Why I'm Giving President Obama My Vote for Four More Years

Question: Does Barack Obama deserve four more years?
Answer: YES.  

I am a registered Republican. I grew up in a Republican household. Of my five favorite presidents three were Republicans & only one was a Democrat.* When I lived in New Zealand from 2002 to 2004 my friends & I would get into political debates with them pushing a moderate socialist view & myself always defending American capitalism. They, along with most of the world, would attack George W. Bush while I defended him (though I admitted some of his faults & was fond of telling them that the senator from my home state of Arizona, John McCain, should have been president). Yet four years after I returned home McCain had a chance** to become president & I voted against him. On facebook my endorsement of Obama lead to surprised responses ranging from "really?" to "what the fuck joe." So why did I do it? Why did I turn my back on McCain, my party, & my old politics? Why did I vote for Barack Obama?

"Parks and Recreation" Watch-"Sex Education"

It's never fun to be lectured by an idiot. 

I haven't done a recap of The Office or Parks and Recreation since they debuted a month ago.* Back then I did a lengthy look at not only The Office's premiere but also the creative changes in the offseason that saw original showrunner, & comedy genius, Greg Daniels come back after 4 years away (outside of the occasional big moment script like Jim & Pam's wedding or Michael's goodbye), & while the improvement evidenced in that first episode of the show's 9th season has continued it's Parks and Rec that I'm going to delve into today.

*In an ideal world I'd do a recap every week but alas in reality I'm lazy, occasionally busy, & don't feel  the need to write about these two the way I do "Community," which I will be recapping weekly whenever NBC bothers to put it back on television.

Co-creator & showrunner Mike Schur often mentions how he loves The Wire & how that show has influenced his own. While I agree that The Wire is amazing (It's the best show ever in my opinion) I've never really seen much of a comparison between the shows.* The Wire was a worldweary drama that believed our urban society was stuck in a cycle where things rarely changed (-SPOILERS-Bust one drug dealer & another popped up in their place, get rid of a corrupt politician & his successor will inevitably be corrupted, one junkie cleans themselves up & another person ends up hooked & homeless) while Parks and Rec is an optimistic comedy driven by its lead character's belief that government can ultimately be a force for good (this may be why it's a favorite among liberals**). Starting with last year's campaign arc though Parks has looked at politics with a more cynical eye & it's paid off as evidenced by last night's episode.

If I ran the Emmys: Comedy

No matter what Emmy voters say the cast of Parks and Rec should
be happy, they're on one of the best comedies on TV.

Alas between school, football, & my general inability to manage my time we've arrived at the day of the 2012 Emmys &, like last year, I've only managed to post my supporting actor/actress in a comedy picks so I'm going to speed through the rest in 2 posts, sadly, without any videos. First let's finish off the rest of the comedy nominations.

As I've mentioned before I watch more television than most Emmy voters, who are busy actually making TV, so I'm catching some performances & shows that they may be missing out on, & of course actual TV critics see more than I do so here's a professional's take* on lead actress in a comedy, lead actor in a comedy, & outstanding comedy series. 

*Again these posts are indeed a rip off  of Alan Sepinwall's Emmy posts, & I encourage you to read his TV criticism if you enjoy reading such things.

It's important to also note that like actual Emmy voters I'm restricted by whether or not an actor submitted themselves & where they chose to do so, so while I may think someone's a lead character if they submit in supporting I'm bound to honor that (I'm also not nominating anyone from shows I didn't watch at least a few episodes of, sorry Downton Abbey). Click here for the actual Emmy ballot. Now on to the nominees...

"The Office" Watch-"New Guys"

Dwight & "Dwight Jr."

The Office was the best comedy on television over its first four full seasons.* It was the first comedy I truly fell in love with.** Then it fell into mediocrity in its 6th & 7th seasons with special events like Jim & Pam's wedding & baby, or Michael Scott's farewell arc serving as reminders of how great the show once was & occasionally could still be. Then came the 8th season. Season 8 of The Office was always going to have a few bumps in the road as the show had to replace its center in Steve Carell's Michael Scott but it didn't just have a few bumps in the road, it was a disaster that led to the show's first truly bad season of television.***

If I Ran the Emmys: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Community pulls a hat trick in my version of the Emmys. 

We're on to the 2nd round of my "If I Ran the Emmys" series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, which is designed to give praise to those performances & shows I consider most deserving of recognition. As I've mentioned before I watch more television than most Emmy voters, who are busy actually making TV, so I'm catching some performances & shows that they may be missing out on, & of course actual TV critics see more than I do so here's a professional's take.*

*Again these posts are absolutely ripping off Alan Sepinwall's Emmy posts. In fact we even chose 5 of the same actors in this category & the one we did disagree on we just chose different actors from the same show, & that ratio isn't really going to change. So yea... You could just read his stuff, & if you enjoy television criticism than I highly recommend you do, but I hope you'll read mine anyway. 

