SNL 100th Digital Short

SNL's 100th Digital Short

http://www.hulu.com/watch/360887
Link 1: The above link is directed to Hulu.

So, I realize that clicking on a link isn't always the most desirable thing to do, but the following picture should convince you:

Picture 1: Yes, that is Sergio (Jon Hamm) humping The Biebs.

There's really not much more to add this besides: Natalie Portman gansta rapping, at least a dozen 'sucking your own dick' references, Will Ferrell sucking his own dick, Jon Hamm's as Sergio, Kenan Thompson as Reba MacIntyre, Timberlake and The Biebs, and much, much more:

Picture 2: Yes, that is Sergio (Jon Hamm) humping The Giant Fish.

EPIC RAP BATTLES OF HISTORY: Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates feat. Linux

EPIC RAP BATTLES OF HISTORY, SEASON 2:

This month's episode of ERB has Steve Jobs facing off against Bill Gates. Safe search filter is set to off as these two heavy weights go toe-to-toe. I've got to say nicepeter's Steve Jobs costume is fantastic. Who do you think won?

Mad Men Season 5 Finale Review

Picture 1: The partners look out at the New York City skyline in the empty room that promises to hold their future.

Mad Men Season 5 Finale Review

The primary reason, for this fan, regarding the source of this show's greatness comes from a few factors; writer and creator Matthew Weiner worked on the Sopranos. He learned that a show can be sophisticated and intelligent and that the audience would in fact not be too stupid to understand it. He explains in an interview with Emmy TV Legends that without the confidence he gained while writing for The Sopranos that Mad Men would've likely been "a piece of shit." He goes on further to state he would have taken a "safer posture, a more ironic posture" rather than telling the subtle story that is Mad Men.

And, it is that point that we should be grateful for, as fans. There is something about certain classic old movies that captures me and Mad Men has been the first television show to ever achieve the same result. Weiner and his superb cast portray those little, personal, dark moments that we all have; however, we are privy to them. But, we rarely ever get a good impression of the inner monologue which makes us put together the fragmented puzzle that is these character's lives.

I watched the final two episode right in a row and it feels like it was meant to be done that way. There are plenty of moments worth gushing over, but instead I'll choose one which I think sums up this series as a whole, in regards to it's excellence. Don watches Megan's actor reel in a dimly lit room at the offices of SCDP. The only light from the room is from the stream of light aimed at the projector screen. We see Don from the side, the beam of light passing in front of his face, specifically his eyes and the smoke from his cigarette obscuring our view of him. He sees Megan spin and smile and speak silently at whoever is instructing her in the film reel. Don smiles fondly at the video. As the film closes in on Megan's face we see a brief glimpse of a true sadness in Megan that Don is seeing for the first time, just like us. His fond smile looks more plastic. It is this moment, I believe, that informs Don's decisions the close the episode; that sadness he sees in Megan is a "temporary bandage on a permanent wound", as Pete Campbell explained earlier in the episode. Don must have realized that his dream of being saved by this woman and having the life and family he hoped for had slipped away. Don ends the episode by letting go of his wife into the world of acting where she will likely be a success next season and returning down a dark, lonely hallway (off-stage area) to a place more familiar and unhealthy: a bar with a beautiful young woman smiling at him fondly.

These little moments are what make this show great. A television show can be great for many different reasons, but the way Matthew Weiner built this story is special. 

Picture 2: Don walks away from Megan in her brightly lit new life through a corridor of darkness back to a place familiar.

PS,

Bravo to AMC: Mad Men, The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad. Had they owned the rights on LOST, I'd say they won TV and there was no more TV left to have.

Alien Revisited: A Prometheus Review

I saw Prometheus last week, and decided to revisit Alien to help me digest my opinions of Ridley Scott's latest. I few disclaimers; I have tried to keep the number of Prometheus spoilers to a minimum, but I do not have the confidence to say this review is "spoiler free."[1] Also, I am a huge Alien and Aliens fan. My childhood is filled with many plastic xenomorphs and Cpl. Hicks with Facehugger Blaster (TM). So I'm going to do my best to keep the nostalgia factor to a minimum, and I'm also quite confidant that Alien itself is an excellent film with or without the boyhood memories. Prometheus on the other hand...well...I am not sure what to think about Prometheus. I certainly got my money's worth, which is not such a backhanded compliment as it sounds.



