This isn’t going to be a pretty blog. It will be judged by people who read it. All I ask is that you read the whole thing. One of the first scripts I ever wrote was called “Your Word Against Mine”, and it is long…damn long. When you’re reading it you will think, “this is one of the most offensive things I’ve ever read”, but, and this is a big but, the last two pages change all of it, and it becomes thought-provoking instead of offensive, or at least that’s what I tell myself when I cry myself to sleep at night. Hopefully this blog will also have some thought provoking.
Why there will never be equality
Because people don’t want there to be. I’m not talking about racists, or misogynists, or homophobes, I’m talking about the people that are in the class they perceive to be bigoted against. That’s not say that certain “isms” don’t exist, as they do, but some of that is self perpetuated.
When Obama was elected President I was actually surprised. I was surprised that the country had come as far as they have to be able to elect a non-white to the highest position in the land. It was viewed as a landmark election, electing an African American as President. But even then, in the afterglow of the election there were rumblings about when a “total” African American would be elected, that being one that had no none black blood in his genealogy.
There are stories I read (frequently) about varying standards on tests or needed accreditation for something or another. One I read recently was if you were of a non-Caucasian persuasion you needed to achieve a score of 22 (or something, I don’t remember the specifics) in order to get into a gifted program. If you were white you needed to get a 25. Gifted is gifted, by applying a race-based sliding scale you are both discriminating against one group and insulting another. One saying you need to do better to be considered gifted, the other saying gifted for “your group” is less. What does this say about the powers that be and their thought process? Another example, and this is one of my favorites, is the test to become a fireman. I think any sane person could see that firemen, excuse me firepeople, serve an important role when they are called upon to do their jobs. However the test, much of which is based on physical ability, is different for men and for women. I think the idea of wanting females in any workplace is laudable, but that will be of little solace to the person that a female firefighter cannot carry out of a burning building.
Clubs, colleges, parades and pride
I think the header is pretty self-explanatory, but how many clubs are there that are for women? For gay people? For different ethnicities? Try starting one of those for white men and see how far you get. Same thing goes for colleges (military colleges was a great law case during my life time), and parades and pride days kind of go without saying. Recently someone was lambasted for saying something positive about straight marriage (not saying anything at all, positive or negative, about gay marriage) saying that they were a homophobe.
I try to look at people as people. Don’t care about your color, your sex, your orientation, anything like that. It isn’t a second thought in an interview, picking people for a team, or deciding who to hang out with. Honestly there are douche-bags in every group, and I just try to limit them.
A political blog? Really?
No. Of course not. Much has been made this season of The Amazing Race regarding potentially having the “first all female team win the race.” Why does this matter? Apparently it mattered enough to stack the deck with an inordinate number of all female teams. In the past on Survivor much has been made of race. The first black woman to win. The first black man to win. Forming an all “minority alliance.” Does this sound like people want to be treated equally? If a guy said he wanted an all guy team to win, it would be labeled as misogynistic. Wanting an all female team to win? Apparently that’s fine. One of my friends wanted Obama to win the last election. When I asked why he said, “It’s time.” Not “I like his policies”, not “I think he’s the best direction for this country”, no just “It’s time.” I say until people are just people, all people, there will never be anything close to equality, which leads me to the last hard part.
The truth
People aren’t equal. Men and women aren’t equal. Different races aren’t equal either. None of these make one better than another, but may make one of them better for a given job or task. Ask yourself, if you are a captain for a pick-up game of basketball and you don’t know who the players are, all other things being equal, do you pick a black guy or a white guy. Now switch the question to be about hockey. Do these things make you racist? If you’re in college and you’re going to cheat off of someone on an econ exam, who are you going to sit next to? I know a guy who aced all of his econ exams by sitting next to the same Asian guy. If you had to pick someone to be the fastest to walk across a balance beam, would you pick a man or a woman? Nine times out of ten the answers to the above questions (assuming you want to win) are obvious. What does this mean? It means that different groups of people have different skill sets. Generally certain groups are going to be better at certain things than other groups.
Lastly
Men are not equal to other men. Women are not equal to other women, etc, etc. I know that I could stand toe to toe with most men regarding raw intelligence. Brute force, I’m going to struggle a bit. Balance I’m completely fucked. People have labels attached to them because they attach labels to themselves. It’s used both as a source of pride, and as a crutch. Until all of us, as a collective, decide to just be judged (as lady justice is described) blindly, without any preconceived notions we will never be equal...and I think many people are completely fine with that.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
I swear there's a point in here somewhere
Spock always used to say, “I like to think that there are possibilities.”
John Bon Jovi sings, “If there’s one thing I hang on to, that gets me through the night. I ain’t gonna do what I do want to, I’m gonna live my life.”
Many a juror on the last episode of Survivor has said, “I played the game honorably, and I can look at myself in the mirror with no regrets” and other bull-shit platitudes about honor, pride, etc.
A co-worker and I were discussing salaries today, and is par for the course I avoided any actual figures when talking about how much I or anyone else makes. My peer raised the idea that you couldn’t find someone to do what he does for the amount he gets paid. I countered with absolutely you can. He then said to bring them in because we need more talented folks. I would if I could, FSM knows I could use the referral bonus, but I don’t know these people that exist. Regarding if they’d do it for x amount of dollars, the simple fact is nearly everyone is overpaid. Not by market value, but by what their true value is. I like to think I’m good at my job, and it is a skill that apparently not everyone can do, but it’s not life or death, it’s not rocket science, and it’s not THAT hard. People that work at McDonalds, a regular restaurant, a grocery store, a gas station all work as hard as I do, there job just doesn’t pay as much.
Life boils down to two basic things. Opportunity and what you do with said opportunity. The opportunities you are presented with are a crap-shoot, often luck based on being in the right place at the right time. There’s a finite amount that you can do to open up additional opportunities, so you have to make the most out of those you get.
I’ve squandered many an opportunity over my lifetime. Blown an interview, been too much of a dork on a date, missed an open net goal, bombed on stage, sold stock early/late, etc. It happens.
There are two types of reality game shows. One which is based on talent and voting by the public (American Idol, America’s Got Talent, Last Comic Standing) and the other based on being voted out by an individual or a group (Big Brother, Survivor, Rock of Love, Hell’s Kitchen, Flavor of Love, The Bachelor, etc.) The Amazing Race doesn’t really fall into either category directly, so I will avoid that for now.
But Matt, you’ve thrown out quotes, anecdotes, nice little theories, but what are you talking about? You seem much more schizophrenic than normal. What is the topic? Are you just wasting my time? Well, yes I am wasting your time, but I do have a point, which as most things (for me) relates back to reality TV.
In a perfect world where everything is fair and nobody gets advantages by the time any person graces my television screen on a show I’m watching they have been through a grueling process. Multiple interviews, tapes, tons of paperwork, drug screens, background checks, etc. From beginning to end of a cycle (first tape to airing of a finale) the total time consumed is more accurately measured in months or fractions of a year than in weeks. This time consists of lots of hurrying up and waiting. Oh the waiting. Is that ring of my cell phone “the call”? Not an unknown caller, so no it’s not. I have a voice mail, could it be? What, you need more paperwork? No problem. It is mentally exhausting thinking if you want it bad enough it will happen. Of course some people are picked up at a gas station the week before Survivor starts filming so this doesn’t apply to everyone.
Remember back there where I talked about the different types of shows? Any show that has a dependency of how others (or other) in your group perceives you puts a spin on how you might and possibly should act. After going through an arduous process to get into the game, why would you choose to not make the effort once the game is afoot?
I’ve often railed on those who get into a game (show) and talk about (or actually go through the act) of quitting. It is an insult. It is an insult to the countless thousands who would kill for your spot. It is an insult to the hundreds that made it past the initial application process. It is maddening to the dozens of finalists that made it to the cusp of being on the show but didn’t quite make the cut. It is also insulting (and possibly career damaging) to the hard working folks in casting that stood behind you in meetings and pitched you as a candidate, saying why you would be good for the show. That being said, I guess on some level I can understand why someone might quit. To a man, everyone that has been on Survivor has said that it is harder than they ever imagined it would be. The lack of food, the draining environment, etc. is almost assuredly harder than I could imagine. However, that still doesn’t make it right. At worst (best) it is roughing it and sticking it out of 39 days for a potential payout of more than many people will make in a lifetime. Suck it up and stick it out.
