Ya want the good new or the bad news?
Bad news...
Overestimating people can be even more painful than underestimating them.
Tried to watch "Friends with Money" at about five this morning. If I would have been completely awake I would have been a bit pissed at the good reviews it's gotten. Hey news flash: I know there are very few women directors out there, but there are some good ones. Just because a woman directs a movie does not make it "good" or "important". This film, from the hour I put myself through, consisted of a bunch of saintly women who are stuck living with pricks for husbands. And Jennifer Aniston plays the Good Girl....I mean.....good girl (again). Man hating is not funny if thas all ya got, Nicole Holofcener. Where's the comedy slash romance slash character arc slash entertainment in having a bunch of creeps act like jerks to their wives, who of course deserve so much better? Guess the male directors don't have a monopoly on mediocre (at best) movies. I didn't finish watching it, though, so maybe it got waaaaay better the last hour. I doubt it.
Has ESPN become the monolith that can't laugh at itself that MTV has been for about the last ten years?
------- MTV's VMA Awards are something I last probably watched when Eminem did that great number with all the impersonators. Must have been three or four years ago. But with Jack Black...hell, I'd watch him hosting Hollywood Squares. 'Cept there was very little of Jack Black and a lot of really shockingly boring stuff. No one climbed the sets and had to be forcibly removed. No one used more than two consecutive curse words, at least I don't think they did. Lou Reed was there, which is cool, but I doubt the MTV execs will take his request for more rock and roll (and presumably less "Tits 'n Ass shows") seriously: the channel is a cash cow. The best moment by a mile was Bedford, NH's own Sarah Silverman slamming Paris Hilton and other boring non-stars. And what did the crowd do during the funniest, bestest moment of the show? They hissed. Absolutely no sense of humor is a sure sign of old age. MTV is at the retirement home stage, if you ask me.
------- And ESPN is getting close. Content is king in the media age, so I will watch their football, baseball and basketball broadcasts. Hey, what choice do I have? I love sports and ESPN carries most of the best events. But fer cryin out loud, does every announcer or writer have to be a talentless hack who is probably politically adept at manuevering corporate mindfields? Bob Davie has become, over Dick freakin' Vitale, my most hated announcer on the planet. Saturday night he was consistently questioning the bold, innovative and CORRECT coaching moves of the brilliant Charlie Weis. Kirk Herbstreit, whom I like, didn't tell Davie, the ex-Golden Domer, to shut the hell up. How did a guy as clueless about strategy become a head coach anywhere in Division I? And more importantly at this stage, why does ESPN have him on an important game (televised by ABC, which is now ESPN (capital letters) abc (lowercase). Plus their website is so overrated, compared to SI.com, it's beyond a joke. Bill Simmons tries so hard to be hip he must think he is still writing for late night tv. No Bill, we're sports fans. And not all of us are under 25. Relax Mr. Simmons, you made it. You ARE the establishment. Calm down. Simmons only good columns lately are the letters he gets from some very funny, very talented readers. Gotta track down some more blogs I guess. Finally, if Page 2's Jason Whitlock were wrong more often he'd qualify to be a meteorologist. The only columns that can be accessed for free, as of 9/3, are here. And they suck. And are completely wrong. Here's some of what Whitlock said would/will happen: Jeff George was a great move by Al Davis? The guy is a coach killer who is 38. They cut him, which Whitlock halfway predicted, but the move to sign George was panic, not boldness. He had zero chance of contributing to a winning or even rebuilding team. Another column about NFL Truths: Philip Rivers will "bomb" in SD (Rivers had a very good preseason and is well liked by his teammates. Most think he's gonna be fine, if not a star.), TO will have success in the Big D (He's already in hot water and has been fined, plus he's has barely touched the field all summer. May be tradebait.), Redskins vs. Super Bowl Champ Ravens in the end of season matchup (he's the only one still picking the 'Skins, who were dreadful in preseason on both sides of the ball.), and finally and maybe most laughably: Joey Harrington will beat out a good preseason pick for NFL MVP, Daunte Cullpepper. Nick Saban is a great coach and will win at least 10 games this year. With Culpepper leading the way. And Harrington happy to be employed (The man, who is apparently a great guy and fun loving, proved in Detroit he just isn't NFL quaity. No shame in that. He's made millions. Now he can retire in a few years and go back to being the main cheerleader at Oregon Duck basketball games. He used to get the crowd going wild in their old barn. A good gig.).
==============================================
Good news....
The search for cool, appropriate, and cute vanity plates is over. Up in Brunswick late this morning I was driving behind someone with "FLA GRL" on their bumper, which hopefully means Florida Girl and not Florida, Get Real! (that would most likely be a comment on the '00 election, but I doubt it's the correct interpretation.). Cute and EASILY UNDERSTOOD by morons like me. She pulls off the road to get on to the highway, and the car right in front of her has "ICULAFN" on it. For about two minutes I was pissed: another stupid illegible vanity plate that makes sense to no one but the driver and his or her spouse. Then I got it. Remember how slow witted we here at Apartment404 are. I was pronouncing a hard c, not a soft one (or however you say it). I C U Laughing is pretty damn good, especially since the car WAS pretty funny looking. A Scion minivan that loooked like a big box with a slice taken out of it. Good job, dude!
No......more.....air......conditioning! Real live oxygen! Yeah!
Why didn't anyone tell me how great it is to drive a new car? No embarrassing dents (yet). A groovy engine that gets better mileage and has more power (I think that if you replace your '98 model, no matter the make, with an '06, this will always be true). Air conditioning (yes, when required I do use it. But am glad that season has come and gone for another 8 or 9 months). No....well...not many stains on the carpet. No weird smells from that, say, banana peel I left under the seat for three months. Nope, none of the bad stuff and all the good stuff. How neato!
