0 5 for Friday

I'm starting a new feature on the JDC, 5 random thoughts coming straight at you every Friday...

1.  Path might be pretty cool, but I'm not 100% sold on it.

So I started using Path which is a Facebook alternative that limits you to around 150 friends.  The app on the iPhone is really slick and reminds me of BBM.  You can share locations, pictures, songs, thoughts and so on with your real friends and not that one person you randomly met as a friend of a friend of a friend that always posts the most annoying things.  It's nice that when I get a notification from the app it means that there is something that I actually want to read and not being invited to play some random game by a friends from 10th grade.  Will this app actually take off?  I have no idea.  But the more alternatives to Facebook the bestter.  Monopolies are never good unless you are actually playing the game of Monopoly.  I suggest everyone at least give Path the old college try.  Worst case scenario, you don't like it at all and you delete it.  It never hurts to try something new. 

2.  The Voice has been upgraded.  

The Voice is my third favorite reality TV show behind The Challenge (by far the best and soon to be America's next great sport) and the Bachelor (nothing gets better than rooting for a girl on your team to make out with the bachelor or cry).  I'm not sure but for whatever reason I can't get enough of this blind singing competition.   The show is even better now that they kicked off the train wreck that is Christina Aguilera and the overwhelming creepiness that is Cee Lo and replaced them with Usher and Shakira.  It's been such a huge upgrade.  Urrrrsher is Urrrrsher, it would be awesome to spend a night partying with him.  And Shakira's broken English provides an awesome level of unintentional humor, especially when she is trying to talk a country singer onto her team.  Finally, I gotta mention Carson Daly.  Next time you watch, if you watch, be sure to watch Carson Daly's reactions when he is hanging out with the contestants family.  They are so over-the-top animated that I think the bro actually really cares or he's the best actor that know one knows is actually an actor.¹  As always in life, cool and unintentionally funny is always better than train wrecks and creepiness.  

3. Pitt is Pitt.

As many of you read, I posted a great ode to Pitt basketball last Thursday proclaiming my love of Pitt and admitting how crazy I was for always believing in them.  I realize that my actual bracket was really wrong but my underlying point that Pitt fans like myself always believe no matter how ridiculous it is to believe was spot on.  Until about 5 minutes left in the game last week, I thought Pitt was going to pull it out.  I always think they are going to pull it out even though they usually don't.  I'm not exactly sure what happened in that game. The team definitely played tight but it doesn't make sense that Woodall an experience 5th year senior would have the worst game of his career then.  Talk about a terrible way to go out.  Tray was a very solid Pitt guy he deserved to go out in a better way.  I'll remember Tray for one of the best quotes ever.   After making a game winning shot, someone asked him if he was afraid when he took the shot, he replied "scared money don't make money."  So spot on for basketball and anything in life, if you are afraid to take a chance you are never going to succeed.  But anyways, back to Pitt basketball.  I was going to do a review of the season and what went wrong.  However, I don't think there was much to say.  Basically, Pitt overachieved this year while starting two freshman and playing a senior PG tons of minutes who was better suited to be a 6-man off the bench who brings instant offense and not carry the entire team.  Dixon over coached the team too.  He was way too worried about rebounding and defense and let the offense suffer.  When the team was at it's best during the season, it was when the team was running and scoring at ton.  Overall, the season was a success because the team bounced back from horrible year before and the young guys like Adams played a lot and got better.  There is a lot of talk about how Dixon is a bad big game coach, but I'm not sure how accurate that is.  Quite a few of Pitt's losses have been to teams that made the Final 4.  So for the most part Pitt is losing to really good teams.  Should they have wins against a couple of those teams? Absolutely.  But they aren't losing to scrubs.  Also, a lot of the times the team really overachieves during the regular season so their end record while good isn't reflective of the actual talent level of the team.  You need talent to win.  Dixon seems to have recognized that he needs better talent and Pitt's recruiting has been better lately.  Although, it all really is pretty irrelevant because Dixon is here for the long haul.  Hopefully, he keeps on getting better and improving his coaching style.  This is why I didn't do a dedicated post about Pitt basketball, I knew it would just turn into a bunch of random rambling.  Oh well, Hail to Pitt!

