Summer Movie Jams

The summer movie season is in full swing I got to see a few of the hits.

Star Trek

The Onion said it best with the headline Trekkies bash new Star Trek film as "Fun, Watchable." This movie was good and I hope the nerds weren't mad because it wasn't technical enough about the Star Trek universe. J.J. Abrams created his own version of the show and characters, and got the screenwriters to pen a classic boy-in-footsteps-of-father theme. That's pretty much all it took to get a blockbuster hit.

On the social side, I wonder how the father-son theme plays with young males. I know a guy who I thought was a prime candidate for that movie when I saw the previews. He's searching for his father in everything he does. He's lost and I feel bad for him sometimes. I knew he'd be drawn to this movie. Just as I suspected, he thinks it's the best movie of the year. I don't think it was the special effects or the great scenery that got him.

I think he was thrilled to sit for an hour and a half and see a character conquer every young man's biggest fear; will he be able to stand in his Dad's shoes and succeed. Many young men are afraid that they won't be fully actualized into the great men that they think they can be, or that their fathers were.

We need stories like Star Trek to remind us to keep fighting and believe that we can be just as good as our Dads, or better. That theme will be used over and over. Hopefully, moviemakers will put it in their movies to help guys figure out their way. But I'm afraid that most movies will use it as a gimmick to lure unhealthy men into the theater. They know how broken guys out there are, and they can capitalize on it. That's the only thing I didn't like about Star Trek. It felt fake. The father-son theme was thrown in there because it hits so deep with young, scared men. They will flock to this movie and not know why they like it so much. It's not the effects, it's not the acting, it's the temporary freedom from fear.

T-Swizzle

Taylor Swift and T-Pain are great in a spoof they did for the CMT Awards.



"Wait... I didn't even say anything."

Sorry, yall. My internet's been down for a week now. I'm trying to get it back up by this weekend. How's the world been treating everyone? I'm good. I'll update you as soon as I can. Gotta run back to class now.

The Race War Will Not Be Televised

This country will never get over the race thing. White people have messed themselves up forever with that slavery thing. The new police shooting story is case in point. story

A white New York cop is under investigation after he shot and killed an off-duty black cop.
This is only a big story because a black officer was shot. I don't get what the big deal is. Everyone agrees that shooting mistakes happen. And since there are now almost as many black cops as white ones, it's a mathematical certainty that a white cop is eventually going to shoot a black one.

Of course we don't hear the stories of black cops accidentally shooting white ones (as if the racism could never be reversed). And we don't hear about the black cops shooting other black cops, as if there's no way people of the same race could not be racist towards each other.

We are living out a corny movie plot. There's still this romantic notion of the black man rising against the injustice of the white man that is poisoning the way the country works together. It's probably because the romance sounds much better than the simple fact that most cops are stupid and unqualified and make stupid mistakes sometimes.

What's so crazy about the idea of mistaken homicide, anyway? How come black people can't recognize that mistakes can happen towards them? It's insanity to think that black-on-black mistakes and white-on-white mistakes are normal, but as soon as a black guy gets shot by a white cop, it's automatically considered to be purposeful and racially motivated?

There's got to be something else going on that's making us so short-sighted. Black people are still mad as hell about the past. We can't get over it. We never will. White people are unforgivable. They can vote for a thousand black presidents, we will NEVER get over it. We will hate white people for EVER.

Its funny because I could imagine every statistics professor pulling his hair out with stories like this one. It is guaranteed that a black person will eventually be accidentally shot by a white cop. Guaranteed. No emotions, just simple math at work. If a blind robot was given a gun and started shooting down a crowded street with 500 white and 500 black people, it would only take about eight shootings to guarantee that a black person was shot. Is the robot racist? Would anyone posit something so stupid? Maybe they would if the robot was replaced with a middle-aged white guy with a buzzcut.

Even knowing the odds we still can't stand the fact that a black person was killed by a white man. It hits us deep down. We will never get over that no matter how many math lessons we get.

Hey Look Who It Is

I got to meet one of my comedy idols on Sunday. I was wandering around Cityplace and saw Andy Dick's name on top of the Improv marquee. I was mad that I missed the show. But then I saw him standing at the door trying to get back in. I said wehat's up to him and we chatted about the Adam Carolla podcast he was on and his web show "House Arrest." He's a cool guy. Now I just have to meet Scarlett Johansen and the Mighty Putty guy.

Ignorance Is Bliss

I had to unsubscribe from the Palm Beach Post news feed. Way too depressing. I know it's the truth about what's happening around town, but I seriously don't want to hear about it. From the first day I signed up about a week ago I have read the saddest and creepiest stories of stuff happening around town. I drew the limit today when I read that a school bus driver was fired for not doing anything when a high-schooler raped a pre-school student on her bus. First off, Why did she not say anything when a student was being sexually assaulted on the bus. And secondly, high-schoolers are raping four-year olds now? Wtf West Palm Beach!? story

Bless Us. Or Else...

