Thursday, June 26, 2008

Facebook Stole My Wingman

Alright so I've been catching a lot of flack for not updating this more often. I will try much harder but between work, naps on the bus (instead of reading/writing) and MGS 4 as well as Summer Blockbuster season I simply have no time. Oh and I have actual human friends I'm expected to interact with. And one of them actually inspired this post so I guess talking to other people has its advantages.

We are the Facebook generation. Or MySpace, whatever your particular poison happens to be. For me it's Facebook so
we'll stick with that for now. Everything we know about each other seems to flow directly from these two "social networking" sites. How you network with people from a computer screen while you look around nervously to make sure your boss doesn't catch you is a mystery to me but whatever.

The big draw of these sites is that you can "catch up" with old friends and acquaintances that for whatever reasons you just haven't maintained a steady connection with. This is called Facebook stalking.

In my experience people don't really use Facebook to reach out to those whose lives they're curious about. And why should you? Wanna
know where your former high school crush is working? Check her work info! That jerk who dumped you right before prom? He's now backpacking through Europe and you can follow along on his adventures by checking his albums! Check his website section and you'll find a link to his blog detailing the wonders of loose European women!

Truth is we've become a far more isolated society than we used to be and Facebook helps us keep it that way. I don't actually care what the
guy who lived down the hall from me Sophomore year is up to now but it's nice to know I probably make more than him and that his new girlfriend might be a man. Through the wonders of Facebooking I learned all this while watching Top Chef and looking up funny quotes for my away message. We truly live in wonderous times.

But Facebook can also be used for evil. Recently I became single (ladies, take note...please don't laugh) and my friend and I made plans to be each other's
wingman. We even talked about 'goals' for the summer. During this time there was a girl he was hanging out with (pretty cool, don't blame her for what happened next) whom I was suspicious of. Suspicious because I was fairly certain this girl (while very cool and fun to hang out with) had set her sights on my future Iceman (this kid can't pull off a Goose). For a week my fears were allayed, "Don't worry dude, I'm single."

Then one fateful night I log onto Facebook as I do every 15 minutes only to discover his relationship status had been updated! Betrayed does not begin to describe my feelings at that moment as I watched my plans of an awesome summer of Barney/Ted (HIMYM reference) hijinks go out the virtual window of my soul, chased by a single heart on my news feed.

He'd become one of them; an untouchable.

He'd even gone so far as to list the person he was in
a relationship with! Now, being "In a relationship" on Facebook basically tells the world you had a one night stand who turned out be clingy/your friends will hate you if you don't date her for at least a week or 2. Being "In a relationship" and having a NAME attached to it...well you might as well be engaged.

I'm 22 years old going on 23. While a fair amount of people I went to school with are getting married (scary, I know) I'm still not at that point in life where I'm checking fingers for rings. No, I check Facebook. So does everyone else so effectively w
hen you list your significant other on your relationship status you are putting a face to the person who will kick anyone's ass who tries to touch you. Worse; if you're friends with both people you can say good bye to Wall flirting because you will find your Virtual Pet dead under mysterious circumstances.

I've since learned to deal with the fact that I am now wingman-less and am able to see the bright side of mini-feed hearts. While a single bright red heart brought to an end my summer visions of buddy awesomeness another news feed alerted me that the really hot girl in my Junior-year poli-sci class had updated her status to 'Single.'

And as we all know, in the world of Facebook when relatioship status goes from non-existent to single it's time to let the "healing" begin.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

"You wouldn't like me when I'm hungry...hungry? That's not right."

Long absence and again I apologize. But here's my The Incredible Hulk review to bring a bright ray of sunshine to your barely tolerable lives. 


From the opening credits this film grabs you. As the names roll you're treated to a retelling of the Hulk origin story. Much like Spider-Man 3 the 
scenes play out in live action but they are done so much better here. You're actually drawn in and there's some suspense and sense of dread.

I don't want to go to far into details of the plot but as the film opens we know Bruce Banner is a man on the run. He has adapted and learned to blend in as much as possible into the culture of his new home, Brazil. His Portuguese is poor but passable and he's attempting meditation to keep his temper and emotions under control. 

Of course the Army and General Ross find him, there would be no movie if that didn't happen. But the story, the chase and the confrontations play out in a way that's entertaining and the action is so fast and intense you don't have time to consider plot points. And frankly when you're watching the Hulk toss forklifts as if they were sticks who really cares about plot?

Apparently Ed Norton does. I've always been a fan of his work and the intensity he brings to his roles. Here he doesn't disappoint. As Bruce Banner you see the toll his journey has taken on him; the weariness and disappointment, the desperation and the fleeting moments where he allows himself to hope. Marvel continues to cast actors instead of faces to lend gravitas to its characters and it pays off in spades. I can only dream of how they would cast a Fantastic Four movie. Seriously, I actually have dreams about it. Such happy, happy dreams where Jessica Alba is nowhere to be seen. 

Liv Tyler is really coming into her own as an actress. She was great in Empire Records and did her job in Armageddon but after seeing her in The Strangers a few weeks ago and now here she's really becoming an actress I'll keep an eye on. It certainly doesn't hurt that she's beautiful. 

As far as villains go Abomination was a pretty solid bet 
here. Great job by Tim Roth (as usual) in bringing a real sense of menace and savagery to his character. 

Like I said I won't go into plot details but we all know Abomination and Hulk throw down and here's what I have to say about that: best modern monster movie scenes ever. Watching the end of the struggle between these two things really takes me back to being a kid and watching the Godzilla movies. These guys want nothing but to beat the tar out of each other, no scratch that; they want to tear each other limb from limb and here's where the CGI really shines. The emotion and barbarism comes across beautifully. Emotions cross the Hulk's face far better than they ever did in that...other movie. 

It's no secret Marvel Studios is building a universe with these movies much like they did in comics. It is the most exciting thing in film right now because you start to care about not only these characters but the characters surrounding them as well. What roles will they play in the future? 

The Tony Stark cameo is brilliant. No spoiler there, everyone has seen the TV spot by now. 

All in all I can't recommend this movie enough. If you liked Iron Man you'll love The Incredible Hulk. A lot of setup here for future films as well that you won't want to miss. Marvel is doing a great job here of drawing in audiences to their other projects by planting seeds in already popular properties.

Can't wait until that Avengers movie :)


HULK SMASH!

Thursday, June 5, 2008

I suck

Sorry for not updating in just about 2 weeks. I'm going to a Rilo Kiley concert tonight (AWESOME) so this weekend I'll post my impressions of that. Mostly the post will be an excuse to look up and share some Jenny Lewis pictures. Cause she's effing hot.

Also I'll make you a promise right now that I will update this thing at least twice a week starting next week. My actual goal is 3 times a week but I don't wanna make promises I can't keep. No idea what I'll be talking about but you'll love it because your lives are dull, unimportant and devoid of any meaning. So really, what else do you have to do?

See you in a couple of days!