Sunday, January 30, 2005
While I'm not at work having to monitor the Australian Open men's final, I'm still up watching it while winding down for the evening. So I was a bit befuddled to why Chris Fowler was quoting lyrics from this song (recently seen on my quiz). Then all of a sudden, there's Olivia Newton-John singing the song just before the match. Surprisingly, I think both she and the song have held up well over the years; although my feelings about the song are probably skewed because I actually got a surprisingly warm response when I threw it on a mix CD.
Ice, ice baby
Just survived the Great Ice Storm of 2005, which was very similar to the Great Ice Storm of 2000 -- same nasty conditions, same part of the year (late January). I think the conditions this time around were worse for me personally, mainly because I drove through the slop three times (twice coming home from work, once going to the office), probably averaging no more than 25 mph the whole time. And yes, that includes the school zone that I-85 became Friday night. I had one instance of skidding on the highway, but corrected myself and pulled over in time not to cause any problems -- it helps that it was 2:30 and only a few cars on the road. But at least I got home -- another co-worker had to stop at a motel on 85 overnight because of the conditions. And I nearly took up a friend's offer to stay at the hotel adjoining the office tonight before deciding to gut it out on the road. I had to think about it given the massive de-icing I had to do with my car this afternoon -- but at least I had a scraper. I lent it out briefly to one of my neighbors, while another used a spatula to cut through the Magic Shell the ice created on our cars.
The coverage of the storm was a bit odd to say the least. With CNN in Atlanta, it was very easy to get a photo of the weather -- just walk outside and take a shot of the street and the building you work at. With The Weather Channel also in the Atlanta area, it appeared that the reporter covering the Atlanta angle of the storm barely had to leave its headquarters to get a live shot.
On the other hand, the local stations that usually would go wall-to-wall with that type of stuff were noticeably absent. With a rather sparse Saturday afternoon of network-televised sports, there were plenty of infomercials instead of news. Granted, the weather started overnight, making it difficult for anyone to move around Saturday morning, but you'd think that if they are willing to preempt Jeopardy or Dr. Phil for thunderstorms, they might bump Ron Popeil for ice.
Going back to the Ice Storm of 2000, though, I think I was slightly less cautious driving -- zipping along I-75 on the way back from Chattanooga wasn't wise, and I'm still trying to figure out why we had an AAJA meeting in those conditions. Plus, I lost my power for a couple of days around the AFC and NFC title games (no issues this time, although I was a bit scared seeing a bunch of traffic lights out just outside my complex) but felt smug seeing all the people in town for the Super Bowl having to deal with the cold and ice.
Just survived the Great Ice Storm of 2005, which was very similar to the Great Ice Storm of 2000 -- same nasty conditions, same part of the year (late January). I think the conditions this time around were worse for me personally, mainly because I drove through the slop three times (twice coming home from work, once going to the office), probably averaging no more than 25 mph the whole time. And yes, that includes the school zone that I-85 became Friday night. I had one instance of skidding on the highway, but corrected myself and pulled over in time not to cause any problems -- it helps that it was 2:30 and only a few cars on the road. But at least I got home -- another co-worker had to stop at a motel on 85 overnight because of the conditions. And I nearly took up a friend's offer to stay at the hotel adjoining the office tonight before deciding to gut it out on the road. I had to think about it given the massive de-icing I had to do with my car this afternoon -- but at least I had a scraper. I lent it out briefly to one of my neighbors, while another used a spatula to cut through the Magic Shell the ice created on our cars.
The coverage of the storm was a bit odd to say the least. With CNN in Atlanta, it was very easy to get a photo of the weather -- just walk outside and take a shot of the street and the building you work at. With The Weather Channel also in the Atlanta area, it appeared that the reporter covering the Atlanta angle of the storm barely had to leave its headquarters to get a live shot.