Prometheus clearly tries very hard to carry some serious and weighty questions about man's origins, while still providing the necessary action and explosions to give it the 'summer blockbuster' bonafides a $130 million dollar budget requires. While researching for this article, I stumbled across something interesting; much of the opening events of Prometheus are described in the synopsis of Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett's original Alien script:

Mankind has waited centuries to contact another form of intelligent life in the universe -- they decide to land and investigate. Their search takes them to a wrecked alien spacecraft whose doors gape open -- it is dead and abandoned. Inside they find, among other strange things, the skeleton of one of the unearthly space travellers.



Certain clues in the wrecked ship lead them across the hostile surface of the planet to a primitive stone pyramid, the only remnant of a vanished civilization. Beneath this pyramid they find an ancient tomb full of fantastic artifacts. Lying dormant in the tomb are centuries-old spores, which are triggered into life by the men's presence.

The bigger questions about 'meeting our makers' and such are missing, but pretty much the entire first act of Prometheus is described right there. My gut tells me that part of the logic behind Scott wanting to revisit Alien and direct Prometheus is in part fueled by a urge to depict some of the images, and tell aspects of the Alien story would not have been feasible (or believable) when Alien was shot in 1978.



One of the biggest differences I saw between Alien and Prometheus is the way the action is shown. Obviously, technology has a big impact here. Over thirty years separate the two films, and amazing, exponential leaps have been taken to help more realistically depict whatever the director is trying to show viewers. I don't think Prometheus necessarily suffers because of all the advancements in effects, but I certainly think part of the strength of Alien is how well Ridley Scott manages technical difficulties with smart directing and sharp editing [2]. For example, right after Kane is attacked by the Facebugger in the derelict, Scott cuts to a slow, smokey zoom out of the bizarre, semi-circle ship; leaving you to imagine the panic and horror that Dallas and Lambert are facing with their incapacitated shipmate, and what they make of the strange organism latched to his face. Just watch the movie's most famous moment, the 'chestburster' scene:







Doesn't that little thing oozing in the gore of Kane's chest look like something being puppeteered? Alex Pappademas of Grantland writes:

The monster looks MAD CHEAP and it's still scary! Something about the monster's cheapness amplifies the nightmare, for me — those little jaws, like something from a sewing kit.

I think there's something important in the fact that even though the monster does look "mad cheap," it's still really terrifying because its physically there, in the scene with the actors. Prometheus, in contrast, shows us many beautiful, compelling and riveting images and effects[3]. But, many of those effects aren't really used to tell any story or help establish any character.



My biggest problem with Prometheus, and I think conversely my biggest appreciation for Alien lies in the attention (or lack of) the movie's script gives to make each character a believable person. The writers of Alien—Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, took great pains to make a believable ensemble of, basically, interstellar truckers; as Pappademas explains:

So for like 45 minutes it's about the group. I've seen Alien knocked for being light on character, but c'mon, by the time everybody gets up from that table — starting with Dallas, who we find out has access to Mother, the computer, and by extension to the Company, and is therefore sort of different from everybody else — we have a sense of who these people are, and who they aren't. We know this isn't the Enterprise, there's not really even an implied sense of mission beyond the job. They're space-miners, but this could be a bunch of truckers or lumberjacks or oil-rig guys in a break room. They probably wouldn't be friends if they weren't on this ship together. It's this great blue-collar workplace movie where being in space is a job. People don't rip off this aspect of Alien often enough. (bold mine)

The 'Breakfast' scene, the first part of Alien with any character lines, develops as the ship's two mechanics—Parker and Brett—at first gently, and then more forcefully, harangue the ships captain about their pay. Later in the movie, once the ship has touched down the surface of LV-462, and Kane volunteers to be a part of the reconnaissance team. Dallas, the captain, immediately states "We're gonna to need weapons." I mention these nuances because I think they help craft a lush, if not somewhat gritty picture of space truckers who are stuck on some dirtball looking at a very hostile alien lifeform for reasons beyond their control. The crew Prometheus tries to take on those qualities of the Nostromo, but it just falls flat because the characters do not feel very established and the empathy you have for the protagonists ends up being assumed. As Hulk Film Critic explains in his Avengers review:

HULK WRITES ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME, BUT ONE OF THE ONGOING PROBLEMS OF BLOCKBUSTER CINEMA THESE DAYS IS ASSUMED EMPATHY. IT’S AS IF OUR STORYTELLERS JUST PLOP A FILM IN OUR LAPS AND SAY, “HERE’S OUR MAIN CHARACTER AND WE’RE GOING TO ASSUME THAT YOU’RE INTERESTED IN THEM FOR THAT REASON ALONE. THEY’RE THE MAIN CHARACTER!” … HULK DESPISES THIS TREND. IT TENDS TO GET EVEN WORSE WHEN STORYTELLERS FALL INTO THE MARKETING-CENTRIC TRAP OF “LIKABILITY,” WHICH IS A WORD THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MAKING CHARACTERS INTERESTING. USUALLY IT’S JUST A CODE WORD USED BY EXECUTIVES WHEN THEY’RE WORRIED A CHARACTER IS “DOING BAD THINGS.” AND TO ADHERE TO THE WORRIES OF LIKABILITY IS TO THUS EMBARK ON A FOOL’S PLAY AT DRAMA.



