Jay-Z: "Blueprint 3" Review

I remember last year when details about Blueprint 3 first started to leak.  Timbaland was giving interviews talking about how he was planning on producing the CD almost single handedly.  Somewhere along the way, Jay decided to roll w/ Kanye to do the bulk of the album instead.  This must have left Timbo a tad bit salty, because the three beats of his that made it on to the album are NOWHERE near his usual hotness.  I'm not saying they're wack, but the duo that brought us classics like "Big Pimpin", "It's Hot", "Dirt Off Your Shoulder", etc, should have been able to put together something memorable.  Instead, we get two decent songs, and one forgettable song.

Don't let that fool you, tho.  Timbo's half assing-ness aside, the production on BP3 is magnificent.  The Kanye/No ID tandem works really well, and we all know what 'Ye is capable of when left to his own devices.  Swizz's contribution is a head nodder as usual, and Jay blacks out on almost every single song.  J. Cole puts up a dope guest verse, and so does Kanye (on both songs he gets a chance to).  Simply put, it's a great album with dope beats and dope rhymes.  Whether the general Hip Hop public will offer the same warm reception that welcomed universal Hov classics like Blueprint 1, Black Album or American Gangster remains to be seen.  But I listened, and I loved it.

Sidenote: Sleeper hit on the album is "Real As It Gets" featuring Jeezy.  Hov if you're reading (lol yea right), PLEASE make that a single!

Diane Lane: She's Seckseeeee

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Spiderman + Mickey Mouse = ??

I'm' not entirely sure what the motivation was behind this deal, but it looks like Disney has scooped up Marvel (and all it's characters) for like 4 billion dollars.  The idea is supposedly for Marvel to tap into Disney's marketing mojo but (and correct me if I'm wrong) with every Marvel movie setting weekend box office records, it doesn't seem to me that any additional "marketing" was necessary.  Which begs the question: what the FUCK does Disney plan on doing with the forthcoming Marvel movies??  I swear If I see so much as one direct-to-DVD Disney themed X-Men flick, I'm gonna scream.

Drake, Lil' Wayne, Kanye, Eminem - "Forever"

I've done my best not to fall for the Drake hype machine.  I mean, he's good and all, but he's not exactly the second coming of Hip Hop Jesus.  That said, this song is dope as hell, thanks largely to Eminem's closing verse.  Enjoy (for the 3 people who haven't heard it yet, in one form or another).

http://usershare.net/a6b81lgjhze6

Luke Ramirez Is NOT 13 Years Old

With all the noise being made about that runner being subjected to a gender test, someone needs to run an AGE TEST on this Luke Ramirez kid.  They're claiming he's 13  years old, but he's like 6'2", 200+ lbs (way bigger than I am as a Goddamn 26 year old).  That's a little bit ridiculous.  I saw one clip of him smacking a homerun and dropping his bat like he was Albert Pujols or something.  It doesn't help that the Little League field is clearly smaller than a major league field and this 13 year old is bigger than some major leaguers.  Even if he IS really 13, isn't it a tad unfair to have him batting against pitchers who are half his size?  I personally could care less about the Little League World Series; I was forced to watch it due to ESPN airing it instead of my favorite afternoon lineup.  But something about this kid blasting bombs on a bunch of pre teens doesn't sit right with me.

Happy Birthday, Michael Jackson

I personally don't even believe he's dead, but that's neither here nor there.  He is was the worlds greatest entertainer and today, he would have turned 51.  So Mike, where ever you are ('cause he sure as hell ain't buried), happy birthday man.

Michael Crabtree Is A Retard

Michael Crabtree was thought to be one of the best (if not, the best) receiver in the draft this year.  Unfortunately, he wound up dropping to the 10th overall pick and had to wait until after the Oakland Raiders selected Darrius Heyward-Bey to land a team.  In his own mind, not only is Crabtree better than Heyward-Bey (arguably true, but beside the point), but he feels he's better than an overall 10th pick.  So he's currently holding out for a contract that would be suitable for a top five caliber athlete (which he feels  he is).  This is stupid for two reasons: 1) The 49ers are not going to pay you MORE than what the Oakland Raiders paid a receiver who was picked three slots ahead of you and 2) you're effectively ruining your own reputation before it's even created.  You didn't even get to practice in the combine because of an injury.  No team really has a clue if you're NFL ready or not and even in the event that someone wanted to pay you the money you're looking for, who would want to put up with such an egotistical diva?  I know as a GM, I sure as hell wouldn't.  You keep sitting around waiting for that big time contract, loser.  Heyward-Bey (who's not as good as you), will be making more money, making more catches, and making a much better name for himself than you ever will.

