Blog
Muppets Do Ebert & Roeper
Disney recently took control of Jim Henson's Muppet empire, so of course they're gonna milk it as much as they can. But this new thing I don't mind: Watch Statler & Waldorf From The Balcony. The two old guys that make fun of everything from the balcony are back and weekly make fun of the movies coming out this week. They do a pretty good job of making fun of almost every single movie and include some failry intelligent moive jokes. (I especially like the nod to A.I. with the comment about Dakota Fanning's character in War of the Worlds being very good for an entirely animated character.)
The Live 8 Problem
I agree with Andy's thoughts. We shouldn't be so worried about insulating ourselves from society, we should be interested in helping others. It was nice to have Jars of Clay representin' in Philly, even though they only did two songs.
New Music
I picked up a couple new CDs and they gave me one of those summer samplers from EMI. About half of it is new music, so it's pretty cool to hear some fresh stuff. Plus, it was free.
Manafest sounds like another Eminem ripoff with a lot of Thousand Foot Krutch thrown in. Oh wait, maybe that's because Trevor from TFK was guest spotting on the track. ;-)
iPod Train
Recently to get to work I've been taking the Hiawatha Light Rail tran to work. It's a lot of fun.
Recently a couple trains were wrapped in iPod ads. They look great:
As far as I can tell, there's that train and one that's in yellow and green. Only two trains are covered in the ads. And don't worry, they're not permanent or anything. They're just a vinyl wrapping.
How To Destroy Narnia
We thought that, for once, Disney was going to do something good with the Chronicles of Narnia release. The preview looks great, the production is really high-quality, and even C. S. Lewis' son is involved heavily in the production. But, alas, I've decided that Disney is shooting themselves in the foot by using The Passion of the Christ method.
Disney is working very hard to promote the movie in Christian circles. Why? I don't know. New Line did nothing to promote The Lord of the Rings as a "Christian" movie and yet it did some of the biggest numbers ever in movies. Is Disney worried that nobody will come out to the movies in December unless every single Christian is there? I guess.
Their marketing plans includes a full-length CD of music "inspired by" the movie featuring Christian artists. Of course, it's separate from an orchestral soundtrack and a collection of music "inspired by" and featuring mainstream artists. Also, they've partnered with almost every Christian music and/or media website to make sure we know plenty about this movie before it comes out.
What's the benefit? Well, Disney probably sees it as the fact that, like The Passion of the Christ, they'll get Christians to rent out whole theaters and everybody will show up on opening weekend. What do I think the benefit will be for Disney? It'll short-circuit what should be their biggest audience: the mainstream and fantasy groups. I won't be surprised if people don't go to the movie because they hear it's a "Christian" movie.
It's not a "Christian" movie. Just like J.R.R. Tolkien's work, Narnia is just a fun story for readers. Sure, it might carry some Christian undertones, but it's not like other "Christian" movies where there's an altar call at the end. Besides The Passion of the Christ, no studio has pulled off a successful Christian movie. The Prince of Egypt had a very similar marketing campaign and it never really got DreamWorks anywhere.
Please, Disney. Just do a regular movie, not a Christian movie. If you do, it could be a moneymaker for your dying company.
Congrats To Me!
Well, it seems I have a job!
Next week I start at a local banking establishment doing over-the-phone technical support for their employees. It pays well but has some odd hours. I'm gonna have to learn to get up early really fast.
In other amazing news, since then I've talked to a couple other companies about a job too. It seem that, when it rains, it pours.
Robert Who?
Lots of people have been asking this question, and the answer definitely is Robert Randolph. If you seriously haven't checked out their rock 'n' blues jams, please do. I just picked up his Live At The Wetlands disc and he does six epic tracks in 70 minutes. It's high-quality bluesy rock.
I'm gonna say it now, just in case anybody else hasn't: If John Belushi and Dan Akyroyd had made The Blues Brothers in 2005, it would have included a scene with Robert Randolph & The Family Band doing a tune. And speaking of that hilarious movie, feel free to put it under my Christmas tree or yours by getting the 25th Anniversary Edition.
Music Podcast?
Speaking of podcasting, I'm thinking about a music podcast of music from cMusicWeb.com. I'm not sure if I can do this, though. It seems the legality of podcasting music is really in question and the RIAA is a scary organization. So, if I can work out the logistics, it might happen in the near future.
The Podcasting Conundrum
Recently I've been getting into the latest phenomenon: podcasting. It's basically downloadable radio shows that I can put on my iPod if desired. (Right now I mostly listen to them on my computer, but I can forsee myself loading up my iPod and listening on the way to work.)
So why podcasts? Very simple. There's thousands of them out there and they reach a much more targeted audience than probably any radio show. Or, if not, they have a highly focused stream of content and allow basically anybody on the 'net to broadcast whatever they want. Of course, this quickly arose to include some lewd programming that would never get on radio, but there are many great ones out there.
My first podcast that I subscribe to is TWiT. Basically, a couple of years ago my silly roommate got cable. I had no need for it because all I really watched was reruns of The Simpsons and Seinfeld. Of course, I ddin't mind that cable had crystal-clear reception and Star Trek: The Next Generation on every night. But the real gem I found was TechTV. It was TV for true geeks. They had folks on the TV showing you all the tips and tricks to get the best out of your applications, did a bit with the latest games, and kept everybody updated on tech news. It was great.
A couple months later, my roommate decided he couldn't pay for cable (which I already knew). So gone from my life was the ever-enjoyable TechTV. But, I'm told, it was not that bad of a thing. Apparently the channel got to be more and more popular and the techs had to dumb things down and make it less unscripted. Then, about a year or so ago, they merged with G4, the all-gaming channel, which meant less tech and more games. And now, the G4TechTV channel is just G4 again, so there goes all the fun content.
Luckily, all the favorites from the prime-time variety show The Screen Savers got together and decided to start TWiT. Basically, they just get together and talk a plethora of tech news every week. It's probably the first talk show that's not boring to me (besides the one time The Geek Squad took over WCCO 830 one evening probably eight years ago). Plus, of course, it's completely free to download.
Another one that's just started and looks promising is systm. The first episode was a bit too hardware-based for me but was still cool. But the second, which shows how to set up a Linux-based TV turner that does everything a TiVO does and more was very fun to watch. Actually, I guess it's not a podcast because it's video and all podcasts are audio, but it is still part of the independently-produced downloadable medium that is the essence of podcasting.
Thanks, Sprint!
I just have to give a big shout-out to Sprint PCS for finally getting a much-needed tower up. I have been living in the west end of St. Paul, Minnesota for most of a year now, and here in the southwest corner it's a battle to keep a Sprint connection. I had to practice finding the one spot in my room where I could get a signal. But all those problems are finished.
Starting about a week ago, I get 2 or 3 bars at all times in my house. I can move about freely and still get service. It's a beautiful thing. And, yes, Sprint, I'll use more minutes now. So be happy! If you've been expecting me to call you, the chances of me doing it have gone up 10x.