The Dark Knight

Comic book movies are a real dice throw. Some are good (The Incredible Hulk), very good (Iron Man, Batman Begins, X-Men) or just god awful steaming bowls of shit (Fantastic Four, XMen 3, Batman and Robin, etc.

Then there is The Dark Knight.

I am not a fan of rebooting franchises. My personal feeling is that Hollywood should focus on doing more creative things with their times than sequels that can kill a franchise but this is something that is very special.

For two and a half hours you are totally hoooked into this film. From start to finish, it's a masterpiece. A character study, drama, action packed film that makes you think, am I really watching a Batman movie?

It's not a Batman movie. It's a Dark Knight movie.

Christian Bale is a tremendous actor. Since his role as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho to his role as the Machinist, he is a very committed actor and his performance emulates the work that is done. In this sequel, he is phenomenal. A real treat watching how he struggles with what he has to do and can do as his alter ego of Batman.

Aaron Eckhart was great as Two Face as well. I never seen him in anything besides The Dark Knight but it makes you wonder what he is capable of. He plays the good ol boy very well, but his turn as a villian just proves the reach of this actor.

Maggie Gyllenhal is suitable for Rachel Dawes. It's just one of those, "Let's put in a good looking girl for this role." sort of actress.

But finally Heath Ledger was born to be The Joker. His twist on how a maniac should be. I can't remember seeing a film where you were waiting for him to come back on the screen, but the best part you did not have any idea what he was going to do. It was just interesting to see him work with Bale, Eckhart and Gary Oldman to which they had a great chemistry together. He tears down a whole town and inflicts complete chaos with a huge "smile on that faceeee ah!"

The landscape and cinematography is great. You feel that Gotham City is an actual place in the US that is in complete anarchy which can possibly happen in our country. A sense of reality if you must.

Christopher Nolan needs to stay with this franchise since it is his direction that makes these films what they are. He is a great talent unlike M Night Shamalamadingdong with his story telling. Nolan has given Batman a new identity instead of the terrible acid trip that Joel Schumacher created.

Overall this film is one for my generation that will go down as a masterpiece. Finally a movie that is noteworthy of being a comic book film but done properly and attests to how Batman should be remembered.

Pearl Jam MSG 6/25/08

June 25, 2008, a day that will live forever in the history of Madison Square Garden. After seeing the first show last night, I knew that I was in for something very special. My good friend, Melissa accompanied me to the show and it was the first time she was seeing Pearl Jam in about 12 years. I bet her that if she did not think that this show would be hands down the best concert she had ever seen. First we got to meet up with the producers of producers at Sirius, Alexander (Super Mario) Di Trolio for a drink down a Houlihans and had some great laughs. Even down in Penn Station, you could just feel that this was going to be a special night. Like when the Devils were about to win the Stanley Cup or the Giants before they won the Super Bowl. Then it was show time. The Ten Club tickets were good, but I admit I was hoping for floor. However our seats were outstanding nonetheless. From the minute Pearl Jam stepped onto the stage everyone was standing up and would not sit down for the rest of the evening. They opened with Release, but followed quickly with World Wide Suicide prompting some fear that this might be an obscure night (basically with Pearl Jam, any song they ever wrote or played is game for a concert.) However, once playing a rocking set of Corduory it was all down hill. The Garden was shaking again. With the recent passing of George Carlin, the band dedicated Given To Fly hoping he would find his way to heaven. The night before it was Do The Evolution for his impact on the comedic community with his Seven Words. haI finally was able to hear Rearviewmirror and the band did not disappoint. The passion and pride behind each chord and vocal was there, but one interesting fact. Pearl Jam loves to play for it's fans. They really do. After every song, they are smiling and seem to be having an amazing time. Like last night, CJ Ramone came on for a cover of I Believe In Miracles. But the real treat of the night was Black Diamond by Kiss with Ace Freely playing lead guitar. At first they closed with Alive, but Eddie and the guys could not let this end. After their bow, they came back on for a set of Yellow Bedletter and finished with Mike McCready's rendition of Star Spangled Banner. All in all, two of the greatest concerts I had ever seen. 61 Songs in two nights. Set list is below and just wanna share a big thanks to Melissa and Tim for coming with me to the shows. I hope you had as good as time as I did.
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Set 1
Release, World Wide Suicide, Severed Hand, Corduroy, All Night, Cropduster, Garden, Marker In The Sand, I'm Open, Wishlist, State Of Love And Trust, Even Flow, Who You Are, Rats, Given To Fly, Do The Evolution, Go
Encore 1
Inside Job, W.M.A., Lukin, I Believe In Miracles, Better Man(Save it for Later), Rearviewmirror
Encore 2
No More, Last Kiss, Why Go, Black Diamond, Alive, Yellow Ledbetter (followed by Star Spangled Banner)