It's important to also note that like actual Emmy voters I'm restricted by whether or not an actor submitted themselves & where they chose to do so, so while I may think someone's a lead character if they submit in supporting I'm bound to honor that (I'm also not nominating anyone from shows I didn't watch at least a few episodes of, sorry Downton Abbey). Click here for the actual Emmy ballot. As for the actual Emmys two years ago voters & I agreed on two nominees, last year that number shrunk to one & now I'm afraid, as with the Supporting Comedy Actress category, we couldn't find one nominee to agree on. Once again I leave it to you to decide who did a better job of singling out the best performances.

Third Annual NFL Preview!

Can Brady & Gronk lead the Patriots back to the Super Bowl?

It's finally here, the NFL season. After a long wait I got to see my Giants lose the season opener to everyone's favorite team to hate, the Cowboys. Hopefully my picks go better than that game. And there's reason to believe they will! As I'm fond of telling people last year was the third consecutive season I've correctly predicted the AFC Champion,* & I got the the Super Bowl entirely right two years ago. Of course last season I also picked the Browns to make the playoffs, but let's not talk about that. It's going to be a fascinating season as an unprecedented five rookie QBs are set to start week one, the Saints continue to deal with bounty-gate (the players suspensions were overturned but the coach's suspensions have not, & that's more important), Peyton Manning's suiting up for the Broncos, & TIM TEBOW! So let's get on to the picks...

If I Ran the Emmys: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy

Emmy voters can have the Modern Family ladies,
just leave me ALISON BRIE! & Gillian Jacobs.

For the last two years I've attempted to give my thoughts on who was deserving of Emmy nominations for the 10 major awards (Supporting Actor/Actress in a Comedy/Drama, Lead Actor/Actress in Comedy/Drama, Best Comedy/Drama) but ultimately I've failed to ever publish more than my thoughts on 3 of the aforementioned categories. This year I vow to do them all though!

Before i get to my thoughts on our first category, Supporting Actress in a Comedy, it bears mentioning once again that Emmy voters are people who work, or worked, in the industry (actors, directors, writers, etc.) hence many of them don't have the time to watch a broad variety of shows. I, on the other hand, have plenty of time! So while their choices may get tons of publicity, including here, I'd argue mine may well be more valid. Of course really I think TV critics should be in charge, since it's their job to judge television, so here's a professional's opinion.*

I freely admit that I'm ripping off Alan Sepinwall's Emmy gimmick. As for the similarities between many of our picks, as will be extremely evident in the next category, I would merely say we both watch a lot of TV & have good taste.

It's important to also not that like actual Emmy voters I'm restricted by whether or not an actor submitted themselves & where they chose to do so, so while I may think someone's a lead character if they submit in supporting I'm bound to honor that (I'm also not nominating anyone from shows I didn't watch at least a few episodes of, sorry Downton Abbey). Click here for the actual Emmy ballot. As for the actual Emmys two years ago the voters & I agreed on two of the nominees & the winner, last year we agreed on two again, this year however we have not one common nominee. You be the judge of who did a better job.

The Under the Radar (read: Indie) Summer Movie Preview

Hushpuppy & Beasts of the Southern Wild
are leading this summer's Indies.

For this summer I've decided not to do my normal movie preview. Partly this is because we're already a month in so I'd be late on a few films but also because we're so saturated with previews that most people generally know what movies they are & are not interested in. The majority of Americans made the correct choice in skipping the latest Adam Sandler trash, That's My Boy, & most will wisely line up to see the end of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy in The Dark Knight Rises. There doesn't seem to quite be consensus on The Amazing Spider Man but I'm hopeful people will realize that Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) & Emma Stone (Easy A) are a pretty big improvement on Tobey Maguire & Kirsten Dunst & give this new incarnation of the web slinging superhero a chance.

Regardless after being bombarded with ads for a month what I tell you likely won't make a difference. For example if I tell most guys that Magic Mike is quite likely a better film than Ted they're still more likely to go see the movie centered around a foul mouthed teddy bear than they are the one about male strippers. So instead I will give you the rundown on the indie films on their way over the next two to three months.* In case your questioning my indie taste it should be noted I have previously recommended the hilarious Cedar Rapids, Win Win which was at least equal to Oscar winner The Descendants, Woody Allen's excellent & award winning Midnight in Paris, & another Oscar winner in Beginners. So don't you dare question me! Now onto the movies...**

*It bares mentioning that all release dates are limited, thus if you live in Tucson these movies likely won't show up for 2-4 weeks past the initial release date, & when they do they'll likely only show at El Con or The Loft

**Thanks to Rotten Tomatoes & IMDb for aiding in the summaries.

Unappreciated Greatness: LeBron James-The Best Player in the NBA

That's right LeBron, you are the best.

