While everyone is clamoring about the free agent market of 2010, I think it could turn out to be much ado about (next to) nothing. In fact, half of the big movement could be done by the end of this summer.

The Toronto Raptors realize that now is there best chance to get something for Chris Bosh since the odds are 80/20 that he's leaving (if they're even that good). Since nobody is likely to offer much in return for Chris if he doesn’t agree to an extension before the deal, it means that Bosh might be off the market very soon. If he goes to someplace like Miami, that would likely take Dwyane Wade off of the books as well as he’d sign an extension to team with Bosh for the beginning of the next decade.

Still, there are a lot of names out there, right?There are now but look at who's out there and who might sign extensions this summer.

Portland's front office loves their team chemistry and will likely make a concerted effort to extend LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy's contracts before the start of 2009-10. I'd be stunned if Mark Cuban didn't offer Dirk Nowitzki whatever he wanted to stay in Dallas. Paul Pierce has talked about retiring in green and being a lifelong Celtic so I'd be kind of surprised if he left.

But even if he and Dirk did go somewhere else, they are veterans who are on the wrong side of 30 and starting to decline. No, they won't be washed up but I don't teams like Detroit, New Jersey, and New York blew up their squads so they could maybe get one or two years of contending before the guys they signed to huge deals aren't really worth their bloated paychecks. A number of the big names are like this: Ray Allen, Shaq, Steve Nash, and Manu Ginobili. Even a guy like Joe Johnson will be 29 and probably will start to decline in the middle of his next contract.

That leaves the grand prize LeBron James. Second place is the NBA's equivalent to a set of steak knives; Amar’e Stoudemire – an uber-talented headcase with major injury history. I really can’t believe that many teams are going to be lining up to give him 20 million a year. If a GM ends up in third place? "Third prize is you're fired!" because after Amar'e's gone, the remaining free agents are either restricted (like Rajon Rondo, Ty Thomas, Luis Scola, Rudy Gay) or second or third echelon guys like Josh Howard and John Salmons.

So while there are a lot of names to discuss in 2010, it’s not as if teams like New York, New Jersey, or Detroit will be able to completely revamp their team and build a contender for the next decade with the players available. It’s far more likely that one team like New York will land a couple of these top free agents and the rest of the league will be stuck overpaying for veterans who are on their last legs

Posted by SoulHonky at 09:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Everyone has their pet peeves and when it comes to film, pet peeves can really kill a film. Just like when people just can't stand an actor, there are little moments or events that can prevent a person from investing in a film and keep them from enjoying the feature. There are damning pet peeves and then some that you can just gloss over. An example of the latter is the action film staple of: Why don't they just kill him? In countless action films (and most every James Bond film) there's always a moment in which the bad guy takes the hero hostage even though he has no reason at all to not just shoot the hero and end the story. Another case is the unfair chase. I'm actually parodying this in a script I'm writing but it's pretty ridiculous how in most films, a person can outrun a huge monster, an ice cream truck can keep up with a sports car, or a tractor trailer can stay ahead of an jet. It makes no sense but usually I can look past this and move on.

Another example of something that is becoming a cliche that I'm tired of seeing is the: "He shouldn't have known that!" How many films are going to end with the bad guy getting too confident and saying something about the case that only the killer would know. It's increasingly annoying when it comes at the end of a brilliant plan, as if the evil genius pulls off the heist of the century and then has a brain fart when he thought he was about to get away with it. I can usually not be bothered by it but it's been happening more and more often and it's starting to be a disappointing shortcut to the unveiling of the antagonist, especially in cop shows. Can't cops find the killer through old fashioned police work anymore?

Those are cliches that I can get past but there are some that are almost like a gut punch; they take the air out of the movie and I just can't get into it. Keep reading for my list of five cliches that make me shake my head and lose faith in a film.

5. The Sore Thumb Cameo: Usually these just take me out of the film for an instant and I can get back into it but there are few things as jarring as an oddly placed cameo. The best example of this is Ted Danson in "Saving Private Ryan". The movie is going along, everything is intense, and then all of a sudden Sam Malone pops up. I know it's a tough break for an actor to get typecast but it's just really jarring to see a well known actor pop up in a superfluous role in the middle of a film.

4. The Forced Happy Ending: "Eagle Eye" was a stupid movie but the forced happy ending in that film is beyond belief. If you don't want to know the end of the film, skip ahead to #3 but at the close of the climatic scene, Shia LeBouf gets gunned down and basically has to be dead. He gets shot from close range square in the back. Then the film cuts to an awards ceremony and Shia... is standing there in a sling. It's almost like the bullets didn't hurt him, he just jammed his shoulder when he fell to the ground. Too many films pull their final punch and try to make things happy by inexplicably having the good guys survive a definitely fatal injury. Even in a wholly unbelievable film like "Eagle Eye", the final survival of the hero elicited laughs from the audience.

3. Too Many Twists: There are a lot of films coming out nowadays that try to make you question everyone and not trust a soul. But it's getting to the point where there are so many twists that the audience just stop caring about everyone because they don't think they can believe in anyone. Audience are getting smarter and heist/con films need to adjust accordingly. Whereas they used to be able to exploit the audiences immediate belief in the main characters, now they have to work to exploit the jaded been-there, done-that attitude of many filmgoers. If you know that everything is a con, then you never believe in anything, and the film loses its grip.

