Going, going, gone!

It's official. I hate driving my car. Every time my foot touches the accelerator I feel like I'm flushing money away!

At last! The full Indy trailer!

Remember that "Indiana Jones" TV spot I posted yesterday? Forget about it. This is better.

I suppose my biggest disappointment about "Iron Man" was that I thought for sure there would be a new "Indiana Jones" trailer attached to the front of it (they're both being released by Paramount).

Alas, there was no new Indy trailer on the big screen last night, but there is one on the Internet today. It's pretty poor quality -- obviously a bootleg. But it's cool nonetheless. I'm sure there will be an official version coming in the next the few days...

Iron-clad hit

I saw a sneak preview of “Iron Man” tonight, which I thought was an absolutely great superhero flick.

They did a really great job updating the story. Tony Stark’s company is the leading weapons contractor for the U.S. military. But during a trip to Afghanistan he’s captured by terrorists using weapons he designed. While in captivity he builds his first suit of armor to help him escape.

Upon returning home, Stark – who once reveled in being nicknamed “the merchant of death” – seeks a new direction for himself and his company. Privately he begins to perfect his armor suit to help him protect the little guy, while publicly announcing his company is getting out of the war business.

But in the process, Stark develops enemies left and right who try to co-opt his inventions for their own devious purposes.

“Iron Man” ranks right up there with the “Spider-Man” movies (at least the first two). The Spidey films benefited from the fact that director Sam Raimi is a lifelong Spider-Man fan. I think it shows in “Iron Man” that director Jon Favreau is great big comic book geek at heart too with a real appreciation for the source material.

I can’t say enough about the cast. Robert Downey Jr. is the perfect Tony Stark. He owns the character. Gwyneth Paltrow is enjoyable as well as Stark’s loyal assistant Pepper Potts. Rounding out the cast is Terrence Howard as Stark’s close friend James “Rhodey” Rhodes and Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane.

Also worth noting is the fact that this is the first movie released under the new Marvel Studios banner. Now that Marvel is producing their own movies, that opens up the possibility for potential character crossovers down the road – and it appears some seeds are being planted this summer. Look for S.H.I.E.L.D. to play a key role in the storyline, references to the Avengers’ butler Jarvis and a brief nod toward “Iron Man” spin-off “War Machine.” Meanwhile, there is word Robert Downey Jr. will making a cameo as Tony Stark next month in “The Incredible Hulk,” which is said to also feature S.H.I.E.L.D. and a possible reference to Capitan America’s super soldier serum.

It’s been a great run for Marvel Comics fans at the movies. “Iron Man” keeps it going and shows that there is still more to come. They can’t make a sequel fast enough!

Sky high...

...the price of gas that is. The Stewart's in Rexford was asking for $3.75 for a gallon of regular unleaded this morning. Most of the other stations I saw in my travels this morning were only a few cents cheaper. The cheapest I saw was $3.71.

A few weeks ago I made the conscious effort to start driving the speed limit. It was quite uncomfortable at first, as I was used to driving five to 10 mph over the limit at most times. But driving a little slower is starting come easier.

And it works too. Since I started slowing down, I've definitely noticed that I'm stretching the time between fill-ups. That's a good thing, because every time pass a gas station a little wave of depression washes over me.

So what are some of the things you're doing to ease the pain at the pump?

The Indy countdown continues

As I look forward to attending a sneak preview of "Iron Man" tonight, I thought I'd pass along this new "Indiana Jones" TV spot that I just saw for the first time. It offers a few glimpses at some new material we haven't seen before.



Way cool!

At the movies

As promised, here is a list of the Summer 2008 movies I’m most looking forward to seeing.

Realize that I’ll probably actually get to see very few of these, and those I do see will likely be on DVD, VOD or regular old TV. Heck, I still haven’t seen all of the movies from last year that I wanted to see!

Anyway, here we go…

“Iron Man” (May 2) – I’ve written a lot about this movie already here on the blog. As I’ve said before, in my comic book collecting days I was never a big Iron Man fan per se. But I was a huge Marvel Comics fan, and Iron Man is a major player in the Marvel Universe. It looks like they’ve done a great job with this movie and I’m very anxious to see it.