Glove Compartments

I got pulled over earlier today. And during the whole predictable routine that ensues afterwards, the officer asks me for my license and registration to which I replied "sure, let me get it from my glove compartment." In the moments that followed, I had a pretty interesting thought that I'm sure many people had before, and while waiting for the cop to run my information and write up my ticket (which I won't be paying), I was able to come to a pretty profound conclusion: the term glove compartment is fucking retarded.

For one thing, no one I know has ever placed their gloves in the glove compartment. Ever. But let's assume for one minute that we were actually supposed to put our gloves there. And lets think about this logically. When do we wear gloves? Primarily in the winter time when it's cold. When do people primarily operate their vehicles? Usually between the hours of 7am-7pm (taking into account pre/post work errands, and the typical 9-5 schedule). So it would make sense to think that the coldest part of a winter day (the overnight period, when our cars are parked), our gloves would be waiting for us in our glove compartment. Because that's where we're supposed to put them, right? Well, during the winter, temperatures dip as low as 10 degrees overnight, usually lower. Do you wanna wake up in the morning when it's already cold...open your cold car door with your bare hands, only to put on a pair of gloves that have been sitting in an ice cold car?

I. Don't. Fucking. Think. So.

I'm glad to know that no one puts their gloves in the glove compartment. But for the glove compartment to be named so in the first place, SOMEONE must have thought it was a good idea. That person needs to be shot and killed (if they haven't died already).

I'm Boycotting Apple

You may or may not be aware of this little broo-hah-hah that's been going on between Apple and Google regarding the Google Voice app. Since I don't feel like getting into details, let's just say Apple hasn't exactly been playing nice with Google in their efforts to get the app to iPhone users. It's become a pretty big mess that's also done alot to expose some of the shadier business practices of Apple and 'nem. Long story short, Apple's app approval process has been called into question by the FCC. Quality apps are getting delayed/rejected while stupid, pointless apps wind up on national commercials (fist bumping contact info? cool!) Apple's decision to disregard the best interest of the customers who drop tons of cash into their pockets has left a bad taste in my mouth. That said, I'm boycotting Apple and their products/services. Starting with the iPod.

I never thought I'd say this, but my next MP3 player will not be an iPod; oh no. It will be a Zune. I can hear you laughing from behind my monitor, but allow me to explain. Yes, the previous Zune models have been ugly bricks that I wouldn't be caught dead with. But the Zune HD is one beautiful piece of hardware that has almost unanimously been dubbed as a possible iPod killer. At the very least, it's a worthy opponent to the iPod Touch that not only offers new features, but costs less. So Apple, you can kiss my money goodbye and go to hell.

Movie Review: "The Final Destination"

I'll be completely honest: no, I haven't seen this movie. And as of now, I have zero intention of seeing it. But, after seeing the trailer a few times, I was pretty psyched. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a basher of the franchise or anything. I thought the first movie was great, the second one was fairly decent, and the third one was awful. I REALLY didn't see the need for a fourth one, but the deaths seemed fun, the acting seemed (slightly) better, and who can pass up 3D violence, right? Well, I'm glad I saved my $11, because I caught a few reviews that confirmed my one fear about the flick: it's exactly like the last three movies.

It's my own dumb fault for thinking this movie would be anything other than a carbon copy, paint by numbers wannabe of it's predecessors. But they marketed it perfectly! Cool opening disaster scene, some seemingly interested kills, and a somewhat different title to separate it from the sorry mess of a movie that came before it. But they didn't even bother dressing the movie up with some sort of clever twist that would link it to the previous films. It's just two hours of people we don't care about dying in hilariously impossible ways. I've seen that 3 times already. No thanks.

Why Don't We Have A PETH?

Let it be known that I love animals as much as the next person. My family has always had cats for pets, I'd love to get a dog (so long as it's not too big), and I try to visit the zoo when I can. Animals rock. So I can appreciate and organization like PETA. But due to the Michael Vick issue, there are talks that NFL teams are balking at signing him because they don't want the negative publicity and PETA protesting that's sure to follow.

I would understand that ONLY if there was a group who stood up for humans as strongly as PETA stands up for animals. Why don't we have that? I mean, let's really think about this logically. Michael Vick went to jail for 2 years for involving himself in dog killing. Donté Lamar Stallworth killed an actual human and wasn't even in jail for 3 weeks. And if Goodell decides he wants to let him in again, I doubt there will be 'human rights protests' in the stands during the games.

It's bad enough that PETA is overly aggressive with their message as it is, but the fact that corporations fear them so much to shy away from someone who's already served their debt to society is a tad bit troubling to me. I love dogs and all, and yea Vick was wrong, but the man has to start over sometime. If I see so much as one sign or one protest during his return to the NFL I'm going to scream.