MJ Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is this weekend. There are various lists across the internet providing the top 10 Super Bowl Halftime shows. I was looking at a couple of them - because that is what you do when you are on the internet - look at other people's lists, and I noticed that Michael Jackson did a halftime show back in 1993.

Not surprisingly, most of the commentary on the show is that MJ reinvented halftime shows and turned them into what they are today - 10 minute over-the-top, no holds barred, spectaculars.

So in preparation for the big game on Sunday, let's breakdown MJ's legendary performance from almost 20 years ago.



0:01 - A countdown. Awesome.

0:03 - James Earl Jones is the intro man - the Morgan Freeman of the 80's and 90's. Was there an official passing of the torch there? Is James Earl Jones dead? Because once Freeman took over, JEJ has fallen off the planet.

0:26 - Cameraman 2 was thrown off by the intro music. Zoomed in too early. Producer: "What the... quick, back to Camera 1. C2, you idiot!"

0:38: Ok, now zoom C2.

0:46: Aw snap! It's MJ on the jumbotron.

0:57: Psyche! No it's not. That was just a stuntdouble. By the way, how did one become an MJ stunt double? Were these the last people to get cut from the backup dance crew?

1:11: Michael emerges.

I wonder how the discussion went with the choreographer during the planning of the show:

C: Ok Michael, so then you will emerge from the stage. There will be sparklers and stuff of course. And then you will hold your pose. How long do you want to hold your pose? 10 seconds? 20? 30 tops?

MJ: I will hold it for at least a minute. After that I will take another minute to move my head and take off my sunglasses.

C: Um, yeah, this isn't a regular concert. We only have 13 minutes for the entire show. Pretty sure we shouldn't dedicate a sixth of the time to you just standing there motionless.

2:08: He's still motionless.

2:24: Apparently not dead.

2:41: Also apparently not that bright outside.

2:43: Cue the electric guitar from the... HOLY HANNAH WHAT IS THAT THING? Best guess is it's an extra from The Lion King. There is no way of knowing though if it's male or female. Impossible to determine.

3:05: The crowd in the foreground is doing the classic Michael Jackson song dance move which is just to sort of jump and or shake your body wildly because as great as MJ songs are, the only way to dance to them is to dance like MJ and since only about 1% of the population can do that, the rest of us are left to just flail our arms and hope nobody is watching. Unfortunately for these people, the U.S. was watching.

3:30: And scene. Quick change, cue the hat and drum beat. Let the hip thrusting begin.

4:25: No matter how many impersonators you will see over the years, no one does it quite like him.

4:55: The Lion King is making its move onto the stage. I'm hoping the song culminates in a King of Pop v. King of the Jungle battle royale. Granted, MJ is a lover not a fighter, so this likely won't happen.

5:22: Go back up dancers.

5:37: "Five, six, seven, and...point to the crowd!"

6:05: I wonder if MJ's nose ever blew off while standing on one of those wind vents. It had to have worried him.

6:20: Some guy wearing one of those fake mustaches with glasses just grabbed a little screen time.

6:25: Black or white? How about male or female? Please settle this.

6:42: The Super Bowl, sponsored by United Way.

8:00: How awesome would it be if MJ ditched the rest of his performance and just got out a football and tried to kick a field goal from the stage? How far do you think it would go? I'm guessing no more than 15 yards. I don't even think it would make it off the stage.

8:20: Not really sure what to say here. MJ is holding what appears to be a magic wand of sorts. He uses it to make children appear. All jokes seem too easy and likely to cross the line quickly. We'll just respect the dead (and molested) and move on.

8:50: Apparently the Nickelodeon Rugrats are also sponsoring the Superbowl. I wonder if Doug and Ren and Stimpy will also be featured.

9:30: I mean, I honestly feel like MJ is a sincere guy and all, just not the choicest words since we know that in a few months he is going to be charged with child molestation.

9:55: Cue the children.

10:01: Was that a boy in lederhosen? Das good.

10:25: Looks like they have children dressed in costumes from all over the world...and also a few adults in solid green Ross sweatshirts. They are pretending to be helpers but really just jockeying for position and trying to get some face time. MJ will not be happy if he's not surrounded entirely by children.

