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I thought our group might like this!

Binks killed grandma...

I always wondered how I would introduce Star Wars to my children when the time comes:

This is One Reason I Love the Clone Wars

This season's Clone Wars on the Cartoon Network has been titled Secrets Revealed. So far it hasn't revealed much in my opinion. This third season has paled in comparison to the first two seasons, which I really enjoyed. Today I saw something to give me hope though. Supposedly they will be revealing all sorts of Sith stuff including the origin of Darth Maul.



There is a small part of me that is reluctant to know more about Maul because not knowing is part of what makes him so cool. But that part of me is so small that given the opportunity to find out more I wouldn't hesitate. I hope Dave Filoni and Lucas come up with something really cool. What is really cool you ask? Well in Episode III when Palpatine and Anakin have their talk at the opera house, that was worth the whole first three movies in my opinion.

[It looks like Swany and Scratch will be the only ones to be able to learn any of this before the rest of us. That is with little travel, anyway.]

Hopefully, he won't be strung out on drugs by age twelve...

About the only thing that could possibly make this kid any cheesier is if we found out his name was Tommy Lee:

A perfect combination...

Tron + Daft Punk = Dangerously Cheesy anticipation:

Everything is better with Cheetos...

I was perusing some of the stories on The New York Times website today, and happened across a restaurant review for Xiao Ye, some new hipster hangout on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The fact that the writer gives the place a "meh" review is minor in comparison to a particular picture of one of their dishes--Cheeto-coated fried chicken! I thinking a new food trend incorporating Cheetos into cuisine on par with adding bacon to everything is long overdue.

Robots in Disguise

Michael Bay is filming Transformers 3 in Washington DC. They are staging the vehicles out in front of my office. I missed getting all the cars as they were rolling out, but I will have more opportunities this week. Looks like one of the Transformers is a Waste Management trash truck.

I'll bet she makes better hamburgers than McDonald's, too...

I think the Flash needs to lay off the beer and run a little more...

We've all gotten married at one point or another, but I think there's still one of us that hasn't had a formal wedding yet. If he ever ties the knot again, may his wedding be as awesome as this couple:

OMD 16 Years Later

The first new OMD album in 16 years comes out Tuesday. The official website is streaming it for free, and I have to tell you it is fantastic. They have also just released their first new video in 20 plus years. Very Post Modern, but what do you expect from an 80's synth band? I'm just so happy to see Andy and Paul making music together again.

Repressed passive aggressive Chinese anger...

I think the second commercial in the series is my favorite.

Never say no to Panda:

MacNinja

Rumors are circulating that Steve Jobs is really a ninja. Caught with shurikens while trying to board a plane might have been his unwanted unveiling. Of course, Apple claims that none of it is true, but isn't that what all ninjas would claim? I think Apple is just a gigantic front for the world's largest group of ninjas. Prove me wrong!

And a collective sigh from sorority row is heard emanating from Oxford...

So after months of anticipation, the campaign to adopt Admiral Ackbar as the official mascot of the Ole Miss Rebels is officially dead. For politically correct reasons, Colonel Reb was dropped as their mascot back in 2003, and they've been without a mascot since then. Predictably, most of the traditional Ole Miss students were against installing the leader of the Rebel Alliance fleet to lead them into football games in the SEC. What surprised me, though, was what actually killed the dream of geeks throughout the South--George Lucas! The guy pimps out Star Wars merchandise to anything that can make a dime, so why stop at the college mascot level?

Soon Everyone Will Think They Are Jesus!

Just need some popcorn and a bottle of Colt 45...

Hey. You want to be a fahmah?...

As I was watching the previous video I posted, I found this collection of Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes. I so miss these kind of movies:

I knew these men...

It's been an interesting day that's tied together old 80's action movie stars and Star Wars. First, Sylvester Stallone reveals that he auditioned for the part of Han Solo. Then, I came across this hilarious mashup of Star Wars and Arnold:

When a Korean is near, watch your language...

When Firecracker George was in South Korea teaching English, I wonder if he led a similar class lesson. A little NSFW if small children or pregnant women are around:

Green Lantern, starring cleavage and, uh, sorry, spaced out for a minute. What was I saying?

When you're a little kid, what would be cooler than getting to go to Comic Con? Getting into the Green Lantern panel? Yeah, pretty cool. Getting picked on to ask a question during the panel? Yup, much cooler. Getting Ryan Reynolds to recite the Green Lantern oath to you? Man, that's pretty cool. I don't know how you can top that. Telling all your friends that you got a clear live view of Blake Lively's boobs? Jackpot.

Seriously, that cleavage was like George Michael's butt. They're mesmerizing. You just can't quite take your eyes off them. The worst thing you can do is try to ignore them. They're a force to be reckoned with.