Last night I saw something that is worse than quitting, something that really blew my mind that someone who was 2/3 through a season of Survivor had never done before. A one in ten shot at a million dollars, surely something worth playing for (to paraphrase Probst), right? Apparently not. For the first time ever someone gave up. Didn’t quit, but just gave up on the game. Not in a traditional way of giving up, but this was unique. This was someone saying that they were better than the game, above the game. Brenda flat out said that she was “above” scrambling. It is something a desperate person would do, she would never scramble, and she would rather be out of the game than scramble. As a multi-time applicant this is worse than quitting. She was all about the game as the game went her way from day one to day twenty-something. As soon as it actually became a challenge she didn’t want to be involved in it anymore. Until last week many posited that she was one of the better players in recent memory. She proved that to be a fallacy last night. The scary thing is she could have won it all if she made it that far. She was cocky, and in many ways reminded me of the pretty girl fresh out of high-school that finds out that good looks will only get you so far. Good riddance.
I think one of the questions on the application should be, “would you quit?” If the answer is “yes”, circular file that bad boy. One of the questions is what would you not do for a million dollars. In the future if the response to that question is I will not be humble, I will not lower myself, I will not scramble, dump that app as well. You are on a reality show for god’s sake. You’re not doing charity work, you’re trying to win a big payout. If you’re not willing to do what you have to do, no matter the personal pride cost, don’t bother applying. Pride is a great thing, it has no place here. It’s a game, if it’s within the rules there is NOTHING I wouldn’t do to stay in if it got me one step closer to making the finals. I can give a closing statement like no one else, so I could do whatever I wanted, if I made the finals, that money is mine.
Who’s left, and who can win?
Sash – Sash and his recently departed cohort committed one of the worst sins of Survivor, the sin of pride, to the point of cockiness. He played well, but I think his time left is on the short end, immunity idol or no. Much like the season when Vecepia won, there came a moment when a few people lower in the pecking order realized that they had numbers, as those calling the shots don’t. Expect him to come in 7th. Won’t win if he makes the finals.
NaOnka – The holder of the other immunity idol. Has played one of the most disastrous social games ever in Survivor history. Stealing socks, stealing food, being real, fighting a person with an artificial leg. From day one she has shown a stunning lack of caring about anyone except herself. Has actually shown a small amount of game play recently. Is in a unique position, because she can’t win, can she? This alone makes her someone to take to the finals, but if she does make the finals, does the fact that she made it overshadow the fact that she’s a terrible person? No. Can’t win. Will get voted out next week, but will play her immunity idol. Will come in 6th.
Benry – Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but a nice enough guy. Is competitive and seems to be having glimmers of gameplay. He is a threat from a competition stand point, so eventually he will be taken out just to level the playing field. Will come in 8th.
Fabio – Holder of the immunity necklace next week (according to the preview if you watch closely), but that might be selective editing. He is smarter than he comes across at first, and is actually starting to put together a pretty solid case for winning the game. However, he will come in 5th. If he makes it to the end, he has a shot to win unless he is up against…
Jane – A tough old lady who is getting a killer edit. Marty had a good point that what she said about his kids was way out of line. If she makes it to the end she will win. She will not make it to the end. She will come in 4th.
Chase – He’s a moron. I don’t know if he’s ever seen Survivor before, but he certainly doesn’t understand the game even if he’s seen it. As he said he’s playing with his heart, which is a good thing, because he doesn’t appear to have a brain. He’s gone next week at number 9.
Purple Kelly – When voting was taking place last night my wife asked me who Purple Kelly would vote for. I told her that Kelly doesn’t get to vote, because I don’t think she’s technically even in the game, kind of like how a student might audit a class, she is auditing Survivor. Her lack of impact or dialogue was always a point of question for me until Jeff asked her a question last night. My god the woman doesn’t have a lot going on upstairs. She might be the least eloquent person ever to play the game and that is saying something. However she is in the top 3.
Holly – Talk about a recovery. She should have been gone in the beginning of the game and she wanted to quit. Now she’s got her second wind and that should carry her far. Her problem is her insistence to talk to everyone. Top 3.
Dan – Rounding out the top 3 is the one person in the game who really doesn’t need the money. Having just sold a house for just under 7 million, the game is a lark for him. As much as you can see he’s struggling, he’s not giving up. Now that the game is individual there is no reason to take him out, and he could make a legitimate case for being named sole survivor for making it to the end when he had a target on his back from day one.
Top 3
Dan, Holly, Purple Kelly
4 – Jane
5 – Fabio
6 – NaOnka
7 – Sash
8 – Benry
9 – Chase
Upon further reflection, Sash and Benry will probably be flopped, but this is my order for now (I have not checked on-line so these are complete guesses). So who wins? Drumroll…
.
.
.
.
Holly. From throwing out shoes to cashing a million dollar check, she’s come a long way. And she never felt that she was above scambling, which if nothing else earns some of my respect.
John Bon Jovi sings, “If there’s one thing I hang on to, that gets me through the night. I ain’t gonna do what I do want to, I’m gonna live my life.”
Many a juror on the last episode of Survivor has said, “I played the game honorably, and I can look at myself in the mirror with no regrets” and other bull-shit platitudes about honor, pride, etc.
A co-worker and I were discussing salaries today, and is par for the course I avoided any actual figures when talking about how much I or anyone else makes. My peer raised the idea that you couldn’t find someone to do what he does for the amount he gets paid. I countered with absolutely you can. He then said to bring them in because we need more talented folks. I would if I could, FSM knows I could use the referral bonus, but I don’t know these people that exist. Regarding if they’d do it for x amount of dollars, the simple fact is nearly everyone is overpaid. Not by market value, but by what their true value is. I like to think I’m good at my job, and it is a skill that apparently not everyone can do, but it’s not life or death, it’s not rocket science, and it’s not THAT hard. People that work at McDonalds, a regular restaurant, a grocery store, a gas station all work as hard as I do, there job just doesn’t pay as much.
Life boils down to two basic things. Opportunity and what you do with said opportunity. The opportunities you are presented with are a crap-shoot, often luck based on being in the right place at the right time. There’s a finite amount that you can do to open up additional opportunities, so you have to make the most out of those you get.
I’ve squandered many an opportunity over my lifetime. Blown an interview, been too much of a dork on a date, missed an open net goal, bombed on stage, sold stock early/late, etc. It happens.
There are two types of reality game shows. One which is based on talent and voting by the public (American Idol, America’s Got Talent, Last Comic Standing) and the other based on being voted out by an individual or a group (Big Brother, Survivor, Rock of Love, Hell’s Kitchen, Flavor of Love, The Bachelor, etc.) The Amazing Race doesn’t really fall into either category directly, so I will avoid that for now.
But Matt, you’ve thrown out quotes, anecdotes, nice little theories, but what are you talking about? You seem much more schizophrenic than normal. What is the topic? Are you just wasting my time? Well, yes I am wasting your time, but I do have a point, which as most things (for me) relates back to reality TV.
In a perfect world where everything is fair and nobody gets advantages by the time any person graces my television screen on a show I’m watching they have been through a grueling process. Multiple interviews, tapes, tons of paperwork, drug screens, background checks, etc. From beginning to end of a cycle (first tape to airing of a finale) the total time consumed is more accurately measured in months or fractions of a year than in weeks. This time consists of lots of hurrying up and waiting. Oh the waiting. Is that ring of my cell phone “the call”? Not an unknown caller, so no it’s not. I have a voice mail, could it be? What, you need more paperwork? No problem. It is mentally exhausting thinking if you want it bad enough it will happen. Of course some people are picked up at a gas station the week before Survivor starts filming so this doesn’t apply to everyone.
Remember back there where I talked about the different types of shows? Any show that has a dependency of how others (or other) in your group perceives you puts a spin on how you might and possibly should act. After going through an arduous process to get into the game, why would you choose to not make the effort once the game is afoot?
I’ve often railed on those who get into a game (show) and talk about (or actually go through the act) of quitting. It is an insult. It is an insult to the countless thousands who would kill for your spot. It is an insult to the hundreds that made it past the initial application process. It is maddening to the dozens of finalists that made it to the cusp of being on the show but didn’t quite make the cut. It is also insulting (and possibly career damaging) to the hard working folks in casting that stood behind you in meetings and pitched you as a candidate, saying why you would be good for the show. That being said, I guess on some level I can understand why someone might quit. To a man, everyone that has been on Survivor has said that it is harder than they ever imagined it would be. The lack of food, the draining environment, etc. is almost assuredly harder than I could imagine. However, that still doesn’t make it right. At worst (best) it is roughing it and sticking it out of 39 days for a potential payout of more than many people will make in a lifetime. Suck it up and stick it out.
