I officially can't believe that the Brett Favre saga is still going on.  On Tuesday he officially petitioned for reinstatement to the NFL and the drama began.  Honestly, I don't really care what happens, that is how comical this whole fiasco has become to me.  I gave up caring what would happen after three days, but I think it is hilarious that he had his own tab on the ESPN ticker to announce his petition for reinstatement.

I really don't blame Green Bay for this ordeal.  They thought that Favre was retired and were moving on with their quarterback of the future in Aaron Rodgers, their first round pick a few years ago.  It is at the point where the Packers have, reportedly, offered to pay Favre $20 million to stay retired.

I don't really blame Favre for what has gone on either.  I don't blame him for wanting to come back and play the game he has loved his entire life.  Granted I did want him to retire after the past season, but I wanted him to ride off into the sunset after winning the Super Bowl (damn Giants).  Now the Packers don't want him back (they've asked him not to report to training camp), and he's looking for a new team (most likely the Vikings, he said he is not interested in trades to the Jets or Bucs, teams that have shown interest in a trade with Green Bay).  So, now Brett Favre could end up playing against the Packers as a rival this season.  

So, I'm going to take a little time to self promote.  I work at a frozen yogurt shop that could be considered one of Lawrence's best kept secrets, Yummy's Frozen Yogurt.  Our owner lives out in California where apparently frozen yogurt shops are a big deal and she decided to bring that idea to Kansas.

Our owner, and her sister, the manager, are trying to spread the word about our shop now, and I figured I'd do my part here.  It really is a great idea that I get behind from the beginning when I started working there.  We have six flavors of yogurt on a given day, but the best thing about it is the choice of 66 different toppings for the yogurt.  The possibilities are literally endless.  The payment is by weight and the yogurt costs 42 cents/oz. (the average bowl is about $4)

I saw Ink's review of the shopping on Mass St. a few issues ago, so I thought if you had that in your head you'd have to give Yummy's a try too.  We're just south of 11th and Mass right behind Camelot dance study.  It's a different take on frozen treats and I'd recommend it to anyone

When the rumors were swirling last summer that the Wranglers would be relocating the following season (this season), I didn't care all that much.  I had been to a couple of Wranglers games, I even saw the team that had Alex Gordon and Billy Butler on the roster, but I just didn't care all that much.  My family had just recently moved to the Wichita area so I think that was part of the reason.  But, for its part, the city of Wichita didn't seem that distressed that it was losing its minor league baseball team.

Yes, the fact that the Wranglers were part of the Royals franchise is about all that ties this entry to the Kansas City area, but bear with me.  Some of may have been introduced to Wichita's new franchise, the Wingnuts, due to the media explosion from manager Kash Beauchamp's recent tirade.  Let me tell you first that I was not sold on the Wingnuts in the beginning.  It took my dad and some free tickets from one of the local sports broadcasters we know to get me to go to a game.

I was hooked and have been ever since.  The Wranglers always struggled to enthrall Wichita fans.  They averaged an attendance of 2,653 in their last season, but the Wingnuts are already averaging almost 1,000 more fans a night (3,423 to be exact).  Why exactly?  The Wingnuts are a team of scrappers, they play with heart, something the Wranglers struggled to find in the past few seasons.

Here we stand, and honestly I don't know where I stand here because I've talked about this band with my friends and a few people know about them, but it's a crime that more people haven't heard of the brothers Fratelli.  Right now, they have to be my favorite British band of this generation (even though they are technically from Scotland, I think they still qualify in that category).

So, how great it is that they've come out with another CD.  It's hard to categorize the Fratellis musical stylings.  I'd say they fall in the Alt. Rock category, but they really can sound very different on many of their tracks.  A theme that gets upgraded on their sophomore album is the use of piano in their music, and the tracks that use the piano are great ("A Heady Tale", for example).  The thing, I think, that sets the Fratellis apart is the fact that their slower ballads, if you will, don't seem like ballads.  They still have that steady, fun rock groove that makes the Fratellis so appealing.  The album starts off with the engine roaring through the first few tracks with some great guitar riffs, they hit a folk rock type of chord with "Look Out Sunshine" (my favorite song on the album) that has a very catchy melody and some interesting lyrics.  The album closes strong too, on a very mellow note.  "Tell Me a Lie"  keeps up the tempo but "Acid Jazz Singer" and "Lupe Brown" really anchor the final tracks.  For some reason the melody of "Lupe Brown" reminds me of Lord of the Dance, but it works in a weird way.

