756

Well, I suppose I should mention something about Barry Bonds breaking one of the most hallowed records in baseball, Hank Aaron’s career-homerun record. Bonds hit career homerun 756 off of Washington Nationals pitcher Mike Bacsik Tuseday night on a one-out, fifth-inning, full-count fastball.

I’ll say this: I don’t like Barry Bonds the person. I think he’s an ass, even if only ten percent of the crazy stories about him are true. Now, I think everybody’s an ass sometimes, but he doesn’t seem to respect anybody but himself. I know he’s changed his tune recently and has been more congenial, but he still seems like an ass. For that, I am disappointed that Bonds the person broke one of the greatest sports records of all-time.

As for Barry Bonds, baseball player, I think he’s a tremendous athlete whose career longevity is questioned by unconfirmed steroid use. Let’s face it: steroids do not help you hit the ball, and Bonds can hit. He’s got a good eye, an incredible swing, and phenomenal bat speed. Steroids may have helped him hit the ball harder, but their main effect would be to allow Bonds to hit with slightly more power more consistently over a season and to allow him to recover from the wear-and-tear of playing and travel.

Consistency is the mark of a great athlete – the ability to perform great feats over and over and over again. After all, anybody can do something great once. It’s how many times an athlete can do something that puts them on another level. As for recovery, look at Bonds over the past two years. I know he’s getting older, but after the Balco case broke a couple years ago, he spent all of 2006 out with a knee injury and has been rested more times this year than I can remember. I believe that medical science is improving and that athletes take better care of their bodies now than they did when Hank Aaron was playing. But for Bonds career to hit an upswing after age thirty-five is insane. Stay consistent? Yes, that’s possible. But to be so much better now? Questionable.

I also have to say that MLB Commissioner Bud Selig is an idiot for how he’s handled the Bonds situation this year. He was present when Bonds hit number 755 last Saturday night, but was not present at Tuesday night’s game. Selig said earlier this season that he didn’t know if he would celebrate 756, and stood stoically with his hands in his pockets when Bonds tied Aaron’s mark. Bud Selig is a fool. If you believe so strongly that Bonds has cheated, do something about it. But because Bonds has neither been proven guilty or indicted by Major League Baseball or any other legal entity, he still innocent. An ass, but innocent. If you are the commissioner of the sport, do not act like a spoiled child who is not getting his way. Be a man and a leader and either find a way to prove Bonds guilty of substance abuse, or applaud one of the greatest feats of the last twenty years.

Do I think Bonds took steroids? Yup. Do I think they helped him hit? Nope. Do I think they helped him extend his career to hit 756 and counting homeruns? You betcha. Should he be celebrated? Yes – unless he’s proven guilty of steroid use. This is the U.S.A., after all. We’re about being innocent until proven guilty. We’re also about mom, apple pie, and baseball.

* * *

Bonds 756 memorabilia is headlined by the ball, caught by 22-year-old Matt Murphy, of Queens, NY. He and his friend were on their way to Australia and had a one-day layover in San Francisco. They bought tickets right before the game, and now he owns a piece of baseball history worth an estimated $400,000 to $500,000. Just so you know, Mark McGwire’s 70th HR ball from 1998 went for $3.3 million; Barry’s 73rd HR ball from 2001 went for $450,000; the Bonds’ 715th HR ball went for $220,000 last August; and just recently, his 70th HR ball from 2001 went for only $14,000 (after being initially bought for $60,000). Bonds’ batting helmet, the strike-ball counter from the game, as well as a ball signed by the umpires of the game (?) were sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

* * *

Oh, FYI, the Giants lost Tuesday night’s game 8-6, to the Nationals. They also lost when Bonds hit number 755 off of San Diego Padres pitcher Clay Hensley last Saturday.

So Now I Know...

One of the things I love about where we live is that we have a nice balcony that lets us sit and enjoy the greenery of our complex. Unfortunately, we don’t take advantage of it like we should, since it’s kind of a pain in the butt to clean. I feel a little bad sweeping it because of our neighbors downstairs, and I really can’t take a hose to it because of the same issue.

Compounding the problem are the palm trees that are level with our balcony and hang over it. These palms produce spores that end up all over our balcony, table, chairs, and grill. Up until today, I though the debris and spores were from the wind blowing them over the deck. Possibly… but now I have a feeling that there might be another cause.

I was sitting at our dining table this morning when I heard a leaf blower start up outside. We’d just put Danica down to take a nap, so I was a little perturbed, but what can you do? Then, I hear it getting louder and some clunking above my head. I look out the sliding glass doors, and what do I see? Leaves, branches, and pine needles coming down off our roof to land on our deck, while the wind from the leaf blower is tossing the palm leaves (covered in spores) around like they were in a hurricane.

So now I know. Great. To the gardener’s credit (and to his detriment), he ended up holding onto the side of our balcony blowing what he could off of it, but it mostly ended up stuck on one side. Oy. Oh well, at least I live in Southern California. And I’m not going to feel guilty about sweeping all the crap off my deck, even if some of it does land below us. Is that bad?

Congratulations, Yao!

Congratulations to Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, who married his long-time sweetheart on Monday in Shanghai at the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel. His new bride, Ye Li, is a former Chinese National Basketball Team player who stands 6-2. The two met in 1999 when Yao was a member of the Shanghai Sharks. Though Yao has talked little of Ye publicly, the red wristbands he's worn during his stint in the NBA were made by Ye.

Because of the desire for privacy, the security guards (~100) outnumbered the guests (~70). In fact, at an impromptu news conference outside the hotel ballroom where the couple was married, reporters were given teddy bears with candy and CD's with wedding portraits taken last week. The AP reported the wedding cost $130,000 (they did it on the cheap, I guess... unlike Tony Parker and Eva Longoria). If you want to read more, go to the Houston Chronicle.

Can't wait 'til their kid is a 5-10 spaz who can't make a layup.

Decisions, Decisions

I just picked up my copies of the 300 DVD and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on Friday and (gasp!) haven’t cracked open either of them. I know, I know… And now I find myself in a new bind, because a bunch my favorite movies have new DVD releases that are out.

The Monster Squad – 20th Anniversary Edition

I already covered this way back when. It was released on July 24, but I was in Iowa at the time and didn’t have time to pick it up. I’m sure it’ll be just like a lot of movies I’ve watched again since I was a kid – a little less cool – but it’ll still be fun to watch.

Hard Boiled – Ultimate Edition (August 7)

I covered Hard Boiled on John Woo’s birthday, but it IS Chow Yun-Fat and John Woo’s greatest (and last) collaboration together. Of course, I have a copy of the original DVD release, but who can resist owning another one, especially in the non-anamorphic 1.85:1 aspect ratio? Actually, I guess that the earlier Criterion Collection set has a great commentary, but it’s been discontinued, and from what I understand, there are a number of international releases of the film that have better extras (but obviously aren’t encoded for region 1). Out of these three releases, it’s probably in third place on my wish list. Still…

Flash Gordon – Saviour of the Universe Edition (August 7)

This release really flew under my DVD radar to say the least. I didn’t find out about it until this morning when reading a story on the Hard Boiled DVD set. With the new Sci-Fi channel Flash Gordon series premiering on Friday, August 10, this is obviously a ploy to drive the fanboy interest up. And it’s working.

