Clarification

Hey Everyone,

There is something that no one cares about besides me, but it really bothers me and now you're gonna hear about it. The phrase:

"Luke, I am your Father."

Is never spoken in any Star Wars movie. In Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back Darth Vader corners Luke and says...

Vader: "If you only knew the power of the Dark Side. Obi-wan never told you what happened to your father."

Luke: "He told me enough! He told me you killed him!"

Vader: "No ... I am your Father."So there you have it. The line "Luke, I am your father" was never spoken. Now I can sleep soundly at night, and you go back to not giving a damn. Thanks.

- Rob

The Death of A Hero

On December 1, 1955, Parks, a then 41 year old seamstress, was riding a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama. After a long day of work Rosa Parks was on her way home, riding a public bus, when a young white male* (as opposed to gentleman) demanded she give up her seat and stand in the back of the bus so he could sit down. Well, she refused, and if you believe it, she was arrested, put in jail, and fined $14. But through this atrocity, progress was made. Mrs. Parks' act of courage sparked a bus boycott that crippled Montgomery, and eventually led to a 1964 Federal Civil Rights Act that banned discrimination in public accommodations. We are truly lucky that there were, I pray still are, people like Rosa Parks, who will stand up fight for equality and justice in this country.

Rosa Parks
1913-2005
Rest In Peace

One

One

Is it getting better, or do you feel the same?
Will it make it easier on you, now you got someone to blame?
You say one love, one life, when it's one need in the night.
One love, we get to share it
Leaves you baby if you don't care for it.

Did I disappoint you or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
You act like you never had love and you want me to go without.
Well, it's too late tonight to drag the past out into the light.
We're one, but we're not the same.
We get to carry each other, carry each other... one

Have you come here for forgiveness,
Have you come to raise the dead
Have you come here to play Jesus to the lepers in your head
Did I ask too much, more than a lot
You gave me nothing, now it's all I got.
We're one, but we're not the same.
Well, we hurt each other, then we do it again.

You say love is a temple, love a higher law
Love is a temple, love the higher law.
You ask me to enter, but then you make me crawl
And I can't be holding on to what you got, when all you got is hurt.

One love, one blood, one life, you got to do what you should.
One life with each other: sisters, brothers.
One life, but we're not the same.
We get to carry each other, carry each other.
One, one.

Rocky VI

Hey Everyone,

UGH! What the hell is wrong with people? More to the point, what is wrong with Sylvester Stallone? The Associated Press is reporting that Rambo has just signed a deal to make Rocky VI. The horror.

Apparently, in the film, set to begin filming next year in Philadelphia and Las Vegas, Stallone makes a comeback (another one) as Rocky.

It appears that Stallone, and the filmmaking geniuses at MGM, decided that a logical plot line would be for a 59 year old boxer, who has been retired for 15 years, to make a comeback "for the competition, not to win".

These people need to learn that the past is just that, and you can never go back. Let it go, don't ruin the movies we love anymore than you already have. Sure, it may be your movie, but when you make it and put it in theaters, it becomes our movie too, and you don't have the right to tarnish its prestige and mystique by trying to extend it past its natural life. The Rocky series is over and there is nothing left to add. Accept it.

P.S. I've never been a Rambo fan, but Stallone has signed on to make Rambo IV too. He should just retire or come up with some new ideas.

- Rob

NASCAR

Hey Everyone,

Recently, I've been watching NASCAR. I know, it's weird, most people think that I'm the type of guy that would be a big football or basketball fan, but in all honesty, I don't like basketball at all and football...meh, I could take it or leave it. I do enjoy baseball, but as for the major sports, that's about it.

Anyways, NASCAR. Now, I know what you're saying..."But Rob, you always made fun of NASCAR, you said, 'it's just a bunch of rednecks driving in a circle for 500 miles'." Well, you're right, I did say that, but....here is comes...I was wrong.

Wow, that was hard to say.

But I was. It turns out there is a whole lot more to NASCAR than meets the eye. For one thing, did you know that all different raceways are different? It's not like football or basketball where every stadium is the exact same dimensions. In NASCAR, every track is different. There are short tracks, long tracks, oval tracks, tri-oval tracks, road courses, fast tracks, slow tracks, etc.

For example, Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Florida, is a 31 degree banked, 2.5 mile, tri-oval track (an oval with a bend on one straightaway). Conversely, Martinsville Speedway, in Martinsville, Virginia, is a traditional 12 degree banked, .5 mile, oval track. Watkins Glen International, in Watkins Glen, New York, in a 2.45 mile, road course (it is not circular, but has right, left, and hairpin turns, like a road would.

This is part of what makes NASCAR so interesting. You watch any two event during the season, and you get to see a completely unique and exciting race.

Anyways, there is a lot more to NASCAR than 43 hicks driving around in circlees, for one thing, it's not just a southern thing anymore. Of the top 50 drivers this year, only 16 are from the former confederacy, and nine of those are nearing retirement. It is the fastest growing sport among blacks and latinos. NASCAR fans make slightly more money a year than the average American, 40% of their fans are women, and that geographically, NASCAR fans are distributed basically the same way around the country as the general population. New York City will likely host a race soon. That's right, NASCAR in NYC. This season, there was a road race in Mexico City, Mexico.

