Special thanks go out to Van Brunt for bringing this DVD set to my apartment the other day. In the past I had seen little bits of this sitcom on FX, but I never had the chance to sit through an entire episode before. I’m glad that I did because both Seasons 1 and 2 are brilliant. The writing is magnificent and the acting is very well done. I admit that the addition of Danny Devito as a regular cast member at the end of the first season threw me for a bit of a loop, but after watching a few episodes with him it was back to normal.

My buddy told me that this was a sitcom about 4 (and eventually 5) people who are just bad people - I think that’s the perfect description. I especially like the character played by Rob McElhenney who is just an arrogant, selfish jerk. It’s actually hilarious when you watch the show. And Charlie Day (who plays a character named…Charlie) does a great job at acting as the downtrodden, constantly looked over friend in the group.

There are so many great side performances in this show that it would be hard to put them all in a concise blog article. I think the McPoyle Brothers are absolutely hilarious - the best description of them would be two grown-up, extremely creepy guys (and an equally creepy family) who gross out everyone around them. They walk around in bathrobes! And then you have outlandish performances such as the character named Artemis (played by Artemis Pebdani). Artemis is an actress, but an overly dramatic actress. It plays in perfectly to the craziness that is this show.

If you can rent this box set or if you can find it at a good price, I suggest purchasing it. If you’re interested, you can watch some full episodes of this show at Hulu.com. I think there are some commercials mixed in at Hulu, but it’s still free! Anyway, I recommend this irreverent comedy to anyone looking for something different from their television shows.

A few of us went to go see Ironman the other day and it was a pretty impressive movie. Robert Downey, Jr. does an amazing job playing the self-obsessed billionaire Tony Stark. Since I used to be a major collector of Marvel Comic Cards about 20 years ago (disgusting that I remember things that are 20 years old now), I thought this would be a hard comic book character for the audience to get into in any great degree. I was wrong. Downey is excellent in a performance that has got to earn him an Oscar nomination in some category - I think his performance was that good.

On a different level, Gwyneth Paltrow also turns in a great performance as Pepper Potts - Stark’s assistant. There is the obligatory love story underneath the larger story of the movie, but hey, the filmmakers had to find a way to bring the women into the theaters! I commented to my roommate that the reason I liked Paltrow in this role is that it was a change from the generic, ditzy chick flick role that she sometimes gets cast in. Chick flicks - ugh.

And it is completely unfair to talk about this movie without mentioning the great performance turned in by Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane and later as the Iron Monger. Excellent - just excellent. The opening sequence in the movie really sets the stage for the close relationship that the audience believes exists between Obadiah and Stark. The opening sequence alone was worth the trip to the movie theater as was the ending battle between these two characters. Did anyone else feel like Jeff Bridges was channeling Jesse Ventura in this role? I did!

All in all, this was a brilliant movie with great performances. The use of the Afghanistan locale and the prisoner of war scenario was also a good move (and for those of you that may not know, that is pretty much the same Ironman story from the comic books). In today’s society, pitting an American against a terrorist cell is sure to make movie goers happy. I liked the added intrigue of the terrorists using Stark’s own weapons in their fight against the Americans and the innocents of Afghanistan. More good writing!

If you have an opportunity to go see this movie, then I highly recommend you check it out. Great performances, great story, great movie.

As if having a police force that entered renters’ homes at all hours of the night without a warrant or probable cause wasn’t enough, my roommate picked up on this news story yesterday: Pregnant Policewoman’s Request for Light Duty Denied by New Jersey Township Officials. Granted, due to the increased scrutiny from a national media, this story has come to a somewhat amicable resolution, but how much more bullshit needs to happen in Ocean Township before there is real change in this town?!

Stories abound at Monmouth University about the way that the Ocean Township Police Department violates the civil rights of those students who live off-campus (yes, including the vast majority of student renters who are NOT blights on the local community). The local papers run near-weekly stories about major drug busts in Ocean Township. A few years ago the Mayor of Ocean Township was federally indicted for bribing local business owners (and, oddly enough, shortly after the Mayor was indicted the top Code Enforcement official and Chief of Police both retired…shady anyone?). Local high school kids are rounded up by the dozen and arrested for underage drinking (which I’m not opposed to - but arresting? Come on…).

Just search Ocean Township on this blog and you’ll find years and years worth of ridiculous stories coming out of this town. And now we can add this to the bunch - not immediately accommodating a decorated, pregnant police officer. Shameful. Downright shameful.

