Saturday, August 20, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Christine O'Donnell or Piers Morgan: Can't we do better than these two?
Hello,
I usually stay far away from politics on my blog and in general. As a rule I hate politics, especially failed politicians. Politicians are about as loathsome as lawyers. However on ew.com I saw a video of Christine O'Donnell talking on the Today show. She's talking about walking off of the Piers Morgan show. Here's that link:
http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/08/18/christine-odonnell-piers-morgan/
I thought the interviewer, Savannah, asked fair questions. But O'Donnell comes off looking bad again. She was trying to defend her actions for the below interview. She called Morgan's interview "borderline sexual harassment". Really asking questions that you raise in the book you are promoting is sexual harassment? O'Donnell said three times that Morgan needs the ratings even saying one time he's "desperate for ratings". That's hilarious because that's why she's on that show to get publicity for her book. In all honesty I doubt I would have heard of her book if she hadn't walked off his show. And Christine if I want to read fiction I'll read Stephen King.
Also Christine I can tell you have a high opinion of yourself, but if I were desperate for ratings I wouldn't ask you to be on my show. Christine you don't seem very intelligient, you aren't quick on your feet and you gave non answers to both Morgan and Savannah You also come off as extremely thin skinned. She doesn't rely on her gut or instincts. She said two times in her interview with Savannah about going with her gut. It makes me laugh she actually made a commercial where she said she wasn't a witch. How did she not know that was going to be a bad idea? The other time she said she didn't want to go on Piers Morgan's show, then why did you. Who's in charge of your life?
What has O'Donnell ever done where she has such a high opinion of herself? She claims she "remains a voice" and a leader. She hopes her book is "a rallying cry". Having not read the book, but having heard enough tea party propaganda I hope this serves as a rallying cry for the tea party to go away. She claims that people that have read her book call it "surprising and motivating". Yes, Christine it's very surprising that you can write a book, of course she had a ghost writer. (I don't know that for sure, but it seems highly likely after seeing her speak.) And the only thing motivating about her book for me is that I would be motivated to burn it as soon as I could.
Her appearance on Piers Morgan was wrong for so many reasons. First of all who is Christine O'Donnell? Why does anyone claim her as a spokesman? Is this really the best the tea party (republicans lite) can do? She's not well spoken, is defensive about her viewpoints and she keeps on trying to bring the conversation back to her book. She wants her book to be "inspirational". For whom I wondering? For inspiring other people who have nothing better to do besides writing crappy books? (For the record I probably agree with most of O'Donnell's views about sex. However I find her very off putting, she's not a very good advocate for her veiwpoints.)
It also disturbs me when she talks about the "second American revolution". What's this revolution against? A fairly elected President, is it against democracy? Any revolution that Christine O'Donnell is leading I want to run far away from. It was bad enough with the last Republican President, I can't think of how bad it would be with a tea party President. I hate the tea party.
Now Piers Morgan doesn't get a free pass either. He's an arrogant asshole and how he has a job in any form of media blows my mind. I love how he referred to himself as "charming". Really Piers? You are about as charming as kick in the head. He's certainly much more well spoken than Christine O'Donnell, but so is my 7 year old.
I did think all the questions that he was asking were completely fair. She talks about these sex related things in her book and she's on the show talking about her book. Christine if you appear on someones show they can ask you anything. Did you noticed it wasn't called the Christine O'Donnell show when you walked in?
It disheartens me that these two people have such a public forum. I'm all for people to make decisions on their own. People that need a political party to tell them what to think scare me. I especially hate those people who vote straight ticket for either party. Surely there are people in both parties that have good thoughts.
Also don't get me started on how bad the Republicans running for President as a group are.
thedisheartenedmusicaddict
I usually stay far away from politics on my blog and in general. As a rule I hate politics, especially failed politicians. Politicians are about as loathsome as lawyers. However on ew.com I saw a video of Christine O'Donnell talking on the Today show. She's talking about walking off of the Piers Morgan show. Here's that link:
http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/08/18/christine-odonnell-piers-morgan/
I thought the interviewer, Savannah, asked fair questions. But O'Donnell comes off looking bad again. She was trying to defend her actions for the below interview. She called Morgan's interview "borderline sexual harassment". Really asking questions that you raise in the book you are promoting is sexual harassment? O'Donnell said three times that Morgan needs the ratings even saying one time he's "desperate for ratings". That's hilarious because that's why she's on that show to get publicity for her book. In all honesty I doubt I would have heard of her book if she hadn't walked off his show. And Christine if I want to read fiction I'll read Stephen King.
