Arrows & Anchors immerses listeners in a world they never fathomed imaginable.

Fair to Midland’s fourth studio album, released by E1 Music and produced by “Evil” Joe Barresi (Tool, Coheed and Cambria, Bad Religion), seamlessly blends a backbone of hard rock with intricate leads and sprinkles influences from hand-clapping pop to country folk.

Darroh Sudderth’s ranging vocals leads an audience everywhere from the gutter to soaring above cloud nine, and Cliff Campbell’s playfully rhythmic but full bodied guitar work somehow keeps them grounded the entire time. Jon Dicken lends bass that is dynamic and tasteful in a sinfully perfect tone, and Brett Stowers leaves it to wonder how one guy with only two arms can emphasize every right note and still remain totally locked into a song. All the while, Matt Langley’s keys overlay beautiful and sometimes unnerving melodies that give each song a very particular identity from the next.

Whiskey & Ritalin starts with a gut churning combination of pick slides and drum head abuse that serves as an audio wind-up that seems to be released like a haymaker when the song breaks into its first full band riff. It sets up the rest of the album to be chugging metal through and through, but the haunting intro and supercharged chorus of Musical Chairs makes it clear this album will take a different turn.  The foot-tapping Uh-Oh is so infectious that a vaccine is due out later this year, and the banjo ridden – yes, banjo – Amarillo Sleeps on My Pillow strangely suggests Doc Holliday may have known what a talk box and a wah-wah pedal was. A Loophole in Limbo is airy and slightly dials back the intensity, but still leaves no doubt that it is a rock song.

The second half of the album offers the same unique listening experience as the first, and does not disappoint on lyrical content that is both thought provoking and mystifying.

Short-Haired Tornado: “If you have yourself a son I’m gonna tell your baby boy that Father Time’s chock full of lies so don’t jump in just yet.”

Rikki Tikki Tavi: “If I build the Ark, will you wait for the water?”

Golden Parachutes: “They’ll be skipping stones with your bones when these ants know where to find you.”

Bright Bulbs & Sharp Tools: “He fights like hell because he wants to glow and would tackle the Sun to be a bright bulb.”

Coppertank Island: “Remember this: it’s just two cents. Two cents never made you rich.”

A track that can only be described as “epic” bookends the album.  The Greener Grass is a linear masterpiece that strays from repetition while telling a very dark story in a stream of magnificence and elegance. Weighing in at over 8 minutes long, it is hard to believe it can snare a listener’s intrigue for the whole duration, but it never fails to do so.

Fair to Midland’s Arrows & Anchors is highly recommended and receives 4.5 X’s – an imperfect score only because it has an ending.

About a month ago I woke up and was checking my morning newsfeed on Facebook when I saw someone had posted this video.

My immediate reaction was a nice chuckle, but after reaching the end of the video I saw that the message had been sponsored by the National Republican Trust PAC or G.O.P. Trust–an organization with a great deal of political power and influence.  Although I’ve had my concerns about certain issues pushed by the political right, this one seemed particularly misguided so I decided to do a little research.

GROUND ZERO IS A BURIAL SITE, NO MEGA MOSQUE ON SACRED GROUND

First off, the title of “Ground Zero Mosque” is fundamentally wrong.  The now ravished building, initially named Cordoba House and now Park51, is two blocks away from Ground Zero site and isn’t even viewable from its location due to it being blocked by other large, non-descriptive buildings.  So how close is too close?  Also, what do you say to the other mosques in the lower Manhattan area, especially those that were already in place before the 9/11 attacks?

I wholeheartedly agree that ground zero is a burial site and that many Americans consider it to be sacred ground.  Done and done.  But what is so concerning about this “mega mosque”?

Many people against the building of Park51 have seemed to jump to conclusions and lump together the totality of Islamic religion with terrorism.  Surprisingly, according to an FBI database showcasing terrorist attack groups on U.S. soil from 1980 to 2005, Islamic extremists were ranked as the second lowest terrorist attack group at 6% next to the ever-growing red scare of communism.