LeBron James is the best player in the NBA. This statement is not an opinion, it is a fact. Much like arguing against Michael Jordan being the greatest modern day (post-NBA/ABA merger) basketball player of all-time denying LeBron's place at the top merely proves one's ignorance. The problem is too often when people express this opinion they aren't scolded for their stupidity, rather their ignorance is celebrated & this bothers me. Just so we're clear it angers me not because I'm a fan of the Miami Heat (as a Bulls fan I assure you I am not), after all I'm the guy who a year ago wrote an article titled "Why Everyone Hates the Heat." No, it angers me as a basketball fan. You can hate people in sports, God knows I do, but when you are watching greatness you had damn well better respect it. So once & for all let's rid ourselves of this silliness.

Dan Harmon's Gone... Does That Mean "Community's" Dead?

Word broke on Friday night that Community creator/showrunner/writer/God Dan Harmon would not be brought back by Sony (which owns the show) as showrunner. While NBC head Bob Greenblatt had casually mentioned earlier in the week that Harmon's contract had not been renewed & that shows often go through multiple showrunners the news still came as a shock seeing as the show likely only has 13 episodes left, & Harmon is truly the heart & soul of it.

"Parks and Rec" Watch-"Bus Tour"

Bert Macklin is back & ready for action! 

Parks and Recreation: "Bus Tour"

Leslie's campaign has hit into high gear the last 2 episodes and we have reaped the benefits as the show has been firing on all cylinders. 

"The Office" Watch-"Turf War"

Did this week's Office bring any surprises?

The Office: "Turf War"

While Community stumbled slightly this week The Office continued its run of ok episodes, it's sad that that now passes as compliment for the show but that is where we're at in season 8.

"Community" Watch"-Course Listing Unavailable"

Chang's got an army now,
but will the show put it to good use?

We're on to week 3 of NBC Comedy watch & my reviews seem to be getting progressively longer so for this week at least I'm giving each show its own post.

Community-"Course Listing Unavailable"

Whenever a show attempts a serialized story there are bound to be episodes that move the various characters around & then there will be episodes where those moves pay off. This was very much the former kind of episode, which prevented it from reaching the heights of the last 4 weeks.*

*Todd VanDerWerff at the AV Club gives a great review of the episode in which he discusses the potential downside of the serialization of a comedy.  

The Best of the Movies: January-April 2012

The gang from The Cabin in the Woods
are curious to see who the winners are.

The first 4 months of the year at your local cinema can be pretty sketchy. Some years are pretty solid & some are 2010, in which How to Train Your Dragon, Shutter Island, & Kick-Ass were the only legitimately good movies (unless of course you liked Alice in Wonderland) over that 4 month span. This year however there's been a bevy of good movies. I've seen 12 films this year & not one of them has been bad*, though admittedly that doesn't mean they've all been good. In honor of this overly strong opening, before we all get swallowed up in summer blockbuster euphoria with The Avengers opening tomorrow, I'm taking a look back & handing out some awards for the first third of the year.

*This omits a drunken test screening of "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" at Crossroads. That movie is absolutely as bad as you think it is, despite Idris Elba's livening up the film whenever he's on screen.

NBC Comedy Watch

Paul Rudd on "Parks & Rec"

I'm back for week 2 of NBC Comedy Watch & this was an outstanding week.


Community-"Basic Lupine Urology"- Sure it wasn't as deep emotionally as the last few weeks but from a pure laughs standpoint that's the best episode since the Glee parody back in December. It usually is the parody/homage episodes that get the biggest laughs & as soon as I heard they were making a Law & Order episode I expected it to be amazing, & last night delivered from the opening scene when the study group's yam was found "murdered." 


