January 30, 2007

Sounding out on The Sopranos

I was home last night working on a project for a new client and a lot of times when I'm working I like having noise on in the background, so I turned on the TV to A&E and started watching The Sopranos first the first time on basic cable. I have been a huge fan of the show since the beginning and have like a lot of the feel of the show (also being from Northern New Jersey seeing places that I grew up around). Well now that the repeats of the show are showing up on basic cable it was interesting to see what made the grade of the FCC or not. It was odd seeing some of their lips moving and forming words but some of the language not coming through the speakers, and they show Tony Soprano strangling a mob rat with his bare hands but with no sounds also.

I find this odd, didn't NYPD Blues get away with this on ABC for years, why not the Sopranos? It was still fun going down memory lane watching some of the first season episodes (man, Tony was so much thinner), and thinking about the characters and what they will be facing over the next six seasons. The show was meant to be uncut and shown in its original form. Not glossed over like A&E has done.

Hopefully HBO will get around to putting season 6b on soon and can finish up the series, uncut.

Peace

January 24, 2007

House Hunting Hell

Judy and I are getting ready to put our house on the market and start the fabulous quest for finding the perfect home. We have spent the last two years getting ready for this phase of home ownership: selling our house. We have done a lot of facelifts and remodeling throughout the house and have received multiple compliments from friends and family saying it isn't even the same house that it was when I first moved in with Judy.

Now that we are nearing the time to put the house on the market, we are trying to de-clutter the house. Our storage unit is packed with our stuff already, but it's about to get a lot more crowded. We have been obsessively watching HGTV (Designed to Sell, House Hunters, Curb Appeal, etc.) to get inspired. One of the things these shows stress is GET RID OF CLUTTER, and our house is one big ball of "stuff" (which is mostly Judy's because she will not throw anything out).

So, if you know of anyone who is relocating to the Atlanta area, and wants to move into a very convenient area near to the city and in an up-and-coming neighborhood, I know of this newly-renovated 3br/2ba ranch house on almost half of an acre for only $169,000; so please feel free to contact me.

Now that we have that out of the way, we are starting to look for a bigger house. You might ask, what kinds of house are we looking for? Good question. I'm a lot harder to please when it comes to this subject. We have some minor requirements. First, we are looking for something that will be able to hold me, Judy, our three dogs, and Will; and also has room for an office. A 4br/2-1/2 bath would probably be fine, and we want to be closer to where Will lives with his mom up in Gwinnett County. Other than that, we are pretty open - well, sort of.

Where we are going to run into difficulty in finding the perfect house is that I'm very set in my mind of the things I want and don't want. We are finding that most of the neighborhoods/houses we are seeing are cookie-cutter; all look the same and maybe have 10 feet between the houses. In one house that Judy and I went to see a few weeks back, you literally could look right into your neighbors' bathroom from your own. Not good. A lot of the neighborhoods/subdivisions are one right on top of another. I so don't want that.

I want to live in neighborhood that is older with more mature trees, the houses have a bit of distance between them, and each house on the street has its own personality. Style-wise, I am pretty flexible. I just hate these newer McMansion all-brick monsters they are building one right next to each other. I like Cape Cod, Craftsman, or Victorian style houses, and one major no-no is that the garage can't be the focal point of the house. ULG!!! I don't mind an older house that needs renovations and such; the sad thing is that most of the developments in the areas we are looking at are only 30 years old at the most.

Judy is a saint for putting up with my nitpickiness. She is so sure we won't find anything which I will be really happy with. I'm not a huge fan of a lot of house styles here in Georgia, but what am I to do? Settle and grin and bear it? I can't do that; this is a huge move for us. It's going to be the first place that we are buying together fresh as a married couple. I want it to be perfect for us. This most likely will be the house we stay in for the next 5 to 10 years.

What to do, what to do? Once we start seriously looking at houses (hell, finding a good real estate agent is going to be another treat; I rank them with used car salesmen), I'll start putting the houses we are viewing up here on the blog. Any suggestions also would be greatly appreciated.

Peace

Mike

January 23, 2007

It's Oscar Time Again!!! Who's Going to Win??

'Dreamgirls' gets a leading 8 Oscar nominations

By David Germain
The Associated Press

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - The musical 'Dreamgirls' led Academy Awards contenders today with eight nominations, but surprisingly was shut out in the best picture category after being considered a potential front-runner.

The sweeping ensemble drama 'Babel' was close behind with seven, including best picture and acting honors for two newcomers to U.S. audiences, Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi. Other best-picture nominees were the bloody crime saga 'The Departed,' the World War II spectacle 'Letters From Iwo Jima,' the road-trip comedy 'Little Miss Sunshine' and the monarchy-in-crisis chronicle 'The Queen.'

Going into nominations day, the best-picture competition looks unusually wide open, with no consensus on a favorite. With 'Dreamgirls,' a Golden Globe winner out of the race, the best picture competition was even more up for grabs.

But front-runners in all four acting categories nabbed nominations and seem poised to come home with Oscars on Feb. 25: Helen Mirren for best actress as British monarch Elizabeth II in 'The Queen'; Forest Whitaker for best actor as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in 'The Last King of Scotland'; and Eddie Murphy and former 'American Idol' finalist Jennifer Hudson as soulful singers in 'Dreamgirls.'

All four preceded the Oscar nominations with wins at the Golden Globes.

Oscar attention is a new experience for Murphy, whose fast-talking persona has brought him devoted audiences but little awards acclaim in his 25-year career. For Hudson, the nomination caps a speedy rise to stardom with her first film role, just two years after making her name on 'American Idol.'

The best-actress category featured a 14th nomination for two-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep, padding her record as the most-nominated actor ever, this time as a demonically demanding boss in 'The Devil Wears Prada.'

Joining Mirren and Streep as best-actress nominees were Penelope Cruz as a woman dealing with bizarre domestic crises in 'Volver'; Judi Dench as a scheming teacher in 'Notes on a Scandal'; and Kate Winslet as a woman in an affair with a neighbor in 'Little Children.'

Other best-actor nominees were Leonardo DiCaprio as a mercenary hunting a rare gem in 'Blood Diamond'; Ryan Gosling as a teacher with a drug addiction in 'Half Nelson'; Peter O'Toole as a lecherous old actor in 'Venus'; and Will Smith as a homeless dad in 'The Pursuit of Happyness.'

Whitaker is expected to come away with best actor, though sentiment is high for O'Toole, who has been nominated seven times, losing each. An eighth loss for O'Toole, who nearly turned down an honorary Oscar three years ago because he hoped to earn one outright, would put him in the record books as the actor with the most nominations without winning.

This finally may be the year for another perennial loser, Martin Scorsese, who's tied with four other directors for the Oscar-futility record of five nominations and five losses.

'The Departed' marks Scorsese's return to the cops-and-mobsters genre he mastered in decades past and is considered his best shot to finally win an Oscar, though a sixth defeat would put him alone in the record book as the losingest director ever.

Prim Oscar voters maintained their track record of ignoring over-the-top comic performances, snubbing Sacha Baron Cohen for his Golden Globe-winning role in the raucous 'Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.'

The comedy front did bring supporting nominations for Alan Arkin as foul-mouthed grandfather and Abigail Breslin as a girl obsessed with beauty pageants in 'Little Miss Sunshine,' though the film's three key performers, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette and Steve Carell, were overlooked.

