One of the Oscar nominated movies I actually watched this year was Up In The Air, one of the better George Clooney movies of recent years. The role of road-warrior Ryan Bingham was perfect for him, showing off a confident vulnerability that is his hallmark. I really enjoyed the storyline, as well as the two female leads, played by Vera Farmiga and Anna Hendrick, both of whom were nominated for Oscars as well.

Up In The Air is one of those movies that sticks with you for weeks afterward. You wonder about the characters, and what happens to them after the credits fade. So I picked up Walter Kirn’s novel upon which the movie is based, and jumped into that world once again. But here’s the thing: the novel bears little resemblance to the movie. As a matter of fact, the book is a real drag.

I loved the movie because while Ryan’s existence is shallow and isolated, flying from place to place but not really connecting with anyone, he finds a sort of redemption in the end. He realizes that there’s more to life than isolation, that there is a place for people, and you do need more than what you can fit into your backpack.

In the movie, the two strong female characters, Alex Goran and Natalie Keener, bring a different perspective to Ryan’s life. He learns from them, but they in turn learn from him. Ryan is good at his job, and shows not only knowledge about the backgrounds and skills of those he counsels during job transition training, but also compassion for their situation.

Kirn’s book basically shows Ryan as not ever buying into what he does, and meeting and forgetting those he meets on the job almost immediately. There is a shocking revelation about why that is, which also doesn’t appear in the movie. I won’t spoil it for you, if you decide to read the book.

The movie also invents the character of Natalie Keener, and makes Alex Goran into someone completely different from the book.

So what do we have? A movie called Up In The Air, based on a book called Up In The Air, which aside from certain character names and similar minor plot points is a totally different story entirely.

I guess I never realized “adapted” could mean “invented!”

I know there are other books-turned-into-movies where this has happened. Perhaps money is at the heart of it; Walter Kirn could sue Jason Reitman for writing a screenplay loosely based on his book, even if the plot lines are completely different. This way, everyone is happy, Kirn sells more books, and gets to put George Clooney on the cover.

But I would wager those who saw the movie first and read the book later, like me, are much less satisfied than those who read the book first.

• Up In The Air – the movie: A
• Up In The Air – the book: C-

–Brian

Since the kids started school, we are really stuck as to when we can take vacations outside of summer break. We love to go to Florida mid-Winter to spend some time with my parents in the Sarasota area, but the last few years have been pretty cool the second week in February.

This year gave “cool” new meaning: below-freezing temps, and cold, gray, very Buffalo-like conditions for the first half of our visit!

Thankfully, we got a couple of nice days at the end to hit the beach, and the pool, and get some color. But regardless of the weather, it was nice to get away.

It is instinctual to want to feel sunlight on your face. We need it. When we don’t have it, feelings of lethargy and fatigue take over. I know a lot of depressed people this time of year in the North, and I honestly don’t know how anyone could handle Alaska’s constant dark days. Even in the colder weather, to see a clear, blue sunny sky down there was enough to recharge my batteries. And though we were stuck inside much of the time, I did learn a few things.

Did you know:

Before Prohibition, there was no such thing as a mixed drink. Before Prohibition hit in the 20s and 30s, people would go to a bar or saloon and order whiskey, beer, wine, whatever they had in bottles. When alcohol was outlawed, people started making their own, and a lot of it tasted so bad- even poisonous – that bar owners masked the taste with fruit juices and soda, and the “cocktail” was born. (Thanks, History Channel!)

The stingray is closely related to the shark, with the exact same skin. We were able to touch some stingrays at the Tampa Aquarium, on one of several rainy cold afternoons. It was a very interesting experience. Rays were amazingly friendly, swimming right up and putting their heads above the water! The kids loved it.

A little frost, as long as it’s not too severe, actually makes oranges and grapefruits sweeter. We were able to taste for ourselves from an actual grapefruit tree in my parent’s neighborhood. A tasty way to start the morning.

I actually saw Floridians in winter parkas making “snow angels” in the beach sand. We were in shorts and t-shirts at the time, and it was sunny and almost 60.

As much as I like wine, there is nothing better than a frosty mug of Dos Equis when you’re eating Mexican food. Heather and I had a great lunch at Restaurante Tequilas in Palmetto, and it was just what the doctor ordered.

And lastly, even with cold weather, to be able to get away from Buffalo to Florida in February is a great thing.

We will be back mooching on you next year too, Mom and Dad!

–Brian

Super Bowl XLIV split the country. A lot of people wanted to see the Saints win, for the city’s sake more than anything else, but just as many wanted Peyton Manning to be crowned one of the (if not THE) greatest quarterback ever with his second Super Bowl win.

A pick six and 31-17 loss put that on hold, for a while anyway.

And the other thing that split the country was the perception of the halftime show: was it good? Bad? Great? Everyone has a different opinion. I thought it was fitting that The Who performed on CBS, the network that features them so heavily during the intros to all those CSI shows.  As for their performance, here’s my two cents:

1) Very cool stage. It was very modern, visually arresting, yet retro with the circular shape hearkening back to the old 45 rpm singles that were popular when Pete and Roger were in their prime. I thought it was spot on.

