2000s: Decade in Review - Film

100 Favorite Films
1. No Country For Old Men (2007)
2. There Will Be Blood (2007)
3. The Prestige (2006)
4. Children of Men (2006)
5. Monster’s Inc. (2001)
6. Munich (2005)
7. Road to Perdition (2002)
8. Catch Me If You Can (2002)
9. Wall-E (2008)
10. Zoolander (2001)
11. The Dark Knight (2008)
12. Ratatouille (2007)
13. Burn After Reading (2008)
14. Training Day (2001)
15. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
16. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005)
17. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
18. The Incredibles (2004)
19. Minority Report (2002)
20. Wonder Boys (2000)
21. Batman Begins (2005)
22. The Departed (2006)
23. Memento (2000)
24. Inglorious Basterds (2009)
25. Finding Nemo (2003)
26. Zodiac (2007)
27. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
28. Gladiator (2000)
29. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
30. Michael Clayton (2007)
31. Collateral (2004)
32. Wedding Crashers (2005)
33. Snatch (2000)
34. X2 (2003)
35. Almost Famous (2000)
36. Adaptation (2003)
37. Lost in Translation (2003)
38. Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)
39. Up (2009)
40. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)
41. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
42. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
43. American Psycho (2000)
44. Casino Royale (2006)
45. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
46. Thank You For Smoking (2005)
47. Avatar (2009)
48. Tropic Thunder (2008)
49. Death Proof (2007)
50. Knocked Up (2007)
51. Superbad (2007)
52. Star Trek (2009)
53. Once (2006)
54. Duplicity (2009)
55. Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
56. The Ladykillers (2004)
57. Old School (2003)
58. The School of Rock (2003)
59. Unbreakable (2000)
60. Signs (2002)
61. Sin City (2005)
62. War of the Worlds (2005)
63. The Wrestler (2008)
64. Cast Away (2000)
65. Ocean’s Twelve (2004)
66. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
67. A Mighty Wind (2003)
68. Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
69. Meet the Parents (2000)
70. Spider-Man (2002)
71. The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
72. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
73. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
74. X-Men (2000)
75. Kung Fu Panda (2008)
76. Jarhead (2005)
77. Shrek (2001)
78. Atonement (2007)
79. In Good Company (2004)
80. Gran Torino (2008)
81. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
82. 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
83. The Hangover (2009)
84. Mean Girls (2004)
85. U-571 (2000)
86. Black Hawk Down (2001)
87. King Kong (2005)
88. V for Vendetta (2005)
89. Gangs of New York (2002)
90. The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
91. The Girl Next Door (2003)
92. Phone Booth (2002)
93. Ghost Town (2008)
94. District 9 (2009)
95. Iron Man (2008)
96. Planet Terror (2007)
97. Chicago (2002)
98. Jackass Number 2 (2006)
99. 300 (2006)
100. Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)

Notes:
-I did take quite a bit compiling this list, but not enough time for me to be extremely confident that this list could not be altered with relative ease.
-I excluded all films from the Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and Bourne series, because I have not seen all films in each series. I did not feel comfortable considering only a portion of each series for this list.
-I did not include United 93 (2006) because the word "favorite" is not appropriate for this film.
-Some films that I have seen, but do not have a good enough grasp for to include in this list: Artificial Intelligence: A.I. (2001), Punch Drunk Love (2002), Solaris (2002), and Good Night and Good Luck (2005)
-As always, there are several films I did not see, especially over this length of time. Therefore, they could not be considered.

10 Best Films I Saw
1. No Country for Old Men (2007)
2. There Will Be Blood (2007)
3. Children of Men (2006)
4. Munich (2005)
5. The Prestige (2006)
6. Ratatouille (2007)
7. Road to Perdition (2002)
8. United 93 (2006)
9. Memento (2000)
10. Wall-E (2007)

15 Worst Films I Saw
1. The Happening (2008)
2. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
3. Smokin’ Aces (2006)
4. Stealth (2005)
5. Nacho Libre (2006)
6. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
7. Vantage Point (2008)
8. Shoot ‘Em Up (2007)
9. Wanted (2008)
10. X-Men III (2006)
11. The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
12. Poseidon (2006)
13. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
14. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)
15. The Grudge (2004)

10 Most Disappointing Films
1. Spider-Man 3 (2007)
2. Cars (2006)
3. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
4. Men in Black II (2002)
5. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
6. Pineapple Express (2008)
7. Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny (2006)
8. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)
9. Clerks II (2006)
10. Funny People (2009)

Top 25 Films I Wish I Had Seen
1. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
2. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
4. Sideways (2004)
5. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
6. The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001)
7. The Aviator (2004)
8. Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)
9. Insomnia (2002)
10. The Terminal (2004)
11. Traffic (2000)
12. A Serious Man (2009)
13. Panic Room (2002)
14. The Pianist (2002)
15. Mystic River (2003)
16. The Host (2006)
17. A History of Violence (2005)
18. Eastern Promises (2007)
19. The Lives of Others (2006)
20. Into the Wild (2007)
21. Best in Show (2000)
22. City of God (2002)
23. The Hurt Locker (2009)
24. Gone Baby Gone (2007)
25. The Bourne Supremacy (2004)/The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

2000s: Decade in Review - Television

10 Favorite Television Series
1. The Shield
2. The Wire
3. Arrested Development
4. 30 Rock
5. The Sopranos (through episode 3.4)
6. Six Feet Under
7. Curb Your Enthusiasm
8. Lost
9. 24
10. Flight of the Conchords

Honorable Mention: The Office (BBC), Extras, Da Ali G Show, Summer Heights High, Chappelle's Show

Series that were good or showed promise, but declined for one reason or another...
24:
When it Declined: Season 4
Reason(s): Stories/devices became repetitive/predictable.

Alias:
When it Declined: Season 4
Reason(s): Introduction of APO. Just got too ridiculous.

Entourage:
When it Declined: Season 3 Part 2 and Season 5 Season Finale
Reason(s): It never got remotely close to maximizing its potential. Too much time spent on Medellin storyline, never got complicated enough (everything eventually works out for Vince and the gang), among other reasons.

Heroes:
When it Declined: Season 1 Season Finale
Reason(s): For most of the first season the show was on point, but then got really ridiculous in the first season's finale. Additionally, does any character ever die and not eventually reappear on this show?

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip:
When it Declined: 3rd or 4th Episode
Reason(s): Took itself way too seriously.

The Office (NBC):
When it Declined: Season 4
Reason(s): Started to become stale, seemed like the writers ran out of ideas/storylines. It's not bad, but has been on the decline for sometime and there is not a lot to look forward to at this point.

Favorite Mini-Series
Band of Brothers

Favorite TV Movie
61*

5 Series I Wish I Had Watched
1. Deadwood
2. Mad Men
3. Dexter
4. The West Wing
5. Battlestar Galactica

2000s: Decade in Review - Sports

I was hoping to include more, but here's what I have anyway.

MLB

MLB All Decade Team

First Team:
Catcher: Jorge Posada
First Base: Albert Pujols
Second Base: Chase Utley
Shortstop: Derek Jeter
Third Base: Alex Rodriguez
Left Field: Barry Bonds
Center Field: Carlos Beltran
Right Field: Ichiro Suzuki
Designated Hitter: David Ortiz
Starting Pitchers: Johan Santana, Randy Johnson, Roy Halladay, Pedro Martinez, Roy Oswalt
Relief Pitcher: Mariano Rivera

Second Team:
Catcher: Joe Mauer
First Base: Lance Berkman
Second Base: Jeff Kent
Shortstop: Miguel Tejada
Third Base: Chipper Jones
Left Field: Manny Ramirez
Center Field: Andruw Jones
Right Field: Vladimir Guerrero
Designated Hitter: Travis Hafner
Starting Pitchers: Curt Schilling, Andy Pettitte, Carlos Zambrano, Mark Buerhle, Tim Hudson
Relief Pitcher: Trevor Hoffman

Best Manger: Joe Torre
Best General Manager: Theo Epstein

Best Team:
New York Yankees - 2009

NBA

NBA All Decade Team

First Team:
Point Guard: Steve Nash
Shooting Guard: Kobe Bryant
Small Forward: LeBron James
Power Forward: Tim Duncan
Center: Shaquille O'Neal

Second Team
Point Guard: Jason Kidd
Shooting Guard: Allen Iverson
Small Forward: Paul Pierce
Power Forward: Kevin Garnett
Center: Yao Ming

Third Team
Point Guard: Chauncey Billups
Shooting Guard: Dwyane Wade
Small Forward: Tracy McGrady
Power Forward: Dirk Nowitzki
Center: Ben Wallace

Best Coach: Phil Jackson
Best General Manager: R.C. Buford/Greg Popovich

Best Team:
Los Angeles Lakers - 2001

My Personal Favorite Moments/Games (in no particular order)

-USC vs. Notre Dame 2005 - 4th and 9 from Matt Leinart to Dwyane Jarrett/Leinart sneak for the win

-USC vs. Oklahoma 2004 National Championship Game (USC 55 - Oklahoma 19)

-Los Angeles Lakers over Portland Trailblazers in 2000 NBA Western Conference Finals - Game 7 comeback/Kobe Bryant alley-oop to Shaquille O'Neal

-Los Angeles Lakers over Sacramento Kings in 2002 Western Conference Finals - Game 7 win/Robert Horry 3-pointer buzzer beater in Game 4

-Los Angeles Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs - 0.4 Derek Fisher

-2004 Boston Red Sox overcome 3-0 series deficit to New York Yankees in ALCS.

-Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer - 2008 Wimbledon Gentleman's Singles Final

-Tiger Woods - Several moments, but top two were: 2005 Master's chip-in on 16th hole and his entire performance at the 2008 U.S. Open

2009 Film Releases Log

In order of when I viewed them:

1. Gran Torino (1/9 Wide): B

2. Taken (1/30): C

3. Hotel for Dogs (1/16): C-

4. Walled In (3/17): F

5. Polanski (2/13): F

6. Star Trek (5/8): B+

7. Up (5/29): A

8. Terminator Salvation (5/21): D+

9. The Hangover (6/5): B

10. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (6/24): F

11. Public Enemies (7/1): C+

12. Bruno (7/10): B

13. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (7/15): A-

14. Funny People (7/31): C

15. District 9 (8/14): B

16. Inglourious Basterds (8/21): A-

17. Duplicity (3/20): B

18. Avatar (12/18): A-

2009 College Football Poll - Week 14 w/Heisman Top 5

1. Alabama
2. Texas
3. TCU
4. Florida
5. Boise State
6. Cincinnati
7. Oregon
8. Georgia Tech
9. Ohio State
10. Virginia Tech
11. Oregon State
12. Miami
13. LSU
14. Iowa
15. Arizona
16. Stanford
17. Penn State
18. Pittsburgh
19. Oklahoma State
20. BYU
21. West Virginia
22. Nebraska
23. Clemson
24. USC
25. North Carolina

Dropped From Rankings: California (12), Houston (20)

Heisman Top 5: Ndamukong Suh, Toby Gerhart, Mark Ingram, Colt McCoy, Tim Tebow

2009 College Football Poll - Week 13

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. TCU
5. Boise State
6. Cincinnati
7. Oregon
8. Ohio State
9. Georgia Tech
10. Virginia Tech
11. Oregon State
12. California
13. Miami
14. LSU
15. Stanford
16. USC
17. Iowa
18. Penn State
19. Pittsburgh
20. Houston
21. Oklahoma State
22. BYU
23. West Virginia
24. Clemson
25. Nebraska

Dropped From Rankings: Mississippi (18), North Carolina (22), Utah (24)

2009 College Football Poll - Week 12

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati
6. Boise State
7. Georgia Tech
8. Oregon
9. Ohio State
10. Pittsburgh
11. Virginia Tech
12. Oklahoma State
13. California
14. Stanford
15. Oregon State
16. Clemson
17. USC
18. Mississippi
19. LSU
20. Iowa
21. Penn State
22. North Carolina
23. Miami
24. Utah
25. BYU

Dropped From Rankings: Arizona (16), Wisconsin (24)

2009 College Football Poll - Week 11

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati
6. Boise State
7. Georgia Tech
8. Oregon
9. LSU
10. Ohio State
11. Pittsburgh
12. Virginia Tech
13. Oklahoma State
14. Stanford
15. Iowa
16. Arizona
17. Oregon State
18. Clemson
19. USC
20. Penn State
21. North Carolina
22. Miami
23. California
24. Wisconsin
25. Utah

Dropped From Rankings: Houston (17), Auburn (24), South Florida (25)

2009 College Football Poll - Week 10

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. Cincinnati
5. TCU
6. Boise State
7. Georgia Tech
8. Oregon
9. Miami
10. USC
11. LSU
12. Ohio State
13. Pittsburgh
14. Iowa
15. Arizona
16. Utah
17. Houston
18. Virginia Tech
19. Oklahoma State
20. Penn State
21. Oregon State
22. Stanford
23. Clemson
24. Auburn
25. South Florida

Dropped From Rankings: California (18), Oklahoma (21), Notre Dame (24)

2009 College Football Poll - Week 9

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Oregon
4. Alabama
5. Cincinnati
6. TCU
7. Boise State
8. Iowa
9. LSU
10. Georgia Tech
11. USC
12. Miami
13. Pittsburgh
14. Penn State
15. Houston
16. Arizona
17. Ohio State
18. California
19. Virginia Tech
20. Oklahoma State
21. Oklahoma
22. Utah
23. Auburn
24. Notre Dame
25. South Florida

Dropped From Rankings: South Carolina (19), West Virginia (22), Central Michigan (25)

2009 College Football Poll - Week 8

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. USC
5. Cincinnati
6. Boise State
7. Oregon
8. Iowa
9. TCU
10. LSU
11. Georgia Tech
12. Virginia Tech
13. Miami
14. Houston
15. Oklahoma State
16. Penn State
17. Pittsburgh
18. Ohio State
19. South Carolina
20. Arizona
21. California
22. West Virginia
23. Utah
24. Oklahoma
25. Central Michigan

Dropped From Rankings: Texas Tech (18), Oregon State (22), BYU (23)

2009 College Football Poll - Week 7

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. USC
5. Cincinnati
6. Boise State
7. Oregon
8. Miami
9. Iowa
10. LSU
11. TCU
12. Georgia Tech
13. Virginia Tech
14. Houston
15. Oklahoma State
16. South Carolina
17. Penn State
18. Texas Tech
19. Ohio State
20. Arizona
21. Pittsburgh
22. Oregon State
23. BYU
24. California
25. Utah

Dropped From Rankings: Oklahoma (17), Kansas (20), South Florida (22), Nebraska (23), Arkansas (25)

2009 College Football Poll - Week 6

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. USC
5. Virginia Tech
6. Boise State
7. Cincinnati
8. Oregon
9. LSU
10. Miami
11. TCU
12. Iowa
13. Ohio State
14. South Carolina
15. Houston
16. BYU
17. Oklahoma
18. Georgia Tech
19. Oklahoma State
20. Kansas
21. Penn State
22. South Florida
23. Nebraska
24. Oregon State
25. Arkansas

Dropped From Rankings: Auburn (17), Mississippi (20), Stanford (25)

College Football Poll 2009 - Week 5

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. LSU
5. USC
6. Boise State
7. Cincinnati
8. Virginia Tech
9. Oregon
10. TCU
11. Miami
12. Ohio State
13. South Carolina
14. BYU
15. Oklahoma
16. Houston
17. Auburn
18. Georgia Tech
19. Oklahoma State
20. Mississippi
21. Iowa
22. Kansas
23. Penn State
24. South Florida
25. Stanford

Dropped From Rankings: Michigan, California, Georgia

2009 College Football Poll - Week 4

I skipped writing this poll last week. Trust me, I realize no one cares (about this poll or that I skipped a week). Anyway, for anyone who mistakenly clicked on this I took a somewhat new approach to my rankings, so they may be vastly different from two weeks ago.

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. Boise St.
5. LSU
6. Cincinnati
7. Virginia Tech
8. Houston
9. TCU
10. USC
11. Oklahoma
12. Oregon
13. South Carolina
14. Miami
15. Ohio St.
16. Michigan
17. Iowa
18. California
19. Oklahoma St.
20. Kansas
21. South Florida
22. Georgia Tech
23. Georgia
24. BYU
25. Mississippi

Next Five Receiving Consideration: Penn St., Auburn, UCLA, Missouri, North Carolina St.

2009 College Football Poll - Week 2

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. USC
4. Alabama
5. LSU
6. Boise St.
7. Ole Miss
8. California
9. BYU
10. Ohio St.
11. Oklahoma
12. Georgia Tech
13. Penn St.
14. Virginia Tech
15. Oklahoma St.
16. Kansas
17. TCU
18. Miami
19. Houston
20. Georgia
21. Cincinnati
22. Utah
23. Oregon St.
24. Texas Tech
25. North Carolina

Dropped Out: Notre Dame

2009 College Football Poll - Week 1

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. USC
4. Alabama
5. LSU
6. Boise St.
7. Oklahoma St.
8. Ole Miss
9. California
10. BYU
11. Georgia Tech
12. Oklahoma
13. Virginia Tech
14. Penn St.
15. Ohio St.
16. Kansas
17. TCU
18. Miami
19. North Carolina
20. Oregon St.
21. Utah
22. Georgia
23. Notre Dame
24. Cincinnati
25. Texas Tech

Dropped Out: Oregon, North Carolina State

College Football Poll 2009 - Pre-season

Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

1. Florida - It's scary how much talent they are bringing back. It's a National Championship or bust type of year. Plus, God is on their side. Key game: 10/10 @LSU

2. Texas - Unless Tebow or Bradford (or someone else) have a year well above everyone else, McCoy will win the Heisman (by default). Key game: 10/17 vs. Oklahoma (Dallas)

3. USC - Have to replace both coordinators, the starting quarterback, and 8 starters from a historic defense. But, can you argue with their track record under Carroll? Plain and simple, USC and Florida have separated themselves as the top two programs in the country. Dropped one spot because Matt Barkley, a true freshman, is starting at QB. Key game: 9/12 @Ohio St.

