Song to get you through the weekend: "I Like Being Left Alone" by Robbie Fulks

I think I have a new theme song.

More Britcom suggestions, por favor.

Within the past week I've devoured every episode of "The IT Crowd"* (thanks to some of your glowing recommendations). That show is hilarious! I never thought I'd fall for another convential three camera, laugh track-enabled sitcom with a "wacky neighbor" type character (face it: Moss is an English Kramer) ever again, but I did. Whodathunkit?

I'm currently working my way through "Spaced" again. When the US DVD set was initially released I breezed through the first season series pretty quickly, but then got sidetracked by something or another and never got around to the watching the second series. It's been so long since then that I'm just going to run through both series straight through.

So where should I go from there? What comedies from across the pond are absolutely fabulous? And don't say "Ab Fab," because I don't find that show funny at all. Come on, people. The summer TV wasteland is rearing its ugly head and I'm dire need of some quality programming to get me through the next few months.

Much like my brother, armed with a Netflix account, devoted last summer to Westerns, I'm proclaiming this my Summer of Britcoms. Cheerio! Crisps! Walkabout!

*Which makes me curious about the aborted US version. If anyone could point me to where I could obtain a copy, I'd be mighty appreciative.

Song to close out the weekend: "The Book of Love" by Peter Gabriel

Well, "Scrubs" is gone (at least in its current iteration) and the finale was both funny and touching, as per usual for this show. And as always, the music used in the episode was perfect. In this case it was Peter Gabriel's version of the Magnetic Fields' "The Book of Love."* I had no idea that he had covered it, so hearing it was a great surprise.

I love the original, but I think Gabriel - a favorite of mine since I was a wee lad - makes the song his own. It's even knocked off "The Luckiest" as my future wedding song. Sorry Future Wife, you have no say in this matter.

*See the scene here.

Micah World Top 25

Here they are, the top 25 songs burning up my iPod (as of 5.21.09):

1. "I'm Walking This Road Because You Stole My Car (Don't Go)" - Fascinoma
2. "Chinese" - Lily Allen
3. "Going Back/Going Home" - Butch Walker
4. "Passing Afternoon" - Iron & Wine
5. "Yardwork in November" - Actual Tigers
6. "Librarian" - My Morning Jacket
7. "God & Suicide" - Blitzen Trapper
8. "Everybody Knows You Cried Last Night" - The Fratellis
9. "Top of the Bottom" - John Wesley Harding
10. "Cuba" - Jude
11. "Where Is My Mind?" - The Pixies
12. "Waters of March (Aquas de Marco)" - Anya Marina
13. "Fists Up" - The Blow
14. "The Girl" - City and Colour
15. "All Green" - Clem Snide
16. "Sellout" - Emmet Swimming
17. "Survival Car" - Fountains of Wayne
18. "Maneater" - Hall & Oates
19. "The Temptation of Adam" - Josh Ritter
20. "Dosvedanya Mio Bombino" - Pink Martini
21. "Sucked Out" - Superdrag
22. "(Nothing But) Flowers" - Talking Heads
23. "Chewing Gum" - Annie
24. "Song Without a Chorus" - Butch Walker
25. "Heaven" - Club 8

There are lots of shake-ups up in the top spots since the last chart, mostly due to me playing the crap out of the songs on my Spring Mix.

It's clobberin' time!

Okay, now you can say I have a problem. But after reading some Mighty Muggs sites (yes, there are some out there), it seems that the line's future is uncertain. So I figured that I'd better grab ol' Ben Grimm before he's lost to the ages...or, at least, high ebay prices.

The Thing joins the rest of my Cubicle Avengers (The Hulk, Indiana Jones, Captain America, Ghost Rider, and the Punisher) in keeping my Post-It Notes and pens safe from "wandering away".

Crush of the Week: Ellie Kemper

This week's Crush is actress Ellie Kemper, who plays the new receptionist Erin on "The Office." Here's hoping she's still on the show next season.



She's no Pam, but she's a cutie.

30 rock tumbler

Tonight's season finale of "30 Rock": "Kidney Now!"

As Jack begins to build a relationship with his biological father, Milton’s health hangs in the balance. Despite Liz’s relationship track record, she draws public attention as a relationship expert after a talk show appearance. Meanwhile, Tracy’s high school invites him to speak at graduation and Kenneth must help him overcome embarrassing memories from his high school experience.

Discuss.

Office chatter

Tonight's season finale (and 100th episode) of "The Office": "Company Picnic"

It's the annual Dunder Mifflin company picnic and Michael and Holly are reunited, and Michael has some big plans for her. Meanwhile, the office competes in the picnic's volleyball tournament.

Discuss.

Bonus Crush of the Week: Eliza Coupe

This week's Bonus Crush is actress Eliza Coupe, who played the chubby-chasing intern Denise "Jo"/"Dude-Chick" Mahoney on the now late (maybe?), great sitcom "Scrubs."



