Actually it’s just me, no we, and I’m not going to start talking about myself in multiple third person like Perez does, but I’m watching Bender’s Big Score on DVD in preparation for it’s triumphant return this weekend on Comedy Central.
I’m still catching up from the past couple of weeks, and have lots to recap, but just wanted to write a quick post since I caught shit from Chuck for not uploading my blog. Hope you’re happy.
After getting sliced and diced this morning, I had the opportunity to catch up on some TV from the past few weeks. One of the shows was NBC’s quarterlife which started life as a serial on MySpace and then aired on MTV. Holy shit, avoid this trainwreck at all costs. It was supposed to be about a group of friends pretty similar to myself, in their mid-twenties, “finding themselves in a digital age” was one of NBC’s tags for it I believe. In retrospect I’m ashamed to say I was actually looking forward to this. Luckily it looks like all of America agreed, and the show is going to get yanked after a single episode, but I’m at a rare juncture of no pain, no drug haze and rage at the moment that I’m going to rant on.
First off, it was envisioned and being headed up by “the team behind thirtysomething“, let’s just pause and reflect on that for a second. Now, I’ve never watched thirtysomething, but I’ve hardly heard a bad word about it, and the reason it continues to get such praise today is because it was a very personal and poignant show written by a group who were going through the same trials and tribulations that were reflected in their stories. That was 20+ years ago, when they were actually IN their 30’s. So who the f*ck thought they’d be able to write from the perspective of their children in today’s age?
quarterlife was like someone pulled out a list of bad Web 2.0 buzzwords and were peppering and already shitty script with as many of them as they could. “Did we have her say blog in the past five minutes? No? What about video-casting?” Do the writers even know what this stuff means? I don’t know who this was marketed towards, because I don’t know anyone in my demographic who would relate to it, and my parents and grandparents both have better grasps of what the online world is like that they couldn’t be shoveled this shit.
This is all just the icing on a truly truly awful story and cast. Oh, look at our main character, she’s misunderstood and doesn’t tuck her shirt in. She’s spunky and she’ll stand up to her comic book-esque evil boss though in a moment of grandeur. No, she’s 25, if she can’t dress herself, she doesn’t need to be running a website. Grow the hell up.
I have an ever growing collection of t-shirts, and it’s sites like Busted Tees that fuels my addiction. They’ve got some smartass shirts, but my favorites would have to be the JAKKA55, Sparrow and Retarded ones. My obsession with pirates and poker have nothing to do with those choices… nor does me great grammar.
Comedy Central sent me an early screening of Lewis Black’s Root of All Evil, and you know what? It’s really funny. Now, you might be saying to yourself “But Ryan, aren’t all shows on Comedy Central funny? I mean the channel’s name is Comedy Central after all” and I’d say to you “Shut the hell up. Why do I keep writing really really stupid comments that I pretend are coming from my audience.” No, Comedy Central gives a lot of shows a chance, but for every Sarah Silverman Program, there’s a dozen Trucker and T-Bones, Halfway House or American Body Shop. It looks like they’ve definitely got another winner on their hands though.
The premise is a play on all the reality court shows. Lewis Black acts as judge and presides over which of two “blights on humanity” is the real “Root of all Evil”. The first two episodes pitted Oprah against The Catholic Church and Donald Trump against Viagra. Two comedians then argue the case that the entity their representing is the true root of all evil.
I don’t want this to sound like a review or a commercial, it genuinely is a funny ass show and I would expect most of you guys will love it. I was laughing for almost the entire time. Granted I do live with one of the most hateful people in the world who thinks he’s Lewis Black but comes off more like Oscar the Grouch and that adds a whole new level of funny… but it is a funny show and I’ll always take more Lewis Black.
Be back to blogging more this week. Spent last week training for March 2nd.
For the past couple of weeks Ken and I have had a running joke going around here saying "Cheaters never win… unless you want to end up in the Baseball Hall of Fame or the Superbowl". Well, last night karma took it’s retribution on the group of players from Foxborough. After having the golden ring of a perfect season within reach, the New York Giants calmly batted it out of the way. Now, I’ll never deny that The Patriots are a good team, and will certainly go down as one of the best ever, but there’s other things that lead to being a great team then your performance on the field. There’s integrity, professionalism, and just plain good-sportsmanship, all of which The Pats lack.
