If you like cheddar, and I know you do, you should keep an eye out for Dubliner cheese. The cheese is white and tastes like cheddar, except nuttier. Also, there's a vague hint of a parmesan-like flavor that really knocks me out. It's really delicious and I can't think of another cheese that's similar. You can find it throughout the country at most specialty cheese shops or at places with good cheese departments. If you live on the west coast you can find it the cheapest at Trader Joe's. If you live in NYC you can find it the cheapest at East Village Cheese.

-Aaron

Fiona Apple fans can rejoice because Extraordinary Machine is finally being released. Billboard reports October 4th is the street date and the album will not be exactly the same as the version that leaked onto the internet way back when. Fiona is to begin streaming tracks on her official website today and you can buy them from iTunes starting tomorrow. So it seems not only is the album coming out, but the marketing machine is already well in motion.

Fiona Apple official site
Read the Billboard article
Download the title track

Posted by Chad

This is totally old news and I'm sure you've all seen it, but I just wouldn't be a superfan if I didn't post the video for Coldplay's Fix You. It's by no means a good video, but it does make me excited to go to the concert in two weeks, which is something. I was waiting to get it in Quicktime and here it is.

Fix You Video

Posted by Chad

Last night I went to the 10:10 showing of Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalo
at the Mann 6 theater on the Promenade and here's my mini review.

For perspective, I was 17 years old when Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo came out and I remember laughing a lot when I saw it in the theater with my buddy Ray. In the six years since, I've grown up a lot, gone to film school and seen my tastes get what some would describe as "snobbier". Nonetheless, I laughed my ass off last night as well.

Clocking in at around 80 minutes, its barely a movie and if you are looking for anything remotely interesting in your editing, directing or pacing of a movie, then perhaps this isn't the flick for you. Some of the montages are so poorly put together I felt like I was watching a rough cut and the plot unfolds from one obvious set up to the next. But what Deuce Bigalow lacks in cinematic competance, it makes up for in laughs. Not a single clever joke in the whole thing, but some brilliant stupid ones. Eddie Griffin really comes into his own here with his T.J. character. Left as a side note in the first film, he is able to run wild in the sequel while Rob Schneider merely plays the straight man.

One running joke has Griffin constantly referring to Schneider's penis with a different euphamism such as "twatsicle" or "shenis" or "vaguyna". Basically if you don't think that's funny then don't see the movie. But you'll be cheating yourself out of a shameless, laugh-filled 80 minutes my friend.

Posted by Chad

I don't, by any means, claim to be some kind of expert on cheese. I have tried quite a bit of cheese though, and I know what I like. I feel pretty strongly that the cheeses listed below are all top notch. If you have a cheese store in your area, or even just a Whole Foods you should give them a try. If you live in NYC be sure to visit East Village Cheese at 40 3rd Ave. This place has tons of amazing cheese at rock bottom prices (they have about 20 $2.99lb specials every week).


#5

Roquefort
This French goat's milk blue cheese is made in caves near the Spanish border. What we have here is a very sharp cheese, but with a strangely mellow goat flavor. It's great to eat after a meal, maybe with a pear and some wine or maybe with a 40 of Miller High Life. Either way, you'll enjoy it.


#4

Black Diamond Cheddar
Black Diamond is a company from Canada that makes cheddar. Although I love many brands of cheddar I've decided that this is the best. Made from raw milk, its smoothness and sharpness can't be beat. Close on hand in the cheddar department are Tillamook and Bandon, both from Oregon.


#3

Danish Blue
There are many many makers of Danish blue cheese, but I've liked almost all that I've had. Usually it's very sharp and salty, while creamy at the same time. This is great because they balance each other out perfectly. I find that it's at its best when it's somewhere between room temperature and fridge temerature.


#2

Chevre
"Chevre" can refer to any type of 100% goat's milk cheese. My favorite is the moist soft kind as seen in the picture. It's a bit tart and also creamy, but always simple and no nonsense. Sometimes you can get it with herbs or garlic, however I prefer it plain.


#1

Cotswold
Named after an area in England, cotswold cheese is kind of like cheddar, except it's even better. It's made from double glouster which is a bit soft, but not too soft. In any case, it's got chopped onions and chives in it and it's amazing. I could eat a whole half pound wedge of it if I didn't stop myself.



