Review: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Ninth grade English sucked for me, which is quite the feat considering I grew up to become an English teacher. My teacher, however, looked like the Penguin (not the animal...Oswald Cobblepot...Batman's villain?) and attempted to bilk me out of hundreds of points that I earned because...well, I'm not quite sure. Anyway, one of the things I remember is reading a short story called "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." Ninth grade seemed to be the year for amazing short stories like this one, along with "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Most Dangerous Game." This one stuck with me though, so much that I kept reading stories by the author, James Thurber, long after. Ben Stiller's film adaptation of "Walter Mitty" is lovely, in a word, and highlights everything beautiful about the story while writing different love letters to so many other things and expounding on this tiny world that Thurber created.

The title character is, to say the least, a nothing. He works at Life Magazine in the basement, archiving and keeping track of photos. For those of you who don't know, or have forgotten, "Life" was heavily built on photos. The articles were secondary. The magazine was all about going to the places people couldn't go and showing them what they would never have a chance to see, all while showing us that life, no matter who or where you are, is similar.

The movie begins with the news that Life is closing its doors and publishing its last issue. This coincides with the fact that Walter can't seem to catch the e-dating eye of his crush and co-worker, played subtly and wonderfully by Kristen Wiig, and being sent the final shots for Life by a famous photographer, played by Sean Penn. When the photographer talks up a certain frame for the final issue's cover, Walter can't find it, sending him on the crux of the film: a hyper-fantasized journey to find his courage and discover what Life...and life...is really about.

What start out as fantastic sequences that are clearly all part of Walter's life eventually become blurry as to their authenticity. Is he really doing these things? Did he really travel all over the world hunting for this missing photo? Or, as we see in the beginning, is it just Walter "zoning out?"

In the end, the movie is so beautiful, I couldn't care less. This film looks amazing, says so much in such a small package and will have you wondering what your life is truly like. Check it out if you can.

Review: "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD"

I was predisposed to like "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD" (which, for the purposes of actually getting this written in the next century shall be referred to as SHIELD henceforth). I'm a Marvel zombie from a long way back and have loved nearly everything they've done with the Marvel Cinematic Universe since Iron Man back in 2009. It wasn't a hard sell: a weekly show featuring perhaps one of the most underrated heroes in the universe, Agent Phil Coulson, dealing with the paranormal and super every week with a ragtag group of misfits? I'm in.

However, the show went past those expectations and fell short of them in varying degrees, all in all making for a fantastic experience that probably could have been a much shorter season. However, I'm not sure it should have been.

Let me explain. This review has become as complicated as Phil Coulson's past.

The idea behind SHIELD, as I understood it, was to expand the universe past the movie screen and give us something every week in the same milieu but without directly referencing The Avengers or whatever. And, it did that. In the first episode, we dealt with Extremis technology (see "Iron Man 3") and the events of the Attack on New York (see everything since the Avengers). We even had cameos form Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill and SLJ himself as the one and only Cdr. Nick Fury.

But, after the initial novelty wore off, we were left with a bunch of characters that, while I cared about them, didn't seem to really have a purpose...until the last seven episodes of the season. Calling it "Uprising" the show seemed to flip everything on it's head. And the show then got really...really good.

But, the problem is there were about a dozen episodes that, while exciting and full of geek fodder, had nothing of substance. Episodes that could link to the Marvel Universe, Cinematic or not, were exciting but all of the threads that had been set up in the beginnings of the show took a long time to get resolution.

Maybe that's a condition of the times that we live in that we can't wait for a show to develop and grow without feeling that it owes us something. And, I'm not saying it does or doesn't. What I am saying, however, is that SHIELD ended strong. I don't want to give anything away, but it ended in a way that makes me excited for the future, not dreading another season of meandering plots that will only matter at the very end. It's almost as if SHIELD has earned that trust that, no matter where they lead me, it will be worth it in the end.

Let's just hope they remember that next season.

Summer = Segments

It's been over a year since I posted something and I feel like a giant tool because of it. However, I have a bit of a renewed focus and, even though this summer is poised to be a productive and crazy one, just know that I'm planning on posting more here. Reviews, ideas, randomness...everything you've come to expect from me over the years. So, stick with me and hopefully I can follow through.

Thanks

Phil

My Day of Media: May 22, 2013

Sorry for the lack of updates lately! For anyone who is upset, they can blame this thing...

