2009 Year End Awards and Looking Ahead to 2010

Here it is, with no further ado, my picks for the Best of 2009 across pop culture, leaving sports out, I may do that in the future, though… maybe after the Super Bowl. No explanation of the following words needed, except that of course this list is simply my own opinion and also I have not seen, read, or heard everything, so my list is incomplete in that I may have missed some great stuff… but this is the best I can offer, jeez what do you people want from me? Enjoy… let the debates begin.

TOP TEN MOVIES OF 2009

I am not going to rank them, except to say that the top spot is “Up In The Air” and number two is “Up,” past that it was just a lot of extremely solid films here on this list. “Invictus” just missed a top ten spot, but was an excellent film. Also I have downloaded but not gotten to see yet “(500) Days of Summer” or “The Hurt Locker” or “The Blind Side” so obviously a few of those could have joined this list, but these are the ten films I enjoyed most in the past twelve months. Those that would disagree on “Watchmen,” know how huge a fan I am of the source material, which I thought was handled about as well as anyone could possibly expect by Snyder, who has put together three in a row that I thoroughly enjoyed, with the remake of “Dawn of the Dead” and the spectacular “300” before the March 2009 effort. Rumors have him directing the next Batman film if Nolan were to drop out… that would be okay with me, but Nolan is my all-time favorite director, so I’m hoping something works out. Okay enough jabber, here’s the list:

Star Trek (JJ Abrams)

Watchmen (Zach Snyder)

Up In The Air (Jason Reitman)

Up (John Lassiter)

Avatar (James Cameron)

Taken (Pierre Morel) / Zombieland (Ruben Fleischer) (Both were just wildly fun and enjoyable, “Taken” was one of the better action films in a long time and “Zombieland” was just a blast and was extremely well-done. (Yeah it’s two films, but they fit into the same strange but yes they were good motif)

Public Enemies (Michael Mann)

The Hangover (Todd Phillips)

District 9 (Neil Blompkamp)

Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)

TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2009

Just as in all categories… I have not heard everything this year, missing out on a lot of music most critics have in their own lists… and some of my choices are in virtually no one else’s list. But truthfully, my list can only be an accurate depiction if it reflects which albums I either listened to most, enjoyed the most, or still play in my car or while I’m surfing the net… and these ten fit that bill. I am an enormous Muse fan as you know, and while “The Resistance” upon further listens was not their best effort, it still contained several phenomenal tracks. Massive props to my former high school co-hort Jeremy Jones who enlightened me to discover Cage The Elephant, who’s self-titled debut was an incredibly easy and fun listen that always provides me with energy. It was good to discover these guys, because they are from my new home here in Bowling Green, Kentucky and tour here constantly. Word is they will be opening for Muse in Nashville on March 15, which I will be attending… hope that turns out to be true. If you have not heard any of the titles on this list, I urge you to do so… Grizzly Bear especially was extremely original in its own way, similar to how Vampire Weekend’s album was when it released, and I love both of those immensely. I like Mayer, and I loved the new album… could care less if anyone else agrees. Again in no order, honorable mention to Son Volt’s “American Central Dust” and Kid Cudi’s “Man On The Moon. “Groo Grux King” was also an improvement from recent DMB efforts.

Cage The Elephant

Muse – The Resistance

Pearl Jam – Back Spacer

John Mayer – Battle Studies

Raekwon – Cuban Linx II

Wilco – Wilco (The Album)

Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

Green Day – 21^st Century Breakdown

Avett Brothers – I And Love And You

TOP TELEVISION SHOWS OF 2009

This list was extremely difficult for me, because I have watched a ton of TV thanks to the DVR this year. “The Big Bang Theory” is by far the most consistently funny thirty minutes I have seen since Seinfeld. “The Office” at times borders on being unwatchably awkward and painful… I have discovered it is hard to watch people being so undeniably stupid that you can see their lives are going to be tough as a result. The same holds true of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” which to me sets the bar for awkward situations year in and year out. That said, this season was a joy, with the Seinfeld “finale” and some great storylines. Abrams is unbelievable, and while I’m still only in Season 1 of “Lost” as I catch up on Blu-Ray, I guarantee that Season 5 would have been in my Top Ten. “Fringe” turned out to be one of my favorites in rapid form and continues to impress. “True Blood” is perhaps the most entertaining hour of drama on all of television, along with the spectacular “Mad Men,” to which Matthew Weiner and company deserve immense credit. The final choice was between two shows that debuted last season, “Lie To Me” and “The Mentalist.” I give it to the former only because I have enjoyed the new season more than that of the latter, but Tim Roth and Simon Baker are both spectacular in their roles with very capable casts around them. “24,” which for five seasons was one of my top five shows of all time, had another good year but falls just outside, because the constant switching of Almeida’s character became tenuous at best. I expect Season 7 to be a good one though. If anyone has not seen “Damages,” you are flat out missing out… unbelievable cast and a storyline that continually twists and turns while never being completely past reality. It is about to enter it’s third season, so it would be an easy one to download and catch up on… well worth it. “30 Rock” is “30 Rock”… it’s hilarious virtually every week, I continue to be in love with Tina Fey, and even though it borders on leftist propaganda at times, I can look past it and just watch it as a new generation sitcom and enjoy it for that alone.

The Big Bang Theory

Fringe

True Blood

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Damages

Lost

The Office

30 Rock

Mad Men

Lie To Me

TOP FIVE READS OF 2009
This list really is not fair, because as much as I read this year, much of it were things I always wanted to catch up on… tons of non-fiction and the Harry Potter series. Rowling’s seven books were by far the best literary experience I have ever had. I simply adore those books and will reread them many times during my life… I read O’Reilly, Bozell, Morris, Malkin, Beck, among others in non-fiction and a smattering of biographies, one of which makes my top five for the year. I still have not gotten to read “Under the Dome” or Albom’s book or Lizzy Caplan’s book among thousands of others… so this list is the top five that I was able to read that actually came out in 2009. Despite a lot of critics, including EW hating on “The Lost Symbol,” I thoroughly enjoyed it and eat up that kind of way over the top conspiracy fiction so they can go jump off a cliff for all I care. The best book of 2009 … was Agassi’s autobiography. It is just a spellbinding achievement in terms of how it is written, what is said, and how candid it is… I could not believe it. As a lifelong tennis fan and competitor, it exceeded my expectations in every conceivable way. Check my blog on Klosterman’s book… indescribable, and Simmons is hilarious while still being insightful and TBOB delivers on all fronts.

“Open” – Andre Agassi

“Eating The Dinosaur” – Chuck Klosterman

“Pursuit Of Honor” – Vince Flynn

“The Lost Symbol” – Dan Brown

“The Book Of Basketball” – Bill Simmons

SONGS THAT PUMPED ME UP (Made Me Want To Fight Or Cliff Dive) OF 2009

“Uprising” – Muse (Anthem used by every imaginable sports telecast during energy highlight sequences, also the commercial spots for “V,” which was a great remake that had nowhere near enough episodes to have made it in my top ten)

“In One Ear” – Cage The Elephant (Listen to it and tell me you don’t envision punching someone in the face for disrespecting you)

“Empire State Of Mind” – Jay Z & Alicia Keys (makes me feel like I’m walking the aisle for a prizefight, or walking to the plate wearing #2 for the Yankees)

“21^st Century Breakdown” – Green Day (Always makes me want to drive faster, or run a stop sign.)

