at long last...

what's this? a post? i know, it doesn't happen very often. just saying hi. oh yeah...my wife's pregnant.

...

i hate sports.

for anyone who knows me any better than "that blonde guy who always plays drums," you know that i am a huge sports fan. *disclaimer: if you are someone who doesn't care for sports or my brand of humor, don't bother reading on. that's all there is here. sorry. go play halo3 or atari, whatever it is you do these days.* i'm seriously considering renouncing all sports and teams i have previously been interested in. i know no one will believe that, and you shouldn't, so take it for what its worth. let us begin the long list of reasons, shall we?

the los angeles angels of anaheim:

i could do a satirical angle on their name such as "the los altos angels of torrance" or "the los angeles angels of redondo beach," but that's old. at least they're not the "dodgers." what is that? anywho, the idiots at sports illustrated were the only established sports authority who picked the angels to win the world series. they had a great season, but we all knew if they got pitted against those below average lifeforms from beantown(i'm using better language than i would like to), they didn't really stand a chance. and that's that. nine straight postseason wins have the redsux over the angels. there's always next year.

the new york yankees:

yes, i like both the angels and the yankees. some of you out there can't believe it and say that is against the rules. get over yourself. this is a free country. i was born in new york, i live in socal, and i love baseball. these are two of the most exciting teams in the league. and stop trying to make the angels and yankees rivals. its the yankees and redsox, angels and a's. the yankees had yet another disappointing postseason. one of seven in this current millenium. they need better pitching. oh yeah, and someone to take a-rod's spot. he'd be stupid to stay there. there's always next year.

the buffalo bills:

there has been an extreme bias against them since they lost those 4 superbowls in a row. 14 years ago. they are a team with one of the top 10 rated fan bases. this past monday was their first monday night home game since 1994. after hearing national media refer to them as "a punching bag" for the dallas cowboys and seeing they were a 17 point underdog by some, they gave those brokeback cowboys all they could handle. 5 interceptions and a fumble by one of the darlings of the nfl, tony romo (i couldn't think of any insult that rhymed with his last name...hmm...) couldn't quite do it for the bills. they are missing that last little spark to win games. a game winning field goal from over 50 yards as time expires is a great way to win a game. wrong team. the bills weren't supposed to win. BUT THEY WERE SO CLOSE!!! its not healthy if a sports team losing gives you the urge to drive your car into a lightpole, is it? there's always next year(or after they get to another four superbowls in a row and one one of them.)

the usc trojans

i know that usc has other sports, but we're going to talk about the only one that matters. looks like its finally time to change quarterbacks over there in troy. when you get beat by stanford, you know you had a bad game, and they had the game of their lives. there are waaaaaay to many white guys on that team to be beating usc. most teams would celebrate by going back to the dorms and getting completely plastered. the stanford team retired to their study with a glass of merlot. pansies. there's always next year.

these being my four favorite sports teams, you can understand why i want to go get braces again and make out with an electrical socket. have a great week.

***please don't take my suicide references seriously. i'm very happy and i love my teeth just the way they are.

across the universe

as for the critics...

ok, so this film has been getting slammed by some. i think those people thought they were supposed to get high before seeing it...you know, just to get in the spirit. if you don't have a clue as to what you are going to see, i can understand you might walk away from it being less than impressed. especially if you aren't a fan of the beatles (just don't tell me you like the beach boys). if you are a self-proclaimed beatles "purist" and don't like it when other artists interpret their songs differently and change them around, don't even bother. you will be sick 5 minutes into it. you might even throw a fit and try to stage a walk-out. who knows, go crazy. if you go into this film as a beatles fan, or just as a neutral party, chances are you will find it entertaining.

as for me...

i am a beatles fan. i enjoy intelligent interpretations of other artists' songs. i like visually and musically stimulating films. its fun when a director takes songs and brilliantly puts them in a different context. i am a musician, so i am highly critical of that aspect of any film.

as for the music...

if you haven't figured it out by now, every bit of music in this film is taken from the library of the fab four. christina and i purchased the soundtrack before hand. that was pretty much all she listened to. i listened to it once, but didn't want to over do it before seeing the movie. all of the songs are creatively done, some better than others, but there weren't any i disliked. some of my favorits include:

"i saw a face"- a fun song with great harmonies and very cool choreography.

"let it be"- highly emotional, found myself a little choked up, got to love that choir.

"i want you(she's so heavy)"- one of the most out-of-context songs in the movie. brilliant.

"i am the walrus"- psychadellic. bono, what?

"while my guitar gently weeps"- one of my favorite songs, i love this guy.

"helter skelter"- that chick rocks.

as for the performers...

a wide array of strong voices that are appropriate for their roles. both jude and max have voices to be envied by pop, folk, and rock singers alike. lucy and prudence both have just beautiful voices. janis joplin has got nothing on sadie. jojo is just awesome. one thing i was impressed with was the level of acting. many times in movies or musicals acting can be sacrificed in favor of the singing voice, or the other way around. that didn't really happen in this film. that's tough to avoid, but they did a pretty good job.

as for the film over all...

it is a vivid display of talent put on by the cast and crew. a very creative and interpretive story that kept my attention and awe. i never got bored and there was always something visually or musically interesting happening. outstanding performances by multiple people and you could tell they had good chemistry with eacgother. i really enjoyed every scene, song, and visual.

trying again...

as i was discussing with some friends, i think i'll try the whole blogging thing again. just have to find a website to do it on. let me know if anyone has a good one.