the thoughts on this blog are about to get much shallower

X-Men Wolverine movie trailer leaked

I'm not a huge nerd but this got me really antsy.  I didn't even realize they were doing a Wolverine spin off from the popular X-Men movies.  I had thought that after X-Men III, they blew it and we weren't going to see anymore.  Luckily I was wrong.

Someone was (surely illegally) recording this at the "Comic Con" convention where they show trailers like this one for true comic book fans.  After watching, I read up on some other things and found out that Ryan Reynolds is playing a character called Deadpool, which should be amazing.  If you're cool enough to watch the whole clip and cool enough to know who the character Gambit is, you should be pretty excited to see the new take on the card-slinging Cajun.  (He was my favorite as a kid)  It looks sweet.  Enjoy.  

(Sorry if it gets deleted, the producers probably don't want it being seen yet so they'll probably delete it from youtube.  Hopefully you're a loyal Shallow Thoughts follower)

 

Book Buy Backs

It's time to sell your books back.  "Put a little green in your stocking" and a lot in the bookstore.  I hate this system.  Buy a book from the bookstore for $100.  Sell it back for $50.  They hold onto it for a few weeks and sell it for $100 again.

I have a better idea.  Everyone give me your books.  I'll hold onto them until the next semester and sell them to your friends for double the money.

This year, they pissed me off on a deeper level than usual.  Last Friday, I went to the bookstore to sell my books before the flood of students going in after finals.  I needed to hold on to two books for my piano final, but I asked the lady how much I could get for them anyway.  "Ok this one is $9 and this one is $6."  Before she put them on the stack, I stopped her.  "Oh I'm not selling those I just wanted to figure out their worth."  I told her...  

Well its five days later and I go into the store and after I wait through the 30 minute line, they tell me it can't be done.  Why? Oh, they have a list of excuses to throw at you.  "It's not being offered next semester" (yes it is).  "We only accept first editions" (there's no new edition).  "We don't know why it wont show up in our computer" (figure it out).  "AHA! You've written some answers on the pages" (got me).  I filled in the blanks on 5 pages so I could read the music.  

So what can I do?  I could go through each page and do an immaculate job of whiting out the ink marks and then come back and stand in the thursday edition of the bookstore line to see what they say then.  Nope.  Not worth $15.  I hate the bookstore.  I'm starting my own.

Top 3 Halloween Costumes of 2008 #3

This one was pretty funny.  Kind of a throwback to childhood.  My friend, Paul went out on halloween dressed as Ash Ketchum - the main character from Pokémon.  Pretty funny.  He just bought a Pokéball toy, gloves with fingers cut off, a red hat and I don't know where he got the jacket but the illusion works.  Plus it's a good costume because you can obviously party in it.

Top 3 Halloween Costumes of 2008 #2

The second is one my friend did.  Jermaine from "Flight of the Conchords" was in a movie called Eagle vs. Shark.  My buddy, Beau made that his costume.  I helped him put it together.  We used yellow cardboard and stapled it together for the beak.  Then a white hat from a hobby lobby kind of store.  Brown cloth cut into triangles and we stapled it to an undershirt collar.  I thought it looked good.

Top 3 Halloween Costumes of 2008 #1

I never did a halloween costume blog but I want to share the best ones I saw this year.

The first, I got from Break.com - an iPod Commercial.  I find myself showing this to a lot of people because I think it's the most clever costume I've ever seen.

Cool Cat Trick - get shot play dead

Something cute for you.

I'm not a cat person but if my cat could do this, I would get over the fact that I was allergic to it.

Cat Plays Dead When Shot - Watch more Animal Videos

2 Races: Lights of Love 5k

This year was the first "Lights of Love 5k."  It's a race that benefits Austin's Ronald McDonald House Charities.  A really cute idea.  Friday December 5th at 7:30, the race began - without me.  As soon as my finals are over I am writing a 2 page complaint to whoever was in charge of the directions for this event.  The complaint is going to be single-spaced.  Oh yes.  

We got there 30 minutes early to make sure that we would get a decent spot in the race, not knowing how many people were going to turn out.  The race was located at Mueller Hangar - 4550 Mueller Blvd.  Can you find it? because my GPS couldn't.  It said those roads didn't exist.  It was in one of those little shopping mall areas where the street names are there for aesthetics but aren't really roads.   Their map deserves an F.  PLEASE CLICK THE IMAGE I SCANNED AND SEE FOR YOURSELF.  They failed so hard unless the race was supposed to be in lego land.  You can't even read the names of anything in the image.  

I dare say I might have found it if the cops weren't blocking off every street.  When I say this, I don't exaggerate.  There was only one way into the place and it wasn't the way the directions on the brochure said to go.  I seriously asked 5 different cops where to go and they all told me I was going the right way.  I wasn't.

Of course at the end of all of this we were quite late.  So what did we do?  We ran alone for 2 miles before we caught up to grandmothers walking the 5k.  No seriously, they were handing out cookies and water at the first water checkpoint.  At the second one, they were handing out only hot chocolate because it was freezing outside.  So we drank hot chocolate and walked through a neighborhood that reminded me of the one from Shotime's "Weeds."  At least we gave money to a good cause.

2 Races: The Dallas Turkey Trot

The Turkey Trot is a race in Dallas that takes place on Thanksgiving morning every year benefiting the YMCA.  My family has been doing it since before I was born so every Thanksgiving, I find myself, usually cold, forced to go 3 miles.  When I was younger I did the 8 mile because I had no concept of exhaustion.  After a few years in college, I've gotten so out of shape that I feel accomplished knowing that i "trained" hard enough to do the 3 mile in 25 minutes.

The race is the biggest Thanksgiving event of its kind in the country.  This year, it had over 50,000 runners turn out.  The crowd is massive.  I would have probably won the race if there weren't so many people clogging the streets of downtown Dallas.  Win or lose, it's a great way to start Thanksgiving.  Lose a few pounds in the morning, then add them and a few more back at dinner.