Troy & Abed trying to each do the crime scene zinger was hilarious, as was their entire time as partners (& Shirley was great as their captain as well-a reversal from season one's "The Science of Allusion" when Shirley & Annie were partners attempting to solve a crime & Abed was their "African-American police chief"), & Annie & Jeff were unsurprisingly affective lawyers (another call back to season one when they proved to be a formidable debate team, & a little bit more). Having the eternally decent Todd be the primary suspect was inspired, though not as much as Michael Ironside's appearance (& did anyone else wonder if he was involved in killing Starburns to silence him as a witness?) as Todd's military lawyer, uncle, or anything involving the brilliant Michael K. Williams who was finally used to full potential here getting to deliver his, "A man's got to have a code," line that surely made all fans of The Wire shudder like the Dean around a man in uniform. It also set up another dark & interesting turn to the season with the death of Star Burns or, as he always made a point to tell everyone, Alex.*

NBC Comedy Recap

Annie & Abed in the Dreamatorium. 

Last night marked the return of Parks & Rec, meaning once again NBC was airing the 2 best comedies on TV in one night! Because of this wonderful occurrence I felt the need to give my brief, except in the case of Community, thoughts on the last night's episodes.

1. Community-"Virtual Systems Analysis"-By now it's cliche to say that an episode of Community is unlike anything else on TV, after all they did an episode as Ken Burns documentary only 2 weeks ago, but damn... That was definitely the weirdest thing they've ever done (Not to mention the weirdest, & funniest thing, the Dean has ever worn). I mean that neither as praise or criticism. Ok, maybe a little praise because it's ballsy to go that nuts even after all the other stuff they've pulled. Though being off kilter alone doesn't make a show good (If that were the case Glee would be sensational), what really made the episode work was that beneath all of the wackiness of Abed & Annie playing other members of the study group inside the dreamatorium there was real emotional resonance. 

Spring Movie Preview

My #1 movie to see this April/May

It's been nearly 9 months since I've posted a movie preview, which may explain why so few people saw the 2 best movies of last year ("Warrior" & "50/50"), but before I go on maternity leave (Terrible joke, I know) I thought I'd give you the 5 must see movies of the next two months* & the 5 you should do your best to avoid.

*Technically May marks the beginning of the summer movie season in Hollywood but seeing as we (I'm assuming all my readers live in Arizona, if you don't I apologize for lumping you in with our lovely state) live in the real America, where in the span of a week "The Daily Show" & super awesome sitcom "Happy Endings" both take shots at your state for being racist, & not the left-wing elitist hell hole that is Hollywood I'm calling May what it is-a part of Spring.*

*To see a preview of the films click on their respective titles, & movies are listed in order of release date.

Five to See:


1. The Cabin in the Woods (April 13, otherwise known as Friday the 13th)

What it's about: Five twenty-something friends go on a vacation to a remote cabin in... you'll never guess it... the woods! On the plus side I don't think they all accidentally kill themselves "Tucker and Dale" style. On a less promising note even with Thor at their side they'll probably all get murdered. By what/whom & why though seem to be the interesting questions.

The Super Way Late 10 Best Shows of 2011

Walt, Jesse, & Gus cooked up a fantastic season of Breaking Bad.

Now that we're entering the fourth month of 2012 I had two options with this:

1. Don't write it. It's not timely & no one cares what I think anyway. Or... 

2. Write it anyway! 

Obviously I opted for #2 because I spent too much time watching TV & thinking about this list last year not to write it & it serves as a good advisory for shows to Netflix. 

Before we get to the list here's a brief summary of shows that didn't make the cut.

Shows I didn't watch that never stood a chance anyway:

1. Anything created by Chuck Lorre (THM, BBT, & "Mike and Molly")-if you like his shows good for you but let's not confuse mediocrity with the best television has to offer.

Matz Bowl II, otherwise known as Super Bowl XLVI, Preview!

Manning vs. Brady in Indy-we've seen it before, but never like this.

Before I get into any analysis & the pick I’d like to take this moment to gloat, so if you don’t want to read that skip a paragraph down. For the third straight year I’ve correctly predicted (in the pre-season) one of the Super Bowl participants (New England). In addition I saw the Giants/Patriots rematch coming before anyone else. As soon as the wild card round was over I saw it lining up even as Packers fans cried about how they were being disrespected prior to their loss & 49ers players & fans were yelling about how nobody had it better than them before the revived Alex Smith fell apart on third down.¹ & realizing this helped lead me to go 9-1 predicting the winner in the playoffs (Ok so picking T.J. Yates against the Ravens proved to be ill advised). Now we’ll have to see if I can finish this year with a correct Super Bowl XLVI pick.

Championship Game Picks

Will the Harbaughs be all smiles at the end of the day?

This year’s championship games are more ripe with potential Super Bowl storylines than any in recent memories. Let’s break them down potential matchup by potential matchup. 

