Is nothing sacred?

I realize that creativity has been so lacking lately that artists of all kinds must remake, rerelease, cover, steal, and sequel-ize, but I thought some things were off limits. For example, if I ever saw a remake of Casablanca, or Casablanca II: Ilsa's Return, I think I would never watch another movie put out by anybody involved in the project (down to the second best boy).

You can imagine my shock, dismay, and really, disappointment when I heard a rap/techno remix of the puppet show song from "The Sound of Music." It was on a warm-up disc for volleyball, and I was surprised that young kids would put something like that - even a few lines of it - on a warm-up CD. My initial surprise turned to horror when it broke into the vamped up, techno chorus. Most of the song didn't even resemble the original, it was just a few lines of yodeling, and the intro (at least that I could tell, it was very hard to understand the words).

What's next - Gershwin? Disney? I can just see kids getting down to pumped up versions of " 'S Wonderful" or "So This Is Love." Perhaps next year's prom will have "Cheek to Cheek" on the playlist, although I doubt it will be the same cheeks that Few was singing about.

Some things should just be off limits.

A little perspective

I'm often criticized for so closely following AFI's film lists. People seem to think that I only will watch films that are on the list, and think that, "This list... is an absolute good. The list is life. All around its margins lies the gulf." Just to be clear, I don't think this, but know that these lists are good starting spots for a deep appreciation of film.

Recently, a blogger asked for "the fans" version of the AFI list, and gave a little different criteria for the list. In the most recent release, AFI only allowed for four "write ins," while 96 of the films had to be on their 400 film nominated list. They also obviously gave the voting to people who are involved in film - critics, directors, producers, and the like.

This guy gave the vote to anybody, and allowed as many write ins as desired, but strangely enough, all of the films that made his list were on the nominated 400. Makes sense that people are going to think of what they see. Anyways, check out the results here, along with a nice write up of each film, and an iconic picture. He also includes comparison with the original lists for those people who care.

A New Saga Begins

It's the start of a new school year, which means it's the start of the new television season, too. This isn't such a big deal as it used to be since cable has so many quality shows on during the summer, but some people who haven't discovered those gems, it's the return of new episodes to watch. Most of the shows that I watched last year are no longer with us, which means that I am in need of one or two new ones to watch. Heroes is still around, as are Battlestar Galactica and Smallville, but both of those I much prefer to watch on DVD, which left me with just one show to watch during the week.

The good news is that with the success of Alias in the past and all the spy movies lately, studios are willing to develop spy and action shows, even if most of them are drama filled. Also, with the recent huge success of most things supernatural or metahuman, television is trying desperately to get on the band wagon of superpowers.

All of this is good news for me since I enjoy one of those generes immensely, and the other when it's done right. Almost all of the new series (that I'm aware of, at least) show a trend of tv falling into fewer and fewer categories. The sitcom is slowly dying (although shows like The Office refuse to acknowledge this), which generally makes me immensely happy. Hour long television falls into crime (procedural, forensic, and action being the sub-genres), fantasy (metahumand and supernatural being the sub-genres), reality (crap and crap being the sub-genres), and hospital shows (drama and comedy being the sub-genres. I really only will watch two of those genres.

So here are my thoughts on some of the new shows this season.

Chuck - Mondays on NBC
crime, action

Jumping from Alias' idea that girls kick butt, "Chuck" is a show about a mild-mannered nerd who works for the equivalent of the Geek Squad (called the Nerd Herd). His college roommate is a CIA spy who goes rogue and emails Chuck all of the NSA and CIA's secrets, which are then downloaded into Chuck's head.

Enter two agents: one from the CIA, and one from the NSA. The one from the CIA is subtle and embodies the motto of "girls kick butt," while the one from the NSA is Adam Baldwin doing an impression of Jayne in a suit (if you don't get it you're a loser who needs to watch Firefly). They duke it out, there's a decent car crash, and a bomb is dismantled. Your average pilot for a spy show.

The awesomeness is seen in Chuck's complete nerdiness. In order to receive the email, Chuck has to input a command code from a text RPG that he and his roommate created in college (just like Gemstone). The awesomer part is Adam Baldwin in all his Adam Baldwin goodness. He's the ultimate trigger-happy mercenary who is a comic genius.

Potential: Sadly, I don't see this one sticking around. Many of the supporting characters are incredibly annoying, and I think Chuck might be too nerdy for the mainstream. That could have just been in the pilot, though, and we'll see what subsequent episodes bring. I hope it sticks around.

