Return of the King

I’d love to meet Hank Hill, of the cult animated series King of the Hill. Hank is a simple, hard working man who is dedicated to his family, friends, work and neighborhood. He doesn’t put up with bullshit and sometimes can be a bit narrow minded and stubborn, but he is humble enough to change his mind when he realizes he is wrong. For a living he sells propane and propane accessories, so don’t you dare mention charcoal in front of him. For fun he enjoys watching the Dallas Cowboys and having an Alamo beer in the alley with his best friends. I’d love to join Hank and his buds for a beer, I tell you what.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Hill

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/it-builds-character/

Thank you Mr. Tsoukalos

You really make my day. Every I tune into Ancient Aliens and see your awful spray tan hair meticulously styled to look unkempt I smile. Best of all is that pre-Columbian airplane lapel pin that totally isn’t just a stylized insect. Nothing brightens my day then when I watch a new episode every week to see what new thing you’ll pull out of your ass next. Sure the others are amusing, but none compare to you.

– Your biggest (ironic) fan

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/grateful-and-guilty/

We’re Still Relevant Damn it!

A while back my brother was going through an Arthur phase. For the sake of nostablia I’d join him in watching what was one of my favorite shows growing up. I was shocked at the things they did to make it up to date. There was one episode about Muffy oversharing on social media, and another about Francine trying to make a viral video. When I was growing up Arthur didn’t have to show he was hip with all the latest technological trends. There was one episode where they got into online gaming, but it was pretty tame. A more amusing one was where Mr. Ratburn discovered the internet and wasted a bunch of time in chat rooms (they didn’t specify on what). However, these never felt contrived to show they were hip and in the know. Another unrelated but even more egregious change is that now the Brain is Senegalese for no apparent reason. It’s almost like the writers sat down and were all like: “you know what we need? More diversity! Let’s reveal Brain’s black and have his family celebrate Kwanzaa during the Christmas episode! How do we explain that? Let’s just say his parents are immigrants from some random African country. Senegal! Bam, mission accomplished!” As if aardvarks, monkeys, rabbits, cats, dogs, and others interacting with each other wasn’t diverse enough.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/let-it-be/

Nothing to Do, Nothing to Write About

Yes, I’m alive (at the time this was posted). No, I haven’t forgotten you guys. Ever since I got back from Tanzania I’ve been really tired and even more bored as there is really nothing to do other than playing video games and watching TV. You know, less than ideal blogging material. The only other thing that’s been going on with me as of current is that last week I turned in all my enrollment conifirmations and payment validation necessary to begin the next school year. I’m paying for school using my dad’s Post 9/11 G.I. Bill, and in the past all I had to do was fill out a form on the school website and submit that. Now they decided to add some complicated ass extra step, which involves filling out a form that will penalize a single typographical error by forcing you start over again. Army bueracrats are always looking for ways to further ensnare people in red tape.

Move back into campus on the 24th, and classes start the following day. I can’t wait to go back. Trust me, I will have plenty to blog about then.

Could it be, as Ancient Astronaut Theorists suggest…….

extraterrestrial beings? My once guilty pleasure would have to be watching Ancient Aliens on the “History” Channel. I have watched it religiously from the first season onward, but for the first several episodes I did it covertly. My family thought it was weird at first that I watched it despite not believing any of the claims, but now they understand why I find it so amusing. It is so contrived, getting better each season, and one has to wonder if they actually believe what they are saying or if they are just pretending to to make money. If you haven’t seen Ancient Aliens you should. Its amazing.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/no-apologies/

Sochi: My First Impressions

Well last night I was at home to get a haircut for my job interview and my mom was kind enough to DVR the opening ceremony for me. I must say, it was probably the most impressive one I can remember (certainly of the Winter ones) and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Russia has such a long, storied, complex, and frankly awkward national history and I think that the Sochi committee did a brilliant job at covering all that in such a concise manner. Being a Nonwestern History Major and having took a Russian Lit class last semester really made it possible for me to appreciate what I was seeing; as having context always does. During the Cyrillic acrostic segment I was familiar with every item listed, though I would like to know poor Tolstoy was forced to share T with television (every other letter only got one item). The Thousand Years of History in Three Minutes short was also very good, starting with the Varangians and ending with right now (but the writers of this short didn’t seem to think anything notable happened in the last century). My personal favorite scene in the whole ceremony was when Czar Peter the Great sailed to what would later become St. Petersburg. I could recognize everything that was being shown, so I really didn’t like the fact the announcers had to explain every damn thing that was shown. I know The Bronze Horseman when I see it. I did a face palm during the ball dance, because it brought me back to the dreary experience of braving through Anna Karenina, so I laughed heartily when the train appeared later. Over all I would say that the opening ceremony was everything it should be, save for some egregious omissions. It was certainly better than the London 2012 one, which was very, well, British. The only thing missing from the Sochi ceremony was Putin wrestling an almasty.

Breaking Bad Finale: So. Damn. Good.

Unless you’re Amish, you probably knew that the season finale of Breaking Bad aired last night. As much as I hated it coming to an end, I found it to be the most satisfactory finales I have seen. Everything was tied up very nicely, and the few loose ends that remained were better left alone. Vince promised to give an ending that was very ugly, and he certainly kept his word. The whole episode had me on the edge of my seat, just like the entire series did. Most likely it will be a long time until a show of this quality comes again, it’s just a rare sort of thing. If you haven’t seen Breaking Bad do start on it, you will see what the fuss is all about.

Review of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown

I just finished watching all of the episodes for the first season of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. I was really bummed when I found out that his earlier series No Reservations was cancelled, and I was a little sceptical about his move to CNN. For those of you not in the know, Anthony Bourdain is a chef and travel writer who has hosted a couple of shows on the Travel Channel. He is known for his snarky, blunt attitude, which is what makes his shows so awesome.

It turns out that getting a new show on CNN was exactly what he needed, they seem to be a lot more leniant with him than the Travel Channel was. Then again, the Travel Channel let him get away with a lot! While No Reservations focused on food, Parts Unknown is much more journalistic; which is probably why its on CNN. Each episode focuses on a different country or region that has a lot going on right now, but isn’t exactly a tourist hotspot. In one episode he travels to Tangier, Morocco to investigate the expat mecca where his favorite writer William Burroughs lived. Another episode had him going to Peru, where he and one of his business partners journeyed to find the perfect cocoa bean for their new fair trade chocalate brand. For me the most interesting episode focused on post Khaddafi Libya, where it seems that democracy has finally been achieved.

Overall Parts Unkown isn’t dramatically different from No Reservations, but I really like the current events emphasis the new show has. I really enjoyed the first season and am looking forward to the second. I highly recommend catching up on the reruns.