Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Today's Word

I wore up with morning to this message from Jeff:

You sum'bitch, I need a new blog!!! Where is it at!?!?!”

In the words of the immortal Stephen Colbert: “Move over Oprah, because the special gift my audience is getting tonight: The truth!”

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So this whole “Let’s go to Phoenix to support our team for the Fiesta Bowl” thing has turned into a shitshow of the highest regard. The problems stem mainly from the fact the University is releasing only 2500 tickets to students. You might say “Hmm, that’s a decent amount”, but when you consider that the good folks down south gave us Midwesterners FIFTEEN THOUSAND tickets, that’s not a whole lot. Now, I realize that there’s faculty and donors and Sorin Society people that need a few thrown their way, but honestly, one-sixth of your tickets go to a student body that could probably be appeased by half of that?

They should have simply guaranteed every student one ticket, and then had students go pick up their tickets if they wanted them. Odds are, you’d have a lot of non snow-birds who’d get tickets for a friend, but at least you’d know everyone that was going had them. Only 1250 people are going to get tickets! Rumor has it that seniors violated the rules of going for one lottery number, going fifteen or sixteen times, and I don’t blame them at all. After the last two seasons of TyBall, they deserve this sunny christening before they graduate and move on.

So now we had to cancel our plane tickets in anticipation of not going, and in doing so, Travelocity charged me and then did not return the money for tickets I never actually had returned. Apparently the money will be returned “within thirty business days”, but I’d sort of like to have the three hundred back in my account, considering there’s the chance I might still be buying tickets, need to perhaps make a down payment on a house for senior year, and, oh yeah, buy Christmas gifts for everyone.

So in under an hour, around 6:00, they’ll draw the number and we’ll know what our lottery fate is. Within the next week, our parents will know if they got any tickets. Odds of me actually being in Phoenix on January 2nd? Not looking as great.

Odds of me rocking out in Casino Niagara? Very, very good.

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I like that people are acknowledging the similarities between last year’s national championship and this one, not just getting on the “This is the biggest game ever!” train that they want to climb aboard every year. Granted, Dan Shanoff and the ever-retarded, over-user of instant history Daily Quickie are claiming it the greatest game ever already, but the more knowledgeable pundits are at least leaving the door open that Texas just might get a Royal (Ivey) spanking.

I’m taking the Trojans by ten, but hey, that’s just me.

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The OC is so close to greatness that I can taste it, but they simply can’t let things simmer. On the plus, they don’t strain the relations between Julie and Kirsten, because frankly, without the other they don’t really have much to do at this point except cook or move into trailers. They introduce Gus for some great one-liners and lay on the interesting plot of college and the “Where we gonna be next year?!” sort of hysteria that comes upon students who don’t just go to a school right next to their house with their entire high school.

But what does the heart-breakingly screwed up show do to me? They fix everything in one episode, tidying it up in a nice little bow that Seth and Summer are going to be together forever, and that Taylor Townsend is no longer a problem. Never mind that this is a terrible happy ending sort of way of looking at it, but it doesn’t fit Taylor’s character at all. It doesn’t fit anyone’s character at all.

Ladies, can you follow my logic here? You’re going after a guy, you’re convinced he’s perfect for you and maybe you’re just a little bit crazy. His girlfriend breaks down, gives him up and you….somehow find her Providence College gear, urging her to move East with him while you don’t even attempt to pursue? It doesn’t makes sense! People don’t work like that. People are evil and self-centered – at least people on TV – and it infuriates me, because now odds are pretty good that Taylor’s going to be on a plane to Pittsburgh eat peanut butter pie with Samaire Armstrong.

I hate this show sometimes.

(See you tomorrow night at 8:00).

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Last year’s Oscar race was decently interesting, because you had huge names going for the Best Actor (Leo! Clint! Foxx! Cheadle! Depp!) and a trio of movies going for Best Picture that represented three wide views of films (The Aviator for those who liked the epics, Sideways for those who liked the indie dramedies, and Million Dollar Baby for those who liked shitty, completely randomly ending movies that would be considered dark comedies if Clint Eastwood didn’t cry in them.), but this year, I’m nervous.

Obviously, being stuck in Our Lady’s Bubble doesn’t help me get out and see a lot of the contenders – line up for the first week of winter break, though, because the cinemas will not contain my dollar, unless it’s all used up in plane tickets I don’t actually own – but looking at early prognostications, I am not excited.

Munich is being hailed as the heavy favorite, and you’ve got some star power with Walk The Line, but the Gay Cowboy Opus Brokeback Mountain is 3rd? Capote I need to see, as apparently it’s great, but the Memoirs of Geisha? What? Come on, Academy.

The Best Actor situation is a solid “Meh”, with Joaquin, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Heath Ledger, Eric Bana and Ralph Fiennes up there, but nobody that blows out mind. Daniel Craig, your new James Bond, is lingering around the Supporting Actor set, which would give Casino Royale a nice boost.

The highlight of this year? The top five for Best Actress is loaded: Reese Witherspoon, Judi Dench, Charlize Theron, Felicity Huffman and Keira Knightley. Lingering for you Sex and the City people is Sarah Jessica Parker, but if she gets a nomination for The Family Stone, I’ll completely disown any sort of prognosticating.

Still a while to go for nominations, but things are not looking that great.

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Ladies of Notre Dame:

I’m not saying I don’t love you, or that by the end of the year it’s so cold at the football games thinking this isn’t even possible, but could you maybe just consider this for the Penn State game next year? I’m sure it’ll be sunny and gorgeous.

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I’m sure you’re thinking,“I wonder if King Kong is any good?”, and Ain’t It Cool gladly answers for you:

Um, we don’t really know.


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Sporadic updates to come over the next week and a half, as we power through study days and finals. Remember, I’m a sucker for any good links or any requests, because now that I’m done with all of my bastard term papers, just typing anything is fun.

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