Coolest Kids in the Room

OH MY GOD

2011-07-27T18:47:00.000-07:00

This video showed up on reddit today and it made me lose my shit in a fit of laughter. Since writing on a regular basis doesn't seem to be our thing, I always wondered what it would be like if the four of us did a regular podcast together. We'd probably end up doing something completely stupid like this guy.

I'm sure we could cover compelling topics like the strength of Thor's hammer and how it compares to Ryu's Hadouken. Perhaps we would discuss which fictional characters we would want to marry and that would lead to Adonis explaining how a marriage to an animated character would work.

The end result would be completely useless, a little douchey but probably met with uproarious laughter from listeners and decades of shame from our parents. Pretty much sums up this blog.

The Hunger Games

2011-07-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

[EDIT: Changed from animated .gif to poster to reduce page loading time]

BWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMM (oh wait)

'Moneyball' Trailer

2011-06-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

I remember when Bring It On came out and it was followed in a few years by Drumline and critics said it was like Bring it On for band geeks.

From the looks of the first trailer, The Social Network scribe, Aaron Sorkin, and a few others wrote a screenplay that feels like The Social Network for baseball geeks.

Based on the best-selling book, Moneyball tells the story of Oakland A's manager Billy Beane and how he made a championship contending team for pennies on the dollar using advanced statistics, called 'sabremetrics' in baseball nerd jargon. By ignoring scouting techniques used for over a century, Moneyball and its sabermetric strategies caused a rift in the baseball community between old-school traditionalists and new-school math whizzes.

There are some fair criticisms to be made about Beane's strategies and how much of them actually worked and how much of his success was just luck. What can't be argued against, though, is how sabermetrics have permeated baseball culture, not only through the fantasy baseball game that nerds like Adonis and I play, but in the statistical analysis that takes place in every major league front office.

There was a great article posted last week about "Moneyball 2.0" on Grantland. The writer, Bill Barnwell, detailed how sabermetrics and Billy Beane's notion of "Moneyball" have evolved over the years and how teams have been able to maximize wins against each dollar spent. Worth a read if only because last year's overachieving San Diego Padres are used in nearly every example he uses.

As far as the movie goes, after toiling in development hell for some time, it looks like it has a lot of potential. Nazer and I were huge fans of The Social Network, and I'll watch anything that Aaron Sorkin attaches his name to (The American President is one of the greatest romantic comedies of all time).

There's a fat guy played by Jonah Hill who wows powerful people with his smarts? Lightning fast "walk and talk" dialogue along with nerdy baseball-isms? I'm not sure I can find anything to dislike there.

Our "Comeback" is starting to look more and more like...

2011-05-31T21:28:00.000-07:00

I'll chalk it up to everyone being busy...

Ray and friend-of-blog, Oli Bata, are coming up with fresh tracks every Monday as the hip-hop collective, Elevated Masses. Socially conscious lyrics without being pretentious and jazz samples with breezy melodies - music for the people...by ~~the people~~ two guys in a garage.

You can still find Adonis posting on the internets at http://adoniscomplex.tumblr.com/ where he's been featured on Tumblr's sports subpage. After that happened, he refused to acknowledge that he ever wrote here so go ahead and bookmark that address and delete this one.

Nazer hasn't yet joined us hipsters on the Tumblr, but if you haven't already, check out the music page at his website, http://www.nazerlagrimasjr.com/main/music.html. I never knew he added more tracks. Hell, I've been friends with him my whole life and I never even knew he played an instrument.

As for me, I've been doing absolutely nothing. Stay in school, folks...stay as long as you can.

In-N-Out Grand Opening Brings Woman To Tears

2011-05-11T19:33:00.000-07:00

This is the kind of local news gold that I'd be posting on my own tumblr if I had one. Former Californian (hell, a Fontanian?) Danielle DeInnocentes sheds tears while stuffing her face at an In-N-Out Grand Opening in Frisco, Texas. We're all ridiculously passionate about food, but this shit is on another level. A quote from DeInnocentes reads as follows:

"I kept saying all night, pinch me, it doesn't feel real. It felt real in there."

FUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHH I swear I was about to start crying myself after she said that. She even saved the wrapper! Sigh...I wonder if I'll ever love something that much.

Probably not. But In-N-Out does sound pretty good after all that. In the words of hardcore fatty Gspook, who waited hours in line to be the first customer, "The burger gods have blessed us with an In-N-Out in Texas..."

Amen buddy, amen.

(Story via dallasnews.com)

Why stop at your phone and computer when you can have Google in your kitchen

2011-05-10T21:59:00.000-07:00

Google had their annual I/O conference today, where they announced more details on their plan for global domination and introduced new digital soldiers to wage war with their mortal enemy, Apple.

For me, a project to integrate Android into household appliances piqued my interest the most. I did research into how technology like this could help homes be more green in college and with Android's share of the market and how far along existing technology for this use already is, the idea seems like it could only be a few years from being affordable and effective.

Energy in the household could be managed efficiently by allowing home owners to manage temperature in their home remotely, appliances could be turned off when not in use, and garage doors would never be left open while no one was home.

While these green benefits sound great, all I could think about was remotely controlling my oven and the possibility of heating up pizza rolls without ever having to leave my computer chair.

From:

To:

All from my cell phone! The future is near and it will be fat.

Android eating Earth photo via: Gizmodo

Tina Fey got whore'd up for a Jersey Shore spoof

2011-05-06T12:07:00.001-07:00

And you won't find any complaints here. God I hope I can look this good when I'm 40 and pregnant. I meant, not that I'm a woman or that I want to be pregnant...you know, whatever the guy equivalent of this would be.

Head on over to Warming Glow for the whole sketch from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

THOR

2011-05-06T02:33:00.000-07:00

Needs more rainbow bridges.

"Across the rainbow bridge of Asgard
Where the booming heavens roar
You'll behold the breathless wonder
The God of Thunder,
Mighty Thor!"

Apparently, the Coolest Kids in the Room Are Not Extinct

2011-05-04T20:21:00.001-07:00

But these guys are.

I had this post all ready to go until recent news forced me to make a modification to the image.

The ABC show, Dinosaurs, premiered 20 years ago last month. And while I was too young to understand any of the jokes, it was also so long ago that I wouldn't be able to tell you if the show was actually funny. Either way, Dinosaurs was a staple in the weekly TGIF lineup that my family would watch together and sitting all of us down together to watch television for the night was the only way to prevent my brother and me from accidentally killing each other during our nightly wrestling matches (worth a whole post on its own).

Anyways, after it was replaced by Step by Step or Boy Meets World or some other white sitcom that I probably watched, it had a series finale on another network that I never watched. And considering how young I was when I watched the show, I'm glad I never saw it because it is fucking grim.

We all know dinosaurs became extinct eventually and the geniuses behind the show decided to end the show with that. The show spares us from an effects-laden disaster sequence and instead gives us this:

a morose monologue from a remorseful father about the end of the world to his family which includes three young children.

Enjoy!

[Warming Glow]

Happy Star Wars Day...

2011-05-04T11:27:00.000-07:00

...though not an actual holiday by any means. It's not the anniversary of Star Wars, or any important date in the mythology, May 4th is crowned as Star Wars day by many simply because of the damn day of the year. May the 4th Be With You. Man I hate that shit.

Anyways, there was a ton of Star Wars Blu-ray ("Star Wars will never come out on Blu-ray...") info released today, which helps to justify the ridiculousness of that phrase just a bit. Reports from theHDRoom say that each disc will include audio commentary from an all star cast, including sound designer Ben Burtt, which is good for me because I'm obsessed, but there's a lot of other neat stuff as well, including some fan service documentaries covering the madness that is Star Wars.

May the 4th be with you...I cringe just typing it. And even worse, Revenge of the 5th, oh my gahhhhhhhh.

Things I Miss From College - Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffee

2011-05-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

I really miss Dunkin Donuts large caramel mocha iced coffee. Weighing in at 350 calories and 12 grams of fat (if the Nutrition Facts on the Dunkin website are accurate) it's not going to make anyones healthy dietary options list, but this beast of a beverage was a staple in my college years in Boston. It was the perfect compliment to any situation, at any time of the day. Good for the morning caffeine boost, with hangover or without, the "I only have 10 minutes between classes and need something to keep me sane" situation that we all know and love, the "fuck I need to stay awake because I've pushed back my paper till after it was actually due" problem that frequently plagued many a college student, and so much more.

I haven't found anything like it in San Diego. I've tried the local favorites, but really, nothing compares, at all. It's not like I crave or necessarily need a replacement either, but every now and then I most certainly get the itch for a large Dunkin Iced Coffee, and maybe a Boston kreme or chocolate glazed donut on the side (or a pumpkin cake donut if its in season). I guess the memory and this ridiculously exaggerated photo will have to do for now.

The Long Haul

2011-04-27T11:16:00.000-07:00

Re: Regarding Our Decision Not To Blog Here Anymore

When analyzing the fall of any community, I personally find that one of the most important steps in a post-apocalyptic scenario is to figure out what exactly went wrong. So before diving headfirst into a "bloggers renaissance," I graciously took the time out of my busy, busy day (watching every episode of Archer and beating Portal 2 multiple times is no easy task) to figure out why we started this monstrosity in the first place and pinpoint the kinks in our otherwise flawless system.

It started as a pretty admirable task. Four young minds, deep into their college careers, coming together to share their individual perspectives on the fairly diverse worlds that surrounded them. Ray breaking down the finest of literary works, myself exploring a musical universe previously unheard by ears of suburban San Diego natives, Lance grinding his teeth on every byte the Informatics department at UCI could throw at him, but also many other bites, and Adonis with stick in hand beating opponent after opponent in a battle of Gods known more commonly as Super Smash Brothers. No one could predict what would come from this, but I think at the very least we were all optimistic.

An excerpt from Adonis' first coolkids post in December of 2007 reads "So far I like what I see, but really, a collaboration of the great minds of Lance, Ray, Nazer, and Adonis is simply UNSTOPPABLE." With words like that, we were ready to take on the world!

And so from there we went forward. Maybe it was the presidential election, or the writers strike, or maybe it was simply a love for the craft, but whatever it was, month after month we filled the minds of readers everywhere with original pieces of work on the topics that we cared most about. When searching through the Cool Kids archives, it was discovered that the tags we used most frequently were television (32) followed by Video Games (27), and then fatass (22). Following shortly afterward were lazy post (16), nerd boner (15), Barack Obama (14), and then the Chargers (13).

Some may call it garbage, but for a lot of people many of these posts could be crowned as real works of art. We even had a "Best of the Cool Kids" compilation, featuring our very best and most beloved posts.

But we quickly took a turn for the worse...

Our once glorious website that flourished with exciting and fresh content was now a desolate wasteland. Posts came weeks, even months apart at times, and our content struggled all the same. Quick posts about absolutely nothing flooded our internet roads, surveys were displayed as features, and old fans everywhere were screaming, yearning even for new content. It got so bad that Ray even wrote a post about our lack of posts! In the shadows people heard whispers of a revival, but nothing came out of that, until just recently when Ray found it in himself to make an attempt to "get the band back together."

So here I am, a sunny day in late April, dusting off the keyboard and flexing my blogger muscles in hopes that we truly will come together and rise to our previous state of greatness. I do have to wonder though, is this newly found fire something that could keep us going strong, or is this simply just a taste of the past from the burps of those heavy Easter meals we had? Only time will tell, but I have to ask you this, my cool kids brethren, are we ready to saddle up and go the long haul, or are we just tumbling, and tumbling, and tumbling along. Let me know if I should start packing my stuff.

Best,
- Nazer

Post Date TBD

2011-04-26T19:13:00.000-07:00

My hands are full, but soon.

I promise.

Let's stay together...

2011-04-26T03:43:00.000-07:00

RE: Regarding Our Decision To Not Blog Here Anymore

Dear Cool Kids and Cool Kids family (i.e. Not so small talk),

I'm writing this letter in hopes that this will get to you guys, someway, somehow. This is really hard for me right now, so I'll try and be brief. But I admit; I spent the past few hours outside, staring up at the night sky, with only the the stars to keep my company... Just now, I've been pacing back in forth in front of my computer, glaring at the screen, hoping this page would fill up with words by itself. But I'm here now, so I must finish what I started...

Ray, Nazer, Lance -- I know I had left you guys. Even worse, I left without saying goodbye. It was like a breakup without closure, or having some fun and not calling the next day, with no regard for your feelings at all. Yes, it was wrong of me; but I was young, stupid, immature, without any sense of what I was leaving behind.

But I had too... I had to get out of our relationship. I felt trapped. For too long, I felt like I bullshitted as a Cool Kid. We goofed off, made fun ourselves and joyfully hurt the ones we love. But I had to explore on my own, had to see the world, had to discover what was beyond the Coolest Kids in the Room, and grow up as a person, and also try and write more "seriously." Then the years went by, and I had moved on; a Cool Kid enjoying himself in self-imposed exile.

But really... it was all a facade. The supposed, newfound happiness was forced. There'd be nights where I'd toss and turn in bed, feeling miserable; alone, empty. I'd turn on my computer and load up coolkidsroom, going through the archives and looking back on old posts, constantly checking behind my back as if I was trying not to get caught. It was like re-reading old texts, or going through old pictures; reminiscing until the point where I had to close my laptop shut because the tears in my eyes would get too unbearable.

I miss it. The sarcasm, the randomness of topics, the clowning on homies, the bad ms paint pics, the bukkake, even the more relevant issues we wrote about; I miss it all. I miss what we all shared together, and I want it back. Just remember all the good times we've had. We can be great together, again. I just hope you can forgive me...

But I'll say, this indefinite hiatus of mine, is no more. This blog, The Coolest Kids in the Room, is where I'm meant to be. Like Ray said, "Being in a polyamorous blogging relationship with all of you was like something I've never felt before." I feel the same way. I want to be together again. I believe in second chances, but I'd like to believe as if we never broke up at all. We can work this out. Let's stay together.

We've all come so far:

"If you love something, set it free; if it comes back it's yours, if it doesn't, it never was..."

Please come back...

- Adonis

Regarding Our Decision To Not Blog Here Anymore

2011-04-21T02:45:00.000-07:00

Regarding Our Decision To Not Blog Here Anymore
inspired by "Regarding Our Decision Never To See Me Again" by Ellie Kemper

Whats up guys, It's me Ray. I know we said this wouldn't last forever, but I've really put some thought into it for the past few minutes, and I have to say I think I've changed my mind. Its like when you sit down for a really long time and get up too fast and you end up feeling all dizzy and what not. Whats that called? A head rush? Yea I think that's what happened. It was a head rush. I just wasn't thinking straight I promise.

Its kind of hard you know, to put all that I'm feeling into words. I really felt like we had something the four of us. Being in a polyamorous blogging relationship with all of you was like something I've never felt before. And after you guys stopped posting, (Adonis n Lance) I really felt like something was missing in my life. It was hard just doing it with Nazer, I think me and him just couldn't have as much fun with just us two. We just needed our other halves........

Lance, who else was going to arise the same kind of feeling out of me as you. I know the rest of you haven't felt both uncomfortable and well informed at the same time, since Lance decided to leave the group. I think we all need a special bit of Lance's love juice in the mix...what did you used to call it. Oh yea thats right, a post-bukkake. Your a saint Lance. A beautiful heavenly saint. If you come back I swear you can post-bukkake all over this blog. I swear it.

Nazer, you held on longer then most and I think it really is that time again to get back on that horse and ride it. Gallop, gallop and post about things I know nothing about because being confused makes me feel like less of a person. And your great at that. Who else is going to educate me on shows (Pushing daisies, battlestar galactica) that I would probably only watch if they popped up on netflix during my free one month trial? No one that's who, no one. And that's a strong probably mister, a really really strong one. Almost even a maybe, a loving maybe.

And Adonis, Oh Adonis. I always appreciated your way of.....And then that time you....Oh and lets not forget that one thing, you know the thing that you did that one time. Great. I've really missed how you always have a way of...yuh your just great bro. Honest.

I really think were one of those groups where we first meet and there isn't really this huge lasting impression at first, but for some reason we all reconnect. Realizing that all the other blogs we've had were meaningless and this was the one true blog and we have, like, this really great story to tell people when they ask how we got together. You know the type, the ones where our kids ask us how we met, and I'll say, "You tell em Lance." and Lance will be like "No no, Nazer tells the story the best." and then Nazer would say, "OK, OK....." And when we go through all our old photos our son will be like who's Adonis daddy is this him?