Amazing Grace (New Christmas Lights Display)

Here's a new one.

"Go big or go home" it seems.

Happy Holidays.

Amazing Christmas Lights Display - Watch more Free Videos

Wizards of Winter (That Old Chrismas Lights Video)

Christmas is right around the corner.

In the holiday spirit, here's a throwback.

Remember this?

Wizards Of Winter - Watch the top videos of the week here

5 Restaurants: Baby Greens

I guess this isn't really a restaurant.  It's more of a fast food salad joint.  It was really pretty cool.  Just a tiny green building on the corner of Oltorf and South First.  I found myself pressed for time while driving by so I pulled in and ordered a chicken ceasar.  

It was just like being at any fast food place but you leave with something healthy... fast.  The salad was delicious and not expensive.  Baby Greens is going to be one of those places I hit up regularly from now on.

5 Restaurants: Wahoo's

This place was... what's the word, Michael? Unique.  

I almost felt like I needed to wear a BMX, surf, skateboard or snowboard uniform.  I mean look, they even discriminate states - located only in Alaska, California, Colorado and this ONE location in Austin.  It looked like someone went to the X-Games and stole 100 stacks of those free stickers with the different snowboard brand logos.  They then covered the walls of Wahoo's Fish Taco with those stickers.  The TV's must all be playing Fuel TV - the channel with all these "extreme" sports.

I'd say the food reminded me of a much tastier version of Chipotle, but with almost all fish; the kinds of fish you've never heard of (Bonzai, Wahoo).  I've been twice and I'd say you should order the Bonzai Bowl or the Bonzai Burrito.  This is another place you can order dry or wet.  Order the burrito wet and they cover it in melted cheese and a delicious green sauce making your burrito look like a giant enchilada. mmmm.  Try it, you'll be surprised.

5 Restaurants: Boticelli's

A couple weeks ago, Romeo's was a success so I tried again with Boticelli's.  Last night, I was less impressed by this Italian joint located in the heart of SoCo (On the East side close to that Amy's Ice Cream).

The dining room is almost claustrophobic.  There may have been 10 parties eating in that room.  They make up for it by having a more open area in the back - the "beer garden."  One of those half outdoors kind of things with a bar and a stage for live music.  Could have been a good place to eat if it weren't freezing outside.

The food was good but I'm not going to suggest it to someone looking for good Italian in Austin.  Granted, I ordered the Chicago style roast beef sandwich (Order it dry or wet.  Wet - they dip the whole sandwich in the roast beef's juices or something.  I wish more places would do that.)  She had butternut squash ravioli - if you go there, get that.

5 Restaurants: Romeo's

Romeo's was the day before Imperia.  Slightly less expensive but infinitely more delicious.  I took a date and enjoyed this rustic Italian ambiance on Barton Springs Road.  

The walls, adorned with white columns in between rooms, reminded me of a deteriorating building in Sicily.  Lighting was just dark enough to let you remember that there is a candle in front of you.  Music is low enough so you didn't have to talk loud.  Service is great.  Appetizers are appetizing.  

I had some kind of chicken with capers and angel hair pasta.  She had some kind of chicken with mushrooms and tomato sauce.  I think you could order by throwing a dart at that menu and not be disappointed.  

By my experience, Romeo's is Austin's finest Italian candle light.

5 Restaurants: Imperia

I went in a party of 8 for a friend's birthday party.  She used to go to St. Ed's but moved after freshmen year.  She likes to come back to Austin for birthdays.  This year she kicked it up a notch.  

Imperia is an upscale sushi restaurant downtown.  A place with a dark colored theme and very low light.  I remember a lot of black red and gold.  My guess is fancy restaurants keep the lights dim so that ladies look prettier all dressed up.  When I say upscale, I mean drinks were about as expensive if not more than entrées.

My problem with upscale sushi is that if you were to go to Japan - you know that place that made sushi first - its not upscale like this.  Its in a simple cafe with a rotating track that has a bunch of rolls on it.  Imperia lost me somewhere in the fancy presentation.  It's a roll of rice and fish in seaweed and there isn't enough on my plate.  I didn't really mind.  I knew it was gonna be expensive.  If you are a on a college kid budget, the better sushi may be somewhere less fancy.  If you have to go, order "the Bank."  In the picture, I'm having a Kung Fu Cosmopolitan.

3 Movies: The Fall

You probably haven't heard of this one.  It's presented by Spike Jonze and directed by visionary director, Tarsem (the guy that made "The Cell" with JLo).

"The Fall" is the story of a stunt man in a 1920's California hospital bed.  He meets a young girl there with a healing broken arm.  They develop a friendship as he tells her fantasy stories about five heros who are all trying to kill "Governor Odius."  The story he makes up reflects his current state of mind - happy, sad, angry, drugged (here's where having the guy who made "The Cell" comes in handy).

Roger Ebert calls it "Magnificent."  It is indeed, both visually and because of a couple of surprisingly powerful performances.  This movie is worth watching just for the scenery and (literally) colorful characters.  

Watch it with subtitles because the young girl's character is really cute but her accent is hard to understand much of the time.

Have a taste.  You'll want more.

3 Movies: Quantum of Solace

My problem with the new Daniel Craig James Bond is that they are doing away with some of our favorite characteristics of the old 007 persona.  He used to be all charm and class.  Gadgets and goofily-named villains.  Now they're turning him into Jason Bourne.

While the old James Bond was fornicating with a new "Bond girl" (whom we forget about by the next movie) at the end of each film, the new Bond is alone at the end of each adventure, acting like it doesn't bother him.  He kills quickly and ruthlessly.  And Daniel Craig's Bond doesn't sleep, he just drinks nameless martinis?

That said, it was good.  The action takes off so fast at points, there's not even enough time to get to know who Bond is fighting.  Bond will be walking through a hotel in a foreign country one moment.  A split second later, he and another guy are throwing each other out a window of that building.  5 seconds after that split second, he is in another country doing something similar.

