New Mike Tyson Show…on Animal Planet?

Kate Langenburg/A&E Groove

We all know who Mike Tyson is…he’s a boxing champion, an undisputed heavyweight, a crazed lunatic (for biting off Evander Holyfield’s earlobe), and has even done a few minor roles in movies. The latest, of course, was his part in The Hangover, as himself.

Now, Tyson is doing something that seems a little out of his league. He has just signed up to work on a new reality tv show on Animal Planet. I know what you’re thinking…how does Mike Tyson get on Animal Planet? Pigeons, that’s how. The New York Post reported that the champ owns a few hundred birds at various lofts in Brooklyn and New Jersey.

The show, called Taking on Tyson, will focus on Tyson’s love of his pigeons. He claims he has been caring for birds since age 11. He provided shelter and food for many birds around his childhood home in Brownsville. This is the first time he will race the pigeons, and has even called in an expert to train them.

Pigeon racing is a widely occuring sport, in which the birds sometimes race up to 500 miles in one race, putting them at risk for medical and emotional issues. Because of this fact, it is also widely disliked, especially by animal activist groups. PETA and Audubon Magazine have already jumped on the bandwagon to have this sport stopped.

However, Tyson is especially excited about this latest endeavour, which will begin shooting in Brooklyn later next month. If you happen to be in the area, make sure you take special care of the way you treat the pigeons. “I never hurt anybody until somebody hurt one of my birds,” Tyson says.

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Holiday Movie Gift Guide

Kate Langenburg/A&E Groove

“Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?”

That seems to be the number one question out of everyone’s mouths these days. I can easily answer that question — no. This year feels different than many other holidays past. People have less money to spend. (Although I did see a young woman drop $500 on dvds in Best Buy last week. What does she do for a living?!)

It also seems that many people aren’t in the holiday spirit. They aren’t in the mood to go out and shop for gifts. With that, let me go back to a previous statement — people have less money to spend. However, the lady in Best Buy certainly had the right idea. Movies make great gifts. Snuggling up in my blankets and pillows and watching movies is certainly one of my favorite things to do when the winter hits.

Here’s amazon.com’s list of popular and new movies to give to your friends and family this holiday season:

10. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

9. Gran Torino

8. Slumdog Millionaire

7. Quantum of Solace

6. Terminator Salvation

5. The Hangover

4. Star Trek

3. Up

2. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

1. Twilight

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Beer Drinking College Kids, Rejoice!

Kate Langenburg/A&E Groove

For those of you who know me, you know that I’m a general book buyer for a small, independently run University bookstore. To lead into my next post, I would like to prelude with the following information: Last week, I bought three copies of I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max and the first day I put them out on the shelf, they all sold within five hours.

Of course, we’re selling to a college audience here, so naturally I was pretty sure they would sell…but that fast?

This is the man to hold responsible. Photo from ihopetheyservebeerinhell.com.

Last night, the movie version of the book was released in theaters. Judging from the trailer, it looks to be a real winner (note: sarcasm detected), and not to mention a dumbed down version of The Hangover. From those who have read the book and have seen the movie, the review seems to be, “the movie did not give the book justice.” But isn’t that how it usually goes with books-turned-movies?

Regardless, it’s interesting that one of the main selling points of this movie is that it is offensive. The film’s website even includes I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell facts. As of right now, it says: “Fact #3: Fat girls are not real people” then gives web surfers the option to tweet that message on Twitter. As much as it’s really f-ed up, offensive things usually sell. Just look at the success of Borat. Any publicity is good publicity.

Along the same vein, it seems that the movie creators are also really enthused that critics have called the film “a worthless piece of crap.” They are quite proud of the fact that their movie has sparked controversy after only having been released a day now.

If you want to check out that website, it could be fun. Go ahead and feed your curiosity. I think I’ll put this movie in the good ‘ol Netflix queue and wait for it to come to disc.

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I Love ‘The Hangover’

Kate Langenburg/A&E Groove

Laughing my ass off only touches the surface of how much giddiness ‘The Hangover’ made me feel when I saw it last weekend. Seriously, half the people in the theater with me were so close to dying of laughter I thought they might fall out of their seats and croak by only halfway through the movie. Of course, you might want to leave the kids home for this one.

The movie starts with three friends who are having a bachelor party for their soon-to-be-married buddy. It works it’s way backwards, giving the audience a small snippet of what happens at the end of their debauchery, and then starts from the beginning, where the guys are left trying to piece together what they did the night before. Thanks to Allen, played by hilarious Zach Galifianakis, the boys accidentally swallowed some rufies the night before.

In this crude, yet often side splitting comedy, the three friends travel down the Las Vegas strip, gathering any and all information about what they might have done up until that morning, when they wake up in their suite with Mike Tyson’s tiger locked in the bathroom.

I don’t want to give too much more away, but definitely go see this if you are able. Keep in mind that it’s sick and crude humor is not suitable for young children. Naked Chinese men, strippers, and unmentionable other things might not be good for those little eyes to see!

Yuck it up. I’m definitely buying this one when it comes out.

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