'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!

Calvin & the Snowmen, part 9

Jack Bauer vs. the evil Republican

“24” almost lost me last night.

We’ve known for some time that presidential aide Walt Cummings was a bad guy, complicit in the assassination of former President David Palmer, the attacks on the others at CTU that knew Jack Bauer was still alive and the murder of several civilians during the hostage crisis at the airport. And that was all just before lunch!

But last night we finally learned his motivation. It was all a plot to plant false evidence of weapons of mass destruction to justify further U.S. troop deployments to secure the flow of foreign oil!

Oh, brother. As soon as I heard “weapons of mass destruction” and “oil” I had to groan. The evil Republicans strike again.

I love “24” and will keep watching, but that was a bit much.

'Tell me where the campaign finance reform is!'

Aaron sent me this "24" tidbit from USA Today:

McCain has a role in '24' — but just for a 'blink'

Viewers will be able to spot a real government figure on the Feb. 6 episode of 24 (Fox, 9 p.m. ET/PT). Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a fan, was visiting the set in the fall when producers asked if he was interested in doing "a little Alfred Hitchcock star turn," executive producer Howard Gordon says. "We had a scene in which Audrey Raines (Kim Raver) needs to get a file folder from someone, and Sen. McCain delivered it."

McCain's non-speaking cameo as an unidentified bureaucrat is so brief it seems like a "Where's Waldo?" moment, Gordon says. "If you blink, you'll miss it."

Before the scene, producers talked politics with McCain. "He was more interested in talking about scenes from 24," Gordon says. "He was able to cite chapter and verse from the seasons."

'Raiders' rides again

I went with Aaron tonight to see my all time favorite movie at the Palace Theatre in Albany: “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

You have to understand, seeing this movie—especially on the big screen—is like a religious experience for me. When I hear the familiar John Williams music I get chills. And several times during the movie I became consciously aware that I was staring at the screen with a big smile on my face. For me, “Raiders” is simply everything that’s great about the movies!

“Raiders” will mark its 25th anniversary later this year. The print we watched was scratchy in parts, but all-in-all in pretty good shape.

Yes, I own the Indiana Jones DVDs, but you know what? Give me a scratchy print at a movie theater any day! There is something about the shared experience of watching your favorite film in a theater full of people who ooh and ah, and laugh and cheer in all the right places.

There’s another reason I prefer the old scratchy print to the DVDs. As much as I love this movie, I’ll be the first to admit it’s far from a perfect film. It has its share of flaws, some of which, through the magic of digital technology, were cleaned up for the DVD. Perhaps the most obvious example is the famous reflection of the cobra in the Plexiglas separating Harrison Ford from the deadly snake. I miss the reflection! To me, it’s part of the charm of the movie. When we were kids and we discovered that reflection, we felt like we were in on some big secret.

By my count this was about the 40th time I’ve watched this movie (and the fifth time on the big screen—three times when I was kid and another screening the old Madison theater seven or eight years ago). Even after seeing it all those times, tonight I still noticed some details hadn’t spotted before—giving me reason to watch it a few more times.

It’s one thing to enjoy a movie. But no other film makes me feel happy like “Raiders” does.

Bawdy B-and-B

Boy…you drive past a place a million times and you never realize what’s going on inside.

If memory serves, this building—located in an area filled with doctor’s offices and private homes—used to be some sort of nursing home. But not anymore!

I think the AP article about the Union Street Bed and Breakfast put it best:

There's more than R-and-R going on at a B-and-B in Schenectady. There's also some S-and-M, and neighbors say that's not O-K.

There was an article about the B-and-B on the front page of the Times Union today. WNYT also has a story with video.

Among the amenities offered at the Union Street Bed and Breakfast are the “dungeon room,” the “examination table” and a selection of adult toys. All of which you can see pictures of on their site. I’m a little hesitant to offer a link here. But Albany Eye has the link, so go check his site out.

Some of the questions being asked around the water cooler this morning: Does the Union Street Bed and Breakfast get any Metroplex money? Are they offering any cross-promotions with “Phantom of the Opera” at Proctors? What can we buy there for $18.70?

Multi-million dollar makeover

All the buildings in the Niskayuna Central School District will be getting a major facelift. The $94.5 million bond proposal passed 2,712 to 1,553.

Construction will begin in the spring of 2007 and will be completed in phases, with some completed in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Alumni should come back and visit their schools soon. Before long they won’t look a thing like you remember (and that’s a good thing for our kids).

While the cat's away...

Is it time already to set limits on having girls in their rooms?

Kris took this picture last week while Thomas’ friend Stephanie was over visiting. While Kris was putting Nolan on the bus, they took the opportunity to jump in bed and pretend to be taking a nap.

Day of decision for Nisky schools

Today is the big day for the Niskayuna Central School District. Voters are going to the polls to decide if a $94.5 million bond issue gets approved.