Lots of gunshots, lots of beautiful scenery, a couple scantily clad beautiful women, swift justice to some bad guys... I'd watch it again.

3 Movies: Zach & Miri Make a Porno

Seems like Seth Rogen is gushing out movies a little too quickly.  Hollywood thinks he just lays golden eggs right now but I'm thinking the Seth Rogen fad is gonna calm down soon.

I did find myself laughing during almost the entire movie.  This is mostly because of the potty-humor througout (it is about a group of people making a porno). 

I know you shouldn't complain about this kind of stuff in slap-stick comedies but.. The characters were NOT well developed.  There were a lot of those moments where two characters' relationship is supposed to make you think "Aw.. they're buddies"  but it just didn't work.  

There's no doubt it was funny, just less appealing to all audiences the way "Knocked Up" and "Superbad" were.  I just want Seth to think longer and harder about the plots in which he puts himself as the same character he always plays.

Yards Are Fun

When I went home for Thanksgiving, there weren't all these beautiful leaves in my yard...

I make quick work of them in this exciting Shallow Thoughts exclusive video!

Ricky Lake Can't Believe She Was Fat

I feel like I haven't heard or seen anything about Ricky Lake since I was in the third grade on a day off watching basic television with one of my friend's moms at like 10:00 in the morning. Apparently she's still famous though.

People Magzine reports that she has gone from 270 to 140 lbs. No surgery. No unhealthy methods. She just watches what she eats. Unfortunately, she is having trouble accepting the last decade or so of her life as a reality. "I can't believe I was a fat person for most of my life" she told People Magazine.

Not one to feed her devoted fans pipe dreams, Lake added, "Something tragic in my life could happen and I could balloon and gain weight. I can't promise I'll be like this forever." So don't hold your breath, World.

Tina Fey's Scar

Have you ever noticed the scar on Tina Fey's left cheek? I hadn't either until my brother pointed it out to me. After that, I couldn't look at anything else.

Today, People.com told her story.

I had always assumed she had had some kind of accident. Nothing like the way Heath Ledger's "Joker" described getting his scars... Unfortunately, that's not so different from Fey's version.

Fey says that when she was 5, she was playing in the yard in Pennsylvania when an unknown man, somehow or another, approached her and cut her cheek. Luckily for all of us, the traumatic experience hasn't hindered this gifted woman's life or career. While many would probably buckle under the pressure of such a handicap, Fey didn't grow up as one of those camera-shy self-conscious people. Pretty inspiring, really.

Hilary Duff

I was talking to my cousin who lives in Durango the other day via ichat.  

Durango is a small city in Colorado where my uncle and his family lives.  She was saying that Hilary Duff is in town.  

So if you find yourself on the ski slopes of Durango Mountain Resort in the next few days, keep a watchful eye out for Lizzie McGuire.

I'm not sure what's going on with Hilary but here is a new video People Magazine made of her fashion on red carpets over the years.

Berry Pie

Would you like something healthy for dessert?

A friend of mine showed me how to make this neat little berry pie about a week ago and it's so simple, I wanna share the instructions with YOU.

Crust: blend ingredients in a food processor - you'll know when its done.

2 cups of raw almonds

1/2 cup of seedless dates

1 teaspoon of honey

Spread this around a pie dish in the shape of pie crust.. duh.

Pie Filling: blend ingredients the same way in the food processor.

3 cups blueberries

1 cup other berries

(I don't think it matters what kind of berries you use as long as you use a bunch of blueberries...)

Put this filling in the pie dish and then place in the refrigerator overnight so it can congeal.  The next day, you can enjoy some delicious berry pie. MMM  (picture is not what your pie will look like)

Entertainment Trendwatch #5

It seems like the new thing in comedies is to show full frontal male nudity.

Ex.

1. Walk Hard: the Dewey Cox Story

2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

3. Zach and Miri Make a Porno

Entertainment Trendwatch #4

DVR is close to standard.

When watching my favorite TV shows, I feel like I only see commercials if I like the show so much that I can't wait till later to go back and watch the recording.

Entertainment Trendwatch #3

Disney's only good movies are now all with Pixar animation.

Ex.  As you go down the list, "Little Mermaid III" and "Cinderella III" seem to fall far behind "Wall-E" and "Ratatouille." 

Entertainment Trendwatch #2

We are never going to see the end of reality TV shows.  The "Real Housewives" is only on it's second city.

Entertainment Trendwatch #1

Bands are beginning to give away songs for free.  Most people aren't paying for them anyway.

Ex.  Kanye West has been releasing singles of his new "art" one at a time.

bump sorry

We've all done it.  I've just never heard anyone say something about it.  The other day I heard it and it made me laugh so here it is for your enjoyment.

"Don't you hate when you keep bumping into inanimate objects and then apologizing to them?"

South Austin BaRestraurants

So I'll just touch on a few of the bars and restaurants that I know in South Austin.  I don't know much.

1. Doc's Motorworks Bar & Grill is that place that looks like an old 2 door garage to a firestation or something.  It's got standard burgers and chicken tenders from what I remember.
2. El Sol y la Luna is that place with the sun and the moon symbol... Obviously.  Good Mexican food for a standard Mexican food price.
3. Exposé is St. Ed's neighboring Strip club.  You can't miss it.
4. Guero's Taco Bar might be the most famous Mexican food joint on South Congress.  It's in one of Quentin Tarantino's newest movies, Deathproof.
5. South Congress Cafe is across the street from Guero's on the same side of Congress.  I remembered it being really expensive and everything with fancy ingredients like goat cheese.
6. Shady Grove is the restaurant on Barton Springs under the big shady tree.. oh I get it.
7. Barton Springs Saloon is that local bar on the corner of Barton Springs and Lamar.  They never seem to card anyone I know.

I need to pay more attention when I go places.

Radiohead: "Create Your Own Rainbow"

Why am I always writing about Radiohead?

Other than the fact that they're awesome?

No reason.  Well maybe because they keep breaking new grounds again and again.

