Where's the Money coming from?

Basebal is America's past time. In recent years, ratings have gone down tremendously and, surprsingly, prices have gone up.  With the opening of the new Yankee Stadium and many marquee players signing huge contracts, one may ask the question: where is all the money coming from? Its the simple law of supply and demand that if no one (or a lesser amount) of people want a product, the demand for it goes down.  The fact that no one has instituted a salray cap or luxury taxes in baseball shows that maybe baseball is immune to whether people are actually watching it or not.  Maybe the faithful few that still actually go to baseball games regularly are enough to keep the boat that is "America's past time" afloat.  Maybe these die hard fans are enough to keep Derek Jeter (seen below) getting paid the equivalent to  $5,000 for every single at bat.

Whether baseball is still relevant in the grand scheme of the american social fabric is yet to be seen; but it is evident that it is here to stay no matter what

Most Disappointing Movie of 2010

The year 2010 has not been the best in terms of movies.  Many have been undermarketed and countless others have not lived up to the anticipation or hype that preceded their release.  Without a doubt, the movie at the top of this list (not living up to hype) would have to be Resident Evil: Afterlife.  With a cost of prodution that was over $60,000,000 and a cast full of stars from T.V. (Wenworth Miller of Lost and Ali Larter of Heros) and movies the consensus prior to the release of the movie was that it would be one of the best of the year.  This definately not the case and I'm not the only one to think so. IMDB (the international movie database) rated the movie 6.5 out of 10. 

The lack of a clearly defined plot made the movie seem like a highlight reel of a bad ametuer film, trying to showcase the talens of a stuntman or cinematographer looking for their big break in Hollywood.  If this is the future of the action movie industry then it will not be around for much longer. The industry as a whole deserves alot better than what the makers of Resident Evil gave.  

Kanye West Has Lost It

Its always sad to watch a star fall (evidenced by people such as Lindsey Lohan, Brittney Spears, and Michael Vick) but most of the time there are outside factors acting on the person that lead to their untimely and/or unfortunate demise in the case of Lindsey Lohan and Brittney Spears... itwas probably drugs.  In the case of Michal Vick it was the people he surrounded himself with and the notions he had that dog fighting was not ALL that bad. 
Sometimes, however, some stars fall into obscurity (or are well on their way) and their situation makes you wonder "what happened? they were doing so well". There is always a logical explanation.  Kanye West used to be one of the biggest star in hip-hop, music, and the entertainment industry as a whole.  However something happened gradually through time that has made him... lose his mind (for more information google (Kanye interrupts Taylor Swift at 2009 VMAs).  Many people may think that it is his mother's death or some other factor beyond the view of the public eye.  I think, however, that the reason is right in from of us. 
The reason that Kanye West is no longer appealing beyond his die-hard fans (bless their souls) is Kanye West.  He loves himself too much and this  is evident in any song that he has made in the past two years and all of his actions.  We should have seen this coming.  He went from making music that spoke to millions to music that spoke to the mirror.  He went from talking about the blood diamond business in Africa and the ambition (or lack thereof) of black women to "Love Lockdown".  Kanye West now loves himself too much to be able to make music anyone can relate to but well... Kanye West.  This is unfortunate but it seems to be too late. It was painful to watch him perform at the VMAs because it was a microcosm of his life since he discovered what an 808 and auto-tune was. 

Encore for Avatar

Avatar, the most successful movie of all time, was full of innovative technology, groundbreaking collaborations, and history making ticket sales (a record $2.7 billion worldwide). Much of the movie was filmed with the use of “green screens” similar to the ones used by meteorologists on the news and although the main characters were ten foot tall blue aliens for much of the movie, the essence of the characters’ facial characteristics were still maintained, a feat that made the movie very aesthetically pleasing throughout. With all of these aspects of the making of the film that make it unique, there’s no surprise that it did very well in terms of how many people went to see it; especially due to the fact that James Cameron (director, producer, and writer) was behind it and is also the previous record holder for the most successful movie ever: Titanic.

With all of this in consideration, however, it was much to my dismay that the movie is going to be shown in theaters once again; this time strictly in 3-D. This re-release is after the DVD has been released and millions of people have already seen the film; some more than once or several times. So why do James Cameron and the company that produced Avatar (20th Century Fox) think that after all the accumulated success from many different mediums that the movie can do even better shatter more records?

