Help Me

Can you tell which one is the actor that plays Dennis from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and which one is my friend Josh Lamkin from music group The Brilliant Inventions? I can't.

What's the deal with actors looking like musicians?

Does it get any better than this?

From my evening drive home.

For My Dogs

Found this quote while checking Twitter and reading updates on the blogs I follow:

The immediate feedback provided by Facebook comments and Twitter replies is an incentive to make continued contributions. But the real answer may be in our heads. These technologies are literally addictive, says psychologist Susan Weinschenk, fueling a "dopamine-induced loop" of seeking behavior and instantaneous reward. New email! Unread Tweets! New comment on your blog post! Each new alert is like Pavlov ringing a bell.

Guilty as charged. Expect another post soon.

Worth It

Saw “Precious” last night. It may be the most in-your-face, intense, and emotionally draining film I’ll ever see. If you’ve never been a destitute, uneducated, abused, black woman, this might be as close as you’ll ever get to experiencing it. I wasn’t sure while watching, but after calming my nerves and settling my stomach, I can now say it’s a great movie. If it wasn’t such a well-made film (especially the script and the acting), the importance of the story would be lost in how depressing it is. Instead, it’s thought provoking and gut wrenching. My girlfriend got credit for a volunteer project for seeing “Precious.” Teachers, social workers, guidance counselors, parents, and just about everyone else should be made to see it as well.

After seeing “Precious,” it got me thinking about some other downers.

My top 5 most depressing movies:

1. Precious
2. Precious (it was that hard to watch)
3. The Wrestler
4. Requiem for a Dream
5. The Deer Hunter

Honorable Mention: Twilight: New Moon (it was that bad)

I'm Back

...in the swing of things. I've used this eight month hiatus from the blogosphere as an opportunity to hone and perfect my blogging abilities. I've continued to work on my ranking and sorting so expect this blog to be list-heavy in the coming months.

iBrain

4 reasons I know Apple uses small bits of human brain to make their iPhones:

1. The application called Shazam: hold your phone up to a song and it tells you the name of the artist, album, song, etc. That's the part of the human brain that recognizes songs.

2. There is now an app. that scans your thumbprint in order to act as a lie detector, love meter, mood scanner, and even tells you if you have a criminal record. They must have used a piece of Ms. Cleo's brain for this.

3. Games like labyrinth, skateboarding, car racing, and others are controlled by simply moving your iPhone in the proper direction. This must be controlled by the section of the brain called "motioney equilibrus". It's real. Look it up. (don't)

4. A little thing called Vlingo takes the voice recognition of most phones and bitch slaps it. Hard. With this little piece of magic you can tell your phone to map directions, call contacts, do an internet seach, or update a new Facebook or Twitter status. For example, you could say: "Internet search-motioney equilibrus", or "twitter-blogging about twitter". I actually just did that one. I can prove it. Follow my tweets: jetosco. For this, Apple must have used the human bit of brain that controls...wait for it...hold...hold...release: bitch slapping. One point-Me!

Justice 2.0

Arrested Development:
Greatest sitcom to not be given it's fair shot? For real...only 3 seasons?!?! Have you ever met anyone that has seen that show and didn't love it? At least there's a movie in the works right.
Mad Men is good too.

Irish Wish

May there always be work for your hands to do, may your purse always hold a coin or two, may the sun always shine on your windowpane, may a rainbow be certain to follow each rain, may the hand of a friend always be near you, may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you,

and may you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows your dead.

p.s. see that movie...it's good.

Cabbage? For real?!?!

I was wondering about this:

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years. On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink, and feast—on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

You're Welcome

Two things to check out:
1. http://www.musicmovesforward.com/: a good blog if you're interested in music and the business/industry of music.
2. If you are a combo iphone and twitter user, download the free app called TwitterTrend.

Don't front.

I just got to thinking about the shortage in great frontmen over the last decade. Forget great...how about just good. Is Chris Martin the only captivating frontman left these days? Are there any great frontwomen? Kind of sad huh? Is it just because people don't go to concerts as much anymore so there's no demand for great frontpeople? Is it because Chris Martin is just so damn good that everyone else fails in comparison? Perhaps it's simply because there are less and less bands, and more and more solo acts. What's the deal?

So many questions. So few answers. Help.

p.s. I'm talking about bands that have hit their stride in the last ten years. Don't try to throw out Mick Jagger or The Boss.

Nashty

I just found a picture of my favorite basketball player when he was in college.

Oscarrific!

Just days before the big dance here is my top ten list in particular order:

1. BENNY BUTTON-Brad Pitt. Need I say more? Okay, I will. Cate Blanchett. Need I say more? Okay, I will. An old man baby and little kid old man. Need I say more? Okay, I will. More wanting me leave movie long hour three nearly a made who Fincher David by way poetic and intriguing an in done was narrative reverse the. I know what you’re thinking, “if you’re going to write the words backwards, you should have written the letters backwards too dummy.” Well then call me F. Scott. He wrote a story about a small baby born in the body of an old man who goes out as an old man in the body of a small boy. Shouldn’t he have been born with a body as big as an old man? Would have hurt mom too much huh?

2. FROST/NIXON-Frank Langella deserves the nomination, but Michael Sheen should have gotten more attention. This isn't exactly my kind of movie and it still won me over big time. Well played Mr. Opie.

3. IRON MAN-Best comic book movie I’ve seen in a while. Robert Downey Jr. made this movie great. I went to this movie by myself and loved every second. A movie like this would never get nominated for big awards, but it's good to know there are still flat out entertaining blockbusters that aren't as ridiculous as Transformers or as serious as Dark Knight.

4. VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA-Woody strikes again. He’s just one of those writers like Tarantino. I just like to hear his characters talk. Interesting story, good acting, but great writing.

5. MILK-Gus Van Sant=best director. Period. (confusion about whether to put an actual period after the word period)

6. KUNG FU PANDA-Skidoosh!

7. REVOLUTIONARY ROAD-Better movie than the Reader. Another movie with amazing acting. Everyone should see this movie before getting married. Unless of course you actually want to get married.

8. DARK KNIGHT-Great movie. Unbelievable performance by Heath Ledger, but also the second most overrated movie of the year behind Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Batman Begins was better, but I still really liked this film. The Harvey Dent story could have been saved for the next film in the Christopher Nolan series. Oh, and who would have guessed that the only person crazier than Heath Ledger’s Joker character was Christian Bale in real life.

9. SLUMDOG MILLIONARE-Who doesn’t love a good love story. This is one that is told in a new and exciting way. To me, not the movie of the year, but a good one nonetheless.

10. STEP BROTHERS-Sorry. I still think Will Ferrell is hilarious. I cried in the theatre.


Movie occurence of '08 that nearly ruined my entire childhood:
INDIANA JONES

Only movie that was a bigger waste of money than Indy:
THE SPIRIT

Second best animated film (it's not Wall-E!!):
HORTON HEARS A WHO.

Movie event that was ground breaking and unbelievable but most people still probably missed:
U2 3D