This was my first “cult” movie. It was cheesy and had crappy special effects, but I remember watching it as a kid in TAIWAN of all places. I think I was with my mom and one of my cousins (though I can’t remember who, of course), and I remember (and this is a child’s memory) the theater being HUGE –sort of like an IMAX theater. I’m fairly sure it wasn’t, but who knows? I loved it, and it did help that the movie was in English with Chinese subtitles. I have a vague memory of that being the second time I saw the movie, but I’m not sure.

There was an original DVD release of this when DVD first started to get really popular around ten years ago, but I never got my hands on it. I found a VHS copy at a swap meet a few years back, which I gladly shelled out $5 for. But now there’s this, with the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, but apparently lacking in extras. I guess I’ll have to live with this one. Oh well, at least it’s got an Alex Ross cover. For those of you not in the know (or not a giant, geeky fanboy like myself), Alex Ross is a very popular comic illustrator who loves the movie and supplies a featurette on the DVD.

Fortunately, since the movie came out in 1980 and they missed the 25th Anniversary, he next target time to release an edition is 2010 for the 30th Anniversary. I can’t wait to hear Queen belt out the theme song: “Flash! Ah-ahhhhhhhh!!!!! He’ll save every one of us!”

Also, though I’m not as big a fan of these movies, both The Dark Crystal (25th Anniversary) and Labyrinth have new-release DVD sets as well (both August 14). As a side note, the Labyrinth release is the “Anniversary Edition,” though it’s the 21st anniversary this year. The movie came out in 1986. Hmm…

* * *

Oh, and I just saw Remember the Titans again on TNT over the weekend and finally realized that three of the bit players in the movie have gone on to have terrific film and television careers: Kate Bosworth, Ryan Gosling, and (a very young) Hayden Panettiere.

News of the Day

Usually in the morning, I check my e-mail and see what Yahoo! has on its front page, since it’s my default homepage. It usually has some fun stories, so I thought I’d share a few since I haven’t written that much recently. Think of it as SNL’s news segment, without the famous faces and laughs.

Boy Rescued After 6-Hour Dead Sea Ordeal

An eight-year-old Israeli boy was found alive floating in the Dead Sea after he was carried away by the current, unbeknownst to his father and two brothers. They were swimming at a remote part of the beach for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, who do not bathe in the presence of women. His family exited the water and didn’t notice him missing until late in the day. Fortunately, the Dead Sea has such a high concentration of minerals that the boy was able to simply float along with the current until police found him two miles offshore.

Boy Feels "Ripped Off" By Cougar Attack

A twelve-year-old boy in Canada who was camping with a friends’ family had his vacation cut short when he was attacked by a mountain lion as he was headed to a restroom. The boy was on a five-day trip when the mountain lion attacked him. A man was able to pull the lion off the boy, but not before the boy suffered lacerations to his head and upper body. Fortunately, the boy is okay, but feels that he was cheated out of his vacation. I suppose the only thing that would’ve made it okay is if they let him shoot the damn thing when they found it.

Teen Falls Six Stories, Walks Away

Seventeen-year-old Matthew Savage fell six stories from his hotel balcony after trying to retrieve a bathing suit that a fallen from the eleventh story to the balcony above. Apparently, he hit a couple of other balconies on the way down, landed on a slanted rooftop, slid into bushes at the bottom of the hotel, thought nothing of it, and started walking back to his hotel room. Paramedics at the scene instead slapped him to a body board and took him to the hospital where it turned out he actually was fine.

Okay… I’m guessing that 1) the “bathing suit” was a bikini and 2) he got a great reward when he got back to the hotel. I am wondering, however, after this fall, skater Jake Brown’s fall at the X-Games, and biker Matt Hoffman’s subsequent miscue, what kind of shoes they’re all wearing. Cuz you know it’s got to be the shoes.

Bad Thai Cops to Endure Kitty Shame

Police officers in Thailand caught committing misdemeanors such as littering or arriving late will now be forced to remain at their division office for the duration of their shift and wear a “Hello Kitty” armband featuring Hello Kitty sitting atop two hearts. The officers will not be forced to wear the armband in public.

Indian Police Get to the Bottom of Necklace Case

A thief who was found to have swallowed a necklace he stole from a businessman’s wife was ordered by Indian police to remain on a diet of bananas until he produced the necklace. On advice from doctors to use the bananas as a laxative, police fed the accused thief fifty (50!) bananas to no avail. Finally, they fed him a meal of rice, chicken and bread which led him to pass the necklace on his fifth attempt. A sweeper was paid fifty rupees (ONE dollar) to fish the necklace out, and the thief was forced to clean the necklace for its appearance in court. I can’t believe they’d have him wash it but not pull it out of the toilet or whatever. Ew. And if some dude is willing to fish a necklace out of crap for a dollar in India, I'm not surprised that companies are outsourcing jobs there. That's seriously cheap labor.

I love the internet. Who needs tabloids? All I’m wondering now is how I can get paid finding crazy stories over the AP wire and posting them…

Though... This is Pretty Cool, Too*

* -- (Edited Sunday, August 5, 2007) This was the Iron Man teaser footage that was shown at San Diego Comicon 2007. Unfortunately, Paramount pulled rank and had the footage taken down from You Tube. There is, however, a possiblity that I have the footage for viewing... It was pretty kick-ass, though, as usual, there were some parts that I didn't care for.

Iron Man is based on the Marvel Comics property created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck and Jack Kirby. Directed by Jon Favreau, it stars Robert Downey, Jr. (Tony Stark), Gwyneth Paltrow (Virginia "Pepper" Potts), Terrance Howard (Jim Rhodes), and Jeff Bridges (Obidiah Stane), with cameos by Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Hillary Swank, Leslie Bibb and of course, Stan Lee. Get more information at the MySpace.com Iron Man Movie Group, which was set up and is maintained by Jon Favreau himself.

The film is set to be released May 2, 2008, so you can imagine what we'll be doing for Danica's 2nd birthday.

Absolutely THE COOLEST

Totally something I would've done back in the day, if I'd thought of it and had the discipline to do it. Oh, I'm sooooooooooo jealous that these guys pulled it off.

Iowa CAN Be Fun!

Having a little fun with Kindra's mom.

Don't Hassel the Hoff

International superstar David Hasselhoff turns 55 today. What happened to him? He’s fallen so far since his days doing Knight Rider and Baywatch. Ah, the bigger they are… At least he has America’s Got Talent.

In more interesting news (is it ever really interesting?), on this date in 1955, Disneyland opened its gates for the first time. FYI, Disneyland cost $17 million to build back in the day. $17 million!?!? $17 million is what it costs to take a family of four to Disneyland for the day.

Of course, they’re building a new Harry Potter theme park in Orlando as part of Universal’s Islands of Adventure at the Universal Orlando Resort. Read more about the “Wizarding World of Harry Potter” here, and don’t forget that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is released at midnight this Saturday morning. I’m still debating whether or not to go and get the book at midnight…

Mission Accomplished

Number 10,000 is in the books. Yup, the Philadelphia Phillies lost 10-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday night, at home no less. The Cards hit six homers total in the game, and Philadephia’s Adam Eaton took the loss. FYI, the Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves are second all-time in losses, with 9,681, and the Chicago Cubs are third, with 9,425.

