".....and the rockets red glare......"

I was a sports fan when I was in the womb. I have been to more live sporting events than probably most Americans. I bought a large, plasma television and HD programming SOLELY for watching sports on TV.

When I first started watching sports, it was almost always about the game. Nobody was bigger than the game, and nobody wanted to be. I think of baseball players like Pete Rose, Cal Ripken Jr., and Hank Aaron as true ambassadors of the sport, and what baseball was, or is, all about. Think of other greats; Joe Montana, Wayne Gretzky, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar etc. I remember watching these guys on the weekends on BASIC CABLE in my parents living room, on their 13" tube.

For the most part, I remember them being humble, even grateful it seemed, to be playing sport for money. Nowadays, it seems things have changed in the values, and practices, of the professional athlete. Most of them, in my opinion, go out of their way to "brand" themselves. As if, playing sports is not nearly enough, they need to be in our face 24/7 through commercials, twitter, facebook, myspace, and so on.

But as much as I might rag on the athletes for jumping through hoops to get in our living room, and in our daily vernacular, there is another presence on the sports peripheral that has gone out of its way to popularize themselves.....and honestly its offensive and getting out of hand.

I am speaking of the singers of the National Anthem. What used to be an uplifting spectable, has now often turned into a debacle. Remember Rosanne? Remember Carl Lewis? This dude? Horrible!! I'm sure there have been worse. But mind you, this is on the big stage. These people are seeking publicity, and obviously recieved it without consideration about whether or not its positive. But folks, there is a trickle-down effect taking place. There need not be a large stage anymore.

For example, a few weeks ago, at a major-junior hockey game in Portland, Oregon, in front of a crowd of 3,000 or less, without ANY TV exposure, this is what happened. How in the hell do these people get past their audition? Unbelievable!

Listen, I'm not an idiot, I know for the most part that those that sing our National Anthem treat it sacredly, and seriously. I am thankful for their efforts. It takes a lot of guts to get in front of 50,000+ rowdy, drunk fans and sing an extremely difficult song. It will always be a highlight of my live sporting event experience.....as long as its done RIGHT!

Music from the Soul

Okay....I'm going to let this song speak for itself. I'm usually not much of a blues guy, much less an electric blues guy, but this song hits me in that place that invokes your booty to shake uncontrollably.

Its Sugarfoot by Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears. Behold....



This song reminds of something Ed Kiester would have in his car....

LeGarrette Blount's Punch-Out

Now that LGB's football career is over, he should seriously consider boxing, or MMA fighting. That right jab he threw last night at Boise State's Byron Hout was WICKED!

Check it out here.

Now, about the game....

Five years ago, Boise State vs. Oregon would invoke very little thought, little hype, little excitement....if any. However, after BSU won the Fiesta Bowl in 2006, and throttled Oregon in 2008 (in addition, DESTROYING Jeremiah Masoli on a late hit), the way has been paved for a great showdown between two teams that, on the surface, are light-years away from each other in seemingly every aspect of a college football program. Nevertheless, they went into last night's game with essentially the same national rank, and enough history to make opening night in college football actually exciting.
Those of you that watched the game, know how badly Oregon sucked, but you also know how many times BSU tried to lose. Not capitalizing on turnovers and mistakes (BSU had two missed field goals, and 3 fumbles) is going to be the death of a team like Oregon if they can't get their offense ticking. The defense actually looked pretty good. Kellen Moore had to make some pretty damn good passes to keep drives alive, and it certainly seemed as if they got lucky at times. Having said that, BSU running backs were slippery last night because I can remember atleast 6 to 7 rushes that should have been stopped in the backfield or on the line, that turned into 8 to 10 yard gains. Nicht so gut Oregon D.
The Oregon offense was 1 for 10 in 3rd down efficiency, and that ONE came midway through the 3rd quarter. When Portland State plays Oregon State on Saturday, I am willing to bet that they, even by accident, get a first down in the first half.
Truth be told, I'm not an Oregon fan whatsoever. The Portland media has just force-fed me for so long that I can't help but observe how they do year in and year out. I see them righting the ship a little and finishing 3rd in the Pac-10 behind USC and Cal.
I am looking forward to BYU/Oklahoma tomorrow. I hope its atleast competitive, and I would love to watch Max Hall throw for 300+ yards. If he does that, the Cougs will win.

