV, especially with the biggest company, World Wrestling Entertainment, is stupid. Most of it has been done before in some shape or form, so as a fan that actually wanted to see something original, I spent a few years in the early 00’s trying to find an alternative. And then, like magic, I found one. An indie promotion that was quickly making it’s way up the ranks, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. It was owned by ex-WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett, and it featured a lot of guys I loved that had been given the axe by the WWE over the years. So as soon as they got a cable deal on Spike TV, I tuned in every week to see what was up, and for the first couple of years what they were giving me was awesome. We had new and original characters, fantastic matches and good booking. I mean it all seemed perfect, but slowly, as TNA grew as a company, it started to do something that any company looking to make a profit does; it started to sell out. Jarrett started bringing in “names,” or older wrestlers who at one point had a name for themselves, but as they aged well into their 40’s lost it for the obvious reason that they couldn’t keep up with the young guns who had been tearing down the roof since TNA’s birth. Guys like “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner, whose arms are so grotesquely huge, they make my Christmas ham look like kitchen scraps, and Kevin “Big Sexy” Nash, whose ankles were as brittle as a twig were consuming more television time than some of TNA’s originals, some of whom have been more or less driven from the company due to these politics.
"We've all become members of the AARP!"
Now, I’m not saying the entire place is run by 40-50 year old wash ups, I mean there are a handful of 40+ wrestlers in TNA that can definitely hold their own among the young guys, people like Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle, Booker T, and the biggest name never to sign with Vince McMahon, Sting. But over the past few years, TNA has dropped the ball so many times that as a fan, I feel betrayed. I feel like I watched them grow from nothing to something over a period of a few years and now that they have lukewarm ratings and a slowly growing fan base, they have merely taken the easy route rather than continue to put out innovative matches with fascinating storylines.
So, as a fan, I’m going to write five pieces, this being the first, on the state of Total Nonstop Action wrestling and the product they are making. The five topics will be as follows:
1) Match Gimmicks- How they went from giving the fans new and cool ideas, to repeating the same old stuff over and over just to try and be different.
2) The Knockout Division- TNA has attempted to re-vitalize women’s wrestling by starting a “Knockout” division that showcases women’s wrestling as opposed to the WWE, whose women’s roster is made up of 90% pretty blondes.
3) The X-Division- Perhaps TNA’s biggest asset, high risk matches, high risk performers, and probably the most potential in the world.
4) The Tag Teams- Tag Team wrestling is an art that many, including the WWE, have seemingly forgotten how to utilize. TNA is far from perfect too.
5) The Main Event- What people pay for, the main event wrestlers are expected to perform better, but do they?
So without any further ado, I shall start.
TNA Critique #1: Match Gimmicks
If you ask anybody if they remember Mankind being thrown off the top of the Hell in a Cell some ten years ago, they’ll probably have at least heard of the incident, if not seen it. That was an epic moment in the pro wrestling world, and it can mainly be attributed to the fact that the gimmick match, the Hell in a Cell, was in place. If it weren’t for those steel walls, there would be no elevation, no fun added to the match, it’d just be an ordinary match. And TNA has been attempting to create their own gimmicks, and some have failed and some have succeeded. Let’s take a look.
There’s the Ultimate X match, a match in which two wires are suspended from two ring posts (oh did I mention the ring in TNA is six sided?) and competitors have to shimmy across the wire to a giant red X at the crossing of the two wires. It’s cool and original, and there is the Ultimate X’s cousin the Elevation X, a match in which instead of wire above the ring there is a small scaffold, and the match ends when someone takes a dive from the scaffolding. A good match idea in theory, but we all know how it’s going to end, no way to really surprise the fans. There’s also the Terrordome, which took a new name, but because I haven’t been following so much, I don’t know what it is. Escape match maybe? This is a really cool match that has yet to be truly milked. The ring is surrounded by a cage and a dome is placed on top with a small opening. The goal, like a classic cage match, is to escape the cage from the small hole in the dome. A very cool concept, but the match has been booked as a 8+ man battle royale, which completely takes away any intimacy the match can offer, just to give a spot fest for rabid fans (definition of a spot fest-a match which is filled with big flashy moves to wow the fans quickly). It is a great take on the cage match, it just needs to be utilized better. But TNA focuses more on Ultimate X and the their two big retrieval type matches than this, so I wouldn’t be surprised to either see the Terrordome disappear, or continue to be booked disastrously.
How "fake" is that?
The two retrieval matches that TNA has prided itself in, aside from Ultimate X, which really is their child, are the King of the Mountain match and the Feast or Fired battle royale. Bad concept first. Feast or Fired; this match is booked as a battle royale in which four briefcases hang from four of the six corners of the ring, three briefcases contain title shots and one contains a pink slip, firing the superstar who gets it. While this is an interesting concept, poor booking has ultimately yielded the results of it to be lackluster and unworthy performers won cases while deserving ones were fired in order to bring in new gimmicks (definition in the wrestling world of gimmicks- characters, usually predictable one trick pony people that make an easy few dollars before fizzling out and losing their popularity). I haven’t really been satisfied with the way that Feast or Fired has worked in the two years it’s been in tact. From the booking of the match to the culmination of each case being cashed in, there has never been a great moment provided by Feast or Fired. And then there is the King of the Mountain, the heavyweight division’s Ultimate X. This match is a very interesting twist on the classic ladder match, while historically in ladder matches the object is to retrieve a belt from hanging above the ring, in this match the goal is to take the belt from the ground and hang it above the ring. It sounds corny, but I’ve watched a few of these matches and they are really cool to see.
