recent media intake

Last weekend I finished the Jordan Rules. Yes I know the book is almost 20 years old and documents a time when Michael Jordan wasn’t the Michael Jordan he came to be. (Maybe Sam Smith should do a King James Rules?) When I looked at my books, it was the first one that jumped out at me.

It is amazing that team won the NBA Championship with the infighting, attitudes and selfishness within the team. Yet once they won, everything was suppressed yet still right under the surface, until the end when management didn’t bring key players and personnel back and the 6 time World Champions were broken up. A main theme of the book is how each player impacts the team both on and off the playing surface. Grant was constantly hurt physically and verbally, yet he kept the team together due to his toughness. Pippen slowly found a role as he oscillated between supporting Jordan and envying him. Even Cartwright, whose unorthodox style caused havoc for teammates and opponents alike, brought some gravitas to the situation, so that when he spoke, people listened. Of course Jordan led by talent and force of will, dealing with the pressures of being a superstar, while battling the needs of the individual against the needs of the team. Pulling all of the strings was Phil Jackson, who at the time was a risky hire. Had he failed at this chance, a much different history of the NBA would have been written. Instead of being one of the greatest coaches of all time, with enough rings for three hands, he would have been tossed on the scrapheap of history.

I have now started the book Ripped, which tells of the tale of the music industry as it moved from CD’s to the Internet, ie MP3’, Napster, torrents, etc. The book is fascinating as the music conglomerates continued to merge and continued to ignore the customers’ desires. I’m about halfway through and can’t put it down. When the transformation is laid out, it is amazing how obtuse the industry was/is regarding contemporary music. People will find music no matter what you try to do. Get out in front of it, embrace it and allow artists to get the music out. When done, consumers will support in any number of ways—album sales; concert sales; hits on websites, which equal advertising dollars.

On the DVD front, I finished the final season of Six Feet Under. I was told by a reliable source that the series finale is one of the greatest in the history of television. It was emotionally wrenching, that is for sure. I was on the edge of tears the entire episode, mainly because the story thread of Willa brought back memories of Larry’s entrance into the world. The montage at the end was the pay off for the packaging of the final season: Everything Ends. A great song (Breathe Me by Sia) scored what the future of these characters held. I really enjoyed the show from start from finish but won’t be able to watch again for another 10 or 20 years, if at all. Almost every episode, which were so dense in writing, acting and material, left me in a dark place, where I couldn’t stay too long. The show does give a fresh perspective on life, death, and relationships. If you haven’t seen it, I would highly recommend it.

recent media intake

So 24 may be over and move from the small screen to the big screen? http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118016256.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

YAWN. Honestly I never got into the show, even though everyone around me talked about how great it is/was.

Again, my comments re: 24. I like the idea. “Real time” instead of a movie covering all day but lasting 2 hours, ie Training Day, Collateral, etc.

--I think having the same guy “save the world” is a rip off of Die Hard 1-4, which I’m sure is a rip off of something else. Had they changed the main character, I might have bought in.

--If the protagonist is foiling some evil plot, can that be fully resolved in a day. People get away, all the pieces are not picked up, etc.



Moving on . . .

Saw this post from buddyhead.com re: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. http://www.buddyhead.com/new-black-rebel-motorcycle-club-videomp3-im-djing-la-shows/

The song is solid. The video is a little dodgy. I’m debating whether to see BRMC live in Columbus or Cleveland later this month. I’m in sort of an anti-concert phase. Gigs don’t really get me excited. I have passed on the Dandy Warhols, Oasis and Sloan the last couple of months. I love these bands but I don’t need to see them live. I can spend the same money or less on a live DVD, watch it over and over again and get the same sort of satisfaction.

Saw the Hangover again. It’s good but not awesome. I was hyped up to believe that this was the funniest movie of all time. There were some great parts, like Ken Jeong bursting out of the trunk and his subsequent interactions with the group; Alan in general; and the break up sequence at the wedding. If it is on, I’ll probably watch it, which says something: the movie has some quality and I’m lazy.

I started Six Feet Under Season 3. It almost blew my mind when they showed Nate dying in opening sequence. My first thought was that the show would go until all of the Fisher’s had died and would end with them sitting around the kitchen table in some metaphysical funeral home. I thought that would be an interesting direction for the show, but that changed when action cuts back to Nate among the living. Lisa’s boss is highly irritating but compelling. I’m not sure why Keith and David or together other than the sex. Anyway, love the show and can’t wait to dig in some more.