Wrestling for Burgers

Wrestling promotions are sorta like fast food restaurants, mostly the places you'd go for a burger.

WWE is McDonalds. It's everywhere, it's convenient to the point of being annoying, and after you have some, you don't really feel good about it afterwards.

TNA is like Burger King. It's relatively easy to find, available, very similar to McDonalds in a lot of ways but different enough so that it can be considered preferable over McDonalds just for not being McDonalds. There's still a good chance you'll regret eating there.

ROH is at that Wendys/Sonic/Hardees level. If you're a fan of the place, you swear by it. If you're not, you probably don't know/don't care/don't have it near you/don't remember it exists.

Your local independant scene is your local greasy spoon hamburger joint. In the Milwaukee area I'll refer to Kopps but there are many others. It's the sort of place that puts out a really nice burger, different from the standard places but still mostly just a burger. For some reason you never go there as often as you like, despite the fact that you enjoy it. It's either not easy to get there, or is on the other side of town, or you just don't think of it until it's too late, which is a pity because you always enjoy the experience at some level different from the rest.

Don't ask me how Brian and I got on this topic last night but we did and it amused me so here it is!

Took me long enough

Finally got a haircut yesterday. Feel much better about that now. At least now, when I get motivated enough to seriously look for work, I can go into an interview without looking like a complete slob. That and I just feel better in general. It was thick. I was sweating in a bad way because of it, more in that 'this food is too spicy' way than 'I feel like I'm getting somewhere with this exercise' way.

Anyway, back to fiddling in the archive again. I have all these trading cards and collectible card game things I'm finding and I know there's going to be a pile of things to get rid off here. Not sure how to do it apart from eBay. I have too many cards.

So I bought more. Sigh.

Donruss has an 'Americana' line that I've been staring at of late and finally tested the other week. It's essentially American pop culture cards and they try to cover a little of everything. Since my interests tend to be a little of everything I'm unfortunately fascinated with these cards. Some of the pictures are very recent looking red carpet snaps which is a nice way to go 'So that's what Dwayne from What's Happening looks like now'. A few of the pictures aren't very flattering. There was one of Kelly Monaco that made me go 'cmon, she's prettier than that.' Some are older and are nice choices. There's a Bob Denver card and, instead of the easy 'Gilligan' card, the picture is of Maynard G. Krebs from the Dobie Gillis show. Neat!

There are special cards of course and they have these fabric sample cards taken from items worn by the stars, which is awesome and really creepy at the same time. I've gotten a Charlie Daniels ('Devil Went Down to Georgia') and an Erik Estrada fabric card.

I'm this much closer to Ponch now. Weird.

'Night of the Demons' review

A group of 'teens' have a Halloween party in a house that's possessed. Soon things get vaguely 'Evil Dead' and the mayhem begins.

Our buddy George was very keen to see this again, to the point that he was a bit disappointed that it wasn't already in my collection. For $6 I changed that and we watched it Saturday night. Some of the group dismissed it as 'cheesy' not long into the movie. While not necessarily disagreeing, I've been pondering the use of that term ever since. The early sections that they had issue with just seemed more of the time (late '80s) than cheesy to me. Perhaps, as I was still young at the time the movie was released and they were barely born, I have a concept of how life was at that time and it felt less cheesy because of such? Am I thinking too hard about this? Definitely. Moving on.

The problem is that there isn't much going on during the set-up portions of the movie. In theory, this is the section of the film where we establish the plot, the rules, and the characters. The rules take seconds to establish. There really isn't a plot apart from 'survive the party' so that doesn't take long. Since the characters are all stereotypes (goofy fat guy with sidekick, italian guy, virginal blonde, weird witch girl, etc), there's nothing to develop there. A couple of the young actors try to shade their characters with depth or at least relish the stereotype to a point where it becomes fun but, on the whole, not much happens for the first half of the movie. It's not creepy enough or funny enough or story filled enough to hold the interest. There's a little bit of trying from every side to keep things moving but it never completely comes together. Some of the acting is just not good. I thought one of the characters was annoying on purpose but after more time I realized the actress just couldn't bring it together.

On the plus side, when things get moving, they stay moving. The fx are good to excellent. I don't recall a really awkward 'yeah that's fake moment' in the bunch. The standout is a tube of lipstick going somewhere it shouldn't. We saluted it with a chorus of pained groans. Once the movie turns the corner to 'survival horror', there are a couple of 'oh, really?' moments but for the most part it holds together. The characters get separated right before the mayhem starts and I never lost track of who was where and what had last happened to them. The 'witch girl' also gives a dance that managed to be creepy and sexy at the same time. There is some attempt to subvert the stereotyping of these films at the end. Despite my complaints about the stereotypical characters, one of the female roles was played by an Asian and it was never mentioned as important in the film, as it should be.