On the other hand, the local stations that usually would go wall-to-wall with that type of stuff were noticeably absent. With a rather sparse Saturday afternoon of network-televised sports, there were plenty of infomercials instead of news. Granted, the weather started overnight, making it difficult for anyone to move around Saturday morning, but you'd think that if they are willing to preempt Jeopardy or Dr. Phil for thunderstorms, they might bump Ron Popeil for ice.
Going back to the Ice Storm of 2000, though, I think I was slightly less cautious driving -- zipping along I-75 on the way back from Chattanooga wasn't wise, and I'm still trying to figure out why we had an AAJA meeting in those conditions. Plus, I lost my power for a couple of days around the AFC and NFC title games (no issues this time, although I was a bit scared seeing a bunch of traffic lights out just outside my complex) but felt smug seeing all the people in town for the Super Bowl having to deal with the cold and ice.
Friday, January 28, 2005
Mmm, sweetened carbonated beverage
Not sure why the AJC ran a story about the linguistics of cola on the business page (guess it's that Coke connection), but it makes for some fun reading, especially the map that puts Red vs. Blue county maps to shame. Plus, you can register your vote on the ultimate debate.
Not sure why the AJC ran a story about the linguistics of cola on the business page (guess it's that Coke connection), but it makes for some fun reading, especially the map that puts Red vs. Blue county maps to shame. Plus, you can register your vote on the ultimate debate.
Saturday, January 22, 2005
Lyrics results
Here are the final answers. Another quiz in the next couple of days, maybe.
1. Cracker – Get Off This
2. Aztec Camera – Jump
3. DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince – Nightmare on My Street
4. Carole King – It’s Too Late
5. Johnny Cash – A Boy Named Sue
6. Great White – Once Bitten Twice Shy
7. I Am the World Trade Center – Call Me
8. Hall and Oates – Out of Touch
9. The Donnas – Who Invited You
10. Drivin and Cryin – I’m Going Straight To Hell
11. Psychedelic Furs – Pretty In Pink
12. Aqua – Barbie Girl
13. Olivia Newton-John – Magic
14. Kylie Minogue – Love at First Sight
15. The Replacements - Alex Chilton
16. Liz Phair – Turning Japanese
17. Motley Crue – Girls, Girls, Girls
18. Missy Elliott – Get Your Freak On
19. Sarah McLachlan – Dear God
20. Snoop Dogg – What’s My Name?
Here are the final answers. Another quiz in the next couple of days, maybe.
1. Cracker – Get Off This
2. Aztec Camera – Jump
3. DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince – Nightmare on My Street
4. Carole King – It’s Too Late
5. Johnny Cash – A Boy Named Sue
6. Great White – Once Bitten Twice Shy
7. I Am the World Trade Center – Call Me
8. Hall and Oates – Out of Touch
9. The Donnas – Who Invited You
10. Drivin and Cryin – I’m Going Straight To Hell
11. Psychedelic Furs – Pretty In Pink
12. Aqua – Barbie Girl
13. Olivia Newton-John – Magic
14. Kylie Minogue – Love at First Sight
15. The Replacements - Alex Chilton
16. Liz Phair – Turning Japanese
17. Motley Crue – Girls, Girls, Girls
18. Missy Elliott – Get Your Freak On
19. Sarah McLachlan – Dear God
20. Snoop Dogg – What’s My Name?
Friday, January 21, 2005
From Bill Simmons' latest column:
Things have gone so poorly for Jets fans over the years, they were actually expecting something painful to happen down the stretch, just like Red Sox fans back in the day.
That pretty much sums up being a Jets fan. Actually, it helps being a Yankees fan and a Jets fan at the same time in these days -- you can't be too insufferable during baseball season because it will come back to haunt you during football season.
Oh yeah, the Elimidate-Super Bowl analogy was amusing, although it has me longing for that craptacular show that I haven't seen in a few years (and has to be a candidate for I Love the '00s -- probably 2000 or 2001).
And oh BTW, from the I Love the '90s: Part Deux shows I've seen so far, Simmons seems to be used only on sports topics and usually as the straight man. He's got more range than that; if Stuart Scott and Rich Eisen can be used on any topic, so can Simmons, right?
