Throwing out Some Press

I know that my blog doesn't carry around the greatest pull, but for all the Phillies fans of this blog, I recommend The Phils Blog. One of my good friends, Josh Semless, recently started this blog as a summer project, and he's been doing a great job with it. It's updated often, unlike some other blogs you may read (Three Quarters Left), and provides a smart, interesting perspective on the Fightins. It's a nice alternative to the recently horrenous PhilliesNation, which has been highly disappointing since the departure of its most prolific (and best) writer, Tim Malcolm. Even if you just like baseball and not the Phils, give it a read. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

- Kaps

Song of the Day: Johnny Cash - God's Gonna Cut You Down

Porn Names

At work today, my manager asked me a really important question:  "Jeff, do you know your porn name?"  He went on to explain how there's a formula to arrive at any person's porn name, were he or she to venture into the business.  I really didn't need much of an explanation though, since I had been playing the porn name game since junior or senior year of high school.  For those of you who don't know, your porn name is your middle name followed by the name of the street you grew up on.  For example, my porn name is Lou Jacamar.  On the porn name scale, I give it an 8 out of 10.  Any porn name that uses a phrase that can be construed as sexual is always solid (e.g. jack, rub, dick, etc.)  Some people have really terrible porn names, and others of you will find your porn name hilarious.

Of all my friends where I'm aware of both variables to their porn name, I have to give the crown to Kanad.  His porn name of "Rio Sandpiper" is far and away the best name I've heard.  Could be a porn star, could be a European footballer.

So I ask all of you loyal readers out there, what is your porn name?  I'll award a champ after all of you post.  My prediction, less than 4 postings.  Should be a fierce competition.

Editor's Note:  The man in the picture doesn't have a porn star name, but he certainly freakin looks like one.  I'll let you non-NBA fans guess who.

- Kaps

Song of the Day:  Jay-Z - Brooklyn's Finest (feat. Notorious B.I.G.)

Movie Review: The Hangover

When I first saw the previews for The Hangover, I thought it looked atrocious.  I had no interest in seeing it, and had passed it off as another stupid comedy that I would be skipping.  As the weeks passed leading up to the movie's premiere, I had been hearing increasingly solid press about it, and my interest began to pique.  Once people I know saw the movie, all of whom praised its glory, I decided I needed to see The Hangover.

I went in with decently high expectations, especially after hearing the comparisons to Superbad, the gold standard of modern day comedies.  After 22 minutes of previews, the movie finally began.  The opening scene was interesting, showing the characters in the middle of the action instead of progressing through the action naturally.  I'll admit it, I was intrigued.  I don't want to give away too much of the movie, so I'll hit on some key points about the rest.

Zack Galafinakis was funny as Alan (the fat brother-in-law), and it was good to see that his character took on a little bit different development than the traditional funny fat guys.  However, he came up a little bit short in his humor, and wasn't quite able to carry much of the movie on his own.

Ed Helms (Stu) really stretched his range from the lovable Andy Bernard on The Office to...playing Andy Bernard's twin brother named Stu Price.  Literally, the exact same character as he plays on The Office.  I could almost hear him say, "That was an over-re-ac-tion."  Had some funny moments, but his character was very predictable.

Bradley Cooper (Phil) played the typical douche bag friend.  Didn't add all that much to the movie, but definitely was necessary to keep things moving.  I'm guessing the girls will enjoy the shirtless scene.

Heather Graham's boobs still look fantastic...but on the other hand there was way too much dick in this movie, which has become a disturbing trend in comedies recently.

All in all, the movie was very funny.  I laughed throughout, and enjoyed the story.  There were a few classic moments, especially with the baby and the gay Asian guy, played by Ken Jeong (Knocked Up neo-natal doctor).  To me, he completely carried the movie when he was in it, and I found myself laughing hysterically every time he was on the screen.  I also enjoyed Mike Tyson's cameo, and enjoyed the way he made fun of himself.

Compared to Superbad, The Hangover really wasn't close, even though I did enjoy it.  There's simply not enough classic moments, not enough laughs, and it won't retain much quotability to land it in the upper echelon of comedies.  I would recommend seeing it, as it will definitely entertain you for 100 minutes and keep you laughing throughout.

Grade:  B+/B

- Kaps

Song of the Day:  Clipse - Grindin

Nsync - Girlfriend (Remix)...The Most Influential Song of the Last 10 Years

Betcha that headline raised some eyebrows.  No, I'm not crazy.  I can make a good case for the Girlfriend Remix being the most influential song over the last decade...and I'm going to prove it.

Let me take you back to a simpler time, a time when most of us were still awkward high schoolers, well let's face it, most of us still are.  The year was 2002.  NSync had just released "Pop," the album that had no shot at living up to the record breaking success of "No Strings Attached."  The teeny bopper girls still ate it all up, but the album didn't have the same feel as No Strings Attached.  Quite simply, America's tastes were changing.  The Backstreet Boys were completely removed from the scene and were nowhere to be found.  Christina Aguilera was a full-fledged whore, and Britney Spears's act was starting to get old.  Bubblegum pop was dying, quickly.

While "Pop" didn't quite have the same success as "No Strings Attached" it did churn out some #1 hits.  One such hit was the Girlfriend Remix, featuring Nelly.  It was played often at high school dances, proms, and clubs, and received a good deal of play on the radio.  Pop song, lots of play, featuring rapper with a band-aid on his face, whatever, to be forgotten about forever.  Now let's revisit the 6-12 months following the Girlfriend Remix.  NSync broke up, and everyone thought they would never he heard from again, especially that douche bag with the ramen noodle haircut.  Not so fast.  18 months after NSync broke up, Justin Timberlake released a solo album...and the first single featured Clipse, and was produced by Pharrell, and was reviewed in Vibe and XXL.  What the fuck?

Starting to see the connection here?  Without Nelly bringing that little bit of street cred to the ultra boy band, JT has no shot of ever doing a record with Pharrell and Clipse.  Once Pharrell produced for him and he was featured with Clipse, there was no looking back.  He's since done tracks with 50 Cent, Snoop, and TI, been produced by Timerland and Pharrell, hosted the MTV Movie Awards and SNL, has fucked every hot celebrity in Hollywood (including Jessica Biel), and is unquestionably the biggest male celeb in pop music, and one of the biggest celebs period.  And let's not forget about "Dick in a Box."

How did all this happen?  You guessed it, Girlfriend Remix was the catalyst.  Without that song, there's no telling where JT would be right now.  My guess, probably hanging out in Memphis with the Memphis Cheaters, I mean Tigers, basketball team.  Instead, he's one of the most influential people in pop culture, while his band members are coming out of the closet and appearing on Dancing with the Stars.  I could make a sequel to the post about how the song was one of the top 3 influential moments in hip-hop as well.  But I'll let you all argue that one out.  Peace.

- Kaps

Song of the Day - NSync - Girlfriend (Remix) featuring Nelly