A-Roid (YEAH I CAME UP WITH THAT MYSELF)

I am so amped that A-Rod took steroids, and not just because I hate him and can't wait to hear all the bad press he gets. Mainly, however, this story pleases me because now people won't be cheering for A-Rod to break Bonds' (aka the most electrifying performer in baseball entertainment history) all-time home run mark. Continuing in this line of thinking, I think this whole development forces everyone to realize how insanely systemic the issue of steroids was.

Furthermore, I think it is stupid if players don't make it into the Hall because of steroids. Fuck that, that's bullshit, what that smell like? My argument is that it is fully legal to get laser eye surgery or take "legal" muscle supplements, and any player that does these things to get an advantage might do better but won't be considered a cheater. The only difference is there is this stigma around steroids (obviously because they are pretty dangerous, although I imagine some of the legal muscle supplements aren't the most safe things you can put in your body), and I think the amount of difference they actually do is exaggerated because of this. A shit player can't become the next Bonds just by taking steroids. My point is that the idea of "natural" versus "unnatural" improvement is largely an artificial one in today's game (because of the above mentioned "legal" enhancements available to athletes), and furthermore the idea of a level playing field for players is silly, because obviously some players are "naturally" better than others. It makes no sense to ban a player from the Hall, even if he improved his game through an illegal method. If caught, the player should be penalized with suspensions and fines, but he shouldn't get this insane lifetime judgment. Should we then remove anyone from the Hall who ever used a spitball or used sandpaper to scuff the ball or did any number of illegal things to get ahead in baseball? No, that's insane, you would probably have to remove half the pitchers that pitched before 1950. Suck a nut baseball, FREE BARRY!

Dane Cook Sucks

Yes.

Them

The lame thing about modern scare-fests like Saw is that they use very little film technique in conjuring their scares. Most of it is done through the gory special effects, and I greatly resent that. When a film is able to build tension and get you freaked out without showing you explicitly what you are being freaked out about, I appreciate both my own reaction and the skill of the film-maker. For large portions of them, this was the case, as a couple living in a big country house in Romania are tormented by a group of unknown (and unseen throughout a majority (and, I should say, the better part) of the movie) malefactors. The film is in French and runs for a brief 77 minutes (which I must say was rather refreshing), during which time the pressure is just continually ratcheted more and more until it is nearly unbearable, at which point I was screaming at the TV in order to maintain my sanity. My major gripe with it was the fairly lame ending, but moreso the lack of any deeper themes. This is something that I loved about the Orphanage (which had a similar amount of tension (and a few moments of great gore, which I never resented)), which, despite being a horror movie, also was able to touch on more meaningful and poignant themes (life/death as well as the importance and role of memory in our lives). These issues kept Them from being a grade-A movie for me, but if you want to spend a solid 77 minutes on the edge of your seat, I recommend it.

Your official 51st Grammy Awards predictions!

Who gives a fuck.

Linksauce

Left 4 Dead DLC announced! I wonder if it will actually come to the 360, unlike the Team Fortress 2 updates... [Kotaku]

M.I.A. is nine months pregnant. And the baby is due Grammy night. Fuck it, people need "Paper Planes!" [Pitchfork]

I seriously spent a few hours clicking through these game covers re-imgined as novel covers. Favorites include Killer7, Left 4 Dead, Bioshock and Mirror's Edge. [NeoGaf]

H-O-R-S-E in the All-Star game? Fuck and yes. [Deadspin]

This is the week in L4D links. But these Valentines are truly adorable. [Destructoid]

Your Super Bowl MVP is kind of crazy. No, really crazy. [Deadspin]

Two words: bacon beans. [Amazon]

This interview with Lil Wayne by Katie Couric is surreal. "Gangstas don't ask questions." [Pitchfork]

I am sure that a 24-hour Arnold movie channel would be great. [Unreality]

The first Resident Evil 5 review is in! Tis good. [Kotaku]

Kobe vs. Lebron

Up until a few minutes ago, I didn't much care for this debate. But I just had something of an epiphany on the matter that I felt the need to share. Kobe has two rings, yes, but Kobe won those two rings play with Shaq, another legit All-Star. Unless my memory is being very selective (which it very well could be), from then until last year, Kobe's Lakers struggled to some extent with him as the one star. Last year, they were doing well, but one could argue that they didn't really become great until Pau (who, if not a legit star, is pretty close).

Now, with Lebron, he has never, ever had another player near all star caliber on his team (barring this year with Mo Williams), yet he has led the Cavs to the Finals one year and, last year, came ever so close to upsetting the Celtics in the playoffs.

My point here is that both are certainly capable of dominating a game, but Lebron seems to be able to do so more consistently with less help. That is, if Pau Gasol and Verajao (or whatever the fuck his name is) changed teams, there is no way anyone is beating the Cavs. They have never had any type of interior scorer with Lebron on the time. Furthermore, I think Lebron would be able to integrate a good secondary scorer into the lineup better than Kobe has, since despite being a physically much bigger dude than Kobe, it seems like he gets at least as many assists.

Keep in mind too that my argument applies only currently. I think, unless Lebron goes seriously off the rocker or Kobe has a Bondsian later career, it would be very, very tough to argue that Kobe's career, when it ends, would be equal to Lebron's. As proof, just consider that Kobe's first few seasons (or at least maybe his first two) weren't particularly impressive, but Lebron's were pretty solid seasons, and he's just improved from there.




Side note: fuck Derek Fisher. His flopping antics got Garnett's sixth foul tonight.

PS Game just ended. Refs suck balls, fuck Kobe, fuck the Lakers, I hate them so much.

I'm Not There (I'm at Work)

I Finally saw I'm Not There this past weekend. In short, I dug it. I think you need to have a fair knowledge of Dylan to appreciate all of the interpretations (young black child), and you should be able to tolerate artsy weirdness, but it is a good movie.

I'm bringing this up because I am in love with a song on the soundtrack. "Goin' to Acapulco" covered here by Jim James and Calexico, is an ultimate jam. The original song is from Dylan & The Band's infamous Basement Tapes sessions, it is loose but the songwriting is there as always. The cover, is incredible. Jim James' voice and a great horn section turn a bland demo into something powerful.