Also Christine I can tell you have a high opinion of yourself, but if I were desperate for ratings I wouldn't ask you to be on my show. Christine you don't seem very intelligient, you aren't quick on your feet and you gave non answers to both Morgan and Savannah You also come off as extremely thin skinned. She doesn't rely on her gut or instincts. She said two times in her interview with Savannah about going with her gut. It makes me laugh she actually made a commercial where she said she wasn't a witch. How did she not know that was going to be a bad idea? The other time she said she didn't want to go on Piers Morgan's show, then why did you. Who's in charge of your life?
What has O'Donnell ever done where she has such a high opinion of herself? She claims she "remains a voice" and a leader. She hopes her book is "a rallying cry". Having not read the book, but having heard enough tea party propaganda I hope this serves as a rallying cry for the tea party to go away. She claims that people that have read her book call it "surprising and motivating". Yes, Christine it's very surprising that you can write a book, of course she had a ghost writer. (I don't know that for sure, but it seems highly likely after seeing her speak.) And the only thing motivating about her book for me is that I would be motivated to burn it as soon as I could.
Her appearance on Piers Morgan was wrong for so many reasons. First of all who is Christine O'Donnell? Why does anyone claim her as a spokesman? Is this really the best the tea party (republicans lite) can do? She's not well spoken, is defensive about her viewpoints and she keeps on trying to bring the conversation back to her book. She wants her book to be "inspirational". For whom I wondering? For inspiring other people who have nothing better to do besides writing crappy books? (For the record I probably agree with most of O'Donnell's views about sex. However I find her very off putting, she's not a very good advocate for her veiwpoints.)
It also disturbs me when she talks about the "second American revolution". What's this revolution against? A fairly elected President, is it against democracy? Any revolution that Christine O'Donnell is leading I want to run far away from. It was bad enough with the last Republican President, I can't think of how bad it would be with a tea party President. I hate the tea party.
Now Piers Morgan doesn't get a free pass either. He's an arrogant asshole and how he has a job in any form of media blows my mind. I love how he referred to himself as "charming". Really Piers? You are about as charming as kick in the head. He's certainly much more well spoken than Christine O'Donnell, but so is my 7 year old.
I did think all the questions that he was asking were completely fair. She talks about these sex related things in her book and she's on the show talking about her book. Christine if you appear on someones show they can ask you anything. Did you noticed it wasn't called the Christine O'Donnell show when you walked in?
It disheartens me that these two people have such a public forum. I'm all for people to make decisions on their own. People that need a political party to tell them what to think scare me. I especially hate those people who vote straight ticket for either party. Surely there are people in both parties that have good thoughts.
Also don't get me started on how bad the Republicans running for President as a group are.
thedisheartenedmusicaddict
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Taylor Swift, People Who Need To Go Away
Hello,
"Dearly beloved we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life". What a great song.
Welcome to Blog 935 of themusicaddict.
As you know I'm a big sports fan. One of the many websites I have up all day everyday is espn.com. I love that website and am constantly on it. Two names I'm sick of hearing from ESPN.com and others (Colin Cowherd was talking about him on his program this morning)are Tiger Woods and Tim Tebow. Tiger Woods please just go away, at this point he's just becoming a parody of himself. I have a special request for the the Denver Broncos, please just let Tim Tebow be the starting quarterback for the first few games of the season. We can see if he'll be any good, he won't, and then he can go back to being a non-story. I'm not a big fan of Scam Newton either. But when I hear about him at least he's playing well.
The countdown is on until my two middle kids and I go see Taylor Swift on September 28th in Salt Lake City. I've loaded up my iPod with 28 of her songs, so I can get more familiar with her newer music. As usual most of it is good. Taylor I just want to say you write great songs, are very attractive and are a very good singer. However Taylor I ask you please don't perform the below song, this is one of your few boring songs.
"You're Not Sorry":
It seems she's not playing the song on her current tour. I would really like her to sing the below song though, although she hasn't been singing this song either.
"Should've Said No":
This video has much better sound:
Prince's "Let's Go Crazy":
Other news and notes: The greed fest continues in 3D movies. Usually a great indicator if a movie is going to be bad is if it's in 3D. The movie studios know it's bad so it's released in 3D. With the opening weekend box office so important now, movie studios realize a large amount of their income comes then. In order to maximize profit, studios add 3D and charge $2 more per ticket. The movie usually tanks after the first weekend, but the movie studios were able to maximize what could have been a complete liability. August is generally a month when bad movies are also dumped in.
With those two factors I know that "Shark Night" and "Fright Night" are both going to be bad. "Fright Night" was bad in the 80's, I couldn't get through it a few weeks ago. The new Colin Ferrell version looks awful as well. That movie was so bad in the 80's that I don't remember hearing about it back then. I was a big fan of 80's movies. "Fright Night" doesn't look any better now.