Aside from housing prayer spaces, the Park51 building is first and foremost a community center and will contain:

• A 500-seat auditorium
• Theater
• Performing arts center
• Fitness center
• Swimming pool
• Basketball court
• Childcare area
• Bookstore
• Culinary school
• Art studio
• Food court
• September 11 memorial
• Multifaith prayer space that can accommodate 1,000–2,000 people

If this is in fact a secret terrorist command center, it sounds like these terrorists are going to attack with a terrifying barrage of alley-oops and crème brulée.

Researchers at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have also stated that terrorist threats posed by radicalized Muslim-Americans have been blown out of proportion.  At a number similar to Islamic terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, only around 7% of Muslims in the entire world have been identified as terrorists or terrorism suspects (this  percentage reflects certain entities like Al-Qaeda and other small groups that perpetuate radical Islamic beliefs and haphazardly extremism.)  How would it sound if a radical Christian saw his neighbor mowing his front yard on a day of worship and said to himself, “Hmm, work on a Sunday? I really should kill him.”  Would this act represent the larger worldview of Christianity?  At such a minute number, there is no possible way the huge religion of Islam supports or condones such egregious acts of violence.

[Update 9/9/10]

Double standard all the way….WOAH, it’s almost a triple standard!!

This morning I was reading The Kansas City Star when I came across an article discussing a man named Rev. Terry Jones who is proposing to have an ‘International Burn A Koran Day’ on 9/11/2010.   And so it doesn’t sound completely crazy, the voice of religious tolerance Fred Phelps’ daughter Shirley Phelps Roper is also planning on attending the event.  I think Jon Stewart said it best when he said, “…a Christian is an extremist for burning the Quran, and a Muslim is an extremist for reading from it.”   What’s more, this burning could increase the danger posed to American soldiers still stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.  (I point out more ironies like this below.)

In addition, a recent catch phrase  has been circulating among some members of the the Tea Party movement and those opposed to the building of Park51: “All I ever needed to know about Islam, I learned on 9/11.” As posted on another blogger’s site: “There may be more that we should know about Islam than just what we learned 9 years ago but that lesson and previous lessons were pretty informative: Islam as an institution wants us dead and our resident non-Muslims lack both the rectitude and the fortitude to oppose that Islamic intent.”

So what did they learn?  Maybe I can also lend some input.

When I was in college I roomed with a good friend of mine from Pakistan who was Muslim.  I even had him over for Thanksgiving dinner with my extended family.  However, I specifically remember one instance at the dinner table when my grandfather asked him to pass the cranberry relish.  As they exchanged a passing glance I noticed a terrifying look in my friend’s eyes.  It was at this point I believe he realized we were all infidels.  He stood up as his chair crashed to the ground and lifting up his shirt he screamed, “This is for Muhamm…are you kidding me?  Have you even read this Koran?  Like I stated above, some people seem like they want an answer as quickly as possible for events like 9/11 so they make whatever association they want or they only know selective portions of an issue and project them in their own manner. This Daily Show interview really sums up this misinformation well (skip to the 4:40 mark):

And the misconceptions of Islam continue.

Perhaps the most offensive signs I’ve seen against the building of Park51 are the ones that read:

1. ) “Building a Mosque at Ground Zero is like building a memorial for Hitler at Auschwitz.”
2.) “You can build a Mosque at Ground Zero when we can build a synagogue in Mecca.”

1. ) The Hitler reference isn’t even a coherent argument so I’m not even going to bother.   I will, however, counteract an analogy I heard by a commentator on Fox News who said, “Building a Mosque at Ground Zero is like building a Shinto shrine at Pearl Harbor.” Although this comment at least has a religious aspect to it, it still doesn’t make any sense.  If there is a time I’m glad I studied Japanese culture throughout college, this is it.  Here is my brief overview of Shintoism:

Shintoism, a religion native to Japan, during World War II was  nationalized and projected as boosting morale for the wartime effort.  Also under Shintoism at this time, Emperor Hirohito was seen among the Japanese people as a living deity and therefore ignited a call to arms (including the famed kamikaze pilots.)  After the dropping of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and a  peace treaty between Japan and the U.S. in 1945, the Emperor came out and told the Japanese people he was not a God but in fact a regular human being.  The perspective of Shintoism changed drastically  after this point in history.  However, regardless of the role of the religion  in Japan after WWII, if the Japanese had wanted to build a Shinto shrine at Pearl Harbor it would have been their right to do so under the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America.