As funny as she was on "Scrubs," I think her best work was on the episode of "Flight of the Conchords" where she date raped Bret.

Crush of the Week: Diora Baird

This week's Crush is actress Diora Baird, who plays a green alien babe in this weekend's Star Trek reboot. My money is on Capt. Kirk sexing her up.



Now, I know this violates my self-imposed rule of not duplicating Crushes, but the last time she was honored here she was part of a group. Considering that she's one of my all-time favorites (at least, aesthetically speaking), I feel that she deserves her own post.

Micah World Summer Movie Preview

Summer. There is much that I despise about this dreadful season, but there are always several perennial things that I look forward to when the temperatures start to rise: listening to perfect pop songs, seeing women in skimpy clothes, grilling out giant slabs of tasty animal carcasses, drinking Red Stripe beer, napping to televised baseball games on the weekends, wearing flip-flops as my primary footwear, and going to see most of the blockbuster movies.

The loud, candy-coated Summer Movie Season started even earlier this year, with the just-okay X-Men Origins: Wolverine kicking things off last weekend. It was a fun yet middling beginning to my film-a-weekend habit that'll become a seasonal fixture until September. Armed with a dog-eared copy of Entertainment Weekly and PopMatters' own summer movie preview, I noted the movies that I anticipate the most over the next few months. Now, I'm under no illusion that I'll see all of them right away, if at all (heck, I still have yet to see WALL-E), as ticket prices are ridiculous* and my entertainment budget can be stretched only so far. I'll likely put some of these on the backburner as word of mouth and reviews come in and the money set aside for booze and meat swells, to the detriment of other areas in my budget. (Sorry, personal hygiene.)

But, in a perfect world, I'd see all of these on opening night this summer (in order of release):

Star Trek (May 8): I am by no means a Trekkie. I've never seen a full episode or movie in the series. So what, besides the promise of 'splosions aplenty, will get my butt in the seat for this installment? Simon Pegg as Scotty and Diora Baird as a sexy green alien babe. 'Nuff said.

Angels & Demons (May 15): I didn't think The Da Vinci Code was all that bad - well, aside from Tom Hanks' terrible 'do - and my favorite conspiracy theory is the Illuminati (not that I believe it; it's just fun to think about), so I'm down. Plus, Ewan McGregor's the man.

Terminator Salvation (May 22): The Terminator franchise is so ingrained in my formative moviegoing years that I'm pretty much obligated to catch this latest outing, even though my feelings a mixed about it. Pro: it stars Christian "Oh, gooooood for you" Bale. Con: It is directed by McG.

Up (May 29): Hearing about the plot, I wasn't sold on Pixar's latest. But after seeing the trailer, I'm really looking forward to this.

Drag Me to Hell (May 29): Sam Raimi returns to the horror realm. But I'm a wuss, so I'll likely watch this on DVD…on a Saturday afternoon…and with all of the lights on in the house.

Land of the Lost (June 5): After "Eastbound & Down," Pineapple Express, and Tropic Thunder, I'm an unabashed Danny McBride fan, so I'll give this a go.

The Hangover (June 5): It's got three of my faves (Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, and Bradley Cooper), is directed by the guy behind Old School and Road Trip, and is about a missing groom in Las Vegas. I think this is my most anticipated comedy this summer.

Away We Go (June 5): This latest comedy from Sam "The suburbs are evil!" Mendes sounds iffy, but I'm curious to see "The Office's" Jim in a beard.

Dead Snow (June 12): Two words: Nazi zombies.

Moon (June 12): Sam Rockwell as a man adrift and alone in space sounds very interesting.

Year One (June 19): Jack Black and Michael Cera stumble through the Old Testament. Mmmmmm...sacrilious.

Whatever Works (June 19): Woody Allen? Not a fan. But I do like Larry David a lot.

Public Enemies (July 3): Solely because of the bank robbery scene in Heat, I have full faith in director Michael Mann to pull off this John Dillinger biopic. The fact that Johnny Depp and Christian Bale are in it is just icing on the cake.

Brüno (July 10): I thought Borat was a hoot, so why not?

Funny People (July 31): The latest movie directed by Judd Apatow looks like it will be heavier on the drama than his previous efforts. After catching Reign Over Me again this week, I think Adam Sandler will be up for the task.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (August 7): I should know better, after 2007's terrible Transformers flick, but I still have a morbid curiosity about live action films based on toys that I played with as a kid.

District 9 (August 14): A Peter Jackson-produced "realistic" portrayal of aliens being sectioned off in South Africa? Cool! I just hope "documentary style" doesn't mean "motion sickness-inducing shaky cam."

Inglorious Bastards (August 21): I'll believe that Quentin Tarantino's long-in-the-works film - about a group of Jewish soldiers laying the smack down on a bunch of Nazis - actually exists when I see the opening credits roll.

