Cross country couple

It had been a while since Kris and I had a "date." So this morning we packed up our cross country ski gear, dropped the kids off at my mom's and spent the morning outdoors.

We went to Indian Meadows Park, just up the road from the Glenville YMCA. It was the first time I had been on my skis since before Thomas was born.

Unfortunately, the conditions weren't that great. It was warm yesterday. So a lot of the snow had melted off. When we were out in the open it wasn't too bad. But when the trail took us into the woods the skiing became much worse. There was little snow on the ground. We were basically hiking over roots and rocks with skis on our feet. But it was still fun.

Our car was parked near a small hill. When we got back the car, I decided it would be fun to try to ski down it. There is a very good reason why I don't downhill ski. Everything was fine until I got to a little bump at the bottom. It was quite manageable. But I decided to hot dog it and try to get some air. Instead, I hit the ground...hard. My side still hurts. I think I may have bruised a rib or something!

The plan was to go to the Y after and soak in the hot tub. But the Y was hopping with what appeared to be a swim meet.

So instead we went out for coffee at Samuel's, a nice coffee shop in Alplaus. It was great. We relaxed in some comfy chairs and I did not want to get up when it came time to go.

It was a great morning, bruised rib and all.

Tense negotiations

I'm not a big fan of Seth MacFarlane. As a fan of shows like "The Simpsons" and "South Park," I just don't get "Family Guy." I don't find it funny. And I pride myself on the fact that I've never seen "American Dad."

However, I have to give him a well done on this sketch he wrote, which gives us a peek behind closed doors at negotiations in the writers strike.

Be warned...some language is definitely NSFW.

Under Construction

Here's a view of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 while under construction. This is most likely an image from the teaser trailer for J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek," which will be playing tomorrow before "Cloverfield."

Spidey Split

Allow me to geek out for a moment here...

Marvel Comics has announced their intention to break up the marriage between Spider-Man and his wife of about 21 years, Mary Jane.

It’s been no secret that comic book creators for years now have thought it was a mistake marry these two. Many thought having Peter Parker married to fashion model spoiled a key aspect of the character – that the super hero was really a nerd who had trouble paying the bills and was awkward with girls.

Although I don’t agree with that assessment, I understand where they’re coming from. But the storyline they’ve come up with for ending the marriage is ridiculous!

After Peter Parker's beloved Aunt May was wounded in an attack, Spider-Man and Mary Jane reluctantly struck a deal with the devil-like Mephisto in which he erased everyone's memory of the couple's time together in exchange for May being restored to good health.

Apparently, as much as they don't want a married Spider-Man, they also don't want a divorced Spider-Man. So they came up with this ludicrous story that amounts to what Star Trek fans refer to as "the instant reset button." This is like Bobby Ewing showing up in the shower on "Dallas" -- it was all a dream, it never happened!

I was collecting comics when Spidey and MJ got married. In fact, I actually own two copies of Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21 (it was released with two versions of the cover). At the time I thought it was cool, and I didn’t at all think it took away from that “real life” aspect of the character. If anything it enhanced it, by adding a new source of stress to Peter Parkers life. He now had to hold his marriage together while fighting crime. More importantly, it allowed the characters to grow and evolve.

If you want to read stories about what the character used to be like, isn’t that what the Ultimate Spider-Man series is for? Or can’t readers pick up a back issue or a reprint?

Meanwhile, the AP article I read about this quoted a user on a Marvel message board who summed it all up:

"Considering I have been reading Spider-Man for exactly 20 years now, and that seems to be the amount of time [Editor-in Chief Joe Quesada] has decided to rip from Spider-Man continuity, can I simply return all of my Spider-Man comics for a full refund?"

Woohoo for Hulu

I've been enjoying my Hulu account since I got it about a month ago. If you don't have one yet, you should sign up.

Hulu is the joint online video site from NBC Universal and 20th Century Fox.

Besides having a ton of great TV shows at your disposal to watch in pretty good quality with limited commercials, you can also embed entire shows on your own site or create your own custom clips.

After watching last week's "30 Rock," I had "Midnight Train to Georgia" stuck in my head for a few days. So here's a clip of the Gladys Knight classic, "30 Rock"-style...

Wigglemania

Thomas and Kris had a close encounter with some of the Wiggles friends yesterday.

The Great Escape is adding a Wiggle World section this year. As a promotion, Dorothy the Dinosaur, Wags the Dog, Henry the Octopus and Captain Feathersword arrived at the Albany Airport before heading up to Queensbury. They were greeted by a horde of happy children.

Thomas admired the characters from a distance. Other kids were posing for pictures with the characters, but Thomas chose to enjoy them from afar.

He enjoyed seeing the characters, although he was not fooled by the fake Captain Feathersword. The actor dressed up in that costume was very obviously not the same guy from the Wiggles videos and TV show.

However, word is the real Wiggles will be performing at the Great Escape this summer to help kickoff Wiggle World.