4. I'm worried for Jimmy Fallon.  

I love Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.  He brings lots of originality, lots of randomness and lots of SNL quality skits to a late night show.  Bonus, his house band is the Roots which are beyond amazing.  But I'm worried for Jimmy because it was just announce that he's taking over for Jay Leno next year.  I just don't see the people who watch Jay Leno, older people who love dumb skits like reading of headlines, get into the randomness of Fallon which includes twitter hashtags, wheel of carpet samples, beer pong with celebrity guests and so on.  I can just imagine my Grandma turning on Fallon at 11:35 and just SMDH'ing the whole time and being beyond confused.  However, if he changes his show to try to get that broader audience, then he loses the very thing that makes him worth watching.  Basically, he's going to have to walk a very fine line, which is really hard to do.  So Jimmy, I'm worried for you.    

5.  Equality is Equality.  

During the past week there was an equality day, where almost everyone on Facebook showed support of equality by putting up an equal sign.²  I say almost everyone because there were some people who were against it and ranted about everyone else imposing liberal views or some B.S.  Someone even argued about how horrible it was that liberals stop him from using g&y and f&g.³  Seriously bro?  You are mad about not being able to use derogatory terms.  What's next? Are you going to be mad that you can't use the n-word or are you going to be mad that you can't call someone someone a see-you-next-tuesday?  Seriously, if someone offends a lot of people you shouldn't do it.  It's not being liberal or anything like that.  It's called being a human being and being courteous.  But back to marriage equality, it makes no sense to be against allowing two bros or two chicks from getting married.  You are just letting two people get the same legal rights that a woman and man are entitled to when they get married.  But you say ohhh God hates them and God loves me don't impose your views on me?  Letting someone enter into a legal contract, which is what marriage is, doesn't effect your gay-hating self.  No one is making you go to their weddings or making you have weddings in your church or making you not be hateful anymore.  And spare me the sanctity of marriage nonsense, straight people ruined marriage a long time ago.  And don't go busting out a slippery slope argument that oh you let them get married then before you know it a man will be marrying a horse.  Slippery slope arguments are beyond lazy and they are always used when you are on the wrong side of an argument.  I'm sure people used those arguments to try to stop interracial marriage.  Bottom line, it's the 21st century and people should start acting like it is the 21st century.  

There you have it 5 random thoughts that were more random rants for Friday.  Everyone, have a great Easter weekend!

¹ I spent a good 15 minutes looking for a GIF of his reactions, but they don't seem to exist.  Seems like a pretty big internet fail to me.  Come on internet you have to be better than that.

² I didn't put up an equal sign because I'm lazy and I don't like doing trendy things on Facebook.  

³ I know I say both but I really wish that I didn't.  I honestly have nothing but love for everyone.  I'm just so used to saying it that I don't think that I do.  I'm going to make an effort to try to eliminate the terms.  If I could eliminate pop from my vocab, then I certainly eliminate words that people think are hateful.  

0 Yep... that sucked...

The joys of being a Pitt fan... But we will get them next year. As always Hail to Pitt.

2 March Loves Driving Pitt fans to Madness

Way back in November in one of my first blog posts, I predicted Pitt would make the Final Four based on the that Pitt had the following: 1. a veteran PG, 2. top freshman that were ready to make impacts, 3. Plenty of depth off the bench and 4. a coach that knows how to win.  Looking back I was pretty accurate cause Tray Woodall was Tray Woodall in a good way, Steven Adams was not quite lottery level but James Robinson was better than even I imagined, Pitt plays 10 deep although Trey Zeigler hasn't been who I thought he'd be and Dixon is Dixon in a Dixon way.  And contrary to what the seeding says, Pitt had a really good regular season.  All the advanced metrics such as KenPom.com and teamrankings.com have Pitt as a top team in the nation.  Stats such as offensive and defensive deficiency may seem stupid to some, but these new stats do a great job at predicting success come tournament time and I really like Pitt's chances in the tournament.  Shocking right?