Other August movies that look terrible: "Conan The Barbarian" and "One Day". "Conan" looks awful in every way. From the alleged actor playing Conan the Boringman to the over the top special effects. It seems another story where there's a lot of action in hopes of hiding the fact that there's very little story. Then "One Day" has received terrible reviews, which is disappointing to me. That's because I read the book and the book was amazing. I loved the two main characters and really thought it was a poignant book. Skip the movie, but definitely read the book.
themusicaddict
"Dearly beloved we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life". What a great song.
Welcome to Blog 935 of themusicaddict.
As you know I'm a big sports fan. One of the many websites I have up all day everyday is espn.com. I love that website and am constantly on it. Two names I'm sick of hearing from ESPN.com and others (Colin Cowherd was talking about him on his program this morning)are Tiger Woods and Tim Tebow. Tiger Woods please just go away, at this point he's just becoming a parody of himself. I have a special request for the the Denver Broncos, please just let Tim Tebow be the starting quarterback for the first few games of the season. We can see if he'll be any good, he won't, and then he can go back to being a non-story. I'm not a big fan of Scam Newton either. But when I hear about him at least he's playing well.
The countdown is on until my two middle kids and I go see Taylor Swift on September 28th in Salt Lake City. I've loaded up my iPod with 28 of her songs, so I can get more familiar with her newer music. As usual most of it is good. Taylor I just want to say you write great songs, are very attractive and are a very good singer. However Taylor I ask you please don't perform the below song, this is one of your few boring songs.
"You're Not Sorry":
It seems she's not playing the song on her current tour. I would really like her to sing the below song though, although she hasn't been singing this song either.
"Should've Said No":
This video has much better sound:
Prince's "Let's Go Crazy":
Other news and notes: The greed fest continues in 3D movies. Usually a great indicator if a movie is going to be bad is if it's in 3D. The movie studios know it's bad so it's released in 3D. With the opening weekend box office so important now, movie studios realize a large amount of their income comes then. In order to maximize profit, studios add 3D and charge $2 more per ticket. The movie usually tanks after the first weekend, but the movie studios were able to maximize what could have been a complete liability. August is generally a month when bad movies are also dumped in.
With those two factors I know that "Shark Night" and "Fright Night" are both going to be bad. "Fright Night" was bad in the 80's, I couldn't get through it a few weeks ago. The new Colin Ferrell version looks awful as well. That movie was so bad in the 80's that I don't remember hearing about it back then. I was a big fan of 80's movies. "Fright Night" doesn't look any better now.
Other August movies that look terrible: "Conan The Barbarian" and "One Day". "Conan" looks awful in every way. From the alleged actor playing Conan the Boringman to the over the top special effects. It seems another story where there's a lot of action in hopes of hiding the fact that there's very little story. Then "One Day" has received terrible reviews, which is disappointing to me. That's because I read the book and the book was amazing. I loved the two main characters and really thought it was a poignant book. Skip the movie, but definitely read the book.
themusicaddict
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
I Love the MLB Network!, Great Songs!
Hello,
Last night after a long and boring day at work I drove home. I wanted to watch some TV. I chose to watch the MLB Network. I'm glad I did as they showed many of my favorite teams. As long time readers of this blog know I follow 5 MLB teams. They are the Dodgers, Cubs, Red Sox, Braves and the Pirates. As I ate dinner I was able to see the end of the Atlanta-San Francisco game. I watched the last couple of innings of that game. For the second straight night the Braves won in walk off fashion. In the bottom of the 11th the Braves rallied again. Martin Prado ended the game with his two out walk off single.
When that game was over MLB Network switched to the Chicago-Houston game. It was in time to see the Cubs Tyler Colvin hit his 5th home run of the season. Thankfully that was all I saw as the Cubs alleged closer Carlos Marmol choked yet again. He gave up a pinch hit walk off grand slam in the bottom of the 9th. Although Marmol has been pitching better of late, he saved his last 9 games, this was his 8th blown save of the season. I'm sorry that's not good enough. The Cubs need to rid themselves of a lot of their over priced, under performing players asap. There are still 14 days in the waiver deadline period and Chicago you aren't going anywhere. If you can't get rid of your dead weight now please do so after the season is over. Of course bad signings, trades, inept offense, head cases and blown saves are what makes the Cubs the Cubs. Although LA currently has a terrible owner, there's hope for the Dodgers. Once Frank McCourt is gone the Dodgers could have a bright future.
Next the MLB Network switched to the Dodgers-Brewers game. They showed a few minutes of that game as LA looked like their usual, mediocre selves. There's no shame in losing to the hot Brewers though. Milwaukee is absolutely on fire, having won 18 of 20 and steamrolling their opposition.
Finally the MLB Network went to Pittsburgh in time to see Pittsburgh's Garrett Jones hit a massive home run. It was fun to see that home run. Since the Pirates have been so bad for so long, their fans aren't jaded. The crowd was loud when Jones' home run left PNC Park. The ball bounced out of the stadium and landed in the Allegheny River. In the top of the 11th inning Andrew McCutchen robbed Albert Pujols of at least a double with a magnificent catch. Those are the kind of moments I absolutely enjoy as a sports fan. Pittsburgh won a couple of crucial games, but they still are way out of the playoffs. They trail Milwaukee by 13 games in the NL Central and they trail the Braves by 13 games in the NL Wild Card.
