He's Snarkastic

It’s like there’s a party in my mouth and everyone’s invited to another edition of the Mustard.

So much for the Yankees and the Red Sox. On the plus side, there goes two teams that I can’t stand and who will just make for a hilarious off season when they try to one up each other and spend millions more on “star” players until next year comes and they get beat again by lower salaried teams who just put together coherent, sturdy teams. On the negative side, there goes half the ratings for the rest of the playoffs. The sound you’re heard after the Yankees lost on Monday wasn’t George Steinbrenner but actually Fox execs screaming in anguish over the money they just lost. Ah well. It’s the White Sox turn. You figure it’s been about a century, they’re due.

So the conclusions drawn from catching the Caps/Rangers game on Monday:

1. The Caps suck with the sole bright spots of Olie the goalie and the rookie Ovechkin.

2. The Rangers sucks with the sole bright spot of Jaromir Jagr.

3. I’m freakin’ glad hockey’s back.

So finally my top summer movies are over so I present you with:

Mr. Snow’s Top 5 Most Anticipated Movies…for the rest of the year:

(In order of release)

Elizabethtown

Why? It’s done by Cameron Crowe who also did Jerry McGuire, Vanilla Sky and one of my all-time favorite movies, Almost Famous. Orlando Bloom finally gets a chance to do something non-historical epic-eqsue. Kirsten Dunst has been rising in my book since not sucking in Spider-man 2 and being pretty darn good in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The only thing slightly putting me off is the plot seems to be pretty similar to that of Garden State. Hopefully there’ll be enough of a differentiation once I actually see the movie.

Jarhead

Ok, this spot originally was going to V for Vendetta but since that movie got moved to the spring, this one has popped into the list. It’s the newest film by Sam Mendes of American Beauty and the underrated Road to Perdition fame. If nothing else the cast is terrific with Jake Gyllenhaal moving away from his whole Day After Tomorrow phase and back towards serious work, Peter Sarsgaard who is becoming the next Chris Cooper by being in seemingly every movie these days, and Jamie Foxx in his first true followup to Ray (we do NOT count Stealth). I’m interested as Sam Mendes usually makes some gorgeous looking movies and his Cinematographer here is Roger Deakins who has done pretty much all the Coen Brothers movies as well as some big movies such as Shawshank Redemption and Beautiful Mind (which while I hated that movie, even I admit it was beautifully shot).

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Oh, like this is a surprise. In my mind, these movies get better with each additional one. I know a lot of people did not like Prisoner of Azkaban as much as the other ones due to having to cut a lot of material for time but I loved it for being the best of the actual “movies”. Yes, the book is better but isn’t that always the case? Anyways, this one looks to continue in the POA vein of style which is fine with me. I love the casting of the new roles. Brendon Gleeson is gonna be a great Mad-Eye Moody. Miranda Richardson I know is going to nail Rita Skeeter. And how friggin’ awesome is the casting of Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort? I just hope with the director we’re getting Donnie Brasco Mike Newell, not Mona Lisa Smile Mike Newell.

Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Ok, this one I’m looking forward to in the same way I was looking forward to Fellowship of the Ring. Great book that I hope they nail and am terrified they won’t. So far things look good. Casting no-names as the kids was the right first step. More famous actors would’ve over shadowed the characters. The design looks great. WETA who did Lord of the Rings is the best at what they do so I know those beasts and creatures are gonna be excellent. And as for the names they did cast, I think they went the best route. Tilda Swinton definitely looks like the White Witch I envisioned while reading the books and while I would’ve loved it if Brian Cox had voiced Aslan as originally planned, I have no problems with Liam Neeson. So here’s hoping cause if they get this right, they’ve got a whole series that’s going to make them some serious money.

King Kong

It’s Peter Jackson making King Kong. This guy seriously just laughs in the face of impossibility. Impossible to make the Lord of the Rings while staying true to the books? Done. Impossible to remake one of the most iconic movies of all time? Well, he doesn’t look to be doing too shabby there either. One he’s got a great cast. Adrien Brody showed just a little bit of talent when he picked up that best actor Oscar for the Pianist. Naomi Watts floored me with her performance in Mulholland Drive. And then there’s Jack Black. Big question mark there as he’s always been a big goofball actor. Honestly though he has some skills as he showed in School of Rock and I think his manic, obsessive energy is going to pour perfectly into the role of Carl Denham, the manic, obsessed filmmaker. Andy Serkis is doing the Gollum thing again by being the motion capture performer for Kong himself as well as playing Lumpy the cook which really is just a great name. And the few shots we’ve seen of Kong? Well it doesn’t have the nostalgic feeling of the stop-motion original Kong but damn he looks pretty sweet. And yes the trailer shows a lot of dinosaurs in it. No one seems to remember that they were in the original movie too. The original Kong had the notion of people being terrorized by pre-historic creatures on an island long before Crichton ever came up with Jurassic Park. So here’s hoping Jackson has a winner with this one. I’ll damn sure be in line on opening day.

News and notes:

I’ve resigned myself to the fact that any “answer” Lost gives always just results in 3 new questions.

Yahoo for Notre Dame moving up to #9 in the polls without even playing last week. USC this Saturday is honestly the rest of the season in one game. We win, the sky’s the limit. We lose, we spend the rest of the year in the teen rankings. Stupid Crowley going to the game.

Bring back Scrubs. Damn you NBC!

Hey there’s this really good movie called Serenity out. Go see it.

Little over a week now. Let the insanity begin.

Until next time:

“What if show Lisa we can sleep in her room without being frightened.”

“Ok Marge, but don’t be surprise if a snuggle monster shows up.”

“Well I hope he’s accompanied by the ‘How was your day’ monster and the footrub monster and the ‘Let me just-‘”

“Don’t worry, he’s not showing up.”

Can we start with the part where Jayne gets knocked out by a 90 pound girl? Because that's never getting old.

It’s back, it’s beautiful, it’s better than ketchup, it’s the Mustard.

So let’s just jump right into it, shall we:

SERENITY

To put it bluntly this move rocked. I will go on record and say that it was better than any of the Star Wars prequels. Yes, I did like Episode III but let’s face it, to someone who watched the first two prequels thinking “George, what the hell are you doing?”, that didn’t take too much. But this movie had all the action, all the intrigue of Star Wars and oh, yeah, dialogue which was actually, you know, good. Not to mention that the movie is funny as hell. But that’s what I’ve come to expect from the guy who wrote all the jokes in Toy Story (quick bit of trivia there for ya). Ok, so what’s great: the characters are spot on. These actors are phenomenally talented and by now they’ve got all their characters down pat to the point where they just aren’t even acting anymore. It’s just natural. Nathan Fillion’s Mal is the best scoundrel with a heart of gold since, well, Harrison Ford. Alan Tudyk, after scoring big as Steve the Pirate in Dodgeball, still gets the best lines as Wash though Adam Baldwin’s ethically deficient tough guy Jayne comes in close second. The best line, however, definitely goes to Crowley’s crush, Jewel Staite during a big shootout at the movie’s climax. Summer Glau really shines through here and her River gets to suddenly be the badass of the group. Plus her random lines just are hilarious. Honestly, I could just go on about every cast member, but they all are just exceptional. The new addition of Chiwetel Ejiofor as the honorable in-his-own-way/mind assassin, the Operative, is an excellent villain, one of the best of Firefly Universe. Fans of the TV series get a whole lot of explanation on several points from the Firefly universe. The movie’s plot actually took several turns I wasn’t expecting and I loved that. And of course I will warn that this is Joss I’m-not-afraid-to-kill-off-anyone Whedon and there’s definitely death that I didn’t see coming. It makes quite an impact on fans of the show. Honestly, the only negative points are not negative but rather the fact that with the limited time frame of a movie, Ron Glass’s Shepard Book and Morena Baccarin’s Inara get a little short shifted with screen time. Which in Glass’s case is a shame as his character was always one of my favorites. But if the worst thing that happens is that I wanted more, that’s not too shabby. Now I have state that this review is coming after I’ve seen the whole TV series so I can’t speak for everyone. However, I went to see the movie with one person who like me had seen the whole series, one person who had only seen the pilot and one person who knew nothing about Firefly but was a big Joss Whedon fan. All of them loved it. In fact, once the movie was over the two people who hadn’t really seen the series both immediately said they now wanted to watch it. So that says something. Now, finish reading this blog entry and then go out and see the movie. See it!!!