10,000

I just saw this on FOX:

The Philadelphia Phillies are nearing their 10,000th loss all-time. No other major league franchise has as many losses. The Phillies were founded in 1883 and are currently on loss 9999. At least they’ve won one (1) championship.

Go Phils!

I'd Go See It...

I've never played the game nor do I even have extensive knowledge of the backstory, but I really like the visuals. This is some footage from the guy who was slated to make the movie, but ended up having his funding pulled. It's now footage for Microsoft...

I'd watch this guy's movie.Footage from Bungie.net. Just in case you don't get it, it's Halo 3.

Did You Get the Memo?

Saw this on our way back from San Diego last week:

Kindra snapped this when she saw it; the guy saw her taking a photo and pulled ahead of us to let us try to get a better shot. Plates were from Georgia, just in case you wanted to know.

Big Birthday

Happy birthday to one of my favorite actors, Tom Hanks. Hanks’ career has come a long way, having gone from television with Bosom Buddies to being only the second actor in history to win back-to-back Best Actor Oscars, for 1993’s Philadelphia and 1994’s Forrest Gump (Spencer Tracy was the first actor to accomplish the feat in 1937-38). Other notable works that Hanks has been in are Splash, Bachelor Party, Volunteers, The Man with One Red Shoe, Big, A League of Their Own, Sleepless in Seattle, Apollo 13, That Thing You Do!, Saving Private Ryan, The Green Mile, Cast Away, Road to Perdition, The Terminal, The Polar Express, and The Da Vinci Code. Beyond being a successful actor, he has also directed and produced a number of pieces, most notably the HBO mini-series From the Earth to the Moon and Band of Brothers.

Hanks is supposedly related to James Hanks, the possible father to Nancy Hanks and grandfather to President Abraham Lincoln. If true, Hanks would be the fourth cousin, four times removed, of the former president.

Hanks is next set to reprise his character from The Da Vinci Code, Robert Langdon, in a prequel to the movie, Angels and Demons.

Just for kicks:

* * *

For you sports trivia buffs, one-hundred thirty years ago today, the very first lawn tennis tournament was held by the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club at Wimbledon. One-hundred thirty years later yesterday, Roger Federer won his fifth straight Wimbledon title over Rafael Nadal, equaling Bjorn Borg’s record. It is Federer’s eleventh Grand Slam title, putting him behind only Pete Sampras (14) and Roy Emerson (12). In addition to his five straight Wimbledon titles, he’s also won three straight U.S. Opens and two straight Australian Opens. He has appeared in nine straight Grand Slam finals, winning seven, and if he continues on his pace, he’ll surpass Pete Sampras’ titles record in 2008, at the age of 27, four years younger than Sampras when Sampras won his last title. I guess I should sit up and take notice. Federer may be the greatest of all-time.

Also on this day thirty-nine years ago, the first MLB All-Star game to be played indoors was held at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. This year’s All-Star festivities in San Francisco start tonight, with the Home Run Derby, sans Barry Bonds, I might add. Loser.

Rocky and the Knucklehead

Happy birthday to Rocky himself, Sly Stallone, who turns 61(!) today.

It’s also President George W. Bush’s last birthday in office. The President turns 61 as well. How about that? Rocky and the President are the same age. Hmm.

Other notable birthdays today include actor Geoffrey Rush (Shine, Shakespeare in Love, Pirates of the Caribbean series), who turns 56, and actor Ned Beatty (Deliverance, Superman, Superman II, The Big Easy, Rudy) who is 70.

Happy 4th of July!

Answers to “Match Game”

Here are the answers to my celebrity birthday match game from June 22.

Top Row (L-R): Ed Bradley, Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Campbell, Kris Kristofferson

Middle: Amy Brenneman, Erich Maria Remarque, Meryl Streep, Lindsay Wagner

Bottom: Billy Wilder, Tim Russ, Amy Pollan, Carson Daly

And the answers to their credits:

Ed Bradley – 60 Minutes

Cyndi Lauper – WWF Rock and Wrestling

Bruce Campbell – Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie for Theaters, Army of Darkness, Old Spice commercials, Spider-Man 3

Kris Kristofferson – Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Big Top Pee Wee, Blade

Amy Brenneman – Heat, Judging Amy, N.Y.P.D. Blue, Private Practice

Erich Maria Remarque – the novel All Quiet on the Western Front

Meryl Streep – Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Stuck on You, The Devil Wears Prada, The Hours

Lindsay Wagner – Playboy After Dark, Sleep Comfort commercials, The Bionic Woman

Billy Wilder – Sabrina, Some Like It Hot

Tim Russ – Live Free or Die Hard, Spaceballs, Star Trek: Voyager

Amy Pollan – Family Ties

Carson Daly – Last Call with Carson Daly, (MTV’s) Total Request Live

Oh, There Will Be Some Pictures Tomorrow…

I just found out that it’s Lindsay Dee Lohan’s 21st birthday today, which means that there will be pictures of her either 1) partying, 2) drunk, 3) high, 4) in some manner of undress, 5) with some other Hollywood party girls, or 6) partying drunk and high in some manner of undress with some other Hollywood party girls.

If she knows what’s good for her, she’ll stay home tonight and just get drunk and high there. FYI, I guess it was just released that she had two times the legal limit of alcohol in her body as well as traces of cocaine in her system when she was arrested for DUI in May. I love that the police use the phrase a “useable amount” in reference to the cocaine found in her vehicle. I am wondering why the discussion of Lohan being UNDERAGE AND DRUNK isn’t also in the discussion…

What happened to the cute kid from the remake of The Parent Trap?

In other birthday news about redheads (sort of), it would have been Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas’ 75th birthday today. Thomas founded the chain in Columbus, Ohio in 1969 and named the restaurant after his daughter Melinda Lou, who was nicknamed “Wendy” because she couldn’t pronounce her own name when she was young. Unfortunately, the original Wendy’s closed earlier this year on March 2, 2007 because of slow sales. Thomas passed away on January 8, 2002.

How Did Those Hoof Prints Get on the Ceiling?

Here’s the latest trailer for The Simpsons Movie. Fantastic!
I love the end… Heh.

Starting to Look This Way, Eh?

'Nuff said.

2007 NBA Draft Thoughts

A few things ran through my mind as I watched ESPN’s Pre-Draft Show and the NBA Draft last night:

First and foremost was, what in the hell is Joakim Noah (F/C, Florida, below) wearing?

I guess IBM’s Lenovo platform is getting some decent exposure having their brand pasted in huge stickers across the top of laptops at the tables of each potential draft pick. Funny, since I just took a survey through the NBA Fan Forum asking what I knew about Lenovo and whether I thought the NBA was a good partner for them.

Greg Oden must be 45… and Kevin Durant is some freakish fifteen year-old. See above.

Oh, crap… It’s Stephen A. Smith. That guy has the biggest mouth and one of the smallest brains in sports journalism. AND Mark Jackson just got him going.