Thanks MLB Network, it was good to see almost all of my teams play. Of course with the Red Sox such a big MLB brand name I'm able to see them usually once or twice a week.
That was an awesome hour of TV.
Now for some good songs (as always brought to you by my iPod):
Madonna's "Causing A Commotion":
I'm guessing the following video cost about 50c to make. Del Amitri's "Roll With Me":
I love both of these rolling songs:
With that outfit I'm guessing Lionel Richie just left "The Planet of the Apes" film set. This is truly one of the greatest bands of the 70's, who had some of the The Commodores "Easy".
The Power Station's "Some Like It Hot":
Finally the extended version of The Power Station's "Get In On (Bang A Gong)":
themusicaddict
Last night after a long and boring day at work I drove home. I wanted to watch some TV. I chose to watch the MLB Network. I'm glad I did as they showed many of my favorite teams. As long time readers of this blog know I follow 5 MLB teams. They are the Dodgers, Cubs, Red Sox, Braves and the Pirates. As I ate dinner I was able to see the end of the Atlanta-San Francisco game. I watched the last couple of innings of that game. For the second straight night the Braves won in walk off fashion. In the bottom of the 11th the Braves rallied again. Martin Prado ended the game with his two out walk off single.
When that game was over MLB Network switched to the Chicago-Houston game. It was in time to see the Cubs Tyler Colvin hit his 5th home run of the season. Thankfully that was all I saw as the Cubs alleged closer Carlos Marmol choked yet again. He gave up a pinch hit walk off grand slam in the bottom of the 9th. Although Marmol has been pitching better of late, he saved his last 9 games, this was his 8th blown save of the season. I'm sorry that's not good enough. The Cubs need to rid themselves of a lot of their over priced, under performing players asap. There are still 14 days in the waiver deadline period and Chicago you aren't going anywhere. If you can't get rid of your dead weight now please do so after the season is over. Of course bad signings, trades, inept offense, head cases and blown saves are what makes the Cubs the Cubs. Although LA currently has a terrible owner, there's hope for the Dodgers. Once Frank McCourt is gone the Dodgers could have a bright future.
Next the MLB Network switched to the Dodgers-Brewers game. They showed a few minutes of that game as LA looked like their usual, mediocre selves. There's no shame in losing to the hot Brewers though. Milwaukee is absolutely on fire, having won 18 of 20 and steamrolling their opposition.
Finally the MLB Network went to Pittsburgh in time to see Pittsburgh's Garrett Jones hit a massive home run. It was fun to see that home run. Since the Pirates have been so bad for so long, their fans aren't jaded. The crowd was loud when Jones' home run left PNC Park. The ball bounced out of the stadium and landed in the Allegheny River. In the top of the 11th inning Andrew McCutchen robbed Albert Pujols of at least a double with a magnificent catch. Those are the kind of moments I absolutely enjoy as a sports fan. Pittsburgh won a couple of crucial games, but they still are way out of the playoffs. They trail Milwaukee by 13 games in the NL Central and they trail the Braves by 13 games in the NL Wild Card.
Thanks MLB Network, it was good to see almost all of my teams play. Of course with the Red Sox such a big MLB brand name I'm able to see them usually once or twice a week.
That was an awesome hour of TV.
Now for some good songs (as always brought to you by my iPod):
Madonna's "Causing A Commotion":
I'm guessing the following video cost about 50c to make. Del Amitri's "Roll With Me":
I love both of these rolling songs:
With that outfit I'm guessing Lionel Richie just left "The Planet of the Apes" film set. This is truly one of the greatest bands of the 70's, who had some of the The Commodores "Easy".
The Power Station's "Some Like It Hot":
Finally the extended version of The Power Station's "Get In On (Bang A Gong)":
themusicaddict
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Congrats Jim Thome!
Hello,
Yesterday Jim Thome hit career home runs number 599 and 600, he becomes the 8th person in MLB history with at least 600 home runs. Thome reportedly is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. Also there never has been the hint of him ever taking steroids. Finally he's also a great home run hitter. Congrats Jim Thome, may you have a few more home runs left in your career.
The other 7 members of the 600 HR club include such legends as Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. There's also Ken Griffey Jr. Then having hit 600 home runs but having steroids taint all over them is Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa.
Also congrats to the Milwaukee Brewers for completing a triple play yesterday. Since they were playing the Dodgers that takes a bit of excitement out of their feat. Speaking of the Brewers, they remain on fire. They've won 9 of their last 10 games and they are running away from the rest of the NL Central. They lead second place St. Louis by 6 games.
