It never fails.  Just when all seems right with life, something comes along and casts a dark cloud of doom and gloom over everything.  My job is going well, my band is opening for Trouble this Monday night, the Atlanta Falcons are making some good off-season moves, the game "God of War 2" comes out this week, "Rocky Balboa" is out on DVD next week...yes...things are going very well.  In fact, this past weekend I went to see the movie "300".  What can I say that hasn't already been said?  It completely kicks ass from start to finish and I'll probably go see it again.  Then out of nowhere I see a story on the internet today that I wish didn't exist.  I went to ign.com to check out some entertainment news, and scrolling across the top was a headline that said something like "300's Gerard Butler planning an Escape?", so I clicked on it.  The story was about...and it pains me beyond belief to write this...a remake of "Escape From New York" with Butler possibly playing Snake Plissken.  Yes, I'm a dork, I admit it...but I'm livid over this.  It's no secret I'm a HUGE fan of that movie, definitely in my top 5 of all time, and now it's going to be bastardized because Hollywood has no new ideas.  What really sucks is I only had a couple of days to appreciate Gerard Butler as a kickass Spartan who didn't take crap off anyone...and now I'm furious he might be the new Snake Plissken.  Sure, he comes across as a tough guy, but I have a horrible feeling about this whole thing.  What's next, a remake of "Bullitt" starring Johnny Depp???  Yes, he's a good actor but he's no Steve McQueen.  There is only ONE Snake Plissken and that's Kurt Russell.  Why can't a studio make a NEW Escape movie???  Russell could still pull it off!!!  To me, this is the equivalent of some remaking "Star Wars", "Rocky", or "Planet of the Apes".  Oh wait, someone did "Planet of the Apes" AND IT SUCKED!!!  My world is caving in around me...someone hold me and tell me everything will be ok.  Sure, I loved the remakes of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Dawn of the Dead", but what made "Escape From New York" so cool was KURT RUSSELL PLAYING SNAKE PLISSKEN!!!  I'm going to cry...this just sucks.

But hey, life goes on.  In fact, there was some great news on the movie front today.  I read about a new movie called "Plague" coming out that stars Jet Li and Jason Statham.  And from how it sounds, this thing could rock beyond belief.  Two legitimate badasses facing off in a movie...oh yeah.  I honestly don't see how that could suck at all.  I just can't wait until Tony Jaa's new movie "Ong Bak 2" comes out.  Ok, maybe there will be other things to divert my attention away from a remake of "Escape From New York"...but I kinda doubt it.  The only saving grace is that imdb.com has yet to list any info about the remake.  Even if something hasn't started filming, that site would usually list something as in pre-production.

Ever listen to Michael Savage?  You should if you don't.  Here in Nashville, he's on 99.7 FM from 8 to 11 every weeknight.  Oh, he's a hardcore conservative in case you didn't know.  In fact, he's so hardcore that he can't stand Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity because he thinks those guys are just tools of the Republican party.  I first started listening to The Savage Nation a couple of days after 9/11.  I was on my way home from a video game store where I just bought an old Sega Genesis game called "F-15 Strike Eagle" because you get to bomb the middle east in it, and I really wanted to vent my frustrations.  Yeah, I know, it sounds kinda stupid but whatever.  While I was driving home I was scanning the radio for news, and on a talk station I heard Metallica playing.  I left it there to find out what the heck it was.  After a medley of several Metallica songs, Michael Savage came on and started ranting about when are we going to blow up the middle east.  I've been hooked since.  He hates both parties, and he can't stand the wimps running this country.  Thank God a man like this is on the radio.  Anyway, I was driving home from practice last night, and Pantera was playing on The Savage Nation.  The tune was "I'm Broken", and if you've heard it, the song is sheer brutality.  It's basically a song that could be track one on a soundtrack to be played while kicking someone's ass.  So he's playing this tune talking about how cool Pantera and old Metallica is because the music is so American.  He went on about how guys who play this stuff are men and not wimps, and then went on a rant about how he wants that song to be blasting out of every helicopter when shooting rockets in Iraq and how every tank should be blasting it out of loudspeakers while they're wiping out terrorists in Iraq.  Oh yeah, he was getting worked up which doesn't take much.  He then started yelling about how if he was in charge, give him 30 days and the war would be over.  I loved it.  He also said that we wouldn't be calling the people of the WWII era "The Greatest Generation" if our soldiers were truly allowed to do what they need to do to win.  I am absolutely baffled why in the hell someone in Washington would put the opinions of other countries ahead of the lives of American soldiers.  The ONLY reason this country has lost so many brave men and women is because we have morons in suits too concerned about how other countries will perceive them, and also so they can win elections.  If that doesn't piss you off, I don't know what will.  Ok, enough, I'm getting worked up.

Hey, NoiseCult's big show is this coming Monday as we open for Trouble at The Muse!!!  And next Saturday, we'll be filming our new DVD and it's going to blow away anything any local band has.  We've got 4 new songs we'll be putting on the DVD, and I swear it's some of the best stuff we've done.  And to stay true to form, it's all over the place style-wise.  One is a Sabbath type song, one is like a Melvin's tune, one is Slayer-esque, and one is a straight-forward rock/metal tune that reminds me of a heavy Rollins Band song.  If anyone reads this and wants to come to the filming, contact me and I'll send the details.  We're doing it at a TV studio, so it's invite only.  Plus, it's on a Saturday afternoon so it's not like you have any excuses...haha.

Yeah, I was a little light on content this time...but next time I think there will be a lot ot talk about with some developments that are unfolding in the news right now.  Plus, I'm sure I'll go over every little detail of opening for Trouble...haha.  Man I can't wait.  This was a goal...to open for a touring band that I like, and it's only a couple of days away.  Later sportsfans!