Time will have slowed down at this very moment. As memories ring out in each of our minds. Lance will recall a simpler time when Adonis passed out in Mel and Kristine's bathtub fully clothed, and Tuan and I turned the water on. Nazer, will remember how great the cool kids used to be as a single tear runs down his cheek. I'll stop turn my head towards our son. With a slight grin on my face. I'll take a deep breath, the kind of breath our fathers take when they HAVE to do something, not something they necessarilly want to do, but they must. And I'll pause for a second. Look straight into his eyes and simultaneously slap the shit out of him while screaming "YOU DON'T SAY THAT NAME IN MY HOUSE!"

So what do you say boys. Give US another chance. I promise I'll be better this time. We had a few bumps in the road, but ain't no speed bump gonna slow us down. Head rushes are great an all, but when we put our minds together were not just cool kids, were the coolest kids in the room.

-Just RA

P.S. Adonis you haven't posted since march 2009, that's over two years JACKASS. But then again that post had the best comment run of all time. So kudos

Another show to watch on Thursdays

2011-04-07T19:26:00.001-07:00

By now, you guys are probably aware that we watch a lot of TV on Thursday nights. With no new episodes tonight of 30 Rock, Parks and Rec, or any of our other favorites (if you like Perfect Couples, then you deserve to be stabbed in the eye), then there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t be watching Archer tonight.

The animated show revolves around a spy agency and focuses on their star field agents, Sterling Archer and Lana Kane, and their interactions with the agency’s office drones. It’s like a sexy, vulgar cartoon remix of The Office and Chuck.

While there’s plenty of sex jokes and cheap visual gags, the show has a surprising amount of depth to its humor as well. I’m talking about literary and historic pop culture references that’ll make you run to Wikipedia just because a joke went over your head. And nothing delights us hipsters more than jokes that go over people’s heads.

The show’s cast is damn good also. H. Jon Benjamin, my favorite voice actor of all time, stars as the lead. His work as Coach McGuirk in the underrated Home Movies was full of YouTube highlights and he also plays the lead in Fox’s Bob’s Burgers, another excellent animated comedy. Jessica Walters and Judy Greer of Arrested Development fame and Chris Parnell, formerly of Saturday Night Live, also star.

You owe it to yourself to check it out tonight, if only for the hot cartoon characters who might give you a semi hard-on. Because we’re the experts in cartoon ladies who might give you a boner.

Archer is on at 10pm on FX, Thursdays.

Over Analyzing With Just Ra Vol 1. Romantic Dramas/Comedies

2011-03-03T18:03:00.000-08:00

I know I posted this in my blog, but maybe it will inspire others to write something *ahem* *ahem*

Ever notice how in Romantic comedies and Dramas almost always the male lead is placed in a position of control or power. If not love and intimacy can only be achieved through a male perspective. Which is ironic as most of these movies are marketed towards women. This may be completely off or nothing new to some people, but their are plenty of examples to what I'm trying to say here.

For instance,

Knotting Hill

"After all... I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."

Despite all of the fame that Julia Roberts' character has she is in one scene completely vulnerable to the "Average joe" that is Hugh Grants character. And he still is able to reject her only to realize later that he wants to be with her and makes one of those dramatic speeches in front of a crowd to win her over. In real life if someone like me even had a chance with a famous person and then rejected her, if we came back later with our mind changed she would more then likely act like she had no idea who you were and say, "uh no thanks, stalker."

Love and Othe Drugs

"I've never known anyone who actually believed that I was enough until I met you. And then you made me believe it too."

While Anne Hathaway controls the relationship for about 2/3's of the film. Jake "dreamy" Gyllenhaal in a way is left with the choice of being in a committed relationship who is almost literally deteriorating as years will go by. Despite her acknowledgment of her disease and essentially letting him go so he could live his own life, his decision is final and once again the equation is only solved by his choice in pursuing their relationship. Cue cliche chase scene and long drawn out explanation for why they are meant to be. And scene

10 Things I hate about you

"I hate it when you lie. I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry. I hate it when you're not around, and the fact that you didn't call. But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all."

Not exactly one of ledger's most memorable films, unless you were a tween/teen in the late 90s, but none the less still caters to a similar formula. Despite the relatively interesting scene where Heath Ledger sings in the stands for Julia Stiles, the fact remains the same. His character is literally being paid to date her and this to many females I would assume would be a red flag to douchery. But of course with charming good looks and the ol "yea i was getting paid, but I ended up really liking you" formula the collective she will always forgive her man, even if she completely loathed him for 50 percent of the movie.

Twilight

Edward Cullen:" I don't have the strength to stay away from you anymore.
Isabella Swan: Then don't."

He literally stalked her, abandoned her, his brother tried to attack her and has an innate yearning to kill her. But she loves him regardless so its cool. Truly a relationship to strive for people. Its eternal, so its romantic though. Um....sure.

When I was first sitting on the toilet over analyzing these types of films my immediate counter film was,

500 Days of Summer

"I hate her crooked teeth. I hate her 1960s haircut. I hate her knobby knees. I hate her cockroach-shaped splotch on her neck. I hate the way she smacks her lips before she talks. I hate the way she sounds when she laughs."

This one really got to me, as I would think it would with any person male or female that's had their heart broken. Zoey's character is strong minded and hardly naive in comparison to Joseph Gordan Levitt's character. Joseph's character is premised in the film as someone who believes in love at first sight and knows he'll find the ONE. Unfortunately Zoey's character believes otherwise. Until that is the end. She may not give in to Joseph's boyish charm, but falls into the institution of marriage and ultimately agrees that true love does exist. "you just know" kind of shit. Despite her strength in being a free woman she ultimately has to come to the realization (within the films context) that love does exist, I better get married like RIGHT NOW!

Before you jump down my throat about the fact "their just movies", or "your reading way to into it Ray", lemme just say, uh no Im not. Films should inspire us to think critically, especially for those of us who have been blessed with opportunities in higher education. I recognize the entertainment value of movies and while I can enjoy senseless movies like anybody else, doesn't necessarily mean I should make my brain go numb and not think critically. Critical thought and discussion strives me as an individual and I need the stimulation. Fact is we shouldn't fall for these tricks and be influenced in our relationships by sappy romantic comedies. Something I figured I'd get off my chest.

-Just Ra

MVP of the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament goes to…

2010-03-28T02:34:00.001-07:00

Gus Johnson has always had a huge following. He always gets love from big time sports media personalities like Bill Simmons and Dan Patrick for his over-the-top hysterics when calling games. For some, though, his screaming during games, like his call during the classic UCLA-Gonzaga game from 2006, is just too much.

As much as I enjoyed watching him do play-by-play on games and as classic as that UCLA-Gonzaga call is, I always pondered in the back of my mind whether or not his screaming was really necessary and I wondered if he was actually a good announcer or if being loud was just kind of a gimmick that made him stand out amongst a sea of old boring white guys doing play-by-play.

I don’t wonder about that anymore.

His work during this year’s March Madness tournament has been outstanding. As an announcer, he probably hasn’t changed at all, but I just think he’s been perfect in the games he has called. Thursday’s Sweet Sixteen matchup between Xavier and Kansas St. was an epic game, the kind of game that reminds me why I bother watching sports in the first place. And Gus just has a way of rising to the occasion in a way that no other play-by-play man can.

There’s a fine line between a media personality enhancing a sports presentation and making that presentation more about himself than the game that should be the focus. It’s a line that Gus has always tip-toed along dangerously but somehow he usually ends up on the right side whether it’s college basketball, NFL games or MMA. I think what matters most is that his call made me just a little more invested in the game and the drama than if anyone else had called it.

For good measure, here’s that “OH GOD!” call from Week 2 of this past NFL season when Brandon Stokley of the Broncos reminds everyone why people practice the tip drill.

Roger Ebert, National Treasure

2010-03-20T06:07:00.001-07:00

Before the dawn of the internet, when a movie review was a few clicks away on Rotten Tomatoes, there was Siskel and Ebert at the Movies. The syndicated television show sometimes devolved into the film equivalent of ESPN’s Around the Horn (otherwise known as “Sports Shouting”) but the undeniable chemistry of its two hosts and the program’s thoughtful discussion on film was an irresistible combination, especially on a Saturday afternoon for a kid who didn’t have anything better to do or friends to play with.

In 1999, Gene Siskel would succumb to brain cancer and three years later, his chubby counterpart, Roger Ebert, would undergo the first of numerous surgeries to treat thyroid cancer. By mid-2006, most of Ebert’s lower jaw had been removed and with it, his ability to speak or eat.

In the following years and continuing through today and hopefully days to come, Roger Ebert resorted to the skill that brought him fame on TV in the first place.

He wrote.

Not just about movies, Ebert dived head first into a wide range of subjects: food, politics, his weaknesses, his fondest memories, his personal reflections, he wrote about the things that made him human, a remarkable human being at that. His Twitter account and his blog have been something to marvel at in the last several years.

I didn’t always agree with his movies reviews, but I appreciated his thoughtful input on why he felt a certain away about a film. I cringed sometimes at the hootin and hollerin’ that would take place on his TV show, but I appreciated the passion that Ebert and his friend, Siskel, had for cinema.

It wasn’t until a brush with death that Roger Ebert took his writing to another level, in my opinion, by delving into topics beyond the subject with which he was most associated with. Those familiar with his work before he became a TV star would argue that this is what he had been doing all along, but for those who only knew him as a television personality like me, it was something of a revelation.

If it took a courageous battle with cancer to get him where he is at now, then I am happy that he made it through that journey and that he has been able to share with us the kind of work that he has published online in the last couple years.

I hope that it won’t take a life-threatening illness for me to reach out to others or to touch the lives of people who I don’t even know. We had a relatively small readership on this blog but it reached further than I ever expected it to. The coolest kids in the room have all found better spots to hang out at lately, but for the time being, this remains where I’ll want to publish writing that I’d like others to read.

As much as I love Ebert and enjoy his writing, he isn’t perfect in my mind and neither am I. I’m thankful to you guys who posted while I didn’t do shit for this blog and I’m thankful to those of you continuously pleaded for more posts.

What I know is this: if I couldn’t eat, if I couldn’t talk, I’d be here. I’d be writing. I’ll either continue to look stupid, or if I’m lucky enough, I’ll be able to put up the kind of work that Ebert and so many other talented writers have published over the years.

[Ebert's Twitter]
[Ebert's blog]

[The Esquire article that intimately portrayed him better than I ever could]

Sexuality, Race, and Gender in Online Gaming????

2010-02-09T01:20:00.001-08:00

inspired by a article on IGN about sexuality in gaming

So you just got PWNed by the same guy for the 5th time in a row while playing COD online and let me guess what your go to insult is, "you fuckn faggot!" Oh not quite your slice of pie? Well lets say you hear your opponents voice in your headphones as he scores a touch down on you in Madden, and his voice could be that of a African American male, what do you say then "shut up nigger!" Or your perverted self finds out a girl is playing and you feel the need to tell her how you would fuck her. Any combination can work, insults can range from homophobic, to sexist, to racist in no particular order.

For example: You nigger, go back where you came from hoe get off xuLtImaGaMeRx's dick fuckn faggot! bold words are interchangeable feel free to mix n match for extra douche bag points

OK. Ok. Im not trying to pretend that I'm righteous and never talk shit when playing video games, but I like to think I can come up with more clever insults without being ignorant. It all goes along the lines of political correctness. And before you build your defense or resort to lame arguments like "Aww man but Ray political correctness is gay." or "Dude that's just how I talk." slow your role because your wasting your time if that is all you have to argue. I'm not trying to argue that there is a need to sensor ourselves, but are generation already gets a lot of flack for being desensitized by everything in the media, why build a better case for older generations to be more and more condescending towards us? In other words why contribute to an already negative perception of our Generation.

Many might say it really isn't a big deal and people know not to take it seriously. But kids are in those channels listening to everything we say, which adds to an already growing generation of degenerates and bigots. Not to mention a large community of people who are cowards hiding behind screens and xbox controllers screaming expletives into microphones to people they hope they know they'll never meet in real life. No wonder when real issues come up we sit on our fat asses. And if in your thick head your still saying to yourself its just how I talk and its not like I really think like that, its just video games. What's to stop you from blurting that idiocy in public. Sports for instance are a lot about repetition and in some ways certain things become second nature, for instance throwing a football becomes easier the more you do it. Well than doesn't that mean saying racist, sexist, or homophobic things in the "safe" space of online gaming becomes somewhat of second nature when given the chance in real life? The answer is yes it most definitely does. Whats to stop you from calling a black man who offends you a "fuckn nigger" in real life when you've already in a sense programmed it in your head?

The other issue in online gaming is the issue of safe spaces. Some people may think that we've taken such huge steps in the past 40 years as far as our consciousness as a nation. While this may be true, it doesn't mean we are past hate by any means. On the contrary I think that we grow complaisant because of what our forefathers have achieved and how they have paved the way for us. We like to think that we are all safe in this country, but that isn't quite true. My brown ass would still be scared to walk by some skin head motha fuckas on the street even though we have a black president.

So please lets not get it twisted their aren't any real safe spaces. And gaming is definitely isn't immune to this type of feeling. So clearly the gaming space wouldn't necessarily be any different. I'm sure I am not the only one who would like to play online without being called a chink or a faggot. Online gaming is sort of like a KKK meeting except instead of white sheets to cover your face you've got T.V. screens. Its only a matter of time before hardcore bigotry makes its way into household titles.....

NOT MARIOOOOOO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Just Ray

2010: First Post.

2010-01-02T10:03:00.000-08:00

Totally stealing Kristine's New Years Survey. The Nazer Lagrimas Jr. edition.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before? Go out all the time. Like out, out. GDC in March, performing in front of hundreds of audio professionals. Lolitas multiple days in a row thanks to Comic Con. Order hundreds of chicken wings.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Pretty sure I didn't make any, nor will I this year. Oh and side note, I checked our blog for posts this year to get ideas for this survey, and we amassed a grand total of (drum roll) 42 posts! Congrats guys!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yeah

4. Did anyone close to you die? Yup

5. What countries did you visit? USA

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? Cash, variety, as in more places to go out, explore, drinks to try, food to eat, etc. We had a good rhythm going in '09 but its time to expand.

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory and why? No one day in particular. Birthday time was awesome. November 1st.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Seeing, and knowing, that all of the hard work that I've been putting into my career path has actually been worth it. Watching this music crap become a reality rather than just a chased dream. GDC, owning school, business cards/website, paid gigs, meeting too many industry people to name, etc.

9. What was your biggest failure? Drinking a bit too much in SD resulting in embarrasing (yet hilairous) parental encounters. Losing to Martino in Words With Friends.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nothing major.

11. What was the best thing you bought? Plane tickets.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Fellow blogger and best bud ~~Lance~~ basket of fries. No one else has the sheer amount of awesomeness (and tolerance for stupidity and filth) to bring in so many people for his birthday. Smoked salmon for days. Tiger Woods.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? The general public after spectacles such as: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Tiger Woods, Kanye West, Adam Lambert, and so so much more.

14. Where did most of your money go? Food and drink. Netflix, Gamefly, and other video game crap.

15. What did you really, really, really get excited about? SF earlier in the year. Coming home.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009? If you know me then you won't be surprised if I say anything by Lady Gaga, I mean TAYLOR SWIFT. Use Somebody as well...possibly.

17. Compared to this time last year are you:
Happier? Hell yeah
Thinner? Same
Richer? Yup, but not by much.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Put in more work (learning stuff for composition, listening to and analyzing more scores, but whateVZ). Play street fighter instead of watching my lame ass buddies play Magic The Gathering.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Worry about things that are out of my hands anyway.

20. How did you spend Christmas? Family. Eat, drink, poker, and listen to my loud ass aunts and uncles scream at random crap.

21. How will you be spending new years? "Get FUKT"

22. Did you fall in love in 2009? Yes., but unfortunately Elizabeth Mitchell is busy 'cuz of work so we can't hang out as much.

23. How many one-night stands? Equal to or less than 24,758

24. What was your favorite TV program? LOST, Mad Men, and Roseanne 2 aka The Big Bang Theory.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Man, people always say that I keep hating on people all the time.

It's true.

