Hooray For Me...I Guess

Sooooooooooooo...before I left the house on my comic book run today, I was perusing my Twitter feed and saw this from Logo...

The prize is a signed copy of Simon Doonan's book "Beautiful People," upon which the TV series is based. (Season 2 is currently running on Saturday nights.) I forwarded my address and then received their email with an affidavit PDF attached. I had to print it, fill in my name, address, etc. and sign it, scan it along with ID to prove my age, and email the scans back. All this for a book -- seems a bit much. I suppose the mighty Viacom (the corporate parent) has rules and regulations to follow.

It's nice to win something, although there are other prizes (cash jackpots, all-expenses-paid trips) that I'd enjoy more.

My Week In Comics 6-23-10

Finally got to buy more than one book for a change, after a couple of weeks buying nothing or just one. So that made it sort of a big week, and then there's...

Superman 700: Whenever a book hits a milestone number the publishers like to make a big deal of it. Issue 100, 200, sometimes a 50th book is a big deal. Of course, there are some asterisks involved. While this is issue 700 of "Superman," there aren't actually 700 issues of the same series, all with the title "Superman." Back in 1987 the original "Superman" series was re-titled "Adventures of Superman" starting with issue 424, while a new "Superman" series was introduced, and started with issue 1. But in 2006 that series was canceled, and "Adventures of Superman" was given its old "Superman" name back, starting with issue 650.

Anyway, this is issue 700 and in the wake of the just-ended "War of the Supermen," you'd expect a really special issue. And it is, in that it's got extra pages and three stories. But

Phillies: Nudity And Possible Bad News

Before we get to the bad news, a little bit of frivolity. The Fightins, one of the big Phillies blogs, has a screen capture of an image from a locker room interview with Jamie Moyer on NBC10 yesterday. Check out the lower left-hand corner of the image: it's a rear view of a naked Cole Hamels. At least I assume that those who saw it live or via TiVo or DVR have made an accurate identification, because it's not obvious just from that image.

I wonder if Heidi Hamels likes her husband's ass as much as Jennifer Utley likes Chase's?

Speaking of Chase Utley, he took himself out of tonight's game, a 7-3 loss at Cincinnati, before he batted in the 9th inning. He's going to have an MRI on his left thumb tomorrow. He apparently hurt it sliding into second base in the 4th inning. Just when he's started hitting well again, and the team has gotten on a bit of a roll, winning 5 of 6 since their little hiccup against Minnesota...whether he is out for a while or is just hampered and begins slumping again, either way it's not a good situation for the Phils.

Crazy Dream Of The Day

Now and then the dreams I have are so strange and/or vivid that they stay in my head long after I wake up. I've had dreams involving superheroes (duh -- comic books), I had one that ended with my mom pulling out a gun and taking a shot at me as I was going out the door of the house (she missed!), and one that featured sexual activity involving someone I know (well, I haven't seen him in years so maybe that should be "knew") that I will not discuss here. (Yet.) One such dream occurred this morning, as part of my fitful TWO HOURS' sleep (slept in late and very solidly yesterday morning, and that kept me up most of last night). Read all about it after the jump...

Quick Reviews: Killers, Splice

It's time to catch up with the movies. I'm not sure if these are still in the theaters at this point, so they may not be helpful if you're trying to pick a movie to see this weekend. Sorry. Regular readers know I sometimes procrastinate with these. And this is a case where these two different films arrive at the same grade for different reasons.

I had low expectations for "Killers." First, the female lead is Katherine Heigl, who followed up her success on TV's "Grey's Anatomy" and the big-screen "Knocked Up" with mediocrity like "27 Dresses" and "The Ugly Truth." Here she plays Jen, a careful, cautious, not remotely spontaneous woman who is on vacation in France with her parents (the fabulous Catherine O'Hara and the not-bad Tom Selleck), when she meets Spencer (Ashton Kutcher), who asks her to dinner. Unbeknownst to her, he's a contract killer for some secret government agency (right after they meet he blows up a boat. This is the second reason for my low expectations: I can't buy Ashton Kutcher as a super-spy/killing machine type. Anyway, they fall in love rather quickly, he proposes, she accepts, and he quits his contract-killer job. Cut to three years later, they're settled into a nice house and a normal life when his old life comes back to haunt him, and it puts the couple's lives in jeopardy. I enjoyed it more than I expected, especially seeing the people that actually are out to kill Spencer. My grade: B-minus.