4. Oklahoma - Not putting them here enthusiastically, but there really isn't any other team worthy. Have no trust in them winning a big game (especially in January). Lost four starters on
the O-Line. Key game: 10/17 vs. Texas (Dallas)

5. LSU - Jarrett Lee. He blew so many games for them last year and now won't have that
opportunity this year. They found their QB (Jordan Jefferson) in last season's Chick-fil-A Bowl. Defense got carved way too many times last year. Buying into them more than most. Key game: 10/10 vs. Florida

6. Ole Miss - Was last season a bit of a fluke? They could very well take a step back (or a great step forward) this year. Jevan Snead could make a run at the Heisman. Key game: 10/10 vs. Alabama

7. Oklahoma State - Bring back a lot on offense (QB Robinson, RB Hunter, and WR Bryant). Defense is going to need to improve greatly for them to compete with the likes of Texas and Oklahoma in their conference. Key game: 10/31 vs. Texas

8. Virgina Tech - It was already time for QB Tyrod Taylor to step up his game before starting RB Darren Evans went down for the year with a torn ACL. Still, Va Tech is one of the most consistent programs in the nation. Key game: 9/5 vs. Alabama (Atlanta)

9. Boise State - One of the more solid programs in the country. Very few programs are willing to play them in Boise on the blue turf. First game of the season against Oregon in Boise is quite intriguing. Key game: 9/3 vs. Oregon

10. Alabama - Things are always tricky with a new quarterback. Not buying into them as much as most people are. Key game: 9/5 vs. Virginia Tech (Atlanta)

11. Oregon - Things are always tricky with a new head coach. Explosive offense. Key game: 9/3 @Boise St.

12. California - Probably have the best RB in the nation in Jahvid Best. QB Kevin Riley needs to show up in a big way. Key game: 10/3 vs. USC

13. Ohio State - Terrell Pryor has the potential to be the type of player that can seemingly win games single-handily. They face USC (in Columbus) in one of the most anticipated games of the year the second week of the season. Can they win one of these national showcase games and prove to be on the top tier of college football programs? Key game: 9/12 vs. USC

14. Georgia Tech - Will their option offense be as effective in Year 2? RB Jonathan Dwyer returns, which will certainly help. QB Josh Nesbitt returns as well. Key game: 10/17 vs. Virginia Tech

15. Georgia - Have to replace two first round draft picks in QB Matthew Stafford (first overall) and RB Knowshon Moreno. They could be in store for a rough year if they can't replace most of their production. Key game: 9/5 @Oklahoma St.

16. Penn State - Their schedule is a complete joke. They should be disqualified from BCS consideration. There's a decent chance they could go to the BCS Championship game (and get absolutely demolished by Florida, Texas, USC, or Oklahoma). They'll finish higher than this ranking in the AP/Coaches poll, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are much better then right here. Key game: 11/7 vs. Ohio St.

17. Kansas - Bring back a lot on offense. Can the defense stop anybody? Key game: 10/24 vs. Oklahoma

18. BYU - QB Max Hall comes back. Defense will have to step up. Key game: 9/5 vs. Oklahoma (Arlington)

19. TCU - Have to replace a lot from a top rated defense. Key game: 10/24 @BYU

20. North Carolina - Have to replace a lot of talent at WR, including first round pick Hakeem Nicks. Will they continue to improve under Butch Davis? Key game: 9/26 @Georgia Tech

21. Miami - Are they really on their way back to the top? This year is critical for them to keep the momentum. First four games are brutal. Key game: 9/7 @Florida St.

22. Oregon State - Mike Riley is one of college football's most underrated coaches. Last season RB Jacquizz Rodgers became the first freshman to win Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year. Key game: 10/24 @USC

23. Utah - Have a lot to replace from a Top 5 team from last season. Key game: 11/14 @TCU

24. North Carolina St. - Kind of a sleeper team this year that could very well be putrid. A lot depends on the development of QB Russell Wilson heading into his sophomore season. Their passing defense was atrocious last year. Key game: 9/3 vs. South Carolina

25. Texas Tech - Put in the Top-25 because of their consistency and because they always seem to have a quarterback that can play in the system. Up next: Taylor Potts. They do lose standout WR Michael Crabtree and QB Graham Harrell. Key game: 9/19 vs. Texas

Next Five: Iowa, Florida State, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Houston

Entourage 6.4 (Spoilers)

The fourth episode of Entourage's sixth season might come to be known to me as the beginning of the end for the show.

First, the one thing I really liked about the episode. That being the cameo by former "Friends" star David Schwimmer attempting to get work on a new television pilot. He was one of the best cameos they have ever had on the show.

The other thing that was a mix of both good and bad was the attention paid to Andrew Klein, the agent in charge of TV at Miller-Gold who is also having an affair with another agent. Klein tells Ari that he broke it off with the female agent, but later melts down in a meeting with Schwimmer when it appears that she is flirting with the actor. Ari tells him he has to get his act together after Klein disrupts a lunch meeting between the agent and Schwimmer. Ari tells him he should consider his kids before he makes any decisions about his life. Klein ends up leaving his wife, but assures Ari his work won't suffer. It's nice to see that they are progressing Klein this season. At the same time, he's an ancillary character and to see him getting a lot of screen time at the expense of others is a bit of an odd choice. This is a minor complaint, because those running the show have clearly shown that they don't care about advancing any of the main characters to any substantiation. If they showed any sense of direction with the main characters, I would be more disappointed. At least they are doing something with a character and I do enjoy Gary Cole's performance on the show.

There were two things that happened in this episode that are extremely alarming. The first being that Vince's next movie has been delayed for about three months because director Frank Darabont had an accident that will not allow him to shoot the film. So, now Vince has even less time devoted to actual work which basically ensures that even less will happen with him. The second alarming development in this episode happened with E. We seem him at his office trying to get "work" done, but we come to find out that he has little work to do. By the end of the episode E shuts down his company, the Murphy Group. So, now E has even less time devoted to actual work which basically ensures that even less will happen with him. Sound familiar? Well, it's apparent that those in charge of the show don't really care if anything interesting happens with the main characters on their show. After clamoring for more time spent on the characters at work for three weeks to see two of the main characters have essentially nothing to do work wise is really frustrating. Worse yet, this episode felt excruciatingly long. As critical as I have been about this show in recent times, I still argued that it was entertaining and thus worth watching. But now we have hit the four episode mark (1/3 of the season) and three of the episodes have been sub-par and this one was not even remotely entertaining. The title of the episode was quite fitting..."Runnin' on E" Yes, it's quite obvious that the many things about this show are "runnin' on E."

Episode Grade: F

Entourage 6.3 (Spoilers)

This was one of the most perplexing episodes I have seen first time through. Mainly because looking back a lot seemed to happen, but it didn't feel as though a lot happened. I think this can be attributed to the flow of the episode. It was just off for some reason; it felt rushed.

A lot happens to Turtle in this episode, but, again, a lot of it felt rushed. The tabloids point out the improbability of his relationship with Jamie-Lynn Sigler. His mom wants him to do more with his life which leads to Turtle wanting more out of his life. It's his birthday; he receives two cars, one from Vince and one from Jamie-Lynn. Because he feels like he has not done a lot with his life, he goes to Ari for advice on his career. There's a good line from Ari about Turtle getting funding for his business, "Did you tell them (banks) about your hat collection?" Turtle, with the advice from Jamie-Lynn, decides to go back to school by the end of the episode. A lot happened to Turtle, but it feels like too much to condense into one episode (actually the span of one day) especially on a show where he is not the main character and where the show is only a half hour in length.

The other main focus of the episode was on Charlie, E's other client, who has created and stars in a television pilot. The show tests well with focus groups, but his character does not. The studio plans to get rid of him. E goes to Ari for advice on how he would fight for his client. Why is everyone going to Uncle Ari for advice? Also, is it a good thing when a character played by "Bow Wow" is one of the more interesting characters on your show? On the other hand, I have to give credit to "Bow Wow's" acting which has been surprisingly adequate (so far).

One quick observation. The four guys go out to test drive Ferrari's on the track as part of Vince's research for his next film (along with presenting Turtle with one of his two new cars). Anyways, for some reason Vince, who could not pass a driving test two episodes ago without bribing the proctor, is driving smoothly four-wide on the track. Just shows the lack of attention to detail that goes along with the show. Sure, not a big deal, but more of a "just sayin'."

In the last couple of minutes of the episode, Vince has an interesting line to E as he says, "everything's changed." For the characters in the show that seems to be somewhat true. Vince is a big star again. E now likes his neighbor and seems to have forgotten about Sloan. Turtle's changes were documented earlier. With all of those changes, one would think that it would feel like a lot has happened, but it does not feel like a whole lot has happened and I have little confidence that anything will change in the end. The line "everything's changed" could be considered one of the more laughable lines in the show's run. Sure, things have changed, but is there any doubt that when all of the storylines have concluded that things won't, in most ways, end up peachy for the main characters on the show? There is no sense that anything is really at stake for the characters.

Episode Grade: C-

Entourage 6.2 (Spoilers)

While not a classic episode, the second episode of the sixth season of Entourage almost felt like it was when compared to the season premiere a week earlier.

This episode had some really good humor. The best part of it being that most of the funny moments had to do with the characters interacting with each other as opposed to being put into situations that were funny on their own discretion. Also, a discussion about "Knocked Up" that persists over the course of the episode is very well done and humorous. Well written comedy in this episode.

