Friday Night Satire

I couldn't resist posting this video.

"Yes We Can"

Arguable the results of Super Tuesday (on the Democrat side) were a draw. But with a few days to actually tally up the results, it is not a stretch to say that Obama really came out on top. He won the most states...14 to her 8 and according to the AP and NBC news Obama came out on top of the delegate count by the slimmest of margins (although exact numbers still aren't set on stone).


But even better news came on Wednesday when the Clinton campaign revealed that Hillary had loaned 5 million dollars to the campaign. Not a good sign. Whereas Obama has been a fund-raising machine.



I don't think the tide has turned. I still think they are neck and neck. But if Obama can continue to gain momentum by winning this weekend and then by winning the "Potamac Primary" on next Tuesday then I think he will be in position to win Ohio, which I think will put (although not by the delegate count) on top.

"Atonement" movie review

This week we'll be taking a look at the Best Picture nominee, Atonement ( R). Based on the novel by Ian McEwan, the historical period-piece tells the story of a love affair gone tragic because of a false accusation. The movie stars Keira Knightley, James McAvoy and Saoirse Ronan. Joe Wright directs.

Ryan: I see why Atonement received an Oscar nomination for best picture. From it's story of a fateful love affair in the backdrop of war to the impeccable look of the the movie, it's a film that has that quintessential Hollywood feel that moviegoers easily fall in love with. But I don't think it's a great movie. It's a really good film that has a lot going for it but it has a tragic flaw that prevents it from being a legitimate best picture candidate. I would be very surprised if it took home the award for best picture.

Andy: After watching Atonement, like with what Ryan said, I'm not at all surprised that it was nominated for Best Picture. It is the kind of movie that gets Oscar's attention; it's epic, tragic, well acted, well shot, and it's a period piece with great costumes. That said, the movie as a whole did not hold up as well for me as the other nominated films in the category. It is a fine movie with several (already mentioned) strengths, but by the end it did not feel like as complete of a work as it could have.

Ryan: There's no question that my biggest issue with Atonement is the film's climax and finale. At the very least, the movie's ending will polarize most moviegoers. Needless to say and without giving away too much, the movie takes a drastic shift in terms of the movie's time frame to resolve the narrative. It didn't work for me for a variety of reasons. One, it was all exposition—no action at all. Second, it was manipulative in a manner that is not fair to the audience. Not only does one not see it coming but when it comes it's just completely out of left field.

Andy: I did have some problems with this movie that are hard to overlook. Parts of the movie move at a pretty slow (or perhaps just boring) pace. The scenes featuring the Briony character are definitely weaker than others, and there are a lot of those scenes. And perhaps most disappointing of all, the ending is a cheap trick that minimizes the other accomplishments of the film. I don't want to give anything away, but most people are either going to love or hate the ending. I, obviously, fall into the latter category.

Ryan: Like I said earlier there are plenty of good things about Atonement. James McAvoy continues to impress and it looks like it is only a matter of time before he breaks through and becomes a bonafide Hollywood star. The movie's look is first rate hence the Oscar nominations (best achievement in Art Direction, Costumes and Cinematography) that are justified. Speaking of cinematography, Atonement has one of the best tracking shots that I've ever seen in a movie and it is hands-down the best scene of the year. In one five-and-half minute scene the filmmakers were able to take a small scale love story and make it truly epic.

Andy: Atonement has a couple of major strengths. First and foremost is the potential of director Joe Wright. In just his second feature film, Wright has (mostly) pulled off a sprawling, tumultuous story that, if nothing else, looks great on screen. The highlight of the movie for me as well is a lengthy, continuous tracking shot of soldiers at Dunkirk that is one of the best scenes I've ever seen in a movie. Add on James McAvoy's outstanding performance, which largely carries the movie, and it is easy to understand why people have fallen in love with this film.

Atonement is the weakest Best Picture contender but it is still a solid, well-made film. Final grade: B.

The General

There's absolutely nothing new that I can add to the subject of Bob Knight. To say that he's a polarizing figure is a vast understatement. Take for instance...with him resigning. The people/media pundits that don't like Knight are saying that he quit on his team...that here's another example of him wanting respect but not giving any...that it's just another example of him being completely self-absorbed. And then the Knight-apologists are taking him for his word...that he was tired...that the fire was gone...that he wants Pat to coach sooner than later. The way I see it is that the truth is somewhere in the middle. I'm at neither extreme when it comes to Knight...and that's probably the smallest contingency. I'm not going to get into his accomplishes but the bottom light is that he was one of best coaches in NCAA history. In my estimation he's only behind John Wooden. When it comes to simply X's and O's...he's the best ever. The guy knows basketball. And as an IU fan I appreciated everything Knight did on the court.

