Kevin Smith's ugly child

I was recently reminded of an interview I heard with Kevin Smith on NPR. The interview was, as you would expect, quite entertaining. A few times during the interview Kevin Smith referenced Jersey Girl and how it was a bad movie. This prompted the interviewer to ask "Was there some point during the filming and production of Jersey Girl that you knew it was going to be a bad movie?"

"Um, no. Not really. Not until the first screening anyways. I didn't expect it to be a great movie but I didn't think it would bomb that hard. It's kind of like having an ugly child. No matter how ugly your child may be, you can't see it as an ugly child. Because it's your child. It's not until someone says 'Oh my what an ugly child' that you start to realize your child may be ugly. Eventually there were plenty of people to tell me how ugly my child was."

The entire interview was really great. Thus proving the genius of Kevin Smith and NPR.


*Disclaimer: Kevin Smith's quote may not be exactly what he said, it was a couple of months ago that I heard the interview. But my paraphrase is pretty close.

Quote of the Day

"Don't be frontin'."

This was said to me by one of my co-workers while we were having a small argument. What was funny is how serious he was. He wasn't saying it in a joking manner, he really didn't want me frontin'.

Further more I haven't heard someone apply this word in conversation since... I don't know, 1996*. What does frontin' mean anyways? I have an idea I think, and I know it is apparently negative and/or insulting in some way to be frontin', but I couldn't really begin to form a definition for the word.

Upon further research I have found that frontin' is a slang term meaning to put up a false front, or in other word to be fake and not sincere about the type of person you really are.

I feel that I need to put the argument with my co-worker in better context now. We were loading boxes into a trailer. Our job with each package is to read the zip code of the destination, mark on the box the last digit of the zip code and then load the package. This guys truck was really backed up and my supervisor sent me and another guy to help. The other guy began loading and the "angry co-worker" was reading the zip codes and marking them. It takes a little time to read each zip and mark it on the package, much more time than it takes to load the packages, especially if you have to turn the box a couple of time to find the label. So I decided I would be more helpful by going ahead of the "angry co-worker" and turning all the packages so the label was face up, thus speeding up the process**.

"No, I got it" he said.

"I'm going to turn the labels up for you" I said.

"No I got it, go load."

Keep in mind there is already one guy loading and there is literally one package to be loaded between "Angry co-worker" and the other guy.

"There aren't any packages to load" I said.

"Don't be Frontin'."

"Hey man, I'm just trying to help."

"If it's going to be like that then you can just go on up out this truck." ***

And so I did, 'go on up out that truck'. And I stayed out. And he stayed back up the entire shift. Now who's frontin'? Actually, neither of us, because when he said that it was completely out of context. It sounds stupid when a person uses big words when they don't really know the meaning of them, it sounds even more stupid when a person uses slang words and they don't know the meaning.


* Remember Ebonics?
** I have enough experience to know that this can be very effective when backed up.
*** He was disproportionally mad when he said this.

Telemundo

Some of the best acting in television can be found in Mexican soap operas; though many Americans have never cared to notice. Affairs, sibling rivalries, greed, lust, and murder, all of the key ingredients to good on screen conflict are present in Mexican soaps. Not to mention a diverse cast of characters.* But its the acting that truly defines the Mexican Soap and sets it apart from its American counterparts. In fact the acting is so good you don't need to know Spanish or have the benefit of subtitles. Through delivery, timing, emotion voice inflection and most of all facial expressions you can fully understand** what is going on. A Mexican soap actor could best be compared to a really good mime. You don't have to see the box to know the the tight spot the mime is in.

* There is one girl that has blond hair and blue eyes, clearly not of Mexican decent. Perhaps a native Spaniard, or a Norwegian with a foreign language degree.
** barely understand.

Quote of the Day

“There’s always two things that you need to stop doing, two things you need to keep doing and two things you need to start doing,” -- Avery Johnson.


I'm not sure what that means exactly, but saying things like that is what seperates the good coaches from the great coaches.

Better hurry and get your new tattoos, the NBA season is just around the corner

NBA camps around the league start today and tomorrow. You can read a dozen various interviews for the leagues stars all hopeful about their teams chances. Dirk feels confident this is the year, Shaq is ready for his team to see the trophy again. Tim Duncan expects another championship, Lebron expects his first, the Suns think they're the team and with the Celtics off-season moves they are primed to contend. Some players spent their time off working out, getting in better shape for the upcoming season. Some probably did some endorsement spots with their time off. Other competed internationally representing their various countries. But there is a good bet that many found time to get a new tattoo over this off-season.

Take Stephen Jackson for example. He showed up to training camp and promptly showed off. His obviously proud of his new tatt which covers most of his chest. Its has a church window as the background, two praying hands are inked on his sternum -- and they're holding a gun. Well done Stephen Jackson, bravo to you. There's nothing better than an image that says "My trust is in God but the gun is my savior." The tattoo is only more ironic given Jackson's past involvement in the violent actions of the Pistons-Pacers brawl a few years ago and his more recent arrest, along with former teammate Marquis Daniels, for firing a handgun outside of a bar to break up a bar fight. The new tatt should go a long way prove to his teammates and fans that his past transgressions are behind him.