Random comments.

The movie 300 is badass. Sure it's got some flaws, and the ending could have been better (not that it was bad), but it still kicks all kinds of ass. If you liked Brotherhood of the Wolf and The Thirteenth Warrior, you'll love it. I'm gonna buy that sucker when it comes out (which means I'll download a good quality copy of it). The movie The Host is unique and not easy to categorize, which I like. It's a thrilling creature feature which is at times scary, silly, ironic, wise, suspenseful, and poignant. Crazy ass Koreans. Still want to see Miss Potter, The Painted Veil, Little Children, and maybe a few others. Some (Zodiac, 23) look pretty iffy. Oh yeah, don't see Bridge to Terabithia, it's too sad. I think I said that before though.

The new Evanescence album (not so new anymore) is actually pretty good. Not as catchy as their first, and not as much diversity in the sound (rocker-ballad-rocker, etc), but it's more subtle. Her writing is much better. Ben Moody's musical imagination and guitar playing is missed, but she goes in a bit of a different direction which makes up for it pretty well. They remind me of that Finnish band Nightwish now a bit. Hopefully her next album she does away with all of the buttrock guitar backing and finds a more unique sound, like some of the too-brief tapestries of piano, chimes, choral loops, and whatnot she puts together here and there on this one.

Choirs, chants, chimes, organs... that sort of "unholy church" feeling that is pretty cool and not many bands do anything like that anymore. Enigma wasn't exactly like that either, but the "Gregorian monk chanting to a beat" idea has sort of left the scene and I think someone could have picked it up and done more with it. Then again, I like pitch-dark music, or a contrast of dark and euphoric. Anyways, the best songs on this Evanescence album just have strings and piano, or a weird tempo or something unique. The obvious attempts at in-your-face singles come out sounding generic. Worth downloading or buying for $10 if you liked the first album. This one's a little more grown up than the first but maybe not as iconic. Grown on me though - at first I thought it was completely pants.

New Air album is good, only one listen all the way through so far so I won't say much except... it's Air. You should know what to expect. Also, the new Arcade Fire album sounds really good too. Again, only one listen so far, and I didn't really hear any showstoppers like a couple on the first album, but I was playing Bookworm Adventures and had it on instead of the game music. It constantly sounded good, never annoying. I know that's not much of a review, but until I listen more I can't really say anything other than it's definitely not bad. Same overall sound as their debut, I'd say.

Lastly, the Lakers suuuck. They need to get KG or J-Kidd or Chris Bosch in the offseason if they're going to contend. If they were healthy right now they'd be one of the better teams instead of the doormat they've been lately, but they still wouldn't beat Dallas in a playoff series. Then again, probably nobody since the MJ Bulls could beat Dallas right now. They have absolutely no flaws. I'm sure it won't happen, but they could well sweep through the playoffs. They're really, really good and everyone else except Phoenix are playing like college teams right now. Where's the talent development in the NBA gone? Lots of young dunksters coming out of college with mad upside, but few seem to improve once they get to the show. Games are sloppy, everyone's shooting 3's or fronting their man hollering for a chance to put someone on a poster. Coaching is at a premium too. Why do you constantly see teams that have to foul at the end of the game run off 10 seconds before they do it?

Just got an idea for a commercial... "Come out and see the new NBA: A backdoor lob dunk every third time down the court! A behind-the-back pass every fifth time! More turnovers than assists! It's FANtastic!"

Ok, I'm done.