Defeating Boredom

Site Moving

Rob Samuelson — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:51:50 +0000

I have decided to move the blog. But fear not! It’s hardly going far. I’m sticking with the good people at WordPress, but just needed to change the URL for obvious reasons. Currently it’s my college e-mail because I happened to be dumb when starting this website and didn’t realize my user name would end up as the URL.

So from now on, I will be posting at http://defeatingboredom.wordpress.com/. All my content will be joining me, but it may be a little while before I get everything settled.

As for what you can expect now, I’ll be streamlining things a bit. This will serve as an assignment for my News Reporting class and I’ll be sticking with the nerd-tastic pop culture schtick I’ve perfected, but it’ll be more newsworthy. Or I’ll just do whatever I want. Either way, I’m getting a grade for what I do anyway, so go me.

Tron Legacy: Interesting

Rob Samuelson — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:28:40 +0000

I’ve never seen the original Tron, but I’ve heard good things. It’s about a guy getting trapped in a video game. And it looks like a precurser to VR Troopers (“WE. ARE. V-R!”). And The Dude is in it. Or something. Hell, I really don’t care. All I know is that there’s a sequel coming out this December that looks slick. The teaser trailer’s been floating around for several months and I’ve watched it a few times, finding the minimal-yet-super-stylized chase sequence very cool. I heard the other day that the official, non-teaser trailer will be debuting before Alice In Wonderland this weekend, so I decided to join the hype machine and post the current trailer here. Insert whatever hyperbole (“This year’s Avatar!”; “If, after viewing this trailer, you experience an erection lasting longer than four hours, consult a doctor”; etc.) you want here.

Band Pimping: Big Audio Dynamite

Rob Samuelson — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:26:09 +0000

After leaving The Clash in the early ’80s, guitarist Mick Jones took his growing love for hip hop and sampling and started a band called Big Audio Dynamite. He lived up to his nickname of Wack Attack (and no, I am not making that up), with plenty of ’80s rap influence on their stuff. This song is a standard to me, yet whenever I play it, nobody knows what the hell it is. So this is me telling everyone. Enjoy it.

Radiohead Art Exhibit

Rob Samuelson — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:57:38 +0000

I will never claim to be an art aficionado, but Radiohead’s artwork always draws me in, and that is because of an artist named Stanley Donwood, who has done every piece of Radiohead-related artwork from The Bends on. It’s always interesting and paranoid, probably why the guys in Radiohead like it. And now, Donwood’s art is being displayed in Holland, and there’s a gallery of it on NME.com. Enjoy.

Stanley Donwood’s Radiohead Art

Band Pimping: Cold War Kids

Rob Samuelson — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:15:46 +0000

The Cold War Kids are probably my number two favorite band around these days. I was surfing the Rolling Stone website and came upon this page. They just released a new EP called Behave Yourself and, just as their previous two albums have proven, they’re well on their way to roots rock glory. Here is a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Long As I Can See The Light”, which just so happens to be one of my favorite songs. I’m so happy to hear this it’s unsettling.

Cold War Kids: “Long As I Can See The Light”

And if you want another “holy shit, this is awesome!” song, check out their new single, “Audience”.

Band Pimping: Bruce Springsteen

Rob Samuelson — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:47:22 +0000

Ok, The Boss doesn’t really need pimping. He’s a legend. A gruff, manly legend that sends chills down the spines of 21-year-old blue collar spawn like yours truly. No song exemplifies his classic rock sincerity quite like “Atlantic City”, a track from my favorite of his albums, Nebraska. Not only is it a simple folksy tune, but it’s got all the killer hooks you’d expect from the bandanna’d one himself. And it’s nice to think of staying positive even when faced with impossible odds, just like the main character in the song. Plus, the video’s pretty damn cool, with its black-and-white travelogue through the real Atlantic City, showing it in all its second-rate Vegas glory.