The district wants to make extensive renovations to all eight of its buildings, including new classrooms, building repairs, updated heating/cooling systems and technology upgrades.

The state will kick in enough aid to cover 67 percent of the total bill. That means we taxpayers would have to cough up $31 million over the next 20 years.

The big sticking point for me was a plan to relocate the media center in the high school—the one was just expanded and remodeled only 15 years ago. The plan is to move it to center of the building and turn the former media center into classroom space.

The district claims the current media center is not big enough anymore and that they get more aid from the state this way than if they tried to expand it again. That’s also why they aren’t building a whole new high school, as was once considered. Apparently the state gives more for renovating than building new.

There is also the added convenience of having it centrally located, instead of being at the back of the school where it is now.

I wasn’t completely convinced this was necessary. However, I voted “yes” anyway because so much of the work is needed.

You can get detailed descriptions of what’s planned for each school on the district’s site.

Network merger

Perennial fifth and sixth placed TV networks UPN and the WB are going to merge into one network.

CBS Corp., owners of UPN, and Warner Bros., owners of the WB, will be partners in the new network, which will be called the CW.

The CW will be broadcast on Tribune-owned stations, which locally includes WEWB (WB 45).

It will be interesting to see what this means for WNYA (UPN Capital Region).

I don’t care which channel it’s on, as long as they keep “Everybody Hates Chris” on the air!

Actually, the CW will be run by execs from both UPN and the WB who say UPN shows “Chris,” “Veronica Mars” and “America’s Next Top Model” along with WB shows “Gilmore Girls” and “Smallville” will be among the programs on the new network next fall.

Calvin & the Snowmen, part 8

You're fired

NBC is making a bunch of changes to its schedule. Among them, Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” is moving to Monday at 9 p.m.

That means I’m done with the Donald, since that move puts the show opposite my favorite show, “24.”

I’ve always enjoyed “The Apprentice,” but I don’t like it so much that I’m willing to tape it every week while the vastly superior “24” is on. So that’s the end of that.

Meanwhile, “The West Wing” has also been officially cancelled. I don’t think this surprised anyone. A lot of people expected this to be the last year for that show.

I stopped being a regular viewer somewhere during season four. But lately I’ve been checking the show out more often. I thought last night’s episode was very good. It’s ironic they turned out such a good episode the same weekend they announced the show’s cancellation.

Life with the Rooneys

Remember a month or so ago when I mentioned school was canceled even though we only got two or three inches of snow? We had the opposite problem today. School remained open despite some pretty sloppy roads.

It usually takes me 30 minutes to get to work. Today it took over an hour with traffic barely moving on Route 7 heading towards Latham.

We checked this morning and saw that school was open. So Kris put Nolan on the bus. But it turns out that a late decision was made to cancel p.m. kindergarten. Neither we nor the bus driver knew this. So the bus had to eventually turn around and bring him back home.

Things were moving slow today, but we had an action-packed weekend. We recently became members at the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology—a very cool place—and took the kids there again Saturday morning. Among other things, we checked out their nifty Molecularium show.

Then later that night we attended a pot luck dinner held on the Siena College campus for families of adopted Asian kids.

But of course, a high point of the weekend for any kid is always a trip to McDonald’s. Yesterday we went to one of the ones with a giant play area and met our friends the Price family there. Nolan was excited because he and Thomas got two toys in their Happy Meals (I think they’re just trying to unload surplus toys from past promotions)!

We rounded the weekend out with dinner at my mom’s house.

Now you’re caught up with us. Kris has some cute photos she’s taken recently that I haven’t posted yet. Hopefully I’ll get those up soon.

Osama's book club

What does this say about Americans?

In his taped message yesterday, Osama bin Laden suggested Americans go out and read a book called “Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower” by William Blum.

It’s been noted on The Daily Nightly that yesterday that book was ranked 209,572 on Amazon.com's book list.

Now that it’s on Osama’s must-read list—it’s jumped to 43rd!

More reasons to dislike Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise is apparently unhappy with the depiction of him in a recent “South Park” episode—and is using his clout to keep it from airing again.

I wouldn’t say I watch “South Park” regularly, but when I do more often than not I wind up laughing out loud.

The funniest episode I saw from the recent season was a hysterical spoof of Scientology, in which Scientologists believed Stan was the second coming of L. Ron Hubbard.

The same episode, entitled “Trapped in the Closet,” featured a subplot in which a cartoon version of Cruise locked himself in a closet and refused to come out.

Cartoon versions of ex-wife Nicole Kidman and fellow Scientologist John Travolta try to coax Cruise out.

“Don't you think this has gone on long enough? It's time for you to come out of the closet. You're not fooling anyone,” the cartoon Kidman says.