The move by Separatist pilgrims to America from England in 1620 was mainly prompted by the desire to freely practice one’s religion.  If I had to take a wild guess, this is why religious freedom is listed in the very first amendment.  This leads me to my next point.

2. ) Prior to the making of this sign, politician Newt Gingrich was quoted as saying the ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ shouldn’t be built near Ground Zero until churches and synagogues were allowed in Saudi Arabia.  Mr. Gingrich would have a valid point if it weren’t for one little difference between Saudi Arabia and America–freedom of religion.  Once again, fighting ignorance with ignorance just doesn’t seem to solve the problem.

However, the most abundant argument I’ve seen against the building of Park51 goes something like:  ”With all constitutionality aside, what about the sensitivity of the issue?  It’s a slap in the face of the families of the victims who died on 9/11.”

Sensitivity?  Among the victims on 9/11 were countless Muslims that died in the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks.  According to a recent poll done by Quinnipiac University, 54% of New Yorkers (including 9/11 victims’ families) are for the building of Park51 while 40% are against it and 6% are undecided.  The people have spoken.  If that isn’t enough, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and President Barack Obama have both supported the project.  The government has spoken.  You know what’s a slap in the face of 9/11 victims’ families?  The people that are still bigoted enough to speak out against a center which purpose is community outreach and religious tolerance.

In short, people that passionately spread beliefs without justifiable reasoning can make anything seem plausible.  Just because someone vehemently argues 2+2 = 5 doesn’t mean they are correct.  Disallowing the right to practice one’s religion in a country built up upon such freedoms is ridiculously counterintuitive.

This shouldn’t even be a controversial issue. I give this one 0 X‘s.

President Barack Obama unveiled his picks for the 2010 March Madness tournament today with Andy Katz from ESPN. While he certainly won’t be taking Joe Lunardi‘s job, Obama does an admirable job with his own “Barack-otology.” Granted, his analyses aren’t particularly insightful (“Maryland has a great player, but Michigan State has a great coach”) and the most he seems to know about teams are that they’re “athletic” and “balanced,” but I can’t seem to find any fault with his final conclusion; Kansas will win the National Championship.

In addition to Kansas in the Final Four, Obama also has the Kansas State Wildcats from the West, the Kentucky Wildcats from the East, and the Villanova Wildcats from the South. As much as this reminds me of brackets filled out by ex-girlfriends with the “cats are cute” mascot-matchup-strategy, I like to think Obama knew what he was doing. At one point in the video he tells Andy Katz he could put Kansas State head coach Frank Martin’s death stare to use in convincing Senate to vote for health care, so he’s definitely familiar with the teams.

Truth be told, I really like Obama’s bracket. He didn’t do too much reaching, only picking a couple upsets in the first round. Here’s to keeping my fingers crossed that his prognosticating goes as well as last year!

This review is actually fulfilling a request made by a friend in the army that spent  some time stationed at Ft. Lewis in Tacoma, WA. That information is relevant, because Washington is just about the only place you can find these natural energy bars at a retail store, and supposedly they’re really popular among the troops stationed in the area. There are several flavors to choose from, but luckily he brought me a Viking Cherry to try because the only other way to get hold of these is to order at least a box of 12 via Paypal for $25 plus shipping.

The idea behind these bars is actually pretty novel. Dana, the founder of Noble Bar, did some research to discover what ingredients were widely consumed by various civilizations. He then took those ingredients and combined them in his kitchen to create bars people from said civilization might have eaten. With this in mind, I bit into my Viking Cherry and imagined I was one of those badass longship oarsman starving for energy instead of a slightly overweight American blogger writing a deprecating review of Farmville.

My initial assessment of the bar was pretty positive; first taste impressions were that of Ocean Spray Craisins and birdseed. Some may find that profile slightly off-putting, but I really enjoyed it. The bar was perfectly chewy, and a little more moist than I was anticipating. At 2 ounces it’s a little smaller than a PowerBar, yet still surprisingly filling. I can’t attest to it’s energy rejuvenating powers, though, since I move around about as much as a centenarian just coming off a double hip replacement surgery.