“Speed Racer” (May 9) – I wasn’t a huge fan of the cartoon, but I do remember watching it a few times as a youngster and I appreciate it for it’s pop culture status and the role it played in introducing Japanese anime to the United States. Plus, it looks cool and the kids are dying to see it. I’m pleased to see Hollywood actually releasing a live action PG movie that it looks like kids and adults can both enjoy. As a parent, I’m still peeved that “Transformers” was PG-13.

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (May 22) – ‘Nuff said. This one is the big enchilada. My must-see movie event of the year (or should that be decade?).

“The Incredible Hulk” (June 13) – Up until recently, there hasn’t been nearly as much written about this movie compared to “Iron Man” and I don’t think I’ve even mentioned it here yet. There was a trailer released a few weeks ago and I really wasn’t sure what to make of it. Parts of it seemed good, but the CGI looked a little goofy. But there is a lot about this movie that I find intriguing – mainly the notion of it essentially being a “do-over” after 2003’s disappointing “Hulk” movie. And as mentioned, I’m a Marvel fan so it’s my duty to want to see any Marvel movie.

“Get Smart” (June 20) – I loved the old TV show. The new movie has a great cast (Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin, The Rock). Let’s hope they don’t screw it up.

“Wall-E” (June 27) – I’ve never seen a Pixar movie I didn’t like. They’re always fun for the whole family.

“The Dark Knight” (July 18) – I didn’t see “Batman Begins” until long after it was released on DVD, but I thought it was fantastic. I’m a Tim Burton fan, but this was better than his take on Batman. It’s become one of those movies I have to stop and watch whenever I stumble upon it while flipping channels. I can’t wait to see the next installment.

“The X-Files: I Want to Believe” (July 25) – I’m not sure if they can pull it off, but I hope this movie is great if only so it can erase the bad taste the last episode (make that the last several episodes) left in my mouth.

Looking a little further down the road, here are some movies from later in 2008 that are also on my want to see list…

“Quantum of Solace” (Nov. 7) – See what I wrote above for “The Dark Knight” and substitute “James Bond” for “Batman.” I actually enojyed the Pierce Brosnan movies for the most part, but there is no disputing “Casino Royale” was the best Bond flick in ages.


“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (Nov. 21) – We just got around to watching “Order of the Phoenix” last week, which was decent, although not my favorite Harry Potter movie. “Half-Blood Prince” was one of the most important books in the series, but arguably had the least action. Still, I’m really anxious to see how it translates to the screen.

Club Mom

Chris and I had an interesting conversation yesterday that seemed blog-worthy. Normally I comment on our All Aboard the Rooney Train site, but people seem more opinionated here. And I'm curious what everybody might think of this idea.

It seems like kids today are in a gizzillion clubs or sports or whatever. It is really easy to over-schedule your kids. I think Chris and I are in the minority when we try to limit the amount our kids do so we have more family time, or time for them just to be kids. Gone are the days when neighborhood kids just gather together to play and moms whistle them home. We have to schedule play dates or enroll them in something for them to see their friends.

The funny thing is, it feels like this is applying to the parents now too! Nobody just stops over at our house to say hi. I was talking to a friend yesterday (at a schedule play date) that I've been a hermit lately and miss talking to other grown-ups (except poor Chris--I talk his ear off). So she asked me if I wanted to go to her book group (ugh-another night out to talk about books I don't want to read) or if I wanted to come back to the running group (which meets at 5:30am. Who voluntarily wants to get up at that hour??). Again, I have to join a group so I can have friends? What is up with that?

Is it just me or is this an epidemic? There's no time to talk on the phone so we email (or blog). It's no longer socially correct to just pop in to someone's house, and odds are that they aren't home because they're with their "group" anyway. Can't friends just get together anymore? Please let me know-is it just me?

This is also our invitation--we welcome people that just drop by. Our house might be a mess and the dog might run you over, but you are always welcome.

IndyFest rides again?

