(500) Days of Summer

The narrator with the soothing voice warned us that this is not a love story and things would not end happily. I should have listened. Instead I let myself become emotionally involved with the characters, only to walk out of the theater feeling melancholy and loss.
Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)'s idea of love was formed by an adolescence of listening to hip pop music such as The Smiths. Tom believed in true love and finding "the one" etc, etc. Summer (Zooey Deschanel) saw love through the lens of her parents divorce, and decided to not be entangled in messy relationships. Which is why, early on in the film after a frolic through Ikea ending in a make out session in a model bedroom, Summer lets Tom know she is not looking for anything serious. This is not uncharted territory and I think you can guess where it goes from here - Tom will fall in love while Summer will refuse to even acknowledge the two are a romantic couple.
So why did I, like Tom, let myself get involved? Why did I leave the movie feeling shitty? I spent the next couple of days thinking about it, and talking to my wife. I think I have an answer:
In terms of relationships, Tom and Summer represent opposite extremes of a spectrum. Tom is more emotional, believes in true love, jumps in without reservation, and is a romantic. Summer shies away from anything heavy, is more logical, and is concerned most about freedom and self preservation. Just about every person can be placed in one of those categories. Obviously, people aren't all Summers and Toms, but they can fall on either side of the median on the Summer/Tom spectrum. Also, people may usually be one but found themselves being the other with a certain relationship.
And that's what got me. In the end, I have always been Summer, not a perfect one of course. I tend to get into relationships fast and I have rarely been so distant and punative. But when things were ending, I was the one who ended it and moved on more easily. All but once. Once I was Tom. I was in love. I thought she was too. But she changed her mind out of nowhere. I spent a long time feeling lost after that while she moved on within weeks and was proclaiming her new guy was the greatest love of her life. I was Tom. It doesn't feel good realizing you are the one who loved most and the other person is pretty much okay with or without you.
It was the only time I was ever dumped and apparantly I'm still smarting about it. The movie certainly didn't offer much solace to we Toms. Summer isn't punished for her crimes. Tom isn't really vindicated. The only comfort offered is that in the end, Summer and Tom grow a little wiser, and they both move a little closer to the middle on the spectrum.
I guess thats the best anyone can realistically wish for. I'll never get that revenge scenario where I accidentally run into her and she sees me being and looking totally awesome and then she comes up to me and confesses how dumb she was to break up with me but i'm married now so it's far too late to make up for her mistake. It probably wouldn't provide the satisfaction I sometimes imagine anyway. The best I can wish for is we are both wiser, a little more careful with other's hearts and our own, and that we're a little better for the time we were together.

The IT Crowd

Roy and Moss make up the IT department at Reynholm Industries, and Jen is hired to manage them. Finding them not easily managed, Jen instead tries to be the bridge between the two socially awkward outcasts and the rest of the company, which is made up mainly of good looking, young, and shallow Brits.
Noel Fielding (of The Mighty Boosh) occasionally pops in as Richmond, the once power broking business man turned goth sent to live in a back room in the IT department, which is the basement, as punishment for crossing the company's CEO.
The opening song alone makes this series worth existing. Episode one starts out a bit over the top shouty and sit com-ey, but the show gets quite a bit better as it goes along.

Pundit of Fame

I imagine you know who this character is. Here are a few things I did not know about Geraldo Rivera:
Geraldo was briefly a cop in New York in the 70's.
He has a law degree (and practiced for a bit) but only briefly attended journalism school (that makes sense).
He won an Emmy Award in 1972 for his report on the neglect and abuse of mental retarded patients at Staten Island's Willowbrook State School.
In 1977, various media outlets reported that Elvis Presley died of a heart attack. Rivera then investigated Presley's prescription drug records and concluded that he had died from multiple drug intake. His conclusion caused the Tennessee medical authorities to revoke the license of Presley's prescribing doctor.
Geraldo played himself in the final episode of Seinfeld.
In 2008, Rivera published a book about anti hispanic racism called His Panic: Why Americans Fear Hispanics in the U.S.

Talk Show:

Rivera's show started in 1987 and ran for 11 years (though not under the same name the whole time). The last half of the title of an early show ("Men in Lace Panties and the Women Who Love Them") provided pop culture an iconic catchphrase when describing/lampooning day time talk shows. Highlights (or low points depending on your point of view) include a special on Satanism in the U.S. and the now infamous 1988 show in which Geraldo's big dumb nose was busted in a fight that broke out between African American activists and racist Skin Heads. I thought it would be a funny clip to watch but instead it just made me sick. You don't really see Geraldo getting popped with the chair, you just see a crowd of people at their very worst. A little more entertaining is the brawl Rivera initiated with some back water white supremacists. He was subsequently roughed up and cuffed by the police.

