Damn you, George Lucas!

I knew it! I knew this would happen.

When they announced the Star Wars movies would be coming out on DVD in 2004 the deal was that we would get the 1997 Special Edition versions (further altered for the DVDs), not the originals.

That angered a lot of fans who didn’t care for the changes made to the movies. Personally, I can appreciate both versions. I couldn’t see why Lucasfilm couldn’t release both versions all in one set. After all, there is a special edition DVD of “Terminator 2” out there that actually has three different cuts of the movie included in the set.

I resisted the urge to get the Stars Wars DVDs for a year, but finally caved in December. Now, just five months later, comes this news: in September they will issue a set that includes both versions of the original Star Wars Trilogy.

Here’s a tidbit from the news release on starwars.com…

In response to overwhelming demand, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release attractively priced individual two-disc releases of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Each release includes the 2004 digitally remastered version of the movie, as well as the original theatrical edition of the film. That means you'll be able to enjoy Star Wars as it first appeared in 1977, Empire in 1980, and Jedi in 1983.

See the title crawl to Star Wars before it was known as Episode IV; see the pioneering, if dated, motion control model work on the attack on the Death Star; groove to Lapti Nek or the Ewok Celebration song like you did when you were a kid; and yes, see Han Solo shoot first.

Arrrggh! If only I had waited one more year!

In other news, the same day the new DVDs hit the street, the “LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy” videogame will also be released. That will be a must have in the Rooney house.

Bang! Bang!

Wow. The ending of tonight’s “Lost” was great. I sort of knew something like that would happen with those characters, but I didn’t know when or how—and I wasn’t expecting it tonight!

Look! Up in the sky!

Make sure to check out the new trailer for this summer's “Superman Returns.” It looks great!

Kevin Spacey makes a great Lex Luthor.

I'm really excited to see this movie. I've always been an X-Men fan, but I think Superman is going to blow “X-Men: The Last Stand” out of the water. Don't mess with the big red S!

Catching up

I realize I’ve been really neglecting the blog lately. Here are some of the significant goings on…

• I recorded my demo Friday night, which I will soon send out to people in hopes of landing some voiceover work. The recording session was a great experience. I can’t wait to hear the finished product. I should get the demo in about a month. At that point I’ll make sure to find a spot for it online so you all can hear it.
• The price of gas continues to frustrate everyone. Last Thursday it took $50 to fill the minivan (it would have taken a little more, but I stopped at $50)! Subsequently, we’ve cancelled our planned summer vacation in Maine. Instead we’re going on an extended camping trip in the Adirondacks, a little closer to home.
• Nolan played another game last weekend. Once again I failed to bring the camera. He has two games this weekend. So I’ll try to get some pictures of one of them.
• I’ve been enjoying the new season (ok, “series” if you’re British) of “Doctor Who.” The first episode was fun. The second was better. But this past Saturday’s show, “School Reunion,” was a sheer delight! It was so much fun seeing old characters Sarah Jane Smith and K9 make a welcome comeback. The special effects were the best ever produced for a “Doctor Who” show—and on par with the best of sci fi TV (long gone are the days of guys in cheesy rubber monster suits and really cheap sets). And Anthony Stewart Head made a terrific villain.

As always I’m sure there’s more I’ve forgotten about that has slipped through the cracks. I’ll endeavor to do better.

Another reason to not watch 'The View'

...as if I needed one.

It's been announced that Rosie O'Donnell will be taking over for Meredith Vieira on ABC's daytime talk show.

Rosie O'Donnell and Star Jones on the same show... If that isn't enough to give the Geek In Chief over at TVGeekSpeak.com heart plapatations, I don't know what is.

(On a related note, what's up with the head Geek? There hasn't been a fresh post on TVGS is weeks. Maybe Joe Video can shed some light?)

I'm still here

It’s been far too long since the last time I posted anything. I had some vacation time last week, then our friends the Reeds came to visit last weekend and the last few days have been busy at work.

So with all that I haven’t had time to blog—except for last Friday’s news about Star Trek. I mean c’mon, we have to make time for the important things, right?

Anyway, the vacation was good. I had three days off. We were supposed to spend that time in Boston, but when our plans changed I decided to keep the vacation time and just hang out around home. On Day 1 I took Nolan to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. On Day 2 we went for a family bike ride and picnic. On Day 3 we took a day trip to the Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum in Poughkeepsie.

It poured buckets over the weekend. So our visit with the Mike & Sharon and their kids was a washout. We kept to indoor activities like a trip to the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology and dinner at Applebee’s.

Last night was Nolan’s first baseball game of the season. Sorry…no pictures. We didn’t even bother bringing the camera. Kris had her hands full with Thomas and Chester and I was busy helping to coach the team. He has another game this weekend, so hopefully we’ll snap some shots then and maybe even get some video.

About half of his team was also on his tee ball team last year, and I’m really proud of them. You can see such a big improvement since last year. It’s going to be a fun season!

'Lost' in space

The folks at Paramount are apparently pretty confident in their upcoming “Mission: Impossible III.” Before the movie has even come out they’ve handed its rookie director the keys to their biggest franchise.

You heard that right—J.J. Abrams will direct the next Star Trek movie! Abrams will also write the project, along with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who wrote “M:I III” with him. Abrams, the creator of the hit show “Lost,” will also be a producer, as will his fellow “Lost” producers Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk.

Paramount is hoping to have the movie out in 2008. The story will depict young Kirk and young Spock meeting for the first time at Starfleet Academy and sharing their first adventure together.

Abrams and company are going to write a new script based on this concept. However, this premise is nothing new. A similar script, called “Star Trek: The Academy Years” was written back in the 1980s. Harve Bennett, the man who produced Treks II-V wanted to make this next. It was initially given the green light. But then there was a regime change at Paramount and the idea was scrapped. Bennett left and “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” was made instead.

The news about Abrams was reported this morning in Daily Variety. However, the article made no mention of longtime Trek honcho Rick Berman or any of the other names that have been familiar to fans as writers and producers for the last decade or two. It has long been speculated that Berman’s days at the helm should end following the flops that were “Star Trek: Enterprise” and “Star Trek: Nemesis.”