YOU WANT REAL EMPATHY? LOOK AT THE PANTHEON OF GREAT HEROES. BEOWULF. ROBIN HOOD. SHERLOCK HOLMES. INDIANA JONES. EVEN OLD BUCKET-HEAD HIMSELF, TONY STARK. THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT THESE ICONS THAT MAKES THEM SO MUCH MORE THAN “HEROES.” THEY’RE ENGAGING. THEY’RE LIVELY. THEY’RE FLAWED. THEY’RE INTERESTING. AND FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS DISCUSSION, THEY ARE TESTAMENTS TO THE FACT THAT EMPATHY CAN NEVER BE ASSUMED.(Bold mine, capitals author's original)

I'm not sure if Prometheus categorically commits the sin of assumed empathy, but I am certain that numerous actions made by characters seemed more for necessity of the plot, rather than any organic or endogenous logic. Once a film reaches that point, it becomes really hard for me to suspend myself within the story. But, just so I am clear: I think Prometheus is a very enjoyable movie to watch and I highly encourage you to see it, especially if you liked Alien. I say that because I like the questions the movie asks, and I think more people should be exposed to the kind of inquiry Scott engages. But if you're expecting Prometheus to be the next Alien, then I think you'll be disappointed.



[1]To be honest, I think the film's previews spoil the movie more than this review. More generally, the marketing campaign for Prometheus drove me blind with rage. There, I said it.



[2] As well as a strong disregard for cast and crew's safety.



[3] I was biting my index and middle finger's knuckles the entire Cesarian scene, absolutely shaken with the fear and pain on Noomi Rapace's face.

Top Ten Moments of Breaking Bad up to the Final Season Premier

The much anticipated final season of perhaps Televisions greatest drama is nearly upon us. On July 15th we begin the final chapter in determining where exactly Walt's life is spiraling to. And, perhaps, we find that his life is not so much a downward spiral but an ascension of sort. When looking at the final, fourth and first season posters (shown below in listed order, from Google Images), one can easily see the transformation that Walter White has undergone. In the first season poster, it is clear that Walter White, portrayed by Bryan Cranston, is still the fidgetty and hapless father from Malcolm In The Middle that we all remembered. However, through the course of decisions we've witnessed Walter make, he's turned into remorseless, cold-blooded killer we see in the season four poster and now the methamphetamine heir to the throne, so to speak.
So, in tribute to the upcoming season and Walter's transformation, I've compiled MY list of the top ten moments thus far in Breaking Bad.

Picture 1: Season 5 poster.

Picture 2: Season 4 poster.

Picture 3: Season 1 poster.

TOP TEN MOMENTS OF BREAKING BAD SO FAR

10.) Crazy Handful of Nothin

This was one of the defining moments of realizing how badass Walter White is and how he uses his intelligence to stay 10 steps ahead of everyone else. (Side Note: I find it hilarious that 'Threw it on the Ground, by Lonely Island, is listed under related videos)

9) Full Measure/Go Get Gail!

The moment when Jesse is forced to become the dangerous man he always pretended to be.

8) Gus says, "Come at me, BRO!"

7) DLZ/ How Ben fell in love with TV on the Radio/Walter White=Clint Eastwood

6) Tortuga/Danny Trejoooooohh Shit...

5) Salud/No, wait, actually Gus is actually the badass.  Sorry, everyone else.

4) Face Off/ Oh, you actually meant that literally...

I'm going to take a moment to note that the music at the beginning of this clip just goes to show that no detail is too small in this show: the music sets this moment up perfectly, we all know that something incredible is about to happen. Also, as the top comment says, "Note the tombstone at 1:31."

3) Half Measure/One word: "Run"

Again, note the background music. Expertly crafted television.

2) One Minute/Hank is a real-life Wolverine.

http://www.amctv.com/breaking-bad/videos/breaking-bad-talked-about-scenes-ambushed

Sorry, this one is only a link. But, this scene is one definitely deserve of one of the top spots.