Heroes - Monday on NBC
fantasy, metahuman

For those of us that are aware of "The 4400," "Heroes" is just a time filler until the summer, but it does still have it's charms. Instead of explaining the events that happened immediately following the season finale, this season starts Four Months Later, as Chapter 1 is titled. This can be fun because then we get to figure out what happened, but I have a feeling most of this season will be clean-up, which is cheating and lame. The regulars from last year (that survived) have almost all made appearances, including my favorite, Mr. Bennett.

Hiro has gone back in time to meet his hero, who turns out to be one of my heros, David Anders (he was on Alias). The addition of David, and Kristen Bell later, solidifies this as watchable, even if I am a bit worried about the plot.

The Good: David Anders as a samurai and three spoken languages (now with Spanish!)
The Bad: "Who am I?" - I hate this plot device
The Ugly: Nathan Petrelli's beard.

Journey Man - Mondays on NBC
fantasy, supernatural

Taking a page from Quantum leap and revamping it for this century, "Journey Man" is about a journalist who finds himself inexplicable traveling back in time. He doesn't know why, but the jumping follows around a guy who he decides he's supposed to save.


I think what will make or break this show are the relationships between the characters. It seems that Journey Man's former fiancé (who was thought dead), is a Journey Woman. After she died (or so he thought), he ended up marrying his brother's girlfriend. So he's faced with a dilemma - while time traveling is it really cheating if he hooks up with a person who, at the time, he was dating? Only time will tell.

Potential: Seems to have a good chance at surviving the ax, as long as NBC doesn't listen to people like my brother who "didn't understand what was going on." It has mysteries to solve, people who need closure can get it every episode while there is a larger mystery going on over the whole season. There are also interesting characters, and plenty of room for them to grow personally and in their relationships. But we'll see. I liked it, so that means it must already be halfway to the dumpster.

All in all, Monday night is looking to be a bit busy. We'll see how long they last, though.

Coming up soon: Life, Bionic Woman

Headlights in my rearview

I love driving at night, which is a good thing because I've made so many long trips during the dark. The only thing I hate about driving at night is that recently some car makers have decided that it's fun to turn regular headlights into brights. And the car makers that haven't decided to do that have decided to sell their cars to idiots that like driving with their brights on. If you are going to drive with your brights on, you must be enough on your game that you turn them off before you are about to pass me the other way (or just tailgate me and don't ever turn the brights off, that's cool). If you can see my headlights, I can see yours, so turn them down!

Really, you can only be as safe on the roads as the other drivers are, and it's very difficult for me to be safe when I'm blinded every few minutes by idiots with their brights on. It's really just safer all around for us all to have lower watt bulbs, because then your eyes adjust.

Okay, done whining. Until the next time, at least.

The Awful Truth

So I'm off to SB again to watch Natalie DEWM herself to a life of happiness. She's the first, so I have a feeling it will be a little strange, but two days of wine tasting before the wedding will probably help things, as will sitting on Santa Barbara's East Beach for the ceremony.

The Mummy Returns

Okay, so cheerleaders aren't really mummies; they're worse. I've never been a fan of cheerleaders. I guess they have their place, but that place is as far away from me as possible. Now, if I'm being honest, there was one time when I appreciated cheerleaders. My senior year our soccer Valley Final was in Clovis, and we took some cheerleaders with us, not to cheer, but to convert Clovis' stadium into our own little Griffith Stadium away from home. Many people commented that if you didn't know better, you would have thought that we were the home team since there was so much Driller representin' going on.

But since volleyball season has started again, so has the cheerleaders' habit of sitting right behind me and yelling. They can't manage to sit on the side their school is on, no, they have to sit right in the middle behind the official. And it pisses me off.

Stupid cheerleaders should stay with the stupid football players where they belong.

Beach Blanket Bingo

I don't know why, but I've been neglecting my blog lately. Perhaps it's because nothing has happened that is note-worthy, or perhaps it's just because it's the fall and that sort of thing tends to happen.

Anyways, over Labor Day Weekend I spent a fun time in Santa Barbara with my parents and grandparents. Unfortunately, it was obscenely hot (it would have been more comfortable to be in B-town due to the lack of AC in SB), but was very comfortable on the beach and in the pool, where I spent much of my time. My grandmother was recovering from knee surgery, so I kept her entertained with movies, and we watched some sports together.

I went in the ocean and played around a bit for the first time in probably two years. I've been to the beach many times, but it's always in the winter, or when it's too cold to swim (or I'm not properly attired).

All alone

I currently have 0 friends, so movies have become my friends. I think I've watched 6 in the past 3.5 days. This isn't anything new, as I've done it before, but that was mostly when I was working and too exhausted to do anything else after a long day.