26. What was the best book you read? I'm pretty sure the only book I actually finished this year was the second Sookie Stackhouse novel (the books that True Blood is based on). SO intead I'm going to list my "Best Game Played This Year." Probably Street Fighter 4 in terms of hours put into it. For a "single player interactive storytelling experience," InFamous (PS3). Uncharted 2 is awesome as well.

27. What was your biggest musical discovery? Gretchen Parlato. Diving deeper and familiarizing myself more with the works of A class film composers, Bernard Hermann and Thomas Newman specifically.

28. What did you want and you got? PS3, iPhone, oh I got my TV this year too.

29. What did you want and not get? Honestly I can't really think of anything.

30. What was your favorite film of this year? UP. Hands down the best cinematic experience this year. "How many times did you cry during UP?"

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old did you turn? 22. When I was in SF I celebrated an early birthday with my brother and his girlfriend. We got dinner at this raw bar in SF, soooooo dope. Then in Beantown went with a few buddies to this awesome little restaurant that serves Stone on tap, and the waitress took our entres and most of our drinks off the bill, score.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Unlimited, free air travel.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? Typical.

34. What kept you sane? Music.

35. Which celebrity did you fancy the most? January Jones.

36. What political issue stirred you the most? Marriage equality.

37. Who did you miss? All my buddies in SD, and mexican food.

38. Who was the best new person you met? Lots of "industry" people.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009: Hard work, perseverence, and dedication can get you a long way. Don't settle, don't sit still, get off your ass and move forward. Aspire, seriously.

40. Quote or Song Lyric that sums up your year: Shot shot shot shot shot shot shot shot shot shot shot shot shot shot shot shot

Everybody.

Thanks for reading.

2010 Revival?

2009-12-30T10:10:00.001-08:00

We'll see...

Dusting Off The Pen And Pad

2009-09-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

To: Adonis, Lance, Ray
From: Nazer

So there's a period of 10 minutes between the time I order my food, and the time to go pick it up. I ordered a large cheeseburger sub, because I couldn't decide between a hamburger and a sub, and an order of curly fries. The place I ordered from (conveniently named College Pizza) is literally one short block away, hardly enough to justify the amount of calories I'm about to take in and the amount of calories lost from walking there, but I've never really been a healthy guy, with my diet of nachos and computer games.

So today I went to church, and then immediately after went to the liquor store to pick up a 12 pack of Sam Seasonal (Oktoberfest). There's humor in that somewhere, to go from praying on a pew to downing bottles of alcohol. Maybe there's some super psychological underlying meaning thing going on, but at the moment I don't see it, let me know if you do.

Shortly after I sat my ass in front of the TV to watch the Patriots get outplayed by the Jets, and then in front of my computer to watch the Chargers get outplayed by Baltimore, all while sketching music notes on paper and following @erwinism and @swftwzrdRAWfiki's twitterific commentary. Oh well, at least the Emmy's are on after these old guys talk on 60 Minutes.

Life up here has been okay. I get a ton of work done, but I wish I had one of those unlimited flight passes like the cast members on LOST so I could fly home on the weekends to hang out. It's definitely not as fun up here, but I guess that's where that "life is a balance" idea comes in.

And that's pretty much it. Well, not really, but my food is ready, so maybe more later. Thanks for reading.

Meals, Deals, Forrealz?

2009-08-14T09:13:00.001-07:00

Have it your way

Evolution 2009 Starts Today

2009-07-17T08:51:00.000-07:00

At 9:00 PST the biggest fighting game tournament in the country (some say even the world) begins. The 2009 Evolution Championship Series is a fighting game tournament full of tradition, featuring the worlds greatest fighters in various fighting games. Held at the Rio in Las Vegas, this three day tournament will put the best against the best, with fighting game superstars like SoCal's Alex Valle, East Coast's Justin Wong, and the ever-so-feared Daigo flying in from Japan.

This past year, the fighting game scene has witnessed quite a few changes to their community. Unlike other games such as Starcraft, Halo, and CounterStrike, the fighting game community never acquired that widespread attention to qualify as an official eSport. The community has been known to hold their own in a sort of wild west fashion, organizing their own tournaments and keeping the community afloat with Youtube videos and the pure love of the game, all without the need for sponsorships and professional companies like MLG or WCG.

But with the release of Street Fighter 4, the scene was exposed to a sort of rebirth. Just as the number of competitors and popularity of the games was falling, SF4 brought with it a resurgence, filling the community with a strong sense of pride, along with a brand new feeling of hunger with everyone wanting to prove that they're the best once again. The pure popularity of SF4 gave the fighting game community a ton of exposure, bringing in both old school SF2 players as well as a younger generation of fighting game enthusiasts.

After a years worth of tournaments, the one tournament that everyone has been preparing for starts today. Some competitors are students at school who play fighting games as a hobby, some are 30 year old Street Fighter veterans who have been playing their whole lives. Some have dropped everything else in their lives and have become professional players, and some don't even compete; they just have a love for the community.

At Evo this year, the headlining game is Street Fighter 4 which boasts over 1040 entrants. Other featured games are HDRemix, 3rd Strike, Guilty Gear XX: Accent Core, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, and Soul Calibur IV. There is also a community sponsored Brawl tournament on the side, and kiosks featuring new games like BlazBlue, Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom, and Tekken 6. This is also the first year that Evo will be hosting a proper live stream, featuring coverage across all three days, with the finals for all of the games on Sunday. The live stream can be viewed at http://evo2k.com/live/ and starts Friday at 10:00 PST.

For those interested in the history of the fighting game community, check out these pieces:

- I Got Next started out as a students final project at art school, but quickly grew into a much bigger fighting game documentary. Ian Cofino traveled across the country and made a movie highlighting the Street Fighter 4 hype, with a focus on the growing rivalry between the East Coast and West Coast. You can view the short cut of the film at http://www.igotnextmovie.com/

- Over at All Is Fighter (www.allisfighter.com), writer DJcream wrote up an incredibly strong piece entitled the Dawn of Evolution, highlighting the history of the Evolution fighting game tournament. Armed with a ton of history and video clips, the piece is a great overview on the fighting game scene, and is a must read for any fan. Check it out here.

- And last but not least, the closest thing the Condo has to competitive gaming, our very own Jeff and Keng in a teams match at a San Diego tournament.

2009 Emmy Nominations: 30 Rock is Crazy

2009-07-16T08:28:00.000-07:00

So in light of the recent events, I'd like to kick off the string of relevant, fun, and informative blog posts with my thoughts on the 2009 Emmy Nominations!

At 5:35 AM PST, Chandra Wilson and Jim Parsons stood on a CBS set and announced the 2009 Emmy Noms. Of course I was wide awake, due to my messed up east coast internal clock, and watched as the two actors read a bunch of words in succession which meant the world to me, but jack shit to most everyone else in the world. The full list of nominations can be found here, thanks to the folks at The Futon Critic, one of my favorite TV sites. I'll be commenting on the main categories.

Lead Actress In A Drama:
It's cool seeing Sally Field's name on the list once again. Watching Forest Gump's mom lead a corrupt family week after week is enjoyable, but my vote goes to Glenn Close as the powerful female lawyer Patty Hewes on Damages. I'm also glad to see a nomination thrown to Elisabeth Moss for her role as Don Draper's sidekick and holder of secrets, Peggy Olson.

Lead Actor in a Drama:
I'm pleased to see that most of my favorite lead actors made the list. Bryan Cranston coming off of last years win is nominated once again for Breaking Bad, and Jon Hamm as Don Draper in Mad Men is simply the modern definition of cool and suave. Hamm also received a nom for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy as Dr. Drew Baird on 30 Rock, the handsome yet ridiculously dumb love interest for cool kids favorite Liz Lemon (Tina Fey).

Lead Actress in a Comedy:
Tina Fey, that reunion episode was so good.

(and I'd like to point a bit of credit to Toni Collette for her role on United States of Tara, well deserved)

Lead Actor in a Comedy:
Once again the NBC mainstays are on the list; the hero Jack Donaghy and leader of the Michael Scott Paper Company, Michael Scott. I've only seen a couple episodes of Monk, but wtf is Tony Shalhoub doing on that list again? And while Flight of the Conchords was funny in its first season, the train wreck second season lead to a nomination for Jermaine Clement? I'd rather see Adrian Pasdar on that comedy list, because his acting on Heroes didn't last for one second without laughter.

Supporting Actress In A Drama:
My vote would probably go to Rose Byrne for Damages, but that's probably because I haven't seen In Treatment. Seeing Cherry Jones for her role as female Commander In Chief on 24 is cool, but personally I'd rather see Girl Jack Bauer on the list (Annie Wersching, who was playing celebrity softball with Pam Beasley and Nelly earlier this week).

Supporting Actor In A Drama:
Can we take the Boston Legal people off the list please? I swear that show ended 5 years ago. Regardless, Michael Emerson as the most evil man in the world is always awesome, and so is Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman, bad kid gone...badder on Breaking Bad.

Supporting Actress In A Comedy:
Jane Krakowski was so good on 30 Rock this year, and so were Kristin Wiig and Amy Poehler for their various roles on SNL. But my pick has to be Kristin Chenoweth for Pushing Daisies, because I'm a super fanboy, and I've been listening to the Wicked soundtrack all summer and she kills it. And Weeds? Forget that shit it isn't even funny anymore. Oh yeah, Hayden Panettiere as Claire on Heroes would have been good too (okay I'll stop).

Supporting Actor In A Comedy:
It seems like they just pick a different Entourage cast member for this list every year, but Tracy Morgan and Jack McBrayer both receiving nominations is fantastic. And
I only started watching How I Met Your Mother this year, but damn, Neil Patrick Harris is fricken...wait for it...legendary.

Outstanding Drama:
I watch every show on this list except for Big Love, and they're all good choices. I could easily see the award going to any of these shows, but I'd probably give it to Mad Men or Breaking Bad, and then save the LOST win for next year after the show is over.

Outstanding Comedy:
Once again Flight of the Conchords and Weeds, not funny this year, but what else is there. 30 Rock for the win bar none, but it's also nice to note that Family Guy is the first animated comedy to appear on the Outstanding Comedy list in almost 50 years (true fact: http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/07/family-guy-nominated-for-best-comedy-series.html)

Other Notes:
I would've loved to see some love for Battlestar Galactica. It got a few nominations in the production categories, but it truly is the best piece of sci-fi programming I've ever seen in my life. And where the hell is Chuck at? Generally one of the most consistent shows on television, and it receives no awards except for stunt acting or something like that. They could've easily threw some of the actors and actresses into the comedy slots. And even though I only know a couple of people who watch it, Friday Night Lights definitely needs some exposure. It rebounded from a so-so 2nd season and found its footing once again, and it's honestly one of the best shows on television. Oh, and by the numbers, 30 Rock has 22 nominations, the most ever for a comedy, and Mad Men holds 16, the most of any drama for 2009.

So I doubt anyone will read this entire thing, but if you did, post your thoughts on the nomination list, which once again can be found here. Looking forward to the show in September, maybe I'll do a prediction list when its closer to show time.

WTF HAPPENED!?!?

2009-07-16T00:41:00.000-07:00

Welcome! To The Nazer And Ray Blog-extraordinaire!

After several minutes of thought, I have decided that Nazer and I are the Coolest guys in this room. The lack of posts from the other half of this quartet of awesomeness are obviously uninterested in keeping the seed alive. I feel like danity kane after Diddy gave aubrey and d woods the boot. Left wondering WHAT THE FUCK just happened and what the hell do we do now. However, I like to think that Nazer and I have more appeal and talent in our big toe's than the surviving members of DK. Sad thing is adonis' lack luster and Lance's frequent bukkake posts keep readers interested and wanting more. So the real question is can the Cool Kids survive the recession that it is in right now.

My assumptions as to what Lance and Adonis actually do are about as good as yours (non existent reader). But my excuses for them go as follows:

Lance
1. Busy "working" for food at his mom's office
2. Studying Infromatics takes up too much of his time. (whatever that is)
3. Gone into depression after moving out of 198
4. Is getting play on a regular basis
5. Taking singing lessons so he could try out for American idol the 500th season
6. Watching a heavy amount of porn all day which then leads to him crying himself to sleep at night.

Adonis
1. Caught up in summerschool
2. Boycotting actual clothes by limiting himself to faded shirts and basketball shorts. (reminds me of the friends episode where Chandler gets his heart broken and only wears sweat pants).
3. Doing everything within his power to become and actual repellant for woman by resorting to endless hours of playing Magic the gathering with Tuan.
4. Trying to make it so that when you search his name on UrbanDictionary.com it says see Scrub.
5. Gone into depression that the 198 apartment is gone which limits his bull shitting time.
6. His triton vision has gotten the best of him and he now jacks off to images of Ben stiller from dodgeball.
7. Trying to get into the Guiness Boook Of World Records for longest nap at 72 hours straight.

Maybe we can start another massive comment conversation by listing your own personal thoughts as to why Lance and Adonis aren't posting. Till next time readers....watch your step you might run into cobb webbs the next time you walk into the cool kids room.

Just Ray

On Why I Find Twitter Incredibly Useful (and comments on Gossip Girl)

2009-06-19T10:47:00.000-07:00

In our technologically-driven world of gadgets and gizmos, there are limitless avenues to receive information. You can be a traditionalist; read the paper or call your friends by telephone to find out how they are, maybe even send a postcard if your handwriting isn't ruined by constant keyboard strokes. Or you can be what I would call the typical college student; facebook and myspace account, reading status updates through the news feeds, and having a few websites bookmarked, maybe just for news or sports.

Or, if you so dare, you can be a completely tech driven individual, facebook news feeds, RSS feeds for favorite blogs/websites, and finally a Twitter account to follow everything from friends and family to restaurant discounts and the latest TV ratings numbers.

I love Twitter. Instead of spending time browsing numerous websites for information, I receive everything in a nice, concise 140 character tweet. And if I need to read an article, a convenient tinyURL is placed so I can go straight to it without having to drive through avenues of ads and banners. I use an app called Tweetie where I can do everything that I need to with Twitter without having to open my browser and go to the website itself.

I've had the account for a pretty long time now, and I'm ecstatic at the fact that its gained such enormous popularity, because now everyone has one. I used to follow a couple of blogs and that was it, but now I can follow all of my favorite video game sites, television gossip sites, game developers, friends, and more. And the simple fact that more of the hometown people are jumping on the twitter train is awesome because it keeps me updated on all the news that would've just passed me by. How else would I have known that Alexand was doing his laundry, or that Raf got excused from jury duty? Without simple, small status updates I'd never know!

But all faux internet sarcasm aside, I really do find it incredibly useful. Every now and then I see a facebook status update of someone saying "twitter is for people who have no lives, gonna go pick up New Moon!!!" or something of that nature, and I'm like, no, you just don't see the advantages of it. So, if so inclined, if you don't have a twitter account yet, go sign up for one, and follow me @nazer858 and follow the coolkids @coolkidsroom too. And Direct Message on twitter is seriously the best way to get in touch with me, sends a text straight through my phone, awesome.

And I finally caught up on Gossip Girl. Is it just me or when all the kids work together to solve a problem at the end of the seasons does it remind anyone else of the Scooby gang? And if you haven't checked out PopCap Games' (the makers of Bejeweled) latest drug, check out Plants vs. Zombies, its awesome. Thanks for reading, I'll see you all in San Diego, I'm coming in Monday night at 8:30 PST.

18 Days later: Whos Watching The Cool Kids 2

2009-06-09T02:00:00.000-07:00

(It has officially been 18 days since we've had a decent post)

Sure the lack of content may not be as dramatic as say zombie infested London 28 days later, but like the beginning of 28 days the cool kids blog world appears to be a desolate uninhabited skeleton of its former self. Only instead of flesh eating zombies, the cool kids prefer to feast on california burritos with a ferocity that remains unmatched by any rabid zombie. Readers are left to themselves scared and cowering in fear as humanity yearns for a cure from this untimely dry spell. The lack of content has forced readers to resort to other blogs like P. Diddy's blog. Oh the horror!!!

I haven't felt this much despair in a room since watching the classic horror flick Glitter starring Mariah Carey.

