Salad Is Slaughter

I’m relieved that I didn’t come out the same as Pharyngula.

Your Theme Song is Back in Black by AC/DC

“Back in black, I hit the sack, I’ve been too long, I’m glad to be back” Things sometimes get really crazy for you, and sometimes you have to get away from all the chaos. But each time you stage your comeback, it’s even better than the last!

I belong to an email list on Yahoo where Sharks fans can discuss games, play armchair GM, critique players and coaches, etc. One of the discussions in one of the lulls between games was the general entertainment experience at HP Pavilion during Sharks games. We all go to the arena to see a hockey game, but I agree with the people who say that the incidentals during the game just aren’t there any more. And I think you can trace the loss to when the Sharks shit-canned Director of Event Presentation Jason Minsky late in the 2002 - 2003 season.

Jason may be best unknown for wearing a Shark costume and rappelling from the arena roof. After shedding the SJ Sharkie costume he provided the fans with between-play entertainment that was original and edgy. The videos the Sharks produced during his tenure showed a great deal of imagination and creativity. Sometimes times he used poor judgment and danced over the edge. The professionally offended never liked what he did, but people with a sense of humor enjoyed it. Rumor had it that Jason went over the edge one too many times and was shown the door.

What do we have now? Bland, unimaginative, inoffensive tripe. The entertainment not only isn’t edgy, you can’t even see the edge from where they sit. It used to be that when the Jumbotron started showing video before a game, you watched. You wanted to see what they came up with next. I can’t even confirm that they still show videos before the players skate out because I stopped paying attention. I don’t bother watching the Jumbotron when the play stops either, because I know that there’s absolutely no chance that they will play something that I want to see.

SJ Sharkie has also become dull. He used to rival Calgary’s Harvey the Hound. Not any more. After the silly string, Sharkie’s pretty much done. If they got rid of Sharkie, that would be an improvement.

My biggest complaint this year is the music. They ripped out the organ and now play 100 percent canned music; about 5 percent are recorded organ standards. Enough. Put the organ back in, hire a good organist, and have live music between plays. I don’t want to hear rock, rap, country, jazz, top 40, blues, big band, or what ever else is on their play list blaring at top volume. I want background organ music that I can hear but won’t interfere with conversation.

Oh, the Sharks are up 3 games to 1 and will most likely advance to the second round. Just think how pissy I’d be if they were losing.

Technorati Tags: hockey

Normally we don’t buy a DVD before we’ve had a chance to rent. We’ve made that mistake in the past and ended up with crap like Lost in Translation and House of Sand and Fog. But we were at Costco with a rebate check burning a hole in our pocket so we bought a few. We viewed two of the movies this past weekend, and this time we didn’t get burned.

Walk the Line A Imagine, in the late fifties in Texas you could have gone to one show and seen Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly, Elvis, and Jerry Lee Lewis in the same show in a small theater. It must have been amazing. Walk the Line illustrated that while showing the life of Johnny Cash from boyhood through stardom. The movie did a good job of showing how the loss of his brother and an unloving father influenced his actions later in life. Musically, the young boy was influenced by The Carter Family on the radio. I immediately picked that out because we have several Carter Family CDs. Joaquin Phoenix (Cash) and Reese Witherspoon (June Carter) did an admirable job of singing. However, the closing credits had a song sung by Carter and Cash, and you could immediately hear the difference in power and voice quality. This was a good movie, but it could have used more songs.

Good Night, and Good Luck A Back in the olden days, television news organizations hired people because they were good investigative journalists. Today, reporters get hired because they have good hair. In the olden days, television news had hard-hitting reports. Today we have infotainment. Good Night, and Good Luck subtly pointed that out over and over. This movie focuses on Edward R. Murrow and his exposure of Senator Joseph McCarthy and his witch hunts. Good Night, and Good Luck feels like you’re watching actual events. It’s riveting and chilling. For some reason I kept thinking of John Ashcroft and George W. Bush. Oh, and your TV isn’t broken, and the DVD is not defective. The movie is in black and white.

Technorati Tags: movies

Did I miss a memo?  Are Trey Parker and Matt Stone punishing Comedy Central for caving in to the terrorists and not showing the Mohamed cartoon?  The show with Towelie and Oprah was the absolute worst they’ve ever done.  I want those 30 minutes of my life back.

Technorati Tags: television

Looks like Comedy Central caved in (or as South Park stated, “pussed out”) to the extremists and sacrificed the First Amendment to Political Correctness. In other words, they didn’t show a cartoon of Mohamed. I’ve got a stern letter to Comedy Central and the sponsors in me, I just don’t know if I’ll get time to write it, then find the correct email addresses. Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t South Park already show Mohamed as a cartoon? It was in the David Blaine episode. I thought Mohamed was one of the Super Best Friends, along with Jesus, Moses, Joseph Smith, and Buddha.

Last nights Sharks — Canucks game was one of the worst officiated hockey games I have ever seen. The refs should have just donned Vancouver sweaters. I hope that the increased holding and interference that I saw last night doesn’t carry over in to the playoffs. Congrats to the Sharks on clinching seventh place.

Is it okay to laugh at the Jewish jokes from last week’s War at Home? They were very funny, probably written by a Jew, and the character was Jewish. I guess that means it was okay.

Even though Comedy Central pussed out, last night’s South Park was one of the best ever. It had everything, even fart jokes. Terrance and Phillip not laughing at the CBC president’s fart had me rolling.

Technorati Tags: television, hockey