“This Is Our Moment” – Kenny Chesney (Apparently all teams playing football on ABC really played hard during video montages to this song, which made a little more sense than the DMB tracks that never fit at all. It also made me want to play football, since it was exclusive to ABC/ESPN college football so I was always in a pigskin mood)

TWO BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS AT THE THEATER FOR 2009

“Extract” – You’d be hard pressed to find a bigger “Office Space” fanatic and while I think Jason Bateman continues to rise, this film sucked and just went virtually nowhere.

“The Informant” – Give it all the critical love you want, this movie just was not interesting until the very bitter end when all was revealed. It was not a comedy and it was not a drama, it was just boring.

TOP TEN MOVIES OF 2010 (That I’m Anticipating, Frothing At The Mouth Over, and Want To See)

Iron Man 2 (Top Grossing of the Year? Or Will It Be HP, Favreau has done Marvel proud, and the trailer is insane)

Toy Story 3 (Probably the most enjoyable from start to finish picture of the year)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (P1) (Glad they split it up, even if it is a cash grab… it also means they don’t have to cut it to pieces)

Inception (CANNOT WAIT) (Very well could be the movie of the year and potentially gets Nolan his first true Oscar love, the cast is just unreal)

Kick-Ass (Read the TPB by Mark Millar and John Romita)

Arrested Development (One of the best shows of the last fifteen years gets a few more hours)

The Rum Diary (Spiritual successor to “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” with Depp, Ribisi, and others)

Robin Hood (Ridley Scott plus Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett – should be strong)

Alice In Wonderland (Depp as the Mad Hatter is enough for me)

Shutter Island (Scorsese and DiCaprio always make magic together)

(A few more you ask? Okay, “The Book Of Eli” looks interesting and Denzel and Gary should make it special, “A Couple Of Dicks” looks to have a lot going for it, probably tons more)

STICKING WITH MY GUNS FOR THE SUPER BOWL

Preseason I picked Chargers vs. Eagles for the Super Bowl… with San Diego finally making it happen, and I’m sticking with it, despite feeling that the NFC really could go to anybody.

So that’s 2009… here’s hoping 2010 kicks off the new decade in style and produces some great pop culture while it’s at it. Take care of yourselves folks… enjoy the New Year. Talk to you guys soon.

Aesthetically Eating the Dinosaur

Without spoiling much or rattling off a long blog, I just wanted to mention a bit about the book I just finished, Chuck Klosterman’s “Eating the Dinosaur.”  I became familiar with Klosterman recently thanks to Bill Simmons and Jim Rome, but while sports certainly are important to Chuck, this book encompasses a little bit of everything.  I found his thoughts fascinating, even those I did not agree with, and I am thrilled that I on a whim had bought two of his previous books this past weekend as the local Waldenbooks in our mall is closing due to economic issues.  They were on a 40% sale and I was curious about Chuck’s work and wanted to see whether it was for me, so I picked them both up for a combined sixteen bucks.  As I said, I am not going to go into any detail on the book… I am simply going to mention each essay (Chapter) and explain the premise as concisely as possible.  It is without question the most eclectic book I have read perhaps ever… but it was also one of the most enjoyable reads I can remember, right there with my affinity for JK Rowling’s work as well as Andre Agassi’s stunningly candid perfect autobiography.  So here goes – Eating the Dinosaur, just read what this guy tackles in just over 200 pages.

- Similarities, differences, and motivations of two men, Kurt Cobain directly prior to “In Utero” juxtaposed with related thoughts on David Koresh and the Waco siege – seen at the same exact time in history.

- The questions behind the possibility of traveling through time and the inherent issues with why anyone would want to do such a thing – utilizing HG Wells as well as “Back To The Future” and Shane Carruth’s little known Indie picture, “Primer”

- Using former Virginia center Ralph Sampson as the subject of a discussion as to why people are obsessed and sometimes giddy over certain people’s failures and accepting and upset over others (Also mentioning Tony Mandarich and Benny Anders)

- Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” as a jumping-off point to examine the concept of (non-sexual) voyeurism and why the unknown is both addicting and captivating… and sad.

- Garth Brooks’ attempt to prove his own work’s worth by reinventing a character in Chris Gaines to try and achieve independent mainstream success.  Also utilizes Beyonce’s “Sasha Fierce” character to illustrate that it only showed how one dimensional and transparent she truly was… then tying this to certain people’s human nature.

- A look at football from the perspective that its wild and undying success is vested in the underlying truth that it is portrayed and advertised in an ultra-conservative manner while being the most liberal sport in the world, thereby allowing people to stick with their own conventions while continually adapting (Spread, Run and Shoot, Wildcat, vertical passing, etc).

- How ABBA is so far ahead of virtually every musical act in existence today, because in similar fashion to AC/DC, none of them cared about a world outside of themselves.  They did not strive for convention or for normalcy, they simply did what they wanted, how they wanted, and as a result became eternally relevant and also eternally non-relevant, depending on the audience.   Critiques, love, hatred – none of it mattered.

- The “stupid idea that towers above all others” – laugh tracks.  An essay on how the concept revolves around the idea that people have zero confidence in knowing what is supposed to be funny or that they are on the high end of knowledge of artistic intent.  Chuck draws on Seinfeld, Home Improvement, Friends, How I Met Your Mother and then speaks on 30 Rock, The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, to attempt to explain his hatred of canned laughter and what it says about the world.

- Pepsi marketing campaign trying to mimic Barack Obama’s mantra of optimism and hope with false advertising, then using “Mad Men” to show how advertising has both changed and been exposed as an inherent sham – only to conclude that people could care less and that some actually like being part of a “target market.”

- Weezer, specifically Rivers Cuomo, and Werner Herzog are key persons used to describe the assault of continual irony and half-truth on a world that now does not understand or cannot comprehend 100% literal truth or honesty… such as Ralph Nader’s direct views and the aforementioned gentlemen.  The concept of Weezer fans inevitably hating every new album the band puts out, because they want to try and read things into literal lyrics – which are extremely rare and hard to understand without a knowledge of motivation.

- Carefully making comments to show that while Ted Kaczynski was a bad guy, his manifesto contained some truth and shocking forethought.  A discussion of the Unabomber’s hatred of technology echoed by Thom Yorke among others and their thoughts on “vague alienation” and comments on both the evils of television according to Jerry Mander as well as criticisms of the Internet, and Chuck’s realization of exactly who he is in such a debate.

If it sounds insane, yeah, pretty much.  But it’s thoughtful, strange, odd, and brilliant in its own way.  As I said, it is in a category all by itself.  These descriptions barely touch the essays, but again, if you want to read it, which I think a lot of you should, I would rather you read it yourselves and experience it in your own way.  I am excited to read the other two that I bought.  Definitely the most surprising read of 2009 for me, but a great way to end my literary year.  Interesting does not even cover “Eating the Dinosaur.”