The monstrosity that is the cool kids room is starting to look a lot like horror movies of today, bland and lacking any real content. So horrible in fact that readers begin asking to please, Drag me to Hell or others who have simply gone Psycho due to less than thought provoking post from the past month or two. But enough about Adonis' posts, the real issue at hand are the countless hours the cool kids put into their own personal lives or the lack their of. Could this be the cool kids recent departure from the blogosphere? It seems that we've singled handedly killed the genre of perverted/random/college student writing, in the same way that Resident Evil killed the horror genre.

The following is a breakdown of what the cool kids have been up to since their casual departure from the cool kids room.
________________________________________________________
Just Ray

I myself have been busy at work on an upcoming novel appropriately titled,

What? it was either that or Know I'm dope .

(Check out http://rdapparel.bigcartel.com/
buy your T-shirt today enter justray for 20%OFF coupon code{Oh Sup?}).

Not to mention i've been up to hard work at Pat & Oscars in an attempt to live up to at least half the man, no the legend that is Nelson Vuong when he worked diligently in the To-Go station of Pat&Oscars.
_______________________________________________________
Nazer Lagrimas

SHOCKING NEWS!!!!
Nazer has been busy attending every possible Boston Celtics home game, not only revealing his love for the team and dropping his "R's", but he has become the team mascot.

_______________________________________________________
"Commander" Cacho & Adonis the "Warrior of Doom"

NOT THAT SUPRISED NEWS!!!!

The two have since lost collectively 150 pounds on the p90x workout system and have come out of the closet after the California Supreme Courts decision of upholding Prop 8. The doom warrior has been quoted saying, "We love each other and nothing will ever come between us...No law is gonna hold us down we're moving to Connecticut and tying the knot late july." Commander Cacho however has frequently denied any love towards The Warrior of Doom saying, "I'm just trying to get laid."
_______________________________________________________

There you have it folks the reason('s) the cool kids have been on hiatus. If you don't like how you've been portrayed cool kids, step it up and post something.

special thanks:
r/d apparel for permission to use their shirt on this site.
girlfriend for teaching me how to cut n paste images better on MS paint.
nazer, lance, adonis for your stories

-Just Ray
Cool Kids staff
Lone survivor

Who's watching the cool kids?

2009-05-25T14:56:00.000-07:00

I see the room...but where's the cool kids?

Weezer Covers MGMT and Lady Gaga...

2009-05-23T09:39:00.000-07:00

...resulting into a blur of pop music that makes my head all sorts of crazy.

In other music news the new Phoenix CD is good, and some other guy won American Idol. And for all the indie ass kids that pass by here, check out Owen Pallett of band Final Fantasy perform a cover of Joanna Newsom's song "Peach Plum Pear." And for all the techno hipsters, check out Royksopp's "Happy Up Here." Love and peace.

Define: Awe-Inspiring

2009-05-14T06:23:00.000-07:00

so good

So It's Finally Over 50 Degrees in Boston

2009-04-26T06:55:00.001-07:00

(...someone post something)

The Dates Are Set

2009-04-11T12:02:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to let the world know that I'll be in San Diego from June 22nd to August 2nd. See all you coolkids later.

Vanity Fair Cover March 2015: Cool Kids Issue

2009-04-01T16:55:00.000-07:00

I have to be honest that I could give a fuck about vanity fair. I don't even know what the target audience or usual content of the magazine is. Vanity Fair has had a multitude of folks grace its cover. I guess the only thing that is truly appealing to me is the photography because it is generally on point.

From important history making people to irrelevant little shits Vanity Fair doesn't discriminate.

I.E.
Brotha Homeboy LiL Bama

to

Future wife of Kevin Federline Miley Montanna Cyrus Hannah???

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Despite hardly talented teen Disney losers like Montanna. Vanity Fair really impressed me with its most recent cover...

(from left to right)Jonah Hill, Seth Rogan, Jason Segel, Paul Rudd

These men give me multiple laughgasms. In my honest opinion these four are some of the most hilarious people in Hollywood today. I took a look at a bunch of other photos that were in this issue and I must say I was impressed. The issue featured photos of some of the top comedic actors of our generation. I've had the conversation multiple times, with both the cool kids themselves and our affiliates. All the comedies that come out these days have a little bit of something for everyone.

If you didn't like Seth Rogen in 40 year old virgin, you like him in Knocked Up. If you didn't like Jonah Hill in Knocked Up you liked him in Super Bad. If you didn't like Paul Rudd in every one of his movies in the 90s you like him now. If you didn't like Jason Segel's Penis in Forgetting Sarah Marshall hopefully we'll never have to see it again.

The question I pose you Cool Kids readers is what would it take for the Cool Kids to get on the Cover of Vanity Fair...Never mind that how could we get in the magazine period. The answer is we would have to be in a movie. While none of us have the acting chops to pull of a movie. I do think we are all relatively hilarious in our own ways. So instead of us playing ourselves in the Cool Kids movie. I would have Judd Apatow decide or we could use perfect actors and musicians who could truly do us justice.

The Coolest Kids In The Room MOVIE directed by Judd Appatow
Starring...
T-Pain as Dun-Dun

James Marsters as Nazer

Sorry Lance but this is the best i got
Fulton from mighty ducks as Lance Cacho
alonside his side kick Kieren Culkin as Ant

last but not least
Jay Hernandez as Just Ray

Yea i fuckn picked jay hernandez and what wanna fight about it?
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Regardless of what our movie might look like or who would play us, all i have to say is seth rogen crew look out cuz in 2015 Vanity Fairs cover wont look like this:

It will look like this:

GOTTEMS
-Just Ray

Bear with us…

2009-03-31T03:19:00.001-07:00

I apologize for the lack of content for the past few weeks, but as you could imagine, we’ve all been quite “busy” lately… (especially Lance)

Thank you for your continued support, we’ll be back to 100% soon.

/end lie

Saying Goodbye to Battlestar Galactica

2009-03-20T21:02:00.000-07:00

Tonight, the series finale of the smartest show on television aired, Battlestar Galactica. It's not a show I talk about much, and it took the season 1 set of DVDs to get me hooked in, but after watching that first season of mayhem I was instantly hooked.

The show was a re-imagined version of its 1978 counterpart. It takes place in a far off universe where society lives amongst twelve colonies. After an attack by a robotic race known as the Cylons, created by the humans themselves, the people were forced to board any spaceship available. The main set piece being the Battlestar Galactica, run by their military leader Commander Adama (Edward James Olmos).

The show was definitely a hard sell. It aired on the Sci-fi network, a channel that most aren't even aware of, and at first glance looks like any other sci-fi show; space funerals, unknown technology, awkward languages, and so on. But the show rose high above everyones expectations, and quickly gained critical acclaim among many mainstream publications (ala TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly, etc).

The reason for its fame being the incredible crew behind it. Created and developed by David Eick and Ronald D. Moore, the show took on so many themes on such vastly deep levels. They dealt with maturity, love, race, humanity, politics, the struggle of society, and that's just the beginning. The way they integrated all of these themes into this universe was truly masterful. Supported by a stellar cast, featuring Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, and so many more, you instantly found a piece of yourself in all of these characters; witnessing their many triumphs as well as their unique personal flaws.

This show first aired around 2003, a time when my love for television really began with shows like Lost, House, Grey's and so on. It's really something else to follow a show from beginning to end. I got to follow the lives of these characters for five years, watching their individual struggles take place, and then to witness their last moments on screen, truly remarkable.

I remember going to Comic Con year after year, attending the Battlestar panels, being surrounded by so many dedicated fans, who also fell in love with the characters and the brilliant storytelling. This is why I love television, and why I want to be a part of something as epic as this. A combination of magnificent storytelling, the unity of an enormous crew all working for the same goal, and the adoration of so many people worldwide, really what more could you ask for. So to everyone involved in the creation of Battlestar Galactica, I congratulate you on a job well done, and I look forward to seeing more work like this in the future. A piece like this will go down in television history as one of the most emotionally powerful artistic works ever created, so as I raise my glass, I'm sure many will join me in saying, "so say we all."

Keys to winning America’s Best Dance Crew

2009-03-10T04:43:00.001-07:00

Some of the requirements:

1. You must represent the West Coast
2. Your group must consist entirely of dudes (Asians preferably)
3. You must portray yourselves as goofy, energetic, and fun-loving
4. Your group must know how to breakdance, or at least have a few Bboys

Anyways, congratulations to Quest Crew for achieving the (Asian) American Dream last week, earning the distinction of being America’s Best Dance Crew for Season 3.

I actually never follow ABDC anymore, not since the first season with Kaba Modern and the Jabbawockeez running the show, but if I did, I’d of course include some generic compliments.

“Quest Crew KILLED it this season.”
“I knew they were going to win from the start!”
“After their performance in Week 4, the competition was pretty much OVAH.”

I really thought the runners-up, Beat Freaks, were going to win it all this season, especially after their amazing display of telekinetic powers.

Then again, they failed to fulfill Requirement #2 (See above). Better luck next season!

Watchmen is not your ordinary Fanboy popcorn flick: A Review & Spoilers

2009-03-05T05:54:00.001-08:00

**WARNING! SPOILER ALERT!!

Thanks to my Hollywood hook-ups (aka MCAS Miramar), I got the chance to catch a special showing of Watchmen this past Sunday, so for the time being I get to play the role of a hard-to-please movie critic.

Watchmen, however, did not disappoint one bit. I had never come across the comics/graphic novel before, but even as a standalone product, the film easily turned me into a fan. After watching one of the greatest movie trailers back in July during The Dark Knight, and after a long wait as the release date kept getting pushed back, Watchmen nevertheless lived up to all the fanboy hype and much more.

Be prepared, though, for a lot of slasher-esque violence you typically found in horror films, with limbs getting chopped off, skin melting, people getting vaporized and exploding into gory bits and pieces – lots of fun stuff. Be also prepared for a lot of nudity, as the Blue Man Group (Dr. Manhattan) decides to spend most of the movie fully exposed and casually showing off their glowing goods. The main female character in the movie, Silk Spectre, takes her clothes off too, so I guess that balances things out for those of you worried about two hours of blue dick on screen.

Those issues aside, I wouldn’t actually consider Watchmen your standard “comic book movie,” like what has been popular in Hollywood for some time now (i.e. Fantastic Four, Transformers, Ironman), or at least in a general fanboy sense. Sure, it includes plenty of fanboy elements that would please any theater full of nerds – lots of fight scenes, sex, explosions, cool superhero costumes – but in reality, Watchmen deals with much more serious and mature themes that makes it way more sophisticated than the average ‘origin-of-superhero-to-defeating-villain’ formula.

War, propaganda, politics, crime, morality; even more interesting is how the Watchmen story re-imagines and deconstructs the whole superhero genre, creating an alternate history where costumed vigilantes exist in society and explores how they deal with real-world issues. (If a bunch of guys decide to disguise themselves and rob a bank, why can’t someone decide to dress up themselves and stop them?) The Watchmen universe is just as interesting, set in a 1985 America where Nixon is still President, the war in Vietnam lasted only one week (thanks to Dr. Manhattan.) and is now the 51st State, and Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union is about to reach its breaking point.

What I also really enjoyed about Watchmen was how it featured an ensemble cast of “superheroes,” and the ambiguity that came with attempting to define the true protagonist and antagonist of the storyline – especially at the end of the film, as the audience gets to decide who they relate to more, and there really is no right or wrong position to take. (Sort of like the set-up of the Iliad/Troy, and how you could argue “Achilles/Brad Pitt is the shit – No way man, Hector/Eric Bana is way cooler,” etc.)

This is probably what makes Watchmen such a good film and separates it from all the other comic book movies out there; by already having a complex, quality narrative anchoring it, the people making the film version of it would really have to fuck up to make it suck.

Of course, not taking away from the work of director Zack Snyder (300) and his crew, as his often surreal visual style seemed like a perfect fit for the premise and setting of Watchmen. The CGI and action scenes were on point, and while the acting was a little dry at times, the cast still played their roles well enough to highlight the distinct qualities of each of their characters. I also thought the use of popular music throughout the film was done quite nicely, with some pre-emo and hippie 60’s music thrown into the mix like Simon & Garfunkel and Janis Joplin. I would even consider the opening credits my favorite part of the movie, as a montage setting up the alternate history of the Watchmen world is shown, with Bob Dylan - The Times They are a-Changin’ playing in the background, all to great effect.

Hopefully, even with all the fanboy hype, positive reactions to Watchmen will help reshape the current stereotypes of comic books and the superhero genre, inspiring new possibilities and spurring more interest in similar, lesser known comics of its nature. Regardless, Watchmen simply reminds me why films are truly the art form of today and the future.

“The Superman exists, and he is American.”

Food Review: Coldstone Cupcakes

2009-03-04T13:02:00.000-08:00

With the yogurt craze sweeping through California, the fine people at Coldstone Creamery, with their delicious scoops of fatty ice cream combined with your choice of topping, are fighting back with the introduction of everyone's favorite tiny, cup sized treat, cupcakes!

These delicious concocsions come in one of three flavors: Cake Batter Delux, red velvet cake with cake batter ice cream, Sweet Cream, yellow cake with sweet cream ice cream, and my personal favorite, Double Chocolate Devotion, devils food cake with chocolate ice cream. The first thing you'll notice when biting (or cutting) into one of these is that it's enclosed in a chocolate shell. Not exactly the easiest thing to hold by the hand and dive into, but tasty regardless. All three feature a chocolate shell, a very small layer of cake, ice cream on top of that, then topped with a buttercream frosting.

They're definitely good, but in some ways they totally miss the mark. As you can see from the photo, the amount of cake in the cupcake is actually pretty pathetic. When I think cupcake, I think a nice, fluffy cake, topped with frosting, but these are pretty much all ice cream. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, I mean, they are an ice cream store, but I believe that if the cake to ice cream ratio was improved we'd have a real hit. Another thing is they aren't very friendly to the hands. This isn't something that you can just walk up to and bite, unless you're planning on getting your face and clothes sticky, you'll need proper tools: maybe a small plate, a knife, a fork, etc.

Regardless, if you're looking for a nice ice cream treat, maybe something different from the typical trip to Yogurt World or Rite Aid, then these can really hit the spot. With a price tag of $9.99, they're not the most affordable option, but if there's something special going on or if you just feel like spending for whatever reason, there are crappier things you can spend your money on. So if you're in the mood for something sweet, check these out, because they're only here till March 31st!

To Hell and back: L.A. at its worst

2009-03-03T15:37:00.001-08:00

Don’t get me wrong, I still consider Los Angeles a Big City of Dreams, but there are some areas in L.A. that San Diegans should avoid entirely. Namely, the Citadel Outlets located right off the 5 freeway.

Sure, it’s an impressive sight with all its fancy Babylonian architecture, but what appears to be a harmless shopping mall is really an unholy temple dedicated to the worst of what mankind has to offer…

It was sort of like seeing roadkill – repulsive to even look at, but you still take a look anyway, and as you get closer you eventually turn away in disgust.

Nothing could prepare me, though, for their most sacred relic…

By then, enough was enough. It was as if the shoe was emanating some sort of foul stench, and I had to get the hell out of there before it caught on to me. I usually have a strong stomach for most non-alcohol situations, but I’ll gladly take this horrible experience as an exception.

Fuckn White People

2009-03-03T02:31:00.000-08:00

Make sure you turn your volume up to watch this cuz its pretty hard to hear.

My initial feeling towards this video is the myspace kid is freakin the fuck out and someone should slap him. After sitting and watching the whole thing in its entirety i've come to the conclusion that everyone in this video should get their ass kicked. Especially the older brother for being such an ass. Kids that get tormented like that end up going postal and shooting everyone in the house or at school. I've also come to the conclusion that white people are kinda fucked in the head, sure i might be generalizing but just remember...."ARRGGGHHH!! YOU FUCKING BITCH!! LEAVE ME ALONE FUCKING DIE BITCH!" Like Russell peters said, "White parents go home and beat your kid's ass."

-Just Ray back in effect

Currently at 00% on the tomatometer…

2009-02-27T20:13:00.001-08:00

Out in theaters today, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is Capcom and 20th Century Fox’s latest attempt to reboot the Street Fighter film franchise. The film wasn’t screened for critics (never a good sign), and with only 15 reviews currently on rottentomatoes.com, not one critic deemed the film “FRESH”.

With all of the success that the release of Street Fighter IV generated, the movie could possibly salvage some kind of a decent box-office performance. But if this movie goes down in history as a colossal failure like the original 1994 flick, then I have some advice for Capcom and any studios who hope to capitalize on the venerable video game franchise: STOP TRYING.