Music You Should Be Listening To:

Jamie Cullum – Twentysomething

Ok, imagine the Jazz piano music of Norah Jones or Harry Connick Jr. Now instead of covering classic American tunes, like Harry, you cover Radiohead, Jimi Hendrix, the Neptunes and Jeff Buckley. That’s what this album is. Honestly, his cover of High & Dry is just something I want to put on repeat and listen to over and over again. And Cullum does cover some American songbook tunes but flips on their heads and makes them sound totally new. Singin’ In The Rain has this synth beat behind it which just makes me wait for the Postal Service to kick in. I Could Have Danced All Night is almost completely percussion and a low bass guitar punctuated occasional by strings. His original pieces are also mighty fine with Twentysomething and At the Sea standing out.

News and Notes:

Hockey’s back! Catching the Ranger/Caps game on Monday.

Tonight could be the beginning of a very long winter for Red Sox fans. I swear to God if I hear just one of them bitch about it, I’m dumping whatever drink I happen to be holding at the time over their heads. The Red Sox are lucky to even be in the playoffs after choking their division lead to the Yankees and barely squeezing past the Indians for the Wild Card. Plus the fact that THEY WON LAST FREAKING YEAR!!!!

The strip is written, just need to find time to actually do it. Time hasn’t been a plentiful commodity as of late.

Props to Booter for his casting in a local theater production. Just remember: Mine is an evil laugh. Do it!

Until next time:

"We've got a picture of you with Saddam Hussein."
"I thought that was the guy who played the Soup Nazi. I told him how much I liked his work!"

Everytime I meet more family members I have to restrain myself from asking where the Chocolate Factory is.

Hey and howdy, fair Mustard denizens. Another week come and gone and another entry into the blogosphere.

Do you think Major League Baseball is thanking Jesus, Allah and Buddha for the way that three out of the four American League playoff spots are going to be decided this weekend in the Red Sox/Yankee and White Sox/Indian series? The ratings are going to be through the roof. This is the most exciting season final weekend possibly ever. And baseball is gonna cash in.

So the NHL starts up soon and despite screwing their fans over last season and currently having absolutely no big star or even a halfway decent team, the Washington Capitols have not lowered the prices on any of their tickets. Are they @#$%ing kidding me?! How they hell do they think they’re gonna turn a profit by pissing off their fans even more by charging 50 freaking bucks for decent seats!?! Am I still gonna go to a few games? Yeah, cause I love hockey. But you think I’m gonna be as likely to just randomly catch a game on a weekend like with the Nats? Not bleeping likely. Wankers.

So Serenity is out in 2 days. Yes, I am freaking excited to see this. Hell, I’m even being good and avoiding as many spoilers as I can. By the way, props to Mr. Griffin for actually managing to convince his school to allow him to show Firefly in class as a “future of space exploration” unit. Now that’s funny. Go see this movie. Seriously, do it. I mean you know I’m just going to review it next week and then tell you to go see it, so why wait? Be proactive.

Music You Should Be Listening To:

Weezer – Make Believe

Beverly Hills is just one of the best windows down, sing at the top of your lungs songs to come out in a long time. Perfect Situation reminds me a lot of a Keene song, if it was done by Weezer, with its piano-lead verses before kicking into a pure guitar rockin’ chorus. This Is Such a Pity has a great little 80’s synth beat. Hold Me and The Damage In Your Heart is pure great old school Weezer. This a great album and the best since Weezer’s Blue Album in my humble opinion.

Beck – Guero

So you didn’t like the melancholy sadness of Sea Change? You long for the crazy, slightly off-beat Beck of Odelay? Here ya go. Enjoy. Combining just about every musical genre you can think of, this album is as far away away from Sea Change as you can get. Combing funk (E-pro), hip-hop (Hell Yes), techno (Summer Girl), indie rock (Scarecrow) and Spanish rap (Que Onda Guero) (Guero means white boy in Spanish. For more Spanish words for white boy, consult Sean Griffin), this album is another great driving/party album.

New and notes:

Did you watch Arrested Development on Monday? I have my bat standing by.

Veronica Mars premiere tonight. Why did those bastards at UPN schedule it at the same time as Lost? Thank God for Tivo.

Curb Your Enthusiam is back and hasn’t missed a beat. From the Ted Danson cameo to Richard Lewis “stealing” Larry’s sandwich name to the ticket scalper for Temple this show continues to be the Dark Seinfeld (wow, that just sound kind of evil, doesn't it?).

The only thing keeping me from swearing off watching the recent crapfest of O.C. episodes is that Erin borrowed season 1 on DVD and some of the early episodes are hilarious on so many levels. Peter Gallagher really was so effing funny the first season.

Something I missed in last week’s Emmy post: Scrubs ended up winning the best multi-camera editing Emmy for its spoof on the multi-camera sitcom episode. I find that infinitely hilarious. Also rumors abound that it could come back as soon as October. Do it NBC, do it!

Until next time:

“Who gets passed by a van full of nuns? Oh wait, who? Cohen does!”

“Well, they have God on their side ok, Summer? I’m not going to beat Jesus.”

Well, since no one submitted any nicknames I was forced to give one to myself. In retrospect choosing the nickname “Doobie” wasn’t the best choice.

“So let me walk these coals til you believe I can cut the Mustard well enough”

Seriously, the Shins albums have been sitting at the top of my favorites list for a year now and if you don’t have them, I say there’s something wrong with you. Personally I prefer the newer Chutes Too Narrow but Oh Inverted World has New Slang on it which is just one of the best songs ever. There. I said it. Moving on.

Tough ND game last weekend with the loss to Michigan St but honestly, I’ll say it right now, I think this might have even been a good thing for them. Before you kill me for daring to suggest a loss was a good thing, let me explain. In the past when the Irish, coming off a big win, have come out flat and fallen behind in a game, they usually have just been steamrolled. This time they fell 21 points behind and rather than roll over, Brady Quinn (who had been sucking up to that point) led the comeback with an astounding quick pass game to tie it up and send it into overtime. Yes, they lost in overtime and that sucks but they didn’t die and that is something to be happy about. Cause I’ll tell you right now USC is going to be unbelievably tough and if the Irish even want to have a chance, they’re gonna need to fight for every inch and not give up if the Trojan’s take an early lead. Hehehe….Trojans.

My Giants are 2-0. Sweeeeeeet. Eli actually looked good Monday against the Saints. Too bad the Saints weren’t looking too good. A home game in New York? Sorry NFL, as great as that may have been for publicity, there’s no such thing as giving another team a “home” game in New York. Or New Jersey as the case may be.

One month til the big day. And yes I know I owe Erin like everything in the world for everything she’s done to get this wedding together. She’s amazing and this is why I’m marrying her. Well that and the way she can beat up Booter. That’s just funny.

So Lost is back. I’m proud of all of you who have come around and started watching it. Holy crap was that a good season premiere and the more I think about it, it was also good for someone who wanted to just start watching it. Yeah, you won’t get all the in depth background of the characters but I think you could pick up enough to understand what’s going on and be not too much more confused than the rest of us who have been watching it from the beginning.

As for the new shows:

Bones – not bad, I enjoyed the offbeat characters and I think you’ll enjoy it if you like crime procedurals ala CSI or Law and Order.

