Happy Birthday wishes going out to one of the guys saying what goes....Mike! He turns 22 today, so purchase him a Digital Video Disc, or perhaps an alcoholic beverage. Now here's a song for him, that even though no one likes it, it is quite appropros for this momentous day.

In Da Club by 50 Cent (Fitty Cent)

Go, go, go, go
Go, go, go shawty
It's your birthday
We gon' party like it's yo birthday
We gon' sip Bacardi like it's your birthday
And you know we don't give a fuck
It's not your birthday!

You can find me in the club, bottle full of bub
Look mami I got the X if you into taking drugs
I'm into having sex, I ain't into making love
So come give me a hug if you into getting rubbed

[Verse]
When I pull out up front, you see the Benz on dubs
When I roll 20 deep, it's 20 knives in the club
Niggas heard I fuck with Dre, now they wanna show me love
When you sell like Eminem, and the hoes they wanna fuck
But homie ain't nothing change hold down, G's up
I see Xzibit in the Cutt that nigga roll that weed up
If you watch how I move you'll mistake me for a playa or pimp
Been hit wit a few shells but I dont walk wit a limp
In the hood then the ladies saying "50 you hot"
They like me, I want them to love me like they love 'Pac
But holla in New York them niggas'll tell ya im loco
And the plan is to put the rap game in a choke hold
I'm feelin' focused man, my money on my mind
I got a mill out the deal and I'm still on the grind
Now shawty said she feeling my style, she feeling my flow
Her girlfriend wanna get bi and they ready to go

[Chorus (2x)]

[Bridge]
My flow, my show brought me the doe
That bought me all my fancy things
My crib, my cars, my pools, my jewels
Look nigga i done came up and i ain't change.

[Verse]
And you should love it, way more then you hate it
Nigga you mad? I thought that you'd be happy I made it
I'm that cat by the bar toasting to the good life
You that faggot ass nigga trying to pull me back right?
When my junk get to pumpin in the club it's on
I wink my eye at ya bitch, if she smiles she gone
If the roof on fire, let the motherfucker burn
If you talking bout money homie, I ain't concerned
I'm a tell you what Banks told me cause go 'head switch the style up
If the niggas hate then let 'em hate
Watch the money pile up
Or we go upside there wit a bottle of bub
You know where we fucking be

[Chorus (2x)]

[Talking]
[Laughing] Don't try to act like you ain't know where we been either nigga
In the club all the time nigga, its about to pop off nigga


Well I guess only the first verse is appropriate. The rest is pretty good for rolling with your beyatch all up in your crib though. Happy Birthday Mike, peace out. Gotta go pour one for my homey.

In these hellish times of war, most Americans are pinned to their couch watching CNN, however cartoon network is quietly making a bid for my new favorite tv channel (take that, comedy central!). Although Futurama will wrap back around to the pilot without airing Season 5, on April 20th, Family Guy will premiere, being run directly after Futurama on Adult Swim. Also CN is showing some cartoons by that Lucas guy... begun war clone this has. If they could just acquire rights to The Tick cartoon and X-Men, I think CN will be ready for the big time... of rebroadcasting cancelled tv shows.

Seemingly everyone in the country has their eyes and ears glued to their tvs, and in their newstands to the big conflict going on right now. Many people have even asked me my opinion on the subject. At first I took a stance of neutrality. But now I must speak.
Yes I do think Fred Durst had sexual intercourse with Britney Spears. Do I like it? No. Do I think Fred used her to get back into the spotlight before the release of Limp Bizkits new album? Yes. Everyone knows the rap-rock fusion is all but dead, and Bizkit's been living on borrowed time. Their last album echoed the end of the trend, with Linkin Park taking the genre, and extending it far beyond Limp and Papa Roach and the like. Linkin Park added their own fresh spin, and survived with their popularity intact. Bizkit lost its only real musical mind in Wes Borland and from the pre-released track I heard (which to give it the benefit of the doubt was very raw and unpolished) sounds like the same old trapped in 1999 sound.
As for Miss Spears, be careful baby, we don't want your good name to be sullied anymore than it has been. Keep to nice boys like that Colin Farrell fella, and stay off the blow!
What conflict did you think I was talking about?