Things have gone so poorly for Jets fans over the years, they were actually expecting something painful to happen down the stretch, just like Red Sox fans back in the day.
That pretty much sums up being a Jets fan. Actually, it helps being a Yankees fan and a Jets fan at the same time in these days -- you can't be too insufferable during baseball season because it will come back to haunt you during football season.
Oh yeah, the Elimidate-Super Bowl analogy was amusing, although it has me longing for that craptacular show that I haven't seen in a few years (and has to be a candidate for I Love the '00s -- probably 2000 or 2001).
And oh BTW, from the I Love the '90s: Part Deux shows I've seen so far, Simmons seems to be used only on sports topics and usually as the straight man. He's got more range than that; if Stuart Scott and Rich Eisen can be used on any topic, so can Simmons, right?
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
For some reason, I could fathom the idea of Jerry Springer, the Opera, but a musical version of The Apprentice seems just way too ridiculous.
Return of the snark
Yes, I'm eating up all of I Love the '90s Part Deux, but I'll get into some of the topics later. However, I'm always intrigued by who they pick up to do the commentary (and I'm still waiting for my chance to get on any of the talking head shows).
Yes, we have the usual suspects, but how did Juliette Lewis become a regular? Plus, it's good to have Bill Simmons on board since he damn well deserves to be on here. However, how did they convince the U.S. swim team to get snarky? (Not that I'm complaining about seeing Amanda Beard or Kaitlin Sandeno.)
One thing that both bugs me and entertains me is the use of '90s music to accompany the bits, but that many of the songs were released years after the nugget they're being snarky about. For some reason, I don't think I should be hearing Beck or Chumbawumba for stuff about the early '90s.
Other observations from the shows so far:
-- So that's what the lead singer of the Cranberries looks like without the really chopped hair.
-- Good to see DJ Jazzy Jeff getting some work.
-- How many redheads are panelists on the show, or is it just the lighting?
-- My goodness, Baby Spice has grown up nicely.
Yes, I'm eating up all of I Love the '90s Part Deux, but I'll get into some of the topics later. However, I'm always intrigued by who they pick up to do the commentary (and I'm still waiting for my chance to get on any of the talking head shows).
Yes, we have the usual suspects, but how did Juliette Lewis become a regular? Plus, it's good to have Bill Simmons on board since he damn well deserves to be on here. However, how did they convince the U.S. swim team to get snarky? (Not that I'm complaining about seeing Amanda Beard or Kaitlin Sandeno.)
One thing that both bugs me and entertains me is the use of '90s music to accompany the bits, but that many of the songs were released years after the nugget they're being snarky about. For some reason, I don't think I should be hearing Beck or Chumbawumba for stuff about the early '90s.
Other observations from the shows so far:
-- So that's what the lead singer of the Cranberries looks like without the really chopped hair.
-- Good to see DJ Jazzy Jeff getting some work.
-- How many redheads are panelists on the show, or is it just the lighting?
-- My goodness, Baby Spice has grown up nicely.
Monday, January 17, 2005
Allez cuisine
It's weird when Iron Chef morphs away from the campiness of the Japanese version to the competent American version. Alton Brown actually does sound like a combination of the guys who do the voices of Fukui and Hattori, and he does incorporate some of his Good Eats stuff into the show. On the other hand, I already picked up some looping of his commentary, although it's not as bad as some of Donald Trump's fixes on The Apprentice that sound a lot like "Mr. Black" on the Kamp Krusty episode.
It's also interesting that I'd actually heard of the first challenger, although partly because he's the brother of the guy's that not Woody Paige.
Plus, it was one of the few times I was actually hungry watching the show. It probably helps that the secret ingredient was something exotic but not too rare (i.e. I've had it a few times), not to mention they made seemingly accessible dishes.
They did keep some of the traditions of the original Iron Chef -- an over-the-top Chairman (allegedly Kaga's nephew, but in reality, just this guy) and Julie Chen, reprising the role of the guest giggling female judge.
