It's Not the Triumph But the Struggle

For the first time ever, the Olympics come to the Asian mainland for better or worse. Like pretty much every Olympics recently, the lead up was mired in questions on how the would come up thanks to construction and pollution questions. Then there was the added tension of political protest following the Olympics torch wherever it went. Politics aside (besides of course the Obama/Paria Hilton ad that ran) this should be the most contested medal count race since the Soviet Union desolved. Here aresome thoughts of the opening cerimonies that featured 15,000 performers and cost 300 million dollars.

- The Olympics just are not the Olympics without Bob Costas. I do not think I can remember on without him.

- I was surprised to hear that George Bush is the first sitting president to go to a non-American hosted Olympics. Considering most are lame-ducks by the time the Summer Olympics roll around that someone would like the vacation. Leave to Bush who took more vacation time in his first year than most had in their whole term to do so.

- Odd that the national anthem of a Communist country is called March of the Volunteers.

- And like many Olympics before it, the Opening Ceremonies is full with stuff that despite looking cool, I have no clue what they are trying to get to get across and that is even after the commentators explained everything. That whole painting scroll thing is just the most bizarre thing I have ever seen.


- And I am corrected already. After those flowing boxes stop and all the people popped out is the most bizarre thing I have ever seen.

- The Parade of Athletes is at the same time the best and worst part of the Olympics. It is excruciatingly long, but thanks to the length Bob Costas starts to go off script and says some inane things. But what was with the bagpipes through the parade?

- Another part of the Parade is the native costumes with African nation always being the best best. The Americans as usual are lane. This year created by Ralph Lauren complete with ascots and Berets.

- The whole footprint thing is pretty cool.

- Wait, there is no more Zaire? When did that happen?

- Okay, the torch lighting was the most bizarre of them all. Consider my mind blown.

- After all that I flipped throughall the NBC networks and no games yet even though it was noon over there.

Let the Games Begin

By the time you read this the Olympics will most likely already started (although we have to wait for the tape delay to witness the start later tonight). Below are a couple of widgets to to keep you up to date with what is going on with the games. And of course, for all things Olympic, head over to NBCOlympics.com.


TV/Online Listing




Results and Schedules




Medal Count

Cleaning Out My Inbox vol. IV

A plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on My Boys, the Olympics, Monster Ark, Son of Anarchy, and Larry Flynt. Yes, Larry Flynt.

- Tonight is the summer finale of My Boys at a special time of 10:00. Will Bobby get married? Will the best man show up? Will anyone find out about Kenny and Stephanie? Will my prediction that Mimi Rodgers is Bobby’s mom be right? Here is a clip to hold you over:



- In a story I broke this past weekend, The Olympics start this tomorrow and despite all the blatant commercialism I am geeked about it. In fact the living room is stocked with two televisions, one with picture in picture, and a computer that I hope to log at least half of the proposed 3,600 hours NBC is offering. And if I were not geeked enough, then NBC sent me over this video:



- A couple more Olympics items, as previously mentioned NBC.com will be an interregnal part of the coverage this year. There will be exclusive live video of the action from trials and Olympics, access to Olympic Zone, stories, video and slideshows from your hometown and comprehensive TV and Online Olympic Listings. So head over to NBCOlympics.com and enter your zip code for all that.

- A little late on this one, but Man vs. Wild premiered last night yesterday for it its latest season on the Discovery Channel. But this is cable so I bet it will be repeated a few time before the next episode and I think it was Bear recapping his greatest accomplishments on the show, i.e. the nastiest. Catch future episodes of Man vs. Wild at its new day and time next week, Wednesday at 10:00. Here’s a promo:



- This Saturday on the Sci-Fi Channel is the movie premiere of the Sci-Fi Original Monster Ark starring Renee O’Conner and Tommy “Tiny” Lister at 9:00. Here is a synopsis:

In present day Turkey, a satellite photo reveals an ancient ship imbedded in the ice at the top of Mount Ararat. Believed to be Noah’s Ark from the great flood an expedition is formed to find the lost ark. What they discover is that Noah built two arks. His first ark was built to cast out a deadly creature, hoping to drown it at sea and protect mankind… and the creature still lives inside the ancient wreckage.