Ten-year-old Abigail Breslin became the fourth-youngest actress ever nominated.

With five blacks, two Hispanics and an Asian, it was the most ethnically diverse lineup ever among the 20 acting nominees. After decades in which the Oscars were a virtual whites-only club, with minority actors only occasionally breaking into the field, the awards have featured a much broader mix of nominees in the last few years.

Black actors in particular have come into their own, with Oscar wins by Halle Berry, Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx and Morgan Freeman, and three of the four acting front-runners this year.

Asians and Hispanics still lag behind, though nominations for Cruz, Barraza and Kikuchi are signs that Hollywood is making strides toward greater diversity.

While Cruz's 'Volver,' from Spanish director and past Oscar darling Pedro Almodovar, was shut out for foreign-language picture, another Hispanic film scored well. Mexican director Guillermo del Toro's 'Pan's Labyrinth' had six nominations, including foreign-language film, screenplay, cinematography and score. 'If each one of them got nominated on their own, that would be great, but the fact that they all did ... that's just too much for one little girl this early in the morning,' said Salma Hayek, an Oscar nominee for 2002's 'Frida,' who helped announced the nominees Tuesday morning.

Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu earned a best-director nomination for 'Babel.'

Inarritu and Scorsese were joined in the best-director category by Clint Eastwood for 'Letters from Iwo Jima,' Stephen Frears for 'The Queen,' and Paul Greengrass for the Sept. 11 docudrama 'United 93.'

January 22, 2007

Friend of the Devil

I lit out from reno, I was trailed by twenty hounds
Didnt get to sleep last night till the morning came around.

Set out runnin but I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight, I just might get some sleep tonight.

Ran into the devil, babe, he loaned me twenty bills
I spent the night in utah in a cave up in the hills.

Set out runnin but I take my time, a friend of the devil is a friend of mine,
If I get home before daylight, I just might get some sleep tonight.

I ran down to the levee but the devil caught me there
He took my twenty dollar bill and vanished in the air.

Set out runnin but I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight, I just might get some sleep tonight.

Got two reasons why I cry away each lonely night,
The first ones named sweet anne marie, and shes my hearts delight.
The second one is prison, babe, the sheriffs on my trail,
And if he catches up with me, Ill spend my life in jail.

Got a wife in chino, babe, and one in cherokee
The first one says shes got my child, but it dont look like me.

Set out runnin but I take my time,
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine,
If I get home before daylight, I just might get some sleep tonight.

January 19, 2007

RSS Help!!!

Ok, I'm not beyond asking anyone for help. As many of you know I have a personal website Fabersplace.com, and It's been sorely lacking in updates and such. I have been thinking it would be great to simulcast my blog that I have been posting here and on yahoo 360 on to Fabersplace so I wouldn't have to retype or such, and keep that site fresher.

The only problem is I don't have a clue how to get the RSS feed onto my personal site. If anyone out there has a suggestion on how or want to help me with this I would so be appreciative.

Thanks in advance

Peace

Mike

January 16, 2007

First the Harry Potter Ban, now Al Gore??

Moratorium on Al Gore film sparks own controversy

By Cara Solomon
Seattle Times staff reporter

A philosophical fist fight has broken out in the Federal Way School District days after the School Board put all classroom showings of the global warming movie "An Inconvenient Truth" on hold.

There is no discussion of banning the movie. But ban or no ban, word of the board's decision last week to impose a "moratorium" on it made national news.

E-mails subsequently arrived by the hundreds, most in opposition to the board's decision. By Sunday, Board President Ed Barney said he had read 275, with about 300 more to go.

"Most are from nowhere even near here," Barney said. "A majority of them think we're out of our minds."

In interviews, board members, district officials, and even some parents who originally complained about the film said there seemed to be misunderstandings in the community, and across the country, about what had been asked of the board, and what they had done.

Board members said the controversy began after a district newsletter noted that teachers could obtain free copies of the film for classroom use. Several parents objected to this, and at least one raised a concern about an upcoming showing of the film at Lakota Middle School, questioning whether the seventh-grade science teacher there would present alternative view points.

"An Inconvenient Truth" features former Vice President Al Gore discussing the science behind the theory that global warming is caused by humans. Some parents objected to the film for political or religious reasons.

At its meeting last week, the board suspended all classroom viewings until district Superintendent Tom Murphy could confirm that the district's existing policies on materials that contain "bias" were being followed.

"It's a very reasonable request," said Murphy, who will report to the board at its Jan. 23 meeting.

Two district policies apply in this case. The first requires that teachers get approval from their principals before they show any movie in class.

The second states that, "when it is necessary to use historical or literary works, periodicals, and technical journals which show bias, staff members have a responsibility to point out the biases, and present additional information and perspectives to balance those biases."

District policy also allows parents to opt their children out of any lesson they find objectionable.

By late last week, Murphy had learned that the movie and bias policies were followed earlier at Todd Beamer High School, where a teacher showed the film during a speech and debate class, requiring students to research other perspectives.

But policy was not followed at Lakota. Murphy said the science teacher had not gotten prior approval to show the film. Frosty E. Hardison, a parent at Lakota who complained to the board, said he believes the Bible predicted global warming. But he also said he was not seeking a ban on the film - only a healthy classroom debate of different scientific views, like the theory that global warming is a naturally occurring phenomenon.

"Present me with a whole broad spectrum of facts, not just a select, focused view," he said.

Since his views appeared in media reports and Internet blogs, Hardison said he has received a flood of phone calls at home from supporters and critics alike.

Some critics were constructive, he said, inviting him to debate the science. Others called only to yell "stupid" or "idiot," then hang up.

"They think we're just these religious fanatics who just want to stick our heads in the sand," he said.

On the other side of the debate, Chris Carrel, another parent at Lakota, said he could not believe the board had even classified the film as having a bias. He said the science clearly points to global warming as a phenomenon caused by humans.

The board bowed too quickly to a few loud voices of opposition, he said, without giving the larger community the chance to respond.

"When we have thousands of the world's foremost scientists telling us that our kids are going to be living in an unprecedented global warming, then I think they should know the basics of it," said Carrel, executive director of the Friends of the Hylebos, a group dedicated to preserving the Hylebos Creek watershed in Federal Way.

In the spirit of educating the School Board, and perhaps the larger community, Carrel said he is planning a scientific slide show about global warming sometime within the next two weeks. It would be the same slide show Gore used to tour around the country, he said.

Board member Dave Larson said he was encouraged by the prospect of a community debate and by an offer from another citizen to help science teachers research alternative views on global warming.

But he was also disappointed that, with all the progress the Federal Way school district has made on closing the achievement gap, and other important matters, there was this "feeding frenzy" about a board decision many people did not seem to understand.

"The frustrating part is that good news doesn't make it out there, and this does," he said.

Murphy said he could recall only one other incident in recent years when parents raised concerns about controversial content in the curriculum. That concern was about "graphic" novels.

The board stood behind its policies at the time, he said, urging concerned parents to opt their children out of the class, or use the teacher's alternative assignments.

January 16, 2007

Ready For The Amazing Race All Stars

Captain Amazing

January 15, 2007

The End of 'Lost'?