His name is Happy and he, along with schoolwork that is now thankfully over, have consumed my life. But, alas, I'm back and have even more time to consume things. Let's get started!

1. The Key of Awesome: Start a Mumford Band!


I
f anyone doesn't know, this week is/was Comedy Week on YouTube, where they feature all of the awesome comedy channels and vloggers around. This is a song all about Mumford & Sons and is a spot-on parody.

2. Stop Podcasting Yourself: Ep. 270- Brett Martin




This week's episode of SPY features first-time guest Brett Martin, a Canadian comedian who recently pissed of a Real Housewife of Ontario. It's a hilarious episode, but that seems to be the extent of his contribution. Worth a listen, as always.

3. Game Grumps: The Typing of the Dead


Yep. It's a zombie game where you shoot by typing words. Enjoy, folks.

4. Kitchen Nightmares: Amy's Baking Company

I've watched my fair share of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, a reality show where famed chef Ramsay goes into restaurants and fixes them. While I much more like the British version (as with most things in life, it's much calmer and genuine over in England) this episode that aired last week garnered a ton of attention.



Usually, restaurant owners are defensive about Ramsay's criticism. Part of this is understandable. He's rude and obscene, often, and after all, this is their livelihood most of the time. However, this couple takes the, no pun intended, cake. Watch if you have a second. It's an amazing episode. After its over, hunt around and check out some of the aftermath of this episode.

No Currency Episode 5 is LIVE

The latest episode of my podcast "No Currency" is live. In it, Alex and I talk about tons of stuff. Most importantly, why kids need vocab and why Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson owe me some props.

You can find the episode here. Also, check out an archive of episodes here.

My Day of Media: May 1, 2013

It's May Day, folks. And in the words of Justin Timberlake circa 2001...



Thanks, Justin. Guys, throw Justin a bone and check out his latest album, which I haven't really enjoyed yet.

Anyway, the grass is cut, my anxiety about life is down a bit I'm looking forward to a day of stuff and things!

1) The Nerdist: Lily Tomlin

If you're not familiar, Chris Hardwick, comedian and former host of "Singled Out" back in the day, calls himself the Nerdist and has revolutionized the world with websites, TV shows, Web shows, and podcasts. He had Lily Tomlin on who was just fascinating. Definitely worth a listen.

2) Who Charted?: Eddie Pepitone

WeWe, Eddie, and KuKu

I love "Who Charted?" Let me state that right out of the gate. It's a fantastic podcast with Kulap Vilaysack (KuKu) and Howard Kramer (WeWe) where they count down the top five songs and movies currently with a guest. But, Eddie Pepitone's disgruntlement wore me down in this episode. We get it, Eddie: All movies and songs suck. I'm not saying that every guest should love it, but it got exasperating to me. Plus, the Chart Goose segment was awkward, since Eddie knew NOTHING about his hometown. An okay episode, but go back to the Paul F. Tompkins or DC Pierson episodes if you've never heard the show before.

3) Songza "Summer Fling" playlist

For those of you who don't know, Songza is a streaming music site that, honestly, puts Pandora to shame. The shining feature is a concierge service. It uses the time of day to suggest activities that you might be doing and then suggests playlists to accompany you. For example, it was Wednesday late morning, I wanted to keep summer going, so it gave me the "Summer Fling" playlist, which was awesome. Check out the playlist and the site here.

4) SModcast: Fatalie

Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier talk about George Jones dying and the fact that Kevin knows more about TV teenager problems than algebra. Fun is had by all.

Top 3 Favorite Things About Iron Man

Unless you've been living under a rock, you're aware that Iron Man 3 comes out THIS WEEKEND! Since I was a young child and started watching an odd cartoon about a man dressed in a metal suit, I've loved the character of Iron Man.

So, in honor of the movie, which I'll be seeing TOMORROW NIGHT, I'm counting down my top three (Get it? Because this is the third movie? Get it?) things that make me love Iron Man.

3) The suit(s). Iron Man's suit is fantastic and can suit (WOCKA WOCKA) any need he needs. Not only is it completely badass, but it has evolved over the years from mainly just protecting him to making him a weapon for good.