The Stripe, The Head Of The Class, Timothy, And The 40 Year Old MVP

Boy oh boy, thank GOODNESS Eldrich did not invest in a classic Ivory Ford Bronco as his SUV of choice and instead chose the far superior Cadillac Escalade.  Perhaps the most ridiculous story in quite some time (at least this side of the Gosselins and the Balloon Boy) has come out of Windermere, Florida in the early morning hours of Black Friday.  By the way, did you know that the name of the shopping holiday is actually racist?  Me either, but more on that later.  Tiger Woods (AKA “The Stripe” AKA Dr. Noolian Van Faulk – Simpsons reference, you either know it or you don’t) hit a fire hydrant and then his neighbor’s tree less than one hundred feet from his own driveway at 2:30 AM on Friday morning.  That’s pretty much all we know for certain, except that wife Elin WOODS (Not Nordegren, as so many continue to use) allegedly ran out of the house after hearing the crash, used one of Tiger’s irons on the back glass of the SUV, and helped pull out the unconscious global superstar, then was frantic as Tiger was on the ground slipping in and out of consciousness with some fairly nasty facial lacerations.  The story is what it is, but it has nothing to do with why I wanted to comment on it.  Those of you who have known me at any point since the beginning of my senior year of high school know that I have always been an enormous Tiger Woods fan, to the point I have a statue of the golfer on the very desk I am using to blog for all you people right now.

It has gotten flat out absurd just how many people have weighed in with their take on what Tiger Woods should do, how he should do it, when he should do it, what he should wear while he does it, and even whether he should stand on one foot with one hand on the tip of his nose and whistle after every complete statement.  Mike Lupica, one of the “I’m basically a deity” sportswriters who churns out continuous sports fiction books and is probably the most well-known New York sports reporters of the past fifty years, at least to George Costanza he was, went on a massive tirade on ESPN’s “Sports Reporters” Sunday morning show and then in his column yesterday.  He wants Tiger front and center to “answer” to the public what he was doing driving at 2:30 in the morning, what happened beforehand, what happened afterwards, and why he has not spoken in detail with the police.  He is incensed that Woods has stayed quiet and elected to beg through his carefully worded website statement at TigerWoods.com that the matter remain private and that all the wild speculation be treated as a total fabrication.  He is not the only one, however, with most sports writers with prominent TV opinion roles (most on the dreaded “4-Letter” (the one that ends in PN, not CK) saying that Woods must come out and speak to the media and to his public.  Although I do not always agree with Mike Francesa of WFAN in New York, I absolutely one-hundred percent agree with him on Tiger Woods.  What business is it of anyone’s to find out the details of this situation?  Tiger Woods complied fully with Florida law, providing his driver’s license, valid registration and insurance information.  No one filed any sort of complaint, not Tiger, not the neighbor, and not Elin.  The only complaint has come with the woman who allegedly spent time with Woods in Australia, who claims the entire thing is untrue and has not accepted any money to speak to the contrary.  The two reporters who published the initial report of a potential affair have now admitted they were both compensated twenty-five thousand dollars each for their stories.  Today, Harvey Levin and TMZ found yet another woman, who claims she has had a thirty-one month affair with Woods and has over three hundred saved text messages to prove it.  She plans to speak with US weekly.  How ironic, how coincidental that her story pops up now, and the biggest truth… how LIKELY is it that she was paid a ridiculous sum of money for the story.  Woods owes no one anything, except the police if they do in fact uncover any information from medical records if they obtain a search warrant for that information.  No one cares whether Woods had an accident.  It was stated immediately that he was not under the influence, despite seedy websites linking Tiger to painkillers – but no proof whatsoever that he ever ingested one even from those making the claims.  He also had a pretty serious injury and surgery he was recovering from so prescribed pain medication would not have been out of the realm of possibility.

What those that hinge on every twist and turn is this story want is very simple.  They just want to know whether Tiger Woods had an extramarital affair or, as Francesa put it on his show yesterday, “Whether his wife whacked him in the head with a seven iron.”  Tiger has lawyered up and is taking the advice of his counsel… which I would do a million times before I listened to PR guys and gals and sports reporters and media types who want the story to continue to fester.  It might be the biggest non-story in several years but is being given more press and more ink than our decision to send more troops to Afghanistan and the immediate issues with Iran and “Ak ma Nut Job,” as Bernard Goldberg termed him.  Here is the thing, Tiger committed no crime.  He had a minor traffic accident, involving no other individuals, will pay restitution for the hydrant and for his neighbor’s tree, and that’s probably the end of it.  If he spoke, it would only be to throw his beautiful wife of eight years under the bus.  What possible good could come of that?  Tiger, if he had an affair, without question has come clean with Elin and the two have begun working through it.  If he did not, Elin may have flipped over the story from the Enquirer and snapped after a couple of glasses of wine with her family on Thanksgiving night.  Those that want to know why Tiger keeps canceling meetings with the police need to remember that it is a voluntary choice, he is not obligated to speak to them.  The officers that came to his house admitted later that they were in violation of Florida law, that they had no right to have gone on his property attempting to gain a statement.  Basically, there is virtually nothing to gain for Tiger to come out and speak.  What’s even worse is the people comparing this to Steve McNair and OJ Simpson… hence my opening line.  If anything you could maybe draw a parallel to the Black Mamba’s time in Colorado, but even that was a potential CRIME and his statement was much more necessary than anything Woods would have to say.  The tabloid story, which is all it is, most likely never sees the light of day in terms of anyone being “outed.”  Tiger simply wants to protect his wife and his family and attempt to put things behind them.  Whatever happened that night is NONE OF OUR BUSINESS.  If it was, we would know plenty more about it.

Sports Illustrated named it’s 2009 Sportsman Of The Year yesterday – New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter became (and this truly is a shock) the first Yankee player to ever win the award.  I listened to a few people rant today about how upset they were that it was not, in no particular order, Manny Pacquiao, Usain Bolt, Tim Tebow, Brett Favre, etc, etc.  I am surprised I did not hear “Rachel Alexandra” or “Zenyatta” mentioned.  People need to check themselves.  There may be no one of the past decade that has won that award, perhaps short of Lance Armstrong, though we do not know for sure that certain controversies surrounding the cyclist had no validity, that embodies the “Sportsman” title better than Jeter.  He has been a monstrously positive force in both sports and in New York in general, has a spotless record, has been the face of the biggest franchise in American sports for over fifteen years, broke two huge records this season, and was one of the catalysts that vaulted the Yankees to their first World Series Championship since 2000.  What more do you want from Jeter to declare he deserves the honor?  If you want to throw in charity work, ask away, as Jeter has plenty of legs in that arena as well.  For my money, Derek Jeter may well be the sportsman of the DECADE, not just the year.  The one guy who has never even had a negative word said about him from the media, the one guy who has not been linked in any way at any level to PED’s, and the one guy who has stayed with the Yankees from the beginning and has behind the scenes a lifetime contract that states he will never leave the team under any circumstances and will never be asked to step aside.  You’re telling me that guy doesn’t deserve this award?  Are you insane?  I would like to congratulate the most famous #2 in sports history, perhaps the classiest sports figure of my lifetime (along with David Robinson), apologies to #2 Brian Leetch among others, for a well-deserved and probably long overdue honor.  Jeter is everything that is right in the sports world.