Seahawks Fan

Gabe and I had an interesting conversation this morning. Des had taken the boys into Idaho Falls yesterday to do some school shopping, and Gabe was giving me the lowdown on the stores they visited, and the items they bought. He mentioned that they stopped inside the sports store to look at "Niner-gear". He also mentioned that there was a guy wearing a Seattle Seahawks jersey. This is how the conversation went:

Gabe: "There was a guy wearing a Seattle jersey in there."
Me: "Oh yeah? Did you tell him he needed his butt kicked?"
Gabe: "I think he already did."
Me: "Why do you say that?"
Gabe: "Because he was in one of those chairs." (At this point he makes a strange motion with his arms)
Me: "What chair? A wheelchair?!"
Gabe: "Yes, one of those."

I don't think he understood, nor still understands, why that is so funny to me.

The Godfather (1972)

Originally posted January 25, 2009 on littletaylorfamily.blogspot.com

The first time I watched this movie, I was 15 years old, sitting cross-legged on my bedroom floor in the middle of the night, in front of a 13 inch black and white television in which I had to hold onto the antenna at the very tip with two fingers in order to get some semblance of a picture. I watched the first scene, at about 11pm, and then didn't move from the floor for the duration of the rest of the movie....all 3 hours PLUS commercials. I remember being absolutely exhausted when I finally laid my head to rest, and my dreams were very interesting for the following few nights. Nevertheless, that was 16 years ago....I decided to revisit the movie, that on many critics lists, is the best movie ever made.

While its not #1 on my list, it is certainly mesmerizing on many levels, even now, 37 years after its original release. I watched The Godfather last night, unedited and without commercial interruption, on my 42" Plasma television, but surprisingly, considering all the "upgrades" in viewing pleasure, the movie still invoked much of the same emotion and feelings I had immediately after my first viewing so long ago.
Things I liked:
The glimpse into the inner-workings of a mob-family is absolutely fascinating. Not during this whole movie, did we see an outsider, or civilian, perish as a result of mob activity. The story focuses on the innermost core of the mob, which is refreshing because that's what makes it so interesting. We get to know the characters so intimately that once the movie is over, you can't hardly believe the changes certain characters have made over the past three hours. Its almost as if you are revisiting a dramatic television series that you haven't watched for a few months. The changes are both gradual and sudden. Its a bizarre feeling as a viewer, and a fantastic job by the director (Francis Ford Coppola). While there is no such thing as a wasted scene in this movie, my favorite is the baptism scene of Michael's God-daughter. I will leave it at that. If you've seen it, you know what I am talking about, and if you haven't seen it, you are in for a treat. The music during that scene is probably some of the best "scene-setting" music I have ever heard.
Things I didn't like:
The mush-mouthed Brando. Every time Brando started talking, I turned on the subtitles. Its all I could do to understand every third word he was saying. Legend has it that Brando stuffed his mouth with cotton wool during screen tests, but during actual filming he wore an appliance made by a dentist in order to make him "look like a bulldog".
Why? Why did he want to look and sound that way? Brando already had an imposing face, and strong facial features. His voice was ALREADY difficult to comprehend...why make it worse. I really struggled with this, especially during later points in the film when he has candid conversations with his sons. I know its ticky-tack, but about the 2nd hour, I started to get annoyed.
My favorite line:
Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall): "Mr Corleone never asks a second favor after he's refused the first, understood?" (A great line at a crucial part of the movie. One really gets the idea how powerful, and violent, The Don really is. And, by the way, the line is delivered with perfect poise...Thank you Mr. Duvall.)
All in all:
Its a dang good film. And yes, one of the best ever. I have heard people say that the sequel is better. I have never watched The Godfather II in its entirety, so I look forward to forming my own opinion. But for now, The Godfather easily gets **** out of 4.