Well here's one more.  They've already let you have all the pieces to two of their songs, "Nude" and "Reckoner."  (With other artists, taking pieces of full songs apart would normally cost ... I don't know.. hundreds of thousands of dollars to be able to remix like this.)  

Now they've brought you into the creative process of another part of their entertainment.  They filmed themselves performing "15 Step" in Japan from 12 different camera angles.  (I think it should have been 15 camera angles but neither I nor you can tell Radiohead how to do their thing.)  

You can watch the video and as you do, choose which camera angle you want to see next.  It then saves this information on the little bar at the bottom tracking your progress.  Then you can watch the video again with all the angles you chose.  It's like being the man in the big booth with all the camera feeds telling people "camera 2!" "Take me back to camera 5!!"  It's fun. Try it. Or don't.

How to build a kegerator

Imagine coming home at the end of the day, grabbing a frosty pint glass form the freezer and pouring a glass of beer on tap.  A lot of people don't seem to know what I'm talking about when I say "kegerator."  It's simply a refrigerator that does nothing but keep a keg cold.  I love them.

You can buy one for $500-$600 but that's for fools.  Making your own is where it's at.  You'll save a bunch of money and then you can use the freezer to freeze your mugs or just as an extra freezer.  Plus, you get to tell people you made it.  

All you have to do is take out all the drawers from an old fridge and drill a hole in it (Vigilantly watch craigslist.  I got mine for $50).  You'll need a conversion kit which is just a tap, tubes, a CO2 tank and a faucet (you can get fancier with a drip tray or double taps but its not necessary).  The cheapest kits I found were here.  Once you've assembled your kit, just put the faucet through the door and you'll ready to watch all your friends come over and drink all your booze.

Election Night Facebook Statuses

So in case you haven't heard and "Shallow Thoughts" is your first source for news, Obama did it.  He will be the 44th American President of the United States and the 1st black one.

Tonight's biggest shocks for me came in the form of facebook statuses.  I hadn't predicted that people on my "friends" list would show such ugly colors after Obama won.  This is for all my fellow facebook status enthusiasts.

As soon as the results were official, happy statuses of Obama supporters started to appear.

[Joe/Jane Doe...]

• "Yes We Can"
• "believes in democracy!"
• "feels patriotic tonight"

Then some McCain supporters started to get a little childish.

• "is so happy that his hard earned money will go straight to all those stupid/lazy liberals!"
• "is moving to Canada"
• "is I'll keep my guns, my money, and my freedom... you can keep your CHANGE."

While it is important to note that they existed, I'm not going to post any offensive ones.  I am now ashamed to know those people and have already revoked their privilege of being on my "friends" list.

On a lighter note, here are a couple of good ones:

• "is Ron Paul"
• "is if you are stupid enough to leave the country over a President, please do so."

Teaching Swimming Lessons

I finally mustered up the strength to tell my boss I don’t want to teach swim lessons anymore.  (I work at the YMCA life guarding/teaching swim lessons)  

After I said goodbye to my last class on Thursday and sat in the hot tub to relax for a few minutes, the sunset’s orange glow illuminated the natatorium and the aqua-aerobics class was playing some kind of Enya song or something.  I began to meditate on what my last day to teach meant.  

No more ritualistically soaking myself in chlorine for 4 hours every Tuesday and Thursday.  (You don’t get used to it.)  No more stressing about how some of my little swimmers like Angel, Seung-Ha, Yuturo, Savannah or Kathleen just aren’t meant to be in the water.  

The smile of a parent who’s just seen their child swim for the first time is probably the only thing I’ll miss but to me, these don’t outweigh how bad it feels when a few students simply don’t have the multi-tasking skills to stay above the surface.  

"Trick or Treat I'm 30"

Exactly what is the age cut off for trick-or-treating?  

This year, I decided I’d join my neighbors in giving candy to the neighborhood children… and their older siblings… and their much older siblings… and their parents?  I’m pretty sure I gave candy to a woman with a newborn in a baby carriage.  I’m not so sure Halloween candy is good for an infant’s development.  That child’s going to be wired for life now and now I’m one to blame.  I should have called them both out for not having a costume.  

She reminded me of that person who goes to big events where they give away free snacks and ends up taking home a giant box full of everything they can grab.  I’ll go ahead and say don’t trick-or-treat if you are over 11 or under 1.  

Enjoy the candy while you can, lady.  Next year you will be denied.

What is John McCain's stance on the right to bear arms?

John McCain doesn't mind short sleeves.

ha ha ha

House of Torment

Walking through the first rooms, wave after wave of ghouls spring out from each room’s one dark corner. More startling than scary, even when you know it’s coming. After the initial “boo”, some of them think it might be scarier if they get in your face and stay there for a while. Really, this is so you can get a closer look at how much time they spent working on their makeup that afternoon. Of course, you don’t want to hang out and count their nose hairs. You want to push on because the proximity is beginning to highlight the B.O. these guys have understandably developed from such a high energy night job. Their role is to jump out, be loud and quickly get back in their shaded corner. It starts to get old.

The best performances seem to come from the ones walking around outside the haunted house. For them, it’s not about speed and vocal volume, but rather maintaining a creepy demeanor and firmly approaching the people who have opted out of the full experience. Oddly, these scares are free.

Marc Sherman is annoyed.

If your facebook status is going to be something no one cares about, don't update it.  I'm gonna let you in on a secret - I am truly aggravated every time I see:

1. A facebook status thats just an intentionally vague song lyric...  Listen, "Just because no one understands you, doesn't mean you're an artist" - bumper sticker. 

2.  Someone complaining about their love life via facebook status.  "Jane Doe is wishing she had you back."  Keep it to yourself, I don't feel sorry for you.  

3.  A grammatically incorrect status...  "Mike Smith is wants to eat something"  Look Mike, facebook made it so you don't have to use the is anymore because you just couldn't express yourself with that is... Now that the option is there, you are either too lazy or too stupid to produce proper English.  I hate you. 