1) Crawl Space

I've never been so profoundly affected by a moment in Television. Bone-chilling, it sent shivers up my shine. This is up there with my favorite moments in TV ever.

And, I think it's a great clip to get me ready to go for the final season for what I think could go down as the best Television show to date. 

 

Can Leadership be Democratic?

MSNBC's Chris Hayes has published a nice long-form piece for The Nation; "Why Elites Fail", which itself is an adaptation of a book he's written in the same vein, titled Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy. I think the article is interesting and thought provoking, and I'd recommend you all give it a read. There's one section of the article that stands out most to me; a kind of quote within a quote with Hayes paraphrasing Michels:

"I think the best answer comes from the work of a social theorist named Robert Michels, who was occupied with a somewhat parallel problem in the early years of the last century. Born to a wealthy German family, Michels came to adopt the radical socialist politics then sweeping through much of Europe. At first, he joined the Social Democratic Party, but he ultimately came to view it as too bureaucratic to achieve its stated aims. “Our workers’ organization has become an end in itself,” Michels declared, “a machine which is perfected for its own sake and not for the tasks which it could have performed.”



Michels then drifted toward the syndicalists, who eschewed parliamentary elections in favor of mass labor solidarity, general strikes and resistance to the dictatorship of the kaiser. But even among the more militant factions of the German left, Michels encountered the same bureaucratic pathologies that had soured him on the SDP. In his classic book Political Parties, he wondered why the parties of the left, so ideologically committed to democracy and participation, were as oligarchic in their functioning as the self-consciously elitist and aristocratic parties of the right.



Michels’s grim conclusion was that it was impossible for any party, no matter its belief system, to bring about democracy in practice. Oligarchy was inevitable. For any kind of institution with a democratic base to consolidate the legitimacy it needs to exist, it must have an organization that delegates tasks. The rank and file will not have the time, energy, wherewithal or inclination to participate in the many, often minute decisions necessary to keep the institution functioning. In fact, effectiveness, Michels argues convincingly, requires that these tasks be delegated to a small group of people with enough power to make decisions of consequence for the entire membership. Over time, this bureaucracy becomes a kind of permanent, full-time cadre of leadership. “Without wishing it,” Michels says, there grows up a great “gulf which divides the leaders from the masses.” The leaders now control the tools with which to manipulate the opinion of the masses and subvert the organization’s democratic process. “Thus the leaders, who were at first no more than the executive organs of the collective, will soon emancipate themselves from the mass and become independent of its control.”



All this flows inexorably from the nature of organization itself, Michels concludes, and he calls it “The Iron Law of Oligarchy”: “It is organization which gives birth to the dominion of the elected over the electors, of the mandataries over the mandators, of the delegates over the delegators. Who says organization says oligarchy.”

I think Hayes and Michels take issue with the bureaucratization of labor/leftist/progressive movements, with Hayes writing that "Michels encountered the same bureaucratic pathologies" with other politically radical organizations (emphasis mine). Out of this, I'd like to bring up two points. The first, a question; what do you, Michels or Hayes point to when making assertions about the bureaucratization of labor organization? Personally, I agree with the implication based on my own eyewitness, but I'm not really comfortable throwing around terms like "bureaucratic pathologies" and "who says organization, says oligarchy" without some evidence on hand.[1] By what standards do we diagnose a bureaucratic pathology, or assess the level of oligarchy in an organization?



Next, I'd like to make a few points about Michels' contentions about democratic organization. Per Hayes, "[Michels] wondered why the parties of the left, so ideologically committed to democracy and participation, were as oligarchic in their functioning as the self-consciously elitist and aristocratic parties of the right. Michels’s grim conclusion was that it was impossible for any party, no matter its belief system, to bring about democracy in practice. Oligarchy was inevitable" (emphasis original). Now, Hayes is making a kind of implication that organizations that are "ideologically committed to democracy and participation" have to be democratic in institutional design as well. I don't fully disagree, but I have a hard time imagining any organization that made all decisions through democratic means.



I help organize weekly phonebanks for the a campaign here in Cambridge. We have wonderful volunteers that join us around 6pm or so, and make calls to potential volunteers in the area until about 8pm. Part of my job, as an organizer, is to select the call lists based on ward, volunteers prospect tier, which prior event attendees to exclude or include, etc. These are decisions I've made in consultation with my team leader and other organizers, but very few volunteers get involved in that level on inside baseball. Not that they don't have the opportunity, but they have lives, jobs, kids and kinds of things outside the campaign. I characterize my choices as 'oligarchic,' and in that way I think Michels is correct, but I see these oligarchic aspects of the campaign as positive and necessary. Our organizers make leadership decisions that help make our volunteers (who are donating their time) more effective per hour of phonebanking (or door-knocking, or etc).



