Around the Tubes vol. LVII

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Haven, Drugs Inc., Betty White, and Jersey Shore.

- Jerry Bruckheimer (along with Michael Bay) are everything that is wrong with movies these days and Nicholas Cage seems to say yes to the biog blockbusters that no one else is willing to slum it for. Yet when the two teamed up for the National Treasures movies, they turned out entertaining. So I am cautiously optimistic with their latest collaboration The Sorcerer’s Apprentice which also stars the highly likeable Jay Baruchel (Tropic Thunder) and the moderately attractive Teresa Palmer (Bedtime Stories). The tagline for the movie is The Coolest Job Ever and now you can enter The Coolest Job Ever Sweepstakes where you become an apprentice for a day for a Disney Imagineer at Disneyland in California. And to get you ready for the release of the movie July 14, here is a five minute extended scene:

- As I mentioned earlier, Haven premieres tonight at 10:00 (preceded an hour earlier by the return of Eureka), here is a sneak peak of the show:

Welcome to Haven


- Also premiering this weekend is a miniseries Drugs Inc. that will focus on specific drugs. Cocaine (8:00) and methamphetamine (9:00) on Sunday and heroin (9:00) and marijuana (10:00) on Monday. Here is a preview of the Cocaine episode:

Life as a Coco Farmer


- Just when you thought 2010 was a big year for Betty White, get geared up for twelve months of her next year with the 2011 Betty White calendar. The calendar will go on sale in September at $12.99 with proceeds going to the Morris Animal Foundation.

- The MLB All-Star game is coming up soon, Travel Expert Nicole Hockin interviewed Joellen Ferrer of StubHub on how to get hard to get tickets to your favorite events and other traveling tips.

- Personally, I am hoping Jersey Shore goes the way of Joe Millionaire, one season then no one cares anymore, but that is not going to stop crafty marketers like Three-O Bubble vodka to come up with their own Jersey Shore specialty drinks like the Snooki approved Snooki Bubble Up (3/4 oz. lemon-lime soda, 3/4 oz. cranberry juice; 1 oz. Three-O Bubble vodka; Combine ingredients with ice; garnish with a lime wedge).

Previewing Nat Geo Amazing!

New show premiering on National Geographic Channel tomorrow at 7:00, the appropriately titled Nat Geo Amazing! The show is very reminiscent of Ripley’s Believe or Not with short minute or two length segments that make up an episode. Tomorrow you can expect stories about killer swarms, city-dwelling penguins, and Lego sculptures. There is also an accompanying book to go along with series called Nat Geo Amazing!: 100 People, Places, and Things That Will Wow You that you will want to check out if you enjoy the show. Here are some previews of some of those segments.

Licking Amphibians for a Living



Spectacular Sandcastles



Lego Michelangelo

I Want My Music Television vol. LXXXVI

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


King of Anything - Sara Bareilles



I wonder if King of Anything will be like You're So Vain where we are guessing the identity of the person in the song for the next three decades. My guess: Kanye West.


Sign Of A Victory (feat. Soweto Spiritual Singers) - R. Kelly



No one does an over the top inspirational anthem quite like R. Kelly. Whe dude goes all out, he really goes all out. I do not know why he doesn’t just release a straight gospel album. Well first he needs to give us more chapters from Trapped In the Closet (Chapters 1-12) - R. Kelly, then make a gospel album Kells.


Hot-n-Fun - N.E.R.D. & Nelly Furtado



Wow, that Nelly Furtado part is kind of jarring and takes you out of a pretty otherwise mellow song from N.E.R.D.


Popcorn - The Muppets



The Muppets have a new video out. Um, alright.

Previewing The Closer 6.x

Despite a major recession, Benda Leigh Johnson and her team are moving into a multi-million dollar headquarters on Monday, July 12 when The Closer returns for its sixth season. Yet no one seems too happy about it as they all have to learn how to use their new gizmos and try to find anything (with the exception of Will who may have very good reason to enjoy his new digs) . And the case of the week for the return episode just also happens to do with some remodeling when a contractor is found dead and the wife of his most recent client found in his bed.

Fans of Mary McDonnell will be happy to know Capt. Raydor show up in the second episode back and accompanies Brenda on a missing nanny case. Also be on the lookout for Lost’s Man in Black in the episode. And before you are quick to suspect the evil incarnate as the perp, another serial baddy, Joe McCoy (Friday Night Lights) also makes an appearance in the episode. But do not look to me to spoil the ending of the July 19 episode because TNT cut off the screener early and teased a “shocking ending” (I will say it doesn’t involve the case of the week because we do get that resolved in a heart stopping fashion).

The Closer airs Mondays at 9:00 on TNT. You can stream recent episodes at TNT.tv. You can also download The Closer on iTunes.

Feed Your iPod vol. XLVII: Honey, Let Me Sing You a Song

Watched When in Rome over the weekend, I wasn’t expecting Citizen Kane or even Hot Tub Time Machine (which I also caught, more on that after the video, small spoiler warning if you have not seen it) but I figured that a movie starring Veronica Mars, Gob Bluth, Sonny Crockett, The Penguin, The Piemaker, and Ghostface Killah at the very least has to be watchable. But not so much despite a few funny gags. But in the movie there is a song by Matt Hires that keeps popping up on my iPod every once in awhile and I thought I’d share it.

Honey, Let Me Sing You a Song – Matt Hires



Back to Hot Tub Time Machine, what is with all the revisionist Cleveland sports history going on lately? First Nike created the biggest did I see what I think I just saw moment possibly ever (or at least in the history of advertising) when they had Michael Jordan missing The Shot. Then in Hot Tub Time Machine, a squirrel keeps John Elway from completing The Drive. What’s next, is there going to be a Lost deleted in the upcoming DVD release where in flashsideways world we learn Jose Mesa actually earned the save in game seven of the 1997 World Series?