End of the Week: 05/23/10- 05/29/10

END OF THE WEEK:

All right, what a week, huh? We had a two year old that smoked his way into our hearts, another failed attempt by BP to stop that oil spill, and one of the greatest stories you will ever hear in the history of this world, and much more. Plus, Memorial day weekend began today, so our week's troubles gets rewarded with a day off on Monday! And that's...that's pretty cool.

So let's get's started. As usual, these are my picks for the most memorable moments of the last seven days:

Deaths of the Week: Actors Gary Coleman and Dennis Hopper

Truly a sad duo to lose. One was one of the most influential actors of his generation that will be forever known for his iconic roles, and the other one is Dennis Hopper. Completely inappropriate humor aside, Hopper was a really great actor/director and Hollywood will miss him as well (oh, and those Nike commercials in the '90s? Epic). Now, let's hope we don't start another summer with a unusually high amount of celebrity deaths at the same time (see June 2009).

Video of the Week: "Woman Upset Tornado Interrupts Criminal Minds Finale"

She's right! That local CBS affiliate has no right interrupt her opportunity to find out how the gang could possibly stop the LA blackout killer for something as stupid as a tornado! I mean, yes, she could just watch it online but it ruins the fun of watching it live! Talk about not getting on with the times...

Backlash of the Week: The "Sex and the City" Franchise

You know when a once popular TV franchise has dragged on too long when they've made a movie that is so terrible, longtime fans of the show start to find their episodes less enjoyable and question how they fell in love with their sexual puns in the first place.

Stories of the Week:

-The Actual Story of the Week: Operation 'Top Kill' Fails

So after a couple failed attempts, the intelligent people down at the BP headquarters decided to fill up the hole with mud and junk into it, kind of like putting filling a leak with Mighty Puddy if, you know, the leak was responsible for the biggest oil spills in world history. It took over two days with hard man-work put into it and...it failed. That means we are heading into the seventh week with the Gulf of Mexico being infested with spilled oil. On the bright side, free oil for those who want to get those spilled on land!

- The Tiger Woods Saga of '09 Memorial Story of the Week:

Guy Dressed as Captain America Stuffed With Burrito in Pants Arrested For Groping Woman in Bar

Oh Tiger, Tiger, Tiger...

Smoking Baby of the Week: Ardi Rizal

Hey, if I'd known that I would spend most of my life working $5 a day making $120 shoes for Nike, I would find a way to relax too.

People of the Week: People That Have Been Waiting for Summer to Come Along

Officially, summer doesn't start until the June 21st solstice. But with Memorial Day weekend happening right now, the weather getting better, the grilling season kicking off, schools closing, the 2009-2010 TV season coming to the end and much more, this time of the year is often considered to be the unofficial start of the season in the States. So, rejoice summer lovers, rejoice! You're favorite season is back!

All right, that does it. So, enjoy that Memorial Day weekend of yours and I will see you...later.

Sincerely,

Your pal: mj15

If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you want to suggest anything to mj15 for his next blog entry, e-mail him at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mail might be addressed on a future post

Random Thoughts: 05/17/10- 05/24/10

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

Sorry for the overdue post, everyone. But there's an explanation! See, what happened was:

-

-

-

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I got nothing. Still, though, at least I made before Memorial Day weekend to post this. The following were on my mind between Monday, May 17th and Monday, May 24th:

-Joe West may just be an attention whore umpire, but at least he has a point about these Red Sox-Yankees game being too long and boring to watch.

- If Gilbert Arenas pointed a gun at a teammate over a gambling debt problem, just imagine how he will react to John Wall stealing his starting spot.

- The HBO original movie "The Special Relationship" will mark the second time in four years actor Michael Sheen plays Tony Blair (the first being "The Queen"). So, is he like the obligatory Blair roleplayer now?

- All right, Chicago Blackhawks! Stanley Cup playoffs, and as a longtime fan of the team I am excited! (Note: what's with all these Blackhawks fans hating the bandwagon jumpers? I think they should be happy. After all, isn't a great sign that your team is great again when people who never watched them before are supporting them) By the way, are you loving this Internet trash talking between Flyers fans and Hawks fans as I am? The Eastern Conference hasn't been wrapped up yet (Ed. Note: Yes, I know the Eastern Conference Finals is now officially over. But these are thoughts before Monday night, so I'm just staying true to this) and already there are people from both sides making controversy. Philly sports fans calling the Hawks overrated and Chicago a dump. Chicago sports fans calling the Flyers lucky and Philly a dump. Bloods are boiling, people are taking these seriously...can't wait until the puck drops in game one!