How to be as cool as Antonio Banderas:
- Unlearn the English language, affect a Spanish accent
- Dress in all black
- Ponytail
- Visit gym and tanning salon
- Most importantly memorize these phrases:
"Not yet!"
"Are you fucking with me, bendejo?"
"Would you like to confess your sins? "Sorry father, where I'm going I'd just have to come right back"
"Fuuuckk yaa!"
"If you want to go... go... if you want to stay..."
"Practice this every day, later I will teach you a song using what you have learned"
"Did they misbehave?"

That being said, I officially nominate Antonio as wwsg's first alpha male contender: a man the rest of us can model our lives after if we want the ladies all over us and a bank account that could buy a solid gold house.

If we're nominating Antonio Banderas, then he has to have someone to run against...therefore I'm nominating John Cusack to run for the Alpha Male role. So if you want to be like John adopt these methods:
-Be a lone gunmen
-Stand outside in the rain, and call a former love from a phone booth right outside her house
-Talk in quick, halting tones...sentences should be finished within seconds, pauses should generally be about 20-30 seconds.
-Wear all black (usually)
-Develop a taste in underground music fads that only about 1% of the general population would like
-Befriend Jeremy Piven
-Most of all, be Passionate

And now, heres some Classic Cusack:
---I don't want to argue semantics, I just want the protein.
---I don't want to buy, sell, or process anything. I don't want to buy anything sold or processed, sell anything bought or processed, or process anything bought, sold, or processed, or repair anything bought, sold, or processed as a career. I don't think I can sum it up in one night sir, I just want to hang with your daughter.
---"She gave me a pen....I gave her my heart and she gave me a pen."
---I can't fire them. I hired these guys for three days a week and they just started showing up every day. That was four years ago.
---"What am I gonna say? 'I killed the president of Paraguay with a fork. How have you been?'"

It's a strange confluence of events that leads to a situation where moviegoers like myself can choose from ten different movies to see in a ten day span; it takes just the right effort from Hollywood and the right amount of backlog that we missed out on in the previous weeks. Justin and I swore by a strict movie-a-day regiment for my Spring Break: 10 days, 10 different movies, one a day to keep us regular.
Here's how I thought they stacked up, rating them from best to worst and also the day we saw each:
1. Old School - 3/11
2. The Guru - 3/8
3. Shanghai Knights - 3/12
4. Chicago - 3/15
5. Bringing Down the House - 3/7
6. Cradle 2 the Grave - 3/9
7. The Recruit - 3/13
8. Final Destination 2 - 3/10
9. Tears of the Sun - 3/16
10. The Hunted - 3/14

One note is that I already saw Old School before... taking this into account, the movie I enjoyed most over break was The Guru, although Old School was superior.

Well since I don't have a Spring Break anymore I had to live vicariously through Mike's. And I don't think we did half bad...so here is:
Spring Break By The Numbers

10-The amount of movies we saw in theaters
2- Amount with Queen Latifah
11.00-Amount I spent in Atlantic City
13.50-Amount I won in Atlantic City
20-Amount of minutes we had to wait for a table at A1 Japanese Steakhouse
20-Amount of minutes we were told we had to wait after the initial 20 was over