This also seems to confirm that Eric Jendersen’s script that’s been floating around recently is officially dead in the water. Tentatively titled “Star Trek: The Beginning,” it would have been set in the time between “Enterprise” and The Original Series, featuring a completely original cast of characters. The story would have dealt with the Romulan War that was referenced when the Romulans made their first appearance in the Original Series episode “Balance of Terror.”

As for Abrams, I’ll take the wait and see approach. I’m pleased to see Paramount is going after not only new blood, but some big-name new blood to revitalize Trek. But Abrams can be very hit or miss. Just look at his show “Alias” and even “Lost” and you will find some definite high moments and very definite low moments. While he’s written some great scripts for those shows and, as mentioned, Paramount is apparently pleased with “M:I III,” he also wrote “Armageddon” (not one of my favorite movies) and a draft for a Superman screenplay that was reviled by fans on the Internet.

So time will tell what Abrams has in store for Trek. I’m a “Lost” fan and I liked “Alias” when it was good. So I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Star Trek.

Marathon Man

Congratulations to my brother Tim. He just finished the 2006 Boston Marathon with a time of 3:29:09! His pace at the end was 7:59. Here's his stats:

5k 0:24:26
10k 0:48:44
15k 1:13:20
20k 1:37:30
Half 1:42:38
25k 2:01:44
30k 2:27:11
35k 2:52:54
40k 3:18:20

Start Time Offset 05:02
Pace 07:59
Official Time 3:29:09
Overall 5543
Gender 4881
Division 1950

The qualifying time for his division is 3:30:00. So this means he's automatically qualified for next year's Boston Marathon.

Way to go, Tim!

Hoppin' down the bunny trail

The Easter eggs are all colored and ready for the Easter Bunny to hide tonight.

>>See the video here!

The Bunny still isn’t sure where he’ll hide them. In some years he’s hidden them in the backyard. Some years they’re indoors. I guess it depends on the weather. Even though tomorrow is supposed to be nice I have a sneaking suspicion they’ll be indoors so the kids can look for them right away.

In other news, we’ve had a busy day. Nolan had his first baseball practice of the year. He’s on the Stewart’s Shops team. Hopefully we can somehow convert that into free ice cream!

Starring as Chris Rooney...

So who would play me in the movie of my life?

I saw this earlier today on MSNBC. The site MyHeritage.com has an app that lets you upload a photo of yourself and then their software will find what celebrities look most like you. They have about 3,200 celebrity photos on file to try to match to you.

So who would play me? I tried a few different pictures of me and got different results each time. At first it thought I resembled a young Matthew Broderick. But a subsequent attempt matched me to Eugene Levy (apparently I’m destined to become Jim’s dad from “American Pie”).

Some of the other matches for me included Harold Ramis and Tom Welling (I don’t see that one myself).

While most of my attempts matched me to various celebrigeeks, Kris fared much better. I tried two photos of her. The matches included Amanda Peet, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Alba and Elle Macpherson. Not too shabby!

'Your attention please...'

Is Yankee Stadium the same without that familiar voice echoing from above?

Longtime stadium announcer Bob Sheppard—the man Reggie Jackson once called the “Voice of God”—missed his first home opener in 56 years! He threw out his hip last night at his Long Island home.

Sheppard is thought to be in his 90s. He won’t tell anyone his age.

He’s going to sit out this homestand and is expected to be back for the next one.

Sheppard has been introducing players and delivering messages over the public address system since 1951.

Yippee! Look who's 3!

Today is Thomas’ third birthday!

We got an early start on the celebration this weekend with Kris’ parents. The boys had a great time playing with grandma & grandpa.

Of course, a highlight for any kid’s birthday is the cake and presents—both of which Thomas enjoyed. He also got a kick out of how the icing on the cake turned his tongue blue!

We’ll continue the festivities today with a trip to the train store to pick out a new choo-choo and a visit from his friend Stephanie and her family and my mom for dinner—not to mention more presents and cake.

Happy birthday, Thomas!

Plattsburgh on 'The Daily Nightly'

I'm a loyal reader of Brian Williams' Daily Nightly blog. So imagine my surprise when today's post from the NBC Nightly News anchor included the following:

Greetings and thanks are due to several groups: the journalism students from SUNY Plattsburgh, N.Y. who visited 30 rock today -- it was great spending time with students, as it always is...

I'm willing to bet this means the annual NBS-AERho convention is in New York City.

Back in 1994, my senior year at Plattsburgh, we went to the convention in New York. While we were there we attended tapings of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," "Rush Limbaugh: the Television Show," "Phil Donohue" and "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee." We even got to spend some time with Regis as the current students apparently got to do today with Brian Williams.

I'm sure Peter Ensel, my old advisor and current head of the communications department was in on this. Way to go Plattsburgh gang!

Vindication!

As you may recall from my “Home Improvement” updates on our basement renovation last year, the only real snag in the process came when it was time to install the carpet. We went with a guy called the Carpet King, which turned out to be the one really bad decision we made in the whole process.

What should have been a one-day job stretched over several days for various reasons.

In the end we were sold much more carpet than was needed and the King (aka Stan Kubik) refused to take it back, citing his no returns policy. Instead we got him to use the excess to carpet our stairs upstairs.

But there was still more left over. The King agreed to bind it and return it to us at no extra charge so we could use it as a rug in our foyer. For weeks I would call him or stop at his store to see him in person and ask for our rug. He always had excuse after excuse why it was not ready.

He probably didn’t have it. He probably used it in another job or accidentally threw it out.

Anyway, he wore me down and eventually I stopped calling him. I gave up and just decided I didn’t care anymore. However, part of me always felt bad for allowing him to get away with something.

That brings us to today’s news. The King has been arrested by Colonie police on charges of larceny and forgery. He’s accused of taking money for jobs and then never completing the work.

Shocker!

I feel a bit vindicated. But I also feel a little guilty. Maybe if I had kept on the guy last year, other people wouldn’t have been scammed?