St. Louis lost to Pittsburgh yesterday 6-2, the Pirates move to 57-63 this season. They trail those on fire Brewers by 13 games. It was a great dream just a few weeks ago that the Pirates could qualify for the playoffs. Now that looks highly unlikely (although I'm still hoping for them and being an optimist). Over the season's final 40 games I'd like to see them work on playing hard and never giving up. I'd also like the Pirates to use this time to get into the habit of winning. Practice these skills and then hopefully they can challenge for the NL Central title next year.
Boston and New York are tied for first place in the AL East, both have 73-46 records. Keep it going Boston. I see those two teams playing in the ALCS in what should be another classic match up.
Meanwhile Atlanta is doing all they can do to stay within range of the ferocious Phillies. The Phillies have one of the best pitching staffs in the history of MLB. They play like they aren't going to be denied. There truly is a feeling of destiny surrounding their team.
The Braves are probably going to make the playoffs, which they definitely deserve. In spite of Atlanta being 20 games above .500, they still trail Philadelphia by 8.5 games. Thankfully Atlanta is dominating the NL Wild Card race this year. Thanks to MLB Network I was able to watch the bottom of the 9th inning of the Braves-Giants game. The Braves scored three runs to come back and win, they beat closer Brian Wilson. Atlanta leads the Giants by 5 games in the NL Wild Card. The Giants and Diamondbacks will probably be fighting for the NL West title for the rest of the season, with the loser almost certainly not making the playoffs.
Also since I had some of my kids with me yesterday, I took them to the movies. My daughter went to see "The Smurfs" which has received horrible reviews. There was no way I was going to go watch that. But "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" was playing about the same time. I went and saw that with my middle son. That was a lot better movie than I expected. Previews don't capture what that movie is about at all. However the end of the movie was much longer than it needed to be. In this year of very bad movies, this "Planet" was one of the best movies I've seen this year. Again by this year's standards, that's faint praise.
Although when I read that the people behind the movie have planned a trilogy, that did make me nervous. We don't need two more of these movies. Also in watching previews, there's yet another movie about aliens trying to take over the world. This one is set in Moscow. When the previews showed party scenes from Moscow, I had no idea that this was another aliens taking over the world movie.
"In Time":
The above movie looks like it has some potential. Justin Timberlake is a pretty good actor, I can definitely buy him as an action star. I still laugh at the previews for the new Taylor Lautner movie. He has as much action credibility as Ryan Reynolds. Anyway I didn't like how much of a neutered character Timberlake was forced to play in "Bad Teacher". He should stick with truly funny and action roles. Also he was amazing playing the character Sean Parker in "The Social Network". I say character because I have no idea how Sean Parker really is.
themusicaddict
Yesterday Jim Thome hit career home runs number 599 and 600, he becomes the 8th person in MLB history with at least 600 home runs. Thome reportedly is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. Also there never has been the hint of him ever taking steroids. Finally he's also a great home run hitter. Congrats Jim Thome, may you have a few more home runs left in your career.
The other 7 members of the 600 HR club include such legends as Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. There's also Ken Griffey Jr. Then having hit 600 home runs but having steroids taint all over them is Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa.
Also congrats to the Milwaukee Brewers for completing a triple play yesterday. Since they were playing the Dodgers that takes a bit of excitement out of their feat. Speaking of the Brewers, they remain on fire. They've won 9 of their last 10 games and they are running away from the rest of the NL Central. They lead second place St. Louis by 6 games.
St. Louis lost to Pittsburgh yesterday 6-2, the Pirates move to 57-63 this season. They trail those on fire Brewers by 13 games. It was a great dream just a few weeks ago that the Pirates could qualify for the playoffs. Now that looks highly unlikely (although I'm still hoping for them and being an optimist). Over the season's final 40 games I'd like to see them work on playing hard and never giving up. I'd also like the Pirates to use this time to get into the habit of winning. Practice these skills and then hopefully they can challenge for the NL Central title next year.
Boston and New York are tied for first place in the AL East, both have 73-46 records. Keep it going Boston. I see those two teams playing in the ALCS in what should be another classic match up.
Meanwhile Atlanta is doing all they can do to stay within range of the ferocious Phillies. The Phillies have one of the best pitching staffs in the history of MLB. They play like they aren't going to be denied. There truly is a feeling of destiny surrounding their team.
The Braves are probably going to make the playoffs, which they definitely deserve. In spite of Atlanta being 20 games above .500, they still trail Philadelphia by 8.5 games. Thankfully Atlanta is dominating the NL Wild Card race this year. Thanks to MLB Network I was able to watch the bottom of the 9th inning of the Braves-Giants game. The Braves scored three runs to come back and win, they beat closer Brian Wilson. Atlanta leads the Giants by 5 games in the NL Wild Card. The Giants and Diamondbacks will probably be fighting for the NL West title for the rest of the season, with the loser almost certainly not making the playoffs.