In short, it was worth the $6 I paid for it. Recommended only to those who have an existing interest in '80s horror. I don't think this would interest anyone else. I mean, one of the guys that declared it 'cheesy' has such an interest so how would it appeal to someone without that interest? It's fun, has moments, but on the whole is nothing spectaular.

Mr. Newman

I'm keen to celebrate Paul Newman in some way but I don't think I've got any of his work on DVD. I might do and just can't think of what it would be. He wasn't an actor known for his classic horror roles or wacky comedy roles or science-fiction television roles, items that make up the bulk of my collection. This is not to say he didn't touch some of those genres; I'm just not sure where he and my collection intersect.

Thus concerns me only because I have a great deal of respect for the gentleman and it seems odd that he may not be represented in the archive. Here was a man that, by all accounts, had a positive but realistic view of himself, remained married to his wife of many decades, and did his best to give back to humanity. These are admirable qualities in anyone and are almost astounding for someone in the entertainment field.

So all respect to the gentleman that has left us. None of us is perfect and I'm sure he wasn't either but I'm of the feeling that there are lessons to be learned from his example, both on the screen and off.

Perhaps, if nothing else, I'll get some salad dressing. It's good you know.

Normal Service to Return Soon

Brewers made the playoffs! Brewers made the playoffs! Woo-hoo!

We had a group outing to a local sports bar in an attempt to watch the Packer game and the Brewer game at the same time, which only sorta worked out. The Packer game was mostly disappointing. In all fairness, the Brewer game was pretty slow until the end.

When the Brewers won, we all hopped up and down, gave high-fives, hugged, and just generally got excitable. About fifteen minutes later the Mets lost and we did it all over again, plus a round of shots.

The team hasn't been in a similar position since 1982. I was 8 then and near the peak of my interest in baseball. I still like baseball to some degree. It's easier to enjoy when your team finally, finally!, has some success.

Woo-hoo!

Discombobulation is sweeping the Nation

I'm all discombobulated this week. Nothing's happened when it's normally scheduled for me, extra stuff throwing my schedule further off, and lots and lots of baseball. I've been to the last two Brewer games and we're scheduled to go again tonight. It can take a lot of energy to be a fan. There's all the cheering, all the clapping, all the beer; it can be work. Sorta.

Anyway, the last few nights the Crew have come through and are showing a spark that they'd lost for most of September. Perhaps they'll still make the playoffs, perhaps not. It's been a fun ride eitherway. Most of the time.

Yesterday was a 'rest' day

The 'problem' with Super Mario Galaxy is that the levels are all short. It's like a book where all the chapters are four pages long. You read one and think 'That didn't take long and was interesting. I'll read another.' Before you know it five hours have passed.

The difference is that in five hours I'd have read the book. Unless it was a very, very long book.

Luckily I've stuff to do today so I shouldn't have time to play and can loosen myself from it before it becomes a habit.

Hopefully.

Why is there a 3AM? And why did I have to see it?

Took my brother, his wife and a couple of our friends to O'Hare this morning. When I say 'took' I really mean 'drove my brother's van back home for them' and by 'morning' I mean 'left at 3:15am'.

Ugh.

I took a decent nap before leaving and got another one in after coming home but I'm a bit worn out by driving an unfamiliar vehicle through Illinesian construction. I hate the thought of wasting a day, especially as tomorrow is scheduled to be action-packed with bowling, comics, and baseball. Maybe I'll just take any accomplishments for today as a bonus. Maybe that'll work.

Now then, where was I in 'Super Mario Galaxy', hmm?

Bit sad that

The Secret Policeman's Ball must have fallen on hard times if they had Jimmy Fallon as part of a recent one.

Just doesn't seem right.

'Balls of Fury' review

A disgraced former child prodigy Ping Pong player is called upon by the FBI to use his skills to infiltrate the headquarters of a possible criminal madman who has a thing for the game. It's like 'Enter the Dragon' but with Ping Pong.

I believe this was meant to be a comedy but there was so little comedic material that it's hard to tell. There are a number of sequences clearly meant to be funny that are anything but funny. Generally funny people (George Lopez, Diedrich Bader) are cast in the film and are rarely humorous. The film is played very straight, which would not necessarily be a problem, but becomes so during the film as nothing counterpoints the 'serious' to be funny. I think the logic was that they'd have everything be serious so that it would make Christopher Walken's wackiness that much more wacky. If so, it didn't work. When the funniest part of the movie is the outtakes during the end credits, there's a problem. It felt like a neutered version of a wacky movie where all the punchlines had been removed.