My Name is Earl – Verdict is still out on this one. I love Jason Lee, I think he’s hysterical. The first 2/3 of the pilot was spent setting up the rest of the series so I’ll give it a chance to see if it takes off from here.

Kitchen Confidential – This was actually really really funny and I recommend checking it out. Again it’s tough cause the pilot spends it’s time setting up the rest of the series but I definitely laughed hard during some of the scenes. Plus the cast is terrific. Any series with Zack from Wedding Crashers, Xander from Buffy, Harold from Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle and Sam from Freaks and Geeks is definitely worth checking out.

News and Notes:

One week until Serenity! Ok, people last chance, I'm begging you, if you've never seen Firefly before, despite my pleas to check it out, now is the time. This is the best sci-fi show to come along in years, bar none. Please, at least do me the favor of just watching the first 2 part pilot episode. Run out and rent it, or I'll loan it to you or hell, I'll burn a copy of it and you can watch it on your computer. Just check it out and if it doesn't make you want to see Serenity, ok. But I guarantee you, if you see the first episode, it'll hook you.

Hey look, Everybody Loves Raymond took the Emmys. I believe I predicted just about all of that. Congrats to Monk. Yay Lost. Ha, kiss my ass Will & Grace, no emmys for you. William Shatner over Terry O’Quinn? The hell? I’d also like to point out that William Shatner is the comic relief on Boston Legal and yet won best supporting actor in a DRAMA!!! And hilarious acceptance speech from the Arrested Development guys: “I’d like to remind you that once again you’re honoring us something you will not watch.”

Speaking of Arrested Development, it’s back and now on Mondays. There is NOTHING else to watch on Mondays at 8 o’clock, people. Start watching the show. If you seriously watch 7^th Heaven, Wife Swap, Surface or the King of Queens over this show I will personally come to your house and smash your TV with a bat because you do not deserve to own one.

Ok, reason # 498754 you should be watching Veronica Mars: Joss Whedon is now guest starring as a used car salesman. That makes Charisma Carpenter as a MILF, Kevin Smith as a Clerk, and Joss Whedon doing the dance of joy* this season. Friggin’ watch this show.

Holy crap did the O.C. suck last week. I mean truly truly sucked. And I’m not talking it’s-the-O.C.-it’s-not-really-supposed-to-be-award-winning sucked. I’m talking Joey sucked. I seriously hope whoever wrote that was fired.

Still working on writing Episode 6 but between the wedding and the impending move in 2 weeks, time is a little tight. I will get it going though, I promise.

Until next time:

“I just went off my post partum medications”
“You’re still taking that? You had Buster thirty two years ago.”
“And that’s how long I’ve been depressed about it.”

* I have no idea if he’ll be doing the dance of joy. But it would be pretty damn funny if he did.

It's an illusion, Michael. A trick is something a whore does for money... or candy!

It's an Arrested Development quote. How would I know what a whore does for candy?

Sorry for the long period in between updates. The office has been getting a little crazy lately and with the moving coming up and the impending nuptials it’s been nuts trying to finish of the strip and write the blog. So here we go:

Go Irish. Let me preface this by saying I’m not dancing for joy as much as many other Irish fans seem to be as I do remember 3 years ago, Ty’s first year, when he went 8-0 to start the season including a win over a top-10 ranked Michigan. Luckily I do have faith in Charlie Weiss and know he’s not giving the Rockne comparisons a second thought. That being said, how freakin’ cool was that win over Michigan in the Big House? Sloppy second half but that first drive was the best thing I’ve seen the Irish do in years (yeah, maybe I’m exaggerating but it was pretty damn cool). So for now let’s just say I’m pretty impressed with the Charlie Weiss era this far.

Mets = done. Man, that was rough. They get a taste of the Wild Card and then bam! Lose 9 out of 10 to effectively put them out of the running. Well I’m still going to a game when they’re in town next week. While a disappointing finish, they far surpassed my expectations. Willie Randolph just became the best thing to happen to the franchise in the last decade. Things are looking good for next year though. Carlos Beltran is a solid foundation to build that team around. Yes, he’s overpaid but that’s not his fault. They gave him that money. Keeping him around is gonna pay off. Cliff Floyd, freaking amazing year. Helps when you’re not injured all the time. Cameron was flying high before getting hurt. Victor Diaz is gonna be a star but he’s still just 21 and need some experience. David Wright – holy crap, where did he come from? Suddenly he’s one of the best hitters in the league batting .313. Pedro more than did his fair share.

So things for the Mets to do next year: 1. Trade Piazza. He’s right now a glorified DH who can’t throw anyone out at catcher so why not trade him to some AL team looking for a DH and a good team leader? 2. Permanently promote their young starters. Jae Seo has proved by now that he should be full time rotation. Dump Ishii and Zambrano. Pedro, Seo, even Benson when he’s on are the ones that pulled their weight this season. 3. Get rid of Braden Looper as soon as humanly possible and pick up a real closer.

So that just about does it for my season of baseball other than random comments on the playoffs and WS.

Mark Messier retired from the NHL. It really is the end of an era with all these big names retiring. Damphousse, Stevens, MacInnis and Francis all saying good bye to the game. But from a Rangers fan stand point Messier’s retirement really is huge. His playoff win guarantee during the Rangers ‘94 run to the club is legendary. He’ll be missed.

Rather hefty sports entry I’ve noticed. Sorry bout that.

New and notes:

Jack Johnson concert = awesome. He’s friggin’ amazing in concert. Probably because the whole acoustic thing comes across just as good live as on an album. But man, he played like 2/3’s of his catalogue including a 6 song encore. Props for doing his cover of Jimmy Buffet’s Pirate Looks at 40 and mega-props for the awesome transition of Gone to the White Stripes Doorbell and back again.

Emmy’s coming up this weekend. Go Scrubs! Go Lost! Die Will & Grace!

Family Guy was in rare form for its premiere (“Reagan smash!”)

Arrested Development: next Monday! I love the fact that the Fonz left the show so they’re replacing him with Chachi. Brilliant!

Looking forward to My Name is Earl. If only because Jason Lee is one of the funniest actors alive.

Episode V is done. Figuring out when I’m going to start the final one. Writing it would also help.

Until next time:

“I'll be in the hospital bar.”
”Um, you know there isn't a hospital bar, mother.”
”Well, this is why people hate hospitals.”

You know, we're not the only ones destroying trees. What about beavers? You call yourself an environmentalist, why don't you go club a few beavers?

The answer is mustard. Mustard is made from mustard seeds.

Ok, so random obscure SNL Celebrity Jeopardy reference. Moving on…

After a lovely weekend up north during which Erin found out that it’s cold and windy on a mountain top no matter how warm a day it may be and I found out that every single one of my little cousins has no problem water skiing while I can’t do it to save my life, it’s back to the good ol’ workplace in D.C.

Woo hoo! Mets are now only a half game out of the wildcard. After this coming week we’ll pretty much know where they stand as it’s 3 series in a row again the Phillies, Marlins and Braves. That’s rough.

ND football vs. Pitt this Saturday! Still pissed they moved the DC alumni game watch out to Pentagon City. It was so nice being able to walk 5 minutes home and pass out on the couch. We’ll see how long this lasts. Especially cause the game on Saturday isn’t til 8 at night. Ouch.

