A Whole Bunch Of Things

It's tough for me to admit defeat, but I must. For the last couple weeks, I've been making video previews of Weekend for the Register Web site. So has Television Editor Joe Amarante. Frankly, mine have been much better than his, until this week.

Take a look at these two videos, and you'll agree that Joe's is funnier. Watch both because they are funny. Here's mine. Now, here's Joe's.

Now it's war. I will win next week. Mark my words, I will win.

Anyway, on to other things. I went to three different concerts Friday. I don't think I've ever done three shows in one night. I started off seeing James Velvet and the Ivory Bills at New England Brewing. Then I went to The Space to see Jonny Rogers. And, lastly, I hit up Cafe Nine and saw Sarah Borges. All three shows were really good, really. That just proves you can see many shows in one night, I guess.

I don't know how this affects Poison's summer tour. I guess Rikki Rockett is innocent until proven guilty, but this is a dude who spells his name "Rikki" and once made an album called "Open Up And Say ... Ahh!"

When I was a kid, my grandparents used to watch reruns of "Quincy" all the time. So Jack Klugman should get some more money. At least that's what I believe. As long as the show stays off the air.

That's about it for now. It's Opening Day and I'm excited. We'll talk tomorrow. Hope you had a good weekend.

Me And Film

At 4 p.m. tomorrow, I'll be part of an event at Quinnipiac University that will look at trends in film. Here's the release:

The School of Communications will host "The Film Industry: Today and Tomorrow" from 4-5:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 27, in the Mancheski Executive Seminar Room in the Lender School of Business Center.

The panel discussion, which is part of the School of Communications Media Futures Series, will cover emerging and future trends in the film industry. Panelists include:

• Pat Ferrucci, entertainment editor for the New Haven Register.
• George Norfleet, film division director for the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.
• Christopher Ward, Connecticut-based film and TV writer and director, and adjunct professor in the School of Communications.
• Greg Johnson, professional in residence in the School of Communications and executive producer of the film "The Squid and the Whale." The film won prizes for dramatic screenwriting and directing at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for best original screenplay.
• David Donnelly, dean of the School of Communications, will moderate.

The event is free and open to the public. So if you have an interest in film and where movies might be heading, this should be an interesting 90 minutes. And, hey, at worst you'll get to meet Greg Johnson, who produced "The Squid and the Whale," my favorite movie of 2005. Really.

That's it. Talk tomorrow.

Ladies And Gentlemen

Here's the 2008 American League MVP.

I Am Up, Really

I can remember the odd time here and there when I've had to get up at some point after 6 a.m. but before 7 a.m. But I can't remember the last time I've been up before 6 a.m. Heck, I played poker and then went to Cody's Friday night and didn't get in bed until 5:30 a.m. Now here I am, up and out of bed and it's 5:50.

Actually, now that I think about it, the last time I was up before 6 was when I took a vacation to Orlando in January of 2006. That was a great trip, but I wish I wasn't remembering it for that reason right now. I'm tired.

As many of you must now know, I'm up because we are technically about 15 minutes away from Opening Day. Yep, the Boston Red Sox face the Oakland A's in Japan today and tomorrow. Both games start at 6 a.m. My friends Jay, Harris and Helen are supposed to be joining me this morning, but if they didn't show up, I wouldn't be what we'd call surprised. Hell, I woke up 10 minutes ago and tried to walk over to Manna to get a coffee. Manna isn't open yet. That scares me.

As I watch the A's get introduced, I realize there are tons of old Red Sox on the team. I'm babbling now.

Let's see: Is there any other news?

Well, Fox, which never cancels anything, said goodbye to Parker Posey. The show, which has a stupid name that I refuse to even write, was created by the woman who did the "Gilmore Girls." You'd think she'd get more than three episodes ...

Is this news? Shouldn't it have happened like two years ago? Man.

Poor Pammy, another marriage is over.

Smashing Pumpkins is suing Virgin Records. Now, I'm not a litigious person, but if I were Virgin, I'd sue Billy Corgan for making crappy music lately.

Counting Crows, Play editor Jeff Petrin's favorite band, comes to the Dodge Music Center Aug. 15. The only problem? Well, Maroon 5 is also performing. That makes me feel funny inside.

Well, the first pitch of 2008 just happened, so I'm going to stop writing now. Dustin Pedroia just singled! Go Red Sox.

Good Friday

So here we are. It's Good Friday. You know, you're not supposed to eat meat today. I've yet to eat any, but I have a feeling I will later. When I was in college, the school really enforced this by not letting any cafeteria or restaurant on campus serve meat. I hated this. I used to order takeout from off-campus. Anyway, I don't know why I'm rambling, but, you know me ... I guess I just really want a cheeseburger and will have one later.

