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UCLA Student Tasered in Library by Police

Fuck tha police
Comin straight from the underground
Young nigga got it bad cuz I'm brown
And not the other color so police think
They have the authority to kill a minority
-N.W.A

Just another reason to be bitter at the man:

So a 19-year old Iranian UCLA student walks into the library but doesn't show his ID to the campus police. What ensues next is unclear...

What we do see is the end result, three or four armed cops tasering the unarmed student as he wails in pain from the electric shock...

Now unless the unarmed Iranian student was physical attacking the police, I think there is zero justification for what the police did.

I realize this video probably doesn't tell the whole picture. Maybe he refused to leave. Maybe he cursed at the officers. Maybe he said he had a fivesome with all the officers mom's last night, and he loved fucking each of them in every orifice possible.

But even if he refused to leave the library, the police could have at the very least handcuffed and arrested him; if he refused that or wouldn't budge from his spot, the three or four officers could have physically carried out the student if need be.

Tasering should have been the last possible choice. It's very painful and has killed 84 people in the U.S. and Canada in the last 7 years. Plus it makes grown men whimper like little girls. (If I was that Iranian kids friends, I'd surely crack a few jokes, but then again I'm an asshole.)

I hope those fucking cops get fired.

Tags: UCLA, UCLA tasering, cops, police, Iranian, n.w.a, fuck tha police, tasering

Office Space Redux

Fans of the movie Office Space are going to love this. It's Office Space recut to resemble a horror movie. I know what you're thinking: isn't the original already a horror movie? I'm curious to hear your comments...

Grade: watch it if you have a sense of humor

Tags: video review, office space recut, office space, mashup video, youtube

I hate 401Ks and IRAs

I'm convinced that everyday people, myself included, think that rich people are better than themselves.

They certainly dress better in their perfectly tailored Armani suits compared to our Men's Warehouse variety.

They certainly sleep with better looking people-- the Angelina Jolies and the playboy models of the world, while we get whatever we can.

And they certainly don't have to worry about mortgages and student loan payments...

Part of me wants to argue that the rich have no perspective, are soulless and don't understand joy and pain go hand in hand, that everything the everyday person calls their own, whether it's material or symbolic, is in a way spiritual because it is earned with blood, sweat and tears. (yes I feel so good about paying my student loans because I did it myself!) But unfortunately, that would be a lie.

I am no more a spiritual person than Brad Pitt. I may even be less a spiritual being because unlike Mr. Pitt, money, and not adopting poor African children, is always on my mind...

America and capitalism is a rewards system, and the benefits and prestige of that system are money and material goods. And no matter how happy you are with your nice paying job and beautiful family, there's always an annoying itch inside of you reminding that other people have more than you, that they have an endless supply of money and expensive items, while you're stuck with your three year old Ipod mini.

So it it with some sadness that I put money into retirement accounts, 401Ks and IRAs, for my future. The child in me wants to spend it all on material good, buy that new Ipod and HDTV because I am a shallow child of a shallow, empty system.

But alas, the Sancho Panza in me-- in all us I guess-- thinks better of that idea. Better to save a little every month, so that by the time I'm old and decrepit and can barely enjoy the money, I'll have more than I know what to do with.

It's an awful system built on a future that might not exist, ignoring the present we live in.

If only I was born into the Hilton family.

Tags: miscellaneous review, 401K, IRA, money, armani, rich people, poor people, armani, men's warehouse, angelina jolie, playboy model, mortgages, student loan payments, brad pitt, student loans, america, capitalism, ipod, hdtv, sancho panza, hilton family

Restaurant Review of Vnyl

Do you have an unhealthy obsession with campy items?

Want to go the bathroom in singer-themed rooms?

Think menus should be actually be album covers instead of regular old laminated paper?

Then I've found the place for you: Vnyl in Hell's Kitchen!

Located at 9th avenue and 51st street, Vnyl offers everything you expect from a trendy-themed restaurant: large crowds who are all as pretentious as you are. But unlike most pretentious spots, this one has a little fun with campy decor that includes Backstreet Boy Figurines.

The music is pretty great at Vnyl as well. When I went on a Tuesday night, I heard the likes of Bel Biv Devoe, Prince and Dexy's Midnight Runner. And my menu was the cover to the Beastie Boys great album "Paul's Boutique." How cool is that!

The food was fine... it's hard to me to comment to much on it because 1) I ordered a Chicken Pot Pie, which is really hard to screw up and 2) I was kind of hammered, so I wasn't necessarily paying attention to the food's taste. But the people I was with thought the food was pretty good and it was very affordable, so take that for what it's worth. (It's really not worth that much because I only hang out people as bright as me.)

The real kicker at Vnyl, however, is the bathrooms. Each is singer-themed: a Cher bathroom, an Elvis bathroom, a Nelly bathroom, and a Barbara Streisand bathroom. I went inside the Nelly bathroom. Inside they were playing Country Grammar ("I'm goin down down baby, yo' street in a Range Rover") and they had a glass case with a cartoonish Nelly figurine. If only every time I took a shit, I could be this amused!

Best For: Trying to impress your out-of-town friends with how eccentrically cool New York is, while spending very little.

P.S. For other New York restaurants recommendations, try the guides below. Or don't. I don't give a shit.

Tags: vnyl, restaurant review, new york restaurant review, Hell's Kitchen, bel biv devoe, Prince, Dexy's Midnight Runner, Beastie Boys, Paul's Boutique, cool bathrooms, nelly, cher, elvis

A review of last night's election coverage

What channels did you watch last night?