Happy Birthdays!

There are two birthdays to celebrate today. First, let's wish a happy 31st birthday to Jai Rodriguez! During the first season of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," an episode aired in early 2004 in which the Fab Five took on the case of a stand-up comic with obsessive-compulsive disorder who wanted to propose to his girlfriend. At the end of the episode, as the Fab Five watched the video of the moment the man proposed, I was really smitten by Jai's reaction. I wrote the following on the Outsports Discussion Board thread for the show:

And the look of pure joy on Jai's face while watching Kevin struggle to put the ring on her finger (while the others were yelling "Put the damn ring on!!") was priceless. I am finding myself just melting for Jai. Is he the youngest of the Fab Five? He seems like the baby of the family. I just want to be his daddy and take care of him. :D

It's been six years since then, Jai, but the offer still stands. Although, financially, right now you'd have to be the one taking care of me. :o

As for the other birthday...

Mo' Money, Mo' Money!

First came this, now comes this:

You elected to receive a cash payment in the In re Expedia Hotel Taxes and Fees Class Action Settlement. The attached settlement check represents the Settlement Benefit you are entitled to receive as an eligible Class Member under the terms of the Court approved Settlement...

Another $24.42 in my pocket! Woo-hoo! And, believe it or not, there's another one of these things I'm a part of, regarding fees charged to credit cards based on foreign transactions, that could get me another $36.00 or so, but there have been appeals filed challenging the court's approval of the settlement, so it's all on hold. (This one I'm aware of because I actually filled out a more detailed claim rather than accept the $25.00 "easy refund.") I guess I'm more litigious than I knew!

P.S. The dollar sign comes from the website of the "Arkansas Out of School Network" -- kind of looks like a Rainbow Dollar, doesn't it? Hmmm...

My Summer Listening (And Maybe Yours) Part 2

Mmmmmm...deep-fried Oreos: another great idea for summer!

And now, the dramatic conclusion of "Joe's Big-Ass Crazy Summer Playlist!" (Here's Part 1, in case you've forgotten...)

Who's That Girl - Madonna (1987) There are lots of Madonna songs that would feel right for this list, but this was actually a hit during the summer, it has that pop candy feel, and July 11, 1987 was the first time I saw Madonna in concert, as the "Who's That Girl" tour hit the Vet. What vexed me, though, is that when the tour was announced I had read that Bronski Beat was going to be her opening act, but was replaced by Level 42, since the singer who took over when Jimmy Somerville left Bronski Beat took a powder as well.


My Arms Keep Missing You - Rick Astley  (1987) This is a stretch in that it wasn't released in the U.S. or during the summer, and has no summer-type lyrics. It was the B-side of "When I Fall In Love" (cover of the Nat King Cole song), which was released at the end of 1987 in the UK and was trying to be the "Christmas No. 1" -- it's really a big thing over there. The B-side became a dance hit in Europe, and eventually got radio airplay here the following year. The thing that ties it to summer for me is the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul (which actually didn't begin until September 17). I had this little portable hand-held TV and I would watch the late-night coverage while in bed -- thanks to the time difference a lot of late-night stuff was live -- and listen to music (either a radio or a cassette with my then-favorites, taped from the radio or from my 45s or 12-inch remix singles). This was one that I loved at that time, and eventually bought the 12-inch import (for $7.49 -- I think U.S. 12-inch singles were $2.99 or $3.99 at the time).  Here's a link to listen -- and no, this is not an attempt at RickRolling.

My Summer Listening Pleasure (And Maybe Yours) Part 1

I love disclaimers. In the case of the big 58-song summer playlist I've created, there are a few of them. These songs fall into at least one of these categories, sometimes more, sometimes all: they were released during the summer, they were popular during the summer, the song title and/or lyrics refer to summer, sun, heat, etc. If they don't fit these categories -- and this is a pretty big disclaimer -- to me they either sound like a summer-type song or I identify them with summer in my mind for some reason, which will be explained.

Also, the list only includes songs that are in my iTunes library. There may be other songs that are truly summer songs, but if I don't own them I didn't include them. (It's also possible that some songs not on the list but should be are in my iTunes but I somehow neglected to find it.) I am open to any and all suggestions to add to the list, but if it's not obvious from the song title why it should be included I hope you'll enlighten me as to why it's a summer song.

