Mar 31, 2009

Hey, have I mentioned...

...that I also contribute to a movie review blog?

Of course I have. Numerous times. The link is right up there on a tab above my header pic, fer crissakes! But what I haven't mentioned (I think) is that we have invited a handful of special bloggers to join us in making fun of bad cinema.

Why just this past weekend our resident expectant mother, Faiqa, graced us with her review of Twilight. Please don't stone her. In. The. Gap. And before that ajooja, er...I mean Seals gave us his thoughts on Watchmen. He didn't really bash it. Actually he liked it. A great review nonetheless.

In between there was a review of Zatoichi by badgerdaddy (no link provided) and reviews by yours truly for the remakes of Black Christmas and Prom Night. I'm particularly proud of the that Prom Night review even though no one really read it. I thought it was kinda funny. But, then again, I think midgets and children falling down are both side-splitting*. So take that with a grain of rock salt.

Oh yeah, Slyde still claims to be a part of the fun. But he hasn't submitted a review since January. Of 2008! So he basically isn't trying at all. Go make fun of him for that if you please.

And we may have a few more writers in the coming months. A certain dude who smells like a wet dog just told me the other day that he has a review for the old Grenade. Just waiting for him to write that shit down on some form of digital medium.

So you have that to look forward to. Which is nice.


*As I was typing this I thought of a midget child falling down and I almost peed myself. Gotta go check Youtube to see if I can find anything like that.

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the smartest kids are doing it.

Mar 30, 2009

Time is fleeting

Madness...takes its toll.

It's been a weird couple of weeks and I can't place my finger on the exact reason. I know about all the old adages about how time flies and all that crap, but it really seems to be speeding up lately. January flew into February which backed angrily into March and now it is almost April.

Yeah, I know. You all have calendars and what's my fucking point. I hear ya. I don't even know. I just don't recall a recent three month period that flew by as quickly as this past quarter (sorry...accountant lingo). It seems like I barely even lived it.

Tonight, there was a crazy thunderstorm here on Long Island. Crazy because we usually don't get 'em in late March or when it is only 44F outside. I had visions of Summer. And I'm not nearly ready for summer. Oh sure, my brain is ready for Summer. I hate the cold and all, but I look at the calendar and think that March 29th is way too early for a thunderstorm is all. And way too early for Summer.

I like a slow progression of the seasons. A nice Summer followed by a brisk Autumn followed by a (hopefully) mild Winter and then a comfortable Spring. I'm sure that is what we are gonna get. That's one of the bonuses of living in this area.

But today it just all seemed to be moving so fast.

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the introspective kids are doing it.

Mar 29, 2009

Can't. Stop. Watching.

You know, I was gonna embed a video here that I have been enjoying all weekend.

But I would rather you go to Stacie Ponder's Final Girl site and watch it there.

It may be the most fabulous thing on the Intenets. Seriously.



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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the kooky Icelandic kids are doing it.

Mar 27, 2009

Music Video Fridays - The Cocktail Slippers

Who are The Cocktail Slippers? Why only the finest all-female rock band ever to come out of Norway. That's who they are. And hey...they have a blog! Neat.

I've only recently heard of them. I like to listen to Little Steven's Underground Garage on XM Radio, and apparently he is a fan. Because I've heard them on there a few times now. And they are signed to his Wicked Cool label, of course. They are a little bubblegum for my usual tastes, but I kinda dig 'em.

The first video, well I'm not sure it's an official video really, is a great introduction to the band. Because they introduce the band in a sort of video diary. Hey! It's for a song called "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" off of their soon to be released next album. Little Steven makes an appearance as well. Reminds me a bit of the retro 60's stuff that Debbie Harry would do occasionally with Blondie.



The next video is a song called "Go Get It" and it's very catchy.



And finally we have "Starlet Cole". The organ solo in the middle is a bit unfortunate, but I think I really dig this band. Nothing too exotic, but great licks and great looks. What more could a fanboy want?



Have a great weekend!

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. Alle avkjøle barn gjør den (All the cool kids are doing it - in Norwegian. I think).

Mar 26, 2009

O Lucky Man!

Is it just me?

Because every time I look at the my header pic up there, I see Malcolm McDowell peering back at me on the bottom right.

Check it out.



I haven't been able to find a similar pic of ole Malcolm after an exhaustive search*, but damn if that sculpture doesn't remind me of him.

OK...just me, right? Sigh.

*It wasn't on the first page of Google images.

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. Alex and his droogies would want you to do it.

Mar 25, 2009

Tales of the Black Freighter - DVD

"I was a horror. Amongst horrors I must dwell"

Man, I love Netflix. When I saw that Zack Snyder and company were prepared to release an animated version on DVD of the comic-within-a-comic "Tales of the Black Freighter" to work as a companion piece to Watchmen, I immediately put it on my queue even though it wasn't going to be released until a few weeks after the film debuted. So I was pleasantly surprised to see it in my mailbox today. I was even more than pleasantly surprised to see that the DVD included a faux documentary based on the comic-book called "Under the Hood".