BUT...and there's always a but with Knight...he had a tragic flaw in him that bordered on self-destruction. Just like with his accomplishes, I'm not going to get into the list (and it's long) of his zippiness (and that's putting it mildly). As an IU fan...I can say that his act...while humorous at first became sad in the end. A grown man of his stature just shouldn't act like that.

What intrigues me the most about hearing all this Knight talk is pinpointing exactly when Knight let his anger (and other negative attributes) take control. It's my belief that it started to happen after IU lost in the final four in 1992 to Duke (and coach K). After that, Knight regrouped...earned a number one seed but lost to Kansas in the Elite Eight. I don't think that Knight or IU...for that matter...ever recovered. That was by far his best group that didn't win a national title. If Knight would have won the title in '92 or '93 it would have fit his cycle of winning a title...taking 5-6 years to regroup and then win again. Except this time...they didn't win. I don't think Knight ever got over that. The disappointment of those two years just wore him down. He just lost something and whatever replaced it was not good. Although I didn't realize it at the time...whatever affected Knight...affected the program. Looking back on it...one can see that IU after '93 was just not the IU of old under Knight. Those were certainly not the glory days.

In essence both notions...both sides of the coin can be true...that Knight was a helluva of a coach and that more times than not he was a complete ass about it. I don't see the point in getting worked up one way or the other in either defending Knight or railing against him. Because boiling Knight down to either extreme is inaccurate.

18-1

It's a cliché...but as Chuck Klosterman likes to say--there's a reason they are clichés because they happen to be true...but on any given Sunday anything can happen. And last night the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots in one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history.

Needless to say...it was awesome. If the Patriots were eventually going to lose in the Super Bowl...it couldn't have been any sweeter than for them to lose to a Manning on a game winning drive. I absolutely loved it. I knew the Patriots were in trouble as they ran onto the field to Black Sabbath's Crazy Train...I say this because that is Chipper Jones's theme song when he comes to the plate. Just not a good sign...considering the Braves's post season futility (except in 1995).

I will have to say that back in November following the Patriots defeat of the Colts I said that, "(The Colts) were making plays and getting pressure on Brady, which is the key to slowing them down and also why I think down the road...that the NY Giants might have more than chance to beat them." Now obviously the Giants didn't beat them in the regular season but when it really mattered...the Giants stepped up.

I'm left thinking that's it is such a fine line between being the greatest team ever and being a footnote in history. If the Patriots would have won...even if it would have been by one point...they would have been regarded as the best team ever (by most people and media pundits). But now that they didn't win the Super Bowl...they are just a team that lost the Super Bowl. All that regular season stuff...it doesn't mean anything now.

Apple + Obama

I thought this was a perfect time (with the Super Bowl and Super Tuesday coming up) to post this video.

I'm quite sure this isn't an official Obama video...but I liked it anyway (although I don't buy Hillary or the Clinton machine as a Big Brother-esque type of force)

I thought I should also mention that Hulk Hogan has officially endorsed Obama...First the Kennedy's and now Hulk Hogan...I believe Bruce is right around the corner.

Mysterious Magazine Subscriptions

Back in mid-December on one Saturday, I received a copy of Entertainment Weekly in the mail. I thought cool...somebody must have got me a subscription for Christmas. Narwold used to get it back on 127 and I've missed reading it since then. It's a fun magazine to read. Well, Christmas came...and was gone...and nobody fessed up to getting me the subscription. I was like...OK...that's fine.

Yesterday...I get a Wizard in the mail. For those not aware Wizard is a monthly comic book-driven magazine. I hadn't read one in awhile...I used to buy it all the time...but not anymore. Now it looks like I have another magazine subscription to a magazine that I like....which is cool. Again I have a mystery...Jenny didn't get it for me. My family didn't get it for me. I can't think of one reason why one of friends would randomly get me a magazine subscription (but if they did...Thank you).

So now I have two magazine subscriptions to magazines that I like but I don't know who purchased them for me.

I told Jenny I must have a secret admirer but she just laughed that off.

So I'm just going with the flow on this. If I learn the truth so be it...but if not I'll just enjoy my new bathroom reading material.