Look at how it's changed! Underwater versions. Space versions. EEEEEVILLLL versions. The suit is another character in itself and it's so much fun to watch the suit evolve and reflect the current trends in comics as well as the personality of its creator and main occupant, Tony Stark.

2) Pathos. If you haven't seen Iron Man, let me give you the brief version. Tony Stark, billionaire inventor, made his fortune on making weapons and selling them to the highest bidder. He goes overseas to show off his latest wares and his convoy is attacked...by his own weapons. He's taken captive in a cave and, with a box of scraps, forms the prototype Iron Man suit as a way to escape.

From that moment, he decides that maybe he should use his genius for good instead of evil. Pretty cool, right?

1) Realism. Here's where I think I fell in love with the character. Tony Stark, very early on, makes it clear that he's Iron Man. No brooding. No hiding. He keeps the technology close to himself, but rarely cares who knows what about his identity. It frees up a lot in storytelling.

Then, there's the alcoholism. It's something that will never be in the films, for good reason. (Drunkards don't sell action figures. And that's okay.) But, Stark has gone through the wringer in the comics, ups and downs that someone with that many demons and that much responsibility and access must go through.

There's the list! Any questions? Something that should be added? Hit me up in the comments.

My Day of Media: April 30, 2013

It's almost May! That's craziness. An announcement for the new segment should be eminent, but until then, what was I consuming today?

PS Should this segment be called I've Got the Consumption?

1) Stop Podcasting Yourself: Episode 267- Josh Stubbs

SPY might be might current favorite podcast. Part of the Maximum Fun family, hosts Graham Clark and Dave Shumka talk about everything and nothing at the same time. It's, honestly, pretty hard to describe the show. It's just people talking. But, it's definitely worth whatever time you have for fun things in your life. Plus, if you're lucky, you get to hear about Flex magazine, Hulk Hogan, Fanta, or a myriad of other things. Here's the episode if you'd like to listen!

2) Game Grumps

I'm planning on talking about this tonight on my very own podcast, No Currency, but blog readers will get a heads up. Game Grumps is a web series featuring Jon and Arin playing video games. That's it. Could be pretty boring if these two weren't hysterical. Currently in circulation are the classic Mega Man X and the notably horrible Sonic '06. You can find them here! Here's the latest episode featuring a game called "Pocky & Rocky". As you can see if you watch, it's rarely about the games at this point and more about, shockingly, two guys talking.



Since we're on the subject, check out the podcast No Currency. Alex Jonathan Brown and I talk about the things that we love that you can't stand and why you should change your mind. We also just did an entire episode about wrestling. So...yeah.

3) Jordan, Jesse GO!: Episode 273: Wad Lord with Phil Elvrum

This is, other than Bullseye with Jesse Thorn, the flagship podcast of the Maximum Fun network. This week's episode was with indie rocker Phil Elvrum who, not surprisingly, was hilarious against the amazing Jordan Morris and Jesse Thorn, the empresario behind all that is Maximum Fun.

Here's a handy embeddable link to the episode so you can consume it RIGHT NOW!

All of this was consumed while our lawn decided to try to kill me all while exposing all of my fears and insecurities about life. Needless to say, as I type this, a lawn care crew is going through, getting our grass down to a manageable length. At that point, I will be able to resume my feeble attempt at the manly duty of mowing the lawn.

4) Sklarbro Country: Paul Dooley

This was my at night listening, which is usually taken up by a rerun of JJGO! or SPY. The Sklars were awesome, but Paul Dooley really likes to hear himself tell stories about himself and brag on what he has done. I'm not saying he hasn't done a lot and that this isn't a fantastic episode of the Sports-Comedy podcast, but if you wanted to skip it, you probably could.

My Day of Media: April 29, 2013

I listen to and watch all sorts of things as I work and live. I wanted to keep track of them and talk about them every day. Hence, My Day of Media. Each day on MDM, I'll keep track of the songs, podcasts, TV, and Web Videos I've ingested. I'm more than happy to get recommendations from people in the Comments.

1) Finished "Pop My Culture" with Carla Gallo

PMC is a fantastic podcast hosted by comedians Cole Stratton and Vanessa Ragland. They talk about, shockingly, pop culture. But, for me, this show has risen above the pile of turds that is most other podcasts. This week, they had Carla Gallo, who plays Daisy on "Bones" for those who may or may not be interested. She's adorable and hilarious. Great episode to pick up sticks to.