Don't need to be high to appreciate that...

A short follow-up to Wild Willie's previous post:

Dream a little dream in a little dream in a little dream...

I overheard a conversation between two teenage girls today about Inception that went something like this:

Yeah, like, I haven't seen the movie yet, but I heard it was, like, really weird, but really good. It's like about these guys that can, like, go into your dreams. And they can tell you to give you a million dollars in your dream, and like, I guess you give them a million dollars in real life. And, like, you can do anything in these dreams. Like, jet skis driving on streets, and stuff. I don't know. It's kind of hard to explain. It's weird and stuff. I really want to see it.

Well, I'm not sure she quite got the plot right (or really much of anything), but I will agree that it was really good. Oddly though, the film wasn't really that weird, and that's surprisingly a good thing.

Dominic Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a new kind of intellectual property thief. With his team, he steals ideas, although not in the conventional way. Instead of breaking into a physical vault, they utilize a method of shared dreaming to enter the dreams of their mark and literally steal an idea locked in the subconscious safe of their minds. A heist of Saito (Ken Watanabe), a Japanese energy tycoon, is unsuccessful, but turns into an offer for Cobb and his gang that is just too good to pass up. Instead of a stealing ideas, they are tasked to plant one in the mind of Robert Fischer, Jr. (Cillian Murphy), the heir to a massive energy company that threatens to monopolize the entire global market if not broken up.

Part of what makes this film so entertaining is the whole heist aspect of the plot with a seemingly impossible item to steal (or in the case of Inception, to plant), an intricate plan to pull of the job, and a hand-picked team with each member having unique skills to contribute. Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Eames (Tom Hardy) are the point men of sorts for Cobb's team, Yusuf (Dileep Rao) is the science guy in charge of keeping them in their dream state, and Saito is the money man bank rolling the whole endeavor. Ariadne (Ellen Page) is a newcomer to this world who acts as an "architect" of dreamscapes for the team, and also provides the rookie questions that allows the movie to explain to the audience what the rules are in the dream world. As in any good heist movie, the method and plan is outlined up front and then put into play for us to watch and enjoy.

Now this being a dream movie, you'd expect things to get complicated. In some ways, it does, but unlike most films I recall delving into dreams, Christopher Nolan doesn't make this film overly complex or abstract. In the film, Cobb tests Ariadne during her recruitment to make up a maze on paper in two minutes that he can solve in one. Like this, Nolan creates a maze of sorts with dreams occurring within dreams, but keeps things linear enough that we can follow him on the journey, and with careful attention, not get lost. Questions arise, but are answerable with the rules and information laid out. Unlike other movies delving into dreams or other types of alternate states (e.g. The Matrix), Nolan doesn't get lost in obtuse philosophical ideas about conciousness and self-awareness to the point of running the movie in circles. And I think this is the beauty of Inception. It's a solvable puzzle, but leaves just enough ambiguity at the end to keep it interesting.

The musical orchestration by Hans Zimmer is quite good and complements the mood to the movie. I'm glad this didn't feel like an afterthought compared to most movie soundtracks lately. My only complaint is that the music may have been utilized too much. Hardly a second goes by that the music isn't playing in the background. Maybe it's just me, but it got a bit distracting when I became aware of it (almost like watching a Michael Bay movie and realizing how many damn shots the guy uses per scene). Still, after reading this post on the New York Times ArtsBeats blog, I was even more appreciative of the thought that went into composing the music for this film.

Every actor utilized in the film fits with their character. Suprisingly, Ellen Page may be the weakest link in the cast, but is probably related more to the fact that she still looks like a 13 year girl rather than a college-aged whiz kid. And this is, I think, the third movie in a row with Leonardo DiCaprio I've rated up in the Dangerously Cheesy level. The guy can do no wrong it seems, and Inception has convincingly erased any memory of him I had in Titanic.

Reebok Alien Stomper

Reading something about Comic-Con led to an article about shoes inspired by video games (check out the Street Fighter Dunks). This got me thinking about some sweet kicks that Firecracker George had. Turns out Reebok is set to release the Reebok Alien Stomper in two new colorways in Fall/Winter 2010. A quick search turned up Alien Stompers in all sorts of colors, grey/red, blue/white, black red, all gray, and reflector. I still like the classic grey/red.

I Don't Know If I Can Live In A World Where The Justice League Is This Cool

Video Games | DC Universe Online | Exclusive Who Do You Trust Trailer HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Yeah, this might be kinda cool...

The new trailer for Tron: Legacy was released at Comic-Con. I have a feeling that the crowd in San Diego erupted like a Yosemitebear choir watching double rainbows when this aired. Whoooooaaa!!! Oh my gah, oh my gah, oh my gahahahahaaaaa!!! What does this meeeeean?!