I've recently heard someone describe NASCAR this way: "It's like chess, you can learn the basics in ten minutes, but you can't master the intricacies in 10 lifetimes."

The more I watch NASCAR the more interesting it becomes. For example, did you know that two cars driving bumper to bumper can actually go faster than one car driving alone. They call it drafting. By cutting down the wind resistance on the second car it actually pushes air forward, into the first car causing both to go faster on less fuel. Very cool.

And did you know that there are actually teams of cars! That's right. Using maneuvers like drafting and blocking, two or more drivers can actually work as a team to win a race!

Anyways, the point is; there is more to autoracing than meets the eye, so don't be stupid like me and degrade something you don't understand. Check it out, and then decide if it's stupid or not.

P.S. I'm not yelling NASCAR, at you. The name is an acronym for National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.

- Rob

Video Game Prices

Hey Everyone,

I don't know how up to date you all are on video games, but there are big happenings going on right now. Microsoft is about to release their new console - Xbox 360 - in November. In addition, many anticipated games have come out or are coming out around the same time, both for Xbox and Xbox 360.

However, despite my excitement, I am disgusted by the ridiculous prices these companies are charging for their products. For Example, the Xbox 360 starts at $299 dollars. That's $300 dollars for a video game console. That's not even so bad, I mean, I could live with that, but then they sucker punch you for $50 plus dollars every time you want a game for the system. That's right, $50 dollars for one video game! Where do these people get off? It's highway robbery. I mean, I know that's not so bad for some people, but think about the key demographic for video games, males age 12-22. How many people from that group have $50 to plunk down every couple months for a new video game? Not too many. Why is it that some industries can't seem to charge a fair price for a good product. Why do they have to rip people off to the point where people are driven to stealing the product because they can't afford it or because they don't believe they should have to pay a ridiculous price for it.

Maybe if the music industry realized this, they wouldn't be getting ripped off by file sharing on the internet. I kinda feel it's wrong, but then again, if they want to be cheap, we can be cheap right back. Fight fire with fire.

The movie industry is wondering why they're taking a bath in ticket sales. Gee whiz, I wonder if it could have something to do with them blatantly sticking it to their customers. Maybe if they charged a reasonable price for tickets and a reasonable price for snacks, people would come back to the movie theaters. I say; it's their own damn fault. They dug their own graves then jumped in.

Anyways, all I'm saying is when you push people far enough, they're going to start pushing back.

- Rob

The Big Man

Hey Everyone,

If you know me well you probably know that I watch a lot of television and movies. There is a huge number of actors I despise (I tend to be very cynical), but only a few actors I truly respect. I want to write about them all eventually, but it's harder to articulate why I appreciate and respect an actor than I thought it would be (I have a blog about Paul Giamatti that's been in draft forever, it was supposed to be my second blog ever, but I'm still working on it). I'll probably write about most of them eventually, but for now it's John Goodman.


Most people know John Goodman from Roseanne, where he played the blue-collar working class dad. This is where I first came to love his acting.


I guess in a lot of ways it's impossible to explain what it is about John Goodman that I like so much, but I know that part of it is how he is able to act naturally upset, happy, confused, or angry. He does simple things that make his acting powerful, things you would never even notice unless you took the time to sit back and actually think about what he is doing.

There are plenty of episodes of Roseanne where Dan is supposed to be yelling at the kids, or angry with Roseanne, or for some other reason, agitated. The difference between the way Goodman acts angry and the way most actors do it, is that he acts honestly angry. When you're angry, you don't think about what you're saying before you say it. John realizes this, that's why, when he's yelling, he stumbles over his words, and says simple stuff like "oh come on!". Sounds obvious right? It's not. Most actors actually do the opposite, if you think about it. When they get angry, they seem to have a speech prepared, they miraculously come up with well crafted argues and insults, and deliver their lines like they are delivering a public service announcement. I'll admit that a large part of this is probably the way the dialogue was written, but still, he delivers well crafted lines better than most other actors.

Another reason Goodman is one of the best is the way he effectively acts confused. And this isn't like Paris Hilton acting confused, for her it's probably not hard, but John Goodman, believe it or not, is actually extremely intelligent. Most people don't realize that Goodman has a B.A. in drama from Southwest Missouri State. Anyways, he does simple things that sell him as being confused, like darting his eyes around the room, or shifting in his chair, or rubbing his face, instead of just saying, "duh, I'm confused".

He has a wide range of work. This is a double-edged sword, on one hand, he has done some great work, but on the other hand, he has made some really stupid decisions (like leaving the Roseanne to pursue other project). The good part though, is that he is not content to be type cast and he is willing to be take a role where he is not the lead actor.

John Goodman has hosted Saturday Night Live 11 times, more than any other host besides Steve Martin. He has worked in television, movies, music, and even on Broadway.

He has tried just about every role you can think of; a blue-collar worker, Babe Ruth, the King of England, a gay construction worker, a Mafioso, the President of the USA, Fred Flinstone, and even voice-over work, including his work on Monsters, Inc., and Father of the Pride. He was also the yellow m&m in the commercials.

If you haven't seen much of John Goodman's work, you should definitely check it out, you will be blown away when you realize how talented an actor he actually is.

- Rob