-Why do people refer to films like "Reservoir Dogs" and "The Shawshank Redemption" as cult classics? They're f***** classics!

- Okay, I've never watched "Lost" until the re-airing of the pilot on Saturday and the finale last night. But it seems to me that the reason some people like the ending and why some people didn't was based on how people watched the show throughout its six year span. The ones who liked it seem to be the ones who watched for the storytelling or the characters. The ones who didn't were probably in it for the sci-fi or the plot itself. Is this correct, or am I missing something here?

- May: the most obnoxious month of them all.

And... that's all folks! Now, in honor of Memorial Day, I've decided on giving you readers an extra day off and wait until Tuesday to post the next installment of random thoughts. So enjoy yourself, take a little break from the Internet and just go outside for a little while. Until then, it's time to finish off the two month long segment known simply as the "Zep-tastic Song of the Week" It has been fun, with the embedding and all. But there's plenty of new bands to cover, and I felt that sticking with one legendary band over and over again will lose its value over time.

So how to end this? With the best for last, of course! From the song's first performance in Belfast's Ulster Hall in November of 1971, it has become one of the widely known songs in the band's history as well as one of the most acclaimed songs of the last forty years. Some people even go as far as to say that this is the greatest song of all time! The most requested songs in radio stations across the country of all time, one of the greatest guitar solos of all time, and simply so great you will bow down to its majesty. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, the one, the only, eight minute epic that is "Stairway to Heaven"( from the 1973 movie "The Song Remains the Same," where the band performs it for ten minutes at a concert in Madison Square Garden). Enjoy:

Sincerely,

Your pal: mj15

If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you want to suggest anything to mj15 for his next blog entry, e-mail him at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mail might be addressed on a future post

End of the Week: 05/16/10- 05/22/10

END OF THE WEEK:

Final Season Of 'Lost' Promises To Make Fans More Annoying Than Ever

So after six seasons of episodes, "Lost" is finally coming to an end with a two hour recap of everything that's ever happened on the show, the two and a half hour finale and (after the local news, of course) a one hour "Jimmy Kimmel Live" special with cast members and the executive producers of the show in Hawaii. That's right folks, an event so big ABC's treating it like their Super Bowl (and with them having no NFL rights since Super Bowl XL, it's pretty much their biggest thing since then).Millions (I predict somewhere around 33-36) will tune in to see what will happen. Including me, though its not because I'm a fan of the show (in fact, today's re-airing of the pilot on ABC with the little notes about what happened late on in the series was the first full episode of the show I've watched). But it's not because of something gay, like how Bill Simmons "The Pacific" just because there's been too much WWII stuff that he thinks there's not much left to cover. I was a pre-teen when the show premiered and as the seasons rolled on and I kept hearing how confusing the plots were, I was too intimidated to start.

It's just going to be a huge event, and I want to be part of it. I mean, this has been the biggest anticipation of a episode for a scripted show in three years. It's why I tuned into the blackout at the end of the "The Sopranos" finale (and, yes, I was one of those idiots who initially thought my Dish was busted) in '07 and the "Friends" finale in '04. Should be interesting.

But, as you know, this column is not about the future. Unlike Marc McGwire, I came here to talk about the past, specifically the best moments from the past seven days. And here it is:

Video of the Week: "SNL Digital Short: Great Day"

A great way to close the 35th season of 'SNL,' with their best digital short of the year, even better than previous titleholder "On the Ground." OR WAS IT???

F-You Receiver Of the Week: NBC

There's a reason I have a specific tag for this type of thing. rHaving a woman in her second trimester like Amy Poehler and the rest of the cast of "Parks and Recreations" work their butts off to get episodes ready for the fall only to tell them that they won't premiere until midseason is one thing. Moving "Parks and Recreations," an established show on the network to midseason for a new show like "Outsourced" that looks bad just by the promos? Now that ticks me off! Also, renewing "The Marriage Ref" but not picking up shows like "The Strip (from the creators of "Reno 911" and "The State") and "Beach Lane" with Matthew Broderick and Patton Oswalt? Go f@$& yourself, NBC! Oh, and don't think I already forgot about the Jay Leno at 9 p.m. era!