We also get a good look at Andrew Klein (Gary Cole) in this episode. Most of what we saw from him last season was his hesitance to join Miller-Gold. Now it seems that he is thriving in his new position, so much so that he is having some sort of an affair with another agent. This causes Ari to get upset because Klein is not respecting what Ari he gave him (his career/relevance) and could be throwing it all away for a fling. Ari attempts to stop Klein from interacting with the agent and warns him that he is risking a lot. Additionally there are a couple of funny interactions between Lloyd and Klein.

Probably the most interesting moment of the entire episode was the meeting with the show-runners (the interesting part lasting about one minute in screen time). In the meeting we get to see Ari at work and we get a look at why he is so good at what he does. This is what I wish the show focused on more. Why is Vince a movie star? Why is Ari such a great agent? I wish we got more of these scenes. This stuff is interesting and could give the audience an idea about how Hollywood works (whether it's factual or not).

This episode also focuses on E and Sloan again, but at least we got some progression in their story, even if it means that their romance will drag out even longer than first expected. E invites Sloan to Vince's premiere, though they go as friends. E confesses to Sloan that he doesn't think he can be just friends with her, she replies with maybe they shouldn't be friends and goes off to do her own thing. At the end of the episode E gets a text from Sloan reading "Sorry" which Eric deletes. He presumably heads off into the night to be with one of his neighbors who has been hitting on him the whole episode. So, it appears that E is going to forget about Sloan, at least for the time being. At this point, it would be surprising if E and Sloan do not end up back together, so now that it seems they are further apart than before is somewhat frustrating. Again, at least something happened with this storyline and we didn't get five scenes where the guys tease E about his relationship with Sloan. I think we only got two. Hopefully E finally being on his own will mean that those scenes will reduce significantly.

My biggest complaint about this episode and about how the show is being handled has to do with Vince's career. At the end of the day, Vince's career is what allows all of the good times to occur. His success means success and happiness for all the main characters in the show, so it is important for the audience to get an idea of how Vince's career could do a 180 and he can be a huge star again. The show has failed to do that in nearly every way imaginable. We don't really see any evidence that would leave us to believe that Vince can act again. It just happens and we are supposed to believe it. Other than Martin Scorsese directing "The Great Gatsby" we don't know a single other person who is involved in the movie. They wasted about two seasons on "Medellin" and Vince's career ended up in shambles. It has now taken him three episodes to be back on top. Gatsby is sold as Vince's comeback, yet we don't know anything about it. We don't see anything that would make that believable. They could have at least done half of this season on Vince's comeback to at least sell the audience on it.

Overall, this was a decent episode. It did what it was trying to do; hold Vince's premiere/seal his comeback once more and have some character progression. The episode didn't advance the storylines greatly (with the exception of E/Sloan) but it was a light, fun episode. For it being one of those types of episodes it was above average.

Episode Grade: B-

Entourage 6.1 (Spoilers)

First, my thoughts/mindset on Entourage coming into Season 6. For the most part I enjoyed the first five seasons of Entourage. The show's strongest feature is its entertainment value; it's a very easy show to watch. In the past couple of seasons, however, I have felt a growing problem with the show, though it has never been a deal breaker. The problem being that essentially nothing changes. Everything that happens on the show happens so that eventually everything comes back to the same starting point. It works in a circle. It's not that I have a massive dislike for the show for this reason, but it does take away from its overall quality. It leaves me wanting more. Maybe the show is supposed to be light, on the surface, and about how movie stars hangout/party, but it has always had the potential to be much better.

At the end of last season, for the first time, I found myself annoyed with the direction of the show. After Vince has a colossal flop with "Medellin" (a movie he stared in and sunk his own money into) he attempts to rebound with "Smoke Jumpers" but production is shutdown by the studio. With his career in the dumps, Vince and E part ways and Vince moves back to Queens. We are left thinking that Vince is going to have to struggle to get his career back on the right track. Except in the final five minutes left in the season when Martin Scorsese calls up Vince and offers him the part of Nick Carraway in his adaptation of The Great Gatsby. Are you kidding me? First off, are we supposed to believe that Leonardo DiCaprio wasn't already going to play Carraway if Scorsese was to ever make the film? Secondly, Vince is offered the part because of some footage from "Smoke Jumpers" that E passed to Gus Van Sant, for his project, who in turn passed it to Scorsese who apparently saw enough to have Vince and his failing career play one of the leads in his next big film. In sum, everything turns out peachy for Vince and the gang once again. I am left wanting more once again. Quick side note: I am not the first to point this out, but isn't there a problem when your TV show is about Hollywood and the worst actor on your TV show is supposed to be playing a movie star? The footage that apparently sold Scorsese on Vince was largely unintentionally comically acted by Grenier. Hard to buy as a viewer. Anyway, I would have liked to have seen Vince struggle more to get back to movie star status instead of lucking out once again. All right, I've gone on too long, lets see about Season Six (my fingers are crossed)...


"Yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah..."

Not exactly the opening I was hoping for. It turns out we have warped all the way back to Season 2 (I believe) this time as Vince has moved back into his old mansion. I don't like where this is headed.

Vince has successfully completely Gatsby and his career looks to be in perfect condition. I really don't like where this is headed.

First conversation the boys have is about E's perceived quest for love, being a softy and not being able to play the man's role in a romantic relationship. This is the 80th conversation about this subject they have had. It's actually almost the same dialogue to boot. Man, I really don't like where this is headed.

E gets a call from Sloan. We are really moving backwards this season. E attempts to sneak away from the rest of the guys. Turtle and Drama, of course, try to follow him so they can hear his conversation. We have seen this particular scene about 80 times. She asks him if he is interested in subletting a house from her friend who is moving to Vancouver for a year. Side note: Sloan is in the hills outside downtown L.A. on one of the smoggiest days on record. At least, I hope there aren't many other days that are smoggier. OK, this is semi-interesting. E may be moving out of the mansion.

Then we get to some odd territory. Ari is on a high because the agent he vouched for, Andrew Klein, sealed the deal with the show-runner for "My Name is Earl." This episode had to have been filmed awhile back because "My Name is Earl" is canceled. Anyways, things appear to be working well at Miller-Gold.

OK, maybe things aren't great for everybody. Lloyd, Ari's assistant, demands to be promoted. We have now arrived at the most interesting storyline this season will have to offer. Ari dismisses Lloyd's demands and tells him to get back to work. Good stuff, shows some promise.

Vince is practicing his parallel parking as he is going into the DMV to get his driver's license so he can be "independent" and drive for his upcoming movie role where he is supposed to play Enzo Ferrari. His parking job is horrendous and he hits E's Aston Martin. Funny scene.

E is set to leave to meet with Sloan. The rest of the gang has the same reaction they have had for the entire run of the series as they tease E about falling for her. Yep, 80 times is about right.

Vince passes his driving test because he gives his test proctor free passes to the Gatsby premiere. Fair enough. We are at the DMV after the test is finished. The boys are all leaving when once again they give E a hard time about his relationship with Sloan. 81.

We get to Vince's appearance at The Tonight Show w/Jay Leno. Yes, this episode was definitely filmed a while ago. I get the impression that the studio audience was asked to laugh every time Leno spoke because I have never seen one of his audiences laugh this much. The Leno appearance apparently seals the deal on Vince's comeback.

At Leno appearance the 82nd installment occurs.

Guys get back to the house. Vince is drinking Budweiser. I don't know why, but I doubt many movie stars have Budweiser as their drink-of-choice.

Vince and E discuss living alone. We have definitely been here before. Which guy needs the other guy around more? Uninteresting.

Ari tells Lloyd to wait on his porch at 10:00 PM and wait for him to meet him. Ari wakes up at 1:30 AM and tells Lloyd he'll give him 100 days to prove himself. This storyline really has some potential. Hopefully it won't be squandered.

Vince and E meet up with Sloan and her friend that is offering up the house. Vince hits on her, she resists...I mean goes to Vince's Escalade so the two of them can be alone. Draw your own conclusions if you must. This happens about once every couple of episodes.

With everyone out and about, Vince comes home to a dark/empty mansion. Episode concludes.


All right, so, first episode of a new season. I realize it's time to setup all of the stories that will play out for the rest of the season. Lloyd trying to be an agent is interesting. Vince being alone, not very interesting. I just hope we don't have to hear Vince, Turtle, and Drama give E a hard time about his romantic life the whole season. Those scenes are tired. There were some good things and some not so good things. Again, it was entertaining, left me wanting more, and I am still interesting to see where it goes from here.

Episode Grade: C-

Have I Gone Insane? (Or Has Just About Everyone Else?)

Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson. For almost two weeks now, the death of Michael Jackson has been the only thing that matters in the world. Well, at least it appears to be the only thing that matters if you turn on the "news", listen to people talk in public or peruse the internet. I never would have guessed that Michael Jackson's death - or for that matter the death of just about any person in the world - would have gotten this kind of reaction. Unfortunately, this has gone way too far.

When the news broke that Michael Jackson died on June 25th my initial thought was, "That's too bad. That must be horrible for the people that were close to him." You would never believe what I did next though. I continued to live my life. In a way, I think it's what Michael would have wanted. In all seriousness, I was a little bit surprised that Michael Jackson died, but I was not shocked. Apparently, I was in the vast minority. I mean, from afar anyone could see the odd behavior and changing physical appearance of Michael Jackson. All of that has to take a toll on your body. Not to mention the stress that he had to endure over the course of years making music, performing, and being a part of the public spotlight. I knew that it would be a big news story that would be covered for several hours. I never would have imagined that it would be virtually the only thing talked about for almost two weeks though.

