A few pop-culture one-liners

- To all of you complaining about the abrupt last scene in the Sopranos finale: Y'all are stupid.

- To all of you surprised by the low draw for Hostel II: Y'all are stupid. The first one was a hit almost solely because it was released on a light week in January; sending the sequel out in the thick of summer was tantamount to burying it. Did Lion's Gate learn nothing from The Devil's Rejects?

- I found out the other day that the driving, slightly funky song I'd heard and enjoyed several times on the local pop radio station is "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" by Fall Out Boy. I'm surprised and a little ashamed, honestly.

- Now that Paris Hilton has found God, can we stop paying attention to her every move just in case we catch her being rude, mean, stupid or generally unpleasant?

Annoyance on cotton

I was driving to work today when I saw a guy walking on the side of the road. He was wearing a T-shirt that apparently expressed his views on the very thorny political and economic issue of immigration as eloquently as he was able: "America Is Full."

I was tempted to roll down the window and ask him if his T-shirt was made in China.

Music time!

A couple of you were wondering, whence the title change? I wish there was a profound reason for it, but there isn't. It doesn't really mean much of anything except that I like it. And, like most of my creative endeavors, it was inspired by a song.

The song in this case is "Giant Swan" by The Blood Brothers, the final track on their album Young Machetes (my favorite album of 2006). It's pretty awesome stuff -- the buildup on it is great, with the subsequent aggression hiding a weary sense of resignment and the sneaking suspicion that nothing is going to be okay. I'm a bit obsessed with it right now; thus, the changeover.

But don't take my word for it -- check it out for yourself. No, seriously -- take a listen. (Fair warning: If you're averse to noise and screaming, you may want to pass this one by.)

Final note: I'm just perverse enough to recognize that trying to nail this at a karaoke bar would, for me at least, be tons of fun.

Exchange of the day

"So does Rob Zombie smell as bad as he looks like he would?"
"No, actually -- he kinda smells like, what's that Irish stuff..."
"Irish Spring? Rob Zombie smells like Irish Spring?"
"Yeah. Well, his hair, anyway."
"That's awesome. Rob Zombie smells like Irish Spring!"