Music Live Blog

So, tonight I'm working on my Dexter review for www.givememyremote.com and trying to finish up an Italian Film paper. So, I've decided, to keep track of the random music/stand-up my iPod plays this evening. I hope it's in any way interesting, as it's just a random idea I'm trying out.

11:30- Jimmy Buffet, "We Are the People Our Parents Warned Us About"

11:33- Stephen Lynch, "What if That Guy from Smashing Pumpkins Lost His Car Keys?"

11:34- Purdue Varsity Glee Club, "Purdue Hymn"

11:36- Christopher Titus, "Normal vs. Screwed Up"

11:37- Jimmy Buffet, "One Particular Harbor"

11:43- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, "I'm Not that Smart (Reprise)"

11:44- Patton Oswalt, "Your Moment of Irony"

11:45- Eels, "I Need Some Sleep"

11:48- Patton Oswalt, "A Man Shaves His Balls"

11:49- Moulin Rouge, "Spectacular Spectacular"

11:52- Franz Ferdinand, "Take Me Out"

11:55- Lee Ann Womack, "The Weight"

12:01- Rent, "Today 4 U"

12:04- Bowling for Soup, "A-Hole"

12:08- Eric Bibb, "I'll Never Lose You"

Pausing, Taking a Bathroom Break
Finished Dexter Review

Starting Italian Paper

12:13- Patty Griffin, "Long Ride Home"

12:16- Jon McLaughlin, "So Close"

12:21- Rockapella, "Keep on Smilin'"

12:23- Barenaked Ladies, "Get in Line"

12:27- Bowling for Soup, "On and On"

12:30- Montgomery Gentry, "Some People Change"

12:33- The Wedding Singer (Musical), "A Note from Linda"

12:35- Hairspray (Film), "The Nicest Kids in Town"

12:38- Lou Reed, "Satellite of Love"

12:42- Hanson, "Yearbook"

12:47- Barenaked Ladies, "Wind it Up"

12:52- Taylor Swift, "Teardrops on My Guitar"

12:55- Elton John, "Salvation"

12:59- Hammell on Trial, "Coulter's Snatch"

1:02- The Wedding Singer (Musical), "Not That Kind of Thing"

1:05- Hammell on Trial, "Worry Wart"

1:07- Patton Oswalt, "Wackity Schmackity Doo!"

1:10- Avril Lavigne, "Things I'll Never Say"

1:13- Ben Folds, "Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hits His Head)"

Bathroom Break

1:22- Moulin Rouge, "Sparkling Diamonds"

1:24- Taylor Swift, "Tied Together With a Smile"

1:28- Christopher Titus, "Insanity Genetic"

1:37- Stephen Lynch, "Albino"

1:39- The 25th Putnam County Spelling Bee, "Prayer of the Comfort Counselor"

1:41- Jimmy Buffet, "Margaritaville"

Paper Done!

Late Night Work Post

So, I'm here working the overnighter at the office. Last time I blogged during work, I'm not going to lie, it was incredibly boring. But, I thought I would give everyone an update on my crazy life, or as much as I can without incriminating myself too much.

And, no, I'm not kidding.

Let's say where there was zero a month ago, there are two now. One is a rose with thorn and the other is...well i don't know yet. Anyone who needs to know can ask...most likely.

In other news...well there isn't any other news. I saw three movies last week, including Nick and Nora.

There was "Flash of Genius".

This is the real story of Bob Kearns, who invented the intermittent windshield wiper. Yes, I know, from that line alone, you've stopped reading this blog and gotten online to see where it's playing near you, but why don't you just hear me out?

"Flash of Genius" is really about Kearns' legal struggle after the Ford Motor Company stole his patent for the intermittent wiper.

It's a story you've seen beofre, and honestly, you've seen it done better. But it's a fun David and Goliath tale that plays out well.

Then, there was "The Express".

Anyone who knows me will not be shocked by the fact that I saw two "Based on a True Story" films in three days. And, those same people will be even LESS shocked by the fact that one of them was a film where a character overcomes adversity through the medium of sport.