11:09: "Peace bud. Peace."

11:22: Here come the United Way graduates.

12:26: Let's be honest, would I have preferred some sort of Beat It/Smooth Criminal/Bad/The Dog-gone Girl Is Mine Medley. At the same time, it is quite an amazing production. He literally has the entire stadium involved. Scores of people singing and then everyone in the crowd holding up some sort of poster. Pretty impressive. I bet the athletes were jealous they didn't get to participate.

So there you have it. The production that started it all. Your move Madonna.

Russian Schooling

I read this article in the NY Times the other day. It is a fascinating story about a NY Times correspondent that moved to Russia for a few years. He discusses their decision to put their kids, who don't know any Russian at all, in the Russian school system as opposed to in an international school where they would speak and teach in English.

"But when I became a foreign correspondent for The New York Times, my wife and I decided that we wanted to immerse them in life abroad. No international schools where the instruction is in English. Ours would go to a local one, with real Russians. When we told friends in Brooklyn of our plans, they tended to say things like, Wow, you’re so brave. But we knew what they were really thinking: What are you, crazy?"

I'm pretty sure that I would want to do the same thing with my kids, but I doubt that I would actually be able to go through with it. I think it would be a great experience for my kids to experience living in another country and in another culture and to be fully immersed in that culture. I've met plenty of people who lived in other countries, but hardly knew anything about that country because they spent their few years in that country mostly speaking and associating with English speaking people. Sure, they knew more about the country than I did, but their experience seemed to be vastly different than that of these kids.

I think the key for making something like this work, would be finding the right school. The founder/headmaster of this school and the teachers sound excellent.

"When Bogin [founder] was growing up in the Soviet era, the party used schools to mold loyal Communists. Teachers wove propaganda through the lessons and enforced memorization like drill sergeants. Bogin detested it. “I didn’t want to be a slave,” he told me. “I didn’t want to be a person who is ordered and must obey the orders without any thinking. I didn’t consider myself to be a person who repeats texts without any criticism or thinking or any alternatives.

Just as political dissidents fought the Soviet regime, so, too, did others oppose the educational system. Bogin was one of them. After studying English in college and serving in the army, he decided to become the kind of teacher he craved as a child. At a school in the Moscow suburbs in the late 1980s, he challenged pupils to challenge him — and everyone else...

"When I asked Bogin to explain Shchedrovitsky, he asked a question. “Does 2 + 2 = 4? No! Because two cats plus two sausages is what? Two cats. Two drops of water plus two drops of water? One drop of water.”

From there, the theories became more complex. In practice, though, the philosophy meant that Bogin delighted in barraging children with word problems and puzzles to force them to think broadly. It was the opposite of the rote memorization of the Soviet system."

Love it.

And a great story about one of the teachers:

"At the beginning of the year, the other children treated Danya, Arden and Emmett as curiosities. They occasionally mocked the three for their mangled syntax, though the school cracked down on that. Bogin even devised a ploy for Emmett’s class: one of the school’s English teachers conducted a lesson entirely in English. “This is what every day is like for Emmett,” the teacher explained. One boy was so tormented trying to follow along that he burst into tears."

Brilliant.

Anyways, it's a great read. The kids naturally start off completely lost and discouraged and come home in tears. The parents question whether they should pull them out of school and if they made the right decision. They almost pull them out after one day but decide to stick by the decision and three years later when they are leaving Russia the kids are fluent in Russian and have made great friendships.

Reading this story made me ponder a few things. First of all, it just reminds me of how resilient people, and especially children can be. They clearly struggled and life was really difficult, but they stuck with it and their decision and I think the entire family would agree that they were glad they did.

I think we as a society, or at least as adults, shun or are embarrassed by struggling or failing. Even though it really is part of life. I'm reminded of this with Win. I know it is small and trivial stuff that he does, but it is inspiring to watch him grow. His life is full of struggles and failures at the moment. He spent weeks just trying to pull himself up to a standing position. Even when he does, he still falls over sometimes. He will usually cry for a bit. But once he is better, he tries again. And again. And again until he gets it. And when he does, he is so proud. He spent weeks trying to pull himself up in his crib. When he finally could do it he was so excited it took him a few hours to finally go to sleep. We would put him on his back and he would just flip over and pull himself up and giggle with excitement that he had finally done it.