2. "I was taping this conversation the whole time!" - While this might have been cool the first couple thousand times it happened, there really is nothing more disappointing than the twist of someone taping a conversation in secret. There have recently been some lauded films that use this device but, personally, it feels like a cop out. In most cases, the bad guys have zero reason to come out and confess their sins which makes it even worse.

1. Convoluted Plans: Terminator Salvation is like one long convoluted plan but the one that really stuck out to me was Michael Clayton. The villains in that film had no problem sneaking in and killing one character and making it look like a suicide but when it comes to Michael Clayton, they use a ridiculous remote car bomb device. Not only is the device hard to install and prone to failure but if you're in the middle of a sensitive case, would you really blow up a guy who is causing a scene by bombing his car? Honestly, how many car bombs happen in the suburbs of NY state? Wouldn't that bring undue attention to Clayton and his demise?

To me, there is nothing worse in a film than when you sit there and wonder, "Why don't they just..." I just can't get into chase scenes that are unnecessary. I can't buy a plot that is complex just so it can stretch the movie out or necessitate a chase scene. To me, there's nothing worse.

There are more of these cliches and conventions that bother me but, for now, those are my top five. What conventions can't you stand? What cliches are so frustrating that they completely take you out of the film and prevent you from getting back in for the ride?

Posted by SoulHonky at 06:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Yesterday, there was a march through West Hollywood to protest the California Supreme Court's decision to not overturn the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. While I completely understand the disappointment and believe that Prop 8 is wrong, I didn't agree with the protest at all.

First off, they were marching through West Hollywood. If there was ever an example of preaching to the choir, it's that. Some other protests made more sense, going to the Federal Building, but even then, I don't agree with the protests and, honestly, a part of me was glad that the court ruled as it did.

For Gay Marriages to truly stand in California, I think it has to come from the people. It has to be a ballot measure that is passed by the majority. The courts had already spoken in favor of equal rights but the people rose up and voted it into the constituion. If the court then shot it down again, the conservatives would have a new cause to fight for. They could rail against activist judges who were forcing a different set of values onto the majority.

Furthermore, I think the issue in California could also push the White House to move towards what really needs to happen; the end of D.O.M.A. and a Federal bill giving equal protection to all couples (personally, I'd give all couples civil unions and take the word marriage out of the law books). I'm also not sure if what will really work to help promote the equal rights of all couples is people yelling and blocking traffic. 

All in all, the equal protection issue is one that will be and needs to be address during the next election. I think time will change people's hearts and minds and there will be a new movement towards equal rights; a movement led by the people, not the courts.

Posted by SoulHonky at 12:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Martin Scorsese has always been one of leaders in restoring old films and he's now taken his love to the internet. He's teaming up with a site called The Auteurs and is offering classic films for just five dollars. The films will also be available in Criterion Collection DVD's. While I am not blown away by the prospect of watching an old restored foreign film on my computer (I've yet to really embrace the TV on Computer movement), the state of film preservation is a bit depressing. The Reuters article pointed out, "Scorsese said almost 90 percent of U.S. silent movies are gone, and originals of classic titles such as Orson Welles' "The Magnificent Ambersons" (1942) no longer exist." Scorsese adds, ""The more audiences see these films, the more they want to see other films like them, and then what happens is the audience changes which means the movies that are being made change. There is an audience for special movies, and good movies, for a different way of looking at the world -- and not just blockbusters."

While I agree with that sentiment, it does also bother me because I still believe that blockbuster films can be saved from the pure braindead lights on a big screen with loud noises and special FX current state that they've devolved into. I feel like most people have just given up on the action or suspense film. 

If anything, fans of classic films have their art house flicks and a rabid fan base that eats them up and defends them. But there's nobody really pushing for improved blockbuster films. Hopefully this summer might be able to shake Hollywood from their slumber. The costs of these films are skyrocketing and in some cases, like Terminator Salvation or Wolverine, they are requiring huge ad campaigns to help them barely break even at the domestic box office. The Studio tricks can get people to come to an opening weekend but it takes a quality film to have a strong second weekend.

Unfortunately, that lesson will probably be lost and execs will focus on family films which seem to be the safest bet. Of course, that will just mean that everyone starts releasing films for the whole fam, the market will get saturated, and then they'll face the same issue as actioners do now.

I applaud Scorsese for his work as a film historian but I also wish he'd also remind the studios about the quality mainstream films out there, from Key Largo to The Great Escape to The Silence of the Lambs. The irony of Termator Salvation was that it was about humans fighting machines but the film itself relied almost entirely on machines and had little humanity to it. And, unfortunately, that's becoming more and more the norm. Let's try to restore that in our films and work to make our present films as inspirations as these classics.

Posted by SoulHonky at 06:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If there's one A-list movie star who is completely unpredictable, it's Bruce Willis. He pops up in some completely random films and you never know if they are going to be great or dismal. "Perfect Stranger" with Halle Berry came out of nowhere and stunk while "16 Blocks" was entertainingly mediocre and "12 Monkeys" is a cult classic.