Why are we getting this kind of reaction out of the death of Michael Jackson? I realize that Michael Jackson was about the biggest musical "artist" in the world for two decades (sure, you could argue longer, that part doesn't really matter). Let's even go ahead and say that Michael Jackson made the best pop music ever created; fine, I won't argue that either because it does not matter because that still does not explain this magnitude of public reaction or volume of news coverage. I mean people all around the world are seemingly going into the streets to "celebrate his life." People are going to his house, his star on the Hollywood Walk-of-Fame, and who knows where else. They're all going there because Michael Jackson had a big effect on their life? I don't get how it could have possibly become this big. I am twenty-one years of age; from since I can remember Michael Jackson has been thought of as a weird person, who made great music in years past. Sure, I recognized what he did as a musical talent. I understand that. What has Michael Jackson been known for in the past fifteen years? He was thought of as weird. He was accused on multiple occasions of sexual abuse on minors. At the very least he admitted that he was did not feel it was weird to be the lone adult in the company of little boys. I will not judge Jackson, but can anyone question that there were news stories about his odd behavior over this time period? He was not really in the public spotlight in many ways, let alone positive ways. Let me say this much about Michael Jackson. He made extremely popular music that some people consider the best pop music ever. He was also odd, a recluse, and the butt of many jokes. So, again, when Michael Jackson died my initial reaction was surprise. It was a realization that his death would be a big news story. But, I wouldn't have guessed that every minute angle of his life/death would be investigated and people would be talking about his death as if the world had lost its last decent person. For many years now, my view of what most people thought about Michael Jackson was that he was a flawed person (sure we all are), who lived a weird life, and who did not have an overly positive image in the public sphere. When Michael Jackson died, all the odd behavior, all of the questionable actions effectively were forgotten. It's as if it the last fifteen years of his life never happened. Now I do realize that when someone dies many of their flaws are pushed aside so their life can be celebrated. But to outright act like none of it ever happened is mind-boggling. To act like Michael Jackson was a perfect human being who never had anything bad happen in his life that he MAY have been responsible for is the shocking part. Interestingly, I never heard anyone talk about Michael Jackson as if he was perfect until he died. I am not trying to criticize Michael Jackson or the life he lived. Sure, we all have our flaws, none of us are perfect. What I am trying to get across is that the people that are going to the streets and acting like the world's last pure person died are insane. Even if a person was as perfect as people are making Michael Jackson to be, it does not warrant this kind of reaction. This part of it has nothing to do with Michael Jackson. It has to do with the reaction that any person could have to the death of a person they really do not know or have not even met one time in their life. For people to have this big of a reaction to any human being dying that they have never met is shocking. People are treating him as if he was God.

The "news coverage" on TV is completely abhorrent. I have not been watching the "news" much since he died, because I cannot actually find news to watch. What I have been able to watch is 24/7 coverage about all things Michael Jackson. Basically every single second is devoted to Michael Jackson. What really is there to report after ten days and several hours of coverage? It's apparent that there is nothing else happening in the world. Iran, North Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, Honduras, Russia and the United States of America, absolutely nothing is happening in those parts of the world. Absolutely nothing. There are no problems in the world except Michael Jackson is no longer with us. Shocking and sickening at the same time. I watched NBC Nightly News yesterday (7/6). You know what the news story was after the Michael Jackson coverage concluded? Any guesses? Six American soldiers died in Afghanistan. Am I the only one that recognizes that something is even a little wrong here? Media outlets have people stationed all over the country/globe just to cover his death and the public reaction to it. They have people doing stories about his pet chimp. It's insane. No one has to tell me that the news media is about entertainment and viewership these days, I already know that. But instead of just sitting here and saying, that's just the way things are, I'd rather complain about the disservice they are doing to society. It is their responsibility to inform people about the important events going on in the world and they do a pathetic job. Absolutely shameful.

Other Observation/Thoughts Include:

As many as twelve people committed suicide because Michael Jackson died. Seriously, it's too outrageous for me to have actually made up. It makes me wonder how someone who actually thought life was not worth living if Michael Jackson was not alive could have survived long enough to kill them self after he died. In this day and age it's really an unbelievably believable story. Story Here

My dad just told me that my uncle (his brother) had jury duty today (7/7). When the judge asked if anyone had any questions a lady on the jury apparently asked, "Can I wear my Michael Jackson t-shirt tomorrow?" I am not joking.

How could someone care about what is going to happen to Michael Jackson's assets or the custody of his children or any array of court cases that are going to take place involving Michael Jackson and his death? How can someone possibly be that invested in another person's life? None of us have any stake in any of it. At the most I could see how someone would want his kids to be put into a good situation. I hope they are put in a good situation as well, but I have no idea what a good situation is for them. Do you know why? Because I have never met nor do I know anyone who they might end up living with.

I was disgusted when I saw Joe Jackson, Michael's father, promoting his record company after his son died. Joe Jackson at BET Awards - 3:20 mark

Al Sharpton. How could anyone have even an ounce of respect for this guy? He deserves to be completely cut off from the public at this point. What is there to gain from anything he does or says? A couple of days ago at an L.A. church he called for there to be a National Day of Mourning for Michael Jackson. Really?! He also said that the post office should create a commemorative stamp in Jackson's honor and waive the five year waiting period that has only been used for Presidents of the United States. He also criticized the media's coverage of Michael's death. I did agree with that point until I heard that he was criticizing the media for painting Michael in a bad light and bugging his family too much. Again, really?! All I have heard is the news praising Michael Jackson as if he was a saint. I haven't heard a single person on the news criticize anything about Michael Jackson's life. Let's go ahead and assume that there are news outlets that are talking about some of the questionable parts of Jackson's life. Isn't that part of who Michael Jackson was? It's at least part of the discussion, no? Al Sharpton is one of the main forces responsible for Michael Jackson's death becoming a circus. It's a shame. Please, do us all a favor and go away. Story Here

Over 1.5 million people entered the lottery to get tickets for Jackson's memorial at the Staples Center. With this we have seriously entered Willy Wonka territory. Honestly, I could just imagine seeing one of those fools at Dodger Stadium skipping around the parking lot singing, "cause I got a golden ticket." You'll never see people more happy to go to a memorial.

Oh, how many people feel it was worth it for any human being to get a four million dollar funeral? And the taxpayers will pick up the tab too.

What happens to all of the jokes about Michael Jackson? From since I can remember people have been making Michael Jackson jokes. Now that we have proclaimed him above human, are these jokes off limits? My point here being that I never heard anyone act like Michael Jackson was a flawless human being until he died. What about all the jokes that were made about him? What about the people who made jokes about Michael Jackson and little boys who are now all over TV talking about how perfect Michael Jackson was?

I saw a "news story" on CNN's website about this group of people who found an image of Michael Jackson in the tree in their front yard. First of all, this is crazy. Second, what the image resembled was nothing close to an image of anything other than an ordinary tree. Third, one of the people looking at the tree compared Michael Jackson to Jesus. Well kind of, here is the exact quote, "To Stockton, Michael Jackson meant more to us than maybe Jesus did to some people. I think they are both about even. They're both icons." Oh. My. Goodness! The thought that there is one person in the world that actually believes that, let alone thousands, if not millions, is frightening. I have nothing else to say about this because I might have to be put into an insane asylum if I think about it for one more second. 'Jackson image' in tree?

There is so much public reaction and volume of news coverage that I could write about this for days. Like I wrote earlier, I am not heavily tuned into the Michael Jackson coverage for a reason. I think it's telling how much I can write about it without really being all that tuned into the coverage. There are so many levels to this event at this point.

In conclusion...

I have never understood why/how some people can be so invested in lives of celebrities. I mean at the end of the day, celebrities are people, people that we don't really know. We may think we know them, but unless we have spent any amount of time around them, we really do not know them as much as we may think we do.

Michael Jackson's memorial was today. It was probably the most coverage I have watched regarding the death of Michael Jackson. I have nothing else much to say beyond I feel bad for all of the people who were there because they were the true friends and family of Michael Jackson. The event that happened today was a memorial for a human being. The people who were involved in the service had real emotions. It's very understandable.

I feel bad for the people that knew and loved Michael Jackson. This has got to be a difficult time for them, as it is for any person who loses someone they know and love. I can even understand, a little bit, if there are people out there that didn't know Michael Jackson that feels somewhat sad that he died. What I can't understand is how people can act like this was a global tragedy and say that the world will never be the same.

My criticisms have little to do with Michael Jackson as a person. I did not know him, I will not judge him. I just do not understand how heavily invested people are in his (or anyone's) life. Especially considering that almost 100% of these people never met him. The thing I might find most perplexing about this, above everything else, is how I never heard ONE person, in my entire lifetime, talk about Michael Jackson this positively (or proclaim him to be as perfect as some make it sound) until after his death. NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. If people did feel this way about Michael Jackson, why didn't anyone ever convey those feelings? Why did they wait for his death?

Maybe I am wrong about all of this and I, in fact, have just gone insane. Maybe I am missing something. Maybe I didn't see any of the apparent vast amounts of outright love for Michael Jackson over the course of my life. Maybe that's true, but I can't remember too many times in my life when I have felt more right about my opinion on an issue/event.

