That's Just Me

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T23:26:00.000-08:00

An end to a busy decade. Can't believe how far I've come. Here's hoping to go much further in the next ten years.

It Doesn't Look Fake...

2009-06-20T07:58:00.000-07:00

This is Josh Womack, a former second-round pick of the Seattle Mariners in 2002, who currently plays for the Long Beach Armada of the Golden Baseball League. What makes this guy special is that he’s got one heck of a wicked bat trick. The thing is, it doesn’t actually look real, but it doesn’t look fake, either…

I doubt the trick is faked because, well… why would you fake something like this with an independent-league baseball player? There’s no marketing behind it and nothing to be gained from it except a few curious baseball fans. He plays up the freeway from us with, so maybe I’ll go check him out.

Post-It Obsession

2009-06-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

Some people have too much time on their hands... or use it effectively, depending on the way you look at it.

DEADLINE post-it motion, by Bang-yao Liu

And this one is also on my Tumblr account (which I use for things that are more personally inspirational):

Post-It Love

Big Rap

2009-05-23T23:12:00.000-07:00

Who didn't love the movie Big?

I can't believe Hanks can still pull off the whole thing. I know he probably practiced, but really...

Transforminators!

2009-05-22T21:51:00.000-07:00

Smash two would-be summer blockbusters together... and don't forget to wash your hands.

Do Not Try This at Home

2009-05-21T23:05:00.000-07:00

I do not want to meet this girl in a dark alley and have to throw down.

FYI, this is Julia Dales, a 17-year old from Canada who won the open auditions for the World Beatbox Championships. She'll compete on May 29th.

Ten Years Later

2009-05-19T08:19:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago today, I'd waited in line for eighteen hours at the Irvine Marketplace 10 to see Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. At midnight on May 19, 1999, I scrambled into the theater to watch the most-anticipated movie of all time. The movie was disappointing, but the excitement prior to the release was incredible. I'm not ashamed to say that it was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

It's been thirty-two years since George Lucas' magnum opus opened. We can't thank him enough for creating it, nor can we beg him enough to leave it alone.

Both photos above were shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair (a magazine which has had an odd love for Star Wars over the years). Anybody who can score me a big print (at least 36" wide) of the 2nd photo will have my love and devotion for life.

* * *

In other Star Wars news, the long-awaited Fanboys debuts on DVD today. It's the story of five friends who head out to see The Phantom Menace before its debut - at Skywalker Ranch, and before one of them succumbs to cancer. Starring Jay Baruchel, Kristen Bell, Dan Fogler, Sam Huntington, and Chris Marquette.

I Kinda Wish I Was Actually So Inclined...

2009-05-11T09:32:00.000-07:00

I actually wish I had the drive to do something as unusual as this...

I'd Use It

2009-05-01T11:27:00.001-07:00

Every pizza place should order these! Brilliant.

Nostalgia Packs a Real Punch

2009-04-16T09:41:00.000-07:00

As a kid, G.I. Joe was the first cartoon series I was really into. Hasbro road that pony all the way to a huge profit from my parents, who were kind enough to buy me pretty much every G.I. Joe figure ever made.

Now, we ready for the next generation. Thank goodness others in my generation have been put into positions to be able to create shows like the above G.I. Joe: Resolute, which, by the way, has nothing to do with the less-than-promising summer movie G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

Anyway, G.I. Joe: Resolute debuts on AdultSwim.com this Friday, April 17. It’s set to air in ten, five-minute episodes on the website, with the entire set to air with a ten-minute finale on April 25 at midnight on Cartoon Network.

Here's some footage from last year's San Diego Comic-Con that gives more of the feel of the series... Yo, Joe!

The Enterprise Project

2009-04-13T20:33:00.001-07:00

With J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek coming out on May 7 (well, showings at 7 pm local time), Paramount Pictures sent out some U.S.S. Enterprise models made by Quantum Mechanix to various artists and designers around the country to detail as they saw fit. One of the writers over at Gizmodo was sent a model and produced the model above, which is where I saw the link to the rest of the models.

There are 30 total models in all, which can be seen here. Here are some of my favs:

Geek Chic

2009-04-04T12:58:00.000-07:00

If I had an iPhone, this would be the case/wrapper I'd want for it:

Nothing sez "old school gamer" better than a Nintendo Game Boy iPhone case/wrapper. Found in Japan here.

Guitar Hero: Final Four Edition

2009-04-01T11:28:00.000-07:00

I'm willing to bet money that none of these guys has ever played Guitar Hero. Still, people do surprise...

As You Wish

2009-02-27T00:59:00.000-08:00

Westley's a dick.

From xkcd.com.

Best Shot from NBA All-Star Weekend

2009-02-18T10:39:00.000-08:00

I’m wondering if Bango (the Milwaukee Bucks’ mascot – the one who got it) took the head off of Rufus (the Charlotte Bobcats’ mascot) in the locker room afterwards.

You're Welcome

2009-01-22T08:42:00.000-08:00

Nearly every morning, I make Kindra a mug of coffee to take on the drive to work. The other day, she told me that I'd made her the best cup of coffee she'd ever had.

It was the Starbucks she'd brought home the night before.

Thanks, Sweetie.

Impossible Basketball Shot of the Day

2009-01-21T12:22:00.000-08:00

No. Freaking. Way.

Today's Superhero

2009-01-20T07:33:00.000-08:00

"NOW Is the Time"

2009-01-19T08:39:00.001-08:00

How'd They Do That?

2009-01-07T11:47:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder how they draw that yellow line across the football field marking the first down? This is why productions are such costly processes:

Think about it. That’s a lot of machines and people needed to slap that yellow line down. And on top of that, a bunch of engineers had to sit around for what I’m sure was quite some time to figure out how to merge all the available technology together to paint a line on the television screen telling you how far your team has to go to get the first down. That’s nuts.

Turning Japanese

2009-01-06T23:40:00.000-08:00

The Watchmen Japanese trailer:

I’m thinking they showed more big-picture scenes as opposed to the straight action of the American trailers because a) the Japanese audience is more about story than spectacle and b) not as many Japanese know what Watchmen is about.

I’m hoping that there isn’t a delay in the March 9 release date because of the rights issues between Warner Bros. and Fox.

Happy New Year

2009-01-04T15:24:00.000-08:00

Pick your poison:

Andre Rieu

Julie Andrews

We'll All Watch the Watchmen... If We Can

2008-12-31T16:24:00.001-08:00

Watchmen Exclusive

One of the Worst (and Best) "The Price is Right" Players EVER.

2008-12-30T23:37:00.001-08:00

This'll make you want to throw something at this girl. BUT... Bob Barker's reaction at the end is totally worth it.

Holiday Peeve

2008-12-17T15:36:00.000-08:00

I’ll start off by saying that I had a really nice experience this morning at Target, when a gentleman let me go in front of him in line because he saw that I had only three small items. I really appreciated that, even though he didn’t have a ton of stuff.

While that experience was refreshing (and actually happens a fair amount of the time to me – especially given that I’m prone to buying two things at Costco), it brings me to one of my biggest pet peeves, especially around the holidays: inconsiderate strangers.

No, really.

I hate people who don’t say, “Thank you,” when you hold the door open for them, don’t wave from their car when it’s obvious you let them into your lane, don’t make a little bit of effort to give room when you pass them in a narrow area, or who can’t wait their turn at a crowded four-way stop.

It just reminds me of all the little things in the world that aren’t the way they should be. I just think it’s nice to give a little show of courtesy when the opportunity arises.

* * *

Just for fun, the Penny Arcade comic of the day:

SNIKT!

2008-12-15T13:39:00.000-08:00

The trailer for the "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie coming out May 1, 2009. Actually looks like it could be decent.

Maybe a Shot of Jack, Then...