I don’t know it they’re quite worth +$2.00 per bar, but considering the company is basically one guy and their production capabilities are limited, I can’t fault the price too much. I would recommend anyone in the Washington area, or anyone searching for novelty energy bars, give one of these a try, but they’re not necessarily a “must have” for the rest of us.

I’m pretty sure at this point the only people in the world not familiar with Farmville are my aunt Vicky and my 7th grade art teacher that hardly knew the difference between a computer keyboard and a bingo card. In fact, a recent Kansas City Star article claims that the game commands 73 million dedicated ‘farmers’ worldwide! That’s every single person living in Texas, New York, Florida, and North Carolina combined!  To further put that astronomic number into perspective, Blizzard, the company that manufactures World of Warcraft, announced a year ago that their incredibly popular game only reached 11.5 million users worldwide.

As far as the game itself, it’s easy to see how people that otherwise have no idea what a cotton seed even looks like initially become addicted to the game. The graphics are cute enough, and players are handsomely rewarded with 4-H county fair ribbons. Soon enough though, anyone with any semblance of a life away from their computer realizes that the game is more tedious than shaving your body with fingernail clippers. Small, manageable, plots soon turn into gigantic plantations or feed lots that command 30 minutes or more of attention at a time. Frustratingly, harvesting crops/animals isn’t a simple click and you’re done process. Zynga, the evil masterminds behind the Farmville scam, require you to individually click on each plot/animal and navigate a little menu to harvest! Even more frustrating, though, is that expiration dates on the crops require even the most casual farmer to check their farm on a regular basis. Sadly, people let this monotonous chore dictate their daily schedules.

I can understand how someone could enjoy the small pleasures of Farmville at first, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s downright shameful to continue playing the game after a couple weeks. This phrase is a bit cliche, but I can’t think of a better application for it; Friends shouldn’t let friends play Farmville.

Has the baseball world been turned upside down? The Major League’s most coveted foreign import free agent, Aroldis Chapman, finally agreed to a five-year, $30 million dollar offer over the weekend! The offer came not from the big money spenders (New York Yankees, Mets or Boston Red Sox), but by the Cincinnati Reds. Equally surprising, the Cuban defector’s runner up in bidding was the Oakland Athletics! The deal is exceptionally well suited for the Reds who look to be cutting their payroll from last season’s roughly $73 million in contracts. Chapman will have little to no effect on this purging, as his complicated contract only includes up to $2.5 million for the first season and $3.5 million for the next two. This relatively inexpensive investment should certainly pay dividends, if for nothing more than just exciting the Reds fanbase who last year had their lowest attendance in 23 years.

Many scouts consider the 21 year old Chapman the world’s best left-handed pitching prospect, and anticipate he will be joining the Reds’ rotation sometime within the next season. The problem is, most scouts don’t feel he is ‘Big League ready,’ so the majority of the 2010 season will likely be spent working on control issues in the minor leagues.

Here is the excerpt on each of Chapman’s pitches, as rated by Baseball Intellect:

Fastball – Chapman’s fastball is typically clocked in the 93 – 96 range and will occasionally touch 97 – 99. The pitch has tremendous life and carry through the zone with some natural tail. Chapman’s control will vary from start-to-start. On average, his control of the pitch is decent and will often be at least around the strike zone. But commanding the pitch is a different story. Pitching to a right handed hitter, the catcher’s mitt might be positioned on the inside corner and Chapman’s ball will often end up right down the middle.

Curveball – A good change of pace offering with a solid two-plane brake. However, Chapman will sometimes slow his arm down when throwing the pitch. It’s clocked as low as 69 mph, getting as high as 75.

Slider – Chapman’s most effective off-speed offering…I’ve heard the pitch can hit 90, but I’ve only seen it come close to that mark once and I’m still not sure the pitch was a slider. I’ve typically seen his slider in the 79 – 83 range. The pitch has major consistency issues and can rate anywhere from below average to plus.

Change-Up and Cutter – Chapman possesses both a cutter and change-up, neither of which he uses often.

Chapman’s release point is inconsistent and it will vary with each pitch type . . . Chapman has to coordinate a lot of moving parts however, and that will naturally lead to an inability to consistently repeat his mechanics though he has the athleticism to do so.

