Now, I'm not one to be taken in by one-sided documentaries, but there is one that has caused me to reassess my dining options on a regular basis. Yesterday, I watched Morgan Spurlock's documentary "Super Size Me" for the first time. Dealing with the issue of healthy eating habits and regular fast food consumption, I understand that much debate has been given to what affect such fat-laden food has on obesity in America.
My stance is this, personal responsibility trumps any advertising or marketing campaign by any food producer. People can simply say no, but millions choose not to. All because people get fat off of their own ambition does not place blame on the restaurant that serves the food, but the individual that decides to overindulge themselves. Just like you can't blame tennis shoe manufacturers because some people that wear their shoes can rob a gas station and run off in a pair.
However, one thing that I do detest about this entire process is the blatant marketing towards children. This doesn't concern me if it deals with a product and it's particular store location, but when food and drinks are placed in schools from K-12 that do nothing but sugar and fatten up their captive consumers, these standards and practices are nothing more than unethical. In a learning environment, children should be reinforced with good and positive choices for all areas of their lives, and if they leave out of health and fitness only to see a huge, lit-up Pepsi vending machine, the reinforcement for the lessons learned in the classroom get immediately lost the second the child steps in the hallway.
Thats my opinion on the matter at least. To find your own on the matter, why not watch the entire the documentary for yourself. Enjoy:
Well, it's been almost a week since I downloaded Fastball's newest album, "Little White Lies" and I've had enough time to absorb most of the songs to give you all a little review of what I think so far about it.
Starting off, if you look fondly upon the catchy, guitar-driven powerpop tunes of the late 90s-early 2000s, then this album will certainly not disappoint. Seemingly recapturing a simpler time in music, the band throws off the status quo of rock groups nowadays (heavy use of piano and pulsating clashing cymbals) and instead lets guitar riffs and melodies speak for themselves. The following are a few of my favorites from the album.
1. All I Was Looking for Was You - the first track begins with a simple solo guitar riff. The lyrics seem to reflect the aging of the band as they reflect becoming wiser when it comes to life and their choice in the opposite sex.
2. The Malcontent (Modern World) - a catchy lament of living in the present while being sick of it at the same time. Coming from the perspective of the band, they are reflective of their past successes while at the same time riffing on the celebrity status' that occupy their industry and how little that has changed since their initial work and that continues now 10 years past their entry.
3. Little White Lies - the title track's riff evokes a toned down similarity to those of Franz Ferdinand minus the dance floor pace. Lyrically, it deals with lying to oneself over the girl they can't forget or obsess over.
4. White Noise - nearing the end of the album, this all-out rocker will certainly leave skeptics of the band with a mild headache as they recover from the reverb and blistering harmonies.
Overall, if you are a diehard Fastball fan like myself you will certainly enjoy this album. For those who are looking for some rock music that doesn't make you want to go out and buy Emo gear, this album will also be a welcome reprieve from the mundane. For a good time, and to forget that you are in fact living in the modern world, this album is definitely for you.
Buy the album, but until then, enjoy this live version of "All I Was Looking for Was You":
Beyond the obvious reasons why I'm looking forward to the end of the school year is a more blatant excuse for wanting the days to go by quickly. That excuse is the newest album release by the band Fastball on tuesday April 14th. The album, "Little White Lies" is the band's 5th release and their first since 2004.
My admiration for the band goes back to 1998 when I first really discovered MTV and their video for "The Way" got my interest. I later bought their album from the same year, "All the Pain Money Can Buy" only to hear that one song. But in recent years, I have listened to all of the songs on the album and now realize how great the band truly is. Now, they haven't had as big a project since 1998, but subsequent releases still delight hardcore fans like myself.
As part of the "Power Pop" musical genre, their music has edge but also has catchy melodies to keep the listener in full gear for sing-a-longs in the shower or on long car rides. I readily anticipate waking up on tuesday, going to the itunes store, downloading the entire album, and listening to the entire thing as my day of work and projects progresses. As soon as I have time to process and listen to the entire album, I hope to post my review on here for all to see.
I'm sure this will be a good one, I got a warm, fuzzy feeling.
In my second report on my childhood obsessions, I look back to a glorious time slot that doesn't exist anymore: Fox Kid's Weekday Afternoons.
Used to be, when I got home from school I could count on a few things to always take place. First, I would shed my shoulders of my backpack, thus relegating my homework to a later point in the day. Second, I could look forward to a snack to get my blood going again after a boring afternoon of learning. And last, but not least, I could look forward to a block of TV that introduced me to some of the greatest shows of the 90s. Between 3 and 5pm each weekday, Fox Kid's came into my living room and took me along with Batman & Robin to fight villains like Mr. Freeze and the Joker. Or I could laugh along with "Life with Louie" or "Bobby's World" (incidentally, these are the last shows that I liked that had any association with Louie Anderson and Howie Mandel.)