So, if you haven't heard of the Fratellis, I urge you listen to this album (and definitely listen to their first album, Costello Music), and if you're a fan I know you'll get this album.  You may call it a sophomore slump, but it's a very slight slump and it's still a very enjoyable album.  

Ok, so I was planning on seeing the "Get Smart" movie since I heard it was coming out, basically because Steve Carrell was going to be in it, but it looked like a pretty good movie in general.  And, in all movie-rating instances, that's the grade I'd give it, pretty good.  It's not an outstanding movie that will blow your mind or keep you laughing for hours, but it's an enjoyable movie-going experience.

My question is why are so many movie critics put off by this movie?  It seems like a lot of critics have problems with the film for some reason or another.  The KC Star reviewer, Robert Butler, actually gave a better ranking to "The Love Guru" than "Get Smart" (I am not even partially interested in seeing "The Love Guru" after the marathon of stupid jokes that was the trailer for that movie).  Granted, "Get Smart" has a few dumb jokes in the movie, it isn't driven by that whole idea.  A lot of critics fault it for being a retread of other spy movies.  Well, aren't all spy movies a basic retread of other spy movies? (How many James Bond movies have they made?).  Besides, that formula seems to have worked well Carrell in the past (ummm, The Office, anyone?).

What's my point here?  I guess I'm trying to break that even split of hate it or love it for the movie.  It really appeals to a wide audience and can make everybody laugh with a varying blend of comedy.  Was I rolling on the floor laughing the entire time? No, but I was constantly chuckling hardily throughout the movie.  It has just the right blend of action and comedy and all the elements work well together.  The "double agent" may be too easy to guess, and you may question a few things in the movie (like Anne Hathaway's radical plastic surgery), but overall I think most people would like this movie and I recommend it for anybody's weekend at the theatre.

The most anticipated rap album of the year (at least so far) came out last week.  It really couldn't have been done any better.  Yes, Lil' Wayne made his return with a CD that features songs ranging from instant classics ("Mr. Carter") to intriguingly absurd ("Phone Home").  One thing is for sure though, this is the best rap album I've heard so far this year.

What's really interesting is the fact that right now on itunes, at least the last time I checked, Lil' Wayne's top-selling song was "I'm Me", a song of his leak LP for his new album, and the song doesn't show up on the new album.  No matter, he makes up for it with a lot of different great tracks.  He really mixes up the beats with tracks produced from the likes of Kanye West, David Banner, and others and with featured artists like Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, and T-pain.  This album really covers a wide material range which opens it up to a lot of different listeners.

"Mr. Carter" is by far the best song on the album, because Lil' Wayne presents himself as one of the best rappers in the game while still giving credit to the other great rappers before him, like Jay-Z, a collaborator on the track.  In "Phone Home", he continues asserting himself as one of the best and "realist" when he spits, "Hip-Hop is my super market.  Shopping cart full of fake hip-hop artists".  It really is true to, when you think of the Soulja Boy's and other rappers out there who really put out some soft, popesque rap (I think I just made that word up).  

Generally, the summer TV schedule is a little dull compared to the fall and spring seasons. One of my favorite summer shows though happens to be "Last Comic Standing", but I've started to notice a trend with this genre of show (what I will dub, basically, the reality contest show), like American Idol, Top Chef (my guiltiest of guilty pleasures), etc.  Now that these shows are in their fourth, fifth, sixth seasons, familiar faces are starting to pop up on these shows.  You see the rejects from the first season of Idol still auditioning on season 7 (?, I have no clue what season they're on so please don't call me on this, I only watch the episodes with the rejects, hence why I know this).  Even Project Runway (don't know how I know this) has had competitors from a previous season on in a following season.

Side note:  Is it hilarious to anyone else that Nashville Star has been marketing itself as the best summer singing competition. There's no doubt in my mind that they couldn't compete with Idol anyways, but I hate country music so I'm a little biased.