2008-12-14T10:19:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

For those of you who don’t know, this is the group Straight No Chaser, which was founded at Indiana University in 1996. One of the members uploaded this video for the rest of the group to see just about two years ago. It got a few million hits, including the president of Atlantic Records, who signed the ten of them to a five-record deal. They have two records out, including a Christmas album.

What… the... heck?

While we’re on the a cappella subject, here’s something for the old-school gamers in the house…

40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes

2008-12-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

Makes me want to get out there and go get 'em...

Caffeinated Thoughts

2008-12-08T23:28:00.000-08:00

I’m not opposed to the Big Three automakers going down… unless it causes total financial chaos. Oh, wait. We already had that. Still, if the government is going to bail them out, I’d have to agree with President-Elect Obama and say that the piss-poor MBA’s at the top of those companies need to be on their way out – WITHOUT the gigantic severance checks that too many of the banking idiots got.

Speaking of bailouts, why does everybody think the government needs to be handing over cash to their company/interest? We’re frickin’ built on CAPITALISM. HEL-LO! The strong survive and make money while the weak fail and have a bunch of lousy product left over – isn’t that one of the things they call the “American Way?” You make good products people want, you get to keep doing business. You make crappy products nobody wants, you get a new job.

Ooo… I just saw an article that states that same-sex marriage supporters are asking people to “call in gay” on Wednesday. It’s supposed to show how much the country relies on gays and lesbians. Sweet! I can support a cause I believe in while ditching work. Bolt in 3-D, here I come! Actually, it seems that organizers of “Day Without Gay” are asking people to refrain from spending money while volunteering or finding some other way to give back to society (http://tinyurl.com/6qqyn5). Hmm… So I sneak into Bolt and then make sure to pick up somebody else’s trash on the way out. Cool.

And since we’re on that subject, I haven’t been more ashamed of considering myself Californian than when the voters in this state passed Proposition 8 (ban on gay marriage) a month ago. I’ll say it once, since most people who read this that are older than me will side with the Yes on 8 crowd, I think that the passage of Prop 8 was a HUGE mistake. Believe what you will with regard to gay marriage and its reconciliation with whatever religion you believe in, but this is fact: Proposition 8 denies gays and lesbians the same rights as heterosexuals. It writes into the California state constitution that “marriage” is only between a man and a woman only. In other words, every Californian citizen has the same set of right– oh, wait… unless you’re not hetero. You can say all you want about how GLBT have the same legal rights, blah, blah, blah, as everyone else, but you’re still singling them out because of who they are. To say that because they are GLBT they should not be afforded the same priviledges as other citizens of the state is akin to denying rights on the basis of skin color or ethnic heritage. Okay, leave me alone.

Hey! Do you still watch TV? Critics are calling this the worst season of TV ever… Um, yeah… you need writers to write good stuff. Still, I’m currently watching Chuck (well, it’s paused on TiVo), and I was just thinking that it’s not that shows are necessarily bad – it might just be that people found other things to do. I have to say that it’s disappointing that some shows don’t get more of a chance. If they don’t pull in huge ratings in the first four weeks, they’re dead (see: Pushing Daisies, The Ex-List, My Own Worst Enemy, and my personal fav, Eli Stone). C’mon… give shows a chance. I know it’s a ton of money, but so are new advertising campaigns for new shows. Of course, I suppose if you’re not getting people to watch, you’re not making any money in advertising.

Which I guess would explain the ridiculous amount of product placement in shows these days. Hell, Chuck’s been ridiculous, with the Nintendo Wii featured prominently in shots (that were set up to prominently feature the Wii), and that sub-plot with former New York Giant Michael Strahan playing Madden ’09 the entire episode a few weeks ago? Amusing, but a bit slap-you-in-the-face-did-you-know-Madden ’09-was-coming-out annoying. YES. I DID. THANKS. And I'd buy it if you allowed me to push buttons on my Wii instead of forcing me to use the inane jab and shake and shimmy and wiggle-my-ass-to-make-a-tackle controls. Just because the thing has motion-sensing capabilities does not mean you need to use them to play the game.

Still, however shows make money. I suppose that’s how the RIDICULOUS (I’d underline it, but I don’t want to over-emphasize how much I hate the show) Knight Rider got picked up for a full season. Hell, I love all that 80’s stuff, watched the horrible movie they did last February, watched the first episode this season wanting it to be just decent, and then promptly gave up on it… in the first fifteen (15!) minutes. May not have been that long. Might've been the first scene where the main characters (a guy and a girl) “had” to take off their clothes to avoid being incinarated while riding inside K.I.T.T. as it was on fire. You get the idea of how poorly they executed that little bit of geek heaven if even I thought it was lame. And what’s with the K.I.T.T. design? It looks like a five-year-old slapped some spare parts onto a car. Could we get an actual car guy in here, please? Sheesh. No ugly-ass Ford Mustang mod with crappy acting and lousy plot is gonna get me to watch week-in and week-out.

Speaking of product placement, how about Jon and Kate Plus Eight recently? Their show now revolves around what great resort or adventure they got to go on for free on a particular airline while hauling around a particular set of toys. It’s cool with me – they need all the help they can get with their tribe. I’m thinking about having septuplets just to see if I can get a new video camera or six.

And what’s with that new show Twins, Twins, and Sextuplets? BTW, that’s a *diamond* of a name. It must’ve taken months and months of slaving to come up with that one. Bless ‘em, if I were them, and I saw J&KP8, I’d be screamin’ for my own show, too. Just for the product placement. Too bad they’ll never be as popular as the Gosselins. They’re way uglier. (Yay for Asian-white couples! And not the white-guy-Asian-girl type, either… they’re ubiquitous).

Okay, back to Chuck and figuring out which point-and-shoot camera to purchase.

Spoil Sports

2008-12-01T11:49:00.000-08:00

Since I haven’t posted anything in a month, I’ll start with this. These guys spoil the endings of 100 movies in 5 minutes… hilarious.

Blast From the Past

2008-10-28T02:19:00.000-07:00

To be honest, I laughed my ass off and then felt very old. I'm guessing a lot of the kiddies probably don't remember the original series of commercials, one of which I blogged about here.

Kobe Cruise

2008-10-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

What's with the long shorts, Kobe?

Can You Really Say No to Them?

2008-10-23T16:23:00.002-07:00

adidas: The Run

2008-10-20T09:50:00.000-07:00

Wish I had more time to write and post, but life is kicking my (and my wife's) ass(es) right now... Here's a fun video that gives an idea of adidas' new ad campaign, featuring KG, Duncan, Dwight Howard, Josh Smith, Chauncey Billups and Jordan Farmar.

I love the KG-Dwight Howard "Superman" conversation and KG's line at the end. Plus, you get a chance to see how crazy athletic these guys are.

DRM in Real Terms

2008-10-14T10:14:00.001-07:00

Via xkcd.com.

YouMoron

2008-09-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

I love xkcd...

Flip-Flop

2008-09-16T09:11:00.001-07:00

Via ESPN’s TrueHoop blog and the Basketbawful website, this video was apparently created for the Humanitarian Organization Divac (no, I don’t know what it is, and it’s all in Serbian, so if you can translate… let me know).

Funnies

2008-09-15T12:20:00.001-07:00

Craziest New Animated Series

Yes, it’s for real…

Favorite New Fatality*

From the new Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, which pits the old-school MK crew against heroes (and villans) from the DC Comics universe (e.g., Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, etc.), comes one of the best finishing actions yet created. The latest playable character to be introduced is The Joker, whose attacks and hilarious fatality can be seen here:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/38955.html

Tell me that ain’t freakin’ funny.

