June 27, 2007

The Bronze Break

Parker and I are going on vacation tomorrow but we shall return Monday night. So I will leave with some announcements:
1. The "Comics This Week" feature has been retired. However, whenever I read a graphic novel or Trade Paperback collection of comics it will be reviewed.

2. There will no longer be a free song of the week.

3. A new feature "Wisdom From The Bronze" will be launched officially next week in an effort to fill the void and to provide entertainment with Parker and I's average wit.

4. I will no longer be wearing pants when I blog.

5. Parker shaved his head.

6. I will now be reviewing concerts. This will be a rare feature as I can only afford to go to a handful each year.

7. I will no longer be attending concerts whilst wearing pants.

8. Making announcements is fun.

June 22, 2007

Free Hospital Music

Matthew Good's next solo album "Hospital Music" will be released on July 31st. However, on June 29th if you go to www.matthewgood.org, you can hear the entire album for free. I recommend to those who have not listened to him before to check it out. A few songs have leaked already and they are superb so the album should not disappoint. Also just check out his site for kicks as he has the best blog going.

Sicko

I'm a big fan of Michael Moore's documentaries (Roger & Me, Bowling For Columbine and Fahrenheit 911). Many critics and politicians claim he is very biased and spins stories in his favour. I disagree, all of his concerns are only human and he presents his points in such a way that you can make up your own mind about it. Also, he makes the most entertaining documentaries ever. Each of his films has moments of hilarity and strong emotion (be it anger or sadness) and a few shocking revelations. However, even if you are one of those Moore haters, it's hard to knock Sicko. Maybe you disagree about gun control or about George Bush but if you disagree about health care you are either a retard, a soulless bastard or a money grabbing politician (oops I think i was a little redundant there). Sicko compares the health care system in the US to that of Canada, Britain, France and even Cuba. The findings are both shocking and heartbreaking. There is no argument here, only devastating truth. The horror stories from the States compared to how well we Canadians do and how other countries do even better is unbelievable. We get to find out who benefits from the health care system, with politicians making hundreds of thousands of dollars. Despite this movie being about health care, through an encounter with Cubans towards the end I realize something else. The US has distorted our perspective of the world's people. Maybe this is why we could care less about people in third world countries. This short segment of the film filled me with anger and sorrow to an extent no other film has reached. For those that have seen the movie "V For Vendetta", the horrors the British government is responsible for in the film are not far off from those of the US government. Also, V For Vendetta's catch phrase rings true as well, "People should not be afraid of the government, the government should be afraid of it's people". Moore teaches us with the help of some Americans living in France that the reason things are great in France is because of protests. In France, the people fight very hard for what they want and they get it. All Americans need to do is follow suit. It's up to the people to shift the balance of power between them and their government. Hopefully this movie makes a difference, maybe things will change. That's what Michael Moore wants. He's doing something to help make that happen. Why aren't we?


Sicko will be released in theatres on June 29th

June 18, 2007

Free Song of The Week

Hey Kids! Free Song!

Here's one of my faves off the new White Stripes album...

Conquest by The White Stripes

June 15, 2007

Comics This Week

Reviews of comics released on June 13th, 2007...


DMZ #20 (Vertigo)
Written by Brian Wood, Art by Kristian Donaldson

The latest DMZ story arc "Friendly Fire" has been the book's best since it began. This latest issue falls a little short of the first two entries if only because of the guest art. Donaldson steps in with a much more cartoony style which is fine, but not for DMZ. The regular art is rough and lends to the mood and style of the writing. However, this is another brilliantly written issue, setting up the next one beautifully. I don't think Wood has made an arc where every issue is fantastic, but if he follows through on the next two, that will change.


Fables #62 (Vertigo)
Written by Bill Willingham, Art by Mark Buckingham

Fables is the best comic on the shelves. Willingham continues to have his story evolve to an inevitable all-out war between our beloved fables in Manhattan and Ghepetto's armies of the homelands. This book has wonderful characters, it is sometimes dark but almost always has a strangely light tone accompanying it. However, Fables is getting very intense and this may be the most exciting point of the story so far. In an issue with pretty much a bunch of talking, Willingham gets your blood pumping with anticipation for the epic story in the horizon.

June 12, 2007

Free Song of the Week

I recently discovered this song and it's amazing....Enjoy.

Waste of Paint by Bright Eyes

June 11, 2007

Parker's Post #3

Hey, Hey, Hey all you (expletive) (expletive)'s! I realize that in the theme of keeping this blog family oriented I should not cuss or swear, because if I were to learn that I had warped some small child's mind i would feel just pretty damn shitty now wouldn't I? However then I realized that no small children actually read this, and I was all like, "...huh...". So screw you kids! If you don't want to read dirty words like poo, orgy, stupid-head, boobs, bum, bum-crack, bum-hole, ass, ass-face, hooker, concubine, nuts, shit, crack-whore, and various other body part related words, and if you don't want to read phrases like "your momma is so fat...", or, "man, gonorrhea itches like a...", than I strongly recommend you don't read what you just finished reading. you're a very dirty person. For shame.

