Martin's Musings

Elliott Yamin Is the Man

Here’s my new American Idol theory: Taylor Hicks is simply William Hung with more talent. They’re both goofy and dorky and awkward, both difficult to watch for sustained periods of time, both can’t dance, and really, can’t you see Taylor recording a novelty album (or two or three — Taylor Sings Christmas Songs!, for example) after the whole thing is over to cash in on his gimmick appeal, just like William Hung did? So that’s why I’m rooting for him (or Katherine McPhee) to go home tonight. I’ve finally had it with Taylor. And Katherine, well, Elvis’ songs weren’t written for a woman to sing in the first place, and she really didn’t help her cause by over-dramaticizing (is that a word?) “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and doing the totally clichéd, unbelievably cheesy “Hound Dog”/”All Shook Up” medley.

By contrast, I’ve been calling Elliott Yamin my favorite for weeks now (documented here), and I hope that last night’s performances finally proved that he’s worthy of being there — if not in the final two with Chris Daughtry, who looks unquestionably to be the winner at this point. Elliott’s performance of “If I Can Dream” is one of the first performances on the show this season that I would truly like to own. It was really close in quality to Barry Manilow‘s own cover of the song, which has been the main way I’ve known it up till now. (Don’t laugh. Barry actually does “If I Can Dream” really well. Go to iTunes and hear it for yourself.)

Still, last night’s show was one of, if not the best one all season. It’s going to be a close vote tonight. They’re all just about equally good. That said, my support is fully in Elliott’s corner now. When he goes, I lose interest in whoever’s left.

So that’s my morning-after Idol commentary.

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories American Idol

Oh, Pedro. Where Have You Gone?

9 May

Have y’all seen the front-page — front page — story about Pedro Martinez in today’s New York Times? If not, it’s certainly worth a read.

Classic stuff. Check it out.

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories Red Sox

Rescue Me

8 May

You know a movie’s bad when you spend the bulk of it thinking of what title you’re going to give your review. Hmmm … “It’s a Disaster?” “A New Low?” “Waterlogged?” “That Sinking Feeling?” Or maybe “Going Down.” Well, whatever you call it — and I like what I chose — Poseidon is a pretty bad movie. It starts with the first shot of the boat, which looks totally fake and unbelievable. And it really only gets worse from there, with lame dialogue, forced acting, and a character whose actual name in the credits is “Lucky Larry” (I’ll give you one guess if he makes it out alive). Perhaps the best part about the movie is how efficient it is; it takes just 5 or 10 minutes for the wave to hit and turn the ship upside down. Why get held up with all that pesky plot and character development, right? Hell, there’s not even an impending sense of doom or a warning or anything. The wave just appears, hit the boat, and the movie gets underway with these characters you don’t know and don’t care about — and really, don’t even like — trying to find a way out. But anyway, no need to belabour the point. The original Poseidon Adventure was no Shakespearean classic or anything, and I haven’t seen it in years, but it was infinitely better than this waste of time remake. It’s not even ridiculously funny bad, it’s just bad. So, Poseidon gets a C– on the Martin Meter.

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories movies

Keri Russell Kicks Ass!

7 May

Mission: Impossible 3 is alright. Tom Cruise is at his enthusiastic, speaking-with-such-forced-integrity, stunt-happy best, and there are some good action scenes, but all told, I wasn’t blown away.

First off, it’s funny to even call this the third movie in the Mission Impossible series. Since each film was directed by a different director and, with few exceptions, has a different cast, there’s hardly any continuity between them. This one just felt like an action flick, independent of the series.

In fact, were it not for the theme song, it probably could have been a big-screen, male-centered episode of Alias.

I mean, the movie plays in a number of ways like an early episode of the show: Ethan keeps his real job a secret from those he loves, there’s a kooky computer/IT guy, there’s a torture scene that takes place in a dentist’s chair in China, plenty of disguises, and oh yeah, even Greg Grunberg has a quick cameo (he is writer/director J.J. Abrams’ best friend and J.J. puts him in most everything he does).

The only real difference is that Tom Cruise doesn’t kick ass like Jennifer Garner does. (Or did.) Continue reading →

Comments 2 Comments
Categories movies

Food for Thought

7 May

I don’t understand the Walk for Hunger.