* -- A “fatality” is the finishing move executed by a player in the video game Mortal Kombat. It is a brutal and graphic attack that usually leaves the opponent dismembered in some fashion. Also, from The Urban Dictionary:

Awesome move done in Mortal Kombat when the big voice guy says, "Finish Him!" and you obliterate your opponent .

"Finish Him!"

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"

"Sub-Zero Wins… Fatality"

(New) Favorite Movie Poster

The Swinging Barmaids (1975)

You have to love all the taglines they threw on the poster. Because you knew they just couldn’t throw them away.

Oh, and it’s actually a ‘70s slasher film. Go figure.

Train Wreck of the Day

2008-09-04T18:13:00.000-07:00

More like "Fail of the Century." This is truly heartbreaking, even though you're thinking exactly what the announcer is saying...

Prepare to Groove

2008-09-01T06:27:00.000-07:00

NOTE: You MUST turn up the volume before playing.

Why don’t they do it this way anymore?

He Just Might Be…

2008-08-29T20:44:00.000-07:00

People seem to have found a glitch in the latest Tiger Woods video game: if your ball gets hit into a water hazard in certain spots, the game allows you to walk out to it and hit it out of the water.

EA Sports, the publisher of the video game, posted this response:

* * *

On another note… HOLY COW! It’s been over a month since I posted. Sorry. Things are busy (work and kids and such). Will be back to posting more trivial thoughts soon.

This Occurred to Me Tonight...

2008-07-24T23:17:00.001-07:00

Competition is fun; it's a joke. Cooperation is serious; it's for real.

Competition forces one to be better. Cooperation forces all to be better.

There cannot be competition without cooperation. If two competing forces are imbalanced, the dominant force loses the opportunity to become optimally proficient while the lesser force loses the opportunity to efficiently improve. The simple solution is that both must find alterantive competitors that match their current status. But in cases where both are confined to the playing field at hand, each must agree to a course of action aggressive enough for the dominant competitor to be forced forward, yet tempered to allow the weaker of the two to rise.

It's sort of an offshoot of the idea that what has become lost in our desire for independence is our opportunity for interdependence.

I have no idea why this is tapping at my head right now. Might have something to do with seeing The Dark Knight tonight.

Mamma Mia!

2008-07-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

Mamma Mia! movie madness starts today! Can’t wait to go see Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard and Amanda Seyfried sing ABBA.

Really.

Oh yeah… and that Dark Knight movie opens today, too.

Hell(boy) of a Day

2008-07-11T12:15:00.001-07:00

C'mon... You knew it was too obvious to pass up.

Affirmation

2008-07-09T11:38:00.000-07:00

The word “fanboy” has hit the big-time: it’s made the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary.

fan·boy

Pronunciation: \’fan-,bÓi\
Function: noun

: a boy who is an enthusiastic devotee (as of comics or movies)

FYI, I think the fanboys (and girls) across the nation resent the limitation of the definition to just “a boy.”

Quote of the Day

2008-07-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

Found this while cleaning out our little stationery desk, courtesy of Starbucks, via Krista:

Starbucks Quote #230

Heaven is totally overrated. It seems boring. Coulds, listening to people play the harp. It should be somewhere you can't wait to go, like a luxury hotel. Maybe blue skies and soft music were enough to keep people in line in the 17th century, but Heaven has to step it up a bit. They're basically getting by because they only have to be better than Hell.

-- Joel Stein

Because It's What We'd All Like to Do on Friday

2008-06-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

http://view.break.com/521743 - Watch more free videos

WALL-EEEEEEEEE!

2008-06-27T12:35:00.000-07:00

Probably going to be the best summer movie this year (yes, even over Iron Man and The Dark Knight). Definitely the most anticipated movie in our household. Probably going to take the first family outing to the movies next week to see it.

Quote of the Day

2008-06-25T10:29:00.000-07:00

Via the San Francisco Chronicle:

Actress Sienna Miller had to wear fake breasts for her role in forthcoming action movie G.I. Joe, because her own cleavage was not big enough for director Stephen Sommers. “(I wear a) tight black leather outfit. And much bigger boobs,” Miller said. “They gave me these things that looked like chicken fillets. The director said, 'I'm gonna be honest, I like girls with big boobs,' and I don't have them so we made them bigger. At least he's honest. But I was mildly offended."

Miller plays the Baroness in the the 2009 film G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra (which, btw, I think is the dumbest movie title since Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). If you’re wondering, here’s what Miller’s character is supposed to look like:

Here are some advance teaser posters that were just released, starting with the aforementioned Miller, followed by Channing Tatum as Duke and Ray Park as Snake Eyes:

I’m still sitting on the fence on this one. I’m not sure they can pull it off, but I’m still awaiting the first footage from the movie.

Quantum of Information

2008-06-21T21:06:00.001-07:00

Interesting viral widget produced by the Bond people to get more information out about the next Bond movie, Quantum of Solace.

My Kind of Shopping Center...

2008-06-20T23:42:00.001-07:00

Happy Summer!

2008-06-20T09:36:00.000-07:00

Happy first day of summer to all of you… it’s all downhill to the fall sports season now.

And don’t forget that the Steve Carell/Anne Hathaway/Dwayne Johnson film Get Smart opens today, as does Mike Myers’ The Love Guru with Jessica Alba and Justin Timberlake.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

2008-06-18T10:04:00.000-07:00

Congrats to the Celts, Doc Rivers, and Paul Pierce. They showed how good they were, while the Lakers showed how little they cared. All the Celts certainly outplayed their counterparts, Doc showed up Phil Jackson, and Pierce put himself in close to the rest of the Celtic greats. Give credit to the Celts’ defense and toughness for their 17th championship. So much for the Laker-Celtic rivalry… As has been said, it’s only a rivalry if both sides win; it’s a feud if one dominates the meetings.

I spot-watched the first half of Game 6, getting more and more disgusted as the game went on. Of course, this continued my disgust from Game 5, which I didn’t bother to watch much of. The Lakers showed no passion, which speaks to their lack of desire, professionalism, and perhaps their unity. It has been suggested, while most of the Lakers seem to like each other, they don’t particularly care for Kobe (and maybe Phil).

On that note, where were Kobe and Phil this entire series? As Jim Rome said after Game 4, Kobe can forget all the MJ comparisons. There’s no way MJ would’ve let his team look as bad as the Lakers looked, and Kobe’s performance throughout the Finals seemed oddly lethargic. As much as people can talk about Kobe sharing the ball, this Finals was probably the opportunity for him to be more aggressive, while the other guys shared the ball and played four-on-four against the rest of the Celtics.

As for Phil, for being talked about as the best coach of the last thirty years, he looked remarkably inept. He made no major adjustments, couldn’t get his team to defend, couldn’t put enough wrinkles into the offense to get his scorers into position to make plays, and couldn’t find the right players to put on the floor. He was going for his 10th championship in 11 opportunitites and failed miserably. It looked like, as was noted in a number of outlets, that Doc Rivers was hungrier than Phil, which has to be true.

Don’t get me wrong – I don’t blame just Kobe and Phil. The entire Laker team looked slow, unathletic, and dispassionate. They’d better find some guys to take roles similar to the Celts’ Eddie House, James Posey and Kendrick Perkins, while the “big three” of Kobe, Pau Gasol, and Lamar Odom better find some cajones. Where will Kobe go after his tirade last summer and the apparent change in his attitude during this season?

Okay, not to be too bitter, it was an amazing run to the Finals, which was unexpected at the start of the season. The Lakers really weren’t as good as everybody thought they were when they got Gasol, and they will have Andrew Bynum (hopefully) next year. They still need to get more athletic, defend better, and be mentally tougher, but they should still challenge next year.

Back in the 80’s with the Showtime group, they were wildly erratic, especially in the 1984 Finals. They came back to look pretty good in ’85, ’87, and ’88, so it might be possible for this team to do something similar. They just won’t have the air of mystique they would’ve had if they had won (or even competed) during this Finals.

