Fandom

“Five players on the floor functioning as one single unit: team, team, team – no one more important that the other.”-Hoosiers

As the title of this blog suggests, I am a Jayhawk fan. I’ve been a Jayhawk fan since I was a young man. I grew up in Western Kansas, in a town that had two choices for colleges. Those two choices were Fort Hays State University and Kansas State University. However, at the age of 9, I rebelled against the common thoughts of the day and began cheering on the University of Kansas. My precious Jayhawks.

People Amaze Me

I searched for a clever quote to start this post, but I wasn’t able to find one really.

The truth is that the title of this post is multi-faceted. No quote I could find could possibly encapsulate the dual nature of what I’ve got going through my head right now, so I won’t even try. First, let me tell you a little anecdotal story from my day.

Now, I’ve got no sense of understanding of Ron Paul supporters. These people put all their political support behind a bat-shit insane crackpot with less of a chance to get his party’s presidential nomination that I do of converting to the Republican party, but yet, there they are, supporting him. So, it came as no real shock to me to hear some dumbass Ron Paul supporter in my American Political Parties class make the asinine statement, regarding the Republican presidential primary in Florida, that Paul would finish ahead of both Giuliani and Huckabee.

Days Go By

“I remember how the meaning of words began to change. How unfamiliar words like “collateral” and “rendition” became frightening, while things like Norsefire and the Articles of Allegiance became powerful. I remember how “different” became dangerous. I still don’t understand it, why they hate us so much.”-V For Vendetta

I haven’t been inspired by Pop Culture recently to write much about it. In fact, what has been inspiring me lately is, without a doubt, my fear for what is happening in this country. Now, I’m a political science major, so I frequently spend time pondering things that seem boring to many people in the world. However, as I am known to connect everything to Popular Culture, I can describe my fears and such in Pop Culture terms. For instance, my roommate and I had a very interesting exchange the other night.

The Olden Golden Days

“I can’t really remember when I last had any hope, and I certainly can’t remember when anyone else did either. Because really, since women stopped being able to have babies, what’s left to hope for?”-Children of Men

I believe that, in my lifetime, there has been a golden age of television drama. In fact, if I we weren’t in the middle of the WGA Strike, I’d say that that very golden age was still continuing today, but, due to the idiot producers, I can’t make that statement right now. However, I do believe that the television that has been on the air in my lifetime has been some of the best scripted entertainment to ever be seen, not just on television. With no end to the strike in sight(as shown by the frequent posts over at United Hollywood),  a television addict, such as myself, has to turn to DVDs and fond memories for solace. So, as a way to help any other TV addicts out there, I’m presenting my top 5 TV shows that are no longer on the air.

The Death of Childhood(Memories)

“She said I was wasting my youth… so she took it.”-Buffy The Vampire Slayer(TV)

Now, I’m not an old man. Seriously. No matter what some of my so-called friends try to say about my “advanced” age, I’m only 28 years old(at least until March), but I find myself more and more saying things that being with something along the lines of “These kids today…” and end with me decrying the lack of cultural touchstones that my classmates in college and I share. I mean, hell, some of my co-workers have never even seen The Goonies, and I believe that to be a crime punishable by death in most civilized nations. So, it should come as no shock to me that these very same co-workers couldn’t understand my trepidation when I heard about the proposed A-Team movie. However, thanks to the fine people at the Movie Blog, I now have less fear about that particular bit of nostalgia from my younger days. Still, the mere thought of an A-Team movie that may, indeed, not suck and a very fine live-action Transformers has got me thinking about what other staples of my childhood could use an updating. So, I present to you the 3 creative properties from my youth that I would like to see updated into modern versions, along with my prediction of how Hollywood would fuck them up.

The Movie You Must See Right Now, This Very Minute

“I’m the driver.”-Eastern Promises

Yes, I am going to jump on this train and highly recommend that anybody who has yet to see it immediately see Eastern Promises. You may question why I’m jumping on the bandwagon for this movie so late in the hype season, since it just came out on DVD, but I can answer that with one sentence. I just now started writing a blog devoted to Pop Culture, so this is my first real opportunity to espouse the virtues of this film. That, coupled with the fact that I am guilty of not watching it until today, makes it obvious that I hadn’t had an opportunity to praise this movie to anybody and everybody that will listen until now. So, here goes.

My TV Week in Preview

“Elbert “Ickey” Woods, the Bengals were fools to cut you in ‘91. Your 1,525 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns will not be forgotten. So, Coach Dave Shula, screw you and your crappy steakhouse!”-How I Met Your Mother

So, I was planning on trying to post something everyday, yet, here in my first week of my new blog I’ve missed two days. Why did I miss these days you ask? Well, it was because of my X-Box 360, pure and simple. It is an alluring temptress that sucks me in, and seven hours later, finally releases me from her evil grip. This time it was video games that sucked me in though it is often DVDs. At the moment, my drug of choice in her evil little virtual crack den is Smackdown vs Raw 2008, though I’ve tried to detox a bit by playing some Madden to wean myself off. Now that that is out of the way, let me get to my week in preview.

In order to check out my TV week in preview, I’m going to go through my DVR looking at my reminders and scheduled recordings, pure and simple. Also, since some of my choices may be a bit on the less conventional side, so I will offer a defense of everything that I plan on watching, pure and simple. So, let us begin.

TV Makes Me Happy(Even During The Strike)

“Whoa, Glies has a TV. Everybody, Giles has a TV. He’s shallow like us.”-Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Before I say anything else, I need to point out that I fully and whole-heartedly support the writer’s strike. In fact, if you want to see why I support it, you should read this. That being said, I am a bit sad that most of my TV shows are about to enter a re-run purgatory. But, alas, all is not lost.

Now, I love television. I’ve been a self-confessed TV “addict” since I was very young. I grew up on Andy Griffith re-runs, The Cosby Show, and Cheers. I then moved on up to Highlander: The Series, Saved By The Bell, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In high school, I was the guy who would stay home Monday thru Thursday nights because I didn’t want to miss my shows, which by that point consisted of a mixture of Friends, ER, Chicago Hope, and many others. Yet, only in recent years have I maximized my viewing potential and pleasure through the use of technology.