The other thing this article made me think about was what I mentioned above about how many people, including myself, would actually do what this family did. It made me think about the many immigrants and people that come to the US and what they must be going through. Granted, I have lived in another country and struggled to learn the language and assimilate myself into the culture. But that was all part of the program I signed up for. This family didn't have to do what they did. There were plenty of English-speaking international schools they could have attended.

I guess I just often look at immigrants and think that if they would just learn the language and try to be more American, then life would be easier for them. First of all, I think many are trying and it's just not easy. And second, I'm already pretty sure that if I went to Russia I wouldn't do what this family did and I would likely spend my three years there partially getting involved with the culture, but also spending a lot of time with any English speaking acquaintances I made. I'm pretty sure most Americans would do the same.

Anyways, I'm not trying to get preachy and this isn't some sort of pro-Dream Act or immigrants rights blog post or anything. I don't know if I have a specific point. Just had one of those moments where my perspective was altered a bit and I realized I can't completely fault some people for their behavior because I'm not sure I would do differently if I was in their situation. I know I, and they, would be better off if they did; as demonstrated by this article. I guess I'm still a little too proud and afraid to struggle and fail. I need to better follow Win's example.

Wilco > Black Eyed Peas

This is just fantastic:



I'm not sure why Jeff Tweedy was performing at this seemingly random venue or why he had prepared a cover of the Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling," but it's very entertaining. Does he do this often? I'd say I should hang out in local music bars hoping to encounter a similar random performance, but as great as this performance is, I don't think it would be worth the endless hours of "emo/indie/hipster acoustical complaint rock."

You don't have to listen to I Gotta Feeling for more than about 15 seconds before you realize that lyrically and musically there is nothing brilliant about it. After hearing Jeff Tweedy slowly recite the lyrics and hearing how simple and ridiculous they are, it seems unjust that the Rebecca Black girl got creamed and ridiculed by her peers and the media for "her" song while I Gotta Feeling was performed at the Super Bowl without any sort of teenage rioting or backlash.

Enjoyable Read

This might be the only time I will ever recommend reading a case or refer to a lawsuit as an enjoyable read because lawsuits are almost never enjoyable reads - especially summary judgment motions.

But this case is an exception. You can find it here.

It's a little long, but is highly entertaining, especially if you are into petty high school behavior, the movie Mean Girls, crazy moms living vicariously through their daughters, high school cheerleading stereotypes and/or frivolous lawsuits.

If there wasn't a case caption and cases cited throughout, I would have thought I was reading a script for a proposed Lifetime movie. Granted, I'm sure the quality minds at Lifetime are already drafting up the screenplay for this.

And speaking of citing cases, the case cited on pg. 13 - Hayut v. State University of New York - is incredible. I literally laughed out loud when I read the brief facts from that case that were cited.

Anyways, if you have some free time this is a fun read - even for a non-lawyer. Well, at least the first half is before the case gets too deep in legal analysis. Maybe it's all boring and just entertaining when compared to all other legal rulings out there. Although, I'm pretty sure the opening paragraph and footnote 13 (pg. 24) would be entertaining to most anyone.

Also, I wonder when/if this mom will ever realize she is completely whack. Surely she will appeal this ruling and try and get the Supreme Court to hear her case. But even when they throw out her case and refuse to hear it I'm sure she still won't realize she completely ridiculous and out of control. She will probably feel like there is a nationwide conspiracy to prevent her daughter from making the cheer team. Which there is of course. At least now there is.