I'm listing them in order of the year of release (according to Wikipedia or whatever other sources I could find). Using the versions I have (a couple of extended mixes included) it's over 4 hours, 15 minutes of music, and Part One begins after the jump:

Whatever Happened To Kevin Seal?

The things you learn when reading Wikipedia. I was checking some things for my summer playlist (coming very soon to a blog near you) and found this humorous note:

Kevin Seal once introduced Sinéad O'Connor's music video of "Nothing Compares 2 U" (which was also composed by Prince) "for all those who missed her version of 'Batdance.'"

(Note: "Batdance," though it's actually so weird that I love it, is not on the summer playlist.)

Now, I don't remember seeing him say that, but I actually do remember Kevin Seal from his MTV days. This is all it says on Wikipedia about him:

Kevin Seal was an MTV VJ in the late 1980s, the host of the pilot of Club MTV (according to an MTV special) and one of the hosts of the influential alternative-music program 120 Minutes, which debuted in 1986. After leaving the program, he hosted MTV's Headbangers Ball from 1987 to 1988 and Kevin Seal: Sporting Fool in 1990. Since leaving MTV, he made occasional TV and movie appearances. In 2000, he was cast as voice talent for both the lead character and primary antagonist in the Cartoon Network series Sheep in the Big City.

So, seeing his name made me wonder where he went.

Orchestra Conductors Can Be Young? And Cute?

Here's Yannick Nézet-Séguin, just named Music Director Designate (he takes over full-time in 2012) of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Conveniently, the "With Love, Philadelphia" tourism advertisement on the trolley is a message to him. So...he's from Canada (born in Montreal). And not very old (35). And not unattractive. Maybe a ticket to a concert lies in my future? Or am I just being shallow? (Don't answer that latter question.) A couple of videos follow after the jump. One is an interview and the other is a clip of him conducting.


UPDATE: Just read the article I linked above. Dammit, he's already taken!

At every stop, Nézet-Séguin was introduced with his parents, who help manage his career and celebrated their 43d wedding anniversary yesterday. Usually in the same breath, the conductor's partner, Pierre Tourville, a violist in the Montreal orchestra, was also introduced.

Before I read that, my gaydar was pinging. Perhaps it works after all!

Are The Phils Finally Back On Track?

Interleague play has never been very kind to the Phillies (if you don't count the 2008 World Series, of course), but their recent swoon may finally be over as they've now won 3 out of 4 against two AL East powers. After a pair of drubbings by the Boston Red Sox to begin the road trip that ended tonight, the Phils got another strong start by Cole Hamels to win the finale at Fenway. Things looked bleak after the New York Yankees roughed up Roy Halladay on Tuesday. The Phils, losers of 15 of their last 21, have fallen into third place in the NL East and had Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick starting the next two nights. Both struggled in their last starts, with the word "struggle" being an understatement in Moyer's case: 9 runs in one-plus inning.

But Moyer got early offensive support and pitched eight very fine innings as the Phils won 6-3 last night. Moyer allowed just three hits, two of them solo homers. Kendrick went seven tonight, allowing just one run in the 7-1 win, and in a way his performance might have been even more impressive than Moyer's. While the Phils scored all 6 of their runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings last night, tonight the game was scoreless until the 4th. The Yankees had two on with one out in the 2nd. Kendrick has shown a propensity to lose his composure at times like this, but he got out of the inning without any damage.

My Week In Comics 6-16-10

Remember how I said I had nothing to buy last week, and that this week I'd have no more than two? It turned out to be one. The other one, which actually I thought would be in the stores this week, is out next week instead. So all I've got for this week is...

Simpsons Comics 167: Homer thinks the First Annual Springfield Family Day is a waste of time: "You don't need a special day to celebrate the family! It's like saying we need a special day to celebrate being independent! Or thankful! Or the birth of Jebus!" So begins a fun tale that leads to the criminal scoundrel Snake being sentenced (by Judge Harm! I love her!) to be rehabilitated by living, under police surveillance, with the Simpsons.

I still may pull something out of the collection to re-read. I'm not sure if I'll get around to it. Then again, it's not like I have an active social life...

Important Eagles/Rap Music News!