One thing is almost for certain though; it the movie doesn't have "Die Hard" in the name, it probably won't make any money. Looking at Willis's page on Box Office Mojo , it's surprising to see how many low box office returns he's had. Yes, he often takes some off-beat roles but even his more mainstream attempts like "Hostage" come up empty. On the other hand, he does seem to have a foreign box office draw which probably help keep him on the A-list. If you have Bruce Willis, you can sell overseas and that's often all it takes to get a script greenlit.

So what of his new movie "Surrogates"? The trailer makes it look like a low rent version of I, Robot or The 6th Day or Bladerunner and it's directed by the man who brought us T3 and U571 so my hopes aren't that high but it does look like it could be a hidden gem. It's written by the guys who wrote Terminator: Salvation, which would be a bad thing but I think that original script (which focused on the Marcus character rather than John Connor) might have been better than the silly film McG pumped out.

And if anyone was going to make Bruce Willis look like a sure thing, it's writers John Brancato and Michael Ferris. I'm not sure if people keep changing their scripts or what but anyone who can go from "The Net" (not good) to "The Game" (one of my faves) definitely piques my interest. It's also kind of odd that the much worse movie has become a TV pilot and spawned a sequel (The Net 2.0). Lately, they seem to just get story credits on lackluster films: Catwoman and T3.

It should be interesting to see how this movie turns out. The trailer makes it seem interesting enough but not so interesting that I'll actually go to see it in theaters.

What do you think?

Posted by SoulHonky at 11:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Camera Obscura is one of those bands that I like but never really feel the need to listen to. I have a couple of their albums but the only time I listen to them is when they come up when my ITunes is on shuffle mode. I might hear a song and then want to listen to a couple more but usually I'm more than ready to move on after a few tracks.

Now this isn't really a diss to the band but just the best way I can describe their hold on me. My favorite song by them, which is a bit more driving than their usual tunes, is "Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken".

I haven't listen to most of the new album but it seems like more of the same. Still, that's not necessarily a bad thing; just not something that I usually find myself wanting to put on my IPod.

Posted by SoulHonky at 11:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Terminator Salvation is just plain bad. Some of the FX are cool and the cinematography is good but the movie doesn't make one iota of sense, the dialogue is terrible, the action scenes are laughable at times, and the whole thing takes itself WAY too seriously. There were some moments from the old movies but it wasn't an homage or a nod, it was an awkward and obvious "Hey remember this!".

I'd say the movie had plot holes but I'm not sure it really had a plot. The ending drags and just gets more and more ridiculous as it goes on. There's a key moment in the climax that reminded me of a joke from Pineapple Express. It's awful. I really don't know what else to say. It's not even paced well enough to be so bad it's funny.

This is just a bad movie. Unless you think things blowing up is cool or get off by watching people fire shotguns at robots, I recommend that you save yourself the time and money.

Posted by SoulHonky at 01:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Early reaction to the NBA lottery over at Can Danny?.

Posted by SoulHonky at 07:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nothing shows just how bad films have gotten like Cinematical's feature "Our Favorite Summers". They go through some of the best summers of the recent past and it's stunning to see how many classic films came out during one year. Today, we'll be lucky to have one classic and two or three very good films come out in a summer. In 1984, Gremlins and Ghostbusters came out on the same weekend!

Their latest summer is 1980, a year that saw a celluloid heatwave of: Friday the 13th, Fame, The Empire Strikes Back and The Shining (on the same weekend), The Blues Brothers, Airplane!, Dressed to Kill, and Caddyshack. I almost feel bad for the kids nowadays. Most films today struggle to even meet the level of '84's "My Bodyguard".

Posted by SoulHonky at 12:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The stock market hasn't been good for the ol' SoulHonky. I stupidly listened to Jim Cramer when I tried my first venture into stocks and it was a disaster. Cramer and some other stock "experts" had me choosing stocks that quickly lost 90% of their value. One stock delisted completely. I still have them in my Sharebuilder account because it would cost more to sell them than they are worth.

My second venture went a little better. I bought it after the stock market collapse, during the first jump up last year. Most of my stocks failed but IMAX showed some profit. The mini-controversy about a growing number of IMAX screens turning out to not actually be IMAX-sized screens got me worried so I put a stop loss order on the stock. I'll probably regret selling it but I'm going to bank on a couple of comebacks now with the money I have remaining (all in all, my second stock venture cost me 110 bucks with Southwest Airlines and Luby's Restaurant losing money. Yamana Gold is about even and I held onto that stock. I only own 44 dollars worth and a sale costs 10 bucks so it doesn't make sense to sell now.

Which reminds me, if you're buying stocks online, make sure you're investing enough money to make it worthwhile. Twice now I've spread myself too thin by buying a bunch of stocks and then, when all is said and done, wasting almost a fifth of my money on fees.

