Domestic Assault Isn't Funny (Unless Shown in Creative PSAs That Happen to be Funny)

This is the look of a man whose coffee has just been spilled

I know I am probably late on this, but bear with me. Calgary Home Front, self proclaimed as "united in breaking the cycle of domestic violence," may have created the best PSAs to date (I'm told these are from 2003). This video features a man eating with his kids. Within the clip, the classic line of "She spilled my coffee" is spoken, followed by a beat down of epic proportions, and pouring coffee all over the snarky waitress. The ending is great only because the kids to do not act like anything has happened (nor does anyone else in the restaurant). A strong, strong message sent, but nonetheless a hilariously ridiculous situation.

More after the jump.

Xenophobia's Shining Moment

During a search for a motel room for my pseudo-vacation to Colorado I will never be able to afford, I found a motel that did not fit the qualifications of some of its past guests (but, oddly enough, it did fit my price range). This particular motel featured seven terrible reviews, the first three commenting on the gross carpet, smell of the room, quality of the bathroom linens, etc. Typical stuff. Since negativity helps me sleep at night, I continued to read the reviews, finding this one you see above. Apparently, encountering a "Swiss couple visiting our country" is a big no-no when on vacation. How dare these Swiss come to this country and stay at what seems to be one of the worst motels in the state of Colorado, this is OUR COUNTRY!!! You have to admit, it is refreshing to no longer see attacks on Mexicans or Middle-Eastern people, and on Europeans again... these things work in cycles.

So beware when going to Colorado because is not free from strange European visitors. Moral of the story: The guv'ment can't put up a fence around the entire east and west coasts soon enough.

2010 in USA Athletics, Set to Music!!!

This would have been on my YouTube page, but they censored it for copyright stuff. Whatever. Here it is now.



The first clip is of Ryan Kesler's empty net goal to win the 2010 Olympics round robin game over Canada, courtesy of NBC. The second clip is of Zach Parise's goal with seconds remaining to tie the 2010 Olympic final, also courtesy of NBC. The third one is John Carlson's overtime goal in the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship to give the USA the gold, courtesy of TSN. The fourth clip (and only soccer clip) is of Landon Donovan's goal in the 91st minute to send the USA into the knockout stage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, courtesy of ESPN. The final clip is of the United States' Mike Isner winning the longest tennis match in Wimbeldon history, also courtesy of ESPN

Music courtesy of DVDA, Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and others.

All of this material belongs to either ESPN/ABC, TSN, NBC Universal, and/or DVDA. I don't own any of it, I just have video editing software and plenty of time on my hands.

Wacky Way In Which We Were

One thing that really interests me about World War II isn't the amazing firepower, or technological breakthroughs, or even the never-ending question of whether or not Adolf Hitler was gay. Those are all fun things, yes (especially since 'Homo Hitler' is a great use of alliteration), but what really interests me is how and what people believed and thought at that time. If one could probe into the mind of Joe Everyman in 1943 and see what he really believed, and really thought about things, it would be very interesting to see how it compares to the way we look at things now. One major issue is the topic of race, and how it was used as a rallying cry throughout the war. Many would argue that much of the war was a struggle to show who had the superior race, but that is very abstract, and I encourage you to read the hundreds of books on the topic (John Dower's War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War would be one example). Even soldiers had a lot more to worry about than just fighting battles. For more info on this, Please read Paul Fussell's Wartime: Understanding and Behavior in the Second World War and books like it.

Anyway, what I am getting at is I basically want you to look at these interesting propaganda posters from World War II. Take your own opinions from them, but I invite you to really look at the message they are trying to convey and the intended audience they are seeking to convey that message to. If nothing else, some may give you a bit of a chuckle. I put the posters that have to do with what I am talking about above first, then they are followed by some fun ones I have found. (Searching for, and finding these posters is surprisingly enjoying and a lot of them either make you burst out laughing, leave you scratching your head, or will actually make you think (which is scary, I know)). Anyway, enjoy!

Air Bailey

Air Bailey, the new 'inflatable' version of the Los Angeles Kings mascot is, well, pure awesome in an plastic suit! I saw him in person at a game recently, and I was floored by the brillance of this mascot. I will now link videos for your viewing pleasure, seeing as how words do not describe it properly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ukdbt6dE3E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1z-R3ooUQ8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGLDa6SgTT0&NR=1

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark6mauno/2896490797/

'Evan and Jaron' Ahead of Their Time

The 'band' Evan and Jaron, whose only popular song, "Crazy For This Girl", may have given them some play on the radio, but that's about it.  They have appeared on a few network and cable shows, but this group didn't have what it takes to make it to the big time, and that truly surprises me. If you listen to their self titled album (the one with "Crazy For This Girl"), you may find many similarities to the folky bands of today.

The sixth track of the album entitled "Wouldn't It Be Nice to Be Proud" sounds familiar to something Sarah Bareilles of "Love Song" fame would perform.  The seventh track, "Pick up the Phone," sounds like John Mayer may have had a part in writing it.

(As a side note, I honestly couldn't make it through the rest of the album.  I mean, I grew up listening to the Backstreet Boys and N*SYNC, but, this wasn't cutting it).

This makes me wonder why this brother-love song duo never made it big.  As we all know, people crave crappy music.  People flip crap over folk-style easy rock performers like John Mayer, Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, and the like.  But, maybe America wasn't ready for two brothers to teach us how to love.  Maybe what America was looking for was three brothers instead.  This is the only reason I can think of why the Jonas Brothers are so popular.  What do fifteen year old kids know about love and 'looking someone in the eyes' to prove their love and whatever else they sing about?  They should be singing about stupid crap, like the stuff Hillary Duff popularized four or five years ago.  Which brings me to another point, what does Miley Cyrus know about anything in general?  You guessed it, nothing.  I suppose if Disney slaps it's name on something, then it will automatically turn gold.  And that is a shame.  As Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy would say, 'where are we at in society?' 

Oh, Evan and Jaron are reportedly coming out with a new album sometime soon.  So, go buy it, or not.

Band to Listen to: The Exies, especially their most recent album "A Modern Way of Living With the Truth."

Show to Watch: History Detectives on PBS. Basically, the 'detectives' go out and find the histories of artifacts that people have found, or have been passed down through their family, or something they bought on eBay. Kind of interesting, if you are into a kind of random history of random stuff type of thing.

Crazy for the Candidacy

This picture was on the front of the USA Today May 7th, right after Hill-Dog squeaked by with a victory in Indiana. The quality isn't the greatest, but the picture says it all. There is much I could say about this, so I will. Feel free to comment anything else witty.

1. She took over as the new Joker for the movie Batman.
   
2. She's going to Indiana, and Kentucky, and Oregon, and YYAAAYAYAYAAA!!!!
   
3. I wish I could make a post about how the media depicts Hill-Dog as a crazy person, but it is wrong to put someone down for what they truly are.
   
4. This is really a picture of Jack Nicholson.
   
5. Sadly, I made that last one up.
   

I'm all out for now. Fortunately, I am not at all political, so I can't make many jokes concerning the Presidential race and whatnot. That is for you, the public to do. But since no one reads this blog, that may be quite difficult.