The Sub Standard.

Watch the Chuck Season Finale!

April 26 . 2009 – 2.46 pm

The second season finale of one of my favorite shows airs tomorrow, Monday April 27 (Update: That’s tonght, 8pm ET/9pm CT). Now, if you watched this show last season at all and have lost track of it, now is a great time to catch up. See, NBC has not renewed Chuck for a third season. I haven’t read any reliable information about what NBC’s ultimate decision will be. As far as I know, it’s just as likely as not to get a third season. After all, they did let it go all season without any real threat of cancelling it before it had a chance to play out its ongoing story lines.

However, I also know that ratings haven’t been as good as they’d like, and so there is at least a pretty good chance that they might pull the plug, thinking the show isn’t making enough money given how much it costs (translation: it’s not yielding enough profit). The show creators have acknowledged this possibility by bringing this season to a close in a way that could wrap up the series. I don’t want to give to much away, but the last few episodes have been really action-packed and have moved the story along quite a bit, even throwing in what show co-creator Chris Fedak (see the link above) called “game changers” along the way. All this besides continuing its clever and funny writing (many people watch the show for the TV and movie “allusions” and the Buy More zaniness alone).

…Click to continue reading “Watch the Chuck Season Finale!”

may the pop be with you |

TV |

Digital TV Switch Delayed

February 5 . 2009 – 12.00 pm

Yesterday, on its second try, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a delay in the mandatory switch from analog to digital TV broadcasts yesterday after the Senate voted unanimously for the delay last month. President Obama will be signing it, and so now those TVs that were going to stop working on February 17 will still work even without converter boxes or paid TV service (cable or satellite).

Now, I’m not really sure how much this will accomplish. The government ran out of the coupons they were giving out for converter boxes, but it’s unclear whether they’ll be issuing more or if they’re hoping the supposedly poor people who the delay is supposed to help are now supposed to subscribe to cable or satellite or buy a new TV. If they don’t, some will lose some of their broadcast channels anyway. I know of at least two of the six English broadcast channels in my area that are planning on making the switch anyway.

…Click to continue reading “Digital TV Switch Delayed”

may the pop be with you |

Politics, TV, Tech |

Old School Internet

February 4 . 2009 – 1.29 pm

This has nothing to do with anything going on right now. I just thought it was fun to watch.

may the pop be with you |

TV, Tech |

So, What Now?: The Church’s Proper Role in Politics

February 4 . 2009 – 11.50 am

Table of contents for The Christian Right in the 21st Century

The Church as America’s Moral Compass
The Christian Right and the Republican Party
So, What Now?: The Church’s Proper Role in Politics

So, let’s wrap this series up…what is the proper role of the church in politics? Well, in my opinion, the short answer is to dial its official political activity way down. This answer requires some clarification.

This does not mean that the church, or individual churches, should stop participating in politics altogether. It certainly does not mean preachers should stop preaching on the pressing moral issues of the day. In short, it does not mean the church should stop trying to influence its culture.

It does mean, however, that its official political participation should be limited to defending freedom of religion and speech. I don’t believe that churches or pastors should be paranoid–not every piece of legislation or judicial decision that narrows the sphere of free speech or free exercise of religion is bad (and tax exempt status is not a right, it’s a privilege)–but they should be aware when there’s a real threat. Also, pastors and churches should encourage their people to vote and hold their elected leaders accountable.

…Click to continue reading “So, What Now?: The Church’s Proper Role in Politics”

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may the pop be with you |

Life, Politics |

Highlights of 2008 from a Pop Music Snob

January 8 . 2009 – 11.57 am

Phew! Glad 2008 is over! We had some great musical moments, but I’m certainly ready for all the joyous popitude the New Year promises to hold. I love making this list, if for no other reason than to be able to look back over previous year’s lists and remember what I loved. So here’s my fancy list of favorite music stuff from 2008.

MOST FAVORITE CDS: Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak, Jason Mraz - We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things, Tammi Rhoton - For the Weary and Broken.

