David Theiss

Browns defensive tackle Shaun Rogers who recently gained some notoriety for trying to take a loaded gun onto a plane, is getting some more positive attention these days for calling 911 on a drunk driver in the northeast Ohio area.

It’s worth a listen for no other reason than to listen to the locations that Rogers and the 911 operator throw out so you can sit and think, I know exactly where they’re at! Good job on Rogers part, too.  Maybe this is a sign of good things to come for the season.  Hopefully, this will sway the Comish to ease up on any potential suspension Rogers may be facing for the airport incident.

Here’s the link to the story.  The 911 audio by itself can be listened to here.

The “Summer of LeBron” is on and each team with any shred of hope of signing the King of Cleveland basketball has made their trek to the LRMR facility to make their plea.  Each team came in with their own angle to appeal to LeBron. It leaked earlier today that the New York Knicks played the money angle citing that LeBron could make $1 billion plus by signing with the Knicks.

The Cavs appealed to his heartstrings.  Home.  Below is part of the video that the Cavaliers organization showed LeBron during their pitch on Saturday morning and now appears on the Cavaliers homepage.  In a bizarre way, it’s a little emotional to watch.  Will it work?  We may find out sooner rather than later.

Check it out.  ”The Facebook” movie gets a trailer and it looks pretty darn cool.  After seeing this I have no trouble believing that the story of the founding of Facebook can make a compelling movie.  And because Aaron Sorkin, my all-time favorite dramatic writer, penned this particular adaptation (from “The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook”), it is certain to have all the love-it-or-hate-it cracker-jack dialogue, cute one-liners, and witty uber-smart and idiosyncratic characters – perfect for a story centering around a group of Harvard computer nerds.  I really hope this turns out to be good.  The media climate is right for this to hit and hit big.  All involved are very talented.

As the quality of network television continues to deteriorate, hour long cable dramas are only getting  better.  Networks like FX and AMC (and to an extent SyFy) are producing simply great television, and with the combination of low show budgets and a little courage to trust real creative forces, they show no signs of letting up.

A series looking to continue the cable winning streak is Rubicon.  I know nothing about it except the trailer below and a short Ain’t It Cool News article.  But I love anything having to do with conspiracies, secret societies, and government cover-ups.  And while a show dealing with this kind of subject matter has the potential to be very, very bad, I still am very interested.

With Lost having shriveled up and died, maybe this could quench some of the thirst for a good, slow burning mystery.  This first episode will air this Sunday (6/13) at 11 PM on AMC right after the finale of “Breaking Bad.”  The series will then officially launch on August 1st.

I sincerely hopes it’s amazing.  Check out the trailer:

Producer(s): Dr. Dre (exec), Eminem, Just Blaze, DJ Khalil, Boi-1da, Denaun Porter, Emile, Havoc, Jim Jonsin, Alex da Kid

Release Date: June 22nd, 2010 (Internet Leak: June 7th, 2010)

Rarely does an artist release an album that makes its predecessor sound immediately insignificant.  ”Relapse,” Eminem’s first album after a 5 year hiatus by way of drug dependency, was billed as his comeback.  Upon it’s summer 2009 release, “Relapse” was head and shoulders better than his flaccid 2004 release “Encore,” so most people (including yours truly) were more than happy to lavish praise upon it.  Everything about it was improved from “Encore:” lyrics, production, subject matter, maturity.  Was it repetitive?  Absolutely.  But it was refreshing to have Eminem back and flashing signs of brilliance again – even if we had to put up with tired jabs at Kim Kardashian and Ellen Degenerous.

Well, throw that album out the window.  ”Recovery” is Eminem’s true comeback.  Within the first minute of the first track it’s completely evident: Eminem has stepped his game up to another level.  Lyrically, he’s on a rampage.  Not in the schtick-shock way that he’s been known to (repeatedly) turn to.  But instead, Eminem gets rid of every crutch he’s turned to in the past and just spits.  His mother is only mentioned in passing, gross out humor is all but gone, teen-pop icons almost entirely get a pass.  ”Recovery” is a serious record dealing with self-examination and all out ‘fuck you’ bravado.  If “Relapse” was an album dedicated to testing whether or not his rap muscle still worked, “Recovery” shows that not only does it work and work just fine, it’s in better shape than it’s ever been.