Stories of the Week:

-The Actual Story of the Week (that isn't the BP Oil Spill): "Super Primary Tuesday" (or whatever you called Tuesday's mid-term election primaries)

Rand Paul (don't worry, we'll get to him) wins the Republican vote of Kentucky. Arlen Spector isn't the Democratic vote of Pennsylvania. And...there were others. Basically, in other words, more new guys won than the pre-2009 guys.

- The Tiger Woods Saga of '09 Memorial Story of the Week: Food Network Star Juan Carlos Cruz Arrested For Trying to Kill Wife With Hobos

Soliciting hobos to murder? Come on, Juan! you're a food chef! Just cut a blowfish wrong, and make it into a meal that you could have made her the "first to taste it" or something like that.

Survivor of the Week: Julio Aparacio


I bet the guys at the New York Post were having a great time with the title of this story when they decided to put in on the front cover.

Person of the Week: Kentucky Republicans

for outdoing themselves and voting Rand Paul as their nominee for United States Senator. The same Rand Paul who thinks it's okay for buisnesses to not allow black people in. The same Rand Paul who thought that the BP oil spill was just an accident. The same Rand Paul who spoke out against the Americans with Disabilities Act. The same Rand Paul who once said he would like to abolish the Department of Education.

The same Rand Paul who is being held to account for strange beliefs that Canada and Mexico are planning on destroying the US. The same Rand Paul who wants to abolish the Federal Reserve. The same Rand Paul who is like Sarah Palin but with a doctor's degree. And you thought it couldn't get stranger than when they elected grumpy and old Jim Bunning!

And that's the way it is for this, the second to last week without "Lost" premiering a new episode. Enjoy the rest of your week, everyone!

Sincerely,

Your pal: mj15

If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you want to suggest anything to mj15 for his next blog entry, e-mail him at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mail might be addressed on a future post

Random Thoughts: 05/10/10- 05/17/10

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

The following mostly Lebron James and TV related thoughts were on my mind between Monday, May 10th and Monday, May 17th:

- Well, it is Upfront Week, the time of the year where all of the major TV networks (FOX, CBS, NBC, ABC and I suppose the CW) release to the affiliates what their schedule for the next TV year (September to June) will be. So far, there were only two networks that released their schedules, NBC and FOX. And yet, I still have some things to get off my chest in regards to them. Here they are:

a. Great. FOX decides to bring another new comedy to replace "American Dad" this season. You know, after having this experiment fail the last two years with "Sit Down, Shut Up" and "Sons of Tucson," I don't understand why the network thinks this is a good idea, especially with this "Bob's Burger" cartoon that already looks like its prime for cancellation.

b. "Outsourced" better be good. Otherwise, it makes no sense why NBC just changes what was an already well-functioning Thursday night line-up by putting this show after "The Office," moving "30 Rock" an hour earlier and having "Parks and Recreation" fans like myself having to wait until January for the show to return.

c. Should be interesting to see how "Glee" will manage while going solo at the Tuesday 7 p.m. (CT) position and not behind "American Idol," which helped them get a weekly 5.0 rating.

d. Come on, NBC! "Chuck" will still be at the Monday 7 p.m. time slot? And while we're at it, WTF Fox! "Fringe" will still be Thursdays at 8 p.m. How is mj15 supposed to manage watching the "House"/"Chuck" combo and the "The Office"/"Fringe" combo again this year?

e. While I think next year will be "American Idol's" worst year ever in terms of ratings and quality as a result of Simon Cowell's departure, I do like that they at least listened to the viewers and made the shows shorter and filled with less time that were done just for pure stalling purposes.

f. Shows I'm currently intrigued at: "The Event," "Chase," "The Paul Reiser Show," "The Good Guys," "Running Wilde," "Ride Along"

- I'm really liking the new Hulu web player.

- How come is it whenever a politician, like the President, takes a few minutes out of his time to say or do something that isn't about politics, there are those people who get angry for taking that moment of their time and why they did this instead of trying to fix the country? Look, I know it's pretty random that a advisor for President Obama said that he wants Lebron James to come to Chicago and play for the Bulls. And why not? If it was just said for a quick second and he says he won't tampor with this, what's the big deal? He's just a big fan of the Bulls who wants that team to win the championship, and if it means that he wants the soon-to-be biggest free agent ever. It's okay for actors and other important figures to voice usually stupid opinions on TMZ, but this wasn't? I want Lebron in Chicago. Derrick Rose wants Lebron in Chicago. 15,000 and counting want Lebron in Chicago on this Facebook page. So, if he wants to agree with this, then he should be allowed to say it.