Democracy, in the context of institutional design, means "government by people." But 'people' is the really tricky aspect of democratic government—who gets a vote in deciding our representative. For now, I'd like to focus more on the 'representative selection' part; usually when we talk about 'democracy' we mean some type of system with universal suffrage for representative selection.



'Oligarchy' in contrast, is a adjective used to describe a style of "government by the few, especially a small faction." The root word of the prefix is the Greek ὀλίγος (or olígos) which translates into "few". In a literal sense, an oligarchy is one where the few decide for the many. Oligarchy is a seriously institutional problem, and has been since the Greeks (if not before). Democracy is the institutional attempt to solve tyrannical decision-making or leader selection, by allowing 'the people' to select their representatives rather than 'the few'. On that score, I think so far democracy has done very good job at it. The modern, consolidated democracy we enjoy has come a long way; we've got all kinds of liberal protections like inalienable rights, judicial reviews and separations of powers. But! The actual process of democracy—the voting—is constrained to selecting representatives in a legislature or executive (and in the United States' case, certain judiciaries). My point here is that democratic methods are excellent protections against tyrannical decision-making or leader-selection; but it doesn't imply that all or even most organizational decisions are best left to democratic means. In fact, I believe it is quite the opposite.



When Michels writes "who says organization, says oligarchy," my response is, "yes, but what makes that a necessarily bad thing?" At some point a single executive, or a group of legislators need to make a decision on a vote, a policy priority, or a missile launch. In the same turn, effective institutions needs effective leaders who are responsible for meaningful (and correct) decisions that effect the whole.



Given his historical context, I think Michels' allergy to non- or anti-democratic decision-making processes is reasonable. But Michels is making a normative statement about organizational leaders making decisions, by decrying the 'oligarchic' nature of how leaders make decisions. I honestly in that I don't see how any organization, let alone a political one, could effectively make institutional choices without undemocratic features of their leadership. I'm not saying leadership is fundamentally undemocratic, but there are some necessarily undemocratic aspects of leadership.



[1] If you're interested in a more in-depth look at Michels' work, his book, Political Parties is available for free here.

Beer Review Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale

The Setting: Beautiful Slade, Kentucky for rock climbing in Red River Gorge. Late Spring/Early Summer. SUNNY. Cedar Palace.

The Company: Some really excellent guys and gals from Massachusetts. Most from UMass Amherst and, more specifically, the UMass Outing Club.

The Beverage: Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale

Listen, I'm sure if I searched around hard enough, I could figure out how we decided to get a log of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale (KBA). Hell, I was partially in charge of gathering the beer once we were down in Kentucky. However, I want it stay mystery. KBA has a magic around it for me now. We all returned from rock climbing every day nearly too tired to eat or drink. But, in the end we found the energy to stuff our faces with burritos the size our heads and drink out fill of KBA.

Lexington, Kentucky (about an hour away) is in an area called Bourbon County. On a whiskey tasting tour, we all sipped sample of Bourbon and genuinely enjoyed what we tasted in between watering eyes and supressed coughs. KBA tastes like the Bourbon we sipped without the watering eyes and suppressed coughs, framed by the pleasant medium of beer. The flavor of Bourbon comes from the release of sugars from the burned barrels it ages in. The longer a Bourbon stays in a barrel, the more water evaporates, the higher the alcohol content and quality of Bourbon flavor. KBA tastes like a Blue Label beer (Blue>Gold>Black>Red).

There was another factor that affected my strong love for this beer: I could NOT find it once we returned to Massachusetts. You know a beer is hard to find when you can't find it in the beer snob's heaven, Western Massachusetts. I felt like some great explorer... Magellan, Lewis and Clarke?? eh, I don't know... on the search for a great new land. I requested all the local liquor store to buy it for me. None did. Man, things were getting dire. Until my lovely girlfriend surprised me and found some at her local liquor store. Excelsior! And, of course, followed an embarrassment of riches when I found that the adjacent business to my work place carried KBA. Suffice to say, I kick back after work when I get home every day with a nice, cold KBA.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, I love this stuff. It's delicious. It's attached to some great memories. And, I give it my highest recommendations. 5 out of 5 stars.