Hulk Out!

2008-06-13T09:53:00.001-07:00

Happy Hulk Day.

NBA Finals, Game 4

2008-06-12T22:14:00.001-07:00

Absolutely the worst NBA Finals game I have ever seen played – by the Celtics in the first half, and by the Lakers in the second. The first half was the Laker blowout I expected in Game 3, and the second half was a ridiculous implosion by the mental-midget Lakers.

Props to the Paul Pierce, Doc Rivers, and the Celtics. Pierce played some of the best defense ever on Kobe Bryant, Doc Rivers made some great calls (moving to a small lineup, putting Pierce on Bryant, going with Eddie House, force-feeding the ball to Garnett), and the Celtics played brilliantly. Pierce has really moved up on my respect-o-meter. I used to think he was a soft gunslinger who didn’t know how to win. I’m almost ready to call him a stud after his effort in Game 4. Consistency will be his key.

F*ck the Lakers. Absolutely the worst possessions at the end of the game by the Lakers – Ray Allen drives on Sasha Vujacic for an easy layup, and then the debacle of a final offensive possession. And how do they let it get to a few possessions? You’re up TWENTY-FOUR and you can’t pull it out? At least Lamar Odom showed up for one half (that was nice), and Pau Gasol had a nice overall game, but he needs to be an absolute force on either the offense or defensive ends. He can’t be both and this missing layups thing while missing help assignments is ridiculous. He merely plays okay on both ends.

The question now is where the hell are Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant? Phil hasn’t shown the genius moves he’s capable of, and Kobe is schizo. Jackson’s acquiesced to the players and moved away from the defense- and team-first attitudes he was known for while creating a pretty good offensive team, but the Lakers just aren’t mentally tough enough.

Kobe can’t decide how to play – he can’t score while playing the facilitator, and if he doesn’t play the facilitator, he gets too focused on scoring. I don’t know exactly where the balance lies for him, but he needed to come out like he did in Game 3. I think he’s got to score between 35-40 points for the Lakers to win. Wonder how he’s going to feel if the Lakers lose the series. He’s the one who wanted to shoulder the burden. He’s the one who wanted to win alone. He complained about not having pieces, they got him pieces, and now it’s not happening.

Argh. Aggrivating. Oh, well… like my dad says, you don’t get a dollar if they win.

Incredibles

2008-06-11T16:29:00.001-07:00

Before I begin, let me first say to read through the entire blog, because there’s a hilarious/sad ending that’s totally worth it.
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Okay, fine. If you don’t want to read all of this, skip to the end.

The Incredible Hulk

Some of you may be wondering, with all my Iron Man and Speed Racer hype, why I haven’t mentioned the upcoming Hulk movie (opening this Friday, June 13). Mostly, it was because of a bunch of nonsense when they were editing the film that made it seem like Marvel Studios and actor Edward Norton were really at odds over how to cut the film. Throw in that some of the early teasers and trailers made it look average and Iron Man trailers looking awesome, and I sorta just said, “Meh,” to the movie overall.

I’m still on the fence about the whole thing, but fanboy reactions to early screenings seem positive, so it may be okay afterall. Also, since more and more clips started creeping out onto the internet, it’s looked better. I doubt it will have the same success as Iron Man, but from what I’ve read, it seems as though Marvel Studios is doing what fanboys like me have been waiting for – creating a coherent Marvel Universe on screen.

See, the interesting thing about comic book universes in print is the ability for characters to show up across titles. Spider-Man can show up in a Hulk book, Captain America in an Iron Man title, and so and so forth. Previously, because of the way movie studios acquired rights to characters, this crossover was impossible. But because Marvel decided to form their own studio, they can play around with their entire stable of characters within any movie they make. Really makes it easy to do fun things like put Captain America’s shield in the background of this scene in Iron Man (if you can’t see it, it’s in the background under the right arm):

Beyond the quick nod to Cap in Iron Man is, of course, the well-publicized scene at the end of the Iron Man credits, which expands the movie universe a million-fold:

Sooooo… back to my point. The interesting news about The Incredible Hulk movie is that it contains a couple of nods to the coherent Marvel Universe, notably (and confirmed), a scene in which Robert Downey, Jr.(as his Iron Man character Tony Stark) shows up to speak with William Hurt’s character. Beyond that, there is supposedly reference to the “super soldier” serum which created Captain America and ~possibly~ a scence with Cap himself (as director Louis Leterrier let slip… a lot). See this article.

We’ll take a wait-and-see approach after the weekend reviews for The Incredible Hulk. I’ll say I’m not that crazy about Ed Norton in the movie (though I really like Ed Norton), but it seems much more fun than Ang Lee’s original Hulk movie. In the meantime, here’s the latest and coolest Hulk trailer, with the Robert Downey, Jr. scene:

Iron Man 2

While we’re on the subject of the Marvel Universe, there are reports on IESB.net and aintitcool.com that director Jon Favreau and Marvel are having issues reaching a contract for Favreau to helm the Iron Man sequel. The short story is that Favreau took a (relatively) small up-front fee to do Iron Man, with the idea that he would get a substantial back-end cut from the sequel. Marvel Studios head David Maisel apparently feels that Favreau is asking for too much and feels that Iron Man 2 will be a hit regardless of who helms the film.

Marvel is attempting to fast-track the movie and get it into production starting in March 2009, with a target release of April 2010. It’s never a good idea to fast-track anything like this, especially considering no script has been written, the principal cast isn’t signed to contracts (I don’t believe), and obviously, the director’s chair is empty. The whole purpose of the creation of Marvel Studios was so Marvel could retain quality-control over their characters (while make a ton of money for themselves, of course).

To blow off Favreau, who along with Robert Downey, Jr. (a Favreau recommendation) was the reason Iron Man worked so well, is asinine. The movie was validation of the idea behind Marvel Studios – a quality depiction of a Marvel character that leapt from the printed page to the celluloid screen. The movie that was produced could only have been done by Favreau, because he’s a fanboy who worked tirelessly to create a film that fanboys AND the general public would love. Now they want to go and throw it all out the window. Idiots. Favreau’s supposedly not asking for that much, certainly not what Bryan Singer got to helm the (relatively) ridiculous Superman Returns.

Here’s hoping Marvel Studios comes to their senses. For Favreau’s side of things, check his MySpace page.

Street Fighter

I’ve mentioned the new film that’s being made with Smallville’s Kristen Kruek in the lead as Chun Li. What’s been made official is that the two “main” characters of the Street Fighter videogame franchise, Ryu and Ken, will NOT be a part of the film. WTF? You sell this game with those two front and center and can’t fit them into this movie? Are you kidding?

I guess the title Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li wasn’t enough of a giveaway for me about the direction they were taking this movie. Still, if you’re trying to hit the fanboys with this movie (and really, who else are you targeting?), you don’t leave out the two most recognizable characters from the franchise.

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li also stars Neil McDonough, Chris Klein, Michael Clarke Duncan, Moon Bloodgood, Taboo (of the Black Eyed Peas), and Hong Kong cinema star Pei Pei Cheng (Jade Fox from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). It's due out in 2009. Keep up with the production at the official movie blog.

The Big Finish

Okay, I told you it would be worth waiting for… It’s a lot crazy and a lot sad at the same time. Set to the sound effects of the Street Fighter video game:

Steve's World of Sports

2008-06-11T10:12:00.001-07:00

***UPDATED, Wednesday, June 11 at 12:21 PM***

My bad... As pointed out by my boy Don, the Celtics have won two games on the road in the playoffs, at Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals. Eh, goes to show how interested in the playoffs I actually am...

