Mattlog

Hot Tubs

I've spent the last two nights hanging out in a hot tub. It's a beautiful thing.

Relaxing. Beer.

Hot tubs.

There's conversations you have in a hot tub you don't have anywhere else.

It's like a comfortable bath. With other people.

People you hope you like.

Cause when you don't... it's just creepy.

Matt

Buy me Some Peanuts and Cracker Jacks

I've been wondering lately where Cracker Jacks got it's name. Is this some random racist comment that has been allowed to slip through? I mean popcorn is white. I'll let you decide.

I visited the Dell Diamond last night. This is where the Astros Double "A" club plays. And, well, dammit, it was fun.

You're watching baseball, root root rooting for the home team, drinking $5 beers while eating your $2 peanuts.

It's all fun. This to me proved I just love baseball. People can trash it all they like but there's nothing like 9 good innings of baseball. The crowd, the beer, the food.

I can't hit a game without at least one beer, one bag of peanuts and a hot dog. It's part of the national past time.

And best of all it was a $5 entrance fee. Can you believe that? 5 bucks for 9 innings of baseball. Of course, I still ended up spending a good $25 on everything else but... it's the expierence of the ballpark. I saw a homerun. I saw a pick off at first.

It's all good.

PORN KILLS! Film at 11

Hey, everybody, just a heads up. Porn kills. At least according to CSI tonight.

Watching porn will not only make you Impotent with real women but will also also make you kill a porn star.

The killers will look at the dead body and say things like "In the movies she was always ready to go. But not in real life. It was nothing like porn."

And then they'll have sex looking at the dead body.

That's the way it'll happen. Just so you know.

Considering it's sweeps month for televisions I'm surprised that local CBS affiliates haven't started running stories that say as such. "Porn can lead you to kill. Tonight on 11 news."

I promise not to kill any porn stars. But I can't say the same for strippers... as Peter Griffin once said, they're mostly dead inside anyway. :)

Matt

Ep III

Listen I'm the first person to jump on EP I and say it didn't live up to the first three.

Lucas' style of moviemaking has changed since the original trilogy. You can tell that just by watching the Special Edition.

But in the end, my feeling is that it comes down to this: Lucas wants to make the film he wants to make.

Putting it in the hand of other people like THESE PEOPLE think he should is ridiculous. That'd be like putting Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back into the hands of Harold Ramis. You just don't do it.

It's his money. It's his company and most importantly, it's his story.

Do people actually think Lucas will recuse himself his own movies?

I think whether or not it should be done is a Moot point. ('specially since it's already been shot.) But it ain't gonna happen.

You have to take Star Wars for what it is. 6 movies where the last three are better than the first.

Yeah, so there.

True Romance

Movie Review Number 2.

I haven't seen True Romance in it's entirity since... well probably the movie theater. I loved this movie when it came out. I've since probably half this movie since then but not much since.

Here's things I know I now that I didn't know then.

Brad Pitt is in this movie. When I saw this movie the first saw this movie, his character ,, was something I always remembered. Like the scene where he's giving to directions to the gangsters and as he leaves says, "Don't condescend to me, man, I'll kick you ass." I hated Brad Pitt forever. Don't know why. Probably he was just a pretty boy. But 12 Monkeys changed all that. It was only then when I put two and two together that I realized I'd seen him in this film. More about Brad when I see TROY.

Tarantino wrote this flm. Seeing it know, it's obvious. But then we didn't know what a Tarantino was. Now it's unmistakable. He sold this film so make Reservoir Dogs on his own. Looks like that worked out for him.

Patricia Arquette is HOT in this movie. With her boobs everywhere she is just my type blonde, crazy and sweet. And Slater's turn as Clarence is great, you truly buy his sense of loyalty and love. You believe them to be the perfect match for the other.

Sam Jackson is in this movie! He's shot in two minutes buthe's there.

Gary Oldman in one of Tarantino's White guys who thinks he's black.

