TLM and I just got back from seeing "Mamma Mia!" (my first musical) at the Colonial Theater in Boston. I'm still gathering my thoughts on this one, though I can at this point ask: who knew there were so many ABBA fans?
UPDATE 12.16.07 As I went to the ABBA website to get some more info for a more substantial review, I noticed two things: today is Benny Andersson's birthday (he's one of the ABBA guys), and their question of the month is "Do you listen to ABBA every day?", a question to which 67% of responders said "yes". Read into that what you will, but it sounds like ABBA fans are pretty obsessive. When were they big? the 70's?
As for the show, I was taken aback at first. As I'd mentioned before, I'd never been to a musical, never mind one that featured music I'd only heard previously on "best of" anthologies and classic rock stations (classic already in the early 90's).
The set was simplistic yet effective. Two big pieces of faux-stone background that would be positioned in a variety of ways actually led to mostly-believable settings. Yes, I'm giving props to the props.
The story was simple and original and actually wasn't that bad, albeit profoundly predictable. There was frequent humor, though much of it, however harmless to the writers, I don't think was meant for children. In fact, I think it was clearly written for a particular generation of people, specifically those in their late teens or early twenties when ABBA hit this part of the world.
What struck me as unusual was the (often distracting) crowd activity. At times I felt like I was at the Rocky Horror Picture Show, minus Meatloaf and people throwing rice at the wedding. At the end of the show was nothing short of an homage to ABBA. Three of the main characters came out dressed in the spacesuit costumes of the time and led the bopping crowd in a rendition of "Dancing Queen", an image now forever ingrained in my head.
The singing was fine, and the dancing is what I imaging it to be...just a stone's throw from the "showtunes" pieces put together for "So You Think You Can Dance". What they do they do well, and I do respect that.
Overall I had a good time, and I give the show a B.
I have a confession to make. I plan to set my DVR to record the new 2008 version of American Gladiators when it starts in January. I was a fan of the original show in the 80's, and for some reason (maybe that I have extra space on the DVR) I think I might be a fan today.
In honor of that classic and perhaps too short-lived series, I found this clip on YouTube. It's the intro for the first season of the show, though the audio is a little off. All your old favorites are there, from Nitro, Turbo and Zap to Sabre, Blaze and Lace.
The new series will be hosted by Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali. I can't wait for their banter...oh, and the gladiatorial games, of course.
Oh, and as for Clemens: sorry buddy. Eight pages in the report is awfully convincing to me. Maybe the Duque was right about you; that is, your best days were behind you...until you started juicing.
Amidst all my posts about the Patriots, movies, silly websites and sillier holidays, you'll find a post or two about our upcoming wedding. From what I gather, it's never too early to get a date and/or book a venue for the reception. Today we went to the Seaport Hotel and were shown three different rooms, though the one that stood out above all other we've seen thus far, by far, is one of their newest ones called The Lighthouse Room.
Firstly, Happy Birthday Dan. Get all that BAmBUu stuff lined up and ready to go.
Secondly, in light of a conversation yesterday revolving around the many stellar performances Keanu Reeves has delivered to us on film (I know, I know...), I found this on YouTube. It's an animated clip from larger collection at a site called "How It Should Have Ended".
Unfortunately there's no parody there for "Ocean's 13", but I guess that movie's a parody of itself already.
This week was said to be the biggest test left for the Patriots on their way to an undefeated season. However, the mighty Pittsburgh Steelers and their #1 rated defense were still 10-point underdogs going into today's game, even after two weeks where the Patriots seemed to scuffle a bit.
It turned out the bookies were wrong...way wrong. Their pick for a winner was right, but the spread was more than doubled as the Pats trounced the Steelers 34-13, clinching a bye in the first round of this year's playoffs. Tom Brady threw for 399 yards and 4 touchdowns today, giving him 45 on the season. He needs 5 more over the next 3 games to pass Peyton Manning's single season record of 49, set in 2004. Considering that Brady passed Dan Marino's record today for most games in a season with 3 or more touchdown passes (11), this doesn;t look to be a problem.