Patriots vs. 49ers: Tom Brady faces off against the team he grew up watching, a team then quarterbacked by Joe Montana-the only QB of the last 30 years any unbiased fan can claim is better than Brady.¹ Brady also has the chance to win in his greatest rivals home stadium, the final crushing blow for Peyton & the Colts this year. Plus we get a classic offense versus defense matchup & a chance for the 49ers to prove no one really does have it better than them.

¹Career regular season QB ratings & winning percentages, playoff QB ratings & records, & Super Bowl titles of the top 10 QBs of the last 30 years (minimum 100 career starts):

Aikman-81.6; .570; 88.3; 11-4; 3 Super Bowls

Brady-96.4; .780; 89.1; 15-5; 3 Super Bowls

Brees-94.0; .601; 104.2; 5-4; 1 Super Bowl

Elway-79.9; .643; 79.7; 14-7; 2 Super Bowls (In fairness Elway was also a great runner)

Favre-86.0; .624; 86.3; 13-11; 1 Super Bowl

Manning-94.9; .678; 88.4; 9-10; 1 Super Bowl

Marino-86.4; .613; 77.1; 8-10; 0 Super Bowls

Montana-92.3; .713; 95.6; 16-7; 4 Super Bowls

Warner-93.7; .578; 102.8; 9-4; 1 Super Bowl

Young-96.8; .657; 85.8; 8-6; 1 Super Bowl

To recap Brady & Montana are the only ones to win at least 70% of their games or win 15 playoff games; & their QB ratings stack up with anyone (especially when we take into account Brees, Manning, & Warner played primarily in domes). Sorry Peyton fans.

Patriots vs. Giants: The rematch of Super Bowl XLII gives the Patriots a chance at revenge against the team that ruined their undefeated season (& their 20 game home win streak earlier this season), while Eli gets a chance to double Peyton’s Super Bowl victories & do it in his brother’s home stadium. Also bragging rights between my brother & I would be up for grabs.

Sunday's Divisional Round Picks

The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly: which will we see from Flacco?

Woohoo! 6-0! To hell with modesty. I’ve never picked the first 6 games of the playoffs correctly before, & my perfection may well end today, so I’m going to savor this for a moment. Alright, enough of that. Besides I’m a more pedestrian 4-2 against the spread so hopefully any advice you’ve taken from my picks has been used to make bets with your friends rather than your bookie (Because I assume if you’re reading this you’re an addictive gambler, as all good football fans are). Anyway today I put my surprising streak of near omnipotence to the test, & oh what a test it will be.

Saturday's Divisional Picks

Can Tebow & the Broncos run past the Patriots?

It’s time for the best weekend of the NFL, the divisional round. We get to watch the 8 best teams (well, 7 & the Broncos) play in 4 games over 2 days. It should be awesome (unless the Giants lose, then all of life is pointless). Interestingly 3 of the 4 matchups are rematches from the regular season, 49ers/Saints being the lone exception. Not surprisingly the team that won the previous matchup is favored in each game, & at home, so one may well be inclined to just go with the favorites in all 3. However if you really think I’m that lazy with my picks (or smart, depending on your point of view) you don’t know me. & speaking of my picks I went 3-1 against the spread & 4-0 overall last week, my best week ever. Does this mean I’m finally figuring the NFL out, or that I just got really lucky? This week we’ll find out!

NFL Wild Card Picks

Can Calvin Johnson & the Lions dive past the Saints?

The NFL playoffs start today, which of course, means it’s time for my wild card round picks. Now before I get to them I’m going to offer a bit of honesty. I love to talk about how I have correctly predicted 3 of the last 4 Super Bowl teams in the pre-season & nailed the Packers over Steelers-coming within 6 points of the actual score & saying: “Rodgers asserts himself as a truly elite quarterback & Green Bay wins the Super Bowl in Brett Favre’s last season (I think).” However what I don’t like to mention is how terrible I am at predicting playoff games. Despite going a solid 6-5 last year my combined record over the last 3 years is an embarrassing 13-20. In fact last January was the first time I managed to avoid an 0-4 weekend. Hopefully this year will be different but, just in case, I’d like to apologize now for picking your team.

I would also like to add, before getting to my picks, that Sunday will mark the anniversary of the shooting that robbed 6 people of their lives, including 9-year-old Christina Taylor-Green, and injured Representative Gabriel Giffords and 12 others. While I stand by my original position that one of the best ways to honor the victims of that day is to cherish every moment of our lives, and if your like me that means watching football this weekend, I think it would benefit us all if we took at least some time out of our weekend to think about and pray for the victims, the shooter, and their families, as well as thank God that that day was not worse and for the blessings that are our lives and the people we love . And I think we should all strive to “[re]commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of [Christina’s] gentle, happy spirit.”