Em employs a few strange bedfellows, including Pink and Rihanna, whose cameos prove effective in varying degrees – the Rihanna track “Love the Way You Lie” has hit single written all over it (who’da thought?).  Pink isn’t as successful as “Won’t Back Down” is an aggressive rap/rock track that suffers from both its bloated length and the fact that it’s just too loud and assaulting on the ears.  Meanwhile, the 5 minute epic “No Love” featuring Lil Wayne is already proving to be a watershed moment for both artists (much better than the hollow “Drop the World”), and is certain to be a track bumped in car systems everywhere.  Eminem always knows how to finish an album, too.  The hidden track “Untitled” like “Underground” before it, is a throwback to the maniacal and scatterbrain Shady rants from albums past.

The album also benefits from Em’s decision to branch out with different producers other than his longtime partner Dr. Dre.  A song like “25 to Life” which suffers from an old and played out metaphor, gets lifted to an album highlight by an inventive beat.  Sonically, “Recovery” sounds new and refreshing and the absence of Dr. Dre’s repetitive horns and piano really allow Eminem to stand out on his own – not that he’s had any trouble ever doing that.

It’s not all great though.  While there isn’t nearly as much filler as previous outings, there are still a few tracks I could do without and long time Eminem fans are still pining for a Royce guest spot that is always rumored to be happening but never does.

So, where does “Recovery” rank in the Eminem collection?  Well, if you put “The Slim Shady LP” and “The Marshall Mathers LP” at 1 and 1A I think this release comes in right behind it.  It’s more focused and driven than “The Eminem Show” and leaps and bounds ahead of “Relapse.”  This is a record I can see propelling Eminem back into the mainstream of the hip-hop consciousness again like he was back in ’02 and ’03.  But instead of being a novelty shock act, he’s stepped out as a legit and seminal hip-hop artist.  He’s always claimed to be one of the greatest and now he’s cemented his place among the best in the game.  It’s a mature and defining record that shows so much promise for what lies ahead.

For the first time in a long time, the future for Eminem is bright.

Strongest Tracks: “Cold Wind Blows” and “No Love”

Weakest Tracks: “W.T.P.” and “Won’t Back Down”

My Grade: A-

The last bastion of the music I liked when I was fifteen is still alive. Eminem is probably the last artist from my adolescence that I can still listen to – and for that matter the only one that I still am passionately interested in. Eminem isn’t what he used to be but there’s little debate as to who the kings of rap are these days: Eminem and Jay-Z. That’s it. Lil Wayne is trying to get to the same stature as those two but still has a ways to go.

In the meantime, here is the new Eminem video for the song “Not Afraid” from his upcoming album “Recovery.” It’s a little strange, has a slightly dated Matrix vibe, and Eminem looks like he may have had plastic surgery (his face looks waaay smooth), but it’s still worth a look. I’m EAGERLY anticipating the album, check back for a review once it leaks.

It goes without saying that this BP oil spill is emotionally enraging, saddening, and frustrating all in equal measure.  The hands of all parties involved are, quite literally, stained: BP, the Obama Administration, non-stop Republican advocates for off-shore drilling, and the American public for not wising up and demanding the unqualified termination of this type of business enterprise.  Oil is an awful and dirty game to be involved in.  How many more oil spills will convince this country to either wake up and admit that we have to abandon oil altogether (Republicans) or ditch the appeasing political half measures and transition to other forms of fuel (Democrats).

This is a pox on all our houses.

A slideshow of the devastation.