Ouch
So these are gimmick matches, easy overs on the crowd that boost buyrates on Pay-Per-View’s. But I don’t have problems with those, right? Well first let me say that I think relying on so many gimmicks is sad. WWE has a few gimmick matches every year, the Elimination Chamber, the Royal Rumble (which may be the best gimmick ever to exist), the Survivor Series 10-man tag team matches, and a few cage, ladder, and cell matches thrown in. These gimmick matches are hardly spot fests, and they are seen as classics in the company. A year without one of these matches would be disappointing to fans. In TNA, aside from Ultimate X and King of the Mountain, there really is no great match to look forward to, since these other gimmicks either suck, or are too predictable to enjoy. It is impressive that TNA has built up a repertoire of original match types, but with a six sided ring, matches already have an interesting feel that no other company can deliver.
And TNA not only has too many gimmick matches, but they have a gimmick Pay-Per-View, called Lockdown, in which all the matches are battled in a cage. So they take a gimmick I find to be entirely played out, and spend 3-4 hours of my time trying to make forget that I’ve seen it too many times. While I’m not saying that the Lockdown matches are bad, it’s just unoriginal, and I wish that there were better things they would be spending their time and talent on.
But all grand gimmicks aside, TNA has a huge problem with overbooking basic gimmick matches on their weekly Impact program. A night without gimmicks would basically consist of a series of single matches, and maybe one tag team match and one women’s match. TNA can’t do that. They have to overhaul the fans with 6-8 man tag team matches, inter-gender tag team matches, and handicapped matches, in which two men will take on one man, or three men will take on two, etc.. The fact that there are so many gimmick matches on their weekly show means they are shying away from raw matches that got them their fans in an effort to bring in people that want to see more interesting matches. They are appealing to those with low attention spans, who think that singles matches are boring, when in actuality these gimmicks are what are boring me and many other loyal fans the most. Here is my dream Impact, I’ll be generous and give it six matches. Tell me if this is overly gimmicky.
Match 1: Singles match, #1 Contender for the X-Title
Chris Sabin vs. Sonjay Dutt
Match 2: Singles match
Matt Morgan vs. Kip James
Match 3: Tag Team Title Match
Robert Roode and James Storm vs. Scott Steiner and Booker T
Match 4: Knockout Match
Angelina Love vs. Sojourner Bolt
Match 5: Number one contender for the TNA title
A.J. Styles vs. Abyss
Match 6: Main Event
Kurt Angle vs. Rhino
And that is a weak card. That is just the bottom of the barrel for what they can do, and I even put wrestlers I don’t think are that great, just to prove that it’s possible to accommodate these older names. But TNA has stacked these Impact episodes where there are multiple handicapped matches, and several no DQ, weapons matches and other such gimmicks to try and increase their ratings.
TOO MANY PEOPLE!
So the bottom line is this. On the pay-per-view’s, don’t worry so much. Don’t throw battle royals just to put Wrestler X on the bill and have him deliver one huge spot before disappearing into the abyss of the rest of your roster. Develop these great gimmicks in Ultimate X and King of the Mountain to the level in which they are talked about all year until they return, and why not throw a surprise one onto an episode of Impact, like then WWF did with their classic TLC match on Smackdown, a match I’ll never forget. And on Impact, less is more. Stop booking weak matches with a little asterisk just to attempt to draw in fans, it’s clearly not working. Stick to the basics and all can be well.
Thank you for reading this, leave comments if you want.
And if there is one thing that I think wrestling fans and non-fans can agree upon it’s that a lot of the stuff that’s put on TV, especially with the biggest company, World Wrestling Entertainment, is stupid. Most of it has been done before in some shape or form, so as a fan that actually wanted to see something original, I spent a few years in the early 00’s trying to find an alternative. And then, like magic, I found one. An indie promotion that was quickly making it’s way up the ranks, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. It was owned by ex-WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett, and it featured a lot of guys I loved that had been given the axe by the WWE over the years. So as soon as they got a cable deal on Spike TV, I tuned in every week to see what was up, and for the first couple of years what they were giving me was awesome. We had new and original characters, fantastic matches and good booking. I mean it all seemed perfect, but slowly, as TNA grew as a company, it started to do something that any company looking to make a profit does; it started to sell out. Jarrett started bringing in “names,” or older wrestlers who at one point had a name for themselves, but as they aged well into their 40’s lost it for the obvious reason that they couldn’t keep up with the young guns who had been tearing down the roof since TNA’s birth. Guys like “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner, whose arms are so grotesquely huge, they make my Christmas ham look like kitchen scraps, and Kevin “Big Sexy” Nash, whose ankles were as brittle as a twig were consuming more television time than some of TNA’s originals, some of whom have been more or less driven from the company due to these politics.
"We've all become members of the AARP!"
Now, I’m not saying the entire place is run by 40-50 year old wash ups, I mean there are a handful of 40+ wrestlers in TNA that can definitely hold their own among the young guys, people like Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle, Booker T, and the biggest name never to sign with Vince McMahon, Sting. But over the past few years, TNA has dropped the ball so many times that as a fan, I feel betrayed. I feel like I watched them grow from nothing to something over a period of a few years and now that they have lukewarm ratings and a slowly growing fan base, they have merely taken the easy route rather than continue to put out innovative matches with fascinating storylines.
So, as a fan, I’m going to write five pieces, this being the first, on the state of Total Nonstop Action wrestling and the product they are making. The five topics will be as follows:
1) Match Gimmicks- How they went from giving the fans new and cool ideas, to repeating the same old stuff over and over just to try and be different.
