I’ve probably seen as much as you have when it comes to James Cameron’s upcoming film, Avatar, which is to say, a couple of previews. A lot of people - either through conversations or comments left on a website - have indicated that they weren’t blown away. I can understand that, being that most people watched a preview for what is supposed to be an IMAX 3-D movie on their laptops. However, I recently heard a co-worker echo the sentiment that has boggled my mind - namely, that he is convinced Avatar is going to suck. I respectfully submit, my friends, that this is impossible.
This is my Xbox, and she died last night. She was only two years old, which sadly, for a 360, is about middle age.
She wasn’t my first that passed. My original system died a slow, painful death, escaping the dreaded Red Ring, but even worse, she went blind. I could hear the screams of enemies dying in Gears of War, but alas, I couldn’t see them. Her eyes had been put out by the gremlins that lurk deep within all Xboxes.
But even though I’ve suffered this pain before, it still hurts just as bad this time around, and actually more so, as it’s my third day with Call of Duty, and I was just starting to learn how to kill more than one person per life.
Thankfully, I know I’m not alone in my pain. Every single friend I have who owns and Xbox has watched theirs pass away at least once, some, more than three times. I had one friend who had his original 360 he had since the first month of its release. “Mine is strong and healthy” he said, “She’ll last forever.” I’ll never forget the sound of his voice when he called me four years later and said, “She’s RROD’ed…and it’s not…under warranty!” I told him everything was going to be OK.
You know something? I’m gonna watch 5 minutes of this. I mean this entire making fun of guido craze is something I highly love. And MTV is taking this thing to a whole new level. An actual show dedicated to 8 guidos living in a house for an “unforgettable” summer? I said 5 minutes because yes, I’ll want to vomit as soon as I see how much product they put in their hair.
P.S. did you know that MTV already did a program like this nearly 20 years ago called “Sex in the 90s” and they featured “The Dog Brothers?” Remember these guys? They wore fluorescent blazers and bronzed their faces. These guys were truly awesome and treated women like complete crap.
If you want to see the best video of all time, look no further than “The Dog Brothers.”
In any event, I just want to congratulate MTV on it’s complete revamping of its network to include zero music at all. It’s 99% reality show crap. Way to go!
During my late middle school/early high school years, I was a huge fan of Saturday Night Live. I was lucky enough to witness perhaps the greatest cast since the John Belushi/Gilda Radner/Andy Kaufman cast of the late 1970s, and every Saturday night you could count on huge laughs from Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Chris Rock, Phil Hartman, David Spade, and Mike Myers. But then, aside from a stretch when Will Ferrell was carrying the show, Saturday Night Live just wasn’t funny. Be it weak cast members or poor writing, the show wasn’t funny anymore. Despite being a staple of Saturday night television - and airing live - it didn’t generate the buzz that was usually associated with it. For awhile, it seemed, Saturday Night Live was dead.
Well, I just finished another one of my marathon TV series watching sessions. This time it was for the much hyped It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, as I was tired of people asking me why me, their friend who watches more TV than anyone they know who actually makes money, doesn’t watch it. I didn’t really have a reason, I haven’t been so much a fan of other FX shows like The Shield and Rescue Me, so I didn’t really think so much of giving an FX comedy a try.
But after two weeks and four and half seasons (right up until last night’s episode), I’ve busted out the entire series thus far, and I have to say, I am most impressed.
I’m told that the creators of the show (and subsequently the actors) set out to create a Curb Your Enthusiasm type pilot, and though that’s what they did at first. They took Curb, ringed out the awkwardness and amped up the crazy into a show that’s much, much more enjoyable to watch.
South Park, perhaps more than any other show on television, is current, topical, and presents social issues in a humorous light just about every week. Some have complained that the show has been running out of ideas, but with South Park in its 13th season, that’s to be expected. Trey Parker and Matt Stone are known for pushing the envelope - sometimes maybe too far - and for making their opinions on a topic known. The show is unapologetic when it comes to opinion, and most of the time, it’s dead on. I don’t think anyone is going to argue, for example, that Kanye West isn’t a douchebag. With last night’s episode “The F-Word,” however, I think South Park may have missed the point.
I haven’t seen Superman Returns returns in probably over a couple of years, so my reason for writing this article is somewhat tangential. I know that the consensus with regard to Bryan Singer’s Superman film is that it sucked, but I didn’t think it was half bad. Singer managed to create a similar atmosphere as seen in the first two Superman movies, and despite the lack of action, I thought the story was pretty decent, too. The opening credits - an obvious homage to Richard Donner’s original - were a nice bonus. But after watching this week’s episode of Californication (I told you this was tangential), I realized that there was one aspect to Superman Returns that I found very refreshing.
I grew up reading Stephen King, so I’ve always had a soft spot for the guy. I’ve read tons of his novels - Misery, Pet Semetary, Cujo, Eyes of the Dragon, The Bachman Books, just to name a few - but I never got around to reading The Stand. Many people have told me that The Stand is one of, if not the, best novels King has written, and at over 800 pages, I knew reading it would be quite an investment of time. I think King is a damn good writer. Don’t get me wrong, he’s no F. Scott Fitzgerald or even Bret Easton Ellis, but he’s a helluva lot better than the Dean Koontzes and John Grishams out there, too. So how did The Stand turn out? I was more than just a little disappointed. Keep reading to find out why. Major spoilers, obviously.