Speaking of wasting money, my latest two picks are risky ones but I'm thinking that there's nowhere to go but up. I invested in Ford Motors and Bank of America. Ford looks like it is going to be one of the only American auto companies left standing so they could be bouncing back. Bank of America is showing some signs of life and I could see them coming out of this financial debacle doing alright. Also, the stocks are at 5.50 for Ford and just a little over 11 bucks for Bank of America so you'd think they'd have to show some signs of improvement. A year ago, Ford was at 8 bucks and B of A was at 40.

I think every Monday I might try to give a little update on the stocks and eventually I might put a little bit more money into the market. As of now, I'm going to sit back and watch my latest picks to see how they do. Things aren't going well. IMAX is up 50 cents since I sold it. I might have to put in an order to buy some of it tonight.

Posted by SoulHonky at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today is quite the day for music fans of all shapes and sizes. The most notable release is Eminem's "Relapse" but I haven't liked the new songs I've heard and am more interested in the latest release from Red and Meth.

If you want a little more estrogen in your music, try out Tori Amos's latest. Lord knows what the hipsters might be listening to but if they aren't emoting with Amos, then they might be listening to the latest EP from Of Montreal.

For fans of poppier music, Coldplay soundalike Mat Kearney might be more up your alley. And if you are a fan of 80'sish music, perhaps you should give a listen to Passion Pit.  And those are just the bigger names out there. There's a lot of other music dropping this week so it's probably a great week for retailers.

The one album that I bought was actually a new compilation of old tracks from Iron & Wine but instead of making that the tryout, I decided to go with the last album, The Shepherd's Dog. While I'm a fan of the mellow Iron & Wine sound, I really love what was done with the latest album and how the sound was expanded. One of my favorite albums of 2008.

Here's a video from the album.

On a side note, I never know how to refer to Iron & Wine because technically it's just one guy (Samuel Bean) but it's not like he does it all alone. It's also refer to Iron & Wine as "he" or "him". These are the things that go through my mind at midnight.

Posted by SoulHonky at 12:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The trailer for Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes" has arrived and I have to say that it iooks pretty much like I expected although there was a little more action. The bare-knuckle boxing element reminded me (and I'm assuming everyone) of "Snatch". It was nice to see Mark Strong (Rock'n'Rolla, Body of Lies) getting a billing. Perhaps he could save himself from being the "That Guy" of the 2010's.

I usually like Guy Ritchie films so the fact that he is being who he is is a good thing to me. His two attempts to break from the mold (Swept Away, Revolver) were horrific. Well, I should only call Revolver horrific since I didn't see the Madonna movie but I haven't heard anything good about it. Jude Law gets a lot of crap (which he kind of deserves for picking so many bad movies) but he and Downey Jr. could be an amazing pairing. Two talented actors with great comic timing.

The trailer didn't get me any more interested in this film than I already was but, on the bright side, it didn't have a GI Joe/Wolverine effect and make me less likely to see the film in theaters.

Posted by SoulHonky at 07:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A knee jerk reaction to the Celtics' loss over at Can Danny?.

And another Nike commercial that makes me laugh.

Posted by SoulHonky at 07:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WolframAlpha is online and it's fairly interesting. It's a bit like Google meets Wikipedia but right now I'm not really sure how useful it is besides finding out random facts like that Kevin is the 39th most popular first name or that I was born under a waning crescent moon. It is still lacking some information (had no idea what to do with "Boston Celtics") so right now I'd say that it's leaning more towards time waster than revolutionary site.

The one thing it really does have over google is that it just gives information instead of links so it's easier to find basic information on things. I wonder what there goal is because it either could be the beginning of something that could put sites like IMDB in danger of becoming obsolete or it could fail to ever gain the level of specific information that those specific sites are able to deliver.

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was a big fan of Rian Johnson's "Brick" and I loved the first few minutes that was posted online (and embedded on SoulHonky not so long ago) so Brothers Bloom was one of my most highly anticipated films of the year. And while the film was fun and clever, I definitely can see where people had a problem with it.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie but it's probably only a solid B. It's like Wes Anderson-lite meets David Mamet for kids. That sounds a lot worse than it's supposed to but I think it fits. The movie is clever, has some great dialogue, and some very funny moments. The star of the movie was Rinko Kikuchi (from Babel) who pretty much steals the film. Rachel Wiesz is great and this film really solidifies my belief that she is basically what everyone expected Winona Ryder to be before she flamed out.

If you feel like going to a movie, I don't think you can go wrong by opting for the Brothers Bloom but it really isn't the type of film that you need to seek out. It's a recommended rental.

For a more spoiler heavy reaction, keep reading

The key to any con (besides thinking that, you know, there's only one key to a con) is to know when to get out. This is the film's biggest issue. The pacing is great for most of the film but then it just never seems to end. Even worse, the twists that kept the film going weren't all that intriguing.

More problematic than that was the central relationship between the Brothers. I never really bought into the idea that Bloom couldn't let go so I really didn't understand why he just couldn't go after the girl. I never bought that he was completely incapable of being happy.  Because I never was along for  that ride, the ending seemed completely anti-climatic.