- Remember those old fashion duels? The one where two guys walk ten paces behind then fire a shot at each other until someone died, all because the two guys were trying to defend their honor? Those were the days.

- While I'm still talking about the Lebron James sweepstakes in this post (and more to come), these are my current rankings for teams that have the best chance of getting him:

1. Cleveland ($125 mill. contract, hometown, chance at being the greatest Cleveland sports figure ever if he wins title for city)

2. Chicago (Rose and Noah, best destination for a championship,)
3. Miami (Dwayne Wade)

4. New Jersey (Jay-Z, new stadium in 2012, possibility of having John Wall as teammate, Devin Harris, Brook Lopez)

5. New York (MSG, glamour, NY spotlight)

6. LA Clippers (Blake Griffin, young team, LA spotlight)

- Out of all the things that happened to broadcast TV in 2009-10, nothing has impressed me more than the surge of great comedies to come out this year, from "Community" to "Modern Family" to "Parks and Recreations" to even "Glee," I can't recall another year besides 2005 where such great and/or positively reviewed shows debuted in such a small time period.

And...that's that! As always, I want to remind you that the newest batch of RTs will be ready sometime next Monday evening. Enjoy the rest of your week, and now to finish things off once again is another installment of the "Zep-tastic Song of the Week"! After thinking this over, I've decided on ending this running part of the RTs next week in order to move on to another band or musician whose songs I could embed. It was a slightly tough decision, but I just felt that this had to move on. But since we're still a week away from that happening, I'm just gonna go and post the song that I've been wanting to post all week. It's a song that just makes you want to think for a second just how the music industry has fallen downhill recently.

Ladies and gentlemen, from the six time platinum selling album "Led Zeppellin III" and featuring one of Jimmy Page's best guitar solo ever, here's "Since I've Been Loving You." Enjoy:

Sincerely,

Your pal: mj15

If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you want to suggest anything to mj15 for his next blog entry, e-mail him at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mail might be addressed on a future post

End of the Week: 05/09/10- 05/16/10

END OF THE WEEK:

Happy Saturday! Anyways, here are finally my picks for the week's biggest stories and moments, from Lebron James to Dallas Braden to even an inappropriate disc jockey:

TV Show Cancellation of the Week: "Law and Order"

Yes, it was announced earlier this week that the 20 season old cop-lawyer show will not be back to pass "Gunsmoke" as the longest running drama in television history, even though the new Dick Wolf spin-off "Law and Order: LA" has been picked up, "Law and Order: SVU" has been renewed and that NBC President Angela Broomstad said back in December that it will try to keep the show on the air next season. I guess when pushed come to shove, the network decided that ratings (which has not been kind to them the last few years) are more important than history. Other shows that weren't able to make the cut for the big Upfronts Week next week: "Flash Forward," "Heroes," "Better Off Ted," "Trauma," and not "Chuck"!

Video of the Week: "Worst Wedding DJ Ever"

Look, I know that the drum opening in "Calming in the Air Tonight" is cool, and almost impossible to not try to immitate it yourself. That doesn't mean that you have to use the closest object you can find to do so!

Stories of the Week:

- The Actual Story of the Week: President Obama Announces Solicitor General Elena Kagan as His Pick for Supreme Court Justice

If she does become a justice, it will be the second straight woman the President has picked, the first being Sonya Sotomayor last year. Of course, the situation between the two picks are different. When Sotomayor was picked, all people talked about were her being a reverse racist. With Kagan,the big talk going on is whether the solicitor general...is a lesbian. Hey, she does love softball! And poker. And she has a butch haircut! Of course people are going to discuss with this piece of news!

- The Tiger Woods Saga of '09 Memorial Story of the Week: Delonte West is Having an Affair With Lebron James's Mom

This whole story began as something a commenter wrote at Ball Don't Lie (#16 on the post) and it appears more and more likely that this is just a made-up rumor. However, let's pretend that this is true. Can you imagine West telling Lebron about this, say during a phone call about James will play next season:

West: So, man, have any thoughts about where you're going? Just so you know, we're all hoping you come back.

Lebron: Yeah, I know, man. Right now, I'm just looking at my options, just seeing what the best option is.