REALLY GREAT: Adele - 19, Downhere - Ending is Beginning, Marc Broussard - Keep Coming Back, Brandon Heath - What If We, Alanis Morissette - Flavors of Entanglement, James Morrison - Songs For You, Truth For Me.

ALSO LOVE: Francesca Battistelli - My Paper Heart, Coldplay - Viva la Vida, Keane- Perfect Symmetry, Lady Gaga - The Fame, Leeland - Opposite Way, Roisin Murphy - Overpowered, Jon McLaughlin - OK Now, Michael W. Smith - A New Hallelujah.

BEST SINGLES: “American Boy” - Estelle w/Kanye West, “Broken” - Lifehouse (no better song about the life of faith than this), “Closer” - Ne-Yo, “Single Ladies” - Beyonce, “Forever” - Chris Brown, “Let It Rock” - Kevin Rudolf, “Love Lockdown” - Kanye West, “Four Minutes to Save the World” - Madonna & Justin, “No Air” - Chris Brown & Jordin Sparks, “Mercy” - Duffy, “Viva La Vida” - Coldplay, “Low” - Flo Rida w/T-Pain.

CLOSE CALLS: “Love Remains the Same” - Gavin Rossdale, “Shadowfeet” - Brooke Fraser (she’s amazing!), “Love Is Here” - Tenth Avenue North, “Better” - Tom Baxter (best love song), “Dream Catch Me” - Newton Faulkner, “Pocketful of Sunshine” - Natasha Bedingfield (feel good song of the year), “Give Me Your Eyes” - Brandon Heath (probably GMA’s song of the year), “Here I Am” - Downhere, “Fascination” - Alphabeat, “Just Dance” - Lady Gaga, “Disturbia” - Rihanna.

its just pop |

Music |

The Christian Right and the Republican Party

November 11 . 2008 – 3.19 pm

Table of contents for The Christian Right in the 21st Century

The Church as America’s Moral Compass
The Christian Right and the Republican Party
So, What Now?: The Church’s Proper Role in Politics

Back in June, I wrote about the idea that the church should be the moral compass of America, and it should not abdicate that position to the government. However, between then and Election Day, I became increasingly alarmed at the incivility and the rumor mongering of the rank and file of the conservative Christian movement. This is the largely the responsibility of the leaders of this movement even if they weren’t specifically part of the rumors about Barack Obama’s religion and birthplace. The rank and file were simply trying to do whatever they could to defeat the people they were told would ruin the country.

Since the rise of the Christian Right starting with the Moral Majority in the 1970s through the domination of the Dobson-Robertson crowd of the 2000s, the conservative Christian movement has invested heavily in the Republican party. That investment has not just been a monetary one. It has also been an investment of its time and, more importantly, the majority of its votes. This has had numerous negative effects, with relatively few positives.

…Click to continue reading “The Christian Right and the Republican Party”

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may the pop be with you |

Life, Politics |

Barack Obama wins historic election!

November 5 . 2008 – 2.18 pm

Last night, in his concession speech, Sen. John McCain said that President-elect Barack Obama commands his respect because “he managed [to win] by inspring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American President.” That is certainly true. If you read my past blentries on politics, you’ll find that I made it clear that I did not support Obama for President.

However, I do recognize that (still) Sen. Obama broke what once seemed like a huge barrier yesterday, and I join in celebrating that. For those of us under 40 it’s hard to imagine how hard it has been historically for minorities, especially black people, in this country. It’s even hard to communicate about this without seeming like I’m from a different time and place. African Americans feel this more than most others, but even a lot of them don’t relate to what their forebears went through. But, one example will be enough to remind us how far we’ve come in a short time. Yesterday, President-elect Obama won the majority of votes in two states (Virginia and Florida) and possibly another–North Carolina is still too close to call–in which it was once illegal for a black boy to attend school with white students. Most people reading this were probably born after that, but Barack Obama wasn’t, and he’s only 47 years old.

may the pop be with you |

Life, Politics |

Fall Music Spectacular!