'Lost,' Back On the Radar

By Lisa de Moraes

PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 14 ABC will fairly soon announce an end date to its Wednesday drama "Lost" -- which, in turn, will cure viewers of the extreme anxiety from which they are suffering because none of the important questions ever get answered on this weedy tangle of a series. The idea is to bring back viewers who have abandoned the show out of frustration, and everybody lives happily ever after, "Lost" producers told The Reporters Who Cover Television at Winter TV Press Tour 2007.

This was big news, not just for reporters but also for ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson, who conveyed a "no news here folks" quality when asked about it afterward, saying he'd had no such discussions about announcing an endgame with the show's creators.

During the "Lost" Q&A session, the producers noted that the endgame announcement thing had worked really well for "Harry Potter" creator J.K. Rowling, who's said she will wrap up that franchise with book No. 7. But while talking up the endgame notion, the exec producers got all coy, like nice girls on a first date, when reporters asked them how many seasons they thought the show should last. That would be "disrespectful" to the process, Carlton Cuse said, while adding that "The X-Files" was "a bit of a cautionary tale . . . a great show that probably ran two seasons too long." That one ran nine seasons.

"The most honest answer we can give: 'as long as it's good,' " creator Damon Lindelof said. Yeah, we gagged a bit too.

The intrepid reporters hounded Lindelof afterward outside the ballroom of the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel. They surrounded him and tortured him with questions such as, "Did you know both your show and 'Grey's Anatomy' have characters on them named Dr. Burke?"

"Yes, but they spell Burke with an 'e,' " Lindelof said, panic setting in.

Finally, he could take no more. He told the mob that because, way back when "Lost" was new, he had said in interviews that he saw this show running 100 episodes, he felt had to stick with that number. Because, you see, if he now says it should run 140 episodes, he'd look like a weenie. Yes, this is how things are done in Hollywood -- the weenie test.

One reporter also asked Lindelof what "Lost" was about -- a reasonable question but not one you usually hear a reporter who's been watching faithfully ask about a show in its third season. "This is a show about people who are metaphorically lost in their lives, who get on an airplane and crash on an island and become physically lost on planet Earth, and once they are able to metaphorically find themselves in their lives again, then they will be able to physically find themselves in the world again," Lindelof responded. Yup, sounds like 46 more episodes.

Of course, ABC can announce "Lost" will end at the close of Season 6, but there's no knowing whether that actually will happen. Isn't "The Sopranos" heading into its third " final" season?

January 12, 2007

Gee and I Thought People Were Going For The Game

Dodgers To Open All-You-Can-Eat Section (Come for the Game, Stay for the Feedbag)...

LOS ANGELES -- Right field at Dodger Stadium used to feature cheap seats. This year, there will be lots of food and seats that are no longer cheap.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are converting their right-field pavilion into all-you-can-eat bleachers. Takers will have access to as many hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn, nachos and soft drinks as they want.

"Instead of paying cash, fans ask for whatever they want, and they get it. There are going to be some self-service parts, buffet-style, as well," said Dodgers executive vice president and chief operating officer Marty Greenspun.

Around 3,000 seats right-field seats will be sold for $35 in advance and $40 on game day with the all-you-can-eat special.

Left-field tickets, meanwhile, will sell for $10.

The stadium's cheapest seats, in the top deck, will go for $10 next season instead of $6.

Greenspun said the Dodgers tested the all-you-can-eat concept three times late last season.

"The response was overwhelmingly positive," he said.

A few other teams have had all-you-can-eat sections.

"The St. Louis Cardinals have done it," Greenspun said. "It hasn't been anything of this size."

In addition, he said, "the other ballparks charge a higher rate than this."

There are limitations. The food booths open 90 minutes before games and close two hours after it begins. And if someone asks for 100 Dodger Dogs, that won't fly.

"If a person goes up there and asks for four for his family, he won't be told no," said Camille Johnston, the Dodgers senior vice president of communications.

All-you-can-eat isn't exactly the most health-conscious concept these days, but as Greenspun put it: "We're offering a fan amenity. Fans can elect to choose it or not choose it. We are offering basic ballpark fare that most fans enjoy."

Besides, the most fattening foods -- beer, ice cream and candy -- aren't part of the package. They will be sold at regular ballpark prices.

January 11, 2007

The Battle for Middle Earth Bucks Turns Ugly

Peter Jackson fires back at New Line over 'The Hobbit'

While Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner may have been unceremoniously dumped from Sumner Redstone's Paramount Pictures, and while there end of their 14-year relationship left behind a little bit of bad blood, that's nothing compared to the feud going down between New Line Cinema and Lord of the Rings The Hobbit, the prequel story to J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

The controversy began long after all three Lord of the Rings films, starring Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Liv Tyler and Cate Blanchett, had been released both in theatres and on DVD. According to Monsters and Critics, Peter Jackson feels short-changed in his salary, after what Jackson called, "improper accounting procedure" were discovered. While New Line Cinema claims Jackson was paid in full, Peter Jackson feels like he's being shortchanged, and he has initiated a lawsuit to see he gets the money he feels he is owed. But while the legal battle between New Line and Peter Jackson percolates, New Line Cinema, who holds the rights to The Hobbit for a limited amount of time, feels they must begin production of the prequel before they lose their rights to do so. MGM currently holds distribution rights on any The Hobbit film.

New Line has claimed they need to proceed with the production of The Hobbit shortly, and while they are engaged in a legal battle with Peter Jackson, the man who directed the massively popular Lord of the Rings series will not be in the director's chair for the prequel film. While MGM released a statement that said, "The matter of Peter Jackson directing The Hobbit is far from closed," the war of words has reached a fever pitch, almost ensuring Jackson will have nothing to do with any future New Line project. Robert Shaye, the co-chairman of New Line, gave interviews to online media outlets where he stated his case in a firm and blunt manner. Shaye told the Sci-Fi Channel, "I do not want to make a movie with somebody who is suing me. So the answer is that he will never make any movies with New Line Cinema again while I'm still working for the company. I don't care about Peter Jackson anymore. He wants to have another $100m or $50m or whatever he's suing us for. He doesn't want to sit down and talk about it. He thinks we owe him something after we've paid him over a quarter of a billion dollars ... Cheers, Peter."

In an interview with IGN, Shaye re-iterated his firm stance against Peter Jackson. "He got a quarter of a billion dollars paid to him so far, justifiably, according to contract, completely right, and this guy, who already has received a quarter of a billion dollars, turns around without wanting to have a discussion with us and sues us and refuses to discuss it unless we just give in to his plan. I don't want to work with that guy anymore. Why would I? So the answer is he will never make any movie with New Line Cinema again while I'm still working for the company."

Peter Jackson has now issued a statement via his Wingnut Films on Ain't It Cool News, where the embattled director had his own chance to speak out. Jackson pled his own case around his lawsuit against New Line Cinema, stating that, "Our issue with New Line Cinema has only ever been about their refusal to account for financial anomalies that surfaced from a partial audit of The Fellowship of the Ring." The statement continues with Jackson saying, "Contrary to recent comments made by Bob Shaye, we attempted to discuss the issues raised by the Fellowship audit with New Line for over a year but the studio was and continues to be completely uncooperative. This has compelled us to file a lawsuit to pursue our contractual rights under the law. Nobody likes taking legal action, but the studio left us with no alternative." The statement concludes by saying, "It is regrettable that Bob has chosen to make it personal. I have always had the highest respect and affection for Bob and other senior management at New Line and continue to do so."