Early Thoughts on NBA Off-Season Activity

I was thinking about writing something about the NBA off-season after the NBA draft was conducted last week. I decided not to because I wanted to at least wait for free agency to start. Today, we learned that Ron Artest will be joining the Los Angeles Lakers. I couldn't wait any longer.

Moves/Thoughts:

• Ron Artest agrees to a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. To put the bias out there immediately, I am a huge L.A. Lakers fan. This move scares me a bit. Essentially what happened with this move is the Lakers are exchanging Trevor Ariza, who is going to sign a deal with the Houston Rockets, for Artest. We all know about Artest's unpredictability (brawl, technicals, odd behavior in general), but at the end of the day Artest is the better player (as much as that pains me to say). I am a huge Trevor Ariza fan. Ariza is just now entering his mid-twenties and was a massive contributor in the Lakers run to the championship. Offensively, Ariza seemed to be improving game by game; look at his 3pt. shooting in the playoffs. He's not the type of player who needs to have the ball in his hands constantly in order to be effective on the offensive end and he does a lot of the small things (sorry for the cliche, I hate them too); he's a glue-guy. As for Artest, the big question is, does he have the right mindset? He certainly has the skills, but can he keep himself right mentally? This is the risky part of this move. Does Artest have respect for Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson (I'll assume that he comes back)? You'd think any person with a resume similar to Kobe or Phil would command respect from others in the game, but if there is one person who might not respect that long term, it might be Artest. Artest is going to have to defer to Kobe and Phil, not to mention some of his new teammates (specifically on offense). On the court, something that has always bugged me about Artest is his propensity to take bad shots. Frankly, the Lakers already have a player that does that (I'll let you figure out who I am talking about). Artest simply cannot do that if the Lakers are going to be successful. The main thing that really intrigues me about this signing for the Lakers is in late game situations (especially in the playoffs). They are going to be able to have Kobe and Artest cover the other team's two best wing players; this should be exciting to watch. Another attribute Artest brings to the table is his physicality; he's strong and is difficult to match up with. This move can be dynamite (in more ways than one) for the Lakers. They'll be extremely difficult to beat if Artest is on board (mentally) and they resign Lamar Odom. I text messaged one of my good friends to tell him that the Lakers were going to sign Artest. His response was, "Who's going to be able to stop us now?" My response: "Artest."


• Richard Jefferson traded to the San Antonio Spurs. This was a really nice move for San Antonio. They get a fourth big time player in their lineup who does not have to be relied upon to carry the load offensively night after night. The floor will open up for him as well because of Parker's penetrating ability and Tim Duncan commanding double teams. The best part is that they only had to give up three old-timers in Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto, and Kurt Thomas. They might even get one or two of those guys back if they get waived by their new teams (I hate this rule, but it's a discussion for another time). Jefferson should also be motivated after spending a season in irrelevant Milwaukee. At the end of the day though, the question for San Antonio is health. Can Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan stay healthy deep into a playoff run? One other small note on S.A.: It kills me when good teams continue to make smart decisions while bad teams continue to make dumb decisions. San Antonio drafting Dejuan Blair in the second round of the draft might have been the biggest steal of the night. It's the exact type of move that makes San Antonio who they are.


• Shaquille O'Neal is traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. I like this move for Cleveland because they only had to give up dead weight (Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic) to get Shaq. The problem is that it looks like Shaq may have been acquired to play defense against one guy (Dwight Howard). Maybe it's worth it, I mean, they didn't have to give up anything vital to get him. A motivated Shaq can be a great asset to a team and he should help out scoring. Cleveland just can't trot guys out on the floor like Mo Williams and Delonte West to try to combat guys that are stronger and taller than they are. This was a good move for them, but it doesn't necessarily address Cleveland's biggest needs (size on the perimeter). Let's be honest, Shaq is going to miss about 20 regular season games anyways. One of these times we are going to see Shaq's last injury, that time may be coming rather soon.


• Vince Carter is traded to the Orlando Magic. Of all of the moves that have happened so far, this one might be my favorite of the lot and I am not even a big fan of Vince Carter's game. Carter, when healthy, is one of the best scorers in the game and he will take some of the pressure off of Dwight Howard's...um...offense? Vince is no longer "half man half amazing" (with injury problems he never was for any long stretch), but he's a very good player. Orlando is going to lose Hedo Turkoglu to free agency (in all likelihood) so this is another trade-off. I'd take Vince over Hedo easily. Orlando also got rid of constant headache Rafer Alston in the deal; this is a case of addition by subtraction. Also in the deal were Tony Battie (replaceable) and Courtney Lee (promising rookie, but probably not going to be star in the league). Orlando also adds Ryan Anderson. This was the sneaky part of the deal. Anderson might become a nice player for Orlando down the road. I really liked this deal for Orlando.


• Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva agree to deals with Detroit Pistons. I'll be honest, I don't think this put Detroit back into contention with the rest of the big boys in the east, namely Boston, Orlando, and Cleveland. Both of these guys are good players, but they aren't obvious stars. This is definitely an improvement for this team over last season, but I don't see how they compete with the other top tier teams. By the way, I still have no clue why they traded Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson. I know it was a move done because of contracts rather than talent, but it was foolish. Billups is one of the top five point guards in the game (easily) and Allen Iverson is a head case who takes way too many shots. More on point, I don't see how Rodney Stuckey, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Ben Gordon, and Charlie Villanueva as a core group is any better than 4th or 5th best team in the Eastern Conference (at best). Call me crazy, but I don't see it. Oh wait, I just took a look at their roster and saw that they still have Kwame "Small Hands" Brown. Never mind Detroit is getting a ring next year. Small rant: two things I marvel at from time to time are how the "genius" Michael Jordan actually handpicked this guy as the number one player in the draft and how he was involved in two of the most lopsided trades in the last decade. Kwame Brown for Caron Butler being the first. Kwame Brown, Marc Gasol, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, and two first round picks for Pau Gasol being the second. I'd like to take this time to thank Chris Wallace once again for giving away Pau Gasol. Mr. Wallace deserves a ring for the Lakers championship this year.


• Quick Hits


• I have no clue what the Minnesota Timberwolves are thinking. Drafting two point guards with the 5th and 6th picks in the draft. Unbelievable. Now Ricky Rubio, in my opinion the clear second best player in the draft, is contemplating going back to Spain. Minnesota may have really screwed this one up.


• The Boston Celtics are not finished, especially if they sign Rasheed Wallace (which it looks like they might do). He'd be coming in as the fifth, sixth, or maybe even seventh best player on the team. Could be a really nice fit.


• The draft last week featured the shallowest (in talent) and most unpredictable group of players I have ever seen. After Blake Griffin and Ricky Rubio, I have no idea of who we can expect to be solid out of the class. Picks 3-20, on a talent level, were very close to each other.


• As of July 2nd here are my top five teams going into next season.


1. Los Angeles Lakers


2. Boston Celtics


3. Orlando Magic


4. San Antonio Spurs


5. Cleveland Cavaliers

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Review (SPOILERS)

There are bad movies. Then there are movies that are so bad that they become good. Then there is Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, a movie that requires the creation of an entirely new category. This new category defines movies that are bad, but so bad that they become good, but then also so bad that they transform (pun intended) into a bad movie again. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, to put it simply, is an awful movie.

I'll be completely honest, I came in expecting this movie to be terrible, but I also expected to find it hilarious; this, ultimately, was one of my main motivations for seeing this movie. It appears that I may have gotten a little more than I bargained for because by the end of the movie I found myself hating it rather than laughing at it.

Think about everything you have ever found annoying in a Michael Bay movie, multiply the degree of those annoyances by eight, and then stretch it out over a 2 1/2 hour period. You have now imagined Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (it's a scary thought and I apologize for putting you through that kind of trauma).

Here's a rundown of some of the things I hated about this movie:

• The worst thing about the movie is that every other scene is exposition. Poor exposition at that. After Sam (Shia LeBeouf) and Mikaela (Megan Fox) run away from another slow motion/explosion filled scene, they uncover more clues as to where they have to go and why they have to save the world.


• No story, no characters, no attention to detail. Everything in this movie is underdeveloped. There is a lot, and I mean A LOT, of filler though. All this is, is a series of scenes mashed together. There is literally a scene where our heroes are at the Air and Space Museum (or a museum quite similar to it) in Washington D.C. walk out the back door and are suddenly in the desert. It is apparent that no one making this film cared.


• The central arc for Sam and Mikaela's relationship is that neither of them are willing to say, "I love you," first (or possibly just say it to each other altogether). This is so creative and original. Um, on second thought...well, I bet you can guess what happens by the end of the movie.


• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen starts out with a bang, to the surprise of exactly zero people in the audience when a human/robot alien team charged with intercepting Decepticons (AKA the bad bots) are on a mission in Shanghai. A couple of things jump out pretty quickly here. First, why does the same special-ops team come from halfway around the world to do every job involving the bad aliens? This doesn't make any sense at all. And how do they get there so fast? There aren't any other special-ops forces from other countries that can do a half-decent job? There is some attention paid to the events that happened in the first film being covered up, so maybe this special-ops team is the only team assembled to combat the bots. This doesn't make any sense, because the final battle in the first movie happened in a big city in broad daylight. Second, the team is made up of both good aliens and human beings. Think back to the first movie. Were there any times the military guys effectively fought the alien beings? Wouldn't it make a lot more sense if the Autobots fought the Decepticons exclusively? Every time they fight humans are being thrown around and killed left and right.