2) The Knockout Division- TNA has attempted to re-vitalize women’s wrestling by starting a “Knockout” division that showcases women’s wrestling as opposed to the WWE, whose women’s roster is made up of 90% pretty blondes.
3) The X-Division- Perhaps TNA’s biggest asset, high risk matches, high risk performers, and probably the most potential in the world.
4) The Tag Teams- Tag Team wrestling is an art that many, including the WWE, have seemingly forgotten how to utilize. TNA is far from perfect too.
5) The Main Event- What people pay for, the main event wrestlers are expected to perform better, but do they?
So without any further ado, I shall start.
TNA Critique #1: Match Gimmicks
If you ask anybody if they remember Mankind being thrown off the top of the Hell in a Cell some ten years ago, they’ll probably have at least heard of the incident, if not seen it. That was an epic moment in the pro wrestling world, and it can mainly be attributed to the fact that the gimmick match, the Hell in a Cell, was in place. If it weren’t for those steel walls, there would be no elevation, no fun added to the match, it’d just be an ordinary match. And TNA has been attempting to create their own gimmicks, and some have failed and some have succeeded. Let’s take a look.
There’s the Ultimate X match, a match in which two wires are suspended from two ring posts (oh did I mention the ring in TNA is six sided?) and competitors have to shimmy across the wire to a giant red X at the crossing of the two wires. It’s cool and original, and there is the Ultimate X’s cousin the Elevation X, a match in which instead of wire above the ring there is a small scaffold, and the match ends when someone takes a dive from the scaffolding. A good match idea in theory, but we all know how it’s going to end, no way to really surprise the fans. There’s also the Terrordome, which took a new name, but because I haven’t been following so much, I don’t know what it is. Escape match maybe? This is a really cool match that has yet to be truly milked. The ring is surrounded by a cage and a dome is placed on top with a small opening. The goal, like a classic cage match, is to escape the cage from the small hole in the dome. A very cool concept, but the match has been booked as a 8+ man battle royale, which completely takes away any intimacy the match can offer, just to give a spot fest for rabid fans (definition of a spot fest-a match which is filled with big flashy moves to wow the fans quickly). It is a great take on the cage match, it just needs to be utilized better. But TNA focuses more on Ultimate X and the their two big retrieval type matches than this, so I wouldn’t be surprised to either see the Terrordome disappear, or continue to be booked disastrously.
How "fake" is that?
The two retrieval matches that TNA has prided itself in, aside from Ultimate X, which really is their child, are the King of the Mountain match and the Feast or Fired battle royale. Bad concept first. Feast or Fired; this match is booked as a battle royale in which four briefcases hang from four of the six corners of the ring, three briefcases contain title shots and one contains a pink slip, firing the superstar who gets it. While this is an interesting concept, poor booking has ultimately yielded the results of it to be lackluster and unworthy performers won cases while deserving ones were fired in order to bring in new gimmicks (definition in the wrestling world of gimmicks- characters, usually predictable one trick pony people that make an easy few dollars before fizzling out and losing their popularity). I haven’t really been satisfied with the way that Feast or Fired has worked in the two years it’s been in tact. From the booking of the match to the culmination of each case being cashed in, there has never been a great moment provided by Feast or Fired. And then there is the King of the Mountain, the heavyweight division’s Ultimate X. This match is a very interesting twist on the classic ladder match, while historically in ladder matches the object is to retrieve a belt from hanging above the ring, in this match the goal is to take the belt from the ground and hang it above the ring. It sounds corny, but I’ve watched a few of these matches and they are really cool to see.
Ouch
So these are gimmick matches, easy overs on the crowd that boost buyrates on Pay-Per-View’s. But I don’t have problems with those, right? Well first let me say that I think relying on so many gimmicks is sad. WWE has a few gimmick matches every year, the Elimination Chamber, the Royal Rumble (which may be the best gimmick ever to exist), the Survivor Series 10-man tag team matches, and a few cage, ladder, and cell matches thrown in. These gimmick matches are hardly spot fests, and they are seen as classics in the company. A year without one of these matches would be disappointing to fans. In TNA, aside from Ultimate X and King of the Mountain, there really is no great match to look forward to, since these other gimmicks either suck, or are too predictable to enjoy. It is impressive that TNA has built up a repertoire of original match types, but with a six sided ring, matches already have an interesting feel that no other company can deliver.
And TNA not only has too many gimmick matches, but they have a gimmick Pay-Per-View, called Lockdown, in which all the matches are battled in a cage. So they take a gimmick I find to be entirely played out, and spend 3-4 hours of my time trying to make forget that I’ve seen it too many times. While I’m not saying that the Lockdown matches are bad, it’s just unoriginal, and I wish that there were better things they would be spending their time and talent on.
But all grand gimmicks aside, TNA has a huge problem with overbooking basic gimmick matches on their weekly Impact program. A night without gimmicks would basically consist of a series of single matches, and maybe one tag team match and one women’s match. TNA can’t do that. They have to overhaul the fans with 6-8 man tag team matches, inter-gender tag team matches, and handicapped matches, in which two men will take on one man, or three men will take on two, etc.. The fact that there are so many gimmick matches on their weekly show means they are shying away from raw matches that got them their fans in an effort to bring in people that want to see more interesting matches. They are appealing to those with low attention spans, who think that singles matches are boring, when in actuality these gimmicks are what are boring me and many other loyal fans the most. Here is my dream Impact, I’ll be generous and give it six matches. Tell me if this is overly gimmicky.
