Off The Record, Vol. 6

(November 28, 2006)

I just feel a need to ramble. If that doesn't interest you, I'm sure there is something more apathetic you can watch on YouTube. If not, welcome.

I've been on this reading binge since May, and am enjoying it. Since Dan Brown and his Robert Langdon books so disappointed me, I've turned to reading biographies of men I most admire. But I want to make sure they're quality books; I don't want to waste time reading a book that is a 400 page "People" Magazine. You'd be surpised how many lame books are written and passed off as authentic; separating the quality ones from the fan-zines isn't a breeze.

I have a peeve with all of these Will Ferrell fanatics nowadays. I guess it's because back when he joined Saturday Night Live for the '95-'96 season, I had already been watching the show for two years. When he came along with the entirely new, re-vamped cast, I was the only person in my Jr. High who would actually watch the show. Now after seeing him in Ron Burgundy, everybody watches the "Cowbell" skit, and everything on his "Best Of" videos, then claim (a) they're die-hard fans, and (b) these are the best things he did, which isn't true. The cowbell skit, sorry to say, is crap, and one of the least funny things I've ever seen on SNL. It's just fashionably cool to like it, so people do. Same thing with Adam Sandler and Chris Farley. Everybody NOW loves them, and says "Oh, SNL was at it's best during the time Sandler and Farley were on the show." Truth be told, that was the show at it's most pathetic. That's why the canned the entire cast and writing staff, and started afresh. I hope this makes sense to somebody. It's like when somebody says, "Hash Pipe" and "Buddy Holly" are the best Weezer songs, when any true Weezer fan will tell you their best stuff is found among their lesser-known material, or when somebody judges U2, David Bowie, or any of their associates by their hit singles when if they really knew what they were talking about, they would know the songs you never hear on the radio are the real gems. But what they hey, "More cowbell!"

Maybe I'm alone here, but that new Pirates movie was junk. Nowhere near as witty as the first one; it was like a 4-day old donut that still has a bit of the original taste, yet you only eat it because it was there. 'Tis a shame what Disney will do to make a bajillion dollar. I have to hand it to Johnny Depp, though; the entire world loves him now, so when he and Tim Burton film the musical "Sweeney Todd" next year, millions of people will go see it just because of him, and will be very uncomfortable when he's singing and cutting people's throats at the same time.