Monthly Archive for January, 2007

The headline is everything

Published
by
Tim
on January 30, 2007
in Sports
. 1 Comment

This past weekend was the Senior Bowl, which I didn’t get to watch because it was being played on the NFL network.  Anyway, Troy Smith was the starting quarterback for the North, and depending on the news source you read, had either a good game or a bad game.

Both ESPN and CSTV ran the same AP article, but used completely different headlines.  After reading the article, I take away that Troy had a decent game for the type of situation he had to play in.

ESPN - Smith outduels Leak, leads North to Senior Bowl win

CSTV - Smith Struggles Again , North Blanks South in Senior Bowl 

Here are a few other headlines for the same AP Article.

Yahoo Sports -OSU’s Smith outplays Leak in Senior Bowl
SI.com - Role Reversal: Smith, North get best of Leak, South in Senior Bowl
FoxSports - Smith wins rematch of national title QBs

After reading those it seems there is only one that is trying to portray a different story than the others.  I wonder if the AP tracks what headlines are used for their articles.  It’d be interesting to see.

2 Fun Star Wars Videos

Published
by
Tim
on January 24, 2007
in General
. 0 Comments

Here are 2 pretty cool Star Wars videos up on YouTube.

Enjoy

American Idol Cruelty

Published
by
Tim
on January 22, 2007
in General, Movies and TV
. 1 Comment

So last week I watched what is probably my first extended dose of American Idol when I was over at Kate’s.  Shocking, yes I know.  One thing I was quite surprised at was how cruel the show was. Not really how harsh the criticisms of the contestants was. That I had expected. What I was really surprised at was that how many of the contestants had real life mental, physical or emotional issues and were being abused on television. Now I’m not one to make a comment on an issue like this, but I was truly shocked that the mocking and insulting of people who might be truly disabled or handicapped, is what 37 million people enjoy watching. I guess I’m just most surprised that this is accepted as entertainment by so many people who otherwise would teach acceptance and not to insult someone because they are “different” in day to day life situations.

Apparently though, this isn’t the norm and quite a few people were upset at the cruelty towards “challenged” contestants. I just happened to watch at a bad time. I’m fine with people who can’t sing or dance being made fun of, but if they are obviously hindered due to a learning disability or deformity, I don’t see how America accepts it. Then again, it is Fox.

On a happier note, Matt is 100% correct.  Pan’s Labyrinth is complete awesomeness and you should go see it.  Best way I’ve heard to describe it is a Fairy Tale for adults.

This is ourrrrrr countreeeey

Published
by
Tim
on January 17, 2007
in General, Sports and TV
. 0 Comments

After a weekend of watching NFL playoffs and then one of the most watched shows on TV (24) I think I’ve seen that damn Chevy ad about 13,722 times now. Anyway, I think I’ve finally recovered from the grief that was the National Championship game. The trip itself was a blast and I ended up getting to watch the game in the stadium thanks to my awesome Uncle Rob who just happened to be down for the game and just happened to have an extra ticket and just happened to call me up about 24 hours before kickoff. Everything was awesome except for the outcome. There is a lot of analyzing you can do looking at why we lost, but I’ve decided to sum it up as follows. Florida played their best game that they had all year and we played our worst. A lot of other factors might contribute to why we played so poorly but thats the simplest way to put it. Thank goodness on Saturday I got to witness a true Ohio State win as the Men’s basketball team put away Tennessee in the last few seconds. I don’t know if I could have taken another loss.

So the 6th season of 24 has started and I’ve now come to the conclusion that 24 is one of the biggest junk food shows ever. And its awesome! There is so much poor writing and plot twists, but that just makes it all the better. Let me go through a few of my observations from the first two episodes for all you 24 fans. (Just a note, at the time of this writing I have not seen any further episodes than the first two).