The Boat That Rocked (August 28): This tale about 1960s seabound English pirate radio has Philip Seymour Hoffman and Bill Nighy, and a good pedigree (the same writer/director of Notting Hill and Love, Actually), but what really puts this over the top for me is the inclusion of Nick Frost.

And please, for the love of Pete, brush up on your movie theater etiquette before catching a flick this summer (if you need it).

*Luckily, concession prices don't even enter into the equation. Thanks, Dollar Tree and cargo shorts!

My "Scrubs" blog post

Tonight's series finale* of "Scrubs": "My Finale"

J.D. is planning on leaving Sacred Heart but before he goes there are a few things that he wants to do including; getting a hug from Dr. Cox, and learning the Janitor's real name. Elliot is ready for the next step in her and J.D.'s relationship and she begins moving her furniture into J.D.'s apartment.

Discuss.

*Or maybe not, though I think continuing without Zach Braff (and other main cast members) and Bill Lawerence would not be a good idea. Shades of "AfterMASH", anyone?

Requiem for Captain Chaos

R.I.P. Dom DeLuise, 1933-2009.



They don't make 'em like him anymore.

"Treasure bath!" (or, if you prefer, "Sounds like steam escaping.")

My Spring Mix 2009

Spring: a time of rebirth, renewal, and another mix tape from me!

It appears that imeem is now limiting it's songs to 30 seconds each, so I decided to move on to playlist.com. (You can check out some of my other seasonal mixes here, here, and here.)

Unfortunately, I couldn't find all of the songs that I put on the CD on playlist.com. The following (with YouTube links, when available) are the missing songs:

John Wesley Harding - "Top of the Bottom"
Butch Walker - "Going Back/Going Home"
Sondre Lerche - "Human Hands"
Delta Spirit - "Tomorrow Goes Away"
Flight of the Conchords - "Carol Brown"
Anya Marina - "Waters of March (Aguas de Marco)"
Fascinoma - "I'm Walking This Road Because You Stole My Car (Don't Go)"
Harrod & Funck - "Moment Before the Last"
Jude - "Cuba"
John Prine - "Day Is Done"
Tim Easton - "I Would Have Married You"

Enjoy!

Barely legal (again)

Well, in the state of Virginia's eyes, my car is street legal once again. See, waaaaay back in September 2007 my car failed its state inspection due to a degrading serpentine belt, blown signal bulb, and a slight trickle of oil coming from one of the rear struts. I got the first two taken care of, but decided not to shell out the $500+ to fix the last violation just then. So I waited. And waited. And waited. It got to the point that, aside from going to and from work and other necessary trips, I'd only drive my car under the protective cloak of darkness. I was a scofflaw; the kind of guy that makes his way the only way he knows how (which, incidentally, is just a little bit more than law enforcement permits).

After two tickets for not having an inspection sticker and $202 in fines, I decided to finally take care of my problem. Thanks to a tip from some friends, I took my Jetta to a particular shop that is very, uh, lenient with their evaluations. I took my car in, expecting the worst since my tires are very worn and the suspension's shot, but it passed nonetheless! Today I am legal once more. Au revoir, my days of driving in fear. And police, I'm no longer an easy revenue generator. Sorry.

Tonight I'm celebrating the occasion with a bottle of mead and a healthy does of Jack Bauer. I'm just hoping that my finally making nice with Johnny Law won't diminish my "bad boy" status with the ladies.

Quick movie reviews

X-Men Origins: Wolverine: The summer movie season kicked off with Wolverine and his own feature is exactly how I anticipated it to be: not great, not terrible, just an enjoyable flick. Sure, the dialogue isn't too hot and some of the CGI is iffy (most notably Wolvie's claws in some parts), but the casting is on spot. Hugh Jackman gives it the ol' mutant try again, Liev Schreiber makes for a menacing Sabretooth, and MW Official Co-Man Crush* Ryan Reynolds is perfect in the Deadpool role. I just wish he was in it more. I'll spare y'all the "that's not how it was in the comics" bitchin' that's de rigueur for comic book adaptions, though. This movie serves as a satisfying appetizer for likely better summer spectacles to come.

Punisher: War Zone: A brutal, unrelenting carnival of mayhem. I'm not always in the mood for this type of movie, but when I do get that itch, Frank Castle will be there to scratch me. And then blow my freakin' head off with a rocket launcher. (For an entertaining read, check out Patton Oswalt's blog post where he includes this in the "Is This Happening?" Movie Club).

*He shares the title with Paul Rudd.

Song to get you through the weekend: "Seven Nation Army" by the Oak Ridge Boys

Do I really need to write up a justification for posting this song? I didn't think so*.

*If I did, it'd be something about throwing a bone to race fans this weekend.