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December 29, 2009

Sherlcock Holmes

For this movie review of "Sherlock Holmes," The Dude on the Right generally liked the movie, but really felt that if it weren't for the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, and Rachel McAdams, well, then Guy Ritchie could have had a big turd on his hand. Anyway, the chemistry between all of the actors was great for The Dude, and he didn't even get that distracted by some of the CGI effects. Instead he just sat back, relaxed with his BFF in the theater, and enjoyed the show. He suggests you might be able to do the same, just leave the kids at home with the sitter.

Posted by Rightdude at 6:28 PM | Comments (0)

December 28, 2009

A Roomba Review, A Sherlock Holmes Reviews, Christmas is Gone, and a Batch of WTF's.

This is more of a "Christmas Weekend Wrap-Up" podcast rather than just a "Weekend Wrap-Up," so The Dude on the Right and Stu Gotz discuss the various gifts they received, how the little Gotz's got a few too many gifts, and Stu gives his review of the Roomba.  Both of the boys saw "Sherlock Holmes" and they give their take on the film, The Dude on the Right tells Stu if he should rent "Julie & Julia" to watch with Mama Gotz, and they both think "Kelly's Heroes" is a kick-ass movie.  There is talk about the airplane bomber dude, about AT&T sucking by not selling iPhones to people in New York City (although they seem to be selling them again), about someone who should know what an iPod is but doesn't, and about ungrateful family members.  With the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football playing the Minnesota Vikings and Brett Favre, the boys don't talk about football for this podcast, but then again, with the Bears sucking so bad, who cares?

Posted by Rightdude at 7:25 PM | Comments (0)

December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas to All!

The presents are opened, and I'm waiting for My BFF to get ready so we can go to Christmas mass, so I thought I would write a quick blog to wish everyone out there Merry Christmas, and if you don't celebrate Christmas, I just wish for you to enjoy the day. I suppose a later post might encompass how my Christmas celebrating has changed in the past couple of years since my parents died and I'm now engaged (that thought was spurred on by My BFF who asked me this morning how my family would have been celebrating Christmas today, other than seeing a movie, of course), a discourse about the table top Christmas tree v. the floor standing Christmas tree v. the live Christmas tree, how college friends still keep getting together in December, every year, for over twenty years, the plight of the nauga, or how dinner isn't the same without my brother and me making fun of my sister, but there really isn't time for all of those stories, right now, as a trip to church and then to visit with my future in-laws is quickly approaching.

I will lastly just say that I would like to send some Christmas love to those who might be spending the day alone when they could be spending it with family and friends, and an extra Christmas wish to my brother, and how I wish things were different.

That's it for this one! I'm The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Posted by Rightdude at 9:37 AM | Comments (0)

December 21, 2009

Extract

The Dude on the Right is a little miffed during his review of the Blu-ray "Extract," but not because of the movie. Mostly he is disappointed in the lack of extras on the Blu-ray, or the DVD for that matter, but luckily he enjoyed the movie. He liked Jason Bateman, thinks Mila Kunis is nice on the eyes (and funny), and he thinks Gene Simmons might have a life after that little band called KISS that he is in, either as an actor, or maybe a scheister lawyer. All in all The Dude thinks "Extract" is a decent movie for you to watch at home, but don't worry about the extras because they aren't really worth it.

Posted by Rightdude at 8:38 PM | Comments (0)

A Mr. Squiggles Zsu Zau Pet, Avatar, Plumbing Talk, Computer Woes and Airport Delays.

Luckily Stu Gotz wasn’t trapped under a sink for their “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast, so he and The Dude on the Right were able to discuss a wasted day for both of them over the weekend.  Wasted day aside, the boys did get to see “Avatar,” they do some discussing of “Extract,” there is no talk of “Julie & Julia” because The Dude missed quality BFF time due to computer issues, and it seems they missed an opportunity to go to NYC for some in-person research of the XOXO window displays.  The boys did do some shopping for Zsu Zsu pets, Mama Gotz didn’t spend enough time at the airport, and Christmas is this weekend so next week we’ll get to see if they were naughty, or nice.

Posted by Rightdude at 7:50 PM | Comments (0)

December 19, 2009

Avatar

The Dude on the Right reviews "Avatar," and although he says it's no "Titanic," he eventually justifies it being a 5 star out of 5 star movie. You get some quality violence, some Na'vi sex (sort of), and tall, blue creatures who are hot. What else can you ask for? Well, you also get a nice love story, you see that us humans suck sometimes, maybe there is hope that you don't just end up dead but become part of a tree, and a glimpse at what the future of movies will look like, in terms of technology. The movie looks cool, but The Dude still isn't sure about the whole 3-D thing, and it's not just because he has to pay extra for the glasses only to be asked to give them back so they can be reused, umm, recycled.

Posted by Rightdude at 2:03 PM | Comments (0)

December 14, 2009

No Sleep, No New Satellite, No Jon Bovi, No Oprah Caroling, but Yes Movies.