And for a little more of a tease, six tracks from the Tron: Legacy soundtrack by Daft Punk. This is like a geek's wet dream. Disney certainly knows how to build up some hype:

Daft Punk for Tron Legacy Soundtrack by Hypetrak

What Does It MEEEEan?

This really cracked me up.

Jabba the Who?

I got a chubby just from watching this.

I couldn't find a way to embed it, so I just added this link.

Best World Cup Ad Ever!

When I give up my day job...

As much as I love Cheetos, you might be surprised that I never knew how Frito-Lay actually made them. Well, wonder no more because Wired magazine actually had a brief article about the how such cheesy goodness is created.

The most important thing I realized while reading this article:

"The perfect reference Cheetos are sent from Frito-Lay headquarters."

That's like five minutes from my house!

I am practically living right next to the Holy Grail of Cheetos!!!

Reliving the classics...

There was a time in my youth when INXS was my favorite band and Kick was my favorite album, which makes this cover project by Beck and friends all the more cheesier. Check out the video below for a teaser, and Beck's Record Club for videos of them covering the rest of the album.

Predators

I know we have us some serious Predator fans on this blog. I personally am ready to build a time machine to fast forward to July to see this.

Happy Star Wars day.

So apparently, today is Star Wars day (May the 4th be with you.)

Happy Star Wars day.

Poop still makes me chuckle...

What better reason than this to have a bad day on the pitching mound:

Watch it till the end...

At least the job market is opening up...

Everybody Wants to Go On the Ride

This guys commentary is hilarious. Let's just hope the Indian food isn't coming from underneath the bridge.

Tron: Legacy (Again)

For those that missed this new preview in 3D before Alice In Wonderland this weekend. And how incredible is that Daft Punk soundtrack going to be?

Just because I'm getting older doesn't mean I'm growing up.

Iron Man 2

I have no background on Ironman other than the last movie and that Scratch had a collection. That being said the 2nd one looks pretty sweet.

Has anyone checked on Scratch this weekend?

Once I get skydiving out of the way, this is next.

I carved your name across three counties...

That's a line from the first track from Middle Cyclone by Neko Case, as she sings from the point of view of a tornado. It's an almost violent kind of song that seems to capture the intensity of a tornado as a metaphor for passionate love. Given the experience we've had with growing up around tornadoes here at the Kool-Aid Gang, it was quite awesome to pick apart the words to this song.

Somehow I avoided listening to this CD when it came out in June. Perhaps I was a bit skeptical given it's prominence at the checkout counter at Starbucks when it came out, but damn if it isn't the best album of 2009.

Dallas finally got a radio station playing music worth listening to, and I happened upon that first track, "This Tornado Loves You," on a drive home from work. I picked up the album shortly after. I'd suggest you do the same.

Check out her performance on Letterman earlier last year:

I kind of enjoyed this video about her creative process making this album, too:

This rating may be premature, and I may change my attitude towards this album after more repetitive listens, but for now, I'll go with:

I think we should all dress up as Space Marines next Halloween...

Here's one for you Firecracker George. I can't remember where I found this picture.

"verily, it tied the room together"

I am a fan of both "The Big Lebowski" and Shakespeare. Adam Bertocci reworked the Big Lebowski script to Shakespearean. Examples of reworked characters:
The Dude becomes "The Knave"
Walter is "Sir Walter"
Jesus is "Joshua Quince, a pederast"

Good reading for this weekend.

find the adaptation at - http://runleiarun.com/lebowski/

Lebowski Line: "You see a wedding ring on my finger? Does this place look like I'm fucking married? The toilet seat's up man!"
Shakespearean version: "Zounds, man. Look at these unworthiest hands; no gaudy gold profanes my little hand. I have no honour to contain the ring. I am a bachelor in a wilderness. Behold this place; are these the towers where one may glimpse Geoffrey, the married man? Is this a court where mistresses of common sense are hid? Not for me to hang my bugle in an invisible baldric, sir; I am loathe to take a wife, or she to take me until men be made of some other mettle than earth. Hark, the seat of my commode be arisen!"


Lebowski Line - Jesus: "Let me tell you something, pendejo. You pull any your crazy sh*t with us, you flash a piece out on the lanes, I'll take it away from you and stick it up your ass and pull the f*cking trigger till it goes "click"."
Shakespearean version - Quince: "Well; but be forewarn’d. It reach’d mine ears That combustible Walter, o’ercome with rage Did shed good sense, and raise his sword in play. I fear not such jade’s tricks, an seeing ill, Would snatch the burden from the jealous knight And pierce his gizzard with the wrongful steel, Points up, as said of Coriolanus."


Lebowski line - Walter: "Is this your homework, Larry?"
Shakespearean version - Sir Walter: "Is this thy parchment, Laurence? "