So I have a few things I’m working on for the next couple entries but as I was thinking about the new TV season and how much I hate cliffhangers here’s a quick top 5 list for you:

TOP 5 BLEEPIN’ LAST SEASON CLIFFHANGERS I WANT ANSWERED:

5. How the bleep is Elliot going to be a major character on Scrubs now that she’s moved to a different hospital?

4. Who the bleep was that at the door on Veronica Mars?

3. How the bleep are those crazy kids on the O.C. getting out of the whole shooting Trey mess?

2. What is Luke gonna say to Lorelei’s proposal on Gilmore Girls and is Rory really bleepin’ dropping out?

1. What the bleep’ is in that bleepin’ hatch on Lost?

MUSIC YOU SHOULD BE LISTENING TO:

Death Cab For Cutie – Plans

So yeah, this just came out yesterday. I’ve already listened to it 3 times. I can’t even remember the last time I bought a CD the day it came out but after falling in love with this band from their Transatlanticism album and frontman Ben Gibbards lyrics and vocals on the Postal Service album, I was really looking forward to this. And it didn’t disappoint. It’s good. It’s really good. The opening track Marching in Manhattan is a great catchy number which sounds like it could’ve come right off Transatlanticism. Soul Meets Body is there first single which kicks things up a little bit. Summer Skin is classic Death Cab with the soulful piano and melancholy yet poetic lyrics. Different Names For The Same Thing sees a little Postal Service coming out in the album between the use of the synths and beat. I will Follow You Into The Dark is a totally acoustic guitar number with Gibbards voice jumping front and center with his depressing yet ultimately sweet lyrics. It reminds me a lot of Iron & Wine’s cover of Such Great Heights but with Gibbard singing his own song. I could keep going on but let’s just say Death Cab (or to be a total mark: DCFC) continues to impress me with they’re work and while I don’t know if this album surpasses Transatlanticism (nor should it have to) it definitely belongs up there in their catalogue. One thing is for sure, while this is their first album on a major label, the band isn’t changing their tone or “selling out” musically. Thank God for that.

News and Notes:

Saw the 2 hour premiere of Prison Break. Not too bad. Sure a whole lot of things happening dependent on pure luck but it’s TV. The show, if nothing else, is entertaining and as such it’s earned at least a couple more viewing.

Charlize Theron on Arrested Development this season? Dear God people why aren’t you watching this show?

Episode 5 getting a lot of love this week.

I really want to see the Constant Gardener. Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz in a movie by the guy who did City of God? Sweet.

Awesome new Harry Potter trailer here (trailer 2 in the trailer section). The music alone in this has me hugely excited to see it.

Until next time:

“Don't you always say "family first"?”

“Yes, but that is not a family. It's a bunch of greedy, selfish people who have our nose. And Aunt Lindsay”

“She's not really my aunt?”

“No, it's not a real nose. I have a picture of her when she was 14 in a bathing cap and she looks like a falcon.”

When I held that gun in my hand, I felt a surge of power ... like God must feel when he's holding a gun.

Irony: I actually don’t like mustard. Think about it.

Props to Tom for a great time this weekend even if I did actually end up watching Guess Who and did actually end up laughing at it. Even Ashton Kutcher isn’t enough to stop Bernie Mac from being funny as hell.

Ok, so strange double post today. I actually wrote the below post last week but then realized that very few of the 3 or 4 people who read this blog would actually care. So I figured I’d save it and just post another more general entry along with it this week. But should you care to read it I have one additional entry: the game Metroid Hunters for the Nintendo DS which was also supposed to be a HUGE launch for that system this fall/holiday season has also been delayed til 2006. Ouch.

Ok, no more video game stuff.

The Mets are rockin’ the suburbs these days having won 8 of 10 (including a CRUSHING of Arizona two nights in a row) and are now only 1.5 games out of the wildcard. Granted that puts them in with 4 other teams trying to win it but still, no one would have seen them at this point at the beginning of the season. Can’t wait to hit another game when they come into town at the end of September.

The Rangers have still yet to do anything big in the free agent market. Yeah, the signed Steve Rucchin which isn't a bad deal but they need some new blood. They don't need another superstar just a couple more solid players. At this rate the only team who will have done less will be the Washington Capitals. Good lord, nothing there. I’ll just have to make sure to go pick the Caps games I go to based on their opponent.

If you’re not watching Entourage, wow, you’re missing out. Caught a 4 episode marathon last week and then went back and watched every other episode this season (yay HBO on demand!). The show is hysterical and has jumped up to my new favorite show (yes, it’s summer where there’s not a whole lot of competition but still). I mean any show with the line: “Dude, did you just get cock-blocked by Bob Sagat?” is a show that has to be genius.

Two weeks til Fox premiere week. Prison Break, while seriously annoying the crap out of me with the commercials running every 5 minutes on Fox, is getting some really good buzz so I’m looking forward to checking it out. The Simpsons is premiering normally on the 11^th! No word yet on whether it’ll be the Treehouse of Horror kicking it off as usual or if they’ll have a normal episode and save that one for Halloween. O.C. is also returning and yeah, I’m now just a full on convert. It’s just too damn funny and I feel no guilt anymore over watching it. Speaking of the O.C….

Music You Should Be Listening To:

Music from the O.C. Volume 1 and 4:

Yeah, I know the 1 and 4 are random but I have half the songs on the 2^nd album (not that I wouldn’t recommend it, I just already have the Killers, Death Cab, the Thrills and Keane) and the 3^rd album is the Chrismakuh one which it’s just not the holiday season quite yet. But I recommend these albums for anyone who liked the Garden State or Scrubs soundtracks. Just great music on here you normally won’t here on the radio.

Volume One is little more straight forward. The Way We Get By by Spoon has a little bit of a funky early Ben Folds feel to it. We Used to Be Friends by the Dandy Warhols is actually theme song for Veronica Mars and is just really catchy. The beautifully acoustic Orange Sky was actually in the movie Garden State but was left off that soundtrack because it was already on this one. And of course the O.C. theme song California by Phantom Planet is the easiest song in the world to get stuck in your head.

Volume Four gets a little more eclectic starting off Decent Days and Nights by the Futureheads which has a Clash-esque feel to it. Goodnight and Go by Imogen Heap will remind you of Let Go by Frou Frou especially because Imogen Heap is in fact one half of Frou Frou. To Be Alone With You by Sufjan Stevens has a nice acoustic Iron & Wine sound. Things then ratchet up a notch with Scarecrow and The View off the latest Beck and Modest Mouse albums. Finally the album end on a great cover of Champagne Supernova by matt pond PA.

News and Notes:

We’ve hit the 2 month mark. Wow, October will be here before you know it. Then Greece!

Heading back up to NY this weekend and finally will have a little time at the lake. It’s been way too long.

ND football! One week!

Weekly shameless strip plug!

Until next time:

“This is where you should be living, Vince. In a kingdom, like a prince.”

“Don't you mean in a kingdom like a king, you idiot?”

“Nah, E. Everyone wants to kill the king. But the prince, he just sails along telling all the ladies, "One day I'm gonna be king."

Look, the thing about my family is there's five of us. Marge, Bart, Girl Bart, the one who doesn't talk, and the fat guy. How I loathe him!

And we’re back with another edition of that crazy, sexy, cool blog, the Mustard.

It’s rant time:

So Nintendo has officially screwed themselves. The announced today that the new Zelda game for the Gamecube which was supposed to be out in November for the Christmas season has been pushed back til at least the 2^nd quarter of ’06. This delay was necessary to make improvements to the game. Now while I’m all for high quality games and Zelda has never let me down before, this is next to death for Nintendo. Right now they don’t have a major holiday release to put out. Zelda was HUGE. Especially a realistic one which looked more in line with the Ocarina of Time of N64 (which was one of, if not the best game of all time) rather than the cartoony Wind Waker for Gamecube (which was still a good game but the cell shaded look turned a lot of people off). This Zelda game by itself could have held off the ridiculous onslaught that is going to be the release of the Xbox360. I’m not saying it would’ve stopped the success of the new Xbox. But it could have plugged a major leak in the Nintendo ship as people who are more than disappointed with the Gamecube jump onto the Xbox bandwagon. And I’m sure PS2 is gonna have some big games out in time for the holidays.