Here's this week's video preview of Weekend. Someone commented about how I have to not let the cameraman have much input. I have to be honest: All the props and dumb things are my idea. I have an odd sense of humor, which I plan to explore through these videos. That's too much fun for me to ignore.

And speaking of the cameraman, Nick Scalia, who used to write for Play and now works in our online department, wrote a really good column on my favorite movie of all time, "Bottle Rocket." That's Owen Wilson (with brother Luke and Ines) in a scene from the movie above. Nick also has a blog, Cinematic for the People, that is always a good read. I'm sure the column will be posted on there soon.

So the big news this weekend, besides Jesus' rising, is the NCAA tourney. I'm sure we all have our brackets filled out and in. When I was in high school and college, I used to win pools all the time, totally on luck because I never watched college basketball. I think this is the key: The more you know, the worse off you are. Seriously. Oh, and I hope UConn loses today. Sorry.

I'm a Beach Boys fan, but the more you read about Mike Love, the more you just can't stand him. The guy seriously loves to sue people.

After all the heartbreak I've experienced through the Patriots, I'm so happy that the Celtics rule. Yep, they are the best team in the NBA right now. But, as we all know, that doesn't mean much tomorrow.

Here's an interesting read from The New Republic, one of my favorite magazines. Take a look.

Lastly, I am not looking forward to waking up at 6 a.m. on Tuesday for Opening Day. Yep, that's when the Red Sox open the 2008 season. One of my favorite days of the year is Opening Day. For the last few, I leave work early and head over to my friend Jay's place and we just watch like four straight games. We'll still do that this year, but the Sox will have played a couple official games by then. And I'll still be trying to get over waking up early two days in a row.

So I gotta go now. There's a string of "Law & Orders" that haven't seen on. Then it's off to the movies. I love the movies.

Have a good rest of Good Friday.

Sad Day In Film

Well, it seems Anthony Minghella is dead at 54. He's the filmmaker behind "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "The English Patient" and much more. It's a loss. Back with more later.

I Love This Song ...

... So you should listen to it. The Weakerthans come to the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on April 11, and Pearl Street in Northampton April 12. I'll be at one of those shows; you should be too.

Too Good Not To Post Here

Saturday Night Post

So here I am at the office on this wonderful Saturday evening, waiting to get out and play ping pong and drink beverages. But I get to work a Saturday once about every three months, so here I am.

I did, at least, go to the taco truck on Long Wharf before coming here. My friends and I simply love the taco truck. I seriously can't recommend hitting one up for lunch one sunny afternoon.

But now I'm here working, so why not make the most of this time by posting a blog entry? Right? I mean, doesn't that just make sense?

Here's my video preview of this week's Weekend. For some reason, we thought not looking directly at the camera might be a good idea, but, alas, it wasn't. So next week I'll look at the camera again. I smile more on this one; a common complaint on the last one was that I didn't smile enough. You happy? You know who you are.

Thursday night's Play birthday party was really great. All four bands delivered fine, fine performances. The only bad part is that when I left Toad's, my car was not there. Yep, I was towed. Why was I towed? For one outstanding parking ticket that I was formally protesting. I guess it doesn't matter that you formally protest a ticket the right way. The people in the office where you pay your ticket told me I shouldn't have been towed. Does that mean anything when you need your car back? Nope. So, needless to say, I'm not a big fan of the city's towing practices. In fact, I think it's a sham. The Advocate wrote a good story on the city's towing fun a while back. Read it here.

My old school canned its basketball coach today. I think this is a good move. Tim Welsh (that's him above) has had some good teams over the last 10 years, and yet can never win an important game. Ever. Even with Ryan Gomes.

It looks like Opening Day could work out after all. Woo-hoo.

My spies at SXWS told me that Dawn Landes' set late last week was simply incredible. Make sure to check her out. She's so good. Read my review of her new CD here.

Who doesn't love this dude?

If anyone's looking to join a fantasy baseball league with me, e-mail me. My friends and I are trying to make our annual league have more than just seven or so teams. It'll be fun. This will be my second or third year playing fantasy baseball, and I'm not sure if I like it yet. But I love baseball.

I'll end this by saying I'm so happy that the great Lou Diamond Phillips has begun to post on this here blog. I'm honored. Lou is the greatest American actor to ever play Ritchie Valens. The way he pretended to sing "La Bamba" in the great, great movie of the same name gives me chills. Thanks Lou!

Some Stories Are Too Perfect

All I can say is ... um? Take a gander at this.