Aroldis, who is most commonly compared to Hall of Fame shoe in – Randy Johnson, has the potential to be a top-end starter on many rotations and at the very least a quality middle reliever. With the recent success of young Cincinnati starters Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto, he could eventually become a solid number 3 or 4 starter behind Aaron Harang in the next couple seasons.

The Reds pulled of a phenomenal deal here! It will presumably solidify the back end of their rotation in the coming seasons, or could certainly strengthen their aging bullpen that includes Fransisco Cordero and Arthur Rhodes. This move alone bolsters the Reds staff to the point I consider them the 2nd best pitching staff in the NL Central, behind the St. Louis Cardinals, earning them 4 X’s for this deal.

Story – Youth in Revolt is a film in which Nick Twisp (Michael Cera) is a sex-obsessed teenager who meets the girl of his dreams on a family vacation. Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday) is a free-spirited and beautiful girl and exactly what Nick is searching for to burst away from a life long constraint of virginity. The two are kept apart by a vast array of things and the only way for that to change is for Nick to transform himself. The movie is filled with comedic stunts by Nick and his newly developed alter-ego, Francois, to gain the undying love of Sheeni. To be honest, I was expecting another Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, but the story quickly develops into something that kept my full attention,always keeping me wondering would happen next.

Cast – The two stars of the film are Michael Cera and Portia Doubleday, who will hopefully become much more famous than any of the other girls Cera fumbles for in his films. The secondary actors are a proud list filled with: Jean Smart, Zach Galifianakis, Steve Buscemi, Fred Willard, Ray Liotta and Justin Long, all of which did an excellent job and could have been huge stars in the film, but were limited by screen time.

Characters – Once again, Michael Cera proves why he’s Hollywood’s go to awkward teenager in his role as Nick Twisp. He will forever be typecast that way, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy watching his fumbles and follies! Cera does show glimpses of breaking out of that role with his alter-ego Francois, but behind the mustache and cigarette he plays the same character with just a little more attitude. I thought it was odd how quickly he is thrown into the movie without much development, but it doesn’t take long to figure out how he works. Portia is someone I quickly fell in love with, and the beach-scene explains why! The supporting characters are all magnificent and I wish they had more screen time, they’re hilarious!

Relativity – Any teen boy who’s had an awkward moment with a girl can relate to Cera’s character in this movie, probably more so than any of his previous characters. Like so many teens before him, Cera is deadset on losing his virginity and goes to humorous ends to make it happen, much like the adventures most the guys I know went through. I didn’t meet many girls in my teenage years that related to Doubleday’s character of Sheeni, but she’s a “unique” stereotype many have seen before on screen.

Intangibles – This movie includes short bits of animation and a bunch of quotable comedic lines. The animation is cute the first time, but weird beyond that. They are very brief though, and there aren’t very many. While I wasn’t a fan, they aren’t of much consequence so I can ignore that. The quotable lines are all lines from Cera’s character of Francois and I can’t wait to use them on my lady! As for theater laugh-factor, I found myself laughing out loud a bit more frequently than the audience as a whole, but could hear quiet chuckles from the other males in the crowd with their dates.

This movie certainly won’t reach my all time favorites list, but I did enjoy it quite a bit and will give it a slightly better than average 3 X‘s to encourage anyone that’s been a teenager to see it!

I will be the first person to admit, that before Avatar’s premiere, I thought for sure it would flop harder than You Don’t Mess With The Zohan. Granted, I didn’t have a whole lot to judge the movie on other than that damn Coke-Zero commercial, but there’s just not a whole lot about blue, giant-arrow-shooting, cat-people that I find particularly interesting. With the commercial’s odd looking creatures and large mechanized flying machines, I just saw Avatar as a sequel to all the worst parts (Jar Jar Binks) of The Phantom Menace shoved together. I had assumed that director James Cameron’s “revolutionary” 3D technique was just a gimmick, and I wasn’t about to put on goofy headache-inducing red and blue glasses to watch a glorified 3D movie that belongs at Six Flags.

My entire attitude changed one I read this review, and suddenly I was open to checking it out. My buddy found tickets for about $15 at a relatively close IMAX theater, so we decided to go see it on opening night. The “IMAX Experience” thick-rimmed glasses we received at the door weren’t red and blue, but still made everyone look like Harry Caray. At first, I was pretty disappointed in them (and at Gizmodo for writing such a persuasive review of the 3D technology) when the IMAX in 3D advertisement ran, only to find out shortly that the 3D advertisement was inexplicably shown in plain old 2D! This was realized just as the movie began, as the true 3D effect was completely unmistakable!