With Charlie Weis now out at Notre Dame, the “TD Jesus” moniker really has to shift to only one place – that’s right, Gainesville, Florida.  Timothy Tebow played his final home game this past Saturday, scoring three touchdowns through the air and two on the ground in a 37-10 romp over Florida State, who just waved goodbye to Bobby Bowden this afternoon, in what I think was an ugly and classless way to throw out a guy who wanted one more year before riding off in the sunset.  He “retired,” but what choice did he really have?  Tebow is still atop most Heisman ballots along with Texas QB Colt McCoy, with both having large opportunities on Saturday to secure the award.  Alabama stud sophomore RB Mark Ingram still has a good shot as well, but he needs over 150 and a couple of scores in the SEC Championship against the Gators after being locked down at Auburn in the Iron Bowl.  It is a disgrace that TCU probably gets no shot at the National Championship, despite defeating Clemson on the road, Virginia on the road, destroying another ranked opponent in Utah, and potentially having a top three defense in all of college football.  Cincinnati, provided they get past Pittsburgh this weekend (which is not a gimme by any means), will get another BCS berth but will not play for the Championship.  Boise State will slide into a BCS bowl thanks to Oklahoma’s drumming of “I’m a man, I’m forty” in Norman on Saturday.  It’s ridiculous that 1-AA has an excellent football playoff and the BCS still reigns supreme simply because of guaranteed money.  The purists who claim the BCS always gets it right, that the point of the entire system is to ensure #1 plays #2 is patently maddening.  We will get another flawed set of bowls this year, with potentially FIVE undefeated teams once Florida or Alabama knocks the other off in Atlanta.  How pathetic.  Also, just in case anyone wants my take on the Heisman, it would not go to McCoy or to Tebow… or to Ingram, despite my affinity for Bama whenever NC State is not involved.  My Heisman vote would go to Stanford RB Toby Gerhart, who has been the most consistently special player in college football this season.  Without reciting all the stats, which everybody could look up, Gerhart has performed best in the biggest games, torching USC, Oregon, and Notre Dame in the latter half of the season.  Though some fans love Suh of Nebraska, he has zero shot at the Heisman, but probably will be an amazing NFL player.  If it were me, I’d probably hire Brian Kelly in South Bend, but I do have to question one thing… the problem with Weis was that he was an offensive coordinator who did not care a bit about the other side of the ball.  If you need any proof of it, take a look at Notre Dame’s defensive numbers for the past few years.  Clausen and Golden Tate have been spectacular (Tate, by the way, looks exactly like a young Steve Smith with a better college receiving pedigree) and should be great pros.  Malcolm Floyd should be solid as well.  Notre Dame could put up forty every week and still only win six or seven games because their defense looked like it was plucked from a 2A high school program on Friday night and put on the field on Saturday.  Truth be told, Notre Dame had the top defensive player in the country sign last year, but he did not perform.  Why?  Probably because his head coach could not have cared less about defense.  Weis will go back to being a great coordinator and a clever guy (or a thief) for suckering Notre Dame into eighteen million dollars.

As the NFL nears the stretch run, the MVP chatter centers around four guys, with a fifth gaining notoriety in some circles.  Manning, Brees, Favre, Johnson, and Allen.  There’s the list.  The Tennessee back has had an astounding season and may hit the 2000 yard mark and probably will finish fourth in the voting.  Peyton has never played better, even despite his two picks in each of the last three games.  Brees jumped right back into the mix with his masterful performance in the Bayou against New England last night.  Jared Allen is an absolute terror on the outside and deserves a ton of credit along with Elvis Dumervil for Defensive Player of the Year… one of them should win that honor.  To me, though, there is no doubt that the MVP is Brett Favre’s to lose right now.  Twenty-four touchdowns and three interceptions for a gunslinger who often threw more picks than scores in his best years proves it.  His age is just the icing on the cake.  Sure he is in a great system that he knows, with a running-back prodigy like he has never had before, with athletic receivers and two great lines, but it is undeniable.  I love Sidney Rice, enjoyed watching him in college and knew he had a real shot at the pros, but he has become along with DeSean Jackson the number one big play wide out in the game.  Shiancoe has been a fixture in the endzone during red zone situations.  Bernard Berrian had been forgotten about but is slowly gaining more steam as he and Favre get more comfortable with each other.  Adrian Peterson has not had his best year and has continued his fumblitis, yet it has not mattered a bit.  Look at how well Percy Harvin has done in his rookie season… Favre is like a kid in a candy store, but he has proven this year to have a knack for positioning the candy in a better spot in the store to double how much of it he sold.  I was never a huge Brett Favre fan, I’m a Denver guy and everybody knows it.  However, in the NFC for my entire life the teams I always enjoyed watching win football games were the Vikings and the Saints.  I do not care at all for this version of the Saints (really not a good reason, just don’t like them)… but have found it easy to root for Minnesota all year.  As of today, they are the best team in the NFL in my opinion.  The Vikings are the most complete team from roster spot one to fifty-four in the league and have balance unlike any other.  My Super Bowl as of right now would pit Minnesota against San Diego… maybe Indy but the defense losing a couple of key guys scares me.  And despite the records and everything that has taken place, if Polamalu can come back and be healthy, I still think Pittsburgh can make it back to the Super Bowl again.  I believe in Mike Tomlin right now as much as anybody wearing a headset in the NFL.  The Pats will finish strong and will have a look at it, but their road woes in 2009 makes it impossible to pick them.  My Broncos should make the playoffs, maybe even win a game, but we are still a year or two away from being a real threat in the AFC.

Just to touch on college basketball for a minute… I have to say I am severely underwhelmed with what I have seen thus far.  The games, even though many have been close, have produced exceedingly lower quality basketball than what I have been used to in the past.  The Duke/UConn game on Black Friday for example, was not well-played by either side., but especially Connecticut, who were embarrassingly ugly at MSG.  Duke played decently but honestly should have beaten the Huskies by forty instead of around twenty.  No one seems to be able to take care of the ball or shoot with any consistency and all of the play has been sloppy.  I hope it changes, because I adore college hoops, but right now, give me the NBA, no question about it.  The Lakers, by the way, look to be worlds better than the rest of the league right now.  Boston still looks old, San Antonio is slow and old, and the other teams still look to be missing something.  The Hawks, the Nuggets, and the Thunder are all incredibly fun to watch and all are on the rise with great young stars.  Brandon Jennings, despite clearly being gassed playing so many games in succession, something he was completely not used to from European ball, has been extraordinarily entertaining.  The only thing I have seen thus far is he has a propensity to turn the ball over, but more of that is due to learning the guys in the league and playing against everybody to learn intracacies than it is any fundamental deficiency.

