The (I)CRVN Blog

I have a longer post in mind regarding recent events featuring noted model citizens Serena, Kanye and Joe Wilson, but I wanted to post a few random thoughts from my viewing of the recent MTV Video Music Awards.

• First and foremost…  MTV shows videos?  When did that change?
• Did noted Hollywood nitwit and potential anorexic Megan Fox really complain that the host said another actor’s name before her?
• Who is Russel Brand, and why are we being subjected to him?  Is England getting us back for George Bush?
• I was really happy to see that Madonna was able to make the Michael Jackson tribute all about her.
• A classy move by Beyonce, someone I don’t normally like.
• Lost in all the hubbub was the first “live” performance by the British band MUSE on American teevee.  FUSE has been airing their videos for years, so it’s nice to see MTV realize there’s good music out there after all.  If you haven’t heard them, they are an odd mix of Bowie, Queen, Duran Duran and Green Day.
• And then there was…  Lady Gaga.

The VMAs allowed me a chance to finally “get” Lady Gaga.  Clearly, she is the current generation’s version of Madonna: oddball Monroe wannabe who with the right computer and producers can churn out passable music.  While I won’t repeat some of the harsher comments I saw about her appearance on the show, I will say that it took some interesting work to have her at one moment dressed as the Phantom of the Opera, and at another moment look like the love child of Bjork and an Ewok.  It took a lot to make Pink’s Cirque du Soleil like performance look completely normal or boring, but Gaga managed just that.

Clearly there is something wrong with Kanye West.  No matter what you think of what he says, there is something wrong with his wiring that goes beyond someone being a jerk.  Consider this along with his “Bush doesn’t care about black people” outburst during the Katrina fundraiser and you have evidence of a deeper problem.

Whatever the results, the VMAs were the quintessential American program: all about the spectacle rather than substance.

Nicely done, MTV…  You made us forget about the music once again.

As I mentioned earlier, the family’s been battling a pretty heavy-duty virus for a long time now, and I am finally getting a moment to post some notes from the past few weeks (yes, weeks).  So, of course, I’m now fighting a doozy of a migraine, too…

In no particular order:

• The fact that the Bush administration’s last act was to triple the tariffs on Roquefort cheese imports is just ridiculous.  Not only is it a blatantly obvious retaliatory strike against the French for their banning certain hormones that are regularly injected into US beef, it’s also a really nasty move when you consider that the county of Roquefort’s economy is tied greatly to the export of the cheese.  Hopefully, in time, President Obama will reverse the tariff or at least reduce it so that this cheese can once again be imported at a reasonable rate, helping both the county of Roquefort and my cheese trays.
• Did any of you watch the NHL Super Skills competition prior to this year’s All Star Game?  Why were there cheerleaders?  And for that matter, did they all have to have such large breasts?  Was this Bettman’s way of making sure that he – for the day at least – wasn’t the biggest boob in the NHL?
• Many people were upset at the inauguration speech of President Obama, hoping for the next “ask not what your country can do for you” moment.  I for one am glad, and I was quite pleased with Obama’s speech.  It was direct, said what Obama believed needed to be said, and lacked the one thing that the previous administration had been shoving down our throats for years: catchphrases.
• I saw a picture of Amy Winehouse recently, and in all sincere honesty, my initial reaction to the photo was that Jamie Farr had really let himself go.  My apologies to Mr. Farr.
• Did anyone else catch the news that one of Bernie Madoff’s victims was an author who was working to release his latest book while being swindled by Madoff?  The title of the book is (and I swear this is true) Annals of Gullibility: Why We Get Duped And How to Avoid It.
• I saw a blurb recently about Heather Mills (the ex-Mrs Paul McCartney) that made me wonder if she’s just incredibly stupid.  She apparently cannot figure out why she’s become so popular with single men.  She thinks that it’s because she’s comfortable with herself.  I would think the $40 million she netted in the divorce helps.
• Get ready for Palin 2012.  Nitwit of the North has formed “SarahPAC” to help build a “better, stronger, and safer America in the 21st century.”  Right.  I’m not too worried.  First, Alaska is one of the hardest hit states in this recedepression, and secondly, PACs don’t tend to get Neiman Marcus Gold Cards.

That’s all for now.  Drive home safe.

A few things to make note of:

• First, I’ve lightened up the commenting restrictions.  If the spammers return, I’ll figure something else out, rather than restricting the ability to comment.
• My daughter started pre-school this week, and has since earned a new nickname.  I will post photos and a story or two, more than likely on Thursday.
• The second part of the ICRVN Year in Review should be up by the middle of next week.  This week has become screwier than expected.
• More root canal fun tomorrow, right before work, no less.  Yay.
• Are the people claiming Lady Gaga is the next great artist in Pop music the same people who believe that Yoko Ono is merely a misunderstood genius?  A blind hunter would shoot both, mistaking them for wounded animals!
• It’s a shame that the passing of Pat Hingle was linked to his work in the four mediocre 80s-era Batman films.  Hingle produced much better work earlier in his career, far better than the mere cameo-esque work required of him in the four Batman films, the first series to relegate the Commissioner Gordon character to an afterthought.

