Hey, I don't have to answer to you people, I'll post when I'm darn ready to post . . . and I'm ready to post.

Movies

There are 2 additions I'd like to contribute this week, both of which are slightly off the beaten hollywood path.

The Brothers Bloom: Honestly I don't even remember how I stumbled upon this one, but you know me, if it's not some zero budget Afghani movie about a goat then I'll give it a shot. Sometimes these ventures of mine just lend themselves to wasted hours of my life. This one for some reason I "believed in" so it became our Saturday night movie. While there were some complaints afterward about a little bit of visible ex-corporeal blood, the movie was mostly a good laugh with a little thriller thrown in. Usually I can't stand Adrien Brody, (yes that's right, you tell John Williams to stop playing and you're on my naughty list forever) but I was pleasantly surprised by his performance. His character was still the same meek typecast he's always thrown into, but the dynamic just worked. In any case, if you're looking for some quirky laughs with a just barely cliffhanger ending, pick this one up.

The Infidel: You all know I'm not the world's greatest fan of Muslims, but I try to be open minded (heck, this week it feels like all I'm watching is Muslim made media, see below). This movie however was just wonderful. A very simple premise: lazy Muslim finds out he's actually Jewish. I've always read from the imagineers at Disney that any good story, (usually they're referring to a ride back story,) can be easily said in one sentence. Of course a good idea is just half the work of a good movie. Although there are a few slow minutes (really it's just minutes), it got me laughing at least every 5 minutes. I have to give some props out here. Although I basically knew from the genre that there was going to be a happy resolution, the path the "wrap-up" took was rather unexpected and totally wonderful. This may be one of those films that can only be appreciated by either a Muslim or a Jew, but if you find yourself to be part of one of those groups, get yourself a copy of this one.

TV

Being the summer, we all know that TV takes a turn for the worst, but it can be a fun time to try out some new shows.

Royal Pains: One word, "eh". We've been catching up on this one on demand, and although there's nothing to write home about it's enjoyable enough to take the place of M*A*S*H reruns. Plots are relatively predictable and do sometimes move backwards, but I take pride in watching self-proclaimed Jews on TV.

Burn Notice: I'm torn as to whether I want to shout from the rooftops "why can't other networks be as smart as USA!?". On one hand, BN gets incredible viewership due to it being nearly the only new show on during season breaks. On the other hand, there are plenty more open nights during the week. Anyways, as for the show, this season started off slow, but the last few weeks have brought back the team we know and love, and this past week, just vunderbar! Not-stop plot movement through all the intertwined stories leading up to a great (although very expected) cliffhanger. I can't wait for the finale next week -- and who knows, with how terrible some of the network lineups have been recently, I may be counting down the days to the mid season break.

Avoda Aravit (Arab Labor): I must just really love watching things about Muslims :-) Since Srugim had it's season finale I've been looking for something to fill my "Hebrew" void. I first found Hayisraelim, but the lack of Hebrew subtitles means I only get 75% of the sketches (although those have been pretty good). I really can't wait for some more Lo Lifnei Hayeladim, but it looks like they're also on break. Avoda Aravit however, stands and delivers. It takes a humorous look at the condition of an arab family living outside Yerushalayim. From the Quran shouting little girl to the secular Israeli-wannabe father to the always scheming grandfather it's a hilarious delight. It takes a bit of concentration to read the subtitles so fast, (normally I can balance the audio and the subtitles, but most of the audio is in Arabic,) but once you get accustomed to that, it's smooth sailing. I've only seen a couple of episodes so far, but I look forward to seeing the rest of season one and the beginning of season 2.

Futurama: The Futurama reboot had a slow start in my opinion, but now it's moving at light speed (go buy the briefs!). I absolutely loved the eye-phone episode as well as the DaVinci and Evolution ones. Not much more to say here, Futurama is back and hopefully here to stay. David Cohen, you've done your people proud (again).

No real Disney updates at the moment since they announced Golden Oaks but you never know what will pop up.

In closing I'll leave you all with another factoid. I was working at Disney recently and a discussion came up on the uses of Metric vs. English Standard (because we had a lot of foreign interns). First off, I learned something new. I never knew that a liter was a kilogram of water (who knew). Second, I got to chime in as mr smarty pants and tell them that English standard isn't the proper name, it should be avoirdupois. Enoy your new know-it-allness!

As a final note, my company is on a hiring binge so if you think you're qualified feel free to tell them I sent you. Check out the jobs at www.edaptivesys.com