Inspired by a suggestion from a reader on my other blog to read the NJ Real Estate Report (linked on our sidebar now), I came across a post that compared renting a home to owning a home. In truth, the article was linked from another source, but it gave some interesting points of view on the classic owning vs. renting debate. For my part, after I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad series I began thinking about money in a different way. What I like about the article linked on the NJ Real Estate Report is that it talks about some of the same principles (in a roundabout type of way) that Rich Dad, Poor Dad talks about. For example…

The NJ Real Estate Report post lists 5 different reasons why you should rent instead of own. One of these reasons is because it’s cheaper. The post says:

Cheaper. When you consider the cost of being a homeowner — mortgage payments, association dues, property insurance, property taxes, repairs, maintenance and upgrades to protect your home’s value — most of the time, renting will be cheaper.

This is true. The financial planners who subscribe to the theory that a home is one’s biggest asset are at odds with these realities. Assets should appreciate in value (not in this market!) and they really shouldn’t cost you too much money. Look at the costs above from a New Jersey perspective: mortgage payments are between $1200 and $1500 depending on the size of your mortgage and the rates; I’ve seen association dues range from $175 per month to $350 per month; property taxes are out of control in New Jersey and for the places that I’ve been looking at, they are around $4000 per year; repairs, maintenance, and upgrades - let’s place a conservative $200 per month into this pot. All in all, you could wind up spending $2400 per month on your house alone! That doesn’t take into account utility bills, food, gas, clothing, etc.

Now, as the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series taught me, let’s say you spend $1000 per month on rent. That leaves about $1400 open each month. If you were to sock that $1400 away in a the stock market, a high-yield savings account, even bonds - you’d get a higher annual return than your house would appreciate. This ridiculous current housing bubble aside, houses appreciate between 3% and 7% per year depending on market factors. Long-term returns from the stock market show double-digit gains for investors.

Makes you think - is it really worth losing money to own a house?

The Asbury Park Press ran a story this morning that talked about how vendors located on Asbury Park’s Cookman Avenue were gearing up for what they believe will be a very successful summer season. From the article:

For one thing, some new stores are coming as promised to his already active 600 block. Asbury Bark, the dog boutique, moved over from Bangs Avenue, and clothing shop Organic Style and a new bookstore are set to open in May.

For another, he said store and restaurant owners have banded together to create events such as concerts.

I used to work on the office at the old Harry’s Roadhouse located on the 600 block of Cookman Avenue. We had it all going on at that place including a special Christmas concert by Asbury Park’s own Bruce Springsteen! But our ownership was shoddy and didn’t like to pay the bills so we eventually shut down. I heard that there are new owners in that place and that there is a new wind blowing through Cookman Avenue. This area had a mini-resurgence some 5 years ago (around the time I was working in the area) and while most of the shops have remained open and in business over the last few years, there was always something odd about Cookman. That weird “oddness” is what made people stop shopping there. I really can’t put my finger on it, but it always felt more like people were walking around in a movie than on a city street shopping.

This concert series sounds interesting, though. I’ll be looking out for more information on these events!

Hard to believe that a story like this would surface in the year 2008, but here it is: Candidate speaks at Hitler birthday party. Come on. COME ON! You mean to tell me that the guy running for this Congressional seat - a guy named Tony Zirkle - walked into that room and thought, “Hey, this is a great idea!”??? I almost can’t believe it.

If you haven’t, please click on that link above and take a look at this ridiculous picture of this moron candidate standing in front of a picture of Adolf Hitler and huge swastika flags. I’m almost at a loss for words on this one. I just can’t believe this guy - who is (was) a legitimate candidate for this Congressional seat - walked into that room and told himself that it was completely okay to stand in front of that gathering, in front of Hitler, and talk about Jesus Christ. Believe me, my religion is all about evangelizing and spreading the good Word, but come on! If you’re running for office you CANNOT stand in front of Hitler in a room draped in Nazi regalia!

Where is the judgment these days? How is the public supposed to trust their political candidates when they make such stupid decisions? Again, I can sympathize with wanting to spread the good Word to even the most jaded constituencies, but this was not a bright move. In fact, it’s downright insulting. Had the candidate agreed to speak in a different room or in a manner such that he didn’t look like he was endorsing the neo-Nazis, I may have a different take on all of this. But what they say is true - a picture is worth a thousand words and the picture in that article speaks for itself.

Idiot.

Yahoo Mail recently upgraded its e-mail services so that you can now use a quasi-Microsoft Outlook type of screen to view your mail. There are many benefits to having this type of set-up, but one of the drawbacks is the automatic advertisements that are embedded in different areas of the screen. Alright, so they’re not SO bad, but this advertisement really pissed me off:

Take a good look at that advertisement. What type of support is superior? Personal support? No… Presonal support? Yes!