While the New Zealand director has been black-listed by New Line Cinema, who seems to believe Jackson is simply after millions more dollars, the embattled director's only chance to direct The Hobbit will be if New Line Cinema lets their rights to the J.R.R. Tolkien epic lapse, which given the amount of money the trilogy made, seems highly unlikely.

January 10, 2007

Wasn't There A Movie With A Similar Theme?

Scorpion stings Vermont man on airplane

By DAVID GRAM, Associated Press WriterWed Jan 10, 9:41 AM ET

A scorpion stung David Sullivan on the back of his right leg, just below the knee, then continued up that leg and down the other, he believes, before getting him again in the shin.

It wasn't what he was expecting on a flight from Chicago to Vermont.

Sullivan, a 46-year-old builder from Stowe, was aboard the United Airlines flight on the second leg of his trip home from San Francisco, where he and his wife Helena had been visiting their sons. He awoke from a nap shortly before landing and noticed something strange.

"My right leg felt like it was asleep, but that was isolated to one spot, and it felt like it was being jabbed with a sharp piece of plastic or something."

The second sting came after the plane had landed and the Sullivans were waiting for their bags at the luggage carousel. Sullivan rolled up his cuff to investigate, and the scorpion fell out.

"It felt like a shock, a tingly thing. Someone screamed, 'It's a scorpion,'" Sullivan recalled. Another passenger stepped on the two-inch arachnid, and someone suggested Sullivan seek medical help.

He scooped up the scorpion and headed to the hospital in Burlington. His wife stopped at the United counter and was told the plane they were on had flown from Houston to Chicago. The Sullivans surmised the scorpion boarded in Texas.

"The airlines tell you can't bring water or shampoo on a plane," Helena Sullivan said. But the scorpion did make it aboard, she said.

United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said the incident "is something that we will investigate and look into. We're very sorry for what happened. Our customer safety and security is our No. 1 priority."

Such incidents are not unheard of. An American Airlines flight was delayed for an hour in Toronto on Sunday after a passenger was stung by a scorpion that had made its way on board. Paramedics treated the man when the flight from Miami landed. The delay came when officials searched the aircraft to ensure no other critters had stowed away.

Scorpion stings are rarely fatal, except to babies or older people with health problems, said Dr. Stephen Leffler, director of emergency services at Burlington's Fletcher Allen Health Care hospital.

"We don't see many scorpion bites in Vermont," Leffler said.

For a healthy adult, a scorpion sting can mean numbness or shooting pain extending out from the sting, or flu-like symptoms, which Sullivan said he had the next day.

He said he hadn't seen the recent movie, "Snakes on a Plane," starring Samuel L. Jackson.

"I'm pretty selective about what I see," Sullivan said. "Maybe I have to see it now"

January 09, 2007

History In The Making

I remember when I was younger going to the Bayou, a bar in Washington, DC with a few friends to see some live music that one of my friends had been raving about. They said the music coming from this band from Athens, GA was like nothing they had ever heard before.

The band had just released Murmur their first full length album (yes vinyl) and the first song off it "Radio Free Europe" was getting limited airplay. On the way to the show, my friends played a copy of the album on his cassette player, and I was impressed by the songs coming from the speakers. My only negative comment was that you couldn't really understand the words the lead singer was saying (a running joke that would last for many years to come). We got to the bar (being only 16 at the time I had umm interesting means to get in) and up on stage was some local band I couldn't even remember who they were after they left the stage. We waited eagerly for the main act to come onto stage.

Finally four young guys took the stage and that night they made magic. They played all the songs from their record and covers of bands like 'Velvet Underground' and 'Aerosmith'. The band went on for almost three hours playing non stop with an energy and chemistry you don't see from bands playing for many years together.

Around 2AM we made our way out of the bar with our ears ringing, new band t-shirts in hand, singing just like the lead singer at the top of our lungs. I was chomping at the bit to hear more from this band, and oh yes over the years to come we all have heard much from Michael Stype, Bill Berry, Peter Buck & Mike Mills. Who, you might ask are those guys? Why silly it's R.E.M. I speak of, congrats to the guys for being elected to Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame, who would've even thought it was possible all those years ago?

Peace

Mike

January 07, 2007

'Lost' Spoilers - Don't Read if you don't want to know :-)

A friend of mine sent me this from another site, I have been overly happy with the TV show Lost up till the begining of Season 3, this season so far has left me pretty flat overall. Should I give it up or give it another chance when it comes back at the begining of Febrauary or should I have it remain "LOST" to me? Any thoughts?

Lost spoilers for the rest of season 3

From Spoiler Fix.com

Episode 3.07: Not In Portland (Juliet-centric)
Airdate: February 7, 2007

12/21 - Jack is in command, as the fate of one of The Others' lives rests in his hand. Meanwhile, Kate and Sawyer find an ally in one of The Others, and Juliet makes a shocking decision that could endanger her standing with her people. [...] That first episode looks like it may give us another look at Others Town before the crash, as it features William Mapother as Ethan. We'll also be seeing more of Alex (Tania Raymonde) and Karl (Blake Bashoff), the kid who was Sawyer's cage buddy for a short time early in the season. Source: Zap2it

11/16 - Kimberly Estrada will be appearing as Sherry in Episode 7. Source: Kimberly Estrada Official Website

10/31 - On a remote Hawaiian beachscape where turquoise waves slither up tan sands, Josh Holloway, Evangeline Lilly and several others (including Others) are filming a whopper of a scene for a February episode of LOST. Spotting this reporter through the trees, Elizabeth Mithcell scoots over... "Well," she says, cheerfully excusing herself, "I'm going to go shoot someone." Cameras rolling, she expertly wields a Sig Sauer and pumps two bullets into someone shocking; the still-standing are left gasping as she coldly lowers the gun. Source: Entertainment Weekly

10/31 - According to some pictures, Ethan would appear in Juliet's flashback. Probably working at the same lab Juliet was. Click on the source to view said picture. Source: SpoilersLost

10/30 - "LOST" turned the John A. Burns School of Medicine into the Miami Central University's Medical Research Laboratory. And it seems like a flashback for Juliet, the character played by Elizabeth Mitchell. She meets an older gentleman (played by Zeljko Ivanek, if this photo and Jen's encyclopedic brain are to believed). According to Spoilerfix, the guy is probably Edmund Burke. They talk in front of the building, he steps into the street... and is hit by a bus. Source: The Transmission

10/18 - I just found out that Episode 7 is a Juliet flashback. Source: Ask Ausiello @ TV Guide

10/11 - In this episode will be Sherry, an intelligent and formidable woman in her 40s or 50s. She is smart, analytical, well-rounded, and charming. Source: SpoilerFix.com

10/02 - This episode will feature Edmund Burke, a smug in his 50s who has a laboratory in a university, who is the type to divorce his wife to date a young woman in her early 20s. He likes to take credit for other people's work. Also in the episode is Albert Hofmann, a highly selective recruiter for a bio-tech company. Source: SpoilerFix.com

09/11 - [Elizabeth Mitchell's character] is romantically linked to someone we already know, and could be romantically linked to a second someone we know. Source: Kristin on E!Online