Match 1: Singles match, #1 Contender for the X-Title
Chris Sabin vs. Sonjay Dutt
Match 2: Singles match
Matt Morgan vs. Kip James
Match 3: Tag Team Title Match
Robert Roode and James Storm vs. Scott Steiner and Booker T
Match 4: Knockout Match
Angelina Love vs. Sojourner Bolt
Match 5: Number one contender for the TNA title
A.J. Styles vs. Abyss
Match 6: Main Event
Kurt Angle vs. Rhino
And that is a weak card. That is just the bottom of the barrel for what they can do, and I even put wrestlers I don’t think are that great, just to prove that it’s possible to accommodate these older names. But TNA has stacked these Impact episodes where there are multiple handicapped matches, and several no DQ, weapons matches and other such gimmicks to try and increase their ratings.
TOO MANY PEOPLE!
So the bottom line is this. On the pay-per-view’s, don’t worry so much. Don’t throw battle royals just to put Wrestler X on the bill and have him deliver one huge spot before disappearing into the abyss of the rest of your roster. Develop these great gimmicks in Ultimate X and King of the Mountain to the level in which they are talked about all year until they return, and why not throw a surprise one onto an episode of Impact, like then WWF did with their classic TLC match on Smackdown, a match I’ll never forget. And on Impact, less is more. Stop booking weak matches with a little asterisk just to attempt to draw in fans, it’s clearly not working. Stick to the basics and all can be well.
Thank you for reading this, leave comments if you want.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
WHat?
Last night at the Grammy's a due to give birth M.I.A. started performing her hit "Paper Planes" when she cut out to reveal the four best mainstream rappers alive.
So much to watch!
So much to watch!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
25 Things...
Two posts so close? Why not. I've been tagged in one of those "25 Things About Me" things and I did one a while back when I was in a hurry leaving for work and it kind of sucks. So I'm going to do another one. You're supposed to A) Do this on Facebook and B) Tag 25 people. But I'm not doing either, I want hits on this damn blog! Can't people just read it already?!
1. I was an Indian Guide when I was a kid. I was in the Creek tribe and my indian name was Roaring Lion. I went to Camp Jewell and Camp Hi-Rock probably four or five times. My dad was Medicine Man, and Longhouse Chief as well as leader of our tribe for a year or so.
2. My first cat, named Pepper, died in a pretty odd accident that I don't want to describe on this blog, but as soon as we got new ones I instantly liked them better. I felt really bad about it for like three years, but once I got old enough I realized Pepper was too independent to be social, and thusly was a cruel, mean cat that paid more attention to a stuffed pumpkin than it did to anyone in my family.
3. I have a total of 18 posters on my wall in my single here at Hofstra. I am really into decking things out to match my personality, and I actually forgot to bring my posters when I came to school, so I spent over a month with only two on the wall (Wu-Tang Clan and Casino Royale) before the rest arrived. It was a boring month.
4. I think Heath Ledger performed better in Brokeback Mountain than he did in The Dark Knight. To me, The Joker is a very calculated character that was a combination of a series of eclectic characters that already existed. Ennis in Brokeback to me is one of the most heartwrenching performances, because Heath had to be so stone faced, yet emote that he was so torn up on the inside.
5. One of the first coherent memories I have is spanking a woman at the Burger King in Shelton. I was in the play place with my Mom and brother and I decided I wanted to climb up a slide. It was a smaller one that had all of these ridges on it, and a little kid tried to go down and I told him/her (I don't remember 100%) not too. His/her mother came up and told me not to climb up the slide and I spanked her. That's all I remember of that story, but apparently my Mother was really embarrassed and the woman was laughing hysterically.
6. I've been going to church when I'm home since I was a kid. My parents switched churches, and my brother stopped going, yet I still go to the same one. When people ask why I tell them it's because I get something out of the sermons. I don't necessarily agree with the views of the Catholic church, or all of the writings in the Bible, but I feel like there is some general wisdom and insight on life we all can get from a decent sermon or a well chosen scripture reading. I'm not pushing my religion on anyone, but that's just how I feel.
7. When I was a kid I had a HUGE, and I mean HUGE action figure collection. I kept buying them until around 8th grade, and I still sporadically do. I mean, what's cheaper, a statue to put up on my desk, or a $5 Gene Simmons toy? Some classic favorites include Moto from Biker Mice From Mars, Chip Hazard from Small Soldiers, and the great Earthworm Jim.
8. I have honestly read less than 50 comic books in my day. My friends pit me as a comic book nerd, but if I were to be thrown into the mix with people that buy comics on a regular basis I would fall behind really quickly. I do really like the lore behind some of the super heroes and villains, I just don't have the time or money to spend purchasing these books every month.
9. I don't have any "guilty pleasure" music because to me, a guilty pleasure is something you are skeptical to tell your friends about. My iTunes library is pretty much an open book. While I may not listen to everything (much of the 10+ minute jazz songs by icons like Miles Davis and John Coltrane have 0 plays) I keep it because one day, when the time is right, it will hit the spot.
10. The first CD's I remember buying were the Beatles Let It Be and Magical Mystery Tour, I rarely listened to Let it Be until high school. That was my breakup album, as it came in handy often when I was being a little pansy after being dumped.
11. As messy as I may seem, I can be a neat freak. Almost daily I clean off my desk and floor, and my computer is organized almost entirely. My "My Documents" folder on my external hard drive probably has like 200 folders within folders of school work, scripts and other stuff.
