I love these xtranormal videos.

This has consistently been my favorite song.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9EKqQWPjyo

Why is soccer so unpopular in the U.S.?  Unless things have drastically changed, most kids grow up playing soccer in grade school, and many through high school.  At least, that’s how it was when I was a kid.  Everyone knows a Soccer Mom -- they’re a suburban staple.  But on the professional level, there’s a general lack of interest in this particular part of North America.

I’d put money on the fact that the main reason for this is the complete lack of commercial time-outs.  The clock just keeps running.  Sure, you have your half-time… but you want to spend a good portion of that listening to a bunch of guys analyzing the game up to that point, and predicting what strategies each team will take going into the second half.  The lack of “breaks” make soccer a sport that networks don’t want to go near.  It seems like people have been trying to make soccer popular in the U.S. for as long as I can remember, with no success.

So we have the World Cup, and we can care about soccer for a month out of every four years.

Now, here’s Landon Donovan’s goal to beat Algeria and advance to knockout.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=k29wBfLmNP0

After two days off from work (to be fair, let’s call it one and a half based on the fact that I was having calls forwarded to my cell phone from the studio) I had to actually venture out into the real world. And aside from the horrid road conditions, it wasn’t a bad day to get out there.

We’re working on a project that required an interview with Mr. David Montgomery, who is quite possibly the nicest owner of any sports franchise you’ll ever meet. We shot the interview in the media room at Citizen’s Bank Park, and I snapped a few quick photos with my phone, because hey, who knows when I’ll be in there again.

The one thing I didn’t get a picture of – and really wish I did – was Mr. Montgomery carrying one of our tripods and his assistant with the audio gear. I’ll explain.

After the interview, we left had some things in the lobby while we ran the first load of gear out to the trucks. As we started back to get the remaining equipment, Mr. Montgomery and his assistant were apparently on their way out and decided to carry it out for us. Just incredible.

On a side note, it was interesting to see that they plowed the CBP parking lots when I can’t imagine they’ll actually need them for anything. Needless to say, they’re more on the ball than the city of Philadelphia.

The middle-eastern U.S. just got hit with a ton of snow. So, clearly there’s no such thing as global warming.

The Colbert Report: We’re Off To See The Blizzard

This guy is awesome. 

Welcome to the States, Mr. Chan – you can stay as long as you’d like as far as I’m concerned.

I think the best part is the plastic bags inside his shoes to keep his feet dry.

Let me preface this post by saying three quick things:

#1. I don’t like the New Orleans Saints.
#2. I like Drew Brees.
#3. I don’t like any version of the liquid Budweiser describes as beer.

That being said, it was a good game. NOLA came back from a particularly Eagles-esque first quarter and really pulled it off. It all came down to that on-sides kick and the interception.

The commercials were OK -- the notable highlights for me being the Snickers commercial featuring Betty White/Abe Vigoda, and the Budweiser spot below (feat. T-Pain).

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKFYrh21O_8

Why do I like it? It’s somewhat inherently funny, but mostly because it makes it dreadfully obvious that anyone can sound like T-Pain with Autotune.  Oh wait, the I Am T-Pain iPhone app already did that.

When the (then) amazing 14-screen multiplex opened around the corner from my parents house in 1993, all the movies were free on opening night.  Mix free popcorn, soda, and movies with the American public and you’ve got a recipe for true, unadulterated mayhem.  In the midst of all this chaos, the movie I ended up seeing was Groundhog Day, and I’ve loved it ever since. I mean, c’mon, the lead character is a Ghost Buster. Who doesn’t relate to this movie on some level?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7amSrgtINI

As the Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien wraps up its final week, a lot of jokes have been made at the expense of NBC.  In the midst of all this, Ben Stiller asks us to remember what’s really important – saving our planet.

From the Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien 1/21/2010

I finally caved and went to see Avatar.  It certainly didn’t live up to any of the hype I had heard from some friends, but it also wasn’t as awful as I initially thought it would be.  The general consensus everywhere by everyone seems to be that it’s the most amazing movie ever made, ever.

Friend #1: Holy wow. Avatar. Just… … … Just go see it. Like, as soon as possible.

Friend #2: saw Avatar 3D last nite. Highly, highly suggest seeing it! Seriously, and I was one of those people who said I had no interest in seeing this movie. It was phenomenal!

Friend #3: I think we’re all in agreement that it was awesome. The 3D was very well done, sound effects work was amazing, and overall, great.

So, I can clearly relate more to friend #2 as I had very little interest in the movie itself.  I was only really interested in seeing it since it is, after all, the first huge Hollywood extravaganza meant to showcase the 3D platform.  So when I say that it comes as no surprise that there was very little story driving the movie, I’m not exaggerating in the least.  To be fair, I can’t sit here and say that it was a direct copy of any one movie (as has already been hilariously described), but instead it pulled from so many.  Now, again, I understand that this is generally how things are done in Hollywood…but Avatar pulled so unsubtly that it was disturbing.  It was Pocahontas meets Dances With Wolves meets The Lion King (which of course itself is a rip off of Kimba the White Lion), meets Fern Gully, meets James Cameron’s own Aliens.  Heck- even the epic battle had what I’d most certainly describe as a Final Fantasy moment [see: YouTube video ~0:30].

Yes, that’s it.  I think, in the end, the main reason I will remember Avatar as a lack-luster movie is because it felt like a video game cut-scene gone on for far too long.  Sure it looks beautiful, but wouldn’t you rather just play the game even if it means putting up with crappier graphics?

As for the good point(s).  The whole 3D thing looks pretty great.  I personally found it to be much cooler when used in the slower scenes versus the action sequences.  It wasn’t that it made me queasy, it just didn’t look as good.  I will say this, too: I had an absolutely pounding headache by the end of the movie, which I will feel free to blame on the 3D glasses.

A few questions that remain:

• What was with Jake Sulley’s accent? Was he from the Bronx or London?
• Was Sigourney Weaver smoking Sector 6s a-la Thank You for Smoking?
• Did they seriously mate in what basically boiled down to their church?
• Papyrus subtitles?  Textured?  Seriously?
• Why did they have to cast Michelle Rodriguez?

In conclusion: it was OK–far from incredible–and mainly a waste of my fourth dimension.  When it’s all said and done, it’s not the pretty pictures I’ll remember, but rather the flaws that fractured the movie and kept it from being amazing.  My main consolation is knowing that I didn’t give James Cameron a dime.