Some of the humor is just ill conceived. Much of it falls into what I consider the 'Look see!' type of humor as in 'Look see! An oriental mansion in the middle of Central America. Isn't that funny?' In and of itself, no, not really. It's an amusing concept but, of itself, its not funny. There's the 'Look see he's blind!' jokes that are funny when James Wong works the material to the joke's advantage but more often than not I got the impression there was nothing to work with. There's also the 'look see they're gay!' jokes that never get funny and actually grow more and more annoying as they pile up.

Is it because it's a PG-13 film? Did the creators feel constrained by trying to hit a specific rating? I'm not sure. It doesn't seem like it but it's possible.

There are a few humorous moments in the film. It wasn't completely without amusement for me but, on the whole, it just wasn't funny. Not to me anyway.

Strong recommendation to avoid.

Yay bourbon!

Brewers are on a skid.

My back is all sore.

But bourbon still loves me.

H'ray booze!

Such a deal!

I'm on a number of 'hey buy me!' email listings from the different stores that I've done business with online and a few offline. The other day I got a 'hey we have new product' email from one and went to check out the new DVD and the associated pre-order sales. As it turned out, there were a number of different sales involved and another DVD that I didn't have and was interested in. Was there a deal for just the two DVDs I wanted? No, of course not. The only deal featuring both DVDs would also get be 4 CDs I already had as well as an autographed picture that I was neutral on.

Not needing the 4 CDs, I checked the normal price of the other DVD, considering that I could just order those items. The mega deal with the stuff I already had was still cheaper.

I bought the mega deal. Now I have 4 CDs I have to do something with. I've had tougher jobs. :)

Progress is what it is

I've hit a point in my cleaning where I need to dispose of some stuff in order to get the room to continue to clean efficiently. I'm not sure what the best route is for some of this stuff. Books and videos can always be taken to a second-hand store but trading cards?

Or how about broken electronic equipment? I need to find a recycler for that stuff.

It's getting more complicated. And I fouled up my one printer by trying to fix it. Haven't had the time to reopen it. I should have known I had too many screws left over...

Notebook update

Found that notebook I was looking for. I couldn't find it before because I'd put it away properly. Not used to that. Confused me.

'A King of Kong, A Fistful of Quarters' review

Everyone wants to feel that they're good at something. For most of us, this is a limited scope sort of thing but it is enough for us to build some healthy self-respect. Perhaps we best understand the expense reporting application so that others in our department at work regularly come to us for assistance. Perhaps our baking skills are excellent so that we can please others with our desserts. Perhaps we're handy with our hands in a way that we can assist others. In the overall scheme of things, these are probably not ways that will gain us celebrity status but can make us happy.

Some have skills that more easily shine on a larger scale. Sports skills, musical skills, comedic skills, acting skills and other entertainment related skills are the sort of thing that can get people to gush over you. Despite your feelings or understanding of your skills, others may encourage you to go 'pro'; that you're good enough to compete at a high level and become a star.

If you're good at playing old video games for high scores, there's an arena to compete in at a high level as well.

'A King of Kong, A Fistful of Quarters' is, at its heart, the story of two men competing for the world high score at Donkey Kong. Along the way, trusts are built and broken, shenanigans occur, blockades are built and beaten, there are failures and successes, laughter and tears.

The characters of both main competitors, Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe, are drawn well. While the concept of two grown men playing a decades old video game for the status of the high score may call to your mind William Shatner's 'Get a life!' expression from Saturday Night Live, the film makes it clear that both men do have a life outside playing this game. Both are married. Both have jobs. We regularly see the children of Mr. Wiebe. While seriously playing Donkey Kong may occasionally overwhelm their lives, it is not their lives. Some of the other individuals are less developed. As a result, many of them only get the opportunity to look a bit crazy.

Of course, film being film, things can be edited in order to make people look different than they are. Some of the extra footage addresses this concept. From the perspective of some of the main participants, they feel they were represented well. One of Billy's friends indicates that Billy is displeased with how he came across but also that he understands how some of the things he did cast him in a certain light.

Being a Big Geek, I found it easy to relate to these people. While I don't know any of them (I walked past Walter Day either in the year but that doesn't really count) I've know people like them. When people do some things that could be considered suspect, I can understand why they'd be defended. I'm not saying I would have done the same things but I understand.

I recommend this movie and the extras (I watched everything but the commentaries). If you're a Big Geek you REALLY need to watch this film. If not, I think it still has an interest due to the way that the story is told. If you're not a Geek, you may better under why we are like we are. At the very least, you might laugh and tell us to get a life. Which is fine.

And I need a haircut

I forgot what I was going to say. Oh, yes, that was it.

Once of the things I didn't like about iTunes but was no big deal was that I couldn't find an easy way to add an album cover to an album if iTunes didn't automatically have access to it. As far as I could tell you had to add the art track-by-track and that just wasn't going to happen on a regular basis. With the recently released iTunes 8, this problem has been largely resolved as in 'grid' mode I can add art to the entire album with one drag-and-drop. Nice!

