We Don't Like Your Kind Around Here

Breaking Bad, Part 2

2011-07-22T21:25:00.001-04:00

More Jesse being awesome:

Breaking Bad

2011-07-19T10:00:00.000-04:00

I forgot how good the little things were. Re-watching the series, it's all come back.

The humor:

And the intensity:

ONE SENTENCE REVIEW: Blue Valentine

2011-07-07T11:47:00.006-04:00

:(

(A)

GREATEST THING ON THE INTERNET, JUNE 23

2011-06-23T12:33:00.002-04:00

Two animal sites! I have a favorite, but I'll leave it up to you to pick yours.

Animals Being Dicks

(If the .gif doesn't work, check out the direct link here.)

Animals With Casts

GREATEST THING ON THE INTERNET, JUNE 21

2011-06-21T15:29:00.002-04:00

Netflix envelope art! You can re-use these to send movies to me, Netflix. Any time.

Check them all out here.

GREATEST THING ON THE INTERNET, JUNE 20

2011-06-20T12:38:00.002-04:00

Video Games + Charity + 4 Straight Years = This

Donate here.

GREATEST THING ON THE INTERNET, JUNE 17

2011-06-17T15:42:00.000-04:00

Cute, nerdy AND funny? Sign me up!

Best Music of 2011: Halfway Home

2011-06-17T00:27:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking about the music I've bought / mixtapes I've downloaded that has come out so far in 2011, and there are quite a few:

Alexander - Alexander
Atmosphere - The Family Sign
Battles - Glass Drop
Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee, Part 2
CAKE - Showroom of Compassion
Chase N. Ca$he - Gumbeaux
Childish Gambino - EP
Christina Perri - Lovestrong.
Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi - Rome: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
Gorillaz - The Fall
Jessie and the Toy Boys - Show Me Your Tan Lines
The Jet Age of Tomorrow - The Journey to the 5th Echelon
The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar
Lady Gaga - Born This Way
Nicole Atkins - Mondo Amore
Panda Bear - Tomboy
Radiohead - The King of Limbs
Selene - Selene
The Strokes - Angles
TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
Tyler, the Creator - Goblin
Waka Flocka Flame - Salute Me or Shoot Me 3

Twenty-three in total, actually. Over the next few days, I'm gonna listen to them all again and figure out which I like best. Outside of the Super 8 soundtrack, there's no more music coming out in June that I'm interested in, so I figure now's as good a time as any to see where I stand, halfway through 2011.

GREATEST THING ON THE INTERNET, JUNE 16

2011-06-16T22:36:00.002-04:00

Even with a new Gaga video out today, I've been looking forward to this movie for far too long to have anything else be today's greatest thing.

The Edge of Glory

2011-06-16T22:35:00.000-04:00

Gaga at her most subdued. No dancers, no dance routines. Just her and Clarence.

GREATEST THING ON THE INTERNET, JUNE 15

2011-06-15T22:47:00.000-04:00

If you haven't heard it already, where have you been?

ONE SENTENCE REVIEW: Mystic River

2011-06-14T01:10:00.003-04:00

You're serious that Laurence Fishburne's name in Mystic River is Whitey Powers? A-.

ONE SENTENCE REVIEW: Greenberg

2011-06-14T01:09:00.002-04:00

Equally indie but moderately less enjoyable than The Squid & The Whale. B-.

GREATEST THING ON THE INTERNET, JUNE 7

2011-06-07T11:07:00.002-04:00

Don't text!

GREATEST THING ON THE INTERNET, JUNE 6

2011-06-06T00:05:00.002-04:00

Quite possibly the best eleven and a half minutes of your week. (I know, it's a long video, but it's worth it. Trust me.)

GREATEST THING ON THE INTERNET, JUNE 2

2011-06-02T22:08:00.002-04:00

"Yes, that is Leslie Nielsen’s eternal resting place in Fort Lauderdale’s Evergreen Cemetery. And yes, he requested the epitaph himself. No reason death should be a dour business, after all." [via The A/V Club

ONE SENTENCE REVIEW: The Runaways

2011-05-30T21:06:00.000-04:00

It's like the film The Doors except way shorter and more exciting. B

ONE SENTENCE REVIEW: Spiderman 2

2011-05-28T12:21:00.001-04:00

As a young, female lead, Emma Stone is so much hotter than Kirsten Dunst it isn't even funny. C+

Super 8

2011-05-28T10:32:00.002-04:00

Less than two weeks now...

GREATEST THING ON THE INTERNET, MAY 27

2011-05-27T12:20:00.001-04:00

Why it took so long for this to be made, I'll never know.

http://literallyunbelievable.tumblr.com/

GREATEST THING ON THE INTERNET, MAY 26

2011-05-26T12:08:00.002-04:00

Probably the best Between Two Ferns ever, and there have been some good ones.

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: Will Ferrell from Will Ferrell

GREATEST THING ON THE INTERNET, MAY 24

2011-05-24T13:17:00.002-04:00

#WeHaveToGoBack

GREATEST THING ON THE INTERNET, MAY 23/24

2011-05-24T00:07:00.000-04:00

Aw, Pixar.

ONE SENTENCE REVIEW: Dick Tracy

2011-05-21T23:43:00.000-04:00

Al Pacino? B-

GREATEST THING ON THE INTERNET, MAY 18

2011-05-18T23:31:00.000-04:00

Kitten vs. a Scary Thing:

GREATEST THING ON THE INTERNET, MAY 15

2011-05-15T12:56:00.002-04:00

A really weird but cool stop-motion epic from within the refrigerator. Look out for David Cross!

MELTDOWN from Dave Green on Vimeo.

GREATEST THING ON THE INTERNET, MAY 6

2011-05-06T14:03:00.003-04:00

A day late but no dollars short. Gaga's "Judas" video.

ONE SENTENCE REVIEW: 127 Hours

2011-05-06T14:00:00.000-04:00

"It's no Slurpee;" it's mostly just brutal. B+.

GREATEST THING ON THE INTERNET, MAY 4

2011-05-04T23:23:00.000-04:00

As found on the A/V Club, a couple of sweet dance videos popped up today. First, there's Michelle Obama doing the Dougie:

And then we have Beyonce showing up to a public school, dancing to her own song, and, as the A/V Club's Genevieve Koski said it, "you better believe bitch was wearing heels."