What’s with all the speculation about the Lakers, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Garnett? One, they’re not getting Kevin Garnett, 2) their backup plan of getting Jermaine O’Neal is the dumbest back-up plan ever, 3) it would be interesting to see how Kobe would react if they didn’t trade him, 4) screw all this talk… just trade everybody. I’d like to see Kobe and LeBron just say, “To hell with stardom, let’s just kick everybody’s ass,” and end up on the same team.

The way they keep talking about Jeff Green’s passing ability and the more clips they show of him, the more Jeff Green reminds me of an athletic… Luke Walton.

It’s 4:30 PM PST and the draft is starting… Do the Portland Trailblazers really need a countdown clock to make a final decision on who they’re drafting? They already were jumping around when ESPN threw up a shot of the Blazers’ draft room. Seeing the Blazers’ starting five and key reserves from last year, all I can say is, “Good-bye Zach Randolph, and Travis Outlaw – you’d better start working out, or you’re going to be out of a job.”

They need to build more suspense into the draft announcement for the lottery picks, at least. Just like in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?...

“With the first pick in the 2007 NBA Draft the Portland Trailblazers select… A) Kevin Durant, B) Steve Jobs, C) Greg Oden, or D) Sam Bowie.”

“Um… A… I mean, C… Yeah, C) Greg Oden.”

“Final answer?”

“Um…”

“You can use a lifeline, if you want… do you want to ask the audience?”

It’d be great.

Every time they showed Mike Conley, Sr., the former Olympic track star and gold-medal winner, all I could think was, “This dude is about to be freakin’ RICH.” He’s representing his son, Mike Conley, Jr. (PG, Ohio State) and Greg Oden, even though he has no experience as an agent.

Greg Oden was taken with the first pick. Shocker. Somehow, I don’t think my child will ever be the first pick in the NBA Draft… Oh, and ESPN just made mention of how Oden wanted to be a dentist. Can you imagine? Well, he’ll be able to afford dental school in a few years…

Kevin Durant going at number two? Another shocker. At least it was nice hearing him tell Stuart Scott how it was a tough decision to leave Texas. *chuckle* Even better was the mention of Durant’s 3.5 GPA his first semester. No mention of the 0.0 GPA he pulled in the spring. I do like the kid’s TV presence, though, and way more than Greg Oden’s.

Frickin’ Atlanta Hawks… they Al Horford (F, Florida) with the third pick overall. I really liked him two seasons ago, but felt like he didn’t develop enough during the past season… At least he was a solid pick. But if the rumors were true that they could’ve had Amare Stoudamire, they’re total idiots. Horford’s great and should be productive, but when you have a chance to get a FREAK like Stoudamire, you get him…

*Snore* Mike Conley, Jr. was drafted in the fourth slot by the Memphis Grizzlies. It’s not that I don’t like Conley – I really think he was the most talented college point guard out there this year – it’s just the lottery gets boring as you go along. It’s not until you get to the picks in the teens that things are interesting.

Jeff Green at #5, *snore*… Going to be traded to Seattle, anyway. His interview with Stu Scott was funny when Scott asked him how he was going to overcome the label that Green was too unselfish. Green just laughed and said that he wouldn’t have to prove himself a scorer in Seattle now that he could just pass to Durant so Durant could throw up a bunch of shots…

I think 1.3 billion Chinese people just had a collective, “Huh?” when 7-1 Yi Jianlian (above) was selected at the #6 slot by… the Milwaukee Bucks. I can just imagine it now: Where the hell is Mil-wau-keh? This is not going to go over well for the marketing people on either side… How do the Bucks market at Chinese guy in Milwaukee, and how does a Chinese guy market Milwaukee to the world? I say trade him to Los Angeles… The Staples Center will be the new Chinatown.

Corey Brewer at #7… Blah. Could be a good defender and showed he could score the NCAA Championship Game, but he’s a little overrated.

Holy cow… Michael Jordan and the Charlotte Bobcats just drafted another North Carolina product in 6-10 freshman Brandan Wright? Too bad he weighs 200 pounds. Total.

Okay, I like Joakim Noah’s ability to move and guard perimeter players somewhat, and the Chicago Bulls needed another big, but isn’t Joakim Noah kinda soft for the Bulls?

7-0 Spencer Hawes (C, Washington) might be skilled, but he’s a non-athlete. The Sacramento Kings used to be one of the most athletic teams in the West. Where are they going?

I loved Acie Law (PG, Texas A&M) in college, because he could score and run his team. Unfortunately, he’s a bit of a tweener at the pro level, and even though I’ve missed my share of lay-ups, the one he missed in the NCAA Tournament that ended Texas A&M’s season was a bad indicator. Especially for a guy who was supposed to be clutch.

Guess he was the real deal… Rodney Stuckey, who scored a bunch of points for Eastern Washington his first two years there, went at fifteen to the Detroit Pistons. They must thing he’s like Ben Gordon light. He’s only the second player in Big Sky Conference history to be drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft (the other was Michael Ray Richardson of Montana) and will be the first Eastern Washington player to play in the NBA. Too bad they basically wanted to kick him out of EW since he was such a pain in the ass. I heard they had separate rules for him – meaning he had very few.

Why is Nick Young (G, USC) being drafted by the Washington Wizards? Don’t they already have a guy who needs the ball in his hands in Gilbert Arenas? They couldn’t have drafted a big guy to help Antwain Jamison?

Vinny Del Negro! The former Spurs guard gets a mention as the Warriors pick Italy’s Marco Belinelli with the 18th pick. Judging from the footage, he kinda plays like… yup, confirmed by ESPN – current Spurs guard Brent Barry.

Okay, the Lakers select 6-4 freshman Javaris Crittendon (G, Georgia Tech). Not a bad choice, since he’s an athletic and strong mid-sized guard. Smush Parker’s on his way out, so they’ll be space for him and Jordan Farmar in the Laker backcourt.

Kudos to Spike Lee for naming Wilson Chandler (F, DePaul) as the Knicks’ first-round draft pick. Minus points to Lee for saying that Isiah Thomas knows what the hell he’s doing building a team…

Jared Dudley (F, Boston College) to the Charlotte Bobcats at number 22. Does MJ only draft kids out of the ACC? Dudley’s an interesting case, because he was overlooked coming out of high school (or maybe he was playing hard to get), as the only “name” schools to offer him a scholarship were San Diego State, Creighton, and Boston College. Then, he turns into the ACC Player of the Year and a first-round NBA pick. Go figure.

Aaron Afflalo (G, UCLA) to the Pistons… nice fit. He can’t shoot, but he can guard. Sort of. It’ll be interesting to see what the 6-4 Afflalo can do against NBA-caliber guards.

Man, did the rich get richer as the San Antonio Spurs picked up two nice picks in 6-11 Tiago Splitter (F, Brazil), who was supposed to be a lottery pick a couple years ago, and also 6-7 Marcus Williams (G, Arizona), who’s a very athletic guard and could replace Brent Barry. The Mavericks picked up 6-11 Nick Fazekas (F, Nevada), who’s like a poor man’s Dirk, and the Suns, who are still trying to acquire Kevin Garnett, picked up 6-5 Alando Tucker (G, Wisconsin), who’s a sort of Josh Howard jack-of-all-trades type.