2) I worried for Roger as he prepared for “the scream” during Won’t Get Fooled Again. He’s in his 60s, he looks very professorial now with his little round glasses and scarf, but it sounded cool. Not as cool as on the record, or on CSI, but cool.

3) Pete Townshend looked a little drunk, but he was having a good time on stage, and delivered with his guitar. His voice? Well…he wasn’t lead singer, so who cares?

4) That was Ringo Starr’s son Zak on drums. Considering original Who drummer Keith Moon gave him his first drum set many years ago, it was fitting that he plays with the band now.  Keith’s godson is as close to kin as we’ll get, and he gave a very flashy performance.

5) The crowd loved it. This was true arena rock, in an era that has basically forgotten what it was. It’s not supposed to sound exactly like the CD! That’s what happens when you don’t lip sync to a recorded track. 

Sadly, this is probably the only exposure to “live” Who music many people watching this year’s Super Bowl have ever experienced. My perspective: they’re a lot older now, but the kids are still alright. 

–Brian

Almost 2 years ago we bought a home laptop with the Windows Vista operating system. At the time, it was the height of technology, but we soon realized the folly of our ways when programs began to stop working, and everything…just…slowed…down.

This marked the onset of a trend of technological failure in my life, culminating in last week’s perfect storm at Entercom Buffalo, in which every piece of digital equipment I used, both at work and at home, failed. It was ridiculous.

First, voicemail went out at work. People couldn’t leave messages, and the ones that were left before the system crashed could not be retrieved. Then our work network went down. None of us in the building could access any of our documents or files. Our company internet went down next. And finally, the coup de grace, my Blackberry stopped working.

For a few hours I was completely cut off from the digital world. It was very strange, and I admit, a bit unnerving.

Then a funny thing happened. The hallways filled with people forced to come out from behind their desks and talk to each other. We were united in our fear and frustration, and with one voice we shouted:

“Where is Jim from I.T.!?”

For Jim’s sake, thank goodness, our digital exile didn’t last too long. Although, I had the distinction of being the last work station in the building to have service restored. Over the weekend I bit the bullet and bought a Windows 7 upgrade, which miraculously fixed all our laptop issues, and a quick stop at the Verizon store got my Blackberry working again.

This all begs the question: when did we become so dependent on computers that we can’t even function without them?

There was a sci-fi novel I read in college about the future of the human race, in which mankind lived on, but grew increasingly stupid as computers and various machines took over most of the duties and jobs that humans used to do. Pretty soon man lost the knowledge of how to even work the machines keeping us alive, and all that was left were the machines themselves.

When I was a kid I used to take apart my various stereos and put them back together. I changed my own oil, took off the head gasket of my first car engine, even adjusted the carburetor. Today? Not a chance. Nothing is mechanical anymore, everything is digital.

20 years ago when I read that book, it seemed a fanciful notion of the apocalypse, but today I can almost picture it happening as written.

Maybe the Amish have a point…

–Brian

The whole Conan/Leno Tonight Show fiasco makes the David Letterman escape to CBS back in ‘92 seem tame – and they made an HBO movie out of that whole story! One would think the once mighty NBC would have learned something from that experience, since most of the same players are still calling the shots at 30 Rock.

Nope.

Check out a truly bizarre animated cartoon explaining the so-called “Late Night Wars,” direct from Taiwan’s Apple Action News here.

Making them into Super Heroes was a nice touch, Apple Action News animators!

So Conan gets 7 months before being called an “astounding failure” by NBC exec Dick Ebersol. Seven months, which believe it or not isn’t the shortest tenure as host of the Tonight Show. (There were two hosts in 6 months between Steve Allen and Jack Paar back in the late 50s.)

Given Conan’s gargantuan #1 ratings in his final week, can you still honestly make that assessment Mr. Ebersol?

I was thinking about all this until the news from Haiti started to roll in last week. With 150,000 people dead, suddenly who hosts The Tonight Show ceases to even be interesting anymore.

And watching tonight’s Extreme Home Makeover, while I was choked up to see all the good that happened on Buffalo’s west side (Thanks ABC!), what was more amazing to me was how much that shipment of shoes meant to the children of Jamaica, in Delores Powell’s former home town.

$45 million dollars was what Conan O’Brien got just to walk away from NBC. That would buy a lot of shoes. It would pay for a lot of construction in Haiti, and New Orleans, and Mississippi.

Priorities.

–Brian

Last year, I wrote about the two thousand year old Ancient Law Of Abundance which is supposed to guarantee financial prosperity in the coming year. Speaking from experience, this actually worked for me and my wife last year. Coincidence or not, it’s worth a shot in this economy, right?