Audience Participation

A few years ago I went to KROQ's Inland Invasion out in lovely Devore, CA. It was one of those all day shows out in the hottest, most remote field the concert organizers could find. I think we saw 10 or 11 bands all put on an hour show each. It was the first time I ever saw Beck or Arcade Fire live. Both were fantastic and as good live as they are in a studio. The opposite of The Bravery who were also there. They only had one hit at the time, that one with the high note which unfortunately their lead singer couldn't actually hit. It was somewhat awkward and embarrassing for him. Ok, a lot embarrassing. Jet played their one song. Garbage was also there. Which made sense given that they were at least 7 years past their peak and almost completely irrelevant at the time. They would have taken the award for Most Random Band to be Playing a Show in 2005 except that Madness also performed. Yes, Madness from "Our House" fame. Garbage couldn't even take the award for Forgotten 90s Band since Live also performed.

Anyways, it was a strange lineup that ended with sets from 311, Beck, Weezer, Oasis and Cake. A quality finish. 311 was surprisingly enjoyable, Beck blew my mind and Weezer was incredibly entertaining. Oasis fell below our expectations, which is sort what we expected, and we didn't make it through all of Cake's set since people in our group were dying.

But I bring all this up because I saw a clip today from a recent U2 concert and it reminded me of something Weezer did at our show. Before they played The Sweater Song, arguably their most famous song, or at least the one that really put them on map, they asked if anyone in the audience knew the guitar part to their song. Naturally, hundreds of hands shot up. Some were probably lying, but most people that raised their hands were likely males that spent the bulk of their teenage years in the 90s and spent countless hours lounging around either alone or with friends and while staring blankly at a wall or TV and plucked out the opening notes to the Sweater Song, and thus likely did know how to play the song.

So Weezer brings up some guy from the audience and they give him a guitar and he starts plucking away and they sing the song. It was wildly entertaining. After wards they gave him the guitar and sent him backstage. I still remember it to this day as one of my favorite concert moments. I was trying to figure out why I like it so much since I like Weezer but don't necessarily love Weezer. But I think I think I enjoyed it for a lot of the same reasons why I love this clip so much: It bridges the gap between the band and the audience. There is something about a member of the audience playing with the band that humanizes the band and brings them to the audience level even though they aren't. Especially not U2. I don't know their complete background, but their current life situation is vastly different than mine. So is Weezers.

But as much as you may feel connected to a band through their music, this for some reason puts it on a different level. If you are watching it you almost feel like you are up there playing with them. Not really of course, but it does bring you on to the same plane as the band.

I also think it's great because I don't think that all bands could do this. I love Muse and they put on a fantastic show, but I don't think something like this would work for them. They have too much of a production and spectacle. It's almost too polished and professional and an amateur would just ruin things. Most bands couldn't do this without ruining their show.

It also helps with bands like U2 and Weezer that have not only been around for so long, but they have so many songs that people are very familiar with where they could do this. Not many bands have songs where many people in audience could play the guitar part. People might know the songs and some die-hards might be able to play the songs, but it wouldn't be as universal as a U2 song. Even someone like Beck, everyone knows the song Loser, but few could actually play it. Can you imagine Beck saying, "Anyone out there a slide guitarist that can come up here and play Loser for us?" Or Arcade Fire saying, "Hey, we want to play Keep the Car Running, any hurdy gurdy players in the audience?... No? Ok, nevermind." Just wouldn't work.

Maybe I'm over-analyzing this. Maybe U2 and Weezer are on the same plane as most fans and they are somewhat "normal people" so they can get away with things like this. Maybe it just comes down to confidence and U2 and Weezer have been doing this so long and mastered their craft so well that they know that no amateur could really ruin their show or set because they can make up for any shortcomings. Maybe the person's guitar is actually unplugged and The Edge is backstage playing and this is all just a hoax.

Or maybe it is all real and there is no need to try and dissect it because awesome doesn't need an explanation.

Also, apparently the guy in this video is blind. Now it has to be staged.

Summer Movies

Nellie has been requesting a summer movie post. Once upon a time this was an annual event here at Kent Drive. I missed last year and it seemed like the tradition may have died. But like this blog in general, we just aren't ready to kill if off entirely.