I really feel like the whole Diamond Dog element and Bloom's fatal flaw could have been nixed and the whole film would have been a tighter production if it only followed one single con. As much as I liked Rian Johnson's direction, this might have been a case in which another person at the helm might have been able to focus the story more and deliver a better final product. While the movie might not be "Brick" (even with the random Joe Gordon-Levitt cameo and an appearance by the femme fatale of Johnson's earlier film), it's not a bad second act. I'll definitely be interested in checking out Rian Johnson's next venture.

Posted by SoulHonky at 12:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I got a completely random text message from former colleague Patrick Fraser last night, wondering when I would be reviewing the new KFC chicken sandwich. Now, I'm trying to get back into shape (or at least, into a different shape than the one I've been in since the late 90's) so I've been avoiding fast food but I thought that this might be a good topic for the Weekend Small Talk. Most everyone has a weakness for fast food and has their faves, so why not discuss them? One item that won't be on my list (because I never tried it) but that a lot of people seem to love is McDonald's fries dipped into a chocolate shake.

I think I just gained a pound typing that sentence.

I'm a big fan of fast food chicken (or chicken flavored whatever I'm chewing on) so my list is pretty much dominated by the bird. What about yours?

I know Cali people will be stunned but my peculiar eating habits (meat and potatoes and Italian food... and that's pretty much it) mean that I don't really appreciate a place like In & Out so that won't be on the list. When I was young Sbarro's pizza would be on this list but I have learned that, for some reason, Sbarro's in Massachusetts is much better than anywhere else (the worst Sbarro's being in Syracuse, NY). No chain's food  fluctuates in terms in terms of quality than Sbarro's; you never know what you're going to get.

The winners of the "I thought this was a good idea" award are Carl's Jr and Panda Express. I always get tempted by them but the first bite of their food is almost invariably met with regret.

Now onto the list.

5. Teriyaki Chicken & Rice Bowl at Tokyo Grill. This one is pretty specific. I'm not sure where other Tokyo Grill's are or if there are any outside of the Fashion Square Mall in Sherman Oaks, CA but this is my go-to grub whenever I go there. The Fashion Square Mall is an interesting place. The food court is filled with teenie-boppers, soccer moms, and disgruntled reality TV story producers and editors. Porn used to rule the Valley but now reality TV production companies have taken over.

4. Arby's Large Roast Beef Sandwich. There don't seem to be many Arby's around but I'm a fan.

3. Burger King's Original Chicken Sandwich. Not to be confused with their other chicken sandwich, the Original is the long breaded one that is absolutely delicious when you line up a few onion rings on top of it.

2. Chicken McNuggets. Not sure which I like better, the honey sauce or the BBQ but these are great. The Burger King tenders might taste a bit better but there's something addictive about the McNuggets that put them over the top.

1.  Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich. There was a Wendy's down the street from a place I used to work at and I must have eaten these at least once a week. Ironically, if it wasn't for the exercise than I got walking back and forth to the Wendy's, I probably would have had a heart attack by now.

Oh, and I haven't had the KFC sandwich (and honestly can't remember the last time I went to KFC) so I can't give a review. Sorry Patrick.

Posted by SoulHonky at 09:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The New York Times is the most notable newspaper in America and they still haven't figured out how to make a good website. Their main homepage is still impossibly cluttered while their latest feature, the Times Wire, looks like a more boring version of the much-hated new layout of Gawker/Defamer. On the bright side, they do have a section where you can check which stories/subject you want, making the site like a Times version of Twitter, but then why not make that feature accessible on, you know, Twitter?

The site also makes a key mistake by putting the major ad (which, of course, is an Apple ad since they are taking over the internet with their giant ads) on the front page. Most people are probably going to be linking to stories through other sites so they really need to put big ads on their individual content pages. Which reminds me, I need to do that too.

The Times also doesn't seem to be making much effort to market their writers, which is the main thing that would draw people to the site. The web is about breaking news and personalities. The Times isn't doing a good job of looking like it has either. 

Posted by SoulHonky at 06:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While the gay marriage brings out the worst in the Far Right, it doesn't do the Extreme Left any favors either. I'm hoping the Carrie Prejean story goes away. Not only is it amazing to me that a beauty pageant contestant is getting such flack for answering a question the exact same way that Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates for both parties did (albeit in a much less eloquent manner) but, also, it's THE MISS USA PAGEANT! With everything going on across the globe, Miss California doesn't deserve this much press.

Of course, the press will point out the new allegations that have arisen but let's be honest, if she doesn't answer that question the way she did, nobody gives a damn. MSNBC certainly doesn't spend the whole day covering the story. One MSNBC anchor responded to the "news" of Prejean keeping her crown with, "Can I vomit right now?" as if taking up time in a serious news program to discuss the fate of Miss California isn't already intellectual upchuck.

Even worse, Keith Olbermann deemed the story the #1 news story of the day. That's right, Miss California keeping her crown was somehow the biggest thing that happened in the news today. Granted, this is Olbermann who believes that Fox News and its personalities are routinely the biggest news stories of the day, so I guess I shouldn't have expected much better from him.

I tried to watch Olbermann's standard holier-than-thou rant but I couldn't get through it. Not only is he agonizingly pompous but after two minutes of listening to him I couldn't help but think, "Wait, who cares about Miss California keeping her crown?"

