Tuesday, September 29, 2009

This about sums up what anyone cares about anyway right?


Gotta love those insightful headlines. - Justin

WHY ALL TELEVISION SUCKS (OH WAIT, EXCEPT FOR HBO)

I remember reading an article sometime ago on the internets somewhere that TV was in it's "golden age." (EDIT http://www.avclub.com/articles/patton-oswalt,32085/ - Justin) The article went on to talk about shows like ABC's Lost and other crazy genre- defining shows are getting big ratings on major networks. While that may have been true a few years ago, I say fuck that noise. It seems every time I go on some nerdy website (read: AICN) I see "ZOMGZ SHOW X RATINGS PLUMMIT 43%".

I say this in response dear readers: yeah, no shit. TV Sucks. Even a Lost junkie like me can admit that the show got totally weird in later seasons and makes little to no sense, and that's probably the best thing on major cable. Fucking Cougar Town? Chuck? Random crime/forensics/law show? All the same.

Sure, you may rebuttle with "but Steve, what about premium cable? You know, the channels we pay an extra 15-60$ a month for?" Yeah, Showtime really puts out quality. I'd love to watch a show about a drug dealing Mom, you know, if the show was actually about that and not smuggling Mexican's over the border and a 13 year old who masturbates often (I'm talking about Weeds, just in case you're not following.) Or how about a show about a nurse who...oh wait, a medical show with a chick whose not hot, don't care. There's 15 seasons of ER I can watch, and at least I get to look forward to seeing John Stamos towards the end. I've never seen Dexter, and I know there's rabid fans out there (cough vince cough), but again, I just can't care about another crime/forensics show. "But Steve, there's so much more then that! He kills people, but he only kills bad people-" yeah save it. Those poster's I see in the subway with blood on his face AND A FUCKING BABY creep me out enough to say pass.



This is fucking weird everyone, sorry.

Do I even need to talk about Starz? They have one show. Crash? Really? Take a movie that any person with good taste thought was lame and just turn it into a show? The slogan is "There are no accidents in L.A." Man, not only do I not want to watch this show, but I sure as hell don't want to go to LA either, not that I really ever did.

However, there is one small light shining in the black abyss that is television programming nowadays, and that is HBO. Every show I am watching right now, or watch repeats of because I love it so much, comes from that network. Let's make a list!

Bored to Death
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Entourage
Hung
Eastbound and Down
Flight of the Conchords

Now, you probably expected this list to be longer, but I say, shut the fuck up. Not when you really dissect the quality of these SIX shows. Sure, HBO airs some junk (Does anyone actually like Realsex? If you do, your probably a convict or a pervert), but to have SIX quality shows when other networks can't have more then one is quite a feat.

I jumped on to the Curb Your Enthusiasm bandwagon late, but I must say, this show is absolutely fantastic. It's safe to say the situations Larry David creates for his fictional self are nothing short of genius, but where the show really shines is in the improv-ing skill of Jeff Garlin and all of the other supporting characters, whether they're regulars or guest appearances. This show makes me cringe, but in a good way.

Entourage is probably the weakest show in the lineup, but only because it really is about nothing other then awesome shit happening to a bunch of dudes. I don't know why particularly, but the show is just so enjoyable to watch for so many people. I would compare watching that show to smoking pot; it's a very social medium that brings people together. My quasi hipster, New York City art school kid self can get together with my beer guzzling, fraternizing bro friends to watch Vince fuck hot girls, Turtle smoke weed, and Lloyd be gay, and all have a good laugh.

(EDIT Entourage isn't just the weakest show on the line up, it's the weakest show since the weakest link GOODBYE! Lolz. Seriously though, if less happened on that show it would be considered an infomercial. Vince broke his nail the movies off! Oh wait, Vince got fake nails it's back on! Vince, you can't afford to buy us all cars! Oh wait, you can! It makes me feel like I have cancer. - Justin)

I at first was hesitant to like Hung, but after watching a few episodes, I noticed that not only does the show have heart and a promising narrative, but it's shot and color corrected BEAUTIFULLY. Every scene's color pallet is reflective of the mood of Ray, the well endowed but down on his luck prostitute that is the show's protagonist. I can't wait to see what they have in store for next season.