Vanessa, Carla, and Cole staring off into space.

You can find more about the podcast here or just search for it on iTunes.

2) "Comedy Bang Bang! with Paul F. Tompkins and Bobby Moynihan

CBB used to be Comedy Death Ray, for those who may have had a lapse in listening like I did. For the uninitiated, it's a podcast with Scott Aukerman and random guests and characters. On this episode, PFT did his fantastic Andrew Lloyd Weber impression and Bobby Moynihan came back as an odd homeless boy character. Hilarious! PFT usually makes an episode for me, so anything past that is just a bonus.

You can listen to the episode here! Definitely worth it.

3) The TED Radio Hour: What is Beauty?

TED stands for Technology-Entertainment-Design. It's a series of conferences and symposia, I guess, that occur all around the globe, talking about, essentially, whatever people want. The TED Radio Hour is an NPR program and podcast that dives a bit deeper into these topics. This week's episode? Beauty. What place does it hold in our lives? Do we need it? Does it hold value for us?

It was a fascinating hour of radio that, even if you are familiar with TEDTalks, is a great thing to add to your weekly listening repertoire. You can find more information about it here. One of the interesting speakers was Cameron Russell, a model with a very interesting take on her industry. Here's her TEDTalk.

4) The Nerdist: Live from Gilda's Laugh Fest

I have an odd relationship with The Nerdist Podcast. I'm not going out on a limb by saying it's one of the best around, but they release so many episodes that they get backlogged. Then, I feel like I have to just summarily get rid of things every once in a while. I'm trying to not do that and enjoy them sporadically. This episode was from a couple of months ago and was recorded in a church at Gilda's Laugh Fest, a comedy festival/cancer benefit. The real star of this episode is not only an excellent Quemments (Questions and Comments) section, but Matt Mira, who rules pretty much anytime he's on air.

That was pretty much it for the day. The rest of it consisted of buying a patio set and cordless trimmer, then coming home to crash. 

Hope you all enjoyed this. Laterz!

REBOOT! Start of a new, nameless segment

So, it seems that everyone once in a while, I realize I've neglected all of this. What I used to make part of my daily or semi-daily life, I've just forgotten. Well, I want to remedy that!

So, as of today, I'm hoping to post more. I want to write again, and have a few ideas of ways to do that.

1) Day of Media: Everyday, I'm going to post what I listen to, what I watch, etc. I want to keep track of these things and share them with others.

2) Unnamed Project: I'm working on something that will really be awesome, once I figure out a name for it. I don't want to mention anything else until that point, though. But, stay tuned.

The Summer of Catching Up and Branching Out

Summer seems to be my New Year's Eve. It's the time that, as it rears its muggy, warm head every year, I decide I'm going to start anew. I'm going to do x, y, or z and finally, for once in my miserable existence, follow through on it.

This comes from being a teacher's kid. I know it has to. Summer is the time of renewal in a life centered around school. It's the three months where, in my head, you go on vacation, read a lot, catch up on TV and stuff you might have missed and then pray that August doesn't come too quickly.

So, this summer, albeit a little late, I've found myself doing the same thing. TV shows I want to catch up on, exercise I want to start doing. I'm hoping to keep myself a bit accountable for it on here, but, seeing as my last post before this was in April, who knows if that will actually happen.

So, hopefully this summer you'll get to see my progress on this blog. And on Facebook and Twitter. And Pinterest. And all storts of things.

Wish me luck.

I'm Half Awake...Here's Some Stuff.

So, I just woke up and got to my Google Reader. Let's get started...

So, this was the first thing I saw. Not sure how I feel about it. I think OK. By the way, Katy was at the Kids' Choice Awards. Remember those? Hence the green outfit and orange carpet.

And here I was thinking there were only a few TV shows and movies based on Easter. The AV Club enlightened me.

Since Instagram isn't available for Android yet and I'm holding strong (most of the time) as an Android fan, here are seven alternatives.

Recently, the Encyclopedia Britannica printed its last edition, due to lack of sales. Well, like all "going out of business" sales, the edition had higher sales than its predecessors. Keep in mind, now, that the books from this year will be extremely rare.

It's time for the PINTEREST PLUG! So, when I give this plug in the blog post, it usually means that, in the course of things, I posted something to Pinterest. I post a lot over there in the course of the day, so it's fun. Food, TV, Doctor Who, all sorts of stuff. Check it out, please.