After I talked about it on the air this week, a lot of people called wanting the info, so here’s what you do, adapted to 2010 technology:

• Take a blank check.
• Date it with the current date.
• Make the check out to yourself.
• Use your full legal name.
• Leave the dollar box and line blank.
• In the memo area write, “Paid in full.”
• Sign the check, “Law of Abundance.”

That’s it! You will need to keep the check with you at all times in the New Year (except when bathing and sleeping). You have until the first new moon, which is January 15th this year, to make out the check.

Good luck! I hope it works for you as well as it did for me.

–Brian

OK, one more. Here are my Top 5 Stupidest Statements of 2009. This is a purely subjective list, but I am sure you will agree, very little thought was given beforehand to what was being said.

5) “I’m gonna let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time.”

Kanye West, after snatching Taylor Swift’s microphone at the MTV Video Music Awards and interrupting her acceptance speech for Best Female Video.

4) “You have a drink on you? You have a car?” Then his daughter said, “Daddy, it’s me — Tatum!”

Ryan O’Neal, American actor, trying to pick up an attractive woman at the funeral of his longtime partner, Farrah Fawcett.

3) “We need to uptick our image with everyone, including one-armed midgets.”
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, on the GOP’s need for a “hip-hop makeover,” whatever that means.

) “Yes, it’s Gordon…Gordon Ramsay, isn’t it?”

Paris Hilton, when asked at a UK press conference if she knew who the British prime minister was.

1) “I don’t know anything about cars.”

Edward Whitacre, Jr., the new CEO of bankrupt General Motors, summing up his knowledge about Detroit’s auto industry.

And, the Stupidest Statement Of The Decade Award, goes to Laren Caitlin Upton, Miss South Carolina Teen USA, who was asked in 2007 why a fifth of Americans cannot locate the US on a world map:

“I personally believe that US Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some, uh, people out there in our nation don’t have maps and, uh, I believe that our, uh, education like such as, uh, South America and, uh, the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and, I believe that they should, uh, our education over here in the US should help the US, uh, or, uh, should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future, for us.”

Happy 2010 everybody!

–Brian

With the curtain coming down on 2009, it is a time to look back at the best of the year. From all the boring lists quoted elsewhere, I thought it would be more fun to list the Top Viral Videos of 2009, according to online video king YouTube. As T.O. says, “Getcha Popcorn Ready!”

Top 5 Most Watched YouTube videos of the year:

1. Susan Boyle – Britain’s Got Talent (120+ million views)

(embedded video player is not available – click here to watch the video)

2. David After Dentist (37+ million views)

3. JK Wedding Entrance Dance (33+ million views)

4. New Moon Movie Trailer (31+ million views)

5. Evian Roller Babies (27+ million views)

Want more? Here is YouTube’s complete list of the top videos of 2009. Which one did you like the best? Drop me a comment to let me know, or feel free to add one of your own!

–Brian

I always look forward to Thanksgiving weekend because it’s a chance to get away from work for a few days and have some fun with my family. This year we continued the tradition of having my brother join us from D.C. for turkey, football, and the World’s Largest Disco.

Heather once again outdid herself with the feast, and in particular with the pumpkin/pecan/caramel cheesecake for dessert! And after dinner, thanks to a generous donation of Christmas money from my parents (which we spent a little early – sorry, Mom and Dad) we broke out the Beatles Rock Band game that we had been eagerly waiting to play.

My rationalization for opening it early is the fact that my brother and my parents will be in Florida over Christmas, so we wanted to share it with family while Drew was here. And since the Lions got blown out so completely – again – on Thanksgiving Day, we needed an emotional boost.

Let me just say that for Beatles fans like us, this game is nirvana. Everything from the graphics to the way each song sounds is perfect. We worked our way up from Easy to Medium relatively quickly, and even to Hard on several songs that we know particularly well. Heather and I were on bass and guitar, Drew on drums, and even the kids sang vocals on some of the easier songs.

There was a moment during Here Comes The Sun that moved me. The song is already so wistfully hopeful and bright, and maybe it was also seeing the late George Harrison playing serenely on screen with us, but the experience of performing it together with my little family created another indelible memory. Being able to share this music, a piece of my childhood, in such a unique and modern way with my children was pretty special.

From a technical standpoint, I can’t think of a better way to introduce basic musical concepts to children than Rock Band or Guitar Hero. It’s easy to follow the vocals and guitar in the beginner modes, so you’re playing along immediately, and you really do get a decent feel for rhythm while following the drum prompts. It’s music, but it’s a video game, which makes learning it cool, rather than work.

We literally spent hours playing the game between Thanksgiving and Saturday night, when it was time to get our costumes on and head for the World’s Largest Disco. What can I say about the event except it never disappoints. As you can see, a good time was had by all.

Funny story: the afro I was wearing, at some point in the evening, started moving from the front to the back of my head. I whipped it off near the end of the night, and somehow lost track of it between the time we finally left the party and got home. I have no idea where it is now, but I have a feeling it’s not the only foam-padded black curly wig that was misplaced that evening.

Until next year!

–Brian