Happy Halloween!

Don't forget... only those who truly believe will see the Great Pumpkin!

Worst Defense (or Best Offense) of the Day

Okay... this is just stupid crazy. And it probably is a better play than one from Cal-Stanford in 1982, but the ending isn't as good as the Cal player tomahawking the Stanford trombonist.

Dumbledore's Secret!

In a special event for winners of a Scholastic Books contest, author J.K. Rowling outed Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore! The question of Dumbledore’s love life came up in the Q&A session, and Rowling responded, “I always saw Dumbledore as gay.” She even mentioned that in a draft for the upcoming sixth Harry Potter movie, Dumbledore had a line reminiscing about a girl, which Rowling had to write a note to the director correcting the situation.

Read all about it in this Entertainment Weekly article. There are spoilers in the article (which they neglected to mention), so read just the first three or four paragraphs if, like me, you haven’t read the latest and last Harry Potter novel.

Oops.

So much for South Florida at No. 2 in the BCS standings (they lost in their first week ranked in the top three to Rutgers, 30-27 Thursday night). Guess you knew it couldn’t last, but still, I had to pull for the mid-major football school. I just want to believe that a smaller program can be at the top, but maybe that’s unrealistic, and that’s really disappointing.

Boldly Going?, Part 2

So it seems that the cast is complete for J.J. Abrams’ new Star Trek film, due out next Christmas. Shooting is supposed to begin next month, and the final piece of the puzzle seems to be confirmed, as the new James Tiberius Kirk has apparently been cast. Here are the cast comparisons between The Original Series (TOS) and The New Movie (TNM).

THE ORIGINAL SERIES

(L-R), William Shatner as James T. Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Spock, DeForest Kelley as Leonard McCoy, James Doohan as Montgomery Scott, Nichelle Nichols as Uhura, George Takei as Hikaru Sulu, and Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov.

THE NEW MOVIE(L-R) Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, and Anton Yelchin.

Here’s a rundown of the characters and new actors:

Captain James T. Kirk – Chris Pine

Pine, 27, is best known for his roles in Smokin’ Aces and Just My Luck (opposite Lindsay Lohan). He’s pretty much a newcomer without too much screen experience. He’s fairly in line with the fans’ original choice for Kirk, Matt Damon.

Lt. Cmdr. Spock – Zachary Quinto

His claim to fame among the geek set is his portrayal of the villain Sylar on Heroes. The 30-year old actor also had a recurring role in Season 5 of 24, among other TV credits. He was the first actor confirmed for the new Star Trek and seems a relatively logical choice (heh). The fans originally wanted Adrien Brody, and it will be interesting to see Quinto act alongside the original Spock, Leonard Nimoy, as the two Spocks will work together in the film.

Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy – Karl Urban

The biggest “movie star” in the cast, the 35 year-old Urban is no stranger to sci-fi/fantasy roles, having appeared in two of The Lord of the Rings movies (The Two Towers, Return of the King), The Chronicles of Riddick, and Doom. He’s also appeared in both Xena: Warrior Princess (as Julius Caesar) and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (as Cupid and Julius Caesar), and starred in Pathfinder and The Bourne Supremacy. The New Zealand native is bit of a surprise for the role that fans clamored for Gary Sinise to take.

Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott – Simon Pegg

The oldest cast member at 37, Simon Pegg has a cult following from his movies Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. You may also recognize him from a bit role in Mission: Impossible III (directed by new Star Trek director J.J. Abrams). Another interesting cast choice, at least they’re getting closer to casting an appropriate actor to play the Scottish engineer: the original Scotty, James Doohan, was Canadian; Pegg is British.

Lt. Uhura – Zoe Saldana

29 year-old Saldana’s biggest roles to date have been parts in Pirates of the Carribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (small role as a pirate) and as the love interests in Guess Who? (with Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac) and Drumline. A solid choice for the role of Uhura, she’ll be a fanboy favorite if Star Trek and the project she’s currently filming, James Cameron’s Avatar, are both as big as they are anticipated to be. In a curious bit of television crossover, the original Uhura, Nichelle Nichols, recently joined the cast of Heroes (alongside original Sulu, George Takei). FYI, I didn’t forget Uhura’s full name; she has no official first name.