"The Express" is the true story of the man who invented the intermittent windshield wiper.

Kidding.

"The Express is the true story of Ernie Davis, the Syracuse graduate who became the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy. Again, like in "Flash of Genius", you've seen it before, but you don't really care. It's a fun fun ride.

Then, some things happened. Again, ask and you might receive.

Well, that's what's happening on this front. Sorry I had to be so cryptic, but eyes are watching all over.

Uggh. What Comes Up Must Come Down.

So, I know I haven't posted in a while. But, things, to my credit, have been busy. But, since I've been getting crap from one of my good friends (you know who you are) and cannot sleep right now, I figured I might as well not.

Things are going well for me right now. I'm on the precipice of something very cool and if it all works out, it could be HUGE! It could literally change the face of this blog and its contents.

Let's see what else...

Follow me on twitter. www.twitter.com/philwrighthouse That's where I'm writing a lot lately, to be honest, since I can tweet on my phone from the convenience of class.

Also, something big for me is my new spot as a blogger/reviewer for Give Me My Remote. www.givememyremote.com I'm reviewing Dexter every Monday and will be posting some other things that I've got floating around in my head about television on there, so stay tuned. For my stuff, just search for Philboy or "Dexter" and you'll find it. Gimme your thoughts.

I've put my screenplay on the shelf for right now. I'm finding out that I'm not really good at screenwriting. I'm too direct with things, am focusing on the wrong stuff, etc. Plus, I can't write jokes in dialogue form. Instead, I've been working on a mystery/thriller short story/novel/something. I'm hoping to get it put online soon, as there are some sites that are specifically for that sort of thing. If anyone would like to read the first couple chapters and gimme their thoughts, I'd be more than happy to send them your way.

As my TV reviewing moves elsewhere, I'll reassure you that my movie reviewing, for the time being, is staying right here.

Tonight, I saw "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist"



Michael Cera plays Michael Cera. Kat Dennings plays The Love of My Life. But, I digress.

Cera plays Nick, an emo kid in New York who plays in a band of all gay kids and is having a hard time getting over Triss played by Alexis Dziena.


Yeah, I'd have a hard time getting over her too. Let's not kid ourselves.

But, alas, his gay band friends push him out of his slump in an attempt to try to find an exclusive punk show in New York. Along the way, Nick meets Norah played by the wonderfully awesome Kat Dennings.


I'm gonna go with upgrade.

Norah and Nick end up on a nightlong adventure trying to find the show and, in turn, fall in love with each other, mainly through the love of music.

"Infinite Playlist" ,on paper, is familiar territory. But, the way it's done, the way the characters are drawn and the turns that are thrown in between make it a fun romantic comedy that I think everyone will find something to relate to. It also brings back parts of New York that I loved, like early morning New York and 24 Hour Diners. A great soundtrack backs up a unique take on teenage love and getting over the one you thought you HAD to be meant for. Definitely go and check it out!

Well, kids, the old eyes are startin to droop, so ta-ta for now.

Phil

For my video of the day, I wanted to post something about Kat Dennings, since I've been in love with her for a while now. Here's the trailer of a flick I LOVED with her and the God Amongst Men, RDJ (that's Robert Downey, Jr. for those not in the know) called "Charlie Bartlett". Definitely check out the movie if you didn't see it in theatres, which means you probably just blinked or something.

Sooo...

Yeah, it was a week. Not necessarily an awesome one or a crazy one, but a week nonetheless.

I'm working the overnight shift tonight, so there will probably be another post involved, or even a liveblog if I'm feeling up to it.

Purdue had their first football game today. We played alright, but we didn't produce the way we should have against North Colorado. Mike and I went for about three fourths of it and then finished it up at Jake's. I freaking love that place.

Last night was an off night for me. I had plans with people but they all fell through or got dropped completely. So, it was an off night for me.