The documentary Bully I mentioned last week made some nice bank at the box office. Good for it. 

The Today Show (which I think  technically just wants to be referred to as Today, but that makes it virtually impossible to mention in normal conversation without people being completely confused) was promoting the fact that they were going to bring back a "Today Show Legend" on Monday. This was all to combat the fact that former news pixie and America's former Sweetheart Katie Couric is co-hosing Good Morning America, perhaps solidifying a change in the ratings for GMA. However, the legend they were GOING to bring in? An old monkey. They've abandoned the idea and are looking at alternatives, including having Sarah Palin come in tomorrow to co-host.

NO LINK, JUST A REMINDER: Bones returns tonight. Stinks for those people with DirecTV. Cutting that cord and just downloading stuff doesn't look so bad now, does it, Mom and Dad?

That's it for now, kids. I'll probably be back later with more, but what else do you want from me?

Some Hunger Games Fans are as prejudiced as a NY Jewish School...and other news in the world.

Let's get one thing straight: The Hunger Games was fantastic. It was better than the book and cut out all the crap that I didn't care about. It added what needed to be added. Fantastic. But, now some nimrods are complaining that characters that are all but explicitly stated as black in the book are portrayed as black in the film. Ridiculous.

In other news...

Comcast solidified its status as one of the worst companies in America by charging people in a community that had been ravaged by a tornado a fee for being unresponsive.

Jennifer Love Hewitt's character in Can't Hardly Wait, Amanda Beckett, was named the top movie party girl in this list. Weird critera and not sure I would call her a "party girl." More like a, you know, girl at a party.

Here's a fascinating slideshow of how cartoon characters got their names. Huey, Dewey, and Louie is probably the best.

I was done reading this list of TV nerds after Chloe from 24 and Chuck Bartowski were on the first page. Done and done.

PINTEREST! www.pinterest.com/philwrighthouse DO IT!

Crazy author Chuck Pahalniuk survived a car crash where, while sitting in a parked car in a lot, a semi trailer ran into him. Insane.

I posted this story on my FACEBOOK but it bears repeating: A Jewish school in NY is threatening to ban students if they don't get rid of their Facebook accounts. This makes me ill. The school, as much as they might fight it, has no power once the student leaves school grounds UNLESS that student is facing an unsafe situation at school. The institution in question has made it clear that they don't care about the safety of the students, but more the fact that the girls at the school may...SHOCK...talk to BOYS on there. Problems with religion AND old-school thought AND education all wrapped into one messed up story.

That's all for now. I'm tired and I want to sleep. PEACE!

Long Time, No Post.

At some point soon, I'll post about my life and all it entails at this point, but right now, I've been productive and am winding down with some links so, here they are (with witty remarks, of course!)

Sirius XM is suing the non-profit that they usually license their music from, saying that have a monopoly on music rights. This is one of those things that sounds really serious (or Sirius haha) but probably won't be an issue in the long run. Sirius knows that without music, they would die. They also know how to be a monopoly soooooo...SNOOTCH!

So, remember when Netflix was going to separate into streaming and DVD distribution services and then scrapped that plan. Well, it's back. Except, now, without the horrible Quikster name. And, this article suggests, it might help everyone in the long run. We stopped doing the whole DVD part of Netflix a while ago, when Inception sat forever only to be replaced by season three of The Big Bang Theory sitting even longer.

Fans of Bones have been missing it. I know I have. Here's an interview with two of the people behind it about its return NEXT WEEK!

PINTEREST PLUG! Visit my Pinterest. It's delicious and funny, in that order.

Speaking of the hottest new social network, some guy is making a living off of it. Nice work, but he's technically a spammer, and therefore he is Satan.

A lot of people, like my wife and I, don't have a landline. I don't however, think that they should be banned, like the Ohio Senate is proposing. I guess I don't understand the point in it. Seems about right for lawmakers.

If you haven't heard, there's a new documentary called Bully. You're going to be shocked, but it's about bullies and their victims. It's been the source of controversy because tof the very natural, realistic profanity used in the film. It's lead to the Weinstien Company releasing the uncut, unrated version of the film instead of allowing the MPAA to cut it. AMC Theaters is now pushing it even farther by letting kids in with parental consent. Since it's meant for kids, this makes sense, right? Love this idea.

