Best of 2013

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Tom Garrett

TheAxisOfEgoFacebookI wasn’t quite as prolific in 2013 as I was in 2012, as this will be “only” the 72nd post on this blog this year.  However, part of that had to do with the fact that I’ve been writing for three other outlets on a regular basis (Cover 32, Hogs Haven, and A New Voice), plus some occasional work elsewhere (Uproxx).

So, there’s my lame excuse.

Still, of those five dozen or so items, there are several I like quite a bit (or at least find amusing).  Here’s a look back at the stuff I liked best in 2013.  As always, I’ll go in chronological order:

About Last Night (1/11):  I started the year off on a high note, taking a trip to New York City after being secretly tipped off by old friend (and talented performer) Joey Bland that none other than Sir Patrick Stewart would be a surprise player in their Improvised Shakespeare Company show one random Thursday night.  This is my account of that incredible evening.

Will High School Sports Exist in 2043? (1/31): As our society (or at least taste-makers) are increasingly less-inclined to value the “risk” portion of the “risk/reward” proposition, I question whether youth sports will continue to have the level of importance they do today a generation from now.  More to the point, I wonder if youth sports will become increasingly specialized, and an activity that schools consider to be too much of a liability, no matter how much benefit or pride they bring to a community.

What Media Bias Looks Like (2/11):  The accusation of “salting” the news to favor a particular side isn’t one born in 2013.  However, when the media got its hands on polling data related to trust in various news outlets, the presentation of that data offered a fairly sharp example of what media bias looks like (and what it does not look like). Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, General Culture and News, Site Stuff | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

An Event of Unexpected Importance

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Tom Garrett
TLCGroup

Wait . . . something’s not right.

When wrestling fans scour the television landscape in anticipation of pivotal moments in WWE history, the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs pay-per-view isn’t the top candidate to produce such moments.

That’s an understatement.  TLC is a “gimmick” pay-per-view, built around a particular, extreme match type.  That gimmick serves as a substitute for critical storyline events and feud-ending matches that headline shows like Wrestlemania or Summerslam.

Yet, more and more in recent years, WWE seems willing to use the “in-between” PPVs for important plot elements that fundamentally affect the product for months or years to come.  A case-in-point would be not only the creation of a PPV around the Money in the Bank match, but, specifically, the 2011 event, which set into motion major shifts for the company that remain relevant over two years later.

All of which brings me to this Sunday.

We’re being led to believe that this “filler” show will, in fact, alter the very structure of the company.  Unifying the two world titles will change everything from the way Raw and Smackdown are organized to how Money in the Bank and Royal Rumble work.  It will also reduce any confusion about who the standard-bearer is for the company at a given moment in time.

But what’s actually going to happen on Sunday?  Let’s look at it:

Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Sports, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

An Incomplete List of Words in Chicago’s “If She Would Have Been Faithful”

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Tom Garrett

IfSheWouldHaveBeenFaithfulSingleAs something of an 80s music aficionado (for better and for worse), I have probably heard Chicago’s “If She Would Have Been Faithful” at least 100 times in my life.  I’m not bragging about that.  Just stating it as a fact.  Yet, it was only recently, after not hearing the song for some time, that I detected a rather . . . unique lyrical style.

“If She Would Have Been Faithful” was a cut from 1986’s Chicago 18.  The band, still trying to find its way and deal with life after Peter Cetera, wasn’t sure how audiences would receive the modified version of their sound.

it was very much an open question as to whether Chicago could continue their run of Top 40 success after their most recognizable member departed for the obviously greener pastures of the Karate Kid II soundtrack.  Nonetheless, Chicago 18 sold well and included several hits, one of which was “If She Would Have Been Faithful,” a song that succeeded commercially despite including all of the following unlikely turns-of-phrase:

– Paradox

– Misinterpreted

– Point-of-view

– Denied

– Contradiction

– Reconstructing

– Disguise

– Logical

– Ironic

– Emphatically

– Objective

– Cheated (x4)

– Faithful (x7)

Posted in Commentary, Music | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Blockbuster Block-busted

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Tom Garrett

Oh, hello there, stranger!  I’m just going to say it: I’ve dropped the ball of late as far as updating this humble little site goes.  A combination of (a very successful) Soxtober and some real-life work priorities (horrible, I know) led to this website being the odd-man-out for far too long.  I’ll look to rectify that in the near future.

For now, here’s an expanded version of the piece I wrote last week over at A New Voice.  In it, I discuss the final shuttering of Blockbuster Video stores across the country, bringing to an end not just one particular business, but an important aspect of the lives of most people my age as we grew up.  Enjoy.

Blockbuster Video shut down its final stores this week, putting to rest a business that began in Dallas, Texas in 1985.

Believe it or not, there was a time – not so long ago – when movies were not widely available for rent.  VCRs were far from ubiquitous until the latter half of the 1980s.  Local video stores began popping up as the technology became more popular.  Those of us a little north of 30 may even remember a time when 7-11(!!!) had a video rental component.

