Worst Case Scenario

This weekend was the weekend. I saw "The Dark Knight." In IMAX, no less. I will say this, though. IMAX is sometimes a bit overwhelming in that you have to move your head so much just to make sure you catch everything on that giant screen.

(Insert Personal Opinion Here:)Anyway, I will be very forthright in saying that I think this movie is second to none. It not only holds up as the pinnacle of superhero films (sorry Stan Lee), but I really feel that this movie is one of the best I've seen this year. Everything about it is top notch.

The movie was perfectly (re) cast, the cinematography, the special effects and the script - done by the amazing Nolen brothers - was intense, action-packed, thrilling, emotional and extremely logical; something I assume is hard to pull off that well for a pre-existing superhero storyline.

I've heard some complaints about the low-pitched and, at times, indistinguishable voice of Christian Bale as Batman (not Bruce Wayne), but I feel like it's perfectly fitting, especially considering that Bruce Wayne is a well-spoken, very personable business man. I felt that Bale's changing of voice for Batman greatly separated the superhero from the socialite billionaire.

I don't want to rave on to a point of being redundant (have I done that already?), but I do want to encourage anyone who hasn't, to go see this film ASAP. And leave me feed back as to your thoughts about it. I'm curious to see what you thought.

Look I am the Locket

It's been a few days, but I am back on the saddle (the blogging saddle, that is). And to start things off, I watched the movie Broken English, starring Parker Posey. I must admit that I felt a little weird seeing Posey in a dramatic role. What, you didn't see Superman, you ask? No. I did not.

Anyhow, the movie was good. Not great, but not mediocre. It's worth a watch, but I should warn you...it is a bit depressing. Until the end, that is.

There's definitely other movies that I would first recommend before I pitched this one. I guess, there's not really much else to say about the film. Maybe - on second though - it wasn't really that memorable.

I can just forget....everything said

What a great weekend. A four-day weekend, at that. Well, four days in the eyes of my beloved St Louis Cardinals. A rare, four-game sweep, beating the Padres of San Diego put the Cards 15 games above .500. And all this with a team of injury-plagued players and players who some said *might* be good back up outfielders.

But LaRussa's, done it again. He's taken a team that few gave high hopes and coached them to greatness. Not to say there haven't been rough patches, but this is baseball, people. In a season of over 100 games played in different cities, in different ballparks and in different climates, one cannot expect a team to go without the occasional slump.

And to add to all of this, LaRussa started this season (and continues to) dealing with the ramifications of his off-season DUI (or is it DWI....ugh, I digress). This is something that can shake most if not legally pull them from their daily obligations. LaRussa has stood strong and taken this like a man. And, oh yeah, did I mention they are 15 games over .500.

I guess to be objective I should point out that anyone can boast about something they're passionate about. But to be equally fair I am boasting about a team that I'm passionate about that also happens to be really good.

Anyhow. Who finds it ironic that in a post about american baseball my subject if from a band called American Football?

There's Nothing More

According to THIS ARTICLE, The American Physical Society is claiming that humans and their output of CO2 and other fossil fuel emissions are not to blame for any global warming.

This is actually something that I'm glad to hear. People need to dispute all this hype about the earth melting on the sole account that we drive to much or use to much energy. And if nothing else, I have to agree with those who say that this is simply part of the historical ebb and flow of climate change.

Don't get me wrong...I completely agree that we need to do as much as possible to conserve energy, drive less, reuse, and just be a responsible society, but I would like it if people stopped heralding Al Gore as a revolutionary thinker and doer of our time. He's not the first person to raise these issues. Actually, there are others in history who've done much more creative things to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Burn it to the ground - Part 2

If you've read my post yesterday about The New Yorker cover controversy, you might enjoy this video from The Daily Show. It's the exact same point I (and The New Yorker, of course) was trying to make:

A floating realm

Make this a priority:

To the beat of just one drum

If you haven't heard (and I don't know how you couldn't have) Anheuser-Busch of St. Louis, Missouri has sold the company to Belgian brewing giant, In Bev. Not such a big deal, right? Well a lot of American purists are raising a stink over the move.

