Cultural Bankruptcy

Favorite Movies of 2011

2012-01-03T02:56:36Z

Note that I said favorite, not best. These are the movies that I enjoyed the most, not necessarily the best “films” of 2011. That said, enjoy.

Hugo - Easily the best movie about movies I’ve seen in years. While that might sound a bit meta, Hugo is Martin Scorsese’s love letter to the movies. I went in to the movie blind, not knowing only that the movie took a hard left turn halfway through the movie. I won’t spoil it for you here, but suffice it to say that you will leave Hugo with a smile on your face.
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil - Doing a parody of horror films is extremely hard. It’s easy to come up with a premise, but sustaining it can be a bit of a challenge. I mean, how many ways can there be for stupid college kids in the woods to accidentally kill themselves? A lot, as it turns out.
Hanna - Not only does this movie have an amazing score, it has some of the best performances of the year. Eric Bana, Saoirse Ronan and Cate Blanchett all turn in impressive performances. Joe Wright’s direction is understated and haunting.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Making a talking ape seem scary instead of laughable is this film’s most impressive feat.
Bridesmaids - A female-lead comedy where one of the characters shits in the middle of the street. That is all.

Bands I'd Love to See Live

2011-12-31T00:40:45Z

I had a discussion with a friend recently where we talked about which bands we wanted to see live. We both made two lists, one for bands that we could actually see and one for bands that we can’t see live (i.e., most of the band is dead or they’ve broken up/retired).

Bands I’d love to see live that I can actually see:

The Presidents of the United States of America
The Who
MC5
UFO

Bands I’d love to see but can’t for one reason or another:

Black Sabbath (with Ronnie James Dio)
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Rainbow (again, with Dio)
3rd Bass
Deep Purple (the original, Mach 1 lineup)
The Blues Brothers
Howlin’ Wolf
Billy Joel (specifically, 70s coked out Piano Man-era Billy Joel)

Laugh Track: Sam Kinison - Fire and Brimstone

2011-10-25T16:45:54Z

Many people have said that comedian Sam Kinison saw himself as a prophet, which seems like an apt description considering that he was once a preacher. Think confrontational. Think fire and brimstone.

Review: HD HomeRun Prime TV Tuner - Watch Live TV on Your Computer

2011-10-25T14:15:47Z

The HD HomeRun Prime aims to make watching high definition, premium television on your computer as easy and flexible as possible.

Weekly Knowledge Dump: Tech News for 10.21.11

2011-10-22T14:09:23Z

This week had big news from Google, Nintendo, RIM and some minor news about Apple's iPhone 4S.

Laugh Track: Henry Rollins – From Music to Spoken

2011-10-17T20:45:31Z

Chances are, if you know the name Henry Rollins, it's from his time in Black Flag. Or maybe you know him from The Rollins Band? While he's primarily known as a musician, Henry Rollins is also an accomplished speaker.

Weekly Knowledge Dump: Tech News for 10.14.11

2011-10-14T19:54:21Z

The iPhone 4S goes on sale after over a million people pre-ordered the device, Google axes a bunch of lesser-known products and Roku adds HBO Go to it's line up.

Laugh Track: Steve Martin's Stand Up Years

2011-10-11T16:05:03Z

Steve Martin was the king of the world in 1981. He was the first (and at that point, only) comedian to have a stand up album that went Platinum... But then he stopped. He just walked away from it all.

Weekly Knowledge Dump: Tech News for 10.7.11

2011-10-07T16:55:48Z

Steve Jobs passes away, Microsoft axes the Zune HD and then resurrects it, the IPhone 4S pre-order rush brings down all of the major carriers websites and Google gets cold feet.

Style Notes: Headblade For the Bald and Brave

2011-10-05T14:45:57Z

Headblade offers a variety of razors specifically designed for shaving your head, so we decided to find some of the most ridiculous haircuts we could. If you want to feel better about yourself, just take a look at these ridiculous haircuts.