UPDATE: WNYT interviewed me for their story on the Carpet King. You can view the video here.

It's about time

Ok, wrap your head around this one... at 1:02 and three seconds Wednesday morning, April 5, 2006, the time and date will be 01:02:03:04:05:06.

Woah.

Now does this somehow relate to the "Lost" numbers?

'24' shocker

If you haven’t watched tonight’s “24” yet, I won’t spoil it for you.

But holy crap!  It was an act all this time?  I don’t think anyone saw this coming!

Weekend recap

We had quite the busy, rock 'em sock 'em weekend.

Saturday morning we took the kids to an Easter egg hunt sponsored by Parsons (the adoption agency we used). Besides the easy-to-find eggs (the event was held indoors because of fear of rain) there was a bouncy bounce (click for video), games, crafts and a magician.

We returned home for lunch and then Nolan and I went to the movies. He wanted to see “Ice Age: The Meltdown,” but it was sold out. So I told him he could either see “The Shaggy Dog” now (it was starting in about 15 minutes) or we could come back to see “Ice Age” tomorrow. He picked “Shaggy Dog.”

After the movie I hung a railing in the stairway going down to the basement. That’s a project we’ve been meaning to complete since the basement was finished last year.

Saturday night mom watched the kids while Kris and I went to an auction to benefit the Niskayuna Co-Op Nursery School. Our kids didn’t go to that school, but Nolan’s friend Danny does and his parents, our friends Ray and Marlene, were in charge of the auction.

We had a good time. There was a live auction and a silent auction. We had the winning bids on a couple silent auction items. We picked up a package that included four tickets to a Tri-City Valley Cats baseball game and a gift certificate to TGI Fridays. I also got some cheap tickets to an Albany Conquest arena football game. However, I got “ebayed” on a baseball autographed by Bubba Crosby. I had the high bid all night long until someone swooped in at the last minute to outbid me by $5.

Sunday we all slept in a little, courtesy Daylight Savings Time.

After church Nolan had a party to mark his last religion class of the year. Kris volunteered in Nolan’s class. While they’re is in class, Thomas gets to eat doughtnuts and play with the other kids waiting while their older siblings are in class and I always enjoy visiting with some of the other moms and dads.

Saturday was supposed to be the day we celebrate Chester’s birthday. When we adopted him in 2003, we weren’t told his exact birth date—just that he was born sometime in April 2000. So we picked April 1 to observe his birthday. But since we weren’t home much of the day on Saturday we made it up to him by taking him to PetSmart to pick out a big ol’ birthday bone for himself.

The weather was beautiful Sunday, so we spent a good part of the rest of the day outdoors. The boys, Chester and I walked to a nearby park to play some baseball. I’d pitch to Nolan, he’d hit the ball, Thomas would go running after it. I also beamed with pride watching Thomas pick up a bat and hit a ball pitched by Nolan.

While Thomas napped, Nolan and I took a break to play some videogames. Then we went back outside to play more in the backyard. We tossed the football and played a little more baseball. Thomas eventually woke up and joined us.

By Sunday night we were all exhausted!

Woohoo!

UPDATE: The teaser trailer for “The Simpsons Movie” has been pulled from YouTube. But here’s a link to the official trailer page on the Quicktime site.

Spring training

A sure sign that spring has sprung…baseball has returned to the Rooney backyard!

Kris glanced out the window today to check on the kids who were playing in the backyard and caught this sight. Apparently Nolan was giving Thomas some pointers on hitting and throwing.

And she says Nolan hit the ball Thomas was about to pitch in this shot. Way to go little sluggers!

Beware the apple bus!

The kids enjoy surfing YouTube with me for funny, kid-friendly video clips.

Their favorite at the moment is “Spider-Man: The Peril of Doc Ock” (see below). It’s basically “Spider-Man 2” condensed down to just under four minutes. Oh yeah, it’s also done completely with Legos. It even includes the sequence where Spidey and Dr. Octopus duke it out on top of a moving commuter train.

The other morning Thomas woke up and came down stairs to fine me sitting at the computer. He crawled up into my lap and asked to see the “apple bus.” I had no idea what he was talking about, but he insisted there was an apple bus video with a train in it.

Somehow I figured out he was talking about the Spider-Man video, although I still didn’t get the apple bus connection.

Then when Doc Ock appeared on screen, with his mechanical arms flailing about, Thomas declared, “He an apple bus!”

That’s when the light bulb went off.

“You mean octopus?” I asked.

“Yeah, apple bus,” he answered.

So without further ado, here’s Spider-Man vs. the evil Dr. Apple Bus…

The more you know...

Hilarious! Check out these April Fool’s Day PSAs from the cast of “The Office.”

UPDATE: Sorry! I just realized now (4/3) that I've had the wrong link for this. It's been corrected!

More map madness

Entertainment Weekly has a nifty interactive analysis of the mysterious "Lost" map.

Thanks, Joe Video, for the link.

Can we see that again?

If any of you Losties would like to get another look at that map that was on back of the blast door that lowered down on top of Locke, here you go (click it for a larger view)...

There are several phrases written Latin. Here they are with translations:

Ut sit magna, tamen certe lenta ira deorum est—The wrath of the gods may be great, but it certainly is slow

Malum consilium quod mutari non potest—It's a bad plan that can't be changed

Sursum corda—Lift up your hearts (to God) (this phrase appears three times)

Credo nos in fluctu eodem esse—I think we're on the same wavelength

Aegrescit medendo—The disease worsens with the treatment. The remedy is worse than the disease (this phrase is written near the two "incidents")

Cogito ergo doleo—I think therefore I hurt

Hic sunt dracones—Here are dragons (In the New York public library sets a small copper sphere known as the Lenox Globe. This 1503 artifact dates back to a time when the world, in its entirety, was yet to be explored. If you look closely at the Eastern coast of Asia near the equatorial line you can find the Latin words, hic sunt dracones, which translates to, here are dragons. These simple, etched words signified the end of "discovered" lands, words warning sailors of the uncertainty and dangers of the unknown. This warning held many a brave man in check but for a select few; it issued a silent challenge to push forward. These men recognized the fact that no true opportunity or progress can come without risk. They were willing to face their dragons.)