Ad of the week

Placed by an Iowa mom unhappy with her son's behavior...

"OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on the planet."

The Towering Snowman

Kris took the kids outside to play today, but she couldn't get them interested in helping to build this snowman. So she gets all the credit!



At least Nolan enjoyed this tunnel long enough to pose for this photo -- then he ran into the house!

Wokka Wokka

What do you get when mix Roger Clemens, steroids, Pac-Man and a basement full of my nieces and nephews?



This was made during the holiday week and my brother and sister were both visiting for the holidays. These are all of the Rooney grandkids except my niece Meghan and our own kids.

The Not-So Dark Kinght

"Batman Begins" was so good (and I believe "The Dark Knight" will be too) precisely because it was nothing like this...



All the same, you have to admit, that was kind of fun to watch, wasn't?

Indiana Jones and the Vanity Fair Photos

It's been far too long since my last post. The holiday vacation threw off my blogging mojo.

There are plenty of things that have tranpired in the last week and a half worthy of my attention here. I may or may not get to them eventually.

But let's start with what's really important...Vanity Fair has an article on "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" with some nice set pics by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz. Note that familiar looking warehouse in the background of the Shia LeBeouf-Karen Allen shot...





NOTE: It looks like Blogger is having some sort of problem uploading photos. Check back later to see if it's fixed or just follow the link above.

Anticipation

The boys are eagerly awaiting the arrival of you-know-who tonight. First thing this morning we checked in with the NORAD command center to find out where Santa was at that moment...



In other holiday news, Mary Ellen and her family safely arrived Saturday night. It's been so great to see all of them. We've been having so much fun spending time together.

Yesterday we ventured to Syracuse for the day where Kris' sister Kim lives. THeir parents where there too and we had our Christmas with them. It was a really nice visit.

Whoever you're spending your holiday with, have a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas in the 'Burgh

Sometimes I miss life in Plattsburgh. I got a kick out of this holiday e-card from my alma mater.

The end of the road

It's been a long time since I've written about my nephew Patrick. It was way back in the early days of this blog that he first got his leukemia diagnosis, which hit everyone in the family like a ton of bricks.

Now, three years later, Patrick is about to receive his final chemo treatment. If the tests turn out well -- as they are expected to -- he will have officially beaten cancer!

There was a nice article written about Patrick yesterday in his hometown newspaper. That's where I got this picture of him and his mom, my sister Mary Ellen.

Patrick is now a freshman in college and is considering a career in medicine.

He and his family are coming up north for Christmas. We haven't seen him, his brother Philip or his dad Mark in more than three years. So we're all really excited for their visit.

Potter Puppet Pals

I stumbled across this on the Internets and thought it was just too silly not to post here...

Buried alive

After I finished plowing the driveway this morning, I turned on Snowflake, our inflatable snowman (actually, Kris insists it's a snowgirl).

He had some trouble breaking through the snow. I eventually had to clear some snow off so he could spring to life.

At first, only this single mitten clutching a candy cane managed to surface. It looked like some horrible Christmas tragedy had taken place!

It reminded me of the end of "Terminator 2" when Arnold gave a thumbs up as he sank into the pit of molten metal.

The good, the bad and the merry

I love Christmas music of any variety. But there are some holiday tunes I just can’t handle – like anything by the Carpenters. There must be at least three radio stations in the Albany area that play non-stop Christmas music. But as soon as I hear Karen Carpenter’s voice I reach for the tuner. It’s like a reflex.

But there is one song that I think has the indisputable claim to the Worst Holiday Song of All Time title. I was working out the YMCA recently, listening to seasonal songs on the radio, when “The Christmas Shoes” came on. ARRGGHH!!! When you’re exercising you want energetic music that pumps you up. This song makes you want to slit your wrists. I don’t condone censorship, but I’ll make an exception in this case. This song should be banned from the airwaves forever!

I think my favorite Christmas song on the radio right now is Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan performing “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”

Bare Naked Ladies & Sarah Mclachlan - Christmas medley from http://fellowshipofthestrings.vox.com/

One of my all-time favorites is “O Holy Night.” I’m a sucker for any version of it – except Mariah Carey’s. I always worry the glass in the windows is going to shatter when she shrieks the high notes.

On another note, while thinking about Christmas music recently it dawned on me that the ongoing writers strike is going to rob all of us of one of my favorite holiday traditions: the “Late Show with David Letterman” Christmas episode. You can count on this episode every year for three things:

• Paul Shaffer will do his impression of Cher singing the aforementioned “O Holy Night” (“OOOooooo HOOOOooooolllly Night, the stars are brightly shiiiiiiiiining!”).
• Jay Thomas will come out, as he has every year since 1998, and tell his classic Lone Ranger story and then he and Dave will take part in the Late Show Quarterback Challenge (you can read the story and an explanation of the QB Challenge in this recap of last year’s show).
• And last, but certainly not least, the great Darlene Love comes out to blow the lid off the dump with a rousing rendition of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).”