Nintendo has nothing left. Zelda was it. It was they’re last big hurrah before the new system comes out next year. As of now it, it may end up that this new Zelda game doesn’t come out until after both the Xbox360 and PS3 come out.

Nintendo has to get their arrogant heads out of their asses. They’re not infallible anymore. This isn’t the Nintendo of the SNES and early N64 age. They don’t have the market lead anymore. And all those loyal Nintendo fans are getting to their wits end, myself included. They’re sick and tired of sticking with a company who seems to believe that their users will never leave no matter how many times Nintendo drops the ball. They’re sick of seeing amazing games like Halo and Ninja Gaiden and God of War and Final Fantasy come out on other systems and having to settle for Mario Party 67 and a Mario title in every sport. We didn’t even get a real Mario game except for the early Mario Sunshine release which no one bought!!!

Zelda was going the only real thing we Nintendo fans could get really excited for especially considering how stingy the company has been about revealing details of the new system. We don’t know anything about why it’s going to be a “Revolution”. We do know that it won’t play HD DVD’s because Nintendo doesn’t think we want them. The same way they thought we wouldn’t want the Gamecube to play regular DVDs. The same way they thought we wouldn’t want the Gamecube to allow for online play (ironically now Nintendo is hailing the wi-fi capabilities that are going to included in the Revolution console and acting like online play was their idea to begin with). Nintendo just keeps saying oh, it’s going to be huge but right now we can’t tell you anything about it. That only works for so long before people get tired of waiting and instead look at the ridiculously cool looking games coming out for the other new consoles.

So it’s a little hard for a Nintendo fan to get excited for a new Zelda release when by that time all focus is going to be on the next generation consoles. What Nintendo should have done was develop this game for the new Revolution console and have it launch with that. That would’ve been amazing. Every Nintendo fan in the world would have waited for that. A new console AND a new Zelda game? Sign me up. But instead we’re going to be getting a Zelda game on an old system (albeit probably a great Zelda game) while everyone is oohing and awwing about the new Xbox and Playstation.

Right now Nintendo is a bad bad position and unless they’re going to pull out the Holy Grail with their new gaming system and blow everyone out of the water, we could be singing goodbye by the time the next generation consoles reach the end of their lives.

Ok, sorry. Ridiculously long rant there. To the new and notes:

Strip back and running. I’m trying to get those updates out as quick as possible to make up for my time off.

Looking forward to moving next month. The new place is looking very cool. I mean it has a view of the National Mall from the new gym built on the roof of the 20 story building. Right next to the rooftop pool. Sweeeeeeet.

Little over 2 weeks until Irish Football starts up. Damn DC alumni club moved the game watch. It was really nice having it like 4 blocks from my apartment. Now I’ll have to take the metro while being slightly inebriated. Let’s see if Charlie Weiss is the answer to all ND alumni prayers.

Anyone else think Terrell Owens just needs to have his legs broken? God, the whining never stops. You signed the damned contract!!!! Deal with it!!! I’m sure you’re family will be able to feed itself with the $7 million dollars you’re making this season. Somehow I manage to not go hungry. I’m confident in your ability to provide. Wanker.

Until next time:

"Lisa, would you like a donut?"
"No thanks. Do you have any fruit?"
"This has purple in it. Purple's a fruit."

It's so damn hot! Milk was a bad choice.

Wow, I remember this blog. Mustard something, right? Alright, so I took a little time off from both the blog and strip. I needed a little down time. Plus I wasn’t around for most of it thereby not allowing me any updates.

First off: Shout out to the L.A. boys (and Crowley) for making my bachelor weekend freakin’ terrific. You guys are awesome and despite the fact that I’ve been in detox for two weeks now, it was an incredible time that won’t soon be forgotten…. mostly cause Crowley posted up all the quotes on his blog. Read at your own peril. Or the peril of those who actually said the quotes. Snow’s been to L.A.!

Uber-quick trip up to Saratoga last weekend was also a fine time. I actually won money at the track! Go me! Granted the winnings were just enough to cover the tolls on the way home but positive gains are what really matter.

I’ll give this to the NHL: they’re making the pre-season pretty darn interesting. With the free-agent craze going on now there isn’t going to be one team that looks the same come October. As far as the Rangers go: will you do something already! I mean come on! Jagr isn’t someone who’s going to last forever. He’s already stated this might be his last year (yeah, it’s not going to be but still). They need to bring in someone to build a team around. I mean the Blackhawks at least went out and go Khabibulin and that’s the friggin’ Blackhawks!

Mets are only 3 games out of the wildcard right now. Not to shabby. Too bad the Nats are in a freefall. I mean they’ve lost 12 games by one run since the All-Star break. Where’s the clutch play?

Music You Should Be Listening To:

Ben Folds – Songs for Silverman

A little more laid back than his last album, Rockin’ The Suburbs (which criminally only had the title track as a single, the album was amazing.), Folds’ piano takes center stage even more so here. I don’t have a problem with that at all. Landed has an early Billy Joel-esque sound to it though the lyrics are total Ben Folds. Gracie is a beautifully sweet lullabye to his daughter. The emotional Late is Ben Folds goodbye to Elliot Smith and is absolutely heartbreaking to listen to. Honestly, I’m loving Ben Folds solo efforts more than his earlier group work.

Dispatch – Bang Bang

Like a combination of the simple yet catchy hooks of Guster and the ska beat of Sublime, this album is a little more focused in its sound than Silent Steeples. Bats in the Belfry is a catchy, high tempo number that’ll stick with you. The General has always been a favorite of mine, very simple number that’s just infinitely catchy. Two Coins is another standout number that’s completely acoustic, relying on the strength of the vocals to carry the song. It's really a shame this group didn't keep together as they had a whole lot of potential, at least a helluva lot more than the schlock you normally find on the radio these days.

New and Notes:

Booter hooked on Serenity. It was only a matter of time.

Scrubs Season 2: November 15^th. Sweet.

One month til the fall schedule starts up. The Simpsons is actually starting before November this year!!!

Until next time:

"What in the hell’s diversity?"

"Well, I could be wrong, but I believe diversity is an old wooden ship that was used during the civil war era."

Show me the way to go home! Everybody! I'm tired and I want to go to bed! Just the women!

L.A. here I come! My flight leaves in a few a hours and holy sweet moly do I need this extended weekend. My brain feels like it’s about to spontaneously combust. And that would hurt.

The NHL is officially back and the schedule has been released for the year. I love how they’re making such a big deal over all 30 teams playing on opening day. Well yeah, they have had a 15 month rest. I think they’ll be good to go opening day. Personally I’m still a little pissed at them. Yeah, I’m gonna be going to the games because it’s hockey and I love the sport. But those ticket prices better be drastically reduced (i.e. next to free) or those stands are going to be really empty. The Rangers come into town to play the Caps on Monday afternoon on Columbus Day. Boo ya. Shame the Sharks aren’t playing here this year, but I’ll be happy with a couple Rangers games.

Quick reviews:

Happy Endings – The latest by Don Roos (Opposite of Sex) is one of those movies I love going to every now and then. It’s a movie that makes you think as opposed to most summer flicks in which thinking usually hurts the movie. The cast is excellent and everyone is giving strong performances but the most surprising standout is Tom Arnold. Now go back and re-read that sentence. Wow. But honestly, he puts in a great performance as widower who is just trying to be a good father while trying to find something to grasp onto in life. His reaction when he finds out that his son (who he has been worried is gay) has a girlfriend is just superb. The thing is that he’s terrified that his son is gay but not because he’s this raging homophobe but rather that he has absolutely no idea how to handle it, he's not sure if he's supposed to act differently. He just have never had to deal with anything like that. Of course he then goes on to develop a relationship with said girlfriend (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who is really just a golddigger looking to score. Steven Coogan also gives a strong performance as part of a gay couple who begin to suspect that a lesbian couple with whom they’re best friends has been lying to them as to the whether one of them is the father of the lesbians’ child. Intersperse this with Coogan’s step-sister, Lisa Kudrow who is being blackmailed into helping an aspiring film maker make his film school entry movie in exchange for the location of the son she gave up for adoption (whom she had with Coogan, in a whole, freaky, ending of Clueless moment) and basically you come up with a movie that sounds so unbelievably out there but ends up making sense and being a solid movie to boot. Yeah, I realize halfway through this review that I just could not even come close to a complete review of this movie without a 20 page long essay diving into the themes and cross-cutting storylines. Suffice to say that if you’re looking for something other than the usual summerfare, check out this movie. By the way Maggie Gyllenhaal does all her own singing in the movie and she’s ridiculously good.