Since I have been sick, hopefully it is almost past… I have done a lot of reading.  I enjoyed Vince Flynn’s newest Mitch Rapp political thriller and of course loved Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol,” which I read at launch.  My requests at the library came through today so I am looking forward to reading Andre Agassi’s autobiography starting this evening.  Those that know me know my affinity with tennis and many of those at least on Facebook played with me in high school, either on the school team or through tournaments in North Carolina, stopping just short of the Tarheel Qualifier.  Most of those guys know I’ve always been a Pete guy who respected Agassi, but the controversy and hoopla surrounding Andre’s book should make it a great read.  His interviews were fantastic over the past few weeks.  I also have Sarah Palin’s book to read as well as “Game of Shadows,” which I have long wanted to endeavor into.  I picked up “Devil’s Knot,” something I have been eager to read for years, due to my fascination with the West Memphis Three.  Those who are wondering about my stance, although I have not ordered a shirt yet, without question, “Free the West Memphis Three.”  I keep putting off Bill Simmons’ “The Book of Basketball,” but have it on my shelf and look forward to reading it sometime during the Christmas holiday most likely… between bouts of watching “Avatar” and “Sherlock Holmes.”  Plenty more to come on movies, music, books, television, gaming, and more in my 2009 Year End wrap up and review blog (an annual tradition) where I will rank the top five in each category for this calendar year.

That’s about it for me for now I guess… I probably missed on something I wanted to talk about… OH WAIT, I remember now.  Black Friday, according to Joy Behar, who to me is about as intelligent or cutting-edge as cooking spray, is insensitive.  She made the claim on “The View” that she thought the name might be a racist phrase.  Whoopi Goldberg chimed in to state that the name actually refers to stores being “in the black” in terms of their sales numbers because of the huge amounts of money that come in on that day.  Behar did not back off and said that “Black” often connotes racism or intolerance in a lot of ways and was unfamiliar with the meaning of “Black Friday.”  Folks, CNN hired this woman and gave her a primetime news and pop culture opinion show.  And many ill-informed think badly of Fox News?  Give me a break.

JMart Returns From The Dead

Welcome back to me… for me… and by me.  You’ve all waited for it (see above graphic for the truth serum) and here it is folks!  I’m still a little under the weather but starting to get my feet under me again and felt like coming back for what should hopefully be a bi-weekly trip to the blogosphere right smack dab here at my home at WordPress.  Those who haven’t visited before, thanks for checking it out, most likely I know some of you so I would definitely appreciate any of your own thoughts on my musings… but keep it PITHY people!  Do not be a mooncalf.  Some of you got that, I am certain.  Anyway, just as an FYI, this edition of the Musings will be all over the map but will more than likely focus mainly on the sports world, as it often does.

I said before I became ill that my NBA predictions would be a large part of my next update, and to prove I was not extending the truth in a manner Dupont would be proud of, here are my thoughts on the season so far and likely happenings for the Playoff run.  In the first few weeks, the teams expected to contend down the stretch are starting out pretty strong.  The defending Champions look amazing this season, which is magnified by the fact that they are without their “Number Two Option,” Pau Gasol, who is still recovering from both injury and tomorrow night’s performance on CSI: Miami with “Jade” himself.  Kobe remains the most polished overall player on the hardwood and his team is playing as if it’s still the Finals.  Keep in mind that Ron-Ron still has not completely found his niche offensively and Phillip is still toying with different lineups to flank the starters and you can tell that Randy Newman songs will continue to be heard for a long time in Los Angeles.  That said, perhaps the most impressive team in the West right now is the Denver Nuggets.  I absolutely love what these guys are doing.  Kenny Smith is right when he says that Carmelo Anthony is the best pure scorer in the NBA and he is playing like a man possessed right now.  Ty Lawson falling to the middle of the first round was ridiculous, and Denver now has the ultimate leader, Chauncey Billups, Mr. Big Shot… teaching him the ins and outs of the Association at the Point position.  With J.R. Smith now back off his suspension, there may not be a more dangerous offensive team in the NBA, but the lingering question remains whether the Nuggets can play enough quality defense to get it done when it counts.  The jury is still out, but these guys looked like they were a year away last season, and right now they look awfully good.  The Spurs look old… period.  Ginobili does not have the explosion he once did and the rest of the team does not seem to be as crisp as they need to be to win the West.  That said, it is most certainly not a sprint and Popovich has plenty of time to get his guys ready for the stretch run and I fully expect to see them in the mix at the end.  The big surprise right now has to be Steve Nash looking like he turned the clock back about four years and playing astounding basketball for a rejuvenated Suns team.  It should work well, right up until the time Amare Stoudamire takes his customary sabbatical for about twenty games.  Phoenix makes the playoffs, but don’t expect them to advance past the Semis.  As usual, the Jazz, Blazers, Mavericks, and to a much lesser extent the Byron Scottless Hornets will be able to win on any given night and will have good years, but will fade when it counts.  Watch the Thunder also, if simply just to see that offense with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Jeff Green.  Those guys will have some shootouts this year, as a matter of fact they already did against the Lakers two weeks ago in an overtime thriller.

The East seemed like a gimme for the Celts, picking up a playoff veteran and one of the more underrated players of the past seven or eight years in Rasheed Wallace, signing Marquis Daniels and Shelden Williams, who still has plenty to prove and still knows how to play the game… but will never trump his wife in their respective roundball careers.  Doc Rivers has a gritty, postseason tested, solid, dangerous basketball team that is a tough matchup for anybody.  Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Rondo, and Kendrick Perkins, who in his own right gets nowhere near the pub he deserves… with respectable depth including guys who can make big shots like the always streaky Eddie House.  That said, Boston has proven that even with their experience and hunger, they can be beaten by an athletic club that can make shots.  Enter the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night, who played an exceptional sixty minutes and proved that once again, they will be right there clawing away in the Playoffs and causing problems again.  I like the way the Hawks compete, they always seem to care, regardless of the night, and that’s tough in the sometimes regular season challenged NBA.  The Cavs are stabilizing, but I do not like their chances only because the slowdown of play due to the Big Aristotle, errrr Witness Protector, causes them to lose ten to twelve fast break points a game.  Barkley’s comments are dead on and always have been about LeBron James, the guy simply has to work entirely too hard to get his numbers.  One on five works for stats, but ask him how it wore him down against the 2008 Matchup Nightmare of the Year in Sports, who also have started strong yet again.  The Magic may be the most balanced team in the NBA, when looking at a mix of recent postseason experience, YOUTH, and solid play on both ends of the court.  Though I still think the addition of VC may not take them to the trophy, it most certainly could pay off.

Here’s the deal – I picked preseason the Spurs vs Celtics in the NBA Finals with the winner depending on the day.  Thinking as of today, it looks more and more like Lakers (AKA Team TMZ) and Celtics… but counting out the Denver Nuggets is a huge mistake.  Same with Orlando… the season has started off well with some strong televised games.  The highlight of the year in the league in the first three weeks?  That would be Dwayne Wade’s mamma jamma dunk over my least favorite player in all of the NBA, Anderson Varejao.  The “OMG Wow” surprise of the year – how shocking is it that a guy who skipped going to college to play pro ball in Europe comes back and kills it both on and off the court?  Brandon Jennings comes back, gets picked ninth after little contribution on the floor in Europe, and looks like a five year veteran who has quadruple double potential.  Not only that, but this guy buys a modest middle of the road house in a suburban area and buys a Ford… saying he wants to be careful with his money and keep his head.  Keep in mind this kid had “Young Money” tattooed on his arm before leaving for Europe to illustrate why he was skipping college.  This story has future mid-budget sports movie written all over it if Jennings keeps playing as well as he has.  Fifty-five points on Friday night, three off Chamberlain’s rookie record, and we are nowhere near done with the season.  The stats in all games for Jennings have been insane – needless to say he was my first Free Agent pickup in my Fantasy league.  The Bucks lucked into something huge as it stands today, and even without their scoring leader Michael Redd, all of a sudden look like a team no one wants to play right now.  One thing is for certain, that team will put up some numbers – whether it translates to wins this season is TBD, but the future certainly appears bright.