Ooooo… With the 40th pick in the draft, the Lakers acquired 6-9 Sun Yue (G, China, above). As nice as this would be marketing-wise if he made the club, don’t they know it’s bad feng shui to pick a Chinese guy with any pick related to the number 4? He’s nicknamed “Q-Tip” because he’s rail-thin and has a Chinese ‘fro, played for a team in the ABA called the Aoshen Olympians, comprised of mostly Chinese players (I should mention that former UCSB guard, Crismen Oliver, played PG for them a couple years ago), and was featured in ESPN The Magazine. I get the feeling he’s sort of a poseur.

The Lakers also picked up 7-0 Marc Gasol (C, Spain), the brother of Memphis’ Pau Gasol, with the 50th pick. NBADraft.net compares him to former Philadelphia 76er Todd MacCulloch and called him “a below-average athlete.” Mmm.

As far as trades went...

The Ray Allen trade is the dumbest move Danny Ainge has made so far, although I do agree with Stephen A. Smith on this one: if you’re not going to win, you’d better make some money, and Ray Allen might bring in some more bucks. Seattle is the winner on this one, getting the rights to Jeff Green, G Delonte West, and SF Wally Sczerbiak (who I think is one of the best wing shooters in the league… especially on the move).

You knew that the Blazers were going to move Zach Randolph, and they got decent return for him in the persons of Channing Frye and Steve Francis. Oden, Frye and LaMarcus Aldridge on the front line for the Blazers should make for a great group defending the interior, and Steve Francis will be a compliment to Brandon Roy and Jarrett Jack in the backcourt. Besides, Francis will be out when his contract expires this year, unless his attitude changes. As for the Knicks… Well, they’re getting a guy who can really score on the block, but who will probably get into some kind of trouble in the Big Apple.

Jason Richardson from Golden State to Charlotte for Brandan Wright? Hmm… maybe MJ does have a decent idea about what he’s doing. The Warriors get more athletic on the frontline and had already drafted a shooting guard (Marco Belinelli), and the Bobcats get a proven scorer who could be an All-Star in the East. Works for both teams.

Oh… I did just hear that there was a possibility of Golden State sending Andris Biedrins and Brandan Wright to Milwaukee for Yi Jianlian. If that happens, Chinatown is headed for Oakland.

I could write more, but you’ve stopped reading by this point.

Happy Cotton!

I’d be remiss (and dead) if I didn’t wish my wife a happy anniversary. We’ve been together now for six years, and married for the last two. It’s been all that I expected and nothing I expected, but “I like the rollercoaster” (see the movie Parenthood for that one). Kindra’s the best wife and mother anybody could ask for, and I, of course, am quite a catch.

So, happy second (cotton) anniversary to us.

The Future’s Not Quite Here Yet

Twenty-five years ago today, a film was released that was set in what is now a not-too-distant future and dealt with issues not too dissimilar from many of the issues we face today. It was a complex, powerful, and visually stunning early work from a director now known for producing works of similar magnitude. It starred a hero we associated with lighter, if not more classically heroic, roles. It dealt with life, death, rights of liberty, and self-knowledge.

The first time I saw it, I didn’t get it. It’s a tough movie to watch, because you have to put thought into it, even though you feel like it should be a popcorn flick. But, as I’ve taken the time to wander through it again and again, it’s grown on me, and it should be on everyone’s “Movies to Watch” list, and it does need to be seen more than once (in both its original theatrical release, as well as the director’s cut).

The film? Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner.


Quick thought: Blade Runner is set in 2019, which is a scant twelve years away. It doesn’t seem like the future is that close, nor do we seem any closer to the things that Scott showed in the film… Hmm.

Oy

This morning, I went to take Kindra’s car into the mechanic’s to have her oil and brake pads changed, and when I went to start the car, all the electronics died on me. The radio, the clock, the odometer, the power locks – everything. I just turned the key, and it was like somebody sucked the life out of it all. I then went to get my car to jump hers and proceeded to find that my jumper cables were not in my trunk… or hers. So I had to go to Target to pick up a new set, came back, jumped her car and took it to the shop.

Yay. Great Saturday so far. *sigh*

Match Game

Celebrating birthdays today (match them to their photos!):

Carson Daly (34)
Amy Brenneman (43)
Tracy Pollan (47)
Bruce Campbell (49)
Tim Russ (51)
Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper (54)
Meryl Streep (58)
Lindsay Wagner (58)
Ed Bradley (would have been 66)
Kris Kristofferson (71)
Billy Wilder (would have been 85)
Erich Maria Remarque (would have been 109)

Match them to their respective work (some have more than one credit here):

Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
All Quiet on the Western Front
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters
Army of Darkness
Big Top Pee-Wee
Blade
Family Ties
Heat
Judging Amy
Last Call with Carson Daly
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
Live Free or Die Hard
NYPD Blue
Old Spice commercials
Playboy After Dark
Private Practice
Sabrina
60 Minutes
Sleep Comfort commercials
Some Like It Hot
Spaceballs
Spider-Man 3
Star Trek: Voyager
Stuck on You
The Bionic Woman
The Hours
The Devil Wears Prada
Total Request Live
WWF Rock and Wresting

I’ll give you links to who they are and the answers in a couple of days.

Showmen

Two of the NBA’s all-time best were born on this date…

Happy 45th birthday to Clyde “The Glide” Drexler, the most fluid in-game dunker I’ve ever seen, and probably the reason why the Portland Trailblazers picked Sam Bowie with the second pick in the 1984 NBA Draft, over Michael Jordan. Check out his top 10 dunks below.



It would have also been “Pistol” Pete Maravich’s 60th birthday today, if he had not passed away of a heart attack while playing three-on-three on January 5, 1988. The most spectacular guard in the history of college basketball, he averaged 44.2 ppg over the course of his college career. Not one postseason, not one season, but over three years – 43.8 ppg his sophomore season, 44.2 ppg his junior season, and 44.5 as a senior (back then, college players were not allowed to play varsity as freshmen). He owns a majority of NCAA scoring records, including most career points (3,667), highest career scoring average, most field goals made and attempted (1,387 of 3,166), and most fifty-point games (28!). By the way, when he played, they didn’t have a three-point line.

Maravich’s NBA career was less lustrous, but still pretty good. He averaged 24.2 ppg over the course of his ten-year career with the Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans Jazz, and Boston Celtics. He retired after the 1979-80 season, was elected to the Naismith Hall of Fame in 1987, and is a member of the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.

“Pistol” Pete was THE showman before there were showmen in the sport. He did so many things with the basketball, it was amazing. He had every pass, dribbling move, and shot in the book – because he wrote the damn thing. The son of a coach (he played for his father, Press, at Louisiana State University), Maravich practiced for hours and hours and hours. He made a cheesy series of instructional videos (one of which you can see here), but they are amazing illustrations of what he could do with a basketball and the incredible hands he had. He was AND1 before anybody knew what the hell that meant, and the closest thing that the NBA has seen in terms of his creativity and showmanship since is (~gulp~) the Miami Heat’s Jason Williams (well, when Williams started with the Sacramento Kings… keep in mind, I don’t think Williams is anywhere near Maravich, it’s just that his showmanship when he first came into the league was crazy). The Pistol was one of basketball’s greatest, so take some time to get the whole picture by watching the video.