Lt. Hikaru Sulu – John Cho

You probably know him best as “Harold” from his comedy hit with Kal Penn, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. The 35 year-old is also starring in the Harold and Kumar sequel due next year, has had roles in the similarly goofy American Pie and American Wedding, and has appeared in various TV shows (the most recent being an episode of Ugly Betty airing October 18). Cho was also one of the stars of the Asian-American movie Better Luck Tomorrow (which you should see if you haven’t already). Cho is of Korean descent, unlike original cast member George Takei, who matches Sulu’s Japanese heritage. Some are puzzled by Cho’s casting, probably due to his H&K days.

Ensign Pavel Chekov – Anton Yelchin

Matching Chekov’s Russian heritage, as well as his youth (Yelchin just turned 18), Anton Yelchin is best recognized from his role in Alpha Dog (with Justin Timberlake), but has also starred in the movie Charlie Barlett and has appeared in numerous TV shows (ER, Judging Amy, The Practice, Without a Trace, Curb Your Enthusiasm, NYPD Blue) dating back to when he was 11. Yelchin was the second confirmed cast member, with most people not really knowing what to expect from him.

As for the villain in the film, Aussie actor Eric Bana has been cast, reportedly as a Romulan named Nero. The 39 year-old Bana has previously starred in Munich, Troy, Hulk, and Blackhawk Down and was most recently seen in Lucky You with Drew Barrymore.

No announcement has been made about a possible cameo character, Captain Christopher Pike, the original captain of the starship Enterprise. Rumors are that Abrams was looking for Tom Cruise to fill the role. The character of Pike was the ship’s captain in the original TV pilot which was never aired. The footage was mixed into a later episode of the series, “The Menagerie.” FYI, for you geeks out there, in order to celebrate the release of ST:TOS on HD-DVD, there will be special showings of “The Menagerie” at movie theaters across the country on November 13. Go to www.fathomevents.com for more information. I’ve already got my tickets. =)

Remembering Jason Ray

You might remember the story of Jason Ray, the University of North Carolina student who also doubled as Ramses the Ram, the UNC mascot. Ray was killed in a hit-and-run accident during the NCAA tournament last March. ESPN.com released a great story on Jason Ray’s legacy today, so go check it out when you get the chance.

What the...!?

How crazy have the last three weekends in college football been? Three weeks ago, five of the top ten teams in the nation lost and the top team in the nation, USC, slips to number two despite not losing. Two weeks ago, new No. 1 LSU survives a scare from No. 9 Florida, and new No. 2 USC loses to Stanford, an upset that many think is bigger than Division-IAA Appalachian State beating then-No. 5 Michigan (mostly because people don’t think that Stanford can beat Appalachian State and Michigan isn’t nearly as good as USC was thought to be).

To top that off, this week, No. 1 LSU AND No. 2 Cal both lose on the same day, LSU in triple-overtime against No. 17 Kentucky and Cal to unranked Oregon State. This is the first time since 1996 that the top two teams have lost in the same week. So now, Ohio State sits atop both the AP and the Coaches’ Polls at No. 1, and SOUTH FLORIDA sits at No. 2 in the AP Poll and No. 3 in the Coaches’ Poll – after never, EVER, having been ranked in their history before this year.

South Florida is a top-three team in the nation?!?! That’s nuts. I have to admit, I really don’t think that South Florida is among the top three football teams in the nation, even though I’m a big fan of mid-major schools. No offense to South Florida, but it’s still crazy.

I’d say that this year’s college football has been just as much fun as almost any NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, and reminds me of the 2005 NCAA Tournament where little George Mason out of the Colonial Athletic Association, using just 6.5 players, made the Final Four. Unfortunately, just like 2005, I expect a big school to win the national championship. Which school? I have no idea, and neither does anybody else.

Funny Spam of the Day

"A great offer from Cingular, the new AT&T."

Just found it amusing. Wonder how many people opened it.

Star Wars Fan Video of the Day

It's a little long, but the main bit and the last five seconds are funny.

Pet Peeve of the Day

The Pet Peeve of the Day is talking on your cell phone while in the bathroom. And not a bathroom at home, but a PUBLIC bathroom. I just saw a lady walk out of a bathroom here at work talking on her cell phone, and I ran into a guy in the guy's bathroom talking on the phone just as he was finishing his business. Unbelievable and downright nasty. If you get a call while in the bathroom, finish your business, then call the person back. Or if you're on a call and you have to go to the bathroom, either hold it or finish the call. Nobody wants to hear you pee, and nobody wants to listen to you talk while they pee.