Xenu baby strikes!!!!!!!

I was sitting around for a little while this afternoon watching a bit of my favorite 24 hour news station. I was watching because I heard some key Bush officials had stepped down and I wanted to hear the latest. To my surprise, my favorite 24 hour news station had been raided by an unholly alliance of VH1 and E! At times they even called in the blood thirsty rebels of People and US Weekly. They were relentless in their attack. Their mission was simple, and that was to make sure everyone knew that Tom and Katie had a baby! YAY! Not only did they make sure they told the viewing audience, they made sure that they told them all freakin afternoon, while all the real news was delgated to the ticker. I'm not kidding. They ran at least 6 different packages on freakin "TomKat" (If see that name ever again on a respectable news station in a serious newscast, then I'm done, done with cable news!). There weren't even breaks for real news. No Scott McClellan stepping down, not even Duke Lacrosse stories. They took every angle possible on the little spawn of Xenu, all while important, world changing news was going on. No wonder only a fourth of this country votes, well at least not for Elelctions. God for bid they miss an American Idol vote, that would be terrible.

So please cable news, never again dedicate your afternoon block of television to something that isn't actually news. A story here or there is fine, but unless that little baby cures all diseases, then it doesn't justify 4 hours of non-stop coverage.

LOST: S.O.S

This weeks episode of Lost centered around Bernard and Rose. Two characters who I feel have a really strong story on the island, and as it turns out, they have a strong story off of the island as well. Bernard and Rose aren't really featured characters, they pop up from time to time, but they have never been central to the plot of the story, that's why I was very happy to see this episode, it's been a long time coming.

The main focus of the episode is when Bernard decides to build an S.O.S signal to help try and get off the island, but he gets so worked up about it that he runs just everyone who was helping him off. He is very intent on getting Rose back home.

Bernard and Rose's flashback centers around how the two of them met and the events that led to them being in Austrailia. It turns out the two of them fell in love when they older, not when they were young like most people thought (that's what I always thought). They date for about five months and Bernard proposes to Rose. It's their that we find out that Rose is dying of cancer, and in a pretty well written scene, Bernard still asks her to marry him. On their honeymoon Bernard takes Rose to a faith healer in Austrailia. Isaac the faith healer, says that he heals people by harnessing the magnetic power of the Earth. He can't heal Rose because this isn't the right place for her, but that doesn't mean that place doesn't exist. Hmmm, maybe he's talking about the island (He is). Rose tells Bernard that the man healed her so that Bernard wouldn't keep trying to save her. While in the airport on their way back to the States, Rose drops a bottle of her medication and Locke ,in his wheelcahir, stops and picks it up for her. Meaning that someone on the island knows that Locke was paralyzed before he came to the island.

On the island Rose tells Bernard the truth, that Isaac didn't heal her, but that doesn't mean she wasn't healed. Rose says that ever since she crashed she has felt healed, and that she's scared to leave the island. If she does the cancer might come back. Bernard promises that they will never leave (another well written scene) and decides to abandon the S.O.S signal.

As far as the other island happenings. Locke is up on crutches and is trying to recall the map from the blast door, while still trying to pry from Henry whether or not he really pushed the button. Jack decides he's going to talk to the others and propose a trade, Henry for Michael and Walt. Jack takes Kate with him and the two have some good conversation, and also have a slightly corny scene trapped in a net. Kate finally tells Jack that her and Claire found another hatch (They didn't tell anybody!) and explains why she didn't tell Jack in the first place. When they get to the "line they aren't supposed to cross", Jack starts yelling to get the others attention. Nobody comes so they set up camp and wait. When night falls Kate starts talking to Jack about the time they kissed and that she's sorry, Jack says he's not, and they are about to go at it again, when something starts running at them through the woods. It turns out that it's Michael. Who looks pretty beaten up. He passes out in front of Jack and Kate and the show ends.