October 11 . 2008 – 10.28 am

Hello Fellow Music Aficionados! It’s a great fall for music. First a recap. Rockin summer tunes that I always turned up when they came on: Rihanna - “Disturbia”, Chris Brown - “Forever”, Ne-Yo - “Closer”, and Metro Station - “Shake It”. Am I right? Thanks Pop-gods for the unadulterated, syrupy joy these songs dripped, er…delivered.

Have you heard Brooke Fraser yet? Her song (and video!) “Shadowfeet” is stunning. She’s a New Zealander who emerged from the Hillsong movement, and is now doing awesome singer/songwriter gloriosity. You’ll thank me for this one. I’m still digging Francesca Battistelli’s Paper Heart CD (way to go Ian Eskelin!) and Krystal Meyers keeps turning my head with her dance-pop infectiousness, Make Some Noise.

New tunes I’m excited about: Snow Patrol - “Take Back The City”, Killers - “Human”, Fall Out Boy - “I Don’t Care” & “Cooperstown”, Christina Aguilera - “Keeps Getting Better”, Kevin Rudolf & Lil’ Wayne - “Let It Rock.”

New albums that have me talking to others about them: Keane - Perfect Symmetry, Brandon Heath - What If We, Jon McLaughlin - OK Now, Lady Gaga - The Fame, James Morrisson - Song For You, Truths For Me, Marc Broussard - Keep Coming Back

Videos I’m loving: Staind - “Believe”, Lenka - “The Show”, and Lifehouse - “Broken” (my personal Song of the Year)

I hope these nuggets get placed in your head so the next time you hear about one of these artists, you’ll remember, “Oh yeah, It’s Just Pop liked that one,” and maybe you’ll take an extra good listen. That’s my prayer for you, my precious pop prodigies.

its just pop |

Music |

The Jonas Brothers Stole My Heart (Sure to be googled!)

August 11 . 2008 – 6.56 pm

Welcome back to another issue of “What I Think Rocks!” I’m happy to say I’m continually blown away by great music, and I love the idea of being able to share a little with you. Even if one person’s CD collection is helped, my writing and listening will have been worth it.

Guilty Pleasure: I am not ashamed to say the new Jonas Brothers CD kicks complete pop-arse. It’s so much fun, adults are being rumored to be burning their own copies of their kids’ CD so they can listen on the drive to work. You can’t help but smile listening to this slick party-pop. And actually, same goes for Miley’s new CD, Breakout – download her version of “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” if you’re skeptical.

Have you fallen in love with Sara Bareilles and yet feel like it’s time to maybe consider moving on to someone new? I found just the girl for you – Hilary McRae. Mmmmm tasty pop.

…Click to continue reading “The Jonas Brothers Stole My Heart (Sure to be googled!)”

its just pop |

Music |

And The Award For “Snarkiest iPhone Application” Goes Too….

August 10 . 2008 – 7.50 pm

I couldn’t let this little “gem” (hehe) of a story go by without commenting on how warm and fuzzy it made me feel inside, what with my general distrust of Apple products and product purchasers. Apparently I’m not the only one who sees them for the status-symbolitians that they really are (ok, I’m having a little fun at their expense here, but you have to admit there is a certain amount of exclusivity built in to the possession of an iPhone.) German software developer Armin Heinrich was so sure that some iPhone purchasers love overpriced shtuff so much that they’ll buy pretty much anything that he wrote a $1,000 application and sold it through Apple’s app store. What does this $1,000 app do, you might ask? Nothing. It does nothing except display a picture of a ruby (which is really the champaigne of stones).

While I can appreciate the snarkitude of such an undertaking, even I was surprised the L.A.

…Click to continue reading “And The Award For “Snarkiest iPhone Application” Goes Too….”

i got your pop right here |

Tech |

Saving Grace: Eli Stone on Crack

August 1 . 2008 – 10.16 am

Table of contents for Summer TV Viewing

IGYPRH wrote that if Eli Stone wasn’t the best examination of faith on TV, he’d sell his TiVo. Well, he can keep his TiVo, but Eli Stone does have some fairly strong competition in Saving Grace, the cable, female version of Eli Stone. TNT’s drama (Mondays, 10/9pmC) is now in its second season, and it’s still as strong as was when it made its first splash last summer.