ONE SENTENCE REVIEW: Pootie Tang

2011-04-30T11:03:00.000-04:00

Sa da tay! B+.

ONE SENTENCE REVIEW: The Crazies

2011-04-29T16:04:00.000-04:00

Dear Timothy Olyphant: I love ya, but you're way more likable when you're cool, calm & collected as Raylan Givens. C+.

ONE SENTENCE REVIEW: Jonah Hex

2011-04-29T13:55:00.002-04:00

Pretty much the only redeeming qualities are the sweet Mastodon-penned score, Megan Fox and the brevity of it all (only ~75 minutes). D.

Mortal Kombat 9 Guide

2011-04-25T20:27:00.001-04:00

MK 9 is a great game. A great, great game. But the guide is awful. I never should have bought it. This guy agrees with me, and says things better than I ever could.

HOW DO YOU HAVE A 300+ PAGE BOOK AND NOT ONCE MENTION BABALITIES?

Nine Nights of Nic Cage

2011-04-08T00:22:00.001-04:00

Nic Cage is a fascinating actor. I sort of love him and I sort of hate him. He's more polarizing than any other actor out there. So many people I know boycott his movies for one reason or another. I don't think he's a bad actor; I think he makes bad choices in terms of what films he does. Picking things like Ghost Rider and Next and The Wicker Man in about a two year span does not bode well.

I found a great description of Cage by Roger Ebert in a write-up in regards to why people hated the moving Knowing. Let me paste it here:

Let's start with Cage. Some readers said they avoid his movies on principle. Many found him guilty of over-acting. A critic was quoted who referred to his "fright wig," which is just mean-spirited snark. I found this reaction puzzling. Cage has two speeds, intense and intenser. I like both speeds. I find him an intriguing actor because he takes chances. He's an actor without speed limits. You want an Elvis who parachutes into Vegas? A weatherman whose viewers throw fast food at him? An explorer of the national treasures buried far beneath Washington? He's your go-to guy.

He is also a superb actor. I cite "Leaving Las Vegas," "Moonstruck," "Adaptation," "Bringing Out the Dead." I have great affection for Harrison Ford, George Clooney and Brad Pitt. But can they go rockabilly like Nic did in "Wild at Heart?" Not that I liked the movie, but it's a good question. With him it's a lion-tamer on a high-wire. Anybody can play the ringmaster.

Knowing was the ninth movie in my Nine Nights of Nic Cage -- a mini-film festival that featured five Cage movies I'd never seen before (Face/Off, The Rock, Con Air, Leaving Las Vegas, Knowing) and four I hadn't seen in a while (Adaptation, Matchstick Men, Raising Arizona, Wild at Heart). I planned to watch one a day for nine straight days, but veered off course. Anyway...

I'm glad I ended with Knowing. It's the movie that left the biggest impact on me, for the simple reason that I'm not sure whether I really liked it or really hated it. Let me step back.

I love Dark City (1996). Director Alex Proyas made this incredible environment that engrossed me from the start. Looking back at it now, it strikes me in a similar vein to Blade Runner, but I hate Blade Runner and love Dark City. Proyas strikes back with Knowing, and I have to say that he does a great job of making the movie engrossing.

But the plot. Oh, the plot. It's so, so, so dumb. I was able to ignore that throughout the entire film (believe it or not!) but looking back, I can only shake my head. Plus there are biblical overtones -- something I'm in no way against in practice but hate seeing forced into any form of media.

So the question is whether the film's artistic merits are overshadowed by the stupid plot. Right now, I'm leaning toward no; describing it, I might feel dumb, but I was hooked at the time.

With that said, here's a brief write-up of each film I saw / a grade I felt applied.

Face/Off: A weird yet fitting way to start things off. There's only about 20 minutes of Crazy Cage (the first 20 minutes at that) with a little more peppered throughout, but it's a fantastic '90s action movie with a very solid script that melds things together really nicely. B+

Adaptation.: Even though he plays two roles, Nic Cage isn't the star of this one; it's Charlie Kaufman that takes center stage. I'm not sure why I liked this more than Being John Malkovich on my first time through; BJM is superior to this. B

The Rock: Were it not for the last half hour, The Rock would pretty much be a total waste of time. Sure, there are Michael Bay action scenes in the first hour and a half, but it's a poorly paced political action/thriller. But boy, that last half hour almost makes up for it. C+

Matchstick Men: As enjoyable as I remembered. Somehow, I forgot the twist. Whoops! But a 23 year old Alison Lohman playing a 14 year old girl is the most shocking thing of all. B

Con Air: A worthy companion in the 90s action genre to Face/Off. No real Crazy Cage, just real-bad-southern-accent Cage. Malkovich and Buscemi steal the show. B

Raising Arizona: This movie is basically perfect. I either forgot how good it was or never appreciated it as much as I should have. One of the Coens' best. Also, probably the best chase scene I've ever seen (I forgot about it, too). A

Leaving Las Vegas: Tender, powerful, you could say, but it seems more like it's Elisabeth Shue's movie than Cage's. Who knows. He leaves a big impact, though. A-

Wild at Heart: "My dog barks some. Mentally you picture my dog, but I have not told you the type of dog which I have. Perhaps you might even picture Toto, from 'The Wizard of Oz.' But I can tell you, my dog is always with me. BARK!" A

Knowing: What a way to end the journey. I've read four articles since I finished this movie and I'm still not sure if I really liked it or thought it was super dumb. Throwing aside a stupid premise, it's pretty enthralling. Plus, we have Nic "Bug Eyed" Cage. GRADE: Incomplete

The Walking Dead

2010-12-06T00:38:00.003-05:00

With Season One concluding this evening, I posted my thoughts on Facebook. I'll re-post them here.

okay, here's my problem with the walking dead: for the overwhelming majority of the series, nothing happens. and when nothing happens, the show becomes a character study. and the problem is that they haven't spent nearly enough time making me care about these characters.

there are maybe four characters i care about. i know the writers (well, now, former writers) knew they couldn't spend too much time characterizing them because they didn't know if they'd be renewed for a second season, so that's their main goal next year: give us a reason to care about these people.

there are moments of incredible tension and scenes that are beautifully written and/or shot, but the overall package seemingly falls flat. it's a shame, really, because the show should be so much better than it is.

the characters need something to do. simply surviving isn't enough to make an ongoing drama interesting. with a clear goal in mind, characters would have purpose and (probably) become more interesting.