Since the release of the "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" trailer back in February, a few people have asked me if there would be another IndyFest. I honestly had not planned on it, but since it's come up a few times, should I consider it?

I don't think there will be another IndyFest (as if there ever could be) for a variety of reasons. But it's nice to know that people still have fond memories of it 19 years later.

I dug this picture up in a photo album at mom's house a few weeks ago. Don't see yourself? Check out the other pictures I uploaded to Facebook.

MILF Island: the T-shirt!

The must-have T-shirt of the summer of 2008 is now on sale at the NBC store.

Show how much you love the newest (un)reality TV sensation: "MILF Island: 25 super-hot moms, 50 eighth grade boys and no rules..."

Green ice cream

In honor of our recent trip to the Ben & Jerry's Factory and Earth Day, here's an Eco Biz report on Ben & Jerry's...



I also post this because I dig Alison Stewart and miss her show on MSNBC.

Way to go, Tim!

Congrats to my brother Tim, who ran his (I think) 10th Boston Marathon today. His official time was 3:27:51 -- well under the 3:35:00 he needed to qualify for next year.

Great job, Tim!

Coming soon

I know I'm guilty of getting a little too excited over movie trailers (for films I often don't even get to see). Fortunately, the Onion is here to remind us all about the "big picture..."


Wildly Popular 'Iron Man' Trailer To Be Adapted Into Full-Length Film

Good luck charm

Yankees Bury Bernie Williams Under New Stadium For Good Luck

NEW YORK—Citing a need for physical and spiritual cleansing after a Boston Red Sox fan entombed a David Ortiz jersey in the floor of the new facility, the New York Yankees buried former centerfielder Bernie Williams under 4,650 pounds of...

Back from Burlington

We're catching our breath after a whirlwind of family activity.

It started last week with Thomas' birthday, which we celebrated twice. The first was on Thursday, the day of his actual birthday. We had family over dinner -- including my mom, my sister Annie and her family, and my sister Mary Ellen who was up visiting from Kentucky. Then on Saturday we had his kid party with some of his pre-school classmates.

I still can't believe he's 5 years old. In a lot of ways he's still a little pipsqueek, but the time is going by fast!

Sunday we left for Burlington. As Kris pointed out, we were probably the only ones who went north for spring break. We visited the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory, ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center, the Lake Champlain Chocolate Factory and the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory.

Yeah, I know...that's a lot of factories. We didn't set out for our mini-vacation to be one big factory tour -- it just sort of worked out that way.

Besides all the factories (and one museum) we also took the ferry across the lake on our way home.



The scenery was beautiful. It's been a long time since I was last in Burlington, and I forgot what a spectacular view they have of the Adirondacks from the other side of the lake. Staring at the mountainous horizon was one of my favorite parts of the trip -- that and the chocolate!

Below is a slide show of photos from our trip. And you can read a lot more details about the birthday activities and our Burlington adventures over on the Rooney Train.

Presidential chit chat

MSNBC has been harping all day about "unconventional campaigning," showing clips of the presidential candidates on various talk shows and last night on "American Idol."

I wish they would let this go. I submit that there is no longer anything unconventional about this. After all it's been 16 years since Bill Clinton played the sax on "Arsenio" for crying out loud!

Every presedential cycle since then, candidates have been popping up on late night and daytime TV and the mainstream media (ugh, I can't believe I just used that phrase) keeps going on about how new and unusual this crazy trend is.

It is neither new nor unusual. Get over it.

Silly superstitions

We had a lively discussion about sports superstitions the other day over at my friend Sionna's new blog Don't Mention the War.

So it seemed eerily appropriate that I stumbled upon this article. Apparently a couple of construction workers buried a Red Sox T-shirt under the new Yankee Stadium. It's in a slab of concrete beneath the visitors clubhouse. Now the fear is that this will somehow hex the Bronx Bombers by providing a good luck charm to the Sox and any other visiting team.

I have my own little sports superstition story. My father had two Yankee hats. One was in nice shape. That was his going out on the town hat. But the other was the hat. It was a little grubbier. But whenever dad wore it while watching a game the Yanks had a much better chance of winning (or so we liked to believe). There were times when the Yanks were in need of a rally and I'd call dad and make sure he had the hat on.

