Loading ...It was a great show, makes me really want to go see Pitbull live, even if half of the people who sing with him won’t be with him, at least physically, because, well, if half of the fun Pitbull seems to be having wears off on me, that concert would just be a happy-fest, but as I sit here watching my TV, and Pitbull, I wonder: Have you watched a concert on TV?
That’s it for this one! I’m Andy!! L8R!!!
Loading ...
Our dog, Milo, recently had a birthday, and some of his friends on Facebook wished him a “Happy Birthday.” Yes, that’s right, he has a Facebook page. He thanked those who wished him the best for another year, with his traditional “Woof!” at the end, and as he is now older than I am, clocking in at a 49 years, he wonders if he should maybe shut down the page. Okay, he’s not wondering that, right now he’s probably just wondering when I’m going to give him his breakfast while I’m typing this, but his introduction into Facebook wasn’t out of my being a “trying to treat our dog like a human” thing, he ended up with a page simply because I was in full Farmville mode and needed more “neighbors.” His having a page helped many a time, through the proliferation of “…ville” games, and even into the Candy Crush era, but it was kind of funny, as his posts would show up on my wall as “Liking” the latest game, that my friends would undoubtedly become “friends” with Milo.
He doesn’t give as many updates as he used to, mostly because you can’t have two Facebook apps on your phone and it’s too much of a pain to log out and back in on the app, so when we are out and “he” wants to let his friends know where he is checking in at, it’s up to me to quit being lazy and do the extra steps.
Maybe once I get hooked into the next game he’ll be a little more active, but for now his page sits kind of quietly, like many a Facebook page, where people wish their friends, who probably don’t even pay attention to Facebook any longer, Happy Birthday, and never even notice their “friend” didn’t thank anyone. I do wonder, though: Does your pet have a Facebook page?
That’s it for this one! I”m Andy!! L8R!!!
Loading ...We don’t have a giant clock on our wall, although we do have some spots that could probably fit one, but I wonder: Do you own, or know someone who owns, a giant clock?
That’s it for this one! I’m Andy!! L8R!!!
Loading ...Me being me, I immediately grabbed the roll while sitting there, while pondering life, and replaced the empty toilet paper roll on the toilet paper holder. I then thought to myself two things. One was “Who is the lazy-ass who used the toilet paper and didn’t put the fresh roll on the holder?”, and two,”I guess I’m a toilet roll replacer.” The latter occurred to me as it also occurred to me there have been many a time when I’ve had to put the fresh roll, sitting right there on the toilet, on the holder, and I wonder: Are you a toilet roll replacer?
That’s it for this one! I’m Andy!! L8R!!!
Loading ...
Now that pitchers and catchers have duly reported, as well as the rest of the players, it’s that time of year when, unless your basketball team is great, or you are a hockey nut, your sport’s thoughts are probably drifting to baseball, because, as James Earl Jones says in “Field of Dreams,” – “The one constant through all the years… has been baseball.”
Yes, even if you are a casual fan there is hope, hope that this year your team might be a little bit better, that maybe, just maybe, this could be the year that they catch fire and actually become good, or that, God forbid, they might actually make it to the playoffs (Oh, wait, most everyone makes it to the playoffs nowadays – scratch that – The World Series).
Me, I have three teams that have my loyalty, the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs. The Indians are always near and dear to my heart because they are really my home-town team, the team I loved while growing up in Lorain, OH, even though they always sucked, and my first big-league game. The White Sox and Cubs are a result of my transplantation to Chicago for college, and my general sticking around here. Back in college we would go to the old Comisky Park quite a bit as it was right across a few streets from Illinois Institute of Technology, my college alma matter, and a trip to a Cubs game became a staple of Rush Week in our fraternity.
As the years progressed my core group of friends would generally score bleacher tickets to opening day for the Cubs, a little easier back in the day before the online ordering system became a cluster-f of “Waiting Room” delays, though lately, I’ve missed a few, although, for me, the bleacher experience has come and gone, preferring now the comfort of my own seat, with a little less of a “drunk” crowd around me.
In any case, opening day is coming soon, and though I’ll be missing it this year I will have hope for all of my teams, at least until probably the end of opening day, and I wonder: Have you been to an opening day?
That’s it for this one! I’m Andy!! L8R!!!
Loading ...
Sitting in front of the TV there was an add for Shen Yun at the Chicago Opera House, which I guess is also where the Lyric Opera happens in Chicago, and it occurred to me that one of the weird things on my bucket list is to go to an Opera. I don’t really know why. I guess part of it is that scene in “Pretty Woman” where Richard Gere explains to Julia Roberts that some people enjoy the opera, but for others, it becomes a part of their soul, or something like that. Also, back when I used to work in downtown Chicago, I would walk past the Chicago Opera House and sometimes the backstage doors would be open I would be fascinated by the stage props that I could see. Part of it also probably has to do with my enjoying a good musical, and although different, what the hell.