Last night I saw something that is worse than quitting, something that really blew my mind that someone who was 2/3 through a season of Survivor had never done before. A one in ten shot at a million dollars, surely something worth playing for (to paraphrase Probst), right? Apparently not. For the first time ever someone gave up. Didn’t quit, but just gave up on the game. Not in a traditional way of giving up, but this was unique. This was someone saying that they were better than the game, above the game. Brenda flat out said that she was “above” scrambling. It is something a desperate person would do, she would never scramble, and she would rather be out of the game than scramble. As a multi-time applicant this is worse than quitting. She was all about the game as the game went her way from day one to day twenty-something. As soon as it actually became a challenge she didn’t want to be involved in it anymore. Until last week many posited that she was one of the better players in recent memory. She proved that to be a fallacy last night. The scary thing is she could have won it all if she made it that far. She was cocky, and in many ways reminded me of the pretty girl fresh out of high-school that finds out that good looks will only get you so far. Good riddance.
I think one of the questions on the application should be, “would you quit?” If the answer is “yes”, circular file that bad boy. One of the questions is what would you not do for a million dollars. In the future if the response to that question is I will not be humble, I will not lower myself, I will not scramble, dump that app as well. You are on a reality show for god’s sake. You’re not doing charity work, you’re trying to win a big payout. If you’re not willing to do what you have to do, no matter the personal pride cost, don’t bother applying. Pride is a great thing, it has no place here. It’s a game, if it’s within the rules there is NOTHING I wouldn’t do to stay in if it got me one step closer to making the finals. I can give a closing statement like no one else, so I could do whatever I wanted, if I made the finals, that money is mine.
Who’s left, and who can win?
Sash – Sash and his recently departed cohort committed one of the worst sins of Survivor, the sin of pride, to the point of cockiness. He played well, but I think his time left is on the short end, immunity idol or no. Much like the season when Vecepia won, there came a moment when a few people lower in the pecking order realized that they had numbers, as those calling the shots don’t. Expect him to come in 7th. Won’t win if he makes the finals.
NaOnka – The holder of the other immunity idol. Has played one of the most disastrous social games ever in Survivor history. Stealing socks, stealing food, being real, fighting a person with an artificial leg. From day one she has shown a stunning lack of caring about anyone except herself. Has actually shown a small amount of game play recently. Is in a unique position, because she can’t win, can she? This alone makes her someone to take to the finals, but if she does make the finals, does the fact that she made it overshadow the fact that she’s a terrible person? No. Can’t win. Will get voted out next week, but will play her immunity idol. Will come in 6th.
Benry – Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but a nice enough guy. Is competitive and seems to be having glimmers of gameplay. He is a threat from a competition stand point, so eventually he will be taken out just to level the playing field. Will come in 8th.
Fabio – Holder of the immunity necklace next week (according to the preview if you watch closely), but that might be selective editing. He is smarter than he comes across at first, and is actually starting to put together a pretty solid case for winning the game. However, he will come in 5th. If he makes it to the end, he has a shot to win unless he is up against…
Jane – A tough old lady who is getting a killer edit. Marty had a good point that what she said about his kids was way out of line. If she makes it to the end she will win. She will not make it to the end. She will come in 4th.
Chase – He’s a moron. I don’t know if he’s ever seen Survivor before, but he certainly doesn’t understand the game even if he’s seen it. As he said he’s playing with his heart, which is a good thing, because he doesn’t appear to have a brain. He’s gone next week at number 9.
Purple Kelly – When voting was taking place last night my wife asked me who Purple Kelly would vote for. I told her that Kelly doesn’t get to vote, because I don’t think she’s technically even in the game, kind of like how a student might audit a class, she is auditing Survivor. Her lack of impact or dialogue was always a point of question for me until Jeff asked her a question last night. My god the woman doesn’t have a lot going on upstairs. She might be the least eloquent person ever to play the game and that is saying something. However she is in the top 3.
Holly – Talk about a recovery. She should have been gone in the beginning of the game and she wanted to quit. Now she’s got her second wind and that should carry her far. Her problem is her insistence to talk to everyone. Top 3.
Dan – Rounding out the top 3 is the one person in the game who really doesn’t need the money. Having just sold a house for just under 7 million, the game is a lark for him. As much as you can see he’s struggling, he’s not giving up. Now that the game is individual there is no reason to take him out, and he could make a legitimate case for being named sole survivor for making it to the end when he had a target on his back from day one.
Top 3
Dan, Holly, Purple Kelly
4 – Jane
5 – Fabio
6 – NaOnka
7 – Sash
8 – Benry
9 – Chase
Upon further reflection, Sash and Benry will probably be flopped, but this is my order for now (I have not checked on-line so these are complete guesses). So who wins? Drumroll…
.
.
.
.
Holly. From throwing out shoes to cashing a million dollar check, she’s come a long way. And she never felt that she was above scambling, which if nothing else earns some of my respect.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Why the BCS ranking system is fucked
Let's say you have a million dollars. You get a speeding ticket on the way home to your palatial Dublin estate. The good driving award costs you somewhere north of three bills. Money's money, so it kind of sucks. It means you can't buy that golden cabinet handle you've had your eye on, at least not right now...Now you can because the interest on your money has made up for the lost funds.
Now let's say you live paycheck to paycheck. You get a speeding ticket on the way home to the room you rent in a crackhouse on the Hilltop. That three hundred dollar fine stings, no tranny for you this weekend.
But Matt, I thought this was about why the BCS is fucked not your personal rant on the foibles of the rich. It is, and here's why...
When rankings are done many factors are taken into consideration, not the least of which is who you've played to this point and how you've faired. Take the example of THE ohio state university and The University of Wisconsin. One is a storied academic institution which has had a fair amount of success in the football realm, the other is a school represented by a poisonous nut. Up to this point in the season both schools have identical records, both in and out of conference. (It is important to note here that when considering opponents what they are ranked at this moment is the weighted factor, not what they were ranked when you played.) After this weekend's American collegiate football contests Tosu had played a grand total of one ranked opponent (Miami is no longer ranked), and this opponent was ranked 17th or 18th when they beat your ass (soundly). Wisconsin on the other hand had played two ranked opponents, losing to the 13th ranked team and defeating the number one ranked team. No matter where these teams fall in the rankings, certainly Wisconsin would rate higher than Tosu, correct?
Of course not. Tosu is ranked one position higher. Why? It's not strength of victory, strength of schedule or anything else, it's strength of history, which is bullshit.
If Tosu, Michigan, Notre Dame, LSU, Miami, USC (if they're eligible) and several other schools were to post an undefeated season they would definitely be in the National Title game. Michigan State very likely will run the table and will most likely not get a seat at the big table. Why? Because they are not historically a football powerhouse. Boise State is an even better example. They most likely will fall out of the title game unless teams BEHIND them lose. If Boise State loses a game, there are no title hopes. The same can't be said for Tosu.
And that is why the BCS system is fucked.
Now let's say you live paycheck to paycheck. You get a speeding ticket on the way home to the room you rent in a crackhouse on the Hilltop. That three hundred dollar fine stings, no tranny for you this weekend.
But Matt, I thought this was about why the BCS is fucked not your personal rant on the foibles of the rich. It is, and here's why...
When rankings are done many factors are taken into consideration, not the least of which is who you've played to this point and how you've faired. Take the example of THE ohio state university and The University of Wisconsin. One is a storied academic institution which has had a fair amount of success in the football realm, the other is a school represented by a poisonous nut. Up to this point in the season both schools have identical records, both in and out of conference. (It is important to note here that when considering opponents what they are ranked at this moment is the weighted factor, not what they were ranked when you played.) After this weekend's American collegiate football contests Tosu had played a grand total of one ranked opponent (Miami is no longer ranked), and this opponent was ranked 17th or 18th when they beat your ass (soundly). Wisconsin on the other hand had played two ranked opponents, losing to the 13th ranked team and defeating the number one ranked team. No matter where these teams fall in the rankings, certainly Wisconsin would rate higher than Tosu, correct?
Of course not. Tosu is ranked one position higher. Why? It's not strength of victory, strength of schedule or anything else, it's strength of history, which is bullshit.