I really dug this episode for a lot of reasons. First off, they finally shed light on Bernard and Rose. They are really strong characters and their a love story that feels pretty real. I also like how Locke started getting back to his old self in the episode, meaning, more like Locke from season 1. I also liked the Jack and Kate stuff, their connection is one of the backbones of the show. Maybe my favorite thing that happened though is the return of Michael. He's one of my favorite characters. I have a feeling his return is going to be what leads to the big twist at the end of the season. What ever that may be (because I haven't a clue). This was also the last episode before sweeps (the big ratings period for those who don't know) So look for things to get balls to the wall crazy in the coming weeks.

The next new episode isn't until May (whatever will I write about in the next few weeks), and it's called "Two for the Road". That one I believe is about Ana-Lucia. So until May 3rd, enjoy the re-runs..........................

8/10

What I've been listening too....

Saves The Day- Sound the Alarm

I've been a big fan of Saves the Day for quite some time, and this is there first new album since there major label release "In reverie" that came out in 2003. In reverie was pretty polarizing to many STD (STD=Saves the Day) fans because of the band's drastic change in sound. It was also pretty polarizing to their label at the time Dreamworks, who subsequently dropped them without giving the album much of a chance. (I myself like In reverie). As a result STD's lead singer Chris Connley fell into a little bit of what some people call "depression". As it turns out, depression is great for writing music (see just about every song ever written). With Sound the Alarm, Saves the Day are back to their bread and butter. They've got the old label back (Vagrant), a new line-up (which I think is the best they've ever had), and a new spin on the classic Saves The Day sound. It'll make those who hated In Reverie remember why they Loved STD, and those who liked In Reverie like STD even more for their ability to evolve . I love this album and will be rocking out to it for quite sometime.

Key Tracks: Eulogy, Sound the Alarm, Bones.













Matisyahu- Youth

A born again Hasidic jew that sings reggae/hip hop/rock. It sounds crazy, and it is, but I really dig it. I won't claim to be one of Matisyahu's fans that have been following him for the past few years, I just heard of him a few months ago from a friend. He has a few live albums before this one that have had really great success (Live at Stubbs), and Youth has been selling well too. I like Matisyahu because he is something fresh, and his lyrical talent is amazing. If you listen to the album and know nothing about Matisyahu, then it sounds like standard reggae (good reggae though), but when you see the person the sound is coming out of, it places a whole new spin on the music. Most of his lyrical content is insightful to his Hasidic beleifs and also about peace and the world in general. It's really good stuff, and in the very least it'll put you in a good mood.

Key Tracks: King Without a Crown, Jerusalem, Time of Your Song.

Immigration. It's How we got here isn't it?

Throughout our country's history we have opened our doors to refugees looking for a better life. There's a reason that the Statue of Liberty reads "Bring me your tired, huddled masses yearning to be free", because that's what this country has done for the longest time. America is supposed to be a symbol of hope for those who have none, a country that can provide a better life to any individual. Not just the one's who where here first. (actually we were here second, but everyone seems to forget that).

If you have been paying any attention to the news as of late you know that this country is on the verge of a massive change when it comes to immigration legislation. There are two versions of the new reform , the House of Representatives and the Senate version of the bill (which is skating on thin ice because it assumes that both sides will be able to agree for longer than 15 minutes).

The House version is something straight out of the Soviet Union. That version of the bill states:(paraphrased of course). There would be the building of a 700- mile fence on the Mexican Border(are you kidding me!); deportation of all illegal immigrants; and it would also make illegal immigration a felony. Which I find it funny that we won't allow these people into are country to work but we would put them in our prisons and let the tax payer fit the bill. The Senate version of the bill is a lot nicer, but compared the house bill, that aint hard. The senate version states: (paraphrased again) Any immigrant who has been in the country for less than two years will be deported; Those who have been in the country longer than two years will be allowed to stay but would be required to apply for legal citizenship, which would be accompanied by an increase in amount of green cards issued. A problem with this bill is that those who have been in the country for less than two years have no options, and therefore would probably not just pick up and leave. However the main problem with this bill is also the fact that anyone who doesn't look like they are a natural born citizen will have to walk around in fear of being hassled by law enforcement, and it also poses the same problem to law enforcement who would have to waste time figuring out if someone's a citizen or not. So while the Senate version is better, It still does nothing but create more problems..