NBA Finals, Game 3

At least the Lakers pulled this one out… Sasha Vujacic came up huge with 20 points, and hit a clutch 3 from the left-hand corner to put the Lakers up 5. More than the points, it caused Boston to pull back from it’s double-teaming of Kobe as soon as he crossed half-court and allowed him to go one-on-one for two final baskets with under a minute left. Love that Phil Jackson called Vujacic “a rock-head” because he’s so damn stubbornly confident in himself (Kobe blasted him right before he hit the 3).

Still, did somebody forget to tell Pau Gasol (9 points, 12 rebounds) and Lamar Odom (4 points, 9 rebounds, 5 turnovers) that the game was last night? At 6:00 p.m. PDT? Did anybody tell the rest of the Lakers besides Kobe, Vujacic, and Jordan Farmar (5 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds)? At least Odom had that great late-game drive and attempted dunk which Gasol cleaned up.

Fortunately, Kevin Garnett (6-21 FG, 13 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists) and Paul Pierce (2-14 FG, 6 points, 6 rebounds) didn’t know the game was last night, either. And here I was thinking that KG had maybe started to get over the “46-minute man” label that he’s had his entire career, and I was gaining respect for Pierce as a basketball player through the first two games. Garnett was still a load, but Pierce was M.I.A.

Anyway, props to Doc Rivers, who everybody (with the exception of the Boston Herald) thought was overmatched coaching-wise against Phil Jackson. He’s done a pretty good job this series, keeping Eddie House in when Rajon Rondo went out with an ankle injury and double-teaming Kobe to get the ball out of his hands for the last 7-8 minutes of the game. Of course, he pulled a couple of not-so-great-in-hindsight moves by putting Rondo back in late in the game (allowing Kobe to roam free defensively off him) and by pulling off the double-team after the aforementioned Vujacic 3-pointer. If Vujacic hits 3’s after forcing Kobe and another Laker to make a pass, it’s better than Kobe vs. Ray Allen one-on-one.

Props also to Ray Allen, who’s really been missing a lot of the playoffs, but has played well in his last five games. 25 points on 8-13 shooting (5-7 from 3) is what he should be delivering, especially if Garnett and Pierce aren’t playing well. Athletic players who can run and move have always given the Lakers fits.

My big problem with this game (man, I’m really a downer, huh?) is that people are saying that the Lakers are back in the series. Um, sure, the series is at 2-1 and the Lakers have two more games at home, but they fell behind in the third quarter and didn’t look dominant at any point in the game beyond the first five minutes. Boston could easily win Game 4 and it’d be 3-1. Of course, Boston hasn’t won on the road in the playoffs, so who’s to say that they’ll show up, anyway?

Eh, I fully expect the Lakers to win another game at home, and the next story would bear that foregone conclusion out…

Tim Donaghy

For those of you who forgot about Tim Donaghy, here’s the quick refresher: former NBA referee who was caught in a federal investigation into mob gambling and admitted to betting on NBA games and divulging referee assignments and other inside information to gambling sources. Donaghy is currently plea-bargaining with the feds, hoping for a lighter sentence in exchange for helping with the investigation.

Donaghy’s lawyer recently released a statement claiming that the NBA fixed series, possibly mandating that the 2002 Lakers-Kings series be extended to seven games (which the Lakers won in one of the worst-refereed games in history). The statement also insinuated that a 2005 series between the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks was possibly altered due to an NBA crackdown on Rockets C Yao Ming after Mavs owner Mark Cuban complained to the NBA.

These assertions seem add to the idea that pro sports occasionally fixes games to get the matchups they want or to extend playoff series in order to make more money. Add to that a recent report in Sports Business Journal that the NBA and it’s partners stand to make $300-400 million per game if the NBA Finals goes back to Boston for Games 6 and 7, and you start to wonder… It’s common knowledge that games in Boston are refereed differently than games in L.A. I can attest to that after having been in college basketball for a number of years. You expect (and usually get) different calls at home than on the road. And $300-400 million is a lot of money…

Of course, this is coming from a guy who has pretty much zero credibility. There is the thought that Donaghy can’t be lying because he’s bound under federal oath, but if he hasn’t given any decent information to this point, maybe he’s just throwing stuff out there. I personally don’t want to believe him, but you have to think about it…

UC Irvine-LSU baseball, Game 3

Three assertions made by a co-worker of mine prior to Game 3: 1) the game was going to be over by 4:25 p.m. PDT on Monday (first pitch was at 4:07 p.m.), 2) if LHP Noel Avison pitched, the ‘Eaters would be in deep doo-doo, 3) LSU was going to get to 20 runs. Unfortunately, all three were true.

The ‘Eaters went 1-2-3 in the top of the first, and then here’s what LSU did:

Leadoff walk (on four pitches).
Runner advances to second on a wild pitch.
Single puts runners on first and third.
Balk; runner on third scores, runner on first advances to second (1-0 LSU).
Home run. (3-0).
Home run (4-0).
Home run (5-0).

All before the ‘Eaters recorded an out. The final was 21-7. LSU hit seven home runs in their last game in their old ballpark and racked up 24 hits, while the ‘Eaters threw seven pitchers out on the mound. Soooooo…

End of the 2007-2008 Big West Conference year. On to 2008-2009. At least Avison actually did okay for the ‘Eaters: 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 BB, 0 ER in the sixth inning.

And that, my friends, is all I have to say about that.

Randoms

2008-06-09T20:12:00.001-07:00

NBA Finals, Game 2

We’ll start with the Lakers’ 102-108 loss to the Celtics. The worst part of it all has to be the two days of whining in LA. News flash: the Lakers weren’t that good to start with. They’re better than they’ve shown, but they aren’t phenomenal.

The role players sucked ass and the Lakers played pretty shitty defense. Colin and I couldn’t even watch the game (he got extremely angry and fussy, so I turned on Dirty Jobs instead). Coming back from 24 down with 8 minutes to go to get within two is crazy, but now they have to win 4 of 5 to win the whole thing. Hmm…

Props to Leon Powe for coming up big. 21 points for the kid was obviously huge for the Celts. He was so exciting in the first half that ABC ran a piece on Powe at halftime that detailed his difficult childhood in Oakland, becoming homeless, going into foster care, then losing his mother (with whom he had a close relationship) four days before his high school state championship game. Awwww… and he seemed like such an ass in college. Guess he’s just misunderstood. We should all have somebody to tell our side of the story.

The Lakers-Celtics rivalry is starting to mirror the stereotypes that people have of the two teams: Lakers are finesse and run-and-gun, while the Celts are blue-collar and grind-it-out. The Lakers look soft, while the Celts look like the favorites. We’ll see what happens when Game 3 takes place on Tuesday night.

BTW, it seems that the Lakers were -13 with Lamar Odom on the floor, while the Celts were +11 with Sam Cassell and +20(!) with P.J. Brown on the floor. Oy.

UC Irvine-LSU baseball, Game 2

The mood of the day was not good even before the Laker game. When you work at a mid-major conference like I do, you really watch to see what teams you can get to the postseason and how they do, because, obviously, that’s how you get publicity for the institutions and the conference. So we had four teams make the NCAA Baseball Tournament, with Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, UC Davis, and UC Irvine.

Long Beach and Davis went out in the first (regional) round, while Fullerton and Irvine advanced to the second (super regional) round. Both teams advanced to the College World Series last year, with Irvine knocking out Fullerton in a 5 hour, 45 minute 5-4, 14-inning marathon. So imagine how cool it would have been to have both teams return to Omaha again this year. Unfortunately, it was not to be…

Fullerton looked great in the first round on ESPNU, winning at home against Cal, San Diego, and UCLA. They then proceeded to suck it up on ESPN and ESPN2 Friday and Saturday, losing in two games (best two-out-of-three series) at home to Stanford. I was seriously planning on taking the family to Omaha if we had two teams there (of course, I’d be working and Kindra and the kids would be in Des Moines with Grandma and Grandpa).

