Oct
05
2008

Stephen King on ESPN

This is hilarious, this is the funniest ESPN commercial I’ve seen in a long time and it features Stephen King.

Enjoy this, while I work on more posts, as I’m flooded with writing projects.


Further Reading
By sirjorge | Posted in comedy | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (4)
Oct
03
2008

The French Equal Genius

The French Press

I got used to drinking coffee from a KitchenAid Coffee Maker. I highly recommend purchasing a Kitchenaid Coffee Maker or one similar to it, because the coffee is a step beyond traditional, cheap or low cost coffee makers. I know what you’re thinking, and I was thinking that the first time I upgraded to a new coffee maker. I didn’t believe that there was a difference in the way coffee tastes based on equipment. I was way wrong. The initial upgrade of coffee machinery for me was from a paper filter machine to a mesh filter machine. The mesh is reusable so you don’t waste paper. The second part of the machine showers water onto the coffee and you get a full flavored coffee.

I promise you, there is a HUGE difference between coffee made on a regular “paper” filter machine and the Kitchenaid Coffee Maker. I know, it sounds like I’m trying to sell you on it, and I don’t want you to necessarily feel pressured into that, so I’ll stop there.

This post is not about that, it’s about my latest love. The French press; a heavenly device of coffee glory. I’m not quick to cite the French with a whole lot of things, but I will give them this much, they know their coffee. Some might argue that the Italians invented the French press, but last I checked, it wasn’t called the Italian press, now is it?

Initially, I was skeptical about the machine as it just seemed dumb to me. I like the coffee maker that we purchased for like $100 because it made superior coffee, and you know what? It does.

However, lately, I’ve switched to a less costly and more effective item. The French press. The press is easy to use, as you boil water and pour it into coarsely ground coffee and wait a few minutes for the molecules to adhere to each other, making a wonderful full bodied and flavored coffee. You then push down the plunger like device, which will be met with a lot of resistance and once you hit the bottom of the press, pour it into a cup and enjoy with cream or sugar, or both.

I know, this might seem odd, and I kid you not, there’s a great difference in taste, texture and quality. Before the press, I used to just drink whatever coffee my wife would get from Starbucks as her weekly mark out. Sometimes it would be Yukon Blend or something exotic from Africa, however, I have found my coffee of choice and it’s all due to the coffee press we invested in. (of course we got it from Starbucks, because they pay the bills)

Organic

My favorite coffee is a nice fair trade coffee called; Organic Shade Grown Mexican. It is a medium coffee and it tastes amazing. I don’t need to add sugar, just cream and if I’m feeling special sometimes I’ll connect with my Mexican heritage and drink it black. Oh yes, the taste is awesome, and I can never go back to just getting regular machine drip, I must get my hands on a cup of French Press, Shade Grown Mexican. I know, this whole post is odd, but I kid you not, my enjoyment of coffee has grown by leaps and bounds these last few months and I owe it all to the French. So I guess I’m going to have to tip my hat to French ingenuity for their great invention and use of The French Press. (cue the holy music now)

If you don’t already have a French press, buy one online via amazon.com or go to a coffee shop and try a cup of coffee from a French press. It’s amazing. Not everyone is into coffee, that’s fine, you can French press tea…although I recommend another awesome device for Tea…my second love. We’ll talk about tea some other time, right now, it’s coffee time.

**Editors Note**

I know the intro to this post seemed like I was advocating Kitchenaid, but I lost my train of thought and this post turned into a post about how awesome the French press I use is. Sorry.


Further Reading
By sirjorge | Posted in Random Observations, personal, video store commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (1)
Oct
03
2008

Video Store Mail Bag Volume 1

In a new feature here on the Video Store Blues site, I’m replying to your comments here. Each week I’ll reply to a selected few comments, and hopefully you guys will continue to comment and share your opinions and we can grow this site into a community of friends…or not. Here we goo…

Zhu of Correr Es Mi Destino writes: “Really? I laughed through the whole movie… I guess all the Chinese jokes were extra-fun for us. Or we were just dumb that day.”