Whatever the reason may be, I encountered the trailer for the re-release and was immediate grabbed by the fact that it was so convincing. I have seen Avatar three times in theaters and once on DVD. Even so, I still found myself planning a day to go see it in theaters for the fifth time (because everything is better in 3-D).

There were many facets of the ad that I found creative and clearly effective in persuading people to go watch the movie again (or for the first time in many cases). In the ad, the movie was referred to as “the most revolutionary film of all time”, giving quotes and reviews from many reputable reviewers such as columnists from The New York Times and Ebert and Roper. This appeal to authority made the claims being made more credible to the viewers.

The trailer also showed some of the most breathtaking excerpts of the movie, panoramic views of the fictional wilderness and close ups of the blue skin on the Avatars. If I had not seen the movie several times already I would definitely want to see it for the first time after seeing the trailer. The trailer was also effective in that it did not show negatively emotional scenes; the only ones shown portrayed the characters as jubilant and happy. There were sad points in the movie, but I think the showing of the positive scenes is more gravitating in terms of getting someone to want to see the movie than showing scenes of anguish and despair.

All in all, the trailer accomplished a fantastic feat, effectively convincing me and countless others to see the movie; whether it be the first time, or the fifth.  With this re-release, it is quite possible that "Avatar" could surpass Star Wars as the best selling theater movie of all time regardless off monetary constrainsts such as inflation.  This is an amazing feat by it is cheating (in my opinion) seeing that although Star Wars was sucessful George Lucas didn't choose to put it backin theaters after it shattered numerous records.

Has Air Jordan lost his wings?

Michael Jordan and his brand, during his playing career and throughout the last decade, have become synonymous with aesthetic beauty and overall greatness in terms of performance.  As of late however, due to factors unknown to the average consumer (which I am) the shoes being released by Jordan Brand have been a severe disappointment, looking less stylish and more like abstract art; an "aquired taste".  The shoes that used to appeal to the masses are now only being bought by the faithful sneakerheads and/or basketball players that use the shoe as a status symbol.  The shoes are overpriced and lack the type of hype that many of his "retro" shoes got and the anticipation that people all over the world experienced leading up to their release.  The inages below are the newest addition to Jordan Brand (left) and an example of one of the brand's most productive and popular shoes in terms of sales and endurance:

It may seem like and exaggeration or too harsh, but the fact that the shoes are getting less stylish and more expensive is just evident of the ideology that money runs everything.  That even if the shoe is lacking in terms of its committment to quality and performance, if it's making money its ok.  Only when nike and Jordan Brand goes back to the way it was before will the quality of their footwear increase once again.

Is he That Fast?

                               *(Usain Bolt)

The current "worlds fastest man", Usain Bolt of Jamaica*, is known for his greatness on the track.  He makes the impossible (breaking world records) seem effortless, simultaneously embarrassing the other seven men running on the track with him.  He has been known to say things sometimes impulsively, and is notoriously for not running as hard as he possible can through the whole race.  He runs to win the race and then begins to celebrate at his opponents' expense.  Many analysts have speculated over how low his times can really get. 

         At age 24, he may not have reached his peak, and with no major injuries ailing him many people are saying he could enter territory many thought not humanly possible for a person with no synthetic muscles or bionic arms and legs.**

**

The limits of the human body don't seem to affect Bolt's cofidence; evidenced by his recent claims in an interview that he thinks that by the 2010 summer games in Londen he will hit sub 9.4 hundred meter speed.  Is this humanly possible? to reach 9.39 speed a sprinter will have to run over 40 miles pe hour at 65 meters and continue it to the finish.  No matter how outlandish these claims seem, it is not arguable the if anyone has the right to make these promises its Bolt. 

Who knows? He may have been able to run sub 9.39 if he didnt start his victory jog 40 meters into 100 meter race in the olympic gaames in Beijing. 

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Albert Hayensworth Conditioning Test

       Albert Hayensworth and his repeated failed attempts at a simple conditioning test is a microcosm of what is wrong with many star athletes these days.  The fact that he thought he was above the workout programs with the team in the off season was enough.  He is a veteran player and should be able to handle his own conditioning program.  A few weeks before training camp he bragged about losing weight and being in the best physical condition of his life.  So  much for that.

        Being a notoriously lazy but talented player, he should be in the shape and practice that test relentlessly just to shake off the bad reputation that has grown on him.  The fact that he came to training camp severely unprepared and is now not able to practice until he successfully completes the test just strengthens critic's views that he is just another overpaid athlete.