However, if you talk to most Pitt "fans," you'll hear a bunch of doom and gloom and how Pitt will be lucky to even beat Wichita St. on Thursday.  Do you realize the last time Pitt lost to a team as bad as Wichita St. was on January 5th at Rutgers.  Since then here are Pitt's losses, Marquette in OT, at Louisville, at Marquette and Syracuse in the Big East Tournament (I'm not counting the ND game because Pitt hasn't played ND well in the last 5 games making ND games enigmas that I have blocked out in my mind).  In 3 of those 4 losses, including on the road against the number one overall seed Louisville, if Pitt shoots half-way decent from the line they win.  Pitt is basically a few made free throws away from being on a 15-2 tear to end the season.  Mind you, I realize free throws are a part of the game and are important, but the point I'm making is that Pitt is a really good team that can beat any team in the nation.  Thinking that Pitt would be lucky to beat Wichita St., runs contrary to Pitt's actual performance.  I think this all relates back to many Pitt fans thinking Jamie Dixon isn't that great of a coach.  I cannot tell you how many times I have read on Pitt blogs (yes, I'm really lame and I read Pitt blogs and post on Pitt blogs) about how Dixon can't coach and he should be replaced by Sean Miller.  Really, I think all of this talk is beyond ridiculous.  The lack of tournament success sucks.  Nonetheless, Jamie Dixon wins 20 games every year and essentially makes the tournament every year.  Besides, I'd rather have really good regular seasons and heartbreaking tournament losses with players I've watched grow from SMH 24-7 to straight baller (i.e., Brad Wannamaker), than a Final Four with a bunch of 1 and done players.  I could go on forever and forever with this rant.  Basically, Pitt is a really good team with a really good coach.  This Pitt team can beat any team in the nation.  Haters keep on hating, cause that's what you do.

So here's my eternally optimistic Pitt fan bracket:

March has Clearly Driven Me to Madness

Some highlights in my imaginary world where Pitt wins titles year after year:

1. On Pitt's road to the title, they cruise back Wichita state, upset Gonzaga a team who hasn't played anyone good since January with brute force, vanquish a similar K-State team, beat hometown hero Sean Miller, redeem the close loss at Louisville and finally get revenge against Tom Crean after the heartbreaking tournament loss against Marquette in 2003 in a game that featured Dwayne Wade becoming Dwayne Wade and Donatas Zavackas. 
2. VCU goes on a tear in the tournament as always and makes the Final Four because Shaka Smart is such a big time coach.
3.  Butler and Indiana have an epic showdown for the hearts and minds of their state in the Elite 8.
4. Karma catches up to the biggest bro of them all, Marshall Henderson from Ole Miss, and they don't even win a game.  Really I just wanted an excuse to show this awesome GIF...

 

Am I constantly blinded by my Pitt love?  Yes.  Are chances high that I will see another tough loss this March? Yes.  Is it more likely than not that my bracket is going to be completely horrible? Yes.  Do I care at all? No.  I'm a Pitt fan, I bleed blue and gold and no matter what I'm always going to pick them to win it all.  And when Pitt finally does break through it will be all the sweeter because I was with them the entire time through all the ups and downs, the great wins and the bad losses, the many missed free throws, the big shots and the big misses and the inexplicable fouls.  That's why we are fans of sports and that's why March always has Madness. 

Hail to Pitt!

