One hell of a good time

Move over 7th Heaven- the devil has come to the CW!

Reaper, a one hour dramedy directed by Kevin Smith, the king of twisted humor (Dogma), centers on the life of 21 year-old Sam (Bret Harrison from FOX's Grounded for Life and The Loop), a young slacker void of amibition just trying to gather enough courage to ask out his coworker, Andi (Missy Peregrym, star of Stick It and the short-lived but long-loved Life as We Know it) and collect his paycheck. Formulaic, right? Wrong. Sam's daily routine takes a slightly different turn when he discovers that his parents sold his soul to the devil before he was born in return for his father's life. With the punishment for going AWOL on the devil being the death of him or his mother, Sam has no choice but to obey the dark prince's order- become a reaper (or, as the devil puts it, a "bounty hunter") of souls escaped from hell. Aided by "Sock" (Last seen on the cancelled Invasion), Sam's fellow slacker at the hardware store where they work, Sam begins his life of servitude tracking down an arsonist who has returned from perdition to re-destroy the buildings he originally burnt down in the 1950's. Sam and Sock apprehend the escaped soul with the help of the ironically named "Dirt Devil" soul vacuum, thus beginning what will hopefully be a long series of wins for the duo.

The show combines elements of twisted humor, drama and action into an hour long dark comedy that could only have been brought to us by director Smith. While the show is anything but original (Ghostbusters and Dead Like Me, anyone?), this new twist on a tried and true idea has staying power, especially on a fledgling network previously dominated by Tyra Banks. The truth is, we are all like Sam- eagerly anticipating that day where something amazing will happen, and we will finally have the courage to tell off our bosses and profess our everlasting love to people who are just friends. Each week, Sam becomes more and more self-confident, and more aware that working with the devil has its perks- not only can he move things with his mind and use household appliances to capture bad guys, but he also finally wins the salesperson prize- a giant ham- and the self-confidence that comes with it.

My complaints about the show are few and far between- The character of Sock (Sam's ally) seems to have been written for Jack Black, only the writers could not afford Jack Black. the character ends up being ignored by Sam throughout many parts of the show, until the end when Sock redeems himself and helps save Sam(ala Jack Black in Orange County).

The show is not something that would be filed under "Religious Viewing". However, with the airwaves overpopulated with shows like Lost and Grey's Anatomy that force viewers to come back weekly or be forever confused, Reaperis the kind of show that can be watched whenever- kind of like Monk, the show is a guaranteed good time that ties itself up at the end of every episode.

With a dark sense of humor and the potential for hundreds of interesting characters and encounters, Reaper is the kind of show that will be blogged about for a long time.

And who knows? Maybe one episode the devil will finally ask Sam to get rid of E.R.?

Once in a Blue State

Yesterday, I had the great honor and pleasure of getting to sit in on the Texas Democratic Party's luncheon, featuring special guest speaker Mary Beth Cahill. Before her speech, I pulled her to the side, and asked her some questions about Democrats in '08. Being a staunch liberal (forever and always), I was naturally curious to see what kind of tricks my party has rolled up their sleeves for '08. Suprisingly, my questions were not met with enthusaism.

According to Cahill, Democrats won't have to do much to keep up with the Republicans. Speaking on the record, she said that the biggest strength of Democrats today is that they are not Republicans. Now, normally I would agree with this statement, as I buy into the belief that the conservative "movement" has not made much of a move since before I was born. However, this year I will be more cautious come November 2008. After their massive defeat in 2006, the Republicans changed their tune entirely, taking a relatively radical stance on issues like Iraq and Universal Healthcare. Rather than seek out support from Bush, they have attempted to distance themselves as much as possible from our Lame Duck In Chief. And this has created a problem for Team Blue. With people calling Mike Huckabee "The nicest candidate around", and with candidates like Libertarian Ron Paul and D.A. Branch becoming candidates that America's rebellious (and previously Democrat) youth can support, the Democrats seem to be reactive far too passively.

In the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe illustrates an African society so set in it's old ways, that it completely misses the grass-roots takeover by the white crusaders that happens seemingly overnight. Without someone pointing out the fact that the Republicans generally seem to win a lot, it seems that the Democrats are forgetting their own track record. We may have won the battle for 2006, but in a 51-49 margin. This is not what I would call a "win".

My opinions of the Democratic Presidential candidates aside (that would make for a sperate blog), come 2008, we had better be prepared for the Battle of the Nice.

Becuase come 2008, whoever is elected will change the course of history. And not in a "remember how accident-prone President Ford Was?" kind of way...in a "Remember when we used to be able to have abortions?" kind of way.

And that is my rant for Spetember 25.

Party like it's 5768!!

