The Summer Blockbuster

There is definitely something very special about a summer blockbuster. Going to the theater on a warm Friday night, the crowds gathering; the anticipation. Call me a nerd or a loser, but I find it exhilarating. There is an electricity in the air, if the movie is big enough, or has been buzzed about enough.

I'm sitting here watching The Dark Knight and remembering when I saw it; or rather, remembering the anticipation leading up to it, and the buzz after it was out. The world was all about The Dark Knight for a summer.

And that's pretty much the point. A good summer blockbuster gets everyone talking, and that creates a community. Everyone sees the same movie, everyone talks about it, and there is that electricity that builds up on top of all the other joys of summer. Parties outdoors, beautiful weather, the beach, baseball, barbeques, all of the stuff that people really get off on, and rightfully so. Summer is special.

A good movie just makes it better. From Jaws to The Dark Knight to Inception, the new Christopher Nolan flick that comes out today. I'm feeling that buzz. I'm feeling the vibe. It feels like it's a sequel to The Dark Knight, it has that kind of electricity around it.

I used to be more into going to see movies on opening night than I am now, back in the Star Wars prequel/Lord of the Rings days. Now, I prefer going to see a flick on six dollar movie night Tuesdays because...it's six dollars and not 12 bucks or whatever. But there are still certain movies I feel I have to see on opening night. I want that buzz, that summer buzz. You need one a summer at least. And I think it's not going to get better than Inception this summer. A Christopher Nolan flick - coming off the heels of The Dark Knight - that looks absolutely insane starring Leo DiCaprio? Ebert gave it 4 stars, which means it's good. (If Ebert doesnt't give a movie four stars I get less interested in seeing the movie because he gives so many movies 4 stars.) All the pieces of the puzzle are there.

So where will I be tonight? At the theater soaking in some of that summer fun. Electricity. I hope Inception is good - I think it will be - but I'm more concerned that the crowd is into it. Yelling, maybe applauding during certain parts (I love it when something badass happens and everyone claps: like when Legolas took down that entire olephant in Return of the King, or when the Joker slammed a pencil through that guys head).

Summer ain't complete without one summer blockbuster. And tonight's the night.

LeBron James

1) He's no longer The King. All you need to know that he made the wrong choice. How can LeBron or anyone else consider him the King? How? When you're playing in Miami with the man who brough the Heat a championship, the man who stars alongside Charles Barkley in commercials, Dwayne Wade, how can LeBron be the King? He can't. Not to say that Wade is the King, but when you have two super stars that are kind of similar (not like Kobe/Shaq dynamic) you can't have a single King. LeBron's no longer the King. And to proclaim yourself King, have everybody be OK with it, go along with the ego trip, and then lose it? Sucks.

2) He should have come to New York. I honestly believe this. Yes, I'm a Knick fan, but I'm not a huge Knick fan. I like them. I like when New York sports succeeds. And there's only one basketball team. LeBron could have been the King of New York. He would have lived the high life. He would have been the biggest athlete ever. There's no doubt about it. And he would have eventually won here. Yes, the Knicks suck, and Amar'e is a shitty player, but come on? The job would've gotten done. I think LeBron is short-sighted. To boot: the most egotistical and self-promoting move in all of sports history, commited by Lebron last night, proves that he could would have fit right in with New York and all of its ego-tistical narccistical glory. (Ironic, no?) When you play in New York, it doesn't matter that the rest of the country hates you. New York is enough - and the entire fucking world cares about New York, and you can be damn sure all of those Thai motherfuckers and aborignals in the Outback would know who LeBron was, cuz everyone knows what happens in NYC. Now everybody in the USA expect for those in Miami hate him and the rest of the world will continue to not care. Miami? Please. Once we stop all Cubans coming into Florida there will be 10 Heat fans.

3) Stay in Cleveland. I am certainly not the kind of person who feels LeBron betrayed the people of Cleveland. He doesn't owe them shit. Was it a dick move? Yes. Could he have handled it better? Surely. But I'm not privvy to everything going on with LeBron, and just because the dude is an Ohioan...look, it's this dude's life when you get down to it. He wanted to move on, make a change. He could be the biggest asshole in the world, but because of the way he handled it, not because he left. Who wants to stay in Cleveland? Nobody. The only good thing from Cleveland is the Drew Carey show's theme song, and the rest of that show suck balls.