1 Iraq reflections

It's been 10 years since the U.S. invaded Iraq. I was a junior in college and my biggest concern in late 2002 and early 2003 was where was I going to go for Spring Break. I have always been aware of American foreign policy, but I generally have found myself to be indifferent (this applies to much of my life). I remember people talking about the war, vaguely, but my biggest concerns were with partying and studying. College can be a cocoon and part of the cocoon is a tendency to be very self absorbed. Rarely did you leave campus to venture out into the world. Everything you needed was in the self contained bubble. The one memory that sticks out was hanging out at my roommate's house over spring break in rural Ohio (exciting, I know) and talking about his friend who was in the Marines. I really did not know what was going to happen, but I also didn't pay attention to the lead up to war.
The one thing that has stuck with me was the lack of questioning and the almost blood-lust of people champing at the bit to go to war. If you were against the war, you were against America. There was no long term plan, there was no plan at all beyond invade and let things figure themselves out. When more details came out, about no-bid contracts for a company the Vice President used to work for, about pillaging of Iraqi art museums, of growing guerrilla warfare, of private security contracts and billions of dollars thrown around to spend on another country's infrastructure (never mind the crumbling one at home), of 100,000+ Iraqi civilians wantonly and indiscriminately killed and no sign of weapons of mass destruction, it really made you question why we invaded another sovereign country in the first place. The biggest problem I think, is the lack of remorse or regret or introspection about the lead-up to war, the actual ground war, and its aftermath whose effects are still being felt. People don't want to talk about it or dwell on the past, they want to move on. But, to paraphrase Santayana, those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. If you don't acknowledge mistakes, they will happen again.

0 Blogging update

So I  looking back over the past couple of weeks and blogging appears to have fallen by the wayside. With the Bachelor no longer on, a weekly staple has vanished. Additionally, with increasing demands of work combined with work guilt for writing non-work material on the clock, the only time to write is after hours. This can be difficult because the last thing I usually want to do after spending 8+ hours staring at a computer is to spend even more time staring at the computer. Finally, it's tough to write about something unless you are really interested in it. Writing about 6 year old movies is alright, but half the time I barely remember the movie. So, with that being said, I am going to try to write a little bit each day in the afternoon or evening about something pertinent or funny or relevant or stupid and then try to build on that.

1 Best Movies of 2006

Back with yet another thrilling discussion of the top movies of a year in the 2000s.  As always, feel free to add to discussion in the comments below...

Marty:

For me, three movies standout for best of 2006.  Children of Men, Pan's Labyrinth and The Departed.    All three are great in their own individual ways.  If I had to rank them, it would go like this:

3. Pan's Labryinth.  Guillermo del Toro created a fantastic fantasy world that was parallel to the real world.  Just top notch film making. 

2. The Departed.  Scorsese + gangster movie = Always awesome.  Matt Damon undercover as a cop and Leonardo DiCaprio undercover as a gangster. 

1. Children of Men.  An outstanding piece of film making and science fiction at it's best.  Set in the year 2027 in a world where people can no longer have babies.  It really forces you to think of how society would fall apart if there was no hope for the future.  Hope of the future is what society is based on.  Alfonso Curaon did a fantastic job at creating a world in the future that felt way too real.  Some of the scenes are beyond impressive and filled with tons of tension.  I absolutely love his use of long shots (http://vimeo.com/41218073).  I'm always a fan of  longer shots no matter the movie.  Hitchcock used only 10 takes for the movie Rope and he probably would have used less if he wasn't limited by the length of reels at the time.  And the opening scene of Curaon's new film Gravity is supposed to be 17 minutes long, which could be really epic.  I think longer shots just give movies a different feel.  Constant cutting can make a film schizophrenic at times.  Besides the technical aspects, Children of Men is filled with great performances by actors such as Clive Owen and Michael Caine.  So Children of Men, a modern sci-fi classic, is my choice for best movie of 2006.