In Bev - creator of Bass, Stella Artois, Hoegarden, Beck's beers - purchased August Busch's long-standing, family-owned and all-American company this week for about $50 billion. This type of business move is usually heralded as a great business move, but a lot of American, especially St. Louisians, are speaking out in disgust. Many say that this move is symbolic of Busch selling out to foreigners. Others are publicly reminding Busch of his promise to never sell the company.

Well, I would never sell anything for less than $50 billion either. Just kidding...I would sell a lot and for a lot less. But the old saying stands that "money talks." And really, I don't see the need for all the rage. From what I've read, it's solely a profitable business move. Now, if InBev said they wanted to change the name of Busch Stadium to Beck's Ball Park, I'd raise my voice. I have a suspicion, however, that neither InBev nor Busch see a beneficial reason to give a truly American tradition a European flair. That would just be silly, or as they say in Belgium, "Amusant."

Ticking like a clock

Last night's MLB All-Star game was a humdinger!

The NL can never pull one out, though.

Burn it to the ground

Everyone is raising a stink over the latest cover of The New Yorker. As you can see, it satirically depicts Sen. Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, as terrorists. Not surprising, both Obama and McCain's camps fired back saying that the cover was in bad taste.

For some reason, however, I tend to disagree. Satire or not, I feel like this cover is a great commentary on the ridiculous claims by the conservative right, the media and the southern-pride groups, claiming Obama is a secret Muslim terrorist. Even Fox News made absurd comments about the, now-famous Obama fist bump.

In the end, I applaud The New Yorker's boldness in making such a statement that is clearly a jab at American media and thought rather than a medium to attach Obama and his presidential run.

This is my Curse

I did it. I went to the theater to see a movie on a Friday night. This may not sound so impressive - you crazy movie-goer person - but I can assure you it is. See, I'm lazy and hate crowds, so the thought of facing pro-activity and a crowd of people is simply dreadful.

I must say, however, that making the effort to see Disney / Pixar's newest creation, Wall-e, was well worth it. And to my surprise, there were not any kids in the movie theater. (Hint: if you're going to see an animated film, go to a 9:30 pm showing. No sane parents would have their kids out that late)

Anyhow, on to the movie. It was a really great movie. Of course walking into a Pixar film you can be solidly assured that you're going to get a top-notch visual experience. And in true Pixar fashion, they did not disappoint. The visual aspect of this film was second to none. The attention to detail, shading, color and movement was probably the best I've ever seen in an animated film. And for a movie that's based in a post-apocalyptic world, you can assume that the visuals are thought-provoking, to say the least.

Wait a second! What's this about a kid's movie being set in a post-apocalyptic world? Well, I can't vouch for the fact that the apocalypse has actually taken place prior to the introduction, but the film is chocked full of satire, innuendo, imagery and un-spoken (and some spoken) commentary on the state of society today and the road that we are supposedly leading ourselves down.

The scenes of Wall-e - who is apparently some sort of self-containing trash compactor with emotions - trudging through the uninhabited city looking for any semblance of life through the trash and remains of the giant, corporate, all-providing Buy N Large, are in no ways subtle. They are a clear message to anyone who will watch the film that we are becoming a lazy society, thus making us more prone to government/corporate control (both government and corporation are mutually inclusive in the story).

And as Wall-e sneaks a ride to the space station housing the last remains of human life, we are welcomed to scenes of outlandishly obese people floating around in chairs that are voice commanded, chatting on their computer screens to the people right next to them and sipping their meals from a cup -- a clear message that our society as we know it is being to conditioned to live and communicate in the laziest ways possible.

Ok, so enough of the crazy imagery. Let me get to the heart of the story. In the midst of this crazy story, a message of hope is actually put across. It's the message that there is hope of us realizing that interpersonal communication and physical interaction are key elements to help a race of people or a society thrive. I felt that there was a strong encouragement to get up out of your chair, desk, bed, sofa and go live your life. Look around. Hold someone's hand. It may be unfortunate, though, that it took two robots to display the true capacity to live and love.

All in all, this is a fantastic movie and I highly recommend it.

The Bully Always Wins

Awesome. At the G-8 Summit, leaders pledge to have emissions cut by 2050. It's good to know that by the time I'm nearly 70-years-old that I can have decent emissions standards.


Story here. Ugh