West: Yeah, that's cool. Also, I've f@%$&# your mom a few times.

Lebron: Yeah, so I- wait, what?

Perfect Game of the Week: Dallas Braden's PG on May 9th Against Tampa Bay

No longer will he be know as that nobody who talked smack to A-Rod. now... well, he'll still be known that (or at least, until after the next time he pitches against the Yankees) except now he's not a nobody, has a perfect game on his resume and a grandma who also talked smack to A-Rod.

Person of the Week: Lebron James

So, the Cavs season is over. Now the speculation and wooing of the biggest free agent to hit the NBA begins. Will he try to go to a team that can most likely help him win a championship, which most fingers point to being the Chicago Bulls? Will he try to go to a team that could potentially bring him huge fame or immortality, which most signs point to the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets of Brooklyn? Will he try to go to the team that can have the best Robin to his Batman, which most fingers point to wherever Dwayne Wade or Chris Bosh will be as well as Derrick Rose in Chicago? Or will he just go the Joe Mauer rout and stay with the hometown for another seven years, trying to win that city their first professional sports championship since 1964, by which I mean the Cleveland Cavaliers?

These are the things that James has to think about for the next 50 to 60 days. What will he choose? How will he be able to decide? Well, whatever he decides there will be media outlets discussing it and their will be cities trying to make their case for him coming to their team, from the Chicagoans promising Rose and a championship to New Yorkers promising the Garden and the city spotlight, and much more. And if the next few things will be like it has already been the last two days, then strap onto your deskchair because it's going to be a good one.

And that's the way it is! Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone!

Sincerely,

Your pal: mj15

If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you want to suggest anything to mj15 for his next blog entry, e-mail him at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mail might be addressed on a future post

Dallas Braden, Andy Rooney and April's Best

As you may know, we are over a full week into May. This means that I have gone over a week without making a single post dedicated to my picks for some of April's best. Well, that is about to change right now. It's "End of the Month": April 2010 edition. But first, here are some quick random thoughts to get things started;

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

- How about that Dallas Braden, amirite? A few day ago, he was considered that a-hole that was questionably picking on A-Rod because he has yet to apologize for some stupid unwritten rule of baseball. Now, one perfect game later, that has been seemingly wiped out of people's memory and now he is treated with more respect than ever before. But then again, anyone that can throw a perfect game is bound to get some extra respect from the sporting world. Also, how about those Tampa Bay Rays? They may have been one of baseball's best teams the last three years, but they still seem to attract the no-hitters (three thrown against them since 2002, including the last two perfect games thrown by Braden yesterday and by Mar Buehrle last year).

- 90-something year old Andy Rooney doesn't like today's music! The only thing less shocking then hearing this would be to see the sun tomorrow.

- I hate to be the Polak living in America with such a tough to pronounce name like Przemyslaw.

- Anyone else besides me like to go to cbcsports.ca everytime a Canadian team loses in the NHL playoffs? I just can't help myself.

- Add me to one of those that thought this Thursday's episode of "Community" titled "Modern Warfare" was one of the funniest single episodes of a scripted show I have seen in a while. I don't know about you, but I couldn't stop laughing from minute to end. From the endless pop culture references from "28 Days Later," "Terminator 2" and even "Scarface" to the classic battle movie cliches to even the small criticisms on "Glee," it was a delight to watch, and one the shows should use give to ATAS if they want to be nominated for an Emmy.

- Jeebus, why hasn't anyone FIRED JOE MORGAN yet?!?! That man is truly a terrible baseball analyst. If only there was some website where someone thought the same way that I did? Oh, wait: (http://www.firejoemorgan.com/) Never mind.

And now, onto my picks for the best from the month that was April 2010:

END OF THE MONTH:

- Picture of the Month: World's Smallest Horse

Super Saver is no match for this little colt's adorableness.

- Controversy of the Month: Comedy Central Adds Extra Censorship to "201" Episode of "South Park"

In its fourteen seasons of the show, "South Park" has been known to controversy. They, and Comedy Central, have received complaints from a number of people from religions to political groups to even celebrities, yet the only thing that went too far was Comedy Central pulling a re-airing of "Trapped in the Closet" after a threat from Tom Cruise, a Scientologist to not promote "Mission: Impossible 3," a movie made by Paramount which Comedy Central is owned by the same corporation,Viacom. That was, until the days between April 14th and April 22nd.