In regards to the post: “Balls of Fury Dvd Review”

I missed the Chinese jokes for sure. I was to busy asking questions about logic, and wondering whether the FBI has any jurisdiction in foreign affairs. I was under the impression that the CIA would be involved, not the FBI. I also didn’t like George Lopez and couldn’t believe he signed on for this. I’m glad you enjoyed it though, it’s like when I enjoy Spanish language or Spanglish references in films. Thanks for commenting :)

David writes: “Really have to disagree here. I thought this movie was a mess of turgid regurgitated pretensions. Pitt’s performance was overwhelmed by tics that should have been reined in. He was unbelievable. I think its his worst role. Affleck had some moments but also became annoying.
The story was compelling. I think cutting it down to two hours would have helped a lot. As it stands its a movie that deserves indifference.”

In response to the post: The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford dvd review

I could see what you mean. I do think that at times it was long, but I figured it was to give it that extra “awards” movie feel. Or maybe to make the film feel like it’s “bigger” than the 30 million dollar budget. I’m not sure if indifference is the way to go though, as that might mean that no one will see it or that no one will care either way. I would like more people to see it, but of course, 3 hours is a lot to invest.

Thanks for the comment.

Peppylady writes: “I haven’t seen the movie. I don’t know why they make Jessie James into a find citizen actual he was a pretty low life.
I’ll rent the movie and the reason being I’m related to Robert Ford.
I even doubt that Robbert is any better then Jessie.”

In response to:The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford dvd review

I find it odd that society raises celebrity status above actual hero’s sometimes. A low life for instance is the hero, while Robert Ford is the coward, but is he really? The movie really tries to draw a complete difference between both sentiments. Robert may not have been better in the grand scheme of things, however, he did the world a favor. That’s harsh, but it’s like “justice” or vigilante justice at its best. It’s hard to go either way though. Check out the movie, and let me know what you think.

Thanks for the comment. :)

Jonathan of Rowthree.com writes: “Good choices! I am a fan of the used bookstore though. I know that it doesn’t support the author, but over half of the books I read anyway are by DEAD authors who wouldn’t see a penny anyway.

And I like to support the used bookstores, of course.”

In response to:The Book Buying Addiction

Thanks! I try to choose books that are more than vanity projects for me. I like the idea of using my slow and dumb reading skills for more than just reading restaurant menu’s. I like used book stores a lot, but I find that some of the editions that they carry are read and really used badly. I treat books nicely because I feel that I can sell them when I’m done. I have to stop caring so much, and just read whatever is cheaper. Yeah, dead authors don’t get paid, and at used bookstores the families don’t even profit.

Thanks for the comment! :)

Thank you to everyone that commented. I didn’t select each and everyone of the comments, but I selected a few and responded here for everyone to see. I also linked your site if you have one, and hopefully you will continue to comment in the future. I try to spread some comments, but a lot of the times I’m busy writing content for 8 other blogs and trying to read more of my “to read list” before the end of this year. I hope to be more prolific in the near future as I have cut down my rss feeds by 1/3 and now have a lot of time free to visit blogs.


Further Reading
By sirjorge | Posted in comments, mail bag | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)
Oct
03
2008

Half Off Dvd Box Sets

Amazon.com has once again done it folks. They have dropped the price on box sets for 50% off and we’re talking about some serious contenders for your buck.

Alien Quadrilogy 50% off
The Coen Brothers Collection 50% off
X-Men Trilogy 50% off
Die Hard Ultimate Collection 50% off
Planet of the Aples Legacy Collection 50% off
The Rocky Complete Box Set 50% off
United Artist 30-Film Box Set 50% off

There you go, if you’re in the market for a box set at deep savings, check out amazon.com and get your movie collection complete. I’m eyeballing the Alien Quadrilogy myself, it should be great.


Further Reading
By sirjorge | Posted in dvd | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)
Oct
02
2008

The Time Machine by H G Wells Book Review

the time machine by h.g. wells

Another classic book in the can as I try to get the most out of the years I spent learning how to read. I thought this book would be a nice departure from some of the serious reading that have been doing, and since I’m not always doing science fiction reading (I do a lot of watching), this was a nice change of pace. H.G. Wells provides us a cool story about time travel.

The story revolves around a turn of the century scientist who accidentally gets lost in time. A long part of the story has him in a mysterious portion of the future where human evolution has rendered those that live above ground are idiots and those that live underground are completely ruthless by comparison. The top half are vegetarian the bottom half are carnivores. The whole process of telling this story really made me think that the time traveler really invented a space ship, rather than a time machine. The descriptions of the Eloi people and their counterparts were more of alien forms to my understanding, but apparently they aren’t. They are highly evolved humans. Trapped in this time frame, he gets his Time Machine stolen and he has to go and recover it, only to go into another state of the future, one where the Earth is dying and in harsh conditions. A place where the Sun isn’t shining as much, and just a grim portrayal of our Earth; something that Al Gore probably got inspiration from for doing his little presentation.