Seeing so many movies this week has made me take notice of some of the more intricate details of them. Of course one of the deciding factors of seeing a movie is, Whose In It? I'm much more inclined to see a movie starring a Jason Lee or a Will Ferrell then a movie with a Susan Sarandon or a Robin Williams (that unfunny bastard).
Thats why I love ensemble casts. It gives you a little of everybody.
The upcoming Charlie's Angels sequel has the main cast of Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Bernie Mac...then throw in Pink, Matt LeBlanc, Luke Wilson, Demi Moore, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, John Cleese, and Crispin Glover...thats an ensemble! Normally 10 names in a cast makes an ensemble. A personal favorite of mine would have to be Ocean's 11...Clooney, Pitt, Julia Roberts, Damon, Garcia, Don Cheadle, Scott Caan, Casey Affleck, Elliot Gould, Joshua Jackson, Topher Grace, bla bla bla, etc etc...
Much better than a movie like say The Recruit...Pacino and Colin Farrell carrying a whole picture...and who the hell is Bridget Moynhan anyways? So people out there...respond! Whose in your favorite ensemble? Top 5 ensembles even! Who would you put in your dream ensemble, or maybe an ensemble based on your life? Post it! NOW!

Well yesterday my dream almost came true...I almost became part of the music industry. Thats right, me, little Justin, almost booked a concert for a college university that would be booked by a major radio station...then my dreams were crushed once more. No networking for little Justin. And with no guitar talent, and my band Summer Of George not going anywhere until Joe gets in gear and buys that drum set, I'm relegatred to just being a fan of music. So in honor of my almost triumph yesterday here's my top 5 list for Songs About Being In A Band!

5.Apple Shampoo - Blink 182
4.Given The Chance - The Starting Line
3.Dressed To Kill - Newfound Glory
2.Kyle Quit The Band - Tenacious D
1.Westbound - Allister (a song about being in a band AND eating Taco Bell!)

Having just seen two sequels, two nights in a row, Shanghai Knights and Final Destination, the contrast between the two could not have been greater. One was witty, fun, and a good extension on the original, perhaps even deserving of a third movie, and the other laid on the screen like a dismembered corpse for 90 minutes.

Sequels that should never have been made:
- Final Destination 2
- 2 Fast 2 Furious (prediction)
- Men In Black 2
- Speed 2
- Jurassic Park 2
- Austin Powers 3
- The Mummy Returns
- Home Alone 2
- Batman Forever & Batman and Robin
- Jaws 2 -> etc
- Rocky 2 -> etc
- Pearl Harbor 2

Sequels that far surpassed the original:
- Lord of the Rings: TTT
- Star Wars Episode 2 (...gray area on whether this counts...)
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- Star Wars Return of the Jedi
- X-Men 2 (prediction)
- Austin Powers 2
- Silence of the Lambs
- Mission Impossible 2
- Terminator 2
- Wayne's World 2

So do yourself a favor and boycott Pearl Harbor 2!!

Which ones am I missing?

Happy birthday wishes go out to Kathryn Swidrak! For gift ideas, she likes Abercrombie & Fitch, Kittens, and potatoes. Mailing potatoes and kittens might not be such a good idea though.

The greatest day in DVD history is officially March 25th!
It appears that the Futurama Season 1 DVD has been bumped up to 3/25 and will have a list price of $40 (my guess is on sale for $25-30). This 3 disc set will give us one more reason not to step into that suicide booth this year. Of course, 3/25 is also the release data of Jackass: The Movie available in widescreen and fullscreen editions.
April 15th is still the release date for Season 1 & 2 of Family Guy which will be a 4 disc set with a list price of $50. Don't let any giant chickens give you a coupon for this one...
Don't forget, tomorrow is the release date of the Owen Wilson vehicle (never thought I'd be saying that) I Spy. Maybe it'll come with a free ticket to Shanghai Knights, damn wrong Owen Wilson buddy movie.