- Here is another promo for FX’s upcoming Sons of Anarchy this time with some actual footage of the show featuring Peg Bundy and Hellboy.



- When you receive an e-mail entitled “Larry Flynt Does IFC” you have to share. Tonight at 9:00 the channel is airing a new documentary on Flint called The Right to Be Left Alone which includes rare footage like the precedent-setting Supreme Court case against Jerry Falwell, Flynt’s prison sentencing for refusing to name his source in the FBI entrapment tapes of John DeLorean, and Flynt’s gubernatorial and presidential campaigns. Head over to IFC.com for a nine minute trailer.

I Want My Music Television vol. XXXIII

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though 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 not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


Viva la Vida (Anton Corbijn Version) - Coldplay



Coldplay made two videos for the first half of the title track. The Hype Williams directed version (see here) just looks like an extended version of their iPod ad. Interesting enough people said that Violet Hill was a rip off of Depeshe Mode’s Enjoy the Silence and this version, by the band’s admittance, is an homage to that very video directed by Anton Corbjin.


Just a Dream - Carrie Underwood

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

Who had Carrie Underwood making the most poignant statement of the Iraq War? Dude, put your hand down. You do this by taking the politics out of it and have Carrie take the view of a young widow of an Iraqi Vet. The morphing from the wedding to the funeral is just chilling.


Carmensita - Devendra Banhart



You know when you are at the mall and you occasionally see an unbelievable hot chick waling with some weird dude and think, “Huh?” That is pretty much my whole thought process watching Natalie Portman prance around with Devendra Banhart.


Love Is Noise - The Verve



Not sure how I feel about a reunited The Verve. I was pretty much content with Bittersweet Symphony going down as one of the greatest one hit wonders ever even if Love Is Blind is a decent enough song.

Hear the Piano do the Crying Now

From the opening notes of Green, it is surprising to learn that Brendan James self taught himself the piano. Not only that, but he did so by sneaking into hotel ballrooms to practice on their eighty-eight keys. Also a late bloom in the writing department, he never started taking down his lyrics until his sophomore year at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

This inexperience on the bench doesn’t shine threw on his debut album The Day Is Brave. There is grandeur about many of the songs that suggest a more seasoned artist. That is even if some of the songs do seem to blend together at some points. But the ones that stand out are striking. The Other Side (not to be confused with the great David Gray song) starts off like many of the others but quickly morphs into a bouncy fare on par with classic Elton John circa Captain Fantastic.

The other standout on the set is Hero’s Song. Where most songs about Iraq get bogged down in heavy-handed political statement that skimp on actual musicianship, the first person account in James’ song has a melancholy that pulls at the heart especially with lines like I cannot die this way.”

Elsewhere on the album the new songwriter does run into rookie mistakes like unneeded namedropping of Kurt Vonnegut, John, Paul, Ringo, George, and his parents whom both get mentioned multiple times. Maybe if James sneaks into a couple more ballroom, he may be able to nail out a classic in the near future.

Song to Download - The Other Side

The Day Is Brave gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Feed Your iPod vol. XXI: Two Wrongs

What ever happened to City High? They were poised to be the next big thing after the success of the great What Would You Do. Then nothing. Even when the hot chick from the group hooked up with Wyclef Jean on this great song it failed to get much recognition. Then continuing with that bad luck, the next time she hooked up with ‘Clef was for Dance Like This that later got turned into the massive Shakira hit Hips Don’t Lie two years later.


Two Wrongs - Wyclef Jean featuring Claudette Ortiz

It's the End of the World as We Know It

It has been a while since I have read Revelations but I am pretty certain one of the signs of the apocalypse happened this past week and how appropriate in these days and times it can be viewed on YouTube:

Celeb


Yes that is Britney Spears and Paris Hilton in a political ad. When I first saw this I thought I was watching a Daily Show produced campaigned ad but no, it is from John McCain and he approved that message. Sadly this isn’t the first time with has crossed politics as Britney appeared in a Pepsi commercial with Bob Dole and four years ago Paris was seen sporting a “Vote or Die” t-shirt, but didn’t promptly die after not actually registering to vote. And if that wasn’t enough for McCain, he later released an ad with Moses, or at least Moses to gun nuts, Charlton Heston;

The One


Now here is a smart ad. If I were running the McCain campaign I would be going around, “Yeah because the last time we elected a drug addict with no experience and a God complex, that ended well.” And Friday Obama suggested a $500 energy rebate, because the last time a president gave us a rebate, that really helped the economy.

