Who puts a cotton swab that deep into their ear anyway? Also, the cleanup for the product looks gross.
Mitch's Top 10 Films of 2018
6 years ago
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Friday, March 8, 2013
LA Wants 2024 Olympics. In other news I want to marry Charlize Theron
It could happen. But it probably won't. I'm talking about Los Angeles hosting the 2024 Olympics. I'm not talking about Charlize and I, because that's definitely going to happen.
The LA Times is reporting that the city council has notified members of the USOC (United States Olympic Committee) that they want another Olympics here. Previous games took place in 1932 and 1984.
My only question is why? Why monopolize the Olympic tradition? Why not let another US city have a chance to show itself to the world? The article reports that Dallas, San Francisco and Boston are in the running. I've been to the last two and they would be fine locations. Excellent locations, actually. I have not been to Dallas so I cannot comment - other than if the games are held in August, it will be damn hot.
What about somewhere else? What about the Pacific Northwest? I know Portland doesn't want them but what about the Emerald City? Seattle.
Seattle is my type of city. I enjoy the overcast and rainy weather, the waterfront, the greenery, the Space Needle, the Real World, apples, and the smell of coffee. I don't drink coffee, but I like the smell. But wait, 2010 saw the Olympics already in the Pacific Northwest in Vancouver. But that's Canada, this is America. The country that saved Europe and the world from Germany - twice. I think they kind of owe us for a long time.
But enough about Seattle, the real issue at hand is that the guy who is not going to be Mayor of Los Angeles for much longer is pushing this agenda to try and sweep everything else he's done under the rug. That way IF it does happen, he can stand in front of a ribbon and cut it to let everyone know HE was the one who spearheaded this movement. Sounds rather selfish, no?
I, for one, am not in support of this. I live here. The traffic is already bad enough. Will it be better in 11 years? Who knows. What I do know is that I want the Olympics somewhere else. LA does not need the exposure - we're already full of people who need to be seen anyway. And some of them are barely famous as it is! Let's try and keep the Olympics out of LA and give someone else a chance.
I doubt a US city will win the vote for 2024 but if it does, it's not going to be Los Angeles.
The LA Times is reporting that the city council has notified members of the USOC (United States Olympic Committee) that they want another Olympics here. Previous games took place in 1932 and 1984.
My only question is why? Why monopolize the Olympic tradition? Why not let another US city have a chance to show itself to the world? The article reports that Dallas, San Francisco and Boston are in the running. I've been to the last two and they would be fine locations. Excellent locations, actually. I have not been to Dallas so I cannot comment - other than if the games are held in August, it will be damn hot.
What about somewhere else? What about the Pacific Northwest? I know Portland doesn't want them but what about the Emerald City? Seattle.
Seattle is my type of city. I enjoy the overcast and rainy weather, the waterfront, the greenery, the Space Needle, the Real World, apples, and the smell of coffee. I don't drink coffee, but I like the smell. But wait, 2010 saw the Olympics already in the Pacific Northwest in Vancouver. But that's Canada, this is America. The country that saved Europe and the world from Germany - twice. I think they kind of owe us for a long time.
But enough about Seattle, the real issue at hand is that the guy who is not going to be Mayor of Los Angeles for much longer is pushing this agenda to try and sweep everything else he's done under the rug. That way IF it does happen, he can stand in front of a ribbon and cut it to let everyone know HE was the one who spearheaded this movement. Sounds rather selfish, no?
I, for one, am not in support of this. I live here. The traffic is already bad enough. Will it be better in 11 years? Who knows. What I do know is that I want the Olympics somewhere else. LA does not need the exposure - we're already full of people who need to be seen anyway. And some of them are barely famous as it is! Let's try and keep the Olympics out of LA and give someone else a chance.
I doubt a US city will win the vote for 2024 but if it does, it's not going to be Los Angeles.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Rise and Fire
Like I said: "It's March Bitches" and in honor of March I am going to post a few links on the best thing that ever happened to the Magical Maddening Month: Gus Johnson.
If you've never been to the Gus Johnson Soundboard, you've been missing out. You can relive all of your favorite Gus Johnson soundbites with the simple click of your mouse. Truly you could spend an hour or so just clicking different combinations and listening to the man that made March Mad.
Sadly, Gus Johnson is no longer with CBS and calling NCAA Tournament games but you can still find his high-energy calls all over YouTube. Heck, you can even get t-shirts and hats with his signature catchphrase on them.
The dude is easily my favorite announcer based solely on his passion for each game he calls. He has energy, knowledge and makes the game entertaining. If you weren't paying attention and just heard him yell, you would turn to see what the hell just happened. He gets you involved in the game.
Now he has joined FOX and college football and has done a fantastic job there - with even some people hoping he'd replace Joe Buck as the normal NFL game of the week announcer. I don't have a problem with Buck but Johnson makes things more awesome.