If Tosu, Michigan, Notre Dame, LSU, Miami, USC (if they're eligible) and several other schools were to post an undefeated season they would definitely be in the National Title game. Michigan State very likely will run the table and will most likely not get a seat at the big table. Why? Because they are not historically a football powerhouse. Boise State is an even better example. They most likely will fall out of the title game unless teams BEHIND them lose. If Boise State loses a game, there are no title hopes. The same can't be said for Tosu.
And that is why the BCS system is fucked.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps review
Wall Street is a fantastic film. A film that captures the right attitude at the right period in history. While I wouldn’t grant it ‘classic’ status, it is good. Damn good. Strong performances across the board from a great cast make this a film that vies for the title of Stone’s best. It’s not perfect, and there are a couple of miss-steps, but overall it is a much better film than I expected when I went to see it…Unfortunately that is a brief tidbit about Wall Street, not the FSM-awful mess that is Wall Street: The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
You might ask why I wouldn’t use the more 2nd installment appropriate subtitle of the now cliché Electric Bugaloo. You could rationally assume it is due to the presence of the riveting Shia LeBouf, but that is not why. I’ll explain. When I heard that there was going to be a second Wall Street, the first thought in my head was, “that is a terrible idea. It is a self-contained story, and Stone should let sleeping dogs lie and make a different shitty movie instead of sullying the name of one of his few good films.” A wise-man (Brian Watson) once said, “If you’re conflicted, go with your gut.” Or something like that, I wasn’t really listening to him at the time. The I saw the trailer. Specifically the part where GG is getting out of prison. It worked. It raised anticipation. It looked good. It reminded me of the trailer for Indy 4, where the shot of the silhouette of Indy picking up the hat made me have high hopes. Much like the alien film of a few years ago, this movie did not live up to my expectations.
The Trailer
The problem with this movie starts with the trailer. First of all the trailer made the film look good, but you really can’t fault them for this. If the trailer showed how awful the film was nobody would see it, but the trailer is for a film that isn’t in the theaters. The trailer revolves around GG. He isn’t in the first 3rd of the movie. Also the trailer does the all too common mistake of giving away way too much of what happens (I’ll expand on this in the mental illness portion of the review). It isn’t as bad as Quarantine, a movie that actually shows the last shot of the movie in the trailer (along with having the image of that shot on the poster), but there is one twist to the movie, which is obvious if you’ve seen the trailer.
The Cast
This is one of the worst acted films I’ve seen in a long time. With the exception of one scene towards the end of the film, Douglas is not firing on all cylinders. Shia is Shia. The girlfriend sucks (and not in the way that girlfriends should), Frank Langella is laughably bad, Charlie Sheen has a worthless cameo. It is worth noting that that Sheen cameo does have a unique dynamic do to real-world stuff, in that he is now the major star and Douglas is on the decline, where in the original Douglas was the star and Sheen was on the rise. The big bad is played okay, but he shows symptoms of shitty actor syndrome towards the end of the movie as his world is turned upside down. Rounding out the cast is Susan Sarandon whose character serves no purpose.
Mental Illness
A good film will have a character arc which will change character(s) over the course of a film with actions causing results, etc. There are dramatic shifts in Gecko’s character, because apparently while in prison, Gordon Gecko became schizophrenic. It is the only explanation of his characters actions and responses through-out the film. To make it more obvious which of his personalities is currently active, Stone made the artistic choice of changing Douglas’ hair style depending on which personality is currently ‘in control.’ There are three separate GG characters that appear in the film, two of which are somewhat fleshed out. You could make the argument that it is actually not disparate personalities, but actually just one Machiavellian personality that is present through-out the film, subtly twisting the actions of others until he gets what he wants. You could say that, but his actions and what are shown do not mesh with that theory. Perhaps a better filmmaker could have made this work, however Stone could not, which leads to…
The Filmmaking Prowess of Oliver Stone
He sucks. I could leave it at that, but I won’t. This film is disjointed, and it has a very inconsistent style. It is cut together very sloppily, and some of the artistic choices are stupid. Cut-aways for no reason in the middle of a conversation are distracting. The buildings reflecting the changing levels of the stock market was cute, once. It popped up several times, with no consistency. Use it once, use it consistently, or don’t use it all. The way you did it, you just look like an asshole. The movie reminded me of a film from a first-time (or at least not very experienced) filmmaker. For someone who has been doing it for as long as Stone has is unacceptable. The music didn’t work either. So, basically, in as few words as possible, he sucks.
The Plot
The beauty of Wall Street (the original) was that it had a fairly straight-forward plot and it was lean and tight. The sequel is a mess of sub-plots upon sub-plots, none of which you care about, and most of which add little to no value in the long run. The swerve was obvious, believable, expected, and shown in the trailer. The second swerve was dumb, hackey, and unbelievable. At least it wasn’t in the trailer.
Overall
This film was shitty. I had the choice of seeing this or The Social Network. I chose poorly. It is one of the few times that I literally leaned over to the person next to me in the theater (about 40 minutes in) and whispered, “This is awful.” The fact that there was no argument speaks volumes.
You might ask why I wouldn’t use the more 2nd installment appropriate subtitle of the now cliché Electric Bugaloo. You could rationally assume it is due to the presence of the riveting Shia LeBouf, but that is not why. I’ll explain. When I heard that there was going to be a second Wall Street, the first thought in my head was, “that is a terrible idea. It is a self-contained story, and Stone should let sleeping dogs lie and make a different shitty movie instead of sullying the name of one of his few good films.” A wise-man (Brian Watson) once said, “If you’re conflicted, go with your gut.” Or something like that, I wasn’t really listening to him at the time. The I saw the trailer. Specifically the part where GG is getting out of prison. It worked. It raised anticipation. It looked good. It reminded me of the trailer for Indy 4, where the shot of the silhouette of Indy picking up the hat made me have high hopes. Much like the alien film of a few years ago, this movie did not live up to my expectations.
The Trailer
The problem with this movie starts with the trailer. First of all the trailer made the film look good, but you really can’t fault them for this. If the trailer showed how awful the film was nobody would see it, but the trailer is for a film that isn’t in the theaters. The trailer revolves around GG. He isn’t in the first 3rd of the movie. Also the trailer does the all too common mistake of giving away way too much of what happens (I’ll expand on this in the mental illness portion of the review). It isn’t as bad as Quarantine, a movie that actually shows the last shot of the movie in the trailer (along with having the image of that shot on the poster), but there is one twist to the movie, which is obvious if you’ve seen the trailer.
The Cast
This is one of the worst acted films I’ve seen in a long time. With the exception of one scene towards the end of the film, Douglas is not firing on all cylinders. Shia is Shia. The girlfriend sucks (and not in the way that girlfriends should), Frank Langella is laughably bad, Charlie Sheen has a worthless cameo. It is worth noting that that Sheen cameo does have a unique dynamic do to real-world stuff, in that he is now the major star and Douglas is on the decline, where in the original Douglas was the star and Sheen was on the rise. The big bad is played okay, but he shows symptoms of shitty actor syndrome towards the end of the movie as his world is turned upside down. Rounding out the cast is Susan Sarandon whose character serves no purpose.
Mental Illness
A good film will have a character arc which will change character(s) over the course of a film with actions causing results, etc. There are dramatic shifts in Gecko’s character, because apparently while in prison, Gordon Gecko became schizophrenic. It is the only explanation of his characters actions and responses through-out the film. To make it more obvious which of his personalities is currently active, Stone made the artistic choice of changing Douglas’ hair style depending on which personality is currently ‘in control.’ There are three separate GG characters that appear in the film, two of which are somewhat fleshed out. You could make the argument that it is actually not disparate personalities, but actually just one Machiavellian personality that is present through-out the film, subtly twisting the actions of others until he gets what he wants. You could say that, but his actions and what are shown do not mesh with that theory. Perhaps a better filmmaker could have made this work, however Stone could not, which leads to…
The Filmmaking Prowess of Oliver Stone
He sucks. I could leave it at that, but I won’t. This film is disjointed, and it has a very inconsistent style. It is cut together very sloppily, and some of the artistic choices are stupid. Cut-aways for no reason in the middle of a conversation are distracting. The buildings reflecting the changing levels of the stock market was cute, once. It popped up several times, with no consistency. Use it once, use it consistently, or don’t use it all. The way you did it, you just look like an asshole. The movie reminded me of a film from a first-time (or at least not very experienced) filmmaker. For someone who has been doing it for as long as Stone has is unacceptable. The music didn’t work either. So, basically, in as few words as possible, he sucks.