After airing part one of their 200th episode spectacular titled simply "200," a Muslim extremist group Revolution Muslim protested in anger to the creators putting the Muslim prophet Muhammad in a bear costume and warned the creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, that they could experience a similar fate as Theo van Gogh if they showed Muhammad in the next episode. So what did the creators do? What you'd expect, make the episode without any worries from the Muslim group, though they did censor his image.

Comedy Central, however, treated this differently by adding additional censors to the episode (most notably bleeping Muhammad's name anytime a character mentioned him as well as their traditional "I learned something today" part of the show) and even refusing to air a repeat of the episode, as well as the season six episode "Super Best Friends" featuring Muhammad uncensored (this was before 9/11) on the network or on southparkstudios.com (update: they still haven't), to which the shows creators did not agree on, all for the sake of not pissing off the Muslim terrorist group. Personally, I just don't get it. If they're allowed to basically make fun of anybody and anything, why must the network back down to a few pissed off Muslims? It doesn't make sense. Besides, its not like Parker and Stone had any problem with the threats. But that's just my opinion. What do you think, Jon Stewart?

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
South Park Death Threats
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Stories of the Month:

- The Most Devastating: The Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico

- The Lamest: Iceland's Mount Eyjafjallajokull Erupts

This brings up a good question. Who would you rather not be right now: a member of the BP public relations department or a member of the Iceland tourism marketing campaign?

- The Weirdest, Creepiest, Shockingest, and, Well, Just Overall a Big Wow(!): The Matthew Clemens Story

You know, I feel bad for those decent Philadelphia sports fan. You know, the ones who are decent people who behave well during sporting events. Everytime there's at least five of them, there's always one moron like this guy who does something so moronic like this that it just ruins their reputation as a Philly sports fan even more.

Videos of the Month:

- The Most Athletic: "Fordham Player Goes Airborne During Team's Comeback"

A truly two-for-one day for Kownacki. He helped his team achieve a great comeback in the eight inning to win and he as that ridiculous effort to score a run, too.

- The Best Finish: "Basketball Team Celebrates Too Early and Loses Game"

You see, this is what happens if you don't show your team highlights of the 1994 Plano East-John Tyler football game!

Death of the Month: Polish President Lech Kaczynski

Person of the Month: Ben Roethlesberger

From being accused of rape to the loads of allegations popping up that he is a total dick, this was just a terrible month for the Steelers QB. On the plus side, he did give NFL fans something to talk about that wasn't the draft, so that should be recognized, too.

Runners up: Sandra Bullock, Matthew Clemens, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Conan O'Brien, Apple, Tiger Woods

And now that I've finally gotten that out of the way, it's time to end this two-part post. As always, I hoped you enjoyed it. Any now, to once again finish things off is another installment of the "Zep-tastic Song of the Week," now entering its ninth installment. And to celebrate this being the ninth installment, we're going to use a song from their ninth and final studio album, "Coda."A very underrated song. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, "Darlene." Enjoy:

Sincerely,

Your pal: mj15

(note: i added some things to this post over at MySpace. check it here if you want to see it

If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you want to suggest anything to mj15 for his next blog entry, e-mail him at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mail might be addressed on a future post.

End of the Week: 05/02/10- 05/08/10

(man, does this guy look like an a-hole)

END OF THE WEEK:

This week certainly was one with ups and downs. While "Iron Man 2" premiered in theaters this week, we had that failed bomb attemp over in Times Square. While the first attempt at stopping the oil slip in the Gulf of Mexico didn't work, "Community"'s "Modern Welfare" episode probably brought the best laughs out I have ever seen this entire '09-'10 TV season, and so on and so forth. Here, now, are my picks for some of the week's best moments:

Mammal of the Week: The Anonymous Dog That, Apparently, Is In Every Riot in Greece

Internet, meet your newest meme! This canine, simply known as "Rebel Dog" or "Riot Dog" on its Facebook page, a shepherd known distinctively for his blue collar, has been found (through pictures) to be seen in almost every riot in Greece as early as 2008, and it has been realized just now. It just goes to show you, if a dog is protesting for his kind along with humans, you know the situation in Greece is bad. (In serious, though, it is a bit weird how he really is seen in a lot of the protests).

Stories of the Week:

- The Actual Story of the Week: New York City Stop Car Bombing in Times Square

We have a lot of work left to do in this war on terror now that even a Pakistani-American from Connecticut (named Faisal Shahzad) did this without anyone elses help.

