Mmm, Whatcha say?

Wow, I really let this thing die, didn't I? I wonder if anyone will actually see this.

So, here we go. Look out, I'm going to clog up your browser with videos. Sorry. I've been wasting some time on youtube again. Yay holiday weekend. Anyway, thanks to Rodney and Sean, I've become aware of the "Dear Sister" Saturday Night Live sketch, which is apparently actually called "The Shooting." It is a parody of a scene from The OC (rather violent, consider yourself warned):



Which led to this SNL skit (I know, I know, "Screenflow Demo"? Well, it was that, or some guy filming his actual TV. I'd consider this the lesser of 2 evils. This one's hard to find.):
EDIT: Linked because the embedding messed up the margins. I hate that.

Apparently, this sparked a huge meme with people making parodies that I somehow managed to miss. (Violence, Spoilers from the various movies used, etc.)

There's The Matrix:



300:



Lord of the Rings:



World Cup Soccer:



Duck Hunt:



The Office:
Link! (Embedding was disabled, but it's just too good not to include.)

"Charlie Bit My Finger":



Monty Python and the Holy Grail:



Scrubs:



... As you can see, it goes (or went) on and on. It would seem to be a rather old joke at this point, but since I missed it the first time around, I think I'm within my rights to post it! Sorry if you found this completely un-funny!

POST SCRIPT!
In case you were curious, the song used in the scene, and its subsequent parodies is "Hide and Seek", by Imogen Heap. It's a rather lovely song, I think.

Multi-Facial

"Ladies and Gentlemen! I would like to present an intriguing, thoughtful, and well-written short film* starring one of the most talented actors of our time, V- wait, what? Him? Really... you're sure? Okay, if you say so... As I was saying! One of the most talented actors of our time, Vin Diesel!"


*We ask that you disregard the terrible rapping.

Seriously... it appears that Mr. Diesel did his best work before anyone had ever heard of him and he had made any money to speak of. It's rather hard to believe that the gentleman we just watched is responsible for such diverse and complex characters as Riddick from The Chronicles of Riddick, Dom from The Fast and the Furious, and Xander from XXX. I mean, I liked Pitch Black as much as the next guy, but I'll take Mike from "Multi-Facial" over the others any day.

"MORE!" They Cried!

Well, sort of, anyway. Since at least one of you demands more, I feel I must oblige. Now, obviously, I've been a little light on inspiration of late, and when I go back to one old standby (ranting about politics) I'm either misunderstood, or nobody cares, so I figure I'll go back to another old standby. You're not going to like it.

That's right. I'm going to review stuff.

I told you you weren't going to like it. Now, to be honest, I do have a fairly ambitious little writing project bouncing around in my head, though I'm not sure it's entirely appropriate for this space, seeing as it would be a tribute to a work that's never been published in any real capacity. But, that is another post for another time, and a project I'd really rather keep under my hat for the time being.

For the first review, I'll start small.

Keane, a "piano rock" group from Battle, East Sussex, England, The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, has taken up the recently popular trend of artists, publishers, etc. having their own YouTube channels. On their channel, they've got music videos, behind the scenes stuff, and other little oddities. One of the nice little gems you can find here is what they refer to as a "live mash." It's a bit of a tribute cover for two different songs: "Another One Bites the Dust," by fruity yet bad-ass defunct rock group Queen, and "Dance Wiv Me," by British rapper who I had to look up on Wikipedia Dizzee Rascal, featuring Scottish songwriter/producer who I also had to look up on Wikipedia Calvin Harris. The result is the bizarre yet beautiful "Another One Bites the Dizzee." Basically, it's the verses and baseline from "Another One Bites the Dust" with the chorus and melody from "Dance Wiv Me." I found that once I got past the original "What were they thinking?" reaction, I rather enjoyed it. Keane singer Tom Chaplin's voice is a great match for Freddie Mercury's, and when you put the addictive baseline of "..Dust" together with the too-catchy-for-its-own-good melody of "Dance...," well, I don't know... it just works! They mesh so well! If I weren't familiar with one of the songs already, I would have sworn this was the original, which is, I think, the best compliment any cover (mash-up or otherwise) can receive. Hats off to Keane then, I suppose!