Bad Spoon Pictures

Spoon @ The Parish 10/13/08

Last night was my first visit to "the Parish" but surely not my last.  This is my new favorite place to see live music in Austin.  Tucked upstairs in this charming bar is a modestly sized ballroom.  The decor is tasteful - 10'x10' wooden paintings fill the wall space.  There is something very comfortable about the place.

Announced only 2 weeks ago, Spoon performed as a "Benefit for Texas Democrats."  Some man with a funny mustache said a few words before they got going about how glad he was to have us all voting Democrat.  Like many there, I came for Spoon.  I just happen to like Obama.  Even though the show was sold out, I was able to make my way to the bar and back... more times than I should probably admit but my spot in the very front was always waiting for me.  None of that pushing and shoving I've grown to expect at shows.

This was probably the 5th time I'd seen Spoon and definitely my favorite set.  A few songs I'd never heard before (band is about to get back in the studio to finish their new album).  The sound was good other than a few microphone glitches, which went away after the sound guy received a couple stink-eyes.  They even brought those trumpets, trombones, and sax that are so popular in "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" out for older songs like "Stay Don't Go."

Thanks to the intimacy of The Parish, Britt Daniel took a few seconds to point at me and mutter something like "alright" when he wasn't busy popping his neck veins at the microphone.  I even got a sweaty hug after the encore and bought him a beer.

Tx OU weekend part 2

After the game, people wearing burnt orange were able to walk around the fair with heads held high unlike last year.  As it was my only day at the fair, I felt it necessary to squeeze as much fair food into my stomach as time would allow.  This ended up being 2 corny dogs, black eyed peas, and fried grilled cheese.  

I think fried grilled cheese is new at the fair.  At least it is to me.  It had a lot of hype from people telling me what I should eat.  Would I suggest it? I'd say you should try one of the 4 corners they serve.  Its exactly what it sounds like.  So much grease.  They serve it with a mini bowl of tomato soup for dipping the sandwich - pretty delicious.  So bad for you but state fair food rocks.

Reckoner Video

As predicted, Radiohead's new remix contest is already turning up some great remixes.  The band has already received over 1000 submissions of remixes for the song.  Apparently this includes entries of music videos.  The band posted this now official music video on their homepage.  

TX OU weekend part 1

This weekend, I went home to Dallas for the Red River Rivalry. (picture left to right: me, cousin, dad, some guy, brother) It's been something of a tradition for my family and friends for as long as I can remember.  This year was in a lot of ways, exactly how I remembered it.  The State Fair was swarmed by so much burnt orange and crimson it started to hurt my eyes.  It's always cool to see the Cotton Bowl split down the center with the two colors.  This year, the stadium was improved to provide additional seating.  It can now hold 92,000 fans.  Standing at the game now feels refreshingly symmetric with its new "bowl" shape.

Even where I sat, in a section populated by a lot of older gentlemen, the fans were rowdy.  This was without the sale of alcohol inside the stadium (NCAA rules), which resulted in way too many people spewing out of the gates at half-time to get to the beer stands.  The game was about as fun to watch as you can hope for in a bowl game, especially because the team we were rooting for won.

Time Warner Sucks

I haven't been able to watch "The Office" for 2 weeks now and I'm starting to lose my patience.  

I don't religiously follow other TV shows and after the first episode of the season, Time Warner Cable decided to take that channel off the air.  Something about NBC not wanting to pay them to broadcast it because Time Warner gets the signal for free or something.  It's not really important.  I don't have time to figure out the specifics so I'm just pointing my finger at Time Warner.  

They've been my cable service provider for over a year now and I can't even count how many times I've had to have a technician come over to spruce up their crappy equipment.  I saw advertisements on TV that said you can watch "The Office" online for free but I can't figure that out... 

I'm pretty upset about it.  

I'm so upset, I've written a blog about how upset I am.

South Park attacks George Lucas and Steven Spielberg

So tonight's episode of South Park was kind of funny...  It was mostly awkward.  The episode features Cartman and Butters holding up a P.F. Chang's restaurant because Cartman is afraid that the Chinese have plans to take over America.

Thennnn there's the other story being told - the rest of the South Park kids are trying to get George Lucas and Steven Spielberg sued for... lets say, "ruining" Indiana Jones (the new installment with Shia Lebouf)  I know South Park has become famous for pushing the limits but usually it's at least funny at the same time.  This was just obscene for the sake of being out of bounds.  I'm sure you'll be hearing about it.

Last day to Register

In case you haven't been down any major street in Austin today, or seen a bunch of facebook status updates saying to go register, perhaps the Shallow Thoughts blog can be your last minute reminder that TODAY is that LAST DAY TO REGISTER to vote for the 2008 Presidential Election.  So go do it..  unless you like McCain.

Vice Presidential Debates

The world of comedy would like to give a shout out to Sarah Palin.

In one of my classes (Humor in Creative Writing) we've been talking a lot about how Saturday Night Live is so great every 4 years because of the elections and then it starts to fade.   Owen (teacher) keeps saying that comedy writers can't even make up funnier material than the real things coming from the current administration and now the election candidates.

I know that everyone predicted that this debate was going to be interesting but now that I'm actually watching it... I just can't stop thinking of how happy writers at the Daily show, Colbert Report, and SNL must be to hear the things coming out of this woman's mouth.

Next President of the United States

Old, bullheaded and potentially reckless John McCain is neck and neck with Obama.  I only watched a short bit of the debate on Friday before I felt offended that someone with his rude and short demeanor could even make it this far in the campaign.  I'm not even going to dignify his vice president's persona with my thoughts.  Of course Matt Damon said it best (thanks Marloes).  

Are there really enough people in this country scared of "the terrorists" to think we need to be in this war?  Are there really enough racists in the home of the free to block Barack? 

 

We've already had 8 years of douchebag.  I'm going to be really ashamed to be an American if McPain takes office. 

Also, look at your opponent in a debate, John.