So while I look forward to the NCAA Tournament, I lament that Gus Johnson is no longer a part of the action. As Johnson said to the Gonzaga faithful after they blew a 17-point lead to UCLA back in 2006: "Heart break city"
If you've never been to the Gus Johnson Soundboard, you've been missing out. You can relive all of your favorite Gus Johnson soundbites with the simple click of your mouse. Truly you could spend an hour or so just clicking different combinations and listening to the man that made March Mad.
Sadly, Gus Johnson is no longer with CBS and calling NCAA Tournament games but you can still find his high-energy calls all over YouTube. Heck, you can even get t-shirts and hats with his signature catchphrase on them.
The dude is easily my favorite announcer based solely on his passion for each game he calls. He has energy, knowledge and makes the game entertaining. If you weren't paying attention and just heard him yell, you would turn to see what the hell just happened. He gets you involved in the game.
Now he has joined FOX and college football and has done a fantastic job there - with even some people hoping he'd replace Joe Buck as the normal NFL game of the week announcer. I don't have a problem with Buck but Johnson makes things more awesome.
So while I look forward to the NCAA Tournament, I lament that Gus Johnson is no longer a part of the action. As Johnson said to the Gonzaga faithful after they blew a 17-point lead to UCLA back in 2006: "Heart break city"
Friday, March 1, 2013
It's March Bitches
You know what that means?
That's right, by the end of this month people (including myself) will become consumed by college basketball. I love college basketball. I always have and I always will. It just has something that the NBA doesn't. Passion. You see the guys out there playing their guts out for their school...or to showcase their talent for the NBA. Either way, they're playing hard and the game isn't dominated by dunks. There is more guard play and perimeter play - which is what I enjoy in basketball. Sure, I love a good dunk, but I really love a good picket fence, upsets (Go Broncos) and of course the buzzer beater.
I know there are some out there that only follow college basketball when the tournament starts, and that's OK, but it really bugs me when people say people "Don't care" about the regular season. How about this season? There hasn't been a dominant and true #1 all season. Indiana? Beaten. Michigan? Beaten. Duke? Beaten. Syracuse? Beaten. Yes, every team has been beaten but this regular season has been as unpredictable as ever. That makes for an even more unpredictable March Madness. We should see more brackets like the one above because of this.
I'm a fan of chaos when it comes to March Madness. I want the upsets and Bracket Busters. Sometimes I do research, sometimes I just guess, sometimes I do a mascot battle to determine a winner. Whatever the case, it's just fun picking the games and seeing schools like Davidson and VCU go against the likes of a Duke and Michigan State, perennial powerhouses, and win.
I'm not going to make any predictions here, because conference tournaments still have to be played and those can have a significant impact on the field but I am just getting prepared for an awesome March.
That's right, by the end of this month people (including myself) will become consumed by college basketball. I love college basketball. I always have and I always will. It just has something that the NBA doesn't. Passion. You see the guys out there playing their guts out for their school...or to showcase their talent for the NBA. Either way, they're playing hard and the game isn't dominated by dunks. There is more guard play and perimeter play - which is what I enjoy in basketball. Sure, I love a good dunk, but I really love a good picket fence, upsets (Go Broncos) and of course the buzzer beater.
I know there are some out there that only follow college basketball when the tournament starts, and that's OK, but it really bugs me when people say people "Don't care" about the regular season. How about this season? There hasn't been a dominant and true #1 all season. Indiana? Beaten. Michigan? Beaten. Duke? Beaten. Syracuse? Beaten. Yes, every team has been beaten but this regular season has been as unpredictable as ever. That makes for an even more unpredictable March Madness. We should see more brackets like the one above because of this.
I'm a fan of chaos when it comes to March Madness. I want the upsets and Bracket Busters. Sometimes I do research, sometimes I just guess, sometimes I do a mascot battle to determine a winner. Whatever the case, it's just fun picking the games and seeing schools like Davidson and VCU go against the likes of a Duke and Michigan State, perennial powerhouses, and win.
I'm not going to make any predictions here, because conference tournaments still have to be played and those can have a significant impact on the field but I am just getting prepared for an awesome March.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
From the WTF File
Now that that's done I can focus on things that annoy me. This new entry will be a bit short but that's only because I'm just getting my feet wet again.
In this edition of the 'WTF File' I turn to something I heard/saw on the news last night. It was only for a brief moment but what was said caught my ears and made me laugh. I was doing that crossword puzzle while I was eating dinner and I overheard a news reporter do a lead-in for a story later on that night. It went something along the lines of "I'm [insert reporter name here] and tonight I'm taking you behind the scenes of the hit show 'Smash' tonight at 11."
I laughed.