Eastbound and Down is one of THE funniest shows ever. Being a huge fan of Jody Hill's The Foot Fist Way, it was really no problem for me to start watching this show, as the humor is largely the same, just exaggerated x10 and about sports. Which is why I think everyone likes this show, even if they don't necessarily like The Foot Fist Way (or Observe and Report for that matter.) I'm glad Danny McBride and co. are finally getting the spot in the limelight they deserve; they're funny motherfuckers.

While Flight of the Conchords is largely about the music, which I of course love, what really makes the show special for me are the locations they shoot. They make Chinatown look like a really quirky and fun place to be, when in reality it's small as hell and smells really fucking bad, most of the time. While it isn't for everyone, I find the awkward, sometimes dark, mostly quirky humor of the show refreshing and different, and I can only hope they will make a third season.

And finally, Bored to Death for me is looking to be my new favorite show. Granted, I am a film noir junkie, and do let out a little 'yelp' of happiness every time I see a venetian blind, but that aside, the show is funny, well written, and even better cast and acted in. Jason Schwartzman plays the NYC self hating, alcohol drinking, pot smoking, pathetic Jew perfectly, and being backed by supporting characters played by Zach Galifianakis and Ted Danson doesn't hurt either. Actually, it does the opposite: it makes it really fucking funny. IF YOU'RE HIP, YOU'LL WATCH THIS SHOW.

"But Steve, what about True Blood, that sho-" SHUT THE FUCK UP. THERE WILL BE NO TALK OF VAMPIRES ON THIS BLOG, UNLESS THEY'RE GETTING SHOT OR STABBED, OR ANY OTHER VERSION OF DEADED. GO FUCKING DIE STEPHANIE MEYER, YOUR REALLY CLOSE TO RUINING POPULAR CULTURE.

Yeah I missed some shows, It's Always Sunny is good (although after the third season, it really changed)and The Office is cute (it's gonna get old realllll soon, just watch) and like I said before, I need to find out what the fuck is happening on that god damned Island. And yes, 30 Rock is good, I'll admit it. But every other show sucks really, just look at Heroes. How is that still on the air?

And why do all the good shows get canceled? (cough fireflyveronicamars cough) Well, I guess that's a rant for another blog post.

Anywho, hope you've enjoyed our journey through the shit filled tubes of the silver screen! I know I sure did!

And by the way, you can rant in the comments all you want how I skipped your show, or how this show is good and I'm wrong, but honestly, I don't give a shit about your opinion, because it's wrong.

Love,
Steve

(LAST EDIT I PROMISE The article Steve is talking about, an interview with Patton Oswalt, was specifically referring to Deadwood and the Wire as reasons we were in a golden age of TV, both shows missed by Steve, both on HBO. Fail. - Justin)

Fuck Mr. Bucket

Ain't got shit on Zhu Zhu Pets. I think this commercial just gave me an aneurysm.


WTF did that talking bucket just tell me to do???

Going Rogue


(going Rogue)

Yeah, I hear you, Sarah Palin. The title of your book, Going Rogue tells us everything we need to know. You're not going to take it anymore! Who cares if you sabotaged John McCain's campaign after you realized you'd be better off losing? Going rogue, I guess because you quit your job. Who needs to participate in government to push their ideas through? Not Sarah Palin. She's down here with us regler folk, talkin' bout regler things like the pure white race, anti-christ figures and socialist paranoia.

