This Weekend Is Saw Weekend

“This weekend is Saw Weekend”. That is all I have seen this week whenever I have hopped on some of my favorite sites such as YouTube. I was having doubts about catching the fourth installment of this now yearly “gorefest” (Yeah I know its not a real word but I couldn’t find another to describe it) but I must admit, the marketing campaign and the fear of being labeled a wuss by my peers made me catch this movie on opening night. I am not a big fan of horror movies because they usually end up having dumb plots or predictable finishes. My preferences are more along the lines of gangster or mafia movies such as Casino or The Departed. The Saw series, however, has always managed to keep my attention because of the inevitable plot twist and because it always leads to an animated discussion with friends about the movie, the killer’s motives, and possibilities for the sequel (plans are already under way for a fifth and sixth part in the series).

I am not the squeamish type. Something has to be super gross in order for me to close my eyes or turn my head the other way. As I was watching this, I was reminded of the time I saw the first installment of the series. It was on a date with a girl who I had been seeing for quite a bit of time. She told me she wasn’t a big fan of horror movies, but it was the only movie on. Needless to say she couldn’t take the graphic violence that these movies have become famous for. Sometime during the movie, she asked for us to leave. I was so consumed in the movie however, that I decided we should stay. That ended up being our last date. It’s funny thinking back how the movie and my decision to stay there probably led to her not wanting to see me. Because of that, I’ve decided that a group setting with friends is probably the better way to go watch this other potentially bloody movies.

As far as the movie is concerned, it ended up being a pretty damn good one. It wasn’t as disgusting as the others, thankfully. And once again, the swerve near the end tied up loose ends, while also preparing us for the sequel. If you are a fan of this type of movie, make sure you catch Saw 4.

Is Hip-Hop Dying?

As a lover of Hip-Hop music, I consider myself a very lucky man to have lived through the genre’s “Second Golden Era”. I did not know it at the time, but the artists that introduced me to this music, such as Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Nas, Outkast, and many more, would eventually go on to become Hip-Hop royalty. These artists put out classic albums and songs that have stood the test of time (Hip-Hop doesn’t seem to respect its past like other genres, such as Rock) and have influenced most of today’s current crop of rap artists. After discussing with my roommate about the current state of Hip-Hop, we came to a conclusion that saddened us both; Hip-Hop just isn’t what it used to be.

For the past years, we have been subjected to such atrocious hits such as “Shake That Laffy Taffy”, Been told to “Walk it Out”, and have had to hear some kid named Jibbs talk about how his “Chain Hang Low”. This year it’s been nothing but “A Bay Bay” and the newest song making me turn off the radio, “Crank Dat” by Soulja Boy. It looks to me as if the concept of making a Hip-Hop song has been lost. Back in the day (Even five years ago), much more thought went into making a song. Subject matter ranged from the street life, to the political, the struggle of living in the ghetto, even love songs! Today, rappers seem to focus on making catchy jingles that will earn them nothing more than fifteen minutes of fame and a plaque for selling the most ringtones to mainstream America.

There are a couple of names out there making music for the sake of music and some artists have a message in the music they make. However, these people are few and far between. I do support these people by going out to buy their music and attending their concerts. But until the music industry and rappers step their game up, I will only listen to the timeless classics and only pay attention to artists who don’t sell out and have more to offer than just a catchy hook or the latest dance.

F*** You Injury Bug!!

Fall is usually my favorite season because of two things, football is getting under way and the baseball playoffs are in full swing. Since my Oakland A’s didn’t make it into the post-season, most of my sports attention has shifted toward football. This year, I decided to join in on a fantasy football league to see what all the fuss was about. I must admit, the thing has me hooked. Because of this league, the first thing I do when I get on the internet is go to my league’s page to see what new events have transpired since the last time I checked in. I think I’m bordering on addiction. I am currently one game behind the team in first place and have pulled off some miraculous victories.

Like when many things are going well, life finds a way to f*** things up. My top receiver and my two top running backs have gone down to injuries. These are the players responsible for some of those miraculous victories and now I have been left scrambling to look for acceptable replacements to these players so that I can put up respectable numbers on Sunday and not fall further behind the “Grid Iron Beast”.

Previous years I couldn’t have cared less for players not on the Oakland Raiders’ roster. But this year things have changed in a major way. As I’m writing this blog, I find myself looking for a running back that will play this Sunday. As if that wasn’t bad enough, I have to make the gut-wrenching decision whether to cut one of my injured players. Should I ride it out and hope that he comes back next week? Or should I cut my losses and hope that my new player will provide respectful numbers? Who knew owning a football team was this hard? And this is just a fantasy football team! Because of this, I want to scream so that everyone can hear me: F*** YOU INJURY BUG!