Tom and Mike review some of the top stories of the week and add additional insights.
Don’t let the subtitle fool you – this ‘cast has nothing whatsoever to do with either the 1985 Jeff Bridges / James Woods / Alex Karras “thriller,” or the Oscar-winning Phil Collins song of the same name. Enjoy.
Lawrence Wright’s 26-page New Yorker exposé of Paul Haggis’s defection from the Church of Scientology is a balls-out hit parade of insanity. In “The Apostate,” Wright reveals the squirrel-on-skis nuttiness of the church and its equally nutty celebrity adherents, complete with allegations of human trafficking, laugh-out-loud celebrity interventions,
and that scratching-record moment where John Travolta grabs Marlon Brando’s injured leg, and, with penetrating concentration, uses his mind-power to heal Brando’s injury.
Since its publication, however, most commentators have focused on Haggis—his experiences, motives, and fear of retribution. Many applaud Haggis for taking an ideological stand and exposing the church’s . . . uh . . . idiosyncrasies. But, really—is defecting from the Church of Scientology an act of courage?
A controversial magic trick 
has been ruffling the feathers of our Chinese friends non-enemies this week. The trick, which appears to approximate a synchronized swimming routine, except with a half-dozen Chinese goldfish, is alleged by numerous animal rights groups to rely on feeding the fish magnets in order to dictate their underwater movements.
I care a lot about animals, but I have to admit that my first reaction was, “This guy is a genius.”
The fact that the activists have no proof of cruelty, yet have gotten magician Fu Yandong in serious trouble (and the trick pulled from television) seems absurd to me. Whatever happened to the ancient jurisprudential concept of “non-cruel until proven magnetic?”
Fu has taken some extraordinary steps in response to the outcry. Specifically, he says that he’ll violate the sacred magician’s code and reveal the secret of the trick in the near future in order to silence his critics.
My guess is that he’s furiously working on a new way to do the trick before the vague deadline.
You know—a way that doesn’t involve magnets.
Here’s the trick:
Can the long-awaited cinematic tale of Michael Scarn top defending champ 30 Rock, or 
will Sterling Archer’s own action / intrigue (and Burt Reynolds references) allow upstart Archer to take the crown from venerable and little-watched NBC fare?
Here’s how the three shows broke down on February 17, 2011:
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby numbers among the many books 
assigned to me during my early academic career. As was the case with most of that group, I ended up merely skimming enough to do well on the test or write the paper, as needed. I’m not proud of that fact, but such was life when I was in my early-to-mid-teens.
I bring this up because something I stumbled across on the internet today (and has quickly exploded) made me realize that I did myself a disservice by only browsing Fitzgerald’s work.
On the heels of one of the greatest injustices in recorded human history, I now turn my
attention to the incomparable Justin Drew Bieber. I referred to Lady Gaga as a “near-prodigy” last week. There’s no qualifier necessary for Bieber. His is a gift in which we all share. Since his discovery as a thirteen-year-old, Justin Bieber has quickly emerged as Canada’s greatest entertainer since Alan Thicke and its greatest songwriter since Paul Shaffer.
His most successful single to date is the 2010 hit “Baby.” Perhaps the strongest indicator of Bieber’s preeminence is that the video for “Baby” is the most-watched clip in the history of YouTube. Not sneezing panda. Not basketball trampoline. Not evolution of dance. Not Charlie bit my finger. Justin Bieber.
Yet, as successful as Bieber has been, his mercurial, reclusive nature coupled with his impenetrable lyrical style has prevented him from yet achieving a number one single in these United States. In an effort to advance the cause of Bieber, I present the following narrative lyrical analysis of his biggest hit to date:
The latest podcast from Tom and Mike is all over the map – literally! Take a listen as the two discuss everything from the current state of affairs in Egypt (not too many laughs in that portion of the podcast) and cultural imperialism to the Super Bowl to the future of The Office to . . . Miley Cyrus’ new tattoo? Ugh. And, yet, through it all, they somehow manage to overlook the fact that it’s Valentine’s Day. Ritalin might help the next edition of this podcast. More tags than ever! Enjoy!
There are many benefits to living in a post-racial society: The rise of the minority-owned business, political de-polarization, proliferation of “possession receivers” in the NFL, King Magazine, etc. One important benefit (to me, at least) is that a thirty-something, well-to-do white guy is perfectly qualified to comment on state of rap music. 
Sure, I’ve only listened to rap music as a cultural voyeur with no real-life exposure to the hip-hop lifestyle, but so what? Rick Ross was a cop. So, suck on that, Kevin Powell.
With 16 nominations from both Eminem and Jay-Z, the 2011 Grammy Awards is loading on up on the hip-hop. And with good reason. According to SoundScan, all music sales dropped 2.4% in 2010, with one notable exception: Rap/Hip-Hop, which actually increased by 3%. As a consequence, the Academy is finally taking notice of the genre, which saw the release of a number of critically and commercially successful records this year. As such, I am breaking-down the rap-related categories from this year’s show in the most thugged-out 2500 words you will read this year. So, sit back and enjoy my explicit content.
I only watch about eight television shows on anything resembling a regular basis. I realized recently that three of those shows are sitcoms airing on Thursday nights.
I usually watch all three and informally think to myself, “Show X won the night.” Because I’m always looking for new content ideas, I figured there was no good reason not to make this a regular feature on The Axis of Ego. On the other hand, there are several reasons to make this a regular feature. Among them, (1) I’m going to be watching all three shows anyway, (2) formulaic pieces are easier to write (see, e.g., my entire sportswriting career), and (3) it gives me guaranteed content for the late-week spot, taking pressure off for Saturdays.
Put simply: I’m lazy, and this is easy and fun to do.
Let’s see how the three shows in question stacked up last night:
The Axis of Ego 
A Shameless Plea for Twitter Followship
I’ve been extremely pleased with the growth of this very young website so far. I struggle
to come up with any complaints whatsoever about the subject. Buuuuuuut . . . if you twist my arm, I have to say that the exception to this rule is the lack of followship (not a word) on Twitter.
What I can’t figure out is that the blog you see before you actually has more subscribers than we have Twitter followers. This doesn’t make sense to me because being a follower on Twitter is a less-intrusive activity than being a subscriber to this blog. Coupled with the fact that approximately one-fourth of our followers are spambots, and our current total of 50 becomes even less impressive.
The fault lies entirely with me, of course. Hence, this appeal to those of you who read this blog. Here’s a small sampling of some of the wit and wisdom you’ll receive if you’re a follower of The Axis Of Ego on Twitter:
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