Back to the matter at hand.  Last Comic Standing is probably the most prone to the reject repeats.  It's not like they're back, though, it's just that they have been on before and failed, so what does it really prove.  Oh, you won now because they better competition has been on a previous season.  I think all of these types of programs fall into that problem, but on Last Comic Standing it's more obvious.  Honestly, in this season I've seen people audition who have already had their own Comedy Central specials (i.e. Louis Ramey and Sean Cullen, two hilarious guys, but proof in the pudding nonetheless).  So, in all reality what are they competing for anymore.  It's not the exposure that they've already had, I would think it would be for the money, which seems to cheapen the competition, to me at least.  I know there are a lot of original performers too, but I don't won't these shows to end up going ten seasons with finalists in the tenth season who have all competed in the previous nine seasons.

Spoiler alert:  This entire blog is going to be about the season finale of Lost, so if you haven't seen it (where the hell have you been?), check it out before you read this.

First off, I want to thank ABC for putting pretty much all of their best shows on-line.  Isn't the evolution of the internet the greatest thing ever?  Now you can basically watch any show on network television any time you want with all of the major network websites and hulu.com.  I am very grateful for this because I was at the Royals game Thursday night and my DVR wasn't working.  Enter ABC.com to the rescue and now my Lost viewing is complete until next season.

On to the good stuff, and boy did they leave us with a lot.  J.J. Abrams proved himself on the big screen with "Cloverfield" (it did what it was supposed to do for a monster movie, and if you vomitted during the movie, tough luck) and now he is heading the next Star Trek movie.  I am not a Trekkie, but I have a couple of friends who are, and the are very much looking forward to the movie.  In all reality this is why I think "Lost" is such a great show, because it's basically a cinema experience in hour-long doses.

I will preface this by saying I have never seen (fully) the first three Indiana Jones movies, but the announcement of a fourth Indiana Jones movie a few years ago piqued my interest.  At that time, a lot of studios were relaunching popular movie series from the 80s (Thank you Sly Stalone).  The reason I wanted to see the new Jones movie was because I believe Harrison Ford can still pull off badass, and Stalone couldn't carry his jock-strap.  That issue aside, there have been mixed reviews over "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull".  Here's my take.

Now, Indiana Jones is obviously not a serious film, nor was it meant to be.  It was just supposed to be a fantasy adventure to kick start the summer and get the theatre-goers into the summer movie mind-set, you know, big budgets, grand action sequences, super special effects, etc.  Indiana Jones does that in general, but there are some moments that make you question the believability.  It really gets iffy towards the end of the movie, but I won't give too much away so I don't spoil the movie for anyone.  I really don't know how Harrison Ford was still alive 30 minutes into the movie, his escape from a nuclear test site was just a smidge past the edge of believability, and how did Shia LaBeouf  all of a sudden turn into Tarzan in the Amazon.  

Those certain issues aside though, it was good for the type of movie it was supposed to be.  In a fiction writing class I took in the past, we talked about the idea of a good story being able to make the reader suspend their disbelief.  Now, I think most moviegoers will go along with the story in the fourth Indiana Jones just so they can go along with the ride.  The plot may seem ridiculous at some points, but it all goes with the light-hearted attitude of the movie.  I mean, it's not like it was made to win an Oscar, it was made to give audiences that summer movie thrill.  If your a fan of Indy your going to go see the movie anyways, if not, you should give it a try, you may find a new series to add to your DVD collection.

I am an avid listener of music, so I'm really glad summer is finally here.  The school year keeps me pretty busy with all of my classes, but in the summer I can relax and divulge myself into the world of entertainment. 

I won't claim to be a very politically active person, but I like to hear music with a message.  The summer music experience for me began with one of those types of bands.  The Flobots are a hip-hop group from Colorado that bucks the system.  They are trying to start a movement with their music.  Every song on their album, "Fight with Tools" has some deep, profound meaning, whether it's "Stand Up", a song calling for Americans to be moved to the point of action by the images they see in our country today, or "Anne Braden", the tribute to an equal rights activist.

The Flobots really do it all.  Their musical style is different than anything you normally hear from hip-hop nowadays, and I am a big fan of hip-hop.  But the Flobots have a fresh style that mixes solid drumbeats with guitar, violin, and trumpet.  It's almost a type of ska-hop.  They even mix in some beatboxing on "Combat" that keeps you on the edge of your toes.  The lyrics are just as strong as the music.  "Under God, but we kill like the son of Sam", is a line that haunts the bars of "Stand Up" and the album closes making the point the Flobots really try to get through, "We rise together", on "Rise".