• This next thing is something that I found revolting from the trailer. The first shot we see of Miss Fox is her posing in short shorts on a motorcycle at a mechanics shop. I don't even know where to begin with how incredibly dumb this is. In short, she's a mechanic and she is wearing short shorts. We must go on...


• Was it necessary to play a different section of the same Green Day song (21 Guns) three different times! Green Day was the first rock band that I ever liked. It's not as if Bay ruined the song or band for me, but there is absolutely no reason to play a song that many times in a movie. There just isn't.


• Speaking of songs. When Sam leaves for college and leaves Mikaela back at home Bay chooses one of the most on-the-nose songs ever. The chorus goes a little something like, "I'll never let you go" or maybe it's "don't let me go" Either way, it sucks. You start to think to yourself, "Wait a second...that's right, he's going away to college and he's leaving her behind. I get what you are trying to say Mr. Bay you magnificent bastard." The only thing is that the song won't allow you to think that deeply simply because you are already distracted by the blood dripping out of your ears.


• Once Sam gets to college you know that Bay has something up his sleeve. Enter pot brownies. Nothing says you're at a college campus like some pot, right? Right? Do you know what would make the pot brownie scene even better? I don't know, but thankfully Bay does. That's right, Sam's mother is the one who eats the brownies. Mind you, the universal marijuana symbol is readily viewable on the bag of brownies. Hilarity ensues! Side note: Sam's mother, Judy (Julie White), is a prime example of something being annoying and multiplying it by eight in this movie. She is much more outrageous and embarrassing in this movie than in the first.


• Oh, I almost forgot to mention that Sam's new roommate runs a website about government conspiracies including stories about the aliens that Sam is friends with. Highly dubious indeed. Not only that, but he has a couple of minions who help him run the site and recruits (read: demands) Sam be a part of his "company." Of course his minions try to act cool with their technical lingo. Gotta love it!


• When Sam gets to college we come to realize that every person there is a model. I give up.


• There is a Bad Boys 2 poster plastered on the wall of the dorm room. You can't make this stuff up!


• Sam goes to a party one of his first - if not his first - nights at college. He gets picked up by a hot young woman. He doesn't give into the pressure, but she won't take no for an answer. Turns out she's an alien who for some reason does not attempt to kill Sam until the next day(s). Why didn't Bumblebee, Sam's car/protector realize that he was looking at a Decepticon? By the way, here's an example of how stupid this movie is. There is an alien that can turn into a human yet we only see it happen once! This seems like a trick that the aliens should be using as a disguise all the time. Bay never bothers to elaborate on that though, because that's not interesting at all, apparently.


• Megan Fox attempting to train a young "dog-like" Decepticon. Trust your eyes, you read that correctly. Cringeworthy. One of those moments when you are embarrassed to be watching it happen in front of you, even though you have nothing to do with what is actually happening.


• One of Michael Bay's signature shots. A slow motion shot of military men walking on a tarmac looking like a group of "badasses". This is a Bay staple.


• Optimus Prime dies halfway through the movie. Do you think he'll be back by the end?


• Any and all (there are certainly many) attempts at humor are just that...attempts. For example, there is a bot that has testicles. There is also a bot that humps Megan Fox's leg. Oh and I almost forgot, two different times the family's pair of dogs are humping. Hilarious. Oh and while Sam's at the party in college he makes fun of a guy who is wearing a shirt that is way too tight for him. What follows is a hilarious exchange between Sam and the tool. Who thought of this, a 12-year old boy? Oh wait, I'll stop asking questions. I'd also like to apologize to all of the 12-year old boys out there for insulting their intelligence.


• Tyrese. Everything he does. Most of his lines are as simple as, "I have a bad feeling about this."


• Alien dialogue. Horrific. Enough said.


• I couldn't tell what was going on in the action scenes in this movie. Every transformer looked like a jumbled up mess, even more so when they were fighting each other. The action was much more coherent in the first installment (even there it was difficult, at times, to determine what was going on).


• In the last battle, Sam's parents are dropped in out of nowhere as a trap the Decepticons have sprung. Where did they come from? They were in France earlier, but are now in Egypt. I guess there's also a bot that can capture humans and transport them places. We never know what happens to them from Point A to Point B.


• Flares! At least the third time Bay has used flares as a critical tool in one of his movies (The Rock, Transformers).


• Sam is running through the desert in Egypt in an attempt to bring Optimus back to life by using the Matrix. Before he can get there he is blasted and appears to have died. It then appears that Sam goes to "Robot Heaven" where the heavenly Primes bring Sam back to life. Who knows what was actually happening here? He wakes up, the Matrix is reconfigured and he brings Optimus back to life. Woohoo! "Robot Heaven" I am not kidding.


• This entire scene where Sam is trying to give life to Optimus and is nearly killed is hilarious. This is classic Bay. Tons of slow motion, tons of bombs going off in the background, tons of slow motion reaction shots from every character involved in the scene. All with dramatic choir boy music playing. The best part is the dialogue by Megan Fox demanding Sam to come back to life. So cheesy. This is really the essence of what makes Bay hilarious/horrible. He has no clue how to film a dramatic scene. Look back to Armageddon, The Rock, Pearl Harbor, Transformers, all of them. You will find at least one of these types of scenes in every one of his movies.


• Optimus Prime nearly dies again at the end of the movie. Thankfully, an old British bot from the olden times comes back and gives him a heart transplant on the spot. At least I think that's what happened.


• It's almost the same movie as the first (except everything is much much worse). Replace the "Allspark" (cube) with "Matrix" (diamond) replace the final battle in L.A. to Egypt.

This seems to be long enough, so I'll stop. I am sure I could think of more things I hated. I will leave you with the most satisfying moment of my entire experience at the theater which happened as I was walking out following the movie, when I grabbed the ticket stub from my pocket and saw that it read: "The Hangover."Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen made $200+ million in its first five days, but much to my excitement the $8.75 I paid to see a movie that day consciously did not go towards that total.

Miss California Controversy

As you may have seen from my status over the past few days this brouhaha over Miss California Carrie Prejean's answer at the Miss USA Pageant Show this past weekend has really got me on the verge of outrage. So instead of melting down, I figured I should write about it.

Background: Here is the transcript and video clip of the question/answer segment with celebrity blogger Perez Hilton and Miss California Carrie Prejean that has caused the controversy:

PEREZ: Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?

CARRIE: I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land that you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage and, you know what, in my country and my family I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anyone out there but that’s how I was raised and that’s how I think it should be between a man and a woman.

Video Clip

So this exchange caused a controversy? Here are my thoughts:

Why is Perez Hilton judging the Miss USA Pageant? I have tried to figure out what exactly qualifies Perez Hilton to judge a beauty pageant, but I haven't been able to come up with anything. I guess running a popular blog implies that people want to know your opinion? I feel that there is nothing that Perez Hilton brings to the table that would make him a plausible choice. All he does is run a celebrity blog. Now, I am not attempting to bring down all blogs, because I do believe that blogs can serve a good purpose. All I am trying to say is that Perez Hilton is the authority on celebrity gossip and nothing else. By the way, I don't quite understand what Perez Hilton's goal is. He claims that his website is "Hollywood's Most-Hated Web Site!" yet I see him on numerous TV shows and he seems to want to be a celebrity himself. I would think that a person who claims to run a website hated by Hollywood would not want to be part of the the Hollywood scene that he is supposedly critical of. My guess is that he wanted to be famous and this was a relatively easy way of doing that.

By the way, what were Perez Hilton's thoughts on the pageant because I can't go one minute without knowing what he thought about it?

Perez Hilton Video Blog Post-Pageant

He starts off by stating that Miss California gave the worst answer in pageant history. That's a strong statement that can't possibly be true Miss Teen South Carolina 2007. Going back to Miss Teen South Carolina 2007, obviously her answer was not very good (to put it mildly) and we all got a big laugh from it, myself included. A lot of people called her dumb, but could you imagine the pressure that you would be under in that situation? Consider all the time and effort it would take to compete and beat out hundreds of other people. You are then placed in front of a huge audience on television and are forced to answer a question on the spot without having more than a couple seconds to come up with that answer. Talk about pressure. Nerves probably got the best of her, it happens. I played baseball for over ten years and I clearly was never on a stage close to what these ladies are on; my nerves got the best of me quite often. It's tough. In one of my courses in college I completely bombed on a presentation because I panicked when I didn't start it off the way I had intended. I couldn't even speak coherently and the panicking just escalated; it was embarrassing and it was in front of about twenty people. What I am trying to say with regards to Miss California (and Miss Teen South Carolina) is give her a break. Maybe she didn't have the smoothest answer and maybe she used some odd phrasing (opposite marriage), but was it the worst answer in pageant history? I don't think so.