New Stuff (to this site anyway)

In the coming days (maybe even hours), I am going to transfer over some movie reviews I did on my family site so that they are here for your reading pleasure. As always, feel free to leave comments.

Radio Commercial

A guy I work with does a fundraiser every year in the form of a metal concert in his backyard. He asked me to do the radio ad that will air on several different stations here heavily throughout the next few weeks. I have parlayed this opportunity into doing some more ads for the next month or so. Hopefully this turns into something I can do frequently on the side. Let me know what you think!

Some Movie Reviews....

I had a free preview of HBO a few weeks ago, and I took advantage by DVR-ing anything that looked mildly interesting. Some of these are from that preview, and some are from Netflix, as usual.

*Gran Torino (2009)

I have already debated with some about this movie, but I'd like to get the opinions of those I haven't heard from yet. I honestly didn't like this film. There are some elements I can ultimately live with, but as a whole, I felt it was sloppy, poorly written, and horribly acted. Let me preface my following comments by saying, I love Clint Eastwood, but even he has some imperfections (see: Every Which Way But Loose, Pink Cadillac and Space Cowboys). Add this one to the list.

The film isn't offensively bad, but it is a film that enjoyed a ton of hype, and did not come close to delivering. I mean, moving the plot along by talking to your dog? C'mon Clint, you're better than that! Eastwood's character is grossly inconsistent, and I got tired of his one-liner's, followed by an attempt to spit on the ground in anger. I think he did that at least three times in the movie. There are a few scenes where Eastwood is trying to teach his Korean friend how to talk to a man, and it's SO painful to listen to. I couldn't believe what I was watching.

Aside from this, the movie is ultimately predictable, and there are some interesting characters and relationships that are wasted (his two sons, and the priest (even though that whole thing was hard to believe as well)). Certainly not one of Eastwood's best at all. Watch Million Dollar Baby for his acting, and Mystic River for his directing. 1.5 Stars.


*The Hammer (2007)

Adam Carolla pimped this movie HARD on his radio program for months before and after its release. It makes sense; he wrote, produced, and starred in this film that got limited theatrical release, but picked up some ground after it came out on video. It was an independent film with a shoestring budget. Carolla isn't every body's cup of tea but he can can sling some good, acidic one-liner's with the best of them. I mean, there's no way around it, either you like Carolla or you don't. If you don't, you won't like the movie, so don't waste your time. I like him. I find him funny. I'm not so myopic to think that everything he does is gold, but I really liked The Hammer. A 40 year old, fired from his construction job, Carolla decides he'd like to resurrect his amateur boxing days, so he decides to take a crack at making the Olympic boxing team. I found myself rolling my eyes at some of the cliches, but for the most part, its a light comedy that is comfortable in its identity. Its not trying to be anything its not. Light, good-natured fun. 3 Stars.

Here are some really short ones:

*Reservation Road (2007)

Great acting (Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Connelly and Joaquin Phoenix) saves this movie from utter failure. The story is pretty good, but the acting is superb. We've all seen movies like this. So often, actors are merely pawns reciting memorized words, but this film has some excellent scenes. See it for that alone. 2.5 Stars.

*In America (2002)

See this film. See it and love it. It's damn good. 4 Stars.

*Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Good movie. Not great. Certainly not "Best Movie" caliber. Then again, 2008 was not a good year for movies (Benjamin Button, Milk, The Reader, Frost/Nixon). The story is kind of cool, but the footage of the inner-Indian cities was really impressive. I recommend it, just don't expect to be wowed. 3 Stars.

The beginning....

I'm a big boy now. I've decided that I can maintain, and keep up with my own blog. This will be a place in which I attempt, through the written word, to convey my thoughts, feelings, and ruminations about the subjects which interest me the most. Mainly, sports, movies, pop culture (to a certain extent), my family, and life as a convert to the ways of Eastern Idaho. Certain subjects may coincide with my family blog (littletaylorfamily.blogspot.com), however, I will try to keep this as "Jared-central" as I can.
I'm off to try to make my blog look official. Drop me a line, will you please?