mad_typist's Open Salon Blog

New Show Alert! Terriers on FX

Wed, 8 Sep 2010 10:09:05 -0400

I'm popping out of my self-imposed blog hibernation to let you fine folks know that there's a new series out there that you might enjoy. The advance word on FX's new series Terriers has been pretty positive (Televisionary, a site that rarely goes wrong, calls it one of the strongest new series of the season).

The show in a nutshell: an ex-cop partners with his buddy to run an unlicensed private investigation business. Hilarity (and edgy "stuff") ensues.

Reasons why you should watch this show:

1) It's got Donal Logue, who I've loved all the way back to his "The Tao of Steve" days. He's the kind of charming actor who can carry a show as a lead, and he will likely bring a unique spin to the character.

2) His partner in crime (and charming-ness) is played by Michael Raymond-James, who you probably remember better as Rene from season 1 of True Blood.

3) The show runner is Shawn Ryan, and this show seems to have some of the same excellent aesthetic that his previous series, The Shield, had. I'm not sure how great he'll be at bringing the funny, but obviously he knows how to produce gritty dramatic moments.

4) It's hosted on the FX network, so when they promise an "edgy" show, you actually believe it based on the network's other offerings.

5) I've got a really good vibe about this show, and really... have I steered you wrong yet?

Check it out. It airs tonight at 10pm EST on FX. You can grab the trailer here:
http://vod.fxnetworks.com/watch/terriers

*image from TV.com

DVR alert: Warehouse 13 and The Closer return!

Tue, 6 Jul 2010 14:07:10 -0400

Warehouse 13 and The Closer return!

Great news, everybody - season 2 of Syfy's unexpectedly fun and awesome show "Warehouse 13" starts tonight (July 6th) at 9pm EST. For anyone who missed this great little series when it aired last season, this is your chance to jump on board. Don't be afraid about being unable to follow the storyline - most of the episodes are monster-of-the-week format and you'll figure out the longer story arcs pretty quickly.

Here's all you need to know to start watching right away: remember that warehouse at the end of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark where they stored the Ark of the Covenant? Warehouse 13 imagines a universe where that warehouse really exists and contains all sorts of magical items within its walls. Two agents, Myka and Pete, are assigned to hunt down mysterious artifacts around the country, figure out how to safely contain them and then return the items to the warehouse. Artie, an expert on all things supernatural, is their liaison back at the warehouse, dispensing advice remotely via fun steampunk video comm units. Claudia is the resident hacker/troublemaker who assists Artie at his job.

If you're looking for something to replace Lost in your life, well... this probably isn't the right show for you. But if you are looking for a breezy fun summer show, you can't go wrong with Warehouse 13. Myka and Pete have great chemistry - and for once, it's a fun brother/sister dynamic most of the time, versus the standard "sexual tension" kind, which is refreshing. C.C.H. Pounder - one of my favorite character actors working today - is also pretty great in her guest starring role as one of the mysterious people in charge of the warehouse. This show goes great paired in your DVR with a viewing of Burn Notice or my next suggestion.....

I'm thrilled that The Closer is returning this Monday, July 12th. Hopefully most of you are watching this series already and merely are benefiting from me reminding you to set your DVRs for Monday night.

The Closer isn't the most original show on TV, as it runs like a standard police procedural most of the time, but there's something special about this show that makes each episode go down smoothly. Brenda Leigh is a tough character to play - her behavior is often so self-absorbed that in the hands of a lesser actress she might come across as completely unlikeable. However, Kyra Sedgwick plays the role just right, and we (like her co-workers and belabored husband Fritz) find ourselves forgiving Brenda not matter what.

Like all great police procedurals, each episode is fairly self-contained, so this is another show you can jump right into even if you haven't seen past seasons. Enjoy!

Jesus Takes the Mound

Wed, 9 Jun 2010 09:06:25 -0400

Jesus Takes the Mound

So, the savior of DC baseball - one Mr. Stephen Strasburg - finally made his major league debut last night. Jokingly (though maybe not so much) referred to as "Jesus" by both the media and his own teammates, Strasburg rampaged through the minor leagues before quickly being pulled up into action. This was the first Nationals game I ever bothered to tune into; I was forced to watch on TV since DC fans awoke from their apathetic slumber regarding local baseball and actually sold out the park in advance for once.