I don't think it's to much to ask for the Republicans and Democrats to actually do their jobs. This new immigration reform has only made it even more clear as to how much has not been getting done in Washington as of late. I think it might just be impossible for the leaders of our country to agree on a bipartisan solution, especially one that would uphold the integrity of this country. You know, the whole "land of the free" thing. There has to be a better way to handle immigration than simply closing the doors to America, that's not the way it should be. None of us would be here if it weren't for immigration, and it's selfish of us as a country to think that the only one's worthy of the American dream are the people lucky enough to be born here. There is a better way to solve this problem that simply closing the door to the most "free" country on Earth.

MLB Predictions

The Major League Baseball season started this week and I thought I christen it with my predictions on how the season's going to work out. Those of you who read my NCAA tournament predictions know how clairvoyant I am when it comes to sports, so take my premanitions as just that. Absolute Fact : ).

National League

East: Atlanta

14 straight division titles. I'll not pick them when they give people a reason not too (and as long as Bobby Cox is alive).

West: San Diego

This division isn't so much about who's the best, but who will suck the least.

Central: Cardinals

Have you seen Albert Pujols hit a baseball. Insanity.

Wild Card: Mets

This was a tough one. I was going to pick the Cubs, but with Prior and Wood starting the season on the DL, the brain in my head convinced me other wise. Then I was going to pick Houston, but with Roger Clemmons sitting on the fence, I don't feel comfortable picking them either. The Mets are just as unreliable, but they are too stacked to not win one of these days. I think there is something about the colors orange and blue combined with the city of New York that have made it impossible to win anything in the last 15 years. In spite of that, I see the Mets winning the wild card. If they don't, Omar Minaya and Isaih Thomas can be roomies in the witness protection program.

American League

East: Yankees

I think this is the year that Steinbrener's checkbook actually pays him some dividends

West: Angels

A lot of experts are picking the A's to win the West but the Angels haven't changed any since last year and correct me if I'm wrong, they won that division. What did the A's do. They added Frank Thomas. Eh. I'll take Vlad Guererro.

Central: White Sox

Soilid lineup from top to bottom. Great pitching too. Even though it was one of the worst World Series I have ever seen, the White Sox deserved to win it.

Wild Card: Red Sox

I think this will be the hardest year for the Red Sox to make the playoffs. The Indians are good, the A's are allright, and even the Blue Jays could challenge them. The Red Sox pitching will be their saving grace this year.

Playoffs

NL Divisional Series

Braves vs. Mets

Cardinals vs. Padres

NLCS

Braves vs. Cardinals

AL Divisional Series

Yankees vs. Angels

Red Sox vs. White Sox

ALCS

Yankees vs White Sox

World Series

Yankees vs. Cardinals

Winner- Cardinals

Well there it is, my picks for this year in Baseball. Hopefully I can remember them by the end of the season. Baseball's long, so very long season.

This is why baseball drug tests now.

Movie Time: Inside Man

Now I'm not the best source for Spike Lee commentary. I've only seen a few of his movies, and none of his "good ones", and from what I here, Inside Man is supposed to be his most user friendly outing. While I do agree that this movie is geared more towards general audiences than say uh, Malcom X, I also think that this is a freakin solid piece of film.

First off this movie is packed with actors. Denzel is solid as usual. Jodie Foster and William Dafoe are kind of under-used in my opinion, but they all sit back seat to Clive Owen, who pretty much owns the screen when he is on it.

The plot centers around Clive Owen and how he has planned the perfect robbery, and Denzel Washington who plays a standard issue detective looking to move up in the force, and he also is the hostage negotiator when Clive and his boys throw down in the bank. The best parts of the movie are with out a doubt the robbery scenes, how it all plays out is a really fun thing to watch, and has some twists that I honestly didn't see coming. The only problem I had with this movie was that it needed about another 15 minutes to explain some more things. After the robbery there is a lot of explaining that needs to be done, and it's all done a little to quickly. I needed more answers. Also I had a small issue with the choice of music Spike Lee chose for a couple scenes in the beginning of the movie. These particular scenes were supposed to be dramatic, but the accompanying music ruined the flow of the scenes. Maybe I'm just anal, but I think you'll notice too. Besides that, Inside Man was a very good time at the movies. It's a fun robbery flick with great acting, cool visual style, and enough of Clive Owen being uber-cool to last until Sin City 2. Check it out.....