It's weird when Iron Chef morphs away from the campiness of the Japanese version to the competent American version. Alton Brown actually does sound like a combination of the guys who do the voices of Fukui and Hattori, and he does incorporate some of his Good Eats stuff into the show. On the other hand, I already picked up some looping of his commentary, although it's not as bad as some of Donald Trump's fixes on The Apprentice that sound a lot like "Mr. Black" on the Kamp Krusty episode.
It's also interesting that I'd actually heard of the first challenger, although partly because he's the brother of the guy's that not Woody Paige.
Plus, it was one of the few times I was actually hungry watching the show. It probably helps that the secret ingredient was something exotic but not too rare (i.e. I've had it a few times), not to mention they made seemingly accessible dishes.
They did keep some of the traditions of the original Iron Chef -- an over-the-top Chairman (allegedly Kaga's nephew, but in reality, just this guy) and Julie Chen, reprising the role of the guest giggling female judge.
Suck, suck, suck
Let's keep it simple on the Jets' loss: Herman Edwards turned into Marty Schottenheimer after the last Big Ben interception. Sure, you can rip into Doug Brien (like Peter King did), but it's hard to get too upset over a kicker missing a field goal over 40 yards. On the other hand, I got a tad too overconfident after the Reggie Tongue TD, which probably sealed my doom. I should've been expecting the worst, as usual, and then I would've been fine.
As for the other games, the Falcons beat the Rams sorta how I play on NCAA Football 2005. They do have a chance against the Eagles, who looked just fine against the Vikings. Of course, getting this far hasn't been an issue for Philly. Finally, I love how all the weather reports looked favorable for the Colts leading up to the game, but come Sunday, there was a winter storm warning -- and that was that.
Concerning the coverage, I was amused that Fox used a bunch of the music from Madden 2005 leading into commercials. Plus, that Fountains of Wayne ad was played a few times, but not too much for people to get sick of it.
As for the other games, the Falcons beat the Rams sorta how I play on NCAA Football 2005. They do have a chance against the Eagles, who looked just fine against the Vikings. Of course, getting this far hasn't been an issue for Philly. Finally, I love how all the weather reports looked favorable for the Colts leading up to the game, but come Sunday, there was a winter storm warning -- and that was that.
Concerning the coverage, I was amused that Fox used a bunch of the music from Madden 2005 leading into commercials. Plus, that Fountains of Wayne ad was played a few times, but not too much for people to get sick of it.
Friday, January 14, 2005
OK, my turn
I guess I'm a tad late with the lyrics quiz thing. Or I'd like to say I'm waaaaay early since I ran a couple of lyrics quizzes on rec.games.trivia back in college (although not as regularly as Greg or Mark did back in the day) when it wasn't as easy to look up all the answers.
Anyways, here are the 20 that came off my shuffle the other day (before I loaded in my other MP3 CDs on to my iTunes library). There are five songs that are covers of well-known songs (yes, I collect plenty of covers). Those will be marked with an asterisk. I'll have the full answers up sometime next week, I guess.
1.Well the guitar player stayin’ out in hollywood and sayin’/He’s just trying to get some sleep, but everyone’s complainin'. (Cracker, "Get Off This"; Chris Hyde)
* 2.You got to roll with the punches and get to what's real. (Aztec Camera's cover of "Jump"; Greg)
3. He wears the same hat and sweater every single day/And even if it’s hot outside he wears it anyway.
4.One of us is changing or maybe we've just stopped trying. (Carole King, "It's Too Late"; Tyler)
5.Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July/And I just hit town and my throat was dry,/I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew. (Johnny Cash, "A Boy Named Sue"; Greg)
* 6.Woman you're a mess gonna die in your sleep/There's blood on my amp and my Les Paul's beat. (Great White, "Once Bitten Twice Shy"; Chris/Matt; Ian Hunter did the original, but most people probably remember the cover.)
* 7. Roll me in designer sheets/I'll never get enough. ("Call Me" is the song, still need the cover band.)