With Fullerton out, Irvine was the hope since they played the first game of their series on Saturday, crushing LSU 11-5 at LSU. They went up 7-2 in the 4th inning on Sunday and looked good until the 8th when they gave up two runs. They proceeded to give up 5 more in the 9th, losing 9-7. They shoulda pulled their pitcher after he gave up the leadoff walk, or at least after he gave up the single, but… *sigh* The ‘Eaters play Game 3 of their series today, Monday, June 9 at 4:00 p.m. PDT on ESPN2.

Soooooo… instead of having two teams at the CWS, we’re gonna have none. =P

FYI, the Baseball America headline for the game was "Zot Through the Heart, LSU to Blame."

The Belmont Stakes

Is Big Brown the Barry Bonds of horse racing? After the whole “racing is horrible” mess that started after Eight Belles went down at the Kentucky Derby, Big Brown’s trainer had admitted that he’d given Big Brown (like probably every other horse in racing) the steroid winstrol. Reports were that Big Brown may not have been given the steroid since April. After getting annihilated at the Belmont, Big Brown was checked (twice) and nothing was found wrong with him physically. Anybody think it had to do with him not getting his drugs?

It’s funny also that everybody was talking about the “pressure” on Big Brown to win the Triple Crown after destroying everybody else in the Derby and Preakness. My answer was that you probably didn’t need sports psychology for a horse. The consenus after the Belmont was that Big Brown just “didn’t show up.” So, maybe you do need a horse whisperer…

On a Lighter Note…

Since the culture of television and movies seems to have shifted to rehashing old ideas, somebody needs to revive MTV’s old Celebrity Deathmatch, only this time, they need to make it live-action. For the first fight, I nominate Clint Eastwood vs. Spike Lee.

If you haven’t heard, Spike Lee recently complained that there were no black soldiers depicted in Clint Eastwood’s companion movies Flags of Our Fathers and Iwo Jima. Eastwood said that it was historically accurate, because black soldiers were in ammunitions divisions at Iwo Jima and were not involved in the fighting or raising the U.S. flag there. I’m sure that would’ve sufficed, but Eastwood supposedly added that Spike needed to “shut his face.” Spike then responded that Eastwood “sounds like an angry old man” and that Eastwood “is not my father and we’re not on a plantation, either.”

LET'S GET IT ON!

(Side note: Holy shit! In looking stuff up for this blog, I found out that they still made the show through 2007. I guess it airs on MTV2 (sorry, I only get basic cable). Here’s the website.)

I’m looking forward to my Thomas Kinkade TV. Apparently, Samsung has entered into an agreement with the Thomas Kinkade Company to develop a 46-inch TV called the Digital Masterworks Art-TV. Users would have the ability to shift between live TV and displaying digital artwork. As much as Kindra loves Thomas Kinkade, I’m sure we’ll have on hanging on our walls as soon as it becomes a reality. More info here.

NBA Finals: Game 1 Thoughts

2008-06-07T22:39:00.000-07:00

That NBA championship trophy logo on the floor of the Garden is GINORMOUS. And ridiculous.
The Celtics aren’t quite as bad as people think they are.

The Lakers aren’t quite as good as people think they are.

Paul Pierce does not need to be compared to Willis Reed; I know he got hurt, came back, and had a great second half, but he’s still not Willis Reed.

Paul Pierce did do himself good by playing as well as he did in Game 1. He’s not a Celtic great, but he’s trying to be.

Props to Kevin Garnett, too. He had a monster game, but still settles for too many jumpers (though he did make a ton).

The Celts did a great job putting two players to Kobe, as they did to LeBron. The Celtics D was really, really good.

The Lakers need to get Kobe the ball on the move more, instead of giving it to him in an iso situation and getting out of the way.

Confidence is key in this series, especially for the bench guys and role players.

Holy cow! Was that a Sam Cassell sighting?

Boston’s bench guys and role players have an advantage because they’re more athletic than the Lakers’ guys.

The Lakers’ bench guys and role players have an advantage because they’re smarter players than Boston’s guys. Uh, except for Sasha. He’s kinda up-and-down.

Somebody might want to tell Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol that they need to box out and rebound. Might want to get everybody else involved in that, too.

While we're at it, tell Pau he's just going to see single coverage from Garnett the rest of the way; he'd better figure out how to draw some fouls.

And if Garnett's on Gasol, Odom better own Kendrick Perkins.

Best Laker of the night? Derek Fisher. He deserves to be remembered in Lakers’ lore as one of the great contributors. They shoulda never let him go a few years back.

Quick notes:

I can’t stand the tie-ins between the NBA Playoffs and summer movies. As much as I like most of the movies advertised, it just doesn’t work for me to cut commercials featuring clips from Transformers, Indiana Jones, and Hancock with highlights from the playoffs – it’s a little blatantly commercial for my taste…

I thought the Zohan commercial that was a take-off on the “There Can Only Be One” commercial series with Baron Davis and Adam Sandler was a great idea... Exectution lacked a little in that it wasn’t funny enough to last as long as it did.

Did you know the NBA is auctioning off game-worn jerseys from the Finals, along with other memorabilia? Ah, to have some disposable cash… how awesome would a Bryant or Garnett jersey be? Maybe I can pick up a D-Fish.

LOVED the Magic-Bird “There Can Only Be One” spot. If they didn’t do it, it would’ve been a travesty. Can you believe it’s been twenty-one years since those guys squared off in the Finals?

BTW, can we get this match-up? How awesome would that have been back in the day?

Insane in the Membrane

2008-06-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

When you know it's time to change jobs (watch the guy in the middle cubicle):

Asian Influence in America

2008-06-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Kung Fu Panda Day! The movie opens today, starring Jack Black (Po the panda), Dustin Hoffman (Shifu the red panda), Angelina Jolie (Tigress the… uh, tiger), Ian McShane (Tai Lung the leopard), Jackie Chan (Monkey the mon-… nevermind), Seth Rogan (Mantis), Lucy Liu (Viper), and David Cross (Crane). A couple of Asian character actors you might know are Randall Duk Kim (the Keymaker in The Matrix Reloaded) as Oogway the tortoise and James Hong (Lo Pan in Big Trouble in Little China and the maitre d’ in the Seinfeld episode “The Chinese Restaurant”) as Mr. Ping the goose. Oh, and Michael Clarke Duncan plays Commander Vachir, a rhino.

Normally, I wouldn’t get so excited over a Dreamworks animated production (they made Shrek, Madagascar, and Over the Hedge), but fanboy reaction to the movie has been good. Hopefully they’ve solved some of the story cohesiveness that has plagued their other movies. And I guess Jack Black has toned it down some, so it could be fun.

So let me get this straight… ABC is producing a new reality game show called Wipeout, which is based on those wacky Japanese game shows like SpikeTV’s Most Extreme Elimination Challenge – MXC (originally Japan’s Takeshi’s Castle) AND they’re producing a series titled I Survived a Japanese Game Show about people who are sent to Japan to compete in stunts reminiscent of, well, Japanese game shows?

What, there aren’t enough reruns or inane reality-show ideas that they have to rehash Japanese reality-show ideas? The problem with both of these shows is, if you’re not Asian, or privy to shows that these games are based on, you just don’t get the joke. You take them at face value, which is pretty worthless. If they’re going to rehash Japanese game shows, they need to bring out Japan’s Sasuke, which airs on G4 as Ninja Warrior. That show’s got some serious athletes competing in some serious challenges.

By the way, the winner of Wipeout wins $50,000 while the winner of ISAJGS gets a free trip to Japan and $250,000(!). Eh… Wipeout has ESPN’s Jon Anderson as one of its hosts and no jet lag.