Happy Summer!

Today is the Northern Solstice, commonly referred to as the Summer Solstice. For more information than you could possibly want about the solstice, head to Wikipedia.

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About the whole birthdays thing… I don’t think I care about it enough. So, you’ll get them whenever they’re interesting or I lack frivolous information to give you. But, I feel like it today, so…

Happy birthday to Prince William of Wales, who turns 25, and now has access to the interest from his mother’s trust, which is valued at roughly $500,000 a year. But they say he’s not going to touch it. Oh… okay, then.

Actress Juliette Lewis is 34 today. She started on the short-lived TV series (but one of my dad’s favorites) I Married Dora, and went onto movies such as National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (with Chevy Chase), Cape Fear (with Robert DeNiro - she also earned an Oscar nomination for her performance), What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? (with Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio), Kalifornia (with Brad Pitt), Natural Born Killers (with Woody Harrelson), Strange Days (with Ralph Fiennes), The Basketball Diaries (with Leo, again), Old School (with Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn, and Will Farrell) and Starsky & Hutch (with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson). Yikes. I didn’t know that she’s worked with so many people… You could call it “Six Degrees of Juliette Lewis.”

Here’s a blast from the past: Derrick Coleman. He could’ve been one of the best, if he wasn’t so much of an idiot. He’s 40 today. And speaking of former NBA players, proof that white men CAN jump and owner of one of the most vicious dunks in NBA history, Tom Chambers is 48 today. What dunk? See here.

FYI, here is how not to do this:

Oddly enough, it’s both Meredith Baxter’s and Michael Gross’ 60th birthday. You might know them better as Elise and Steven Keaton, the parents from Family Ties. Bernie Kopell, who played Dr. Adam “Doc” Bricker on The Love Boat (but has a ridiculous number of guest appearances on other shows) turns 74 today.

Here’s what happens when I start writing this stuff: I feel compelled to go on. For instance, yesterday was Nicole Kidman’s 40th birthday. It was also singer Lionel Richie’s 57th, singer Ann Murray’s (“Snowbird”) 62nd, actor Danny Aiello’s 74th, and actress Olympia Dukakis and actor Martin Landau’s 76th birthdays…

Enough, already.

Da Dum… Da Dum… Da-da, Da-da, Da Dum…

Steven Spielberg’s Jaws was released on this date in 1975. Considered the first “summer movie blockbuster” in history, it was the highest-grossing film in movie history until it was eclipsed in 1977 by George Lucas’ Star Wars. So thank Spielberg, for better or worse, for the likes of Spider-Man 3, Transformers, Live Free or Die Hard, and the two movies I wrote about in my previous post.

Here He Comes…

♫ Here comes Speed Racer
He’s a demon on wheels…♫

As much as I’m totally hyped to see Transformers in two weeks and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in three, the hype machine kicked into another gear the last couple of days, with pictures from the upcoming Speed Racer and Batman: The Dark Knight movies popping up on the web. Pics of the Mach 5 car had already been released by the Wachowski Brothers (writers/directors of Speed Racer and The Matrix movies), but a new one debuted from an industry convention (as seen below).

Speed Racer is based on the 1960’s Japanese manga and anime Mach Go Go Go, which was brought to the U.S. in 1967. It’s the story of title character Speed Racer and his fantastically tricked-out car, the Mach 5. Speed Racer was one of the first anime franchises (along with Astro Boy) to become wildly successful in the United States. Speed has gone on to appear in commercials for ESPN and Volkswagen.

The movie will star Emile Hirsch (The Girl Next Door) as Speed; Christina Ricci as his girlfriend, Trixie; John Goodman as Pops Racer; Susan Sarandon as Mom Racer; Matthew Fox (Lost, Party of Five) as Racer X; and Scott Porter (Jason Street on NBC’s Friday Night Lights) as Rex Racer. For more information, see http://www.speedracer.com/ or Warner Bros.’ movie website. The film is scheduled to open in May 2008.

The first shots from Batman: The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan’s sequel to Batman Begins, were also released, one featuring the new Bat-suit (kick ass) and a few featuring the Bat-cycle (also kick ass, and a.k.a. the "Batpod"). Batman: The Dark Knight stars Christian Bale in the title role, with Heath Ledger as the Joker, Aaron Eckhart as D.A. Harvey Dent (a character played by Billy Dee Williams, a.k.a. Lando Calrissian, in the 1989 Tim Burton Batman), and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes (played by Katie Holmes in Batman Begins). Also involved in production are Morgan Freeman, Michael Gough, Gary Oldman, Anthony Michael Hall, and Eric Roberts. The movie is due to be released in July 2008. FYI, Batman: The Dark Knight is currently filming in Chicago, under the name Rory’s First Kiss.

I’m such a sucker for pop-culture media.

Pictures were found through Ain’t It Cool News.

CWS - Update

Turn on ESPN2 on Wednesday, June 20 at 7 PM EST to watch UC Irvine play again in the College World Series. The ‘Eaters defeated Arizona State, a program with over fifty total CWS wins (to Irvine’s one) and the team that defeated the ‘Eaters last Saturday. They will face defending champion Oregon State and must defeat the Beavers twice to advance to the championship game.

It didn’t look good for UCI when Arizona State took a 7-3 lead in the top of the 8th, but Irvine stormed back to tie the game 7-7. After getting out of a bases-loaded, one out jam in the top of the 10th, the Anteaters’ Ollie Linton stepped up to the plate with one out and hit a game-winning single past the first baseman to score Matt Morris.

The Irvine Athletics Department is having a great spring. The men’s volleyball team won the NCAA National Championship earlier this year (UC Irvine’s second national championship overall – the 1989 men’s water polo team also won a national championship), and now the baseball team is in the CWS and has won their last three games on walk-off hits. Um, we won’t mention that the AD is resigning effective August 1, blasting the new chancellor and the people that head the campus for not backing the Athletics Department.

Man, I wish I was still at Irvine.

Oh yeah, speaking of the UCI Men’s Volleyball Team, they visited the White House on Monday, along with the UC Santa Barbara Men’s Soccer Team, who won the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship.

College World Series

Don’t forget to catch the College World Series today when UC Irvine takes on Arizona State. The Anteaters lost their first game, also against Arizona State, on Saturday, in a drop-from-ahead loss to Arizona State, 5-4. They defeated Cal State Fullerton 5-4 yesterday in the longest (by time) game in CWS history, a 5-hour, 45-minute, 13 inning affair.

This is UCI’s first time in the College World Series. They play today at 7:00 PM EST on ESPN2.

Tiger Cub

Tiger Woods and his wife, Elin, had their first child on Monday morning. Sam Alexis Woods is either going to be 1) hot (like her mother) or 2) a stud athlete (like her father).

Speaking of Tiger, I love how all the media is trying to figure out the ramifications of Tiger’s not winning the U.S. Open. “Did Angel Cabrera win? Or did Tiger lose?” “Do we expect too much of Tiger?” “Is Tiger too bulky [he’s gotten pretty muscular] for golf?” “Is Tiger losing his touch?”