Cruise has convinced Paramount to keep the episode off the air in the United Kingdom, and apparently they’ve agreed not rerun it in the United States either. Although the Comedy Central site says it’s scheduled to air Monday night (or is that this past Monday?).

Paramount released Cruise’s “War of the Worlds” last year and will release his “Mission: Impossible 3” this summer. Apparently they don’t want to risk angering their big shot star.

This is unbelievable. As if I wasn’t already sick enough of Tom Cruise. If he’s going to live his life in the public eye—with his couch jumping and berating of Brooke Shields—then he needs to learn to lighten up.

At least the “South Park” folks are lucky he didn’t unleash the Dark Side of the Force on them.

Welcome to the Blogosphere

My oldest buddy, Aaron Hull, has launched his own blog--The World of the Hulls.

Aaron is a frequent commenter here, never missing an opportunity to jump into a fiery debate about politics or baseball.

Aaron and I go way back to Little League baseball in the 2nd grade. We both played for Goldstock's Sporting Goods. His dad was our coach.

He plans to use his blog to show off pictures of Baby Hull, who is due to arrive in the next few weeks.

Death of a Soulman

The news just crossed that soul legend Wilson Pickett has died of a heart attack at age 64.

Pickett’s “Mustang Sally” was always a favorite of mine—especially after seeing the movie “The Commitments.”

You could always tell I’d reached sloppy-drunk status at a party in college when I could be found laying on the floor somewhere belligerently insisting that I get to hear “Mustang Sally.” In fact, I can remember one end-of-the-year PSTV party where I spent several minutes annoying many people as I slumped in a bean bag chair outdoors yelling, “Play ‘Mustang Sally!’”

Perhaps I’ve said too much…

Anyway, RIP Wilson.

Lift off!

The New Horizons space probe just launched on its nine-year trek to Pluto.

Here’s an amazing fact: NBC’s Jay Barbree just reported that the spacecraft is traveling so fast it will pass the moon in nine hours. It took the Apollo astronauts three days to get to the moon!

So how fast is New Horizons? Barbree just said it’s moving at 36,000 mph.

Hopefully in 2015 New Horizons will reach its destination and we can learn all about Pluto, the ninth planet in our solar system.

Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam

Here’s how much of a geek I am: upon hearing that Clarence Ray Allen’s last words before being executed in California were “It’s a good day to die,” the first thing I thought of was, “Hey! That’s a Klingon phrase!”

I’m such a loser. It’s like the Taunton Dam all over again.

NOTE: No, I did not know that translation off the top of my head. I had to google it. I'm not that much of a geek that I speak fluent Klingon!

'23:50'

I was running late getting to the TV Sunday night for the start of “24.” We had dinner at my sister’s house. By the time we got home and got the kids to bed, it was past 8 p.m.

You just can’t start watching a “24” episode in the middle of the show. I already had the VCR set up to tape it just in case and I figured I’d wait to watch the two-hour season premiere at 10 p.m.

But I lucked out. I turned the TV on just to make sure it was taping properly and to my surprise, “24” hadn’t started yet. Football ran late on Fox.

Unfortunately, fans of the Jack Bauer Power Hour in Columbia, S.C. were not so lucky. They were outraged when their Fox affiliate’s 10 p.m. newscast started on time, cutting off the last 10 minutes of the show.

Bad move. “24” viewers are fanatical when it comes to their favorite show. Like this guy:

Paul Teeple, 43, of Columbia, hadn’t missed a second of “24” from the start — even from 2001 to 2003, while working in Nicaragua for his employer, an international development nonprofit organization. He had friends record it for him.

“I’m mad, I’m upset, and I’m having a hard time rationalizing this,” he said. “This is the one TV show you wait for and wait for, and there’s always a cliffhanger — but this is too much.

Another fan put it best:

“Somebody has lost their mind,” said Steve Arnold, a fan who was watching the show at his Irmo home.

I know all too well that it doesn’t take much to get the phone ringing off the hook at a TV station with calls from irate, crazy viewers. I’m sure the folks WACH got an earful.

Christmas II

We finally capped off the holidays this weekend with a visit from Kris’ patents. The way the timing of things worked out, we weren’t able to get together closer to Christmas.

We had a very nice visit. The kids always love seeing grandma & grandpa. Plus this time there was the added bonus of…more presents!

Gimme all yer money...and a job

Job trainee accused of robbing restaurant that hired him

GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. (AP) - The Burger King worker thought the new guy working alongside her looked familiar. That's because he was the same guy who had robbed the restaurant a week earlier.

Erie County sheriff's deputies say that's the scene that played out Wednesday at the Burger King in Grand Island, near Buffalo, when 29-year-old Adam Ruiz showed up for his first day of work.

A female cashier told deputies she almost fainted when she turned around and saw Ruiz working next to her behind the counter. She told authorities it was the same man who had handed her a note demanding money while she was on duty last Friday.