Focus Group @ the Hole in the Wall 9/28/08

I didn't attend ACL this year. The only musical performance I witnessed this weekend was Focus Group, an  unknown band of 4 (formerly 5) recent students of St. Edward's. I discovered this small troupe through a friend I met at St. Ed’s who lived in my dorm freshman year. She dates a member of the band. Therein lies my bias but it's quite weak, I promise (also disregard the hour upon which I write this... I just got home).

Donald plays bass and guitar. 
Mike plays drums and bass.
Andrew plays button-machine-thing-2000 and drums. 
Seth plays trumpet and keyboard.
They used to have a permanent drummer but he moved and "got so good at drums he had to study piano, and is now so classical he's studying Mozart."

I've made it to 4.5 shows now (one got shut down by the cops - I'm just that hardcore) and they have been the undisputed highlight of every lineup. The thing that sets this act apart from other guitars, drums and keyboards is the thing-a-ma-jig that I don't know the name of (you'll find your head bobbing at high speeds). Andrew plays a small electronic... box on which he can remix sounds, produce different noises and loop all kinds of crazy beats etc. I don't know enough about music to explain all the stuff that has been explained to me but I want to be sure that I express how far this element distinguishes this Group's sound. It also helps to have a trombone player in your crew who knows what's up -- and Seth does. Each member's input politely accents each other's contribution.

It's pretty tough to explain what kind of music it is.  That's where you're in luck. Boom - listen for yourself.  I suggest "White Folk is Freaky" and "Very Truly Yours" to get you hooked.

The venue:

The Hole in the Wall is a delightful 'little' bar on Guadalupe at 24th.  Walking in, thats what it seems like but walking back, you realize how much space this establishment occupies - there are 2 indoor bars, each with its own performance stage and an outdoor bar with an entourage of many picnic tables that seem to welcome graffiti (as do the walls - but the professional kind).  The setup is very cool checkitout.

"..born under unusual circumstances"

You know those movie trailers that you rarely see? The ones where you have a chill run up your spine by the end? I saw one of those this weekend - "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button".  Excuse me if you've already seen it but this was such a beautiful trailer.  

With only a few short sentences at the beginning and 7 words at the end, this trailer seemed to communicate an awful lot about the movie.  It's obvious that "Button" is full of wonderful cinematography, boosted by an excellent use of color.  From what's heard in the trailer and from the few snippets I've read, the musical score is enchanting.  

I'm with other bloggers who sound worried that the trailers are giving away too much though.  The one I'm posting succeeds all too well at telling an entire story on its own.  Either way, I'm looking forward to seeing it -- watch and enjoy. (With all my talk of cinematography.. I suggest you just watch it in HD...)

My Fellow Bloggers

I made this blog for my Entertainment Journalism class at St. Edward's University.  If you enjoy it, perhaps my classmates have something to offer you as well.  Check out their blogs for a better smell of St. Ed's.

Danielle Bauman

Christian Cabazos

Claire Cella

Tommy Collins

Celeste Diaz

Victoria Estrada

Mackenzie Jenkins

Marloes Lemsom

Jennifer Obenhaus

Mandy Odgers

Caroline Wallace

Geoffrey West

Allison Willis

Free Burrito Day at Chipotle

If you're a St. Edward's student...

Thats right, today Chipotle is giving away free burritos to anyone who can produce a St. Edward's ID.  A free burrito and nothing else.  The guy asked me innocently if I would like a drink with that.  When I said sure, he looked pretty excited to be ringing something up for the first time in a while.  I changed my mind.

If you read this in time to go grab yourself a free burrito, you can be sure to see a lot of familiar faces.  I'd bet that business at the Stedwards cafeteria was hurtin today.

Radiohead: "Reckoner" Remix Contest

Last April, Radiohead invited fans to remix their song, "Nude" for a contest.  Contestants could buy different tracks of guitar, bass, vocals etc. from iTunes, plug them right into garage band and get to mixing.  It birthed some incredibly creative material including the video posted below, in which one contestant recreates the song entirely with sounds made by old electronics.  More on that here.

Tomorrow, Radiohead will release similar tracks for "Reckoner" another hit song from their recent album, In Rainbows.  Contestants are to submit their work to the same place as the last time, http://radioheadremix.com/

More on the contest here.

There should be some interesting things in the making as of tomorrow.

Nerdy Review: Mariokart Wii

I wrote about the Nintendo Wii when it first arrived in my living room.  Now I've had it for a while and I've played more than my fair share of mario kart.  If you have played any of the earlier versions of the game, (super nintendo/64) you'll probably enjoy this one. 

 

The fact that you have to actually turn the controller in a little wheel changes the dynamics pretty drastically.  It's not too difficult to get used to, as most people have been making these hand motions in the older versions anyway.  The game has a a lot more items, almost too many.  A player will be racing happily, minding their own business, and suddenly they are struck by lightning, spun out by an earthquake and hit by a shell all one after the other.  

That aside, mariokart is about as user friendly as games get.  A friend's girlfriend sat down the other day to play it for the first time and beat 3 of my friends (including her boyfriend who was oh so thrilled).  Then again, that is what the Wii is famous for.  It's user friendly controls along with plenty of flashy colors, fun sounds and numerous levels makes it a perfect game for anyone who is playing for the first time or the hundredth, and 4 of them can do it at once.  The other day, we discovered an online function.  You can log one or two players onto a free Wii-live kind of network and play in races with up to 12 players from all over the world.  Every time we've tried it, we have played with people from places like Haiti, Sweden, France, Costa Rica etc.  Its a whole new chapter in a game that is pretty tough to get tired of.

Review: UT Tailgate

I'm the youngest in a family full of longhorns.  My mother, father and both brothers went to UT.  This weekend my dad came in town for the UT vs Rice game so we went to a family friend's tailgate.  I have to admit, as much as I don't care about UT football, there is something quite special about that many people gathering around a single event like that.