British citizens in one small town are regretting their lack of investigation into the man they elected. It turns out he thinks his mom...sorry, Mum...is an alien.

I'm not really interested in books about the war and the military. However, I am interested in Rachel Maddow, so her new book might be a read for me. It's all about, I think, the way war has changed over the years as politics has come more into the fold. Intriguing.

So, apparently, there's a site called Notesy, in which people can leave password-protected secret notes for people online. Odd. Can anyone think of a use for this?

Nice to hear that talented, cool people get promoted every once in a while. Joe Levy, who you probably have either read or seen talking about music and pop culture, is now the editor of Billboard magazine, a magazine I read once in 1999. No joke.

When you think Mad Men, you think that the natural extension of the creative mind behind it is...a buddy slacker comedy, right? Well, it looks like it's happening, with good people at least. Keep in mind that Matthew Wiener worked on The Sopranos. Slacker comedy. Discuss.

I haven't seen Thor yet, but heard that Kenneth Branagh did a pretty good job at directing a big action flick. Which is good news for my mom, since he's probably taking the helm on a reboot of her beloved Jack Ryan franchise.

First Post in Forever...Greek Review

So my lovely fiancee and I recently, to borrow the phrase, "cut the cord." We got rid of our cable and went to Netflix. Part of the benefit of Netflix is that you can watch tons of series from the beginning to the end. The first show we started this with was "Parks and Recreation." The next one, which we finished this weekend, was "Greek."

For those of you who don't know or remember "Greek," you probably aren't alone. The show was on ABC Family from 2006-2011. It lasted 74 episodes over six seasons. Shows that last this long usually get some sort of recognition. But, it's about college students in the Greek system at a Midwest university AND it was on ABC Family. So, you can do the math.

"Greek" centers on the Cartwrights. Rusty is a freshman nerd who wants to join the Greek system, an unprecedented move that irks his sorority president sister, Casey. She and her best friend, Ashleigh, are trying to navigate the success of their house with volatile but highly-sought new pledge Rebecca Logan, a senator's daughter. Casey also spends pretty much the entire series trying to choose between two suitors: Evan Chambers, the rich ambitious guy, and Cappie, the unambitious fun guy. Add Rusty's bible-thumbping roommate Dale and gay best friend Calvin into the fold, and you have a lot of plates spinning at once.

The biggest crime is that it all works. The writers keep all of these storylines moving (most of the time) and still manage to surprise while keeping the writing fresh. Rarely do lines feel unauthentic and cliche. The acting is sometimes clunky, but most of the time follows. After a while, you begin to truly care about these characters and the people that portray them.

For me, "Greek" is a certain addition to your Queue, on either disc or most certainly streaming.

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Review: "Sherlock"

Today, I finally finished the three-part first "season" of Sherlock, the BBC's reboot of Sherlock Holmes set in modern times. Everything is set in modern London and, in this world, the character of Sherlock Holmes never existed.

Holmes is played to cold, cynical, brilliant perfection by Benedict Cumberbatch, who is the three-time champion of the "Most British Name" competition. Holmes, in this iteration of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character, is a "special consultant" to the police. Basically, he's called in whenever Inspector Lestrade is stumped, which, luckily for us, happens often over these three 90-minute long episodes. Sherlock is joined by Iraq war vet John Holmes, played by Martin Freeman (The Office, Hitchhiker's Guide). The whole concept was created and masterminded by Steven Moffat, who rebooted Doctor Who a few years ago to amazing results, or so I'm told.

There are a lot of things that this show does so well. But, the decisions of what it doesn't do are even smarter. It doesn't turn Sherlock into this bumbling anti-social introvert who doesn't relate to the outside world and has to constantly be told that he doesn't understand people. It doesn't turn Watson into Sherlock's babysitter or his number one pal. It doesn't use gimmicks to make it's point. All of those things seem so organic and natural in the flow of the action that you don't notice that it's different than it should be and how, if it were done in America, it would be done SO poorly.

Sherlock is brilliant and deranged and awesome and pitiful. But they don't have to TELL you that because you see it in everything he does and in his general demeanor. Additionally, he is NEVER written or characterized as being irrational (in fact, he's always the opposite: the most rational, logical human who has ever walked the planet.) In a week or so, you'll probably see my review of season one of "The Big Bang Theory," but Sheldon is very similar to Sherlock: They're both wrong, but it's hard to convince them of that, because their logic is so airtight and sensical.