Overestimating people can be even more painful than underestimating them.
Tried to watch "Friends with Money" at about five this morning. If I would have been completely awake I would have been a bit pissed at the good reviews it's gotten. Hey news flash: I know there are very few women directors out there, but there are some good ones. Just because a woman directs a movie does not make it "good" or "important". This film, from the hour I put myself through, consisted of a bunch of saintly women who are stuck living with pricks for husbands. And Jennifer Aniston plays the Good Girl....I mean.....good girl (again). Man hating is not funny if thas all ya got, Nicole Holofcener. Where's the comedy slash romance slash character arc slash entertainment in having a bunch of creeps act like jerks to their wives, who of course deserve so much better? Guess the male directors don't have a monopoly on mediocre (at best) movies. I didn't finish watching it, though, so maybe it got waaaaay better the last hour. I doubt it.
Has ESPN become the monolith that can't laugh at itself that MTV has been for about the last ten years?
------- MTV's VMA Awards are something I last probably watched when Eminem did that great number with all the impersonators. Must have been three or four years ago. But with Jack Black...hell, I'd watch him hosting Hollywood Squares. 'Cept there was very little of Jack Black and a lot of really shockingly boring stuff. No one climbed the sets and had to be forcibly removed. No one used more than two consecutive curse words, at least I don't think they did. Lou Reed was there, which is cool, but I doubt the MTV execs will take his request for more rock and roll (and presumably less "Tits 'n Ass shows") seriously: the channel is a cash cow. The best moment by a mile was Bedford, NH's own Sarah Silverman slamming Paris Hilton and other boring non-stars. And what did the crowd do during the funniest, bestest moment of the show? They hissed. Absolutely no sense of humor is a sure sign of old age. MTV is at the retirement home stage, if you ask me.
------- And ESPN is getting close. Content is king in the media age, so I will watch their football, baseball and basketball broadcasts. Hey, what choice do I have? I love sports and ESPN carries most of the best events. But fer cryin out loud, does every announcer or writer have to be a talentless hack who is probably politically adept at manuevering corporate mindfields? Bob Davie has become, over Dick freakin' Vitale, my most hated announcer on the planet. Saturday night he was consistently questioning the bold, innovative and CORRECT coaching moves of the brilliant Charlie Weis. Kirk Herbstreit, whom I like, didn't tell Davie, the ex-Golden Domer, to shut the hell up. How did a guy as clueless about strategy become a head coach anywhere in Division I? And more importantly at this stage, why does ESPN have him on an important game (televised by ABC, which is now ESPN (capital letters) abc (lowercase). Plus their website is so overrated, compared to SI.com, it's beyond a joke. Bill Simmons tries so hard to be hip he must think he is still writing for late night tv. No Bill, we're sports fans. And not all of us are under 25. Relax Mr. Simmons, you made it. You ARE the establishment. Calm down. Simmons only good columns lately are the letters he gets from some very funny, very talented readers. Gotta track down some more blogs I guess. Finally, if Page 2's Jason Whitlock were wrong more often he'd qualify to be a meteorologist. The only columns that can be accessed for free, as of 9/3, are here. And they suck. And are completely wrong. Here's some of what Whitlock said would/will happen: Jeff George was a great move by Al Davis? The guy is a coach killer who is 38. They cut him, which Whitlock halfway predicted, but the move to sign George was panic, not boldness. He had zero chance of contributing to a winning or even rebuilding team. Another column about NFL Truths: Philip Rivers will "bomb" in SD (Rivers had a very good preseason and is well liked by his teammates. Most think he's gonna be fine, if not a star.), TO will have success in the Big D (He's already in hot water and has been fined, plus he's has barely touched the field all summer. May be tradebait.), Redskins vs. Super Bowl Champ Ravens in the end of season matchup (he's the only one still picking the 'Skins, who were dreadful in preseason on both sides of the ball.), and finally and maybe most laughably: Joey Harrington will beat out a good preseason pick for NFL MVP, Daunte Cullpepper. Nick Saban is a great coach and will win at least 10 games this year. With Culpepper leading the way. And Harrington happy to be employed (The man, who is apparently a great guy and fun loving, proved in Detroit he just isn't NFL quaity. No shame in that. He's made millions. Now he can retire in a few years and go back to being the main cheerleader at Oregon Duck basketball games. He used to get the crowd going wild in their old barn. A good gig.).
==============================================
Good news....
The search for cool, appropriate, and cute vanity plates is over. Up in Brunswick late this morning I was driving behind someone with "FLA GRL" on their bumper, which hopefully means Florida Girl and not Florida, Get Real! (that would most likely be a comment on the '00 election, but I doubt it's the correct interpretation.). Cute and EASILY UNDERSTOOD by morons like me. She pulls off the road to get on to the highway, and the car right in front of her has "ICULAFN" on it. For about two minutes I was pissed: another stupid illegible vanity plate that makes sense to no one but the driver and his or her spouse. Then I got it. Remember how slow witted we here at Apartment404 are. I was pronouncing a hard c, not a soft one (or however you say it). I C U Laughing is pretty damn good, especially since the car WAS pretty funny looking. A Scion minivan that loooked like a big box with a slice taken out of it. Good job, dude!
No......more.....air......conditioning! Real live oxygen! Yeah!
Why didn't anyone tell me how great it is to drive a new car? No embarrassing dents (yet). A groovy engine that gets better mileage and has more power (I think that if you replace your '98 model, no matter the make, with an '06, this will always be true). Air conditioning (yes, when required I do use it. But am glad that season has come and gone for another 8 or 9 months). No....well...not many stains on the carpet. No weird smells from that, say, banana peel I left under the seat for three months. Nope, none of the bad stuff and all the good stuff. How neato!
posted by joe sweeney at 1:45 PM
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