Music you should be listening to:

Coldplay – X & Y

Yes, I do think that Coldplay is often overhyped. But this is a solid album, particularly the 2^nd half. Yes, I do get annoyed (as I’m sure Coldplay does) that they’re constantly being referred to as the next U2. There are some similiarities and several of the songs on here showcase Edge-esque guitar riffs (particularly on White Shadows and Talk). But Coldplay is their own band and I think it’s unfair to judge an artist solely by comparison to another. Plus the fact that when I heard this album referred to as Coldplay’s Joshua Tree I really wanted to hit the reviewer. It’s good, but come on, Joshua Tree is one of the best albums of the past 25 years. Ok, anyways, Chris Martin’s vocals continue to be the front and center act here which he’s got a good set of pipes on him, so I’m not complaining. Speed of Sound is the big single but also try Swallowed by the Sea with its simple, yet effective worldplay and A Message with its low key acoustic guitar and Fix You which is the Scientist of this album.

Old 97’s – Too Far to Care

With more of a country slant to it than their poppier Fight Songs, this album probably won’t appeal to everyone but if you can appreciate the Alternative/Americana fusion beat, you’ll find some good tunes for hanging around to. Rhett Miller just has a great ability to write fun, catchy lyrics and you’ll find some great examples on that with Timebomb, Melt Show and Big Brown Eyes.

Alright, until next time:

“Everybody I've got bad news. We've been cancelled.”

”Oh no Peter! How could they do that?”

”Well unfortuantely Lois, there's just no more room on the schedule. We just gotta accept the fact that FOX has to make room for terrific shows like Dark Angel, Titus, Undeclared, Action, That 80's Show, Wonder Falls, Fast Lane, Andy Richter Controls The Universe, Skin, Girl's Club, Cracking Up, The Pitts, Firefly, Get Real, Freaky Links, Wanda At Large, Costello, The Lone Gunman, A Minute with Stan Hooper, Normal Ohio, Pasadena, Harsh Realm, Keen Eddy, The Street, American Embassy, Cedric The Entertainer, The Tick, Louie, and Greg The Bunny.”

”Is there no hope?”

”Well I suppose if ALL those shows go down the tubes we might have a shot.”

And remember, every time you support a canceled Fox show, somewhere a network executive loses his wings.

Hola cabrones, and welcome back to another edition o' the Mustard.

The above quote is attribute to an excellent article on the show Firefly which I've raved about before in the blog. Sci-Fi is showing the whole series IN PROPER ORDER starting this Friday. I highly recommend you check it out (just TiVo if you need to go out. It'll be good hangover watching Saturday morning). For the rest of the article click here.

We’re officially into the crazy part of summer. Speaking of crazy, heading out to L.A. next weekend. And my God have mercy on my soul.

So I’ll just right into it cause I have a bunch of things I want to get to.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:

Last Friday at 12:45, I walked into Barnes and Noble and picked up Harry Potter. I woke up at 10:30 the next morning and started reading. I finished up at about 9:00 that night. That’s a whole lotta reading. So to start off with, the book is the high quality, completely engrossing tale I’ve come to expect from J.K. Rowling. It is so easy to completely lose yourself in the world of Harry. But even while maintaining that sense of whimsy, Rowling is still playing hardball. She’s not pulling and punches and I mean that literally cause by the end of the book you feel like you just got punched in the gut. It’s easily the harshest ending of any of the books and she continues to show that Joss Whedon-like ability to kill off anybody. I’m not complaining because I’m completely and utterly intrigued as to where she’s going from here. I mean at this point everything is up for grabs. While it frees her up to do whatever she wants with this last book, it leaves the reader hating the fact that they have to wait at least another 2 years before the final book comes out. Oh and for those wondering, Harry’s not a total whiney little pissant this year! Yay! His character in the 5^th book just made me want to hurt him. Damn angst-ridden teenagers. So get ready folks cause this series is winding down and I don’t think anyone knows where it’s gonna end up. Thank God for that.

I’m invisio-texting a few thoughts of mine as to HUGE SPOILER material but I want to mention. So only highlight the below if you’ve already read the book.

Ok, RAB I’m convinced is Regulus Black, Sirius’ brother who was murdered by Voldemort after trying to leave the deatheaters. It makes sense and I think is a great idea on Rowling’s part.

I don’t think we know all there is to know about Snape and his murder of Dumbledore. I don’t care how weak he was, Dumbledore could’ve taken the Deatheaters. Especially as at first it was only Malfoy. You’re telling me between Dumbledore and Harry they couldn’t have taken 4 Deatheaters blindly walking through a door? Also I refuse to believe that Snape’s betrayal is that simple. He just fooled Dumbledore for 15 years? That’s it? Come on! Dumbledore may want to believe in the good of people but he’s not an idiot. He saw through Tom Riddle during his rise to power and there’s no way he would’ve just been simply taken in by Snape. Plus Rowling doesn’t write things that simple. She wrote the 2^nd Chapter of the book showing Snape explaining everything to the Deatheaters and you’re telling me that that’s it? She showed us Snape’s evil right away and it just is that simple? Rowling’s a better writer than that and that’s why I’m so excited for the last book. That’s when we’ll find out the whole truth.

END SPOILER

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory:

Finally! Charlie’s a good kid who doesn’t screw up! Thank you! That’s the main reason I don’t like the Gene Wilder version as much as everyone else. I hate that Charlie ends up being just as bad as the rest of them. “Oh, but he apologized!” Well, yeah, cause he got a chance to! How do you know Violet wouldn’t have said she was sorry if she ever got a chance to see Wonka after being de-juiced or Agustus might have repented his ways if he hadn’t been sucked up a pipe into the fudge room. So don’t give me that crap that Charlie was sorry. He was just as irresponsible as the others. Ok, sorry, that’s just bugged the hell out of me for a long time. So this version: fantastical. Freddy Highmore is so unbelievably perfect as Charlie, Tim Burton should get down on his knees and thank whatever higher power he believes in for his casting in Finding Neverland opposite Johnny Depp. Charlie’s grandparents have much better personalities in this version which are played for some great laughs. David Kelly as Grandpa Joe in particular is perfect. He looks older and more decrepit than the previous Grandpa Joe but he has that whimsical gleam in his eye that’s found in the books. The other children are also done well. The updating of Mike Teevee from TV western obsessed to video game/technology obsessed I think was necessary as cowboys aren’t quite so in today. And yes Johnny Depp as Wonka. While I don’t like the older movie, I did enjoy Gene Wilder’s performance (up until he goes postal on Charlie which was just so far out of Wonka’s character it still makes me cringe). Depp goes in an entirely different direction and yet it’s still a great performance. And while I hate to mention this because so much has been made of it already, he is not bloody channeling Michael eff-ing Jackson in this movie! Christ, can’t these critics leave current pop-culture out of their reviews for once!!! Ok, yes, he speaks in a strange voice. So does Kermit the Frog. “Well, he invites children to come into his playground factory”. Yeah, he does, but he doesn’t want to. Here’s the thing: Depp’s Wonka doesn’t like children. Hell, he doesn’t like people in general. When Violet introduces herself, Wonka responds “I don’t care.” He’s bringing in kids so that he can find someone to take over for himself when he’s gone. But he’s not happy about getting older. He’s not happy about being forced into human contact again. He’s socially inept as is seen when he doesn’t know how to continue a conversation so he takes some notecards and starts reading from them. His transformation from social recluse to accepting people back into his life is one of the best parts of the movie. So just accept the fact that this is Depp's own creation and move on, will you? Anyways, the Oompa Loompas are great. They’re all played by the actor Deep Roy and they’re just freaky, exactly as they should be. Love the songs this time. No oompa-loompa-gobbidy-goo. These songs are straight from the book. Danny Elfman is having fun here with his music. He hasn’t done this quality of work since Nightmare Before Christmas. The only qualm about the movie is the ending is changed (actually really just extended) a little in order to bring closure to Wonka’s childhood subplot involving his dentist father (played by Christopher Lee who is seriously having the best time of his career these days). I personally didn’t have a problem with it but I know some people will say, oh no, deviation from the book! All in all, I much prefer this version and I thank Tim Burton for giving a great book a truly faithful adaptation.