In the video, Perez then explains that Miss California lost, "not because she doesn't believe in gay marriage. Miss California lost because she's a dumb bitch. OKAAAAY!" For someone who is supposed to be able to make pithy comments about people I believe Perez may have missed the mark when he called her a "dumb bitch." Just saying, I don't really find that to be original or constructive in any way. He then says that anyone with "half a brain" would have answered it differently and tells us all how he would have answered the question (in a condescending voice of course). His answer basically states that every state should choose for themselves because that's what our forefathers intended when they wrote the constitution. Well, I don't think Perez quite understood his own question. His question was: "Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?" He was asking if every state should follow Vermont's example. His answer to his own question was that every state should choose for themselves. He never addressed the central question in the answer to his own question! I don't know about that rest of you, but I feel like a "dumb bitch" might have an answer similar to this. I think a "dumb bitch" might be a person who asks someone else a question, gets an actual answer to that question, then criticizes that person for answering the question, offers their own answer to that question, but doesn't in any way address the actual question. I think I am beginning to understand what a "dumb bitch" is. A "dumb bitch" is someone who a) doesn't understand the question they are asking and b) wants other people to answer that same question because they are not willing to answer themselves.

Anyways Hilton than goes on to say that Miss California alienated half of the audience in her answer. I don't disagree with that point because it's pretty clear that anyone who answers this question is bound to do that. He says that he is disappointed in Miss California because she does not inspire and unite people. How does she not inspire and unite exactly? All she did was answer a polarizing question as honestly as she could. We couldn't use more of that in society these days that's for sure. We couldn't use people who have that kind of fortitude. When I am looking for someone who is supposed to be a role model and a leader I would never want them to have strong convictions. A leader should instead just wait around and react to what is going on around them because they shouldn't risk alienating people. Give me a damn break.

Interestingly enough Perez goes on and says that he is glad that Miss California didn't win. If she would have won Perez claims he would have snatched the tiara and headed for the exits. Well, that's great. He is so glad that, "Miss South Carolina won or North Carolina or whichever one won, because she deserved it so much more." For someone who was a judge of the pageant I think he would remember who won a few minutes after it ended. I think you would want to take the responsibility of knowing that kind of thing. I also think I might want to show that I cared a little more about the competition instead of saying "whichever one won." That makes me think that you don't really care who won. It makes me think that you were just trying to make a scene at the show. It makes me think that you don't have the mental stamina to remember something that happened minutes earlier. Quite simply, it makes me think that you are a "dumb bitch". It's OK though, I'll give you a break because you "had to post a video blog" after the show and from what I gather, that is a pressurized situation.

2009 MLB Preview

Alright so here are my predictions for the Major League Baseball season, which begins today. As with all of my predictions (and lets face it, most other people's as well) they will surely not be close to what actually happens...

Final Standings

American League

AL West
1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2. Oakland Athletics
3. Texas Rangers
4. Seattle Mariners

AL Central
1. Minnesota Twins
2. Cleveland Indians
3. Kansas City Royals
4. Detroit Tigers
5. Chicago White Sox

AL East
1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees*
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Baltimore Orioles


National League

NL West
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. San Francisco Giants
4. Colorado Rockies
5. San Diego Padres

NL Central
1. Chicago Cubs
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Cincinnati Reds
4. Houston Astros
5. Milwaukee Brewers
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

NL East
1. New York Mets
2. Philadelphia Phillies*
3. Atlanta Braves
4. Florida Marlins
5. Washington Nationals

*Wild Card


Playoffs

American League

Division Series
Boston Red Sox over Los Angeles Angels
Minnesota Twins over New York Yankees

Championship Series
Boston Red Sox over Minnesota Twins


National League

Division Series
New York Mets over Los Angeles Dodgers
Philadelphia Phillies over Chicago Cubs

Championship Series
New York Mets over Philadelphia Phillies


World Series
Boston Red Sox over New York Mets


Awards

American League MVP: Miguel Cabrera
Runner Up: Justin Morneau
National League MVP: Albert Pujols
Runner Up: David Wright

American League Cy Young: Roy Halladay
Runner Up: Francisco Liriano
National League Cy Young: Johan Santana
Runner Up: Brandon Webb

American League Rookie of the Year: Elvis Andrus
National League Rookie of the Year: Jason Motte

American League Manager of the Year: Rod Gardenhire
National League Manager of the Year: Jerry Manuel

Dark-Horse Team - American League: Kansas City Royals
Dark-Horse Team - National League: St. Louis Cardinals

I Don't Understand

Not only do I not understand what I am about to write about, but I don't even know what to write about it. Quite the quandary, I suppose. I really don't even know where to start…but here goes anyways.

Something has been on my mind for about the past month and considering a couple of stories that I have read in the past couple of days it has reached the point where I felt it was appropriate for me to write about it. Actually, appropriate probably isn't the right word. Necessary makes more sense to me. And by necessary I mean necessary for me to express my feelings on the matter, not necessary to or for anyone else (hope that phrasing didn't fracture your brain).

What has been on my mind the past month or so and especially the past couple of days have been the stories I have read or heard about which involve murder-suicide of an entire family and one story that was one of the more disturbing things that I have ever read about. I know, not rosy subjects and not subjects that many, if any, would want to talk about, but I think that these crimes have been occurring more often (or are being reported more often) and it has, again, been on my mind constantly in recent days.

Here are some of the stories I am talking about...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/25/santa.shooting/

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/26/santa.shooting/

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/01/28/family.dead.california/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/01/29/ohio.family.dead/index.html#cnnSTCText

If you've spent a reasonable amount of time around me you have probably noticed that I talk about a lot of things that really aren't important in the grand scheme of things (just like most people). What I'm talking about here are those casual everyday conversations about sports or a TV show like American Idol or a person like Paris Hilton; conversations that only have a surface. Most people have an opinion on those things, but most of the time these conversations turn into endless rants about things that don't really matter. These recent stories though, have really made me think about life as well as people. I understand that people die everyday. I understand that people are even murdered everyday. I understand that these things are bound to happen in the world we live in, but the outright senselessness of these incidents I don’t understand and it has really left me, well, a bit shaken.

I just don't understand how someone could think that their life is going bad enough that their ultimate solution to their strife is to not only kill themselves, but to also think that it is necessary to kill their spouse as well as their children. The whole thing is just really shocking and unsettling to me.

A few days ago a married couple that had just been fired from their jobs a few weeks earlier decided that their situation in life was at such a low point that they thought it would be best if the husband would shoot and kill his wife and their five kids (ages 8, 5, 5, 2, 2) before shooting and killing himself. A fax that he sent to a local TV station read, “after a horrendous ordeal, my wife felt it better to end our lives; and why leave our children in someone else's hands ... we have no job and 5 children under 8 years with no place to go. So here we are." I don’t understand how two people could possibly think that ending the lives of their entire family was their best course of action. I simply don’t understand.

One thing that has made a connection with me while these stories have been on my mind is the film that won Best Picture at the Oscar’s last year, No Country for Old Men. The first lines and opening narration in the film somewhat connect with my feelings about these recent stories and are spoken by Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones)...

“I was sheriff of this county when I was twenty-five years old. Hard to believe. My grandfather was a lawman; father too. Me and him was sheriffs at the same time; him up in Plano and me out here. I think he's pretty proud of that. I know I was. Some of the old time sheriffs never even wore a gun. A lotta folks find that hard to believe. Jim Scarborough'd never carry one; that's the younger Jim. Gaston Boykins wouldn't wear one up in Camanche County. I always liked to hear about the oldtimers. Never missed a chance to do so. You can't help but compare yourself against the oldtimers. Can't help but wonder how theyd've operated these times. There was this boy I sent to the 'lectric chair at Huntsville Hill here a while back. My arrest and my testimony. He killt a fourteen-year-old girl. Papers said it was a crime of passion but he told me there wasn't any passion to it. Told me that he'd been planning to kill somebody for about as long as he could remember. Said that if they turned him out he'd do it again. Said he knew he was going to hell. "Be there in about fifteen minutes". I don't know what to make of that. I sure don't. The crime you see now, it's hard to even take its measure. It's not that I'm afraid of it. I always knew you had to be willing to die to even do this job. But, I don't want to push my chips forward and go out and meet something I don't understand. A man would have to put his soul at hazard. He'd have to say, "O.K., I'll be part of this world."

Again, none of what I wrote is directed at anyone else necessarily. It can if you want it to be, but I didn't intend for it to be. I just needed to write this because it has really been on my mind recently.

2009 Film Outlook

15 Most Anticipated Films:

1. Up (5/29)

2. Inglorious Basterds (8/21)

3. Shutter Island (10/2)

4. Public Enemies (7/1)

5. Avatar (12/18)

6. The Informant (9/18)

7. Watchmen (3/6)

8. Funny People (7/31)

9. Revolutionary Road (1/23)

10. Duplicity (3/20)

11. The Lovely Bones (12/11)

12. Bruno (7/10)

13. Sherlock Holmes (11/20)

14. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (5/1)

15. State of Play (4/17)


Other films that I have an interest in at some level:

Star Trek (5/8), The Year One (6/19), Where the Wild Things Are (10/16), Land of the Lost (6/5), Observe and Report (4/10), I Love You Man (3/20), Adventureland (3/27), Terminator: Salvation (5/22)

Films that may come out this year at some point that I would be interested in:

Arrested Development, A Serious Man, This Side of the Truth, The Human Factor, Green Zone, The Road

I am interested, but not caught up in the series:

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (7/17)

I know I'll end up being coerced into seeing this movie, but I really don't want to:

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (6/26)