The contrast of this story is quite cool, in my opinion, Wells creates a dinner party of guests that are waiting impatiently for the scientist and upon seeing him show up all dusty and weary, things take off. This dynamic leaves you with a place to get back to in the midst of the travels of our hero and main character. After these journeys, the Scientist’s story comes full circle and the people that are waiting for him want proof now, and so he tells them he’s going to go on another voyage and bring something back to prove it…and well, we’re going to just stop giving away the story.

H.G. Well’s book is an easy read. It’s required reading for some, and for others it’s a stepping stone to other great science fiction stories. The idea of time travel is not an old idea, and people are still fascinated with the whole theory of time travel. I don’t really care for time travel, unless Marty McFly is involved, in which case I’m always down for that. The books is good, and it’s “light” reading at some points. The movies do an ok job of translating this book to visual, but nothing beats the original. Since 1895 this book is a gem for science fiction fans, and for me; an easy read. I recommend H.G. Well’s The Time Machine, but only if you haven’t read it before and you’re looking for something semi-light without lowering yourself to reading a romance novel. It’s only like 3.95 if you order online and it’s not half bad.


Further Reading
By sirjorge | Posted in book review, book reviews, reading | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)
Oct
02
2008

Balls of Fury Dvd Review

Balls of Fury opened up quite nicely. I actually thought it was well done initially. We see a ping pong tournament at the Olympics happening and the downfall of our hero. We fast forward to modern times and he’s some fat guy that does novelty ping pong shows at a dinner theater. He is contacted by and FBI agent played by George Lopez, and away we go into this new story. The storyline follows a U.S attempt to capture the world’s most illusive ping pong player of all time. However, they have yet to get near him since you can not go to his palace without invitation. So we go through some training sequences and other random crap to get to the final battle of epic ping pong proportions.

Here is a trailer for Balls of Fury:

This movie sucked. The first ten minutes weren’t half bad, but it is like a rollercoaster with one drop. This thing falls fast and hard straight through the floor and breaks the rails. Even George Lopez, who I find somewhat funny, is deadpan in all his lines. Not even Christopher Walken could save this film as this one is just a toilet level mockery of comedic value.

I can’t believe I have sat through this one. I feel sick.


Further Reading
By sirjorge | Posted in comedy, dvd, dvd review, movie reviews, trailers | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (1)
Oct
01
2008

A Note on Censorship

I posted a comment on a blog today, and was immediately rubbed out and in the place of my comment was a message about how the post wasn’t about whatever I had stated.

Ouch.

CENSORED!

What happened? Well, I went to a religious site, one that I have been reading for a while in my internet reader and they made a comment about a church in my new city. They gave it a positive note, and I simply replied with “You’re wrong, and this is why”. The person that writes this blog was saying a positive note about a church that they have never been to, and while I wasn’t straight out condemning the place, I do find that the statement they used to describe the place was in error. I of course was immediately erased, and then it hit me…this is why christians and christian blogs get such a bad name. Censorship.

My problem is NOT with the content, or the act of deleting my comment. My problem is more with the fact that the blog has an open comment policy. Anyone can go to this site and leave a comment, and there are no signs or indications about moderation at all. In fact, the site invites heckling by the mere subject matter of the posts involved. I simply was making an adjustment to the first point of five which the writer was talking about. I wasn’t even claiming that they were overtly wrong, but rather sharing my experience with this fine city that I am now living in and how the church hasn’t been the picture perfect place that the writer made it out to be. Moreover, I spoke positively about the pastor that preaches there, and chose grammar that was well suited and appropriate for the site in mind.

However, I was snuffed out and was given a backhanded response of sorts and deleted.

I hate censorship and I hate how blogs that offer comments without clear moderation and welcome input think they are high and mighty and cancel out your comments. I didn’t leave spam, and I didn’t leave hate messages, I simply was responding to what they posted about a topic that I am close to. But nope, I was censored. Censored and then ridiculed for even coming back.

Well, I guess that’s one less podcast, one less rss feed, and one less site that I have to read. I don’t blame people for bashing Christian sites, christianity, or christians, because as a whole we make iditos of ourselves and screw over our own “brothers and sisters” for even trying to make community out of something so inviting as a blog post and/or comment section. God forbid that someone would respond to me directly rather than completely deleting what I had to contribute.