Anyone looking for me to comment on the Wolfpack – here’s my comment.  I love Russell Wilson.  I miss Nate Irving.  I like Toney Baker.  I don’t know what’s wrong, but the defense is beyond atrocious and what looked like a very promising season now looks like a dumpster fire.  It’s sad, but at least it’s not the final season NC State will play football, so we will see what happens in 2010.

Comments on my Broncos you ask?  Well, it was easy to excuse the two losses to Batimore (off a loss and a bye) and Pittsburgh (off a bye), but the loss to Washington really hurts.  All of a sudden a three game lead in the AFC West becomes a tie with the red-hot Chargers and the best player in my Alma Mater’s history, and guess who Denver plays on Sunday.  You guessed it… fingers are crossed.  No Kyle Orton means it may take divine intervention to get the job done, so my fingers and their stiffening pain may be all for naught.

I guess that’s enough for now, so you could call this ALL sports, sorry if you read for other stuff.  Actually for those that care, my usual “Top Five” special to end the year will be out… at the end of the year.  Those not in the know, it will contain my picks for the best of 2009 in many categories, from pop culture to sports to all sorts of assorted craziness.  Next blog to be sometime near the end of the week, once I have something to say.  It it is sooner than expected, I will let you know so that you can stop what you are doing and run to the blog to get your fix.  Yeah just as an aside, I am not that egotistical.  This line of speech is all tongue in cheek.  Finally, the move slowed us down, but the Pregame Podcast will be available soon, starring myself and my equally talented (in case he reads this) cohost Booker McDowell.  We have had a lot of fun taping sessions for months preparing to share it with everyone else, along with the radio stations we plan to pitch it to in the near future.  Once we have our website complete you guys will know it.  We do hope the three of you who listen to it enjoy it and give us your feedback.

Nowhere near my best blog of all-time, but nice to be back nonetheless.  You guys have a killer week.  Free bonus video below, I know it’s wrong but I cannot help but chuckle before being appalled at Elizabeth Lambert.

STILL THE SPORTS VIDEO OF THE YEAR – INCREDIBLE

Has Anyone Been Paying Attention Lately?

I’m not sure who out there has been paying attention, but while in the midst of all the thrills of the primary season and now the general election dual smear campaign on both sides of the aisle, something wonderful has been happening on our planet… which, depending on which kook you subscribe to, falls somewhere between Zorbok and Greyskull on the list of most important planets containing human life. I call your attention to the following facts…

- New York Giants d. New England Patriots 17-14 with a miraculous last drive featuring the now famous Manning to Tyree completion, winning Super Bowl XLII… a defensive, hard-hitting, evenly matched struggle.

- Kansas d Memphis 75-68 in OT to capture the NCAA Division IA Men’s Basketball Championship…featuring Mario Chalmers’ breathtaking three point shot to send a classic game into extra frames.

- Detroit Red Wings defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games in the series everyone wanted to see… Sid the Kid and the upstart, young, hungry Pens against Hockeytown USA. It did not matter how it ended, it only mattered that it happened… and the Pens victory in Game 5 in Detroit was the highlight of the series.

- Boston Celtics defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in six games to win the city’s first NBA Championship in over a decade in what is widely seen as the game’s best and most historic rivalry. Though it did not go seven, the hype was unimaginable.

- In what is still to me the biggest and best of this year, Tiger Woods overcomes Rocco Mediate (special in his own right and a great story to follow) on the NINETEETH playoff hole, while fighting multiple knee injuries that immediately afterwards put him on the shelf until next year at Augusta… winning the US Open and his fourteenth major, in the most dramatic fashion anyone could imagine… in what may be as good a golf tournament as the world will ever see again.

AND JUST YESTERDAY

- Rafael Nadal finally pulled off the unthinkable, finishing off most likely the greatest tennis player in history… Roger Federer, on his surface, in what many experts (and me included) are calling the greatest Wimbledon final ever… maybe even the greatest tennis match of all time, with high level tennis being played from the first point to the last. The true #1 and #2 getting it on at the All-England Club and ripping it down through two rain delays and nearly five hours of on court excellence.  The sport I played competitively in high school and college and have loved for a lifetime finally gets another jump start… one it desperately needed, with no American anywhere close to these two on the men’s side.

Now folks, these are just “final” situations, as easily one could have put Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester’s no hitter over the Royals (just one year after cancer threatened his life) in the category, as well as a few other definite feel good moments. It is the year, thus far, of the Rays and potentially we could be staring at the Chicago Cubs finally ending the curse, in the one hundredth year.

I submit to you, that at the highest of levels, there has NEVER been a year in sports that has provided this level of parity in major situations… never have the fans been treated to anything as special as FREQUENTLY as they have been this year… never have the sporting gods been more fruitful and giving than in 2008. Think about this, with the exception of what was a very mediocre bowl season in college football, virtually no “final” event has come and gone without wide discussion. Even the UEFA tournament was spectacular, with a fantastic final between Spain and Germany and of course watching the underdogs from Turkey scrapping and clawing their way round by round until finally succumbing… but not before creating so many memories for their nation and for the world.

Add in this year’s second half of the baseball season, which may feature some excruciatingly close division fights and looking at what could be a tightly contested DS, LCS, and WS in both leagues, potentially the history and pageantry of the Cubs finally getting the proverbial monkey off their backs… and remember, the British Open, PGA Championship, tennis’ United States Open at Flushing Meadows, the start of another college and pro football season, and potentially the first gold medal in a “minute” for USA Basketball as well as Tyson Gay’s rise up the ranks and Dara Torres qualifying for an individual as well as team events at age forty-one and without question, 2008 has been a year in sports unlike any other.

With so much turmoil in the world, regardless of where one stands on the issues, it is good that the world’s number one distraction has been a place of refuge for many of us. Just think about the lasting moments and the last second heroics that have gone into so many games, matches, rounds, and trials in this calendar year. To me… only one word fits the bill…

Extraordinary. Kudos to the gods of sport…

-JM

“Recount”

Just finished watching HBO Films new release of “Recount,” which premiered last night on the famed cable network. The story chronicles the enormous mess and at times chaotic scene that followed Election Day in 2000 in the state of Florida. Ironically, it was on the same day, unbeknownst to me at the time, that its producer, Sydney Pollack, passed away of cancer. That puts a little more perspective on uncomfortable deja vu style situations, but I want to applaud the PICTURE in this particular blog.

Without question, one of the best casts I have seen all year long and featuring several magnificent performances. Kevin Spacey (one of the greats of our generation), the vastly underrated (by the majority populous that does not know him by name) and tremendous Tom Wilkinson, who also was absolutely outstanding in “Michael Clayton”, Denis Leary (clearly not just a stand-up and MTV black and white screen pitchman anymore) and Laura Dern as Katherine Harris were all highlights, with other solid roles from HBO Films favorites (The Late Shift – another gem concerning the fight between Jay Leno and David Letterman to secede Johnny Carson)… Ed Begley Jr and Bob Balaban, both also known for their strong work in Christopher Guest’s films as two of his troupe. All the casting was strong, even the bit parts were good. I will mention that Dern went on “The Colbert Report” and came across as way left in terms of still making comments that led to the assumption that Gore won the election in the year 2000… but her work as Harris was still noteworthy… and really irritated her real-life counterpart.

