GEICO Cavemen [Doll Therapy].

The GEICO Cavemen are a phenomenally popular series of car insurance advertisements here in the US. So popular they've been given their own sitcom, which is due to air this autumn I believe.

I can't recall too many TV advertisements that have managed to expand into a TV series; in fact, I would probably bet my neighbour's house that this is the first example.

The ads are very bizarre but they're also clever and witty. Most people I know think they're great, however a few people also loathe them ... which makes me laugh.

Here's one of the latest ads.

Memorial Day

We had an enjoyable Memorial Day here in sunny, rain-deprived south Florida. The bookstore was kind enough to give me the day off [being a bank holiday they didn't fancy paying me time and half, d'oh!] so I was able to chill and do some things around the house.

In the late-afternoon we headed over to Diane's folks for dinner and margaritas. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy that frozen tequila goodness and I knocked a couple back with relish. We also watched a little of the baseball game, and I was amazed to see the Marlins almost hand the game back to the Cubs after being in a dominate position all day. I'm not a big fan of baseball, and that will probably be the only game I watch all season, but it was quite cool to sit back and pretend to know what was going on whilst not looking too tipsy from the alcohol....

For my NZ readers [big shout out to Bert on Waiheke Island!]¹ Memorial Day in the US is kinda like ANZAC Day, except they play more war movies on TV and the RSA doesn't sell poppies.


¹There is no Bert. I made him up.

Manic Street Preachers in Good Form

The Manic Street Preachers are one of my favourite bands of, well, all time I guess. Their new album, Send Away The Tigers, was recently released and from what snippets I've heard it sounds fantastic. I've ordered the album from Amazon, although I had to pay $17 for it as it's considered an "import" here in the US.¹ Bah!

Musically the new album has been described as a mix of Generation Terrorists and Everything Must Go, which is fine by me as the latter is most probably their best album [along with The Holy Bible].

Here's the video for the first single, Your Love Alone is Not Enough. It also has Nina Persson from The Cardigans in it.



¹Yes, $17 is way too much to pay for an album, homies. I've become accustomed to buying albums in their first week of release at places like Target and Wal-Mart for the amazingly cool price of around $10, and I'd like to keep it that way, thank you.

Subverting Star Wars

Luke: "What is it?"

Ben: "It's your mother's vibrator. Not as clumsy or random as a dildo; an elegant toy for a more civilised climax."

Yes, I have way too much time on my hands....

Hiro Stabs Sylar and The Heroes Finale

Well Heroes has finished for the year, and what a huge final two episodes. The last episode of "Genesis", How to Stop an Exploding Man, was a fitting anti-climax with pieces set up for next year's "Generations" and questions of the fate of some characters left up in the air [literally].

Here's a video of Hiro stabbing Sylar:



Sylar was too much of a nasty villain to get killed off totally in this episode, although the flashing in his eyes suggests Hiro's wounding of him took away many of the powers he had gained from his brain munching over this season. Now he's down in the sewer, and I'm not sure what they're going to do with him especially in the light of Molly Walker's revelation that there is an even greater menace out in the world, one who can actually see her when she is using her power to look for the heroes. Cool.

The issue with Peter and Nathan could go one of three ways: they're both dead; they're both alive; one is dead and the other is alive. Well, I think that's pretty much the main probabilities regarding those two characters. It would be hard for Nathan to avoid the explosion, and from what I understand when Peter "explodes" it doesn't rip him apart, it's more a releasing of energy from him as its core. Or something like that.

Best line from the final comes from Ando: "Hiro, you look bad ass." Classic.

Men Need Help at The Supermarket??

I just read an odd item on Yahoo! about a report from consulting firm TNS Retail Forward titled, "Men in Grocery Stores". According to the report men shop "inefficiently .... have difficulty finding items ... and hesitate to ask for help if they can't find an item".

Who are these men and why are they giving my gender a bad rap, huh?

Okay, I can't speak for the men who had their Mums do everything for them; and neither can I speak for the ancient men who come from a generation that expects the women in their lives to do all that "women's stuff". However, I would hope my independent homies in the Gen Y crowd out there know how to use a frickin' supermarket.

[Link] <<-- Read it!

Will Ferrell's Harry Caray Sketch

This is probably one of my favourite pieces from Saturday Night Live. I think the first time I saw this I practically pissed my pants laughing. It's just completely odd.

So, Spider-Man 3. Hm.

Well, let's call this the Return of the Jedi entry in the Spider-Man trilogy. It wasn't horribly bad, but it wasn't great, either.

What the film needed was some firm editing as stylistically it was schizophrenic, swinging from melodrama, Bollywood song and dance routines, slapstick, science fiction, et al.

I also think the film suffered from a weak story, and perhaps missed the contribution of Michael Chabon from Spider-Man 2.

The creators also fell into the Batman trap of stuffing as many villains as they could into the film. Venom seems to be there as nothing more than a nod to the fanboys, while the Green Goblin Mk. II [an inevitable conclusion based on what had been established in the previous films] should have had his role expanded.

Sandman was perfectly fine and was presented as a sympathetic villain, yet they failed to execute that storyline to its potential because they had to give Venom his storyline. On top of this they decided to create unnecessary tension between MJ and Peter while including the distraction of Gwen Stacy as the third piece of an is-it-or-isn't-it love triangle. Oh, and don't get me started on the annoying news reporter from the film's final fight. Grr.

Inevitably there was too much noise on screen and what should have been a spectacular third entry became less a film and more a collection of half-baked ideas and missed opportunities.

Slightly Smokey in Florida

This past week we've had a steady blanket of smoke hovering about because of the large number of wildfires in Florida, as you can see in the graphic I pinched from the Sun-Sentinel, below.



Most of these fires are nowhere near us, however the wind has picked up the byproduct and carried it all the way to southern Florida where we have our crib, yo. I took some pics of a road at midday on Saturday, and of the early morning sun yesterday and I thought I would share with the rest of the class.





So between wildfires and mandatory water restrictions summer has started off with a bang. Next month is the start of the Atlantic hurricane season....

I Wish They Had L&P in America

L&P, World Famous in New Zealand yet unavailable in America. Alas, poor Yorick I knew that drink well. A beverage of exceptional zest, of most excellent taste especially with vodka, some ice, and more vodka.

However, I will enjoy these classic advertisements that I found on dirty old YouTube.