We had the hat buried with him. Although the Yankees haven't won a World Series since. So sometimes I wonder if I should have held on to the hat.

Now before Aaron flames on, of course I realize that the superstitions are silly. But that doesn't mean that they're not fun. It's just a way for fans to feel more drawn into the game -- to pretend they have some influence and ability to help their team. It's harmless (most of the time at least).

The Yankees are in Boston this weekend. Maybe I'll break out my own grubby hat for the games.

UPDATE: As Aaron reports, the offending Big Papi jersey was removed during a glorified photo op.

Tech support, part 2

Thanks to some advice posted in comments to my previous plea for help, I was able to run Windows XP Repair. My PC is on the road to recovery. Thanks, leathj1!

However, I can't get SP2 to install. It gets about halfway through the installation and then I get an "Access Denied" message. Suggestions, anyone?

What?

Confused by all of the twist and turns on "Lost?" This shouldn't clear anything up at all...

Tech support

Ok, folks, I need your help. The last time my computer was acting wonky I posted something about it here and someone came forward with a solution for me. Now I’m hoping The Great Someone will come through again.

For the last month or so my computer has been acting pretty screwy. Here are some of the symptoms:

• Windows Media Player won’t launch.
• IE seems to think Java is not enabled even thought I know it is. As a result, some sites won’t run properly.
• System Restore won’t launch.
• The search feature opens to a blank window. The little dog is wagging his tail, but there is no option to enter a search term.
• The User Account Manager opens to a blank window.

There may be other problems I haven’t discovered yet. These problems also exist when I startup in Safe Mode.

I have Norton 2008 and Spybot, but neither of them have helped.

I’ve been searching the Internet for a solution to put everything back to normal, but with no luck. I fear that at some point I’m probably going to have to re-install Windows XP.

So…anyone out there have any idea what’s wrong with my computer and, more importantly, how to fix it?

What a week

I had a crazy-busy week last week, but it was all well worth it.

It started with attending a pizza party to mark the end of Nolan’s basketball clinic. The coach called each kid up one-by-one and presented them with a T-shirt. Nolan really enjoyed it the clinic and looked pretty pleased to shake the coach’s hand and accept his shirt.

I didn’t mention before that he won a foul shot contest a few weeks ago when he sank seven out of 15 shots – more than any other second grader. He’s got another trophy on his shelf now to show for his efforts.

I was up late most nights last week editing Cub Scout videos. The first was for a report on the Cub Scouts that Nolan had to give in class (see below). I think he recruited some new members in the process. The second was the end-of-the-year video for the Pack that was shown at Sunday’s Blue & Gold Dinner (Nolan was awarded his Wolf badge and officially became a Bear).

You can read more about basketball and the Blue & Gold and see some photos on the Rooney Train.

The Blue & Gold was on Sunday. But on Saturday, I attended a dinner in Albany for alumni of the communication department at SUNY Plattsburgh (see photo above). It was great to see old friends and some old professors – although I was the sole representative of the Class of 1994. We had a good time and I hope this becomes an annual event. I've uploaded more photos from the dinner to Facebook.

Free coffee!

Starbucks is rolling out a new brew called Pike Place Roast. According to the Business Review, you can stop in today and try a free cup.

But hurry. The freebie is only available from 12-12:30 p.m. (I just found out about it now)!

UPDATE: This turned out to be an even better deal than I realized. Along with my free cup of coffee, I was presented with two gift cards. Each is good for one free cup of coffee on Wednesdays between now and the end of May.

Hooray for freebies!

Doritos at the Last Supper

I have no reason to post this other than the fact it made me chuckle when I saw it...

IE problems?

Does anyone else have trouble loading my blog in Internet Explorer? It seems to work fine in Firefox and Safari, but it's often slow in IE 7 and says it's loading with errors on the page. What's that all about?

Further reason why I prefer Firefox.

Colbert on canvas

Check out the latest (temporary) addition to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C...

