Rico Suave: Gerardo

Rico Suave: Gerardo

So, how do I spend my Halloween night? I spend it watching the “Rico Suave” music video. And, to tell you the truth, it is a creepy video. Having a shirt-less guy dancing around in a leather jacket is pretty scary. The music video has shades of “Ice Ice Baby” and MC Hammer.

This D-Bag went by Gerado (with a G sound), but everyone remembers him as Rico Suave. His full name is Gerardo Mejía. After sucking at being the Latin MC Hammer/Milli Vanilli, Mejía turned himself around and became an executive at Interscope Records.

I did some recent Google searches and came across a story about Rico Suave suing Lady Gaga's musical director. I find that very strange.

Of course, Weird Al Yankovic made a parody of this song. He even used the same samples.

Taco Grande

 

Tony Toni Tone: Anniversary (Extended version)

Tony Toni Tone: Anniversary (Extended version)

I remember when I heard this version of the song on the radio. I was driving around a girl I really was into and we heard this version of the song. We loved every moment, especially when the song turns into a 70s type of grove with the strings.  Ah, the good old days (olde?).  

Every once in a while the radio will play this version of the song.

Crystal Waters: Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)

Crystal Waters: Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)

Yes, a ‘message’ song with a dance beat.  You have to love the 90s.  The reason I came across this music video is because I saw the very funny “In Living Color” spoof.  I remember the radio stations used to play this song all the time. 

I personally think the song isn’t that bad, if a little pretentious.  I’m not sure about the loopy music video that screams 90s.  I get a little dizzy from the 90s jumpy camera movements. 

Notes:

-What is up with the extreme close up shots of Miss Waters? 

-Why are there two dudes holding hands and skipping around? 

-Miss Waters switches to a suit and bra-tie combo halfway through the video.  I have never seen that before. 

-One of the male dancers is playing with a Slinky.  What in the heck?

What does Crystal thinks about this parody?

“In Living Color” Returning?

“In Living Color” Returning? Yes

Okay, I understand that it took FOX forever to take the X-Files off or to ever end The Simpsons, but is bringing back another series from the 90s a really a good idea? Isn't “In Living Color” a product of its time?

It should also be noted that Keenen Ivory Wayans will return as a producer.  That seems odd when Wayans left the show after the 3^rd season.  He clashed with the FOX Network too many times, so he left.  I am not sure how much FOX has changed over the years. 

The show lasted about 5 seasons from 1990 to 1994.  I remember watching the first three seasons and really enjoying the show.  For many people of my generation, the show seemed edgier than Saturday Night Live with a more ethnically diverse cast.  And to be fair, a lot of good names came out of that series.   (Jim Carrey David Alan Grier Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Lopez)  Did I mention that Rosie Perez came out of that series too?

However, looking back at the series today, it hasn’t age that well.  It doesn’t stand up as much as SNL from that era.  Most of James “Jim” Carrey skits haven’t aged well at all.  I find that interesting because everyone loved “that funny white guy” on the show. 

That doesn’t mean there aren’t some memorable moments and skits that still stand up today. 

Eiffel 65: Move Your Body

"With our D-Bag powers combined, it brings out the Captain D-Bag." 

"The Bag is Yours!" 

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Eiffel 65: Move Your Body

Wait, they have a Holodeck? Anyway, I had a discussion with co-worker about this group. I have to say I am not impressed with the group. They're a cheaper version of Daft Punk, but I think they came out before Daft Punk. While both groups groups rely on voice enhancements, I think DP does it better because it truly feels like music from the 70s and early 80s. Whereas, Eiffel 65 feels too much like a byproduct of 90s dance craze, but in a bad way.  And, they came in at the end of 90s dance movement. 

Then again, this song is very catchy. The lyrics are simple, and the beat isn't that bad considering thumping Euro beat. So, after listening to the song a few times, I like it. I think their (Blue) song isn't very good though. 

Sadly, people like Kesha have taken it too far with this type of sound.

The CGI is extremely bad and look like Sega Saturn beta graphics. Didn't this song come out in 1999?

Notes:

-Where have I seen the blue female dancer before?: She is rather attractive.