Darlene first performed the song for Letterman in 1986 on “Late Night” on NBC. She appeared on “Late Show” on CBS to do the song in 1994 and has returned every year since (except this year).

Of her 14 Letterman appearances singing this song, I found six on YouTube. I wanted to pick one to post here and narrowed it down to two. When I couldn’t decide further, I figured what the hell, let’s post them both. You decide which one is better.

First up is the 2000 appearance. Darlene is backed up by the Singing Sergeants of the U.S. Air Force and the performance was broadcast live to service members overseas.

Next up is last year’s appearance. This slightly extended version (compared to the other clips I found) is another show-stopper, complete with a sleigh on stage and a brief appearance by Late Show’s Grinder Girl and Hula Hoop Girl.

No joke...it's the 'Dark Knight' trailer

I'm not sure how this will last since it's obviously a bootleg shot off a movie theater screen. The quality is poor. But if you enjoyed "Batman Begins," you won't care -- you'll get a charge out of this...
The Dark Knight

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UPDATE: You can now watch and download a much higher quality version here.

The calm before/after the storm

After a couple of storms that dumped sleet and freezing rain on us, we had our first real snow storm of the season yesterday. It left us with five inches here in town, which Thomas helped clean up this morning.

But this is just the beginning. We're supposed to get hit with a BIG storm Saturday night and into Sunday. One of the weather guys at work even used the word (potential) blizzard when talking to me about it yesterday.

If you were dreaming of a white Christmas, it looks like you'll get your wish.

Yuletide festivities

We had a very festive day on Sunday.

It started with a trip to the Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center. This is a beautiful nature preserve that Kris discovered a few months ago. It was the first time the boys and I had been there.

Every year they have a Yule log celebration to mark the start of winter. Somewhere hidden on the miles of trails on the property was large log with a ribbon tied around it. After receiving a few clues, everyone sets out to see who can find it first.

I got the impression that for most of the people there, this as been a longstanding holiday tradition. As the newbies, we never stood a chance at finding the log. But that’s okay. We still got to go for a nice winter hike.

Later the log was brought back to the cabin we started at where it was burned on the campfire. Inside the cabin there were snacks and crafts for the kids to work on. There was going to be an outdoor treasure hunt too, but we had to leave as that was getting started.

Afterward we went to mom’s house to help her put up her Christmas tree with my sister Annie and her daughters Helen and Olivia.

We usually help mom put her tree up every year. But there was something special about it this year. My sister Mary Ellen, my brother Tim and their families will all be visiting over the holidays. It will be the first in a long time that we’ve all been together at once. So it was fun helping mom get her house ready for everyone to enjoy.

Say cheese

Last weekend our church had a pancake breakfast with Santa and Mrs. Claus. We forgot our camera, but our friend Tina was kind enough to snap this and pass it on.

This picture of Nolan cracks me up because that teeth-gritting smile reminds me so much of my dad. Lately, whenever Nolan poses for a photo, this is how his smile comes out. It’s the exact smile my dad had in every driver’s license or photo ID he ever had.

Obviously, some sort of weird smile gene has been passed down.

Indiana Jones and the Kick Ass Teaser Poster

The first official teaser poster for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" has been released. And it's pretty damn cool!

The art is by Drew Struzan -- a long time favorite of mine and perhaps the greatest movie poster artist of all time.

We should be very close to seeing a trailer for this movie. The film is set to open on May 22. I haven't heard anything about when a trailer will be released, but I've got to think it will be any week now. There probably will be a teaser trailer anytime between now and the end of the year followed by a full trailer in a few months.

Meanwhile, here are some (relatively) new plot tidbits from an article on Sci Fi Wire:

USA Today revealed details about the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which it said is set in Cold War 1957.

Citing co-producer Frank Marshall, the newspaper said the fourth installment in the hit franchise deals with a quest for South American relics with supernatural powers.

Meanwhile, Indy has settled into a quiet life as a professor, the newspaper reported. But once the archaeologist is thrust back into danger, the adventure will take him to New Mexico, Connecticut, Mexico City and the jungles of Peru.

Indy will face off against operatives from the Soviet Union, including Oscar winner Cate Blanchett as the seductive Agent Spalko.

Ray Winstone (Beowulf) co-stars as an unethical rival archaeologist. Shia LaBeouf sports greaser hair and rides a motorcycle as the hero's sidekick.

Crystal Skull will also revisit bits from other films, including Karen Allen's Marion Ravenwood character from 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Marshall added that the artifact of the title is inspired by real quartz sculptures of disputed origins that are carved in a way that defies the natural structure of the crystal.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull opens May 22, 2008.

Too much of a good thing

I love my morning coffee.  Usually I drink one cup in the morning.  Once in a while I'll get an extra cup.  But today I went crazy and had a third cup.

 

The result: caffeine overdose!  I'm feeling quite jittery -- and maybe a little buzzed, if that's possible.

Stop the cuteness!