The truth is still out there

Of all of the movies on my 2008 want-to-see list (I'll have to publish that one of these days) the one I'm most hesitant about is the "X-Files 2" (the official title still hasn't been announced).

I was a big fan of the TV show (a replica of Mulder’s “I Want to Believe” poster hung my office for years), although in my opinion it jumped the shark in 1998 when the first movie came out. The last episode, which aired in May 2002, was a huge disappointment.

The word is that the new movie will have nothing to do with the TV show's convoluted alien conspiracy mythology, which the first movie focused on. Instead, it will be a stand alone story more in the vein of the show's "monster of the week" episodes.

I think that's great since those episodes provided some of the show's best stories, while the conspiracy storyline was so overplayed.

However, I'm very curious to see how they resolve that disappointing ending, which had Mulder and Scully going on the run as fugitives and left little room (so it seemed) for sequel -- at least, not one with Mulder and Scully working for the FBI.

Anyway, with all of this said, here is the cool teaser poster for the movie.

Complusive confessor

Gov. Paterson, is there anything else we should know?

The final frontier

I like "Star Trek" as much as the next geek. But you've got to draw a line somewhere. And if you're getting buried in a Trek-themed casket, then I think you've gone waaaayy over that line!

A company called Eternal Image will soon offer the coffin designed to look like the photon torpedo used to jetison Spock's body into space in "Star Trek II." They'll also have a Trek inspired urn for those who go the cremation route.

This same company also offers Major League Baseball caskets.

Stupid pet trick

I found this on the EW PopWatch Blog, which stated teh following:

Filipino prisoners recreating Thriller, we see your King of Pop tribute and we raise you one...

Highlights at 11

I know I'm not the biggest March Madness fan, but I did enjoy these highlights...

Easter Bedlam

The first picture here shows just a fraction of the plethora of people who showed up at the YMCA today for the Easter Egg Hunt. It was a complete mad house!

A large section of the gym floor was covered with hay, with eggs hidden in the hay for little kids Thomas' age. Nolan went outside with the older kids to look for eggs hidden in woods.

There were also bouncy bounces inside and outside. Plus there was a mini-golf course and a petting zoo also in the gym and photos with the Easter Bunny in a separate room.

We made a point of going because Thomas won the "name the Easter Bunny" contest. He suggested the name "Eggster" for the giant bunny sitting in a basket in the lobby. So he got to bring the bunny and its basket full of goodies home.

There were so many people that we just found our eggs, collected Thomas' Easter basket prize and got out of there!

Go, Speed Racer, Go!

As much as I've been carrying on about "Indiana Jones," "Iron Man" and "The Dark Knight," the movie Nolan is really anxious to see is "Speed Racer."

He's never seen the old cartoon and knew next to nothing about the show. But once he saw the trailer, he was hooked. He thought it looked like his "Hot Wheels" video game brought to life (and I admit, it's on my want-to-see list too).

This past week there was a book fair at his school and he was quite excited to buy a "Speed Racer" book.

So far I've resisted the temptation to tell him who Racer X is. Why spoil the surprise? He'll enjoy discovering that on his own.

Baby, it's cold out there

Man it's cold out today! Cold and windy. Right now it's about 23 degrees -- 10 degrees with the wind chill.

Aren't you glad it's spring?

If you don't like the cold then you probably have me to blame. Last week I got a little antsy for the warm weather. I decided to tempt fate by zipping the fleece lining out of my jacket and putting the snow brush and ice scraper in the trunk.

That's what I get for jumping the gun!

The train is leaving the station

As I've mentioned before, from time-to-time there is a call for more family stuff on the blog. Perhaps I've been slacking off a bit in that department.

So to help remedy the situation, Kris -- a.k.a. ADKmom -- took it upon herself today to start up a new blog titled "All Aboard the Rooney Train." We'll both contribute to that blog, which will be strictly just family stuff. It's mainly intended for ou of town loved ones, but you're all welcome to check it out.

I'll still post some family stuff here too. But if you want the full dose -- like the story behind the picture of the cool dudes seen here -- then check out the new blog. For convenience, I've added a feed for it right on here on this page.

