The Wry Side of Life

I'm disturbed by the idea that the Catholic League feels it necessary to boycott the movie The Golden Compass. I have listened to the whole trilogy on audio book, and I have never felt so many emotions from a book. The author Phillip Pullman is an atheist. I do see their point about the book having an anti-religious bent, but there is so much more to the book then that. The ultimate theme of the book is love. You have parents sacrificing themselves for their child. You have a girl and a boy learning what love is. I don't see how this is a good reason not to see a movie. I believe I read somewhere that they didn't bother to read the book or see the movie, before they started the boycott. I'm a firm believer that just because you read, watch, listen to music, movies and books doesn't mean it will influence your behavior. After listening the trilogy I didn't feel like I hated religion or the Catholic church because of it. I was more compelled by the characters in t

I came to an interesting conclusion yesterday as I was at a holiday luncheon. We went to this restaurant located in Beverly Hills. It was one of those steak houses. In a nutshell I came to realize that rich people seem to like bland food. Most of it seemed flavorless to me, and stuff I could have probably cooked out home. Would you go to an expensive restaurant to have mashed potatoes and gravy? Can get the same thing at Kentucky Fried Chicken for less. I realize it's a whole status thing to pay more for things, but what about the quality? My favorite place to go in Glendale is a buffet restaurant called Q Q's. They have a wonderful selection of food. Anything from fried chicken, orange chicken, pizza, crab legs and even frog legs. My favorite is the oyster in black bean sauce. I've never tried oyster before, but I had to try it. For me, how things taste is important. There is something about the way the flavors just mingle in your mouth.

Although I haven't seen the movie yet I have high praise for the soundtrack. The soundtrack is only 30 minutes long, but I find myself rewinding it to listen to it all over again. I watched Richard Roeper's review and he remarked how well the music fits the movie. I can tell without watching the movie the mood each songs gives me. The opening song titled " Setting Forth" gives off an adventure vibe. A man going out into the world with hope and optimism. With "Hard Sun" I picture people encircling a campfire clapping and singing along. To sum it up, it's worth buying and you will find yourself listening to it over and over.

The thing that gets me about this whole writer's strike is the complaint from the producers that there is no money. We all know a good deal of money is being made on DVDs. If things are as dire as they say how is it possible that movies costing $300-$400 million dollars get made? Spiderman 3 and the latest Pirates of the Carribean were those types of movies. Both movies got panned by critics and audiences; yet, still made a ton of money. Goes to show you it's not the millions of dollars put into a movie that makes it great-it's the writers!

I don't know what's gotten into everyone but the writing on tv and in movies has become unbearable. I've never heard such bad dialogue and seen unrealistic situations ever in my life. This is even on some of my fave shows too. Like honestly, on Brothers & Sisters, Rachel Griffiths' character losing custody of her children. Why? Because she had her ex-husband pick-up her children and drop them off at school. No sense! Defies logic! What the hell?! Bionic Woman please cancel this show or center the show around Katee Sackoff's character, Sarah Corvis. She's more interesting and twisted. (On a side note, this woman needs her own show. She's too good to be a supporting player. Catch her on Battlestar Galactica) Let me preview some dialogue from the pilot. This a scene between the bionic woman and her boyfriend. Bionic woman: Why do you like me? Boyfriend: Because you're different. I rest my case.

I find myself really irritated with people over this weekend. It's been a gradual build to a grand climax. It's sad to see people who are in their late 20's and early 30's acting like children. It's like they want to be in a perpetual state of acting like they are teenagers. As they say high school never ends! There have been two glaring examples for me as of late. One was of a guy who didn't call in to work, when everybody depended on him that day. The number one thing you can do to keep your job is to call in. What was he thinking? Not only is it unprofessional, but it shows that you don't give a rat's ass about your job. The other example was putting my neck out for someone and they didn't bother to show up. Don't waste people's time. If they go out on a limb to help you out, the best thing you can do is show up and don't disappoint them.