I’m done venting, you can now return to your regularly scheduled programming.


Further Reading
By sirjorge | Posted in Random Observations, lamentations, news, personal, video store commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (0)
Oct
01
2008

The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford Dvd Review

Jesse James

In what has to be on of the longest titles for a movie ever made, this movie is superior to anything that came out in the last few years. I am willing to even say that this movie is 100 times better than The Dark Knight. Yet no one saw this one…at least not on a grand scale.

I haven’t read the book, but this movie is an adaptation of the book, and I’m surprised it is so heavy in both texture, film quality, and acting abilities. Casey Affleck plays a perfect Robert Ford. He plays the role with a real sense of anxiety that you can’t just capture from most actors. He actually looks and feels trepidation throughout the whole film, as he knows that he’s going to end up killing Jesse James.

Jesse James is played by none other than Brad Pitt, and it’s sad that one of his finest performances on film is quieted by the media because of who he’s sleeping with.

This film is lovely to look at, and it was even nominated for an Academy Award for best cinematography. This film is amazing in its presence, and it uses every piece of its 30 Million Dollar budget to do so. That’s right, 30 MILLION DOLLARS not three times that much, not epic in budget, but yet a great piece of visual art.

Casey Affleck was nominated for best supporting actor in this film, and I would have given him the Oscar. Although Javier Bardem’s role in “No Country For Old Men” is nothing to shrug at, I do not think that Affleck should have lost.

The movie revolves around the storyline of Jesse James, a dramatized characterization of the real outlaw, and his “apprentice” of sorts Robert Ford. Ford seems to move from lackey to right hand man, and through the course of this long movie, he transitions from a lot of different positions to even sit with Ford at his house for dinner, even meeting his kids and wife, becoming a true friend, before he takes James’ life.

The movie is 3 hours long. It’s epic. To try and summarize it into a blog post is really hard, because there are so many layers to this film.

brad pitt

What I found great about this film was the fact that the idea of celebrity and hero worship is addressed throughout the film. The movie debunks the myths and hero worship of Jesse James quite nicely, but without telling you straight out that they are doing that. It’s an underlying presence throughout the conversations, mannerisms, and long cinematography that really whispers the notion to you while viewing. So much of this film seems like a dream or a whisper to your subconscious, even if you’re dense when it comes to metaphor, foreshadowing and other elements of storytelling.

Here is a trailer for The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford:

There are parallels that can be drawn between this film and the life of Jesus Christ. That’s right, this story plays out like Jesus Christ in a lot of ways. We’re talking about the friendships that are formed, the worship of the icon, and ultimately the betrayal by one of his closest friends. I do not mean to draw lines between the two without merit, and if you see the movie you can see what I mean, or you can try to compare it to other films that have the same sort of betrayal element to them. I, being a man of faith, see both stories following similar routes for different times and reasons.

I highly recommend seeing this film. This movie is a great one, and really does a fine job of portraying this epic western story without over complicating it at the end, and with such a fine dedication to art and acting above cheap thrills, bells and whistles. This ranks high for all involved and I have to say it’s the best period piece that Brad Pitt has done since “Legends of the Fall”, another favorite of mine. If you have yet to see this film, you’re definitely missing out on the best film of last year. I think this one, even at 3 hours in time, is a grand example of how great film can be, when drawn out into an art form and not just a plight of entertainment.

Casey Affleck

I seriously can not recommend this movie any more highly. I really felt that “No Country For Old Men” and “There Will Be Blood” were incredible pieces of film, although somewhat over rated, and this one was just overlooked. It makes me wonder if people just don’t watch good movies, and just resort to watching pieces of crap like “Date Movie” or “Meet The Spartans” which both got #1 in the box office upon release.

To be fair, this movie can be seen as slow and tiresome. However, I promise that the climax of the initial investment is glorious. In fact, if you were to strip away all the parts of this films build and only show the closing moments, dialogue, and response to this film, you will have an Oscar worthy contender for best short film ever made. I would rank this film in my top 5 films of all time. The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford is an amazing film. But then again, that’s just me, a guy that thinks his finest moments were spent behind a retail video store rental counter.


Further Reading
By sirjorge | Posted in drama, dvd, dvd review, movie posters, movie reviews, video store commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (2)