Grace has its flaws. It’s yet another police procedural, one part Law & Order and one part CSI. It tries way too hard sometimes to be hip, and Holly Hunter isn’t kidding anyone. She’s 50, and she looks it, no matter how skinny she is and how many times she has to punch guys out for coming on too strong. Most jarring is the bar scenes when there’s way too much laughter and not enough real dialogue to reveal what the people behind the caricatures.

But despite all this, the acting is generally very good. The supporting characters aren’t as interesting as Eli Stone’s supporting cast, but the actors do their jobs well despite a lack of material. Holly Hunter is an Academy Award-winning actress, and she shows why here. Finally, of course, the premise is compelling. Grace is much more unwilling to respond to her George Michael, in this case an angel named Earl, but that’s what keeps this imperfect but interesting show worth watching.

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may the pop be with you |

Reviews, TV |

Sirius and XM Complete Merger: Home Stretch or Last Hurrah?

July 29 . 2008 – 9.06 am

We’ve been hearing about the impending Sirius/XM merger for about a year now, and today it finally became official. It’ll be interesting to see what this means for what has been largely a niche market. Satellite radio is cool, for sure, mostly due to the availability of commercial free and narrowly-targeted content, and some cool hardware options, but as an industry they’ve had to rely mostly on new car purchases (with satellite equipment included and free trial periods offered) and big-name talent acquisitions (like Howard Stearn or Martha Stewart) to get new subscribers, rather than the preferred method of word-of-mouth buzz or straight up product dominance.

Will this merger allow the new company to make the push for mainstream acceptance by shedding overhead and removing the major competition for the big-name deals, or will it be a sign that satellite radio as an industry has “jumped the shark” and is doomed to be a novelty item of the future?

…Click to continue reading “Sirius and XM Complete Merger: Home Stretch or Last Hurrah?”

i got your pop right here |

Music, Tech |

Mad Men

July 27 . 2008 – 3.32 pm

Table of contents for Summer TV Viewing

Mad Men (Season 2 Premiere, Tonight, Sun. 7/27, 10pm), is the story of “ad men” of the early 1960s (before flower power). It’s the story of the beginning of our age when advertising is everywhere. It’s the beginning of focus groups and market testing.

Mad Men is not for everyone.

…Click to continue reading “Mad Men”

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may the pop be with you |

Reviews, TV |

Burn Notice

July 22 . 2008 – 10.58 am

Table of contents for Summer TV Viewing

In the early days of TV drama, two-dimensional characters were the norm, and viewers didn’t mind. It was all about the stand-alone story of the week. These days, though, we ask for a background story, recognizable quirks, idiosyncrasies or traits, and believable and interesting relationships for each character.

This is where Burn Notice (Thursday 10/9C) fails. The producers and writers make an attempt, but there’s just not enough here. We’ve seen these characters before, and they were more interesting. Burn Notice is about a former CIA spy who has been cut off (burned) by the agency. Now, he must find out who burned him and clear himself of the wrongdoing or disloyalty that caused the burn.

…Click to continue reading “Burn Notice”

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may the pop be with you |

Reviews, TV |

Katy Perry Kisses Her Way To Summer Domination

July 20 . 2008 – 5.26 pm

Surely by now you’ve heard the number one song of the summer, the flirty ChapStick ad, “I Kissed A Girl” from Katy Perry. While the beat is completely ripped from “Rock N Roll Part 2″ by Gary Glitter (”Na na na na na, HEY!”), the hook is drill-licious. Christian music aficionados might (but probably not) remember Katy as Katy Hudson, who released an album for the Christian market when signed to Jennifer Knapp (and Steve Thomas’ label) Red Hill Records/Pamplin sometime in 2001. It didn’t do so hot. It’s unclear exactly what her religious beliefs are these days (or in those days), but in Blender mag in 2004 she did consider herself as not a “typical Christian.” So, that makes two of us, I guess. Anyone else?