The Plot
The beauty of Wall Street (the original) was that it had a fairly straight-forward plot and it was lean and tight. The sequel is a mess of sub-plots upon sub-plots, none of which you care about, and most of which add little to no value in the long run. The swerve was obvious, believable, expected, and shown in the trailer. The second swerve was dumb, hackey, and unbelievable. At least it wasn’t in the trailer.
Overall
This film was shitty. I had the choice of seeing this or The Social Network. I chose poorly. It is one of the few times that I literally leaned over to the person next to me in the theater (about 40 minutes in) and whispered, “This is awful.” The fact that there was no argument speaks volumes.
Friday, August 27, 2010
The best makes a critical error and the winner of BB12 revealed
Matt, oh Matt. Why?
There are two mistakes regarding alliances that can kill you in reality shows. The first (and most common) one is abandoning your alliance too early. Countless times on Survivor people have jumped ship from their alliance, thinking the grass is greener. The second mistake is sticking with you alliance too long. When you have an alliance that contains more than two people, eventually you will have to start eating your own to get to the final two.
Matt stuck with “The Brigade” too long. After last week and his eye-opening experience with the benefit of the DPOV he knew he was fourth in an alliance of four. Back on the block this week he should have known that he was gone unless he made a move. Did he have a move to make? Absolutely, he had a great move. The voters were Brandon, Ragan, Hayden, and Lane, with Britney being the potential tie-breaker. It was obvious that he could have had Ragan. Hayden and Lane were snuggly in Enzo’s corner so he would have to work on Brandon, making a deal with the devil, but he did have a trump card which could have won both Brandon and Britney over. He should have EXPOSED “THE BRIGADE”! By doing so he levels the playing field. Everyone already saw him as a scheming liar, but by bringing out the others it would show that they were just as duplicitous and deceitful as he was. Brandon would have been a tough sell, but he (Brandon) had actually started playing with the departure of Rachel and he would have seen that Matt/Ragan/Britney would be easier to beat than the other option.
Elimination II: The Quickening
Had the nominations stayed the same last night for the second eviction, who would have gone home? I honestly think Ragan would have walked out the door directly behind his showmance partner Matt. Which would have been stupid, but would have fit with the MO of “The Brigade”. Without Matt “The Brigade” is like a really dumb, really strong infant. It has no logic with how it is doing things and is thinking about immediate gratification rather than the long-term picture.
Who’s left, who can win?
Ragan – If Ragan makes it to the end I think he wins. Before he FINALLY got evicted, people had talked about how if Brandon made it to the end they’d have to give it to him. Ragan is in the same boat.
Britney – She can’t win. Even though she has done very well and has won her share of competitions, I just can’t see her winning…unless she is in the final two against…
Enzo – He really can’t win. I cannot imagine any scenario that he comes out on top. His chances of winning half a million dollars walked out the door with Kathy, because she was the only one who was a more inept competitor.
Hayden, Lane - These two are a toss-up. Against Ragan, they both lose. Against Britney or Enzo they both win, so the question mark is head to head. You need four votes to win. Currently in the jury house there are four votes. Rachel and Brandon will vote for Hayden. Matt and Kathy are toss-ups. Britney goes to Lane. Ragan goes to Hayden. Enzo is a wildcard. With three votes up in the air it is 3-1 in favor of Hayden. I would guess that Hayden picks up at least one of either Kathy or Matt with Enzo going to Lane.
So the winner of Big Brother 12 is...Hayden!
There are two mistakes regarding alliances that can kill you in reality shows. The first (and most common) one is abandoning your alliance too early. Countless times on Survivor people have jumped ship from their alliance, thinking the grass is greener. The second mistake is sticking with you alliance too long. When you have an alliance that contains more than two people, eventually you will have to start eating your own to get to the final two.
Matt stuck with “The Brigade” too long. After last week and his eye-opening experience with the benefit of the DPOV he knew he was fourth in an alliance of four. Back on the block this week he should have known that he was gone unless he made a move. Did he have a move to make? Absolutely, he had a great move. The voters were Brandon, Ragan, Hayden, and Lane, with Britney being the potential tie-breaker. It was obvious that he could have had Ragan. Hayden and Lane were snuggly in Enzo’s corner so he would have to work on Brandon, making a deal with the devil, but he did have a trump card which could have won both Brandon and Britney over. He should have EXPOSED “THE BRIGADE”! By doing so he levels the playing field. Everyone already saw him as a scheming liar, but by bringing out the others it would show that they were just as duplicitous and deceitful as he was. Brandon would have been a tough sell, but he (Brandon) had actually started playing with the departure of Rachel and he would have seen that Matt/Ragan/Britney would be easier to beat than the other option.
Elimination II: The Quickening
Had the nominations stayed the same last night for the second eviction, who would have gone home? I honestly think Ragan would have walked out the door directly behind his showmance partner Matt. Which would have been stupid, but would have fit with the MO of “The Brigade”. Without Matt “The Brigade” is like a really dumb, really strong infant. It has no logic with how it is doing things and is thinking about immediate gratification rather than the long-term picture.
Who’s left, who can win?
Ragan – If Ragan makes it to the end I think he wins. Before he FINALLY got evicted, people had talked about how if Brandon made it to the end they’d have to give it to him. Ragan is in the same boat.
Britney – She can’t win. Even though she has done very well and has won her share of competitions, I just can’t see her winning…unless she is in the final two against…
Enzo – He really can’t win. I cannot imagine any scenario that he comes out on top. His chances of winning half a million dollars walked out the door with Kathy, because she was the only one who was a more inept competitor.
Hayden, Lane - These two are a toss-up. Against Ragan, they both lose. Against Britney or Enzo they both win, so the question mark is head to head. You need four votes to win. Currently in the jury house there are four votes. Rachel and Brandon will vote for Hayden. Matt and Kathy are toss-ups. Britney goes to Lane. Ragan goes to Hayden. Enzo is a wildcard. With three votes up in the air it is 3-1 in favor of Hayden. I would guess that Hayden picks up at least one of either Kathy or Matt with Enzo going to Lane.
So the winner of Big Brother 12 is...Hayden!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Let the end-game begin (with big gaps in my thought process)
Hindsight is always 20/20. Given the way that the eviction and subsequent HOH competition went it was probably a poor idea to send Rachel home. I understand the reason(s) behind it, and not even Brendan being an insufferable douche could alter the path that the houseguests were on. Now it is apparent that much like a soldier in the cave of the crescent moon, they chose poorly.
If Rachel was still there she would have melted down like an ice cream cone in the mid-summer sun. Unable to even hold herself up, there is no way she would have been able to compete, much less win in a physical competition. I think in the end it would have been too much drama and they all realized it.
Now is where “The Brigade” either proves their mettle, or get shown to be poseurs. Everyone has their own “side-alliances” and the question is raised if these are actually true alliances or are these just false-fronts to make sure they have all of their bases covered.
FOUR DAYS LATER
Sometimes you get distracted and life gets in the way of things like blogging about reality shows. So here we sit, beyond the nominations, beyond the POV, beyond the POV being played and the subsequent replacement nominee. Things are much more interesting now.
Matt is nominated with one of his brigade buddies. Having the diamond power of veto gives Matt a unique outlook on how things are going to go from here to the end. Unfortunately for him he is playing one point incredibly wrong. Knowing that he is eventually safe the best bet for him would be to see how everyone reacts on the outside, but he keeps talking about his hope that there is a power that will save him. Despite this miss-step the rest of “The Brigade” are going to tell him that they are going to vote him out and keep Lane because they can’t beat him in the end.
What should Matt do?
He has two options: stick with “The Brigade” or blow it up from the inside. As it stands now he is playing for 4th place, the first of his alliance to fall once they are forced to turn upon themselves. Beyond those three he has Kathy, Ragan, Britney, and Brendan. The downside of blowing up his alliance is he has at least two people actively gunning for him. The upside is he has three people that have been lied to since day 3 (or so, whenever “The Brigade” was formed. If I were in his shoes I would put up Enzo as a replacement. Tell him that you guys were going to turn on me first so I am turning the tables. I would also flush out “The Brigade”, instilling distrust from Britney (which is a key for Matt to succeed.)