These are not all literal translations. When you run some of the phrases through a Latin translator tool online they come out sounding a little like gibberish, but these English phrases are pretty close.

Thanks, Kelly.

Getting paid to talk

I've been taking voice acting classes. Play the audio post to hear all about it...

Suppertime

Okay, there have been requests again for more family photos. So here’s a shot of the Rooney boys sitting around the dinner table together.

Scratch off Sox

Here's an interesting article Shannon brought to my attention. Soon in Massachusetts you will be able to buy Boston Red Sox scratch-off lottery tickets where the top prize is season tickets to Fenway for life.

I immediately told some co-workers about this story, which prompted one fellow Yankee fan to shout out, "That's no prize!"

No, not for Yankee fans. But we may get our chance soon enough. The Red Sox are the first MLB team to strike such a deal with a state lottery commission. However, the article says several other teams--inlcuding the Yanks and Mets--have plans to follow suit.

The Red Sox lottery tickets will sell for $5 and also offer other prizes, like Red Sox cruise packages and jerseys used in games, as well as more traditional prizes of up to $1 million.

'The claw!'

I’m glad neither of my kids have ever done this—although I wouldn’t put it past them to try.

A 3-year-old boy in Minnesota managed to climb inside one of those “claw-grabber” toy machines. Firefighters had to come get the kid out. But he was laughing and having a great time. In fact, he didn’t want to leave.

This isn’t the first time this has happened. A boy got stuck in of these things two years ago in a Wisconsin grocery store and another one worked his way up the toy chute last year in an Indiana Wal-Mart.

Maybe there’s something to this? Lock your kid inside the toy box while you go do your shopping. We could be on to the next big thing!

Juggle Fever

Juggling is one of those skills I always wish I had learned.

I had some friends in high school who were really good jugglers. One of them even carried around a set of bowling pins in his backpack and gave them a toss during free time at school.

My brother learned to juggle in college. I remember him juggling eggs in the kitchen when I was little.

With all that said, enjoy this amazing clip forwarded to us from one of our neighbors…


Not to me outdone, another juggler has copied this routine trick-for-trick—except he uses five balls instead of three!

Links list update

I removed the link to Oh, SmAlbany! from my list on the right side of this site since that blog hasn’t been updated since December and I finally got around to adding a link to Aaron’s blog.

'I married a geek'

The new “Doctor Who” made its American television debut last week. Even though I downloaded all of the episodes last year, I’ve still been watching them on Sci Fi anyway.

Tonight Kris came down to the basement just in time to catch the last five minutes of one of my favorites, “The Unquiet Dead.” As the TARDIS dematerialized at the end of the show Kris said, “This is stupid.”

“This is good stuff,” I countered.

“You’re such a geek,” she told me.

This is news to anyone? I smiled and said, “I’m amazed I convinced you to marry me.”

What did I do after “Doctor Who” was over? I popped in one of my new “Star Trek Fan Collective: Time Travel” DVDs and watched the classic 1967 episode “Tomorrow Is Yesterday.”

I am such a geek.

Survival of the fittest

Wow...we just managed to get through an entire hour of "24" where no one was killed. No bad guys died. No good guys died. Status Quo. When was the last time that happened?

Meanwhile, at least now we know where Desmond ran off to on "Lost." Too bad for him Jack took a page from the IMF playbook. Peter Graves would be proud.

More Cruise vs. 'South Park' news

A follow up to Friday’s post about Tom Cruise vs. “South Park”—here’s the official statement from “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone released Friday through their lawyer:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Scientology, you may have won THIS battle, but the million-year war for Earth has just begun! Temporarily anozinizing our episode will NOT stop us from keeping Thetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies. Curses and drat! You have obstructed us for now, but your feeble bid to save humanity will fail! Hail Xenu!!!

-- Trey Parker and Matt Stone, servants of the dark lord Xenu

For those unfamiliar, Scientologists who have reached the highest level of their church’s teachings are taught, among other things, that human beings are possessed by the souls of dead aliens banished to Earth by a galactic tyrant named Xenu.

Hey, it was a religion founded by science fiction writer after all.

Tom Cruise doesn't want you to read this...

Here’s my little way of sticking it to Tom Cruise.

If you haven’t heard, the word is that Tom Cruise threatened to refuse to do any publicity for this summer’s “Mission: Impossible III” unless Comedy Central pulled a scheduled rerun of the “South Park” episode titled “Trapped in the Closet.”

Viacom controls both Paramount and Comedy Central—and apparently Cruise controls Viacom.

The episode lampoons Scientology and subtlety (or maybe not so subtlety) hints that Cruise is a closet homosexual.

Back in January there was a story that Cruise kept the episode off the air in the U.K. It first aired in the United States in November.

This of course comes just days after Scientologist Isaac Hayes, who voiced the character Chef for nearly a decade, quit the show over the episode (conspiracy nuts think Cruise got to him).

The New York Post says “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who had some critical words for Hayes, have been ordered not to discuss the latest incident with Cruise.

So while he might be able to keep the show off the air, he can’t remove it from everywhere. Here’s a link to the entire episode on YouTube (until the agents of Tom Cruise get to them too). You can also find it on Xenu.net.

Man, this guy gets on my nerves. I recognize this means Cruise might not want to promote “M:I III” on this blog. I think I can live with that.

Mmm...green food...

Happy St. Pat's Day from Bruegger's Bagels!

Coffee cola

I’m currently consuming a free sample of the new Coca-Cola Blak. It’s essentially carbonated coffee, or as Coke describes it:

...a sophisticated, premium blend of Coca-Cola, natural flavors and coffee essence.

My first reaction was that it wasn’t bad—soda with a nice ice coffee flavor. But then the more I drank of it the more I realized that those are really two flavors that probably shouldn’t go together.

I predict a short life for this product. It will eventually go the way of Crystal Pepsi.

Besides, why would you give your beverage a name that’s so close to “Blecch?” That’s just asking for trouble.