For those of you not familiar with the source material. "Tales of the Black Freighter" and its' story (Marooned) is a comic-book that we occasionally see a glimpse of in Watchmen as a young kid reads it at the local newsstand. It was a pirate comic-book, which became very popular during the 1950's when the popularity of superhero books waned. It worked as a wonderful allegory and companion piece to the main story, often bleeding into one another.

The Black Freighter itself is an allusion of death, just as it was in The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht. Here is the captain of a ship who feels he has failed his crew as he is the only survivor of a mass slaughter at the hands of the pirates. He is surrounded by death and horror, borne of the backs of death and horror until he ultimately becomes the embodiment of death and horror. It's not an uplifting tale, but it is very true to those EC pirate and horror comic-books of the 1950's. And certainly an important piece of the Watchmen puzzle.

Another important piece is the faux documentary "Under the Hood" which is also included on the DVD. This replaces the written pages from the "Under the Hood" memoir that the original Nite Owl had written in Watchmen continuity. I actually enjoyed this part of the DVD even more than the animated short. Here we are given more glimpses into the world of the earlier costumed heroes. The back story from the opening montage is fleshed out a bit in the form of a television expose into these heroes...complete with time period appropriate commercials. Lots of fun.

My only complaint? Just like Dave2's review of Watchmen, I felt it was the little things that were left out or changed slightly that got under my skin. They filmed the Black Freighter stuff almost identical to the comic-book, but it didn't duplicate the monstrosity that was the pale, mottled, giant shark. I always felt like this monster from the depths was another form of death and horror that was thrown at the sea captain. One more piece of the madness puzzle that he would eventually complete. By making it more of a normal shark, it seemed to take away a bit of the horror of it all. Don't know why they did that.

I also missed the sadness and tragedy of Moe Vernon's story from Chapter 1 of "Under the Hood". They touched upon why Hollis Mason become the Nite Owl, but this certainly was a part of it and they left it out. Mason told the story of Moe's suicide and called it the "saddest thing" he can remember. The sadness is something he is trying to erase by dressing up in costume and fighting crime. It's a recurring theme throughout the rest of the comic-book and it, the sadness, inspires many of the newer "heroes".

Anyway, it was still worth while. The sparse extras were fun as well. I'm still waiting for the ultimate edition of Watchmen that incorporates all of these pieces into one massive viewing experience.

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. Who quizzes the quizlings?

Mar 24, 2009

Gobstopper

If you spend half as much time as I do fucking around on the Interwebs, then you've probably already seen this on Funny or Die. If not, enjoy Christopher Lloyd as a maniac Willy Wonka in a trailer for a movie I would definitely pay good money to see.

"I don't like the look of it!"



Now go and re-read Grosse Pointe Wonka. It's awful, but I wrote it. So there.

In Non-Related News: Holy Hand Grenades, Batman!

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the Oompa Loompas are doing it.

Mar 23, 2009

Excuse me while I whip this out

Just a brief rant about feed readers and your blogs. Yes, your blog!

According to a very scientific study by yours truly, I have found that I am much more likely to skip a blog entry if the site feed is truncated. Blogger, as well as other blog hosting sites, allows you to pick a full or shortened site feed. Or you can choose to turn it off all together. On the shortened feed you usually only get a few sentences in the feed reader.

Now I know the reason behind picking truncated feeds. You want people to actually visit your blog instead of just reading it in their feed reader. Some folks are very interested in their site statistics. And a lot of times we can't really catch the gist of the post from the first few words, so visiting the site is the only way to find out what the post is really about.

Doesn't work that way with me. I am more apt to just skip that post entirely, especially if I have a bunch of stuff in my reader that has built up over a period of a couple of days. Some bloggers occasionally will include a "this is an extended entry" disclaimer. I'm not talking about them because it doesn't happen very often and there is usually a good reason for it.

I'm not trying to get you to change the way you blog (of course I am). And I'm certainly not saying that my way is better than your way (of course it is). And in no way am I saying that my extremely scientific study can speak for anyone else (of course it does). I'm merely making an observation.

Do with it what you will. Which is to say "ignore this post." Thank you.

I'm gonna keep using this graphic until it stops making me laugh.
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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the best...


(get it?)

Mar 22, 2009

So freakin' good!


Our latest obsession is with the burritos at Chipotle Mexican Grill.

Such a simple idea. 4 kinds of meat, two different kinds of beans, 4 different kinds of salsa. Add some tomatoes, some cheese, some sour cream, a little guacamole...it's a meal. Except I usually skip the guac. Personal choice.

I hope I never find out how bad this shit is for me, because I could literally eat it every day. Gia too. I just wish there were one a little closer to home. Like next door. Or in my bedroom. I want a Chipotle in every room of the house.