Ok, I also need to review the new Don Roos movie, Happy Endings but I’ll save that til next time as this has gone on long enough.

Until next time:

"Hey, is the Count a vampire?"
"What's that?"
"Well, he's got these big fangs. Have they, have they ever shown him doin' somebody in and then feedin' on 'em?"
"You're... you're asking me if they've ever done a Sesame Street in which the Count kills somebody and then sucks their blood for sustenance."
"Yeah."
"No. They've never done that."

I'M ON A RAMPAGE

And they call it the Mustard.

Welcome back seniors y senioritas to my blog which I thought was cool but now Booter’s off and started up another. 2 blogs, man? Where do you get all this time from? Says the man who wastes countless hour on a web strip. Speaking of which…

EPISODE V is up and running! Yay! See that wasn’t too long and I know it was rough but it was worth it.

So we’ve reach the mid season and the Mets aren’t statistically eliminated yet. Rock on! I’m a little lower on Nationals fever ever since a Nats fans at the game again the Mets last week flipped me off and told me to go do something anatomically impossible just because I was wearing a Mets hat. But he looked like an intelligent and socially viable human being so I’m sure he’ll turn out with a great life and very few STDs.

So the Emmy Noms came out. Normally this would be the part where I’d go off about Will & Grace getting a nomination over Scrubs except this year: SCRUBS GETS NOMINATED!!!!!! Boo ya! Zach Braff also picked up a nod for comedy actor. Holy crap, it’s like I died and went to heaven but God decided it wasn’t my time yet and instead gave the academy a brain. Garden State probably helped a lot towards those.

Will & Grace: IT’S NOT FUNNY PEOPLE! STOP NOMINATING IT! YOU’RE ONLY ENCOURAGING THEM MORE! 15 BLEEP-ING NOMINATIONS!?!? I FEEL LIKE I’M TAKING CRAZY PILLS HERE!!!

Let’s break the main categories down quick:

Best Drama: Deadwood – awesome

Lost – easily should win.

24 – OK, I like the show but let’s face it, it’s not exactly high concept drama. I mean I like Michael Bay and John Woo action flicks but I wouldn’t nominate them for an Oscar.

The West Wing – why? I don’t pretend to watch the show but I thought this had just been steadily going down hill for year? Let me guess, this is the typical academy repeat vote where if it’s been in the category before, it has to stay until the show goes off the air no matter the quality of the show *cough* Frasier *cough* Will & Grace *cough*

Six Feet Under – Haven’t watched since season one.

Drama Actor – Hank Azaria – didn’t watch

Hugh Laurie – only caught a couple episodes. He amused me but the show didn’t

Ian McShane – Please please please let him win. This is guy who is such an evil SOB but he does it so well you love him. The foulest mouth imaginable and just damn hilarious.

Jame Spader – re…..peat

Keifer Sutherland – deja…..vu

Drama Actress - I’ll cut to the chase here, I really didn’t watch any off these show but I like Mariska Hargitay from past years and she’ll probably win so hurrah.

Drama Sup. Actor – Naveen Andrews and Terry O’Quinn from Lost both deserve it. Hell, both supporting categories should have been all Lost cast. Locke rules, give it to him!

Drama Sup. Actress – Again, no shows I watch. Sandra Oh? My how Sideways has helped her.

Best Comedy: Arrested Development – hey, maybe they’ll now keep it a 4^th year!

Desperate Housewives – I don’t watch, a lot of people do. Probably will win unless…

Everybody Loves Raymond – Last season often generates the farewell win. But I didn’t work last year for Frasier so no guarantee this year

Scrubs – It has no chance of winning but damn, it’s about eff-ing time it got recognized!

Will & Grace – oh just die already!

Actor Comedy: Jason Bateman – the best comedic foil around

Zach Braff – “I miss you so much it hurts sometimes.” Oh man, he’ll never win but this has to be sweet for him.

Eric McCormick – a parody of his original character

Ray Romano – Farewell vote…

Tony Shaloub – So happy I discovered Monk. “I have this terrible fear of the womb.”

Actress Comedy – All Desperate Housewives with the noticeable exception of Eva Longeria. Interesting. Patrica Heaton - Farewell… Jane Kaczmarek – Repeat nom (though Malcolm was a whole lot funnier this year than in the past).

Sup. Actor Comedy – Peter Boyle and Brad Garrett – so long, farewell, etc. Sean Hayes – a parody of a human being. Jeremy Piven – heard good things and he’s a great actor. Jeffrey Tambor – easily easily should win. But won’t. Damn academy.

Sup. Actress Comedy – Two and a Half Men? The hell? Megan Mullally – Fran Drescher is less annoying. Doris Roberts – did Raymond miss anybody? Jessica Walter – Fantastic in Arrested Development

Also a funny thing I saw: Scrubs is nominated for Multi-Camera Picture Editing for the episode “My Life in Four Cameras”. That episode was the Scrubs send up of the traditional way a sitcom is shot. Amazingly that even by mocking, they still do it better then most normal sitcoms.

Alright, that’s my quick Emmy input.

News and notes:

Shout out to Booter for the visit yesterday.

Shout out to Crowley cause it’s Crowley and we miss him.

The NHL season is back on. Now to find out how many people still care…

Bobby Abreau hits lots of homeruns and the HR Derby, while sucking in the new “international” format, is still fun to watch.

Until next time:

Ha! I got your hat! Take that, hatless! Now go back to the quad and resume your hackey sac tourney! I'm not gonna lay down for some frat boy bastard with his damn Teva sandals and his Skoal Bandits and his Abercrombie and Fitch long sleeved, open stitched, crew neck Henley smoking his sticky buds out of a soda can while watching his favorite downloaded Simpsons episodes every night! Yes, we all love "Mr. Plow"! Oh, you've got the song memorized, do you? SO DOES EVERYONE ELSE! That is exactly the kind of idiot you see at Taco Bell at 1 in the morning! The guy who just whiffed his way down the bar skank ladder!

A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip.

Na na na na na na na na, Mustard! Na na na na na na na na, Mustard! Mustard! Mustard! Mustard!

That was to the theme of Batman, if you didn’t get it.

So another year in the life of Mr. Snow has come and gone. I know for the most part I tend to rant and rave in this blog but I’m not all full of anger and contempt. So in honor of my birthday, I’m doing a 180 and presenting you with:

Things I’m Grateful For in the Past Year:

(in no particular order)

My Family, each and every semi-dysfunctional one of them

Jackasses in California and Wankers in Georgia

The Simpsons, still crazy after all these years

The Family Guy being back on TV

Jeff, that wiggle that just sleeps too doggone much

Scrubs being the funniest show on TV and still going

Scrubs on DVD!