Raw footage of the affect the spill is having on wildlife:

Watch it live:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Don’t you look stupid now:

As many surely know, Verizon has taken direct aim at AT&T and the iPhone with their new “Droid” line of handsets running Google’s Android operating system.  Technically, the newly released HTC Incredible is the successor to the original Droid which has sold extremely well in the United States since its launch in November.  My wireless contract just ended, so I bought the Incredible on the day of its release, and luckily too, as my BlackBerry abruptly decided to stop turning on the very next day.  My quick thoughts on the phone are as follows:

• The first thing you’ll notice when you pick up the device is the screen – and that’s because the screen is the phone.  The 3.7 inch AMOLED screen is pretty amazing, but not as striking as all the published online reviews would lead you to believe.  It’s nice, but I’m not sure I could tell the different between it an the WVGA screen of the original Droid.  I have yet to see them side by side, so maybe I could.  But as of now, the screen is brilliant but not a gamechanger.
• The second thing you’ll notice is the phone is thin – super thin.  I’ve been using a BlackBerry Curve 8330 for the past 2 years and the HTC Increidble literally feels like half a phone.  At first I didn’t like it because it made the handset feel fragile, but over time I’ve gotten used to it.  It’s really amazing how thin these devices are getting and I can’t even imagine the form factor of the device I’ll buy 2 years from now.
• Then there’s the much ballyhooed 1GHz “Snapdragon” processor inside which allows the phone to flat-out fly.  There’s no such thing as lag on this device.  App downloads literally take less than 10 seconds over Verizon’s 3G network and web pages load at an alarming speed.  I haven’t had  too much experience with it over WiFi, but I suspect that when I do, I will be equally impressed.
• The raised back cover is not the eyesore I expected, but rather it provides a nice soft-feel grip when holding the phone.  A real plus and not worth all the negative speculation it got in the run-up to its release.
• Signing in with your Google account and having the deep integration with all the Google services you use is the biggest advantage over the iPhone in my book.  Gmail, Contacts, Google Voice, Youtube, Google Docs, and many more that I have yet to use on the phone are all there and readily available and usable on Android.  Amazing.
• Also, moving from a phone with a full QWERTY keyboard (BlackBerry) to this couldn’t have been less painful.  Typing is easy as can be and the new voice-to-text input option is friggin’ awesome.  Until getting this device I was leery of using a touchscreen only phone for fear that typing and data input would be a hassle.  It isn’t.  I can definitively say touchscreen’s are the future (I do miss my big keyboard juuuust a little, though).
• As for the negative, there’s really only one thing: battery life.  A full day of heavy use is impossible with the current battery.  A full day of moderate use is still hard to achieve.  I’m toying with the idea of buying a larger battery, but I really don’t want to.  You shouldn’t have to blow an extra $50 just so you can use your phone for a single full day.  Turn off the WiFi and GPS when you’re not using it and use a Task Killer to keep power consumption down.  Other than that, there’s little you can do to save battery.  It’s really disappointing.

In all, I’m thoroughly impressed with the phone and extremely happy I bought it.  It’s a huge step up from anything BlackBerry has to offer and really rivals (and in many aspects, surpasses) the iPhone.  Android is an amazingly power OS and the HTC Sense UI (that I thought I wouldn’t like, by the way) really pretties it up and makes it more user friendly.  I’m eager to see what the next iPhone has to offer aside from the OS 4.0 updates that were rolled out a few weeks ago. But in all, the HTC Incredible is truly a fantastic device and will be very hard to top.

Here we are, this blog has lated a year and it’s time for my second annual summer movie preview.  This is a list of some of the biggest releases of the summer, some quick thoughts, and a gauge for how pumped I am for each release.  If things go like they did last year, I’ll probably see about three of these movies.  I honestly do want to see each and every one of them though.  Hopefully, I’ll get to at least half of them.

May 7th

IRON MAN 2

I think the original Iron Man was really overrated.  That may make it sound as though I didn’t like it, but I did – a lot.  It’s just that people made it out to be one of the greatest comic book movies ever created.  It’s not The Dark Knight.  It’s not even Batman Begins.  That being said, Mickey Rourke alone gets me in the theater.  There’s been nothing in any of the trailers that really has gotten me very pumped for it, but I’m hoping that this one can build off of some of the cool ideas of the first installment.

ANTICIPATION FACTOR: 8/10

May 14th

ROBIN HOOD

As probably many know, Gladiator is one of my favorite movies of all time.  I love Russell Crowe and believe him to be one of the greatest actors of his generation.  Director Ridley Scott, also having done Gladaitor, is already is a cinematic legend.  And even though Robin Hood looks like a half baked version of Gladiator, even though it’s PG-13, even though the story doesn’t look all that interesting – the moment I saw Crowe all bloodied up, bow and arrow in hand, I was pumped.  I hope they can recreate some of the magic that they did 10 years (!!!) ago.