I flipped around a lot. I started with CNN, then checked out Fox News. Moved on to ABC, then the Daily Show/Colbert Report. I ended the night with MSNBC and Fox News.

I purposely didn't switch to CBS and Katie Couric because I only like perkiness in the morning. That, and I hate women, especially when they want to be treated like equals.

In between I caught a little bit of "House" on Fox, where Dr. House tries to save the life of a 600-pound man, whose blubbery arms, legs and stomach looked like rotting pieces of dough. Mmm, tasty!

Who'd you like the best?

It was a tough choice. Each channel had it's strengths and weaknesses. But ultimately I decided that no one was the best because all the network's and their talking heads have an inflated, undeserved sense of self-importance, even though everything they discuss only applies to rich white people playing silly, self-important games and has very little to do with reality and normal people.

But other than that, I thought every network did a commendable job.

Favorite moment of the night?

James Carville calling out Bill Bennet for interrupting him while he was talking. And then Bennet repeatedly saying "I'm sorry James, I'm sorry James" like a 4-year old who thinks he's lost his mother's love. Awwww. Those guys are so cute together.

Also Richmond Webb's great run and pass blocking at left tackle in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, which helped the Dolphins over take George Allen's Redskins was pretty entertaining, too. (Please leave a comment if anyone understands what the hell I'm saying or if it's just another one of my ether-induced hallucinations. I will give you a prize!)

Who was your favorite anchor?

It'd be easy to say Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert, but there was actually a better, funnier anchor last night: Lou Dobbs. Did you see his carrot top hair dye? Hahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Overall impressions?

A waste of time for anyone who doesn't care about politics. Unfortunately for the future of America, that eliminates about 75% of the population. And the 25% who do care about politics:
well, they'll believe what happened last night is an agent for change, either for good or bad. Oh, how it must feel to be rich, white and out of touch with your constituents!

P.S. If you want to buy a book about American politics, please use the amazon.com link below. If you buy a $5 book, I get 4% of the earnings. That means I'm 2o cents richer!

Tags: cnn, fox news, abc, daily show, colbert report, msnbc, house, dr. house, election coverage, james carville, bill bennet, richmond webb, george allen, lou dobbs, jon stewart, steven colbert, politics

Martin Scorsese's The Departed

smack my bitch up

(Spoilers ahead...)
I love Martin Scorsese. And when I say love him, I mean I love him in a manly platonic way.

But I also love his movies. Even the less than perfect ones (Color of Money, Kundun, I mean you) are more interesting than anything Dennis Dugan has ever directed, except for maybe "Saving Silverman." (I don't care how bad it was, it had a Neil Diamond cover band for godssake.)

But there's a problem with his latest release, "The Departed," a remake of the Hong Kong movie "Infernal Affairs": it's just not as good as everyone is saying. (It's currently at 92% on rottentomatoes.com; and it's currently ranked the #66 greatest movie of all time on imdb.com).

It's by no means a bomb; it's a mostly entertaining, intricately plotted crime drama with specks of real humor, genuinely interesting characters and a very hot lady psychiatrist (ooo, I love Vera Farmiga.)

The problem, however, is that my dad's hairy back haunts me more than anything in "The Departed." The quickly moving story is way too over the top and at too dizzying paced to be taken seriously. And in the critical role of Frank Costello, Jack Nicholson unfortunately decides to play Jack Nicholson and kills any chance for this movie to be taken seriously. (I can only imagine how much better the movie would have bee if a less well-known, low-key actor had taken the role.) As a result by the end, when everyone important has a bullet in the back of their head and you're supposed to be in shock and contemplate the tragedy of what just happened, you just laugh and laugh at the lame plot twist. (Warning, if you actually do laugh at this scene, someone will throw something at you from behind.)

There's still a lot to like here. Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon are great as dueling shadows trying to best each other. Dicaprio, with his pretty, baby-face and intense blue eyes, finds a new depth here that's often lost in his pretty boy looks. His Billy Costigan feels like a battered adult; in previous roles, like "Gangs of New York," Dicaprio always felt like a maturing teenager trying to play an adult but not here. He might just have turned the corner as an actor. Or I might just have a new man crush.

Damon rekindles his fast-talking Will Hunting persona with an Irish accent, as Colin Sullivan, a fast-talking charmer, who's an unusually intelligent cop that stays ahead of the heat. The only thing wrong with performance is that he never got to say "how you like them apples."

And the supporting actors are great especially Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin. In a screen filled with pretty boys, Baldwin's overweight, tough-new york guy machismo is needed; and he's also funny as hell. While Wahlberg continues to prove he's not just a talented hip-hop star. (does anyone really have anything bad to say about Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch? Besides the obvious comment that they were horrible, that is.)

But overall, after seeing "The Departed," I now wonder does Scorsese have anything to say about males playing their silly games that he hasn't already said a hundred times better? I say no, and it's time to move on to more Duganian themes... imagine an edgy "Happy Gilmore" with a rock and roll soundtrack.

My advice: watch "Mean Streets" or "Goodfellas" again.

Grade: C+

P.S. As always, if you're interested in buying any Scorsese movies, please use the links below, so I can support my vicodin addiction.

Tags: martin scorsese, the departed, color of money, movies, kundun, dennis dugan, saving silverman, neil diamond, infernal affairs, rottentomatoes, imdb, vera farmiga, frank costello, jack nicholson, leonardo dicaprio, matt damon, bill costigan, gangs of new york, will hunting, colin sullivan, mark wahlberg, alec baldwin, marky mark, happy gilmore, mean streets, goodfellas