Sleepy Boy

I think I wound up like this a couple of times in college...

The Spitzer Special

Wow, what a crazy week this has been. As you might imagine, we've been slammed here at work, thanks to Gov. Spitzer, aka "Client-9."

At this point I'll spare you my thoughts, since they merely echo those of just about every other New Yorker.

However, I would like to mention that a co-worker pointed out a new item on the menu at Gershon's Deli in Schenectady. The No. 9 there is now the "Spitzer Special." It's a sandwcich containing (ahem) hard salami and tongue. The price? $4,300.

Crystal Skullalicious

It's a busy news day here in Albany. But there is always time to post something like this!

Check out this beautiful poster from the great Drew Struzan...

As if anyone really cares

I must admit, this update from The Onion Radio News makes all of us at "Off the Top of My Head" headquarters feel a little silly.

Metal mania

For someone who was never a huge Iron Man fan, I certainly do seem to be posting a lot about the new movie.

I don't think I own a single issue of "Iron Man." But I have enough other books that the character appears in. And although I never collected his own title, I certainly respect him as one of the core Marvel Comics characters.

Not to mention...this movie just looks so cool! It's easily No. 2 on my list of summer movies I really want to see (if you have to ask what No. 1 is, you obviously don't know me very well and must be new to this blog).

With all that said, take a look at the awesome new poster for the movie.

The pipes aren't calling

The owner of Foley's Pub and Restaurant across the street from the Empire State Building is taking a stand. Shaun Clancy is banning "Danny Boy" from his establishment for the entire month of March.

"It's overplayed, it's been ranked among the 25 most depressing songs of all time and it's more appropriate for a funeral than for a St. Patrick's Day celebration," Clancy told the Associated Press.

In fact, Foley's hosted a pre-St. Patrick's Day karaoke party on Tuesday and Clancy promised a free Guiness to anyone who sang any Irish song other than "Danny Boy."

On a slightly related note, a former favorite watering hole mine is about to be wiped off the Earth. Eamonn’s Loudon House will be demolished on March 12, just five days before the holiday that made it one of the most popular places in town every March 17.

Eamonn's was destoyed by a fire in 2005.

For the last three years, I've driven past the boarded up shell of the building every day on my way to and from work. As much as I enjoyed the place, it did slide downhill a bit toward the end and the burned out husk is an eyesore now. It will be good to put the place out of its misery.

You can read more about the demolition here and here and read a fitting tribute from friend and former Eamonn's waitress Sweetpea.

Who you gonna call?

Hillary Clinton asks, "Who do you want answering the phone in the White House at 3 a.m.?"



UPDATE: Here's another version endorsing an even better candidate...

The invincible movie trailer

It's shaping up to look likea great summer at the movies. Here's the newest "Iron Man" trailer...

Iron Man Exclusive Trailer

Add to My Profile | More Videos

'Won't you be my neighbor?'

Believe it or not, March 20 would have been the late great Fred Rogers' 80th birthday.

The day is being promoted as "Sweater Day." Neighbors everywhere are being asked celebrate Mr. Rogers by wearing their favorite sweater.

Here's Mr. McFeely (not the best name for a children's show character in today's world) with more details...



Thomas has a Mr. Rogers DVD, which actually came zipped up in a little sweater. But you can tell the episodes on it are pretty old. In one of them, Mr. Rogers goes to a restaurant and orders a nice looking sandwich, but he only pays about $2.

'No fate but what we make'

I've been enjoying "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" on Fox. The show is good, and apparently others have noticed -- because it seems like I keep catching reruns of "T2" and "T3" on cable.

Anyway, with that in mind, this Reuters headline caught my attention:

Killer robots pose latest militant threat: expert

Is this the beginning of the inevitable robot uprising?

Bridging the generation gap

We visited Kris' mom and dad this past weekend. It was a very nice visit.

While we were there, Thomas tried to teach his grandpa the finer points of video games.

Bummer

I was supposed to bring Nolan and his friend Danny to see the Harlem Globetrotters tonight at the Times Union Center. Mother Nature had other ideas.