Episode 3.08: Flashes Before Your Eyes (Desmond-centric)
Airdate: February 14, 2007

12/21 - The Widmores pop up in the Feb. 14 episode, which is called "Flashes Before Your Eyes" and involves Hurley and Charlie trying to figure out why Desmond has been acting so weird since the hatch went blooey. Source: Zap2it

11/15 - Ausiello scooped us on this yesterday, but in case you've missed it: Site visitor Bernard told me over the weekend that the old woman seen with Desmond in flashback pictures available HERE is famous Irish actress Fionnula Flanagan, who many people may know as the housekeeper in the Nicole Kidman movie "The Others". Source: SpoilerFix BuddyTV Spoilers Chat

11/08 - Cuse and Lindelof revealed: I think you'll begin to get a real sense of the answer to [what happened to the kids who were abducted] in about the second episode back after the break -a very real sense. I think that's a reasonable connection [to think that it has to do with Juliet being a fertility doctor]. Source: Ask Ausiello @ TV Guide

11/08 - Lots of filming activity this past week. Last week on Nuuanu Avenue, a bar interior and a London street scene (featuring 1995 concert posters and a military recruiting office). On Sunday, filming inside the Hawaii State Supreme Court Building, with its pillars and marble and hardwood stairs. On Monday, an interior shoot at "Stanwyck's Antiques" (using the same space as Locke's "Walkabout" tour office). But the big shoot is Tuesday, Nov. 7. Fort Steet Mall, a major pedestrian thouroughfare downtown, was transformed into a busy London city street. A London Underground entrance, black taxi cabs, a sstand and red phonebooth, palm trees turned into noble oaks... Desmond exits Widmore Industries, upset, yanking off his tie and throwing it to the ground. He then comes across Charlie, strumming "Wonderwall" on the corner and collecting change in his guitar case. Then the conversation gets surreal. Desmond is having an epiphany, and seems delirious. "Remember the rain? It happened before!" and "This is happening!" He seems to be having one of his spells of deja vu. Last scene of the day. Same London street, but perhaps a very different time. Desmond is no longer wearing his dapper suit, but rather, a drab coat and scarf, looking somewhat destitute. He's wandering around the entrance to the London Underground, ranting like your typical neighborhood schitzo. He spots and sits next to an elegant, older, white-haired woman in a purple gown. They converse. Suddenly there's a crash! People panic. It's a construction accident nearby, and Desmond stands, distressed. The woman approaches calmly. She gives him a ring. He gives her money. She walks off. Source: The Transmission

11/08 - Some sources say that Episode 8 is set in London and that one scene features Desmond in a bar. Source: SpoilerFix BuddyTV Spoilers Chat

11/07 - Flight attendant Cindy and kids Zack and Emma will be in episode 3.08. Source: Lost Podcasts

10/18 - Don't be surprised if episode 8 is all about Charlie. Casting notices just went out for two Brits. Both of them are male, and one of them is a "charismatic" university professor. Source: Kristin on E!Online [Note: Many sources say this episode will either be Desmond- or Others-Centric.]

05/24 - "You will [eventually] find out what happened to Cindy," [says Cuse.] Source: Ask Ausiello @ TV Guide Episode

3.09: Title Unknown (Jack-centric)
Airdate: February 21, 2007

12/12 - Bai Ling reveals: The three episodes I have, it's very deep. My character says, "I can see who people are." [...] I am a very important character in [Jack's] life; like, his tattoos have something to do with me. [My character name is] Achara [...]. But, you know, what is funny about my part... she seduces him, and she's really forward, and she behaves the way she wants, which is really beautiful. It's very healthy and honest and very powerful, in a way. We're lovers, but I am kind of a mystery to him. He doesn't really know me. I don't allow him to visit me, I don't allow him to know what I really do - we're together, we sleep together, we hang out together, we're lovers. And there is a mystery, he never knows what I do. There is also a psychological twist and betrayal. Source: Kristin on E!Online [Note: According to Entertainment Weekly, Bai Ling is in only one episode.]

12/07 - Lost fans can expect things to heat up next year when Bai Ling joins the cast for a three-episode stint. The Chinese actress appears when Jack, played by Matthew Fox, has a flashback of his old lover. [...] She went on to explain that her character, who is responsible for Jack's tattoos, stays shrouded in mystery, keeping the doctor at a distance, despite their passionate relationship in the bedroom. Source: Celebrity Week

11/14 - A wonderful location shoot in downtown Honolulu turned Fort Street Mall near Hawaii Pacific University into Bangkok, Thailand. Two blocks away, the Indigo Restaurant on Nuuanu Avenue played both a tattoo parlor, and a restaurant. All this appears to be for Ep. 3x09, a Jack-centric episode. The night shoot for "Bangkok" was as colorful as any for "LOST," with signs and lights and sexy dancers. Two days of meticulous setup netted ten seconds of footage, in which a mysterious woman in red walks down the crowded street and turns down a narrow alley. Jack follows. According to a camera operator at the restaurant location, the female guest star opposite Matthew Fox was Bai Ling. Source: The Transmission

11/08 - Pictures from the shooting of an upcoming Jack-centric episode show the actor in a fight. Check our source for the pictures. Source: StationZer0

10/11 - This episode will feature a sensual and mysterious Asian woman in her late 20s to early 30s who speaks English and another language. She is an artist and her work in inspired by the feelings and desires of her subjects. Source: SpoilerFix.com

09/19/2005 - From Damon Lindelof: There is going to be a flashback story that fully explains the significance of all [Jack's] tattoos and puts it into the framework of what was happening in his life when he got them. Source: Kristin on E!Online

Episode 3.10: Tricia Tanaka is Dead (Hurley-centric)
Airdate: February 28, 2007

12/21 - Crazy Frenchwoman Rousseau (Mira Furlan), meanwhile, is back on Feb. 28. That episode will also have Hurley finding a junked car -- for reals, that's what it says -- on the island. Source: Zap2it

12/18 - I had dinner with a friend last night who went to a Lost audition about two weeks ago. She was auditioning for a Hurley flashback. They were looking for a reporter to interview him. He was investing his found fortune in a Chicken Shack, but a day before the grand opening the place was flattened by a meteor. If you were paying attention during the season two premiere, you remember Hurley mentioning this very meteorite disaster when he was explaining to Jack the numbers are bad! Source: Kristin on E!Online

11/29 - On November 28, they turned a fast-food restaurant in Hawaii into a Mr. Cluck's Chicken Shack. So it's safe to assume we will see Hurley at work in his flashback. Source: SpoilerFix.com's visitor Valerie

11/22 - I just found out that Cheech Marin has been cast as Hurley's dad. He'll appear in the big guy's next flashback episode, slated to air Feb. 28. Source: Ask Ausiello @ TV Guide

11/06 - Thie episode features Dave a charming and affable Latino man aged between 40 and 50. Source: SpoilerFix.com

Episode 3.11: Enter 77 (Sayid-centric)
Airdate: March 7, 2007

11/22 - Episode 3.11 is called " Enter 77 " and features Sami and Farah, an Iraqi couple who own a restaurant in Paris. Source: secretagentman @ TWoP

Episode 3.12: Title Unknown (Claire-centric)
Airdate: March 14, 2007

12/07 - They are currently casting an Australian doctor and an Australian cop for episode 12, so it looks like that episode will have an Australia flashback. Source: Kristin on E!Online