Sean:

I can get on board with Children of Men. I think Departed was overrated, because of Scorcese, and it was definitely ham handed at times. Pan's Labryinth was a good movie and one of those where you could put as much or as little in and get the same amount out of it. You could read very deeply into it or just take it at face value and roll with it. I would add to your list the following:  Casino Royale. The relaunching of the Bond series with Daniel Craig. A darker take on the Bond films, very well made and well acted. The Last King of Scotland. Looking at the interplay between a Scottish doctor and Idi Amin, this would probably be my other choice for best movie of 2006. Little Miss Sunshine basically relaunched the quirky indie film genre, or at the least reinvigorated it. I think Alan Arkin steals the shoe as the foul mouthed grandfather, but overall an entertaining and likable movie.

Ed F.:

2006 was a pretty good year, and once again, I am unable to choose a single favorite. That being said, for the sake of unanimity, I too can get on board with Children of Men. It’s a great movie and one that I revisit often, although it’s not necessarily the main story that I find most interesting. Curaon’s directorial vision is so perfectly translated to the screen that I find myself just looking at what’s going on in the background and on the periphery of his futuristic London. I agree with Marty on the effectiveness of the extended takes.

Other movies I think are worth mentioning:

Casino Royale: Skyfall is great and worthy of all the attention it has received, but Casino Royale is still Craig’s best go at Bond, in my opinion.

Inside Man: Spike Lee, Denzel, and the most ingenious bank robbery I can imagine. I’m convinced it could actually work.

Nacho Libre: This might be my favorite comedy of all time.

The Fountain: A hugely ambitious project that suffered long production delays and massive budget cuts. Definitely one of the most original movies of 2006, and one that is worth watching again every so often. It’s my favorite Darren Aronofsky movie, as much for what it could have been as for what it is in actuality.

Babel: This movie is a gut-punch. 2006 was a great year for Mexican filmmakers.

Rescue Dawn: Werner Herzog cannot make a movie isn’t worth watching. Even his most massive failures are immensely interesting. Rescue Dawn, however, is no failure. The action is tense and the jungle locations are amazing. Christian Bale is fantastic. I tend to view his stint as Bruce Wayne as his sort-of performance baseline, so when I see him in roles like this and The Fighter I’m always impressed.

Miami Vice: I am a huge Michael Mann fan and a huge fan of the original series. I’ll never forget something my brother said when this movie came out: "There’s a fine line between being cool and being a douchebag." Colin Farrrell and Jamie Fox as Crockett and Tubbs walk that line. Anyway, it’s a great movie with a great look. Very underrated.

1 American Idiot: The Musical: The Review

The other day I saw American Idiot: The Musical at Heinz Hall.  Actually, it was over a week ago, but I decided to put an offer in a house in Larryville, which meant by random time to blog was overtaken by stress filled decisions about house buying.  But anyways, a musical featuring Green Day Music?  Hmmm... I thought sure why not, this could be interesting.  It certainly didn't fail to be interesting.   It was beyond over-the-top.  You haven't lived until you've seen a couple dance involving really long rubber bands used for heroin and choreographed to a Green Day song.  Honestly, I didn't have a bad time at all.  I laughed the entire time, although not sure that I was supposed to be laughing, but the ridiculousness of it all was just so absurd.  It was so absurd that I actually thought it could have been a satire of musicals  but sadly they were being 100% serious.  Watch for yourself how ridiculous it actually is...

One huge complaint though, they really missed out in not sneaking Basket Case into a musical about a guy losing it all and cracking up.

So if you have been really begging to see a popular 90's group completely sell out and have a musical made with their music then see American Idiot: The Musical.  I personally cannot wait for the Third Eye Blind or Spin Doctors musical...

or

Make it happen Broadway!!!


Since I like to be cultured I got the season pass to musical (well lets be honest, it was because I wanted to make sure that I got tickets to the Book of Mormon), I'm going to start an ongoing power rankings...

Marty's Musical Power Rankings:
1. Les Miserables: a classic.  The show was actually pretty spectacular.
2. Flashdance: 80's movie turned musical based in the Burgh, a combination for the ages.
3. American Idiot: The Musical