Tony Scott. This Guy.... I mean, there's few movies this guy has made that I didn't like. First movie of his I ever saw was a tiny filmed you may have heard of called TOP GUN.

From there he did Beverly Hills Cop II, Days of Thunder, Crimson Tide and the WAY overlooked Last Boy Scout.

Needless to say this ranks high in my list of movies people should watch. The script is amazing the actors are choice and, most importantly, the scene between Dennis Hopper and Cristopher Walken has got to be high on the-greatest-scene-ever list. Beautiful.

Check it out if oyu've never seen and if it's been a few years check it again. I'm espeically excited over Tarantino's commentary track. The only I think he's ever done.

Hell Just buy it.

Matt

Seriously

Here's a movie that shouldn't be made. Just shouldn't. CLick HERE to take a look.

Ah, but maybe it won't suck and I'll eat my words.

Saw Van Helsing. Good flick. I've been hearing things on and off about how bad this flick was and I think on the whole I liked. I'll give it 7 out of ten.

Mostly, I liked the conept of the movie. The Van Helsing character is awesome and so is Hugh Jackman. I think that it was poorly executed. The camera never stopped moving. I mean EVER. I was thinking that maybe when they finally kissed it stopped but I think actually the camera was doing a slow push in on them.

Anyway, it has it's moments. Kate Beckinsale was HOT. I mean, HOT. If you like her, see it just cause she looks great in her little leather... pants and leather... corset.

The Frankenstein character was true to form. The movie gave him a great characterization.

But I think the plot got lost in the action. I'm probably giving this movie too high a score because of what it could have been. But I didn't hate myself when I left the theatre so that's something.

Looking forward to Troy next... what a summer of movies we have before us.

And now... you're moment of Kate.

More thoughts....

As if this damn journal isn't filled with them.

Firstly, I'd like to say that the above pic was, well, not quite what I thought it was. I always thought that was a trash bag on the ladies car... not the guy. However as slightly disturbing as it is.... it still fits the bill... but a little less ambigous for me now.

Now, back to call in shows. I hate the phone. Before I call I have to have it in mind what I'm going to say. I don't wanna be caught off guard. So the fact I actually called a call-in show is pretty interesting. Here's why.

Firstly, the subject was actually something I cared about. Baseball. I know enough to get through a conversation. And I love it.

Secondly, I was stuck in the car. I had to drive from North Austin to S. Austin and the drive that should have taken me 45 minutes there and back took me, due to traffic, and hour and a half.

Thirdly, again the subject was something that I had already touvhed on here and new that in lurch I could always fall back on the Dunkin' DOnuts bit.

But last Sunday I founhd a show on the cable access channel, cause when you only have 23 channels you flip through them all, and it was hilarious and a call show. Next thing I know I find myself on hold. What am I doing? Another call-in show. What am I thinking.

I would never do this normally, but I find now that I spend more time alone than ever before that I actually start to do things that lonely people do. Like write on blogs and web boards and doc all in shows.

Man, I need a wife. :)

Back next week. More stuff, same uninteresting topics.

Matt

And now another MOMENT OF ZEN

The Office

I've mentioned this fine show before. But I just bought it on DVD...

I laugh.

I cringe.

Mostly cringe. It's like Curb Your Enthusiasm only worse.

Why doesn't he stop talking! Season 1 Episodes IV and V are the show at it's finest. I've only seen 2 Eps from Season 2. I'm sure that means plenty more. The show is Farkin' Brilliant!

Meanwhile, I called into a talk radio show the other day talking about the Spiderman issue. I'm glad the MLB decided to recant that. There seems to be on thing in Baseball they want to keep pure. I feel as long as they don't touch the bases or the field I'm pretty much happy.

Anyway, I called in with the complete intent of using my Dunkin' Donut DOdgers bit... but I started it off wrong.

I began by saying "What made people the most angry was, I think was the slight interference with game play. The changing of the bases." Not in my mind that I though someone might miss second base cause it was red or something. But I went to say that I thought was a bad idea and that it's commercialism at it's worst. The host then asked if what I thought too far was. For instance, he asked where should the line be drawn? What abou billboards on the back fence?