The game not starting until 6:00, we approached the tailgating area at around 3:30. Exiting from I-35 on MLK, burnt orange already covered the sidewalks.  People even had miniature versions of tailgates behind their cars in parking lots half a mile from the stadium.  Closer to the stadium, any combination of beer, burgers, boots, jeans, horse shoes, washers, fake blonde hair, and beer could be seen in any direction.  At the family friend's particular tailgate, four massive collapsable tents covered a 20 foot smoker and grill, tables wrapped around a kitchen area, a dual tap kegerator/trailer invention, wide screen TV with satellite reception, an industrial sized misting fan all with space for plenty of seating or standing space to spare.

Like I said, I don't care whether the longhorns win or lose but I can see how fun it must be to go to a school that actually has something that big to care about.  When a great play was made, I couldn't help but holler with the rest of them.  Granted: the beer helped.  A friend of mine left St. Ed's last year.  He told me he needed a bigger pond to swim in and wanted it to be in a place where there was a big enough sports team that the whole town invested in it.  I get it, I guess.

I would happily attend another UT tailgate in my burnt orange disguise.  It's a great way to spend a beautiful almost-fall Saturday.  

Late Review: Radiohead - "In Rainbows"

Radiohead is one of those bands that never disappoints. I remember standing in line at midnight at that record store on 24th and Guadalupe when Radiohead's "Hail to the Theif" was released in 2003. When "In Rainbows" was released, I was waiting like thousands of other fans, in front of my computer for the green light to download the album.

Aside from the history making method of releasing "In Rainbows" to the public, the album is a refreshingly beautiful piece of Radiohead's progression. Earlier albums like "Kid A" and "OK Computer" exhibit Radiohead's experimental side with songs full of computer generated sounds and effects.  "Hail to the Thief" met a perfect balance between crazy sounds and the use of more traditional instruments like piano.

"In Rainbows" is a welcomed change of pace.  Softer, lighter, calmer, eyes-closed beautiful.  The first song, "15 Step" makes starting the CD an energizing few seconds with a choppy electric beat and Thom Yorke's quick vocals which then smoothes out into a soft, comfortably hummable tune.  Songs like "Bodysnatchers" and "Jigsaw Falling into Place," stand out with a faster pace at the beginning and end of the album.  The ones that really suck you in are the bass-heavy songs "Nude" and "All I Need."  These somber songs of love and god-knows-what remind listeners how intensely heartfelt Radiohead's material can feel (last 60 seconds of "All I Need").  "Reckoner" stands alone as the album's most beautiful sonnet.  Light instrumentals, a maraca and Yorke's sweet, smooth vocals form the cornerstone to this dazzling song that just might make you cry.  Almost every song on this album deserves your close attention.  Once started from the beginning, "In Rainbows" will keep you in a delightful trance until the very end.

Tina Fey does Sarah Palin

I appreciate a good impression and it's been a while since I've seen one as right on as that of Sarah Palin by Tina Fey. I am glad I tivo'd last weekend's SNL because when everyone in all my classes was talking about it, I checked it out and had myself quite the chuckle. I had to look at some videos of the real Palin to really appreciate the majesty of Fey's impression. If you haven't seen it, (and as it's Thursday, I'm probably too late) DO IT.

While the impression of Palin is what I was looking forward to, Amy Poehler's Clinton impression was the funniest part of the skit. I'm gonna have to see "Baby Mama" now because those two women together equals comedic genius.

Articulate Rap Battle

A couple weeks ago, I posted about Break.com. I want to further my claim that this site provides some of the funniest material on the web.  I'm sure if you're reading this, you have some level of appreciation for perfect using of english.  Writing more about it before you see it isn't going to make the video funnier.  Let me know what you think.

Rap Battle Gone Bad Translated - Watch more free videos

énglish is Ünderstood by Ãll

Best Burger in Austin: Burger House

I'm not a big burger guy, myself. When I go to a new restaurant, I usually try something other than the sure-thing American Burger. I grew up in Dallas and if you are from Dallas, you probably already know its name but if you're not from Dallas, I'm sorry that you've had to wait this long to hear about the promised land that is Burger House. A secret recipe concocts its magical "special seasoning" which you will find on almost anything you order. Every time I eat there, as I taste the special seasoning, all the good memories of my past and future are sparked as my mouth waters in sheer delight. I have never taken a single person there who didn't think it was down right delicious. As I type this, my stomach is filled with cheeseburger and fries topped with the special seasoning. Let me tell you, it's one of the world's best legal highs. The reason I post this is because I am feeling particularly compelled to spread the gospel. Burger House is going on its third year having a location in Austin. For South Austinites, it's a tad far, but I assure you, the burger mecca is worth the quest. Located on Spicewood Springs off of Mopac, Burger House is this critic's number one burger in Austin. Tucked away in a nice neighborhood, Burger House has a warm, cedar, outdoor patio surrounded by bamboo covered with soft lighting at night time. For me it's a taste of home. Take my advice and treat yourself to something truly special. I don't think I'm exaggerating much.

Click.

Piano Class

Props to musicians.

I'm taking piano 1 this semester and it's the first time I've been made to sit down and read music since I was about 8 or 9.  I have forgotten how hard it is.  I always looked at music and thought to myself, "I could do that if I practiced." Ok well I stand by that, but the amount of practice is a lot more than I ever wanted to put in.

Its one thing to understand what symbol stands for what note and to know how long to hold those notes but to go from one to the next smoothly without thinking about it is pretty impressive.  My room mate plays the piano.  He plays those really hard songs that you learn in piano class but he plays them perfectly.  Gotta give it up to people who have put in that amount of time for something like that, especially if they can make a career out of it.  I think I'll be a musician yet.

Marc Sherman's sorta tour of Austin Cuisine

I had some friends come in town this weekend to visit. My impression was that everytime they come into town, they sit around someone's apartment watching TV. As they insisted on doing this most of the time, I did what I could to take them out for some food you can only find in Austin.

The first place I took them to was Juan in a Million. East of 35 on Cesar Chavez, this place is a diamond in the rough. Someone from work told me about it. "..a mountain of eggs, potatoes, bacon and cheese for like $4, man!" Thats exactly what "The Don Juan" is and it's delicious.