12. The first "film" I made was an experimental montage known as "The Tape of the Future" which contained several short films made by myself and my friends as well as a lot of absurdist action figure based comedy portrayed by me. My friends and I still reference some of the tape when we hang out, it has become a staple of my life. I hope to import it onto my laptop at some distant point in the future.
13. The first "movie" I made was the Champions. It was about me and Corey McNair as friends who have a somewhat rocky relationship because they have contrasting views on so many things. Every scene of the movie was shot in one take without the camera moving. Tyler Mahard did the camera work for the movie, Jared and Kevin Kunze tried to edit it, but Sean McCabe swooped in for the credit. It debuted at the first annual Stratford Film Festival.
14. When reminiscing on high school with my friends back home, many of my friends say they wish they had been part of the theater group S.T.A.G.E. longer. I disagree completely. While being in West Side Story was a great experience and I got a lot out of it, the stress levels were too crazy and there were too many egos running around for me to get comfortable.
15. I am still undefeated at foosball here at Hofstra. While I haven't played in over a year, and the table is probably broken at this juncture, I took on many an opponent and dominated most matches I was in.
16. I think Hank Hill is the best cartoon dad in the realm of popular cartoons. While Homer Simpson has many laughs, his character is too wide spread, and Peter Griffin is just dumb. Hank Hill has remained consistent throughout the entire run of King of the Hill and still keeps me interested.
17. On top of the many plastic action figures I have, I also have a reasonable bobblehead collection. It started when I was in the 8th grade in L.A. and has slowly grown to 15. In order of purchase/gift recieving I have Colonel Sanders, Capt. L.I. Sounder (mascot for the Bridgeport Bluefish). a tiki man, Uncle Sam, Mario, Sam the Bugler (from the Saratoga race track), Pete the Pepper, William Shakespeare, Hellboy, George W. Bush, a Gamorrean guard from Star Wars and a few more that are not coming to my mind right now.
18. I have only travelled outside of the United States once, and it was to Canada of all places. I really want to travel somewhere nice in the near future, but part of me worries about spending a lot of money.
19. Speaking of money, and purchasing things, I am known to buy CD's without ever hearing the artists music. I rely sometimes on critics and friends entirely when I pick up a CD, as well as loyalty to certain artists. Some artists I will support regardless of the quality are: Primus, Mike Patton, Franz Ferdinand (see below), Gym Class Heroes, most any Wu-Tang Clan members, Queens of the Stone Age/Josh Homme side projects, Damon Albarn's projects, Beastie Boys and a few more.
20. I have a tendency to back away from liking something if it gets too popular. It's not intentional, but I just feel like I don't want to overkill some things by jumping in the bandwagon and laughing along. While it has alienated me at times, it has also opened my eyes to flaws of certain things.
21. The oldest T-Shirt I own as of this moment is from my sophomore year of high school. It's for Dr. Seuss's classic One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. I wear it at work and people get a kick out of it.
22. The day I got my glasses in second grade, I also got my braces. I remember how sad the eye doctor seemed when he asked me if my teeth hurt. He told me soon enough it would all be over. If there ever was a moment where I was stamped a nerd, it was the next Monday when I returned to school with a mouth full of metal and Fischer-Price brand glasses.
23. I've been to a total of 7 professional wrestling shows since I was in 8th grade. I've seen the greats like Hulk Hogan, Kurt Angle, Kane, the Undertaker...the list goes on, but my favorite night was taking a bunch of my non-wrestling fan friends when we were bored one night over the summer. We saw Eddie Guerrero only a few months before he died. While it may not have been the best show I've ever been too, the fact that my friends unanimously liked it was enough reward for me.
24. I've wanted a tattoo since I was in high school, I've always just been torn as to what and where. I went from wanting the Weezer W on my upper right arm, to a mix of the Weezer and Wu-Tang W on my upper right arm, and for the past year or so I've wanted the Rorshach signature from the Watchmen book somewhere, but I don't know where.
25. If there is one thing in my life that has made me the person I am it's scouting. While the morales of all the scout oaths, laws, etc. have helped model me into who I am, I feel like attaining Eagle was me proving to myself, my friends and my family (my father had once told me I never finished things, and I would drop things when I got bored with them) that I was capable and willing to go all the way. It also angers me when people get Eagle and drop off the face of their troop, as I feel as an Eagle, I owe an enormous amount to the troop that "raised" me to the level of Eagle. So many friends of mine feel like once they got the award they can just step aside and leave, but I think true Eagles at least make an effort to show up and pass on what they have learned to younger scouts.
Alright well that's it. Eat it up.
1. I was an Indian Guide when I was a kid. I was in the Creek tribe and my indian name was Roaring Lion. I went to Camp Jewell and Camp Hi-Rock probably four or five times. My dad was Medicine Man, and Longhouse Chief as well as leader of our tribe for a year or so.
2. My first cat, named Pepper, died in a pretty odd accident that I don't want to describe on this blog, but as soon as we got new ones I instantly liked them better. I felt really bad about it for like three years, but once I got old enough I realized Pepper was too independent to be social, and thusly was a cruel, mean cat that paid more attention to a stuffed pumpkin than it did to anyone in my family.
3. I have a total of 18 posters on my wall in my single here at Hofstra. I am really into decking things out to match my personality, and I actually forgot to bring my posters when I came to school, so I spent over a month with only two on the wall (Wu-Tang Clan and Casino Royale) before the rest arrived. It was a boring month.