Episode 3.13: Title Unknown
Airdate: March 21, 2007

12/20 - Over at TWoP, secretagentman recently spilled that episode 3.13 would feature two homicide detectives from Orange County. Source: SpoilerFix BuddyTV Spoilers Chat


General spoilers:

12/20 - In the LOST article titled "When Stephen King met the 'Lost' boys..." featured in the December 1 issue, there is a blurb called "'Lost' clues you can use" in which Carlton Cuse says the following: "You heard correctly: The Others do have a submarine." In the same blurb, Cuse says that who "Jacob" is and why Jack is not on THE list will eventually be revealed. He also says that character names on the show are not assigned without reasons. Could this be a clue to who Jacob is? Source: SpoilerFix BuddyTV Spoilers Chat

11/08 - Cuse and Lindelof revealed: We have a very clear plan for this season, and I don't think we'll get back to Michael and Walt's story this season. Harold Perrineau's story is not finished. He is not on the show currently, but I think everybody is very curious to know what happened to Michael and Walt, and we hope to get back to that story. That character is still out there in the Lost universe. I think there are some upcoming episodes -after the break in the spring -that will answer a number of the open questions. We certainly plan to tell the audience this year how Locke got in the wheelchair. We'll be getting a lot more detailed about what happened to Locke, Eko and Desmond following the immediate aftermath of the hatch exploding, imploding or potentially doing something else. We're doing a flashback story where you'll find out how Jack got his tattoos. And we'll begin peeling back layers of who the Others are, how long they've been on the island, what their origins are. That's really the sort of uber-plot of Season 3. "What's the nature of this island? Where is this island?" The overarching mysteries of Lost remain unanswered. But those questions have to remain unanswered until the show ends. [Eko might be back and it] might not necessarily be a flashback episode. [What happened immediately after the hatch exploded] might be a flashback, but we're not going to tell you how that information gets relayed. That island isn't necessarily where [the Others] live. It's not necessarily the same place where we saw those guys in the beginning of the teaser of the season premiere this year. I think that would be a very reasonable explanation as to how Goodwin and Ethan could run from the Others' home camp to the crash site [in about one hour. The guy with the eye patch is going to figure prominently this season.] The fact that the island may have been seen [by the outside world] is pretty much the entire story arc of the second half of the year. There are two bombs being dropped [during the second half of the season], one of which is a character bomb, and that will happen within the first three episodes after the break. And the other is a more significant story bomb, a game-changer, as it were, and that will happen shortly after. Source: Ask Ausiello @ TV Guide

11/07 - Other Tailies have survived but we don't know where they are. Future episodes will explain what happened to the doctors. Black Rock will be seen in an upcoming episode. Source: Lost Podcasts

10/31 - Chances are good thet we will find out one of the characters is gay. A future episode may possible reveal Nikki and Paulo's experiences on the island during the time we didn't see them. Source: Lost Podcasts [Note: Some sources say a Nikki and Paula flashback is in the works for either episode 11 or 12.]

10/18 - We won't see [Penny] again until after the break. Source: Ask Ausiello @ TV Guide

10/13 - There will be an Others flashback later in the season that shows the housing residential area before 815 crashed. There are other Others in other places; they are not all in the Hydra station. Ms. Klugh will be back sometime. Source: Lost Podcasts

09/28 - [Producers told Yunjin Kim that we wouldn't know until the series finale who the father of her baby is.] The identify of [Henry Gale's (Ben)'s] past love [is revealed]. Source: TV Guide

08/25 - Terry O'Quinn revealed that "I've heard that [the why was Locke in a wheelchair explanation is] going to happen this season. I'm not sure when it will happen but I have heard that it will." Source: Kristin on E!Online

08/24 - It will be revealed that Jack has met one of "The Others" back in the real world; this will relate to why he is the only one they are able to cooperate with. Source: The Tail Section

07/22 - Among the revelations to come: Viewers will learn more about Desmond and Penny, why Locke was paralyzed, why Libby was in the asylum, and why the island has healing powers. Source: Sci Fi Wire

07/22 - The Powers That Be all but confirmed Libby will be appearing in flashbacks, most logically Desmond's or Hurley's. Source: Kristin on E!Online

07/21 - During an interview Carlton Cuse revealed: Penny is an important character in the overarching mythology of the show. The interrelationship between the outside world and the island will be something that will be a part of Season 3. Source: The Ausiello Report

05/14 - Damon Lindelof [reveals]: Libby's got this mysterious backstory, of which we've only given you the tip of the iceberg. We know she's spent some time in the mental institution with Hurley, and the idea of killing her before she had an opportunity to explain how she got there... we have a master plan for how we're going to tell that story, but it's all posthumous. You'll start to learn Libby's moves through flashbacks over the course of the next season. So we're not done with Cynthia, but Libby is dead. Source: The Ausiello Report

05/03 - Lindelof and Cuse: The growth of Malcolm David Kelly (Walt) will be addressed in the 3rd season. You can expect to see more of Rousseau next year, but the story of the wrecked research vessel, it will be coming at some point but we can't guarantee it'll be in Season 3. Source: Ask Ausiello @ TV Guide

January 5, 2007

George W. Loves Your Mail Also

Opening and Tracking the Mail, A New Old Story

by Ryan Singel and Kevin Poulsen

When President Bush signed a long overdue postal reform bill on December 20, 2006, he added a few footnotes, including one that exempted the government from needing to get a court order to open mail when there was a "need to conduct searches in exigent circumstances, such as to protect human life and safety against hazardous materials, and the need for physical searches specifically authorized by law for foreign intelligence collection."

That led to this AP story, which said that the move "might have opened the way for the government to open mail without a warrant." I think clearer language would be that the move clarifies that the government believes it can open mail without a warrant.

Remember back to this spring, when Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, defending the rationale behind the warrantless surveillance of Americans' international communications, suggested that the government may have the authority to tap purely domestic phone calls without a warrant. If the Administration believes that it can get at your real-time communication without a warrant in the interest of fighting terrorism, of course, they believe they can get at something written down.

Currently the law holds that postal workers can only open certain classes of mail if they suspect there is a bomb or they have been served with a search warrant (or in the case of the dead letter office, to see if they can find the right person to send the letter to).

What's not clear is whether the administration is simply standing up for a core principle of this administration -- that the executive branch cannot be curtailed by Congress when it is protecting the country in wartime. The other possibility is that the administration is both protecting that belief AND a program of warrantless mail opening.

This also isn't the first time the Administration has pushed back against rules protecting the privacy of mail. In April 2005, during the reauthorization of the Patriot Act, the head of the Senate Intelligence committee Senator Pat Roberts introduced a bill that would have stripped authority for authorizing the copying of the outside of envelopes from the Postal Service's Inspector General. Instead of having the FBI explain to the Postal Service why it needed the mail surveillance, the bill would have the FBI send a letter to the Postal Service demanding both compliance and total secrecy when it wanted to copy someone's mail.

The Postal Service's chief privacy officer Zoe Strickland told the New York Times that "I worry quite a bit about the balance being struck here, and we're quite mystified as to how this got put in the legislation." The bill never passed.