While the Democrats were portrayed, as IGN also stated, as the protagonists of the story and the Republicans as quite a bit more immoral and sneaky at times… the story from its picked perspective was extremely well-told, developed, and involving. At times it looked as if it was going way off the deep end, with James Baker being shown as pretty underhanded and with a Republican lobbyist (another great actor by the way in Bruce McGill with that role) seemingly bullying Florida Secretary of State, Katherine Harris. I was, however, able to get past it for the most part and enjoy the show. Those accompanied with the project did a stupendous job of not casting a definitive verdict (it would have been wrong)… though clearly slanted to the left to an extent, they did mention towards the end that Bush had never lost any of the counts, which is indisputable fact. Had they not mentioned both that truth and the military ballot controversy, it would have been a much less balanced portrayal. I agree with the critique that “While it wasn’t downright blue, it certainly was not as purply as it wanted to appear,” but that is par for the course in 2008 in the media and especially in Los Angeles. If I boycotted everything liberal or even everything far left, I would see virtually no movies and would of course have to abandon Radiohead and many other acts I hold dear. While it is certain that plenty of liberties were taken for the purpose of creative license and respective slant (the writer believes the election was indeed stolen, though there is zero factual evidence of it), as is always the case, this picture was WELL worth going out of your way to see. The acting was superb, the script was pretty tight, and pretty much from top to bottom it was an applause-worthy product from Home Box Office and an enjoyable film.

While I often disagree with HBO portrayals and its obvious heavily liberal slant… allowing Bill Maher to spew his increasingly lunatic fringe views sometimes grates me… for personalities such as Tim Robbins, Paul Begala, or Paul Krugman to be on his show as an expert at anything not involving acting or op-ed journalism is not only absurd, it’s flat out irresponsible… and there have been a few pieces on the network that were clearly anti-war, including the upcoming “Generation Kill,” the network knows how to step up to the plate in terms of quality. Honestly, in many cases, there’s television… and then there’s HBO. The successes of shows like “The Sopranos,” “Sex and the City,” “Entourage,” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” as well as plenty of others have shown repeatedly that the network can put forth engrossing and high end programming that strikes a chord, and “Recount” falls right in line with many of those undertakings.

This film was excellent in my eyes and was given a highly positive chance to succeed due to both cast and positioning. It was a put on a pedestal due to its position and was advertised for over three months on national and cable television. With all that said, if you have HBO (or if you have BitTorrent)… take a look at “Recount,” and throw all partisanship aside. Of course if you are a Democrat, it will be much easier for you than it was for me. This picture demands your attention at least (and at most) as a movie and it will clearly entertain you. Keep in mind that not everything said or portrayed is accurate… I enjoyed the MOVIE… not the facts, of which many are disputed or overblown. Here is an excerpt from Entertainment Weekly’s review.

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Speaking of Democrats, Recount may not be downright blue, but it’s not as purply as it wants to appear. Despite its ”equal time” approach, Recount is an underdog story, and thus a Democrat story. While George W. Bush, like Gore, is only vaguely glimpsed, the remaining Republican players here are coolly calculating — Tom Wilkinson’s James Baker III, the Bush team quarterback — or they teeter on the edge of madness, like Laura Dern’s Katherine Harris. With flaming lipstick and helmet hair, Dern nails the Florida secretary of state’s looks, cadence, and carriage to a disturbing degree, and she runs with Harris’ Cruella De Vil vibe: At one point, before a press conference, Dern morphs her face from that of a human being into Harris’ crazy-cuckoo public mask, and the moment is absolutely chilling. Fair? Debatable, but like Recount, it’s a gorgeous bit of political theater. A-

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Thumbs up on this one as a MOVIE… even despite the following accurate statements by Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg (Fla) Times: “Conservatives will hate this film. That’s because screenwriter Danny Strong, an actor with credits ranging from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” to “Nip/Tuck,” casts his story as mostly well-intentioned Gore guys vs. backdoor dealing, Florida government-controlling, hypocritical Bush Republicans.”

and these excerpts from his review as well:
“As Hurt’s clipped and proper Christopher lists all the things the Gore camp will not do – no lawsuits, no public protests from supporters – Wilkinson’s Baker takes exactly the opposite tack.”

“This is a street fight for the presidency of the United States,” Wilkinson-as-Baker says, his slicked-back, gray locks filling the screen. “Until this is over, I don’t want to see a copy of the New York Times unless it’s to wrap garbage.

“One moment, Gore’s camp can’t find a law firm in the state willing to represent them, for fear of Jeb Bush’s wrath; the next moment, Harris’ office is sending “advisory declarations” to canvassing boards struggling with recount rules, counseling them to adopt standards that favor Bush.”

As a leaning Conservative… but more moderate than staunch right in several cases, I agree with the comment, though I did not hate the film. I went into it knowing it would be heavily Pro-Gore, and that knowledge allowed me to watch the story and the performances. I disagree with IGN in saying that it was not terribly slanted either way, because without question the Democrats were the underdogs in a decidedly underdog story. They might as well have ended it with “Vote Barack in 2008, He’s One of the Good Guys!” But who cares, it was never said at the start… “This is a fact.” It was a “docu-drama,” which usually I would hate, but I’m relaxing in this day and age. It was good drama… and had a few good laughs as well, so it is what it is.

Hopefully Sydney Pollack is resting well right now.

Take care guys…

Hopefully nothing like this will ever happen in the country ever again… it was a nightmare any way you look at it.

-JM

No Country for Old Men

Blogs are for random thoughts, musings, and personal feelings, and although pop culture deserves its due, it can’t all be about television, movies, and music.  The fact of the matter is that author Cormac McCarthy had it right when he titled his masterpiece, “No Country for Old Men.”  The quote is more appropriate to the world today than ever before, and with a Presidential election upcoming that may bring out the worst in America, we really could use a break at this point.

Barack Obama sounds more elitist by the day, yet so many people are flocking to him as if he is their savior, when in actuality he remains a politician, and no one running for office is ever going to be as good as his supporters make him sound.  John McCain is on the verge of becoming irrelevant thanks to George Soros, MoveOn, Media Matters, David Brock, Arianna Huffington, Markos, and all the rest… and with Clinton and Obama fighting for the nomination, McCain’s early dominance has proven to make him an afterthought in the national picture currently.  He is clearly the best candidate for the job, as well as the most moderate, not flailing on either side of the aisle, and although I don’t see him as perfection, I sincerely hope he gets the nod in November.  If I had to predict it today, I expect Obama to win the presidency, but my fingers are crossed that something derails him.

People are meaner than ever, taking personal shots every single day at so many different individuals and their families.  It really does feel like someone is out to get everybody… at every moment of existence.  Families are breaking down, children are out of control, and yet many call for lax regulations.  Every aspect of life seems to be full of danger.

