Leave the kids at home!

I saw No Country For Old Men on Sunday. Fantastic film, very deserving of the accolades heaped upon it to this point. The film is very violent, with complex themes. I don't think this is a big secret, as the film has been discussed publicly for some time, and reviews usually mention the violence. So I was stunned to see at least two children under the age of eight in the audience. Who would subject their children to such violent images at such a young age?

Look, I'm not an advocate of censorship by any means, but if a parent isn't responsible enough to exercise proper judgment perhaps theater owners should institute their own guidelines. The problem is, how do you decide? I'm not going to suggest that all R movies are inappropriate for all children, but clearly some are. It would be much easier if parents simply paid a babysitter for a few hours while they watched adult fare, but that's obviously not happening. Parents, please: think about your kids.

Unfortunately, these particular parents were out the door before I could ask how to vote for them for parents of the year.

Streaky Boxers

It's not really what you think, unless you think it's about boxers on a winning or losing streak. I'm not going to do the work to find out who the streakiest boxers are, but I do think Streaky Boxers is a great name for a gym. Or a band.

Appalachian State is hot! hot! hot!

Oh sure, Appalachian State University is the toast of the town in college football right now, but that's not all they have going for them. Miss Teen South Carolina is planning to attend, and why wouldn't she? After all, ASU is hot! hot! hot!

Talk about it at Videocracy

Why I love Costco

Sure, I love vats of ketchup and giant barrels of applesauce as much as the next guy, but this sums up pretty accurately just why I'm such a big fan of Costco:

Costco gets it.

M.I.A.: Kala

For you hip-hop and rap fans, this one's a gem.

M.I.A.: Kala

This is the best rap/hip-hop album of the year, bar none. For those of you not familiar with M.I.A., she's a Sri-Lankan, raised in London, whose father was a freedom fighter for the Tamil Tigers. Because of this connection, her American visa was denied, so she's spent the last several years in India, Liberia, Australia, Trinidad, and Japan. So basically, this album is a mash-up of some of the nicest beats from around the world.

I will warn you, this is not a typical rap album. M.I.A.'s vocal style is a mishmash of different languages filtered through British English. That said, it's awesome.

Here are the reviews (currently the second highest Metacritic score for 2007):
Metacritic: M.I.A.: Kala

What?! You knew the whole time?

Dappled Cities: Granddance

Dappled Cities: Granddance

Formerly known as 'Dappled Cities Fly', this Australian band is currently touring the US with Tokyo Police Club. I went to see TPC at Birdie's recently, and was blown away by Dappled Cities. Unpretentious, appreciative, and just flat out playing their asses off, these guys sounded great so I bought their cd after the set. Hoping it would be even a little bit as good as the live show, I was thrilled to find the cd sounds terrific from start to finish. I don't know how easy this will be to find, but I'm sure Luna (the best cd store in Indy) can find it for you if you don't use ITunes.

Check'em out:

DC on myspace

Pitchfork Review:

"Dappled Cities are a mature band with a highly evolved sense of songcraft and arrangement. Aside from merely writing them, they know how to inhabit songs and make them breathe. It's that quality elevates Granddance beyond being simply good and makes it occasionally border on great."