Also since I had some of my kids with me yesterday, I took them to the movies. My daughter went to see "The Smurfs" which has received horrible reviews. There was no way I was going to go watch that. But "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" was playing about the same time. I went and saw that with my middle son. That was a lot better movie than I expected. Previews don't capture what that movie is about at all. However the end of the movie was much longer than it needed to be. In this year of very bad movies, this "Planet" was one of the best movies I've seen this year. Again by this year's standards, that's faint praise.
Although when I read that the people behind the movie have planned a trilogy, that did make me nervous. We don't need two more of these movies. Also in watching previews, there's yet another movie about aliens trying to take over the world. This one is set in Moscow. When the previews showed party scenes from Moscow, I had no idea that this was another aliens taking over the world movie.
"In Time":
The above movie looks like it has some potential. Justin Timberlake is a pretty good actor, I can definitely buy him as an action star. I still laugh at the previews for the new Taylor Lautner movie. He has as much action credibility as Ryan Reynolds. Anyway I didn't like how much of a neutered character Timberlake was forced to play in "Bad Teacher". He should stick with truly funny and action roles. Also he was amazing playing the character Sean Parker in "The Social Network". I say character because I have no idea how Sean Parker really is.
themusicaddict
Monday, August 15, 2011
The August Book Club Wrap Up
Hello,
I finished reading the 385 pages of "The Havana Room" last Friday night. Overall I'd have to give the book a B-. I was a little disappointed by the end. I didn't like the potential of Bill and Judith getting back together. First of all I don't see that as being realistic. Relationships break up for a reason. As a general rule unless things change dramatically two people shouldn't get back together. But overall I'm not very interested in whether they do eventually get back together. These characters are one book characters. I'm not really interested in seeing what happens with them going forward.
The theme of this book is everything isn't what it seems to be, that is also the case in most of life.
For people who haven't read the book I'm not going to spill a lot of the details. Did you think that Ha would play such a central role in the book? Where do you think he ended up? He obviously was more than just the maintainence man. He knew people that clean up dead bodies. I think he might have worked for Chairman Mao, but I don't think it was only as a cook. Did you like how Ha and others used the secret of the Havana Room was against H.L. and his crew? I thought that was one of the most interesting ideas of the book.
To me the most tortured character and the one who ended up the worse was Jay Rainey. He only met his daughter for one brief time and that wasn't under the best of circumstances. What do you think about Sally never finding out that Jay was her father? What ultimately happened to Jay? What happened in Jay's life that he decided not to tell Sally the truth? I'm good with her not finding out who her real dad is. Don't you think ultimately she's going to find out who her real Dad is. Although Sally is young, she still might have a sense that everything isn't what it seems. She's being raised by two people who aren't her real parents and the only Bill seems to know that. Does Bill owe her an explanation later in Sally's life.
We also found out what happened to Jay's Mom? I've seen that story line in other media, for instance, "The Town". I saw that ending coming a mile away and that ending feels a bit tired now. Was what happened to Jay's Mom a surprise to you? Do you think that's an interesting take?
If Jay is the most tortured character, Allison Sparks has to be second. What do you think of what happened to her? She seemed to have landed back on her feet back in her old unhappy life. It may not be a good life but it is what she knows. She seems to be the good little worker bee, the sort of person who gets lost in her work. The type of person who uses work as an escape and also a way to keep self-esteem. Even though she seems to have lost what made her job so rewarding, I bet she still works the same amount of hours.
To me one of the things she was escaping from was a certain type of man. She'd been hurt and I guess she also had hurt men before. She was careful to stay away from men that wanted commitment. She worked a schedule where commitment was hard. She seems to have a love/hate relationship with men. She reminds me of the line from the Bob Seger song, "I used her, she used me neither one cared". She used work as a way to protect herself from love and she also picked men who weren't interested in long term relationships with her.
Some happy things happened in this book, but overall what a sad book. The dual tragedies of Jay's life: losing his health and the woman of his dreams. Allison seemed to be stuck in neutral in the part of her life we know of her. It seems that's what she wanted or at least was comfortable with. But that's sad as well. Bill tried to do the right thing most of the time. Although one uninformed decision led to his whole adventure. Did he become a better person because of what he went through? Like life this book gave us more questions than answers.
themusicaddict
I finished reading the 385 pages of "The Havana Room" last Friday night. Overall I'd have to give the book a B-. I was a little disappointed by the end. I didn't like the potential of Bill and Judith getting back together. First of all I don't see that as being realistic. Relationships break up for a reason. As a general rule unless things change dramatically two people shouldn't get back together. But overall I'm not very interested in whether they do eventually get back together. These characters are one book characters. I'm not really interested in seeing what happens with them going forward.