Moving on. Just 3 days left of school and then I'm done! Oh and Adam too. congrats there palio. But I'm more done. So...Ha. I apologize. I am beginning to ramble, because I really have nothing to say, so I'm going to develop a topic right now...and...Go.

What's the deal with the vegetables? Seriously, they get their own compartment in the fridge and everything. Why should vegetables be given special treatment over other food products? sure they're chock full of vitamins and nutrients, but what about dairy products. they contain nutritive goodness like calcium and vitamin D, but nooooo, that's not good enough to warrant their own special bloody pull out drawer in the fridge. I personally think vegetables are playing us all for fools. I mean, look at celery. What the hell has celery ever done for us? We can't even digest that shit. And shit is what it becomes, because it just passes right through us. We don't even retain calories from it. In fact if you only ate celery, you would die of starvation. So I ask you, my fellow human beings, Will we take this lying down? No! We shall rise up at the evil, repressive fridge drawers for the segregation they impose upon our food groups. I ask you, are not all food groups created equal? Is not protein as necessary to life functions as vitamin C? Rise up brothers and sisters of the new order, rise up and take back from the veggies that which we have worked so hard to create! For I have seen the future, and it is a future in which asparagus and cream cheese walk hand in hand through a new garden of Eden, a garden that has been man made through advanced engineering and mechanics, a fridge without plastic constraints. A fridge of peace and understanding, so that the age old battle between good and evil, right and wrong, veggie and dairy, comes to an end, and a new generation of some kind of cross bred dairy/veggie freak of nature can rule the fridge, and one day, even the counter. And the first step towards this new world is removing that damn slide out drawer that makes the freakin' green pepper so pretentious. Screw you green pepper! I'll eat your children! That's all I have to say about that I guess. And Adam if you never want me to write on here again I'll understand...

peace

June 09, 2007

Hostel Part II

Hostel was an odd movie. The first half was pretty much porn, but the second half offered a terrifying yet intelligent horror film. With Part II, filmmaker Eli Roth has avoided another first half of porn and opted to go with strong characterization and a more interesting story. The film adds to the "Hostel mythology", letting us in on lots of secrets behind everyone's favourite vacation, which of course is killing an American in Slovakia. Instead of just torture, we discover more and more, while in a way, wanting to know less. The business like fashion that everything is being run is scary in it's own right. Speaking of torture, there's less of it here, but when the couple scenes occur, Roth raises the bar again. The one thing that stands out in Part II is that we get to see inside the minds of the killers this time. The movie follows two men in the States all the way to the torture room. During this journey we are presented interesting characters, and while we are not giving every little detail about them, Roth presents them in an indirect style which lets us put together the pieces until the shocking climax. Eli Roth proves again to be a director with enormous potential, and some of said potential has already been realized. Hostel Part II ups the horror, suspense, the story, the characters and now may have in his hands a "Saw" like franchise. The difference? The Hostel movies are brilliant.

June 08, 2007

Grrr Arrgh

It's been a long time since I reviewed comics. In the last 3 weeks, only 1 issue came out I wanted. However, this week, I have no excuse, but I swear my comic reviews will return next week. Also, I plan to start reviewing graphic novels and trade paperbacks at some point.

June 03, 2007

Free Song of the Week

This week's free song is Matthew Good's brand new single "Born Losers". His new album, "Hospital Music" will be released July 31st. He plans to tour acoustically this september in Canada, USA and possibly overseas.

Enjoy.

Born Losers

June 02, 2007

Knocked Up

Knocked Up is a comedy from the guys responsible for The 40 Year Old Virgin. This includes director/writer Judd Apatow and Vancouverite Seth Rogen. Like "Virgin", this is a much longer comedy than usual, something I like but others feel strongly against. Rogen plays 23 year old unemployed stoner who manages to hook up with a girl, played by Katherine Heigel, who is way out of his league. After disappearing from his life the morning after, she returns in 8 weeks to tell him she's pregnant. They decide to get to know each other to try and make it work. Knocked Up is hilarious, crammed with dirty jokes about sex and even pinkeye. However, what makes Apatow's films special is that they contain genuine, overwhelming heart. The movie is surprisingly well acted by it's two leads, especially Hiegel. The film has a even more serious undertone than "virgin", with several scenes that are almost only dramatic acting and situations. Seth Rogen establishes himself as the next big thing with his unique style of comedy and his easy to relate to personality. The movie's last 20 minutes or so fall short of the rest of it, but overall Knocked Up is a great comedy that shouldn't be missed.