MSNBC should be embarrassed by the way they've handled this non-story. They covered it with such vigor and venom simply because this model didn't agree with their beliefs. I really don't know how Olbermann and the others can really preach open-mindedness when they respond to dissent in this manner.

Posted by SoulHonky at 07:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Phoenix is a band that a lot of people seem to want to see succeed but they just haven't crossed over. And while I kind of like them, the first couple of singles aren't the kind of songs that are going to help them get over the hump. I'm not sure what's wrong with them but the singles, like most Phoenix songs, just seem to be missing something. They are technically sound but don't seem to have much life in them. I first noticed them after hearing Long Distance Call but all of their songs seem to play it just too safe to make a real impression.

It should be interesting to see if this album makes much noise. I'm not sure if has what it takes.

Posted by SoulHonky at 07:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Seeing that they are losing on the Gay Marriage front, some conservatives are now trying a new tactic. Or rather, they are moving one of their side arguments against gay marriage to the forefront. Reports are now surfacing about "triad marriage" aka polygamy and the going sentiment in these stories is that if homosexuals are allowed to marry then what is next? Why not allow polygamists to marry as well?

This is a classic diversionary tactic; when you can't win your argument, make up some sort of hypothetical strawman. It's somewhat similar to the approach the right is taking on torture. Most people think waterboarding crosses the line so they are now moving from "Did we torture?" to "Was torture helpful in saving American lives?"

And like with the torture debate, the inclusion of "triad marriages" into the gay marriage debate is completely off-point. First off, polygamy requires a completely new set of laws. Whereas homosexuals are just looking for the same laws that straight people get, polygamy doesn't translate. The rules about tax breaks, divorce, child custody, etc. would have to be completely rewritten in order to work around the multiple spouses. Second of all, allowing polygamy could alter existing marriages. If gays are allowed to marry, straight marriages aren't affected. Adultery, for instance, is still adultery. With polygamy on the books, adultery could get erased; explained away as someone just looking for their new spouse. Bigamy becomes a gray area as well. All in all, it's just a completely different discussion and really has no bearing on the gay marriage issue.

And finally, if you allow gay marriage, it doesn't mean that you are opening the floodgates and have to allow everything. I have no problem with drawing the line somewhere; in this case I (and many people) just have a problem with where the line is drawn. 

Personally, I'm still for taking the word marriage out of the law books and giving straight and gay people civil unions but I have a feeling that that will never fly because it's too much of a compromise and the extreme elements that seem to be running the left and right won't go for it. 

Posted by SoulHonky at 07:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A few things.

Apologies to Internet Explorer users. For some reason SoulHonky doesn't seem to work right on that browser. The row that should appear on the right comes up on the bottom of the page, so you have to scroll down to see the song of the day and The Tryout. 

Another note to everyone to try and click on the google ad whenever you visit so the SoulHonky can make some scratch. After a banner month of April in which I brought in just under three dollars, I'm almost at 10 bucks!

I thought I had something else to note but I can't remember it so I'll just post this video with LeBron James and Kobe Bryant puppets that made me laugh.

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While "Watchmen" was a movie that I really liked but wouldn't recommend to others; "Star Trek" is a film that I didn't really care for but wouldn't tell people to avoid. It seems a lot of people like the film but I thought it was lacking in pretty much every department and also had more holes in it than I could overlook. Even worse, there was nothing in it that I really latched on to. I can't say that the issues with the film took me out of it because I was never invested. There just isn't enough going on to make you overlook the flaws; a fact that becomes all the more obvious when you put a second's thought into what happened.

"Star Trek" is a witty, well-made brain dead action film without much action. The conflicts are all fairly childish and the plot is basically "Let's get everyone together... Oh, and there's a guy that nobody really knows about blowing up planets." The key to resolving almost any conflict is convenience. Nothing happens logically; things happen because they are needed to serve the end goal of getting everyone in their place.

The film also doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. Karl Urban's Dr. McCoy borders on parody while other moments make it seem like it wants to be an action film. In the end, it feels like a very well made 'tween movie. 

I was going to add a longer response to the film but, in the end, people who like it will just say "Oh, those things shouldn't have bothered you". But the convenience, cliches, and insane amount of lens flare were just too much for me to take. And with nothing else to keep my mind from focusing on these things, the film fell flat for me.

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Daily Beast has an interesting story about a new web browser that could become the standard, making google a thing of the past (or, at least, their web search engine). It's called WolframAlpha and while it's definitely not going to win points for a catchy title, it's supposedly a more highly tuned version of google. The Daily Beast story explains:

In essence, Wolfram Alpha is a frighteningly powerful calculator that is chock full of facts about the world. Type in a question in plain English: "What was the weather in Rancho Mirage when Gerald Ford died?" Wolfram Alpha instantly spits back the temperature, weather conditions, relative humidity, and wind speed, followed by a set of neatly formatted tables and charts.

In testing by The Daily Beast, Wolfram Alpha easily computed a variety of facts: Which European country has the most Internet users? How many people are alive today with the name "Nicholas"? What is the height of the Empire State Building divided by the length of the Triborough Bridge? How do oil exports in Iraq compare to those of Kuwait? What are the monthly payments on a 20-year, 5% fixed-rate mortgage with a loan of $200,000? What is the body mass index of a person who is six feet tall and weighs 200 pounds? What nutrients are in two Snickers bars?