8.Broken ice still melts in the sun/And times that are broken can often be one again. (Hall and Oates, "Out of Touch"; Brian W.)
9. Face it dude, you can't beat me/In your Charlie Brown shirt and Cavariccis.
10. The black widow and the ladies man/Met down at the laundromat and tried to make me understand.
11. The one who insists/He was first in the line/Is the last to/Remember her name.
12.Imagination, life is your creation. (Aqua, "Barbie Girl"; Miguel)
13.And if all your hopes survive/Destiny will arrive. (Olivia Newton-John, "Magic"; Greg)
14.And everything went from wrong to right/And the stars came out to fill up the sky. (Kylie Minogue, "Love at First Sight"; Miguel)
15. Checkin’ his stash by the trash at St. Mark’s Place.
* 16.No fun, no sin, no you, no wonder it's dark. (Liz Phair's cover of "Turning Japanese"; Greg)
17. Dance for me. I'll keep you overemployed.
18.Listen to me now/I'm lastin twenty rounds. (Missy Elliott, "Get Ur Freak On"; Greg)
* 19.Your name is on a lot of quotes in this book/And as crazy humans wrote it/you should take a look. (Sarah McLachlan's cover of XTC's "Dear God"; Greg)
20.Long Beach is the spot where I served my cane. (Snoop Doggy Dogg, "What's My Name?"; Tyler)
I guess I'm a tad late with the lyrics quiz thing. Or I'd like to say I'm waaaaay early since I ran a couple of lyrics quizzes on rec.games.trivia back in college (although not as regularly as Greg or Mark did back in the day) when it wasn't as easy to look up all the answers.
Anyways, here are the 20 that came off my shuffle the other day (before I loaded in my other MP3 CDs on to my iTunes library). There are five songs that are covers of well-known songs (yes, I collect plenty of covers). Those will be marked with an asterisk. I'll have the full answers up sometime next week, I guess.
1.
* 2.
3. He wears the same hat and sweater every single day/And even if it’s hot outside he wears it anyway.
4.
5.
* 6.
* 7. Roll me in designer sheets/I'll never get enough. ("Call Me" is the song, still need the cover band.)
8.
9. Face it dude, you can't beat me/In your Charlie Brown shirt and Cavariccis.
10. The black widow and the ladies man/Met down at the laundromat and tried to make me understand.
11. The one who insists/He was first in the line/Is the last to/Remember her name.
12.
13.
14.
15. Checkin’ his stash by the trash at St. Mark’s Place.
* 16.
17. Dance for me. I'll keep you overemployed.
18.
* 19.
20.
Take me to the river
Besides the oversaturation of ads, ESPN took advantage of the lack of quality sports viewing options to finally shove Tilt down our throats last night. I didn't think it was all that bad, or all that good, either. Michael Madsen plays the tough just fine, and you had the requisite walk-ons from some poker stars (Daniel Negreanu and T.J. Cloutier in this case). But I think Slate hit it on the head with the one thing it was sorely lacking: not enough dumpy Asians. Otherwise, it's just another Las Vegas show with just a bit more poker in it.
Besides the oversaturation of ads, ESPN took advantage of the lack of quality sports viewing options to finally shove Tilt down our throats last night. I didn't think it was all that bad, or all that good, either. Michael Madsen plays the tough just fine, and you had the requisite walk-ons from some poker stars (Daniel Negreanu and T.J. Cloutier in this case). But I think Slate hit it on the head with the one thing it was sorely lacking: not enough dumpy Asians. Otherwise, it's just another Las Vegas show with just a bit more poker in it.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
I guess it's time to catch up, eh? You can thank a combination of being busy and being lazy -- no real excuse here.
-- Congrats to Kristin and Justin on their wedding. I'll let Kristin handle much of the narrative on it (plus links to photos since most of mine pretty much suck). However, I will say I had a fun time in Baltimore (with the hotel two blocks from Camden Yards), seeing many familiar faces and meeting some cool new ones. Plus, it was fun to be hanging out with friends on New Year's Eve. Thanks for letting me be part of all the fun.