McCain wasn’t the only one with a silly brush with pop culture as Obama had yet another rapper write a song for him:

Politics as Usual - Ludacris


Naturally Barack distanced himself from the song calling it, “Outrageously offensive” with his spokesmen adding, “As Barack Obama has said many, many times in the past, rap lyrics today too often perpetuate misogyny, materialism and degrading images that he doesn’t want his daughters or any children exposed to.” This then begs the question why is Ludacris on Obama’s iPod to begin with if he truly believes this because almost all of Luda’s songs have misogyny, materialism or degrading images and some have all three. This is the guy who wrote Move (Expletive Deleted), (Expletive Deleted) Poppin, and written such profound lyrics as, “How you ain’t gonna (expletive deleted), (expletive deleted) I’m me,” “Stop, drop, kaboom, baby rub on your (expletive deleted),” “If you hold the (expletive deleted) stead Imma milk the cow.” And let us not forget that this was the guy who proclaimed he’s “got (expletive deleted) in different area codes.”

All this from a guy Obama has called “extremely talented.” Although shouldn’t someone who is “extremely talented come up with a line better than, “McCain don’t belong in any chair unless he’s paralyzed.” Seriously, what does that even mean? Couldn’t he come up with a better insult than that? But, yeah, George Bush is mentally retarded.

All this ties into the theory that this election will disturbingly be decided by the so called “Low Information Voters” and you really don’t get much lower on the information ladder than from people who dress up an attend Comic Con. Of course the people behind the Obama Girl videos were there to take an informal poll.

The Dark Knight and Ron Paul


Interestingly enough the comic book nerds seem to be leaning Republican who lends some credence that The Dark Knight is a euphemism for the Iraq War with Batman doing his best George Bush impression. And yes, this election will be decided by people like the chick who said McCain but changed only because her friend said Obama. It is really time to bring back the IQ test before letting people vote.

Amongst all that low info crap, I was surprised to see someone actually talk about education this week for the first time in this presidential campaign. Keep in mind it Obama wrapped up his nomination in early June. I guess at that rate we will only hear about education one more time before the election. But anyways. Head over to MSNBC.com to read McCain Criticizes Obama over Education Policies.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. XL

Quote of the Week: I see vultures circling ahead, and if this catapult not together Mr. Boston better step up because the first thing they gonna be doing is picking his eyes out. (Chance - I Love Money)

Big New of the Week: It’s the End of the World as We Know It: And surprisingly I feel fine about it. Although when writing this I realized that the end of the world probably deserves it own post. So check back tomorrow for that and hopefully the world doesn’t actually end before the.


Coalition Links of the Week:
From Silvio Horta's mouth to her ear, Buzz got some insight into Ugly Betty's third season. (BuzzSugar)

Marcia listed her television blind spots, those TV shows she simply can't be bothered to watch. (Pop Vultures)

Vance wants Theo Tams to win Canadian Idol. (Tapeworthy)

This week, Jace recovered from Comic-Con fatigue and reviewed BBC America's latest British television series offering, Primeval, about a group of scientists exploring time-based anomalies and strange creatures. (Televisionary)

Dan will devour any tasty morsel of new programming you give him, so he was delighted to see the preview for the next season of Dexter! (TiFaux)

The TV Addict covered Comic Con so you didn't have to. (The TV Addict)

Raoul talked to David (but sadly not Elvis) from America's Greatest Dog. (TV Filter)


I Love Money: When you let Megan Hauserman be your brains of the operation, that should be sign number one that you are doomed. And when will people learn you never, under any circumstance tank challenges. If you want to get someone out, wait to you lose. I don’t remember when tanking ever worked except for maybe the NBA. Unfortunately Mr. Boston was the victim of Megan and her retarded dog’s Machiavellian plan, or as Machiavellian as someone on I Love Money can get. But that led to one of the funniest fights ever on television between Mr. Boston and Brandi C at elimination. But just when I though I have seen that last of Mr. Boston ever (or at least until the reunion show), a video of him popped up on the intertubes (one that I would never post here) that is part 3rd Base’s The Cactus, part lame teen sex comedy plotline, part profound advise that managed to be the funniest and most disturbing thing ever at the same time. You can download episodes of I Love Money on iTunes.