Well Me and a concubine I frequent decided to check out the new Mexican chain establishment on Saturday night, and now 2 days after digesting it, I'm ready to review.
We started off the meal with a 45 minute to 1 hour wait. We went to sit at the bar, but found it filled up and over crowded...especially cause like 6 children were sitting there (ILLEGAL!). Kids shouldn't be allowed to sit at the bar no matter how small the lobby is and how long the wait is...people who can order drinks could be sitting there. After some people got up, we ordered a pretty rummy Strawberry Daiquari and a veeeeery strong Margarita. Off to a good start.
After finally getting seated, we had a very apologetic waitress and some chips with salsa.
Salsa...pretty damn hot for mild flavor. My lady friend ordered the Tortilla Soup to start off with, which was again pretty hot, but very tasty, especially the generous sized portions of chicken found with in. Fast service brought us our main course in about 20 minutes or so.
I had a combo of Chicken Enchilada, Beef Taco on hardshell, and Chicken Taco in a soft shell. I found all three very tasty, especially the enchilada which had an interesting sour cream sauce covering it. The beef taco was also surprisingly good, and was once again pretty hot. Of all the items I had all night, the chicken taco was the least spicy, and even that had some bite to it. My escort for the evening went with the chicken flautas, which I never had before, but were similar to Toquitos. A couple of hers featured slightly red chicken for some reason, but were pretty good for the most part and came with a spicy cheese sauce for dipping purposes.
All in all a good meal that left no room to try a desert, but there were some tast looking ones I'll have to go for next time. Some pretty good pricing to be found at On The Border too, with the bill only coming to around 28 (with liquor included). I'd definitely make a run for the border again sometime soon...just not on a crowded as Saturday night.
The Rating:4 meats, or a nice piece of juicy steak if you will. Damn fine for a mass market chain specializing in the Tex Mex variety.

Normally this type of thing would be reserved for the movie review section, but this was too big to pass up and just relegate it to there...and so I present..."Bringing Down The House" review...Or "If you liked Bringing Down The House, you'll love these movies (the filmakers who made Bringing Down The House obviously did, because they stole from everyone of them to make this mishmash of a Steve Martin vehicle):

You've Got Mail - the starting premise to the movie, 2 strangers instant messaging each other, then meeting to wacky consequences.

Houseguest - Crazy african-american Houseguest changes everyones life for the better

Mr. Deeds/Die Another Day/Deuce Bigelow - Oddly out of place fight scene that destroys the whole room

Orange County - Dad drives by exes house on the way home from work, gets back together with mom at end (got a beer coyote ugly?)

Save The Last Dance - smooth black person teaches white person how to dance with soul

High School High - Crazy standoff/fight in a black club at the end of the movie

Mrs. Doubtfire - Someone pretending to be a nanny to hilarious results

Dumb and Dumber - Ex lax used maliciously

Three Musketeers/Hot Shots:Part Deux - Someone getting shot and you think they are dead but really the bullet hit something mentioned a few minutes earlier for seemingly no reason

Bulworth - Old white guy dresses in hip hop clothing and spouts ebonic phrases

Two Weeks Notice/Carpool/Houseguest(2) - Stuffy main character sees they weren't really living, quit big cushy job at the end of the movie to open their own small time business

Screwed - Old rich lady obsessed with hideous dog

Next Friday - Old lady gets high

Face/Off/ Houseguest(3) - Boyfriend of young daughter tries to force sex, gets beat up into an apology