Not that I'm complaining - watching movies is a perfectly fine way to spend a day, especially when you consider that I've been winterizing my room at the same time. Or I guess I should say "fallizing" my room, since I'm not insulating pipes or anything, I'm just getting all the clothing that I need for the fall and winter out of boxes.

Family Ties

Most of you don't know this, but there are five of us in the family within about three years. These same five grew up about five minutes away from one another, and always went to the same school. Matt was born in Jan, then Billy and I in October, then Jenny in July, and finally Robby rounds out the group in the next December. Granted, the first four are the closest, but there's no way to exclude Robby. Now both of my cousins are married, and one has a baby while the other is expecting in January. And everybody still lives in Bakersfield.

It's absolutely pandemonium when the whole family gets together. Like tonight.

We always play cards (either poker or Oh Hell), and if the neighbors can't hear us, I'd be amazed. After two bottles of wine (between four people) and margaritas all around, it's amazing that anybody can still try to win (but we're Jennings, so we hold our liquor well).

Tonight was fun because my dad (who had the least to drink) managed to spill a full glass of wine (thankfully white) on me while he was dealing (he was promptly banned from dealing again). And we had a fun rimmer to play with while making the margaritas. Matt and I are always assigned to making the margaritas, which is fun. He rims, while I blend. It works very well, and nobody has ever complained about our concoctions. Matt and I also have the same taste in wine (the only two to like reds), so I know I will never be alone in killing a bottle when he's around. That's a useful thing.

All in all, a very well spent evening. As much as my immediate family may annoy me, my extended family makes everything better. Even if they are getting married and having kids (in no particular order).

Because voting leads to suffering...

... those of you that can finish that quote go ahead, but I feel like I might be attacked if I said that online. Anyways, I just saw this, and couldn't help laughing. It made me think of Little Buddha and all the fun that watching that movie entails. Maybe they'll make a sequel when the new Dali Lama is reincarnated (with China's approval, of course).

I don't know how to speak in a normal voice!

Or at least Jack Bauer doesn't. He's always either whispering or yelling. This week's quiz is from "24" (Chris, you were pretty close with guessing "Alias"). It seems to only be the first season, but I'm not really sure. One of you "24" experts out there will have to tell me. I figure you guys who haven't answered yet probably won't unless I remind you, and I'm not going to do that, so you can answer later whenever you think to check my blog.

1. You are rock solid - the person everyone knows they can trust in a crisis to make sound decisions. People have faith in you because you are fair and sensible, but your pragmatism never eclipses your idealistic nature. You believe in a better world for all. You're President Palmer.

2. Apologies and regrets aren't in your repertoire. You work hard, to the brink of obsession, and for you the ends always justify the means. You know that when you operate on instinct, your wits rarely let you down; maybe that's why you don't think the rules ever apply to you. You're Jack.

3. Not to put too fine a point on it, but you tend to be blunt, even rude sometimes. Maybe it's because you're a nerd at heart - a social outcast who resorts to sarcasm in order to relieve the resentment you have towards the entire world. Now put away that stun gun. You're Chloe.

4. No one blames you for being a bit of a mess, since fate has delt you a pretty chaotic hand, but you don't do yourself any favors, either. You're constantly shifting your life in dramatic ways, always running into trouble while searching for some elusive slice of happiness. You're Kim.

5. You play it real close to the vest, don't you? Few people know the real you, probably because you're a cautious person by nature, choosing your words and actions carefully. You prefer operating covertly, influencing things behind the scenes, whispering in the ears of those in power. You're Mike.

Becca - Jack, Chloe (3); Palmer, Kim, Mike (2)
Chris - Kim (3); Chloe (1)
Jessica - Chloe (4); Jack (0)
Will - Chloe (5); Palmer (0)

I'll probably be in SB next week, so I don't know when the next quiz will be.

Better late than never

It's been a while. Sorry.

1. If you were a Molotov Cocktail component, you'd be...
a) gasoline
b) bottle
c) rag
d) cork
e) igniter

2. If you were a time of day, you'd be...
a) morning
b) noon
c) evening
d) night
e) late night

3. If you were a breed of dog, you'd be
a) German shepherd
b) poodle
c) mastiff
d) mutt
e) foxhound

4. If you were an amendment to the Constitution, you'd be...
a) Freedom of Speech
b) Right to Bear Arms
c) Right to Avoid Self-Incrimination
d) Due Process and Equal Protection
e) No Unlawful Search and Seizure

5. If you were a kind of tape, you'd be...
a) duct tape
b) cassette tape
c) double-sided tape
d) caution tape
e) red tape