7/10

LOST: Dave

After last weeks madness, "Dave" had a lot to live up too, and for the most part I think it did. While last week was heavy on giving us some island secrets, and by some I actually mean a lot, Lost got back to it's roots this week and that is the strong character drama.

"Dave" was hurley centric and focused on the time that Hurley had spent in the mental institution, which up until this episode we had only heard about, so it was good to see it fleshed out. It turns out that Hurley was in the mental hospital due to depression he suffered after a freak accident at a party. Apparently Hurley walked out onto a porch that was only built to hold 7 people and it had 28 people on it. Hurley was the last one to walk out and the porch collapsed, killing two people. Hurley blamed the accident on his weight, and he was in the hospital to deal with it. The catch is that while in the hospital Hurley met a guy named Dave. Dave always tried to get Hurley to break the rules, not take his medication , and eat, eat a lot. Then during a meeting with his doctor, Hurley finds out that Dave isn't real, Hurley is just imagining him to help deal with his weight.

The big issue in this episode is when Hurley sees Dave on the island and starts to freak out. Dave finally reveals himself to Hurley and tries to tell him that he is real, and that everything else is fake, including the island. Hurley has lost his mind enough to believe him, and he follows Dave to a cliff where he attempts to get Hurley to jump off, saying that's the only way for him to wake up out of his dream that is the "island". Just before Hurley is about to jump, Libby appears and stops him, she convinces him that he's wrong by reminding Hurley about everyone else's struggles on the island, and how they can't be fake. Libby then kisses Hurley and vows to help him out with his problems. After they walk off there is a cut back to the mental hospital, and it's Libby, who is also in the mental hospital, looking pretty nuts on top off that. So it turns out that Hurley did recognize Libby from somewhere..the mental hospital! I'm anxious to see why Libby was on the same plane with Hurley, Maybe she was stalking Hurley, that would be crazy, maybe not, who knows. Well somebody does I guess......

As far as island happenings, the main focus was the interrogation of "Henry", and he keeps digging his hole deeper and deeper. There was a really good exchange between Henry and Locke, where Henry talks about "God not being able to see this place any better than the rest of the world". Really good stuff, and it made the island sound like it has a very sinister puprose. There was some more revelation as to what Eko is building, then general consensus I'm hearing is that it's a church, which makes sense, but I find it interesting that Charlie is helping him based on his actions as of late.

Overall this was a really good episode, it had a lot of twists ( most of which were pretty obvious) but nonetheless they were really good. I really like the way the writers are giving Hurley a love interest and not just using the "fat guy" as comic relief, even though his love interest is apparently crazier than a coconut (we all know how crazy those are). I also like how Lost has turned the show up a few notches as the season comes to a close, it's been some really good television as of late.

Next weeks episode is called "S.O.S" and is Rose and Bernard-Centric, yup that's right, Rose and Bernard, and in the previews Henry metions Walt, so it should be a good one, until then......

8/10

National Championship Game......(if that's truly what it was)

Well Florida gave UCLA a pretty sound thrashing, I guess proving that they were truly the best team in a year that no team really set themselves apart at any point of the season. A friend of mine said before the tournament that anybody could win this one, and they were definitely right. Too bad in the process about 99.9% of the countries brackets were thrown off a cliff and mauled by a posse of grissly bears who afterwards set the remains on fire. It was that bad. I didn't help that the teams that ruined everyones fun this March went on to play the worst games I've seen in a final four. At least we have next year to look forward to, which should provide for some exceptional action. Here are my predictions.

My Top 5 for 2007
5. UCLA ( they were young this year, they'll be better next year)
4. Ohio St. (Have you seen Greg Oden, the man is more than a man, he's from another planet)
3. Florida (Only if Noah comes back, Sean May said he'd be back too, look how that worked out)
2. Texas ( New Frosh Durant has the wing span of a freakin Pteradon)
1. North Carolina (Losing only one starter this year, adding 4 future NBA stars, and a guy named Tyler Hansborough)

That'll do it for collge hoops for this year. Now it's onto baseball folks!