  • Who knew Tiki Barber was some uber terrorist?
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  • If it comes to it, when Jack Bauer is tied up, with no weapons, and about to get his finger cut off. He will eat you. Eat you right in the neck.
  • Times CTU has failed to set up a perimeter? 531 and counting
  • If you ever find yourself on a train without a ticket, just say the following line. “My name is Jack Bauer, I’m a federal agent, that man over there has explosives strapped to his chest, if he suspects that anything unusual is going on he’ll set them off, keep walking”. Works every time.
  • Kicking someone off a moving train who then explodes is probably one of the best ways to kill someone ever. Other than eating them that is.
  • If Prison Break is of any precedent, shouldn’t Jack be like the most recognized man in the US if not the world? He’s now single handedly saved us 5 times, 2 of which were very much viewed by the public. Shouldn’t someone at least recognize him as the man who was thought to have killed the President? Or maybe as the same man who later that day arrested the President? I know I would.
  • Remind me never to allow myself to be tortured by the Chinese. It does horrible things to your skin and sense of wanting to kill people.
  • Kumar will get very upset if you pronounce his name wrong.
  • Now that David Palmer is in AllState heaven, his brother has taken over the White House and apparently been inflicted with the whispering disease.
  • It’s OK for the government to call a cobra strike on a house in the middle of the neighborhood on US soil. As long as that neighborhood is the ghetto. Like Inglewood.

    • Those are just a few of the reasons why 24 rocks so hard. If you don’t watch this show you are truly missing out on some of the best and at the same time worst television of the 00’s.

Top 6 of 2006 - Movies

Published
by
Tim
on January 16, 2007
in Movies
. 1 Comment

I really should have done my previous album post as a top 6 of ‘06. The main reason I’m doing it now is because I was having difficulty narrowing down my list past 6, and so I just decided to keep it at that number, and with the year being 2006, it just makes sense. Anyway, onto the list, yet again in no particular order.

The Departed

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I was fairly excited for this movie before it came out, but did not expect it to be nearly this good. Its got some good twists and suspense, and I won’t be surprised if it moves onto my favorite movies of all time list.

Little Miss Sunshine

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I was actually fortunate enough to get to see this as a free preview with Kate many weeks before it was released in theaters. I’d heard nothing about Little Miss Sunshine other than some small internet hype. This movie is by far the surprise of the year. It does an awesome job of combining comedy and drama. I recommend this movie to everyone.

Casino Royale

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Not just another Bond movie. Casino takes the Bond Franchise and resets it much like Batman Begins did for the Dark Knight. I really enjoyed the new take on 007 and was very impressed with Daniel Craig as James Bond. I look forward to seeing him in the upcoming 007 movies.

V for Vendetta

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Yet another comic book movie that does everything right. The character V is nailed down perfectly and they got the best guy to play him. I’m glad that a lot of the “darker” comics are translating to the big screen so well and am really hoping that 300, does just as good a job as V and Sin City have done.

The Prestige

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Another movie that I had high expectations for that were surpassed. Normally I’m not one to try and guess the ending or “big twist” but this one just came to me mid way through. Even so, it was still an awesome movie and for it Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan have moved up onto my favorite actor and director’s list. I’m curious to see how The Illusionist compares to this since it came out around the same time and focused on similar subject matters. Plus Edward Norton is always quality.

Superman Returns

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Reseting big franchise titles has seemed to be a big theme over the past few years and so far the idea is working. Superman Returns is actually supposed to continue where the original Superman left of, but really you don’t have to have seen it to enjoy this movie. Some may think it is a little long, and I can see that, but overall a great flick representing the Man of steel.

There you have it. A few other movies that came out last year and I enjoyed, but not enough to make best of the best were:

Borat

Flags of our Fathers

United 93

Inside Man

And a few that I haven’t seen yet but might be in consideration for this list had I are:

Babel

Letters from Iwo Jima

The Illusionist

Blood Diamond

Did I miss any that are on your list?

