1.Yeah, so Ben Folds put out his old EP's as an LP in October. I knew it was coming out eventually...how did I miss the release? I'm sure it's really good, looks like I'm gonna have to fork over some cash today. It's just sad that I haven't bought it already! I'm slipping, I really am.
2.The movies on my must-see list just keep piling up. Still haven't seen Flags of Our Fathers. Both Babel and Stranger than Fiction come out today. And I'm still DYING to see Borat. Both Joel and Gibbs say it's hilarious, and it's getting crazy press, almost all of which praise it. But the real question is, could Stranger than Fiction be a sleeper for Movie of the Year? I just read Roger Ebert's review of it, and besides stating the obvious (Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson and Dusting Hoffman give great performances), he mentioned that it is really a critique of art itself and what we owe to it, and what it owes us. In many ways it seems very similar to the movie Adaptation, but I really think the movie might be clever and funny enough to be fantastically brilliant. I haven't seen it yet, but I think it might be pulling rank on the others. So even though he doesn't really read my blog, What'd you think, Josh Gibbs?
3.In the TV world, the fall finale of Lost was Wednesday night. I have been pretty disappointed with Lost, but only on nit-picking grounds. I just get frustrated when there is 3 minutes of show for every 4 minutes of commercials. It's ridiculous. And even though the pace has picked up over last season, it still seems as though not much happens in any given episode. I also thought the Sawyer/Kate subplot was dumb. I know, it sounds like I hate the show, but I really don't. Although they are TOTALLY ripping off 24's idea of making the viewers wait so that they can show back to back episodes until the season finale. 24 is just so ahead of its time on so many levels.
4.The O.C. is not long for this world, unfortunately. The season premiere supposedly got horrible ratings, and they went so far as to put back-to-back new episodes on this week (Wed/Thurs). It just isn't the same show without Marissa. It's dark, sometimes uninteresting, and just doesn't have the same vibe. I'm glad this is the last season. In my estimation, the show started going downhill (albeit gradually) in season 2, with the Sandy/Rebecca subplot and then the Kiersten/Rocketeer man debacle. Season 3 wasn't very good at all, and now, it's pretty much unsalvageable. I still love the show, but mostly the way I would still love a child who was misbehaving. I just can't spank the O.C. (man that sounded weird).
5.Finally, Stadium Arcadium (the Red Hot Chili Peppers) is still getting heavy rotation on my playlist. It's just SO.DAMN.GOOD. Nearly every song is fantastic. I can listen to it over and over. It's absolutely positively their best album, and probably the best one I've heard in the last 5 years. I got into discussion fairly recently about the Chili Peppers and I'm more convinced than ever that this is their best work, and Frusciante totally wails on this disc. Anyone that thinks the band was better with Navarro is insane. Hear me now and believe me later: buy this album. Or at least burn it.
Posted by jmmelton at November 10, 2006 10:39 AM | TrackBackI'm sure you've seen Stranger Than Fiction by now. If not, go get it. If so, what did you think? I just got around to watching it last night and was blown away. I think Guido's post hits the nail on the head, and I added some additional thoughts in a comment on his blog:
http://wishfullthoughts.blogspot.com/2007/02/stranger-than-fiction.html
Posted by: jon at March 11, 2007 05:13 PM