All of the cute animals on the Internet have decided to stop being adorable as a sign of solidarity with the striking writers...according to the writers of "The Colbert Report," at least.

The joke's on you

Check out the wicked cool poster for "The Dark Night."

I loved "Batman Begins." As big a Tim Burton fan as I am, I think it might have been better than his original film. I can't wait to see the next installment.

Christmasification

The halls are decked, the stockings are hung and the tree is trimmed in our house. We're all ready for Christmas!

We set a new family record yesterday for picking out a tree. We returned to Bob's Trees, where went for the first time last year. After hopping out of the car we all pretty much zeroed in on the same white spruce and agreed it was the one. Within a matter of minutes it was cut down and in the van.

We didn't decorate it until today. Yesterday we just put it up in the stand in the afternoon and strung the lights up after the kids went to bed.

In between we spent some time ringing the bell for the Salvation Army out in front of Price Chopper. This was a Cub Scout activity. We signed up for a four-hour block and got families to commit to spending just one hour standing by the kettle.

It's a really easy thing to do that makes you feel good about helping others. I rang the bell a couple of times a few years ago and have been wanting to do it again ever since. Now we're thinking about making it a family tradition.

'Tis the season for holiday traditions. Hope you and your family enjoy all of yours.

The man with the hat is back...

I am woefully behind in posting these, but alas, it has been another one of those weeks. Anyway, feast your eyes on the first official publicity photos from "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

Holiday kickoff

Another crazy weekend has come to a close.

On Saturday, the Cub Scouts held a pancake breakfast in the morning. Nolan had basketball in the afternoon. Then we bundled up and went the Schenectady Christmas Parade (excuse me, Holiday Parade) with our friends, the Kirsteins, in the evening.

You're probably asking, "Isn't it a little early for a Christmas parade?" That's what we thought too. But once we were there sipping hot cocoa and watching all of the floats and marching bands go by we got into the spirit of it.

Traditionally the parade is on the Friday night after Thanksgiving. But they moved it this year because of a conflict with Proctor's. They've got a big show playing this week and no one wanted a traffic nightmare on what will hopefully be a busy night for the theater.

This was the first time for the kids to see the parade. Since it was on a Saturday this year, they started it a couple of hours earlier than usual. We were still home in time for everyone's usual bedtime.

Speaking of Cub Scouts, I never got around to blogging about the camp out we want on a couple of weeks ago. We stayed overnight at Rotary Scout Reservation out in Poestenkill. This was the first time Nolan and I stayed overnight on this trip. Last year we just went for the day.

Once again, launching model rockets was the big activity. The night before, the kids occupied themselves by poking the fire with sticks and running around like crazy people in the cabin. You know, boys will be boys and all that. Actually, the highlight for me was watching Nolan sit down by the fire and read aloud to some of his friends from a book of scary stories he had. That was very cool.

Here are some photos from the excursion...

Your overdue moment of zen

Last week the writers of "The Office" took their case to YouTube. Now "The Daily Show" reports (sort of) from the WGA picket line...

Trek tunes

From the Too Much Free Time Dept. Thanks to Shannon for passing this one along...

What could have been

MSNBC.com recently launched their latest redesign. For an intersting look at the creative process and what might have been, their designers have posted screen shots of some of the designs they didn't use.

This one is my favorite, just for the slogan. Look closely under the MSNBC logo and you'll see that it says "Now with more cow bell!"

Welcome, Jack. You've Got Mail.

While you're waiting for the writers strike to end, here's some new "24" to enjoy. If you thought Jack Bauer had a tough job now, imagine what it was like in 1994...

'The Office' is closed (and other strike news)

Watching this week's episode of "The Office," I was thrilled to hear there is a Dunder Mifflin branch right here in Albany (not to mention the office in nearby Utica seen last week). Now I know where to go for all of my paper product needs!

Unfortunately, the folks from Dunder Mifflin won't be around much longer. Production on the show has shut down due to the Writers Guild of America strike. I believe next week's episode will be the last original episode and then the show will go back into reruns until the strike is settled.

In this video, some of the show's writing staff -- many of whom are also cast members -- outline their case. I first saw this a couple of days ago and wanted to post it then. Alas, it's been a busy week and now this clip has spread everywhere. You've probably seen it by now. If not, here it is...



In the meantime, we've finally learned what it takes to stop Jack Bauer -- a WGA strike. Remember that "24" trailer I posted? Enjoy that, because it's all the "24" we'll get for a while. Fox has pulled the planned January season premiere from their schedule -- delaying the show indefinitely. They want to wait until they're sure they can run all 24 episodes in Day 7 consecutively.

I fear the strike is also going to doom the new "Star Trek" movie, which began shooting this week. Director/producer/writer J.J. Abrams agreed to start production on schedule, but is refusing to take part in any rewrites along the way. So if a scene isn't working out as well as it seemed on paper, they're stuck with it. Actually, I'm sure someone will do the script tinkering, but it probably won't be any of the original writers who worked on the script, but rather some studio hack.