My Boys: So if Bobby’s dad is my older brother Shooter McGavin, does that make me his uncle? But anyways. While watching this episode I kept on trying to call my stockbroker to see if I could buy massive amount of stock of “Kenny and Stephanie hooking up” but unfortunately I was unable to get through before it was actually revealed on screen. That had to be the most predictable thing on television. The second: Mimi Rogers being Bobby’s mom. It is like the My Boys writer gave up with coming up with any interesting ideas and just started reading from the cliché handbook. Catch up on recent episodes over at TBS.com. You can also download My Boys on iTunes.


It is month until the debut of TNT’s newest show Raising the Bar (and considering the show is about lawyers, this could be the lamest title ever) and I have to say there is something striking about the promo pictures that were released lately. Can anyone name the one degree of separation of two of the characters seen below (click to enlarge)? The first person to correctly guess what that is will win the great prize of a hearty congratulation.



Free Download of the Week: Death Will Never Conquer - Coldplay (Coldplay.com): First Coldplay let you download their debut single from their album and now another freebie an outtake from the Viva la Vida session which is actually sung by the drummer doing his best Chris Martin impression.


Promo of the Week: Chuck could be the most uneven show ever. Sure Casey ranks in the top five characters currently on television and boast the hottest Token Hot Chick. But the title character doesn’t even rank in the top five most entertaining character on his own show and Morgan needs to die a horrible dance soon than later. But this promo for season two shown at Comic Con is getting me excited.

Chuck: A Look at Season Two



Pick for Next Week: Summer Olympics, starting Friday at 8:00 on NBC: If there starts to be a lack of posts starting next Friday is because I will be watch 3600 hours of the Olympics (I may do some live blogging to keep the 9th Green active) that will be spread out on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Universal HD, Oxygen (huh?), Telemundo, NBC Olympics Basketball Channel, NBC Olympics Soccer Cannel and NBCOlympics.com. So head over to the website to see when Handball, Sailing, and Trampoline (no, seriously) to see when your favorite are airing.


On a side note, I still have four open spots in my fantasy football league, Dillon Panthers Football, so if you would like to play shoot me an e-mail and I will pass along the sign up information. Our draft will be on Tuesday August 26 at 9:00 EST. All skill levels are welcome and may perfer novices after my pityful 9th place finish last year.

Thank You Doc, Have You Ever Served Time?

Anyone under twenty-five may not know this, and those older may have forgotten, but Chevy Chase was once the funniest man on the planet. Look at his lineup of films from 1985: National Lampoon's European Vacation, Spies Like Us, and this month’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame, Fletch. That is a murder’s row of comedy if there ever was one.

The best of the three was Fletch where Chevy played Irwin M. Fletcher, a newspaper reporter who is either the dumbest smart guy ever or the smartest dumb guy ever. And it is Chase’s brilliance that he was able to walk that line like no one else could (and I am specifically talking to you Zach Braff and Joshua Jackson). While working undercover on a story about drugs being sold on the beach, which included one Norm Peterson, gets propositioned by Tim Matheson (Animal House), who is dieing of cancer, to kill him.

Naturally there is more to the story that includes some corrupt cops which includes one Uncle Phil. Also along for the ride is Geena Davis as Chevy’s buddy at the paper and the token hot chick just happen to play the mother to another token hot chick in her own right, one Miss Tyra Collette.

The legacy of the film is the absurdity of the dialogue as Fletch didn’t meet a wisecrack or horrible alias that he didn’t like. And whenever he got caught in a lie he would keep digging and digging until the other person would just give up trying to catch him in that lie.

Have You Ever Stared into the Rain

This one is for the ladies. Dudes you may want to scroll down to the previous post unless you want to read about the next artist that your girlfriend/wife will torture you with when even she gets tired playing her Celine Dion records.

The name Delta Goodrem may not currently be on the tongues of Americans, but in her native Australia all three of her albums went to number one with eight of her singles topping the charts Down Under too. Her third album, last year’s Delta, is the first to be released stateside.