Three Observations

2010-09-07T19:44:00.000-04:00

1. Family Guy is really, really not funny anymore. I just watched an episode (featuring David Lynch!) and it was just stupid. Poor Family Guy.
2. Subway no longer serves Swiss cheese. What the hell?
3. People in the south (at least Virginia and West Virginia) in places of public service (notably Subway and other restaurants) really are nicer.

Instrumentals are Fundamental

2010-09-01T21:23:00.006-04:00

Yesterday's post featured an instrumental song, Ronald Jenkees' "Guitar Sound," as my summer mix's bonus track. I've noticed over the years that one thing I've really become a fan of are instrumental tracks. So here's my pick for my favorite instrumentals (not including any techno, trance, house or the like, anything on soundtracks or scores; I feel that's a little like cheating for this purpose):

"Guitar Sound" by Ronald Jenkees -- Youtube sensation turned Rock Band Network artist, Jenkees' signature song is an awesome keyboard piece reminiscent of, well, guitar sounds.

"Elegia" by New Order -- Chilling. Haunting. I heard it in an Academy Award-nominated short ("More" by Mark Osbourne), then again in Pretty in Pink.

"Pruit Igoe" by Philip Glass -- Another song I caught in a movie a ways back: the definitely-worth-a-watch Koyaanisqatsi. It later popped up in Grand Theft Auto IV, too.

"Buster Voodoo" by Rodrigo y Gabriela -- Two friends of mine love this duo (who started out in a metal group!), but it wasn't until this track came to the Rock Band Network that I bothered to give them a listen. I'm not too familiar with their other stuff (outside of the album 11:11), but what hooked me should hook you, too.

"Jessica" by the Allman Brothers Band -- Any guitar parts by the Allmans are beautiful. The seven-plus minutes "Jessica" provides is certainly no exception.

"Shambala" by the Beastie Boys -- I love me some Beasties. But hearing this piece laid perfectly in the third season finale of Breaking Bad made me love it even more.

"Moby Dick" by Led Zeppelin -- On my first run through, how could I possibly forget my favorite Led Zeppelin song? Catch the 20 minute live version off How the West Was Won.

"YYZ" by Rush -- The second track on this list off of Guitar Hero II (hello Jessica!), I forgot it on my initial run-through. Whoops!

----------

As far as soundtracks and scores go, however, definitely check out anything by:

Angelo Badalamenti (especially scores associated with David Lynch Films)
Hans Zimmer (The Dark Knight, True Romance)
Don Davis (the Matrix films)

Also, the Beastie Boys have a few entirely instrumental albums (The In Sound From Way Out! and The Mix-Up, which are great) and Christopher O'Riley has great original pieces and also entire albums dedicated to covers of Radiohead and Elliott Smith.

I'm sure I've missed tons of stuff, but this is what I've come up with after a brief glance through my music library.

(For some reason, no matter what I try, "Shambala" disappears from the widget. Here it is.)

Summer Mix 2010

2010-08-31T12:44:00.000-04:00

A friend asked me to make her a playlist featuring songs by artists she probably didn't know. Here's the outcome. Some of these artists are way bigger than others, but my hope is that anyone can find (and will like) at least ONE song on here they'd never heard before. Most of the stuff is new-ish (or new to me), but a few tracks I've had kicking around on my computer for a few years.

1. The Books - I Am Who I Am
2. Neon Trees - Sins of my Youth
3. Urban Barnyard - Cock Fight!
4. Yeasayer - Madder Red
5. A Fine Frenzy - Electric Twist
6. Gossip - Heavy Cross
7. CSS - Jager Yoga
8. Endeverafter - I Wanna Be Your Man
9. Wolfmother - California Queen
10. Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse - Little Girl (feat. Julian Casablancas)
11. DangerDoom - Old School (feat. Talib Kweli)
12. MiniBoone - Devil in Your Eyes
13. Hideki Naganuma - Oldies But Goodies
14. Cee-Lo Green - Fuck You
15. The Hood Internet - Crazy Hold Out (Nicki Minaj vs. Washed Out)
16. (BONUS INSTRUMENTAL TRACK) Ronald Jenkees - Guitar Sound

Ghost Shark 2: Urban Jaws

2010-08-30T13:46:00.003-04:00

This can't be real, can it? I think it is. It's just that good.

"You yell ghost, people go, 'Hmm? What?' You yell ghost shark, and we've got a Goddamned panic on our hands."

Phosporescent Foliage

2010-08-27T11:13:00.000-04:00

I fell in love with a band.

Neon Trees.

Chalk up another victory to Rock Band for introducing me to yet another artist I love. (The number here is too high to count.) Three songs off their debut album came out last week, and I can't stop listening to them on my computer or in my car, and I can't stop playing them in the game.

So yeah, go listen. Here's a great song, "Sins of My Youth," as performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

The Walking Dead

2010-08-25T14:07:00.000-04:00

It's Halloween recipe time!

1 part 28 Days Later
1 part Left 4 Dead
1 part AMC goodness

Simmer over medium-low heat for 6-8 months, stirring occasionally. When October 31st approaches, dish should be just about done. Uncover at 10 p.m. and enjoy the goodness.

Ten Things I Learned About Movies After Watching Ten Movies in Four Days

2010-08-24T22:52:00.002-04:00

Here are the ten movies I watched:

Bonnie and Clyde
Fido
Hoosiers
How to Steal a Million
Jimmywork
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The Bone Collector
The Island
The Producers
Young Frankenstein

The ten lessons I learned:

1. I'll never like sports movies as much as I should, because either way it could end -- the team wins or loses -- has become cliche.
2. I'll take Butch and Sundance over Bonnie and Clyde any day of the week.
3. Movies based on Alan Moore comics that he puts his name on aren't as good as ones he keeps his name off.
4. Mel Brooks is pretty good, but I prefer Woody Allen.
5. I've seen him in a lot of things, but I can never remember Luis Guzman's name. Maybe I will now.
6. For as many movies as I like him in, Denzel Washington has found his way into quite a few mediocre movies.
7. Zombies are awesome in the 1950s, whether the movie came out in the 1950s or 2000s.
8. Shooting in black and white does not automatically make you artsy; it can make you look cheap.
9. In terms of pretty, stereotypical female stereotypes in Michael Bay movies, ScarJo's acting blows Megan Fox's out of the water.
10. Michael Bay may not know plot, but he sure can film exciting sequences. (Okay, I knew this one already.)