Final verdict: it's not awful, but I don't think I'll go out of my way to drink another one.

'Black Velvet Band'

Our Hair of the Dog CD is one of Thomas' favorites...

Here's the scoop...

If you wear green on St. Patrick’s Day (and why wouldn’t you?) make sure to stop into your neighborhood Stewart’s Shop. Everyone who wears green on St. Pat’s Day is entitled to a free ice cream cone!

Stewart’s says they dished out 120,000 free cones to green clad customers last year and they expect to serve up even more this year.

Mmm… Free ice cream…

Emotional time bomb

Last week I boasted to everyone I encountered—friends, family, yes, even total strangers on the street—that last Monday’s double episode of “24” was the best two hours of television I had watched in a long time.

If that’s the case, then tonight was perhaps one of the most depressing hours of TV I’ve watched in a while.

Let’s sum up: it begins as we’re still reeling from the death of loveable lug Edgar (along with about 40 percent of the rest of the CTU staff). Then they pile on with the further degradation of Jack Bauer’s relationship with his daughter Kim, the heroic death of disgraced CTU boss Lynn McGill and that tearjerker final phone call between the doomed security guard and his young daughter. Oh, but wait, we’re not done. If that isn’t enough the show ends with the death Tony “Soul Patch” Almeida.

Not the Soul Patch! Tony was the only other character besides Jack (and Kim) left from season one. You can’t kill the Soul Patch! C’mon! The headline to the LA Times article about the “24” killing spree says it best: “You are killing us!”

Is it any wonder the episode ended with Jack breaking down in tears? If this is the worst day of Jack’s life then this had to be the worst hour of that day. Let’s hope next week he starts working out his grief by doing what he does best—kicking terrorist ass and maybe torturing a few bad guys along the way.

March Madness? Who cares!

I know I may be in the minority here. But I really could care less about March Madness. Seriously, it does absolutely nothing for me.

Granted, it’s a little interesting now that UAlbany has made it the Big Dance for the first time. I guess I’ll root for them Thursday as they get their butts kicked by UConn. But that’s the extent of my interest.

I’ve never been a fan of college sports at all. It’s one thing if I have some sort of connection to a team or I get to go to a game in person. Beyond that, who cares?

People go crazy during March, like the NCAA tournament is the greatest thing in the world. Aaron went so far as to say it’s the greatest tournament in sports.

“Better then the World Series, better then the Super Bowl, better then the Olympics…”

Really? I don’t get it.

I know a lot of you do get it. I know I’ll probably get flamed for this. But I’d rather watch the World Baseball Classic than a bunch of college students playing basketball.

The rest of the story...

Now we know the story behind that live action version of the “Simpsons” intro that spread like wildfire on the Net last week. According to the Hollywood Reporter, it was part of a very clever marketing campaign by British satellite broadcaster BSkyB, which carries new episodes of “The Simpsons” in the U.K.

"If we had only showed it on air, you might turn to someone and say that was really cool," said BSkyB communications director Matthew Anderson. "Putting it online, there's a fantastic discussion between millions of people -- it's bringing the Simpsons to them instead of having them tune in."After less than a week, the video has been viewed millions of times at online video sites like YouTube and Google Video.

Penguin power

Nolan had an entry in the Learning Fair at his school last night. He put together a project called “Penguins Are People Too.”

He cut out pictures of penguins doing various things—like swimming, taking care of babies, sliding on the ice, etc.—and then pasted them on a poster board. Then he had laminated pictures of people doing the same things. People visiting Nolan’s project had to match the pictures of the people to the pictures of the penguins.

He even had hand-outs. Everyone who played his penguin game got to take home a list of the books he used while working on his project.

We were very proud of him. He did great job explaining his project to people and helping other kids match the pictures up. It was pretty impressive for a kindergartener. While lots of kids had projects at the fair, Nolan was one of only two students in his class that took part.

Yoda screen tests

I sat down at the computer with the kids this morning and searched Google Video and You Tube for Muppet clips. Nolan thought this one was particularly silly...

'To seek out new life...'

This is pretty exciting stuff. Scientists may have discovered evidence of water geysers on one of Saturn’s icy moons.

This greatly enhanced and colorized image from the Cassini spacecraft shows a faint plume of ice crystals and water vapor rising hundreds of miles from the surface of Enceladus.

Evidence of water in a liquid form puts Enceladus on the short list f places within the solar system most likely to have extraterrestrial life.

If Enceladus does harbor life, it probably consists of microbes or other primitive organisms capable of living in extreme conditions, scientists say. But hey, we’ve all got to start somewhere, right?

Hey, bartender

A co-worker just told me how she's looking forward to drinking an Irish car bomb to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

"What's an Irish car bomb?" I naively asked.

It's a mixture of Guinness, Bailey’s and Jameson whiskey.

Somehow I've managed to go through life without hearing of this drink. Do I have to turn in my Irish heritage membership card?

I can't say I'm wild about the name, but it sounds delicious!

Muppet personality test

You Are Fozzie Bear

"Wocka! Wocka!" You're the life of the party, and you love making people crack up. If only your routine didn't always bomb! You may find more groans than laughs, but always keep the jokes coming.

The Muppet Personality Test

Audioblog: Testing 1, 2, 3

Track Jack

“24” continues to be—hands down—the most intense, exciting show on television. Last night’s double episode was some of the best TV I’ve watched in a long time!

But if you thought I was a “24” nut—that’s nothing compared to some other fans of the show with too much free time. Check out the “Jack Tracker,” an interactive map showing all the locations Jack Bauer zips around to in Los Angeles as he saves the country from evil terrorists…

The Simpsons LIVE!

I spotted this over the weekend on Lost Remote. I don't know what the history is behind this clip, which depicts a live action version of the "Simpsons" intro, but it's very cool. Click the image to play...

Flashback Friday

Friday night I assisted my boss with videotaping the Niskayuna High School production of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.”

He’s been doing this for several years now. He uses multiple cameras (there were four this year) and a combination of his own mics set up on and around the stage plus the mix from the house audio board. He also shoots some rehearsals and other “bonus features” and puts it all together on DVD.