There is no good American counterpoint to compare to Goodrem who plays danceable piano pop music. Some might compare her to countryman Kylie Minogue and Natasha Bedingfield, but Goodrem has a much better voice than either. Plus she actually plays her own piano. The closest maybe would be the previously mentioned Dion as some of the songs head into the overdramatic slouck, like Woman and Brave Face, which peppers Dion’s catalogue. Of course if that is your kind of music, Delta would be a great addition to your collection. (Fun Fact: Goodrem actually wrote a song for the most recent Dion album.)

Like Dion, there are plenty of listenable songs on the album, not that most dudes would admit that in public. Believe Again is a slow building, uplifting, dance track that should flood the radio in the near future. First single In This Life could have been the same, but pulls the number one diva cliché of adding five too many syllables to the word “life” which takes you out an otherwise catchy song. Then there is One Day which by far has the best beat on the album.

But dudes still reading this, you have been warned.

Song to Download - Believe Again

Delta gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

I Want My Music Television vol. XXXII

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though 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 not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


Paper Planes - M.I.A.



You think making promos and trailers would be easy, yet nintie percent of the time they actually make me want to see the things they are trying to promote less. The trailer for Pineapple Express would be in the ten percent. The movie on paper doesn’t look like something I’d watch yet thank mostly in part to the M.I.A. soundtrack to the clip, I may end up checking it out (the cheesy white dude saying, “Thug Life” doesn’t hurt things either). The song has the best use of a shotgun sample since Thug Luv.


Superwoman - Alicia Keys



Easily my least favorite song on the latest album from Alicia Keys. Really, most of the singles from As I Am have been suspect. Why the two best songs, The Thing about Love and Sure looks Good to Me, haven’t been released is beyond me. In fact had the former been released earlier this spring it would have easily been the Prom song of the year. Of course this is one of the many reason why the music industry will be extinct in the next decade or so.


This Is the Life - Amy Macdonald



For those always on the look out for the next big thing, here is my suggestion: Amy MacDonald. Another songstress from the British Isles but more KT Tunstall than all the retro singers that have come overseas in the past two years. Her album This Is the Life has been out for more than a year pretty much everywhere else racking up number ones in four countries. The first single here is Mr. Rock and Roll, but for my money, the best song on the album is the title track. You can expect the album to drop stateside August 19 as well as a review the same day on the 9th Green.


Ayyomaman - Tre Hardson featuring Fat Lip



You can’t go wrong with one half of seminal rap group The Pharcyde, but why relegate one of the most eccentric rappers in Fat Lip to just singing the hook. Even without him spitting anything himself, Tre Hardson, whom you may know better as Slimkid3 makes up with his verses.

Change Is Hard, I Should Know

The years are littered with actors who have tried to sing from Joey Lawrence to Jennifer Love Hewitt (is it too early to say Scarlett Johansson singing career is a failure). The few with even a little success were smart enough to team up with actual musician like Eddie Murphy with Rick James or Jennifer Lopez getting whatever rapper of the month to spit a few bars in her songs and remixes.

This is why Emily Deschanel (Scooter's Note: yeah I totally ment Zooey here, check comments for explaination) could have some staying power teaming up with indie guitarist M Ward and keeping her name off the marquee going with the band name She & Him. It doesn’t hurt the general public will probably mix her up with her sister Emily or even name one of her movies off the top of their head (she was Dorothy in the Sci-Fi Channel’s Tin Man).

The result of the two coming together is the equally descriptive album title, Volume One. The album turns out to be the best early seventies singer-songwriter album that was never actually released. Deschanal typically sings her song, most of which she wrote, over mostly sparse music with the occasional song that is reminiscent of the girl groups like I Was Made for You.

Of the old songs she gives a stab at, there is the super slow version of Smokey Robinson’s You Really Got a Hold on Me which is just an occasional strumming of the acoustic guitar and some harmonizing with Ward. The duo then turns The Beatles I Should Have Known Better into a Hawaiian luau and actually sounds better than it looks on paper. Yeah, the starlet can’t quite pull off Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, but that is the rare misstep on an otherwise decent debut.