Pearl Jam MSG 6/24/08

I had the distinct pleasure of getting to see Pearl Jam play Madison Square Garden last night and it was absolutely unbelivable. It shocks me that this band is not considered to be one of the top live acts of our time.
I never seen a show before or event (exception the Jets playoff game in 1998 insert lame Kevin Liptak joke here) where every single person in the place did not sit down for one second. Everyone and I mean everyone was standing up and singing. From the covers to the hits to the obscure B side that Eddie made up sitting on his surfboard in the ocean, everyone sang along.
They opened with Hard To Imagine, which is one of their more softer openers that I heard, but immediately right after Save You came on and I understood why the Garden is "THE GARDEN." It was only two songs into the show and Eddie announced that the stage was shaking again. This continued for 2 hours and 35 minutes.
The real treat of the night was seeing C.J. Ramone play I Believe in Miracles. The Ramones never played MSG, however this one got the chance and he made it worth every fan's while.
Pearl Jam has easily solidified themselves as one of the greatest rock bands to ever strum a guitar, hit a drum or sing a tune. And if you don't believe see them live and you'll understand.
Setlist is below:
Set 1
Hard To Imagine, Save You, Why Go, All Night, Corduroy, Faithfull, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Down, Unemployable, Given To Fly, Who You Are, Whipping, 1/2 Full, Even Flow, Present Tense, Daughter, Do The Evolution
Encore 1
Love Reign O'er Me, W.M.A., Leash, Spin The Black Circle, Wasted Reprise, Porch
Encore 2
No More, Crazy Mary, Comatose, I Believe In Miracles, Alive
Encore 3
All Along The Watchtower, Indifference



Yes they played 3 encores.

Christopher Johnson McCandless - Hero, Inspiration, Crazy?

For those who do not know this story, I'll give you a quick abstract. Christopher Johnson McCandless was a college graduate back in 1992. He was intelligent, funny, and very driven. During his years in college along with some incidents in his home life, he became extremely disgusted with society. After his graduation, he donated 24,000 dollars (life savings) to OXFAM and started a journey west with little equipment and little food. After two years walking the earth, Chris was found dead of starvation in a abandoned bus in Denali National Park. The book "Into The Wild" was written by Jon Krakauer, which has also became a motion picture.
Now the debate since this book and film has ever came out is whether or not McCandless is a hero or an idiot who was influenced by visions of grandeur.
Chris was a smart kid. Real smart. He was not one that backed down from a debate or argument, but he was a person that was so engaging in a conversation that you would never forget him. Everyone who crossed his path in his own "Manifest Destiny" journey was truly hurt by his death only after speaking with him for a few hours.
He was also very close minded. His determination was one of the main factors that contributed to his death. Chris's mentality was if he saw a goal he would acheive it no matter who or what came in his path.
During his journey, he met many characters that helped assist him with his journey. Hunters, wanderers, fellow supertramps that would give him tips and advice on how to cook meat out in that land and basic tips on how to survive in the wild. He would take notes furiously to make sure he had every aspect of the conversation on paper to ensure his survival. Also, he took out five books on plant life in the Alaska Wildlands to know what is edible and what is not.
Chris was not a fool by anymeans for doing this. However, I personally think experience is the best factor for this sort of journey because a how to book can get you so far.
His death was untimely, but he seemed to accept it from Krakauer's writing. He knew that things were not going to end peacefully, but this was the life that Chris wanted to live and he knew that this could possibly be his fate.
Some people seem to think Chris was mentally disturbed because of his inexperience of a journey into the wild, but I disagree. Chris did not have a deathwish. If he did, he could have easily found other means to rid himself of his life. I think Chris wanted a journey that would help define his life and the readings of Jack London, Thoreau, and Tolstoy. He wanted to prove that if they could live in these conditions away from society that he could as well.
Ever since the movie came out, thousands of people have journeyed to the bus on the Stampede Trail to see his final resting place and to read his "passages" written on the bus. Hell, I did feel an urge to travel cross country and to see the sights of this great nation and to feel somewhat of a great journey that Chris did endure.
To conclude, Chris was not crazy. He just did what some people could not.
Live his life the way he wanted to live it, without anyone or anything interfering.
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The Coming Crisis