This was my second year working with him. Last year I was recruited to join his crew taping the school’s production of “Les Miserables.”

It’s always a bit of a trip going back to my old alma mater to see a school musical—quite the walk down memory lane. I of course had the honor of playing Mr. Sowerberry the undertaker in the 1990 production of “Oliver.” I was involved with the Drama Club in other ways through my high school years, but that was my biggest moment on stage.

Here was the real freaky part…at the end of the night we had packed up all of the gear and were ready to load it into his car when he realized he had forgotten one of his mic stands that was set up on the side of the stage. I volunteered to go back and get it. I started walking across the stage to get to the stand that was on the other side when I sort of froze about half way across and looked out into the auditorium. It sunk in that this was a view I hadn’t seen in nearly 16 years.

My boss’ wife was also part of our crew. She commented that it won’t be long before I’ll be going there to watch my kids in one of these musicals. Whatever Nolan and Thomas get into (sports, drama, music, art, etc.) it sure will be great to go see them do there thing in the same halls I once walked.

Poor sports?

All right, George, we get it. You're not happy about the World Baseball Classic. But I think you need to accept that this thing is happening and move on. This sign posted at the entrance to Legends Field in Tampa just seems like sour grapes.

And note the spelling of "Yankess." Ugh.

Personally, I question the time of year they chose for this event, but otherwise I'm excited about it. I watched a couple of innings of China vs. Japan the other morning in the gym (Japan kicked butt).

Mike in the movies

Check it out—I have a famous friend!

Mike Sussman is a fellow PSTVer from the Class of 1994 and the webmaster of PSTVAlumni.com.

Last year Mike appeared as an extra in the new Will Farrell movie “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” in which he does for NASCAR drivers what he did for TV news people in “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy.”

Not only has Mike apparently made the final cut of the movie, he’s actually in the trailer! In the scene pictured here, Mike plays a convenience store clerk in a flashback sequence. That’s young Ricky Bobby taking off in his mom’s station wagon while she’s in the store.

Look for “Talladega Nights” to hit theaters this summer.

'Tis the season

Yippe! One of my favorite signs of spring just sprung. A page just came to my cell phone with the first Yankees game score of spring training.

Granted, the Yanks lost to the Phillies 3-6, but still, baseball scores are always a welcome sight!

D'oh!

Study shows more people know 'The Simpsons' than First Amendment rights
By ANNA JOHNSON Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO (AP) - Americans apparently know more about "The Simpsons" than they do about the First Amendment.

Only one in four Americans can name more than one of the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment (freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and petition for redress of grievances.) But more than half can name at least two members of the cartoon family, according to a survey.

The study by the new McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum found that 22 percent of Americans could name all five Simpson family members, compared with just one in 1,000 people who could name all five First Amendment freedoms.

Joe Madeira, director of exhibitions at the museum, said he was surprised by the results.

"Part of the survey really shows there are misconceptions, and part of our mission is to clear up these misconceptions," said Madeira, whose museum will be dedicated to helping visitors understand the First Amendment when it opens in April. "It means we have our job cut out for us."

The survey found more people could name the three "American Idol" judges than identify three First Amendment rights. They were also more likely to remember popular advertising slogans.

It also showed that people misidentified First Amendment rights. About one in five people thought the right to own a pet was protected, and 38 percent said they believed the right against self-incrimination contained in the Fifth Amendment was a First Amendment right, the survey found.

The telephone survey of 1,000 adults was conducted Jan. 20-22 by the research firm Synovate and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

---
On the Net:
www.freedommuseum.us
www.firstamendmentcenter.org

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Mall madness

Colonie Center is seeking approval for $55 million renovation plan. Among the new restaurants and stores expected to come to mall is an L.L. Bean store. I just called Kris and broke the news to her. Here is her response:

"(GASP!) Really?!? We're gonna go broke!"

Winter wonderland

The boys enjoyed playing out the backyard this afternoon in something we haven’t seen too much of this winter—snow!

After romping around in the snow for awhile they eventually started climbing into the kiddie pool that’s stored away in the back corner of the yard. Thomas kept asking me to put water in it. I tried to explain that there was water, but I don’t think he was counting the snow.

The snow wasn’t all fun and games. We had a little fender bender while we were out and about today. An idiot woman stepped out into the road right in front of us. I hit the brakes and wound up sliding into a gaurdrail. No one was hurt, but the car is a little banged up.

I can’t wait for summer.

Back in black

This was all over the Internet today. So if you’re a geek like me, then you’ve already seen this. But I’m posting it anyway.

This is the first official teaser poster for “Spider-Man 3.” The official movie site stresses that this is not a black and white photo, but rather it shows Tobey Maguire wearing a black Spidey costume.

This of course further fueled the rumors that Topher Grace will be playing Venom in the movie.

Comic book nerds are all excited about this. Personally, as much as I loved Venom when he first appeared in 1988 I’m really not sure he’s a good fit for this film series or that Topher Grace would be the right actor for the part.

I’m also not wild about this teaser poster. If you have to actually explain that it’s not a black and white image, then exactly how effective is it?

Also, I always thought Spidey’s black costume in the comics was kind of cool and I’m disappointed that they’re not sticking to that design.

Still, the first two movies were so good that I’m willing to give Sam Raimi the benefit of the doubt. Surely, he must know what he’s doing, right?

'The constant variety of sport'

Enjoying the Winter Olympics has really made me miss this bit of TV nostalgia.

Quote of the week

"I read somewhere that you said in addition to testing yourself against the best, winning a gold medal and competing in the Olympics would help you get so many babes, which is pretty much what Baron Pierre de Coubertin had in mind when he founded the Olympic Games."
- BOB COSTAS to U.S. Snowboarding gold medalist Shaun White.

Hooray for kindergarten

Nolan reached another scholastic milestone on Friday when he brought home his first report card. He got pretty good marks, so we went out to dinner to celebrate.