The team behind "Sherlock" has taken three classic stories and updated them, adding in elements that tie them all together in this season long arc that ends with, "The Great Game." All throughout, you watch all of the characters grow ever-so-slightly, and it never has a "Monster of the Week" mentality.

Sherlock is set to return in the fall of this year and all I can say is that I'm glad. I probably should have made the couple of episodes I had to watch last a little longer.

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Haven't Done This in a While

So, I've been pretty absent from the blog lately, but I have an excuse. I started a retail job and between that, applying for better jobs and WEDDING PLANNING (pause to let the news set in) I've been without the blog time I used to set aside for myself. But, I have the day and a laptop so let's roll. I'm hoping to, this year, throw in some more commentary with the links I put out here.

TV

Kiefer Sutherland is going to star in a new web series called The Confession, about a hit man confessing all of his sins on Christmas Eve. This sounds fantastic. In the same article, he also says that the 24 film is "far from dead." Though I'm sad that Fox rejected Billy Ray's script, I'm still picturing Jack fleeing from many of his old enemies that he made during the eight seasons of the show. There's a gold mine there if someone can figure out how to do it effectively and profitably.

Can you call a musical duo a thing? If so, one of my favorite things in the world, comedy musical duo Garfunkel and Oates, are developing a comedy on HBO. If it works, I can GUARANTEE it will be awesome. They are hilarious.

Dana Carvey will be returning to host SNL. That should be hysterical.

Should we call Sarah Michelle Gellar a forgotten 90's heartthrob? Anyway, she's going to star in a new series on CBS that sounds, frankly, very confusing.

News

I, like everyone else, am fascinated and horrified by the Arizona shooting. I was so happy to hear the Westboro Baptist Church, the only organization that has ever made me not believe in free speech, backed down from protesting Christina Green's funeral. If I were in another place in life (aka still in college) I would've gone down to be with the Angels. If you don't know about the Angels, check out The Laramie Project from HBO. God, do I love that movie.

Anyway, The Daily Beast has a great piece on how difficult it would have been to get Jared Loughner into an institution, no matter how clear the warning signs were. Also in AZ shooting news...

• Christina Green's organs were donated and have already saved the life of a child on the east coast.
• Jared Loughner apparently took photos of himself in a G-string with his gun. Don't worry, they haven't been published...yet.
• Two of Loughner's ex-girlfriend's have talked about their relationship with him. One says she's pretty sure he's not insane and that he planned the whole thing (I didn't realize they were mutually exclusive), while another thinks he was a PEACH of a guy. Seriously.
  

A high school in Memphis is boasting a pregnancy rate of 11%, rounding out to 90 pregnant teens. Well, I doubt their boasting but...you get the idea.

Don't read this if you don't want to cry. BWE passed on a story about a dog that won't leave his dead owner's grave site. Heartbreaking.

I'm glad in a world where madmen are around every corner and we are more divided as a nation than ever...in a world where disease runs rampant and so many have so little...a woman in Michigan has used her time and resources to recreate the Last Supper using lint from her dryer. I don't know whether to vomit or punch a baby in anger.

I hope my fiancee Liz doesn't get any ideas. Who throws a Wii? Honestly!

JFK's application to Harvard would have been thrown out into the circular file today. Also, the application was only THREE PAGES LONG! Ridiculous.

Well I'm glad they didn't spend TOO many resources before deciding a virtual fence between the US and Mexico was a bad idea.

Sports

The NFL playoffs continue this weekend and there's been a lot of trash talk that has bled onto the front page of many newspapers. The NFL is now warning against it. I don't have a problem with the public trash talk, but it just seems silly and unnecessary. Also, it seems that if you talk sh*t then perform horribly in the game, you make yourself seem like a complete buffoon. Of course, most of these athletes/coaches make a billion dollars and don't really care about buffoonery, do they.

Oh, New York Post. You rock.

I had no idea that the Department of Justice was investigating the US Postal Service and their sponsorship of Lance Armstrong. Apparently, it might have been a misappropriation of government funds.

Tech

It was awesome yet odd to see West Lafayette, Indiana, home of my Alma mater, Purdue University, as one of the first areas that will get Verizon's 4G LTE service.