Sheesh. The dude’s probably the best athlete playing golf, he works out, he’s 30 and has won 12 majors. The only thing he hasn’t done is come from behind on the last day. He’s the most dominant golfer of his generation, and nobody asked that of Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, etc. Nobody asked if they were too dominant. Tiger’s great for golf, and great for kids.

The only thing I don’t like about him is how he’s now “African American.” Not that he wasn’t before, but he is the product of an African-American father and Thai mother. He’s partially Asian-American, which he indicated when he was accepted to Stanford. Now he’s an African-American athlete, with no mention or regard to his Asian heritage. I find it sad, and there is thought that it has to do with marketing to African Americans, but it still would be great if he acknowledged both sides of his heritage. Asian-American kids and kids like Danica who are partially Asian-American need models out there to look up to and also to show the rest of America that Asian-Americans are as much a part of America as anybody else. They need more than Asian athletes like Yao Ming, Chien-Ming Wang, and Ichiro Suzuki to watch. They need more Michelle Kwans, more Dat Nguyens, and especially more Tiger Woods.

Celebration Day

Last Thursday, I was going to talk about Bruce Bowen’s birthday (36!), and how nice it would be for him if the Spurs won the NBA Championship that day. So… Last Thursday, June 14, was Bruce Bowen’s 36th birthday. His team, the San Antonio Spurs won the NBA Championship that night by defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 83-82 and sweeping the Cavs in four games. Cute look for Finals MVP Tony Parker (France) and Manu Ginobli (Argentina), above, wearing their respective countries’ flags.

How impressive are the Spurs? They won their fourth NBA title overall, joining the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Lakers as the only teams in NBA history to win four or more championships. They won their first in 1999. This was their fourth title in nine years, and third in the last five years. They’re studs. As much as I thought that Greg Popovich firing Bob Hill back in the day was b.s. (the Spurs had a horrible record, but were without star David Robinson for the year, AND they were about to draft Tim Duncan), “Pop” has done a great job assembling, coaching, and adjusting this team over the years.

Other congratulations go to Robert Horry, the Spurs forward, who became the first player NOT a Boston Celtic from the 60’s to earn SEVEN championship rings (2 with the Houston Rockets, 3 with the Los Angeles Lakers, and 2 with the San Antonio Spurs), and he is one of only nine players ever to do so. Also, good luck to actress Eva Longoria and Spurs’ point guard Tony Parker, who are getting married outside of Paris in a week or so… Hmm… Finals MVP and getting married? Tony’s going to be one tired dude in the fall.

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For those of you not interested in sports or pop culture, last Thursday was also Flag Day in the U.S. June 14, 1777 was the say the Second Continental Congress adopted the flag of the United States. Unfortunately, it is not an official federal holiday, but the state of Pennsylvania has recognized it as a state holiday since 1937 (it is the first and only state to do so). Here’s a shot of Flag Day at the Huntington Beach Pier:

NPH, CCA, etc.

I don’t feel like writing much today, but I’m sorta obsessive-compulsive about keeping up this birthday thing.

It’s NPH’s birthday today. For those of you who haven’t seen Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, that’s Neil Patrick Harris, a.k.a. Doogie Howser. How sad to be known the rest of your life as a character named Doogie. At least Mark Hammil is remembered as a lightsaber-wielding farmer boy from a desert planet. Oh, NPH is 34.

Happy birthday also to Courtney Cox-Arquette, who’s marriage to David Arquette seems a little unusual, but cute. Friends, blah-blah-blah… Bruce Springsteen, Dancing in the Dark, blah-blah… Family Ties… Ace Ventura: Pet Detective… Scream, Scream II, Scream III… episode of Seinfeld, yada-yada… the ones that everybody misses are her starring roles in Masters of the Universe (with Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as Skeletor) and the short-lived, but fondly-remembered Misfits of Science. Mrs. Cox-Arquette is 43… WHAT?!?! Man, she was a thirty-something “Friend” for a long time…

Also, it’s rapper/actor Ice Cube’s 38th birthday (btw, I once met him in the Oakland airport – nice guy… wait, that was Ice T). Ice Cube is the funnier actor who makes stupid movies like Are We There Yet, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, and XXX: State of the Union. Ice T is the more serious actor who is on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Okay, okay… they’ve both made crap, but have done some fun stuff, too. But the Cube did make the song "Black Korea."

Other birthdays include actress Helen Hunt’s 44th birthday (no offense, but is it just me, or does Helen Hunt seem light-years older than CCA?), former Boston Red Sox player Wade Boggs’ 49th, actor James Belushi’s 53rd, and country-music singer Waylon Jennings (who sang the theme song for The Dukes of Hazzard) would’ve been celebrating 70 if he hadn’t passed away in 2002.

History useless trivia:

On this date fifteen years ago (!) in 1992 (hell, it doesn’t really seem that long ago), Vice President Dan Quayle instructed a student to spell “potato” with an “e” at the end. The story was that he relied on a “faulty” flashcard. DO YOU REALLY NEED A FLASH CARD TO SPELL “POTATO?” Sheesh. Here’s a question for you: George W. Bush, or Dan Quayle? Scary, isn’t it?

Twelve years ago today, the glove did not fit, so I guess they must’ve had to acquit… O.J. Simpson. Thanks, Jonnie Cochran (R.I.P.)… As much as you wanted to do justice for a black man accused of killing two white people, you really screwed African-Americans over… But, speaking of that, how can the African-American community really think OJ’s innocent?

Hmm… whaddya know, I did write a bunch.

Goodbye, Mr. Wizard

Don Herbert, otherwise known as Mr. Wizard, passed away Tuesday of bone cancer at the age of 89. Though I first saw him on Nickelodeon’s Mr. Wizard’s World during the 1980’s, he first appeared from 1951-1964 in Watch Mr. Wizard. I loved that show, because it made science interesting and fun for younger kids. He did experiments you could duplicate at home, forcing you to make observations, formulate hypotheses, test them, and then think about what the results meant and what conclusions you could draw from them. Along with 3-2-1 Contact, Mr. Wizard’s World is one of my favorite non-fiction shows of all time. Here’s a testament to his fame: when Late Night with David Letterman debuted in 1982, Mr. Wizard was one of the first night’s guests.

* * *

On the other side of the coin, we find actor Malcolm McDowell celebrating his 63rd birthday today. He’s pretty stereotyped now, but his filmography is filled with unbelievable roles. Best known for starring in A Clockwork Orange, McDowell’s career has expanded since the early 90’s, acting in Star Trek: Generations (though THAT was a piece of crap), the TV remake of Fantasy Island, and Entourage. He’s also done voices for a few Wing Commander games, the Star Trek: Generations video game, and if you’re a comic geek, he’s also been in Tank Girl (um, not his best work); was part of a live-action adaptation of Fist of the North Star; done voices for Batman: The Animated Series, Biker Mice from Mars, Justice League, an episode of South Park, the mid-90’s Spider-Man series, Superman: The Animated Series, and Teen Titans; and he’s most recently been seen in my favorite TV show, Heroes (too bad he had his brain squished).