Friday was also his 100th day of kindergarten. They had a “100 Day Party” to celebrate. All of the kids in class had to make a poster with 100 things on it. Nolan drew a picture of a fruit basket and glued 100 pieces of Freaky Fruits cereal to it.

Curling crazy

I’m enjoying watching the Olympic curling that’s on live this morning.  I thought about calling Aaron to see if he’s watching, since odds are someone is awake over there.  But then there is also the chance that this is one of the three hours of the day that they’re sleeping, so I don’t want to bother the Hulls!

Olympic oops

I don’t whether to feel bad for Stratton, Vt. native Lindsay Jacobellis or say “serves her right!”

In case you don’t want the details of today’s women’s snowboard cross event I’ve placed the rest of this post in inviso text (highlight to read)…

Lindsay was waaay out in front, cruising to a gold medal when she tired to grab her board on the second to last jump and wound up wiping out. She got back to her feet, but not before Tanja Frieden of Switzerland—who otherwise had no chance of winning the gold—cruised past her for the win. Jacobellis got the silver.

She claims she was not trying to show off, but others insist it was an unnecessary attempt at a hot dog maneuver that cost her.

Walk Like an Egyptian

Ok, "Lost" fans. What do you make of this?

The buzz seems to be that those are Egyptian hieroglyphics meaning "cause to die" or something to that effect.

And how about that soldier-dad from Sayid's flashback? The picture of his daughter looked an awful lot like Kate. Was that her father (who we've seen as an Army recruiter)?

Then there's this site, which, according to the terms and conditions is owned by Disney and therefore we can assume is officially connected to the show. Click on one of the "interface" links and see what you get. Play around a little and you may just learn the meaning of the fabled "Lost" numbers.

The plot thickens...

'What Would Brian Boitano Do?'

Tickled by life, Boitano even enjoys 'South Park' ribbing
Brian Boitano enjoys the cult hero status awarded to him by "South Park."

The former Olympic figure skater turned NBC commentator says he's been approached by kids who have no idea what he did in the Olympics, but think he's cool because he was featured on "South Park."

It seems Boitano may be one of the few celebrities pleased with his dipiction on "South Park" (remember Tom Cruise?). After appearing the original short that started the series, he was featured as the subject of one of the best songs in the movie "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut."

Time shift turmoil

I know a lot of people like to keep themselves in the dark when it comes to Olympic results so they can watch the events in prime time.

But it bugs me when broadcasters try to pretend the events aren’t taped. Specifically, I don’t like when teases for coverage are worded as though something hasn’t happened yet.

For example, MSNBC’s Tucker Carlson just mentioned that “Tonight Courtney Zablocki will try to end the German women’s reign as luge champions” (I’m paraphrasing). Except she won’t be doing that tonight! The event is already over and she didn’t win a medal! I knew that this morning.

Likewise, at noon ET on Friday I head an anchorperson say, “The opening ceremonies are just eight hours away,” when they were more likely one or two hours away.

I understand not wanting to give things away, but acknowledge they’ve already happened.

Maybe I’m just being nitpicky.

Net term goes mainstream

I just saw MSNBC using a big graphics that said “SPOILER ALERT” before giving out results to Olympic events that might be included in NBC’s taped broadcast tonight.

I’ve seen the term “spoiler” tossed around in other places discussing coverage of the Torino Games.

It’s sort of interesting to see what was once an “Internet geek” term become mainstream. The word has been around for about as long as the Internet as a way to warn people when details about a movie or TV show were spilled online. You see it everyday on sites like Ain’t It Cool News.

Deadeye Dick Cheney Gun Club

The folks at CafePress.com waste no time coming up with new T-shirt designs...

Spotted on Lost Remote.

May the Force build with you

Ever since Nolan got his GameCube I think it’s a safe bet his favorite game has been “LEGO Star Wars,” which lets you replay the action from the prequels—except all of the characters, vehicles and environments appear to be made out of LEGOs. He loves the game and I have to admit, I get a pretty big charge out of playing it too.

Now comes good news: LucasArts announced at the American International Toy Fair 2006 that they’re developing “LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy.”

They’re adding a bunch of cool new features that make it sound like this game will be a must have. But it’s not scheduled to come out until 2007. Can’t wait!

Calvin & the Snowmen, part 10

Flashback

I guess this is my week for culture at the theater. After seeing “Phantom” Tuesday today I went to see “8-Track: The Sounds of the 70s” at the Capital Repertory Theater.

Ray and Marlene were supposed to go, but unfortunately Marlene was under the weather—so I go the invite (thanks, Ray).

The show was comprised of four people (two men, two women) dressed in 70s costumes and performing songs from the decade. They packed in a ton of songs. Name a 70s song, it was probably in the show. OR as they say on the Cap Rep site:

From Barry Manilow to Barry White, Marvin Gaye to Melissa Manchester, "Desperado" to "Afternoon Delight," from "Taking It To The Streets," to "One Toke over the Line," and from "Carwash" to "Convoy."

They threw together some interesting medleys that sound odd, but when you see them sung/acted out it makes sense—like “Convoy” and “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.” Or how about the Creature Cantina music from “Star Wars” with a bit of “Bohemian Rhapsody” tossed in.

Songs like “Brick House” brought down the house and, of course, the big disco finale.

It was a fun way to spend an afternoon. Now I’m looking forward to “Walkman: the Sounds of the 80s.”

Tedious in Torino

Is it just me or were these perhaps the lamest Olympic opening ceremonies we’ve seen in a long time?

The performance pieces didn’t grab me (gratnted I did miss a big chunk near the beginning—maybe that's when all the good stuff was).

Why did all of the nations march in to American pop music from the 70s and 80s?

What the hell was Susan Sarandon doing carrying the Olympic flag?

That Yoko Ono poem was just awful—isn’t time for her to go away? Peter Gabriel didn’t do much for me either. Is it just me or is “Imagine” a bit overrated (there, I said it—don’t hate me).

Even the lighting of the cauldron paled in comparison to some of the ones in recent memory.

It all made for pretty ho-hum viewing.

One highlight: the addition of Brian Williams in the broadcast booth with Bob Costas. I'll take him over Katie Couric any day. Brian brings some gravitas to the table. Katie's commentary always makes it feel too much like the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.