Pussycat Dolls are back - Thank GOD! And their streamlining down to only five members allows Nicole to be right in the smack center during the choreography.

…Click to continue reading “Katy Perry Kisses Her Way To Summer Domination”

its just pop |

Music |

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

July 18 . 2008 – 7.06 am

I’m not sure if the name could get any more unique, but I’m quite certain the premise can’t.

Joss Whedon, my own personal hero, has created a short series of “webisodes” that follows the day to day struggles of one Dr. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris) as he tries to join the Evil League of Evil, gain the courage to talk to his crush (Felicia Day) at the Laundry Mat, and defeat his arch nemesis Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion aka Capt. Mal Reynolds of “Serenity”).

The true genius of these 15 minute mini episodes? They’re also musicals.

…Click to continue reading “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”

poppi longstocking |

Music, Reviews, TV |

In Plain Sight

July 17 . 2008 – 10.39 am

Table of contents for Summer TV Viewing

We’re about halfway through the summer, but the regular fall TV season probably won’t be starting for real for a couple of months (only CBS has announced its premiere schedule as far as I can tell). So, how should your TiVo busy until then? I’ll give you a few suggestions over the next week or so.

…Click to continue reading “In Plain Sight”

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may the pop be with you |

Reviews, TV |

AT&T Finagles Out of a $199 iPhone

July 10 . 2008 – 7.47 am

I’m usually all about the asterisk. But either I never noticed it, or they just added it. Either way, my life is not going to change for the better on July 11th, as I had been planning. I’ve been patient. I’ve wanted the iPhone ever since the beginning. But I knew I needed to hold out for the “next” version, you know, let them work the kinks out…and let the price come down as well. So when version 2.0 was announced with the amazingly low price of $199, I about jumped out of my skin. I can’t imagine anyone NOT getting an iPhone now, I figured. Not realizing that particular anyone not getting an iPhone would end up being me. Turns out it’s all about the asterisk. As I leafed through the Apple site yesterday, in preparation of the big day (they have a “How to Get Ready for Friday” section) I got all my papers lined up, got my blood type and library cards photocopied in triplicate, and thought I’d check out the monthly plan charge I could start to expect, come Friday.

…Click to continue reading “AT&T Finagles Out of a $199 iPhone”

its just pop |

Tech |

The Church as America’s Moral Compass

June 25 . 2008 – 7.30 am

Table of contents for The Christian Right in the 21st Century

The Church as America’s Moral Compass
The Christian Right and the Republican Party
So, What Now?: The Church’s Proper Role in Politics

Last Sunday, I heard my pastor give one of his best sermons ever. He has recently awakened to the idea (later than most “conservative” pastors) that the church has a right and a duty to be involved in politics, with very few limitations. However, his position seems to differ slightly from many of his fellow preachers, and his sermon last Sunday reflected that difference. His message was that if Christians are going to hold public officials to a high standard of morality and character, then they must hold themselves to that same high standard.

…Click to continue reading “The Church as America’s Moral Compass”

may the pop be with you |

Life, Politics |

Weeds Season 4 Premiere Tonight

June 16 . 2008 – 11.16 am

Table of contents for Summer TV Viewing

If you haven’t seen Weeds on Showtime yet, you’re in for an interesting experience. I think it’s one of the most original and entertaining shows on TV right now. Mary-Louise Parker is delightfully quirky in the lead role, and the supporting cast of characters is equally eccentric.

There is one thing, though. To enjoy this show, as with Dexter on the same network, you have to be willing to sympathize with a morally ambiguous (at best) lead character. Parker’s Nancy Botwin is a drug dealer. There’s really no way to ignore it. It’s what the series is about.

…Click to continue reading “Weeds Season 4 Premiere Tonight”

may the pop be with you |

TV |