Random thoughts.

- Caught the opening of the MTV Video Music Awards. Madonna's tribute to Michael Jackson was quite lovely and the staging of his various songs was well-accomplished. I didn't stay around for the rest of the show (I'm more of - or, at least, I was - a Movie Awards fan), but of course I heard about Kanye West charging the stage proclaiming that Beyonce deserved an award more than Taylor Swift. Honestly, did that "South Park" episode teach him fucking nothing?! He might've apologized on Leno, but if I were Carlos Mencia, I'd watch my back, lest I end up with fishsticks jammed into my open neckhole.

- Last week, I ate at Red Lobster for the very first time. Now, I question why I haven't done so more often. If you have the means, I highly recommend the Wood-Grilled Chicken (with wild rice) and Hand-Breaded Shrimp.

- Patrick Swayze succumbed to pancreatic cancer yesterday. More than anything, he had a truly impressive run in the late 80s-early 90s. Dirty Dancing, Road House, Ghost and Point Break. As someone at Ain't It Cool News put it, 'Now who's going to tell Baby that no one puts her in a corner?'. He will be missed.

- In the season opener, the Buffalo Bills were defeated by the New England Patriots. In other news, mixing yellow with blue can make the color green. And the damnable thing of it? It was a last-second play that snatched the victory from the Bills. They haven't beaten the Pats since I started my customer service job. Moments like this sometimes make me think that the Bills are cursed.

- Apparently, David Newman scored "Scooby-Doo: the Mystery Begins". To me, this is less 'how could he do a project like this?' than it is 'how could this low-budget production afford him?'. I imagine it was a favor to producer/director Brian Levant (Newman has scored the majority of his theatrical features).

- "The Marvel Super Hero Squad" premiered last night. At first glance, one could get the sense that it's trying to do for Marvel characters what "Batman: the Brave and the Bold" is doing for DC characters...but with far more distractingly cartoony designs. I'm giving it a shot because the supervising director is "Angry Beavers" creator Mitch Schauer. Looks like the Doug Langdale rule is in play: the shows a person creates are far more entertaining than the shows on which they're hired help. Still, what little I've seen definitely outclasses "Glenn Martin, DDS", "The Goode Family" and "DJ and the Fro". That's good enough for me.

- I went to the movies today. I figured that Sorority Row and Gamer would make for a cheesetastic double feature...and I was right. The characters of Sorority Row are whiny, slutty, conniving bitches...and yet, the actresses manage to make them somewhat endearing. Strange. Also, I must say that I jumped quite a few times. Not a great thriller, but it'd make a fun watch on DVD. Also, Carrie Fisher is a stitch as the house mother. Lucian Piane's score wasn't a match for Richard Band's, as I thought, but it does hint at a promising talent. Gamer sees Neveldine/Taylor trying to balance the unabashed goofiness of their Crank movies with a more serious storyline. It doesn't always work, but the game cast does well (high marks go to Terry Crews; really, I heard about his song moment in a review, but who could've expected it?).