Very Interesting article by Daniel L. Day of The Washington Times
For more than a decade, English petroleum geologist Colin Campbell has been sounding the warning bell about the coming of peak oil and its disturbing ramifications for the world. Since 2005 Dr. Robert Hirsch has been giving specific warnings for the United States through a series of Department of Energy-sponsored reports outlining the dangers to America if the peak finds us unprepared. And in the past year, the GAO, the National Petroleum Council, and scores of other organizations and governments around the world have reported on the severe consequences the world might incur once the peak has been achieved.
The issue is not simply a concern that we will have to pay outrageous prices for a gallon of gas. If that were the worst of it, the situation would be difficult but manageable. The reality, however, goes deeper and is much more troubling. There are multiple problems affecting the world that are having a decidedly negative net effect: a global rise in demand for crude oil, the plateau in the production of crude oil (which may indicate the peak has already been reached) and continued global population growth. Together, these three factors are serving to shove the world into a crisis that has ominous possibilities.
When there isn't enough oil to satisfy global demand, the price obviously rises. Perhaps less obvious, however, is the effect this price increase has on the world's ability to produce food. Every stage of the food production cycle is affected by petroleum and a rise in the price of a barrel of oil has compounding effects: It costs more to run the farm machinery, more to buy the fertilizer, more to take it to market and more for processing. In the United States, this results in raised eyebrows at the grocery store. In parts of the world where upwards of 75 percent of a family's income goes to buying food, it results in social unrest and riots.
The United Nations estimates that global population is growing at the rate of 78 million people a year — roughly the equivalent of adding the population of Germany to the world every year. According to Energy Information Administration data released earlier this month, global petroleum production has been on a relatively level plateau for the past 44 consecutive months.
But at the same time, the economies of China and India have continued growing, which accelerates the consumption of petroleum-related products and increases the amount and quality of food each person eats. These three facts have conspired to produce a global shortage of crude oil which has exacerbated the world's inability to feed itself. If the world cannot produce significantly more barrels of oil per day, while at the same time the developing world's appetite continues to increase and the global population continues its climb, there won't be enough oil to go around or enough food for everyone to eat.
In just the past two weeks we have been given a foretaste of what that might mean as news organizations have reported rioting and social unrest in developing countries around the world as a result of food shortages; Canadian Bank analyst Jeff Rubin predicted oil prices will "soar to $225 a barrel by 2012." Many experts expect these twin afflictions to remain for the foreseeable future.
This is not the time for more talk and half-measures. Facts on the ground demand urgent, robust and sustained action at the highest levels of government. The America public gets it, as an April 20 poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org found that 76 percent of Americans "believe that their government should make long term plans to replace oil as a primary source of energy." With such a high percentage of the population agreeing with such a necessity, where are our national leaders on this issue? While our presidential candidates continue to be satisfied discussing such critical issues as what someone's pastor said, (who is bitter and who gets angry a lot), there has been not one substantive exchange regarding the most pressing issue facing our country.
Someone must step up and lead before a crisis of global proportions is thrust upon us and our only option is the implementation of draconian damage-control measures. Pray such a leader surfaces soon.
There Will Be Blood

Sportsmanship

This should be what sportsmanship is all about.

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3376663&categoryId=2491548&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos1

Reign Over Me

Hands down one of the worst films that I have ever seen.

Adam Sandler stick to comedies. It's what you are good at.

Don Cheadle more is expected out of you.

Good Day.