I mean, who is for hunger? Shouldn’t the event be called the Walk Against Hunger?? Wouldn’t that be a more accurate name? It’s kind of like WalkAmerica. You don’t actually walk America. Just six miles of it.

I’m just wondering. Don’t mean to mock such worthy causes.

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories random

Olé!

5 May

I’ll bet you didn’t know this, but Cinco de Mayo is one of my favorite holidays.

No, it’s not because I have lots of Mexican friends and I respect their heritage.

And no, it’s not because I love to throw back a good margarita every now and then.

It’s because of the utter simplicity of the holiday’s name. Continue reading →

Comments 1 Comment
Categories my birthday, random

Comcastic!

4 May

alternate headline: Dad Was Right!

My sister and I often make fun of the fact that my dad, whenever he calls the cable company or a credit card company or any other customer service person, starts the conversation by saying, “First of all, thank you for your help.” His even-keeled nature is something I’ve inherited, but I’ve never quite developed an appreciation for the whole “kill ’em with kindness” thing he is such a fan of.

Well, last night I had to call Comcast (my chronic problem of turning on the cable box and getting a black screen needed to be dealt with asap) and for some reason, my natural instinct was to start the conversation with my dad’s “Thank you for your help” greeting, which I never do. About three minutes later, after I explained my problem, the guy paused me and said, “By the way, thank you for saying thank you. No one ever does that, or at least I’ve never heard it.” And he proceeded not only to help me with my problem, but also to give me all kinds of inside info about how I can get high definition reception on my less-than-HD television. He also told me that the fact that I’d had “only” five or six different boxes in a year and a half was actually good, comparatively, and that this summer Comcast expects to do away with these troublesome Motorola boxes altogether and introduce ones from new vendors (including TiVo). Further, he gave me the scoop that when Comcast initially introduced these DVR boxes, there was a supply and demand problem, so I should pay attention so I don’t get left out of the new devices. In total, I think I was on the phone with the guy for about 15 or 20 minutes just chatting away (sorry if anyone was trying to get through), and I walked away with a much better impression of Comcast than I had before. Now that’s customer service.

When I hung up, I realized that my dad was right, and being nice to the guy upfront paid off. That’s what I call an example of good karma, I guess, and proof that as always, though sometimes I don’t want to admit it, Father Knows Best.

Comments 1 Comment
Categories Comcast

Is It Spring Yet?

3 May

Over the weekend, I was discussing with Stephani the idea of forcing the seasons. She revealed to me that she’d recently moved her winter shoes to the back of her closet, and put her warmer-weather shoes in front. It’s not just a practical thing, she said, it’s psychological. After all, it’s May and even if the weather is still on the cooler side, it’s still springtime according to the calendar. I can buy into that, I replied, and told her that in a similar vein, I refuse to wear my winter coat until at least December 1 because every fall, I refuse to give into winter before I absolutely have to.

I’m posting this story because I feel like in recent years it’s taken longer and longer for spring to actually arrive, and quite frankly I’m sick of it. What happened to spring? It seems like we’ve gotten into a pattern of skipping over the season completely and going directly from winter right into summer. As spring is my favorite season, this simply will not stand.

Today, the third cold and gloomy day in a row here in Boston, I’ve done my part to force the season. At the risk of sounding like a girly-man, I’ll admit that I deliberately wore one of my brighter shirts — an orange, blue, green, white, and red striped one from the Gap — and it seems to be working. Aside from being told by various people that I look “citrusy” (as opposed to “fruity,” thank you very much) and that I can be seen from across the office, I can actually feel the weather changing. Through the skylights of my office, I can detect a clearing of the sky. The rain has stopped. And when I go out for lunch in a few minutes I’ll verify if, in fact, the temperatures are actually climbing.

Sure, this God complex is probably all in my head, and if I had only watched the weather report last night I would have known that regardless of what I wear and do, temperatures will be in the low 70s on Friday. But still, I think Stephani was onto something and that it has to be in my head if I want there to be a spring this year. If mother nature’s not going to cooperate, then I say, “Screw her.”