The Ramblings are back....

"When's the next blog? Mr. Deriv, when's the next blog?"

Rob Hulsman (Sarcastically)


All right, so it has been a while since I’ve written anything...I’ve been flaky I know. What can I say? At least my off time was productive, I edited SEAN PATRICK THOMAS’ wikipedia to read that he was related to my friend ESE. It was up there for about three weeks, I was pretty proud of that.

Before we get to my ramblings, a couple of shoutouts....

Check out my sister’s website: brokeassgourmet.com, a really great website that provides gourmet food and wine recipes on a budget. Her site is getting A LOT of buzz. I'm really proud of her. Make sure to check it out, I guarantee you will like it

My friend Ronny started two blogs: djfivenine.blogspot.com and his “Lost” blog: oceanicrerouted.blogspot.com, both worth reading.

Last shoutout is to my organization Moishe House. We are an upstart Jewish non-profit that supports community building for Jews in their 20’s around the world. The men and women living in these houses are doing AMAZING things. Please go to moishehouse.org to learn more, see event photos and calendars, and most importantly, DONATE! Thank you so much.

All right, now that that’s out of the way, hear come the ramblings:

TV....

Ever since the finale of The Shield I have been waiting for something to fill the void. Mostly its been comedies, The Office is great, as is 30 Rock, but NBC has inconsistent viewing schedules, which annoys me. Flight of the Conchords is back on HBO and has been great so far. I used to not be a fan of the musical sketches, but they have been hysterical this year. They are doing a lot of Hip Hop which I like and it’s been hysterical. Check out THESE THREE CLIPS. To fully appreciate the last clip, check out the music video to SAME GIRL by R. Kelly and Usher, the Conchords did a spot on parody.

HBO has another new comedy Eastbound and Down starring Danny McBride of Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder. It has potential, but after three episodes the quality appears to be dipping a bit. They’re just trying too hard.

No drama has really been able to step up and fill the voids created by the departures of The Wire and The Shield, and I doubt anything will be doing so anytime soon (although Rescue Me is back in April); those shows set the bar very high. Lost has been inconsistent this season. I frankly enjoy reading JEFF JENSEN'S LOST RECAPS, more than I enjoy watching the show, because he so thoroughly explores the mythology and researches the references that are secretly hidden in the show.

Friday Night Lights is the best show on television. The cast is stellar, the problems seem based in reality, and it’s engaging. Plus some football is thrown in.

But I most confess, I am most engrossed by Battlestar Galactica. I know, I know, it’s a geek show, it’s a cult show, it's DWIGHT SCHRUTE'S favorite show. I resisted as long as I could, but I had been hearing good things about it. When I finally gave in and put it in my Netflix queue, I was determined to have a bad attitude about it. I almost didn’t stick with it, but it’s actually a damn good show. I'm really not into sci-fi, but with BSG. if you are willing to look past the fact that the characters you are watching are currently in space and in the future, and that they are at war with alien robots, it is actually an engrossing show that deals with a lot of current political issues in a fairly neutral way. Plus, the women on the show are amazingly hot.

MUSIC...

I mentioned in my last ramblings that Lil Wayne could do pretty much anything at this point and I would listen to it....that was before I heard PROM QUEEN...that song is GOD AWFUL. Stick to the basics Weezy, bring it back to the CARTER II.

A lot of the people who I talk about music with didn’t like UNIVERSAL MIND CONTROL, Common’s new album. I absolutely love it. Besides the fact that every track is beautifully produced, you can just hear in Common’s voice that he is having fun on this album. The best track is GLADIATOR.

MOVIES....

It may be Schadenfreude, but I am happy that Benjamin Button got all but shut out at the Oscars. That movie was terrible and I want my 3 hours back. I also was happy that Slumdog Millionaire and Heath Ledger won too...

I could not have been more disappointed with Notorious. This was supposed to be Ray for my generation, instead we got a cartoony, glorified Behind the Music episode. It was just so bad.

TWITTER....

Is fucking stupid.

SIMPSONS QUOTES....

In my ill-conceived Mr. Derivative List Challenge (It was a really stupid concept, I wrote that one in about 5 minutes, I’m sorry) , I listed the Top 10 Simpsons quotes of all time thusly:
1. "Crisitunity!�
2. "Mmmh...Floorpie!"
3. "....That Dog has a Puffy Tale!�
4."They Taste like....BURNING!
5. "I am so Smart! SMRT!"
6."You can run...BUT YOU CAN’�T GLIDE!�
7. HEY...There’s a NEW Mexico!�
8."mmmh....Sacrilicious!!!"
9. Marge: Kids can be so cruel. � Bart:We Can?� Lisa:OWWW! CUT IT OUT BART!!�
10.”C’mon! It’s Time for a Change!�

Which is evidence that I rushed that blog: I forgot so many of the classics: “Save me Jeebus!”, “I like my TV Loud, my Beer Cold, and My Homosexuals, Flaaaaaaaaaaaaming!” and countless more. Picking the best Simpsons quote, is like picking the worst episode of Two and a Half Men, there are too many to pick from.

Until next time fair readers, I leave you with THIS...happy viewing