Finally, it’s not Asian, but an Asian was probably involved in the creation of this insane, inane summer slide...

Silly Germans...

There WILL Only Be One

2008-06-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

The NBA Finals start tonight at 9:00 p.m. EDT! I think you know I’m rooting for the Celtics… to get their butts handed to them by the Lakers. =)

Graphic by rdoggjunk. Take-off on the NBA’s “There Can Only Be One” commercials.

FAIL of the Day

2008-06-03T08:02:00.000-07:00

More fails at failblog.org!

Hadouken!

2008-05-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

For you gaming fans, Street Figher IV has been confirmed for XBox 360, Playstation 3, and PC’s. It’ll be a cel-shaded 3-D fighter with a lot of the original cast returning, so it should be satisfying. Read more here, and go to the official site for character reveals this Friday, May 30.

I know the console isn’t designed for these sorts of games, but is it too much to ask for a Wii version? I was never very good at the game, but I liked playing it, so this is a title that would probably get me to plunk down $50 for it (well, at least $19.99 when the game gets discounted two or three years after its release).

One-Liners (Sorta)

2008-05-21T11:04:00.001-07:00

Iron Man ROCKED. Caught it on Monday with my sister, who was worried that I wouldn’t like it because I usually complain about things gone wrong in movies. I’ll say that the only things I didn’t like was that Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) waffled between the liberated woman and the damsel in distress and that the last battle was too short and unsatisfying. BUT, the movie still kicked ass (including Captain America’s shield in the background!). More later.

Haven’t said much about the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, slated to come out July 18, but I am looking forward to it. A little miffed by Heath Ledger’s Joker voice, but I’ve only seen clips so it might be okay. There’s a clip on YouTube that I’ll have to find that shows the parallels between the trailer for the 1989 Tim Burton Batman and The Dark Knight. So similar, it’s eerie. But the reason I’m writing about it now is that it seems Reese’s has jumped on the bandwagon with their latest bat-shaped and Batman-themed candy. Here’s a link to the site.

It’s a bizarre baseball season, and Sports Illustrated’s covering it with comic artist Mark Bagley. The May 21, 2008 Sports Illustrated will feature a cover by Bagley with Tampa Bay’s Carl Crawford, the Yankee’s Derek Jeter, and Superman villan Bizarro looking on. For those of you looking to get me a gift in the near future (or any future), the original art to the piece would be nice. =) Read more here.

Oh, and if you’re wondering about that SI cover jinx thing? Just after the cover was revealed, Derek Jeter had to leave the Yankee’s game against the Orioles after he was hit by a pitch by the Orioles’ Daniel Cabrera. The Yanks also lost, 12-2. Jinx intact!

Very quickly, the real winners in the NBA Draft Lottery held on Tuesday, May 20 were the Miami Heat. They had the highest chance of winning it, but the Chicago Bulls, with a 1.7% chance of getting the first pick overall, saw the ping-pong balls go their way. Problem is, the Bulls now have to pick between Michael Beasley, a 6-9 forward who can go inside and out, and Derrick Rose, a 6-4 point guard who can do it all. The Heat win, because they just have to choose whoever the Bulls don’t, and there’s no second-guessing by anybody. Just to throw it out there, I think the Bulls should take Beasley and the Heat Rose, but I think that Beasley is the more talented of the two (slightly), but Rose is tougher and will reach more of his potential than Beasley.

Lastly, happy birthday to Mr. T! The man turns 56(!) today.

Same Zip Code...

2008-05-20T12:19:00.000-07:00

***UPDATED Tuesday, May 20 at 2:00 p.m. PDT***

Because Don asked… Jenny Garth, who starred on the original Beverly Hills, 90210 as Kelly Taylor, will reportedly guest-star as a school counselor at West Beverly High occasionally.

* * *

90210… Need I say more?

Alas, no Brenda, Dylan, or Brandon… but the Midwestern kids are from Kansas City, and Lori Laughlin plays a mom! Oh, and if any of you watch Reaper (which would probably be about zero of you), that's what you've seen Jessica Stroup in before (she's the Devil's daughter). Oh, she was also on Grey's Anatomy for an episode, so you may have seen her there, too.

Hmm… I thought the CW already had an updated 90210 in Gossip Girl.

What the...? of the Day

2008-05-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

Sarah Jessica Parker at the Sex and the City movie premiere.

Dopey rating:

7 out of 10. Saved by the dress.

What the hell is with the headdress/hat thing on her head? Did she get dressed saying, “Hey, I want to avert eyes from my gorgeous dress and put myself squarely in the middle of a fashion faux pas?” Weird for a woman who’s usually right on the money, fashion-wise.

Here’s the rest of the cast:

Sex and the City opens nationwide Friday, May 30, 2008.

Goku!

2008-05-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

For Don, who has enjoyed Dragonball… Here’s the first production still of Goku, from the forthcoming Dragonball live-action movie directed by James Wong (Final Destination) and produced by Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer, Kung-Fu Hustle).

The movie stars Justin Chatwin (Tom Cruise’s son in War of the Worlds) as Goku, Chow Yun-Fat as Master Roshii, James Marsters (Buffy: The Vampire Slayer) as Piccolo, and Emmy Rossum (The Phantom of the Opera) as Bulma. It’s due out April 8, 2009.

Picture from Weekly Shonen Jump, Issue 24 (available this week). Read more at the Dragonball movie blog site.

I haven't ever watched the Dragonball anime or read the manga, but it's one of the biggest series in the world. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of high hopes for this movie.

Clone Wars!

2008-05-07T14:43:00.001-07:00

There’s a new, weekly animated Star Wars series coming to TV this fall, but the pilot will be shown in theaters beginning August 15. Star Wars: The Clone Wars is based upon the shorts created by Gendy Tartovsky that aired on Cartoon Network a few years ago, which, incidentally, is probably the best Star Wars stuff EVER (and is available on two separate DVD’s). It’s set during the time between Episodes II and III of the movie series, so you get to see a lot of lightsaber and Force action. Needless to say, I’m excited about it.

The trailer for the new series will debut across multiple networks on Thursday, May 8 at 7:58 PM (local time). Cartoon Newtork, TNT, TBS, Boomerang (huh?), and even CNN will air the trailer simultaneously. Woo-hoo!

The series will air on Cartoon Network, with subsequent airings on TNT.

Today's Dwarf Rating

2008-05-05T12:16:00.000-07:00

On a scale of 0-5 dwarves.

Sleepy

Grumpy

Dopey

BTW, I just realized that it's Snow White and the Seven DWARFS, and not Dwarves. Does that bother anybody else?

Happy Iron Man Day!

2008-05-02T00:34:00.000-07:00

'Nuff said!

POW! Right to the Moon!

2008-04-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

By now, most of you have seen this:

This just aired a couple of days ago (make sure you watch it through):

Get Your Joint On

2008-04-25T06:44:00.000-07:00

In theaters now!

Yes, Please... Except I'm Going to have to Fork Out for Another System, Right?

2008-04-19T15:41:00.000-07:00

Crazy Dog Story!

2008-04-19T08:57:00.000-07:00

Yo... Joe?

2008-04-18T10:26:00.000-07:00

You all know I’m a huge pop-culture geek, who’s into comics and Star Wars and Transformers and such, but I’m going to add one more to the mix. I’m a HUGE G.I. Joe nut. At least, the version of G.I. Joe that I grew up with in the 80’s. As my family can attest, I had every toy short of the aircraft carrier when I was younger and go so far back with it that I can remember days before the “kung-fu grip” (actually, it was swiveling-arm joints on the 3 ¾” figures).