ANTICIPATION FACTOR: 8/10

May 21st

MACGRUBER

I love the little sketches before and after commercials on SNL.  I think they’re hilarious.  I think Will Forte is one of the funniest guys going these days.  Heck, I thought he was funny when he was doing Abe Lincoln in Clone High on MTV.  And even though Saturday Night Live movies rarely pan out, I want to see it only to see what irreverent off-the-wall humor they come up with. Not a huge release, but I’m interested, and that’s more than I can say for 90% of what comes out most of the time.  Well worth a Sunday matinée.

ANTICIPATION FACTOR: 6.5/10

June 11th

THE A-TEAM

I don’t know anything about the show except Mr. T was in it and they had a van.  So, I’m not too familiar with the source material.  With that being said, everything in the trailer except the last 20 seconds looked pretty cool.  I’m not bursting at the seams to see it, but it’s the big beginning of June tentpole release, so there may be some redeeming qualities about it.  Right?

ANTICIPATION FACTOR: 6/10

June 25th

KNIGHT AND DAY

This movie looks ridiculous.  Tom Cruise is about as unlikable and actor as there is anymore.  I’ve never liked Cameron Diaz.  But James Mangold has director some admirable films.  There’s just something about this movies that feels like it should have been made three years ago.  It’ll have good action though.  You can take that to the bank.

ANTICIPATION FACTOR: 6.5/10

July 2nd

THE LAST AIRBENDER

I feel as if a trend is emerging.  I’m not familiar with Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor do I want to be.  I think the teaser trailer looked a little stupid, and I’m pretty sure the movie is based on a American anime cartoon on Nickelodeon.  I’ve heard raves about how good it is and how it’s not a cartoon for kids, but having never had the pleasure of watching it, I can only go by what I see.  I will say that I do love a good fantasy epic, and this one looks to be as grand as they come.  Adding to my general distaste would be the fact that it’s an M. Night Shyamalan movie.  It’s a big release, but I only have marginal interest.  Sorry.

ANTICIPATION FACTOR: 7/10

July 16

INCEPTION

Now here’s a movie I can get excited about.  Watch the trailer and you’ll understand.  I really don’t know what it’s about, nor am I supposed to.  I think the least amount of information I have about this movie, the better it will be.  Christopher Nolan is a really interesting director and I can’t wait to delve into this one.  Mark you calendars, this one will be good.

ANTICIPATION FACTOR: 9/10

July 23rd

SALT

I’m about exactly as pumped for this as I am for Knight and Day.  This too feels like it should have been made in 2007.  I don’t know, it just feels dated.  Who is Salt?  The factor to which I care about the answer to that question is directly related to how much of my ticket someone else pays for.

ANTICIPATION FACTOR: 6.5/10

August 13th

THE EXPENDABLES

Now, this movie feels like it should have been made in the 80′s – and that’s a good thing.  I really liked the newest Rocky movie and I liked (although to a much lesser extent) the newest Rambo offering.  So for me, Sly Stallone has been doing alright lately in my book.  Add every other 80′s action star into the mix and create a plot out of thin air that allows these guys to go rampaging through a third world country and I say you’ve got about a $25 – $30 million opening weekend.  Mindless gore and destruction is good when all you claim to be is mindless gore and destruction.  I’ll be there for sure.

ANTICIPATION FACTOR: 8.5/10

ADDENDUM: As I did last year, the following is a list of movies that are coming out that I either a) didn’t feel like writing about but are still big releases, b) am not interested in at all, or c) have no knowledge of but feel that if I don’t mention them, I’ll look stupid when they make $350 million.  On that note, also playing this summer: Shrek Forever After (May 21st), Sex and the City 2 (May 27th), The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (May 28th), Survival of the Dead (May 28th), Killers (June 4th), The Karate Kid (June 11th), Jonah Hex (June 18th), Toy Story 3 (June 18th), The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (June 30th), Predators (July 9th), The Adjustments Bureau (July 30th), Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (August 13th).