Street Fighter is a wildly successful game franchise due to its tight controls and incredibly deep fighting gameplay. The game’s storyline was never particularly fascinating (any movie about a crime syndicate that holds a massive fighting tournament will pale in comparison to Enter the Dragon), which is why I don’t think it translates to film very well. The most popular face of the franchise, Ryu, is a loner who doesn’t say much, doesn’t have much charisma and is really only likable because he looks cool and he’s relatively easy to use. Those aren’t really the characteristics of a starring movie role, so why do you think they threw Kristen Kreuk (mmm…) into a film about Chun-Li?

The 1994 animated film, Street Fighter II, was well-received, but I’m still not sure how popular that hand-drawn movie is without the infamous Chun-Li shower scene. Yeah, that scene was really up there for me in terms of animated hotties, right along with Ariel’s seashell bra in Little Mermaid.

So here’s my final plea to all movie studios: Street Fighter just doesn’t play out well on film, especially American film where it’s just going to end up looking like a boring Action vehicle. If you’re going to make a movie like that, it’s already been done in 1994, and that movie is probably better than anything else that will come out in the future.

It also had one of the greatest movie speeches of all-time:

“Greatest Moment in Cinematic History” indeed.

To watch tonight: The OSCA...I mean, THE AMAZING RACE!!!

2009-02-22T18:02:00.000-08:00

Television is an entertainment medium that has so much to offer to so many individuals. There are programs for those who want to dive head first into a fantasy world of superheroes and villains, shows that can teach scrubby college kids how to cook food as well as survive on a cheap budget, Snoop Dogg being a dad, and so much more.

I'm a huge advocate of TV, and I follow so many shows for seasons and seasons that it eventually becomes hard to keep it all bound together. There are many shows out there that people don't even bother watching because their story lines become far too complicated or they just can't dedicate the time to follow it week after week with their busy schedules.

But for those who can dedicate one hour on Sunday night to a television show, it should definitely be The Amazing Race. After fourteen seasons and a plethora of awards, this show brings together many teams of two and takes them on a race around the world for a million dollar prize. Along the way they reach challenges that must be completed, some individual and some as a team, eventually leading to a pit stop at the end.

The teams come in many combinations. This season we have a brother and sister team, two stuntmen, a father and son writing duo, a mom with her deaf son, and so much more. The majority of the fun in this show comes from the tension that develops between the teams. Not only are they racing for one million dollars, but they have to overcome both physical and psychological tasks. Seeing the relationships bloom week after week really gives a nice look into different human perspectives, and watching these teams work through the difficulties presented to them is both heartening and thought provoking.

If you haven't jumped along for the ride, now is a great time to catch on. Many of the teams this season are incredibly likable. My current favorites are Brad and Victora, an older (ages 52 and 47) married couple from Columbus, Ohio, and Amanda and Kris, a dating couple from San Diego (because I love my hometown). We're only two episodes in, so if you're free Sunday nights at 8, grab some dinner, sit on the couch and tune into CBS for this outstanding hour of television.

(and yeah I never watch the award shows)

To watch tonight: Late Night with Conan O’Brien THE FINAL EPISODE

2009-02-20T23:01:00.001-08:00

Tonight marks the final episode of Late Night with Conan O’Brien. On June 1, he’ll take over for Jay Leno in the 11:30 pm slot as the host of the Tonight Show. Jimmy Fallon takes the reigns for Late Night starting March 2nd.

In addition to tonight’s episode, I recommend watching all the episodes from the past two weeks on Hulu. Every episode showed one of the hilarious on-location segments that Conan was famous for, along with various other highlights and best-of moments.

As a fan of late night television programming since I was a child (and no, I wasn’t just staying up to watch Real Sex on HBO…ok maybe I was), Conan’s 12:30 show was always something to look forward to. I remember some of his early years being pretty rough, but once he found his groove, he was hard to top. Over the past 10 years, I’d argue Conan’s show was more consistently funny than either Leno or Letterman’s 11:30 offerings.

As much as I enjoy Craig Ferguson, I’m afraid 12:30 in the morning will never quite be the same without Conan O’Brien.

To play tonight: Street Fighter IV

2009-02-17T09:37:00.000-08:00

Today Street Fighter IV was officially released. Thinking about studying tonight? Forget it, pick up your sticks and I'll see you on .... Playstation Network (ohhhhhh noooooo)

To watch tonight: No Reservations

2009-02-16T13:30:00.001-08:00

I know a lot of you guys are fans of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. Tonight’s episode at 10pm marks the first time in 5 seasons that Bourdain makes the trek to the Philippines.

The fact of the matter is, Filipino food is just not as hip as other Asian cuisine. I think there was a point in time when Americans used to find sushi pretty gross. Now, if you don’t enjoy raw fish on a block of rice, you are uncultured and definitely out of the loop on what good eatin’ is.

Anywhere in Southern California, you can find sushi restaurants, pho restaurants, Sam Woo, dim sum, Korean and Thai BBQ. Filipino cuisine is harder to find. Ever since I moved to Irvine, I haven’t had any Filipino food to eat except whatever I managed to make at home. As far as I know, I have to drive at least 20 minutes to get some fried bangus or some KARE-KARE. I can’t even imagine what it’s like for Nazer in Boston, that’s probably why he bothered learning how to make so many Filipino dishes at home.

The flavors and ingredients of Filipino cuisine are probably harder to agree with for the average American palette. The flavors are dominated by sour (calamansi, vinegar and tamarind all over the place) and saltiness (throw bagaong and patis on everything you eat), and we consume some of the weirdest parts of the animal (tripe, fish heads, blood, etc). Also, “healthy” isn’t the first notion that comes to mind when I think of Filipino food, but there are still some pretty good choices out there. This isn’t too different from any other kinds of Asian food, every Asian culture has some pretty weird shit. But I’m still disappointed to learn that most Americans don’t enjoy Filipino food beyond lumpia and tocino.

Here’s an excerpt about the episode in a recent interview with Bourdain:

How'd you find Filipino food culture?

I had some really good food there. I thought it was really interesting but hard to describe. A lot of the show was me floundering around and asking people why Americans have such a fuzzy image of the Philippines and Filipino food when there are so many Filipinos in this country. The show kind of becomes about Filipino identity: Who do Filipinos most identify with from their past? Americans? Chinese? Spanish? Is it Polynesian or Malay? It was something we kept hammering at as I ate my away across Cebu and Manila.

Hopefully, tonight’s episode of No Reservations will highlight the less-famous, but still delicious dishes of Filipino cuisine as well as capture the charming qualities of Filipino culture. And hopefully Anthony Bourdain enjoys all of it with his signature wit and style.

[Travel Channel]

CKR Caption Contest!

2009-02-14T06:38:00.001-08:00

If a picture is worth a thousand words, than I am fucked.

This hapless photograph is from my most recent trip to Las Vegas, an unfortunate keepsake compliments of the '”Manhattan Express” roller coaster at the New York New York Hotel & Casino.

After the ride (piece of cake!), I remember getting juked by the camera, and my concerns became evident as the photo appeared across the monitor.

Of course, my fellow rider, Alexand aka Asswipe, did what any rational person would do, and bought the damn thing. Now I am forever immortalized alongside other homies who have failed in life.

Still, here’s your chance to compete in our very first caption contest. Whoever authors the best entry will be emailed their very own, $10 off coupon-code for Karmaloop.com!

Good luck, jerks.

Under Construction

2009-02-12T08:06:00.001-08:00

Pardon our dust.

Awards Season Review Part 2: The Wrestler

2009-02-10T21:44:00.001-08:00

Professional wrestling demands more from its athletes than any other sport or any other kind of “sports entertainment”. With a rigorous schedule of 3-4 live shows a week, there’s no off-season, no all-star break, and no unions. The stars of yesteryear are lucky to hold a stable job within the business, luckier if they can find success somewhere else. Otherwise, the “has-beens” who can no longer get a decent pop from the sport’s rabid fans fade into relative obscurity.

Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler takes a fictional look into the life of a former pro-wrestler who fell from stardom. And although the film is fiction, the story is rooted deeply in truth.

The Wrestler has the feel of a documentary, partly because of the camera-work, but also due to the realism of the wrestling portions (an oxymoron?). The backstage wrestling lingo, the pre-match preparations, and the actual wrestling scenes are all legitimate, and add a great deal of authenticity to the film.

Mickey Rourke stars as Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a Hulk Hogan-esque superstar from the 80’s who, twenty years later, fails to hold a steady job and finds himself wrestling in high school gymnasiums on weekends. Marisa Tomei plays Cassidy, a stripper whom “The Ram” befriends, and Evan Rachel Wood plays Stephanie, his estranged daughter.

The casting is excellent with Rourke as the lead, and Wood and Tomei in their supporting roles. The parallels to Rourke’s real life shines through his performance and it makes it that much better. Rourke’s scenes as The Ram in his “regular job” at a supermarket deli counter are some of his finest in the film; you see shades of the charisma and likability that made him a star, and ultimately you see the sad nature of his fall from grace.

The nature of the relationship between The Ram and Cassidy is beautifully imperfect, and serves as the arc around which the story develops. They are two individuals who share the misery of working in a business that doesn’t take kindly to old age and to watch their friendship develop is one of the more heartfelt parts of an otherwise sad film.

The more illustrative relationship of The Ram’s true character is the one he has with his daughter. Their exchanges do a great job of slinging the viewer back and forth between hating Rourke’s character for being such a terrible father while still feeling somewhat sorry for him.

One of the things that the film does well is capture that kind of complexity of the human condition. Nothing is ever really black and white, nothing is completely good or bad. For example, one moment, the viewer may find himself having no remorse for Randy “The Ram” as he pumps his body full of steroids, or goes on a late night binger. The next moment, when he finds himself amongst a group of handicapped old timers, you’ll feel sorry for a seemingly helpless victim to a ruthless business that once made him a star.

Even sadder than the film itself is its plot in the context of real life. Unfortunately, the story of Randy “The Ram” Robinson is something of a median compared to the lives of retired pro-wrestlers in the real world.

There are guys like Ric Flair, who still works for the WWE in his 60s, and the Rock, who makes boatloads of money as a star in Hollywood. On the other side of the spectrum you have guys like Brian Pillman (suicide), Kerry Von Erich (suicide), and Chris Benoit (double homicide, then suicide). Not to mention the countless many who died of drug overdose and the ones whose bodies have broken down from the beatings they put it through on the mat.

If I could describe The Wrestler in one word, it would be heavy. Heavy in the sometimes tumultuous scenes that Rourke has with Tomei and Wood, and heavy in the violence and drug use. The film’s intensity is off the charts; it’s a volatile combo of naked women, broken relationships, heavy drug use, and an extremely violent hardcore wrestling match.

There’s no doubt that the lives of pro-wrestlers outside of the ring is both tragic and fascinating, and The Wrestler captures both of those traits on film like a champion.

For Part 1 of the Awards Season Reviews, read Ray’s review of Milk.

Year of the Gentlemen… unless you’re Chris Brown

2009-02-10T02:18:00.001-08:00

The early details of the story at Not so small talk.

Chris Brown fans are obviously in mourning right now, with the teenage heartthrob of millions of adoring girls and fanboys is facing serious allegations of assault that left his girlfriend/pop-star Rihanna at the receiving end of a brutal attack. While cases of domestic violence are never a joking matter, E! reported that C.B. may have paid tribute to his debut single “Run it!” that night.

According to a source close to the investigation, Rihanna made the 911 call to police after Brown "fled on foot" from the scene following the attack. Two officers from the LAPD Wilshire Division found Rihanna in Brown's rented silver Lamborghini "beaten really badly and hysterical."

Not sure how he’s going to dance his way out of this one. Despite being relatively young, 19-years-old in celeb years translates to being 30, and any defense revolving around C.B.'s youthful immaturity will probably not play well for a L.A. jury, especially with Rihanna being portrayed as a hapless victim.

Fans can only cross their fingers at this point and hope that his involvement in this ugly incident was really at the bare minimum. Otherwise, say goodbye to the pretty boy image and expect his next album to be full of jailhouse raps.

[AP]

Your 2009 Grammy Award Winners

2009-02-09T10:09:00.000-08:00

Here. CLICK ME I must say that there are no real surprises here, and that I don't agree with more than half of the winners, well actually I barely agree with any of the nominees, but hey who I am to judge, I only make and listen to music for a living.

And any Grammy list that has fuckin Duffy for a winner and not Sara Bareilles is just rubbish.

But Katy Perry performing in a fruit basket was cool I guess.

And finally, no, I didn't watch the show. I never watch the award shows, so you tell me, what were the best performances of the night so I can watch them.

30 Rock is still on television

2009-02-05T05:50:00.001-08:00

Oh how I love Tina Fey, and just the same, her show 30 Rock. I caught on to 30 Rock late in 2007 during its first season, and ever since I’ve been watching the show religiously.

Despite being critically acclaimed and winning almost every television award imaginable, from Emmys, Golden Globes, to SAG honors, 30 Rock has struggled miserably to capture ratings, which are vital to keeping a series alive for a next season. (After winning their first Emmy for “Outstanding Comedy Series,” Tina Fey made sure to thank the “dozens and dozens of viewers” during her acceptance speech. Hah!)

Just ask the sad, defeated fans of short-lived shows like Bionic Woman (1 season), Cavemen (also 1 season), or that ridiculous Friends spin-off Joey (2 seasons). Then again, why anyone would watch a show featuring Joey Tribbiani in the first place still troubles me. Even shows that should-of-been television classics, like Saved by the Bell: The College Years, lasted only 1 season before getting the axe due to low ratings. Poor Slater.

Now in its 3rd season, 30 Rock has slowly but surely, picked up the pace in ratings and has already been renewed by NBC for another season; its rise in popularity thanks in large part to the show’s guest star-power (i.e. Jennifer Anniston, Oprah, Salma Hayek) and of course, through the hard work of Ms. Fey. Likewise, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, and the rest of the ensemble cast are comedy gold.

Either way, I still recommend this show (Thursday nights at 9:30 PM) to anyone with a goofy sense of humor, and being a comedy series, it should be relatively easy to pick up.

Tonight’s episode also definitely looks like to be a keeper, especially with stud-actor Jon Hamm of Mad Men set to make a guest appearance as a romantic interest to Fey’s character, Liz Lemon. Salma Hayek also reprises her role.

Here’s a preview:

30 Rock – Episode: Generalissimo

"Sorry I smell like frosting, I just love to bake..."

That should be me!! WAHHHHH

Anyways, that ends my last, futile attempt to convince the world that 30 Rock is worth watching. If you do happen to give the show a try, I hope you enjoy it. If not, you’re probably not weird enough. (Really)

[Pregnant Cornbread]

Super Bowl a victory for Steelers, fatasses

2009-02-03T03:58:00.001-08:00

I saw a spot for this promo while watching the Super Bowl 43, although I was a bit skeptical at first (Just like Santonio Holmes’ game-winning “catch”... I kid Steelers fans! har har).

Fortunately, the ad was indeed legitimate, so if you happen to cruise by a Denny’s today, remember to stop by and treat yourself to a Grand Slam breakfast for only Free 99.

Unfortunately, I probably won’t be able to enjoy my own Grand Slam, seeing that the deal is only being offered during a ridiculous time slot of 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Don’t they know people will be asleep? I mean c'mon, the sun will still be out.

Speaking of the Super Bowl, I give a half-ass congrats to the winners, the Pittsburg Steelers. What could of been a disastrous meltdown to the Arizona Cardinals turned into an exciting 4th quarter, capped off by the aforementioned touchdown “catch” cleverly pulled off by Holmes.

This photo is taken straight from NFL.com and just so happens to be the only photograph they have that captures the game’s most crucial moment. And what do you know, his legs are cut off! Oh darn, that would of made an awesome picture. Either way, I’m sure the officials got the call right and Holmes did indeed get both of his feet in...

Obvious jealously aside, I am though, happy for their head coach, Omar Epps clone Mike Tomlin, who is one of the handful of Steelers that I’m actually a fan of.

Besides being a talented actor and a badass football coach, Omar Epps/Mike Tomlin might actually be related to the man himself, Charger Ladainian Tomlinson, seeing how their last names are so closely related to each other.