-- Yes, there was lots of football on my plate, although I got to watch the Orange Bowl rout in peace at home. No arguments about the results, but one thing that kinda struck me about the debate over a playoff -- if people are so adamant about the regular season being the real deal, then why are there conference championship games (which are, in my opinion, precursors to a playoff)? That's where the no-playoff argument seems to ring a bit hollow.
-- I went 3-for-4 on playoff picks this week, missing only the Moonesota Vikings' win at Lambeau. A couple of those upsets probably is weighing heavily on one of my friends in our playoff fantasy league, who was autopicked Daunte Culpepper and Curtis Martin because of computer issues that forced us to redo the draft. Whoops. Somehow, my team is heavily dependent on either the Rams or Eagles reaching the Super Bowl (although we can do waiver claims throughout to replace eliminated players).
My team was, in draft order (picking 9th in odd rounds and 4th in even rounds):
1. Donovan McNabb
2. Plaxico Burress
3. Steven Jackson
4. Rod Smith
5. Ryan Longwell
6. L.J. Smith
7. Rams defense
8. Terrell Owens
(We start 1 QB, 1 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 K, 1 D; plus one bench spot.)
-- I was pulling for the Jets to win, but wasn't comfortable enough in drafting them in a playoff league (although I did get beat out for Justin McCareins toward the end, thus prompting my last pick of Owens, just in case).
-- With a slow Sunday night after the playoff games (and after watching the 24 premiere -- starting the season with four hours over two nights is a good thing), I ended up spending a lot of time watching the second most useless major awards show, hosted by fake Kornheiser and Wilbon, otherwise known as George Costanza and Theo Huxtable.
While it was good to see them using online voting as a component, thus eliminating the question: "Do you know anyone who might have actually voted for the Peoples Choice Awards?", I swear they were making up some categories along the way or at least stealing them from the MTV Movie Awards. Favorite Movie Sequel? Yikes. Favorite Remake (aka Best Cover of the Year)? Are you kidding me?
There was even a big deal about Fahrenheit 9/11 winning "Best Picture of the Year," except that given the way the movie categories were set up, it's probably best to call it "Best Picture of the Year -- Other" since The Passion of the Christ and Shrek 2 also won movie awards for drama and comedy, respectively.
Yes, I've spent way too much time analyzing these awards, but hey, it's fun to figure out what the "people" have to say, although at least this time the "hipness" quotient was slightly above square thanks to the online voting. God forbid it was another Gallup poll or something determining these things. Plus, it's a good runup to the Golden Globes, where things will get even goofier I'm sure.
-- Speaking of films, I did see The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou the other day. I guess I'm surprised it was a "big budget" Wes Anderson film, since it looks and feels like anything else he's made. It was entertaining enough, but nothing overly impressive or negative about it. I did enjoy the goofy set design, but otherwise it was just weird for the sake of being so -- including such things as the Filipino pirates, the guy singing David Bowie songs in Portugese and Bud Cort.
-- One last review, the Seinfeld Season 3 DVD set is amazing. I think you can figure out why it took them so long to put them out on DVD -- they went the extra mile in piling it on with featurettes on a number of episodes, plus the usual commentary tracks (some better than others, especially those not featuring the actors or Larry David).
But the kicker is the "Notes About Nothing," the pop-up video bits that you can activate and run throughout the episodes. There are some boilerplate bits like the first table reading/filming dates as well the original Nielsen ratings, but they go beyond the call of duty in reciting the credits of every guest star, whether it was an Oscar nominee like Katherine Keener or well-known character actor Philip Baker Hall, or a receptionist whose other credits were as minor guest roles long-forgotten and short-lived sitcoms. And then there's all the other trivia, including some great baseball rundowns when involving the Keith Hernandez episodes.