Anyway, I got excited when they first announced that a G.I. Joe live-action feature was in the works, but have been disappointed in the supposed story lines and casting decisions. I’ll get more into that on another post, but I’ve also been disappointed in the costume designs. They released this a while ago in USA Today:

It’s a shot of actor Ray Park (Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace) as everybody’s favorite character from the 80’s Joe era, Snake Eyes. The fanboy reaction was mostly positive; I was less than thrilled. It’s an okay shot, until you see the full costume in better light:

All I can say is, “What’s with the cargo pants and the Batman-molded body suit?” It’s actually kinda faithful to the original design, but I would’ve preferred seeing him in costume similar to what the rest of the cast is wearing.

Things looked a little better (no sexual reference intended) with the reveal of the next character a couple of days ago, Scarlett. She’s played by Rachel Nichols, who’s appeared in the TV show Alias and most recently in the movies P2 and Charlie Wilson’s War (quick note: she’s listed as a cast member for J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek as an Orion slave girl, yowza!):

Before you jump all over me for the pic of the hot redhead in the skin-tight outfit, this is what Scarlett looked like in the “classic” version:

Still, it looked like things might be okay, depending on how they filmed it. But then I got word that they released pics of the rest of the cast, which can be found at the website What Would Tyler Durden Do? (http://www.wwtdd.com/). I thought maybe Scarlett’s outfit would be just her costume, not the basis for costumes for the rest of the cast. Ugh. I’m sure that all of the characters will show up in their “normal” attire in the movie, but, still… I’m not getting a good vibe.

Even though knowing is half the battle, the other half is getting movie executives to make appropriate changes. Oy.

This is Gonna Rock

2008-04-16T23:22:00.000-07:00

Who’s comin’ with me!?!?

Of course, we’ll have to resist the urge to race afterwards. But I'll still win. =)

Cold Turkey

2008-04-14T16:45:00.000-07:00

As of this moment, I am going cold turkey on soda, caffeinated drinks, cigarettes, pot, heroin, coke, speed, and the other assorted drugs (illicit and otherwise) that I’m on, until the baby is born. It’ll give me a good cleanse before I really need to hit the stuff hard in a couple of weeks (holding out for April 28 *cross fingers*).

I actually gave up caffine in January, but then February hit, and all the winter and spring sports started to cross over. Basketball, swim championships, baseball, basketball tournaments, etc. all came to a head at the same time, and needless to say, I was back aboard the caffeine train.

This should be a good test of will power and give me a chance to come down to normal before Kindra and I lose what little sleep we get to the newborn and Danica climbing out of bed. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go wait for the shakes to come as I come down from my sugar-induced, caffeinated, nicotine and THC supplanted acid trip.

Oh, Yeah... It's Gonna Fly

2008-04-14T14:27:00.000-07:00

Totally taking Danica to the movie on May 2. Or maybe I’ll go at midnight, May 1… Hmmmmmmmm…

This is Funny… and Racist, Maybe?

2008-04-09T20:12:00.000-07:00

Personally, I thought it was hilarious the first time I saw it… but I’m still not sure if the Japanese should be offended.

Congrats to the Hall of Fame Class of 2008!

2008-04-08T01:45:00.001-07:00

Come Get the Spirit

2008-04-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

Bear Grylls' Brother?

2008-03-31T16:24:00.000-07:00

I feel really out of shape now… This dude rowed ACROSS THE FRICKIN’ OCEAN. Geez.

Call MJ, Larry, and McDonald's

2008-03-31T10:56:00.001-07:00

I don’t care how long it took them to get these shots. They’re still pretty good.

'Nuff Said

2008-03-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

This is a block?

From the NCAA 2nd-Round game between UCLA and Texas A&M, played at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA.

Officially the #1 Movie on My Must-See List

2008-03-16T17:34:00.001-07:00

Steph

2008-03-11T09:05:00.001-07:00

Steph, originally uploaded by djstarr.

'Nuff said...

Yet Another... But Sooooooo Worth the 1:44

2008-03-02T20:18:00.000-08:00

Totally Worth the Fifteen (Not 60) Minutes

2008-02-29T10:02:00.001-08:00

Check out this piece from 60 Minutes, a feature on 24-year-old Venezuelan conductor, Gustavo Dudamel. It’s not so much his conducting, but his background in the Venezuelan music system that’s fascinating. How about a country-wide program that takes kids from the poorest neighborhoods and gives them an opportunity to learn music? Something to learn from here, I suppose.

Watch it NOW! (Seriously, watch it).

My Softer Side

2008-02-29T09:00:00.000-08:00

I thought he didn't have a real name...

Da… da… DA DA DA… DADA-DADA-DADA-DADA-da, da, da…

2008-02-29T08:38:00.000-08:00

Biggest debut of the spring! (Um… except for my second child, of course).

Geez… More DVD Watching to Come

2008-02-27T10:30:00.000-08:00

I’ve always been interested in Battlestar Galactica, but have never had the time to watch it after the first TV movie aired five years ago. I’m definitely going to have to catch up and watch all of this series after seeing this:

Sweet Valentine's Reveal!

2008-02-14T09:09:00.001-08:00

Hearing the music gives me goosebumps.

Juwanna Man

2008-02-12T15:09:00.002-08:00

THAT... is frickin' scary.

Totally Worth the Five Minutes

2008-02-11T22:33:00.000-08:00

Geez... It Doesn't Get Any Worse

2008-02-08T15:59:00.000-08:00

Talk about the worst recruiting story in history. The kid from Nevada who was supposedly duped by a “recruiter,” who, it turns out, made up his whole recruitment by the likes of Cal, Oregon, and Washington must just be hating himself now. The police are finishing up their investigation and will turn in their findings to the D.A. who can decide whether or not to charge him with filing a false police report. You know they won’t press charges, because what could be worse than people finding out the truth after you hauled out the media, your family, and your entire school to a press conference in your gym where you committed to a school that never even considered recruiting you?

Read more about it here.

How Did I Not See This?

2008-02-06T16:37:00.001-08:00

Cool Story

2008-02-06T14:05:00.000-08:00

A nice little story on North Carolina’s JV men’s basketball team at ESPN.com.

Keep It Quiet

2008-02-06T10:45:00.000-08:00

***Updated Wednesday, February 6, 2008 - 9:37 p.m.***

Is it just me, or should the NCAA’s spring signing day (the day that high school athletes are permitted to sign a National Letter of Intent binding them to attend a university) should NOT be a nationally televised event? People forget that these are seventeen, eighteen, nineteen-year-olds making huge decisions, but decisions that should not be scrutinized by the media or fans of the colleges to which the student-athletes are committing. It’s too much hype, not to mention that it probably leads to a number of athletes with over-inflated egos.

It also leads to things like this report that a young man from Nevada verbally committed to Cal in front of his school, family, and television and news media – but never actually had an offer from any institution on his table. The student-athlete had been contacted by a man claiming to be a recruiter, who also apparently set up false phone calls with people claiming to be the head coaches of a number of top-tier universities. Turns out, there were no offers on the table, as neither Cal, nor Oregon (the school he supposedly picked Cal over) recruited him.

I’m wondering how this kid was duped for so long, and why he never took a visit to any of these schools – official or otherwise – to see them for himself. I know it’s a complicated process for athletes and parents, but you don’t get recruited for just a month and suddenly end up with a scholarship. You really don’t get a scholarship without meeting somebody from the staff in person on campus. It’s sad that people would take advantage of kids this way.

I know people want to know where the next great kid is going to school, but ESPN doesn’t have to devote an entire day, taking up all of one of its networks (ESPNU) to this. It’s stupid.

***UPDATE***

How about the dumb kid made the story about his recruitment-gone-bad up? Read more about it here. Sad.

Is This Bad? I Can't Tell

2008-02-03T19:16:00.001-08:00