A couple of those touchdowns were caught by Randy Moss (go figure), who almost caught a third on the Patriots' last drive. He now has 19 on the year and is another Patriot on pace to break a single season record, that being the one for receiving touchdowns in a single season currently set at 22 by Jerry Rice.
There were some great plays in the game as well. The Patriots found the endzone with 1:05 left in the first quarter when Brady slung it in to Moss for a 4 yard touchdown, and subsequently highlighted, by the way, by a post-catch jabbering match between Brady and some of the Steelers' secondary. On their very next play from scrimmage, the Pats went long and scored on a 63-yard play-action pass from Brady to Moss. In the third quarter, there was another long passing touchdown, but this one was the result of a play that started with Brady throwing across field to Moss, Moss dropping it, picking it up, then passing it back to Brady who then found Jabar Gaffney 56 yards downfield in the endzone. Because the only forward pass was the last one, the play was entirely legal, and had Moss not picked up the ball quickly enough a Steeler may have recovered what would have been considered a fumble.
After the play the cameras showed image after image of Patriots' coaches, players and fans smiling and laughing, perhaps at the fact that the play worked, perhaps at the Steelers in general.
Oh, and of course there was backup-turned-starter Anthony Smith's bold guarantee of a Steeler victory. As with most declarations of the sort, he was wrong.
No, this isn't just an attempt to get you to say "tanks" (though I would feel obliged to follow up accordingly, for those who know what I'm talking about). This is for real...I think.
Some reports indicate that the U.S. Army are working on a kind of cloaking technology, rendering their vehicles virtually invisible, as in not visible to the naked eye. It gets even more sci-fi: this technology reportedly could involve "an artificial type of matter called metamaterials" that "guide light around an object, rather than refract or reflect the light".
Wow.
Imagine planes, bombs, tanks, even soldiers (and their shadows!) becoming no longer visible. I like watching it in movies, but for some reason the idea of this existing in reality makes me very, very nervous.
As if TLM wasn't the best already, she arranged for us to have a "secret date night" tonight. I write you now from halftime at the TD Banknorth Garden, where the the C's have a 22 point lead over the Raptors.
Whenever I come across stories about new discoveries of prehistoric anythings, I make note. A couple of days ago scientists at the University of Oslo in Norway (my favorite country at Epcot) found what they think to be a new species of prehistoric sea reptile. There appears to be some controversy, though, as they're not sure this new species is really new. Um, ok...it doesn't make for a great story per say, but it's an excuse to include images like this one:
Also, in a more exciting and less vague declaration made by scientists on Monday, a dinosaur mummy has been found, complete with bones, skin, and maybe even organs and muscles. This is great news as now we don't need to mine for those pesky prehistoric mosquitoes fossilized in amber to get our dinosaur DNA for our dinosaur amusement parks...
Pirates vs. Ninja...why is that again? I'm sure there is a story (more than just "the Ninja were jealous that Pirates had their own day"), but today is the Day of the Ninja, so celebrate by busting out your black ski masks (just don't walk into any convenience stores!).
Last year "Ask a Ninja" enlightened us as to the origin of the day (see below), but for some reason I don't think he's being entirely serious...you be the judge.
Did the Patriots get any extra help last night in their victory and quest for a perfect season? If they did, it was from the Ravens, case closed. Consider these plays:
With a 7 point Ravens lead, Kyle Boller launches a pick into a pack of Patriots with 10:37 left on the clock on a 3rd and 14 on the NE 30. Consider this: had the play been a running play, or even a short passing play out to the flat, the clock would have continued to tick and Baltimore might still have had a shot at a field goal (albeit a 47 yarder from that line of scrimmage), or at least a coffin-corner punt otherwise. Instead, the Pats return the interception to their own 43 and march 37 yards in 1:36 o kick a field goal and cut the difference to 4. McGahee had been running all over the Patriots front all day, so why stop then? Fault here: Baltimore.
