I am a fan of the music of Queen. I think Brian May’s guitar-playing is intelligent and I am always amazed at how recognizable his tone is, thanks largely to his genius idea of layering several recorded guitar lines into orchestrated, classical-sounding arrangements. And Freddie Mercury’s voice has virtually been unmatched in the pop music world as far as power and range are concerned. The man had a set of pipes. And don’t forget the harmonic sophistication that his piano-playing provided for in songs like “You’re My Best Friend” and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” among a slew of others.

Throughout the Queen catalog you can hear so many melodic gems supported by smart harmony. When it comes to the business of writing intelligent, yet accessibly beautiful pop/rock music, I think very few can match their legacy.

And that is why a recent commercial for Propel Fitness Water has raised my ire.

Hey, it’s Mr. Brown back wit’cha with some more movies for you to see or ignore. It’s been a long week, my brain is tired. Here we go:

The Simpsons Movie (2007)

Edmond (2005)

Commando (1985)

To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)

Breach (2007)

Part I

The Bathroom

“Damn zipper.”

“Why do you always wear those pants anyways?”

(To the zipper) “Come on. Come on…” (To his companion) “What?”

“I said why do you always wear those pants anyways?”

“These are my effen Rockstar pants! That’s why! Now pull down right here while I yank the zipper up.”

Bam! Bathroom door slams against the wall.

“I knew I’d find you wusses in here puking. You should at least go in a stall if you’re going to play with each other.”

“Effe you Craig my zipper is stuck.”

“You ain’t a Rockstar, so why you always wearing those leather pants?”

“It is all about appearance on stage, and Kay says they make her want to copulate.”

Flash: Wally West, First Appearance: Flash V.1 #110 (Kid Flash) January 1960

So we’ve seen that college students and police scientists enjoy reading their comics for relaxing from work. However, this one is more true to form. Wally was a kid, like most kids, with a wild imagination and dreams to follow. He read the Flash and heard about him on the news. His room was full of childish drawings and writings about the Flash. He needed a hero, especially when his father was abusive and a scam artist. Rudolph West, Wally’s father, constantly crushed Wally’s dreams of being great.

This all changed when Wally visited his Aunt, Iris West, and her boyfriend, Barry Allen. Barry took Wally to his lab at the Police station, and Wally incurred super speed from the same accident that gave Barry super speed (lightning and chemicals.) Wally joined Barry as Kid Flash and ran with him until Barry passed away in Crisis on Infinite Earths. Wally then assumed the role of the Flash in the legacy of Barry. As Wally was developing speed under Barry, his body began to reject the effects of the speed, and Wally had to push through the pain, running until it almost killed him from the inside out. It jumped his body to get used to speed.

Curses flew past him as Spike rushed down the alleyway. Two Death Eaters were hot on his heels and he was running out of ideas. His refusal to subjugate himself to the rule of the dark lord had earned him a very powerful enemy. Unfortunately his pride was too strong to allow him to serve anyone, even someone as powerful as Voldemort.

Spike turned a corner and spotted his motorcycle. He allowed a small portion of relief to wash over him as he neared the bike. His hope was quickly dashed, however, when the bike suddenly rose up into the air and burst into flames.

Spike realized running was a futile enterprise and felt a surge of power rush through him as he decided he had no choice but to fight. He turned to face his pursuers and was horrified to find himself now encircled by five Death Eaters with the Dark Lord himself at the top of the arc.