I really don't think anyone believes 'Smash' lives up to its name. It seemed to start out strong and had the Spielberg name attached to it but I never caught a single second of it. Then I read that people were 'hate-watching' it because it was so bad. I already dumped 'Glee' so why would I pick up another musical show? Sure the network had to fill some airtime and try and pump some publicity into their own show but, to me, it came off as desperate. WTF indeed.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
10 Biggest Oscar Flubs of the last 10 years
Today is the day. Oscar Day. Where a bunch of people will go home unhappy and a few will get the glory. Sure, it's an honor to be nominated but everybody wants to win. As Patton said: "Americans love a winner"...unless that winner was undeserving.
I'm looking back at the last 10 years a giving out failing grades to the Academy for giving out awards to people who did not deserve them. Clearly, they were deserving enough to get this far but it hit the fan when these people won. I'll start from 10 years ago (meaning the awards given out for the 2002 movies) and work my way up.
2002: Chicago for Best Picture - This is a perfect example for how to stage a musical for film. It's as simple as that. I think everyone thought that win Moulin Rouge! being nominated the year before that the Hollywood Musical was back...and it was....this year. It took another 10 years for another musical (Les Miserables) to be nominated.
What should have won? The Pianist. It was the Best Acted (Adrien Brody), Best Directed (Roman Polanski), and Best Written (Ronald Harwood) film of the year.
2003: Renee Zellwegger for Best Supporting Actress - I view this as a "Hey she was nominated a few years in a row, let's give her this one". Cold Mountain is boring and not very good. And no, I'm not just picking on Renee Zellwegger with my first two picks. They just were the wrong winners.
Who Should have won? Shohreh Agdashloo. Did they even see House of Sand and Fog? Clearly they did since Ben Kingsley also received a well deserved nod but she is the clear winner here in a emotionally demanding performance.
2004: Cate Blanchett for Best Supporting Actress - My mom's favourite actress is Katharine Hepburn so this one might sting but essentially this role is mimicry at it's finest. Sure, she gets the mannerisms down and the speech but the role does nothing for me. This is Old Hollywood saying "Oh, we love Kate Hepburn. Wasn't she great? By association Cate Blanchett is great too." She is a great actress (see Notes On A Scandal if you don't believe me) but this role is not one that should have won.
Who should have won? Virginia Madsen. When she talks about how a bottle of wine is alive and looks right into Paul Giamatti's eyes and into his soul and in that moment they click, I knew this was the clear winner. She is emotionally complicated and sophisticated and deserved to win.
2005: Crash for Best Picture - I was going to go against the grain here and say Philip Seymour Hoffman here, but after writing out a few lines I just couldn't go through with it because he was terrific in Capote. This is a divisive film and extremely heavy-handed in it's message and took advantage of the Angelenos who were voting that year.
What should have won? Brokeback Mountain. Plain and simple. It was the clear winner until Crash somehow pulled off the upset I mean look at Jack Nicholson's epxression here. He's just as surprised as everyone else. I liked Crash, but it wasn't the best film from this year.
2006: Jennifer Hudson for Best Supporting Actress -You might begin to think I have it out for Best Supporting Actresses, but I don't. They just are wrong most of the time. Here is not an exception. Jennifer Hudson CANNOT ACT, she can sing - damn can she sing, but she is not an actress by any stretch of the imagination. She reads her lines as if it were a book report and there is not emotional connection with her when times get tough for her character. Dreamgirls isn't that good either - save for Eddie Murphy but this is a real crime.
Who should have won? Abigail Breslin. Little Miss Sunshine is a fantastic movie and to see this little girl struggle with her family and ultimately be the glue that holds them together is just icing on the cake...and her final dance is hysterical.
2007: The Golden Compass for Best Visual Effects -Sure the polar bear looks good but it was fairly generic CG and really wasn't all that good, actually. It's almost cheesy and considering this is the same VFX house that did Life of Pi (which is a phenomenal film, and filled with great effects) you have to wonder what went wrong here?
What should have won? Transformers. It's GIANT FIGHTING ROBOTS! WTF is wrong with these people?!
2008: Sean Penn for Best Actor - I screamed at my TV when this happened. Honest to God. I did not find Milk to be a good movie at all nor did I find this performance to be very good. It was rather pedestrian and boring.
Who should have won? Mickey Rourke. The Wrestler was one of the best films of 2008 and this is one of the best performances of the decade...and it didn't win. It's a shame because as Randy the Ram, Rourke delivers a complex performance about a man down on his luck trying to change but ultimately cannot fight fate and wants to go out his way, even if it means he may not make it. A power and moving performance that should have been recognized.