How Did I Become a Cavs and Vikings Fan?

2010-07-08T14:04:00.002-04:00

I stumbled upon this passage in a Bill Simmons article:

Question No. 11: What was the funniest thing you've read about the World Cup this month?

I liked Michael Davies' take on England's demise: "Americans will never completely understand how crap it is, most of the time, to be English. We might have cute accents and be good at cocktail parties. But we are mostly losers." That slayed me. England's fatalistic, self-loathing, S&M-style attitude toward its national team tops Buffalo Bills fans, Minnesota Vikings fans or even Cleveland fans.

What did I get myself into?

Live "Blogging" the film DAYBREAKERS

2010-06-27T20:47:00.003-04:00

I've had a hard time getting into movies lately. I don't know why. It's a big time commitment, I guess. Either way, I've had three films from Netflix for three weeks now: Daybreakers, Pirate Radio and Shutter Island. Whoops!

I just popped in Daybreakers and already saw two things I wanna note somewhere. So here we go!

-- Attempt at a cheap scare before the credits. Eh.
-- WORST special effects I've ever seen to open a film. Cool opening idea, though.
-- Willem Dafoe's in it? That's right. Gotta watch Antichrist still.
-- Credits seem TV-ish and I don't know how to better describe them.

And that's it. I'll come back later.

Trout and Octopus

2010-06-18T23:56:00.002-04:00

I don't care what he says. I'll listen.

What's the Best Part of This Story?

2010-06-18T20:21:00.000-04:00

There's a great story over at BBC News that has so many good elements that it's hard to determine what, exactly, is the best.

Is it:

(A) That someone mooned Hell's Angels?
(B) That said mooner used a puppy as a weapon?
(C) That said mooner escaped on a stolen bulldozer?
(D) That said mooner drove so slowly that he caused a five kilometer backup in traffic?
(E) This quote: "What motivated him to throw a puppy at the Hell's Angels is currently unclear," a police spokesman said.

Oh, The Irony

2010-06-17T19:44:00.001-04:00

I just read a piece over at ESPN.com about a man in South Africa who was beaten to death by his family after putting on a world cup match.

When I first read it, I thought he was killed for turning a match off, not putting one on. Nope. He was killed for putting it on.

But the irony? His family wanted to watch a religious program. How righteous of them, you know, beating him to death and all.

My Favorite Shows

2010-06-16T22:37:00.001-04:00

Finally catching up on Breaking Bad inspired me to come up with lists of my favorite shows. It's hard for me to compare comedies with dramas; as Walt says in Breaking Bad several times, "They're apples and oranges." So I made three lists: Comedy, Drama, Both. I tried to list five in each; I couldn't, but at least I ended with 15 total, right?

DRAMA

(1) Lost
(2) Dexter
(3) Breaking Bad
(4) X-Files
(5) Firefly

COMEDY

(1) It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
(2) Arrested Development
(3) Mr. Show
(4) The Life and Times of Tim
(5) Futurama
(*6*) Archer

BOTH

(1) Dead Like Me
(2) Nurse Jackie
(3) Weeds
(4) Californication

Thoughts?

Breaking Bad -- And it Feels so Good

2010-06-16T21:16:00.001-04:00

(I'm sure THAT pun was never used before. Or at least, not used more than one million times.)

I just finished watching Breaking Bad season three. It took me a little under 48 hours to polish off the 13 episodes. The season was that good. Watching it poses three questions in my mind:

(1) Just how good is Breaking Bad?

The answer to this is rather simple. Very, very good. A more complicated answer, though, deals with question number two.

(2) Where does it rank on my list of favorite shows? What about best shows?

The best show I've ever seen is Dexter. Breaking Bad may come in second. My favorite show, conversely, is Lost. (I think.) But Lost's consistency was up and down. It was sort of the nature of the beast; not every episode was meant to be as gripping and meticulous as Breaking Bad (or Dexter) was meant to be.

Also, I think it's unfair to compare a shortened season of a cable TV show (whether it's AMC or HBO or Showtime) to a broadcast network show. They're horses of two totally different colors, with two totally different sets of rules by which to play.

To be honest, I don't watch a ton of TV. I wait to hear what catches on and give it a shot that way. I think this is a product of the overall crappiness of TV today. This isn't even worth mentioning (as Breaking Bad is probably better than 98% of what I haven't seen), but worth noting solely for the fact that there are shows I know that will compare that I have not seen yet (most notably The Wire and The Sopranos, and to a lesser extent, Six Feet Under and Battlestar Galactica.)

Regardless, Breaking Bad ranks in the top five best shows I've ever seen, and also (probably) my top five favorite shows. But that could all change, depending upon...

(3) How long can Breaking Bad sustain its greatness?

I immediately want to compare this show to Weeds. This is a simple comparison as both revolve around drug-dealing parents. Like Breaking Bad, the first three seasons of Weeds were very solid (though on a lower caliber than BB, and also with a whole other tone). However, once Weeds "jumped the shark" and changed its focus, things spiraled out of control. Now, we have Andy and Celia running around, doing wacky things just because their characters are too good to let go.

I truly hope Breaking Bad doesn't reach that point. I feel re-assured after reading an article with creator Vince Gilligan over at the A/V Club. He basically says he doesn't know how much longer it will last, but also says there's a question of how much longer can you go and how much longer should you go. That's the real question. Lost could have gone on indefinitely. I would have watched it every week. But did I want that? No, not even with it being my favorite show. There comes a point where things need to end. I hope that when Breaking Bad hits that point, that's when they end it.

Also, Gilligan makes a good point in response to a question about the possibility of Walt and Jesse going on the lam in the middle of season three: he doesn't want to leave Skyler and Walter Jr. and Hank and Marie behind. This is exactly the problem Weeds ran into; Nancy was ready to move on to a new portion, but the rest of the crew had to tag along. Walt and Jesse would need to move on, but the rest of the characters can't just be written off. You'd be left with this whole secondary storyline that the writers would try to work in, and probably fail at. I'm glad it didn't happen.

I'm glad the Breaking Bad writers are as good as they are.

Anthem by Ayn Rand

2010-06-10T13:26:00.003-04:00

Best book so far this summer.

Short and sweet, I used Anthem as a gauge for whether or not to tackle Atlas Shrugged any time soon. If it's any indication, I'm going to like Atlas. (My friend, though, says the two aren't alike, saying "I read it's nothing like her other work in length or style, just similar objectivist themes like exploring the idea of the perfect man/human." We'll see.)