Happy Election Day!

Happy election day, everybody! Make sure you go vote (unless of course, you're not informed!).

Here's one for the tinfoil hat, I'm-moving-to-Canada crowd:





Only 76 more days of Dubya. Tonight it begins.

It was a Crazy Time...

If you've seen 311 perform live, you know they have an excellent stage presence, and know how to entertain a crowd. Keep that in mind, because it makes the exceeding awkwardness you are about to see all the more hilarious. I'm just going to chalk it up to the fact that it was the early Nineties, and people were still listening to Vanilla Ice.

The Trouncing was Thorough!

And just in case anybody was actually wondering, (I know I was!!) UT - Chattanooga used to be known as the Moccasins, probably named for Moccasin Bend, a part of Tennessee River near Chattanooga. Up until the 1960s, the team's mascot was a water moccasin (good choice, right?), when they started using an actual moccasin... you know, like the shoes. In the '70s, they adopted a Native American theme, and their mascot was a caricatured Indian chief. In 1996, amid the wave of sickening mascot political correctness, they threw out the Native American theme. Oddly, they passed on this perfect opportunity to go back to the fearsome water moccasin, chopped off the last two syllables of the nickname, and changed their mascot to a mockingbird dressed as a train engineer, simultaneously honoring the state bird of Tennessee and the song "Chattanooga Choo Choo". Yes, seriously. Thanks, Wikipedia.

Incidentally, does anybody remember this song? I saw it in a commercial today, and was reminded of how much I liked it.

I STILL love you, Alex!

He he he..."How can I buy something before I've arrived? Your speech is constructed on paradoxes!"

Election Impressions, 2008 (part III) The Republicans

This post has been two weeks coming, and in that space of time, the Republican side of the primaries has gotten extremely boring. While two weeks ago we were talking about a brokered convention, now it's McCain, McCain, McCain. Well, alas, it is not what it could have been. Here they are, following the same guidelines as I followed for the Democrats.

*Former Governor Mike Huckabee
Huckabee is still the favorite candidate among the religious right. In addition to all of what that brings, he supports the Iraq war, and is big on national defense, securing the borders, etc. Somewhat refreshingly, he does support the Fair Tax plan, and the abolition of the IRS. That aside though, I'm glad he isn't going to win the nomination, given his statements about wanting to amend the Constitution to "follow God's law." Don't get me wrong, I'm all for following God's law, but that's not the government's place. There are plenty of people in this country who would disagree about what God's law is, what God is giving the laws, or whether or not there's any God with any laws to begin with, so let's not go pulling down the first amendment, okay?

*Senator John McCain
McCain, for better or worse, is the guy for the Republicans. He lacks somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 delegates before he has the required count for the nomination, and has a 600 delegate lead over his closest competition, Mitt Romney, who endorsed him this week. He also has the endorsements of President Bush, the Governator, and a whole slew of prominent Republicans. McCain is best known for being a prisoner of war in Vietnam, and being a moderate in the Senate, crossing party lines on a number of votes, most notably the 2001 "Bush tax cuts", and co-sponsoring a number of bills with Democrats, most notably the McCain/Feingold campaign finance reform bill. Recently, though, he's been trying to appeal to conservatives, saying that if he had the chance again, he would vote for the tax cuts, as well as being a strong proponent of the Iraq war, and the president's "surge" strategy. He was recently quoted as saying that we would stay in Iraq for "100 years" if necessary. Personally, I think he's much more moderate than he's been making himself out to be recently, and I'm going to wait to see how he stacks up against his eventual Democratic opponent before I make a decision reguarding McCain.