Last week's Grey's Anatomy got me thinking, how long would you wait for someone to get their act together? The last scene between Meredith (Ellen Pompeop) and Derek (Patrick Dempsey) played out with him telling her that he would wait for her, but if someone else came along well he doesn't know what he would do then. Basically, he realized that he's ready to commit to her, but that she isn't ready. That she's still a girl who doesn't know who she is or what she wants. If you were in the same situation what would you do?

Radiohead decided to release their album online and it was pay whatever you want for it type deal. About a million downloaded the album. Nine Inch Nails frontman, Trent Reznor plans to distribute the next album on his own label online. Listening to the radio this morning they were saying is this the end of the industry? Everytime I hear how the internet will revolutanize music, movies, and the like I can't help but laugh. The studios and the record companies will never go away. The reason why is that they have the money and the means to promote internationally. Have you ever seen independent labels with billboards plastered all over the city or ads running on radio and tv constantly throughtout the day? No, you don't. I can see bands who have established fanbases finding modest success on the internet, but if you're a newbie I doubt you will be a global phenomenon. The sky isn't falling. There will be no revolution.

Some of you may have heard about the campaign to save Jericho from cancellation. I thought I would help aid the cause. I'm a late viewer myself to the show. I had heard an interview with Carol Barbee about how they came back from cancellation. CBS started to show re-runs on Friday. Honestly, not a very good idea and with little fanfare. Anyhow, I started watching them and I became hooked. If you want to watch an excellent show with good writing this is it. I posted a link in my blog to all the episodes. Also, Season 1 DVD is coming out this month so if you'd rather rent it and watch it on a bigger screen there you go. The acting is top notch I really like the chemistry between Skeet Ulrich and Sprague Grayden (Heather). Skeet plays Jake who is the black sheep of the family who returns home to retrieve some inheritance money. Has he is about to leave town there is an explosion coming from Colorado. This prevents him from leaving town and he ends up rescuing a teache

I watched a very thought-provoking episode last Saturday from the show Torchwood. It's a British show and you can catch it on BBC America. It reminded me of how poignant sci-fi can be. Let me breakdown the characters involved in the story, but if you have a chance watch the show! Major spoiler alert! Torchwood- The title of the show is the name of the institute whose duty is to investigate alien activity. There is some type of wormhole that leads into Cardiff, England. So alien creatures seep through. Captain Jack Harkness- He's American, and for some reason he can't die. He's been shot at and eletrocuted and he just springs back to life. He's the leader of Torchwood. Gwen- She's the newest team member. The premise of this story is that one of the member's Ianto, has a cyborg stored in the basement of the Insitute. This cyborg was his girlfriend. She was recruited into a project to be turned from a human into a killing machine. She wasn't fully integrate

I'll admit it I'm a TV junkie! My DVR has been crammed with all the new tv episodes that have debuted last week. I'm going to list my favorites. I'm going to update this list when I've had a chance to see the other new shows that are debuting later. Fave Returning 1). How I Met your Mother 2). Heroes 3). Grey's Anatomy 4). Brothers & Sisters 5). Men in Trees 6). The Hills 7). My Boys 8). Dancing with the Stars Highly Recommended New Shows so far 1). Torchwood (on BBC America) 2). Gossip Girl 3). Side Order of Life 4). Army Wives 5). Damages 6). Pushing Daisies On the Fence 1) Bionic Woman 2). Blood Ties (Lifetime)

I know how all you Dodgers fans must feel. We're all disappointed they didn't make it to the playoffs. The only consolation is that there's always next season. I have to give some props to a few of the players. First, gotta hand it to Russell Martin. Love watching him play. He does a little bit of everything. He can do home runs, steal, get people out, and make amazing plays like almost falling into the dugout head first to catch a ball. He deserves all the awards he's gotten. I look forward to seeing him next year. Although he's at the top of my list for players I want to meet in person. Doesn't hurt that he dazzles these eyes! Second, Juan Pierre is a must keep. There's been a lot of talk about the younger players this season, but I don't think people should count out the vets. Juan Pierre is another player that I feel is exciting to watch. He stole 61 bases this year, and he is one of the hardest players to strike-out. So you can guarantee he will hit