But seriously, I'm not saying Sarah Palin has a shot at ever becoming president, but I'm not sure running for president the old fashion way is really her goal here. Evangelical Christians make up nearly 30% of this country. Apathetic, smart-ass pussies like us who don't own any guns make up most of the rest. You know, the kind of people who are outraged with Kanye West when he makes some ditz cry on music's 25th most prestigious award show (THE HORROR). All I'm saying is if Palin can rile up the troops, we're done for.

Ok, so this is the point where I was going to make a startling discovery in terms of Rogue's character development in X-Men compared to Sarah Palin's future, but I soon remembered how wrong it was. Since Sarah Palin's book isn't titled "Going Jean Grey" I am now stuck with this microsoft paint created infusion of Sarah Palin's head on a Phoenix in flames. Enjoy.

trying to be funny is hard.

- Vince

Monday, September 28, 2009

DRUGZ

People often refer to the internet as a drug, but ya know what's like drugs? Drugs. What if some of your favorite internet portal web zones were like the real drugs you're probably enjoying right now? Let's take a look.

Twitter = Crack

Do you want to know what's going on, AND YOU WANT TO KNOW RIGHT THE FUCK NOW? Then Twitter is for you. Twitter is full of instantly updating totally useless updates of user generated status updates. It's exactly like crack because it's about instant gratification. Sure, you can send out an update about the sick new shoes you brought to all of your friends, but who really cares after the moment they found out they got a notification? It's all but a fleeting high, that can be silenced with the next tweet, but for how long?

Facebook = Heroin

Sup bro? Are you on facebook? Have you found yourself uttering this same seemingly harmless but all too scary question lately? What you are really doing is feeding an addiction that has no end. Facebook has become an extremely vapid, useless, yet seemingly necessary waste of time in our every day lives. When you start on facebook you think you're actually connecting with people but even by adding new real friends we're continuously adding to the endless stream of possible communication opportunities wasted and lost inside the net. These totally simple and easy salutations are considered more valuable than Jonas Bros. tickets. But in reality you're posting on walls for people to read when no one really cares, updating status' to anyone with a reloading web browser and dutiful fingers. Tossing our real life friends on the internet back burner for some Mafia Wars and picture comments when all we need is some attention. We are truly chasing the dragon.

Google = Acid

Check this shit out. Whatever you want bro. It's whatever you want it to be. Want to watch some videos? Cool bro, let's watch some videos. Want to find that song you used to love that you heard on the way to your friend Mike's birthday party at the reptile museum when you were 12? Got it. Did you ever wonder how many people out there there are who are color blind? Let's find out. What the fuck are the seeds on strawberries called? With google the world is your oyster, and it's all in front of you to find. But don't believe in false prophets, you still are entering all the search queries, so it's only as fun as you are.

Youtube = E

When else have you ever actually sat down and watched recorded videos of cats? Youtube has provided endless amounts of entertainment for all of us, but what are we enjoying? It's almost as if we love whatever is on Youtube, as long as it makes it's way on the tube we'll roll with it. But maybe that's the problem, we'll just end up losing ourselves while we giggle to fake rap videos and talk about how the this user made music video really matches up that Mastodon song with Happy Feet. Mindless entertainment at it's finest.

Digg = Weed

When you go onto digg.com, you're treated with random news stories but also you're top 10. It is here where we find the connection to that green herb. When you get high, you're constantly thinking about new ideas, but always about things you've seen before. It's kind of like Digg in the fact that you can always read about topics you want, and always learn something new, which maybe you don't need weed for, but I'm stoned so I win.

- Justin

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Things I can talk about now that Vince is asleep.

Two things are really bothering me tonight. First of all I had an excellent start to my Octoberfest which I decided I should start celebrating because everyone should start celebrating a holiday whenever they want. (My grandma would be thrilled) I have some excellent Oktoberfest beer and braunweiner but this is not what concerns my now. I return home to find two very distressing stories come to my attention.

Number 1. A spider crawled on the Pope's face and nobody did anything about it.