(Tomlin + son = Tomlinson/Son of Tomlin!)

And of course, anyone related to LT, even in the slightest bit, is more than likely a stud themselves.

President-elect Obama

2009-01-27T23:14:00.000-08:00

Back when this blog was still a little toddler, I mentioned in an old post the prospects of a Presidential wannabe named Barack Obama, comparing him to as "if Tiger Woods ran for office."

Over a year later, I find myself owing the man an apology. Tiger Woods may be filthy rich and a great athlete, but after putting them side by side - Tiger Woods really ain't shit standing next to Obama; Now arguably the most powerful man in the world and who I'm pleased to say is the 44th President of the United States.

While you may not agree on his foreign policy plans or his ideas on universal healthcare reform, there's no denying he brings a glitz and glamor to the Presidency that previously, for many years now, was defunct of any style.

Of course, many former presidents brought their own personal charm to the administration, and no disrespect to them - But after 8 years of living with a President (Bush), whose coolest moment was probably dodging a pair of shoes being thrown at him, Obama's beginning of a new Camelot definitely becomes a refreshing makeover.

His current status as the coolest kat on the planet was solidified during his inauguration, as Obama, the young, charismatic, community organizer from Chicago, danced with his wife in elegant fashion, all while Beyonce serenaded them with his classy song choice of "At Last."

Even in his college years, Obama was apparently still one of the coolest kids in the room.

Time to make 2009 a great year.

[Time]

[New York Times]

A few notes...

2009-01-23T21:52:00.000-08:00

-My professor repeatedly goes to our site as an example during my Information Retrieval class. Hopefully, he'll go Tuesday morning and see this awesome picture. CoolKidsRoom as an example would be more appropriate for a class called "Lazy Ass Motherfuckers Retrieval".

-The A.J. in A.J. Smith must really stand for Asshole Jerkface.

-It's the end of Week 3 and I'm in danger of failing two of my four classes. I'm like the Chargers though, finish strong and look better than I am with what was really just a mediocre performance.

-One of the great AIM profile quotes I've ever seen: "there's only one 'return' and it's not of the king, it's of the jedi" (from Clerks II)

-One line that struck fear into my heart as I read it: "AzNBiGTyMeR has entered the server."

-The thing that kept ruining the inauguration for me: every time Obama stepped out of a car, walked outside or stepped to the podium, I'm terrified someone's going to shoot him.

-My two favorite podcasts: On the DL w/ Dan Levy, The B.S. Report w/ Bill Simmons

Thank you for your continued support of CoolKids.

...cold weather

2009-01-18T22:50:00.000-08:00

To: Ray, Adonis, Lance
From: Nazer

So I woke up around 9:30, made some breakfast, took a shower, got ready to go to church. After being in San Diego for a few weeks, I didn't even think about checking the weather. When I opened the door outside of my building I was welcomed by this...
Snow is cool...until you actually have to go somewhere and you're stuck in your building. Till next time.

EMO: Farewell Grandpa Hoffman

2009-01-14T02:41:00.000-08:00

It's Official.

Unlike high school, rumors in Major League Baseball are mostly true - Trevor Hoffman will no longer be closing/blowing games for the San Diego Padres. What seemed like a perfect match, evidenced by a warm, loving relationship that lasted over 15 years, ended in a dramatic break-up after last season, with the Padres front office and Hoffman walking away from each other bitter and angry.

I was always hoping that the couple would work out their differences (apparently Hoffman felt disrespected and the Padres felt he was a gold digger and getting lousy on the mound) and kiss & make up, but at this point it seems like both sides have moved on for good; especially Hoffman, who has already found a rebound in the Milwaukee Brewers.

On September 27th of last year, with only two games left to finish a terrible season, I was fortunate enough to watch the Padres beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 at Petco, a game highlighted by Hoffman closing out the top of the 9th in a quick, 1-2-3 inning. That officially would be Hoffman's last save and appearance of 2008.

While I had a feeling that night might of been that last time I would get to witness Trevor Time, (there was already rumors flying around that he could retire) I never imagined he would ever pitch for another team.

The prospect of THE Trevor Hoffman wearing an alien uniform, without SD on his cap, and the idea of "AC/DC - Hell's Bells" being played in another stadium makes me want to throw up.

Lots of good (and sometimes bad) memories watching Hoffy play, but the one memory that easily comes to mind definitely has to be in 2006, when I was lucky enough to witness his 478th save at San Diego, also putting him on top as MLB's all-time saves leader. I remember the place going nuts as I fumbled around with the camera, trying to capture the historic moment.

Blah, I guess I jinxed myself into this heartbreak.

Fuckin Padres: On Life Support? (May 1, 2008)

Save for another playoff run, Hoffman has little more to prove or show for, as he already leads the All-time Saves list, a milestone that took 15 years in the making. Regardless, Trevor Time and the days of hearing Hell’s Bells ring in San Diego, not to mention watching one of the most dominant closers in baseball history play, are running short.

Sigh.

There is of course, much more to be said about the 2nd greatest player in Padre's history, (or the greatest player in Padre's history, if you happen to be a Tony Gwynn hater) but it'll have to wait; the news is still fresh and the emoness has already kicked in...

Fuckin padres man.

[San Diego Union Tribune]

THE PRODIGY

2009-01-12T20:24:00.000-08:00

"He's gonna think i'm GOD"

stay tuned for the full breakdown of the BJ PENN v. GSP matchup...

You Were Throwin' Pebbles

2009-01-12T05:27:00.000-08:00

8:28 AM, eastern time. I just finished unpacking all of my things. The apartment is empty, all the lights were off, all of the electronics were unplugged, and since I was the last to leave, it's exactly the way I left it. When the plane landed in Boston, I looked out the window to see snow and some fat white guys, and that pretty much sums up Boston right there.

There is literally no food in my apartment. I don't know if I should just go to sleep and rest up a bit, or if I should watch more of the Today Show then just suck it up and go throughout my day. I have to deposit some checks, buy some groceries, then watch a bunch of TV and just prepare for school.

My winter break was ridiculously awesome. I got to hang out with everyone in SD, eating a ton of food, drinking copious amounts of alcohol, singing along to every guys iPod playlist including Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga, and admiring the San Diego weather. One thing I love about going home is everyone's always down to drink a shitload, get messed up, and have a good time. Follow that with some fatty Mexican food and seriously life doesn't get much better, and I'll miss it.

I have no idea when I'll be coming down next. I love being home, but when I'm there I seriously get no work done, so I guess it's a just balancing act that I'll have to figure out. So thanks for the good times everyone, till next time.

Accordion Covers

2009-01-08T13:22:00.000-08:00

LOLOLOLZZZZ

T. Swift - Love Story

S. Bareilles - Bottle It Up

Chargers make fans, fatasses happy with win

2009-01-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

Leave it to the Chargers to keep our spirits high and our stomachs filled. In celebration of the Bolts toppling the Colts on Sunday, Rubio's is serving free fish tacos with the accompanied coupon.

I love Rubio's fish tacos. I could eat them all day. Wahoo's and all the other poser-ass fish taco joints don't got shit on Rubios. I think I've maxed out at 6 tacos in one sitting.

A year or two ago, Rubio's started offering the choice between the O.G. corn tortillas and a new, disgusting flour tortilla for their fish tacos. Even though I'm a dieing breed, I still prefer the corn tortillas while it seems like everyone else hopped on the evil flour bandwagon. Yuckk.

Remeber your roots. CORN>FLOUR!!

[Rubio's]

casual

2009-01-04T15:25:00.001-08:00

we're still here

Happy Holidays from the Coolest Kids in the loser corner of the room

2008-12-27T10:17:00.000-08:00

[The Will Leitch Experience]

My prayers have been answered

2008-12-17T04:13:00.000-08:00

Like myself, I know a lot of you guys are huge fans of Saved by the Bell. And if like me, you also loved California Dreams, then this is the announcement you've been waiting for. The show that featured everyone's favorite high school rock band comes to DVD officially on March 31.

I honestly had no hope that this show would ever come to home video. California Dreams has been out of syndication for possibly a decade now, but I still can vividly remember dozens of episodes.

A lot of the this show's storylines mirrored those of Saved by the Bell. Some of my favorite episodes were the one where Tiffany gets steroids from Sly (I loved that one of the main characters knew where to score drugs), the one where Jake has to quit smoking (if you read my Facebook note, all of you can stop leaving comments about that now), and the one where Tony dates a white girl whose parents can't stand the fact that he's black.

All in all, a true television classic on par with the gang from Bayside, just with a music element added. If you haven't seen it before, now's your chance. Here's hoping that enough people buy this that the later seasons get released (cause those are always better).

[ONTD] via
[TVShowOnDVD.com]

Still hoping for a Fresh Prince reunion episode...

2008-12-17T04:00:00.001-08:00

I guess this brief photo op shared by Will, Ashley and Carlton will have to suffice. The photo was taken at the premiere of Will Smith's new movie Seven Pounds. The previews look okay, same director as The Pursuit of Happiness, and it seems to share the same spirit. If we could only get the whole gang to get back together in Bel-Air, I would eat my hat.

[ONTD]

EDIT: it's been brought to my attention that I spelled the movie's title incorrectly. I will fix this if I ever watch said movie and I deem that it is indeed worthy of a correction.

Spike 2008 Video Game Awards Results

2008-12-15T06:36:00.000-08:00

Last night Spike TV aired their annual Video Game Awards show, an incredibly ridiculous show which featured tons of gorgeous women, a few bands, and a fat guy on a Segway. Doesn't sound too bad on paper, but if you watched the show you know what I'm talking about.

The game of the year went to Grand Theft Auto IV, while Studio of the Year went to Media Molecule, the force behind PS3 exclusive LittleBigPlanet. I generally agree with most of the winners, but I would have definitely put Brawl above Soul Calibur IV for best fighting game. Here's the full list of award winners.

GAME OF THE YEAR

Grand Theft Auto IV

CONSOLE WINNERS

Best Xbox 360 Game: Gears of War 2
Best PS3 Game: LittleBigPlanet
Best PC Game: Left 4 Dead
Best Wii Game: Boom Blox
Best Handheld Game: Professor Layton and the Curious Village

GENRE WINNERS

Best Individual Sports Game: Shaun White Snowboarding
Best Fighting Game: Soul Calibur IV
Best RPG: Fallout 3
Best Shooter: Gears of War 2
Best Team Sports Game: NHL 09
Best Action Adventure Game: Grand Theft Auto IV
Best Driving Game: Burnout Paradise
Best Music Game: Rock Band 2
Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show: LEGO Indiana Jones

AND THE REST

Studio of the Year: Media Molecule
Best Multi-Player Game: Left 4 Dead
Best Independent Game: World of Goo
Big Name in the Game (Female): Jenny McCarthy
Big Name in the Game (Male): Kiefer Sutherland
Best Performance by a Human (Female): Debbie Mae West
Best Performance by a Human (Male): Michael Hollick
Best Original Score: Metal Gear Solid 4
Best Soundtrack: Rock Band 2
Best Graphics: Metal Gear Solid 4

[Source: Spike VGAs: Here Are Your Spike Video Game Awards Winners @ Kotaku]

LAFCA Votes WALL-E Best Picture of the Year

2008-12-15T06:21:00.000-08:00

After listening to IGNs Digigods podcast, hosted by two critics, Wade Major and Mark Keizer, they announced that after a day of voting with the LA Film Critics Association that their choice of picture of the year went to none other then admired animated film WALL-E. This is incredibly notable because animated films usually don't take the Best Picture category. The Runner-Up was The Dark Knight, a super hero movie, which once again usually doesn't take acclaim over "standard" films.

This is a sign that the Oscar for best picture may be one of these two films, but we'll have to wait a bit to find out about all that, but yeah, congrats to WALL-E and The Dark Knight, certainly two of my favorite movies of the year.

Also significant is the Best Actor category which went to Sean Penn for "Milk," which I still haven't seen...

[Source: LAFCA Announces 2008 Award Winners]

Happy First Birthday Coolkids

2008-12-06T07:26:00.000-08:00

Exactly one year ago, four men with a hunger for writing and wittiness banned together to give the internet a piece of their minds. ADONIS, Just Ray, Nazer, and CommanderCacho started the blog entitled, The Coolest Kids In The Room, a no standard, no guideline, no shit place to express opinions. We've dealt with everything from frozen food to politics, with each individual contributing their own special blend of herbs and spices. Readers everywhere have raved about the massive overflow of content on the blog each day, and we've received oodles and oodles of fan mail, something we're all extremely proud of. Lets take a look at some data.

As you can see from the line graph above, we started out incredibly strong, with nearly a post a day. In March we peaked with a record of 41 posts, a most impressive accomplishment for bloggers everywhere. In the later months we drop a bit, and in September we only had a total of 7 posts. But that's okay because...

Over the months our coolness has increased exponentially. In the form of Rock Band multipliers, we've reached a 2048x multiplier of coolness, which in my book is pretty incredible.

So over the course of a year we've totaled 246 posts, and we're still ~~going strong~~ crawling along. We've gone through a slew of cosmetic changes, and our layouts are only improving over time. So thanks for the year guys, lets keep it going. And now for a more traditional entry.

School has been keeping me pretty busy. I'm finally diving deeper into the Film Scoring major, and that includes a LOT of writing (music) as well as learning applications on the computer. I'm surrounded by peers who love film and film music, and I have to say that I've heard some of the greatest music I've ever heard in my life this semester, not only from my peers but even from doing more in-depth research on some of my favorite scores. Projects range from scoring short scenes and doing analysis papers to sitting at a desk and just spilling whatever it is inside of our brains onto paper and hoping brilliant music comes out. It's incredibly difficult and daunting, but its seriously so much fun. For one of my classes, we have to make a mock up (a digital representation) of a minute or so of E.T. Digitally punching in notes for woodwinds, strings, brass, percussion, and so on. It's all really cool, and I'm definitely looking forward to my future semesters to just get more information and to get more work done.

I've also been one of the people at Berklee increasing awareness of Video Game music as a valid genre. The themes of video game music stick in peoples brains forever, and like film, it's an incredibly important component. A guest speaker came, and he stated that some people play WoW for nearly 30 hours a week. As they're playing they listen to music and sound effects in the game for 30 hours. Even for a favorite record, you probably don't listen to that for 30 hours a week, so that's all pretty interesting. I've been working with a few people on audio integration in games, and some of us have been talking to professionals about the importance of music, as well as technical aspects of it all. It's all pretty nerdy shit, but I'm pretty optimistic that by the time I graduate I'll have a good idea on music production in games.

I'm also part of Berklee's video game club band. It's a group of 7 of us, and we make all of our own arrangements. In March we're going to SF to play at the Game Developers Conference, so hopefully there we can get ourselves out there as composers, and meet a bunch of bigger names.

I've been following TV as usual. Pushing Daisies canceled, My Own Worst Enemy canceled, Dirty Sexy Money canceled, all unfortunate events. Heroes is trash, and if you disagree we can argue about it, but I continue to watch because I want it to get better. Bryan Fuller, who worked on Daisies, was a former writer on Heroes, so he's coming back there to help the show out, so hopefully it gets better in Volume 4. This weeks 30 Rock was probably one of the funniest episodes I have ever seen. Some of the shows that have been consistently awesome are Dexter and Chuck, I look forward to them every week.

So I'll be home Friday the 19th at like 9:30PM. Can't wait to see everyone again, get some mexican food, and just chill out. I could probably go on forever, but this seems like a good place to stop. Time to make some food, PEACE

Fight Night: The Dream Match to Save Boxing, Pacquiao vs. De La Hoya

2008-12-06T06:51:00.000-08:00

The Thrilla from Manila, Manny Pacquiao, is set to take on boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya this evening in the highly anticipated “Dream Match” that will save boxing, pitting Pacman, the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter, against “The Golden Boy” De La Hoya, who has had his fair share of accomplishments during a long, venerated career in the ring.

Even with the support of an entire nation behind him, the Philippines favorite son faces a daunting task – bulk up to a weight class far past his natural weight, and defeat a much taller, bigger, and experienced opponent in De La Hoya; a fighter who didn’t earn the distinction of being boxing’s Golden Boy overnight. De La Hoya enters the ring tonight as the clear-cut favorite in the matchup, with his larger frame giving him an obvious size and reach advantage over the much smaller Pacquiao.