Who is the big winner this week?
Oddly enough Brendan. He went from number one on everybody’s hit list to “someone to take out later.” It bothers me that he will make it further, because he is a huge tool, and not a very good person. If nothing else Thursday should be very interesting, assuming that the diamond POV is played during the live show, with immediate nomination to follow, then eviction. Blindsides baby.
I will put up my end-game predictions after Thursday.
If Rachel was still there she would have melted down like an ice cream cone in the mid-summer sun. Unable to even hold herself up, there is no way she would have been able to compete, much less win in a physical competition. I think in the end it would have been too much drama and they all realized it.
Now is where “The Brigade” either proves their mettle, or get shown to be poseurs. Everyone has their own “side-alliances” and the question is raised if these are actually true alliances or are these just false-fronts to make sure they have all of their bases covered.
FOUR DAYS LATER
Sometimes you get distracted and life gets in the way of things like blogging about reality shows. So here we sit, beyond the nominations, beyond the POV, beyond the POV being played and the subsequent replacement nominee. Things are much more interesting now.
Matt is nominated with one of his brigade buddies. Having the diamond power of veto gives Matt a unique outlook on how things are going to go from here to the end. Unfortunately for him he is playing one point incredibly wrong. Knowing that he is eventually safe the best bet for him would be to see how everyone reacts on the outside, but he keeps talking about his hope that there is a power that will save him. Despite this miss-step the rest of “The Brigade” are going to tell him that they are going to vote him out and keep Lane because they can’t beat him in the end.
What should Matt do?
He has two options: stick with “The Brigade” or blow it up from the inside. As it stands now he is playing for 4th place, the first of his alliance to fall once they are forced to turn upon themselves. Beyond those three he has Kathy, Ragan, Britney, and Brendan. The downside of blowing up his alliance is he has at least two people actively gunning for him. The upside is he has three people that have been lied to since day 3 (or so, whenever “The Brigade” was formed. If I were in his shoes I would put up Enzo as a replacement. Tell him that you guys were going to turn on me first so I am turning the tables. I would also flush out “The Brigade”, instilling distrust from Britney (which is a key for Matt to succeed.)
Who is the big winner this week?
Oddly enough Brendan. He went from number one on everybody’s hit list to “someone to take out later.” It bothers me that he will make it further, because he is a huge tool, and not a very good person. If nothing else Thursday should be very interesting, assuming that the diamond POV is played during the live show, with immediate nomination to follow, then eviction. Blindsides baby.
I will put up my end-game predictions after Thursday.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Every week is a game-changer
The beauty of Big Brother is that it is next to impossible to run the table because of the constant shifting of power. Just because you have numbers, doesn’t mean you have ultimate control. On the flip side of that coin is the fact that the power is not totally in the hands of the HOH (necessarily). HOH has the power to put up whoever they want…but if you get far enough into the game the choices you have (of who to put on the block) become smaller and smaller and much like cannibals in a plane crash, eventually you have to eat your own.
Looking at the current power structure in the house there are 4.5 people who actually have a clue what is going on. As much as it pains me to say so, Enzo has done a masterful job putting together an alliance. Almost nobody has any clue that “The Brigade” exists, but someone is starting to piece it together. That person is…Ragan.
This week, moreso than any previous week is critical. Why? If the non-brigade doesn’t figure out that “The Brigade” is there it will be hard to prevent one of them from winning. I’d accept it as a fact that Kristen is going home tonight. She finally actually started showing some glimmer of personality, but that was when she was already halfway out the door.
Kristen leaving leaves the house with 9 left standing, half of which are “The Brigade” leaving Britney, Ragan, Kathy, Rachel, and Brendan. Britney is unwittingly the 5th member of “The Brigade”. I say unwittingly, because she has no idea that it exists and is more pared with individual members of “The Brigade”, especially Lane.
Sidenote: I asked the wifey if she would have issues with me doing certain things if I was on the show. Specifically some of the flirtation that is going on amongst the people who have significant others in the real world. Obviously what Kristen has been doing with a BF back home is wrong, but what about the flirtatious nature of the relationship between Britney and Lane. I don’t remember how she answered because I was distracted by Britney’s wonky eye. Back to the breakdown…
Kathy and Ragan are definitely floaters. They have some allegiance to a few people, but no well defined alliances. Ragan is oh so close to figuring out “The Brigade”, but hasn’t been quite able to get there yet. The only chance Rachel and B have right now is for the others to figure out (and figure out quickly) about the secret alliance, otherwise they are done. Barring a revelation of “The Brigade” if anyone other than Brendan win HOH, they are both on the block, assuring one of them goes home. I’m really looking forward to both the fireworks and the waterworks that will happen if this occurs.
Random thoughts:
Rachel is scary. She has a look that I’ve seen before. It is the “I’m a crazy, unhinged bitch and I’ll cut you” look.
Brendan is a pussy. My wife actually said those words. He is definitely the bottom in that relationship. The “fight” the two of them had was awful. Not awful in a good way, but awful in a boring way. It was like a poorly scripted fight. They repeated the same words over and over and over.
“You kept repeating yourself so I went out in the backyard. Then you came out and kept doing it…I’m sorry, but couldn’t you tell it was upsetting me?”
“I am Vegas.”
Blah, blah, blah.
There is no “hot chick” this season. Kathy has scary eyelashes. Rachel has really bad acne. Kristen has something wrong with her, I don’t know what, but she looks vaguely alien. Britney would be hot with an eye-patch.
Have you noticed that almost half the remaining people have not been targeted at all? Lane, Enzo, Ragan, Matt (he put himself on the block). Of those Enzo and Ragan have never been mentioned as being put up, with the exception of Enzo going up as a pawn.
The End-game
Double-elimination is coming up soon, and some of “The Brigade” have talked about not wanting to win the HOH tonight. That is stupid. You can’t play for “what might happen” you have to play for what you’re sure will happen. Honestly, the best case scenario for tonight is that Britney wins HOH. She puts up B/R and then one of them goes home for sure.
B/R, which one would be better to get rid of? This is a tough question. Rachel has won two HOH’s, but I’d argue that B is a bigger threat. Rachel also will completely self-destruct once B is out of the house, probably begging to get sent to the jury house. The downside of keeping her there is she is unbearable when she is happy. Imagine what she’ll be like when she’s upset.
With the eviction of Kristen tonight, the players that will be in the game (on the jury or actually in the game) until the end is set. This sets Matt up in a strong position, especially if Britney wins HOH tonight. Right now B/R feel that they can trust Matt, so that’s two votes for him. He only needs two more and to make it to the end an he’ll have a cool 500K to spend (which should have been mine.)
Looking at the current power structure in the house there are 4.5 people who actually have a clue what is going on. As much as it pains me to say so, Enzo has done a masterful job putting together an alliance. Almost nobody has any clue that “The Brigade” exists, but someone is starting to piece it together. That person is…Ragan.
This week, moreso than any previous week is critical. Why? If the non-brigade doesn’t figure out that “The Brigade” is there it will be hard to prevent one of them from winning. I’d accept it as a fact that Kristen is going home tonight. She finally actually started showing some glimmer of personality, but that was when she was already halfway out the door.
Kristen leaving leaves the house with 9 left standing, half of which are “The Brigade” leaving Britney, Ragan, Kathy, Rachel, and Brendan. Britney is unwittingly the 5th member of “The Brigade”. I say unwittingly, because she has no idea that it exists and is more pared with individual members of “The Brigade”, especially Lane.
Sidenote: I asked the wifey if she would have issues with me doing certain things if I was on the show. Specifically some of the flirtation that is going on amongst the people who have significant others in the real world. Obviously what Kristen has been doing with a BF back home is wrong, but what about the flirtatious nature of the relationship between Britney and Lane. I don’t remember how she answered because I was distracted by Britney’s wonky eye. Back to the breakdown…
Kathy and Ragan are definitely floaters. They have some allegiance to a few people, but no well defined alliances. Ragan is oh so close to figuring out “The Brigade”, but hasn’t been quite able to get there yet. The only chance Rachel and B have right now is for the others to figure out (and figure out quickly) about the secret alliance, otherwise they are done. Barring a revelation of “The Brigade” if anyone other than Brendan win HOH, they are both on the block, assuring one of them goes home. I’m really looking forward to both the fireworks and the waterworks that will happen if this occurs.