THAT'S how much I dig it right now.

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the faux Mexican food chains are doing it.

Mar 20, 2009

"Caw! Caw! Bang! Fuck, I'm dead!"

I haven't done this in a while, and this week has been bogged down with NCAA Tournament talk. So I thought I would resurrect a Movie Quote Trivia meme. Not tagging anyone to continue it though. Just a bunch of movie quotes that I love for y'all to guess. I'll fill in the correct guesses along with who made those guesses as the weekend progresses.

What do you win? My everlasting respect. And really, what could be better than that?

"Okay Boppers, let's get down to it."

***UPDATE***
ALL DONE - Good job everyone!
  1. "This isn't Colombian. I don't even think it's pot." - After Hours (Paticus)
  2. "Well, that's life in the fast-paced slam-bang, live-on-the-razor's-edge, laugh-in-the-face-of-death world of junior league soccer." - Meatballs (Paticus)
  3. "I knew a girl at school called Pandora. Never got to see her box, though." - Notting Hill (Michelle)
  4. "I gotta change my shirt, it's sticking to me. I'm sweating like a cunt." - Sexy Beast (Artful Kisser)
  5. "Yeah, I'm just going home, grab a shower and shave, give the wife a little pickle-tickle, and I'm on my way." - A League of Their Own (Downtown Guy)
  6. "My motherfucker is so cool, when he goes to bed, sheep count him," - Heist (Kiki)
  7. "Where the hell you goin'? Damn it. Don't you NEVER turn your back on a fuckin' clown when he's talkin' to you!" - The Devil's Rejects (Avitable)
  8. "Women are a labyrinth, my friend. Can I be frank? I don't think you listen to her. I think you tell her what she wants to hear. She wants you to thirst for knowledge about who she is, all the complicated splendor that is women. When your love is truly giving, it will come back to you ten fold." - The Cable Guy (Avitable)
  9. "My father was the shaman of his tribe and my mother was the high priestess." - The Birdcage (Faiqa)
  10. "At this moment, I didn't feel shame or fear, but just kind of blah, like when you're sitting there and all the water's run out of the bathtub. " Badlands (Kiki)
  11. "My mother was a pure woman from a noble family. And I, at least, know who my father is, you pig-eating son of a whore!" - The 13th Warrior (Faiqa)
  12. "Was that the first time someone sang the National Anthem into your ass?" (I wonder if anyone will guess this one - Earl) - Shortbus (Kaylen!!!)
  13. "No patty-fingers, if you please. The proprieties at all times. Hold on to your hats." - The Quiet Man (RW)
  14. "You can't break the ball. Can't break the floor. Can't break anything in a bowling alley. And that's what I like about bowling alleys. Can't even break the record." - Ordinary People (RW)
  15. "Is that Peter fucking Frampton?" High Fidelity (Kaylen)
  16. "Oh, you English are *so* superior, aren't you? Well, would you like to know what you'd be without us, the good ol' U.S. of A. to protect you? I'll tell you. The smallest fucking province in the Russian Empire, that's what!" - A Fish Called Wanda (Holly)
  17. "You are an embarrassment to the game of pool and should be glad I even let you play at my table." - Dazed and Confused (RW)
  18. "Fuck you, fuckin' queers. Firemen gettin' pussy for the first time in the history of fire or pussy. Hey go save a kitten in a tree, you fucking homos!" - The Departed (Limpy)
  19. "And in the next life, father, I'M gonna have the paddle!!!" - The Basketball Diaries (2abes)
  20. "I told you to put one in his brain, not in his stinkin' face!" - Miller's Crossing (RW)

Bonus: Easy one, but name the other two films referenced in this post. Go ahead...name them!
Post title film - The Crow (Avitable)
Other film - The Warriors (Paticus)

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the cinemaniacs are doing it.

Mar 19, 2009

March Memories - Siena upsets Stanford

This week is all NCAA Tournament all the time here on The Verdant Dude. Siena College, my alma mater, is dancing once again this year...with a surprising #9 seed. Too bad they open up in Ohio against Ohio State. In honor of Siena's appearance in the Tourney, this week you get four of my favorite NCAA Tournament memories. You are most welcome. - Earl

OK...last one.

The year was 1989. The year AFTER I graduated from Siena, of course. They never made it to the tournament in the four years that I went there, so it was only perfect that they finally did make it the year after I graduated. Thanks guys!

It was a strange season, to be sure. A measles epidemic broke out on the Siena campus just before the end of the season or during their conference tournament, I forget which. So they got to play the finals of their tournament in Hartford to an empty arena for health reasons. And it was shown nationally on ESPN! A totally quiet arena with cardboard cutouts of fans. I shit you not!

When they won, they were assigned the #14 seed and a pairing against #3 Stanford in the first round. Stanford was a really good club that year with All-American Todd Lichti leading the way. Lichti was something else. A unique player due to his ambidextrous skills, he left Stanford as their all-time leading scorer. A 1st round draft pick by the Nuggets, he looked like he would be an NBA star. Unfortunately, injuries and a serious car crash ruined his career after just a couple of seasons. Very sad.