Of course now I want to fix all the 'blank' areas and, well, I really don't need another project to play with. Stupid obsessive compulsive nature...

And where's my other notebook? Turns out I didn't type up some scenes I thought I typed up and I need the notebook before this one for that project. It's gotta be around here somewhere. That's the problem with cleaning up; I can never find anything afterwards...

Am a bad influence

I'm good at being a bad influence on people's wallets. It's not that I'm a good salesman or anything like that. I can't talk you into wanting something you don't want but I'm good at talking my friends into getting stuff they already want. Sometimes they're hesitating or delaying a purchase and I go 'see how cool this is?' They agree and are doomed.

To those most recently caught in this web, I must say to you the words spoke to me by the mighty Parker:

'You got more money than that.'

Eye of the Beholder or Belaugher I guess

So I'm watching Sesame Street yesterday and Jenny McCarthy makes a guest appearance. This boggles my mind briefly as I try to wrap my brain around the idea of a former Playmate on a children's programme.

Then her impressions of different insects just gets sillier and I just sigh. There may be little else I appreciate more than a pretty lady with a sense of humour and a willingness to look silly while expressing it.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one to think that way. I think that's how Tina Fey got so overrated. She's pretty and has a sense of humour but she's not funny. Not to me anyway. Not regularly anyway.

To each their own. Odd too because normally, from an appearance standpoint, I'd side with the brunette with the glasses over a bleach blonde. Beauty and funny are both in the eye of the beholder.

Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates - Wha?

I've seen the big budget Microsoft commercial a couple of times now. Bill Gates! Jerry Seinfeld! Woohoo?

It's dumb. I'm not a fan of either gentleman's product and this commercial does nothing to change that. It's silly but not in a funny sort of way. It feels contrived, sort of a 'hey, lets be wacky guys!' sort of way that doesn't feel natural to the players.

Most importantly, it doesn't change my opinion of Microsoft for the better. It doesn't show the product being useful. It doesn't have the brand rubbing up with a hip young entertainer that the young people might enjoy and pay attention to (it would be like Milton Berle doing commercials in the late 60's/early 70's, a decade after his tv success). It doesn't even really show Bill Gates in a good light either. 'Oh look, the billionaire buys cheap shoes, isn't he normal?' Whatever.

Just as importantly, I don't think it does anything for Seinfeld. I saw a recent article that noted an attempt to interest today's college students in his tv show. I didn't catch if they were successful or not. As an ad for the style of humor he used in that show I think it fails as well. Jerry showers full clothed? While he does the serious Jerry 'look I've thought this out' moment after that revelation, he comes across more crazy than anything. It's not a Jerry moment, it's a Kramer moment and doesn't feel right coming from him.

There is another Microsoft ad running around the channels now, one where they have unsuspecting people use the 'next Microsoft OS' and it turns out to be Vista the whole time. People saying 'once you see how to use it, its nice' does a lot more for the product than Jerry Seinfeld wondering if Microsoft will make computers edible.

At least that's what I think. But I didn't get paid millions of dollars to make a commercial for a company that really doesn't need to advertise. Once the money is in your account, what else matters?

'Silent Night, Deadly Night' Review

Billy just never had a chance. When he was about six, his parents were killed in front of him by a man dressed like Santa Claus. Strike One. Instead of becoming a superhero, he was sent to an orphanage (He could have still been Cyclops, but no...). The Mother Superior taught him that punishment is necessary, with beatings. Strike Two. As a young adult, he gets a job, starts to like a girl, but is forced to dress like Santa and his girl goes off with another guy at the Christmas party. Strike Three. Straight to crazed killing spree!

Now, having just watched most of 'Killer Klowns from Outer Space', we were expecting something more silly, more over the top as the other movie had been. This was not the case. 'Silent Night, Deadly Night' was grim by comparison. There are moments of humour in it but they are moments. They are not generally associated with the murders, not something started by the slasher. In other words, he's not a Freddy Kruger type character. This makes him that much creepier. He's a normal (almost) guy, no supernatural powers, that loses his mind and goes a-killing. You don't know what his limits are and that makes for some tension.

There are a few moments that stretch believability a bit. One in particular that involved a deaf priest was so ridiculous that it made me laugh out loud. The uncut version of the movie that Anchor Bay offers comes with the apology that certain scenes come from a lower quality print. The change is obvious but the lower quality scenes aren't all that bad.

All in all, I was impressed by the film. I thought it was gritty and creepy. I called a joke and a few plot twists but was still concerned about some of the characters. Since the focus was on the killer and not the crew of young adults (aka the victims) it was trickier to determine who would survive. I'm sure the grim quality is part of the reason it was banned at the time of release.

Recommended for those that enjoy slasher films with crazed murderers, blood, and exposed breasts. I'm guessing no one else will be interested.