* Representative Dr. Ron Paul
From the beginning of this, Ron Paul has been my candidate. Really, he represents the only time in my short voting life that a major party's candidate has lined up with the majority of my views. Though he's a long-time Republican, he conforms much more to the party's long-time basic ideals than its recent practices, advocating small government and low taxes. What truly set him apart from the rest of the Republican field is his opposition to the Iraq war from the beginning. Essentially, he comes out to being fairly libertarian. In the preliminary campaigning season, it looked like he might surprise some people in the elections; he put up some astounding fundraising statistics, and made a splash going toe-to-toe with Rudy Giuliani over foreign policy in the debates. The media, though, never really gave him a lot of publicity, and while his supporters may be some of the most dedicated, he never really caught on with the larger party base, and has consistently brought in 5-15% of the voters in most Republican contests. Frankly, I had much higher hopes that the candidate I actually registered for a party to vote for would make a stronger showing, but I'm content that there are other people (and at least one actually in government) that feel the way I do about the way our country is going. A vote for Paul has become a vote for his message, and I'm encouraged that that message is not dead yet.


There is one positive I failed to mention about Governor Huckabee...he rocks!

Election 2008, Impressions (part II) The Democrats

So, I lied. I didn't get this done yesterday. But here it is...today. Anyway.

As I sit here and write this, there is currently less than an hour until the polls close in the South Carolina primary. This could mean the end of the road for one or more candidates, but I'm writing right now with the current candidates still in mind. So, without further ado, the Democrats:

*Senator Hillary Clinton
Basically, when you get down to it, I'm not really a big fan. First of all, I disagree with her on many issues. She's been known for a long time as a major proponent of a socialized healthcare plan. On the war, she's been inconsistent. She made a major mistake in the beginning, voting to approve war funding and to give the president permission for a long-term deployment. She's since advocated a withdrawal from Iraq. Whether this is truly what she wants, or if she's merely following the popular sentiments of her party, God only knows. As far as most domestic issues go, she's basically a classic Democrat, favoring increased government programs and assistance, and covering the cost through tax increases. To her credit, she has recently advocated a balanced budget, but personally, I don't want to cover the costs for a lot of things she'd be paying for. On the positive side, I do like the ideas behind her plan to increase confidence in government. Also, her immigration reform plans seem like a step in the right direction, if not a genuine solution. She likes to paint herself as the experienced candidate. Apparently, being first lady gives her experience, because being a Senator makes her soooo unique in this years' field. What it ultimately comes down to for me, though, is that I just don't trust her. I look at Hillary and I see a politician's politician. I realize this is truly subjective, and that if she does get elected, she may turn out to be a noble leader, but I'd be willing to bet that she'd do whatever she could and step on whoever she could to get her personal agenda ahead. Also, a Hillary win means a return to Bill. Anyone who's been paying attention can see that, for better or worse, they're operating this thing as a team, and though it probably won't be in any official capacity, he would wield influence in a Hillary White House.

*Former Senator John Edwards
Edwards, who was a major player in the 2004 Democratic primaries, and the eventual running mate for John Kerry, has fallen somewhat by the wayside in this year's elections. He, like all the Democratic candidates, favors a comprehensive healthcare system; his plan would call for across the board coverage by 2012, paid for by repealing tax cuts passed during the Bush administration. Also, poorer families would receive tax subsidies. He's also proposed a plan to end poverty by 2037, of which one of the steps would be to move the poverty line. Some of the policies make sense to me, some do not, but considering I could write an entire post about it, I'm not going to get into details. Needless to say, it would entail a lot of government handouts. For foreign policy, on one hand, he favors a quick withdrawal from Iraq, but on the other hand, advocates US intervention in other countries on other issues. He also favors education reform, and giving legal status to some illegal immigrants. The way things look now, if he does not put together a strong showing in today's South Carolina primary, he may drop out of the race. South Carolina being his home state, this probably represents his best chance for a win. That said, he may stay in all the way to the convention on principal. If his history is any indication, he may try for a spot in the administration of an eventual Democratic winner.

