it seems that the best chance i have to write is when i'm supposed to be doing reviews or something else... then again, when am i ever NOT supposed to be writing reviews... it's a never ending cycle and therein lies part of my problem... only a part though... anyway... hopefully, this outlet dislodges the logjam of thoughts in my head and allows for some spiffy reviews to come out later on... i will say, that i've gottenn pretty good about writing reviews more efficiently... once i sit down and shut out the world around me, it doesn't take me that long... Well, i've got a few random things to talk about today including a book, two movies and some assorted random thoughts... let's see how we go... before i get started... i can't think of a better thing to begin with than sharing the Rocky Balboa Trailer... okay... i may be the only one excited and the only one in the theaters when it releases this Christmas season... but i'm okay with that... it's freaking ROCKY, dude... Also interesting is the news of a 103-inch plasma television from Panasonic... i suspect you need a rather large room to view that appropriately... but hey, it's BIG and that's AWESOME... (and i'm guessing it will run somewhere between 15 and 20 thousand dollars)... so Sir Janke, who is back on Xanga now, asked a little while ago about the CMCentral Podcasts which were recently launched... i believe he said... "what's the deal?"... well, here's the deal... "J-Gonzo" has been hosting the Weekend22 forever has apparently decided to step out of the box a little and expand his territory... which i think is great... and i have nothing against him... I was presented with the idea of adding podcasts to CMC a while ago - and by "presented with the idea" i mean informed that it was happening - and apparently this is what worked out... so what we have so far, as far as i can tell from my corner of the site, are three podcast flavors, the Weekly Buzz, which runs about 5-6 minutes and touches on all the key news stories and content of the site each week with a rather distracting musical backdrop (just being honest)... the Album Review/Preview podcast, which i think is a little longer and less frequent - pretty self explanatory, song clips, highlights and thoughts on relatively new releases (i hope going forward)... and the Artists on the Phone podcast, which i've yet to experience since there's none published yet (i did catch wind of one being in the works, but who really knows)... so there you have it... that's what the podcasts look like... are they worth checking out? you decide and let me know... i listen to them, but if i'm honest it's mostly for one of two reasons... first, to see whether or not it's good.... and second, to hear my name on the "radio"... i have nothing against J-Gonzo, but i'd be lying if i said that i was too happy about the podcast situation... there are quite a few reasons that i'm not thrilled with the direction CMC has taken in this regard, but i don't feel like it's the time to air dirty laundry... they say that nothing will ever be done the way you'd like it to be done unless you do it yourself and i'd have to agree... which is why, and here's a secret for you, i'm toying with the idea of my own podcast... i have a lot to learn about the editing process and what not, but it may just happen sometime in the near future... also, since we're on the subject of podcasts, i present a short list of some podcasts that i think are definitely worth checking out...
i guess it wasn't as many as i thought... i have checked out a bunch of others but i'm not ready to wholeheartedly endorse them at this point... now... a movie... went to see Pirates of the Carribbean 2 on Friday night... opening night... kind of... despite it being sold out, we managed to secure seats... albeit mine was broken and i was basically sitting on the floor - at least it was padded... so here we go... really brief review... i liked it... it was everything you could hope for in a pirate movie... swashbuckling action, quite a bit of fantasy, a bit of comedy, and Captain Jack... the make-up department deserves an oscar nod because they did a fabulous job and Johnny Depp was brilliant as expected... it's funny to watch him in 21 Jump Street and then in Pirates and see the difference... and overall, even though i didn't remember much of the first movie, i was still drawn into this movie and i'm hooked on the franchise... can't wait for the next one... especially knowing that Chow Yun-Fat will be involved... now... a book... i finished reading The Last Christian Generation by Josh McDowell... to be completely honest, i'm very happy to be done with it... the last few chapters were completely brutal and laughable... in light of those chapters, the entire book was a waste of my time... here's why... start with a gripping title... something that will grab people's attention and draw them in... begin the book with a logical explanation of the title... next, throw facts at the readers... lots of statistics that they won't necessarily know what to do with until you tell them what it means in accordance with the book... keep pounding these facts down until you've successfully painted a dismal picture of a serious problem... now that they've been convinced, begin explaining how to address the problem... finally, bring it on home with your product placement and solution... does this formula sound familiar? yep... it's a stinkin infomercial... the worst part is that it's cloaked in the disguise of a book that you've already paid for... okay, that probably sounds a bit harsh... so here's the thing... the stats don't lie... i'm certain that this problem exists in our culture... it doesn't take a genius to realize that our society has become increasingly secular and ignorant of the Gospel and the Truth... although, if i'm really being honest, i'd have to question whether or not the last "Christian" generation had actually passed away long ago since i wouldn't really consider this generation to be truly "Christian"... so what do we do about it?... this is why people will buy the book... and this is why they'll either be angered or charged up (emotionally and monetarily)... McDowell hints at some general principles that are great, but the bulk of his "solution" is spent directing readers to his newly founded website that sells "approved" resources, training events, and other such products... simply stated... this is an extended infomercial and i'm pretty bummed that i spent so much time reading it... i may revisit some of the themes from this book later, but i simply don't have time now... okay... another movie... The Gospel on DVD... rented it through netflix and i enjoyed it somewhat... the acting was alright and the soundtrack was definitely cool... and i didn't have too many problems with the plot, but the script was really lacking in places... some really silly transitions and gaps within the storyline as well as some just plain bad writing... and then of course, when the voiceover explains the story to "us idiots" watching, it just becomes a very cheesy moment... like i didn't realize what story this movie parallels... thanks for S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G it out... not a bad rental, but i don't think i'll be buying it... or renting it again for that matter... once is probably fine... alright... i think i covered all my bases and managed to use up quite a bit of my day... off to work on those reviews... but before i go, here's my ritualistic content pimping for the day... Left to Write: What Have You Got to Lose?... fresh from yesterday... currently listening to: Forever Changed - Chapters keeping an eye on...
peace... love... bdg... |
11 July, 2006
Random intersections and whatnots
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