4. I think Heath Ledger performed better in Brokeback Mountain than he did in The Dark Knight. To me, The Joker is a very calculated character that was a combination of a series of eclectic characters that already existed. Ennis in Brokeback to me is one of the most heartwrenching performances, because Heath had to be so stone faced, yet emote that he was so torn up on the inside.
5. One of the first coherent memories I have is spanking a woman at the Burger King in Shelton. I was in the play place with my Mom and brother and I decided I wanted to climb up a slide. It was a smaller one that had all of these ridges on it, and a little kid tried to go down and I told him/her (I don't remember 100%) not too. His/her mother came up and told me not to climb up the slide and I spanked her. That's all I remember of that story, but apparently my Mother was really embarrassed and the woman was laughing hysterically.
6. I've been going to church when I'm home since I was a kid. My parents switched churches, and my brother stopped going, yet I still go to the same one. When people ask why I tell them it's because I get something out of the sermons. I don't necessarily agree with the views of the Catholic church, or all of the writings in the Bible, but I feel like there is some general wisdom and insight on life we all can get from a decent sermon or a well chosen scripture reading. I'm not pushing my religion on anyone, but that's just how I feel.
7. When I was a kid I had a HUGE, and I mean HUGE action figure collection. I kept buying them until around 8th grade, and I still sporadically do. I mean, what's cheaper, a statue to put up on my desk, or a $5 Gene Simmons toy? Some classic favorites include Moto from Biker Mice From Mars, Chip Hazard from Small Soldiers, and the great Earthworm Jim.
8. I have honestly read less than 50 comic books in my day. My friends pit me as a comic book nerd, but if I were to be thrown into the mix with people that buy comics on a regular basis I would fall behind really quickly. I do really like the lore behind some of the super heroes and villains, I just don't have the time or money to spend purchasing these books every month.
9. I don't have any "guilty pleasure" music because to me, a guilty pleasure is something you are skeptical to tell your friends about. My iTunes library is pretty much an open book. While I may not listen to everything (much of the 10+ minute jazz songs by icons like Miles Davis and John Coltrane have 0 plays) I keep it because one day, when the time is right, it will hit the spot.
10. The first CD's I remember buying were the Beatles Let It Be and Magical Mystery Tour, I rarely listened to Let it Be until high school. That was my breakup album, as it came in handy often when I was being a little pansy after being dumped.
11. As messy as I may seem, I can be a neat freak. Almost daily I clean off my desk and floor, and my computer is organized almost entirely. My "My Documents" folder on my external hard drive probably has like 200 folders within folders of school work, scripts and other stuff.
12. The first "film" I made was an experimental montage known as "The Tape of the Future" which contained several short films made by myself and my friends as well as a lot of absurdist action figure based comedy portrayed by me. My friends and I still reference some of the tape when we hang out, it has become a staple of my life. I hope to import it onto my laptop at some distant point in the future.
13. The first "movie" I made was the Champions. It was about me and Corey McNair as friends who have a somewhat rocky relationship because they have contrasting views on so many things. Every scene of the movie was shot in one take without the camera moving. Tyler Mahard did the camera work for the movie, Jared and Kevin Kunze tried to edit it, but Sean McCabe swooped in for the credit. It debuted at the first annual Stratford Film Festival.
14. When reminiscing on high school with my friends back home, many of my friends say they wish they had been part of the theater group S.T.A.G.E. longer. I disagree completely. While being in West Side Story was a great experience and I got a lot out of it, the stress levels were too crazy and there were too many egos running around for me to get comfortable.
15. I am still undefeated at foosball here at Hofstra. While I haven't played in over a year, and the table is probably broken at this juncture, I took on many an opponent and dominated most matches I was in.
16. I think Hank Hill is the best cartoon dad in the realm of popular cartoons. While Homer Simpson has many laughs, his character is too wide spread, and Peter Griffin is just dumb. Hank Hill has remained consistent throughout the entire run of King of the Hill and still keeps me interested.
17. On top of the many plastic action figures I have, I also have a reasonable bobblehead collection. It started when I was in the 8th grade in L.A. and has slowly grown to 15. In order of purchase/gift recieving I have Colonel Sanders, Capt. L.I. Sounder (mascot for the Bridgeport Bluefish). a tiki man, Uncle Sam, Mario, Sam the Bugler (from the Saratoga race track), Pete the Pepper, William Shakespeare, Hellboy, George W. Bush, a Gamorrean guard from Star Wars and a few more that are not coming to my mind right now.
18. I have only travelled outside of the United States once, and it was to Canada of all places. I really want to travel somewhere nice in the near future, but part of me worries about spending a lot of money.
19. Speaking of money, and purchasing things, I am known to buy CD's without ever hearing the artists music. I rely sometimes on critics and friends entirely when I pick up a CD, as well as loyalty to certain artists. Some artists I will support regardless of the quality are: Primus, Mike Patton, Franz Ferdinand (see below), Gym Class Heroes, most any Wu-Tang Clan members, Queens of the Stone Age/Josh Homme side projects, Damon Albarn's projects, Beastie Boys and a few more.
20. I have a tendency to back away from liking something if it gets too popular. It's not intentional, but I just feel like I don't want to overkill some things by jumping in the bandwagon and laughing along. While it has alienated me at times, it has also opened my eyes to flaws of certain things.
21. The oldest T-Shirt I own as of this moment is from my sophomore year of high school. It's for Dr. Seuss's classic One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. I wear it at work and people get a kick out of it.