One of my favorite activities to pass the time at temple on Rosh Hashanah is to make Jewish New Year's resolutions. They do not have to be harsh, or long-lasting- they merely have to last until December 31. Things like studying for a test, spending more time with my family, and even reading for 30 minutes before bed are all promises that I make to tide myself over until that day where I make even crazier promises that I am even less likely to keep. Now, don't get me wrong...I take the high holy days very seriously. These are the most important days for a Jew...be good and repent for a year of sin, or you may not live to see 5769. But at the same time, the good little atheist on my left shoulder keeps telling me...what kind of God would ever punish you for making mistakes? Aren't we all on earth to learn how to be better people? and what better way to learn right and wrong than to screw up big time? And really, even if I were to repent for all of my sins, skipping a whole day of school for a couple hours in synagogue just sets the whole vicious cycle back in motion. A life without sin is one not worth living. so, rather than seek forgiveness from whatever deity you believe will forgive you, spend these holy eight days thinking about all of the lessons you have learned this year, and how much you have grown from your mistakes. L'Shanah Tovah, and happy new year. Enjoy this coloring page!

The Mechanics of Popular Culture

If you discovered after years of being a devout vegetarian (going as far as to chastise your meat-eating bretheren) that you had a hankering for raw flesh, how would you react? what about, after finally satisfying your hunger, you discovered that you actually like meat? Would you go tell people? this is the question I am forced to consider when I look at the current landscape of music. Leafing through the pages of my most recent Roling Stone issue, I came across the "Singles Review" page, chock full of B-sides, Rarities, and future hits from the Indie community. However, buried in the third column, three stars caught my eye. Below this solid review? The words "Britney Spears". The fact that any reporter would conciously rate any music by Britney Spears so highly has to be a sign of impending doom. Considering that RS has also given three star ratings to John Legend, Common, Interpol, Velvet Revolver and the VASTLY underrated Kenna, I should not be suprised by the BS printed...no pun intended. Realizing that this is the first step in Britney's plan to re-conquer the radio, I threw down my magazine. You see, I have been secretly hoping Britney's comeback would fail...I just don't see why something like the return of Britney can be so anticipated, when the Eagles are getting ready to release their first album in THRITY YEARS. Regardless of your opinion of The Eagles, I believe only after thirty years can you say something is really ANTICIPATED. Back on subject, I looked down to pick up the magazine (I did want to finsih the review!), only to see that it had landed right next to last month's issue, featuring cover boy Zac Efron. Now, while I have to admit Efron is the currently hip new star, I have to wonder- Is this the future of popular culture? Each new magazine featuring a flavor of the week, soon to be forgotten with Haley Joel Osment and Hanson? I mean, how many high School Musical sequels CAN they make? It honestly frightens me to think that the very people that are our nation's future are ALSO the people responsible for making Lil Mama's "Lip Gloss" a hit.
My goal, both working at the chronicle and for the rest of my life, is to be a journalist. And not just any journalist- a staff writer for Rolling Stone. However, when I read things like Britney Spears creating "infectious beats", I wonder- is pop culture merely a popularity contest? This is a seruious question, readers. Is it worth investing all this time into my future, just to see it run by fads, cliques, and the popular people? Yesterday, "cool" was John Mayer, Kanye West and, I suppose, Nelly. However, tomorrow is only as certain as the people who make it, and right now I see nothing but girls dressing like old women and guys openly declaring that the Plain White T's make them cry. Are these the kinds of stories I will be forced to cover?
As you probably have noticed, I have yet to discuss my earlier statement of "enjoying meat"...for you see, I do find myself (at times) humming "Umbrella", this summer's jam. And I do (at times) wish I could "Crank That" like Soulja Boy. So, I suppose I am just another weight on the scales of civilization, weighing down the progress towards good music. However, this lasts to a point. I like to think that I let fads flow around me, not through me, to avoid the infectious nature of pop culture today. I will not go down without a fight. Maybe the 00's are just a fad in themself, like the 70's and disco? I think I can survive another three years of a culture created by The Disney Channel and celebrities who are now in rehab. However, the alternative is even more grim- maybe this is the beginning of the end. I should steal a page out of Rip Van Winkle's book and just take a nice nap. I mean really, how many more albums of original music can Brooke Hogan actually make?

Wake me when up Chinese Democracy is out.

Things I Learned This Weekend:

From the VMA’s, I learned that you don’t need a great body, talent, vocal chords, or clothes to open an awards show- you don’t even need to be sober. And, if you feel tired or choose to stop singing and dancing altogether, having backup dancers surrounding you provides the perfect shelter.

I also learned that Justin Timberlake does not understand how important shows like Super Sweet 16 and Date My Mom really are to America’s youth- where else will we find positive influences and role models in the media? Oprah doesn’t drive a Range Rover! Oh and apparently, you can’t be arrested for being a “Quadruple Threat”, but you can be for over-salting food.

Elsewhere, I learned that Britney’s comeback could have gone worse- She could have been Ricky Williams. Also, it takes more than $450 billion and six years to catch a diabetic who walks with both a cane and a dialysis machine- in the desert. And apparently, the next iPod will come with more legroom and extra cup holders…will there be a CD Player??

And finally, a look at what your presidential candidates were up to this weekend:

“On the sixth anniversary, I'll think about it more, but there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about it three or four times a day”

-Rudy Giuliani, speaking to reporter’s at Houston’s Buffalo Grille about the anniversary of 9/11.

I have a question- are these thoughts measured in minutes, or seconds?

And that is how I spent my weekend.