But, out of all the afternoon distractions that this block of television offered, the absolute hilt was the Mighty Morphing Power Rangers. This show blew me away. For years, I made sure to be at home to watch the rangers fight and defeat a new evil monster every afternoon. I had the video games, the toys, the playing cards, you name it I had it. But the greatest thing that a fan of the show could get was to meet the rangers in person, and that's what I got to do.
Belks in Fayetteville was holding a promotion where Tommy (Green/White Ranger) was coming to the store to sign autographs. Being my favorite ranger, I about peed my pants when I heard that I would get to meet this hero of mine in person. As an added bonus, Billy (Blue Ranger) tagged along to the delight of us ranger fans. The day of the event, the store was packed out with children and their parents, meshed together to create a frenzied sea of youthful zeal for our costumed heroes from Angel Grove.
As I approached the platform to meet the Rangers and have them sign my card, I could not speak. I stood there and just looked at them signing autographs. I was literally star struck. Now, since that time I have met several celebrities. I've ridden a elevator with Emmit Smith, gotten my picture with one of the Statler Brothers, and even attempted to follow Jimmy Carter into a bathroom for the chance to meet him. But no matter who else I meet in my lifetime, nothing will ever top me being in the presence of my childhood hero, Tommy the Green Ranger.
As soon as I got a premade autograph from both both Billy & Tommy, I turned to step down from the platform. As I turned towards Dad, who was waiting for me, the crowd erupted and flash bulbs started going off like crazy. As I turned to see what the commotion was, I saw Tommy and Billy standing on their table doing karate moves.
One of the things I most enjoy about my leisure time are my guilty pleasures, the majority of which come in the form of TV that is far from normal or mainstream. From the Golden Girls to paternity tests on Maury, shows like these help take my mind off any lingering boredom. And for a day like today, with no class and bad weather, nothing could help clear the boredom like MTV's "Fat Camp."
Having both been fat previously and worked at a camp, in this documentary I joyfully cringe at the many awkward and ridiculous moments that these kids endure on screen. From wannabe pimps to downright lazy kids, the whole spectrum of fat, ignorant, annoying, and spoiled yankee children are documented for the 2 hour special.
I question I always ask myself when this airs is, "what purpose is this serving?" How does that documentary help promote healthier lifestyles and better attitudes for the millions of obese teenagers when all they see are teens who don't take the program seriously and have bad attitudes during the entire course of the series. Instead of focusing on the determined teens who follow the program, conduct themselves appropriately, and lose & keep the weight off, the "experts" at MTV (where they don't even show music videos anymore) decide to turn this experience into nothing more than a laugh at fat kids documentary.
So, if you really want to inspire a media-addicted society of teenagers into actually taking proactive steps towards a healthier lifestyle, don't subject them to a reality show that demeans the entire process. I would just like to know what happened to the MTV I met for the first time in 1998...
Well, today I will begin a series (not continuous) on memories from my childhood. This isn't particularly about any one thing, moment, etc. but spans whatever I can remember as having a big impact on my life. Today, I will begin my series with the one reason why I want to visit Japan: Godzilla.
Now, my initial fascination with the monster from Tokyo Bay came by accident, as I stumbled upon classic Godzilla movies not because of their content, but because of their price. After buying a few of these movies, I became entranced not only with the monsters but with collecting more and more of these action-packed, costumed, over-dubbed movies.
The era of Godzilla films that I have collected spans from the first movie, in 1954 to the last Godzilla film in 1995. Now, since that time more Japenese Godzilla movies have come out, but I don't count them as worth collecting or watching right now as enhanced computer effects have cheapened the franchise by taking away the magic that only physical props can add to such movies.
So, in the era of 54-95, I have all of the movies released (somewhere between 25-30) with the exception of Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster, a movie dealing with the ills of pollution in early 70s Japan. Oh, and I only have the VHS of these movies, I refuse to buy the remastered DVDs of these films. So, if you have any VHS' of the one movie I don't have, please feel free to send it my way.
Until I get to Tokyo to see it myself, this'll have to do
Right now, its the early morning hours of March 29 and I have just returned from Campbell's Spring Formal in downtown Raleigh. Luckily, the weather held out for us and traffic was no problem at all, thus making the night even more enjoyable! But as all of the fun and excitement was occurring, there was one thing I couldn't shake off of my mind. Why the heck are we dancing?
Now, this is nothing new. People have been dancing in various ways and for various reasons since the beginning of time. Some people danced to please the gods and receive rain for their crops. Others danced in joy of enlightenment and a fulfilled spirit. Still, tonight, all and one danced for one common purpose: to get their freak on.
I have no rhythm whatsoever in my body. To give you a hint, I got thrown off by the Twist tonight during the formal before I caught myself and tried to fix the problem. I've tried to be a better dancer and find my 'groove', but all efforts have been perilous thus far. I'm sort of glad though that I don't have rhythm or dancing skills. Because of that, I've never had to try to impress anybody with my moves, because they know up front that I have none.
I'm ok with being talk, lanky, and unable to groove and move to the top 40 hits of right now. Give me a good song to sit back and listen to without using my legs and I'll be just fine.