-Aaron

Samuel Bayer, whose previous collaborations with Green Day are up for 8 MTV Video Music Award nominations, has declared his new video for "Wake Me Up When September Ends" the greatest thing he's done. And he's done some good videos.

"It's a sad song. It's a song about loss and heartbreak. And I've played the video for people and seen them cry," he continued. "To have a video that evokes that kind of emotion from people is amazing. In my career, I've never had anything affect people like that."

MTV is tripping over themselves to praise it and the fact that uber-liberal blog site Crooks & Liars have linked it up is indicative of how they will latch onto anything with a mildly anti-war message. I think it's an enormous piece of crap, on par with Michael Jackson's overblown and incomprehensible "You Rock My World" clip. But take a look for yourself and decide. Maybe I'm the only one who thinks cutting back and forth between soldiers getting rained on by bullets and debris with Green Day getting rained on with cool sparkly lights in slow motion is a little crass.

No offense to Jamie Bell and Evan Rachel Wood though, who do alright with the terrible dialogue and Star Wars-ian staging of their scenes.

Watch the video

Posted by Chad

My good buddy Robert Evans, 75 got married for the seventh time this week to 42 year old Lady Victoria White. No stranger to the vows herself, White is embarking on her third marriage after only dating Notorious for three months.

The best part of the story is how Evans reportedly proposed. According to Time magazine, he presented his bride-to-be with a photograph of her and her late husband with Evans' face pasted on the man's body. That's class.

Posted by Chad

In celebration of its 10 year anniversary, Soccernet has unveiled an article that profiles the top three players of the last decade. They originally put a shortlist of ten players up and then users voted for their picks which resulted in this top three. Number one on the list is not a surprise, Zinedine Zidane of France.

Click Here for the Article

Posted by Chad

Posted by Chad

Finally lending some credibility to Broadway, Rosie O'Donnell will be appearing in the New York revival of Fiddler on the Roof. The lead role of Tevye will be played by Harvey Fierstein. Seriously. Kudos to Best Week Ever for beating me to the joke of reporting that O'Donnell will be playing the roof.

Posted by Chad

Check out this great new Adidas commercial directed by Dean Maryon.

Impossible Field

The video for Elbow's first single off Leaders of the Free World has hit the net and it's fantastic. I added the link below but for some reason people still put out their shit in Windows Media Player. Can't find a Quicktime of it anywhere. But it's too good not to watch so enjoy.

Forget Myself Video

Posted by Chad

August just started, but there is literally nothing coming out the whole month that I want to see in the theater (except Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalo) and so I'm already looking forward to the fall. Similar to the summer, I struggled to come up with 10 movies that I am really excited about, although there is definitely at least five that I am clammoring to see now. Anyway, here are my 10 most anticipated movies of the Fall (September-December).


10. Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (Tim Burton, Mike Johnson)
Tim Burton hasn't made a good movie in ages, but if this one is anything like The Nightmare Before Christmas it should buck the trend. Although Burton didn't actually direct or have much to do with Christmas at all so maybe it won't.

9. All the Kings Men (Steven Zaillian)
Not much is out about this movie yet so I'm excited just based on the cast and the fact that the original movie is fantastic. Could turn into something I'm not excited about before it's out.

8. Jarhead (Sam Mendes)
Again, the cast and director are enough to get me buzzed. Could change though.


7. The New World (Terrence Malick)
I'm probably the least pumped about this film of all GO-GC members, but I still think it will be good.


6. Shopgirl (Anand Tucker)
A great trailer got me onto this movie. The movie itself could be bad though, I haven't read the book.


5. Syriana (Stephen Gaghan)
Gaghan hasn't made a good movie but the sight of Clooney with a pot belly, dirty beard and surrounded by Arabs makes him look even more like my Dad.

4. Match Point (Woody Allen)
I've been skipping out on Woody's recent work but everyone says this is a return to form (which they've also said about his last ones)


3. Elizabethtown (Cameron Crowe)
I doubt this will be as good as Crowe's last two films but I do have high hopes.

2. Munich (Steven Spielberg)
Man I love Spielberg.


1. Good Night and Good Luck. (George Clooney)
The follow up to maybe the best directorial debut of the decade.

Posted by Chad

Now I haven't travelled the world, riding roller coasters left and right, but I have been to a fair number of theme parks across the United States. Hell, I even worked at one for the summer of '99 and appeared in the commercial for the Apollo's Chariot ride at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg. Yes, that's the roller coaster that Fabio hit a bird with his face while riding. I imagine if blogging was as popular back in '99 as it is now, that would have been one of the most posted stories of the year. Anyway, the point is yesterday I went to Six Flags, Valencia and rode a ride called X and it is officially the greatest roller coaster I have ever been on. Worth the price of admission alone if you are considering going.