Definitely check this one out.

Oh, I forgot to mention. My favorite part? How the copy I read has a cover price of 95 cents. Hooray for old-timey prices!

Naked Pictures of Famous People by Jon Stewart

2010-06-10T10:26:00.001-04:00

While it may be one of the earlier (in terms of year) books of essays I've read by a comedian, Naked Pictures of Famous People is far from the best. I don't know what it was -- the dated references (Hanson, etc.) or the style -- but I found it really hard to get through a lot of these essays. What should have taken me an hour or two to read took far longer than that.

That's not to say it's bad. His Larry King / Hitler interview was funny -- that might have been my favorite essay in the book. (Maybe that was a lot of it -- a lot of Jewish humor. Not that I don't find it funny, but essay after essay with the same theme sort of gets old.)

Either way, it wasn't great. But it wasn't bad, either. The book was about as mediocre as this review.

Splice

2010-06-09T22:10:00.002-04:00

In my attempt to go and see more movies in theaters this summer, Splice kicks things off. (I don't count Kick-Ass or Iron Man 2 because I was still in school when they came out.)

Anyway, I'm not sure what I was expecting. I like to go into movies knowing as little as possible, if only for the sake of having as few things ruined as possible. (This is a whole other blog post, about how much trailers reveal. But anyway...) I knew it'd be about scientists creating some sort of human life, but I didn't know much beyond that.

It was so weird. So, so weird. It's definitely a movie that poses more questions than it wants to answer, and challenges contemporary views of the scientific community (as well as more general moral questions). Things take weird twists at the end, and things got so out of hand that the theater was cracking up at points. I'm not sure if director Vincenzo Natali wanted that.

I read a comparison of the film to David Lynch's Eraserhead. I can buy it. Both deal with parenthood, and both are abstract as hell, especially considering they don't deal with traditional children. But I mean, come on. The "kids" in each are weird, but that's where similarities end. Eraserhead is good; Splice is just weird.

A post on Cinematical sums this up well. Quoting film critic Jeff Bayer, Eric D. Snyder writes:

Certain terrible things occur in the last act of Splice. I'm not going to tell you what they are. Suffice it to say that they are terrible. Jeff's point was that while it's possible for a movie to include depictions of these Terrible Things for purposes of shock, horror, or entertainment and still be acceptable, this movie didn't pull it off. In this case, he said, the attempt was laughable, and the Terrible Things were cheapened.

Yes, there are Terrible Things. And yes, they were laughable. And yes, the laughability ruined how terrible they should have been.

Fourteen strikeouts in seven innings?

2010-06-09T13:45:00.000-04:00

Are you kidding me?

Insanity. Sheer insanity.

Stephen Strasburg's debut for the Nationals last night was all anyone could ever ask for... and more. His performance was mind-boggling. The closest thing I can relate this to is LeBron's debut with the Cavs against the Kings. With all the hype, each of these two stepped up to the plate (literally or figuratively, your call) and knocked it out of the park (this one's more figurative).

Jayson Stark wrote a better piece on ESPN than I could here, so check that out. I know that I'm waiting until Strasburg's next start. Hoo boy. Must see TV!

Frankenstein: Dead and Alive by Dean Koontz

2010-06-09T13:37:00.008-04:00

Dead and Alive marks the end of the first Frankenstein trilogy Koontz penned. It's the first of the three to be solely authored by the man. A new trilogy begins next week, hence my rush to finish this book.

The first two in the series were good; for the most part, this was great. It can't really stand on its own as a novel, but it does an incredible job of wrapping up the myriad storylines the first two novels created (or merely alluded to).

----------------------------------------------------------------------

What was weirdest about the book (and the trilogy) for me was picturing Detective Carson as Deb from Dexter the whole time. Is that weird, or is there just a lack of spunky female cops in the realm of fiction today?

GAGA -- "Alejandro"

2010-06-08T13:22:00.001-04:00

Tonally, it's wholly different from her other stuff. I still dig it, though.

The Summer of Reading Continues

2010-06-08T13:19:00.002-04:00

At a job with a lot of downtime, there's plenty of time to read -- and plenty of time to talk about other books. My friend recommended three books to me... or at least mentioned three she was looking into reading:

-- Jazz by Toni Morrison
-- Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
-- My Dreams Out in the Street by Kim Addonizio

I've never read any of these three books. I've read three books by Morrison -- The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon and Beloved -- and liked each on varying levels.

Let the Great World Spin follows Philippe Petit's tightrope walk from one Twin Tower to the other. The film Man on Wire was great, so this book should be good, too.

The last is the title I'm least familiar with all around.

Like I said, I've never read any of the three. I'm just throwing them in here so that in case they're good, you have someone to thank. You're welcome, Internet.

Man on Wire is totally awesome, though. Check that out for sure.

Bad Twin by Gary Troup

2010-06-07T14:45:00.001-04:00

Being the avid LOST fan that I am (if you need proof, just scroll down the blog), I was really excited to read Bad Twin by Gary Troup. The "author" was a flight on Oceanic 815, and was killed off in the pilot. The book was peppered with small references to the show (Hanso, Widmore, Paik, Mr. Cluck, 8-15-16, Cindy the stewardess), and Troup's name is an anagram for PURGATORY. With the way that the flash-sideways played out in season six, I thought it'd be cool to get through.

Boy, was it a chore.

It was cheesy, bad noir. The detective was a coward, constantly unsure of himself. Why should I root for someone like that? Likable characters were few and far between -- and when they popped up, they weren't in the story for very long.

In the entire book, one paragraph (p. 98-99) was worth reading. It shined some light on what Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof's perception of purgatory might be. I won't ruin it here, though -- go make your way through this sludge on your own.

A Tumblr Without Tumbling

2010-06-07T13:51:00.002-04:00

I've come to the conclusion that this is what this blog is. It's a Tumblr, except without the followers or the likes or whatever. It's just where I put my thoughts, my pictures, whatever. With that in mind, I like it more. It gives it purpose! Sort of. Huzzah!

The Next 15 Books I'm Reading (Update 2)

2010-06-04T21:19:00.003-04:00

I'm updating this again so I can access it more easily and so I can separate what I've read.