Many of these questions can be answered using Google, but only by visiting several different Web sites, assessing the validity of sources, and making your own calculations. Wolfram Alpha simply gives you the answer.

Posted by SoulHonky at 06:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Most people probably have no idea what 60Frames was but it was a fairly well financed website that was trying to be deliver high quality webisodes, almost like an online network. That business model failed so they tried to start becoming more of an production company focusing on online material but they've now basically gone bankrupt and belly up.

The main problem with 60frames and with most sites like it is simply: there's no reason to go back everyday. Web shows aren't, and may never be, something that people will flock to every day of the week. In order for one of these sites to really make it big, they need to be more than just a webisode gallery; they need constant news. It would be easier for a site like The Daily Beast, Ain't It Cool News, or something like that to expand into webshows since they already have an audience that check the sites out on a regular basis. ESPN tried this with Mayne Street. although that brings up the second issue.

Most of these shows just aren't very good. Most of 60Frames' content was, albeit well produced, just plain bad. It really wasn't any better than the average user submitted Funny or Die video. This is just another reason you need another focal point for your site. If you have news, gossip, editorials that draw people in, you can get by if one or all of your shows are bad. Doubling down on your shows breaking out is just a bad way to go. Also, 60Frames launched with a bunch of shows rather than just starting out with one or two and trying to really promote those shows. (Also, while I know driving traffic to the site is most important, you still have to make your stuff embeddable. If other sites can't post your stuff, it's a missed opportunity. It gets more views for the advertising and it also helps promote the site.)

Online entertainment will eventually blossom but people need to really reevaluate their business models and be willing to invest, not just money, but a lot of time and elbow grease into developing a site with constant updates and its own personality. It will be interesting to see how long it will take for someone to really get a handle on this.

Posted by SoulHonky at 06:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Sports Guy's latest article bemoaning the supposed fall from grace of the Sox is more than a bit naive. He notes the rise in play of guys like Johnny Damon and Big Papi but was this really a revelation? Did he really just notice these improvements? Was it really just right now that he started to consider that something more than synergy and the power of the Red Sox Nation might have helped these guys improve? Also, did he not realize that the Red Sox had been losing for years with cheaters? It's not like the team just discovered performance enhancing drugs existed in the 2003 offseason.

While it did feel nice to hold our heads high and act like we did it the old fashioned way, I think most people, including myself, knew that there was more than a little self-delusion going on there. Did people really think the Sox or any team was/is void of any players on the juice? Hell, two of the most prominent and beloved Sox pre-2004 were Mo Vaughn and Nomar Garciaparra, both have been linked to performance enhancing drugs. The Sox are in the same boat as pretty much every recent World Series winning team. Yeah it sucks but I don't think it's nearly as damning as Spygate. Hell, even the Tuck Rule was more BS than this.

And if there was ever a case of someone not learning his lesson, Simmons' discussions begins and ends with the players from 2004 who are gone or, in Papi's case, on the decline. If we're going to look sideways at Big Papi then why aren't we also wondering about little Dustin? Mike Lowell went from throw-in to MVP; shouldn't we start to question that? This is life in The Steroids Era. It's how it's always been. Just until now, Red Sox fans have been able to lie to themselves because nobody close to the current team had been caught red handed like this. (Granted, some people could argue, as my friend Morgan did, that Manny failed the test because Joe Torre just taught him The Yankee Way).

Honestly, I'm just happy that the Sports Guy didn't cook up some crazy conspiracy theory to blame Theo for introducing steroid to the Sox.

Posted by SoulHonky at 03:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The internet is abuzz with Red Sox and Yankees fans discussing the Manny Ramirez incident. (Dodgers fans are holding off to avoid the traffic). It's disappointing to hear that another star baseball player was busted using roids. At this point, baseball players are the new boobs; if they look really impressive, everyone is immediately going to assume they've been "enhanced".

It sucks that Manny did this, who knows how long he's been doing it, and you have to wonder who else he's close with was doing it with him. Honestly, it won't affect my opinion all that much. Usually roids is just another reason to hate someone I already despise like A-Rod and Clemens (although thankfully, A-Rod gives us a ton of things to mock him for so losing "A-Roid" won't make him an less of a target or even a bit harder to mock). I still love the Nomaaaah year in Beantown even though I think it's pretty obvious that he was juicing. I wish people wouldn't use these drugs but I have to imagine that Jose Canseco was right and that most a majority of stars are on something. It's a shame.

And whenever I hear a roids story I can't help but think of this classic SNL sketch.

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks to Todd for sending me this link which is sure to be used when killing time at work some time soon. The site is called Texts from Last Night and it features drunken or unfortunate texts from all over. Part of me thinks a lot of these may be fake but it's still a fun read. Some examples are: "My room smells like vodka and shame", "Well i threw up in my mouth a few times. But i successfully swallowed it. Still going strong.", "Text. Mid BJ. 8 points.", and "I just pynch a tree in the face".

Good times.