The following from Eagles linebacker Stewart Bradley's Twitter feed are not edited for spelling, grammar, etc.:

Just did an interview with drake, cool ass dude.

Ps drake is an eagles fan peeps, check his new album out

I'm not sure if Bradley was the interviewer (and if so, for what media outlet) or a co-interviewee, but I guess this is good to know. I still can't help it, though -- every time I see this guy, I think of Degrassi: The Next Generation...

My Personal Ad Finally Pays Off!

I have only placed personal ads sporadically -- none in recent years -- and they have never been successful. My ads tended to attract people who either didn't read my ad or ignored what I wrote. For example, I made my interest in sports quite plain, and the guy answering my ad says "I hate sports" and any other interests don't remotely come close to matching mine. Or, I'd clearly state "this is not a sex ad/not looking to hook up" and the replies were on the order of "Want to hook up tonight" or describing his sexual interests/body parts.

I'd given up on personals, obviously. However, today, at long last, something good has come from one of my ads...

We Interrupt Your Twitter Fail...

While we wait for Twitter to straighten itself out -- even if the Fail Whale doesn't pop up, the service is sporadic at best right now and the "retweet" button seems to have disappeared -- let's listen to a fantastic jam from 1988, "Ooo La La La" by Teena Marie. I've put this on the little summer playlist I'm working on, even though it peaked at #1 in April 1988. To me, it just feels like an extra-great song to hear when out walking or just sitting outside relaxing during a warm day.

As I mentioned previously, the songs I'm including don't have to necessarily mention heat or summer, or even have been released or (in the case of songs that crawl up the charts slowly) peaked during the summer months. If you have any suggestions for songs, let me know. Even if I don't have it in my iTunes I can always include it if I like it enough.

Beyonce Comes Out!

Well, actually, she's performing "I'm Coming Out." It's not Diana Ross, but what the heck. And it's cut off at the start and finish because it seems to be part of a medley.



Tomorrow (or today, technically, since it's after midnight) is the gay pride parade and festival here. Woo-hoo! Of course, I'll be at the softball fields. Sigh.

This is how odd our league is: the team that's representing our D division in the Gay World Series in August in Columbus is being decided tomorrow, in a best two-out-of-three tournament between my team (Tabu Nighthawks) and another team. This is because we are the only two teams that expressed an interest in going. So it's not based on the season standings, or playoffs after the season, but on this midseason tournament. Silly. Last year the team that went to the Series had a losing record, but they were the only team that wanted to go (although I maintain that our team wasn't asked about it last year).

The first game starts at 10:20, so by the time the second game ends it should be after 1 pm. The festival starts at noon and runs until 6 pm. If we have to play three games, it'll be well after 2 pm. With the amount of time it will take me to get to Penn's Landing for the festival, I'll miss quite a lot. I'm not sure what entertainment they'll have but it almost doesn't seem worth the $10 admission. We'll see if things play out in a way that allows me to get there after softball (at Fairmount Park Dairy Field #1, if anyone wants to surprise me there).

Quick Review...Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

I had no real expectation that I'd enjoy "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," a movie based on a video game. I admit, I only went to see it because I like Jake Gyllenhaal. Unfortunately, he spent very little time with his shirt off, and he spoke in a silly British accent (as does pretty much everyone, because we all know that back in the day everyone spoke the King's English). The story is about how Prince Dastan (my Jakey) has to keep the Dagger of Time, which has magical sand that reverses time, from falling into the wrong hands. There's more to it than that, but I don't really care. Not that it's a bad movie. It was just average at best. All I cared about was seeing Jake, though. Let's hope next time it's more like the scene below... My grade: C.

Flyers' Post-Mortem: A Lesson In Destiny

I came to an important realization recently, and I'd like to share it. You may want to write this down for future reference, because it may be the most profound thing I ever come up with:

One's final destiny only becomes known after the fact.

This is probably obvious, but we're always looking to tell ourselves something will happen because it's our destiny. If it were that easy, we'd have a society full of actors. "It's my destiny to win an Oscar!" How many misguided souls think it's their destiny to be the next American Idol? Now imagine if it were true. "American Idol winner William Hung/Sanjaya Malakar/anyone from Season 9." And, of course, it's my destiny to win a huge lotto jackpot and never have to worry about money again. (Still waiting on that last one, keepers of the karma...)