But, we had another episode of Psych, which is always welcome in my book. This week, I had this to heal the pain of my friends abandoning me.

Juliet + Roller Derby = Happy Phil :)

Juliet had to go undercover as Maniac, a roller girl. No, not Heather Graham in Boogie Nights...

...wait. What happened? I just blacked out.

Anywho, it was a hilarious episode. Sad that next week will be the Season finale, but it makes way for the new shows.

Looking ahead to the week, we have True Blood, the new one from Alan Ball (Six Feet Under) with Anna Paquin as a vampire-lover. I'm willing to give it a shot on names alone, with a hope that Ball doesn't creep into the weird, overly dark territory that Six Feet Under took towards its final seasons.

I would write more, but right now I'm really angry at Fox Sports Net Ohio and feel like writing a letter. I need to do it now, while I'm thinking about it.

And Now, Starting a New Year

So, I know I'm a week late to the new school year, but getting back from China halfway through the week does fierce things to your internal clock. I'm hoping that those issues will subside soon.

But, today has been a good day to be awake.

For those who are new to the blog, welcome. I try to just cover what I do in the course of a day, as well as my rants and ramblings and reviews on anything I see fit. It's WEB 2.0 so, as always, feel free to comment on whatever. The format of posts will change, so be on your toes.

A couple of quick notes...

1. You can Facebook me! Search "philboy37"
2. You can add me to MySpace. myspace.com/philboy37
3. You can follow me on Twitter. twitter.com/philboy37
4. You can always email me at philboy37@hotmail.com

Alrighty, on with the post...

I would talk about my day, but to be honest, it was all homework and meeting up with friends and buying stuff for my room. So, instead, I want to talk about some stuff I saw on the news throughout the course of the day.

1. Palin-Gate. That's right, kids...I went there. It's been quite the sh*tstorm for the Governor from the mediocre state of Alaska. It came out early in the day that her daughter, who is 17, is pregnant.

Let's be clear about a couple of things. Palin was foolishly nominated as McCain's VP candidate for three reasons. She's a woman, she's attractive and a smoother talker than McCain will ever be, and she is, in theory, an evangelical Christian. All three of those things would help to shore up some of the voting demographics that McCain has failed to secure so far.

But, that Evangelical thing should, in a just world, ruin all of that. Seriously? Underage pregnancy? How "Juno" of you! You have to love that all the talking heads on Fox have rationalized this by shoving the facts that she's marrying the guy (unlikely) and is keeping the kid (likely) in our faces. I mean, can they rush a wedding by November?

That was quite mean of me.

I don't really care.

The fact that this will, most likely, fly unnoticed is disgraceful. It's a double standard that disgusts me and makes me ashamed to be an American. If any child of Obama, Biden, Gore, Clinton, etc. were to GET PREGNANT UNDERAGE and the news of which WAS WITHHELD AND RELEASED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CAMPAIGN BY THE CANDIDATE THEMSELVES, THROWING THEIR OWN SPAWN UNDER THE BUS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A NATURAL F***ING DISASTER (see below), that candidate would be raped in the media, drug over the coals.

This is an excerpt from CNN's Political Ticker:

"Before, they were excited about her, with the Down syndrome baby," conservative, anti-tax activist Grover Norquist said. "But now with this, they are over the moon. It reinforces the fact that this family lives its pro-life values."

Are you kidding me?

But, never fear, believers in logic, justice and, you know, common sense (ahh the frivoloties of life). Palin, who has LESS experience than Obama in most Presidential columns, has one month, 30 days, to go toe-to-toe with Joe "Never Backed Down From a Fight" Biden.

Good Luck, Sarah. You're gonna need it.

And, how the hell did this fly by the McCain campaign? Or, did it not fly by them, they just waited until Hurricane Gustav was supposed to tear through New Orleans to release it? I really can't decide on that one.

2. Hurricane Gustav.

To anyone who knows me, they know that New Orleans is my future home. When I visited NO in 2007, I was blown away by the food, atmosphere and people. I'm ready for the city, and, as Bill Simmons eloquently put it in his column, the city is ready for us again.