Scandals and gaffs:

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, The New York Times alleged that Rivera pushed aside a member of a rescue team in order to be filmed "assisting" a woman in a wheelchair down some steps. Geraldo demanded a retraction and threatened to sue if one was not issued.
In early 2003, Geraldo was traveling with the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq. During broadcast, Rivera described an upcoming military operation and then began to draw map in the sand, thus disclosing rough locations of the planned actions. Oops. The military nearly expelled the reporter from Iraq. Two days later, Geraldo announced he would report on the Iraq war from neighboring Kuwait.
Geraldo had long been an outspoken gun control advocate. Take this post Columbine High massacre quote: "How much longer are we gonna take it? How much longer are we gonna be wrapping in the flag of patriotism to justify 250 million guns out there? How much longer?" Juxtapose that with a gun wielding Rivera's statement while reporting in Afghanistan: "If they're going to get us, it's going to be in a gun fight. It's not going to be a murder. It's not going to be a crime. It's going to be a gun fight."

From policeman to lawyer to talk show host to news reporter, Geraldo has done quite a bit. He's really a mixed bag of fame and shame, given some of the stupid shit he's done. I really doubt he'll be remembered by most for advocating for the disabled or writing a book about racism or uncovering the truth about Elvis Presley's death. Though his general buffoonery overshadows his more admiral accomplishments, there is something really infectious about his enthusiasm. He comes at every news piece, every TV appearance, like his journalism is gonna make the world a better place one story at a time.

Some more Geraldo quotes:
“What four-letter word do they have in mind? ... Hero?”
“From the White House to the Lust Boat: The Lurid, Untold Life of the National Football League.”
“I think the Jews need me right now.”
“There are so many babies here, ... Take a look, I want everyone in the world to see. ... Look in the face of the baby. ... People [are] suffering, let them go! ... Let them walk over this damn interstate and let them out of here!”
“I'm tired of getting made fun of.”

Pundit of Shame

Meet Steve Doocy of Fox News. This handsome cream puff with his game show host smile co-hosts the the (sadly) popular "news" show Fox & Friends. On this show, he regularly regurgitates the anti Democrat Fox agenda like its juicy grade school gossip. Urban Dictionary calls Doocy "the drunk baby of Fox News". Here are links to a few good Dooce-bag moments: One, two, three.

What Ever Happened to Devo?

By 1975, Devo had undergone a few shifts in members until settling on the final lineup: Mark Mothersbaugh (vox, synth, guitar), Bob Mothersbaugh (guitar), Gerald Casale (vox, synth, bass), Bob Casale (keyboards, guitar), and Alan Myers (drums).
The name Devo came from "De-evolution" a concept that man is not progressing but regressing which most of the band subscribed to. The band caught the attention of already famous artists such as David Bowie and the Rolling Stones.
1980's release, Freedom of Choice brought the ass lashing synth pop single "Whip It". And thats the Devo we know. Since then they've released 5 albums, with a 6th scheduled to come out in 2010. Devo activity has been sparse in the past decade, and there have been a couple line up changes since the beginning, but they did tour in Europe in 2007 for the first time in 17 years. In 2009 Devo played at SXSW performing three new songs.
So there you go. Devo is still around and whipping it.

Check this.

Seeing as how I find out what's cool from my 16 year old sister, I imagine this is old by now. Either way, check out Auto-Tune the News. Flipping hilarious!

Jason Lytle - Yours Truly, The Commuter

Jason Lytle is back. Having left the band and moniker Grandaddy back in California, May 19, 2009, Lytle released Yours Truly, The Commuter under his own name.
I've been a long time Grandaddy fan, which makes it hard to look at this album alone instead of judging it alongside those great Grandaddy albums which have provided the soundtrack to much of my twenties.
Yours Truly is no departure from Lytle's earlier works. It sounds and feels much like the numerous B-side releases Grandaddy released over the years.... too much so. Though some songs stand out, most are familiar ground - mid paced sad piano confessions or acoustic guitar + synth+ some sad but hopeful and seemingly personal lyrics delivered in that simple, high voice. Though I'm glad he is still out there, he may be mining a tunnel that's all tapped out. There are some bright spots - Brand New Sun & Birds Encouraged Him. Over all grade = C+.
For other reviews of Yours Truly, click this.

Check out Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse's release Dark Night of the Soul (2009). Lytle appears on it's two best songs - Jaykub and Everytime I'm with You.