Also celebrating birthdays today: actor Stellan Skarsgard of Good Will Hunting and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (56); comedian Tim Allen of Home Improvement fame (54 – and his best role was in Galaxy Quest); NBC and CNN sports journalist Hannah Storm (45); former NBA guard and one of the first European players to be a real stud on an NBA team, Sarunas Marciulionis (43); former U.S. gymnast and Des Moines native Lance Ringnald (37); and the Olsen Twins, Mary Kate and Ashley Fuller, are finally drinking legally at the age of 21.

You know you’d be devoid of useless trivia without me.

Shaq's Big Challenge

Making its debut on Tuesday, June 25 on ABC is Shaquille O’Neal’s new reality show, Shaq’s Big Challenge. The show is devoted to helping tackle childhood obesity, as Shaq takes six Florida kids and tries to get them in shape while showing America things that can be done to battle obesity. Among Shaq’s team of professionals is celebrity chef Tyler Florence and his former coach at LSU, Dale Brown. Apparently, the goal for Shaq and the team is to develop programs for use in schools across Florida to help kids stay fit. Of course, Shaq’s big quote at the end of the commercial is, “It’s about saving their lives.”

Though it’s a tad bit dramatic, it’s nice to see a celebrity athlete try to do something constructive while making a buck on TV. It’s also about time that somebody brought up the issue of physical education in public schools, which, by the way, is no longer mandatory in many schools across the U.S. Physical education was a joke when I was in middle school and high school, and I’m sure it’s gotten worse since then. It’s ridiculous how out of shape and lacking in understanding of physical fitness kids are today.

On a different, but related note, this is another reason perhaps the Lakers made the wrong decision in the Shaq-Kobe debate. It’s an example of the best advice regarding team building: character first. Okay, so granted, Kobe’s character didn’t seem that ridiculously out of whack three years ago, but Shaq’s was unquestioned. He’s definitely a big kid who enjoys what he does and the people he gets to come into contact with, and his enthusiasm usually brings with it a good time. Oh well. It’s doubtful the Lakers would’ve won another championship with him. It just might’ve been a little less insane the last couple of years.

The Diaries of Two Young Girls

Today would have been Anne Frank’s 78th birthday. In interesting related news, Yad Vashem, the Israeli holocaust museum, released the diary of Rutka Laskier, who the media has dubbed “the Polish Anne Frank.” Laskier was fourteen in 1943 when she wrote the diary, depicting the horrors of the Nazi regime while juxtaposing the world’s reality with the growing desires and concerns of a young woman. Laskier was the same age as Frank and is believed to have perished at Auschwitz.

The diary was hidden away by Stanislawa Sapinska, a friend of Laskier’s, under the floorboards of Sapinska’s basement during the war. Sapinska retrieved the diary after the end of WWII, keeping it in her home library. Feeling that the diary was too private a memoir, Sapinska held the diary back until her nephew asked her to share it.

The book is available for purchase at the Yad Vashem website.

* * *

Interesting historical tidbits:

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was dedicated on this date in 1939 in Cooperstown, NY, one hundred years after the invention of the game… Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers was shot to death outside his home in Jackson, Mississippi in 1963… President Ronald Reagan publicly challenged Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbechev to tear down the Berlin Wall twenty years ago today in 1987… Thirteen years ago today, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were murdered outside her home in Los Angeles… And in Harry Potter history, on this date four years ago outside of London, a trailer containing copies of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was stolen; the empty trailer was found two days later.

Birthdays Aren’t the Only Thing…

But it would have been Vince Lombardi’s 94th birthday today. After becoming the head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 1959 at the age of 46, the Pack won five NFL championships and Super Bowls I and II (the first Super Bowl was played in 1967). Credited with the quote, “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing,” Lombardi didn’t originate the saying, he simply used it in his opening day talk to the Packers in 1959. Lombardi passed away on September 3, 1970 of intestinal cancer. He was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971 and honored with a postage stamp by the USPS in 1997. The trophy for the NFL champion is named after him, and he was portrayed by comedian Jerry Stiller (Ben’s dad and George Costanza’s father on the Seinfeld TV show) in a series of commercials for Nike in 1997.

And since the main birthday boy is a football coach, I’ll also mention that one of the greatest QB’s ever, Joe Montana, also celebrates his birthday today. He’s 51.

The original Willie Wonka, Gene Wilder, is 72 (!) today. Eat chocolate in his honor. I think that Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, The Woman in Red, and See No Evil, Hear No Evil and the only films of his I’ve ever seen. But he was funny in them.

Okay, I’ll also mention that Joshua Jackson (The Mighty Ducks, Dawson’s Creek) is also celebrating his birthday today. The plucky little kid is 29.

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Yesterday, I missed model/actress Elizabeth Hurley’s 42nd birthday.

More importantly, I missed author/illustrator Maurice Sendak’s 79th birthday. The author of Where the Wild Things Are, his fascination with the nightmarish aspects of children’s literature make him somewhat controversial. In the Night Kitchen, published in 1970, which features a young boy prancing naked through the story has been subject to censorship in Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Texas, among other states. I’ll admit, I was a bit disturbed by the book when I first saw it… but I’ll get over it. A movie version of Where the Wild Things Are is currently in production. The movie is being directed by Spike Jonze, based on a script by Jonze and Dave Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius), and starring the voice talents of Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), Catherine Keener (The 40-Year Old Virgin), Michelle Williams (Dawson’s Creek), Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine), and Catherine O’Hara (Home Alone). It’s supposedly due out in late 2008.

Other missed birthdays:

Saturday, June 9

Natalie Portman (26) – always The Professional and Luke and Leia’s mother, Padme.
Johnny Depp (44) – Edward Scissorhands! Oh, and that pirate of the Caribbean.
Michael J. Fox (46) – Alex P. Keaton and Marty McFly.
Dick Vitale (67) – Dickie V, baby!

Friday, June 8

Keenan Ivory Wayans (49) – almost 50 and still In Living Color.
Jerry Stiller (80) – I already explained who he is.

Thursday, June 7

Allen Iverson (32) – A.I. is questionably The Answer.
Liam Neeson (55) – Obi-Wan’s master, Qui-Gon Jinn and Oskar Schindler.
Tom Jones (67) – “What’s New Pussycat?” whoa, whoa-whoa, whoa-o.
Dean Martin (would have been 90) – dude, was this guy ever sober on stage?

You'll Thank Me Later

All weekend, I had Amy Winehouse’s song, “Rehab,” stuck in my head since I watched her perform at the MTV Movie Awards. It goes like this:

They’re tryin’ to make me go to rehab
I said no, no, no
Yes I been black, but when I come back,
You wont know, know, know

I ain’t got the time,
And if my daddy thinks I’m fine
He’s trying to make me go to rehab
I wont go, go, go.

If you’re drawing a blank, you’ve probably heard it before on the radio. It’s pretty catchy. =) I got it out of my head this morning when another song popped it, but… CRAP! It’s stuck again.

Oh, and there was also a rumor that Winehouse was in consideration for the role of the next Bond girl. The more plausible rumor is that she’s up for consideration to sing the theme song of the next Bond film.