Notre Dame Sucks and Weis is a Genius

Published
by
Tim
on January 4, 2007
in Sports
. 3 Comments

I was considering writing a similar article, but BuckeyeBattleCry put it better than I ever could have.

It’s the middle of the night right now. Three hours ago, I watched the final moments of LSU’s win over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. It was embarrassing, but not unexpected. It was a complete travesty of what the BCS should be. Notre Dame has no business being on the field of a Bowl Championship Series game.

-Article Link

All of what was said in that article also applies to Brady Quinn who, in my opinion, is extremely overrated, unproven, and will not be a top 10 quarterback in the NFL. (I feel bad for Lions fans)

Keep in mind that Notre Dame was ranked #2 going into this season and Brady Quinn made more pre-season covers than any other player by a large margin. ND won’t even finish in the top 10 and Brady finished a distant 3rd in the Heisman race. Over-hyped? I think so.

Top 5 of 2006 - Albums

Published
by
Tim
on January 3, 2007
in General and Music
. 1 Comment

I’ve been meaning to make this post for a while and just haven’t gotten around to it. I figure that we’re now creeping into 2007, I should probably put it together. Thus I present to you in no order or importance, my favorite albums of 2006. As a point of reference for my tastes, some of my favorite bands include, Incubus, Weezer, Death Cab for Cutie, Explosions in the Sky and Red Hot Chili Peppers. see more at my last.fm profile

Girl Talk - Night Ripper
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I’m sure most people are familiar with “mashups” that, at a basic level are usually 2 or more songs mixed together to form a new song that usually contains the same beat, rhythm or just sound good together. One of the more popular mashups of recent is Green Day’s - Boulevard of Broken Dreams and Oasis’ - Wonderwall. Well, Night Ripper is an album full of mashups that all combine together to form what ends up being one long 40 minute jam. It’s great for parties because there are over 100 different song samples used and almost anyone will recognize something (plus it contains zero country samples :P )

Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
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Band of Horses is an indie-rock band who has put out an amazing album. If you’re a fan of bands like Built to Spill, The Flaming Lips, or The Shins, Band of Horses should please you as I consider them a combination of all three of those sounds. The Funeral is my favorite track on this album and one of the songs I’ve listened to the most this past year. Give it a listen and if you like it, check out the rest of the album.

TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
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TV on the Radio is kind of hard to describe. They mix such a wide variety of sound in such an individual way I really can’t explain it. At times it can sound like hip-hop, but others it might be indie-rock or even punk or electronic. The best way I may have seen to describe it might be art-rock. This album really creates a unique sound that is very enjoyable.

Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
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I’m not a huge fan of hip-hop or rap in general, but every so often a song comes out that I can stand. Maybe it’s just my tastes changing or maturing, but Hell Hath No Fury is full of tracks that I can enjoy over and over again. Mr. Me Too, Wamp Wamp, and Hello New World are my favorites off this album.

The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
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If I were to add another 3 or 4 bands to my list of favorites at the beginning of this post, The Decemberists would definitely be on there. The Crane Wife is more of what this band rocks at which is storytelling indy-pop, with an accordion! I was a little worried at first, fearing The Decemberists had reached their peak with their previous album Picaresque, especially after signing onto a major label, but this album maintains everything good about their sound.

Well there you have it. 5 of my favorites from this year. I apologize if the recaps of the albums sound a little unusual or vague, but its hard for me to sometimes describe why I like something. A few other albums that I enjoy but didn’t include on this list from 2006 are:

Tapes n’ Tapes - The Loon
Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
Ratatat - Classics
Moneen - The Red Tree
Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
Lupe Fiasco - Food and Liquor
Phoenix - It’s Never Been Like That
Incubus - Light Grenades

I hope to be able to put together a top 5 movies of 2006 list before leaving for Arizona Saturday morning. But if my past goal settings for this blog are of any sign, I won’t make it.