In sports, we tend to proclaim destiny at the drop of a hat, but especially when our team hasn't won in a long time and something amazing happens that we take as a sign, an indicator, a guarantee of future success.

They Don't Make 'Em Like This Any More

A little while ago on Facebook, the Diana Ross page linked to YouTube for her video for "Eaten Alive," a song co-written and co-produced (and with some backing vocals) by Michael Jackson and Barry Gibb. It's the title track from her 1985 album. According to Wikipedia it was #10 on the Billboard R&B chart but only #77 on the Hot 100 in 1985. I'm sure those numbers are correct since I used to subscribe to Billboard back in the day and really hit those charts hard, and I remember the song being a pop flop.

With the discussion over whether Christina Aguilera and Lady Gaga copied from Madonna in their recent videos -- and at this point, isn't everyone just copying each other? -- it's interesting to watch this bit of 1980s work, back when the short-form music video was still a relatively new format. And it's fascinating to see someone like Diana Ross in this type of video. It used to be all about the music, and then MTV came along and songs seemed to take a backseat to visuals, and we then saw veterans like Miss Ross (I love calling her that for some reason) in sometimes over-the-top productions. Wikipedia credits this video's airplay on BET for getting the song into the R&B top ten, but the song is such an odd piece of work, as is the video.

Compare and contrast with the song and video for Ross's follow-up, "Chain Reaction," which harkens back to her classic Motown days (but still has a couple of eccentric moments when the full-color shots arrive). Both videos are after the jump.

Phanatic Around Town

All this summer, the Phillie Phanatic is hanging out at various places around town. A project of the Phillies and Visit Philly, 20 specially-painted Phanatic statues have been placed at different locations. I went around and took pictures of 19 of them. The slideshow follows. If you want to find them yourselves, here's an interactive map.

A couple of notes: one of the statues is at the airport and is behind security. So I won't be able to get a picture of it unless a miracle occurs and I take a flight somewhere this summer. (9/5/2010 Update: All 20 statues have been moved to Citizens Bank Park for display pending their being auctioned off for charity, including the one at the airport, so I finally have the complete set of photos in the slideshow.) One of the statues is inside Citizens Bank Park, which means you'll need to buy a game ticket to see it. Finally, ignore some of the dates on the pictures. On the day I took most of the pictures, my batteries died and I had to switch, and the camera went back to the default settings. I did not take any pictures on 1/10/2008.

Really, Shania Twain? Really???

The photo here is because apparently I'm stealing borrowing this little concept from Saturday Night Live...

From EW.com: 

Shania Twain’s divorce from Robert “Mutt” Lange was finalized in Switzerland this week, People reports. Twain and Lange separated two years ago after her husband allegedly had an affair with her best friend. The country singer is now dating Frédéric Thiébaud, “the other woman’s ex-husband,” according to People.

Really, Shania? Your husband cheats on you with your best friend, and now you're seeing her ex-husband? Did you steal him from her or did the two of you just organically fall into each others' arms after your spouses boinked each other? Do you really think this new relationship is going to end well? Really!?!

My Week In Comics 6-9-10

In a way, this is a Very Special Episode of MWIC. Why? Because I've perused the list of comics that will be in the stores this week and...nothing. There's nothing I'll be buying this week. One last week, none this week and (tentatively) no more than two next week? This is like a drought! So perhaps I'll re-read something and put up a Comic Book Flashback, as I did a while back. You'd like that. (Wouldn't you? Please?)

In related(?) news, you'll be happy to know that the Goddamn Batman is on Twitter, and if you don't know what that means, look at the image shown below, then go here.

My iTunes Top 25 for 6-6-10

Since I just synced my iPod with my most recent downloads into iTunes, I thought I'd share my Top 25 most played tracks so far in 2010, with total plays for each (I cleared the totals at the start of the year.) Still clinging to the top for now is the song used in "Ugly Betty" during the scene where Justin first kisses his boyfriend. I'm not playing it much lately, so it surely will be dethroned. Also, there seems to be lots of Lady Gaga. Actually, there are six CDs with multiple songs on the list -- 20 of the 25 songs come from those six CDs. (This also kind of indicates that I could use some more new music. I haven't bought many new albums recently.)

