The dangers of singing in public

Some advice for Matty P and Graham: never sing Coldplay's Yellow at Karaoke.

Two links to two very different topics

- David Laurila interviews Tim Raines at Baseball Prospectus about his theories and approach to hitting.

- In the New York Times, Seven Soldiers talk about their experiences in Iraq and how they differ from what has been reported. (h/t: Wells)

JayRo Watches Movies: Superbad

Time for a new sporadic feature(*) here at the 'Muse - a review of something I've read, listened to, or watched recently. (**)

I saw Superbad tonight. It was the funniest movie I have seen all year. (***) Judd Apatow and friends have basically moved into Will Ferrall territory: The movie will be assumed to be funny before it is seen, and will have to be proven to be not funny.

The premise is simple: Two high school seniors are best friends. They decide they need to have sex before going to college as this is their last chance to live their high school years. The story follows them as they try to get to a party where they think they will get lucky.

Of course, it also goes through many of the staples of teenage comedies - showing how best friends are dealing with being separated from each other for a long time. It is very conversational, choosing to concentrate more on the dialogue instead of the slapstick. The movie does a good job of walking the line between comedy and parody though, especially near the end.

This movie will not appeal to everybody; if you do not like the juvenileness of teen sex comedies, this is definitely not the movie for you. Women as well might not enjoy the movie, as it is undeniably written by men and from a male point of view. (****) But for men, it will be an instant classic.

JayRo's ratings:

**** out of ****
Highly recommended
Twice as funny as Go on the Mike rating method

Endnotes:

(*): As opposed to the usual sporadic posting that has occured recently.
(**): A truly innovative idea that very few have accomplished.
(***): Disclaimer: I have not seen Knocked Up as of yet.
(****): Granted, most movies are written from a male perspective, but this really plays off of male bonding.

Musing on Bonds

With Barry Bonds finally hitting #756, I wanted to point out a couple of articles. First is by Bob Elliot, who manages to put a few things in proper perspective on the backlash against Bonds. Second is an article by Jon Heyman, who discusses why he will vote for Bonds to enter the Hall of Fame when Bonds becomes eligible.

(I won't talk about the merchandise that is already being shilled on the Giants broadcast - the actions kinda speak for themselves.)