Song to Download - I Should Have Known Better

Volume One gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

A List Like That Gets Crazy Montage Sequence Used

Wynona Ryder teaming up with the writer who did Heathers is a cool proposition. Well if it were 1992. But re-teaming two decades after introducing the concept of a dark comedy upon teenagers doesn’t have the same cachet had it not taken so long. The result of the eighteen year wait is Sex and Death 101, which, despite the title, is a much lighter affair than their first outing as it focuses much more on the former.

The sex part of the equation comes courtesy of Simon Baker (Red Planet) who receives a list of everyone he has had slept with a week before his wedding. The problem is that his fiancée, Carol Vessey (Happy Gilmore), is only number twenty-nine of one hundred and one starting off a debate of destiny and free will and who knowing the names of every girl you going to sleep with, even if it is a lot, a good thing or bad thing. And then there is the flip side knowing when you don’t have a chance.

Some hilarity ensues as Barker transverses his new found list which has him running into some girls on and off his list including a centerfold (Sophie Monk, Date Movie), a doctor (Leslie Bibb, Popular), someone who provides the Death part of the title (Wynona Ryder, Heathers), lesbians, and though not Pat’s on the list, there is a Terry. Where the hilarity really excels is when Patton Oswalt (The King of Queens) hits the screen, though telling you his role is a little spoilerish.

Though being spoilerish with this film is hard because it is easy to tell the ending within the first five minutes of the film and nothing happens between then and the end (a too long two hours) that even gets you off the scent of how the story ends up. Luckily the journey there was half way decent if not in part to some of Oswalt’s suggestions on getting around the list. Oh and did I mention Mindy Cohn, yes that Mindy Cohn, makes an appearance?

Sex and Death 101 gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Got Some Bad News this Morning Which in Turn Made My Day

Gnarls Barkley - Who's Gonna Save My Soul

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. IXL

Quote of the Week: See, nobody understood where my brother was coming from when he said I’m not kissing Mr. Boston. I mean (expletive deleted) dude, they got strippers and pornstars on their team. They used to kissing on men, woman, and having orgies, and threesomes, and ménage a trios, the whole (expletive deleted) nine, having sex with goats. You know what I mean, man? They’re immoral. (Real, I Love Money)

Big New of the Week: Comic-Con: All the nerd have descended on San Diego this weekend and unfortunately I couldn’t get my Storm Trooper suit in time to go. Well that and I am what the US government likes to classify as poor. But for those like me that did not have the money to make the pilgrimage or are just scared of Trekkies, NBC.com is sharing all video footage (panels, interviews, reveals, etc) from Comic-Con on their website so head over there to check up on Chuck, Heroes, new show Kings, and, um, The Office? So head over there as they are updating all weekend.


Coalition Links of the Week:
Buzz's adventures at the TCA press tour included interviewing Brian Baumgartner, hanging out on the ER set, getting some scoop on Chuck's second season, and much more! (BuzzSugar)

Plattie celebrated the opening of The X-Files movie with a look back at the pilot that started it all. (Pop Vultures)

Vance thinks So You Think You Can Dance is totally "A"ces! (Tapeworthy)

Following some of Jay Leno's unfortunate antics at a press event, Dan decided to tell a story to illustrate the importance of bowing out with class. (TiFaux)

Raoul tried - and failed - to get into Generation Kill. (TV Filter)


I Love Money: I think I would have had the same reaction as Chance and Real to the thought of kissing Mr. Boston. And it was this episode that I realize that Chance is basically a long lost Chappelle’s Show character. You can download episodes of I Love Money on iTunes.


The Middleman: Wait, Varsity Fanclub is a real boy band? Alrighty. But I have to say there is nothing funnier than a tween with a mouth, literally, like a sailor. You can download episodes of The Middleman on iTunes.


My Boys: Holy Martin Mull sighting! Catch up on recent episodes over at TBS.com. You can also download My Boys on iTunes.


Free Stuff of the Week: While mentioning how you could download She and Him’s new song for free after showing the video (see I Want My Music Television vol. XXXI), I realized there is a lot of cool free stuff out there if you know where to look. So each week I will be highlighting the best of the free stuff out there. If you find anything cool for free in the future feel free to drop me a line and maybe I will feature it here. Just keep in mind everything I will be featured if legally free, so do not send me torrent links and the like. Also some things I post may be time sensitive so it would be better to get the stuff sooner than later.