How did he do? By all accounts, he exceeded the already lofty expectations that had been piled on him. Already in his first game he broken a Nationals pitching record (sort of, see this link for the long version) by recording 14 strikeouts - granted that might be an indictment of the Nationals pitching over the years more than anything, but still, that's pretty impressive. Even more impressive is that he threw exactly zero walks, which I've personally never seen in all my years watching baseball.

Here's a stat for comparison (again, courtesy of the link above):

"Only five other pitchers since 1900 have had a 14-strikeout, zero-walk game in ANY game, at any point in their careers, in which they went seven innings or less. Those five: Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Javier Vazquez, Mike Mussina and Brad Penny. We're guessing you've heard of them."

What struck me most about his style was the speed with which he pitched. By that I do not mean the velocity of his fastball (impressive as it was), but rather the minimal time he took in between pitches. He didn't fidget on the mound at all, just started his wind up almost immediately after receiving the ball back from Pudge. Of course, allowing only 4 batters to reach base the whole time certainly helped - no need to check the batter at first really, just focus on the next pitch.

I also liked the aggressiveness he showed. Again - zero walks and 70% of his pitches were in the strike zone. He was pretty much DARING the Pirates to hit the ball. There wasn't a ton of trickery - the balls were there in the strike zone for the taking, though the Pirates looked stymied by the combination of blazing fastballs and vicious curves and breaking balls. After giving up two hits in a row (one of which was a HR), he was calm and collected enough to finish out the inning, and then went on to strike out out the last 7 batters IN A ROW.

By all rights, it was an almost perfect debut (sullied only by a 2 run homer). Granted, he's got a long way to go before he can truly live up to the expectations foisted upon him (after all, one does not justify the "Greatest Pitching Prospect EVER" label in just one night). He's going to have bad days, he's going to pitch against teams that are not fucking terrible (after all, I think even I could blow some strikes past the lowly Pittsburgh lineup), he's going to have nights when the umps are feeling stingy or he's just not feeling it. But overall, it looks like the hype is for real.

With the Nationals drafting yet another wunderkind, Bryce Harper (a.k.a. "Baseball's LeBron" or "LeBryce" as people have been calling him), things may finally be looking up for this lowly franchise. In retrospect, having back-to-back 100+ loss seasons may have been the best thing to happen to the club in a long time.

*picture from Nationals website

In Which I Plunge Into Justin Bieber Madness

Fri, 7 May 2010 14:05:13 -0400

In Which I Plunge Into Bieber Madness

There are two things I find strangely irresistible: extreme French horror films and male teen pop sensations. The latter obsession harkens back to my youth, when my sister and I were deep into a New Kids on the Block (or NKOTB as we called them) obsession. In college, I went through a Backstreet Boys/*NSYNC phase where their infectious pop hits dominated a good 80% of my workout mix. I may or may not have debated at length with my friend about which Justin Timberlake hairstyle I liked the best.

Now, I'm not one to swoon or scream over these sorts of bands myself - I'm more of a "only discuss it around like-minded friends and always with a sense of weird guilt" kind of fan. But these bands do inspire that screaming obsessive behavior in many of their fans; I remember hearing a rumor that if you attended a NKOTB concert without ear plugs, you risked permanent hearing damage from all the high-pitched screaming. That's part of what draws me to these sorts of acts, because I'm constantly fascinated with dissecting exactly what it is about these groups that appeals to their fans (more specifically, their younger fans).

Needless to say, when I started hearing internet rumblings about one Justin Bieber a few months back, I was intrigued. I had seen the Twitter trends, and had heard a few internet memes going around, but for a long time I had no idea who he was. It was like he was living in some parallel world where everyone seemed to know who he was. I resisted for awhile, but finally had to see what all the fuss was about. I downloaded My World 2.0 and fired it up on my drive to work.

Here's how the album breaks down:

Track 1 - "Baby"
This is an exact transcription of what went through my head as I listened to this song: "Hmm... Is that a girl? No, that must be Bieber. Ok. Damn, they auto-tuned the shit out of this song. It's still pretty catchy though. 'Baby, baby, baby, baby, ohhhhhhh...' Ha ha, oh my god - is that Ludacris I hear? I think it is. WTF? Ludacris is rapping about playground love. That is weirdly awesome." I have to admit - overall this is a great track and I'm not surprised that it's hit single. By the second time I listened to it, I was singing along. It's a tasty pop confectionery treat for the ears.