Posted by SoulHonky at 07:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

/Film posted up Charlie Rose's interview with the Star Trek director. Personally, I'm just not sold on JJ Abrams or his partners Orci & Kurtzman. While the first season of "Lost" was amazing, I hated where they went with it and was gone by the third season. "Fringe" is to "X-Files" what "Castle" is to "Murder, She Wrote" - watchable but very very missable. "Fringe" also has a lot of nonsense in it and is already repeating storylines in its very first season. I've tried to commit to it twice now but it just doesn't have it. I was not a fan of Mission: Impossible III and never really got into any of is other stuff (and I'm going to let him off of the hook for "Cloverfield" since he just produced it).

I'm definitely going to see Star Trek but the reviews do note that the film's plot is problematic which scares me. Maybe the FX and characters are strong enough to gloss it over but Abrams' films and shows almost always use plot as a tease more than a foundation and there is often holes in it that really bother me. Nothing is worse than "Fringe" in which crazy shit is happening in Boston all the time and many times Anna Torv's main character is a target yet she still gladly lets her sister and niece move in like nothing's wrong. I also could never get over the fact that the biggest heist in MI3 was basically glossed over. We spend 10 minutes listening to how difficult it's going to be to break in and then it basically cuts to Tom Cruise escaping.

Then again, I've never been a huge fan of Star Trek so it should be too hard for this film to top the past flicks.

Posted by SoulHonky at 06:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I don't really know much about Fightstar but they've had the top indie album in the UK for the last couple of weeks according to the BBC's Radio 1 website so I thought that earned them a spot in The Tryout. I don't know much about them but after listening to the first few songs, they seem like the British Nickelback. So what do you think?

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A fourth of the year is in the books so what have the best moments in entertainment been for you? Personally, I think this has been a rather blah year so far with no films really standing out all that much, the new TV shows mostly stunk, and I haven't really latched onto any new albums or artists.

What are the movies, music, TV, the web, or books that have captured your attention? To see the SoulHonky top ten, keep reading.

10. FakeRickReilly via Twitter: This parody twitterer (or whatever it's called) is a perfect send-up of sports writer Rick Reilly's silly puns and attempt to make sports matters seem heart wrenching. Entries ranges from: "The Cubs' Milton Bradley got tossed again yesterday. That guy loses his cool quicker than an unplugged Ted Williams!" to "44 years old and twice divorced, Lara Onucki had all but given up on love. Then she met Ozzie Canseco."

9. Castle (on ABC): The first two entries of this list pretty much show you how little I've liked (or actually seen/heard) this year. Castle is a fun show but it's hardly great TV. I would be neither stunned nor heartbroken if it was canceled but for now it's one of the few shows on TV that I actually watch. The show is carried by lead actor Nathan Fillion but I also still can't figure out how to classify Stana Katic: hot? pretty? ordinary?

8. The Daily Beast (website): It took me a while to come around on this site but since there seems to be a lack of quality, unbiased news outlets, this has moved to the head of the class. OK, not the head exactly since The Politico is still #1 but this is up there. It's been around for a year or so now but I really feel like the site is finding its footing and putting out some quality material every day.

7. The Return of Scrabulous (on Facebook): It's now called Lexulous but I'm very happy that the fake Scrabble ap is back. Scrabble's official game just isn't as fun to play for some reason. Lexulous is just simpler and the new extra tile makes for more bingos. And if you don't know what that last sentence met, then you haven't been playing enough Lexulous.

6. K'Naan: "Bang Bang": I'm so out of the pop culture that I have no idea whether this song was a big hit or not but it should have been. K'Naan's latest album is strong but this song with Adam Levine of Maroon 5 is infectious.

5. Taken: This film was little more than Liam Neeson chopping people in the throat but good lord that's fun to watch. It was a throwback to the unrepentant yet not campy action films of the 80's.

4. Watchmen: I can completely understand why people wouldn't like this film but I was probably the best audience for it: I hadn't read the comic but knew enough about it that I could follow it and I have always wanted to write something that kind of turned the superhero world on its ear. The film did a lousy job explaining the backstory and the tone was all over the place (the love scene with "Hallelujah" playing was funny but completely out of whack with the rest of the film). Jackie Earl Haley's Rorschach is likely to be one of my favorite characters of the year but the rest of the film just couldn't keep up with him. Still, I loved the film in spite of its flaws. I really hope that it's not close to the top ten at the end of the year but right now it's my favorite film of the year.

3. Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind: The Japanese post-rock band's latest album is amazing. Great ambient music and a sure fire top 5 album of the year.

2. 30 Rock: The best show on TV and still climbing the list of one of my all-time favorite shows. This season might not be on par with last year but it's still hilarious. The side jokes are not only hilarious but they also take a shot at recent events or complaints from fans. A couple of episodes after people whined that an episode featuring McFlurries seemed like product placement, the show featured a running joke of Liz Lemon wearing a snuggie-type blanked with arms and always reacting defensively, explaining why she was wearing it.

1. CK Louis on Conan: I'll probably be quoting this all year ("It's going to SPACE!"). The epitome of funny because it's true.

Posted by SoulHonky at 07:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)