22. The day I got my glasses in second grade, I also got my braces. I remember how sad the eye doctor seemed when he asked me if my teeth hurt. He told me soon enough it would all be over. If there ever was a moment where I was stamped a nerd, it was the next Monday when I returned to school with a mouth full of metal and Fischer-Price brand glasses.
23. I've been to a total of 7 professional wrestling shows since I was in 8th grade. I've seen the greats like Hulk Hogan, Kurt Angle, Kane, the Undertaker...the list goes on, but my favorite night was taking a bunch of my non-wrestling fan friends when we were bored one night over the summer. We saw Eddie Guerrero only a few months before he died. While it may not have been the best show I've ever been too, the fact that my friends unanimously liked it was enough reward for me.
24. I've wanted a tattoo since I was in high school, I've always just been torn as to what and where. I went from wanting the Weezer W on my upper right arm, to a mix of the Weezer and Wu-Tang W on my upper right arm, and for the past year or so I've wanted the Rorshach signature from the Watchmen book somewhere, but I don't know where.
25. If there is one thing in my life that has made me the person I am it's scouting. While the morales of all the scout oaths, laws, etc. have helped model me into who I am, I feel like attaining Eagle was me proving to myself, my friends and my family (my father had once told me I never finished things, and I would drop things when I got bored with them) that I was capable and willing to go all the way. It also angers me when people get Eagle and drop off the face of their troop, as I feel as an Eagle, I owe an enormous amount to the troop that "raised" me to the level of Eagle. So many friends of mine feel like once they got the award they can just step aside and leave, but I think true Eagles at least make an effort to show up and pass on what they have learned to younger scouts.
Alright well that's it. Eat it up.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Franz Ferdinand: Tonight-CHERRY POPPIN' REVIEW!
Before I begin this let me explain what I’m doing. I purchased this album and have yet to listen to it. I’ve been into Franz Ferdinand since the “Take Me Out” video came out in my Junior(?) year of high school. Through criticism from my friends that they were too simple and sounded like Modest Mouse (who was blowing up at the same time), I fought hard for my right to listen to simple, fun music. And now here I am, using them as guinea pigs for my newest idea. I have never listened to this album, and as I do for the first time, I will give you my first impression on each song. Maybe this style will work, maybe it will fail miserably, we shall soon see!
1. Ulysses- Very fitting introductory track. Layers slowly, which got my foot tapping pretty quickly. The synthesizer that comes in really makes the track, something that Franz has never really done before. The vocals have a bit of Bowie inflected in them, but that really doesn’t take away from the overall song. I really liked this one. Fantastic start to the album.
2. Turn it On-The bass and guitar line in the first few seconds is nice, very complimentary. The music seems a bit more intense and aware than on their prior albums, or maybe it’s the mixing. I like the lyrics here, kind of a biting love song from Alex Kapranos. It’s a slight shift in tone from the first track, which is always good. Decent track, might get a bit more memorable with a few more plays. I liked the gang vocals in the chorus.
3. No You Girls- This track is pretty funky. The vocal melody is a little weak, but the bass and rhythm guitar more than make up for it. Nice kick in the chorus too. I like the lyrics and she gender shift in the last chorus. Seems reminiscent of prior FF. but I’m not minding too much.
4. Send Him Away- More really cool synth. Kind of has a dense Booker T and the M.G.’s feel. It’s pretty mellow, which is a nice tone change. Another good bassline walking around in the back. The change about halfway through the song is really cool. Nice rhythm from the drums. This song seems to go through phases more than anything else, a jazzy beginning, a real funky middle and a latin-shaker-esque ending. Nice.
5. Twilight Omens- This one is okay, the lowest point on the album thus far. Too much synth, if there’s one thing I don’t like it’s when bands that don’t overuse instruments at all throughout most of their discography have a track or two where it’s just overkill. If the guitar was doing some of the lead lines it would make this track better. Not bad, just not that good.
6. Bite Hard- This starts off like a ballad, and I thought it was an okay one, and then it kicks in and I was like “Whoa this is cool!” Very nice dueling guitar licks, and the synth comes back in a nice accentual form. I like the lead guitar licks under the vocals and bass. The double layered guitar and synth line is really cool, culminating in a guitar solo, something I don’t think the boys have ever tried before. The synth reminds me of Wolfmother. Nice comeback from that last track.
7. The bass is a bit tired at this point, but I’m still tapping my foot. Nice guitar effects, or keys layer in. The gang vocals in the chorus are okay, I prefer them to be used more sparingly, but they’re not bad. The thrashy ending is pretty cool, just not loud enough. If the song sort of crescendo’d into that it may have worked better.
8. Kind of disco-y. It works, but it’s another weaker point on the album. Too much synth, again. The drums are what holds it together. I’m not a big fan.
9. Can’t Stop Feeling- eThe lower octave synth is a nice change. The bass also seems a bit rejuvenated, he’s clearly playing a fresh rhythm. The drum and synth line are very complimentary of each other, and the way it goes in and out is really cool. A nice twist on their formula, I dig it.
10. Lucid Dreams-This is the biggest undertaking of the album. It clocks in at a little less than 8 minutes, which is unheard of for a band a simple as Franz Ferdinand. It’s their epic. And it works, I applaud them for taking a chance. The synth gets a tad tiring after it’s been going for over a minute, but it’s still cool.
11. Dream Again- A nice slower song. Nice percussion in the background, a lot of triangle or glock or something. The simple synth line comes in very nicely. A sweet little number, a nice way to bring it down before the album ends.