-- Congrats to Kristin and Justin on their wedding. I'll let Kristin handle much of the narrative on it (plus links to photos since most of mine pretty much suck). However, I will say I had a fun time in Baltimore (with the hotel two blocks from Camden Yards), seeing many familiar faces and meeting some cool new ones. Plus, it was fun to be hanging out with friends on New Year's Eve. Thanks for letting me be part of all the fun.
-- Yes, there was lots of football on my plate, although I got to watch the Orange Bowl rout in peace at home. No arguments about the results, but one thing that kinda struck me about the debate over a playoff -- if people are so adamant about the regular season being the real deal, then why are there conference championship games (which are, in my opinion, precursors to a playoff)? That's where the no-playoff argument seems to ring a bit hollow.
-- I went 3-for-4 on playoff picks this week, missing only the Moonesota Vikings' win at Lambeau. A couple of those upsets probably is weighing heavily on one of my friends in our playoff fantasy league, who was autopicked Daunte Culpepper and Curtis Martin because of computer issues that forced us to redo the draft. Whoops. Somehow, my team is heavily dependent on either the Rams or Eagles reaching the Super Bowl (although we can do waiver claims throughout to replace eliminated players).
My team was, in draft order (picking 9th in odd rounds and 4th in even rounds):
1. Donovan McNabb
2. Plaxico Burress
3. Steven Jackson
4. Rod Smith
5. Ryan Longwell
6. L.J. Smith
7. Rams defense
8. Terrell Owens
(We start 1 QB, 1 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 K, 1 D; plus one bench spot.)
-- I was pulling for the Jets to win, but wasn't comfortable enough in drafting them in a playoff league (although I did get beat out for Justin McCareins toward the end, thus prompting my last pick of Owens, just in case).
-- With a slow Sunday night after the playoff games (and after watching the 24 premiere -- starting the season with four hours over two nights is a good thing), I ended up spending a lot of time watching the second most useless major awards show, hosted by fake Kornheiser and Wilbon, otherwise known as George Costanza and Theo Huxtable.
While it was good to see them using online voting as a component, thus eliminating the question: "Do you know anyone who might have actually voted for the Peoples Choice Awards?", I swear they were making up some categories along the way or at least stealing them from the MTV Movie Awards. Favorite Movie Sequel? Yikes. Favorite Remake (aka Best Cover of the Year)? Are you kidding me?
There was even a big deal about Fahrenheit 9/11 winning "Best Picture of the Year," except that given the way the movie categories were set up, it's probably best to call it "Best Picture of the Year -- Other" since The Passion of the Christ and Shrek 2 also won movie awards for drama and comedy, respectively.
Yes, I've spent way too much time analyzing these awards, but hey, it's fun to figure out what the "people" have to say, although at least this time the "hipness" quotient was slightly above square thanks to the online voting. God forbid it was another Gallup poll or something determining these things. Plus, it's a good runup to the Golden Globes, where things will get even goofier I'm sure.
-- Speaking of films, I did see The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou the other day. I guess I'm surprised it was a "big budget" Wes Anderson film, since it looks and feels like anything else he's made. It was entertaining enough, but nothing overly impressive or negative about it. I did enjoy the goofy set design, but otherwise it was just weird for the sake of being so -- including such things as the Filipino pirates, the guy singing David Bowie songs in Portugese and Bud Cort.
-- One last review, the Seinfeld Season 3 DVD set is amazing. I think you can figure out why it took them so long to put them out on DVD -- they went the extra mile in piling it on with featurettes on a number of episodes, plus the usual commentary tracks (some better than others, especially those not featuring the actors or Larry David).
But the kicker is the "Notes About Nothing," the pop-up video bits that you can activate and run throughout the episodes. There are some boilerplate bits like the first table reading/filming dates as well the original Nielsen ratings, but they go beyond the call of duty in reciting the credits of every guest star, whether it was an Oscar nominee like Katherine Keener or well-known character actor Philip Baker Hall, or a receptionist whose other credits were as minor guest roles long-forgotten and short-lived sitcoms. And then there's all the other trivia, including some great baseball rundowns when involving the Keith Hernandez episodes.
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