-You have to love the fake running behind the green screen.

-So, the kidnapping aliens were good guys, or at least fanboys?  I think that is worst. 

The Rock as Roadblock in the GI movie

 The Rock as Roadblock in the GI movie

I have to say I am impressed. I liked The Rock in the last Fast and Furious movie, and he seems to capture the character of Roadblock. While I liked the first GI Joe movie, there needed to be some improvements. Now, there is a new team of people behind the scenes with a new director.

My only problem is that brought back Channing Tatum. That’s not good. 

So, will Roadblock speak in rhyme?

Nothing strange about this photo at all, right? 

Rob Gronkowski and Bibi Jones

 Rob Gronkowski takes a photo with a Pornstar, gasp

Basically, a football player, a tight end mind you, had some fun with the adult star Bibi Jones on her twitter feed. She wore his jersey in the photos. There seems to be a uproar over the tame photos.

I am not an full expect into Jones body of work, but I've a few videos. I'd put her under the hot side instead of the cute side. She seems like any other typical sports groupie, except she stars in sex movies. And, to be fair, she seems to really like athletes, because there is another story floating around of a sports agent using Bibi Jones as a recruiting incentive.

The amount of sex and other things going on after the games with the players makes this outrage a little strange to me. Even if he did sleep with her, does it really matter? Anyway, the tight end had to make an apology to everyone.

From Foxs Sports, ((''I didn't intend anything to hurt the reputation of anyone on the New England Patriots or on behalf of Robert Kraft,'' he said. ''It was just a simple picture and that's all.'' ))

Well, it's not like he locked her up in a hotel room and started attacking the room and her...like Charlie Sheen. Relax, people.   

Red State

 Red State

Red State is very good film, but not without a few flaws.  It is a complete departure from Kevin Smith’s other films in style and writing.  However, the true shining actor is Michael Parks portraying the creepy Pastor Abin Cooper. 

Abin Cooper is leader of a fringe church that kidnaps sinners and murders them.  Cooper is loosely based on Fred Phelps.  Yet, Parks brings a different vibe to his Cooper character.  While Cooper is sinister and evil, he is very convincing with his twisted worldview.  He spews out his hatred with a soft-spoken voice and cruelness intent. 

John Goodman as the federal agent is amazing too.  Goodman has a good balance between being a good guy and bad guy.  That conflict of Goodman’s character probably needed to be explored more, but the movie moves at a brisk pace once the big gun battle begins. 

And, that’s another thing that is different about Kevin Smith’s direction for Red State.  All the action scenes in this movie are way better than the ones from Cop Out.  The camera moves are shaky, but never confusing like some of the modern action films.  Where as Smith’s other films had still camera, the camera seems to constantly moving.

There are some intense moments that I had to marvel at.  One has Cooper talking to a police officer trying to get him to leave the gates of the compound, before the officer hears something. 

The other thing I wanted to address that some have said this movie has a liberal bias to it, but that is not the case.  Surprisingly, it does hold a mirror up to the government taking it too far to the extreme views from the church. 

In the end, the movie could have been fleshed out with more background into the Cooper Church folks, but that is minor.  Overall, I enjoyed Red State.  It isn’t the best of Smith’s films, but it is certainly entertaining and uneasy to watch at times.  It is certainly a different direction for Kevin Smith and a good decision.  Not a bad movie…

Grade: B

Scientology vs. South Park Part II: I know I shouldn't write about this...but

Scientology vs. South Park Part II: I know I shouldn't write about this...but

The truth is out there. It looks like most things about Tom Cruise and Scientology trying to stop South Park were completely true. The Church went after the South Park creators after their scathing episode “Trapped in the Closet”.

From NY Daily News, ((Rathbun says Scientologists also considered using "special collections" to gather more information about Parker, Stone and their pals - using church slang for the act of digging through trash to find dirt on others.))

These leaked memos show how shallow members of the church are when it comes to parody or criticisms. It's a damn cartoon, Church.