We had such a great time seeing the Globetrotters last year. Nolan was really excited to see them again.

Kris started bringing the kids out to meet me at work, but called from the road to say how bad the driving was thanks to the snow storm we were in the middle of. She wound up turning around and heading back home.

Nolan was very disappointed (I was too). But we're going to try to come up something else cool to do with Danny.

'What are you supposed to be? Some kind of lion tamer?'

Check out this cool piece of swag I picked up today. This was sent to a good friend of mine who passed it along.

Now I've got the whip. I still have my old fedora. Unfortunately, my leather jacket wore out a long time ago. I just need to get a new one -- and a revolver -- and I'll have all I need for my next archeology expedition!

'Sunny days...'

Actually it was a fairly snowy day here today.

But that didn't keep Thomas and his friend Stephanie from enjoying a morning at the theater. They took in a matinée performance of "Sesame Street Live."

This was Thomas' first time attending a live show like this. Kris says Thomas was a little nervous at first, but by the end of the show he was dancing in the aisles!

The greatest rivalry in sports?

Yankees To Play Exhibition Game Against The Media

TAMPA, FL—In a spring showdown between two venerable organizations that will battle one another daily during the 2008 regular season, the New York Yankees are scheduled to play a nine-inning game Sunday against their greatest rivals: the...

Things that have nothing to do with Indiana Jones

One of my loyal readers has commented that there has been too much geekery here on the blog and not enough family photos.

So here’s a picture of the boys from today’s trip to the New York State Museum. We’ve been to this museum a gazillion time and know it like the back of our hand. But the kids love it. It is a very cool place.

We’re halfway through vacation week and so far no one has killed anyone else. Besides the museum trip today, Kris and the kids have found some more letterboxes. It’s been one year since we started this hobby and so far the kids have found 53 letterboxes!

In other news, I did something I’ve never done before last weekend. I donated blood for the first time.

Growing up, I had something of an irrational fear of needles. Never in a million years would I have entertained the idea of voluntarily having a needle stuck in my arm and blood drained out of me. EEeww!!!

As I got older, I became much less squeamish when it came time to get blood drawn at a doctor’s appointment. Then last year Kris started donating and I realized I had no good reason not to – especially after watching the medical ordeals that our friend Mike Ford and my nephew Patrick went through.

It was easy and felt good to do. Hopefully, it won’t be the last time.

Indiana Jones and the Mystery of the Disappearing Guns

A very interesting observation has been made about that Indiana Jones trailer we all went bonkers over yesterday.

Remember all of those heavily-armed soldiers seen surrounding a car and throwing Indy to the ground about a minute into the trailer? It didn’t dawn on me any of the 63 times I watched the trailer before now, but when we see Indy in that first shot where he and Ray Winstone have their hands up…um…where did all the guns go?


It appears they’ve all been scrubbed out of the shot through the magic of CGI. As you can see in the image above, they’re still in the trailer’s international version – which you can watch for yourself right here.

Moriarty at AICN theorizes the guns pointed at our hero were removed at the insistence of the MPAA. Keep in mind, the trailer debuted on the big screen in front of the PG-rated “Spiderwick Chronicles.”

First of all, I’m not convinced removing the guns was necessary. If it was, would it have been too hard to provide one version on the Internet – for fans like me who seek the trailer out – and another to show with a PG movie so the kiddies won’t be scarred for life at the sight of a firearm?

A little history: remember, the PG-13 rating was created primarily because of “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” in 1984. Some thought the whipping of children and ripping a heart out of someone’s chest was a little too intense.

Also worth noting: there is one other difference between the American trailer and the one the rest of the world is apparently seeing. After a montage of clips from the old films, the first new piece of footage we see in the trailer is an American flag. You’ll note that Old Glory is conspicuously absent in the international version.

Now we know what can stop Jack Bauer

It's official -- Jack Bauer won't be killing anyone in 2008.

Despite the end of the writers strike, "24" will not return to TV until January 2009.

Everyone wants to stick to the plan of running the show continuously without any interuptions or repeats. But if they started now (eight episodes are already in the can) the season finale would air over the summer, when TV viewership is low. If they start in the fall, they'll have to take a break for the World Series.