A Star Wars movie that doesn’t suck

A Batman movie that doesn’t suck

A Van Helsing movie that sucked but I had had a few beers before which made it funnier than it was probably supposed to be

Discovering new music that is innovative and fun and actually good

Beer

Hating Booter for being all the way over at the band building and why the hell can’t he just meet us at the library? What the hell is wrong him? Why is he such an ass?

“I have to tie my shoe. You guys go on up ahead.”

“Yes.”

Get Fuzzy

Having 12 hours worth of Lord of the Rings Extended Editions on DVD

Crowley’s obsession with siege engines.

Crowley getting me hooked on Firefly.

Me getting Crowley hooked on Justice League Unlimited, Star Wars: KOTOR I and II, and Batman comics.

Being up on Crowley 3 to 1.

Pointless competition.

Now officially owning every episode of Buffy and Angel.

Bittorrent.

Coronas and chips at Mexicali blues.

New carpet.

People taking their shoes off before walking on new carpet.

Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim.

Margarita’s in 20 oz Coke bottles.

Long days by the pool.

Sunburns.

Baseball in DC.

Baseball in Atlanta.

The Mets maybe kinda almost not sucking…?

People actually reading my dumbass strip that I just started making one night when I was bored.

Peanuts, peanut butter, cats, milk, chocolate, and other things that can kill Booter.

Friends with good senses of humor.

Acceptance of male pattern baldness with grace and nobility.

Booter and Ashley’s happy new year.

Pictures of Booter and Ashley’s happy new year.

Booter’s New Year outfit.

Pictionary.

Give me my hair back! Why God why???

Strongbad.

Power hours and CD’s made for them.

A new car!

A 95 year old Great Grandmother who emails every week and is into Harry Potter.

Crowley finally posting all his collected quotes to a blog.

Wednesday nights.

Brock’s reach around on Gilmore Girls

Michel’s reach around on Brock

Erin’s first keg stand.

Erin’s last keg stand.

Did I mention it was a keg of Yuengling?

Mmmmmmm…. Yuengling.

Douglas Adams books.

Café Asia takeout.

Owning an iPod.

Not joining the "iPod nation".

Hey remember that time I got Bruce Campbell’s autograph and had birthday cake with him?

Beers on the balcony.

Concert buses and the beer provided on them and the shelter they provide from torrential downpours.

And finally a wonderful fiancée who makes me happy each and every day.

Ok, that’s not a complete list but I figure it’s enough for now, no?

Until next time:

“Boo-yah! Welcome to Kuzcotopia, my ultimate summer getaway! Complete with waterslide!”

“What?”

“Isn't it great? It's my birthday gift to me! I'm so happy!”

No, uh, he's not even behind the box, he's barely obscured by the box.

You know it…you love it… you sometimes even read it… the Mustard!

The AFI just came out with their list of top 100 movie quotes. This list is open to debate but I can’t fault most of the choices one way or another with one notable exception: “Love means never having to say you're sorry” is #13? That’s the 13 best movie quote ever? It beats out “Rosebud”? It beats out “You’re gonna need a bigger boat”? It beats out “They call me Mr. Tibbs”, “Bond, James Bond”, “We’ll always have Paris”, “Round up the Usual Suspects”???? What the hell are these people on? Nevermind that the quote is one of the dumbest and most asinine things anyone could ever possibly say but for god’s sake, #13? Is Ryan O'Neal finding time in his unemployment to be on the AFI selection committee? Cause holy hell I can’t find any other reason for that getting there.

So remember how I was saying the Mets aren’t sucking? Nevermind.

Way to go NHL Players Association! After refusing to accept a salary cap and having the entire hockey season canceled, what did you do? You accepted a friggin’ cap! Why couldn’t you have caved in about a year ago and not ruined the future of the sport?! Brilliant job, jackasses.

Holy crap, if I hear one more of these stupid goofy cutsie celebrity couple names, I’m going to lose it. Bennifer, Brangelina, TomKat…. the people who come up with this crap need to be mauled by rabid cougar.

Ok, lot of hostility going on there. I’m better now.

Moving on I present to you, #4 of my Top 5 Most Anticipate Movies of the Summer:

BATMAN BEGINS

Holy sweet jefe, was this a great movie! This started out as possibly the lowest of my 5, but damn, it’s since shot straight to the top! Honestly, this is the best movie I’ve seen this year, period. Yeah, I know, not a whole lotta Oscar worthy pictures have come along so far, but still, this was phenomenal. Any worries I had going in were proved completely needless. I loved, loved, loved the buildup this movie had. You don’t even see Batman til halfway through and I didn’t care at all! The slow burn was great up to the sweet payoff. I also love the way they portrayed Batman. I was scared to death that Batman was gonna show up and start showing off Matrix-like kung-fu fights. Not a chance. He moves through the shadows stalking his criminals, scaring the crap out of them until suddenly jumping out and beating them senseless. You’re actually seeing the action from the point of the view of the criminals as Batman takes them down, confused, shaking and unfocused. They’ve finally got Batman right in this film. He’s not the campy, colorful, joking putz that Schumacher turned him into the past two films. He doesn’t dress like a bat to show up at charity auctions with an eff-ing Mastercard! He dresses like a bat to scare the living piss out of criminals! Which is what this movie shows. Hell, this movie is a scary movie in and of itself. Little kids would be balling their eyes out at some parts of it. I love it! Please God let them keep this up through the sequels. Everything about Batman’s arsenal and tactics are explained here unlike the other movies, and they all make sense which is amazing considering the stuff he does. Christian Bale plays a perfect Bruce Wayne, the cocky rich playboy in public. But as Batman, he’s even better. The scene where he’s interrogating a crooked cop who he has hanging upside down over the side of a building suspended from a rope, is one of my favorites in the movie. Everyone in this movie does a great job. Cillian Murphy as Dr. Crane/Scarecrow is phenomenally creepy. Gary Oldman as Sgt. Gordon… finally we have a Gordon who isn’t some lazy ass who sits around waiting for Batman to solve all his problems! He’s an active policeman, one of the few honest ones in the city, and it’s about damn time he was shown that way. Michael Caine as Alfred is exactly as he should be, supporting Bruce but conflicted by it. Liam Neeson is so much more than I was expecting in the movie. He’s such a good actor and he’s fantastic here. Ditto Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox who had a bigger role than I expected and I’m damn happy about it. Hell, even Katie Holmes, who I was sure would stick out like a sore thumb, does a good job. While I would probably still have preferred to have the Harvey Dent character in this role, she plays her character exactly as needed, the steady, level-headed foil to Batman’s emotional, action-oriented mindset. The only minor quibble I may have with this movie is Ken Watanabe. He’s only in the movie for like 5 minutes! It’s nothing more than a brief cameo rather than the major part I was expecting him to play. Ah well, still a great movie. The last scene could also be one of my favorites but since the reviews I’ve read have all been missing this, I’d like to point something out. ...... POSSIBLE SPOILER BUT NOT REALLY JUST DON'T READ IF YOU WANT TO BE COMPLETELY SURPRISED…… the Joker reference in the final scene, while possibly setting up the sequel, is actually a reference the Batman: Year One graphic novel by Frank Miller which ends very similarly (Great novel by the way, if you want to see where this movie really came from). Ok, so that’s enough, stop reading and go see this movie already!

News and Notes:

Currently writing the strip and will hopefully start Ep. 5 in the next week or so.

Meeting Bruce Campbell tonight!!! Mwa ha ha ha!

Back home for the bro’s graduation. God, I feel old.

George Romero made another “Dead” movie. I’m rather intrigued…

Alright you chowdah-heads, until next time:

“After all these years, are you still afraid of me?”

”Well, remember on Thanksgiving when I said your turkey was dry and you picked me up and shook me?”

”Well, then, don't say that.”