With all this new bad press, the Church has come out against the new stories of spying. From The Telegraph UK, (("The tales told by the sources of this story reflect the type of mindset that resulted in their removals and later expulsion from the Church," spokesman Karin Pouw said. "They are neither current nor credible sources." ))

Actually, there's been a history of this “fair game” behavior from them years over years ago.

Make sure to check out the info from these two places.

-The Church hired private investigators to look into the writers of the show.

-Space Church Spies?: Yes, they even went as far as trying to put a spy in the South Park office. They tried to get an intern into the Matt and Trey's office in order to dig up more dirt on them. I can't believe they were going to take their revenge that far.

-This kind of behavior from the church is the reason they've gotten the huge backlash over the years.  

Random Thoughts

 Random Thoughts

~This sums up everything about grown Halloween Parties. Yes, I am the one a-hole that doesn't dress as anything at the party. I refused to dress up in anything but “the creepy loner dude that doesn't like Halloween” guy.

~The Thing Analysis: Was Childs a Thing? I personally think he was at the end. He behaves differently toward the end of the film. It is noted that MacReady is ready to torch Childs right before the ending of the film. That gives a whole new meaning to ending, and I'm not sure I like that. Make sure to check out the maker of this video through his YouTube channel. He's got some amazing videos there. Make sure to watch his Shinning video and or a hidden thing in the Shinning movie (?).

~Is the Charlie Sheen craze over?: I guess the whole crazy Sheen thing is over with. I still can't believe some people actually paid money to see him live on stage across the country. And, why is he shopping around a TV version of Anger Management? This was a guy that was getting paid a lot of money and now he's taking the droppings of an Adam Sandler movie. He grew tiring after that live failed web cam show.

~Netflix failing faster than Blockbuster?: I thought this was amusing, because I am a member of Netflix. I was a loyal member of Blockbuster for a long time. Heck, I rented so many movies from Blockbuster that I became a Gold Member. After some major changes to their service, I left for greener ...redder pastures. Now, I am seeing the same problems surfacing on Netflix.    

Modelland Theme Song (Tyra Banks)

Listen to the “wonderful” theme song to Tyra Banks new book Modelland.

Tyra Banks has completely lost her mind. What the hell was she smoking when she wrote the song? It sounds like T-Pain smashed Kesha with his own auto-tune machine. At a certain point, you're ego has to be so big that you think things like this song aren't terrible. She posted her “song” on Twitter, so it seems real to me.

First off, why in the hell did someone give her a book deal for a fiction novel that is 500 pages. Then again, what do I know? The damn book is a huge hit for Tyra. Second, the song is so bad that I can't stop replaying it.

(Source from Hollywood Babble-On)

Some guy does amazing reading of Banks' opus.

Penn And Teller explain the Cup and Ball trick

Penn And Teller explain the Cup and Ball trick

I guess it works better with two people than one. I knew it was slide of hand, but they're freaking good with the misdirection. I also liked their old show Bullshit too. One of my favorite episodes was when they took on the 9/11 Conspiracy folks.

Side Note: I remember hearing that Penn and Teller don't really hang out when they're off and keep it professional. I can actually see that.

Anyway, I am more into the misdirection magic than the guys living in a box for weeks ones.

Morning Dew: Bad Lip Reading…

Morning Dew: Bad Lip Reading…

This is currently one of my favorite videos right now. 

This video is from a collection of meme videos called “Bad Lip Reading”. Basically, people will replace the original lyrics with worlds that don't make much sense, but they fit the lip movement. Make sure to check out their channel.

PlayOnline: Unfinished potential

 PlayOnline: Unfinished potential

This promotional was made with the promise of all the “amazing” things Square Enix stated they were going to provide from console to PC.

I know some of the character models are not from the current FFXI game, and they look more FF8 than FFXI. Heck, I was a member of PO back in the day when I played FFXI.

A lot of things promised with PlyOnline came out on both the Playstation and Xbox networks. And, SE seems to be lest interested in using PO for its newer games such as FF:XIV. It now works as gateway to FFX more than anything else. It is interesting to see the big plans they had for the site.

And here is an early build of FFXI with PlayOnline.