But he was in great shape and coming off his best season when he and the Stanford Cardinal ran into the mighty underdogs that were the Siena Men's Basketball Team. What's that you say? The Siena Men's Basketball Team? That's right. Not only did they have that crazy measles outbreak to deal with, they had no nickname in 1989! You see, Siena was previously the Indians (had to get rid of that because of the PC police) and they would soon become the Saints, but during the 1989 season they had no official nickname because they hadn't settled on one yet.

So a no-name Siena squad, literally, took down the might tall trees of Stanford in the first round that year. They lost to a decent Minnesota team in the next round, but that really didn't matter. This was Siena's first trip to the dance and they left with a victory. Something Siena has managed to do three times now including last year's 1st round upset victory over Vanderbilt.

This year they get Ohio State in the 8/9 game. OSU will be heavily favored in large part because it basically is a home game for them. But don't count Siena out in your brackets. They've worked some magic here before.
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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the Saints and sinners are doing it.

Mar 18, 2009

March Memories - 1985

This week is all NCAA Tournament all the time here on The Verdant Dude. Siena College, my alma mater, is dancing once again this year...with a surprising #9 seed. Too bad they open up in Ohio against Ohio State. In honor of Siena's appearance in the Tourney, this week you get five of my favorite NCAA Tournament memories. You are most welcome. - Earl

For me, nothing will ever get better or worse than the 1985 NCAA Tournament. Confused? Well, let me explain. I'm a St. John's fan. Yeah, it's been a rough stretch these past 20+ years, but back in the 80's they were they bomb yo! And 1985 was easily their best season featuring their best squad. They only lost to two teams that year. Niagara, and there are scientists still trying to figure out that one, and Georgetown. The problem is that they lost to the Hoyas three times that year. THREE TIMES!

Oh, they did manage to beat them once* in their first regular season meeting of the year. By one point. Then Georgetown's coach, John Thompson, switched up defenses by employing a box and one against Chris Mullin and beat them easily in their next three matchups. Once in the regular season, once in finals of the Big East Tournament and again in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. St. John's probably beats the other two teams in the Final Four that year, but they lived in fear of Patrick Ewing and friends at Georgetown. Or so it appeared.

So, yeah...1985 kinda was bittersweet for St. John's fans like myself. I still haven't really forgiven Coach Louie Carnesecca for failing to figure out a way to beat those guys after seeing them so often during the year.

But what a tournament! Three teams from the Big East along with Memphis State, and the greatest upset in the history of the NCAA tournament as #8 seed Villanova played a perfect game against the mighty Hoyas in the Championship Game. I can still see the players on the court for Villanove. Ed Pinckney, litte Gary McLain, Harold Pressley, Harold Jensen, Dwayne McClain, etc... All coached by the diminutive Rollie Massimino.

What an incredible tournament! Maybe the best ever.

*I haven't looked this up, but I can't remember any other two teams playing four times over the course of a season. It would require the perfect storm of running into each other in their own conference tournament AND the NCAA Tournament. I don't think it has happened since. Maybe Duke and UNC. Anyone know?

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the underdogs are doing it.

Mar 17, 2009

March Memories - The Fighting Irish

This week is all NCAA Tournament all the time here on The Verdant Dude. Siena College, my alma mater, is dancing once again this year...with a surprising #9 seed. Too bad they open up in Ohio against Ohio State. In honor of Siena's appearance in the Tourney, this week you get five of my favorite NCAA Tournament memories. You are most welcome. - Earl

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone!

In honor of this luscious green holiday (for some), my March Memory today is all about the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Now I know that most people immediately think of football when it comes to ND and sports. But some of those teams coached by Digger Phelps in the 70's and 80's were pretty cool to watch. I think Digger still holds the record for most upsets over #1 ranked teams in a career. He led the Irish to seven such upsets in his distinguished career. Well, it was distinguished. Then he started dancing on TV. What the hell?

One of his coolest teams was led by David Rivers back in the mid-late 80's. Check out that mini-fro that he is rocking there in that picture. Looking like a young Nipsy Russell, my friend! Rivers was a great player. A 6'0" point guard with fantastic scoring ability. He still is pretty high up there on ND's all-time scoring list. He never turned his sweet ball-handling skills and effective, artistic scoring to success in the NBA. He was drafted by the Lakers after 4 years (gasp!) at ND and there wasn't much playing time behind Magic, Byron Scott and Michael Cooper in the LA backcourt.

So he went to Europe where he became a legend. Seriously. Played for teams in Greece, Turkey, Italy and France and he won championships. He was truly loved by fans of those teams.