If I knew a spider was somewhere within 15 feet of me I would be creeped out but this spider is crawling on the dude's face and everyone in the room is too polite to swat it off him or anything. It could have been made of poison. I desperately want to avoid the obvious joke here about how the Pope is ever so continuously resembling a corpse but.. oh wait I just did.

2. http://www.canada.com/life/Dead+baby+wakes+funeral+wake/1878265/story.html

I'm terrible at posting links but to sum this story up a baby in Paraguay was born 16 weeks prematurely and pronounced dead only to wake up at it's funeral. Now it's one of those interesting weird but true stories but here's my problem. A baby rises from the dead in Paraguay and I find out on Canada.com. What a world. And they say Canada ain't good for nothing. (I did not say that. Canada is responsible for many excellent things such as the Barenaked Ladies, one Arcade Fire album, Mike Myers pre-2000, maple syrup, hockey and Jim Carey.)


PS Totally said wiener in there.

- Justin

EDIT I totally forgot that Canada is also responsible for Neil Young and Rush.

I Quit



@ 1:33 he says "cum" hahahahahahaha...

sigh.

Dear Network Television,

You know, Hollywood gets a lot of flack for making bad movies, recycling cliches, and shoving unlikable "stars" down our grub holes (Hello there, Christian Slater), but as I go down the list of new shows premiering this Fall, I can't help but think that TV is far more guilty of this (Hello there again, Christian Slater). Unfortunetly, a large part of my internship for a radio prep service has been transcribing sound bites of "celebrities" talking about their new shows and roles. It's bad enough the people who green light this shit and cancel it 2 months later don't know better, but listening to LL Cool J tell me that the reason he decided to join the new NCIS: Los Angeles is because the show is "fresh...but also hot" makes me feel like... wait, did he just describe a spin-off as "fresh but also hot" or is he describing the dump he just took in my ears.

Which reminds me, why do TV executives think people like Christian Slater? His new show, "The Forgotten" deals with an ex-detective who now devotes his spare time to breaking cold cases involving unidentifiable bodies. I only buy that concept for a second, if only because someone as lonely and unbearable as Christian Slater would actually have time for that shit.

How about NBC's new hospital drama "Mercy"? Sexy nurses! Look I know it's not easy to be the guy who takes over at QB when John Elway retires, but I'd hardly equate "E.R." with John Elway. Well... maybe the writers on that show could fling shit further. I digress... The main nurse on the show has just returned from Iraq, so she MUST have issues! Oh my lordy mercy me! In one clip I saw, she witnesses a car accident and runs to some schmoes aid and saves his ass, and someone asks, "Where'd you learn to do that?" Her response, "Iraq." Whoooaaaaaaaaaaa buddy! She must know some SHIT yo. DAMN. Did she just say IRAQ??? HOW ABOUT she learned to do it IN NURSING SCHOOL.

But my favorite new show would have to be FOX's "Brothers" starring Michael Strahan. Read that again. Michael. Strahan. His father on the show? Carl Weathers... and apparently he has a brother who's paralyized from the waist down. So anyway, Michael Strahan, whose character is named Michael Trainor.... has lost all his money to a shady business manager (a la "Weekend at" Bernie Madoff), and must now learn that the love and recognition from his family is all the wealth he really needs.

Kenny Powers must be pissed.

- Vince

My girlfriend explains the merits of Christian Rock

"There is no such thing as Christian Rock. Music took a shit, and that shit had a baby with a garbage dump's shit and and Christian Rock was their lovechild."

Sie Leipbt Dich

Ok it's 4:01 I can post the Beanie Babies video.

Why is NBC trying to kill Conan?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090926/ap_on_en_tv/us_tv_conan_o_brien

This in the latest line of stunts in an ongoing attempt by the NBC brass to execute Conan. For some reason most of his skits involve something blowing up or a stunt man training him somehow. I'm getting excited for when they release the hounds.

- Justin

Friday, September 25, 2009

about time

Let's be honest here.

Shit sucks. Let's talk about it.