Your Highness

Your Highness

With Danny McBride and James Franco starring in the movie, you would think the movie would be very funny.  Sadly, this comedy is not funny at all, and comes across as desperate and searching for jokes.  The weakest part of the movie is the script.  It just feels unfinished. 

Basically, Katy Perry, uh, I mean Zooey Deschanel is a virgin that is kidnapped by a warlock and attempts to have sex with her.  Her future husband and his goofy brother go on a quest to save her. 

Some of the better aspects of the movie are the jokes about other fantasy movies from the 80s.  And, I think that was the original idea for the movie, but that concept kind of got lost in the making of the film.  There are clear jokes about Clash of the Titans and Lord of the Rings throughout the movie, and those jokes are handled well and are funny.  The rest of the movie is a complete and utter mess.

The main villain is also boring and doesn’t come off as menacing.  Even in a comedy, the bad guy needs to be a bad guy and not a complete joke, with the exception of Space Balls. 

There is one exception to the blandness, and that is a strange fish puppet creature that has an inappropriate relationship with Franco. 

You can clearly tell McBride and Franco were trying their best to make a rather dull script funnier.  The movie had the potential of being a funny take on those 70s and 80s movies.  I am really disappointed with McBride because I’ve liked everything else he’s been in.  Don’t bother watching the movie if like funny movies. 

Grade: D+

 McBride:  "Great, you get Katy Perry and all I get is a horse."

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Gaddafi, so long and thanks for all the fists

Gaddafi, so long and thanks for all the fists.

I just have one thing to say, “Zanga, Zanga.”

Gaddafi had been in power longer and outlived many presidents over the years. His time came to a bloody end it.   Well, he had a chance to step down and didn't take it.  

Hoppin John: Boardwalk Empire

Hoppin John

http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/844641/hoppin-john

There was a mention of a Hoppin John dish on the TV show Boardwalk Empire.  Being curious, I quickly went to the Google and looked it up, because I had no idea what it was. 

From the wiki page, it states that a Hoppin' John dish is comprised of rice, beans, onions and bacon. And, it came out of West Africa, but is very popular in the South of the US. The dish is also used as a “good luck” dish for New Year's Day.

After reading the description I looked everywhere in the local store for some Hoppin John, but couldn't find it. I did buy some Cajun rice dishes though.

Follow up story on that McDonald's’ beating: Rayon McIntosh

Follow up story on that McDonald's’ beating: Rayon McIntosh

-Defense of McIntosh:  I wanted to bring up the fact there seems to be a growing crowd of people coming to his defense.  There are a few FB pages created to help this guy.  While I think he went too far, he did have the right to defend himself, after they came over that counter.  If store owners can fight back against robberies, then this guy can defend himself against some customers jumping over a counter.  I still think beating them continually after they were down was totally wrong and mean though. He'll probably go to jail for that reason.

-The two women were verbally abusive against the whole crew.  One of them said, “I hope you get departed.”

-Why did he show up to court in his uniform?  Granted, the police held him there for a few nights.  However, I am sure McDonald's’, who let him go after this, doesn’t want photos of him in court with their logo and uniform on.  Heck, he even still has his employee I.D. on!  

 Duh-duh-duh-Duh-duuuuuh- I'm loving it.

-How many McDonald's’ puns from this story have you heard?  McHero, McRib broken, you want fries with that (?).  How about a whooper?  

-Does Mac Tonight have anything to do with this story?  

I'm just saying...

Sonic the Hedgehog “Ring” sound effect used on cash registers

Sonic the Hedgehog “Ring” sound effect used on cash registers

I was out in the South End of Louisville on my bike, and I dropped in one of those Shell gas stations to pick up some ice tea drinks.  When the cashier ringed up my stuff, I heard a familiar sound from my childhood, and I instantly knew what it was…the sound effect of the “rings” being collected by Sonic.  It is the same sound effect that Sega uses today in their new games. 

Here is the proof from a youtuber.

I am sure there was a programmer  that was a Sonic fan and put that in there, but it is clearly the Sonic sound.  And, I am glad I am not the only one to notice it.   

Whenever I drop my change, I want to hear the “losing the Rings” sound effect.

Side note