Valium In The Sunshine - Maps 64
Telephone (feat. Beyoncé)- Lady Gaga 61
Meet Me Halfway - Black Eyed Peas 53
Bad Romance - Lady Gaga 53
Giving Up The Gun - Vampire Weekend 46
Bad Romance (Rauhofer Anthem) - Lady Gaga 41
Cousins - Vampire Weekend 39
A Beautiful Mine - RJD2 38
Dance In The Dark - Lady Gaga 37
Poker Face - Lady Gaga 34
Sure Fire Winners - Adam Lambert 33
Vogue - Glee Cast 33
Paparazzi - Lady Gaga 32
Celebration - Madonna 31
If I Had You - Adam Lambert 29
When Love Takes Over (Featuring Kelly Rowland) - David Guetta 28
For Your Entertainment - Adam Lambert 24
Sexy Bitch (Featuring Akon) - David Guetta 24
Missing You (Featuring Novel) - David Guetta 24
4 Minutes - Glee Cast 24
Alejandro - Lady Gaga 24
Monster - Lady Gaga 24
So Happy I Could Die - Lady Gaga 24
Teeth - Lady Gaga 24
Memories (Featuring Kid Cudi) - David Guetta 23

Quick Review: Get Him To The Greek

One of my favorite movies of 2008 was "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," in which the title character breaks up with Jason Segel's character and moves on to a rock star named Aldous Snow, lead singer of Infant Sorrow. The movie did well enough to lead to another one -- except it's not a sequel but a spinoff featuring Snow (Russell Brand). In "Get Him to the Greek," Snow is in a downward spiral after the commercial failure and critical revulsion at his new song, "African Child." He goes off the wagon, drinking and drugging, and his pop-star girlfriend leaves him, taking their son with her. Enter Aaron Green (Jonah Hill, who was also in "Sarah Marshall" but as a different character), who works for Snow's record company. It's Aaron's assignment to escort Snow from London to New York (to appear on the "Today" show) and then to L.A. for a concert at the Greek Theater to mark the 10th anniversary of Snow's legendary concert there. There was an underlying sweetness to "Sarah Marshall" that made that film really shine. That is non-existent in "Get Him to the Greek." The film tries at times, with scenes involving Aaron and his girlfriend ("Mad Men" star Elisabeth Moss) and Aldous and his ex, but it's overwhelmed by the raunchiness. Some of it works, some of it doesn't, but there are some real laugh-out-loud moments, and a wild performance by Sean "Puff Daddy/Puffy/Puff/P. Diddy/Diddy" Combs as the head of the record company. My grade: B.

My Weeks In Comics 5-27-10 and 6-2-10

I'm going to combine two weeks into one post, since I procrastinated again and because while I bought five books last week, there was only one this week. So, starting with last week's haul...

Superman: War of the Supermen 4 (of 4): Everything that's been going on in the Superman titles for the last couple of years came down to this. A war between the survivors of New Krypton, led by General Zod, and the Human Defense Corps mastermined by General Sam Lane, with Superman's team (including Supergirl, Superboy, Steel, etc.) essentially caught in the middle, knowing that if they failed it may mean the destruction of both the human and Kryptonian races. All kinds of death and destruction occurs from start to finish. Then imagine the whole thing happening in an hour and 40 minutes. You know, I've been geeking out about this since I first heard about it, and it really delivered.

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne 2 (of 6): Bruce Wayne's next stop on his journey through time is early colonial times, when they executed people for being witches. Always fighting for justice, even in his memory-deprived condition, Bruce tries to protect one such woman. Meanwhile, the group trying to track him down (including Superman and Green Lantern) runs into some trouble of their own. There's a separate miniseries that is going to tie into this one that's due to start next month, and hopefully it will elaborate on some of what's going on here, because I'm a bit confused about the premise they've introduced: that if Bruce returns to his own time on his own, everyone will die.

My iTunes Shuffle Baker's Dozen 6-3-10

I've mentioned before that I get a bit annoyed when iTunes shuffles in the same artist or album track too often. I've got nearly 9500 songs. It can't be too difficult to avoid duplication, can it? So, besides the two Will Young songs in the baker's dozen below, the next two songs immediately after these 13 were Eurythmics tracks. Of course, Annie Lennox lover that I am, back-to-back Eurythmics really isn't disappointing me that much...