6. If you were a U2 song, you'd be...
a) "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
b) "Mysterious Ways"
c) "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of"
d) "I Will Follow"
e) "Beautiful Day"

7. If you were a famous plane crash victim, you'd be...
a) Will Rogers
b) Glenn Miller
c) Patsy Cline
d) Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.
e) Buddy Holly

8. If you were a classic spying technique, you'd be...
a) false flag operations
b) honeypot
c) black bag operations
d) dead drop
e) agent handling

9. If you were something you remove at airport security, you'd be a...
a) belt
b) shoes
c) laptop
d) pocket change
e) cell phone

10. If you were a conspiracy theory, you'd be....
a) the grassy knoll
b) Area 51
c) Elvis sightings
d) Apollo moon-landing hoax
e) Freemasons control the world

Same rules apply. Don't pick what you like the best, but what best describes you. You can pick more than one answer if you'd like. Comment the answers, and check back in a week or so and I'll post the results.

Hazy days of summer

So not only is Bakersfield getting all of the pollution from the entire central valley, but now we have to deal with bad air from the southern coast. Arvin has the worst pollution in the country, and it's only going to get worse. But at least we know that this pollution isn't caused by too many people driving big SUV's by themselves, but instead millions and millions of trees going bye bye.

For the past two weeks we have had a huge plume of smoke traveling across the coast mountains from the Los Olivos area to grace Bakersfield with it's presence. It has made for some really cool sunsets, but unfortunately, some very disgusting skies.

Remind me again why Bakersfield is one of the fastest growing cities in the US?

To a 10 year old I'm huge.

I went with my dad to a West High faculty BBQ last night, and was made to sit for an hour and a half while this guy talked non-stop. I know that in movies and shows there can be characters that just don't stop talking no matter what, but I didn't think that these people actually existed. Apparently they do. What's worse is that my dad new I was wanting to go, and he just kept listening. He now owes me, even if I did get margaritas and wine out of it.

Also yesterday I was waiting for teenager #2 to get her hair cut, and was sitting in the waiting area with a mother and her two daughters. I brought my DS for entertainment, and as I looked over, I noticed that the 6 year old had her DS with her. I probably should have been a little bit embarrassed about it, but wasn't. # 2 accused me of being like a little kid when she saw me with it for the first time. I said, "Yep."

Holy Night Soil, Batman!

Tonight was the beginning of season 3 of Weeds, so the three of us townies made a party of it (although no pot was involved) by creating a drinking game out of the show. Unfortunately, we didn't think much about the rules we were making, and only one ended up applying, but it applied a whole lot. The rule was every time they swear, you have to take a drink of the Happiness wine. Even when we dialed it down to only two words applying, we still got through the bottle rather quickly.

After the show, we were killing time, and decided to watch some of Meadowlands. For some reason, however, instead of watching the show, we got into a discussion about late 80's and early 90's stair placement in sitcoms. Chris commented that in all your family sitcoms (Full House, Family Matters, Boy Meets World, Blossom, Sister Sister) the stairs is placed directly behind the door on the left side (usually, although the last two are different) of the living room. There is no foyer, and the kitchen is directly through the door from the living room.

We discussed why this might be so (the composition of the shot, inability to pan, so you want them coming downstairs right by the door to answer it), and I think that Jessica and I won, in that there are lots of reasons for this, and they all come down to either money or ease (usually both). Chris should know better than to get into a "discussion" with two philosophy majors. Even if it's friendly, we don't aim to lose.

After that, we decided that we had thrown enough bull around, we might as well see how the masters do it, so Chris turned on a episode of Penn and Teller, which was all about colonics. It was very interesting, and somewhat disturbing (giant sized colon, anybody?). All in all, it was a great evening, made all the better by perhaps a little too wine, a little too quickly (darn Showtime and HBO allowed to use bad language!).

Quote of the evening - Penn or Teller: If it was called bull-night soil, you'd be able to see it on your TiVo.

Other quote of the evening - Chris: It's raping my memory! (He meant to say erasing).

You break it, you buy it!

I really can't believe that people treat Borders and Barnes and Noble like a library. I can sort of understand why there are cafes in there, since people go to study and everything. But the people who just go to sit in the chairs and read books the don't intend to buy baffle me. Especially when these people bend the covers back. This probably bugs me especially because I hate people in general that bend back covers, but even more when they don't own the books!

For each generation...

The results are right here!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer first aired on March 10, 1997. This cross-genre series from Joss Whedon (my hero!) builds an elaborate mythology around its demon-hunting star and shows the real dangers of trying to make it through high school (and college).