So when it comes to movies, summer now starts in April, which is why I'm a little late with this post. Two summer blockbusters have already come out: Fast Five and Thor. I have done my American duty and seen both of them. Fast Five was terrific. Just horribly awesome at so many moments. Lots of ridiculous stunts. A mediocre plot line that felt a lot like Oceans 11. And the greatest ensemble of bad actors ever in a movie. Just fantastically bad. Bill Simmons and Adam Corolla did a podcast breaking down the movie. If you have an hour to kill or need some comedy in your life, give it a listen. I think my favorite line might be Adam Corolla describing Vin Diesel as "Sylvester Stallone if Stallone had been hit over the head with a snow shovel." So spot on. He's Sly Stallone, only a little slower and dumber, if that is possible.

The podcast is here if you want to listen. It's the 4/28 podcast. Speaking of podcasts...

Thor was also good summer fun. Not exactly life changing or anything. But an entertaining shut off your brain summer movie. Had some plot questions and left a little to be desired in some spots. But had decent character development and a good story line.

Anyways, it seems like everything this summer is either a sequel or an action hero/Marvel movie, or both. Here is an interesting article from GQ about why that is. Sort of a sad story for movies in general. Don't get me wrong, summer movies are fun, but there really isn't much creativity or new ideas in the summer movies.

Not really sure how to organize this, so we'll just count them down in order of likelihood I'll be seeing it.

So here we go:

Zookeeper



Sadly, there is actually a decent chance I will see this movie, just not in the theater. When you have 40+ nieces and nephews, movies like this get screened at family gatherings because it fits under the guise of "family fun for all ages." But that's a lie. No respectable family should and does have fun watching this movie, regardless of age. I just showed this trailer to Win and he started crying.

Planet of the Apes



I don't know. Sort of looks good. But also just can't get myself excited to see this. It's a mob movie for me. If I'm swept up in a mob of people wanting to go see it then I'll go, but I definitely won't be instigating that mob.

Pirates 4: Something Something Johnny Depp



This one actually looks decent. The problem is that the previous two were so long and such abominations that I have zero desire to pay money to see this. They were able to make a great movie out of a theme park attraction, then milked it for all they could by giving us 6 hours of roaming and bumbling nothingness.

I think the script looked something like this:

Roam around and pretend like we are after something.

Johnny Deep funny talking.

Action running around with Orlando Bloom. Use swords.

Keira Knightly. Use snaggletooth.

Repeat 5x.

Resolve all "plot lines" by good guys getting the thing they needed but not that other thing they will need in next installment.

And now they think they can redeem themselves by making a quality film and pretend like 2 and 3 never happened and charge us $17 in the meantime? I don't know if that is their actual plan but I'm going to assume it is and I won't stand for it.

Speaking of terrible sequels:

Transformers 3: Dark (Side) of the Moon



Yea for disaster porn. I hope that Pink Floyd is somehow suing Michael Bay and the entire Tranformers Movie Organization (TMO) for that title.

Admittedly, like Pirates, this one does look better than the previous ones. But if the incessant pounding noise (ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-bum!) in the preview is any foreshadowing of the in your face unnecessarily loud sounds and images that are bound to dominate the movie, then I think I'll pass.

Harry Potter



Just because this movie follows the previous two, doesn't mean I view it the same. I just don't do Harry Potter. I'm not anti Potter, I just never read the series. I read book one and enjoyed it, just didn't continue with the rest of them. No good reason. Just life and ESPN I guess. I've seen parts of other movies and I was just lost. I didn't see the first half of this one, not sure why I would pay $14 to see the second half. I'm sure it will be good and will literally make a billion dollars. Hopefully in 30 years when they are making the movies again I'll have read the books by then and I can see the second installment.


Winnie the Pooh

When literally the world is seeing Harry Potter on opening weekend, this is where that one other person that didn't read Harry Potter and I will be:



Yes please. Lie to me and tell me you didn't smile and laugh at least 4 or 5 times during that trailer. If that doesn't make you feel happy, I don't know what could.

As I typed that Nellie just said she didn't really like Winnie the Pooh growing up. This is troubling and information I wish I knew prior to making eternal commitments with her. You know what Nellie does love? Target. Actual quote from last week as we walked in the store:

"Target is so great. I just love it. Guys don't love this place as much as women do, huh?"