2009: Mo'Nique for Best Supporting Actress & Precious for Best Adapted Screenplay - I'm pulling double duty here because I just did not find this film to be very good. Sure it's depressing, but depressing movies can be good (Winter's Bone). It's just this performance was too over-the-top and Mo'Nique's insistence to not show up for things unless she got paid just rubbed me the wrong way. This is the same woman from Soul Plane. The writing is also not something to write home about - mainly that's because I didn't care for this film.
Who/What should have won? Vera Farmiga or Anna Kendrick. Both would have been better choices as their characters were fleshed out and developed. Up In The Air for Best Adapted Screenplay. Well written, crisp dialogue that just really really worked.
2010: Alice in Wonderland for Best Art Direction - I didn't see the appeal with this film when it came out. I skipped it in theatres and waited for DVD. I fell asleep and finished it the next day. I didn't care for it nor did I care for this award. It's really just the same Tim Burton zany designs with spirals of color and wacky furniture design. Not interested.
What should have won? Inception. Constructing a set that movies in a circular motion while actors are in/on it performing a fight sequence should merit an award. That, and they built the Japanese castle and decorated the hell out of it - as well as all of the other set pieces.
2011: Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady and The Iron Lady for Best Makeup - This is a case of "She hasn't won in X amount of years, let's give it to her". It's also a case of "She got lost in that role thanks to the makeup, they deserve to win as well". Nope. Neither were deserving.
Who/What should have won? Viola Davis and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Viola Davis delivers a powerful performance that is nothing short of amazing. To borrow and alter a line from her character: "[She] is smart. [She] is kind. [She] is important". Harry Potter's makeup is nothing short of amazing. I mean they turned people into goblins, Ralph Fiennes into Voldemort, and brought a myriad of other creatures to life with a few prosthetics and color (OK, maybe more than a few).
Looking back on my list I notice I have a problem with the Academy's selection of women winners. I don't think they get it right - at least within these last 10 years. They seem to miss the mark - at least that's how I have viewed them over the years. But hey, at least their is a debate over the winners. If they were all uniformly loved then it would not be interesting at all. These 'misses' make it more interesting and open up the floor for conversation about the merit of each film. Here's to the next 10 years.
I'm looking back at the last 10 years a giving out failing grades to the Academy for giving out awards to people who did not deserve them. Clearly, they were deserving enough to get this far but it hit the fan when these people won. I'll start from 10 years ago (meaning the awards given out for the 2002 movies) and work my way up.
2002: Chicago for Best Picture - This is a perfect example for how to stage a musical for film. It's as simple as that. I think everyone thought that win Moulin Rouge! being nominated the year before that the Hollywood Musical was back...and it was....this year. It took another 10 years for another musical (Les Miserables) to be nominated.
Looking back on my list I notice I have a problem with the Academy's selection of women winners. I don't think they get it right - at least within these last 10 years. They seem to miss the mark - at least that's how I have viewed them over the years. But hey, at least their is a debate over the winners. If they were all uniformly loved then it would not be interesting at all. These 'misses' make it more interesting and open up the floor for conversation about the merit of each film. Here's to the next 10 years.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
State License Plates Pt. 14: Vermont
Vermont was admitted into the Union on March 4, 1791. I bet that was a good vintage for maple syrup. I mean, that's what Vermont is know for out of everything else. It's our leading producer of the sweet nectar and damn does it taste great. I enjoy REAL maple syrup more than anything over my waffles and bacon. The buttery/flavoured stuff is OK in a pinch but I prefer the real thing.
Here's a fun fact about Vermont: It's the only state in the New England region NOT bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Fascinating....
If you didn't know Vermont was the Green Mountain State - you do now. You cannot miss this plate, as it compares to the others we've seen thus far. There isn't a whole lot going on here except for the green...and white...and the maple tree in the upper left. I like the font of 'Vermont' and I also like how there is a separation between the numbers and letters with the rest of the plate. It draws your focus to those numbers and letters. Instead of making it just a green blob with white lettering they changed it up a bit and added borders which I appreciate. The rest of the plate is standard state license plate stuff which brings it down a few letter grades. Had that maple tree been right in the middle of the numbers and letters I might be inclined to give it an A but as it stands, I give it a C+.
Here's a fun fact about Vermont: It's the only state in the New England region NOT bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Fascinating....
If you didn't know Vermont was the Green Mountain State - you do now. You cannot miss this plate, as it compares to the others we've seen thus far. There isn't a whole lot going on here except for the green...and white...and the maple tree in the upper left. I like the font of 'Vermont' and I also like how there is a separation between the numbers and letters with the rest of the plate. It draws your focus to those numbers and letters. Instead of making it just a green blob with white lettering they changed it up a bit and added borders which I appreciate. The rest of the plate is standard state license plate stuff which brings it down a few letter grades. Had that maple tree been right in the middle of the numbers and letters I might be inclined to give it an A but as it stands, I give it a C+.
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