So with that reality in my mind, it is good to know that something “outside the box” (though I hate that phrase) has really become paramount.  I’m ecstatic that I have a solid “job”/”hobby” that gets it done for me, something to hang my hat on, and a place to release as nothing more than a character… but also as a man behind the scenes who cares so much about the product we are putting out for the audience.  We are in a good place, and leaving it extremely vague, I am thrilled about where we are going in APW currently, and thrilled with the direction of our locker room.

Doesn’t make much sense, just a bunch of thoughts, but as I said, that’s what a blog is.  While the world may not be suitable for decent, kind-hearted people in large part, at least occasionally we can find some solace.

-JM

Ghosts I – IV

Whether you like Nine Inch Nails musically or not obviously is simply nothing more than a matter of taste, but to fault the effort that Trent Reznor and his people have been doing over the past fourteen months is criminal. First was the beautiful viral campaigning for Year Zero, a concept album that honestly generated more raw explosive energy than any album I had heard in a long time… with the tapes and digicams being found at NiN shows across the world. Then the album, complete with its thermal CD that responded to the heat in the player to showcase differing images than the disc itself. That album was phenomenal… now take it for what it’s worth from an NiN fan for over fifteen years who rarely sees err in Reznor’s attack but I adored it.

Then on Sunday night we discover that Reznor has executed a plan to put out a thirty-six track instrumental atmospheric album, entitled Ghosts (set aside into four separate and distinct volumes of nine (got to love that) tracks a piece)… with the first volume available for free on Pirate Bay, where Reznor himself placed it to get the word out. Two weeks ago at www.nin.com, there was a cryptic message that simply read “TWO WEEKS” and that was it.  Exactly two weeks later, on Sunday evening at 6:00 PM, when the downloading and purchasing began, everyone figured out what was going on.  Advertising, who needs it?  This kind of thing generates excitement that a simple ad cannot match… to the point that the official Ghosts site had to be removed and redone because the traffic completely decimated the servers and the downloads completely crashed.  The actual two disc set does not release until next month, but with a $5 or $10 purchase, some or all of it can be downloaded in numerous formats, including full lossless FLAC for the hardcore sound enthusiasts and of course a top notch 320 mp3 for use in all MP3 players and of course easily recorded to a CD.

As of this moment, I have heard not one track of the album… my download, however, is continuing as we speak and I will have all four volumes in the next several minutes. I plan a pretty detailed review in a week or two after I’ve had time to digest and experience the music… it can’t be a “I LOVE IT!” kind of deal. It deserves to be seen as art and to be spoken of once some kind of an understanding is reached with the sounds contained within each track. I must admit I expect it to blow me away, but I will reserve the final judgment. For any NiN heads out there… this idea is both brilliant… and a dream come true.

Without a doubt, Trent Reznor continues to challenge the conventions of music distribution and advertising and has been highly successful with his unique take on mass distribution. While it would be dishonest to say “I LOVE IT,” without hearing it, I will emphatically tell you all this… “I CAN’T WAIT!”

-JM

ESPN Finally Gets It

Real quick thought on ESPN’s dual hiring decisions made this week… in short, kudos.

Slowly but surely a lot of the “gimmick” hosts are being replaced by more traditional, solid reporters and much better analysts. For my money, Mike Greenberg is probably the best overall talent ESPN has at this point along with Bob Ley, who continues to do his job with a professionalism unmatched on the network. Scott Van Pelt, John Anderson… and a few others are also solid. But it is the latest two analyst choices that ESPN has truly hit a home run with, and it deserves mention.

Cris Carter has been fantastic for so many years on Inside the NFL, which just completed its final episode for HBO following the Giants/Pats SuperBowl. I know for a fact that I will miss that great NFL Films footage and Harry Kalas’ wonderful voice on the highlights and what I thought was great analysis, though I was a bigger fan of the show when Len Dawson was still hosting… and trust me, I love Bob Costas. You had to know Carter would land somewhere, and ESPN made the move quickly and got Cris on board in time for ESPN the Weekend, as he debuted on NFL Live this afternoon alongside Mark Schlereth and Trey Wingo. He has a fantastic camera presence and is very no-nonsense with his criticism and analysis, and ESPN is much better for the move.

Mere hours ago, ESPN announced it’s second major analyst hire… Bob Knight. Flat out, that’s a home run in any ballpark in this country. Bob Knight alongside his close and long-time friends Digger Phelps and Dick Vitale and sparring with the likes of Jay Bilas and Hubert Davis will make for phenomenal NCAA tournament coverage. He debuts on March 12th as Championship Week kicks off to lead into Selection Sunday and the start of the Big Dance. I’ve always been a sucker for sports analysis and both of these guys just made ESPN even more credible. It will give the viewer more passionate people to speak about important subjects in the world of sports and I cannot wait to watch it all take place.

Some people will always despise Knight and some have even said they will “mute their televisions” when he is allowed to speak and thinks he is a repulsive human being. I choose to see him as an old school coach who has always promoted academics and who without question has one of the soundest overall basketball minds of all time… good job on the hire.

Kudos to ESPN on this one, and while it’s easy to sometimes be critical of them, THE Entertainment and Sports Network got it right this time.

-JM-

New Home

Well… it had to happen.  Either I completely stopped writing altogether, I became much more careful with my words, or I just let it all hang out as I always have… my decision at this point is to go almonds to the wall and let ‘er rip.  Those of you who have read me over the years, first off thank you… but to those who have disagreed with virtually every single one of my opinions, that’s your prerogative and I’m glad to have you here as well.

I thought now would be the right time to stop blogging on MySpace so that no one could accuse me of any Dateline behavior, hereafter we will term that “Hansenish” items.  I plan to try and update this thing every day so that 1) I can stay busy and more importantly 2) I can stay immensely relevant… via my free blog that anyone with five minutes could have as well.

I’m not expecting page views like Gilbert Arenas, Michelle Malkin, Arianna Huffington, or even Greg Oden… but my opinion will now be unrestrained for you people as often as I feel like giving it.  So both of you, when you go to dinner parties, you two can have something to talk about that may ostracize you even more than you currently are and leave you with fewer friends.  But those of you who come here, SPREAD THE WORD… let people know that many inconsequential things are going to be said here and that I will pour my heart and soul into these well-crafted opinions about who knows what on a daily basis.  I’d do the same for you… come on… don’t make me beg… okay fine, how about I get you an iPod, will that work?  Man you people drive a hard bargain… okay an iPod AND a Wii.  Yep, that’s what I thought… thanks in advance, wink wink.

So that’s “Blog One”… hope you enjoyed it.  I promise it will get more interesting… and by the way, that iPod I promised you… it’s a NANO!  Ha Ha, showed you, you can barely get two gigs on that baby!  Now look who’s screwed the pooch!  You made a promise and now you’re tied to it… and you get a NANO!  Oh my goodness it’s even funnier when you repeat it.  Wait, actually unless you have zero life as I do right now, you probably don’t have 27 GB of music like I do so the way I see it, I now owe about $100,000 in iPods.  Oh who am I kidding, it will probably cost me six hundred bucks for the three of you who come here.  So I guess it’s fine either way.

I’ll finish the way I have finished virtually every column I’ve written for the past five years…

“Of course that’s just my opinion, I could be wrong.”  (Dennis Miller)

-JM-