With Comic-Con this week it is apropos that the first Free Stuff of the Week is Watchmen Motion Comics: Chapter One on iTunes based on what some consider to be the best graphic novel ever which will also be a motion picture next March.

As a bonus for this first week, you can also download Murder in the City by The Avett Brothers at Amazon MP3. You may remember their song, If it’s the Beaches used on Friday Night Lights when Landry dumped the creepy chick and hooked back up with Tyra.


Promo of the Week: If you have watched any news channels in the last week you have undoubtedly seen famous oil man T Bone Pickens talk about the advantage of wind. If you haven’t made it over to pickensplan.com, here is his complete plan:




Pick for Next Week: Shark Week, July 27-August 2 at 9:00 on Discovery Channel: For information on Shark Week head over to sharkyourself.com.

Previewing Gemini Division

As Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog taught us last week that if you make a quality project, people on the internet will flock to it. The next to try to harness the power of the intertubes is Rosario Dawson (He Got Game) and the Green Arrow from Smallville in Gemini Division a new online series for NBC.com. My sources describe it as, “Like Lonelygirl15, Gemini Division is a female first-person confessional — in this case, about biotech run wild. Dawson plays Anna Diaz, a New York City detective having a crazy fling with a guy who's tall, blond, and ripped… and a little bit ‘off’.”

A sci-fi version of Lonelygirl15. Um, yeah, alright. And if that description didn’t wet your palette, well, then take a look at the trailer:



Okay, a little more interesting than the description, but still looks to have a production value of a web only video. And sci-fi is all about its look. Should be interesting to she how the show is received (if at all) and Wired.com has a very extensive article on the show with behind the scenes info. Wondering around GeminiDivision.com I did notice the lack of an RSS feed. Hopefully this is because the show doesn’t debut until August 18th because a website without an RSS feed is pretty useless. If you want me to watch something at least let me know when a new episode is up.

NBC is really getting into the online content this summer, aside from Gemini Division, the Heroes Webisodes I highlighted earlier this week (see: Next Time Don't Mess with the Mailman), there is also The Office webisodes, the third of which debuted yesterday. Head over to NBC.com to see Kevin in Exposed Wires.

Hate Him or Love Him for the Very Same Reason

There has not been a more provocative album title in recent memory than Hip Hop Is Dead. On one hand Nas hit the head on the nail as the ringtone rappers killed off the genre that had been slowly dieing all decade. But on the other hand, that album actually proved otherwise and that hip hop still had a couple more breathes in it.

So how do you follow-up a controversial title album? Well name it something that usually reserved for Jesse Jackson spoken on Fox News. But when it looked like the album wouldn’t be getting shelf space almost nowhere, Nas decided to change the album to, well, nothing. Or as Nas says himself in Hero: “Try telling Bob Dylan, Bruce, or Billy Joel they can’t sing what's in their soul! So "Untitled" it is. I never change nothing” This begs the question was naming it months in advance all a publicity stunt to get people talking without hearing a note?

Where Hip Hop Is Dead was a loose concept album on how and why the genre needed a funeral and who killed it, the new album is a loose concept album on race relations. Throughout the album are thoughts about how blacks are perceived in the media (Sly Fox), stereotypes (Fried Chicken), and a half hearted endorsement of Barack Obama (Black President), and even though it is no longer the title, a certain six letter word shows up in two song titled claiming that n*****’s are not black people but the uneducated.

Throughout the album, Nas is on point when not inexplicably name dropping Jessica Simpson or giving props to ringtone rappers he put on blast less than two years ago. The album falls flat thanks mostly to the company he keeps. You have to do a double take at seeing Chris Brown on the guest list and the song is about as juvenile as Brown’s age suggest.

Aside from the Polow da Don produced Hero; the production value is moderate at best. Even Mark Ronson, who had been batting 1.000, had a rare misstep on the snare heavy Fried Chicken that is too downtrodden than his usual upbeat horn infused throwback. Nas recently stated that he wants to drop two albums on the same day. One exclusively produced by D.J. Premiere who he hasn’t work much with since Illmatic, the other by his The Firm associate Dr. Dre. With the mediocre at best beats that pepper this album, that drop date cannot come soon enough.