In a not-so-weird juxtaposition I suppose, another thing on my list is to see the Chicago Symphony Orchestra perform Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.” My guess is you probably have heard the song “O Fortuna” in a movie yet have no idea what it is (Go ahead, Google it), and back in the day, in the search for the song, I came across a CD of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Levine, and realized I like the entire thing.
There are a lot of operas to choose from so in the end my challenge, in thinking about seeing one, is finding one that would be a good introduction to see if I’m one of those that would enjoy it, or if it would become part of my soul. I’m sure I’ll find my way, someday, to the opera, but I wonder: Do you have any desire to see an opera?
That’s it for this one! I’m Andy!! L8R!!!
Loading ...
Fine, here’s my answer. Yes. I have a digital picture frame. It was a gift from my wife, one to help me get a boatload of concert pictures off of a cluttered wall, and two, because it was an awesome gift for someone like me who took boatloads of pictures that, like many folks, have them just in boxes or stored digitally for no one, not even me, to see. It’s a nice one, larger than most, from Kodak, and used to have a feature to connect to some Kodak website that you could store your pictures on, a site, of course, no longer supported. But the frame still lets you connect wirelessly to a computer, or use a media card to store pictures on, and will display them.
Like many a digital picture frame, though, I should probably update the pictures on it as right now it’s still all of our wedding pictures and a few other ones I like. Not that it’s not an important date, short of my birth it ranks up there as number two. Aw, hell, it’s number one as I don’t remember being born. In any case, I’ve taken more pictures since then, have been archiving older pictures, and should probably do a media card update, just to get some new stuff for me to see.
I do know a few people who do the scrapbook thing, but in this day and age of taking pictures everywhere with your phone, I wonder: Do you have a digital picture frame?
That’s it for this one! I’m Andy!! L8R!!!
P.S. Yes, in that picture, it’s me, as a young lad, in front of a TV, with the Johnny Cash show on.
Loading ...
Maybe I need to get out more, or maybe I need to go to some more exciting places, but the other day I started to become fascinated with the “Near Me” feature on the App Store app on my iPhone. Supposedly it shows what some of the most popular apps are around you that people are downloading, and for them most part the people around me are really concerned about the news or how to get from here to there, although it also seems like my neighborhood has a lot of radio legend, Steve Dahl, fans, as his app is displayed prominently among the choices.
I’ve tried it a couple of times at places I’ve been, and usually it’s been a similar result – local news apps, travel times, train schedules, but oddly enough, never seeming to be anything fun. I think I might need to head to some fun parts of the area and see what comes up, but for now I wonder: Have you used the “Near Me” feature on the iPhone App Store app, and what the heck, I’m curious of any wacky ones that might show up near you.
That’s it for this one! I’m Andy!! L8R!!!
It’s Thanksgiving time as I’m writing this, and I have a lot to be thankful for, and as much as a time it is for giving thanks, it’s also a time for reflecting for me, especially about this place, Entertainment Ave!, which has been a part of my life in one form or another since about 1988, some 25 years ago.
This odyssey began as a little article in a college newspaper, Technology News, with my buddy and me looking to make some extra beer money. It was there that The Unknown Reviewers were born (Here’s a link to one of our first articles, found on Page 3), with me, The Dude on the Right, and him, The Dude on the Left, with bags on our heads and a PC with a hard drive topping out at 40Meg I think (Yup, you could fit a whopping 10 songs if they actually had digital downloads back then, but I digress), where we would wake up on a Friday morning with foggy heads and write about bands visiting our college bar the night before. As college years moved on some of the personas may have changed, but the bags remained the same, and The Dudes carried on.
Re-taking the reigns of The Unknown Reviewers in my never-ending college days, after being in an advisory role for a while, eventually The Dudes became digital, posting our reviews on our college website, and then, back in 1996, after finally ending college fun and pretending to grow up, Entertainment Ave! was born, with cheesy graphics, a cast of characters who mostly just wanted to have a goofy character, and the concert reviews grew from college bands to national acts, movie reviews were added, and through the years we’ve had an advice column, dabbled in animated movie reviews, held weekly podcasts, personal blogs, Daily Plights, and just some general commentary about the world.
I’ve always had big dreams for Entertainment Ave!, and although a lame excuse in the world of entrepreneurship, I generally let my day job and sometimes life in general, get in the way of trying to take this place to the next level, and over the past few months, with some other major changes taking place in my life, I’ve begun to wonder if this part of my life has also run its course. For over two years now I’ve been trying to get all of the pages updated to the newer format, a task I didn’t realize was so huge until I realized that, through the years, I’ve amassed over 750 various reviews and articles, and converting them has proven a much more daunting task then originally thought. I’ve also had a goal to get all of my concert photos updated to go along with the concert reviews, as well as get them posted for all of the world to see on my flickr site, and although a little easier than the page conversion, I haven’t gotten to the individual editing of them, either. Ugh!
