Normally, the ValpoLife.com headquarters runs pretty smoothly. Everyone gets along, and we are all usually so busy that there isn't a ton of time to argue amongst ourselves. Apparently though, one subject in particular was enough to turn this serene office into a expletive-filled battle between two factions: Pro-Transformers and Anti-Transformers. And by 'factions', I mean me versus the rest of the office.
Transformers is a critically-panned, widely popular blockbuster movie series, whose sequel was released this summer. The movie was directed by the critically-panned, widely popular Michael Bay. I didn't bother seeing the second one, because the first one was so awfully annoying that I didn't want to spend the $9 on a headache. That, and Michael Bay movies are almost always terrible. I took some heat in the office, because Transformers was apparently an "awesome" movie. Let's just say I disagreed.
What ever happened to good summer blockbusters? I remember when Godzilla came out. Godzilla sucked. Everyone recognized that, so no one went to see it. Today? The first Transformers was a bad movie, and the Pro-Transformers in the office even admitted as much. "It's not supposed to be a good movie", said Mark who blindly defends his Autobots. "But it's fun." He's not alone there, judging by the $300M+ in earned at the box office.
My argument is that you can have a great movie have big exposions and be "fun". Movies like The Dark Knight, Iron Man, and even The Bourne Ultimatum are summer blockbusters: action-packed "popcorn movies" that are actually good, and are critically praised. Of course, Mark doesn't like The Dark Knight, but then again, he's never seen The Godfather...
And so, on the idea that "kids these days" just don't know a good movie when they see one, I give to you, The Links of the Week:
Is this the marketing wave of the future? Hopefully not for teams with good fans...
Here is an awesome YouTube remix of the greatest sports press conferences ever. Included are: Allen Iverson's "Practice" rant, Jim Mora's "Playoffs?", Denny Green's infamous "THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE!" tirade, and Mike Gundy's "I'm a man! I'm 40!" explosion from last season. I'm so glad YouTube exists. This is priceless stuff, and worth a watch.
CNBC's Sports Business journalist Darren Rovell wrote a piece this week on the New Jersey Nets, and quite possibly one of the most interesting and innovative marketing techniques in recent memory. The Nets are giving reversible jerseys to folks that buy season tickets, which is totally great, except that one side will be of a New Jersey Net, and the other will be for a star of another team. Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Dwayne Wade, and Paul Pierce will all be featured jerseys for season ticket holders. Is this the low point for NBA teams? Having to market other teams' stars to bring people in the building?
Last week, the new Judd-Apatow movie, Funny People was released. The movie got mostly-OK reviews, I have not seen it yet, but I plan to in the near future. Rex Reed of the New York Observer recently reviewed the movie, taking personal shots at many of the actors in the movie. (See, I don't always go with the critics...) I'm not a fan of these contrarian media figures, who seemingly make it their goal to put down anyone and anything. He's sort of like Jay Mariotti in that way; taking the contrarian view and amplifying his argument into seemingly life-or-death circumstances. Unfortunately, Mariotti is heading back to the Chicago newspaper scene.
Another YouTube clip: Some race horse team named their horse "Doremifasolatido". Here is a call of Doremifasolatido winning a race. High comedy.
Les Paul helped revolutionize the way we listen to music.
MAD MEN STARTS THE THIRD SEASON THIS WEEKEND! If you have not seen the show, the New York Times' Alessandra Stanley gives the need-to-know for those of you who will watch it for the first time this Sunday night. Seriously, if you don't like watching the I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here's of the world, read this article, get caught up, and watch Mad Men on Sunday Night. AMC. Sunday Night. Mad Men. Do it!
This week, guitar legend Les Paul died. Paul wasn't as well known for his performance as he was known for developing his own guitar. Paul was a virtuoso-style player who needed to amplify his notes better. So, he developed the Les Paul guitar. Who better to do a tribute than Rolling Stone?
In the past month, there has been a backlash from the mainstream media against the blogosphere for "Link Stealing". Basically, for the longest time, blogs have been copy-and-pasting the important parts of stories reported by the mainstream media, basically making the link back to the actual story relatively useless. It is a common problem, and one of the reasons why there is a general angst against the blogs from many in the mainstream.The Washington Post takes to task the Gawker media websites, which incldue Deadspin, Gizmodo, and i09. Gawker is one of the most popular and widely read blog networks on the web, and one of the most common practictioners of the act. I can actually side with mainstream media on this one, believe it or not.
Questions? Comments? Links? Send them to Brett@ValpoLife.com!