February 2008 Archives
I think Will Ferrell is funny, but I am starting to get a little sick of his standard shtick. The last movie of his that I thought was really funny was Anchorman. Every movie he has been in since then (with the exception of stranger than fiction) usually has him playing the exact same type of character. He's still funny, and there are still parts of his movies that make me howl in the theater (like when he stabs himself in Talladega Nights), but I feel I know the formula and therefore I am fine waiting for his movies to come out on DVD before I see them.
Semi-Pro might be different. Kent Ackerman apparently did a lot of work to make the movie look and feel authentic, and I appreciate that. I absolutely LOVE the ABA even though I was born several years after the league was absorbed by the NBA. I was really lucky that my dad loved basketball so much, so I got to hear stories of Dr. J and George Gervin. I practiced my free throws and layups when I went to the court, but I would always find time to work on a little finger roll. You could imagine how ecstatic I was when Nike came out with a series of commercials around 2002 that featured an ABA theme and lots of funk:
Now that's amazing. I love the shots of them getting off the bus. I really need a suit like Jermaine O'Neal (about 50 seconds into the video above). The Dr. Funk commerical was OK, but it just got better from there:
Wow. George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, and the rest of the P-Funk all stars. And if I am wearing Jermaine O'Neal's suit, my honey should be wearing Lisa Leslie's dress (51 seconds in). I am seriously beginning to wonder whether Nike should A) Sue Newline for stealing their concept and thinking people would be fooled by using pasty white guys or B) Get Bow Wow and all his friends from Roll Bounce together to make their own movie. Now THAT would be a movie I would watch. Maybe I should get started on the screenplay.
I really don't like betting on sports. To be very good at it, you have to bet against your favorite team a lot, and I am the type of guy who likes to believe my team can win every game (yes, even the Syracuse Football team). I will put some money on an NCAA Tournament bracket, or fantasy sports league, but never on individual games. Of course, when your football team makes it to the Super Bowl, you have to rethink your priorities.
When the Giants made the Super Bowl, I made a friendly bet with two friends of mine who are die hard New England sports fans. If the Patriots win the Super Bowl, I will suffer the public shame of wearing an item of Red Sox clothing in public. If the Giants won the Super Bowl, my friends would have to wear some sort of Yankee paraphernalia. To some, this is not really a big deal, but to a sports fan, it is the ultimate shame.
At first, I had lined up a nice assortment of pink t-shirts all professing devotion to the Yankee captain. Some were almost semi-tasteful, while others were a little more over-the-top. I settled on the "Joba Rules" t-shirt pictured above would be a better form of punishment. The pink Jeter t-shirt might get you pummeled in certain places in New England, but the Joba t-shirt will win you the admiration of hard core New York sports fans, and that's the last thing thing any self-respecting Masshole wants.
A few more posts over at Gridskipper for you to enjoy. Check out my guide to seafood in the 626 along with a primer on the "second string" sports teams of Los Angeles. The highlight, of course, is my Oscars Guide to Los Angeles. Enjoy!
In Japan, they prepare for everything, including the possibility of a papier mache zebra running amok. From my friends at [gridskipper.com].
I love listening to people talk exhaustively about subjects that almost nobody cares about. That's why I love UniWatch, which brings you the "obsessive study of athletics aesthetics". Paul Lukas (who has a column on ESPN) and crew devote a lot of space to discuss all things dealing with athletic apparel. I thought I was obsessive about things, but this guy takes his hosiery very seriously.
I recently caught a UniWatch post on the new LZR Racer swimsuit from Speedo. All I can say is wow. Julie Chen is once again in for some serious cameltoe competition this summer. Amanda Beard, who ironically appears to be cleanly shaven, has thrown down the gauntlet. And what can you say about Michael Phelps? I know this guy could win like a million gold medals and it might be thanks to his new advanced suit, but is all that success worth it to have everybody know whatever you are smuggling?
Speedo has realized their problem in their advertising, but I wonder if the prudes watching the Olympics in this country will force NBC to put a parental advisory during the swimming competitions. It might just give beach volleyball a run for its money.
I got the afternoon off of work today, my thanks for putting in some extra time this past Tuesday for the Art History Department. The only thing I had to do to finish off my week was drop something off at DHL, but figured there was some place in West Hollywood I could that. I was shipping an old iBook I had to somebody, so I figured the place I usually use would have DHL pickup. Turns out that was not the case, as they are now a UPS Store, and I guess DHL can go fuck themselves.