12. Katherine Kiss Me- A downer ending. While I expected a bit more of a punch, the band sort of lulls out the fans rather than returning to the same upbeat, poppy stuff on the entire album. Not a bad move at all. Kind of makes me excited for the next album they put out.
Overall Feelings: The album is good, after one play I don’t feel it’s their best, but it is easily their most experimental. The addition of synthesizers to their trademark sound yielded both good and bad results, but with a little work, I’m sure they can hone in on the perfect use of the instrument. The album hit a lot more moods than their prior catalogue, which is good, as they can’t be labeled one trick pony’s anymore. Maybe their lyrical content is similar throughout, but the music is good enough that I didn’t always mind. I’m impressed by the musicianship as well, as every part of the band stood out at one point or another. The weaker points on the album weren’t even that weak, I mean there wasn’t a downright bad song on the album. So I will wrap this up with a few summary words: Experimental fun that works.
1. Ulysses- Very fitting introductory track. Layers slowly, which got my foot tapping pretty quickly. The synthesizer that comes in really makes the track, something that Franz has never really done before. The vocals have a bit of Bowie inflected in them, but that really doesn’t take away from the overall song. I really liked this one. Fantastic start to the album.
2. Turn it On-The bass and guitar line in the first few seconds is nice, very complimentary. The music seems a bit more intense and aware than on their prior albums, or maybe it’s the mixing. I like the lyrics here, kind of a biting love song from Alex Kapranos. It’s a slight shift in tone from the first track, which is always good. Decent track, might get a bit more memorable with a few more plays. I liked the gang vocals in the chorus.
3. No You Girls- This track is pretty funky. The vocal melody is a little weak, but the bass and rhythm guitar more than make up for it. Nice kick in the chorus too. I like the lyrics and she gender shift in the last chorus. Seems reminiscent of prior FF. but I’m not minding too much.
4. Send Him Away- More really cool synth. Kind of has a dense Booker T and the M.G.’s feel. It’s pretty mellow, which is a nice tone change. Another good bassline walking around in the back. The change about halfway through the song is really cool. Nice rhythm from the drums. This song seems to go through phases more than anything else, a jazzy beginning, a real funky middle and a latin-shaker-esque ending. Nice.
5. Twilight Omens- This one is okay, the lowest point on the album thus far. Too much synth, if there’s one thing I don’t like it’s when bands that don’t overuse instruments at all throughout most of their discography have a track or two where it’s just overkill. If the guitar was doing some of the lead lines it would make this track better. Not bad, just not that good.
6. Bite Hard- This starts off like a ballad, and I thought it was an okay one, and then it kicks in and I was like “Whoa this is cool!” Very nice dueling guitar licks, and the synth comes back in a nice accentual form. I like the lead guitar licks under the vocals and bass. The double layered guitar and synth line is really cool, culminating in a guitar solo, something I don’t think the boys have ever tried before. The synth reminds me of Wolfmother. Nice comeback from that last track.
7. The bass is a bit tired at this point, but I’m still tapping my foot. Nice guitar effects, or keys layer in. The gang vocals in the chorus are okay, I prefer them to be used more sparingly, but they’re not bad. The thrashy ending is pretty cool, just not loud enough. If the song sort of crescendo’d into that it may have worked better.
8. Kind of disco-y. It works, but it’s another weaker point on the album. Too much synth, again. The drums are what holds it together. I’m not a big fan.
9. Can’t Stop Feeling- eThe lower octave synth is a nice change. The bass also seems a bit rejuvenated, he’s clearly playing a fresh rhythm. The drum and synth line are very complimentary of each other, and the way it goes in and out is really cool. A nice twist on their formula, I dig it.
10. Lucid Dreams-This is the biggest undertaking of the album. It clocks in at a little less than 8 minutes, which is unheard of for a band a simple as Franz Ferdinand. It’s their epic. And it works, I applaud them for taking a chance. The synth gets a tad tiring after it’s been going for over a minute, but it’s still cool.
11. Dream Again- A nice slower song. Nice percussion in the background, a lot of triangle or glock or something. The simple synth line comes in very nicely. A sweet little number, a nice way to bring it down before the album ends.
12. Katherine Kiss Me- A downer ending. While I expected a bit more of a punch, the band sort of lulls out the fans rather than returning to the same upbeat, poppy stuff on the entire album. Not a bad move at all. Kind of makes me excited for the next album they put out.
Overall Feelings: The album is good, after one play I don’t feel it’s their best, but it is easily their most experimental. The addition of synthesizers to their trademark sound yielded both good and bad results, but with a little work, I’m sure they can hone in on the perfect use of the instrument. The album hit a lot more moods than their prior catalogue, which is good, as they can’t be labeled one trick pony’s anymore. Maybe their lyrical content is similar throughout, but the music is good enough that I didn’t always mind. I’m impressed by the musicianship as well, as every part of the band stood out at one point or another. The weaker points on the album weren’t even that weak, I mean there wasn’t a downright bad song on the album. So I will wrap this up with a few summary words: Experimental fun that works.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Maybe the greatest song ever?
My boy J-Man sent me this link yesterday. It is great.
Green screen videos are a lost art.
Green screen videos are a lost art.
Fun game
Yeah I think I had too many wings and too much celery and my stomach has made me pay for it by keeping me up. So I stumbled upon this cool game.
Play Games at AddictingGames
It's fun! I got to level 7 without failing and then I quit because I am getting tired. I'll try again later.
Play Games at AddictingGames
It's fun! I got to level 7 without failing and then I quit because I am getting tired. I'll try again later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