Random thoughts:
Rachel is scary. She has a look that I’ve seen before. It is the “I’m a crazy, unhinged bitch and I’ll cut you” look.
Brendan is a pussy. My wife actually said those words. He is definitely the bottom in that relationship. The “fight” the two of them had was awful. Not awful in a good way, but awful in a boring way. It was like a poorly scripted fight. They repeated the same words over and over and over.
“You kept repeating yourself so I went out in the backyard. Then you came out and kept doing it…I’m sorry, but couldn’t you tell it was upsetting me?”
“I am Vegas.”
Blah, blah, blah.
There is no “hot chick” this season. Kathy has scary eyelashes. Rachel has really bad acne. Kristen has something wrong with her, I don’t know what, but she looks vaguely alien. Britney would be hot with an eye-patch.
Have you noticed that almost half the remaining people have not been targeted at all? Lane, Enzo, Ragan, Matt (he put himself on the block). Of those Enzo and Ragan have never been mentioned as being put up, with the exception of Enzo going up as a pawn.
The End-game
Double-elimination is coming up soon, and some of “The Brigade” have talked about not wanting to win the HOH tonight. That is stupid. You can’t play for “what might happen” you have to play for what you’re sure will happen. Honestly, the best case scenario for tonight is that Britney wins HOH. She puts up B/R and then one of them goes home for sure.
B/R, which one would be better to get rid of? This is a tough question. Rachel has won two HOH’s, but I’d argue that B is a bigger threat. Rachel also will completely self-destruct once B is out of the house, probably begging to get sent to the jury house. The downside of keeping her there is she is unbearable when she is happy. Imagine what she’ll be like when she’s upset.
With the eviction of Kristen tonight, the players that will be in the game (on the jury or actually in the game) until the end is set. This sets Matt up in a strong position, especially if Britney wins HOH tonight. Right now B/R feel that they can trust Matt, so that’s two votes for him. He only needs two more and to make it to the end an he’ll have a cool 500K to spend (which should have been mine.)
Thursday, July 22, 2010
The tears are flowing like beer
I'm an egotistical bastard. Of course if you're reading this, you should already know this. I tend to view most things in context of if I could do whatever the thing in question is.
Outside of pure feats of strength I can do anything I've seen in a soccer game. Not with nearly the consistency, but I can do it. Same thing with golf. I can drop a 50 foot putt, I've done it before. I can hit a drive in the middle of the fairway, etc. I can't do any of these things consistently, but I can (and in most cases have) done them.
I know what you're thinking...holy shit, is he actually doing a blog that doesn't revolve around reality TV? Of course not.
Reality TV has a special place in my heart (assuming that I actually have one). Part borne out of the voyeuristic nature of it, partially because I could really see myself there. I'm not talking about the dancing shows or the singing shows, or the fucking Bret Michaels shows, I'm talking about CBS's big 2 and the other one (Survivor, The Amazing Race, and Big Brother). It's no secret that I've applied to all of them, and I've been close (kind of) to actually competing in all three, having been a semi-finalist 5 fucking times, but never making the cut.
Summer is a black hole for television, where people do dumb things like go outside, spend time with their family, etc. Big Brother has a great niche in that they are one of the few first run television shows in the middle of summer.
Two full weeks in to a painful season (for me) of Big Brother I am actually informed enough to start talking about it. In the beginning it is hard to get all of the characters right (unless they really stand-out which can be the kiss of death) so I waited til I had formed some opinions about the household guests of the summer. I was actually going to write this earlier today (before tonight's eviction), but I couldn't being on vacation and all.
The two evictees
Annie: Not much to say, but what a joke of a swerve "the sabatour" ended up to be. She did give me a great idea for a strategy for the future: Come out to the gay man as a closeted homosexual. That's like having an extra vote.
Monet: Christ she cried a lot. And as much as some of her criticism of other HG's was spot-on, what a catty bitch.
The Remaining 11
Andrew: This guy has to go. Be religious, that's cool. However he is too religious. There is something in the bible about not pushing your religion on others (which he isn't directly), but by making them conform to his things he kind of is. His whole attitude of not letting the game over take his religion is a reason he shouldn't be there. He can't win.
Brendon: Douche-bag. Not the biggest one in the house, but one for sure. He cried almost as much as Annie the first week. One of my biggest fears if I got on a show is that I would cry like a little girl. I'm sure I wouldn't cry as much as him. Can't win.
Britney: Okay, here I'm torn. She's part bitch, part whiner. I like the bitch (even though the wonky eye is distracting), but the whiner makes me want to curb-stomp her. She reminds me of Jordan except she's not legally retarded. Has painted herself deep into a corner, but could go deep because she has no one else. Has shown a few glimmers of gameplay. She needs to find friends fast. Probably can't win.
Enzo: Thanks MTV. Because of The Jersey Shore we have this douche-bag to watch all summer, and he will be around for awhile. Is playing the game well, but the "meow-meow" bullshit makes me want to open a vein. In the end he will get cut as the 5th or 6th man standing. To much of a dick to win.
Hayden: For as much as he's on, he's really still kind of low profile. Part of the only important alliance currently in play. Doesn't seem like a smart guy, but seems nice enough. Reminds me of Dan's partner from two seasons ago. Will go deep if his alliance doesn't cut him because of his blossoming relationship with someone in the house. Comes in 4th.
Kathy: Not really much to say. She reminds me of someone I know, but I can't figure out who. Has nice cans. Kind of a goofball. Not much of a player.
Kristen: She is probably a really nice, funny, interesting person. None of this comes out on the show. A real non-factor. Her showmance thing might take her far. Nice that she actually has a boyfriend back home.
Lane: Not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Part of the small group that actually has a clue as to what is going on. Comes in 3rd.
Matt: He is me. If I had to put my finger on why I wouldn't have made the cut for this season is they found a slightly more attractive and younger me. Smart-ass, intelligent, anti-religion, schemer, etc. He is me. However, putting himself on the block is something I never would have done. Big stones on this one. He is in the top two.
Rachel: Out sooner rather than later. She will fall apart if her showmance partner is dumped (and he will be). Is already talking about getting married. Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard. Is supposed to be really intelligent. Can you be ditzy and intelligent. Gone very soon.
Ragan: As he is probably used to he is filling the hole he is supposed to. Nice enough guy, and actually appears to have some gameplay under the exterior. A little too flamboyant for my tastes. However I think he probably makes top two, and if he does it really is a contest between him and Matt.
Me on Big Brother
I've always said that Big Brother is the one show I'd go on that I don't think I could win. Putting myself in the house with these lunk heads would probably push me over the edge. Would I be able to swallow my pride and actually associate with these pin-heads for 90 days? I don't know, but I wish I would have had the chance to find out.
Outside of pure feats of strength I can do anything I've seen in a soccer game. Not with nearly the consistency, but I can do it. Same thing with golf. I can drop a 50 foot putt, I've done it before. I can hit a drive in the middle of the fairway, etc. I can't do any of these things consistently, but I can (and in most cases have) done them.
I know what you're thinking...holy shit, is he actually doing a blog that doesn't revolve around reality TV? Of course not.
Reality TV has a special place in my heart (assuming that I actually have one). Part borne out of the voyeuristic nature of it, partially because I could really see myself there. I'm not talking about the dancing shows or the singing shows, or the fucking Bret Michaels shows, I'm talking about CBS's big 2 and the other one (Survivor, The Amazing Race, and Big Brother). It's no secret that I've applied to all of them, and I've been close (kind of) to actually competing in all three, having been a semi-finalist 5 fucking times, but never making the cut.
Summer is a black hole for television, where people do dumb things like go outside, spend time with their family, etc. Big Brother has a great niche in that they are one of the few first run television shows in the middle of summer.
Two full weeks in to a painful season (for me) of Big Brother I am actually informed enough to start talking about it. In the beginning it is hard to get all of the characters right (unless they really stand-out which can be the kiss of death) so I waited til I had formed some opinions about the household guests of the summer. I was actually going to write this earlier today (before tonight's eviction), but I couldn't being on vacation and all.
The two evictees
Annie: Not much to say, but what a joke of a swerve "the sabatour" ended up to be. She did give me a great idea for a strategy for the future: Come out to the gay man as a closeted homosexual. That's like having an extra vote.
Monet: Christ she cried a lot. And as much as some of her criticism of other HG's was spot-on, what a catty bitch.