But Blockbuster was the most successful national company by far, thanks to a business model that included tailoring a store’s selection to fit local demographics, as well as a breakthrough in the form of video game rentals, something that became possible (and lucrative) after Blockbuster won a landmark court decision against Nintendo.

Blockbuster’s success was incredible, but their bankruptcy and subsequent death merely goes to show how quickly cultural touchstones can disappear from our society, no matter how entrenched they once appeared to be.

Less than 20 years ago, Blockbuster was a staple.  No, it was something more than that.  It was a part of every 90s kid’s life experience to go to a video store and browse titles, perhaps wondering whether he could get away with renting an R-rated movie without his parents’ permission.  Nearly everyone who was a teenager +/- 15 years ago either worked in a video store at some point or knew someone who did.

Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, General Culture and News, Movies | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“Redskins” Round-Up

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Tom Garrett

RedskinsLogoI’ve talked before about how I enjoy writing for a bunch of different outlets, because doing so allows me to write about such varying topics.  One of the things that burned me out on being full-time at VirginiaPreps was writing the same four articles every week for over a decade.  I liked it, but, eventually, it got to be too repetitive to do full-time.

Yet, it’s funny how things work out sometimes when pop culture, politics, and sports all intersect.[1]  That’s where I’ve found myself recently, as I’ve been discussing the Washington Redskins nickname controversy extensively.  To wit, I wrote a piece for Hogs Haven a couple of weeks ago that provided a broad overview of the controversy, as well as my own take on what the franchise should do next.  But, just today, I wrote a different column for A New Voice as a response to the controversial editorial cartoon that compared Redskins fans to Nazis.

The real reason for this post, though, is to provide the clip of my interview on The Mike Heller Show from earlier this week.  The program, which emanates out of Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, provided a terrific, balanced discussion of the issue.  I was very happy to be a part of it.  The clip is below, and make sure to check out Mike Heller on Twitter as well.

[1]  It’s like when you think you’re starting a Franklin mission, but then Michael and Trevor randomly show up during the opening cinematic, and, the next thing you know, you’re switching among all three guys, just trying to stay alive—and stay one step ahead of the cops.  Or, maybe it’s not like that at all, and I’ve just been playing WAY too much Grand Theft Auto V.
Posted in Commentary, General Culture and News, Podcasts, Politics, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

When Everything is Bullying, Nothing is Bullying

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Tom Garrett

A local high school health and physical education teacher circulated an editorial cartoon to her students recently as part of a discussion on diet and exercise.  This was the cartoon:

ObesityEditorialCartoon

A parent of one of the students contacted a local television news station, which gladly lapped up the story and stamped a “bullying” angle on it.  To wit, a local anchor for the station posted the following text to accompany the cartoon:

FAT = STUPID? The father of a 9th grade girl at Mataoca [sic], who struggles with her weight, called NBC-12 to complain when this was handed out in health class. It’s a cartoon suggesting (according to the father) that heavy students aren’t as smart as thin ones. Maybe he has a point. Did the teacher bully the over-weight students, and set them up to be picked on by the other kids?

Aside from misspelling the name of the school involved, the anchor made a tremendous error at the outset that colored the rest of the conversation.  Specifically, he proceeded from the false premise that the cartoon equates intelligence with obesity.

Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, General Culture and News | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Breaking Bad Finale Thoughts and Scorecard

Posted on September 29, 2013 by Tom Garrett

BreakingBadFinale02Breaking Bad is finished, and what an ending it was.  The short version is that I thought it was excellent, and totally appropriate for that show.  To be fair, I should note that I absolutely adored the same Lost finale that a good chunk of Lost fans hated, so I have no way to gauge what the reaction will be to the Breaking Bad ending.

I loved that Walt nailed one last elaborate plan, incorporating both his technical know-how and Badger and Skinny Pete, no less!  I loved that Walt wasn’t able to reconcile with his son, showing that his actions had permanent consequences.  I loved that Walt, in the end, didn’t give a shit about his previously-all-important mountain of money (Bye, Jack).

Most of all, I loved that Walt finally came to grips with his motivation for everything he did: He felt that he hadn’t really “lived” life.  He was a scientist-turned-science-teacher.  An underachiever barely scraping by in a job—correction, two jobs—that were mundane, unrewarding, and beneath him.  He found something that fulfilled every need he had in life.  He felt like a man.  He felt like a provider.  It took discovering that he was dying for him to feel like he was alive.

In the end, he confesses that to Skyler.  And to himself.  It was a reconciliation of sorts, or at least to the extent possible under the circumstances.

With that all-too-brief take in mind, it’s time for the other purpose of this post—to recap my predictions and see how I did.

Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Reviews, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

How’s It Going to End?

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Tom Garrett

BreakingBadFinaleThe saga of teacher-turned-kingpin Walter White comes to a conclusion this Sunday night.

I’ve discussed Breaking Bad extensively over the last few years, from podcasts to recaps to theories and general speculation.  Yet, with the series finale looming, I’m totally confident about only one thing: Vince Gilligan and company will find ways to surprise even the most dedicated fans.