Campaigning for free stuff

If you're like me, you hate seeing politcal campaign signs around days and weeks after the election is over.

Rick Lamparelli, the owner of Garcia's Mexican Restaurant, doesn't like seeing them either. So until Nov. 16 you can bring in a campaign sign and exchange it for a free appetizer!

MMmmm...bipartisan nachos...

Where are the flying cars?!?

It's the 21st century. Where are the flying cars? I was promised flying cars!


Mean Automakers Dash Nation's Hope For Flying Cars

Trick-or-Treat

Here's another Halloween photo Kris wanted me to add. Our next door neighbors took this one when we stopped by their house...

'Yeah, it's my house'

I missed Barry Bonds' interview with Kieth Olberman on MSNBC last night, but I read about it this morning on ESPN.com.

In case you didn't realize, he's an incredibly arrogant SOB.

The haul

Here's a couple of happy trick-or-treaters...



A very long and busy Halloween has come to an end. The kids are now in bed and the doorbell hasn't rung in a while.

Everybody had a good day. Here's some shots of the kids in costume at Nolan's school earlier. Thomas was Superman and Nolan was a ghost...

The logic of truthiness

Check it out...I made it on the Stephen Colbert blog, Colbert Nation! They challenged fans to attach Stephen's face to someone else's head. My entry got posted today.

Although, it's actually not very good. If I had it to do over again, I think I see ways now that I could make it much better.

But it's still cool that they posted it anyway.

Dog's shot is worse than his bite

"Dog bites man" might not be news, but what about "dog shoots man?"

Might as well 'Jump'...off a cliff

You know how when you drive by a car wreck, you just can't help but slow down and gawk at it? Well, if you'd like to see a wreck in progress, check out this clip from Van Halen's current tour...



For an in-depth discussion of what might have gone wrong, check out EW's Pop Watch blog.

Free tacos!

The never-ending quest for free stuff continues...get your free taco tomorrow at Taco Bell between 2 and 5 p.m.

They promised to give away free tacos if there was a stolen base during the World Series. They called the promotion "Steal a Base. Steal a Taco."

The Bronx is Burning

It’s a turbulent time in the Bronx.

The good news, it looks like Joe Girardi is going to be the next manager of the Yankees. He’s the guy I’ve been hoping would land the position…



Of course, it will be weird not having Joe Torre in the dugout, no matter who winds up with the job. I’d love to see Torre’s No. 6 retired (do they retire numbers for managers?), but after they way his exit was handled, I’m not holding my breath.

The bad news is the apparent departure of Alex Rodriguez. I can’t say I’m surprised that he’s opting out of his contract, but I’m certainly disappointed. He had his ups and downs in New York and it took a while for many fans to accept him. But I was always rooting for him to succeed, to prove his worth and shut up the Yankee-haters.

I think A-Rod certainly earned his stripes this year when he put up amazing numbers and helped drag the Yankees out of the cellar. Who wouldn’t want him back? It became apparent this year that if he remains healthy, Barry Bonds won’t be the home run king for long. I would have loved to have seen him break that record in a Yankee uniform. Oh well, that's me -- the eternal optimist.

BTW, it was not cool at all for his agent to try to upstage the World Series by making the announcement A-Rod was opting out of his contrat during Game 4. I understand he wants to get as much attention for his client as possible, but c'mon. Taking the focus off the game on the field is pretty low class.

Now we’ll have to wait and see what becomes of Jorge Posada, Andy Petite and Mariano Rivera. Next year, it’s going to be a whole new ball game.

SIDE NOTE: How cool is it that you can now embed ESPN video?!?

Just Joshin'

Terry Francona Announces Josh Beckett Will Start Games 1, 4, 7, 2, 6, 3, 5

BOSTON—Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona announced Tuesday that the Colorado Rockies would receive a healthy dose of pitcher Josh Becket...

And on the 7th day...

Behold, the return of the Soul Patch! Here's the trailer for the seventh season of "24."

If you prefer, there is a better quality version here.



Here's a brief description of the plotline...

24 is back, unlike ever before. Set in Washington, DC, “Day 7” opens with CTU dismantled and JACK BAUER (Kiefer Sutherland) on trial. Bauer’s day takes an unexpected turn when former colleague TONY ALMEIDA (Carlos Bernard) returns. Meanwhile, President ALLISON TAYLOR (Cherry Jones) leads the country alongside White House Chief of Staff ETHAN KANIN (Bob Gunton) and First Gentleman HENRY TAYLOR (Colm Feore).

A national security crisis prompts an investigation by a team of FBI agents including Agent JANIS GOLD (Janeane Garofalo), Agent RENEE WALKER (Annie Wersching), Agent LARRY MOSS (Jeffrey Nordling), Agent SEAN HILLINGER (Rhys Coiro) and security specialist MICHAEL LATHAM (John Billingsley). Although CTU is no longer, CHLOE O’BRIAN (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and BILL BUCHANAN (James Morrison) are back for another momentous day of shocking events.