Here's the video of the song, which confirms Ludacris's presence. My favorite part of the song is when Justin dances up all close on the object of his affection like maybe he's going to get all sexy on her. Honestly though, the way it plays out, it seems like the only physical contact she's in danger of is enthusiastic hugging.

Justin Bieber - New Music - More Music Videos

Track 2 - "Somebody to Love"
Another danceable hit. I could actually picture this playing in a club somewhere. I could also picture myself dancing to it.

Track 3 - "Stuck in the Moment"
This is the first semi-ballad of the album. The song starts by name-checking the greatest angsty teen love story of them all: "Now Romeo and Juliet, bet they never felt the way we felt." I cackled a little the first time I heard it, but I bet the tweens go crazy for that lyric. More name-checking of famous couples, including Bonnie and Clyde, Adam and Eve, and Sonny and Cher for some reason, continues. The chorus is another hooky set of lyrics that ensure that you'll be powerless to resist singing along to the next time you hear it.

Track 4 - "U Smile"
I was already predisposed to dislike this song, because I loathe any usage of IM/texting shortcuts in place of proper spelling. The fact that the song is incredibly bland - both in lyrics and melody - just makes it worse.

Track 5 - "Runaway Love"
It's at this point in the album where I start to suspect that the best tracks have already passed by. This is the sort of song that a Justin Bieber hater might point to as proof that his music is terrible.

Track 6 - "Never Let You Go", Track 7 - "Overboard"
This is vintage teenage boy pop. It sounds a lot like something 98 Degrees or O Town might have sung back in the 90s. I do not mean that as a compliment. The Backstreet Boys wouldn't have recorded these even as crappy b-sides.

Track 8 - "Up"
This is a little better - I like the R&B-influenced slow jam styling of this song. It's also the first song to even remotely feel sexy in an adult way.

Track 9 - "That Should Be Me"
In this final track, Bieber unintentionally brings the funny. There have been countless cracks about how no human has ever more closely achieved the ideal of Lisa Simpson's "Non-threatening Boys Monthly" cover model than Bieber. Bieber validates this notion by singing about how he wishes he were in the place of the girl's boyfriend, with a chorus that goes, "That should be me, Holdin' your hand, That should be me, Makin' you laugh, That should be meeeeee..." Holdin' your hand? Really? Could a sentiment more delightfully innocent? Granted, later in the chorus he sings "that should be me, feeling your kiss" but I suspect that's only in there because it rhymes with the lyric that follows, "That should be me, buyin' you gifts."

Here's what I find most amazing about Justin Bieber: he's essentially a one-man boy band. Whereas groups like *NSYNC have the advantage of being able to disperse and share the white-hot intensity of fangirl love among their many members, poor Justin Bieber must face that raging force alone. Compounding this problem is the fact that Bieber is literally an insanely beautiful boy - his hair flops perfectly around his angelic face, creating what can only be called "Catnip for Pre-teen Girls". The question is not, "Why are all these girls literally going insane for this kid?" it's "How could any girl under the age of 16 NOT lose her mind over him?" Even some older ladies are taken with him (a phenomenon captured hilariously in the SNL skit featuring Tina Fey fantasizing over Bieber's good looks). For God's sake, LOOK at this kid:

Really. I get why 12-13 year old are going absolutely berserk for this guy. I mean, we can make fun of them all we want for threatening Kim Kardashian, after Kim joked over Twitter that she had a thing for Bieber. But honestly, I remember defacing a picture of the singer Tiffany in my sister's 16 magazine, because Tiffany was dating Jon, my favorite New Kid on the Block.

All things considered, you have to acknowledge that the kid is a talented performer. The fact that he's signed with Usher (himself a teen pop star) means he has a mentor who can help him navigate the tricky transition between teen and adult pop stardom. I just wonder what he's going to sound like after his voice changes.

So. There you go. I plunged myself into the vast mystery that is Justin Bieber and have dutifully reported back to you all on what I found. Now go download "Baby" (you know you want to).

A New Blogger You All Should Follow

Thu, 6 May 2010 09:05:54 -0400

Just wanted to post and welcome a new talent that just appeared on Open Salon. You should all head over and check out Becky Boop's new blog here on the site (http://open.salon.com/blog/becky_boop).

I've followed Boop for some time now on her other blog and I think you will all find that she's a great fit for our little community here at OS. Please take the time to go check her out and to post a little welcome message for her. :)