Modern Family

I LOVE Modern Family (and Arrested Development). I don't think that I will ever get over the loss of Arrested Development. Nothing will ever replace that show's genius. But, Modern Family is coming close. If you have seen it, you know what I am talking about and if you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and Hulu and episode or two. Arrested Development's fatal flaw was that it was hard to jump into in the middle of the series. The relationships were so absurd that it was tough for new viewers to connect with the seemingly chaotic jumble of characters. Modern Family, on the other hand uses more stable family archetypes and is less dependent on inside jokes. Whereas I feel you MUST start watching Arrested Development from the beginning, you can jump into Modern Family at any time and be up to speed instantly.

The best part of Modern Family is that every character is perfect. I can't stop laughing at the precocious 11 year old professing his love to women twice his age (trust me it's adorable and not creepy) or at the well-intentioned dad who describes himself thusly, "I'm cool dad, that's my thang. I'm hip, I surf the web, I text. LOL: laugh out loud, OMG: oh my god, WTF: why the face?" Not to mention the BEST gay couple on television. On top of all of that, the show has heart and will surprise you with moments of sentimentality. Bottom line, it's a great show, tell a friend. Because if this show gets cancelled before its time, then ... well ... you will be reading about it in my HATE column.

Century City AMC

I HATE the Century City AMC! Movies are a big part of my life and around late March, I start getting very excited for the upcoming summer blockbusters. You give me a flashy trailer and I will be excited for months leading up to opening day. Such is the case with Iron Man 2. I think that I was jacked up to see this movie the moment the first one ended. So, Jackie and I went online tonight to reserve some tickets for opening night, May 7th. We are (or were) big fans of the Century City mall. Ever since Westfield remodeled the place, it has been amazing. Recently the movie theater has changed to an assigned seating facility. This was great, a theater we like and now no waiting in line. So, why the hate? Well, this may seem petty, but they raised their prices. Normally, I wouldn't post on a buck or two, but when I went to select my tickets, they were charging $16.50 a ticket!!!! And, that's before the one dollar per ticket "Convenience" Charge (a whole post on this concept is no doubt on the way)!

I get that LA is going to charge a little on the high side, but I think the regional average is about $12 or so. I kind of get charging an extra dollar or two for IMAX or maybe for 3D (however I think this is a scam anyway) so maybe if this was a 3D IMAX movie, they MIGHT be justified, MAYBE! But, this particular screening was neither on IMAX nor in 3D (the IMAX showings were $17.50). This was just an advanced purchase for a normal movie in a normal theater with assigned seating. The happy ending to this story is that, in the end, Jackie and I reserved 2 assigned seats at the Landmark theater (a better theater, by the way) for $12.50 each. Of course they still hit us with that darn "Convenience" Charge.

PS - I did a little more research on this specific showing and they mention something called ETX which stands for Enhanced Theater Experience. I looked it up and it says there is supposed to be a bigger screen, better sound, etc. This sounds like a major scam to me. Please, if anyone experiences the ETX, let me know if it is worth a 35% increase to the ticket price.

Tipdawg? Blogs

So, here we go. I have decided to start writing a blog. Partially to get my ideas out there in the world. Partially to have something to do in all my spare time (I am being sarcastic). But, mainly, to show-up my friend Joe who hasn't updated his blog in 5 weeks. What will this blog be about? Well, I have opinions, they span a variety of issues, and some I feel passionately about. My feelings on these issues range from blind rage to irrational adoration. Thus, I have named this blog after my Love/Hate relationship with the world. Things I hate are more fun to write about, but I will try to mix in some posts on the things that I love.

To start this blog off on the right foot ...

I LOVE my family. My parents are the best parents on the planet. They gave me a solid upbringing and have continued to give me support while letting me live my life. I owe them the world. My wife is the love of my life, she is my rock and my best friend and I wouldn't be half the man I am without her. Last, but in no way least, is my daughter. She is the light of my life, the reason I rush home form work, and the thing I spend most of my time thinking about. At this point my wife reminds me that I also love my cats, which is true. At times this blog may get a little negative, but I want my family to know that I always love them.