But back to college, my favorite team of his was the 1986-87 squad the went to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament. This was his junior year, and he almost didn't make it. Literally. He was in a terrible auto accident in the off-season as a passenger in a van. He wound up almost bleeding to death from a terrible laceration of his abdomen while lying in a ditch. Massive surgery and rehab later, he wound up joining the team for the season when no one thought he would. That team went on to beat #1 North Carolina in February of 1987 before eventually losing to them* in the round of 16 in the tourney in March. But what a ride!

All four of David River's Notre Dame teams made it to the NCAA tournament. Not an easy gig back then for ND because they were Independents and they didn't qualify for an automatic bid. 1987 was the only team to advance very far in the tournament, though.

So here's to David Rivers. Easily my favorite basketball player to don the green and gold for the Irish!

*The also lost to UNC in the second round of the 1985 NCAA tournament in River's freshman year. Man, I hate the Tarheels!

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the Fighting Irish are doing it.

Mar 16, 2009

March Memories - Fennis Dembo

This week is all NCAA Tournament all the time here on The Verdant Dude. Siena College, my alma mater, is dancing once again this year...with a surprising #9 seed. Too bad they open up in Ohio against Ohio State. In honor of Siena's appearance in the Tourney, this week you get five of my favorite NCAA Tournament memories. You are most welcome. - Earl

Fennis Dembo (Wyoming Cowboys) - Easily my favorite basketball name of all-time. Fennis Dembo led Wyoming to the Sweet 16 in 1987 in his junior year with a series of bravura performances. He was the leading scorer in the tournament that year, averaging 27.8 points per game including a 41 point outburst against UCLA in the second round. A game in which he verbally bitch-slapped Reggie Miller to the point of tears. I believe he is still the leading scorer in the history of the Cowboy's basketball program.

I watched an awful lot of games on ESPN back then and I saw Dembo play quite a bit that season. Plus I watched him and his Cowboys make a run to the NIT finals the year before, I believe. Loved his game. Big, strong kid listed at 6'5" or 6'6" (I think he was closer to 6'3"), his forte was his inside game. That strength didn't translate into a long NBA career, unfortunately.

He played one year with the Pistons (and won a championship) in 1989 after being drafted in the second round the year before, but he was released soon after the season ended. Not fast enough to play small forward and not big enough to play power forward. A classic "tweener". He played abroad for a while and in the CBA after that, but never made it back the big league. But there are those of us who will always remember his antics, his power and his love of the game back in the late 80's. Fennis Dembo was a special player.

Oh, and his name? He and his twin sister were number 10 and 11 for his mother. Either she or his oldest sister wanted that to be it, so they decided to use variations of the French word for "final", "finis", for the two of them. So he was named Fennis and his twin sister was named Fenise. Makes sense to me.

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the best Cowboys have Chinese eyes.

Mar 15, 2009

Things change

Back when Slyde and I originally watched Grindhouse, I was convinced that the better half of the double feature was Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof". I thought that "Planet Terror" by Robert Rodriguez was just too over-the-top.

A year and a half later, I think I may have been wrong.

While I have re-watched "Death Proof" a couple of times and enjoyed it, I have watched "Planet Terror" about 8 times now and it just keeps on getting better all the time!

Watching it again right now and it just works. And you can really tell how much Rodriguez loves the genre.

The more things change the more fun it is to watch zombies (or zombie-like creatures) eat folks. That's what I always say.

PS: New remake crappiness over at the MovieGrenade for y'all to ignore. Billy Lenz is watching.

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the oozy zombies are doing it.

Mar 13, 2009

Music Video Fridays - War Pigs Covers

Or "I betcha no one makes it through all of these videos". Or "This may be the greatest blog post ever!!!" Ha!

It's a little weird to me that a song like Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" would be covered so many times. It's long and sometimes ponderous and I rarely listen to the whole thing when it comes on the radio. I'll listen for a while, but then I get bored and I move on. That doesn't distract from the overall awesomeness in the song. It's just that sometimes enough is enough. Like with Kramer faking it. You know.

I'm gonna skip the obvious remakes like Cake and Faith No More. Just because. Thought it would be more fun to find some stranger stuff. And stranger stuff is what I found.

Our first video is from one of Avitable's favorite acts, The Dresden Dolls. Amanda and Brian really bring it. Imagine going to see your favorite "dark cabaret" duo one night and they decide to use up 8 minutes of your life with an over-the-top rendition of "War Pigs"? I can. They really get into how grand it all is.



Next up a true oddity. Alice Donut's drummer, Stephen Moses, used to like to bring along his trombone to gigs for a solo or two. I saw them at CBGB once and he did a version of "Helter Skelter" that truly rocked my socks. So you have to ask yourself if you are in the mood for a crazy dude in tighty whities doing a shortish version (only 2:42) of "War Pigs" on the trombone. I think you are.



You say you prefer modern jazz to punk rock and dark cabaret? Well the Alex Skolnick Trio have a rendition of "War Pigs" just for you! This is another live performance from what looks like someone's living room in Upstate NY. These cats are cray-zee!



