This sounds like the best speech Barack Obama has made since the 2004 Democratic Convention. Looks like he's saving his best stuff for this final lap. Skip till there's about 3 minutes remaining in the below video.

It wouldn't be The McFly without a LOST posting. A series of newly-shot three-minute "Lost" minisodes starring the series regulars (i.e., not Nikki and Palo) can be seen online here starting today, and continuing with a new episode each Monday.

Considering the ongoing writer's strike, this may be the last LOST us fanboysandgirls get to see for a while. Season Four was originally scheduled to begin in February.

Swift Kids For Truth

Republican campaigners are apparently hitting a new low...

The Best Celebrity Mug Shot Ever

I think this replaces the one of a young Sinatra. Read more about it here. It was snapped in Rochester, New York following the 29 year-old singer's March 1976 arrest on a felony pot possession charge.

Explain THIS Tattoo To Your Girlfriend.

This is the ugliest tattoo I've ever seen. It is so ugly that I can't even bear to post it on this site, and will make you click the link here.

If you're unsure what to make of the ongoing writer's strike in Hollywood, the scribes' for The Office have made a pretty entertaining video discussing their position:



In the meantime, maybe someone can explain to me the utility of mandatory picketing for members of the guild?

I May Have To Switch My Vote

http://www.breitbart.tv/html/1902.html

After fan disappointment in last week's Sopranos finale, the producers of Lost had this to say:

"We will not be ending with a blackout," executive producer Carlton Cuse told an audience gathered in Midtown Manhattan for the second day of Promax/BDA's annual conference.

You can read more here.

Everybody Wants a Thrill

***SOPRANOS SPOILERS**** - also, like the Knocked Up post, I don't have time to reread this but wanted to get it up as soon as possible, so apologies for poor grammar, etc...

There are a lot of angry Sopranos fans out there today. Instead of resolution, we were left mid-scene, with the family waiting for their onion rings to arrive. For many, it seems almost like a practical joke, with series creator David Chase rewarding his loyal audience by ratcheting up the tension as far as possible, only to cut to black as Journey's Steve Perry sings mid-sentence "Don't Stop..."

I was not disappointed by this ending. Then again, I think my expectations were much lower than other people's. I did not foresee or expect the series to end with a twist or a bang. People had been speculating about the finale as if it were Lost (Carmella will kill Tony! The Russians will return for revenge! Paulie is working for NY! Etc.). The Sopranos has never been a show with a beginning, middle and end. For all its mafioso whackings, it has always been compellingly true to life (excluding the first season, which was remarkably more conventional than what followed). It would have been completely out of character for the show to have some sort of big bang ending. For Chase, life does not end neatly with resolution. The Sopranos has never passed judgment on its characters, no matter how despicable they've acted. It's never been a show with a beginning, middle end, but more akin to our own lives. It goes on and on and on, with your family meeting for dinner Sunday night to talk and worry about the same things you always have. I'd never listened closely to the lyrics of "Don't Stop Believing" but after the finale, I looked them up:

Working hard to get my fill,
Everybody wants a thrill
Payin anything to roll the dice,
Just one more time
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on

So life goes on, even after the camera stops rolling. This made me think of Tim's quote from the finale of the original BBC version of The Office:

But if I’m really being honest, I never really thought it would have a happy ending. I don’t know what a happy ending is. Life isn’t about endings is it? It’s a series of moments, and erm...it’s like if you turn the camera off, it’s not an ending is it? I’m still here, my life’s not over. Come back here in ten years, see how I’m doing then. Because I could be married with kids, you don’t know. Life just goes on.”

There are really only a few ways the show could've ended: somebody kills Tony, or he ends up in prison, or turning to the FBI or even him being killed by some random act of violence. But really, these stories have already been told. People are randomly killed off in the Sopranos all the time, and frankly, I don't see how having someone shoot Tony in that restaurant would have offered any real sense of resolution except, well it had to happen. They've already told the story of the gangster who had it all, rotting away pathetically in jail (Johnny Sach). They've told the story of mafioso's turned FBI snitch (Adriana, Big Pussy). I thought having Tony die by some random act of violence might be interesting - that is, have him become the victim of a hold-up or something, making him just another collateral victim of violence in America. The irony of that though, would be forced, and with the exception of Tony's sudden gambling problem in Season 6, nothing about Soprano's has ever been forced. Moreover, we've seen characters die not from the lifestyle, but from random acts of fate: Bobby Baccala's wife Karen in a car accident, Gigi dying on the toilet, etc.

I'm not trying to argue that the finale was brilliant, but rather that it was appropriate. The only brilliance is that David Chase didn't give in to pressure to end with a bang. There was really one way to end the Sopranos: true to life, going on, surrounded by your family and your fears. If you were expecting anything else, I don't think you were appreciating the show for what it was - a slice of modern, American life.

Knocked Up

There's always a risk in overselling a movie, series, book, or restaurant. The danger is that expectations will be inflated to the point of inevitable disappointment. With that said, I can say confidently that KNOCKED UP is a near-perfect movie, and predict that come awards season, it will be one of those rare comedies nominated for Best Picture.

The premise is deceptively simple: a lovable loser gets a hot girl pregnant, and she chooses to keep the baby. Below that simplicity belies a tender, insightful movie about personal maturity, responsibility and the differing expectations of men and women. Except for the suspension of belief it takes to accept the beautiful Katherine Heigl would give it up to the shlubby Seth Rogen, the film's moments ring true throughout. Scenes between characters are as real as it gets.

It's also insanely hilarious. In fact, the jokes are so consistent that I missed large portions of dialogue due to audience laughter. There are so many perfectly timed one liners, quirky character actors and small moments (including what is perhaps the greatest confrontation between a spurned a club-goer and doorman). It's rare these days to see a genuinely funny comedy that isn't merely a compilation of sketches and jokes (e.g., Anchorman), but also tells an eminently relateable story. Even with a length slightly over two hours, I wanted more. This is the kind of movie I'd be happily to own a DVD director's cut.

I've long been a fan of writer/director Judd Apatow's work, including Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared and The 40 Year-Old Virgin. Knocked Up, however, achieves that difficult balance of comedic sweetness that Virgin stumbled with awkwardly. This is in no small part due to the performance of its star Seth Rogen, essentially playing the same character from "Freaks". As much as I loved him in that show, I didn't have much faith in his ability to carry a movie - yet there's no doubt here that he delivers. There's also a strong supporting cast including Paul Rudd (who is now officially the quietest comedic actor working today) and other Apatow regulars, as well as various cameos from stars of The Office and SNL.

Enough praise though - go see it.