I said, :The question then becomes how distracting is it for game play. You can't afford to have a flashing sign out in center field. Or something interesting like that... and then my call was cut short as it came up on the break.

I continued my drive feeling shorted as my best stuff never got heard. After the break 2 calls later some guy made my point. But not with Dunkin Donut Dodgers which is just fun to say.

Oh well. My next call to talk radio will be better planned.

Matt

Next Time: More on call in radio shows.

But Now... You're moment of Zen. Probably the most perfect Zen Moment ever.

Commercialism

It's a love/hate relationship.

I'm a pop culture kinda guy. My vast knowledge of stupid pop culture wins me game of Trivial Pursuit. I ctach references made by other pop fimmakers. ANd that's about it.

But some things are sacred. Somethings you just shouldn't touch.

Baseball is top of the list. Why did BUG Seilig agree to sell-out to Columbia Pictures so that on Interleague games between June 11 -13 we'll see Spidey (gearing up for Spiderman II) all over home plate, the pitchers mound, all the bases and the on deck-circle? This isn't right. My baseball plates are white. Not red with a giant webby 2 in the middle. They're white and easy to see.

It was bad enough when Bank One Ballpark got a pool. But this is WAY overstepping the line. Next thing you know we'll be seeing the Dunkin' Donuts Dodgers playing the Yahtzee Yankees.

It'll be a sad day when we don't even know where teams are from anymore because we never hear their cities names.

I understanding advertising is ruling the world these days. Every makes their money hear. Google, one of the highest money making ventures in the world, earns 80% of their money from advertising.

But Baseball is sacred. It's a 19th century pastoral game. Let's keep it that way. If it were up to me the BOB would concrete their pool add more seating stop selling tofu and pizzas and get back to beer and dogs. No more ceaser salads or sushi... Beer and Dogs! That's it. Polish sausage, peantus and Cracker Jacks. Are also allowed.

And, please god, no croissonts.

This is a bad slide for baseball. It was only announced today and already I hear the bitching and moaning. Maybe baseball will finally learn to leave itself alone.

But I doubt it.

Matt

F*R*I*E*N*D*S

Apparently the Friends season finale is this week. Did anyone else know this? I mean I haven't seen commercials for weeks counting down every episode. The Special Access Holloywoods or the special Entertainment Tonights.

Man, you think they would have built this up more.

I remember when Friends began. Oddly enough it was I had my own fairly diverse froup of Friends. We would convene every Thursday night with a couple bottles of wine. We'd watch Friends then Seinfeld which would launch us into these conversations including one night where everyone was forced to mention the strangest place you had ever masterbated. I was the most boring. It had never actually occurred to me to try and do that anywhere else.

Someone mentioned while driving. That seems like the worst place to do it... course it might help solve that whole road rage thing.

At anyrate... that was a good two years of my life. That same gorup of Friends even made their way to Florida for the week. A what a week filled with DRAMA.

There's always been the giant debate over whether I'm more Chandler or Ross. I fight that Ross-ness with every fiber. I'm far whittier than Ross. I mean could I BE any whittier?

Jeff, of course, would call me Joey, to his Chandler. With all the money he's let me borrow as I pusue my acting career he's probably not too far off. I couldnt't be Joey I know the difference between supossedly and susposably. But Jeff is too dark to actually be a F*R*I*E*N*D* He'D have to be a new Friend. Like Fun Bobby after he wasn't so fun anymore.

Over the years, I'll admit my FRIENDS watching has diminished... I still caught it occasionally... it's like a true Friend... always there when you need it. But I've been watching this year careening toward the end....

Like in real life... your Friends move on. And so will they... and like a bazillion other people I'll be there on Thursday night watching the Finale. At Jeff's. Suposably, anyway.

Matt

And Now a Scary SCARY moment of ZEN.