The Remaining 11
Andrew: This guy has to go. Be religious, that's cool. However he is too religious. There is something in the bible about not pushing your religion on others (which he isn't directly), but by making them conform to his things he kind of is. His whole attitude of not letting the game over take his religion is a reason he shouldn't be there. He can't win.
Brendon: Douche-bag. Not the biggest one in the house, but one for sure. He cried almost as much as Annie the first week. One of my biggest fears if I got on a show is that I would cry like a little girl. I'm sure I wouldn't cry as much as him. Can't win.
Britney: Okay, here I'm torn. She's part bitch, part whiner. I like the bitch (even though the wonky eye is distracting), but the whiner makes me want to curb-stomp her. She reminds me of Jordan except she's not legally retarded. Has painted herself deep into a corner, but could go deep because she has no one else. Has shown a few glimmers of gameplay. She needs to find friends fast. Probably can't win.
Enzo: Thanks MTV. Because of The Jersey Shore we have this douche-bag to watch all summer, and he will be around for awhile. Is playing the game well, but the "meow-meow" bullshit makes me want to open a vein. In the end he will get cut as the 5th or 6th man standing. To much of a dick to win.
Hayden: For as much as he's on, he's really still kind of low profile. Part of the only important alliance currently in play. Doesn't seem like a smart guy, but seems nice enough. Reminds me of Dan's partner from two seasons ago. Will go deep if his alliance doesn't cut him because of his blossoming relationship with someone in the house. Comes in 4th.
Kathy: Not really much to say. She reminds me of someone I know, but I can't figure out who. Has nice cans. Kind of a goofball. Not much of a player.
Kristen: She is probably a really nice, funny, interesting person. None of this comes out on the show. A real non-factor. Her showmance thing might take her far. Nice that she actually has a boyfriend back home.
Lane: Not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Part of the small group that actually has a clue as to what is going on. Comes in 3rd.
Matt: He is me. If I had to put my finger on why I wouldn't have made the cut for this season is they found a slightly more attractive and younger me. Smart-ass, intelligent, anti-religion, schemer, etc. He is me. However, putting himself on the block is something I never would have done. Big stones on this one. He is in the top two.
Rachel: Out sooner rather than later. She will fall apart if her showmance partner is dumped (and he will be). Is already talking about getting married. Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard. Is supposed to be really intelligent. Can you be ditzy and intelligent. Gone very soon.
Ragan: As he is probably used to he is filling the hole he is supposed to. Nice enough guy, and actually appears to have some gameplay under the exterior. A little too flamboyant for my tastes. However I think he probably makes top two, and if he does it really is a contest between him and Matt.
Me on Big Brother
I've always said that Big Brother is the one show I'd go on that I don't think I could win. Putting myself in the house with these lunk heads would probably push me over the edge. Would I be able to swallow my pride and actually associate with these pin-heads for 90 days? I don't know, but I wish I would have had the chance to find out.
Monday, June 21, 2010
....All good things (really this time)
All Good Things...part I
L O S T
Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse can suck my dick. Damn you for what you've done. Lost was, key word was, a good show. Season 5 went off the rails, and Season 6 was 15 pounds of shit in a 10 pound bag. There are not enough words to describe the truckload of fail dumped on the air in the last two seasons.
"You'll find all truths we cling to are dependent on a certain point of view." Remember the whole "this isn't purgatory" statements? Technically those are true, because the island wasn't purgatory, the flash sideways was.
There are a couple of tenets to storytelling which are considered universal. One of these is you don't introduce key characters in the third act of a story. Yeah, they skipped that one.
All the mysteries that were going to be answered? Yeah, about that. Not gonna happen. Apparently there is an additional 30 minutes to the finale on the upcoming BluRay release that contains some of the answers. I’m sorry, that’s bullshit. With all of the meandering plots that the show had, they could have spent that 30 minutes on their dime and not mine.
Answers were given…and many of them don’t fit, don’t make sense, or outright contradict previously established information.
You know the old statement about bridge builders? Build bridges your entire life, do they call you a bridge builder? LOST was, key word was, a terrific show. The unevenness of the last two seasons, and the laughable religious ending (not that the show didn’t have religious allegories through-out, but the end game was almost out of bible camp) lessened what the show was. I could go into intricate detail about the problems that they couldn’t paint themselves out of, but I won’t. It’s over, and no more LOST bridges will be built.
The Amazing Race 16
You can tell a lot about a person with how they act when the stakes are high. Anyone can be the nice guy when you’re safe where you’re at. When the stress level is raised and the stakes are high many times a “nice” person will show a not so nice side.
That’s one of the things I’ve never understood about different reality show contestants. They are “nice” until they realize that the game is on, which is at the end (usually), but they still refer to how nice they were earlier as a defense for being a dick later. In my mind the game begins well before Phil says, “The world is waiting”, Jeff says, “Welcome to Survivor X” or the houseguests enter the house. The game begins when you decide to put in that application. If you’re nice on day one, but cut-throat on day 35, guess what? You’re cut-throat. End of story.
That brings me to the brothers. They ran a different, but decent race. One of the things they mentioned many times was how they were nice. Don’t get me wrong, you can be nice on these shows, but outside of the context of the game. Get to know the people you’re going to knife in the back. Nothing wrong with that. However, elevating your status as a person because you were sweet and cuddly on the first day but didn’t hesitate to throw someone under the bus on the final leg is bull-shit. Man up about the fact that you’re there to win, and you’ll win dirty if you have to.
I had no qualms with the brothers winning. They seemed to legitimately be having fun, and to have made the most out of the experience. They were a little prissy for my taste, but nothing against them that would make me upset if they won. The cowboys were the obvious favorites, and I would have had an issue if Map Girl and Tool Boy had won.
All that being said I was disappointed with the final leg. The Star Wars task was cool and I would have loved to have been a part of it, but the entire final leg was structured so that the team that took the lead early was going to win barring catastrophic failure. The final memory task was quite possibly the easiest final task ever.
Finally, what wins between the irrestable focrce and the immovable object? We’ll never know, but we did get a glance at the unbearably stupid vs. the eternally hateful. The la-la-la-la-lesbians got in their parting shot at the finish line. Map Girl held her own, but the way I view it is this: being stupid is something you just are, she can’t help it. Being mean, angry, and spiteful is something that though it may be an inherent characteristic, you can control it.
The Amazing Race 17 is in the can, and as with the past 16 installments I am not involved. I will watch with baited breath, hoping for the good guys, and wishing ill will on those I don't like.
All Good Things...part III
Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains
Son, I am disappoint. It’s my own fault. It really is. On two fronts. Like Hitler and Napoleon before me, I learn that a two front war is not winnable. Actually that comparison completely falls apart, but I thought I was being clever, so I’m going to leave it. Bite me if you don’t like it.
First problem: I knew the results long before it got down to the wire. If I know something is out there I can’t not read it. I’m a consumption whore. This kind of spoiled the fun of actually watching the drama unfold. However, there was an upside. Knowing the complete boot order and who won it made the way it turned out much more palatable and much less frustrating.
Second Problem: I expected more from returning players. Especially from players that were in their third go round. I expected them to see the game as a game and recognize the skills (no matter how underhanded they may be) needed to win the game. Considering the fact that these were all veterans, they need to play underhanded was increased. These weren’t new kids on the block (or n”sync for that matter), so they wouldn’t fall for the banana in the tail pipe, you had to up your game.
In a previous breakdown I stated that Sandra didn’t deserve to be on this show and was the least deserving winner of 19 prior seasons. She now holds the top two slots for that particular designation. Congrats Sandra!
Russell/Parv: Either them could have won and it would have been justifiable. Both of them had legit claims to the prize. I would have voted for Russell, but I wasn’t there. If this was a new season of Survivor, Sandra winning would have almost been understandable, but not with vets.
At the Reunion show Rob said he would love to kick Russell’s ass all over the island again. Rob did really good. He was dominating challenges, but he got beat. He did not in any way, shape, or form kick Russell’s ass all over anything. Actually, if you remove All-Stars. Rob is not very successful on Survivor. He’s the only person ever to play the game three times and never make the jury. He was out before the jury twice, and was a finalist once. Actually Russell and Rob have played an equal number of days (Rob 21 in Marquesas, 39 All-Stars, and 18 on HvV for a total of 78. Russell has the same 78 as a two-time finalist.)
I’m looking forward to getting back to new blood in the next go round, but Big Brother is up next, and it will pain me to watch it.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)