Ender's Game Book Review

Ender's Game Book Review

If you can even just barely tolerate science fiction, then you must read Ender's Game. This story is built expertly as you are pulled into Ender's world for page 1. 

Ender Wiggin is one of three gifted children. That's the problem actually. His parents had three children. They knew the rules and they had three children anyways. So, the children were all enlisted by the military coalition one-by-one until Ender was the only one who remained after his old brother and sister failed the academy.

In Ender's Game we follow Ender throughout his training and isolation from his peers. Less of young child, and more of a trained and calculated killer, Ender Wiggin may be the only hope to command the coalition fleet against the threat of another bugger invasion. 

Like I previously mentioned, this book took off from page 1 and was paced perfectly throughout. Ender is isolated from friends and family for nearly the entire book; but, you feel empathy for the young kid and, from the outside, could see yourself being friends with him. Which is to say, you could see yourself being friends with  a killer. 

If you enjoy intelligence, science fiction or jaw-dropping plot twists, then please pick up Ender's Game and enjoy the ride. Don't be a bugger.

Patriots Release Markell Carter, Sign Bo Scaife; Hernandez to be Released?!

Patriots Release Markell Carter, Sign Bo Scaife

Among the small inner-circles of Patriot fans, Markell Carter was a name bandied about when discussions of shoring up the weak pass defense were prominent. However, with the drafting of Chandler Jones, Dont'a Hightower and Jake Bequette and the signing of Jonathan Fanene, the Patriots created some serious competition on the defensive front.

Markell Carter spent last season on the Patriots practice squad and many believe he would make the jump to the roster this season. Carter was originally drafted 194th overall in the 6th round of the 2011 draft. 

Bo Scaife, a veteran of six seasons with the Tennessee Titans, adds another tight end to an already crowded platoon of book ends. Rob Gronkowski was extended to an enormous 8 years $55 million. Daniel Fells, a former Bronco, is reunited with Josh McDaniels. Does this mean that the Patriots plan on letting go of, perhaps, the third most talented tight end in the NFL right now. Certainly, they still have time to hold on to him. But, do they really have the money to pay both Gronk and Hernandez. It's been suggested that when the time comes Hernandez will be franchised. It would make sense; there are players that are essential to this team's current makeup that can't be paid what they'd ideally get in a free market. Wes Welker is a name that comes to mind.

Regardless, the Patriots are being aggressive this offseason. They have one of the best offenses ever seen in the NFL and are rebuilding the Patriot's defense to put together a more complete and competitive football team.

St. Vincent Strange Mercy Album Review

 

I HATED this album..

... at first.
For those of you who loved this upon first listen through, I applaud either your ability to be a self-righteous music snob who knows that they SHOULD like something or your open-mindedness. You know... one or the other. For me, this album was a lot like the first few listens to PJ Harvey's early 2011 release 'Let England Shake.'
Ok, I admit it, I was one of those self-righteous music snobs who knew they should like Let England Shake; so, I listened to it over and over until I fell in love. And then PJ Harvey's shaky warbling dominated my earbuds for months. I have a sneaking suspicion that's precisely what's about to happen with St. Vincent's Strange Mercy.
During a trip up to Portsmouth, NH during morning rush hour from Cambridge, I was falling back into my old routine. I had been sent up by my boss to check some water levels in monitor wells. It's about as interesting as it sounds... Anyways, I turned on shuffle because I was feeling indecisive and I decided to let the shuffle God giveth and taketh. However, I got irrationally angry and myself for not being able to choose something and told myself 'You just added several new artists to your IPod. Why not give one of them a chance!?'
So, somehow, I ended up on St. Vincent. I knew I sort of liked Surgeon. Maybe, that's why I started off by clicking 'Chloe in the Afternoon.' (And, almost smashing in a guy on a motorcycle in a prison orange, sleeveless vest who passed me exclaiming "I got your license plate number, punk! I'll see you at your house TONIGHT!"... Great, now I'll have to make dinner for a guest.)
Anyways, Chloe in the Afternoon interested me. It was different. I was in a different mood. I was in a listening mood. Go ahead and persuade me, I thought. 'Cruel' was just too catchy to skip over. After 10 seconds of the song I was already humming along and trying to sing lyrics I didn't know. Cheerleader came on and I was impressed. It's lyrics are a little cheesy, but I think she knows that and decides to use them anyways. It works. This time through 'Surgeon' rocked my socks. At the climax and breakdown throughout the end, I was rocking out buddy-movie style up Rte 95 North into NH. And so it continued, through its oddly placed combinations of indie buzziness and old school melodic bits and Annie Clarks sort of ethereal voice.