Tiredness and grumpiness are not a great equation for a "Weekend Wrap-Up!" podcast, but The Dude on the Right and Stu Gotz power through both as they put together another episode of weekend-ness.  Stu's grumpiness can be directly related to a satellite TV installation gone awry, as well as an hour and a half drive to hear some Christmas music, and a bizarre Christmas exchange at a Taekwondo party, while The Dude couldn't sleep because of a dradle song and a song about a butcher.  The boys do compare notes, however, on the Monk finale from a couple of weeks ago, on "G-Force," but The Dude talks about "Multiplicity" solo while Stu is the only one of the two that has seen "Inkheart." There is talk of Santa Claus, of the lack of Jon Bovi on Saturday Night Live, and Chicago Bears, but in the end, The Dude just wants to see video of Oprah out caroling like she said she was going to do in a tweet from last night.  They talk, and hope you'll listen.

Posted by Rightdude at 8:30 PM | Comments (0)

December 13, 2009

G-Force

"G-Force" is coming out on Blu-ray and DVD, and The Dude on the Right reviews the movie, even though he doesn't have kids. He likes the movie for what it is, but probably doesn't realize how smart kids are nowadays, wondering if they will understand the entire concept of a computer virus, let alone guinea pigs being able to communicate with humans. Hopefully the kids will stick to enjoying the movie rather than trying to outfit their real guinea pigs with blow-torches, but in any case, thanks to The Dude's buddy, Stu Gotz, The Dude figures the movie will be good for the kids, and for the parents.

Posted by Rightdude at 8:51 PM | Comments (0)

Duplicity

Sure, the DVD of "Duplicity" came out a little while ago, but The Dude on the Right finally got to it on his Netflix queue and decided he should have put something else on that list. It's not that he didn't like the story concept because sure, who doesn't like some corporate espionage and Julia Roberts almost getting naked, but the dude thinks the movies just tried to hard to be "surprising" instead of buttoning up the story. The Blu-ray doesn't even have anything that cool on it, so go ahead, rent the movie, and see if your honey will give you some loving after spending two hours watching this one.

Posted by Rightdude at 3:28 PM | Comments (0)

December 8, 2009

I Became a Person Who Came to Downtown Chicago to...

By: The Dude on the Right
I put a little post on Facebook: I'm doing something I said I would never do only I can't say exactly what it is until Monday. How's that for a tease?

Hundreds, okay just a few of my friends, tried to figure out the mystery, and the guesses ranged from hitting a nudie-bar (I have been to one of those before, so that couldn't be it), to a spa treatment complete with a pedicure.  I will say that all of the guesses were wrong, although from my fiance's descriptions of her pedicure experiences, well, that may not be ruled out in the future, but in any case, what I did astounded me.

You see, for years, living in Chicago and visiting downtown quite often, there is a tradition I witnessed yet couldn't understand.  The people would be there, in the freezing cold, in a line that sometimes would stretch down the street and around the corner, and you would think it was either the day after Thanksgiving and they were waiting for the season's hottest gift, or that some store was giving away a hundred dollars just for standing in line.  With my friends I would mock these people, laugh at them as they were bundled in their parkas, shivering, yet with shear anticipation on their faces, and in an orderly fashion they would file, one by one, into the little storefront that housed a treasure people far and wide would stand for hours, or at least a bunch of minutes, to secure.  The years would go by and I would wonder, "Is it really that good?", and prior to this weekend I had already found out and well, it is good, but "stand-in-line" good?  It didn't matter, I suppose, because there I was, standing in line, in the freezing cold, to get a bag of Garrett's Popcorn.

Yup, hours of my weekend downtown, okay, maybe about 20 minutes, were spent, in a line, waiting for a bag of popcorn (okay, actually two bags of popcorn), something I made fun of for years, something I told myself I would never do, yet as I witnessed a group of girls try to cut in line, as I saw two women become nearly orgasmic as they sampled a little cup of fresh Chicago Mix, and as a tourist, in the freezing cold, wearing sandals, jumped for joy as he walked over a sidewalk grate venting warm air, I patiently waited, moving ahead one person by one person, with my order in my head: "One large bag and one medium bag of Chicago Mix please."  I would then pay the man, step to the side, and hope not to screw up the process and have someone yell "No popcorn for you!", yet this wasn't like a Seinfeld episode because people ahead of me kept changing their minds, and the people behind the counter were patient through every person.  There were the newbies, still staring at the menu unsure of what they wanted when it was finally time to order, and then there were the experienced folks, rattling off their popcorn tin requests like they were trading stock, and there I was, bewildered in myself that somehow I was actually the person who suggested this gift for my future in-laws, and if it weren't for my fiance, I would have forgotten to get a bag for us.