READ:

(1) Breathless by Dean Koontz
(2) Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman
(3) Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman
(6) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
(14) Frankenstein: City of Night by Dean Koontz
(15) Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
(--) My Custom Van by Michael Ian Black

READING NOW:

(--) Bad Twin by Gary Troup

ON DECK:

(12) Death of a Blue Movie Star by Jeffrey Deaver
(--) Frankenstein: Dead and Alive by Dean Koontz
(--) Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
(--) Naked Pictures of Famous People by Jon Stewart

HAVE YET TO READ:

(4) Under the Dome by Stephen King
(5) Pride & Prejudice & Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
(7) The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
(8) Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
(9) House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
(10) Focault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
(11) The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
(13) Lynch on Lynch, edited by Chris Rodley

So... so much for next fifteen. How about we change it to fifteen books I'm reading soon?

I Don't Like This

2010-05-14T21:43:00.003-04:00

In regards to Green Day: Rock Band, MTV Games GM Scott Gutherie says, "Our core audience of 16- to 34-year-old males are much more familiar with Green Day music than The Beatles."

(A) I don't think this is true.

Either way,

(B) It's embarrassing.

The Next 15 Books I'm Reading (Update)

2010-03-17T23:53:00.002-04:00

I'm updating this so I can access it more easily and so I can separate what I've read.

READ:

(1) Breathless by Dean Koontz
(2) Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman
(3) Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman
(6) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

READING NOW:

(14) Frankenstein: City of Night by Dean Koontz

HAVE YET TO READ:

(4) Under the Dome by Stephen King
(5) Pride & Prejudice & Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
(7) The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
(8) Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
(9) House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
(10) Focault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
(11) The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
(12) Death of a Blue Movie Star by Jeffrey Deaver
(13) Lynch on Lynch, edited by Chris Rodley
(15) Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

Rock Band DLC

2010-02-08T20:57:00.005-05:00

This week's release of Megadeth's album, "Rust in Peace," is momentous to me because it ticks off another song on my DLC wishlist -- "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due." Since I change my DLC Wishlist (available on the Rock Band website) when ever a new song comes out, I often forget which songs I've checked off in the past. I've gotten Judas Priest's "Painkiller" and Electric Six's "Gay Bar," as well as Iron Maiden's "Hallowed Be Thy Name" and Motley Crue's "Kickstart My Heart." That's why I'm going to post my current five song Wishlist here, in hopes that after these songs come out, I can remember what I've wanted.

Airbag by Radiohead
Eruption / You Really Got Me by Van Halen
Knights of Cydonia by Muse
Let's Go Crazy by Prince
Baby Baby Baby by EndeverafteR

I realized Prince will probably never make it to a game, and I know that Van Halen already has a Guitar Hero game (albeit a terrible one, which is sad considering I love VH), so that won't come out either. I don't see anything holding up the other three, though.

The EndeverafteR song is probably the least well known of the five, so here it is!

The Descent

2010-02-08T14:52:00.008-05:00

While The Descent was up and down, it had incredible use of color (especially red, blue and green). Is it worth watching? Sure. I didn't think it was incredible, but it sure was pretty to look at throughout.

Downtown Owl

2010-02-03T13:49:00.002-05:00

It's a testament to Chuck Klosterman that he can write a 250 page novel where, essentially, nothing happens for the first 220 pages and yet I'm still hooked.

I think it works because it's so wholly something that I've never seen before. Who would think to write a book where no noticeable events happen for 90 percent of it? That isn't to say that characters don't undergo tremendous personal growth, but much of the novel is spent focusing on characters sitting or driving or drinking.

It's exactly what I was hoping for in a Klosterman novel. It so closely resembles his non-fiction work because of the level of realism he creates. Everything seems plausible and everything seems reasonable.

LOST Observation #26

2010-02-02T10:49:00.002-05:00

Richard Alpert has a true sense of who he does and doesn't answer to, and I'm really interested in finding out just who ranks above him. I think this is one of the biggest things I'm interested in discovering.

(From Whatever Happened, Happened)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Richard takes Ben from Sawyer.]

MAN: [Steps forward] Richard...You shouldn't do this without asking Ellie. And if Charles finds out--

RICHARD: Let him find out. I don't answer to either of them.

LOST Observation #25

2010-01-30T13:48:00.003-05:00

Best moment of the series (so far!).

LOST Observation #24

2010-01-30T13:44:00.001-05:00

It's so funny to hear it all spelled out like this.

(From "The Lie")

HURLEY: Okay. See, we did crash, but it was on this crazy island. And we waited for rescue, and there wasn't any rescue. And there was a smoke monster, and then there were other people on the island. We called them the Others, and they started attacking us. And we found some hatches, and there was a button you had to push every 108 minutes or... well, I was never really clear on that. But... the Others didn't have anything to do with the hatches. That was the DHARMA Initiative. The Others killed them, and now they're trying to kill us. And then we teamed up with the Others because some worse people were coming on a freighter. Desmond's girlfriend's father sent them to kill us. So we stole their helicopter and we flew it to their freighter, but it blew up. And we couldn't go back to the island because it disappeared, so then we crashed into the ocean, and we floated there for a while until a boat came and picked us up. And by then, there were six of us. That part was true.

LOST Observation #23

2010-01-30T13:34:00.001-05:00

He got what he deserved. Don't rest in peace, Frogurt.

LOST Observation #22

2010-01-26T16:26:00.001-05:00

Juliet's best line? "It's very stressful being an Other, Jack."

Rosemary's Baby

2010-01-26T16:15:00.001-05:00

The most effective part, for me, was thinking about 90% of the way through, "Wait... maybe she's crazy."

LOST Observation #21

2010-01-26T12:14:00.002-05:00

The best.

LOST Flight 815 Crash in Real Time

2010-01-25T14:42:00.000-05:00

Check out this awesome video.

LOST Observation #20

2010-01-25T13:15:00.001-05:00

Why is Ethan, the Others' best surgeon (according to Ben), fixing Juliet's plumbing (or whatever) as Oceanic 815 is about to crash?

Breathless

2010-01-23T21:54:00.004-05:00

I finished the second of 15 books on my list -- Dean Koontz's "Breathless." He's one of my favorite authors, but his books are all over the place sometimes. Some I love, some I like and some I have a hard time getting through.

Of those three categories, I'd say this fell into the "books I like." The book tells seemingly four or five tales, all revolving around a different main character. With about 40 pages left, I was trying to figure out how he was going to wrap everything up. He did so, but it seemed almost like he was telling two or three stories linked loosely with a common theme. This isn't to say it was bad, but I was almost anticipating everyone coming together and meeting, more so than in the way it happened.