Six Flags Official Site

And just for fun. . .

Fabio Busch Gardens Video

Posted by Chad

I just watched it and my god, Goldie Hawn was gorgeous. Gorgeous! Why didn't anybody tell me? Of course, in the only picture I could find to prove it she's hideous.

Posted by Chad

Sigur Ros will be releasing their third album in the US on September 13 via Geffen Records. The name of the album is Takk. . . and unlike ( ), which was mostly sung in the made up "Hopelandish", this record is mostly sung in Icelandic. ( ) was my second favorite album of 2002 and so I'm really pumped for this new record. Anyway, if you want a sneak peak you can download the leadoff single below.

Also, if anyone is interested in seeing them on the 11th in Los Angeles, let me know.

Sigur Ros - Gong

Posted by Chad

Razor & Tie Records is releasing an album that pays tribute to the 40th anniversary of The Beatles' "Rubber Soul". It's basically the entire album redone by modern indie bands like The Fiery Furnaces, Low, Rhett Miller, Ben Kweller and Sufjan Stevens. Since I know we have some Sufjan fans here I thought I'd post his version of "What Goes On".

Tracklist

Sufjan Stevens- What Goes On

Posted by Chad

Dane Cook's new CD debuted at number 4 this week and sold 86,000 copies. Somewhat inexplicably since his last CD never made the top 200 and sold 4,000 in its biggest week. Anyway, it's the highest chart position for a comedy album since this. . .



. . .hit number 2 back in 1979. That's quite a feat for Mr. Cook, who I find neither here nor there in terms of funny. Maybe I need to give him another chance. Despite the good news though, his debut comes 6,000 copies short of setting the record for most copies sold in a week by a comedy album. That honor was swiped up earlier in the year by the following.



You know it.

Dane Cook- The Friend Nobody Likes

Larry the Cable Guy- Factory Worker

Posted by Chad

Elbow's new album is hitting stores on September 12 from V2 Records and the title track has leaked. I'm not sure if it's the first single or not but man is it awesome. If its any indication, Coldplay and the Doves will have to make room for Elbow at the top of my 2005 list. How's that for a predictable Chad Hartigan top 3. Anyway, listen to the track and tell me if its not fantastic. Here's how lead singer Guy Garvey describes the track.

I saw footage of Bush senior and junior when the latter was voted in for his 2nd term. George W. was all but shrugging his dad off and hogging the attention and I could suddenly see him as an 8 year old. A spoilt, nasty, selfish little shit for brains. He’s officially the most powerful man in history.

Leaders of the Free World

Posted by Chad

October 7 can't come fast enough.

Official Site

Posted by Chad

I'd like to just take a moment to remind everyone that "The Cable Guy" is an amazing movie. Where else can you see the comedic acting talents of Jim Carrey, Owen Wilson, Jack Black, Ben Stiller and David Cross all in one movie? It's the all star comedy of 2005, made ten years in advance. And it's hilarious.

You probably haven't seen it in a long time and are wondering if it still holds up and I'm here to tell you that it does. Rent it, buy it, watch it. Jim Carrey's best role after "Eternal Sunshine".

Posted by Chad

Congratulations are in order for two of our very own here at Grand Opening-Grand Closing. "Hoopla" a 20 minute short film directed by Aaron Katz and starring Keegan DeWitt has been chosen to screen at the 2005 Rhode Island International Film Festival. The festival takes place August 9-14 and I'm pretty sure that "Hoopla" will be screening on the 13th. Their website kind of sucks so its hard to tell. If you live anywhere near this state, you should definitely check it out.

Also, RIFF is one of only 47 film festivals in the country that serves as a qualifying round for the Academy Awards. If "Hoopla" can snag a win in the short film category, it will automatically be in contention for next years Oscars. A long shot, but those are exactly the kind of odds Keegan and Aaron like. They are even doing something new this year. For the first time, audience members will have an opportunity to nominate their choice for Oscar selection by a special ballot, so its totally vital that you go and vote for it. So, cheers guys and good luck.

Official Festival Site

Posted by Chad