- You can always count on Barry Bonds to remind America why we so energetically and unflinchingly loathe him. Fresh off receiving a late surge (albeit a suspiciously convenient surge) of fan votes to win a starting spot in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game, Bar-roid turns right around and thanks the fans by refusing to take part in Monday night’s Home Run Derby, even though it’s being held in his home park, Pac Bell Park. Usually the argument by players who refuse to take part in the derby is that it messes up their swing and can cause problems for them in the second half of the season. Bonds is claiming that as a 43-year-old guy, the preparation for the derby would just be too much for him to go through. Barry, allow me to quote noted philosopher The Rock and say this: KNOW YOUR ROLE…..AND SHUT YOUR MOUTH! You owe a huge debt of gratitude to the fans for their unwarranted support of your ‘roid-fueled quest for the all-time home run record and of your drug-enhanced career with your enlarging head and feet still growing in size at age 43. Even if you have to put in a little extra prep time (hey, maybe your friends the cream and the clear could help!) you need to do it because the fans deserve it. Quit whining, quit posturing and quit being such a surly blowhard, Bar-roid. Man up, participate in Home Run Derby and then we’ll have one less reason to hate you.
- The running of the bulls is one of Spain’s, Europe’s and the world’s best traditions. The spectacle of a couple dozen raging bulls running through the narrow streets of Pamplona, chasing thrill-seeking runners to gore, is always great to see. The first run of this season took place Saturday at the San Fermin Festival, with all-around positive results. Fun was had, thrills were achieved and only seven people were treated for injuries, all of them minor. Best of all, unlike a bull fight where the bull is stabbed with a sword inside its shoulder blade to prevent it from being quite as powerful and dangerous, the bulls who run in this event are the ones dishing out the punishment instead of receiving it. Running with the bulls is definitely on my list of things to do if I ever make it to Spain, and it should be on your list too unless you lack and semblance of intestinal fortitude and would rather spend your Euro adventure drinking wine and strolling on the beach.
- Never a good sign when your network is following the CW playbook, so I’ll issue a Level Four warning for NBC and hope the network comes to its senses. Just as the CW inexplicably, stupidly and indefensibly did with the abysmal, awful, terrible 7th Heaven in 2006, bringing the show back even though it had rightfully been declared dead, NBC will attempt to resuscitate the dying behemoth that is The Apprentice and give Donald Trump’s televised quest to find the next person to kiss his ass another try. The show was thought to be dead but with a regime change at NBC, the new powers-that-be have elected to give D. Trump another shot to pull his show out of the ratings dumpster. Actually, I should be nicer to NBC and not equivocate them to the CW, because in this situation, not only would the CW have brought back a dead, boring show like Apprentice, it would also have cancelled a fantastic series like Heroes to do so. So my apologies, NBC, on your worst day you’re still not as bad as the CW. You still suck hard, CW, and you especially suck, Dawn Ostroff.
- A quick music recommendation for all you indie music lovers out there: the newest album from the Arctic Monkeys, Favourite Worst Nightmare, isn't receiving nearly enough attention but it’s actually a much better record than anything currently on Billboard’s top album charts (Amy Winehouse, Ryan Adams, Kelly Clarkson or Maroon5 - yes, f’ing Maroon5, I’m as depressed as you about that). For those not familiar with Arctic Monkeys, a quick rundown would include that the quartet from Sheffield, England are a funky, offbeat-sounding group that mixes fast and slow paced tunes with equal skill, mixes in some catchy pop-esque vocals from time to time and knows how to deliver plenty of catchy guitar hooks on songs such as D is for Dangerous, or songs from their 2006 album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, songs like Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor and Fake Tales of San Francisco The band is currently touring Europe in support of the record, so our Euro readers should definitely check out their website, http://www.arcticmonkeys.com/, and find out when they’re coming to your area. I can't draw a great comparison for the Arctic Monkeys, maybe think The Killers if they didn’t rely so much on synthesizers, techno type sounds and if they didn’t generally suck………..or maybe a slightly more up-tempo, energetic version of the Thermals. Either way, Favourite Worst Nightmare is an album that I definitely felt compelled to mention because no one else seems to be giving it its due and if you only pay attention to music that people are already talking about, chances are you’ll miss out on this great album.
- An early note on the movie front for the week/weekend: Transformers already set several records on its opening night(s) of Monday and/or Tuesday, so it’s fairly safe to say that the movie will be your champion for this weekend. The question now is how much the movie will rake in over the weekend, although judging by its success on the Fourth of July, when people tend to eschew movies in favor of outdoor activities, Michael Bay’s new flick should be just fine.
No comments:
Post a Comment