With that in mind, here’s a final round-up of my thoughts on the finale.  These are a few possible directions the show could go.  Note that not all of them are mutually exclusive.  First, here’s what we already know:  Walt returns to Albuquerque.  He acquires an M60.  He drives to his house to retrieve the ricin.  This is where we move into “theory” territory . . .

1. The Most Likely Scenario:  To the extent there’s any way to predict this, I think Walt is fairly obviously seeking to go out in a blaze of glory after the Schwartz interview rekindled the ol’ Heisenberg fire.  The M60 is to get his money back from the Neo-Nazi crew, and the ricin is for someone who must be killed in a subtler way (more on this in a second).  Incidentally, the scene that opened Season 5 probably doesn’t come at the beginning of this episode.  I think it happens maybe halfway through.  Once Walt goes and gets the ricin, he knows his time is very short, as law enforcement will be all over the place very shortly now that he’s out in the open.  So, I think Walt has already killed Todd (the jacket thing again) and set things in motion by the time the breakfast diner “52” scene occurs.  There will only be a handful of scenes after Walt gets the ricin and Carol sees him.

Armed with the M60, I think Walt carries out his plan—whatever it may be—in miraculous, meticulous fashion to the delight of the pro-Heisenberg portion of the audience, only for Jesse to appear and kill him at the end, blaming Walt for everything from Jane’s death to his own slave existence.  It’s important to note that Walt almost certainly thinks Jesse is dead at this point, while Jesse likely thinks Walt is dead as well.

Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Do People Still Buy These?

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Tom Garrett

ArchieDigestI was in the supermarket check-out line last week, and I absent-mindedly glanced at the impulse-buy items as I’ve done hundreds of times.  Yet, on this occasion, for some unknown reason, I actually paid attention to what I was seeing.  And what I saw—or, at least what I noticed—were the items you see to the right.

Jughead’s Double Digest and the Betty & Veronica Double Digest were both displayed prominently among the limited periodicals that were mostly commemorative editions of some sort or another, or recipe or craft books.

What I’m trying to piece together is who is supposed to purchase these Archie digests.  And I can’t come up with a good answer.

Archie comics probably peaked in popularity sometime around, I don’t know, 1960?  1964?  1952?  Certainly not anytime in the last 25 years.

The point is that this is a specialty item.  But, unlike something like “Best Halloween Treats” that might appeal to a random passerby, Jughead’s Double Digest will only even make sense to someone who is familiar with the series.  Is that person still reading comic books?  Unlikely.  And is the child or grandchild of that person going to be reading Archie comics?  Perhaps even less likely.  A person who has interest in these books would probably have a subscription or would purchase them online or from a specialty shop.

It just seems like the circumstances that would have to align for a random person to buy those comics is so improbable as to border on the impossible.

Yet, there they are.  Every time.  A stack of these comics.

It made me a little sad in an odd sort of way.  I remember my late grandmother had some old Archie comics that I would read when I would go to visit her as a child.  But the comics seemed dated even then, and this was when I was about eight years old in the mid-1980s.

I guess I was sad because the notion of selling these things to the general public seems misguided, as the folks who might have been interested in making such a spontaneous purchase are largely . . . well . . . dead.

I’ll just hope that I’m wrong.  And I’ll try not to make the mistake of paying attention to my surroundings when I next find myself in the check-out line.

Posted in Commentary, Literature, Pictures | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ozymandias

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Tom Garrett

Well, that was exhausting.

BreakingBadOzymandiasIf you excised the flashback scene, I have to wonder whether a newbie watching the pilot and “Ozymandias” back-to-back would even realize it was the same series.

To give you an idea of how dense this episode was, Hank’s death probably won’t be one of the three most-talked-about things from Ozymandias.  Think about that for a moment.

Where to now?  Here are a few wild guesses:

Skyler and Walt, Jr. probably die in the next episode.  Saul and his associates may as well.  Jesse has now told the Aryans what Hank knew, and they will come looking to tie up loose ends.

The kidnaping of Holly was possibly a way to separate her from the group, albeit temporarily.  She may be reunited with Skyler by the time the Aryans come calling, but even they won’t kill the baby.  Either they won’t notice her, or they’ll conclude she’s too young to comprehend / testify anyway.  Another possibility on that front would be the Aryans deciding to raise Holly themselves, but that strikes me as a little too Raising-Arizona-y for a show that’s gotten as dark as this one has.

In any event, I think the Aryans take out Walt’s family one way or another.  They may not even intend to kill Walt’s family initially, but do so when the family stands between them and getting rid of any evidence that would allow them to enjoy their $70,000,000 in peace.  An alternative scenario would see Skyler and Walt, Jr. placed into witness relocation, but that probably wouldn’t happen unless Walt was available for prosecution.

Whether killed or just gone, Walt’s wife and son will probably be out of the picture by the end of next week.  That leaves as his only real family . . . Jesse.

Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment