I've been so swamped at work I don't even have time to complain about being swamped. I guess that's a good thing. At least I'm working, right?

Here's a quick and dirty list of my favorite childhood movies.

1. Better Off Dead
2. Red Dawn
3. The Ewok Adventure
4. Three Amigos
5. Silverado

Pass the Popcorn: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

This one's short and sweet. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs has some great comedic moments but ultimately, was a little to gluttonous for its own good. The plot follows a failed inventor who tries to impress his dad by making something useful. His one success turns rain clouds into food that falls from the sky. Cute at first but after an hour an a half, I actually became a little disturbed. I mean really, who wants to eat ice cream off the pavement after it's been walked on. By the time this movie was over, I had a stomach ache, and I didn't even eat anything.

Pass the Popcorn: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Wes Anderson's latest foray into the absurdly entertaining came in the form of Fantastic Mr. Fox - a stop motion animated feature based on a book by Roald Dahl. In a era that's ruled by computer generated characters, this little caper film took me back to my youth when special effects were more special despite being less effective. The script has Anderson's trademark quirkiness in every scene but stays safely in the shallow end, which will probably help attract a slightly younger audience.

Fox definitely has a charm about it that's worth watching. The story doesn't feel as complete as most of the Pixar types but that's probably because we're used to watching cartoons that deliver acts 1,2,and 3 wrapped in a bow.

My Oscar vote for UP still remains, but Fantastic Mr. Fox has easily moved towards the top of my animated feature list. I think Wes Anderson is at his best when he's not trying to out do himself and more focused on escaping into the fantastical - probably why I enjoy Life Aquatic more than his other films.

New Tiger Ad

Check out the new Nike/Tiger ad. It's pretty good. At first I thought it was trying too hard. But the more I thought about it from Nike's perspective I realized the appropriateness of its tone. The ad uses the voice of Tiger's late father to talk about lessons learned. More so, I think it's comparing Nike's relationship with the superstar to that of a parent. Perhaps Nike wasn't angry, just sorely disappointed.

I bought the new Train album and the new Barenaked Ladies album because both bands remind me of being cool in college. I listened to them and realized both albums largely suck. Now I'm beginning to think I actually wasn't cool in college either.

The only league where I don't get paid to win is the one I won. Go figure.

Autos and Automatics

I knew fast cars led to urban drag racing and unruly kids. I saw The Fast and the Furious just like everybody else. But mob-like crowds at the NYC Auto Show, really? This year 4 people were shot leaving the show early Monday morning in Times Square. Go figure. I guess the debate of Fords over Chevys has heated up since my day. MSG should be embarrassed that there's not that much passion behind any of the sports teams that play in the Garden. All joking aside, it's sad and ridiculous. Today's youth need to quit pretending their lives are the latest release of Grand Theft Auto and grow up. It's a shame and depressing at the same time.

Nike Air. I knew there was something different about those shoes.