Januar 04, 2007

Get To Know Mike

1. What song has your name in it?
   Playground in my Mind recorded by Clint Holmes "My name is Michael, I got a nickel
   I got a nickel, shiny and new, I'm gonna buy me all kinds of candy, That's what I'm gonna do" - Man I used to get teased about that song growing up!! ..
   
2. What song are you currently listening to?
   Hey Girl - O.A.R. (Listening on Itunes)
   
3. Do you smoke? nope
   
4. What do you look for in a significant other?
   Found it...a sense of humor and a big heart.
   
5. Who is your favorite person?
   My Son, William and my Love Judy
   
6. Which parent are you most like?
   Neither - But that's another story ..
   
7. What movie character are you?
   Silent Bob & Peter Pan
   
8. What makes you like them?
   An Observer and makeshift philosopher, & a kid at heart that never wants to grow up
   
9. What was your favorite tv show as a child?
   I loved Ultraman, Johnny Socco & His Flying Robot. Speed Racer, Kimba the White Lion & Marine Boy
   
10. Who on your friends' list knows you best?
    My Wife Judy
    
11. What is your favorite movie quote?
    
    too many to pick one.... "I'm not even supposed to be here today." - Clerks
    
    "Just because you are a character doesn't mean that you have character." - Pulp Fiction (the whole movie is priceless for that)
    
12. What singer do you listen to on your bad days?
    Depends on my mood, I just don't want want hear that damm by Daniel Powter (You had a bad day, ULG!!!!)
    
13. What year was your car made?
    2005
    
14. What year were you made?
    1967 (well conceived in 66)
    
15. What did you do last night?
    Drove home from Maryland with William and Judy
    
16. What will you do tonight?
    Work, eat, work some more, then sleep.
    
17. What are your resolutions for the new year?
    ahh...the usual: work out more, eat better, be a nicer person, recycle, be nice to the dogs, etc.
    
18. Which ones will you keep?
    all but the dog one JUST KIDDING!!!!
    
19. Do you enjoy being single or taken?
    Being married is the best (COUGH, COUGH)
    
20. How many exes are you still friends with?
    one..
    
21. Do you have any children?
    Yup William the uber child, and three furry one's
    
22. How do you like your eggs?
    scrambled very well done or fried on a sandwich or deviled
    
23. Favorite cologne or perfume?
    Arimus and Axe
    
24. Biggest pet peeve?
    Dealing with bad drivers, and stupid customer service workers.
    
25. Do you have a crush?
    Some Celebrity Crushes but mostly Judy on a good day.

January 03, 2007

Flat On My Back

Ok today is the first day I feer old. I was getting ready to leave for work this morning and I was bending over to move something and I pulled my back out.

I have never done this before in my life. I have never been in this much agony. I tried going into the office this morning but was in too much pain. I was walking around like a 90 year man. Not good at all. So I came home early and here I am laying in bed, flat on my back, and not the good way.

This so sucks

Grumble

December 31, 2006

Final Thoughts of 2006

I'm sitting here in my sister's living room waiting for 2006 to roll to an end. Watching my 7-year-old son trying to do anything to stay awake to witness his first new years eve.

It was great when I first told William that he could stay awake to ring in 2007, he asked me "What do I have to do?" I told him just stay awake and yell "Happy New Year, at Midnight." He looked at me strange and just went "That's it?" I looked back sheepishly and said "Well, we do make lots of noise also".

Have a very happy new year and I hope 2007 brings us all happiness, joy and success.

Peace

December 26, 2006

Some Random thoughts for the end of 2006

I'm just sitting here at my desk waiting for the last day of work for 2006 to come to a close. I'm heading up to Maryland tomorrow to visit with family and friends; it should be, as always, a good trip but a hectic visit (so many people to see in such a short period of time). I will report on all of the joy and fun of the trip when we get back into town.

I was thinking that with 2006 coming to an end, is the world a better place then when the year started? Has humanity made any significant breakthroughs in our evolutionary path, or achieved any lofty goals towards bliss and harmony? Have we made this planet a better place for our children or children's children? Has there been any significant technological break-through that a hundred years from now historians will remember the year 2006 as the year the world changed?? Hmmm
Nope, I can't think of anything off the top of my head that made 2006 very memorable. A few good movies, some nice personal vacations, and some good books that have been read. Even though it pleased me greatly, I don't even consider the Democrats taking control of both houses of congress anything that will change the world.

I would love to hear your thoughts... am I full of it? Do you agree? Do you have something to tell about what made it a great year for you?

Hope you all have a safe and happy new year, and see you in 2007

Peace

Mike

December 21, 2006

Ok So It's A J.K. Rowling's Type of Day

Final 'Harry Potter' title announced

By HILLEL ITALIE, AP National Writer

We now have a title for Book VII: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows."

But if you want to find out for yourself, visit J.K. Rowling's Web site, jkrowling.com, and play a little game of hangman.

Rowling's U.S. publisher, Scholastic, Inc., released a brief statement Thursday announcing the name of the world's most anticipated children's book, the finale to her phenomenally popular fantasy series.

No publication date or other details were offered. Rowling is still working on the book, she wrote on her Web site in an entry posted early Thursday.

"I'm now writing scenes that have been planned, in some cases, for a dozen years or even more," she wrote. "I don't think anyone who has not been in a similar situation can possibly know how this feels: I am alternately elated and overwrought. I both want, and don't want, to finish this book (don't worry, I will.)"

Meanwhile, she set up a little game for her Potter fans.

If you go to her home page, click on the eraser and you will be taken to a room - you'll see a window, a door and a mirror.

In the mirror, you'll see a hallway. Click on the farthest doorknob and look for the Christmas tree. They click on the center of the door next to the mirror and a reef appears. Then click on the top of the mirror and you'll see a garland.

Look for a cobweb next to the door. Click on it, and it will disappear. Now, look at the chimes in the window. Click on the second chime to the right, and hold it down. The chime will turn into the key, which opens the door. Click on the wrapped gift behind the door, then click on it again and figure out the title yourself by playing a game of hangman.

Or you can just take Scholastic's word for it.

December 21, 2006

If We Could Only Have Her Dreams

Rowling Finds Finishing Final Potter Book a Nightmare

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling said she is having bizarre dreams about being the boy wizard as she struggles to finish the final book in the hugely popular series.

The author wrote on her website that she dreamt for the first time that she was in Potter's head and roaming around the magical world she has created for him.

The 41-year-old hinted that the stress was getting to her as she writes the closing chapters of the seventh and final Potter novel -- in which she has hinted that the beloved hero may be killed off.

"I'm now writing scenes that have been planned, in some cases, for a dozen years or even more," Rowling revealed.

"I don't think anyone who has not been in a similar situation can possibly know how this feels. I am alternately elated and overwrought.

"I both want, and don't want, to finish this book (don't worry I will)," she wrote.

She then described her odd dreams about Harry's world, which Potter fans are sure to scour for clues about what may happen in the final book.

"For years now, people have asked me whether I ever dream that I am 'in' Harry's world," Rowling wrote.

"The answer was 'no' until a few nights ago, when I had an epic dream in which I was, simultaneously, Harry and the narrator.

"I was searching for a Horcrux (a magical object in Rowling's books created through the use of the Dark Arts) in a gigantic, crowded hall which bore no resemblance to the Great Hall as I imagine it.

