We Have Signal Benefit After Party Footage

The We Have Signal benefit was last Thursday. It went swimmingly. We made over $1600 at the door and an additional $200 in individual donations! Thanks to everyone who came out and thanks to the bands for performing!!! A very extra special thank you goes out to Bottletree Cafe who provided the place to make it happen. This is what we did with all those monies.

We Have Signal Benefit After Party from justin gaar on Vimeo.

Movie Review: Wanted

Despite the ridiculous spectacle I was not able to enjoy myself during this movie and find it hard to recommend. I could tell from the movie’s first introductory text setting up the plot that it might be horrific. Seriously an ancient society of weavers/assassins that keeps evil in check. The name of the society is…the fraternity? This struck me as unimaginative. Why couldn’t the writers or whoever it is that came up with this story think of a cleverer name? I don’t know something like Red Octagon or Fox Vomit. I’m totally not taking credit for the later name…I saw it in an Unchartered Zone video on youtube. Fox Vomit is one of the band members of Vomit Gun. These weavers/assassins also get their targets from a mystical loom that communicates through binary code. Do I have to explain why this is dumb? I think my main problem with this movie is its main character, Wesley Gibson, who is portrayed by James McAvoy. The problem with Wesley is that he is a loser. Throughout the movie the audience is supposed to see him transform into a badass. This is really hard for me to swallow especially when I think back to part of the climatic scene: when he runs. He runs like someone who is uncomfortable with this type of strenuous activity. His face contorts into all sorts of pain filled expressions. The sort of expressions that I would imagine someone would make when they are simultaneously suffering from a severe case of the runs, and hemorrhoids. All the while he might have run twenty yards. Maybe the fraternity should look into some sort of strength training as well as some cardio? I’m really not sure the full details of their training…I know it involves beating the trainee to a pulp (I found this hard to watch), but that doesn’t seem to be working…at least not in this case. I strongly feel that action heroes should look like badasses when they are in action hero mode. I guess I’m saying that I could possibly see a movie about a loser who becomes a badass, but this one is poorly done. I mean aren’t most action heroes alpha males. Maybe McAvoy just hasn’t been around enough and exposed to this type of movie enough to pull it off. He’s by no means a Statham, Jackson (Samuel L. not Joshua), Cage, Stallone, Willis…I’m sure there are more we could add to this list. With all this being said, I’m not exactly sure what I think about this movie…Cage or Statham could have made it a movie I would have thoroughly enjoyed no matter how ridiculous it was. In fact, as far as their movies are concerned the more ridiculous the better. I do like their serious work as well…don’t get me wrong. They are great actors.

Pistol Youth As Golden Girls

Pistol Youth - In My Eyes from pistolyouth on Vimeo.

This is pretty clever stuff. Some of you might not know this--I was a huge fan of Golden Girls during undergrad. If I had a camera, I would be making videos similar to this--putting my face on famous people. I know this was on Motionographer, but I just had to share it with you guys. I'm not sure how many of you actually visit the sites that I visit. I'm going to guess 100% because I own your collective brain.

I added gooseGrade--Now Help Me Talk Right

I just added gooseGrade to the blog. One of my friends informed me that I disparately needed this copy edit widget because I typically have errors in my posts. You can use gooseGrade whenever you find an error on my blog. Click it and send the error to me.

We Have Signal Benefit Show @ Bottletree on JAN 22!

Movie Review: Bangkok Dangerous

This movie starts off a little slow as the viewer is brought into the mundane life of an assassin. Joe (Nicolas Cage) explains the rules he lives by...which explains why his life is mundane. It's good if you are an assassin and this is the type of life you lead. I guess that speaks volumes about his professionalism. Now, if the movie continued along this path it would be really boring. Sure, we'd see Joe kill people, but that's not exciting. The most fascinating aspect of this movie to me is Joe's attempt at having a normal life. Joe going on a date. Joe interacting with an elephant. These are some really great scenes. Cage's acting is superb in these moments. Cage masterfully presents an array of emotions in his body language. Seeing him learn and try to blend in with a different culture, these are excellent moments. This movie also has a pretty freaking awesome chase scene that requires a great deal of high fiving. I regret to report that I watched this movie alone.