The sportscaster and the rabbit

Did you see all of the things NBC Universal was willing give ABC (Disney) in exchange for Al Michaels, who will now do play-by-play on NBC’s Sunday Night Football? Here’s the laundry list (taken from today's edition of “Cynopsis”):

Paired again with John Madden in the NBC booth, Michaels was in effect traded to NBC, and in return for letting him out of the final 8 years on his current ABC contract, NBC came up with a shopping cart of stuff to give ABC. In that shopping cart are the rights for ABC to rebroadcast the Friday coverage of NBC's Ryder Cup coverage for four consecutive championship matchups, broadcast highlights from the upcoming Olympic Winter Games thru the 2012 Summer games, air highlights from a variety of other NBC Sports events including the Kentucky Derby and Notre Dame football games, and finally Disney will get back Oswald, a 1927 cartoon series of 26 episodes created by Walt Disney, to which Universal had the distribution and licensing rights.

Note the last item. “Oswald the Lucky Rabbit” was a character Walt Disney and his animators were contracted to create for Universal Studios. After a falling out, Disney broke off to create his own studio and a new character who looked suspiciously like Oswald, only with round ears.

But Universal retained the rights to Oswald and created more shorts without Disney throughout the 1930s.

The Al Michaels deal gives Disney back the original 26 shorts Walt Disney created. Universal keeps the non-Disney episodes.

Oswald is also credited with being a forerunner of another famous animated character. So in a sense, Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny started as split personalities of one character!

Phenomenal 'Phantom'

At last! After nearly 20 years I’ve finally seen “The Phantom of the Opera.” Kris and I attended the performance tonight at Proctor’s Theatre.

The show was fantastic (or should that be “phantastic?”). The music was great and the performers were awesome. Not to mention, the show is a technical marvel (except for poor Raoul, whose mic was clipped as he was delivering his first lines—the only flaw I could notice in the night).

If you’ve never seen this show before then you should really get yourself down to Proctor’s while you have the chance. You won’t be disappointed.

I’ve been dying to see this show since I was in high school. I fell in love with the music first when we sang it in the high school choir.

I also went with some friends to see a show at Proctor’s called “The Phantom Strikes Again and Again.” Allen Mills performed some of the music on the theater’s famous Wurlitzer organ, “Goldie,” and the then they played the 1925 silent movie version with live organ music. All along a guy in a Phantom costume could be spotted lurking about different parts of the theater.

Even though I never got to see the show, I felt like I knew it well. For various occasions my parents got me as gifts the Broadway soundtrack, the book “The Complete Phantom of the Opera” and the original novel by Gaston Leroux.

I even dressed up as the Phantom for Halloween one year (a pretty good costume if I do say so myself).

Now that I’ve finally seen it I can say that it was well worth the wait—every bit as good as I imagined.

Kris loved it too. She didn’t know that much about the story going into it. She said she could see why I liked it because it was a little “comic booky.” I never thought of it that way, but she may be on to something.

The question remains: which do I prefer, the musical or the classic Lon Chaney movie? Hmm…that’s a tough one. I think the musical gets the edge, but I’ll always have a soft spot for that great silent movie. Chaney is probably the definitive Phantom. It pops on TCM now and then. In fact they have an airing scheduled for March 26—fire up the VCR (or TiVo for those in the 21st century).

Misjudgment

Who says it takes brains to be a judge?

Judge apologizes for Super Bowl cheer
TACOMA, Wash.

The judge who led her courtroom in a Super Bowl cheer before a manslaughter sentencing hearing has apologized.

Judge Beverly Grant had said she was trying to ease tensions Friday when she asked everyone in a Tacoma, Washington courtroom to say "Go Seahawks."

But Grant has drawn heavy criticism, and now says she never meant to hurt anyone's feelings. She's apologized to the victim's family, prosecutors and others in the court.

The case involved a man who was shot in a fight outside a tavern, and Super Bowl Sunday marked the one-year anniversary of his death. The defendant was re-sentenced Friday to more than 13 years in prison.

- - - - - - -
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don't be a drip!

The NFL season may be over, but it's always a good time to enjoy... Terry Tate: Office Linebacker!



Thanks, Alex.

Game time

Not to keep harping on a point I've made here before, but...

I really enjoyed watching a chunk of the first half of the Super Bowl last night with Nolan and Thomas. Nolan was interested. He was asking questions about what was going on and I was explaining the game to him.

With a 6:25 p.m. start time it made it very easy for us to have dinner, clean up in the kitchen and then settle in on the couch in time for the kickoff. We still had a good hour before bedtime (the kids didn't spend that whole hour watching the game—it didn't hold their attention that well).

I'd love to share a World Series game with the boys like that. But thanks to the geniuses at Major League Baseball and Fox you're lucky if the first pitch is thrown before 8:30 p.m.

Why can't MLB get with the program? Couldn't they at least start the weekend World Series games around the same time as the Super Bowl?

A timeless love story

I just spotted this on Lost Remote. Check out the trailer for what is sure to be next year's Oscar darling, "Brokeback to the Future."

It was an experiment in time. The only variable they forgot was love.

15 years together

I didn’t get a chance to mention yesterday, Feb. 4 is the anniversary of when Kris and I started dating.  We’ve been married for 10 years, but we’ve now been a couple for 15!

We celebrated by ordering a feast of Chinese takeout.  It doesn’t get any fancier than that!

Baby news

A big conogratulations go out to my good buddy Aaron Hull and his wife Chris on the birth of their daughter. Charlotte Sandra Hull entered the world at 6:02 p.m. Thursday. Way to go guys!

Thanks for the memories

I'm stealing this from Joe Video's blog, who in turn stole it from someone else's...

Assignment from your English teacher:

If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, (even if we don't speak often or don't really know each other) please post a comment with a COMPLETELY MADE UP AND FICTIONAL memory of you and me. It can be anything you want - good or bad - BUT IT HAS TO BE FAKE. When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people DON'T ACTUALLY remember about you!