"As the narrator I knew perfectly well that the Horcrux was jammed in a hidden nook in the fireplace, while as Harry I was searching for it in all kinds of other places, while trying to make the people around me say lines I had pre-arranged for them.

"Meanwhile waiters and waitresses who work in the real cafe in which I have written huge parts of book seven roamed around me as though on stilts, all of them at last 15 feet (4.5 metres) high."

She added: "Perhaps I should cut back on the caffeine?"

The seventh novel is reportedly due to be published next year at the earliest.

The first six books in the Potter series have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide and been translated into 63 languages, making Rowling Britain's highest-earning woman. The novels have also been turned into hit films.

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the fifth movie in the series, is currently being filmed and is due for release next year.

Rowling said she recently went on a day trip to the film studios where she saw 20 minutes of footage "which looks fantastic."

December 21, 2006

Shopping Placement

A few of you might know that recently Judy had ripped a tendon in her middle finger (I know just there is enough jokes to last a few weeks, not the rip itself but that her middle finger being erect for the next six weeks), so last night she needed some new tape to help her brace stay on her finger. She wanted some tape that wouldn't irritate her skin.

So we went to the local Wallgreens pharmacy to pick up the tape and a few other odds and ends. As we were roaming the isles we came across the KY gels and lubricants, no problems here so far, but what struck me a little funny was that the store management placed them right above the pregnancy tests and ovulation kits.

Hmmm I wonder if there was a hidden meaning here??? You play you pay???

Any thoughts?

Peace

December 20, 2006

Christmas vs. Chanukah

Now, if anyone asks you what the difference is between Christmas and Chanukah you will know what and how to answer!

1. Christmas is one day, same day every year, December 25. Jews also love December 25th. It's another paid day off work. We go to movies and out for Chinese food and Israeli dancing. Chanukah is 8 days. It starts the evening of the 24th of Kislev, whenever that falls. No one is ever sure. Jews never know until a non-Jewish friend asks when Chanukah starts, forcing us to consult a calendar so we don't look like idiots. We all have the same calendar, provided free with a donation from the World Jewish Congress, the kosher butcher, or the local Sinai Memorial Chapel (especially in Florida) or other Jewish funeral home, or Chabad.
   
2. Christmas is a major holiday. Chanukah is a minor holiday with the same theme as most Jewish holidays. They tried to kill us, we survived, let's eat.
   
3. Christians get wonderful presents such as jewelry, perfume, stereos... Jews get practical presents such as underwear, socks, or the collected works of the Rambam, which looks impressive on the bookshelf.
   
4. There is only one way to spell Christmas. No one can decide how to spell Chanukah, Chanukkah, Chanukka, Channukah, Hanukah, Hannukah, etc.
   
5. Christmas is a time of great pressure for husbands and boyfriends. Their partners expect special gifts. Jewish men are relieved of that burden. No one expects a diamond ring on Chanukah.
   
6. Christmas brings enormous electric bills. Candles are used for Chanukah. Not only are we spared enormous electric bills, but we get to feel good about not contributing to the energy crisis.
   
7. Christmas carols are beautiful...Silent Night, Come All Ye Faithful.... Chanukah songs are about dreidels made from clay or having a party and dancing the hora. Of course, we are secretly pleased that many of the beautiful carols were composed and written by our tribal brethren. And don't Barbara Streisand and Neil Diamond sing them beautifully?
   
8. A home preparing for Christmas smells wonderful. The sweet smell of cookies and cakes baking. Happy people are gathered around in festive moods. A home preparing for Chanukah smells of oil, potatoes, and onions. The home, as always, is full of loud people all talking at once.
   
9. Christian women have fun baking Christmas cookies. Jewish women burn their eyes and cut their hands grating potatoes and onions for latkas on Chanukah. Another reminder of our suffering through the ages.
   
10. Parents deliver to their children during Christmas. Jewish parents have no qualms about withholding a gift on any of the eight nights.
    
11. The players in the Christmas story have easy to pronounce names such as Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. The players in the Chanukah story are Antiochus, Judah Maccabee, and Matta whatever. No one can spell it or pronounce it. On the plus side, we can tell our friends anything and they believe we are wonderfully versed in our history.
    
12. Many Christians believe in the virgin birth. Jews think, "Yossela, Bubela, snap out of it. Your woman is pregnant, you didn't sleep with her, and now you want to blame G-d? Here's the number of my shrink".
    
13. In recent years, Christmas has become more and more commercialized. The same holds true for Chanukah, even though it is a minor holiday. It makes sense. How could we market a major holiday such as Yom Kippur? Forget about celebrating. Think observing. Come to synagogue, starve yourself for 27 hours, become one with your dehydrated soul, beat your chest, confess your sins, a guaranteed good time for you and your family. Tickets a mere $200 per person. Better stick with Chanukah!

December 19, 2006

Oh This is Bad, Very Very Bad

From Wired Magazine Today:

Archie Comics Gets Horrible New Look

The physiognomy of Betty and Veronica is timeless: two large doe eyes surrounding a crescent tipped and nostril-less nose, under which a strawberry mouth containing one gigantic, undivided tooth plumply rests. The design of Archie's girlfriends hasn't significantly changed in almost half a century, ever since cartoonist Dan DeCarlo created the modern look for Archie and the Riverdale gang in the 1950s. Now, it's changing again...all thanks to artist Steven Butler, whose clumsy line work should be familiar to anyone who has ever seen a children's coloring panel on the back of an IHOP place mat.

Look, I'll be blunt: I'm not a big fan of the Archie look for the last fifty years or so. Compare the image on the far right above to the one to the right of this paragraph: look how sassy Betty and Veronica were back in the 1940's! Look at the personality of the characters, Archie in particular. Compared to that impressive bit of cartooning, the last fifty years in Archie Comics have been a complete stylistic wash. DeCarlo's reimagining of the Archie universe was done for one and only one reason: to make it possible for the publishers to employ cheaper, uncredited artists and cycle through them easily without any stylistic difference.

One thing that can be said for the new style is that artists will no longer have no discernible stylistic difference in Archie Comics: the new character designs are too elaborate for that. Yet weirdly enough, Butler's "re-imagined" Archie manages to drain the last glimmer of style from what has become comics' most pathetic franchise. The old DeCarlo designs may have been simple and easily reproducible, but they were also memorable. Almost any American presented with a drawing of an Archie Comics character could tell it was meant to be part of the Riverdale gang just as easily as they could identify a character that was supposed to be from the Simpsons. Butler's work loses that completely: try to imagine the Simpsons drawn in another style and remaining half as memorable.

But more importantly, Butler's work also misses the plot by making Betty and Veronica look totally different. Not only does this rob Archie's romantic quandary of its delicious irony (what does it matter which girl Archie picks? They are both the same girl.) but let's face it: one of the reasons the entire Betty / Veronica / Archie love-triangle is so alluring is because Betty and Veronica look exactly like one other, with the exception of hair color. When it comes right down to it, Archie is the personification of every American teenager, and as a pubertal Everyman, his relationship with Betty and Veronica indicates every teenage boy's own deeply seated desire to date two identical twins and eventually convince them to make out with one another while he watches. Right, fellas?

Boo to Archie Comics. Against all odds, a lame comics franchise somehow manages to make itself even lamer.