“So, Dude, what are you trying to say. I’m getting tired of reading. Get to the point, already!”
I guess what I’m trying to say is that for a while I’m going to be putting this part of my life, Entertainment Ave!, on hiatus, as I ponder its future. There might be a post every now and then, but for the most part I’m going to see if some kind of inspiration comes to re-envisioning the site, its goals, and if it can be a part of my life for the next 25 years. I might try to finish getting the old reviews converted, finish up with the concert photos, play around with some site re-designing, but as a one-man show, and a site this large, it’s been a tough task keeping up with the changes in technology, the changes in how people get their content (I never did get the Facebook nor Twitter connections fully integrated as I envisioned, nor the “Second Life” virtual site, and even though I’ve designed an iPhone app or two, this site has never gotten its own app much to my own disappointment). For the time being I’ll be leaving everything posted, because hey, someone might want to read about an AC/DC concert from 1991, or see if they should rent “Dude, Where’s My Car?”, but don’t count too much on finding out what I think about the latest Christmas movies, read about a bad film coming out on Blu-ray, or a plight about if Cher really did make the gayest video, ever, for her song “Take It Like a Man.”
If this does end up being my last post for this site, I would like to thank all of you for your support through the years, any comments you may have tossed my way, and the chance to share my entertainment world, and sometimes thoughts about life, with you. It’s been a lovely ride for over 25 years, and maybe its not over yet, but in any case it’s a time to re-assess, re-evaluate, and see if some reconditioning can bring a new chapter to the Entertainment Ave! life.
Maybe for the last time…
That’s it for this one! I’m Andrew Labis, I mean, The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!
MPAA Rated – Not Rated
It’s 1:27 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right
| Breaking the Girls Movie Stats & Links |
|
| Starring: | Agnes Bruckner, Madeline Zima, Shawn Ashmore |
| MPAA Rated: | Not rated. |
| Released By: | IFC Films |
| Release Date: | November 19, 2013 |
| Kiddie Movie: | For the love of God, put them to bed. |
| Date Movie: | For the love of God, put her to bed, also. |
| Gratuitous Sex: | There’s some girl-on-girl, and girl-on-guy stuff, but it’s pretty lame. |
| Gratuitous Violence: | It’s a murder-mystery movie, so there is some. |
| Action: | Nah. |
| Laughs: | The acting. |
| Memorable Scene: | The bad, being drunk acting. |
| Memorable Quote: | None. |
| Directed By: | Jamie Babbit |
I really hate writing reviews that bash a movie, and will generally try to find something nice to say, but there are times a movie, in my book, is just bad. “Breaking the Girls” is that movie.
In terms of story we get Sara (Agnes Bruckner). She’s a law student struggling with some money and has to bartend to get by. There’s a weird love-connection between her and Eric (Shawn Ashmore), who’s girlfriend isn’t to thrilled by their gazes at each other. When Sara steals a few bucks at her job, and gets turned in by the girlfriend, her life implodes as she loses her job and gets kicked out of law school. Lucky for her she met Alex (Madeline Zima), who has a lot of money and is freaky. So, yup, Sara and Alex get it on, but not before Sara meets Nina, Alex’s mother-in-law who used to be her lover, and so, with both girls having sworn enemies (or do they?), they make a pact to kill each other’s enemies.
Of course, Alex being the nutty one, carries out the dastardly deed, and then Sara has second thoughts. And of course, of course, we find out Alex isn’t too happy about this, and so she starts to threaten Sara that she better stand up to her end of the bargain, or else. And of course, of course, of course, there is the supposedly interesting plot twist, where things are not as we see, as Eric, who of course, of course, of course, of course, has now firmly planted his relationship with Sara, but then does some investigating and finds out a few things.
Sadly the movie comes across as “I know, let’s have this weak story that has been done before, and mix it with some girl-on-girl action, which has also been done before, and it will be great!” movie. I mean, here’s Sara, the law student, working in a bar, and meets Alex, playing the worstly acted drunk person I have seen in years. Sara goes home with Alex, Alex breaks this crystal vase and Sara doesn’t really think anything of it, and then, I know, “Let’s go to a party!” Sure, it’s all part of Sara’s master plan, but the acting is so bad that I almost was laughing at everyone as the movie went along.
The guy in me wants to try to recommend this movie to other guys on the premise of “If you want some hot girl-on-girl action in a dorky murder-mystery, go ahead and buy/rent ‘Breaking the Girls,’” but sadly even the girl-on-girl action was kind of lame.
Bad acting, a not-really-exciting story, and even some lame girl-on-girl stuff does not make this dude a happy man. And so, I’m not even sure about the ½ star, but I’ll give “Breaking the Girls” ½ star out of 5, if only for the humor at how badly acted the scene of Alex being drunk was.
That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!
