where the wild things are

not only does this trailer rock my sox, it also features awesome music from the arcade fire.  i’m drooling with anticipation.

grapefruit

these guys are unbelievable.  so fucking awesome i actually paid for their music.  i used my credit card and purchased music.  i got everything they offered on their site and i plan to continue buying them as they continuing releasing them.  they deserve every last penny.  unbelievable.  this is what it means to have talent, not just impeccable technique, not just rabid creativity, but to have both in just the right portions to make something absolutely scrumtralescent.  these are real musicians.  i am humbled.  check out the rest of their videosongs and buy their music.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=392573366

wine, drink of the ignorant snob

vapid, empty, and self-loathing – the perfect woman

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13580_3-9849949-39.html

okay, okay; it’s not just wine.  if this stanford/cit study proves right, it could mean the end of objective comparisons in many categories.  it’s just that wine connoisseurs always seem like such asses, so why not pick on them?  anyways, for those people who think a fine palette for fermented grape juice lends some amount of refined dignity to your character, let me be perfectly clear that you are a tool.

“Researchers from the California Institute of Technology and Stanford’s business school have directly seen that the sensation of pleasantness that people experience when tasting wine is linked directly to its price. And that’s true even when, unbeknownst to the test subjects, it’s exactly the same Cabernet Sauvignon with a dramatically different price tag.”

your brain is simply tasting what it wants based on expectations.  so, all those stupid classes you took in napa valley were for naught.  it was actually just a huge scam to part a fool from his money, and it taught you a meaningless lesson that covered up a very basic and simple idea; the more you pay, the more you enjoy.

to anyone hoping to become a wine aficionado, i would strongly suggest curbing that urge.  of course, there are those people who are just such huge tool sheds that no amount of self control will prevent them from indulging in every superficial avenue of ego stroking and opportunity to be a smug bastard.  to those people, i would like to announce that we are on to you.  your worthlessness is beyond repair and no matter what you do, people will see you for how meaningless your existence is.

my pretty ford

every friday night, there’s a car…thing in somerville where people bring out their prized cars to proudly hog all the parking and cause considerable traffic along main st.  however, it is quiet festive and anyone who enjoys a good ol’ slice of americana and all around bustle would probably appreciate it.  also if you like cars.  there’s an old station wagon covered in odd paraphernalia and stickers that always shows up.  i like to think of it as the ugly girl who covers her face with a paper bag and degrades herself for attention.  here are some more appetizing cars i was able to catch on my phone.  btw, that’s the 3rd ford gt i’ve seen in-person within a single month.  or are they all the same one?!?!

how to do it right

being far too tired to wear down the skeptic walls and anti-hype sentiments of forum flunkies, i’ll just say what i came to say.

‘the dark knight’ is hands down the most astonishing and meaningful comic-based movie ever; easily.  not only does nolan achieve the level of realism comic book fans have been waiting for, he goes ahead and adds his own touch of thought provoking commentary as well, making this the first comic book movie i’ve ever walked away from feeling like i was actually intellectually challenged.

the key to this success is in the movie’s attention to realism.  the acting and screenplay aim at the single focus of maintaining believability in all the characters.  it is the deeply thought out psychology and backgrounds of each character, reflected in both the script and the performances (e.g. heath ledger), that allows the audience to finally say to themselves, “i understand why (s)he’s doing that”; a detail often ignored or poorly achieved in other comic book movies.  nolan doesn’t rely on the suspension of disbelief to prop the somewhat whimsical and far-fetched characters found in the movie.  every detail about them is crafted to be completely understandable in a real world sense. their stories have been rewritten and their characters re-imagined to do away with any detail too outlandish for us to swallow.

and this all leads into the most important element of this movie.  all this realism is in place in order to support the fundamental concepts and ideas presented.  the themes found in this movie are what really drive it out of the ballpark.  using ultra-realism to support the plausible application of these themes is what nolan does best.  they aren’t lofty concepts and abstracts only pertinent to ideal situations (lol-economics) but inspections of the human condition and reflections on concepts of social relevence.  when you watch heath ledger’s performance as the joker and listen to all his dialogue, you will understand.  now, these concepts are by no means sociological breakthroughs lauded by the academic community and they are also by no means the most profound concepts in the history of film, but in the context of a comic book movie, they are well above and beyond any attempts at substance found in all prior films of the genre.

and finally, i want to say that heath ledger gave us what we all expected from kevin spacey in ’superman returns’.  he actually cared enough to do a good job and he deserves credit for everything he brought to this movie.

why don’t you just learn the guitar, hero?

despite my urgent warnings to proscribe guitar hero from my sister, my parents nevertheless decided to buy it for her and now the villainous game is in my house, decaying the creative potential of my family. i say family because i caught my dad playing it today. it was weird. i can appreciate the pure technical prowess required to faithfully replicate button sequences at high speeds, but it makes me wonder why someone who can perform the feat featured above, doesn’t just learn to play a real guitar. it’s clear that he has the mental focus and digital dexterity to coordinate a flurry of motions that undoubtedly resembles an epileptic spider. why not use that talent on the real deal? i think what people really want is to be graded on their performances. that’s what makes these guitar games so fun. they grade you so that you know there is always room for improvement. someone needs to create a program that listens to actual guitar playing and then grades the performance. maybe then more people will learn to play the actual instrument. i wouldn’t mind going around telling people how much they suck while they play their favorite rock songs on a real six-string but there’s only so much of me to go around. shame.