It's not bad. It's not nearly the worst of his that I've read -- but it's also nowhere near the best. I'd give it a solid 7 out of 10.

LOST Observation #19

2010-01-22T16:22:00.001-05:00

Why I love Rose and Bernard (from "Through the Looking Glass"):

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ROSE: If I told you that I'd help you with your SOS sign, would you change your mind?

BERNARD: No ma'am.

ROSE: Then I want you to say it again.

BERNARD: Rose...

ROSE: Say it, Bernard.

BERNARD: I am a dentist. I am not Rambo.

ROSE: And don't you forget it.

Critter Crunch

2010-01-21T14:09:00.005-05:00

Critter Crunch, on the PSN, is a great game. I think it's only $7 yet it's given me at least ten hours of game time. Good value, good fun, good looks. There are three modes which add to the fun -- adventure, challenge and puzzle.

I finished all of the challenges last night. While I enjoyed them, there was something that Critter Crunch does that a lot of other video games do too, which bothers me: some challenges ask you to do things that go against the spirit of the game. For instance, spitting a small critter into the mouth of a medium critter that is below a large critter creates a food chain (small into medium into big). One of the final challenges asks you to fill your meter (aka complete the level) without creating a food chain. While that is a challenge, yes, it requires you to play the game in a way other than how it was meant to be played.

And I don't like it.

LOST Observation #18

2010-01-21T14:09:00.002-05:00

I'm sure countless others have noticed this, but MITTELOS BIOSCIENCES, the company that recruits Juliet, is an anagram for LOST TIME.

LOST Observation #17

2010-01-20T12:19:00.002-05:00

One of the best quotes in the series:

BEN: "No, John, unfortunately we don't have a code for 'There's a man in my closet with a gun to my daughter's head.' Although we obviously should."

LOST Observation #16

2010-01-18T16:16:00.003-05:00

Season 3 is far, far better (in my eyes) than the first two seasons. There's a three episode stretch -- "Not in Portland," "Flashes Before Our Eyes" and "Stranger in a Strange Land" -- that is phenomenal.

We're introduced to Alpert, we learn Juliet's back story, we hear Jacob's name mentioned twice (Danny says it and we see it on the screen as Carl gets brainwashed), we meet Eloise Hawking and we're introduced to time travel (via an incredible Desmond episode). All in three episodes!

Also, we learn Charlie's middle name is Hieronymous. Which is just awesome.

LOST Observation #15

2010-01-18T16:15:00.001-05:00

Alex is one of my favorite characters. I wish we got to know her more. She's spunky.

LOST Observation #14

2010-01-18T15:49:00.002-05:00

Mr. Eko's Death

Right before he dies, Eko sees Yemi. After Eko tells Yemi he has nothing to ask forgiveness for, that everything he did was justified, Yemi says, "You speak to me as if I were your brother."

Why would he say that? I have two theories. The first, which seems less likely, is that it was actually Yemi, who felt Eko definitely needed to repent, so when he said he didn't, he gave up on Eko.

The other theory is that the incarnations of people on the Island who aren't actually there -- Yemi, Christian, fake Locke, etc. -- are incarnations of the man in black from the Season 5 finale. Perhaps he was testing Eko. The question, then, is whether or not Eko passed or failed. Did passing mean living? Or did he pass and therefore die?

That's less important, though, than Eko's final encounter with the Smoke Monster. Smokie approached him twice, leaving Eko alive both times. The second time, Smokie leaves after Eko grabs his prayer club. Is Smokie afraid of religion? When he does kill Eko, Eko no longer has his prayer club.

If the man in black is the devil, and Jacob is God, and if Smokie works for the man in black, perhaps religion is enough to ward Smokie off (which would also explain why Locke, a faithful man, was spared).

Or -- and this would be trippy -- if Jacob is the devil and the man in black is God, perhaps Eko was smote for not repenting.

LOST Observation #13

2010-01-18T00:16:00.001-05:00

My favorite part about Jack, Kate and Sawyer being captured is that Nikki and Paulo play a far larger role in the show.

LOST Observation #12

2010-01-16T17:03:00.001-05:00

I finished re-watching Season Two this morning. After I watched it through the first time, I liked the first season more than the second. On second viewing, though, I like the first better -- except when Mr. Eko interacts with the original survivors, especially Locke. He's an excellent addition to their crew. I'll be sad to see him go... again.

LOST Observation #11

2010-01-15T23:09:00.002-05:00

In Season 2, Episode 17 ("Dave"), how does no one notice they're running over Dharma Cheerios and ranch dressing en route to the supply drop? I have more trouble buying into this than anything else so far on this show.

LOST Observation #10

2010-01-15T14:03:00.004-05:00

I love Ben, and now that we've met Henry Gale, I can love all these scenes that I never really knew what to think about before. This one is one of my favorites. (The embedded video starts playing at the 5:55 mark.)

LOST Observation #9

2010-01-15T13:31:00.000-05:00

Sun's pregnancy test is from Widmore Labs (!).

LOST Observation #8

2010-01-15T13:05:00.001-05:00

Everyone on this island knows how to knock someone else out with one swift blow to the head. Is it really that easy?

LOST Observation #7

2010-01-15T12:20:00.003-05:00

Waaaaaay back in Season 2, Episode 13 ("The Long Con"), Hurley makes a time travel joke. Spooky! It's like he's... from the future. Like, the season five future.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Sayid fixes the signal on Bernard's radio)

HURLEY: Whoa, you hear how clear that is? It's got to be close, right?

SAYID: Radio waves at this frequency bounce off the ionosphere. They can travel thousands of miles. It could be coming from anywhere.

HURLEY: Or, anytime. -- Just kidding, dude.

LOST Observation #6

2010-01-14T10:14:00.003-05:00

Here's my favorite scene from the first 30 episodes of LOST. It comes at the end of Season 2, Episode 4: "Everybody Hates Hugo." I like seeing Hurley get some closure, but I REALLY love Bernard's relief -- I love him and Rose.

LOST Observation #5

2010-01-13T23:52:00.001-05:00

Mr. Eko has the single greatest introduction of any character -- coming in, club blazing, smashing Sawyer upside the head.