All right, let's put this bad boy to bed with a clip from a great show called Austin City Limits. This is a live clip from Flaming Lips with an assist from Cat Power (the yummy Chan Marshall). And at 5 minutes, it won't break your soul. Or will it? Mwah-ha-ha-ha!!!



There. A little some some for just about everyone.

Happy weekend!

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the War Pigs are doing it.

Mar 12, 2009

Cute Overload

Dammit! When the cute comes, it comes in bunches.

Just the other day I posted the story of the tiger cub and the young dolphin who are friends in the making out at a zoo in California. Then today I get sent this video that cranks the inter-species friendship bar up a notch.


At an animal sanctuary in Tennessee that mostly specializes in retired circus and zoo elephants, an odd friendship has blossomed. It seems that the elephants kind of pair off right away. They find another elephant and they become BFFs. Well, this one elephant found a best friend in one of the stray dogs that live in the sanctuary. The two are inseparable. Even when the dog was recovering from back surgery the elephant stood vigil outside the recovery area. Waiting for him.

You should check out that video because it's really amazing.

Elephants and dogs getting along like best friends. Maybe there is hope for this planet after all.

Nah! Not with us in charge.

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the friendly animals are doing it.

Mar 11, 2009

Fear the Dutch

Holy Shit!

The Netherlands just beat the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. AGAIN! The Dominicans get eliminated and don't make it out of the first round of the WBC. Cra-zee!

This is a team that is Double-A talent, at best, and they beat a baseball team with a roster filled with major MLB stars like David Ortiz, Robinson Cano, Miguel Tejada, Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes and Pedro Martinez.

That's some pretty impressive talent. As opposed to the names on the Dutch team. Rick VandenHurk, Berry Van Driel, Michael van Kampen (well that's certainly three ways to use "van" in your last name), Sidney de Jong and Michael Duursma. One of their coaches was named Ben Thijssen. Really? Thijssen? Can I buy another vowel?

This is the little team that could. And the Americans are going to have to play this team at least once during the next round. Like I said, fear the Dutch. Austin Powers' father may have been right about them.



I don't know if I really like the concept of the World Baseball Classic. Especially for those players who might get hurt playing competitive games when they should be playing meaningless Spring Training games. But damn if I ain't hooked!

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the heavy underdogs are doing it.

Mar 10, 2009

I would bet on the tiger



So, apparently, in California a tiger cub and a young dolphin have become friends at a Six Flags Amusement park.

I don't know whether or not the tiger just wanted to eat the dolphin or if they actually dig each other.

But I want to believe it is true.

How.
Fucking.
Adorable.

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the adorable animals are doing it.

Mar 9, 2009

Success!!!

As evidenced by my fuzzy head and sleepy body on Sunday, the bacon-infused madness from Saturday night was a success!

Everyone who tried one of my special cocktails at the party absolutely loved them. Or they lied to my face about it. Nah! That can't be it.

I made Old Fashioneds all night long for whomever wanted them. Instead of simple syrup or sugar, the PDT recipe calls for Grade B maple syrup. So that's what we used. Gia found some at a Whole Foods Market in Manhasset. I had heard you could only get Grade B maple syrup in Vermont, but they carried it.

There were big differences between the infused Rye and the infused Bourbon. Both came out a bit sweeter (especially the Rye) than I anticipated. Maybe it had to do with the bacon I used. It was hickory smoked twice and cured with maple sugar. That might have been the reason it turned sweeter. The Bourbon had a much more smoky, bacon flavor while the Rye just became ultra-smooth and sweet.

So what was the verdict? Which did I enjoy more?

Well, I did like the Bourbon and I think it tasted very similar to PDT's recipe. But I really loved the Old Fashioned made with the Rye. So smooth and wonderfully sweet. Rye is generally a bit more bitter and drier than Bourbon, but something occurred when I infused it with the bacon to really smooth it out. I really loved it. I wasn't alone. Just about everyone who tried both loved the Rye just as much, if not more so, than the Bourbon. If anyone out there is thinking of trying this, I would highly recommend both. But if you are really looking for that smoky, bacon flavor then I would go with the Bourbon.

I'm sure there are other cocktails that would work with these as well. I would love to try a Manhattan with the bacon-infused Rye. I wonder if that would work.

Anyway, like I said...it was a success! Yay me!

PS - New beer review over at the Beer-Eyed Blog. Checkitout!

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the hungover kids are doing it.

Mar 7, 2009

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?*

*Loosely translated as "Who Watches the Watchmen?" Well, we did. That's who! - Earl


So Slyde and I had a gays night out yesterday. Guys night out. Guys night out. I meant guys night out. Sigh.

Anyway, we caught an early viewing of Watchmen and we, um, watched it in the newest IMAX theater on Long Island. This, my friends, is the way to, um, watch this film. The IMAX Experience was everything I hoped it would be, and more!