Presonal support? PRESONAL support?!? What the hell does PRESONAL mean? How the hell did something like this get published on the internet on one of the highest viewed web-based e-mail platforms?! If I was the owner of the company that purchased this advertisement, I’d be off my rocker with aggravation.

But I’m glad that these bozos actually had this pathetic advertisement printed. In reality, this type of shoddy workmanship is endemic in all areas of life and it is becoming more and more widespread as time goes on. What do we expect from younger generations that are completely fine with writing: hI R U up 2 nething kewl 2day??

It’s pathetic.

While trolling over the internet, I came across an excellent essay by George Leef that I had to share. For those of you with an interest in college life and higher education overall, you have to read this essay. It’s a great combination of interesting, biting truth regarding the end results that we expect from students at our universities and colleges. My favorite part of the essay:

The final bad answer Henrie discusses is the idea, derived from John Stuart Mill, that the purpose of college is to get students to challenge reigning beliefs. The trouble with this approach is that it tends to collapse into a universal skepticism. Students are conditioned to think that all our traditions and institutions must be defective if they can’t pass the test of rigorous rationality. Utopian reformers love this, since it creates a horde of young people who imagine themselves to be deep and “critical” thinkers, but who actually have very shallow minds.

Ha ha! You really have to read the entire essay to understand where Mr. Leef is coming from. How many of us know people who have ridiculous, anarchist views on government which they attribute to their college experience (* raises hand *)? How many of us know people who justify the use of drug use because it allows them to produce deeper thoughts (* raises hand again *)? I love this article!

And it’s so true, too. Many people might be able to recall a college experience where great time and effort was put into competing theories of government, for example. Then those competing theories were used to measure up against the American system (again, for example). But how many students or graduates can recall a class that talks about how the American system (or some other system) of government is the best, feasible working government? Not many.

Anyway, just sharing - I thought it was enlightening.

USA Today is reporting that new home sales have dropped - again - to their lowest point in some sixteen and a half years. Well…duh. Is anyone surprised by this news? We have a horrible economy and that certainly isn’t helping, but has anyone actually looked at the price of a new home these days? It’s outrageous! That is, of course, unless you want to live in the Ozarks somewhere or unless you have Mommy and Daddy money paying for the home.

Speaking for young adults in New Jersey, it is almost virtually impossible to buy any home (new or used) that is on the market. Property taxes, car insurance, student loans, groceries, gas, cell phone service, cable service - everything costs way too much money per month for anyone to buy a home. For a young, single guy like me bringing in a one-person income - forget about it! But I even know married couples who are having a hard time putting together enough money to buy a home in a place where they actually want to live in this state.

Times are tough and it sucks.

MSNBC.com posted an article today that I found surprising and interesting. Apparently some of America’s highest-regarded institutes of higher learning are suggesting that graduating seniors take a year off before they start college. Fascinating! From the article:

It’s called a “gap year.” And while it’s been a common and popular rite of passage in Australia and the U.K. for decades, the concept is now starting to gain significant steam here in America.

A gap year, huh? Lump me into that portion of the American public who went to nursery school, then immediately to preschool, then immediately to grade school, then immediately to high school, then immediately to college, then immediately to graduate school, and then immediately into the full-time workforce. I started my education at 2 years old and I finished it (for the time being) at age 25. No “gap” year for me…or most of the people that I know, quite frankly. More from the article:

A growing number of high school seniors are balking at riding the academic conveyer belt from preschool all the way to university. They’re burnt out. Or not quite ready. Or they want to explore a few interests before deciding what to study in college. So instead of packing their bags in anticipation of freshman year, they’re volunteering in New Orleans or teaching in Thailand. They’re starting the great American novel, or interning to help figure out what they want to do with their lives.

I love it!

What a brilliant idea, if you can afford it. Using hindsight as 20/20, I would have loved to travel for a little bit before going to college or before going to graduate school. Of course, I couldn’t do that before graduate school because if you don’t go back to school, then you have to start paying back your loans. However, taking a year off before college to do something else would have been a good idea - especially this idea of trying to get an internship or two in the off year. Good thinking.

I would have loved that internship idea because honestly, at 27 years old, I’m not entirely sure that my current field is one that I want to stay in for the long-term. Anyway, this is an interesting idea and I wish that there was some data to show that taking a year off after high school provided a net benefit for the student. I’m also lured by the idea of a “gap” year where you have no “real world” responsibilities! I was just telling one of my roommates that once I pay off my student loans and all other major outstanding debts AND I put aside enough money to live a scant life off of the interest, it has always been my plan to either take a sabbatical from my job or leave the workforce for about a year. Again, I’ve never really had a “break” from school or athletics or work and I’m not willing to wait until I’m 67 for my first long-term vacation!

But I have to get there first… Wish me luck!