holy shit, i love faded paper figures

well, this was a surprise. if anyone has seen the recent lexus ad for the rx350 pebble beach edition, it features this gorgeous electronica track which i decided to search out. after a very brief search, i came across the band faded paper figures who supposedly wrote the song used in the commercial. i then looked up this indie electronica band and lo and behold, they were marvelous. it was like sensual love making in my ear, the kind that makes you tear with joy and not feel like you have to blame it on dust. they sound very much like the postal service which is a fantastic compliment. anyways, i just wanted to say how much i loved these guys. as soon as i find out how, i’m going to buy an album, even though they put all there songs out for free on myspace.com. these guys deserve money for their art and i am more than happy to deliver. fantastic. here’s the ad i first heard them in.

charity from music

few people realize this, but a guitar can double as a splint, a stretcher (for babies), or a fire axe, all of which can be used to save lives. however, if you prefer to keep your guitar for use as a chick magnet, you can also help save lives by clicking on the above link and donating to the music for relief program. check it out and feel good about yourselves. (also, chicks love charity)

c-ad-illac

i’m going to pretend like there hasn’t been a huge hiatus for postings since school started and just jump right back into it.

i was watching discovery atlas on dhdt and it was the episode on modern china. i had seen something similar to this, only a montage set to music at a costco once while perusing through the hdtv section. ever since then i’ve been trying to hunt down that demo, with little luck and while i don’t believe this discovery special was what i was watching, it fills the role well enough for me to feel like i’ve brought democracy to iraq. mission accomplished, boys. anyways, i must say that documentary was absolutely fantasmigorical, scrumtrelescent even. totally on par with the planet earth series. adding to the generous enlightening of the show was a notable new ad campaign by cadillac for the 2008 cts which i found extremely appealing and effective. because i can’t post a youtube vid of the entire atlas: china revealed special, i’ll just leave that to you to investigate, but the new cadillac ad i can post, and i will explain what makes it so good.

first off, yes, that is kate walsh, whose career i find absolutely detestable. grey’s anatomy sucks my testicles with the kind of force that jim dyson dreams about at night. and after watching this ad, i find myself fantasizing about ms. walsh doing the same. nothing helps to pop a tent like the idea of degrading a successful woman with loads of cash and dignity but who is actually a huge slut begging to get stuffed like the t-day turkey you all wolfed down recently. anyways, before i have to start paying you for the hour, allow me to continue on with why this ad is so good.

first of all, the grey’s anatomy audience is a crowd of impressionable materialistic go-getters who care a great deal about self-image and reputation. they’re the kind of people who want other people to look at them and say, ‘damn, i wish i were/fucking him/her,’ and though few clearly look the part, many are willing to shill the dinero needed to play it. this means italian shoes, fancy cars, 3-figure haircuts, etc. also see nip/tuck. furthermore, kate walsh is the perfect age to hook the demographic cadillac should be targetting. nobody who relates themselves with hayden panettiere has enough dough to afford a luxury sports cars. kate is just the right age to harden those viagra popping business men while also being classy enough to draw the non-hostile envy of 30-something women all over america. hell, even i find her alluring in the ad. one might even say that she ‘turns my key’. yuck yuck.

there also happens to be a second variation of the ad, in which b-movie actor, matthew mcwannabe aka martin henderson, does the driving, while pitching a nice little speech about hindering individuality. now, martin henderson is probably best known for his role in the britney spears video for toxic. that being said, the age group this ad is targeting probably doesn’t recognize him or realize how pathetic his career is. all they see is a good-looking guy talking some big talk about beating hippies. unfortunately, this version is so unpopular that youtube does not have a video for it at the time. i will however explain the best part of this ad. part of the narration includes a line that goes something like this: ‘you could follow the philosophy that a nail that sticks out gets hammered; or you could be the hammer.’ this is a real knock-out punch, because it not only equates the cts with having individuality, but it equates it with having so much individuality, that it stifles the individuality of others, and of course that is the underlying dream of any rich businessman.

in conclusion, i wish to say good job modernista, the ad agency that handled this campaign. you guys did an unbelievable job at selling the cts. also, please give me a job.

who’s been a naughty doctor?  that’s right, bitch, you have.  now bend over so i can give you your shot.

the tudors

after a short period of mourning for the series finale of the sopranos, i took some time to search out a suitable replacement, watching various new series that peaked my interest and even entertaining some shows that didn’t interest me at all. finally, i believe i have found something notable which comes close to satisfying the criteria of a sopranos replacement. that show is the tudors. in case you haven’t heard of it, the show is essentially a historical drama chronicling the life of king henry 8 and his scandalous reign. it airs on showtime on sundays at 10 pm est. the cast is terrific, especially sam neill, who most of you might remember as skeptical paleontologist turned reluctant hero dr. alan grant in jurassic park and regrettably reprising that role in jurassic park 3. other notables include maria doyle kennedy, who plays queen katherine of aragon, and does quite an amazing job. jonathan rhys meyers, taking on the lead role of king henry 8, does a terrible job at looking like the infamous monarch, but performs surprisingly well and convincingly conveys the personality and emotional nuances of the role. the entire cast is in fact very adept and talented and there is not a single one among them that gives me cause to believe they are anything but the characters they play on the show. in fact, the greatest drawback the series faces is the shabby sfx which fall short of even the cgi prowess of pirates; yes, i am referring to the porno. thankfully, the show does not feature heavily in that department, and when it does, there is usually a half naked beauty in the following scene, almost like an apology to the audience. overall, i would suggest this show to anyone who has been wanting in realistic television featuring a plethora of violence, political intrigue, and carnal pleasure. i have decided also to watch rome. it seems to be the hbo equivalent and i am eager to see which show deserves more praise. only time will tell. until then, i am hard pressed not to insist that anyone who reads this blog go and check out the show. there is no doubt in my mind that you will enjoy it, that is unless you are a brain dead imbecile with awful taste and a knack for walking into walls. that includes all of you cw viewers.