Scoopin' out the pumpkin guts

Here's the follow-up to our pumpkin picking excursion from a couple of weeks ago. Kris helped the kids carve their Jack-O-Lanterns today...

The five & dime

Doctor Who fans have something to look forward to. The BBC has finally confirmed a rumor that's been floating around for a while now. Peter Davison, who played the fifth Doctor from 1982-1984, will reprise his role opposite David Tennant's 10th Doctor.

The two Doctors will pair up for a special mini-episode that will air as part of the BBC's annual Children in Need telethon next month. The episode is titled "Time Crash" and will be written by none other than Steven Moffat, who has written some of the very best episodes of the new "Doctor Who" show.

I was a big fan of Davison's Doctor. So it will be cool to see him back.

Meanwhile, the BBC has not confirmed the rumor that Sylvester McCoy will also be popping up as the seventh Doctor. Time will tell.

Sick day

I was out sick from work yesterday with some sort of dreaded intestinal bug (you don’t want to know). I spent most of the day in bed feeling useless – and watching a lot of TV.

I caught Drew Carey as the new host of “The Price is Right” for the first time. He seemed pretty rusty. The highlight was when a contestant called him “Bob.”

I also got to watch “Psycho” in the middle of the afternoon. I always enjoy that movie. I love Hitchcock’s less is more approach compared to most modern slasher flicks. It’s what you don’t see that’s most scary!

The end of an era

BREAKING NEWS: The Associated Press and ESPN report Joe Torre rejected a $5 million, one-year contract to return as manager of the New York Yankees on Thursday.

Manny keeps on being Manny

With the Red Sox one game away from losing the ALCS, here's what Boston outfielder Manny Ramirez has to say about the possibility of elimination:

"It doesn't happen, so who cares? There's always next year. It's not like it's the end of the world."

So Sox fans, are you outraged? Or are you just shrugging this off as "Manny being Manny?"

Personally, I would find a public somment like that unacceptable.

It was the hot topic on Mike & Mike this morning, with lots of people chiming in. Reggie Jackson didn't have a problem with it. Wade Boggs hopes the team pulled him aside to give him talking to.

Mapping America's pastime

I saw this on Mike Sussman's blog and thought it was just too good to pass up. He found it here.

Thoughtful Analysis of Decision 2008

Poll: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters

A Night With Frog and Toad

Nolan has been waiting for today for a while now. Right now, he and Kris are at Proctor’s to see a production of “A Year with Frog and Toad.”

Nolan loves Frog and Toad. When he was a baby a friend of Kris' family gave us “The Frog and Toad Treasury,” which includes three of the Frog and Toad books. It sat on a shelf for several years until he got into first grade last year and his reading really took off. He picked it up one day and could not put it down. It was the first book he ever read on his own and really, truly loved.

Since then he’s been an avid reader and has read lots and lots of books. But I believe he’ll always have a special place for Frog and Toad.

So when we heard this Broadway version of Frog and Toad was coming to town, we knew he’d love it. He’s been excited ever since Kris surprised him with the tickets last week.

I’m anxious to get his review of the show.



By the way, Arnold Lobel, the man who wrote and illustrated the Frog and Toad books in the 1970s was from Schenectady!

UPDATE: Nolan loved the show! Kris says he laughed through the whole thing and it sounds like all of his favorite parts from the books were in there. I'm really glad he got to go.

McDelicious

I Just finished eating the first Sausage Egg McMuffin I've had in a long time. It was soooo good. I could taste how unhealthy it was with every bite. To think, there was a point when I used to eat one of those every day!

I got my free McMuffin courtesry of the McDonald's Monopoly game. Nolan is holding out hope we'll win big money so he can get a Wii. But if you ask me, I already hit the jackpot (I'm so easy to please).

Autumn activities

I’ve been very negligent in keeping up with the latest Rooney news here on the blog. Lately life has just been too busy to do all the blogging I’d like to do.

Anyway, here are some highlights I’ve been meaning to post for a week now of our pumpkin picking excursion at the Pick a Pumpkin Pumpkin Patch in Schoharie. This place is great, with all sorts of fun activities besides just pumpkin picking. We spent more than two hours hanging out there enjoying the beautiful weather. It was sunny and in the 80s that day.



Meanwhile, Cub Scouts is now in full swing. Today we attended the annual Cub Scout Fall Family Fun Day at Camp Boyhaven. Nolan took his first crack at archery, which was pretty cool. But I think his favorite part was the kickball game with all of the other scouts.



I’ll try to do a better job of keeping up with things.

First down

I took Nolan to see his first football game tonight at the high school. Colonie clobbered Niskayuna. It was 34-0 when we left in the third quarter.

But he still had a good time. It was all very exciting for him. And it helped that he bumped into a few classmates and that a local car dealership was handing out free mini footballs.

Also, Time Warner Cable was carrying the game live. So Kris got to see us on TV during one of the crowd shots.