They could start the season in November. But then it would probably end in March. They probably want the finale in May for sweeps.

So if you can't make it through the next 12 months without a does of Bauer Power, you can always watch the Day 7 trailer over and over or the hilarious 1990s version.

TOO DAMN COOL!!!

Unless you attended Indyfest '89, you have no idea how giddy with excitement I was this morning when I first saw this! On May 22 I am so there!



Check it out in glorious HD here...

A longer 'Trek' to theaters

Remember that trailer for J.J. Abrams "Star Trek" that came a out a few weeks ago and touted a Christmas 2008 release? Yeah well, forget that.

Variety reports that in the aftermath of the writer's strike, Paramount has reshuffled their release schedule. Apparently they think the movie will make more money with a summer release. So it's now set for May 8, 2009 (yeah, I know that's still spring, but that's pretty much when what's considered "the summer movie season" begins).

Variety says this puts "Trek" opening one week after "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and one week before the "Da Vinci Code" sequel/prequel "Angels and Demons."

In the long run, this is probably a good thing -- giving them more time to work on the movie.

Valentine for Indy fans

Tomorrow is the big day!

Well, not the big day. That will be May 22 when "Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" hits theaters.

But tomorrow is when we get our first glimpse of the movie with the release of the trailer.

Stay close to the TV tomorrow morning. The trailer will debut during the 8 to 9 a.m. hour of Good Morning America. It will be on IndianaJones.com and in movie theaters everywhere after that.

And if I can find an embeddable version, you can be sure it will be here as well.

In the meantime, feast your eyes on this beautiful artwork. According to AICN, this is a cover for an upcoming comic book adaptation of the movie.

The view from the street

It was brought to my attention today the Albany area has been added to Google Maps street-level views.

This might be old news, but I just found out today. The last I knew it was only major cities that had this feature available.

Anyway, there's our place. The house number it shows up under is way off, but it's there (a disclaimer notes that "addresses are approximate"). It looks like they took the pictures over the summer. I'm glad my lawn was mowed!

Who wants some Hulu?

Hulu remains in private beta testing. I think it's supposed to open up to the general public next month.

But if you'd like an early peek, I can hook you up. I've got 10 invitations up for grabs. If you're interested, leave a comment. First come, first served. It's as simple as that. No games, unlike some cranky TV doctors we all know...

UPDATE: My mistake. I need your e-mail address to give you the invite. So please leave that or send it to me.

Mike, I have about three different e-mail addresses for you. Drop me a line and let me know which one to use.

Michael and Willie, I don't actually know you guys, but you're still welcome to the invites. Just leave an address that you want me to use.

If it's good it must be bad

Kris has decided that for Lent we're going to eat healthier. The conversation went something like this (this is a custom clip created from that Simpsons episode I posted earlier)...

Dig the Wig

Hop on the Wiggum Wagon!

A lot of Republicans seem bent out of shape that they're left with John McCain as their candidate (although it's my opinion that the vast majority John Q. GOP-types think McCain is just fine, thank you very much).

Rather than throw a hissy fit, maybe they just need to find a new guy to back...like Ralph Wiggum!

Thanks to PLANET3RRY for pointing out Ralph's campaign site. It was set up to tie in with a recent Simpsons episode. If you missed it, here it is on Hulu...

Charity champs

I always wondered what became of the hats and T-shirts that must be on standby for the team that loses a championship game like the Super Bowl, the World Series, etc.

Sure enough, there was a full supply of hats and shirts proclaiming the Patriots as Super Bowl XLII champions -- camplete with "19-0" printed under their logo -- ready to be handed out last Sunday night.

It turns out those clothes will be distributed to needy families in other parts the world. The ones pictured here are headed to Nicaragua.

New York vs. Boston

I knew there was a reason why I liked Jon Stewart. Here he shares his thoughts on the rivalry between the Big Apple and Beantown...

The truth is out there

Want to see what a Crystal Skull looks like? Click here. And read more about here. (Beware of spoliers!)