And so I have become a statistic in this world of Chicago, someone I would question if it was really worth it, someone I would mock, someone I always thought must have better things to do when visiting Chicago.

I became a person who came to downtown Chicago to stand in line to buy popcorn.

That's it for this one!  I'm The Dude on the Right!!   L8R!!!

Posted by Rightdude at 5:40 PM | Comments (0)

A Tiger, A Reunion, A Bed, A Toilet Paper Holder, and Getting Old(er).

The Dude on the Right and Stu Gotz got together for a fraternity reunion weekend, so their “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast deals with a lot of that.  They also discuss beds, getting older, and improperly designed placement of toilet paper holders before getting to other fun stuff, like new shows on Hulu (21 Jumpstreet, The Commish, and The Greatest American Hero.)  Neither of them have yet to see “The Blind Side,” Stu saw the “Monk” finale but tried not to ruin it for The Dude, and sure, this week there is some Tiger Woods talk as the boys jump on the “Bash Tiger” bandwagon.

Posted by Rightdude at 7:05 AM | Comments (0)

December 2, 2009

I Think I'm Done with Playboy

By: The Dude on the Right
Playboy sent me my renewal notice, and I hate to say it, but "Playboy, it might be time to leave you."  I can hear my buddy, Stu Gotz, bashing me already, he will say that my fiance wants me to get rid of it and that I am caving into her will, but the fact of the matter is that Playboy just isn't that interesting of a magazine anymore.  Sure, it's got naked women, and yes, they are pretty, but lately too many of the women are covering up so for that aspect it's kind of like "What's the point?", and I hate to say it, but I haven't even been finding myself reading it for the articles that much anymore, because, well, the articles haven't been all that enlightening, engaging, or groundbreaking. Also, as my budget is tighter than it used to be, what with a wedding to plan and all, I'm looking at the yearly renewal rate they are offering me and I've got to say that my $32.97 might be better spent elsewhere.

So I tried to analyze what I was getting for my $32.97, and I used their list of "benefits" I get as a guide. If I renew before December 17th I get the following:

• Renewal discounted for another year at their absolute lowest price:        $32.97
• Okay, this is nice, but I do wonder if it is their "absolute" lowest price, and if someone else out there is getting a better deal.
  
  
• Preferred Subscriber Savings of 52% off the cover price:                        52%
• Kind of a redundant with the renewal discount they described in the first benefit, but I guess it's just to reinforce the fact that if I went to the newsstand every month it would cost me $68.89, but then again, one month is a double issue (nice cost-cutting measure for them, huh?).
  
  
• Special Bonus: One-Time-Only-DVD - Playboy's "Uncensored Home Videos" with your paid renewal        FREE
• Come on Playboy, aren't we up to the Blu-ray generation yet?  And really, I do read Playboy mostly for the articles, and Stu tells me there are much better "Uncensored Home Videos" out there on this thing called the internet.
  
  
• Special Annual Issues: Playmate of the Year, Holiday Anniversay Issue, MLB, NBA, NFL Previews, Sex in the Cinema, Gala Christmas Issue:    Included
• Umm, are these really special?  Haven't you been doing these for years and aren't these more "expected" than "special?"
  
  
• Convenient home delivery:    Included
• Okay, that's nice, and it is pretty convenient.  I'm glad they aren't thinking of billing me extra to deliver it at home.
  
  
• Money-Back Guarantee:        Included
• If I'm not completely satisfied with my subscription I can cancel at any time and receive a full refund on all unmailed issues.  What I would rather have, I think, is if I could maybe go online every month and say something like "I only liked 50% of this issue, can I get a credit on my account for the part that sucked, but keep sending me the magazine because I did like the 50%".

The crappy part, and maybe crappy is the appropriate word, is I used to be able to gauge how engaging an issue of Playboy was because, well, I admit that most of the time I would find myself reading it on the crapper while taking my daily constitutional, and if it was a good month of stuff, well, I would find that before I was done reading everything in said month there, thanks to the Convenient Home Delivery, would come the next month's issue having me cramming in some final reading, or spending a few extra minutes on the Mighty Ferguson.  Lately, though, I'm finding that I'm pretty much done with the issue well before the next issue arrives, leaving me time to just sit and ponder rather than shit and wonder.

My problem now is what to replace the magazine with.  See, I already subscribe to Rolling Stone, Maxim, and somehow I get this Small Business Magazine, and they all pretty much keep me in tune with things in the entertainment world and high finance, although I do like a decent interview, and that's what Playboy used to really give me.  While listening to the radio I was thinking GQ might be a nice replacement because I heard there was a great article with Clint Eastwood recently, but really, me and GQ?

So, I've got around $33.00 to spend, maybe on a magazine subscription, but then again, it would pay for like 1/5thish of a person at our wedding.  Any suggestions would be well appreciated.

That's it for this one!  I'm The Dude on the Right!!   L8R!!!

Posted by Rightdude at 12:05 PM | Comments (1)