I should also add that it was a little strange seeing all of the people wearing shorts and T-shirts to a nighttime football game in October. But I'm not complaining!

Fall TV

Here are some thoughts on some of the new and returning shows I’ve sampled so far this fall…

Chuck
I took advantage of NBC’s free download of this show’s pilot episode and watched it before it hit TV. I enjoyed it – just the right mix of comedy, action and sci-fi. And of course, there is plenty of geek humor. I was walking around for a couple of days with Prince’s “Batdance” in my head. I haven’t seen the second episode yet, but I plan to catch it online.

Heroes
I’m still waiting for this show to heat back up. I thought the first two episodes were a little blah. It started like this last year and built slowly, but that was ok then because it was new. Now we know all of these characters. So we want to see them actually doing something worthwhile. After a few episodes last year, they were already building on the whole “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World” storyline, which reached its crescendo in November. So maybe there will be something big coming soon this year. I’m still waiting for Uhura to show up. And do you really think Hiro’s father is dead? Me neither.

Journeyman
The jury is still out on this one. I thought the pilot was a little interesting. I skipped the second one, but I haven’t given up on the show altogether. I may stick around to see where it’s going.

House
Dr. Gregory House remains one of the best characters on TV. Although I can’t figure out how they’re going to work Foreman, Chase and Cameron back into the show as regulars. Presumably that’s coming since their names still appear in the opening credits each week. If not handled properly, their return could be a jump-the-shark moment. In the meantime, it’s fun to watch House try to pick a new team. And I welcome the addition of Kal Penn as a series regular.

Law & Order: SVU
A few weeks ago, Entertainment Weekly’s PopWatch blog wondered how this show had become “especially heinous.” I’ve always enjoyed “SVU” (not to mention original recipe “L&O” – I never got into “L&O: Criminal Intent”), but perhaps EW is on to something. The season premiere, with a phony psycho Cynthia Nixon, was pretty good. But this past week’s show that revolved around a spoof of Second Life was way over the top.

Back to You
Generally I can’t stand movies and TV shows about TV news. They feed into every stereotype about the business and are completely unreal (I’m sure doctors hate “ER” and lawyers probably can’t stand “Boston Legal”). But I like Kelsey Grammar and Patricia Heaton. Also, I read an article where several news anchors from Pittsburgh (where the show takes place) sat down together to watch the pilot and offer their reviews. They didn’t hate it – some actually liked it. So I decided to check it out. I need to trust my gut on these things. This show is AWFUL!

Pushing Daisies
Here’s my most pleasant surprise so far this year. I had heard the title tossed around and heard some people saying it was supposed to be a good show. But I wasn’t really paying attention and had no idea what it was about. Last night I stumbled across it while flipping channels and was hooked! It has a delightful “Tim Burtonish” quality (although the episode was actually directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, who was behind the camera for the “Men In Black” and “Addams Family” movies). It’s possibly one of the most original shows I’ve seen on TV in a while.

Bionic Woman
I mentioned here how I got an early look at this show. I watched the pilot again with Kris when it came on TV. The early version I saw was a little different. Mainly, the character of Becca, Jaime’s kid sister, had been re-cast. In the early version, besides being played by a different actress, Becca was also deaf. I thought that could have been an interesting angle down the road (why can’t she get her ears repaired?), but I guess the powers that be felt like going in a different direction. While the early version moved right along and held my interest, it felt like it was dragging a little with commercials added in. Seeing it for the first time, Kris made two observations. “How long until this chick is selling us Sleep Number beds?” she wondered. Later, when Jaime and fellow bionic babe Sarah Corvus were duking it out in the rain, Kris rolled her eyes declared that the show was so obviously made for men.

Life
I watched the first 10 minutes of the first episode, but it didn’t hold my interest. On Wednesdays at 10 p.m. I’ll probably either be watching “South Park” or going to bed early.

NBC Thursday Night Line-up
I still enjoy “My Name Is Earl.” “The Office” remains the best comedy on television – hands down! I’m anxious for tonight’s premiere of “30 Rock” and the eventual return of “Scrubs.” However, can someone explain to me why I’m still watching “ER?” It remains one of Kris’ favorite shows, but for the last few years I think I’ve just been watching it out of habit. I find very few of the characters to be likable – particularly those played by John Stamos and new addition Stanley Tucci. When they butt heads it’s hard to care since I don’t feel like rooting for either of them. The glory days of George Clooney and Anthony Edwards are long gone. I think the breaking point had to be when they dropped the helicopter on Dr. Romano. The Army tank rolling down the street a few years ago was pretty dumb too.

So there’s my viewing summary so far. What’s caught your interest on TV?

Pre-Post Season

What an interesting Major League Baseball it turned out to be.

I was pretty silent during the most of the season – mainly because for a while, as a Yankee fan, there wasn’t much to write about. I admit, at one point I was one of the naysayers ready to stick a fork in them. I know the ride can’t last forever.