People on Craigslist aren't even trying any more, are they?

A cybercrime blogger for ZDNet has gone missing. A mysterious source has told the publication that he's in deep trouble and what appears to be a government tracking device was found in his apartment. Frightening.

Movies

Pixar rules as usual. In this video, they created a Zoetrope with Toy Story characters. Amazing.

Ben Stiller has worked with Justin Thoreaux, the guy he co-wrote Tropic Thunder, and has finished a Zoolander sequel script. Man, I hope this can get made. The first film holds a special place in my heart as the first film I ever was paid to review (my church group paid my admission to go see it and talk about it) and the film that we watched constantly on the cruise my high school band took my freshman year of high school.

The Bootleg Cut of Almost Famous, my favorite movie of all time, will be released on Blu-Ray soon. I hope more people can check out this cut of the film, as it's really the only one I watch anymore. In fact, if the film is on TV, I miss some of the scenes that are cut out.

This book is going on my list.

And, finally, I love the lunacy that naturally comes from this Hangover 2 photo. What could ANY of this possibly mean? I feel like I want to dissect it like it's a Lost promo photo.

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The Linkiest Links of All!...For Today

Movies

I cannot wait to see The Pat Tillman Story after reading this review. Here's an interview with its director, Amir Bar-Lev.

Google is getting its own biopic, like The Social Network. (PS I wrote this story.)

This made me laugh unreasonably.

Best Week Ever did a better job than I ever could. "The Michael Cera-est Photo Ever"

TV

HBO is developing a series about the porn industry. It's going to be written by James Frey, the man behind A Million Little Pieces and its ensuing controversy.

Best. Captcha. Ever.

Music

Conan O'Brien is releasing not one but TWO albums next week.

This couldn't be more accurate.

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LINKS!!

TV

Would you go to the Reality TV Convention?

Who else to play Sue Sylvester's mom on Glee than the one and only Carol Burnett?!

And speaking of America's favorite cheer coach, she is now immortalized in wax!

Movies

The Italian Film student in me really wants to see The Sicilian Girl.

Here's a pretty good review of The Other Guys.

I hope that Middle Men is better than this review.

I really need to read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Yes, Cher and Christina Aguilera will be in a movie together. I know you were wondering. It's called Burlesque and here's the trailer.

Other

If the Westboro Baptist Church people are ever near me again, I'm doing this.
I'm a big fan of Basil Marceaux and you should too. (And, yes, I know there's a typo. Take a joke and run with it, people!)

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philwrighthouse.blogspot.com
philattheolympics.blogspot.com (I don't update it anymore, but it's awesome just the same)
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I Read Stuff, So You Should Too!

Video Games

Here's a list of the 35 most boring videogames. The best part is that I remember seeing some of these in the rental aisles of Broadway Video, the video store in town. I was starved for entertainment and these didn't look fun, even then.

Some of my favorite games as a kid, however, are featured in this list. NBA Jam is going to be released again soon and I just hope it's good.

TV

I thought they were better than this, but I guess no one is above Jersey Shore pandering. Bones will be bringing The Situation in for an episode. Ooof.

I spent some time watching these Glee videos.

Sadness filled my soul when Brad was voted off Next Food Network Star on Sunday. Here's an interview with him.

Music

Lady Gaga insists that having sex depletes her creative energy. As in, if she sleeps with someone, the act of sex will force them to steal her creativity. In has-to-be-related news, she also admitted to doing cocaine, even though she doesn't want her fans to.

Food

I'm enough of a fatty...umm...I mean foodie...that I decided to start a Food section of links.

Here's the proper way to freeze fresh corn.

It's not exactly food, but here are the 12 supplements sold in stores that the FDA wants you to stay away from.

Books

The USO, the organization that sends entertainment to troops overseas, is going to start sending authors as well.

Red Hook Road is now on my reading list.

Sports

After LeBron came to Miami, he cost 30 people their jobs.

Other

Umm...uhh...holy moley, Batman!
Surprising holy moley, Batman?

Here's a shocker I've known for years: Catching up on sleep on weekends is a good thing.

Oh, NO! R2-D2 is in TROUBLE!

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philwrighthouse.blogspot.com
philattheolympics.blogspot.com (I don't update it anymore, but it's awesome just the same)
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