Song to Download - Hero

[Untitled] gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

I Want My Music Television vol. XXXI

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? - She & Him



Well that was disturbing. Granted Zooey (half of She & Him, M Ward being the other half) was always the darker Deschanel sister. Creepy videos aside, at least the song is catchy. And if you like the song, I have been given permission to let you, my loyal readers, download the song for free for a limited time. And by I, I mean Border.com, so head over there for the free mp3.


My Sweet Love - John Mellencamp



John Mellencamp made two videos for this song, this being my favorite if only for the replay value and the George Bush cameo. Wait, why is George given the “believe” frame exactly.


Come on Over - Jessica Simpson



So let me get this straight, a bunch of Wisconsin country fans booed Jessica Simpson, born and raised in Texas, for not being country enough. Um, alright. Of course it may have been residual booing from the unwatchable Dukes of Hazard remake (a brunette Daisy Duke is blasphemy). And this song isn’t bad for a country song which, granted, doesn’t mean much.


Hope - Jack Johnson



Like most Jack Johnson videos not involving Ben Stiller, Hope is not that interesting. But it is a great song.

Next Time Don't Mess with the Mailman

This summer NBC.com is hosting a bunch of webisodes which looks like what Heroes: Origins was supposed to be if it had no budget. The latest episode just hit the intertubes and here are both if you missed the first one.







Well that was about as entertaining as the main show. Maybe even more thanks to the creepy weird moving bald dude. Too bad he won't be showing up in the main show. One person that will be showing up on the main show is Hayden Panettiere. And since I cannot get enough of it, here is Wake Up Call video again.

We on Award Tour: 2008 ESPY Awards

The Espy's are so foolproof, even when they get athletes to host it still is pretty entertaining. That adage is put to the test this year when they get Justin Timberlake, who bombed when he team hosted with Stifler at the MTV Movie Awards a couple years back. But let us star
t off with the pre-show first.

- Holy Chris Connelly sighting!

- Erin Andrews has to be one of the most underrated hot chicks out there today. Any of those lame lists by lame magazines that countdown chick and don’t have her in the top ten just isn’t credible. With that said, someone should tell her that the word “bling” died five years ago.

- The Top 5 Meetings need to make it on YouTube sooner than later.

- How does Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo make the Dynamic Duos list? She is the reason his team lost.

- An Under Armour CEO interview? Seriously?

- Adrian Peterson had his draft position drop just by wearing his hat like Antwain Merriwheather.

- Wow, the Espy’s actully started on time this year.

- I know I say this every year, but no award show’s clip package comes close to the ESPY’s.

- Justin Timberlake may not be able to tell a joke, but the Bill Belichicken was funny.

- As much as I love seeing the Giants beat the Patriots over and over again, but Appalachian State was the true biggest upset. And the won on the opposing team, not a neutral site like the Super Bowl.

- They don’t even show the nominees for Best Record Breaking Performance, just give it to Brett Farve. I guess having Big Head Barry also in the category doesn’t make you want to acknowledge him.

- It is not a good sign when you are out acted by Greg Oden. Can we get him to host next year? And that musical number went way too long.

- Who was the nerd sitting next to Kristen Bell? If they need a nerd next to her, why not ask me?

- Suggesting to dig up Harry Carey: not funny.

- Have I ever told the time I met and annoyed Posh Spice?

- Now for the best part of every ESPY’s the Arthur Ashe Award of Courage. But why is Tom Cruise narrating the story of Tommy Smith John and Carlos. Tom aside, the package had a History Channel feel to it.

- Is it ironic that Jason Taylor saying he was doing something to piss off Bill Parcells the day he got traded?

- Jimmy V Award for Perseverance presented by Robin Roberts, someone who know a little about Perseverance. Be sure to check out Jimmyv.org.

- I have no clue what Adriana Lima was doing at the ESPY's, I am just glad she was.

- On the other end of the spectrum, who invited Fergie?

- In the end the New York football Giant complete their sweep winning Best Sweep, Upset, Play and Team. Wait, what, they actually did not win Best Team? Did not see that one coming. But that going to the Boston Celtics does not help the ESPN criticism that they have a New York/Boston bias.