But boy, did they turn things around. It’s very impressive to come back from a 14-game deficit and wind up with a post-season berth. I’d like to go on record now as saying that whatever happens next, I won’t count this season as a disappointment.

That said, a 27th World Series title sure will make it all the more enjoyable!

Gametime tonight is 6:37 p.m.

Turn Off 13...for now

As a rule, I generally avoid writing about work here. But those of you who read the paper here in town know what's going on.

The contract between our union, NABET-CWA Local 21, and WNYT expired at 12:01 a.m. Oct. 1.

Take a moment to visit www.turnoff13.com to learn more about the company's unreasonable demands.

The video below was shot as members of the union gathered outside the station at the contract deadline.

The top man's office

Ain't It Cool News has a real juicy tidbit today about "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." Suffice it to say, it involves one of my favorite screen images in the history of movies.

I agree with Moriarty at AICN. The more I hear about Indy IV, the less skpetical I am and the more excited I get!

Test driving Utterz

This mobile post was sent by Roon using Utterz.

Survivor: MLB

Who made the greatest post-season play in baseball history? The tribal council has spoken...

Arrr!

I completely forgot last high tide' be Talk Like a Pirate Day (thanks fer th' reminder Sweetpea, er, I mean "Iron Man")! So I be playin' catch-up today. Here`s me seafarin' hearty name...

My pirate name is:

Mad Harry Rackham

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!
Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Take off, hoser

How long until we see something like this tested on MythBusters?


Firemen Lift Car With Hose Water - Watch more free videos

Enjoying the view

Whether you're a NASA buff or not, you've got to check out these pictures from the last shuttle mission. I'm not 100 percent sure if they're legit. But either way -- they're amazing!

Classic TV?

Nation Suddenly Feels Old After Seeing Nick-At-Nite Lineup

SCHAUMBURG, IL—The American people were thrust into a profound existential crisis Sunday after noticing that nostalgia-programming...

Armor up!

The "Iron Man" teaser trailer has arrived!

I had a YouTube version the foootage shown at Comic-Con posted here for about a day last month before Paramount had it yanked.

This new trailer is very similar to that. It's not quite as long and is missing some cool stuff -- but at least you can watch it in glorious HD Quicktime.

Enjoy some shots of ol' shell head in action while rocking out to Black Sabbath!

Sign of the times

The kids have enjoyed watching some of the classic Looney Tunes cartoons on YouTube. So over the weekend we went to the library and picked up "Space Jam," the 1996 movie where Michael Jordan teams up with the Looney Tunes gang.

Nolan was already familiar with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd. But he admitted that there were a lot of other Looney Tunes he wasn't familiar with -- like Porky Pig. He hadn't ever seen him before.

Then the Road Runner showed up. Here was a character Nolan knew. He shouted, "Look! It's the Time Warner Cable guy!"

Keeping busy

We had a very full weekend. It started with an ice cream social at Nolan’s school Friday night. Since Kris is now on the PTO board, she had to work at it. Meanwhile, the kids had fun running around on the playground all night long.

Saturday morning Thomas and I went to a special screening of a Thomas the Tank Engine movie at Crossgates. It was billed as “Thomas & Friends on the Big Screen.” But you could tell it was probably just a DVD being put on the screen with a video projector. Every kid got a $5 Wal-Mart gift card. So we headed over there right after the movie to blow that.

Later that afternoon we attended my union’s annual clambake. After 13 years this was the first time we ever went. I don’t know why we never went before, but we’ll be going again next year. There was lots of good food and Nolan had fun in the bouncy bounce despite the fact it was raining and he got soaked.

I’ve mentioned before our family hobby of Letterboxing. We’ve found more than two dozen letterboxes so far. But now for the first time we’ve planted one of our own (I can’t tell you where – it’s a secret!). I carved a handmade stamp for it and then we packed it all up Saturday afternoon. Then we planted it Sunday morning after church and listed it online. Less than 24 hours later, someone had already gone to find it!

Sunday afternoon we attended our parish picnic, which was lots of fun despite a little bit of rain. Once again there was lots of good food -- and once again I ate far too much of it.

Somewhere in there I managed to watch a little bit of football and baseball.

It doesn’t stop there. We’ve got a busy week ahead of us. Either Kris or I have a meeting of some sort almost every night this week.

Never a dull moment!

Indiana Jones and the Official Movie Title

So much for "The City of Gods."

Last night during the MTV Video Music Awards, Indy IV co-star Shia LeBeouf announced (and IndianaJones.com later confirmed) that that new movie will officially be titled "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."


That's a mouthful. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for a trailer by the holidays, if not sooner.

'The Most Wonderful Time of the Year'

I swear to God, Kris was practically dancing around like this when the kids went to bed tonight...

Raiders of the Lost Change Jar

An e-mail conversation with Shannon this morning about Foxtrot, Indiana Jones and the Fairly OddParents led to me reminiscing about this classic Simpsons clip...