On the Patriots' final drive, the first time they faced a 4th down came with 1:38 left in the game. Brady had just thrown a short pass on a 3rd and 10 to Kevin Faulk who managed to gain 9 yards to make it 4th and 1, and Brady subsequently hurried to the line and tried a QB sneak only to get stuffed by the Ravens' perfectly positioned front line, seemingly ending the Patriots' drive. The play is called back, though, as "someone" (Rex Reed) on the Ravens' sidelines called timeout just before the snap. The Ravens' defense on the field is livid with their coach. Once again, fault: Baltimore.
"I heard the whistle blow and I stopped...I would've made the first down if the whistle didn't blow." - Tom Brady on the 4th and 1 QB sneak
On the very next snap (thanks again, Rex!), Heath Evans is slammed for a one yard loss. Here is the only place where Baltimore may have gotten some help as Russ Hochstein jumped off before the snap, nullifying the last play (again) and making it 4th and 6. Was this a bad thing, though? No, not at all, and for three reasons, the first being the aforementioned voiding of the Evans play. The second reason is that I believe it contributed to rattling the Ravens, and the third was what came on the next play, with the Ravens' looking for a pass, sleping on Brady who sprinted(?) for 12 yards to get the 1st. Fault: Baltimore.
Oh, on that same play, Samari Rolle tacked on 5 yards after an illegal contact call, giving the Pats now a 1st and 10 on the Ravens' 18. Fault: Baltimore.
The last 4th down for the Patriots on the drive came with just 55 seconds left on the clock and the Patriots still needing a touchdown. After a New England timeout, presumably to draw up just the right play, Brady tried to find Ben Watson in the endzone, but to no avail as the pass went incomplete, bouncing off three sets of hands. The play (and end of the drive) was once again revoked, however, as a penalty was called for holding on Jamaine Winborne (incorrectly, though, as it was Bart Scott was tackling Jabar Gaffney as Brady was releasing the ball), resulting in a Patriots 1st and Goal on the Ravens' 8 yard line. Fault: Baltimore.
Next play: touchdown pass to Gaffney on an in-route-turned-out-route. Both feet were clearly in, and the ever-vague "did he have possession" question came into play when the replay official wanted to look it over. Where was the pass rush the Ravens had been so successful with all night? OK, really this was a great play by the Patriots, and the following is for the sake of consistency. Fault: Baltimore.
An absolute meltdown of linebacker Bart Scott followed with a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct, then another one for throwing an official's flag into the stands. That's 30 yards assessed on the ensuing kickoff, Bart. At this point Baltimore was only down by a field goal and had one timeout. Scott's two penalties, along with another 5 yards for an offsides on Ed Reed, put the Patriots point of kickoff on the Baltimore 35 yard line, essentially making sure the Ravens' next drive would start at best on their 20. Fault: Baltimore (specifically Bart Scott)
Let's see if the Steelers can learn from Baltimore's mistakes.
Well, it isn't exactly the day after Thanksgiving, but it is a day after Thanksgiving, and TLM and I finally put up the tree. It was fun and easy, and the only new question this year was whether to go and get a real tree or not. Thoughts?
An American Legend passed away on Friday as Evel Kneivel died, ultimately losing a three year battle with cancer. Though I have always been fascinated by Evel Knievel and his jumps since childhood, I never thought of why all of his highlight reels were of his unsuccessful stunts. Now it seems like a no-brainer: humans have an innate interest in the failings of others, whether it be breaking vertebrae and ribs while trying to jump over a fountain at Cesar's Palace or just getting voted off in your favorite reality show (finally!).
I think one YouTube user put it best when he suggested that Evel Knievel, upon arrival to Heaven, would hop on a motorcycle and proceed to jump over the Pearly Gates (without injury, of course).
Content found on The Neoteric is of no particular genre, topic, or focus, other than it was all at some point, in some way, interesting enough to me to write about.