I would recommend watching this movie--in a group setting. With a name like Bangkok Dangerous I would have expected more action. I guess I'll have to wait for the sequel or prequel. I don't really care which one it is as long as Cage is back. However, I might suggest asking Jason Statham to sign on to the project too. That way Statham and Cage could be brothers that are assassins. Maybe they don't really want to work together, but have to for some reason. The title could be The Thailander, or Bangkoker Dangerously. I would watch it.

A National Treasure 3 for the People

I recently read half of American Lion. This book gave me a new understanding of the 7th president. It also gave me some inspiration for today's post. I like Jackson feel that I can speak for the people. What the people want is National Treasure 3 to be the most awesome movie that Nicolas Cage ever makes. Yes, this does seem like a large task with the release of Kick Ass on the horizon. I know that some of you might be in the grasp of a violent double take, but I assure you that this is a fresh entry. This entry comes in the wake of Cage's birthday and a discussion that I had with Falcon. He is actually sort of responsible (hold your stones)for this post since he informed me of the great attention that this post's predecessor is receiving. Yes, the people have spoken and are speaking. In face as I am speaking now, people are speaking. All over the internet.

So what can the caretakers of the legacy of National Treasure 3 do to please the people? What steps must they take? Well...first and foremost they should have a more simplified storyline compared to National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Don't throw everything that you have at us. We need a regular Swiss army knife not the ultimate Swiss army knife. That doesn't mean it can't be entertaining. It just means that the story should be good and there should not be an overabundance of plot holes. Step two: refer to the previous post about National Treasure 3. One of my only complaints about the first National Treasure is that the quote that brought me to the theater was missing. "Talk to me dollar bill."

These are just a few demands that the people have. Please continue to monitor this blog for additional insight into the mind of the people.

The Dirtbombs are online!

We Have Signal: Live From Birmingham - The Dirtbombs from We Have Signal on Vimeo.

The Best Pepper Spray on the Market!

This pepper spray actually works on drug addicts! Thank God! This is the only product that my in-laws trust to take care of their daughter...probably because it's 17% streetwise. I better watch myself!

Happy Nicholas Cage Day!

Once again it's time to gather the family together and celebrate one of the days that is close to so many Americans' hearts. That's right...Nicholas Cage's Birthday! I really fell down on the job this year. Normally, I would have a candlelight all day film fest and I would dress as one of my favorite Cage characters. Have a Great Nicholas Cage Day!
-Laser

Nick Cage Day is my favorite holiday of the year. I love to have Cage movie marathons in honor of his birth. There's nothing like kicking back with a 2-liter, well, 2 one liters of my favorite malt liquor, a bucket of chocolate bullets, a bag of gummy guns, and 5 to 7 packs of candy cigarettes to celebrate his oeuvre! Over the years I've grown tired of just watching one after the other back to back. So, this year I've cut together various scenes taken out of context from every role he has ever portrayed, eliminating supporting actors and replacing them with other Cage characters. I call this 6 hour and 45 minute work - CAGE MATCH. It's his greatest performance.
-Falcon

The Matoose @ Will Hughes

I had always wanted to try one of the local restaurants in Olde Towne Daphne, AL. So my Dad took us to Will Hughes. When we walked in we were struck by the most awesome smell ever. It put me in a sort of meat haze and caused me not to be able to fully contemplate the menu. I noticed that the special for the day was ribs and assumed that that was the aroma that I detected. I was not certain that my assumption was correct so I asked the woman at the counter about the pleasant smell. I was informed it was The Matoose. This wrap consists of beef tenderloin, caramelized onions, tomatoes, bacon, cheese & mixed greens with Chipotle aioli. I swear this is the most wickedly awesome thing I have ever eaten. Now, every time that I return to Baldwin County I insist that we visit Will Hughes. I actually talk about this wrap quite a bit. It has a special place in my heart. My Mother-in-law and Sister-in-law have heard me talk about this wrap and finally were able to taste it for themselves. They saw that this was one story that I was not embellishing. For better written food entries visit Eating Vicariously Through Todd.

Blind Artist Ricky Trione will Be Part of a Documentary

Friday, December 26, 2008 the Mobile Press Register reported that Blind Artist Ricky Trione will be featured in a documentary produced by the John F. Kennedy Center. This opportunity is part of a grant that will give Foley Middle School a media lab. Read the article here.