Friday, March 25, 2011

the perfect proposal. OR how a sitcom made me cry like a little girl.

[I am not going to recap the episode. If you haven't watched it, go watch it.]

I miss the days when The Office was out and out the funniest show on television. Being on television for over 125 episodes, obviously crafting new storylines for these characters that we know so well must be a challenge. Last night's episode, "Garage Sale," was not perfect, and did not tread new ground (something the series has become known for, but has been lacking in the last few season), but was, nevertheless, quite excellent.

Everyone has known that Steve Carrell is leaving The Office for some time now. This season has been all about Michael's growth as a human being. Throughout the series, Michael has acted inconsiderately, selfishly, and childishly. He has shown growth at times, but never so much as when he had a reason to be better. Holly Flax is Michael's reason to be better. When Holly returned to the office, Michael did something very "Michael." He dumped a gift from Holly's boyfriend into the trash and poured coffee all over it. But, the longer Holly stayed, and the more involved they became, the more Michael matured for her. He was able to respect the office's PDA policy, he made the difficult decision to breakup with Holly rather than drag it out like in "Employee Transfer" when he vowed to, "make this way harder than it needs to be." Michael was also able to let his "BFF" Todd Packer go because he realized Packer wasn't really his friend when he insulted Holly. And, in perhaps the biggest sign of Michael growing up, he was able to laugh at himself and his so-bad-its-good movie "Threat Level Midnight." Of course, he threw a hissy fit when Holly was honest with him about it, but he was quickly able to see things more realistically.

Michael Scott begins the episode by trying to figure out the best way to propose to Holly. This path has been tread before by many a sitcom, but with Michael involved, the ideas being brainstormed include gasoline, dead bodies, and heads falling off. Like anyone, even usually calm and collected Jim Halpert, Michael was nervous about his proposal. In fact I thought it was cute how Michael was not impressed by Jim and Pam's proposal story. Michael had always idolized Jim and Pam, but here, they weren't good enough. Here, he wanted to create the big moment that would be objectively memorable and a good story to tell. He probably would have gone with one of his ideas, had it not been for the voluntarily involved employees of Dunder Mifflin [Sabre]. Everyone in the office has always resisted Michael's friends with them and being involved in their personal lives. Today, however, a few of them get involved without him even asking, and everyone in the office helps Michael with the proposal.

The most beautiful thing about the proposal is that everyone Michael cares about most was there to support him. And they weren't there because it was "a car wreck that you want to look away but you have to stare at it because your boss is making you," but because they genuinely care. The employees of Dunder Mifflin, like us, have grown to love Michael. This highlights the most telling act of Michael acting like a grown up. For almost 7 years we have heard Michael talk about his employees as if they were family, in fact calling them family on many occasions. He loves them, Dunder Mifflin, and Scranton. When Holly told him he had to go to Colorado, he never for a second considered staying in Scranton without her. Michael Scott is ready to move on.

Monday, March 21, 2011

really gq?

As you may have read, GQ recently released its list of "Worst Sports Fans in America." The list is a reminder of why so many Americans read and trust the household names of GQ writers, such as...you know, those people who we all love for their authoritative and responsible reporting. You know who I mean! Those guys! Oooh it's right on the tip of my tongue!! Those guys who named the "25 Douchiest Colleges in America," and the "Top 10 List of Major League Baseball's Fattest Men! (Parts I and II)" Whatever, you know who I'm talking about.

Well, those titans of journalism have conducted a very scientific study, in conjunction with Harvard University and MIT, to determine which cities and which teams have the "Worst Sports Fans in America." At the top of the list is Philadelphia with a double win, for our scummy, scum-bag Eagles and Phillies fans. "Philadelphia has long been derided as a terrible, terrible place to visit, and not just for visiting sports teams and their fans. It's nice to see our city celebrated on this prestigious list," commented one fan in an interview definitely not conducted with my mirror. It's true that while Philadelphia may be a stinky, smelly, dung heap, as that very famous and well known GQ writer would have you believe, we really haven't been told as such in the national media before. I mean, sure, we've had mentions in the local news, the blogosphere, associated content, and USA Today, but THAT IS ALL of the examples. So it is definitely nice to be in the spotlight as a great city, in the eyes of the nation.
Unfortunately, the purpose of this post is not merely to heap praise upon that famous GQ writer that we all know, love, and are unavoidably influenced by (though he, of course, deserves mountains of praise for a well conceived and well executed example of journalistic integrity). No, this post has something to say about the congratulatory blurb that accompanied the picture of a Phillies fan at our #1 (and #2) spots atop the list.

The article states, "Over the years, Philadelphia fans have booed Santa Claus as well as their own star players. They've even booed a guy who just helped the city win a friggin' World Series title—while he was getting his ring. Boooo! Admittedly, there are some things fans have cheered. Like Michael Irvin's career-ending neck injury and a fan being tased on the outfield grass. Things reached their nadir last season, when Citizens Bank Park played host to arguably the most heinous incident in the history of sports: A drunken fan intentionally vomited on an 11-year-old girl. The truth is this: All told, Philadelphia stadiums house the most monstrous collection of humanity outside of the federal penal system. "Some of these people would boo the crack in the Liberty Bell," baseball legend Pete Rose once said. More likely, these savages would have thrown the battery that cracked it."

Really GQ? Philadelphia is so much worse than this. We deserve an even higher ranking than #1 AND #2. Yes, we booed Santa. We also pelted him with snowballs, a fact your "article" conveniently leaves out. Also, I accidentally AND intentionally vomit on people of all ages at every Phillies game I go to - especially if they take away my firearms at the gate. You also forgot the many people we throw batteries at (some of them the only black players on the team at the time) or the fact that OUR LAST STADIUM HAD A COURT AND JAIL IN IT.

In short, Adam Winer (I remembered it! man, I love that guy and his super insightful articles in GQ on Take Me Home Tonight, "The Worst Sports Fans in America," aaaand...THAT'S IT.), this "article" is a joke. Philadelphia sports fans are much, much huger and more disgusting monsters than you ineptly give us credit for. Next time, probably you'll be writing for the New York Times or Maxim or something by then, make sure you get your facts straight.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

awesome.

maybe i should use my free time to make a stop motion short...

(notes on) biology from ornana films on Vimeo.

Monday, March 14, 2011

most anticipated game of the year

You know its going to be a good year for gaming when the RUNNERS UP to this title are Mass Effect 3, Arkham City, and The Elder Scrolls V
[possible spoilers]



Monday, March 7, 2011

jennifer aniston's sex tape!!!!!

not sure I "love smartwater" but I do love Jenn Aniston.


Thursday, March 3, 2011