Music is subjective. Some people like Nickelback. So, I guess take this review with a grain of salt. But, to rate this album, I'll give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Enjoy!

Celtics-Heat Game 7 Game Wrap-Up

'Let's Go Celtics! Let's Go Celtics! Let's Go Celtics!'

The sound of the remaining Celtics fans at The New Garden in Boston cheering on their beaten squad was one that will echo in our memories for years to come. It showed our dedication to a team that gave us it's all and then gave 100% more. It was a Thank You to the aging core of the team with expiring contracts and a reminder to the younger core that there's more of this to come provided that they continue to play with the heart this crew did.
The wrap-up is simple: Bummer. We lost. The Hear won, the Bostrich got us, LeBron looked dominant and our guys gassed out and didn't hit big shots. The big question now is, what's our team going to look like next season?
Ray Allen is almost certain to go. He's been replaced by Avery Bradley. Granted, Ray Allen would provide valuable chemistry and a sniper for a three-point shooter. But, other than that, Avery Bradley has supplanted as a defender and a capable offensive fast-break tool. And he's really young and has an inexpensive contract. Ray Allen deserves a payout from whoever will offer it to him and it won't be us. KG on the other hand is a different story. KG 'changed the culture' in the Boston locker room by holding everyone from Paul Pierce to the caterer accountable (thanks to the guys at WEEI for that line). And, it's clear he some miles left on his wheels and some knowledge to share with the young guys. More importantly, perhaps, is that there are nearly no big men available this off season.
So here's what I'm thinking.
Starting Lineup:
PG - Rajon Rondo
SG - Avery Bradley
SF - Paul Pierce/Jeff Green
PF - Brandon Bass/Jeff Green
C - KG
Bench:
PG - Keyon Dooling, E'Twaun Moore
SG - Free Agent Pickup, Draft Pick, E'Twaun Moore
SF - Jeff Green, Draft Pick
PF - JaJuan Johnson, Draft Pick
C - Greg Stiemsma, Draft Pick

I think KG comes back for a discount because he truly loves this city and wants to win another HERE. I think Brandon Bass exercises his player option for 4 million dollars and stays here because he realizes that while he is talented, he won't get the money he's looking for to relocate. I think Jeff Green is signed, and around $5 million, because he hasn't played much in the past year and a half and Boston has shown they want him around. Keyon Dooling and Greg Stiemsma are must-resign bench players to me. Greg has some talent and I'm interested in seeing if we can develop him. Keyon Dooling is an experience back-court presence of the bench that we'll need. As for the draft picks, I'm most interested in Fab Melo and Moe Harkless. I don't think Austin Rivers will be around at 20, sorry dreamers. Fab Melo is a Center with a lot of potential. Perhaps enough potential  to play some serious minutes behind Garnett and Stiemsma. (And just imagine what the tutoring of KG could do for a guy like him). Moe Harkless is an obvious talented player AND he's a SF prospect for the future. We need to draft a nearly-ready-to-go SF prospect because Paul doesn't have much tread left in his tires from carrying the team all those years. At the tail end of the first round, it's hard to find ready-to-go talent that will actually pan out, but it looks like this years draft holds a lot of talent.
As for potential free agent pickups, I think that Kirk Heinrich, Gerald Green and Delonte West will be on the Celtics radar. Delonte has been here twice now. They like the guy... If the price is right, he'll end up here.
For big men, Ersan Ilyasova has talent and is young and a cheap Ryan Hollins are possibilities.

There's quite a few bench guards available this upcoming free agency period; but, there's very little to choose from when it comes to talented big men. So, the Celtics would be best to find a guy for the future with enough talent to play right out of the gates, like Fab Melo, in the draft.

Regardless, even with the NBA Finals yet to start, I am excited for next season and the 2013 Celtics.

Snow White and the Huntsman Review

In this adaptation of Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Kristen Stewart (ugh) stars as Snow White; a beauty so pure that it rivals the evil queen, Charlize Theron, which blocks her from immortality (yeah, right).

Out of 5 stars, I'll give this movie a 2.5.

You can go ahead and gives 1.5 of those stars to Charlize Theron. 0.5 of the stars goes to Chris Hemsworth and 0.5 gets split amongst the 8 , errr...umm..., 7 dwarves. Charlize Theron was a powerhouse in this movie. When she was on screen, I actually thought I was watching a fantastic movie. But then, out of the teen paranormal romance section of Barnes & Noble, Kristen Stewart enters the frame. I have to give her credit, she expanded her repertoire of acting emotions she has down. Now, instead of only being able to look like your impatient and annoyed-by-the-World little Sister who is pissed at you for breathing, she can also play a princess in a coma. Brilliant.