1. People gravitate towards you, making you a born leader, whether it's because of your dedication, honesty, or naturally effervescent personality. Beneath the serene surface, however, lies an angst-ridden and haunted heart; as strong and confident as you are, you often manage to be hurt by the ones you love. You're Buffy!

2. You're the adorable prodigy, the one who things clearly before addressing a problem, no matter the size. Being so brainy has left you with some self-esteem issues, however, and you do your best to supress them, mostly by trying to be everyone's best friend. You're Willow!

3. Though you're a natural comedian, one with a quick wit and an everyman charm, you often have trouble making things happen for you. It's most likely your fear of success - and a small trace of bitterness - that keep you from achieving your goals. You're Xander!

4. Mysterious and brooding, you have a long memory to go with your complicated past. You are passionate, yet deeply conflicted, afraid of being around others to the point that you jealously guard your privacy, preferring to remain a loner who harbors a dark side. You're Angel!

5. You may be blunt and demanding, but if you don't ask for something, how on earth can you expect to get it? Fashionable and self-important, your opinions are more valuable than everyone's else's, especially because you're always right and they're always wrong. So let them know it. You're Cordelia!

Becca: Buffy and Xander (5); Willow (1)
Carly: Angel (4); Xander (0)
Chris: Willow, Xander, Cordelia (3); Buffy (0)
Jessica: Willow (5); Angel (0)
Tim: Buffy, Willow (3); Angel, Cordelia (1)

The stuff that draems are made of.

I don't often (that I can remember, at least) have the normal sort of dreams that "everybody" has. That I can remember, I've never dreamed that I was naked at school. Nor have I had the flying dream. I can't think of any other "standard dreams," but I'm pretty sure I don't have them. I've often wondered why I haven't, in particular the flying dream. I think it would be amazing to be able to fly (that and being insubstantial at will are my dream superpowers), so it's kind of strange that I wouldn't dream about it. I'm sure there's some psychological reason for it.

I do have lots of epic fantasy dreams, though. And lots of dreams involving sports. I'm sure there are psychological reasons for those, too.

"Who's got you?"

My love of Superman is well known, I think. If it isn't, I'm stating yet again that I love the Superman mythos. Most people have become anti-Superman. They think that things are too easy for him. He's too powerful, and doesn't even have to try to fight crime. These are the people that love Batman because, "he's just a regular guy!" Yes, he's a regular guy with billions of dollars to burn on toys. Puleez.

Anyways, for this month's piece of entertainment, I've chosen Smallville. When this show first came out, I was a bit hesitant to watch it for a couple reasons. First, it was a WB show, which isn't exactly known for its quality. Also, I like the Superman story the way it is, so I wasn't sure I would like this new imagining of it.

While I don't think Smallville will ever win any sort of awards, there are some very good parts of the show. First of all, after the first season they decide to get rid of the whole "nerd" image. It didn't really work with Tom Welling playing Clark. Unfortunately, individual plots are rather lame and contrived in the first season, but the show hits its stride for season two, which continues (with a few interruptions), especially into season four, with the introduction of Lois Lane.

But the real star of the show is Michael Rosenbaum, who plays Lex Luther. The characterization and portrayal of Lex in the show is up there with Snape, I think. This is especially true of season 2-4.

The show also isn't afraid to make little nods to previous endeavors. Martha Kent is played by Annette O'Toole, who play Lana Lane in Superman II. They also had Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder guest star in a couple episodes. The first one with those two is my favorite, I think.

Now if they would just kill off Lana, I would like the show even more.

Completely Random Note: Sidesaddle must be the dumbest invention ever made by man. (I'm watching Tombstone).

Weekend at Bernie's

I've been neglecting, I admit it. I'd like to say that it's been because I'm crazy busy, but really, I don't know why I haven't posted lately. I have been playing a lot of Guild Wars, kind of a last hurrah with some friends before life starts again in the fall.

There was a wedding a couple weeks ago, which was rockin', as much as possible, at least. Good music was played (contrary to Jessica and Lauren's wishes), and I think a good time was had by all. Next up is Natalie's, which shall be another big party, this time on the beach.

I recently bought a Nintendo DS, which I've been thinking about getting for a while. It's a surprising little system! Not only can you play DS games, but also Gameboy Advance games, which means that I can get some old school SNES games (like Zelda and FFVI), plus all the new, touch screen games of the DS (like FFIII). Plus, if I ever cared to, I can play against other people through Wi-Fi hot spots. And it has Tetris and Sudoku games. What more could I ask for?

My dad and I are headed out to Bass Lake for tomorrow and Wednesday. The plan was to beat the heat, but if things are the way they were today, there won't be any heat here to beat. But maybe that will make the mountains even colder! We'll see.