A couple of goofy moments from recent teevee and web-video viewing:

• On American Life TV, a recent episode of Fixing Dinner featured the use of a spice mixture called (I’m not kidding) “Graham Masilla.”  I’m surprised the host wasn’t shot by an angry Indian on site.
• One of the funniest lines in recent memory comes – unsurprisingly – from Alton Brown from his description of fried chicken he ate on his second Feasting on Asphalt tour.  According to Brown on the web series Serious Eats, it will be the only fried chicken he ever eats again, because it “was like Colonel Sanders, pole dancing.”  Now that’s an image that’ll stick.

One more item if interest:  My friend De has started another blog, Best Picture Derby, in which he plans to watch at least one film nominated for Best Picture every other day.  Great idea, and a perfect use of the “blog” concept.He’s just started, so by the time summer rolls around he and I can get into a debate over the 1935 Academy Awards…

See y’all later…

Hi all,

First and foremost, let me give thanks for my wife who has done so much more than necessary this past year since the problems with my back and leg surfaced.  I also want to thank my daughter for being her usual Squirmese self.  Thanks also to my mom who has her own health problems, but has done well for herself in light of our inability to be more than emotional support of late.  I also thank my mother-in-law who has rolled well with all of the screwy changes to scheduling due to these health issues.

I also need to thank my boss and co-workers at the store for pitching in and covering me while I was out, and for letting me keep the job considering the screwy economy.
Thanks to Anthony for providing a nice, mindless, but fun wager on football to give me something else to focus on.

Thanks to the people that voted for the democratic ticket for showing that Hope has…  Hope.
Now, on to less serious things to be thankful for this year:

• Sarah Palin, for providing the first presidential election spoiler in years not named Ralph Nader.
• Ed Brubaker, for the best continuing story in comics in years, The Death of Captain America.
• Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr, for the best movie of the year, Iron Man.
• Flight of the Conchords, for the best audio release of the year, the soundtrack to their TV Show.
• Elizabeth Massie, for her usual great job on an established mythos, with her story Corazon de Oro, from Tales of Zorro.  (Can’t wait for her story for The Phantom: The Ghost Who Walks.
• M*A*S*H and Mission: Impossible reruns, for my anytime viewing while I’ve been recovering.
• NCIS and Chuck, for being the best shows on broadcast television.

I can’t think of anything else at this point, but I’m certain I covered both the important and the not-so-important.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone…  Enjoy your tryptophan!

One of my favorite musicians of all time is Peter Gabriel.  He is a fantastic lyricist (bordering on brilliant), and a breathtaking musician who utilizes sounds from across the globe to help construct a song that is beautiful and memorable.  He tends to get overlooked these days, and critically, most tend to focus on his bouts with depression, or the early Genesis years when he integrated his theatrical background into concert performances.

No, critics tend nowadays to fawn all over Jack White.

Why?  Honestly – can someone please tell me why?

Jack, most often with his wife/sister/whatever drummer Meg, has produced some of the silliest excuses for “music” I’ve heard!  I get better lyrical transitions and melody work from Slick Rick!

Seriously – If I hear one more critic declare “Seven Nation Army,” with it’s monotony of sound and simplicity of lyric, as one of the greatest songs ever, I’ll swallow my MP3 player.

Now White comes along, paired with Alicia Keys (overrated songwriter, underrated musician) for what is easily the worst Bond theme yet.  Madonna may now step down from that honor.

Bond themes are reflective of the times in which they are recorded, and the selection of musician also reflects the times.  Hands down, the greatest Bond theme (aside from the instrumental guitar twang we all know) is clearly Goldfinger, belted out with gusto and a trace of humor by the fantastic Shirley Bassey.  The next greatest could be argued as A View to A Kill by Duran Duran.  Even one-hit-wonders A-Ha managed to create a theme better than the actual movie with their entertaining Living Daylights (they got the joke, Dalton did not).

White and Keys have debuted the single for Quantum of Solace, “Another Way to Die,” and it is simply dreadful.  Typical Jack White, it features rediculous lyrics (I’m sorry – repeating “shoot ‘em up bang bang!” is not clever songwriting) and an uninspired melding of piano (thanks to Keys), guitar (White), and horns, resulting in a dissonant wreck that were it a meal would be featured on Dirty Jobs.

Seriously – how is Jack White popular?

I remember a story once told by Bob Seger that I usually adhere to: he and a bandmate were sitting in their car well before their first record contract.  Some song came on and the bandmate reached for the radio and said “turn that crap off!”  Seger swatted his hand and said: “No, no…  They got on the radio, and we haven’t.”  Essentially a message of respecting the work and effort put in to getting on the radio, I usually live by that, and simply ignore songs or artists I can’t stand.

However, with White, I simply cannot understand the phenomenon, and anything anyone can say to help me out, it will be very much appreciated.

Maybe not agreed with, but certainly appreciated.