The next day I made them come with me to Torchy's Tacos on First Street between Oltorf and 290. If you've never been to Torchy's and you don't hate tacos, I strongly encourage you to treat yourself to something truly scrumptious. Every time I'm there I hear a lot of people order the "Baja Shrimp" so those must be pretty popular and take my word for it, they're really good. I'd say the best value there is the "Trailer Park" taco: Fried Chicken with green chilis, lettuce and pico with pablano ranch. So sloppy but so delicious.

Football Season

It's football season again and that means I can say goodbye to productivity on Sundays for a while. Unfortunately a freak accident occurred and I didn't get to watch my team (Dallas Cowboys.) But in the time I've had to do so, I've heard they looked mean.

Sounds like Marion Barber has bruised ribs but he's a thug and I'm sure he'll be back next week. Tony Romo had the best game of any quarterback in the NFL, throwing for 320 yards. And T.O had the most yards of any wide receiver in the NFL. A good start for the boys. I'm looking forward to this season. Hopefully there will be no more heartbreak for them in this, their last season .

Movie Review: Death Sentence

Somehow, I found myself watching Death Sentence this weekend. I remembered seeing the preview for it a long time ago so when I saw it on TV, I figured I'd give it a view...

Don't watch that movie. The plot is basically, there is this happy, successful businessman with a wife and two sons. One of his sons is favored more than the other and he is about to go to college. Suddenly, this kid is murdered by a gang at a gas station for no apparent reason. Kevin Bacon snaps and kills the guy who killed his son. The gang retaliates and kills the rest of his family. Kevin Bacon retaliates back and kills the rest of the gang. Roll credits. I've just saved you an hour and a half of your life. I thought the plot was so boring that it doesn't even deserve a better description. It is 10 minutes of character development and 96 minutes of scrawny ole Kevin Bacon killing gang members in a not-so-believable shoot 'em up. I repeat: do not watch that movie.

VMAs

Didn't the VMAs used to be fun to watch? From what I saw, the MTV Video Music Awards was awful. I don't know who the host was but he made me uncomfortable as half of the time, I wasn't sure if he was being serious or making a joke. I don't even know who most of those MTV bands were that were being nominated for all the awards. Everytime I changed the channel back to the VMAs, there was some celebrity or band whom I'd never seen before and they always seemed to look more than a tad on the strange side. I saw Britney Spears for a minute but it wasn't the Britney I'm used to. I guess she quit taking crazy pills because she looked like the 2003 version of Britney Spears and even that was somehow uncomforting. With the acception of Kid Rock, in every performance I saw, the singer was lip sinking and not well. One last thought: Why was the crowd so small?

Austin City Limits Music Festival Dissapoints

The Austin City Limits Music Festival is goin down. When i was a sophomore in high school, 4 of my friends and I packed into my honda and drove from Dallas to Austin to stay with my brother for that year's ACL. I don't remember all of the bands that I saw but I do remember how much going and seeing the whole thing was for me at 16 years old. When I got to St. Ed's, the magic of the music festival experience was easy to remember. I remember feeling oh so happy at the Flaming lips and oh so wet at Tom Petty after waiting in the rain. The bands were all great and some of my expectations blown away (Wolf Parade).

ACL 2007 was a bit of a different story, when I first saw the lineup, I was really excited. So many bands that I wanted to see! The White Stripes, Wilco, Arcade Fire, Muse, My Morning Jacket, Arctic Monkeys, Spoon, LCD Soundsystem!! Then the schedule came out. All of those bands were playing at the same time as another one, cutting my options in half. Then the week before the festival, the White Stripes cancelled their appearance and after show at Stubbs apparently because Meg White was stressed. The half of the highlights I chose to attend were good, Arcade Fire didn't live up to what I had heard, and then to top it all off, Bob Dylan sucked. It was sad really, to see someone so great and iconic headlining a crowd when they have no business doing so. He's just so old, his voice is shot.

I'm not even going this year. The lineup isn't even worth me looking it up to reference. I think there were about 5 bands i really wanted to see and none of them are worth standing in the heat and smelling B.O. all day. I think the best act of the weekend is going to be Beck and I'm not gonna pay $80 for him. I'm no expert and I don't know what it is. Maybe ACL has sold out.. maybe it just cant compete with the flood of new music festivals across the country... maybe the fact that it's in the "music capital of the world" doesn't matter anymore. My point is it's goin down and I don't think it's worth getting exciting about.

Break

I'd like to take a moment to talk about one of my favorite websites.  Whenever I need something to do on the computer and options are limited, I click on my favorites bar where it says "Break."  It's one of those websites where they show funny/shocking/interesting videos sent in by viewers hoping to earn enough hits to get paid. 

In my opinion, its the best, but before you run off and type in break.com to your URL box, know that it's a bit on the inappropriate side.  The site is really entertaining and if they had an edited version, it would be just as good as the raw version but the fact of the matter is that Break.com has as many pictures and videos of hot girls and other not-safe-for-work material as it does G-rated content.  

If you're ok with that, (and I may, in your opinion exaggerate the vulgarity) check it out and enjoy.  They update it a lot so there's always new videos to watch and their picture galleries are awesome.

David Duchovny - Sex Addict

This weekend, I was thinking about how I couldn't think of anything to blog about. I guess a Shotime commercial came on and I saw a thing for the show, "Californication." The thought crossed my mind for a moment that I could write something about the tasteless joke I always find myself telling when someone says anything about Californication. The joke is that in every episode of that show, David Duchovny hooks up with a really hot woman. His character happens to be a writer. So I always say, thats why I'm a writing major. (Thats what my life is gonna be like when I grow up. ha-ha)

Anyway, I couldn't think of a way to stretch that out into an entire blog.. until this afternoon. I somehow stumbled upon this link that David Duchovny has checked himself into rehab for treatment of a sex addiction. Just thought that was kind of ironic.

Here's the link if you wanna read about it.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4676885a1860.html