"South Park" Theme - Primus
Madness - Will Young
Why Not Fly - Mark Weigle
You Are Not Alone (Franctified Club Mix) - Michael Jackson
Music Inferno (live) - Madonna
Give It Up (radio edit) - The Goodmen
Leave Right Now - Will Young
Turn You Inside-Out - R.E.M.
Water Baby - Sneaker Pimps
Invincible (Theme from "The Legend of Billie Jean") - Pat Benatar
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) - The Beatles
Robert DeNiro's Waiting - Bananarama
Fire And Rain - James Taylor

I've been debating creating a summer playlist -- not just songs that reference summer in the title but some songs I love that I associate with summer because that's when the song was a hit, or at least when I became aware of it. Stay tuned...

The Hot Word And The Cold Phils

Thanks to the "word verification" procedure to cut down on spam on blog comments, I now have an entry in the Urban Dictionary. When I was replying to a blog post by my friend Walt the generated word I had to enter in order to reply was "fabylla." So I claimed it as my own and gave it a definition...

fabylla (adj.) Fabulous to the extreme; more wonderful than even chocolate chip cookies: "That party was so off the hook, it was fabylla!"

It's the hot new word, darlings! I don't care if two miscreants on UrbanDictionary.com gave it "thumbs down." They are clearly not fabylla like the rest of us.

Also not fabylla, not remotely fabylla: the Phillies. They've been swept by the Atlanta Braves, they finished the road trip 2-7, they've lost seven of their last 9 and 11 of their last 15. With today's 2-1 loss they've scored a grand total of 14 runs in the last 11 games...although they finally got a home run last night, from Ryan Howard, for the first time in a week. The Braves now lead the Phils by 2 1/2 games in the NL East. It's early June, it's hardly an insurmountable gap, they haven't had Placido Polanco the last few games, they're still missing Jimmy Rollins, there's clearly no reason to panic just yet, but it's still incredibly annoying. The Phillies are unwatchable right now, unless Roy Halladay is pitching, and for a team with this much talent that is unfathomable.

Not-So-Quick Review: Sex And The City 2

I subscribed to HBO for many years, but didn't immediately begin watching "Sex and the City." Eventually I caved, and managed to enjoy the entire series. I felt the series ended properly, with storylines tied up and a "happily ever after" moment for all. Then they decided to take on the big screen. I felt it was unnecessary. Amazingly, it worked. The film basically undid most of that "happily ever after" and then put it back together. It was entertaining, and a strong box-office winner. Of course, a movie that does so well inevitably gets a sequel. Surely they couldn't follow the same formula, so what exactly could they do with "Sex and the City 2" that would make it worthwhile? Well, not much.

What they did was turn it into a two-and-a-half-hour episode of the show, except even more sitcom-ish...sitcommy...whatever. There are lame plotlines galore. Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) is getting bored by her married life with Big (Chris Noth)! Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is struggling with motherhood! Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) hates her boss! And Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is going through...gasp...menopause! And there's the wedding of Stanford and Anthony, gay BFF's of Carrie and Charlotte, respectively (I still don't buy them as a couple) which is wayyyyyyyyy over the top, extremely extravagant (there are swans!) and officiated by Liza Minnelli, who performs Beyonce's "Single Ladies" at the reception. Painfully.

Quick Review: How To Train Your Dragon

This computer-animated movie has been out quite a while, and I'm not sure if it's even still in a lot of theaters, but it was a surprise success. While other films dropped from the box-office charts quickly, "How To Train Your Dragon" hung in there and, spurred by great word-of-mouth, has earned over $200 million in North America. It's one of those misfit-who-makes-good tales. On an island called Berk, the Vikings who live there are in an endless war against the dragons that fly in and steal their food. Hiccup (voice of Jay Baruchel), young son of the chief Viking (Gerard Butler), is the misfit, getting in the way and such during one of the dragons' raids. Incredibly, he manages to shoot down a rare, and feared, dragon called a Night Fury. No one believes him, so he goes off in search of the dragon and finds it, wounded but alive, unable to fly away because a piece of its tail is missing. Instead of killing the dragon, Hiccup studies it, comes up with a way to "fix" the tail, and bonds with it. The knowledge about dragons he gains helps him at dragon training, until the time comes when he actually has to kill one. It's a story with some depth and some silly humor as well. I didn't see it in 3-D but I didn't find it necessary to my enjoyment. My grade: B.