Me: No response. Just mentally bracing myself for the dent this trip was going to make in our bank account.

I don't know if Target pumps Brad Pitt's musk through their vents or what sort of mind games they pull on women, but they have them locked down.

Cars 2



Ugh Pixar. I sort of hate you for making this movie. I actually don't hate you. I really like you. But I was genuinely bored in Cars and I have little desire to see a sequel. It's just that, after what you pulled in Up and Toy Story 3, I can't help but want to support you with everything you do. I just hope this isn't as boring as the first one. Not that it really matters though. I'll still see it and show up next summer for whatever it is that you will be rolling out.

The Tree of Life



This film was screened last night at Cannes to mixed/poor reviews. I'm still excited to see it. Terrence Malick movies are long and can be slow, but only if you don't know what to expect. Not that I know exactly what to expect with this movie, but it's likely going to be a lot of just dialogue and pondering issues. Which can be good in some moments. Not exactly an ideal summer movie though.

Captain America



Eh. Ok. A buff man with a pistol and no apparent superpowers is coming to fight the Nazis. Not terribly impressed. At least give him a shotgun or a chainsaw as an arm or something. Nope. He's got six bullets and a hubcap. Better use them wisely. I'm gonna bet there are a few times throughout the movie where he uses at least 14-15 rounds before reloading.

X Men




What they never show in the X-Men movies is the X-man or woman that has the advanced brain. They always have planes that are centuries ahead of every one else. Presumably this movie takes place in the 50's with the Cuban Missile Crisis. The X-Men come cruising along to prevent the crisis and they show up in some incredibly advanced plane. It was the same way in the previous movies. The X-Men aren't just freaks of nature, but they are apparently also freaky smart when it comes to building planes. Unfortunately, it seems as though their technology advancements only apply to flying crafts. Can't they apply their superior brain power to other areas? Maybe just invent superior weapons. Might be easier than trying to stop a bunch of rockets with the strong magnet in your hand. Also might get the US government to respect you more.

Larry Crowne



Need to break up all the superhero stuff. How about with some Tom Hanks? Sure, he's usually a good relief. Doesn't necessarily look like the best Tom Hanks movie and hopefully it's not as predictable as the trailer implies. But I'm pretty sure there are worse chick-flicks to have to go to.

Green Lantern



So I wasn't all interested in this movie until I saw the extended trailer from above. Now I'm totally on board. Granted, I sort of have a thing for Ryan Reynolds. I know he annoys a lot of people, but I usually find him pretty entertaining. One of those people that generally plays the same-ish character in each movie. I tend to like his one character, so I'm usually on board.

Super 8



The coach from Friday Night Lights meets Unstoppable with the alternate train crash ending meets Independence Day or maybe even Signs. Aliens are synonymous with summer. This one looks like it will be quality and at least worth the price of admission. I'll grace it with my presence. I know Spielberg will appreciate it.

Cowboys and Aliens



Still not sure what is going on here. We know it's a western and presumably set in that time period. Aliens also seem to attack. And some naked girl keeps on showing up. Not sure if she is an alien or a confused citizen that often forgets her clothes.

Regardless, I like the idea, and the actors. You can't beat James Bond. It's about time he started fighting aliens and not just the Russians in every movie. Plus, it puts Harrison Ford back on a horse, which is really where he belongs. He wasn't on a horse much in the last Indiana Jones movie and you saw how that turned out. Hopefully being on a horse will make this alien encounter bearable. It's directed by Jon Favereau. He did the Iron Man movies, so I feel like this has to be good.

At the same time, it also seems like it has the potential to be sort of lame. Sort of a gamble for the top of this list. But with so few gambles this summer and everyone going for the sure thing and safe bet, I feel like a movie that gambled should be awarded the top spot on this illustrious list. Hopefully it turns out to be a big winner.

The Hobbit

This is awesome. Watching this made me happy. Not in a giddy sort of way. More of a nostalgic happy. Happy that these people are allowing me to return to a place full of great memories. Just hearing the music reminded me of how great the LOTR movies were. It's amazing how much work goes into these movies. I'm excited to return to the Shire in a couple years.