But Dennis made it an [...]]]> I broke down this year and decided to give 24 another shot, since everyone and his brother was telling me how great it was this season. Actually, it was my brother, who’s a die hard fan who even plowed through the dross of last season. He’s a stoic, my brother.

But Dennis made it an event, and I’d been hooked after catching up watching the first few episodes on my iPhone, so I’ve been going over to his place to see the new ones as they come. It’s a show that’s better enjoyed in a group. His new roomie, Ryan, was as engrossed as we were.

We yelled at minor plot stupidities and made stunned faces at each other after brutal monkey wrenches were thrown in Jack Bauer’s face (dramatically speaking). During commercial breaks, Dennis fondled his new iPhone, dizzy with techno-lust.

Only 118 hours to go until the next one! It’d be a dream to land a job where people counted down until the next time they could see the show.

Also, hey, happy birthday to me! I’ll plan something bigger next year.

5:31pm. Hugh Jackman, stop it. You can’t get any hotter. Cripes.

5:40 Is Angelina Jolie wearing one of those giant candy rings?

5:44 JAMES: Whoopi looks terrible.

5:48 Penelope Cruz = Best Supporting for Vicky Christina Barcelona, [...]]]> 5:20pm Yay! Jack Black plays it humble and goofy.
ME: Hahaha! Isn’t he great?
MORGAN: He looks terrible.

5:31pm. Hugh Jackman, stop it. You can’t get any hotter. Cripes.

5:40 Is Angelina Jolie wearing one of those giant candy rings?

5:44 JAMES: Whoopi looks terrible.

5:48 Penelope Cruz = Best Supporting for Vicky Christina Barcelona, which I need to see. You still have that screener, right Dennis?

5:57 Milk=Best Original Screenplay. Score one for the gays. Dustin Lance Black, I heart you.

Real time screenplay overlay = genius.

6:10 Kunio Kato: Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto.
Nice one. “Sank you, ahnimahtion”

6:23 In retrospect, will Sarah Jessica Parker think the writers insulted her (via Daniel Craig) with that “We don’t have to tell you what the makeup artist does,” “Just look at us,” crack?

6:32 Yow. Academy Awards says, “suck it, Joaquin Phoenix.”

6:38 Uh, Jessica Biel’s dress puked itself up. Is there a seamstress in the house?!

6:56 Hey, Zefron. Kind of a token appearance, though, what’s the deal? Beyonce was better than I thought she’d be. But with two high profile musicals, I’m not sure Hugh can honestly claim “the musical is back.”

7:08 yup, Heath Ledger for Best Supporting. It was a lock, but still a great performance.

7:15 Best Documentary = Man on Wire. Told ya it was great.

7:17 Hah, coin vanish was silly, but Philippe balancing his James Marsh’s Oscar on his chin was brill.

7:25 The Hives get a nice centerpiece. Good.

7:28 Haha, “Boom goes the dynamite.” Will Smith = internet nerd.

7:54 not feelin’ it: 1) any of the Original Scores (but congrats, A.R. Rahman FTW)
2) Zefron’s hair. WTF?

8:15 Forgot Cyd Charisse died. Sadface. Where’s Heath Ledger in the obit clips? Did I miss him? He’s nominated, so they don’t have to put him on the list?

8:20 JAMES (re Ron Howard): He looks terrible without his hat on.

Danny Boyle = Best Director. I think he deserves it just for the fantastic performances of the kids. Bravo Slumdog.

8:32 yup, Jolie’s ring is definitely candy. Earrings too, looks like.

8:40 Adrien Brody, shave, dude.

8:43 Wow, score another for the gays, Sean Penn = Best Actor

8:46 Thanks for the anti-Prop-8 slam, Sean.

8:53 Slumdog Millionaire = Best Picture. The entire city of Mumbai is on stage accepting.

9:00 note to self: blog next year’s Oscars from a laptop, not the iPhone.

I get the sense that Martin is a real person, by which I mean that he seems like he’s [...]]]> I can’t tell if his new show will last more than a season, but it was good enough to bring me back for another week. It wasn’t Chappelle’s Show brilliant, but it was pretty good.

I get the sense that Martin is a real person, by which I mean that he seems like he’s being himself, a down-to-earth guy who happens to be very funny. So many actors and comics only play a character in public. I love moments when it seems to me I can see a real person, like Christian Bale’s meltdown on audio that’s currently burning up the tubes of the internets, or this behind-the-scenes clip from Demetri Martin’s show.

I want to like the show, because I so adore Martin’s standup. He’s an original and insightful comic. His standup segments from the show, however, annoyed me more than they made me laugh. The audience guffawed at every statement, whether there was a joke or not. It was almost like having a laugh track. Martin undoubtedly has a team of writers to pad out the amount of material he has to produce to have a series, and I don’t begrudge that. But it doesn’t capture the magic of his comedy specials. The sketches are suprisingly funny, and those will keep me watching for a while. It’s not perfect, but Martin could well grow into the half hour format if he’s given enough of a chance.

And just to be clear, I don’t think Bale’s “true self” is the screaming asshole on his audio clip. He may be that more or less, I don’t care. I will say it’s taken out of context from the set of a big budget film and there’s more than a little pressure on the actors to put some life into the 4th movie of a tired franchise. Bale may be justified or not, I can’t know. But it’s not a persona he put on for the public, it’s his raw anger and it’s something we all have the potential to match. It’s real.

MUSIC

I finally dumped eMusic and went back to CDs and sharing with friends. The hot stuff [...]]]> I guess it’s been over a year since I did this. Luckily, there are a few new things to put up. If I’d been stuck in the same stuff for twelve months, that’d be a little pathetic, no?

MUSIC

I finally dumped eMusic and went back to CDs and sharing with friends. The hot stuff on my iTunes are Regurgitator, The Presidents of the United States of America, Deerhoof, Sam Roberts, TV on the Radio, The New Pornographers, The Field, Wired All Wrong (yes! still!) Feist, The Stills, and a bunch of others. Although, the thing about The Stills is that their album Oceans Will Rise is decent, but I can’t stop listening to Eastern Europe and often just put that on. Worth the price of the record, that one.

BOOKS

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow is amazing and giving my dreams a workout. It’s been while since what I read before going to sleep invades like that. I’m also plowing through Head First Javascript, which is not quite as fun. Neil Gaiman’s Fragile Things and the late David Foster Wallace supplement.

TV

I get clips from SNL, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report through Hulu. I watch It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia there, but mainly because Rob‘s in it, and I know him due to his taking over our guest house after we moved out, and he is, of course, very nice. I stay up late on Wednesdays when there’s a new South Park.

FILM

Harry & Max was awful and so was American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile. I’m on a Louis C.K. kick and love both his specials. Religulous was okay, but petered out at the end. Blades of Glory, Baby Mama, & Hot Rod were just funny enough, but Dan in Real Life was better than I thought it’d be.

PODCASTS

Keith and the Girl get to the front of the queue every time, with Savage Love right behind. CBC Radio 3 showcases a crapload of fantastic Canadian bands. When I can fit them in, I listen to This Week in Science, Dr. Karl on Triple J, and The Sounds in My Head. Video faves are Penn Says, Shralp Surf!, and Cute With Chris.