It was like nothing I’d ever seen before!* The CG was absolutely incredible! If it weren’t for the super advanced electronics, un-natural fauna and flora, and 8 foot tall blue cat people, I would have had a hard time figuring out which scenes were filmed and which were computer generated! I remember one scene vividly that made me feel uncomfortable. The depth in the shot was so extreme, my instinctual fear of heights made me clench both arm rests next to me!

Ignoring the monumental 3D aspect of the movie for a moment, I’m not sure how well the story would appeal to a wide range of audiences. For example, I’m a huge science fiction fan (and Fern Gully fan, for which most of the movie seems inspired by), but I’m not sure how much I would enjoy the almost 3 hour long movie if I had seen it in 2D. Several scenes seem relatively unimportant, but what’s there to complain about? They’re in freaking three dimensions! I can’t help but wonder though, if the appeal of this movie is simply due to the fact that it’s technologically the first of its kind. 20 years down the line, when 3D movies are mainstream, will Avatar be considered amongst the best?

It’s for those reasons that I wouldn’t recommend anyone see this outside of a 3D IMAX theater. If you do have the means to catch it in all its technological glory, certainly make a point to. Just remember, watching Avatar in 2D would be like buying a Corvette with an automatic transmission; you’d be missing the entire point.

*Not technically true, since I see things in 3D on pretty much a daily basis.

When I used to think of Reebok, I certainly did not think of quality slow pitch softball bats.  If you are the same way, I suggest you rethink your stance.

In the beginning of this year’s spring softball season, my brother was persuaded by a sales representative at a local sporting goods store to pick up a Reebok Dictator.  He got the white ASA version of it for just over $120 on sale. Despite the deal, it was still a fairly large chunk of money to spend based on a salesperson’s word.

Before I continue, please let me share the fates of the three most recent bats my two older brothers and I have gone through.  Simply put, the way we treat them is illegal in 49 states (Missouri is the odd one out – everything is legal there).

• Worth Mayhem – bent at a 10 degree angle after 7 hits in batting practice
• Worth 3DX – flattened barrel after 2 games
• Mizuno Wrath – broken into two after being used in 4 games

The first hit with the Reebok Dictator was taken by yours truly.  My brother took it out of its plastic wrapping, handed it to me, and said, “Go forth and dictate.” I remember thinking the feel of the bat was good as soon as I held it, but it was not until I took my first swing that I was impressed with the quality.  I hit a deep fly ball that cleared a 300 ft fence by about 20 feet.  I am no power hitter and was not trying to swing for the fences, but the bat rewarded me with the solid contact I had made on the ball.

Fast forward to the end of the same year’s fall season.  The bat had become a team favorite, and practically everyone was using it for every at-bat of our triple headers.  It was probably for this same reason that it had lost some of its pop, but it never bent, cracked, or broke on us.  Next on our agenda is to go out and buy a new one for the next season.

I’m going to go ahead and get this out of way in the first sentence: this movie is not the feel-good movie of winter. Repeat, Brothers is intense, and not the movie you should take your grandmother to go see when she’s in town for the holidays. It’s about as much as a ‘war movie’ as Transformers is, but the emotionally charged script would make it difficult to watch for persons that could identify with the characters.  Although supporting actor Jake Gyllenhaal doesn’t think the premise of the story is all that realistic, I still wouldn’t recommend anyone in, or thinking about joining, the Armed Services let their girlfriends, wives, or mothers go anywhere near this film.

Warnings aside, Brothers is well done and worth at least renting in the future.  Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire convincingly play rough-neck brothers, but in my mind, the best acting performance of the film is by 10 year old Bailee Madison, who put a 12 year old Miley Cyrus to shame.  Maguire still manages to fit several blank stares into the film, and several story-lines seem to abruptly end before they’re resolved.  I had the feeling towards the end of the movie that director Jim Sheridan was simply giving as many emotional scenes as possible to his big-name actors in the attempt to glean some awards for their performances.