As for the film itself? It was damn near perfect in my eyes. Sure, they cut the "Marooned" storyline and they changed the ending (but stuck to the original intent). And a bunch of really small plotlines were pared down. Only way they could have done it, in my opinion. The Extended Cut DVD will address some of the missing stuff, I'm sure.

But the feel of the original comic-books were there. In full IMAX glory. Rorschach was perfect. The Comedian was perfect. Nite Owl was perfect. Dr. Manhattan was perfect. Ozymandias was damn near perfect. In fact, the only one I had a problem with was Silk Spectre II. She looked the part, but I don't think she was much of an actress. And she sounded much too much like Cameron Diaz for my liking.

This shit could have failed miserably. It should have failed miserably. The comic-book (graphic novel always sounded pretentious to me) was such a high mark in the art form that I always felt a film adaptation would inevitably fail. Zack Snyder proves once again that he is nothing except a director willing to make faithful adaptations of the original source material. Well, except for making zombies fast and super-strong. But that's another story.

So, here is my advice to you:
  1. Go see it.
  2. Go see it now!
  3. Remember to see it in IMAX.
  4. Go see it in IMAX now!
  5. Seriously, what the fuck are you waiting for?
  6. And leave the kids at home. There is lots of blue CGI penis in this one.
  7. I had you at "blue CGI penis", didn't I?

Watchmen has leapt past The Dark Knight and Iron Man as my favorite comic-book adaptation/superhero film just like that. Shit, it may be one of my all-time favorite films of any genre. I loved it that much!

I can't wait to see it again. And again.

Who watches the Watchmen? You all should.
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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the costumed heroes are doing it.

Mar 6, 2009

Guess what...

...I'm making tomorrow for Gia's sister's birthday on Saturday?


That's right. Those are all the ingredients needed to make an Old-Fashioned with bacon-infused bourbon ala PDT's recipe.

I'm actually gonna infuse two whiskeys with bacon. Jim Beam Black and Jim Beam Rye. I want to see how the bacon infusion affects the bourbon and the rye. I also bought two different kinds of pure maple syrup. And I'm using a thick-cut bacon that has been hickory-smoked twice as I want to get a real smoky flavor out of the infusion process.

I can't wait!

And hey...look! A new picture of the kittens!



That's Gogo on top. She's fluffy. And Wolowitz right beneath her. We had a little scare with him last week. He walked into the living room looking like his front right leg was broken. We took him to the Vet and had x-rays taken, but nothing was broken. Some anti-biotics and an anti-inflammatory later he was just fine. And we had him fixed while he was there. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Gogo heads in for her procedure in about 3 weeks. Rawr!

Programming Notice - I'm taking a week off from Music Video Fridays. Every artist I wanna showcase won't let me embed their videos here. It's becoming very common now on Youtube. Fuckers. Catch me again next week. Maybe.

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the bacon-infused kids are doing it.

Mar 5, 2009

500 is the new 300


Possibly the worst attempt at editing a movie poster ever. It kinda looks like a 500. Doesn't it? Damn!- Earl

500 posts.

Seems like a lot. To me, anyway. And I couldn't even think of something original and/or fun to do with this shit. I'm feeling a bit lame this week for several reasons. None of which are important enough to mention here. Mostly just a bit under the weather, I think.

So how about a little trip down memory lane then?
  • It all started with a review of Wedding Crashers in another place and another time. Slyde's blog, to be specific. August of 2005 to be even more specific. And it was much better than the hastily-written crap on MovieGrenade, I tell you. I really used to take a long time writing each one of these posts. Now? Not so much. This post will be a good example of that.
  • 30 posts and about a year later, I started my own blog. That post wasn't a deeply thought out one, I see. I just noticed a spelling error on the 7th word there. Sigh. Probably didn't notice the spell check option yet on the Blogger Edit box. What a noob!
  • I mentioned my Sarah Jessica Parker moment, and I wasn't even embarrassed by it. Somehow lost in that story was getting to meet Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft. Clearly a highlight of my life.
  • I bought condoms.
  • I posted six weird things about myself. But, of course, I only posted 5 things. Weird, huh?
  • I famously pissed in the corner of a hotel room.
  • I saw the best concert ever! All the more special because I saw it with Gia. The whole night was magical.
  • I reached into the way-back machine and pulled out something really old that I had written to amuse a couple of friends of mine. I still cringe when I read it.
  • I started reviewing bad movies with a couple of bloggy friends.
  • I wrote about how my sister often tried to kill me when we were kids. I still keep a close on her.
  • I finally settled the eternal debate. Michael Myers vs. Jason Vorhees. Looking back I see that I really didn't settle anything. Oh well.
  • I tried to embarrass Gia, but it didn't work. She loves that stuffed animal!
  • I introduced the world (well, a small part of it) to the great, long, red-legged Scissorman. You can thank me later for the nightmares.
  • I wipe my ass standing up. Why? How do you do it? You remain seated and you lean forward? Freak!
  • I kinda outed Billy Squier as a gay man. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But dude...daisy dukes? C'mon!
  • I gave my thoughts on uber-blogger Heather Armstrong. That was almost a year ago and I haven't popped into her site since. Eww! That sounds dirty! Well, so does "Dooce".
  • I wrote about how I believe Spike Lee to be a racist. And judging from the traffic directed to my blog from search engines, a lot of folks feel the same way.
  • I wrote about 10 embarrassing moments in my life. And I can't believe that I'm linking them again here. Doh!
  • I posted a picture of myself. Well, kinda.
  • "I do not like thee, Dr. Fell. The reason why I cannot tell. But this I know, and know full well. I do not like thee, Dr. Fell"
  • I found about a movie script that is apparently killing people. My God, man! When will it end?
  • I started a beer review blog that I randomly update. It's about beer, duh!
  • I hate Superman. That's right! Sorry, Avitable.
And, well...you get the idea. Lots of other stuff that is too recent to reference right now.