The theme of this book is everything isn't what it seems to be, that is also the case in most of life.
For people who haven't read the book I'm not going to spill a lot of the details. Did you think that Ha would play such a central role in the book? Where do you think he ended up? He obviously was more than just the maintainence man. He knew people that clean up dead bodies. I think he might have worked for Chairman Mao, but I don't think it was only as a cook. Did you like how Ha and others used the secret of the Havana Room was against H.L. and his crew? I thought that was one of the most interesting ideas of the book.
To me the most tortured character and the one who ended up the worse was Jay Rainey. He only met his daughter for one brief time and that wasn't under the best of circumstances. What do you think about Sally never finding out that Jay was her father? What ultimately happened to Jay? What happened in Jay's life that he decided not to tell Sally the truth? I'm good with her not finding out who her real dad is. Don't you think ultimately she's going to find out who her real Dad is. Although Sally is young, she still might have a sense that everything isn't what it seems. She's being raised by two people who aren't her real parents and the only Bill seems to know that. Does Bill owe her an explanation later in Sally's life.
We also found out what happened to Jay's Mom? I've seen that story line in other media, for instance, "The Town". I saw that ending coming a mile away and that ending feels a bit tired now. Was what happened to Jay's Mom a surprise to you? Do you think that's an interesting take?
If Jay is the most tortured character, Allison Sparks has to be second. What do you think of what happened to her? She seemed to have landed back on her feet back in her old unhappy life. It may not be a good life but it is what she knows. She seems to be the good little worker bee, the sort of person who gets lost in her work. The type of person who uses work as an escape and also a way to keep self-esteem. Even though she seems to have lost what made her job so rewarding, I bet she still works the same amount of hours.
To me one of the things she was escaping from was a certain type of man. She'd been hurt and I guess she also had hurt men before. She was careful to stay away from men that wanted commitment. She worked a schedule where commitment was hard. She seems to have a love/hate relationship with men. She reminds me of the line from the Bob Seger song, "I used her, she used me neither one cared". She used work as a way to protect herself from love and she also picked men who weren't interested in long term relationships with her.
Some happy things happened in this book, but overall what a sad book. The dual tragedies of Jay's life: losing his health and the woman of his dreams. Allison seemed to be stuck in neutral in the part of her life we know of her. It seems that's what she wanted or at least was comfortable with. But that's sad as well. Bill tried to do the right thing most of the time. Although one uninformed decision led to his whole adventure. Did he become a better person because of what he went through? Like life this book gave us more questions than answers.
themusicaddict
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Dan Uggla, "Good": The Subtle Seduction of Power
Hello,
As I write this blog Dan Uggla is going for his 34th consecutive game with a hit. The last couple of games he got the hit in his first at bat taking all the drama for that out of the rest of the game. In his first at bat today, he took one for the team. He hit a sacrifice fly that resulted in the Braves first run of the game. Then in the third inning he fouled out to first.
Later Brian McCann is back in Atlanta's lineup and he's hitting now. Up next was Dan Uggla. However he popped out to second base on that at bat. In the bottom of the 7th, Uggla hit again, this may be his last chance to extend his consecutive hitting streak. The Braves led 5-4. In the next inning the Cubs took a 6-5 lead into the bottom of the 7th. With the Braves down by one run, they really need Uggla to come through now. Dan Uggla's streak may be over. In his 4th at bat, Uggla popped out to shortstop. If he doesn't get another chance to bat, it has been a great run. It's also the longest hitting streak in MLB this season. Uggla didn't get a fifth attempt to hit and thus ends his streak. It was a good run. To make things worse the Cubs came back and won the game 6-5.
Tiger Woods didn't make the recent PGA Tour event cut. I knew all about that, but I couldn't tell you who was winning the tournament. I know Woods has been an incredible golfer over the years. I understand he remains very popular. But that doesn't explain why he's followed so closely. Obviously he's a shell of what he use to be. When he isn't even making the cut or when he does he finishes in 37th place, why is still the main golf story. Sometimes he's the main sports story. That's like making the Dodgers-Astros game the #1 baseball story with all the exciting pennant races going on now. ESPN and other sports news sources can we please have some perspective?
Quick reviews: I recently saw the latest "Harry Potter and the Ghostly Hallows" and I don't have anything against the series. On the other hand I've never been a big fan either. I went and watched that because the two kids of mine that were with me wanted to watch it. While I didn't understand what was going on most of the time, I still thought it was an okay movie. Since my knowledge is so limited about "Harry Potter" I can't give it a fair grade. I will say that I did feel every one of the 130 minutes of the movie. Actually the movie felt longer than that.