So, needless to say, Gustav was worrysome. Any hurricane that is supposed to hit the Gulf is worrysome. But, they did a better job of evacuating and have updated (somewhat) their emergency systems and levees since Katrina. Luckly, everything worked out for NO, with the storm thrashing southern Louisiana, a much less populated area. As a metereologist on CNN put it, someone had to have the bad news.

3. New TV

On a lighter note (although the amazingness of the Paliny goodness today was pretty light and awesome) new TV is getting underway. This week, we have...

Bones on Wednesday. Premiere finds Booth & Brennan in the UK for either a two-hour premiere or a two-parter, not sure which. Should be interesting where they go from last years shocker about Gormagon.

That's all that's new, and the US Open is pre-empting Burn Notice and Psych for another week. It's a light week, but, it's the calm before the storm. More news coming there.

Alright, well it's about time I wrap up this post. But, as usual, I like to close the post out with a video.

VID TIME
'

Trailer Park #1

This is something I tried to start on my MySpace blog and it didn't really pan out.

I'm gonna rock some movie trailer analysis, albeit on this slow connection in China. Here we go.

1. Felon- Val Kilmer, Stephen Dorrrfff, that cute chick who died on 24 last season, if not two seasons ago.

Dude protects his home, gets sent to jail, has to deal with the harsh realities of prison. Personally, I don't know why someone would tread over this ground after it's been done so many times. From the trailer, things seem kinda predictable and bland.

GRADE: B- Normally a C, but you get the Kilmer Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Bump.

2. Quarantine- Jennifer Carpenter from Dexter and some others, including Jonathan Schaech (??) from That Thing You Do!


So, this is Cloverfield, minus the monster, plus a zombie disease with some torture porn thrown in to make it marketable to the kids out there. I like the lead, but it's not enough to make me go see this. If there's one genre of movies I wish we could get rid of, it's these "Saw" rip-offs. Kudos on copying Abrams with the handi-cam action (I especially loved the line, "TAPE EVERYTHING! DO YOU HEAR ME?!" I filled in, "YEAH, BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T WE HAVE NO MOVIE!"), but just not buying this.

GRADE: D+ Barely passing, but on thin thin ice.

3. Rain of Madness. The best part about this is that it isn't even real. It's a fake documentary that ties in to "Tropic Thunder" the new Ben Stiller, Jack Black, RDJ (That's Robert Downey, Jr. for those who aren't hip to the lingidy.) flick about a film crew that sets out to make a war movie and ends up...wait for it...fighting in an actual war! It's "Galaxy Quest", but it looks damned funny and might mark the return of Ben Stiller.

So, in honor of this fake documentary that chronicles the struggles of making "Tropic Thunder" I shall review the trailer whole-heartedly.

This is f***ing hilarious. Seriously. RDJ spouting out about 1973 espadrilles? Awesome. If this is a hint to what the movie is going to be, this will be absolutely hilarious.

GRADE: A

4. Hell Ride We've got Michael Madsen, Milo from 24, Carradine, Hopper and just a regular bunch of badasses.


This Tarantino-produced flick looks like a lot of fun and might appeal to some people if it can get the play in theatres. Tarantino's name should help, like it did with "Hero", but, to be honest, I don't know if people want more "Grindhouse"ish fare. I mean, it was a colossal failure. But, I'm definitely there, because sometimes a movie just has to be a good time.

GRADE: B+ Let's hope this red band trailer points to some good stuff.

Well, ladies and germs, I'm here in China. I'll be skipping back and forth from this blog to, most of the time, my blog for class over at philattheolympics.blogspot.com. So...check that out.

China is very exciting and terrifying all at the same time. The fact that I don't understand ANYTHING cannot be underestimated. It's truly frightening. If I ever end up in a place where I don't know where I am, I'm truly and absolutely screwed.

More later I'm sure, just wanted to check in.