- The Tiger Woods Saga of '09 Memorial Story of the Week: Anti-Gay Activist George Reker Is Caught With a Gay Prostitute

I'm not surprised at all by this considering some similar allegations to other anti-gay politicians and activists over the last few years. Plus, just look at his mustache. It's so '70s gay porn-y, even John Holmes would be shamed.

"Why My Generation Sucks" Moment of the Week:

The list of the most popular baby names from 2009 was released this week, and apparently the book/movie series "Twilight" had quite some influence to it. Isabella replaced Emma as the top girls name, Jacob is the top boys name (though, in defense, it has been for a few years) and the names Edward and Cullen rose high in the rankings. Ladies and gentlemen...why my generation sucks!

Video of the Week: "'The Simpsons' Special Intro Featuring Ke$ha's 'Tik Tok'"

One of their best openings ever? One of their best openings ever.

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Person of the Week: The Mysterious Time Square Vendor

for being the hero in the whole times square bomb fail last Saturday night. It was him, a Vietnam War veteran as noted by NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was the one who found that the car in question was smoking and identified the police. Now, the reason I say mysterious because there are currently three possibles vendors that fit this bill, as noted by Gawker. The first possible vendor is Duane Jackson, who is the most likely winner in all of this, who was reported by sources like NBC News and "Good Morning America," and is the most vocal about being the month, so he might have just said this to get his fifteen minutes of fame. The second is named Lance Orton, reported by sources like the TODAY show and The New York Times to be the one, and has been criticizing Jackson for stealing his spot in the fiteen minute. Finally there's this guy named Aliou, but he seems the least likely.

Whoever it was, they did the right thing and possibly stop a terrorist-like scare in an already high on their toes city. And to think, some cities like Chicago are proposing a ban on street vending!

And that's the way it is! Add in Lawrence Taylor's rape charges, the video of theleg crossing dunk girl, "Community"'s unbelievably hilarious "Modern Warfare episodes", Facebook's privacy flaws and a few others and you had yourselves quite an interesting week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone!

Sincerely,

Your pal: mj15

If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you want to suggest anything to mj15 for his next blog entry, e-mail him at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mail might be addressed on a future post.

Random Thoughts: 04/26/10- 05/04/10

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

Let's get straight to it. The following were on my mind between Monday, April 26th to Tuesday, May 4th:

- Now that both Justin Bieber and my seven year old nephew Michael both caught baseballs from yesterday's White Sox game (how's that for a teaser to the White Sox game diary later this week!), does that make them, like, interconnected for eternity?

- Philadelphia sports fans, what would we do without you? (http://deadspin.com/5530672/and-now-the-taser-video-youve-all-been-waiting-for)

- Loved this tidbit Jon Stewart said from "The Daily Show" last night: The Gulf of Mexico- the region so nice they devastated it twice.

- Why aren't people talking about how terribly ABC has done this TV season? Besides "Dancing with the Stars," "Grey's Anatomy," "Modern Family" "The Bachelor" and "Lost," they have been at times as bad as NBC in the ratings, they have had only one hit new show ("Modern Family") and so far, none of their newest dramas have been picked up for a second season as "The Forgotten," "Eastwick," "The Deep End," are cancelled with "Flashforward" looking like it's cancelled and "V" on the bubble. Plus, add in the fact that "Lost" ends later this month along with no replacement for it next year, and NBC has ordered a billion pilots for next year, and you might have some trouble brewing for "Start Here" network.

- Was anyone really surprised that Jay Leno recycled his material during the White House Correspondents Dinner? I mean, did you really expect Leno would come up with some fresh material? That's all I have to say, because, seriously!

-There are good episodes of television, and then there's the "One Minute" episode of "Breaking Bad." My goodness! This new season has just gotten better and better!

And that's gonna do it for now. Sorry for it being such a weak one this week, but, you know, sometimes you have very little to say and other times you can write a three page essay on something. Anyways, see you later this week. And now, it's to continue on with the "Zep-tastic Song of the Week." This week's song comes from their third album simply titled "Led Zeppelin III." Not nearly as legendary as their soon to be next album would be, but still good and wildly popular when released (#1 in US, UK, Australia and Canada when released back in 1970).

This song your about to hear, along with "Hey Hey What Can I Do," was their only single to the album. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, "Immigrant Song." Enjoy:

Sincerely,

Your pal: mj15

If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you want to suggest anything to mj15 for his next blog entry, e-mail him at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mail might be addressed on a future post.