We watched "Soul Surfer" last night. It's the surfing movie about Bethany Hamilton's having her arm savagely ripped off by a shark. The movie stars Dennis Quaid, AnnaSophia Robb and Helen Hunt. Robb plays the inspired and inspiring Hamilton, who resumes competitive surfing. We follow her as she's able to resume her surfing career with only a slight tweak to her surfboard. A tweak that doesn't give her a competitive advantage. It's amazing what one can do when you set your mind to it. She still is currently competing. An inspiring story, but the movie was just a bit cheesy. Also I love Carrie Underwood, she's gorgeous and a great singer. However the woman can't act worth a lick. She's a better actor than Vin Diesel at least.
I also watched the movie titled "Good", it stars Viggo Mortensen. He does a fantastic job portraying a teacher caught up in Nazism. The movie is about the subtle pull of power and even a good man can get swept up in it. Mortensen's character is friends with a Jew and we see the strains on their friendship as Hitler comes to power. There's a great scene where the two old friends are talking about how they might have been ordering Hitler around during the first World War.
Tomorrow the final questions and thoughts about Colin Harrison's "The Havana Room" should be coming. I've finished the book and am searching for the September book club. With football starting in September, it might be football related. I'll have to think about that. "Friday Night Lights" and "The Blind Side" are great books, I definitely reccomend you read both of them. However they won't be September's book club selection. I have a couple of books that look interesting. Currently I'm reading Daniel Wilson's "Robopocolypse".
themusicaddict
As I write this blog Dan Uggla is going for his 34th consecutive game with a hit. The last couple of games he got the hit in his first at bat taking all the drama for that out of the rest of the game. In his first at bat today, he took one for the team. He hit a sacrifice fly that resulted in the Braves first run of the game. Then in the third inning he fouled out to first.
Later Brian McCann is back in Atlanta's lineup and he's hitting now. Up next was Dan Uggla. However he popped out to second base on that at bat. In the bottom of the 7th, Uggla hit again, this may be his last chance to extend his consecutive hitting streak. The Braves led 5-4. In the next inning the Cubs took a 6-5 lead into the bottom of the 7th. With the Braves down by one run, they really need Uggla to come through now. Dan Uggla's streak may be over. In his 4th at bat, Uggla popped out to shortstop. If he doesn't get another chance to bat, it has been a great run. It's also the longest hitting streak in MLB this season. Uggla didn't get a fifth attempt to hit and thus ends his streak. It was a good run. To make things worse the Cubs came back and won the game 6-5.
Tiger Woods didn't make the recent PGA Tour event cut. I knew all about that, but I couldn't tell you who was winning the tournament. I know Woods has been an incredible golfer over the years. I understand he remains very popular. But that doesn't explain why he's followed so closely. Obviously he's a shell of what he use to be. When he isn't even making the cut or when he does he finishes in 37th place, why is still the main golf story. Sometimes he's the main sports story. That's like making the Dodgers-Astros game the #1 baseball story with all the exciting pennant races going on now. ESPN and other sports news sources can we please have some perspective?
Quick reviews: I recently saw the latest "Harry Potter and the Ghostly Hallows" and I don't have anything against the series. On the other hand I've never been a big fan either. I went and watched that because the two kids of mine that were with me wanted to watch it. While I didn't understand what was going on most of the time, I still thought it was an okay movie. Since my knowledge is so limited about "Harry Potter" I can't give it a fair grade. I will say that I did feel every one of the 130 minutes of the movie. Actually the movie felt longer than that.
We watched "Soul Surfer" last night. It's the surfing movie about Bethany Hamilton's having her arm savagely ripped off by a shark. The movie stars Dennis Quaid, AnnaSophia Robb and Helen Hunt. Robb plays the inspired and inspiring Hamilton, who resumes competitive surfing. We follow her as she's able to resume her surfing career with only a slight tweak to her surfboard. A tweak that doesn't give her a competitive advantage. It's amazing what one can do when you set your mind to it. She still is currently competing. An inspiring story, but the movie was just a bit cheesy. Also I love Carrie Underwood, she's gorgeous and a great singer. However the woman can't act worth a lick. She's a better actor than Vin Diesel at least.
I also watched the movie titled "Good", it stars Viggo Mortensen. He does a fantastic job portraying a teacher caught up in Nazism. The movie is about the subtle pull of power and even a good man can get swept up in it. Mortensen's character is friends with a Jew and we see the strains on their friendship as Hitler comes to power. There's a great scene where the two old friends are talking about how they might have been ordering Hitler around during the first World War.
Tomorrow the final questions and thoughts about Colin Harrison's "The Havana Room" should be coming. I've finished the book and am searching for the September book club. With football starting in September, it might be football related. I'll have to think about that. "Friday Night Lights" and "The Blind Side" are great books, I definitely reccomend you read both of them. However they won't be September's book club selection. I have a couple of books that look interesting. Currently I'm reading Daniel Wilson's "Robopocolypse".
themusicaddict
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