So here's to the next 500 posts. Maybe by then I will find something actually interesting to write about.

But I doubt it.

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the lamest kids in the world are doing it. Don't you wanna be one of the lame kids?

Mar 4, 2009

Fluff

Gia wanted some peanut butter the other day. Not a normal request, by any means. I bought some just last week, but we kinda ran through it. So I think this might be the third or fourth time I've ever had peanut butter on my grocery list as an adult.

Anyway, when I got to the peanut butter aisle, there it was.


Marshmallow Fluff. Haven't had this shit since I was a kid. Remember Fluff-a-nutters? I haven't tried one yet. Need Wonder white bread for that.

But I have done a little Fluff on Hershey's chocolate bars and man, oh man is it brilliant!

This stuff is good for you. Right? Corn syrup, sugar, dried egg whites and vanilla. Sounds healthy to me. And it presented in a non-plastic (glass) container. So it is environmentally safe as well. Carbon footprint and all. That doesn't make any sense, does it? Sigh.

When was the last time you had some Fluff?

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. What the fluff, man?.

Mar 3, 2009

The contradiction


I hate snow.

But I love to take a long (OK...short) walk in a light snowfall in the early evening or early morning. It's strikingly beautiful. Especially on the harbor by the house.

I hate snow.

But I love shoveling it. Well, love might be a bit strong. I really don't mind it though. It's very comforting. There is really nothing in my life that I do as methodically and clear headed as shovelling snow. I guess that's how it is for most people with exercise, but I don't really do that. Shoveling snow is as close as I get to it.

I hate snow.

But my clients were off because of the snow storm yesterday, so I got to lay in bed all day watching TV and and napping. In between sessions of shoveling snow, of course.

I hate snow.

Except when I like it, of course.

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the mixed-up kids are doing it.

Mar 2, 2009

The Hash Episode

Nothing to do with me. Nope, talkin' about Barney Miller.

I'm one of those curmudgeons who believes that the sitcom, as an art form (ha!), peaked in the 70's and early 80's. Barney Miller, All in the Family, M*A*S*H, Taxi and Cheers. Those were TV shows. And I think they got away a lot of stuff that probably wouldn't fly on the networks these days.

One of my favorite Barney Miller episodes was the one where the entire precinct, save Barney, got high on some funny brownies.

Here's the first third of that episode. Enjoy!



Check out the rest of the episode here and then here. It really starts to kick in that 2nd clip.

PS - New porno awfulness over at the MovieGrenade for y'all to ignore. Hit that shit!

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the stoned 70's cops are doing it.

Mar 1, 2009

In like a lion...

...as the saying goes.

It's March 1st and we here on LI are preparing for our biggest Winter Storm of the year. We've had a bunch of little storms already, dropping 1-3 inches or so. Nothing too major though. Tonight, by all forecasts I've seen, central and northern LI is expecting 6-10 inches of snow. Great! That is me being sarcastic, by the way.

I was just talking about snow the other day with Gia. I told her on Friday that I thought we were probably going to get one more storm before it warms up for the year. Looks like I was right. Sigh.


Oh, and for those of you quiz-maniacs (quiziacs?), the February game ended yesterday with these final standings:
  1. Me - 270 points (4 wins)
  2. Evyl - 239 points (1 win)
  3. Avitable - 233 points (6 wins)
  4. RW - 224 points (1 win)
  5. badgerdaddy - 211 (3 wins)
It should have been much closer than that, though. A bunch of folks missed some days on the quiz and missed out on some easy scoring. I know Adam had the highest per game score, but he missed 3 or 4 days in there.

Maybe someone will step up in March to take the title from the King. ;)

Also, any suggestions for Wednesday topics are certainly appreciated. Classic Rock Redux requested by badgerdaddy hits the quiz this week. What will next week bring?

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the fucking snowmen are doing it.