Band Pimping (Flashback): Elvis Costello

Rob Samuelson — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:49:22 +0000

I’ve loved Elvis Costello for some time now, but hadn’t listened to him in a while. The other day I was sifting through the giant CD book thing in my car and opened to my Costello page. I popped in his debut album, My Aim Is True, and let it bring a smile to my face. “Miracle Man”, with its sort of ’50s, sort of punky sound and fantastic lyrical wordplay, has been stuck in my head for days. Despite its jaded theme, it’s always a mood enhancer for me, so I found a grainy, “artsy” tribute video to it on YouTube and decided to post it. Enjoy.

I Want to Marry Liz Lemon

Rob Samuelson — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:28:21 +0000

How sad is it that I’m in love with a fictional character? Well, it can’t be too bad considering how every person in America with girl parts salivates at the thought of that vampire guy. And for those of you who know me, stop saying I look like him; he’s not manly and I do not appreciate it, regardless of how much of an international sex symbol he is.

"Yep. I'm confused, too." - Liz Lemon

But anyway, a friend of mine recommended I start watching 30 Rock a few months ago, and I became smitten. With the show, that is. It’s hilarious, and Alec Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy is the funniest character on television (Walter Bishop on Fringe is a close second, though). The show’s wacky humor and constant send-ups of its parent network, NBC, are always worthwhile, and I’m glad it’s established itself as one of the few hits on the network.

The show is that way because of its creator and star, Tina Fey. The character she plays, Liz, is the showrunner of a late night variety show much like Saturday Night Live. And she is on fire with the jokes all the time. She’s self deprecating and super nerdy. And, despite Fey being not at all what I normally go for, she’s mighty attractive. In other words, jackpot.

And you know what? I’m not at all ashamed. Who wouldn’t want to marry someone with a boss like Jack? I sure as hell wouldn’t mind hanging out with him. And, if the marriage were to follow the storylines of the show, I. Wouldn’t. Even. Have. To. Try.

So yeah, fellas, I recommend getting down on one knee (to propose, perverts) for the next super awesome girl you meet on TV. I doubt you’ll regret it.

SPOILER ALERT! I Don’t Like Spoilers

Rob Samuelson — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 10:01:29 +0000

See what I did there? I’m oh so clever, hardy har har. But yeah, the task at hand: spoilers suck, right? Who hasn’t been eagerly anticipating a movie, book, or whatever only to have someone who’s had “inside info” play the douchebag card and outright tell you the ending?

I hate that so much because I like going into things cold. Sure, I’ve got my expectations just like anyone else, but I want the work to be the thing that determines its own value, not somebody who got to it before me.

If you want to know why I’m suddenly on my soap box, it’s because of this news. Lost, my favorite show, comes back February 2nd for its final season, and the first four minutes of the premiere have leaked online. The sci-fi epic’s last season ended on a huge cliffhanger, and guess what? I’m not going to spoil that for you, either. If you’re interested in the cliffhanger in question, go find out here. And if you’d rather not be confused as shit by the previous link, start from the beginning here. You will not be disappointed. I promise.

But back to my point: why the hell would I want to ruin the big surprise, out of context, only a few days before I can get the whole story? It just doesn’t make sense and it’s annoying to think that everyone’s so eager for information that they can’t wait for something that is, in all reality, pretty trivial. Go outside, have a life. Then these things like TV shows and movie spoilers won’t be do-or-die events but fun things to enrich your life. And this is coming from someone who’s on the verge of making filmmaking his career. Priorities, everyone.

Kick-Ass: I. Cannot. Wait.

Rob Samuelson — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 07:01:35 +0000

How can you not love that? This movie is based on a comic book written by a crazy Scotsman named Mark Millar and drawn by my favorite artist of all time, John Romita, Jr. I’ve yet to read the book itself but it seems all kinds of awesome.

Kick-Ass is also directed by Matthew Vaughn, who produced Guy Ritchie’s early English gangster flicks and even had a gem of his own called Layer Cake that is credited with singlehandedly earning Daniel Craig the title of James Bond.

And besides, a movie starring Nicolas Cage that doesn’t immediately overload the Suck-O-Meter must be worth watching, right? So yeah, I’m getting ready to eat some popcorn and watch the severed limbs fly.