*Former Senator Mike "Give 'em Hell" Gravel
Mike Gravel is the only marginal candidate still in the race for the Democrats. He is most known for being from Alaska, strange YouTube videos, and standing on the edge of the stage during debates, yelling about how he doesn't get enough opportunities to speak. He is staunchly anti-war, emphasizes environmental responsibility, supports the Fair Tax plan, universal health care, and increased funding for education. All that said, none of his positions hold any importance in his race, as his party has completely written him off. None of his opponents pay him any mind, and the commentators don't even bother dismissing him anymore.

*Senator Barack Obama
Obama, unlike the other viable candidates in this race, has consistently voted against the war in Iraq. He supports tax reforms to make the code more simple, and also provide tax credits to the working class. He supports the establishment of a preschool education system, as well as further reforms for national education requirements to encourage higher performance. He also supports universal health care. Uniquely, he favors negotiating with our enemies, rather than ending all relations completely. The main problem with him is that I can't see him speak without thinking of Dave Chappelle impersonating a white guy! Seriously though, he says he's the change candidate...again, whether or not he would actually change anything, time may tell. A lot of people seem to talk about him affecting the vote simply by virtue of being black. This may be true, but the same situation could be said of Clinton being a woman.

Together, their mudslinging has brought the race to a point of constant accusations, the funniest of which took place in last weeks' debate, in which they spent ten minutes arguing about who liked Ronald Reagan the least. Anyway, this election is still tight, and depending on how super Tuesday comes out, this one may go deep into the primaries without being decided.

The next post will cover the Republicans. Meanwhile, I'll leave you with this thought:

What if...

...elementary schools didn't sugar-coat their history lessons?

This commercial made me laugh.





Now, back to the paper I should be doing.

Optimism

With a loss next week, or a win by St. Louis, the Dolphins can clinch the first pick in the draft!

















Hooray for looking on the bright side!

Still Alive!

Not dead! I even blog every once in a while!

So, I'll continue in the vein of college football, because I can. OU pretty much screwed themselves for the championship when they collapsed against Tech, but looking at the BCS top 10...

1. Missouri
2. West Virginia
3. Ohio State
4. Georgia
5. Kansas
6. Virginia Tech
7. LSU
8. USC
9. OU
10. Florida

Missouri has to play us on Saturday in the Big 12 championship. West Virginia plays their rival, Pittsburg. Ohio State is done. Georgia is done, but did not make it to their conference championship, losing their division's tie-breaker to Tennessee. Kansas is in the same situation, but has the advantage of only one loss. Virginia Tech plays Boston College in the ACC title game. LSU plays Tennessee for the SEC title. USC plays rival UCLA. They've already secured their conference title by beating Arizona St. last week. Florida is done with three losses, therefore out of the picture.

SO...

If we win, and West Virginia, Virginia Tech, LSU, and USC all lose, then there's a pretty good chance we'll be in the national championship against Ohio State. Otherwise, it's going to be Fiesta Bowl or Cotton Bowl. Hope springs eternal, friends.

Finally, a message from Gary, the No-Trash Cougar.



Remember, give a larbage, throw out your garbage.

Your Daily Dose of Classy....

Courtesy of Chris Walken and Fatboy Slim. Enjoy!

Evidence...

...that Dick Cheney is (was) a smart man, and that power corrupts.

Will It Blend?

That is the question! This is from the best video series on YouTube. If you've got some time on your hands, check these things out.

Jason Mraz

Over the last few years, I've been to a smattering of concerts and heard my fair share of live recordings, but I think Mraz is easily the best live performer I've ever seen. Not only does he write interesting songs that are either incredibly beautiful or make you want to get up and dance, he's also got quite the voice. If you like this one, check out some of the other videos from the same performance.

Because March will be a month of concerts...

...and because Keane is awesome.
And I'll likely never get to see them in concert. Oh well. Anyway, Keane - Hamburg Song (live)

I Hate That Damn Machismo...

Forgive me while I wax nostalgic, but this song popped into my head on the way home, and whatcha know, the video's on youtube!

Good Old Fashioned Violence

A simple, yet amusing video...

Halo 3 - Circle of Life

The timing on this works so well, it's almost scary. The guy who made this must have had waaaaayy too much time on his hands.