Chris Hemsworth plays Thor... or, the Huntsman. I'm not quite sure. You really can't hold it against him. He's entertaining to watch and a handsome dude in a superficial little role. He's putting a few notches on his belt before he's given his big break, I think. I will say that as the movie went along his hard to place accent because more confusing and garbled. He sounded like...an Irish version of that Stone Dude from the Fantastic Four.
The visuals were fantastic but this movie definitely banked on us not calling it out for plagiarism. Rather it hoped we commended it for practicing the notion that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. First, the helicopter shots whilst their party runs along the summit of the mountain... Everyone and their Mother was rolling their eyes and thinking of The Lord of the Rings. Hell, it could have been a cut and pasted scene from The Lord of the Rings for all I know. Next, the Great Stag. This one's hard to place but for anyone that's a fan of Miyazaki films, they will have immediately recognized The Great Stag and the vibrant forest scene. That had wayyy too many similarities to not have been taken from the film Princess Mononoke.
Overall, I'd say if you were bored, had some cash to blow, and insisted on seeing a movie, then you could do worse than this. Just set your expectations low and I think you could definitely enjoy this flick.

Game of Thrones Season 2 Finale (Episode 20)

Valar Morghulis:

There's two things you need to know while you're reading this review:
1) I've read all 5 books in A Song of Ice and Fire saga
2) I'm really hard to displease

Now that you know all of the above you can properly frame my review.

I loved Season 2 of Game of Thrones on HBO. Granted, it has it's weaknesses, but I think considering the scope of the series within the books and the undertaking of translating it to a watchable 10 episode season, they did a commendable job.
With 'Valar Morghulis' we return in the aftermath of Episode 19 and the Battle of the Blackwater. Episode 19 had all the making of a season finale; so, episode 20 had better have some twists and turns to keep the TV fans interested for Season 3.
Sidebar from Episode 20:  Let's all just bask in the glory that is that Giant Green Explosion at the Blackwater. The Onion Knight's alarmed face. Stannis' grim determination. A shade of fear in Bron's face at what he had done. Amazing. YES.
Back to Episode 20 (or Episode 10 of Season 2). Joffrey is a dick. He's insufferable. I honestly can't stand that little twerp's face. I think I'd actually be tempted to punch the kid if I saw him in public. Therefore, the kid is doing a fan-effin-tastic job portraying the child-King, Joffrey. And, at the beginning of the Episode, we see Joffrey dispatch Sansa for the lovely (slutty) Margaery Tyrell.  Sansa is really coming into her own this season. It could be argued that her character has done a lot more maturation as a character than Arya's. It will be interesting to see what they do with Arya next season.
We leave off Arya in the finale with her encountering Jaqen H'ghar and being offered to accompany him to Braavos. She wants to but turns him down. He gives her the coin and the words Valar Morghulis (Valar Dohaeris). The Arya storyline was very hit-or-miss this season. Her relationship with Tywin was fantastic, but they really didn't do much else with her.
Theon is another character that is portrayed admirably. I think Alfie Allen actually thinks he's Theon. But fuhreal, we have a nice moment of getting to pick on everybody's favorite whipping boy (waiitttt for itttt) ((ba-dum-chish)) Theon.
And, to complete the set of story-lines that was altered substantially, we get to see Dany flex some of her muscle in the tower of the Undead. Listen, I think Dany's storyline is a perfect example of WHY they had to chance some story-lines. There is NO WAY they could have fit her story-line into (presumably) 6 seasons. So, they had to speed up and cut some unnecessary characters. Or, at least, they were unnecessary on a Television adaptation.
With Theon's story-line, I would have loved to see Ramsay Snow and Co. coming in and wrecking house. With Dany's storyline, I would have loved to see the true version of the story-line because it would have given me more confidence that I'd see the big coup she pulls over the slavemasters. I have my doubts about that now. It looks like they are writing their own story for Dany and that story might not include Barristan Selmy. Lame.
What made me love this season, and this episode, was the character representations. Tywin, Tyrion, Queen Cersei, Joffrey, Sansa, Robb!!, and Jon all took the place of whatever face you had imagined when you read the novels. You know they did something good.
I love that they focused on The Hound's story-line and on Robb Stark's story-line because they made the show a better product for ratings. Better ratings brings another season of Game of Thrones (and maybe with a higher budget to make those White Walkers extra creepy).