Despite playing the underdog role, Pacman has been hard at work, training in the mountains, killing grizzly bears and chopping down trees a la Rocky IV style. Meanwhile, De La Hoya has been training hard as well, albeit through a much different approach...

MILK Movie Review and "We pick and choose"

2008-12-05T01:41:00.000-08:00

Milk directed by Gus Van Sant
starring Sean Penn

Sean penn plays Harvey Milk the first openly gay elected to public office in California to the board of supervisors for the city of San Francisco. Milk was a leader of the gay political movement and was elected city supervisor in 1977. He alongside mayor George Mascone were assasinated after only serving eleven months at his position in 1978.

The acting in Milk is on point all around and Sean Penn doesn't dissapoint, but when does he ever dissapoint. Not to mention a cast filled with dope actors like James Franco(Pinneapple Express), Emile Hirsch(Into the Wild) and Josh Brolin(No Country For Old Men). Gus Van Sant does an amazing job in directing this film, the subtle as well as the not so subtle moments keep you on the edge of your seat. Being that this is based on a true story, you know from the start Milk will be assasinated at some point in the film. If your like me who didn't know much about Milk prior to watching this film I must say i came out with a better experience.

Coming from an organizers point of view this movie is inspiring in a multitude of ways. Forget that it is about gay rights for a second. If you replace the obvious gay issues that are evident throughout this film with issues pertaining to any oppressed people it would still make you feel the same way. Angry. Anxious. Disheartened. Inspired. Sad. Proud. Motivated. All these feelings bundled into one amazing movie. Of course you could call me biased since i do consider myself an ally to the Gay community, but i truly believe that regardless of your stance on gay rights you would enjoy this film. Hopefully even be inspired to start questioning your previous notions about homosexuality. I hate to be the "debbie downer" of the cool kids, but the relevance of this issue is evident when considering issues pertaining to gay marriage.

If you want to catch this film and you are in the San Diego Area it will be showing at the...
Landmark Hillcrest
3965 Fifth Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 819-0236
...or follow this link to check show times

After all is said and done i give this film 3 FISTS held high.

To end on a lighter note check this video the Prop 8 Musical courtesy of trish via myspace bulletin.

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Peace Love and Progressive Mobbin
Just Ray

Ocho Cinco has his priorities straight on Black Friday

2008-11-28T08:13:00.000-08:00

Pretty sure it wasn't even on sale at Best Buy, but maybe it was at the store he was at. Obviously, the fuss he caused over a new contract was warranted. Poor guy had to get up before 5 just like the rest of us common folk to get in on some slick deals.

[The Big Lead]

CHEERS and JEERS Thanksgiving edition

2008-11-25T12:52:00.000-08:00

- JEERS to turkey. Unless it's smothered in gravy, most of time this dry ass bird tastes like you're eating a towel.

- CHEERS to prime rib, rib roasts, duck, and any other alternative protein on Thanksgiving. Much props to the Thanksgiving chef/mom/auntie/uncle who goes above and beyond the traditional fare. Here's my Thanksgiving dinner from two years ago:

Fucking beautiful.

- JEERS to sweet potatoes w/ marshmallows and green beans with crispy onions. These are lame side dishes that smell of laziness. Usually crispy onions come from some can and well, marshmallows are marshmallows. Sorry if you have a special affinity to these items, but I am not a fan.

- CHEERS to mashed potatoes. Double the cheers if those potatoes have garlic in them. Whoever thought up the idea of adding butter and milk to such a simple starch is a genius who will also happen to have a hand in my eventual demise.

- CHEERS to Thanksgiving day football. Is there a better activity to do after eating a large meal than sitting on your ass watching football?

- JEERS to the lame ass matchups year after year. I don't know why the Cowboys and Lions are the traditional Thanksgiving teams that play, but tradition can change. Just like marriage right?!

Video Games LIVE!

2008-11-21T22:27:00.000-08:00

I just got back from the Video Games Live concert in Boston. For those who don't know, they take classic video game favorites and orchestrate the music for large orchestra and choir. While playing the music they have video clips of the songs playing in the background, as well as a bit of audience interactivity and crazy laser action.

They played the staples of the industry like Mario, Zelda, and Metroid, but they also threw in a couple of really cool arrangements. Some of my personal favorites were the music to Bioshock, World of Warcraft, and Starcraft II, but if you're a gamer there was plenty for everyone.

The man behind the operation, Tommy Tallarico, is actually one of the most important video game composers in the industry. He started out a long time ago, composing the music for the first Prince of Persia game, and then exploding from there to do the music to huge AAA titles like God of War. He is a Massachusetts native, and earlier in the week he actually came to Berklee to speak about how he got into the industry and the current trends. It was an incredibly informative presentation, and it was just cool to see someone that is so high up on the video game ladder, talk to us about how he paved his way into the industry.

The interactive sections of the concert were awesome. They had a whole Gutiar Hero thing where a contest winner got to play a song from Guitar Hero while the musicians backed him, Ralph Baer, the original creator of PONG, got to play pong on stage with a random audience member while the orchestra played little bits. They pulled a member from the audience, and then gave him a shirt and a controller, and he got to play Space Invaders on the big screen, except he was the ship, so he had to run around while shooting down the ships as the musicians played. It was all pretty incredible. We even got to see Martin Leung, the guy who plays the video game music blindfolded on Youtube, play Final Fantasy music live for us, which was pretty amazing.

In the end it was a night spent with a bunch of peers, eating and drinking, and seeing a really cool concert. Time well spent.

Best Fresh Prince ending EVER!

2008-11-17T00:25:00.000-08:00

When i think back to my child hood one sitcom really stands out. That show my friends is the Fresh Prince Of Bel-air. When some folks think of Will Smith they think of Ali, I am Legend, Pursuit of Happiness, etc. Not for me though, its all about the fresh prince. I get clowned on a lot for watching a lot of "black" movies, but no one can deny the genius of the Fresh Prince. Not to mention us brown kids didn't have any shows we could relate to when we were kids and still don't have any till this day. I've been meaning to put this post up for the longest time since a lot of times when we talk about this show this episode always comes up.

WILL SMITH at his BEST

"I had fourteen great birthdays without him, he never even sent me a damn card. TO HELL WITH HIM!"

classic.....classic

Link Dump: President, Religion, Identity and New Edition

2008-11-12T12:24:00.000-08:00

Here's what's going on in Blogfrica:

- On Spontinuity, Brother Sean puts Obama's victory into context the proper way, framed around a Fresh Prince reference: Somebody beat the young Carlton Banks to the punch.

- Over at Not So Small Talk, Kristine tussles with the moral pressures of the Catholic church.

- And at X-tra MEdium, Raf posted a few videos from ABS-CBN's Speak-Out series on Filipino identity. Ray posted one of the same videos here, but there are interesting points made on the comments section over there.

- Finally, at Waltonesque, Kuya Justin landed an EXCLUSIVE interview with the three biggest names from New Edition: Ralph Tresvant, Johnny Gill, and of course, Bobby Brown. The interview covers what brought the three together again and some words of advice for future R&B acts. That is some real access right there, you made it bro!

Top Chef Season 5 Starts Tonight

2008-11-12T06:34:00.001-08:00

Coolkids favorite Top Chef airs tonight at 10 PM. It's set in the Big Apple, so make yourself some dinner and sit your ass down to watch one of my personal favorite reality shows on television.

This commercial makes me want to run through a goddamn brick wall

2008-11-11T20:26:00.001-08:00

By now we've all seen this TV spot for Nike every Sunday. The photography, the Ennio Morricone song in the background, everything is spot on. As if you don't see it enough on television, here it is so you can come here every morning to get your blood pumping for the day.

Frustrated

2008-11-11T13:18:00.000-08:00

I am still upset at how the voting went towards prop 8. So i just wanted to drop my 2 cents once again on the issue and shed some light on something.

Arguement: Many say that civil unions are the same thing as marriage. So what does it matter?

Question: If you decided to marry someone of a different race than you, but others passed a law saying you werent allowed to, but you could have a civil union just not marriage like same race couples. Would civil unions still be the "same thing?"

Just something to ponder...

"Do on to others as you would want others to do on to you."

Unbelievable.

2008-11-04T20:20:00.000-08:00

I never thought in my lifetime...

California Love

2008-11-04T16:34:00.000-08:00

Amidst a historical election between a black man and the walking dead, California voters may get so into the presidential race that it may be easy to forget about legislation happening back home.

Fear not however, because after weeks of anticipation and constant research, I've compiled an in-depth guide to answer any questions regarding what will appear on California's ballot. Due to complex nature and the number of controversial issues surrounding each proposition, this guide is quite dense with information, so I must apologize in advance if it appears overwhelming.

A Cool Kids California Voter's Guide:

Prop 1: Something about super high-speed railways?

Prop 2: Allows chickens and other farm animals to breath, stretch, shake it, before you eat them

Prop 3: I dunno

Prop 4: Requires permission/notification before an abortion

Prop 5: Overhaul of sentencing and rehabilitation for nonviolent drug offenders

Prop 6: Mo money for the Po's

Prop 7: Something about funding green technology... could be wrong

Prop 8: A discriminatory law that takes away fundamental rights.

Prop 9-12: Not sure, lost my booklet.

Some SD Affairs:

Prop B: Opens up parts of San Diego's waterfront for development

Prop D: Further bans booze on beaches. Boo!

Happy Voting!

Kristin Chenoweth of Pushing Daisies Sings at Comic-Con

2008-10-30T20:56:00.000-07:00

So I'm done with midterms, and while browsing various Myspace's I went to Kengs and saw that he had Somehwere Over The Rainbow as his song. This promptly reminded me of my days at Comic-Con over the summer where Pushing Daisies star Kristin Chenoweth serenaded the crowd out of nowhere with this amazing rendition.

I was in like the 4th row somewhere, simply fantastic. If you're down to see brilliant storytelling, beautiful cinematography, and want to give your ears a gift with more music like this (as well as one of my favorite musical underscores EVER), then watch this show, Pushing Daisies, Wednesday nights at 8:00PM on ABC.

EDIT: There is a very informative article by E Online's Kristin Dos Santos (fellow San Diegan) about the status of Pushing Daisies and what fans can do to save it, good stuff. Read it here.

And if you don't feel like reading an article, this pretty much sums it up.

Yes, this is show business and not show friends.

Yes, multinational corporations tend to favor fat profits over creative indulgences.

And yes, the economy is the tank, so if this world ran on logic alone, ABC would surely chop up Daisies and sell the parts for scrap.

But there is more to life than filthy lucre. I have to believe that the people at Disney-ABC understand the power of enchantment, and that if magic were easy, everyone would do it. The cast and creators of Daisies are making magic and shutting them down would be a travesty at a time when we need all the hope and happiness we can get. Something as unique, beautiful and truly special as Pushing Daisies deserves a second chance.

Do the world a favor and tune in to this show! Tell your friends!

Congratulations Philadelphia

2008-10-30T00:30:00.000-07:00

The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Bay ~~Devil~~ Rays in the conclusion of their postponed Game 5 to win the World Series. I guess for Tampa Bay it was more like...postPWNED right? anyone? Fine then...

Cole Hamels is your World Series MVP. Cole is an alumnus of Rancho Bernardo High School. My brother had the honor of watching him play Mt. Carmel during his high school days. I don't think anyone I watched at Nelson and Alexand's football games became famous, but I did get to watch Aaron bodyslam a motherfucker on his head, and I guess that's better than watching a future World Series MVP.

As much as it pains me to watch another team that's not mine hoist a championship trophy, it's nice to see a city that hasn't won in a while finally get it done because I always think that people will think the same thing if we can somehow win a Super Bowl before the Chargers leave San Diego (joke!).

Philadelphia has only been in a "drought" for 25 years though, so if the sports gods feel something is owed to us, I'm sure it's coming soon! Maybe like Philly, it might come in the form of a World Series Championship.

Nevermind...

Quick Catch Up

2008-10-28T10:53:00.000-07:00

To: Adonis, Lance, Ray
From: Nazer

So I just got my absentee ballot in the mail. It came in a big ass envelope full of reading material as well as the actual ballot. I wish I knew more about the city council candidates and such (I don't get to see all the commercials for these guys, but I do get to see all the negative ads about New England council officials), but I guess it's time to do some homework. It's pretty unreal looking at this stuff, finally voting in a presidential election, just another sign that we've come a long way from sitting inside with nothing to worry about except who we want to main in Smash (oh wait we still do that).

In other news school keeps me pretty busy. Midterm week isn't as heavy as one might think, but writing four parallel lines with proper counterpoint in the form of a fugue isn't exactly everyday material. I love my film classes. We're finally getting to write music to picture, and we do a lot of analysis on film music, really informative. A couple weeks ago Joey Newman, a Berklee grad, came to talk about his experiences so far in LA. He was nominated for an Emmy for his music on "Little People, Big World" and he talked about TV a lot, which was a nice change from looking at film all the time. I've also been dealing a bit with the integration of music into video games, and Berklee actually hired a guy and created classes just this semester for this industry, I can't wait to take some of them.

I spend my free time playing video games and watching television and movies. The Mad Men season finale was a couple of days ago which was really good, and if anyone has been keeping up with Dexter this past weeks episode was seriously insane. My favorite shows of the moment are Pushing Daisies (which is on the verge of cancellation, WATCH THIS SHOW TELL YOUR FRIENDS), Chuck, and Fringe, but I've been watching literally everything else (except the CBS shows), and lots of shows are getting really good as well. 30 Rock premieres this Thursday, can't wait for that, and Top Chef comes in a couple of weeks, so that's just another hour and a half to add to my dedicated TV watching time.

I got Guitar Hero World Tour over the weekend. It's a fun game, and I've only played the guitar stuff, but it EPIC FAILS in comparison to Rock Band. The band interface is terrible, and the worst part is that if one person fails, everyone else fails, so you can't like save your band members or anything, but I'll put up a more in depth look at that later. Fable II was cool, and Gears of War 2 comes out next week, and I want to get a Gamefly account so I can play some of the games I don't want to spend $60 dollars for.

So that sort of sums it up. School, media, drinks, oh and I cook a lot now too, trying to learn and perfect my Moms recipes and stuff, so yeah I guess I'm keeping busy. Till next time.

(Oh and Super Street Fighter 2 HD Remix is supposed to come out before the end of this year, and then Street Fighter IV this winter, hella excited)

Lazy Mondays: Wallflowering at the club

2008-10-27T22:17:00.000-07:00

The Lazy Monday series is a collection of random observations and updates in my life. Things you can guarantee not to expect: quality and cohesion. Also, the other guy's randomness column had 'Monday' in it, so I thought it was a requirement.

- The great thing about Vegas is no two trips are the same. I speak as if I've been there hundreds of times even though I've only been there twice as a 21 year old and a handful of times in my youth.

Either way, not having to wait in line or pay cover at Tryst thanks to Kuya Warren's magic gave way to awkward dances, standing on the wall, and most importantly, a shitload of drinking and fun having. The best part of the weekend though was beaming with pride as I watched my Kuya Virgil graduate from culinary school with Magna Cum Laude honors. I can only hope I make my family as proud as he did two years from now.

- I don't join clubs or organizations unless you give me a title. I'll take 'Activities Commissioner', 'Hall representative', hell, I'll even take 'Staff Writer'. DO NOT WANT: 'Key Club member', 'band member', 'guy who shows up at events but doesn't really do anything'.

With that in mind, say hello to your new Vice President of the Informatics Student Association. The president and I are going to change the world...okay not really, but if you're in Informatics and you're reading this: please please please come to our events. /end begging

- When I study, I like to fuck priorities in the ass. So before starting the study process for my midterm, I chose to instead work on stuff from other classes instead. Why? For no fucking reason, that's why. I guess I look at it like a boxing or wrestling card. Put all the less important stuff first, then the real showdown begins. Hopefully that showdown starts sometime soon.

- The best part of Halloween is ~~all the girls' slutty costumes~~ the smile on the face of children while Trick or Treating.

- The Chargers are not a very good football team. Well did I lay the jinx down in my last Chargers post or what? "Build on this win" my ass. Thank the football gods for the parity in the AFC West and in the rest of the conference. We still have a chance to make a run. But first, someone get our outside linebackers some steroids. Maybe this guy knows where to find em:

Mila Kunis Is Awesome

2008-10-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

Not to detract from the recent string of serious political posts, but this was just too cool. In her interview on Jimmy Kimmel promoting the movie Max Payne, they go into a tangent about how she plays the oh so dreaded World of Warcraft.

