The Self High-Five: Five for Five

it’s monday and bill bodkin returns with his column…

Hey everyone! It’s the fifth edition of Self High-Five and I figured that I’d add a little intro, a little pop culture rant/critique. Sometimes it’ll be happy and positive, other times, it’ll be el negativo. I call it Mindless Self-Indulgence, named after that techno group about three of you have heard of and also because it’s completely mindless and self-indulgent. Enjoy!

Mindless Self-Indulgence: It’s August already. I have no idea where this summer went. I feel like it was just yesterday (yet another lifetime ago) that I was getting jazzed for Iron Man 2 and now we’re getting ready for The Expendables. Yes, summer is winding down, but what I really wonder about is when the “songs of summer” will just go away. Working at the Jersey Shore I’ve heard Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” and Usher’s “OMG” 47 million times — they aren’t the worst songs, they’re summery and fun, but they’ve been in heavy rotation since late April, it’s time to put them down for the count (or release another song). Yet there are some songs that just drive me up a wall and they make me want to take a bat to the following artists– Mike Posner (Cooler Than Me), BoB & Hayley Williams (Airplanes), Jason DeRulo (Ridin’ Solo) and Travie McCoy and Bruno Mars (Billionaire). And when I say “take a bat to” I mean their faces, not the closest radio — especially “Travie.”

Movies: So I Married An Axe Murderer…A Forgotten Comedy
In between Wayne’s World and Wayne’s World 2, Mike Meyers starred in this under-the-radar comedy. At the behest of my fiancee, who ensure me I’d enjoy this movie, I rented this 1993 sleeper and thoroughly enjoyed it. Sure, it’s not the best comedy in the world, but after a tough week, it’s sometimes nice to get a few chuckles in. The strengths and weaknesses of this movie come from Meyers himself. This sounds odd, but follow me. When he’s trying to impress his future bride/potential axe murderer, he mugs it up more than a group of sixth graders after seeing Ace Ventura: Pet Detective for the 100th time. It’s too cutsey, too look into the camera with a wink, too unfunny. However when he shares the screen with veteran movie tough guy Anthony LaPaglia or when he slips into the character of oft-drunk Scottish his father (an inspiration for Austin Powers no doubt), the movie is charming, funny and enjoyable. This is a good flick to get off the Netflix instant queue or to catch on Comedy Central.

Music: “Home” by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
This is one of those odd songs that you just for some reason fall in love with. I first heard “Home” while
driving to my best friend’s wedding in May. I was taking a break from rehearsing my best man’s speech and if it were kismet, I heard this song. The lyric that stuck with me, pulled at my heartstrings and brought a smile to my face was “Home is wherever I’m with you.” The lyric made me change my entire speech and it came out much, much better. But I digress. “Home” is an infectious piece that meshes elements of hippie bonfire jams, country, bluegrass and Dylan. It’s a song that I’ve really fallen in love with and I’ve even thrown it on my wedding CD. Sadly, I’ve heard from many a respectable music lover, including one Mr. Brent Johnson, that the rest of the band’s album is very disappointing. Yet, it doesn’t matter to me, “Home” is simply awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HNY0rx2fw4&feature=related

Video Games: Red Dead Redemption
Upon the massive success of their Grand Theft Auto series, Rockstar Games released a “GTA” influenced Wild West game in 2004 entitled Red Dead Revolver. The game was an awesome homage to the spaghetti western with quick-draw competitions, wild shoot-outs and a fun, Eastwood-inspired storyline. Sadly, the game was a not critical success, nor was it that memorable for most video game fans. Six years later RDR’s follow-up Red Dead Redemption was released and to me, whatever the first game lacked, it was “redeemed” in this one. Much like the newer GTA games, Redemption allows the player to “choose their own adventure.” Want to go hunt bears? Do it. Want to save dames from bandidos? Saddle up partner. Want to kill everyone in sight and use cheat codes where you’ll never die? You are high in the saddle. The game is beautifully designed from a graphics standpoint and is a tremendous amount of fun — good for people who love just shooting things or those who want a good storyline.

The Web: Thereforeyou.com — I’m biased, but it’s very funny
Since 2003, Therefore Productions has been producing “dumb comedy for smart people.” How do I know this? Besides it being on the site’s banner, I’m also a proud member. Another piece of self-promotion…sigh. The site I am promoting is the group’s blog, Thereforeyou.com. Being as busy as I am on this site plus my fulltime job, I haven’t been as active writing for this site or working for the company as I have in years past. So every time I go to this site and see something new, I’m proud and usually laughing. The quality of the content on this site, especially on their videos page is outstanding. I know, I’m biased, but I truly love watching the work that my closest friends do. If you’ve never checked them out, click any of the links in this paragraph — you can thank me later.

Food: The Smoke Joint in Brooklyn
Speaking of Therefore Productions, the gang was in hipster heaven, Brooklyn! Brooklyn!, on Sunday for the final night of the Animation Block Party at awesome Brooklyn Academy of Music. After a few hours of animation, the gang wandered out into the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn and found The Smoke Joint — a local BBQ restaurant know for three B’s — Barbeque, Bourbon and Beers. The Smoke Joint was a solid BBQ restaurant, not my favorite in New York (that honor goes to Hill Country on W.26th), but overall a solid joint. My meal consisted of a little too thick and little dry brisket sandwich, which was a bit disappointing. However, the sides that came with it, were nirvana. I ordered up a piece of cornbread, only $1, and it was the size of my fist — and delicious. The Bed Stuy potato salad, which had a lot going on in the bowl, was excellent. And the mac and cheese — forgot the blue box people, The Smoke Joint has the best! Overall, for a restaurant in the city, in a hip section, was very reasonably priced, I do recommend it.