Congratulations have to go out to Eli and the Giants who never lost their cool the entire night, and kept Shula and the ‘72 Dolphins record alive (check out this great Reebok commercial). My "dream scenario" still would have been for Brett Favre to win last night, end the perfect season, then announce his retirement right then and there, but hey, there’s always next year.
Tags: super bowl, giants, patriots, eli manning, tom brady, brett favre, new york, new england
It’s a hard line to draw, the one where someone is spamming your site with submissions, or just honest to goodness trying to get their voice out there. Although we do allow anyone to post a link to anywhere (within reason) else on the web, we are a "social" site, and I think that’s where it’s easiest to tell between those who are just in it for themselves, and those that are trying to give as much as they receive.
Eliot sums up our stance on mass submissions in this article from WAXY.ORG
If any of my audience happens to find themself in London this Thursday night (January 29th), you should definitely check out my friend Lisa’s art show. It’s going to be held at the Take Courage Gallery (address below). This show is actually the second in a series of three, and the following description is actually from the first show, but no matter what she does, it’s going to kick ass. If you want to check out some of her other work, Lisa has a few pieces up on her MySpace page. I’ll find some and put them up.
MAKEOVER SOLUTION MEANS EVOLUTION
Lisa Slominski and Roisin Byrne’s work attempts to address the new
economics of self – presentation and the contemporary shift in the
stylistic evolution of labour. Their work is interested in how labor
today is ‘performed’ through the development of image and persona; in
as much as it is demonstrated through skills, expertise and the
performance of the worker’s or in this case, an artist’s ‘persona’ has
now become an essential component in the overall production of
business.
BOOK LAUNCH
FALL IN THEATRE: A 24 HOUR PERFORMANCE
Publication of Fall-in-Theatre I, a 24 hour performance with nineteen artists.
Take Courage Gallery
Upstairs, Amersham Arms
388 New Cross Road
London SE14 6TY
http://www.takecourage.co.uk/
http://www.fallintheatre.com/
Along with the podcasts and audiobooks I’ve been listening to lately, I’ve stumbled onto a lot of good music from all over the place.
First up is a guy that some people may have heard of, Lupe Fiasco. He’s relatively new but has been getting a lot of airplay with his song Superstar, off of his second album Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor. His first album, The Cool, is a little less polished, but that may appeal to some. If you think rap is dead or stagnate, definitely check him out. My favorite song of his is Pressure which I’ve embedded below.
Next up is someone that I just found via Perez Hilton today. Her name is Nicole Atkins, and besides a solo act, she also fronts Nicole Atkins & The Sea. 2006 was Regina Spektor, 2007 was Feist’s year, and I think this is Nicole Atkins is 2008’s indy hippie acoustic chick. Brooklyn’s On Fire is below is a fun chorus-y jig and below for your enjoyment.
Finally is a swedish mc named Adam Tensta. I freaking love his album It’s A Tensta Thing. His rap is a little bit heavier than Lupe Fiasco’s, but it’s cut by being laid on top of some really great electronic beats. If you’re a fan of early 90’s rap or techno (two great tastes that taste great together?) definitely give him a try. I dare you to not bop your head listening to My Cool below.
That’s all I’ve got right now, but if you know of anyone that I should give a listen to, let me know. I’ve been checking out Mr. Rojas’ RCRD LBL from time to time, but I desperately wish they would start a podcast or featured mp3 feed so I could have it download into iTunes.
Tags: adam tensta, lupe fiasco, nicole atkins, new music, rcrd lbl
I killed the daily Twitter summaries on here, I doubt anyone will really mind though, they were just cluttering up the site and everyone’s feeds. So, just in case anyone wants to find my Twitter updates, either look to the right side of the site under What I’m Doing… or directly on Twitter.
Also, this is my first post from Qumana (I have no idea how that’s pronounced), a stand alone blogging utility for Mac. It’s pretty nice, and I’m liking not having to open yet another tab in Firefox just to blog. Very slick. If you know of any similar tools that you think I should try, let me know.
Tags: twitter, ryan j budke, qumana