She talks about Vent, being a Mage, being in a Guild, going on raids, the expansion packs, and more. Beautiful woman play video games too, so take this one small moment to be proud and embrace your inner gamer.

Prop 8: Don't Hate

2008-10-20T02:51:00.000-07:00

Now I'm going to try and do this without sounding super biased, but to be honest it probably will come out that way. In anyway if your opinion contrasts mine i invite you to check me and express your opinion because all opinions are valid. I especially welcome any facts that i might be missing so feel free to remind me of that. Unless intended to maliciously attack me, which will not be well received. Let us remember people that we should try an attack the idea not the person.

Enough disclaimer bs and hand holding on to the good stuff...

The spark:

I woke up this morning and went to church and to my surprise their were multiple signs promoting voting yes on Prop 8, right in front of the doors of the Church. (Voting yes on prop 8 will in a nut shell disallow same sex couples to marry in the state of California.) While I really shouldn't be surprised about how the catholic community feels about gay marriage i was none the less bewildered by all of it. If people want to vote YES on prop 8 i feel that they are entitled to do so. However, when the church gets involved in politics my mental alert goes...WTF! Aside from the whole idea of separation of church and state, i just feel that it is a bit unfair of the church to put these signs up.

How I (emphasis on I) Feel:

Realistically not ALL catholics agree with voting yes, i being one who believes that marriage between same sex couples is all good with me. I sat through mass thinking about this, which in a lot of ways distracts me from what was even going on and what the priest was talking about. I think that for the church to assume that all of its parish believes that gay marriage is wrong is kind of condescending. As if we can't think for ourselves. As i said earlier i am not surprised that the church is in favor of prop 8, but was it so necessary to blatantly put it out there like that. I think that as a catholic i am well aware of what the church views as right and wrong. Why not put up signs of fight the war on terrorism in the name of GOD. Or better yet, abortion related images intended to remind church goers what to believe in. Ok sure Yes on Prop 8 signs aren't that bad, but you get my point. I guess it could be a lot worse, the signs could read vote McCain and Palin. Sorry i had to throw that in there, no offense if you disagree.

Reality:

The church isn't going to change anytime soon and i really don't expect this to happen either. The reality is that marriage is a patriarchal institution that has been analyzed as being oppressive to women. My honest opinion is fuck marriage it is something that is just socially constructed like race and a lot of time sexuality. However it doesn't mean that the issues surrounding marriage, race and sexuality aren't real. I feel as though the "straight" world can't even get marriage right, even heterosexual catholics fuck up marriage. i.e. divorce, domestic violence, infidelity and so on and so on. So if marriage is so sacred between a man and a women why do they keep fucking it up. Oh am i hitting some nerves, i'm sorry but it is the truth. I am not discounting marriages that do work out i am just bringing out the reality that some if not most do not. It isn't to say either that if the gay community has the right to marry they would do marriage any better. But lets stop fronting like marriage is this sacred thing and we need to protect it from "the gays" because a "breeders" we can't even protect it from ourselves.

Apology?:
At first i was going to apologize for being such a debbie downer lately, but fuck that i shouldn't have to. Although i'll apologize if i hurt any feelings, but shit i can't please everyone. This could go two ways this post will either be ignored or it will spark some interesting conversation. I'm rooting for convo. Oh and before you even think about saying anything ignorant/inappropriate/straight fucked up remember to own what you say because nothings worse than someone who can't backup what they say went it really matters.

Either way you look at it love is a beautiful thing...

Nicotine, Fear and Solidarity

2008-10-14T03:35:00.000-07:00

To: Lance, Nazer, Adonis and affiliates
From: Just ray

I wasn't sure where to post this, but after reading lance's recent post I felt it made sense to put it here immediately after. I won't pretend as if I know a lot about politics, but in a lot of ways I do keep myself informed of generally whats going on. Quite honestly i don't think i have to flat out say who i will be voting come november. My background alone should give a reasonable answer to the question of "who are you voting for?" That being said, a McCain presidency truly scares me. Especially lately with all the ignorance and pure hatred that is directed towards Obama.

Truth is the stigma towards obama has always been there, news casters and political experts can argue that race has not played a factor in this election. But thats all bull shit, because it clearly has played a large factor at least in my eyes. I wont quite get into all that, but if you want to hear what i think just ask me another time.

What i really would like to get at is the fear that comes full circle all across the board. It is obvious that recent ads about Obama and Ayers clearly instilled fear into blue collar white America. Even watching the video below, where the elderly woman says she has been reading about Obama and he is "an arab" scares the shit out of me. There is kind of a dual reaction i think to all of these things. The fact that people can actually begin to believe that Obama is in fact a terrorist puts chills down my spine. It also just shows the stigma to folks of middle eastern heritage. As if the big bad "arabs" are out to get you. I know what we could do lets tell are children stories that arabs hide in your closet while you sleep and under your bed too!!!

Folks like to talk about the civil rights movement and equality between all people as if everything is all good now. As if after the 60s and 70s we all of a sudden started holding hands and singing a whole new world together. Lets be real for a second folks. Race is an issue as of today so stop acting like it isn't.
I do however give McCain a bit of credit for "defending" Obama. ALthough it was just a bit to late for all of that. Fear and racism have a sort of snowball effect. Picking up every ignorant person along the way and fusing them with stupidity.

The main thing that bothers me really is the fact that everyone seems to put a lot of pressure on Obama. Obama promises change through out his speeches, however even if he were to become president the responsibility doesn't solely rely on him. We as a nation have to take action ourselves. We can't expect him and his administration to carry all the weight. We have to lighten the load and do our parts as well. For fear of getting to carried away and ranting for way to long heres a new piece from your friendly neighborhood poet-

Nicotine, Fear and Solidarity

A lot of people ask
Why it is that I smoke
And I know
That it is a bad habit
That I need to kick

But personally
I’m not quite ready yet,

See while I’m slowly killing
Myself grit after grit

I would rather be inhaling the
Nicotine
Rather than drowning in the
Hatred

That lingers in the air
And comes and goes like the wind

And can damage your soul
The way earthquakes
Damage the earth
Like some form of
Cruel and unusual
Punishment

Punishing my future children
For simply being themselves

And I am greatful for every scar
On my skin
Because it reminds me
That I am capable of feeling something

Something rather than being numb
Numb to my senses
Numb to the pain that motivates
Me in every single solitary way

And as my heart grows heavy
I hope for a better day
But the truth is I’m walking towards it,
but every step I take it seems even farther
Away….

We fear the unknown
We fear the other
And it has us questioning

Lost human connection
Through conversation
Leave it all up to
text messaging

I hate that even though
My ancestors are island people
I am generalized as being
Chinese or Mexican

The media fuels the flame
Towards chinky eyes
And brown skin

While magazine covers
Encourage our beautiful women
To be thin

While fox news criticizes
A black candidate
On the basis of his name

Quick to jump the gun
Point a finger
And redistribute
The blame

Blame the government
All you want

When universally as a
Whole we could care less
About our health

So fuck those
Who claim their
Down for redistribution
Of wealth

When we as a people
Can hardly organize
And redistribute
ourselves

When shit goes down
We look to the highest
On the ladder

Instead of standing at the bottom
Looking each other and asking
What the hell really matters?

To afraid to dialogue
With one another,
When we need to
Figure out what’s been
wrong all along

Fighting a war on terror
In the name of god

Muslims against prejudice
all praise due to Allah

Its not that I don’t
support our military troops,
But even more
I support our underprivileged
Illitary youth

Some complain that
We have hardly have classes
Addressing people of color

Even though the support
Is hardly their from my
Sisters and my brothers

While our parents
Only solution
Is to pray for peace

When it seems as though
It becomes so helpless
That God needs to bend his knees
And start fucking praying for me

I am positively
Desperate for
A more positive me

But were too intimidated
Of our potential as a collective
Afraid of what
we could possibly be

We as a people need to
Educate, organize and mobilize
In solidarity

Fuck relying on the few
When what we need
Is many

Fuck mountains out of mole hills
Cuz all we doin’ is digging
Holes we can’t get out of
Because shits too deep

Fuck dodge commercials
Because a ignorant white girl
Told me and my friends
“Go back where you came from
This is my country”

Fuck hiding behind the crosses
We wear around our necks
Because it wont protect us from
The monsters in our sleep

I hope for the day
I can stop worrying
That my children
Will be called,
CHINKS
GOOKS
BITCHES
HOS
NIGGAS
SPICKS
BEANERS
DIKES
MONKEYS
FAGGOTS
As they walk down the street

Give me a call when your ready to make a REAL change
Because for now leave me alone and let me smoke my cigarette in PEACE.

-Just Ray

McCain's supporters are not helping the cause

2008-10-12T23:21:00.000-07:00

This was just this past Friday. It's somewhat hilarious and somewhat disturbing. Some of the press drew the conclusion that this kind of sentiment from McCain supporters is the result of the recent ads like this one, highlighting Obama's relationship with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers.

However rooted in truth the ad is, (and I have no doubt that it is indeed quite truthful) the tone of the commercial inspires fear. The kind of fear that causes that embarrassing town hall clip from last Friday.

I understand the campaign is trying to swing voters, and quick snippets that show Obama and terrorism go hand-in-hand may accomplish that. But if you run the rest of your campaign on fear, and attempt to gather the momentum of an angry mob, you might as well can these kinds of rallies and town hall functions where your supporters will make asses of themselves.

I know that a lot of McCain supporters are not like the ones in that CNN video, but at the same time, it's those kinds of people honestly scare the shit out of me.

This election is by far the most fascinating one of our young lifetimes and I was a lot more undecided than most people (hell, it took me two years to declare a major remember?). If any of you guys are still undecided or need that quick rundown of some of the bigger (and not so big) issues, I'll try to have a Candidate Dealmaker/Dealbreaker post by the end of the week.

I feel sorry for whoever sits behind me in class

2008-10-12T20:32:00.000-07:00

My new wallpaper:

A very satisfying win, a victory that I finally think we can build on. I think the best part of tonight's game was watching CoolKids favorite, Jamal Williams, tear up New England's offensive line. Our boy looks like he's finally at full strength, and hopefully our defense will be able to revolve around his greatness once again.

At this point, I would like to promise more posts, but I won't because I know they probably won't be coming. Hell, I bet no one reads this anymore, who cares. COCK BALLS SHIT FUCK DOOHICKEY SEX MILF WHORE LOOSEY SKEET SKEET!

[Kissing Suzy Kolber]

DOUCHE BAG!!!!

2008-10-02T14:33:00.000-07:00

We should have moreno vs. judd BRO OFF!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

2008-10-01T13:57:00.001-07:00

to DRANT!

The Cool Kids love sleeping

2008-09-30T02:17:00.000-07:00

Urban dictionary
Defines sleeping as:
To masturbate furiously in your room while praying that your grandma doesn't come in.

GET OUT GRANDMA! I was sleeping.
Those were sleeping noises grandma.

I think thats shits funny

Sunday Morning

2008-09-28T07:06:00.000-07:00

To: Ray, Adonis, Lance
From: Nazer

9:53 AM. Thinking about going to church, not too sure yet, the rain might get crazy. That's what bugs me about this city, well along with the weird accents and absurd liquor laws, the amount of rain I've seen in my time up here has been simply ridiculous. A couple weeks ago it was sunny as hell, then while walking home from class a storm comes and everyone, including me, gets owned by the wrath of nature; not exactly what I'd call a good afternoon.

Going out to buy groceries or pick up a six pack involves a complicated string of thoughts: what kind of sweater/jacket do I have to put on, will my umbrella be able to take this, is it cool to walk around with these shoes in those puddles, etc. It's tedious, but it's necessary, unless you're down to get wrecked by weather.

Besides all that, school is awesome. Classes are pretty challenging, which is good, and it's nice to talk about music, in a college, snobbish, geeky way, once again. My roommates are chill, but I gotta loosen these guys up a bit, they're not quite on that singing Green Day on the karaoke machine while spending hundreds of dollars on Soju level yet, but in time we'll get there.

I've been watching a ton of TV and that keeps me pretty busy. Tonight alone we have Mad Men, the season premiere of Dexter, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters, True Blood, Entourage, The FOX comedies, and I didn't even include football, so I have no idea what I'm going to do about that tonight, but we'll see. This new Ne-Yo cd isn't very good at all, kind of disappointed but whatever, and the Rock Band 2 setlist is fun as hell to play.

One month in, and I guess I can say that I'm comfortable. I'm keeping up on all my school work while simultaneously juggling many hours of TV, with movies and video games, while still enjoying myself. I've been cooking a lot too, which is fantastic because I can spend 5 bucks on a steak and have that last me 3 meals, same thing with a pack of chicken breasts. Me and my asian roommate are planning to take a trip to chinatown so I can pick up some lumpia wrapper so all these fools can eat it all, but once again we'll see. Maybe more next week, what's going down with you guys?

(Yeah I'll post when I feel like it)

This is why Rock Band was invented...

2008-09-18T22:39:00.000-07:00

Then again, this is why cover bands are still great:

Why I didn't own a dog as a kid...

2008-09-10T15:11:00.000-07:00

[The Internet is Terrible]

Coming to my wardrobe soon...

2008-09-09T12:50:00.001-07:00

Nazer, I will give you $20 to wear this shirt around town.

[Deadspin]

5 Reasons Why I Have a Boner for the NFL

2008-09-04T17:40:00.000-07:00

Football season is finally here. Earlier tonight, the Giants beat the Redskins, and I happened to beat myself off during the whole game. Football is the best and here's why:

5. Cheerleaders

I was at this game, and yes, it was wonderful.

4. Spectacular Catches

Awesome. And for good measure:

3. Big Hits

I remember jumping out of my seat and screaming like a motherfucker when that happened. Watch the whole video for the japanese commentators.

2. Fantasy Football

Two very accurate descriptions of me are 1) a nerd, and 2) a football fan. Fantasy Football is what happens when you combine the two. I'm in at least four leagues this year and God knows I'll end up last in pretty much all of them, but boy do I feel blessed when I can watch a football game AND do math in my head.

1. The San Diego Chargers

I love San Diego, and I love San Diego sports. No one makes me prouder of this place, and no one represents this city better than a 'roided up, unstoppable linebacker, a fiery quarterback who talks too much shit, and the best running back in the league who got a little emo when he got hurt in the playoffs.

...And Away We Go

2008-09-03T19:43:00.000-07:00

To: Lance, Ray, Adonis
From: Nazer

I don't mind plane rides anymore. Actually I haven't for a while now. Whenever people talk about airlines you always hear about lost luggage, crappy food, boring programming, and while all of those in fact do occur, I guess I've grown accustomed to them all.

After a long, long summer in San Diego, it's finally time to head back east, to a place where Boston sports rule the world, and mexican food (at least the way we like it) is non existent. It was an incredibly enjoyable summer, basically the ultimate four month vacation. I had my fair share of my three staples, good food, good music, and good company. Happy hour wherever in the afternoon then Santanas at night put a fat dent in my wallet and bank account, but the laughs along the way make it all worth it. Celebrating a ton of 21st birthdays, all with their own crazy stories, plus Irvine trips and Comic-Con help to complete the package.

But what did I get done in terms of work over Summer? One could say absolutely nothing. I watched a bunch of movies and television shows, listened to a ton of music, fooled around with software and played more piano this summer than I have in, well, forever. The balance of fun to (what I call) work resembled a one-sided seesaw this Summer, but honestly it doesn't really matter. We may be in college, we may be trying to forge our way into a stumbling economy, and even though our IDs say we're adults, we're still kids. We talk about video games, we fill our mouths with junk food, and I love it. I figure while we're still in school, live it up, the harsh and unavoidable real world will come eventually.

I'm looking forward to being back in the city. Being able to walk literally everywhere is a luxury that you learn to appreciate, and with the overwhelming amount of heat down here some cold air will be gladly accepted. So good luck in school, to Lance Ray and Raeizon go wild this week, and I'll see you all this holiday season, thanks for the good times.

Taking the 'Disney boner' thing way too far.

2008-08-27T11:23:00.000-07:00

Can't say I've watched the entire thing all the way through, but it's obvious we weren't the only ones fancying these hand-drawn babes.

[The Internet is Terrible]