The president has to say God Bless the United States of America at the end of every speech. Why does he have to do that? If he's saying it because he really loves America and its really on his mind, the fine, say it. But I don't think that's the situation. I think he's forced to say it to shut up the idiots who would think he's unpatriotic. Why are people being that stupid. Leave the guy alone. He doesn't have to say I love America every damn second or else he's a communist.


Obama wore a flag pin over his tux at his inaugural ball. It seemed so out of place. He's a stylish guy, I don't think he wore because he wanted to. Some aide probably advised him that it would be best. Was it like that for George Bush? I don't remember for sure, but I don't think he had to prove how much he loved America every minute of the day.

I would just say "Thanks for having me, have a good night. Pack up your shit, and make your way to the nearest exit. And God bless my patience for having to deal with you retards."

You Watch That Show? Why?

The Grey's Anatomy season finale just aired last week. It was a good season. It's hard for me to tell people I like that show. I mostly don't care, but people really hate that show. I get the most puzzling looks from people whenever I mention it, so I just stay mute about the show usually. I really think it's a good show though. And it gets much more flak than it deserves.

It's kind of a continuation of my growing appreciation for fiction. You ever heard someone say, real condescendingly, something like "I don't read fiction. I'm more of a non-fiction type person. There's so much to learn about the world; why should I waste time reading made up stories." I know about it because that's what I used to think.

We say that about books, but we'd never say the same thing about tv or movies. There are many stories that we've heard that have taught us more about life than any textbook or instructional manual. No one can say that the Godfather didn't reveal truths about human nature. Or that Shawshank Redemption can't teach a lot about life. These are vastly made up, fictional, make-believe stories, that absolutely tell nothing but the hard truth. I have found great value in fiction lately.


Grey's Anatomy is largely a fictional world. But the tendencies of human nature are intact. And when the show really does it well, they end up revealing more about true life than the best documentaries I've ever seen.

Okay so they lay it on real thick sometimes. And it does get way too syrupy sometimes. And yes, the Izzy Stephens character has the weakest story lines and makes the show very hard to enjoy sometimes. I know, I know, it can be real corny sometimes. But I think the occasional corniness is well worth sitting through because of when they do it right. When they line up the stories, the images, the music, and the characters together perfectly, the show is unlike any other that I've ever seen.


I've had an experience with that show that I've never had with any other. The particular show had some theme: guilt, forgiveness, or something like that. They set it up nicely. They started driving the point really well. They flipped it around and looked at it from a few different angles. Then they drove it some more. And at one point, I couldn't believe that i was watching something that good. My eyes and ears couldn't believe that a tv show could talk about a certain subject so well.


I never really care about the shows I watch. They're just shows to me. But I have spent many nights thinking some questions that were brought up in Grey's. You can't just watch it and turn away and forget about it. There are questions that the show asks you that you sometimes don't have the answer to. It forced me to think many times about what I really believe about the way things should be. I appreciate the show for that. It has challenged me to think about some serious shit. What other show does that? Seriously think about what show forces anyone to maybe rethink their reality on a weekly basis? I can't think of any other, and until then I'll keep enjoying my show.

Mrs. Officer

A man got pulled over by a female police officer. She ordered him to exit the vehicle and said, " Anything you say can and will be used against you." He replies, "Breasts."

I've had an unusual amount of run-ins with cops lately. None of them hot.

Are You Worth It?

Simple question: When you meet someone, do you expect them to like you or not? Yes? You sure? What about if its someone you REALLY want to meet. A hot guy or girl, a celebrity. Would you EXPECT them to like you? My prediction is that most of us will crawl into our minds and over analyze what we do and say when our feelings are on the line.

One thing researchers have noticed is that the most attractive people are the ones that expect good things from life. Maybe those "Secret" people were on to something. When you approach someone, they will usually take cues from you as to how to behave. People have a keen sense when it comes telling if someone likes themselves or not.


The old dating advice, "Just be yourself," isn't good enough. If you're just some shlub living in his mom's basement playing Warcraft all day, don't be yourself. Be your best self. We all have an image of ourselves in top form. Maybe it's an experience we had where we were the in the zone, fully confident, and at our peak. Too bad it doesn't stay that way. It seems hard to conjure up that moment again. Cause if we could, we'd be "the man" every single day.

There may not be a magic mojo pill yet, but we can start by appreciating ourselves. We can start by treating ourselves better. To stop with the negative thought loops and start believing in ourselves. Most of us aren't as bad as we think.

I went out and had great night in terms of meeting new women. Funny thing is, the only thing different I did before I left the house was making a determination to be nicer to myself. I didn't compare myself to anyone. If I said the wrong thing, I didn't say to myself "that was stupid." I told myself it's okay. I gave myself a lot leeway to just enjoy myself and let things go good or bad.


Be nice to yourself today. You deserve it. Go out. Have fun. Laugh at those that are consumed with anger. By following these steps you are giving yourself permission to be the happy, confident, sexy person you know you can be.