LOST Observation #4

2010-01-13T23:12:00.003-05:00

I don't know what this means, but through the first 28 episodes, I think the only two people to get CPR -- Rose and Michael -- are both black. Is it just a coincidence?

EDIT: Whoops, forgot Jack gave Charlie CPR when Charlie was effectively dead after Ethan kidnapped him. Also, the young girl from the tail section who was kidnapped by the Others was given CPR, too, in "The Other 48 Days."

LOST Observation #3

2010-01-13T12:47:00.001-05:00

Charlie's "Turnip-head" is a far better name than Aaron.

LOST Observation #2

2010-01-13T12:28:00.002-05:00

Also, while watching through a second time, I like Locke way more and Jack and Kate way less. I guess the first time through, I liked Jack and Kate because they're sort of forced down your throat -- why shouldn't you like the stars? But now Jack seems whiny and hot-headed, while Kate seems just sort of crazy. Locke is far more level-headed this time around. I just wonder how that will hold up when we meet Ben (my favorite character, alongside Alpert, as well as Locke's mortal enemy).

LOST Observation #1

2010-01-13T12:27:00.003-05:00

I should have started documenting these when I began re-watching the series, but here's a big one: it's incredible how quickly Michael jumps to conclusions. As soon as something goes wrong, he targets someone for blame. No wonder I don't like him.

Jennifer's Body

2010-01-12T17:09:00.007-05:00

One of the films on that list that I wasn't expecting much from (and I got what I expected) was Jennifer's Body. I really loved Juno, but I was still skeptical of Diablo Cody's follow-up (even though I like horror more than comedy, or rom-com, or teen comedy, or whatever Juno would be classified as).

Anyway, one of the biggest shortcomings in my eyes was that I had to reference Urban Dictionary four times and rolled my eyes at least 17 other times (yeah, I counted) at corny or just plain weird lines. What were they, you ask?!

lesbi-gay
"hey monistat"
"hey vagisil"
"extra salty" / salty morsels
front butt
jello -- lime green jello
hello titty
try a sea cucumber
"cheese and fries"
to buff your situation
shutties
MoveOn.org, Needy
freaktarded
tragedy boner
wetty
nice hardware, ace
pluggin'

Ranking 2009 in Film

2010-01-12T01:26:00.004-05:00

Here's a continuation of that last post, with my favorites to my least favorites of what I've seen so far:

1 Black Dynamite
2 Inglourious Basterds
3 Up
4 Drag Me to Hell
5 Zombieland
6 Watchmen
7 District 9
8 Star Trek
9 Taken
10 Whip It
11 500 Days of Summer
12 9
13 Extract
14 Coraline
15 Great Buck Howard
16 Paranormal Activity
17 Hangover
18 Jennifer's Body
19 Terminator Salvation
20 Bruno
21 My Bloody Valentine

2009 in Film

2010-01-12T01:08:00.005-05:00

Fifty movies came out in 2009 that I want to see at some point. I've only seen 21 so far, but many of them aren't out on DVD yet. The ones I've seen are:

9
500 Days of Summer
Black Dynamite
Bruno
Coraline
District 9
Drag Me to Hell
Extract
Great Buck Howard
Hangover
Inglourious Basterds
Jennifer's Body
My Bloody Valentine
Paranormal Activity
Star Trek
Taken
Terminator Salvation
Up
Watchmen
Whip It
Zombieland

I still would like to see:

12
Adventureland
Avatar
Brothers
Dead Snow
Duplicity
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Funny People
Hurt Locker
Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
Knowing
Last House on the Left
Lovely Bones
Me and Orson Welles
Men Who Stare at Goats
Moon
New York, I Love You
Nine
Observe and Report
Pirate Radio
Ponyo
Public Enemies
Road
Sherlock Holmes
Shorts
Sunshine Cleaning
The Informant!
Up in the Air
Where the Wild Things Are

Eating the Dinosaur

2010-01-01T23:12:00.002-05:00

I finished the first of my 15 books off my "To Read" list. Chuck Klosterman's "Eating the Dinosaur" was good -- so good, in fact, that I blew through it in five or six hours.

As much as I enjoyed it, and as easy and fun as it was for me to read, it seemed decidedly different from his other essay collections. It seemed less fun, almost, and more contemplative. Instead of getting essays where he compares his former lovers to members of KISS, we get essays about why people bother talking to journalists at all. This isn't to say that the new content is less interesting in any way, but simply different.

It's definitely worth checking out. I loved the little interview snippets between the essays. I loved his essay on the NFL. He's basically the type of writer I'd very much like to be, both in style and in content. Here's to hoping I take a step in that direction.

My Top 25 Albums of the 2000s

2010-01-01T23:11:00.001-05:00

I have way too much music, and way too much from this decade. There's a ton I have that I've never listened to, a ton more that I have that I love that didn't make this list. After these 25, there was a definite difference in how good I thought they were, though, which is why I ended it here.

25 Mastodon - Crack the Skye
24 Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster
23 Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV
22 Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
21 Feist - The Reminder
20 Muse - The Resistance
19 Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You
18 Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
17 Eminem - Relapse
16 Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
15 Beck - Sea Change
14 Beck - Guero
13 Cake - Comfort Eagle
12 Beck - Modern Guilt
11 Radiohead - In Rainbows
10 Eminem - The Eminem Show
9 Muse - Origin of Symmetry
8 Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
7 Bang Camaro - Bang Camaro
6 Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold
5 Girl Talk - Night Ripper
4 Radiohead - Kid A
3 Coldplay - Viva La Vida
2 Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
1 Muse - Black Holes & Revelations

There are some albums, including ones by the White Stripes and Strokes, which I want to listen to more. As the decade came to a close, these were my favorite albums from what I had heard.

Favorite Albums: A New Order

2009-12-27T22:31:00.002-05:00

1 Black Holes and Revelations (Muse) (Previously: 1)
2 OK Computer (Radiohead) (Previously: Unranked)
3 Songs for the Deaf (Queens of the Stone Age) (Previously: Unranked)
4 Viva La Vida (or Death and All His Friends) (Coldplay) (Previously: 6)
5 Kid A (Radiohead) (Previously: 5)
6 Paul's Boutique (Beastie Boys) (Previously: 3)
7 Night Ripper (Girl Talk) (Previously: Unranked)
8 Appetite for Destruction (Guns N' Roses) (Previously: 2)
9 When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold (Atmosphere) (Previously: Unranked)
10 Bang Camaro (Bang Camaro) (Previously: 7)