End of the Week: 04/25/10- 05/01/10

END OF THE WEEK:

Yes, I know it's Sunday night, a full day past my usual Saturday 7:30 p.m. timeslot that I usually post this. And yes, I know we're already a full day into the new week. But with my busy weekend plans and one of my computers being cleaned out of all viruses, this was really the best time that I could post this. So, please, forgive me for being so unpunctual, and let's move on from this (plus, it's not like you just wait every Saturday to read this anyway). Without further ado, here are my picks for some of the best stories and moments of the week starting from April 25th and ending on May 1st, featuring Gordon Brown, some pissed off Latinos and... a kitty cat raising bobcats (?!?!):

Controversy of the Week: Arizona's Passed Immigration Law

One side's saying that this is a big step to improving immigration reform, the other is comparing this to the Nazis checking a Jewish person's papers, "Schindler's List" style. One side is stupidly boycotting Arizona Diamondbacks games because of this for no smart reason, the other... well, they're under fire. It's 2007 all over again, and the protests have just begun.

Stories of the Week:

- The Actual Story of the Week: BP Oil Rig Near Louisiana Leaks, Spills Oil Into Gulf of Mexico

5,000 gallons of oil are being leaked into the Gulf of Mexico everyday, it's almost 30 miles long and could reach areas of the Gulf Coast like Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama as well as parts of the Atlantic Ocean any day now, wildlife is being endangered, it could be a worse disaster than the Exxon oil spill in Alaska 21 years ago, and it could take a while for all of it to clear out. The only thing I can say about it is that it's just awful. And now to divert your tension to this bad manmade disaster for a second...

-The Tiger Woods Saga of '09 Memorial Story of the Week:Domestic Cat in South Carolina Adpots Abandoned Bobcats

Oh, domestic cats! Is there anything you can't do distract people?

Video of the Week: "President Obama at White House Correspondents Dinner"

The George Constanza movie parody and those soldiers singing Lady Gaga were great, but in this tense political environment going on, it's nice to see the President drop some humor during a speech. Palin, Jay Leno, Biden, Politico, the Jonas Brothers, "Jersey Shore," there was nothing the political Jeffrey Ross wasn't scared about addressing last night. And he delivered it, too!

Person of the Week: Gillian Duffy

for possibly ruining British Prime Minister's chance of reelection. If yoe haven't heard, on Tuesday the current Prime Minister had a conversation on the campaign trail with Duffy. While talking to Brown, Ms. Duffy was talking about how she was concerned about the immigration of Eastern Europeans to Britian (see, that's how different we are to Brits. We're concerned about the immigration of Spanish-speaking people while they're concerned about the immigration of other white people). So, they had that chat, Brown complemented her, and everything was done, right? Apparently not. See,when Brown was finished talking to Duffy and he got into his car, he did it without knowing his microphone was on, so when he was being drove away you could hear this coming from his mouth:

"That was a disaster. You should have never put me with that woman. Whose idea was that?"

Then when asked by an aide what do you think the press and his political opponents will use against him from the interview:

"Everything. She's just a sort of bigoted woman who says she used to be Labour (the political party in Britain)"

Sounds pretty bad, right? Well, it certainly was reported that way from the British press. It's bad enough already that Brown is losing in the polls already, but the fact that he said that to this lady is pretty bad. I mean, just watch that video. She looks so innocent, adorable and grandmother-like that it seems like a crime to make fun of her. Even Gordon Brown himself realizes how terrible of a mistake saying those words to Duffy as you can see from this interview on the Jeremy Vine radio show:

You know that Simpsons episode when Bart finds the exact moment that Ralph's heart tears to pieces after Lisa rejects him? Well, from 0:30- 0:32 that's happened to Brown, except in this case it was when he realized he was screwed. So, congrats, Gillian. You not only gave the opposition something to use against him, but also doing it...without having sex with him! And that's something in itself!

And that's the way it is! Once again, I hope you forgive my tardiness. But I hope to make it up to you this week with columns like "End of the Month" and the return of a special column that hasn't been posted since summertime. Until then, I hope you enjoy the beginning of your week. I know I will!

Sincerely,

Your pal: mj15

If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you want to suggest anything to mj15 for his next blog entry, e-mail him at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mail might be addressed on a future post.