I had to get a haircut, so I decided to use my trusty iPhone to see where the next nearest DHL location was while Chelsea was doing her thing. Luckily, there was a location in the neighborhood that looked like it would work perfectly. See, it's a postal center, and more! And as a bonus, it is owned and operated by Mary R. Gonsalves. How can I lose? Well, it turns out that Mary is exceedingly cheap. The box already had the shipping paid for, but to seal the return, I needed some tape. I asked Mary if she would tape it up for me, and she said I could buy tape. I don't mind paying for somebody to box the thing up, but I only needed to seal one end of a box that was less than six inches long. Should I really be forced into buying 15 yards of tape just for that box?
I pleaded with Mary, and deep down, I thought that anybody who would plaster pictures of Rip Taylor around their place of business couldn't be that bad, but Mary proved me wrong. I said I already had the box, but just needed some tape. She said "I am here to provide a SERVICE! You don't pay me. DHL doesn't pay me. How do I run a business like that!?" OK Mary, calm down. At this point, I didn't mind paying for tape, but what was I going to do with 15 yards of tape? So, I asked Mary if I could buy one foot of tape off of her roll. Mary boxes things for other people, but she wouldn't sell me tape. I said "OK, I am sorry." She pointed the tape out to me, and I said "Thank you." and walked out the door. What the fuck. I wonder if Rip Taylor knows that his image is being used to help this woman sell lazy bastards rolls of unnecessary tape. Her investment in some free tape, which might end up costing her $.01 might have turned into more business for her, but what do I know? She has been in West Hollywood for 19 years.
Thankfully, the iPhone found another place for DHL, and it was on my way to Rock and Roll Ralph's. Mister Mail was awesome. I walked in, said I needed to drop a package off for DHL. They said "Sure!" and when I handed it to them, they said "Would you like us to tape it up for you?". I said "Please!" and "How much do I owe you?". They said "Oh, nothing." like I was some retard for even asking. Their service was so refreshingly great compared to Mary that Mister Mail is going to become my official pack and ship location from now on.
Thanks Mr. Mail! Go to hell Mary!
Just don't tell them that the car in your dreams was a Citroën 2CV. I had a dream about the prom. I was driving with my friend Jenny on our way to the event, which for some reason was now taking place at Pace. Everything went as planned, but as we got there, I dropped the car at valet, turned to look, and I was driving a 2CV instead of my TL. I started to wonder what this all meant because I love my current car, so shouldn't I be dreaming of driving something much cooler? Maybe it wouldn't be classic Lincoln or sexy hot rod, but I thought my imagination would at least have me rolling around in a slayer-approved DS.
I woke up this morning to NPR and heard the words "And yesterday, the NY Giants upset the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl". Going to bed, I didn't know what to feel, and when I first heard those words, I thought it was a dream. After a fews seconds, a smiled to myself, realized it wasn't a dream, and knew the Giants were Super Bowl champions. We went up against a perfect team and came away with the victory. There is nothing sweeter than that.
Wow. What an amazing Super Bowl. The Giants have been underdogs and nobody really gave them a shot. The game was tense and came down to the fourth quarter. It was full of memorable plays and we won. I couldn't really ask for much more; I am even going to buy some of that awful championship jockwear this year. Go Giants and congrats to the Patriots for an awesome season and being part of one of the greatest football games EVER.
I will admit it. At 0-2, I was one of the people that had given up on the Giants. Even as they climbed their way to respectability, I was hesitant to put my heart into them because I had seen disappointment in the past.
Then came the game against the Patriots in week 17. The Giants showed me, by not giving up, that they would not back down for anyone and that they play the games to win. From that point on, I put my full faith in the team and they did not disappoint, all the way to becoming Super Bowl Champions.
Congratulations to the Giants organization, the coaches, and the players. I'll soak this one in for a while.
I saw this site linked to from another blog and I immediately fell in love. This sort of completely worthless analysis of everyday objects is the type of thing I really enjoy. I always pass this check-cashing place on my way to the gym, and you can tell it used to be a KFC on the outside. I never took a picture, but always thought it was hilarious and literally thought to myself, "Do they think people won't notice they are getting their checks cashed from the colonel?".
Anyway, http://www.notfoolinganybody.com/ holds many examples of "bad conversions of storefronts past" including the picture included above, which is also on my way to the gym. Yes, Exaco. And they don't sell gas which really makes you wonder why they used the name. It looks like the site has gone stale, even if the front pages says something different. Still amusing though, and I'll be looking for more bad conversions wherever I go.