March 5 2002...a day which will live...in infamy.
Me and Missy Jo headed down to the Electric Factory to check out Sum 41 and The Starting Line, along with musical guests Authority Zero and No Use For A Name. After being frisked and showing a butch lady bouncer our ID's to get into the bar area and being asked "What sign are you?" We went upstairs and found a good place to stand, right behind some 13 year old girl who had love handles sticking out over her bright yellow underwear, and next to some weird guy with a wrap on his head.
Authority Zero got us underway with a screaming set...they were ok and sounded like maybe they needed some horn accompaniment. However either their instruments were set louder than the vocal mics, or the singer really sucked, because the whole set sounded kinda mumbly and garbled. They did have some cool neon orange banners though.
No Use For A Name went next and were pretty damn good...good understandable lyrics, some nice guitar work, and they were pretty into it. I might have to check out one of their compact discs.
After that was the moment we had been waiting for as The Starting Line made their return home (yet again). Kenny had a wacky new hairdo and looked like a chia pet. The kids surprisingly started the set with "Leaving" instead of ending with it, and from there played through all their great stuff...A highlight of course being their cover of J Lo and Ja Rule's "I'm Real", and "Greg's Last Day". I also recited with Kenny the same two speeches he always does about "support local bands, like Days Away..." And "We'd Like to thank our parents!" The guys showed some great energy and even shredded during some extended jams (extended by punk music standards anyway). They finished out with a good "Best Of Me".
Finally it was time for SUM 41 to take the stage. I didn't really know any of their music besides the singles, and as we all know, not being able to sing along at a concert is no fun. That aside, they were pretty good, with them reminding me of a young Green Day, especially the lead singer, both in stage prescence and similar voice. "Fat Lip" of course rocked us back to summer 2001, and the guys had a pretty cool light show. By the end of their set though we got pretty bored and went downstairs to look at merchandise. Lo and behold I walk into someone and I'm like "Hey!...its you." And Kenny from The Starting Line turns around and hes like "Hey!" And I engaged him in the following conversation:
"Great set."
"Thanks."
"We'll see ya tomorrow night in Allentown."
"Cool thats great!"
"Hey, can you guys sing Break Up Day tomorrow?"
"Not a chance, but thanks for knowing what it is!"
Then he signed some autographs for us and I told him how Missy grabbed his ass at the last show.
After Sum 41 finally finished and played "Still Waiting", we departed the Factory.
Then we got lost on the Streets of Philadelphia, and Mike's city driving knowledge was no help so he hung up on me. Eventually we found I-95. The End.

Brad Pitt plays Cyrus Hale, a former semi pro skateboarder who just couldn't cut it. So he pours all his savings into a skateboard park. Hes also the single parent of the skateboard prodigy Rip "Ripper Hale" (played by Ashton Kutcher in his most emotional role to date). After Ripper suffers a tragic piano moving accident and breaks his neck, confining him to a wheelchair, Cyrus disowns him cause he can't board anymore. Determined to win back his faters love through boarding, Ripper vows to win the upcoming "King Of The Board" competition on his wheelchair...so he begins training with his wacky, horny, wheelchair bound grandfather Winston Hale (played by Jack Warden). Filling out the cast, Tracy Ullman plays Cyrus's long lost wife and Ripper's mom (who also happens to be a stripper in Vegas), Jamie Pressly plays Winstons wife, who graduated with Rip, Jessica Alba plays Rip's girlfriend, Rob Schneider plays the snack bar clerk with the heart of gold, and...lets bring in Skeet Ulrich as Rip's skateboarder rival...plus the obligatory guest spots from Tony Hawk, Bam Margera and other boarders, and Saves The Day as the competitions live punk rock band. Lets Make It Happen.

Happy 21st Birthday to my woman Missy Jo! Everyone buy her a drink!

Last night, I went to see The Clarks in Fells Point with my coworkers Noah and Adam and Irene came along for the ride as well.
Noah is 30 and Adam is 24 so I knew I was in for a whole new scene, but as it turned out, we were the youngest people there. I definately had no trouble spotting people in their 40s (maybe even 50s) but the majority of the crowd was in their late 20s and early 30s.
The opening band Ingram took the stage and did their best Matchbox 20 impression, meanwhile Noah and Adam were pounding down the drinks, Noah was doing two beers and a shot at a time.
By the time The Clarks took the stage, Noah and Adam were getting pretty goofy. The Clarks went on to play a set that exceeded an hour and a half. They also operated in the 90s alt rock style, but were a bit more inspired. The highpoint for me is when they played the song from the end credits of Can't Hardly Wait, which led me to say ... "Hey, I know this!" Near the end of the set, Adam dissappeared. He was rediscovered outside afterwards throwing up into snow. At that point, Irene and I bid Noah and Adam good night and they stumbled off into the Baltimore wasteland.
Anybody up for some punk rock?