But it definetly would have been preferrable to him going to the Heat. At least he would have come off as a human, albeit a human who wouldn't have any rings. It would have been a better move, but I don't care about Cleveland when you get down to it. Poorly handled - Cleveland better than Heat - ultimately the man's choice - what is loyalty anyway?

4) Chicago. Everyone's saying that team's perfect for him and he would've been winning like crazy there, so I'm just going to agree with them. But of course, Jordan played there, and if you're Lebron you just can't go there. End of story.

5) The Nets suck. Only decision worse than the one he made. Russians suck, too.

That's just what came out of me. I think going to the Heat is just a wrong move. The team will be good. They will win (at some point). But Dwaye Wade and LeBron James sharing the spotlight is silly. There are only a handful of stars that ABSOLUTELY put people in the seats, and having them both in Miami is a travesty. He's not saving a team. He's not being loyal. He wants to win and win quick, but it's not gonna be the real deal. I think each ring he wins should be worth only half. I think that's fair.

Dream Pop

Fuck Dream Pop.

RELIGION

I believe in a woman with a nice ass. This woman also loves you and would do anything for you.

I believe in getting drunk and then drinking a couple glasses of water and feeling great.

I believe in trying to befriend cats. Getting better at it, and actually getting them on your side.

I believe in friends, who can party, then talk, then end a night with a significant feeling; a mutual feeling that's shared where gripes, hang ups, and misunderstanding are nothing but a common bond that makes a friendship stronger.

Religion is tough. I've been watching RELIGULOUS, Bill Maher and Larry Charles's film about religion, and I've been moved by it. Bill Maher is the kind of guy that gets people talking. He polarizes - in the best way. Sure, most people don't like him - fuck, I don't like him. But I love him for what he says, the way he says it, and how he says it. The man has an opinion, and I respect that he does.

The film addresses religion and how it's totally stupid for people to believe in religion. I agree. Believing unequivocally in sets of rules and magical histories...you might as well base a religion on Harry Potter. Why not? Just because it's old doesn't mean it's more right and less fictitious than Harry Potter, The Girl with a Dick Sleeve Tattoo, or The Hangover.

My family is religious. They're certainly not zealots and they certainly do not believe blindly. But they believe. They go to church; they cross themselves when they pass a church on a road trip; they do things that mean that they believe.

I for one believe. There's no church or religion or faith, only a belief that your actions are meaningful. If not believing in God is a belief, well, I believe that that's as good a belief as any. But I take it a step further, believing in all that shit I laid down at the beginning of this post. Plus music, of course.

I'm not quite sure what I am getting at in this post, other than: "I just believe in me, Yoko and me...Now that's reality." It's a John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band quote, I know. It's rock and roll. But can there be more than that? Most people spend their entire lives searching for love, and once they've found it, they do everything they can to keep it, protect it, and make it grow.

Is there anything larger or stronger? No. Love is the answer. But please, make that love you believe in one that is real. Belief in Jesus? Sure, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe when I die there is a religion and I'm screwed - but am I? If i lead a good life, without believing in anything, will I not be greeted in the kingdom of heaven with enthusiasm. I'm sure many, many people will say that I won't be. That's unfortunate. You see, religion is real, but it's not anything that's been passed on from generation to generation; it's not anything that you'll read in the Bible. Religion is people being good to one another, struggling to make their may in the word. When I meet a guy in NYC who says thank you for letting him and his children pass by me: that's religion. When I say thank you to a guy holding the door open for me, that's religion. The moments in life when I connect with a stranger - that's religion.

I will never, ever put someone down for believing in something. Just because I don't believe it or don't think that it makes any logical sense doesn't mean that their beliefs are untrue, or less untrue. They are beliefs. But don't make those beliefs into something that is more than understanding and coexisting with people. Without people, you are nothing. Because they believe in something else doesn't make them different than you - it makes them the same. I believe in this, you believe in that; because of this, we are all the same.

Bill Maher does a great job. Sure, he's a sarcastic prick most of the time - but so am I. So are most of the people I see eye to eye with.

So please, dismiss religion without dismissing it. See what it truly means to you. Walk down the street, see what makes you happy, and follow that. If getting drunk and smoking a stog does it for you, Hey, that can be what you believe.