The robber made off with more than 200 dollars.

After recognizing Ruiz as the alleged robber, the woman had a co-worker call 9-1-1. Deputies arrested Ruiz at the Burger King, where he was going through on-the-job training.
He was arraigned yesterday on armed robbery charges.

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

Doctor Woohoo!

There is great news for all of us “Doctor Who” fans on this side of the pond. The first season of the new series is finally coming to the United States!

The Sci-Fi Channel will air the show on Fridays at 9 p.m. beginning in March—most likely March 17, according to Outpost Gallifrey.

The deal is for last year’s season one—featuring all 13 Christopher Eccleston episodes—with an option to pick up season two, which will begin airing on the BBC around the same time.

I first spotted the news this morning on the BBC’s official Doctor Who site, where the homepage featured a flash animation showing the TARDIS materializing in front of the White House with red, white and blue fireworks going off above and the Star Spangled Banner playing in the background.

There were rumors last year that Sci-Fi passed on the show, which wouldn’t surprise me if all they saw was the lackluster pilot episode, “Rose.” But the show improved week after week and proved a ratings success in the U.K. Let’s see how it does over here.

Meanwhile, the Internet has spoiled me. I’ll probably continue using bit torrent to catch the new David Tennant episodes this spring, rather than wait for them to show up on Sci-Fi.

Calvin & the Snowmen, part 7

Gearing up for baseball season

We signed Nolan up for another year of baseball last night.

He’s graduating from Tee Ball and moving on the “Rookie” level. Rookie basically follows Tee Ball rules, except coaches pitch to the kids and outs are now recorded in the field. However, no matter how many outs everyone still gets a turn at bat each inning. There are no strike-outs and no walks. If the batter swings and misses five or six times then he/she gets to use a tee.

Like Tee Ball, no “official” score is kept. But as we saw in soccer, the kids will probably keep track anyway.

It looks like Nolan will get to have the same manager as last year and many of the same teammates, which is very cool. I’m also hoping to be an assistant coach again.

I took Nolan with me to the sign-ups at the high school. He was disappointed because he thought he was actually going to get to play ball last night. He didn’t like it when I told him he had to wait four more months before the season starts.

Spring training is right around the corner...

Going postal

The US Postal Service sucks.

I’ve come to terms with the increased price of a postage stamp. I understand that stamp prices go up from time to time—that’s just the way life is.

But here’s what ticks me off: I just came back from the Post Office with a handful letters with 37-cent stamps on them. I couldn’t mail them because they were all out of 1- and 2-cent stamps!

Actually, the guy in front of me bought the last of the 1-cent stamps.

Seriously, they’ve known about the postage increase for how long and they couldn’t make sure every Post Office would have enough stamps?

The Music of the Night

I’m a happy camper today. I scored a couple of tickets to “The Phantom of the Opera” at Proctor’s Theatre next month. We got pretty good seats too—only three rows back from the stage!

I’ve been dying to see this show since I was in high school. I loved the music when we sang it in the high school choir. I got a copy of the soundtrack and read everything I could about the show. I felt like I knew it backward and forward, but I never actually saw it. So this is long overdue.

Meanwhile, “Phantom” will officially become the longest running show in Broadway history when the curtain goes up tonight. That must be good timing for the Proctor’s folks with all the extra publicity around the show right before it comes to Schenectady for a month’s worth of performances.

Wacky warnings

The winners have been announced for the 2005 Wacky Warning Label Contest.

The contest, now in its ninth year, is conducted by Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch to reveal how lawsuits, and concern about lawsuits, have created a need for common sense warnings on products.

And the winners are:
1st place: A heat gun and paint remover that produces temperatures of 1,000 degrees and warns users, “Do not use this tool as a hair dryer.”

2nd place: A label on a kitchen knife that warns: “Never try to catch a falling knife.”

3rd place: A cocktail napkin with a map of the waterways around Hilton Head, S.C. printed on it along with this: “Caution: Not to be used for navigation.”

Honorable mention: A warning label he found on a bottle of dried bobcat urine made to keep rodents and other pests away from garden plants. It says: “Not for human consumption.”

Honorable mention: A warning label on a baking pan: “Ovenware will get hot when used in oven.”

Start the clock...

I can't wait for the new season of "24" to kick off on Jan. 15. Unlike last year, I didn't get my hands on a preview of the first few hours. So that means I'll be settling in for four hours of Jack Bauer action on the 15th and 16th.

"24" is one of the few shows where I try to remain spoiler-free. But I did allow myself to read the article about the new season on EW.com. Here's a sample...

...the opening minutes of the first episode are so shocking...well, we'll leave the hyperbole to the 24 folks. ''[Fans] are going to be really stressed out — even more so than before,'' says Mary Lynn Rajskub, who plays cranky systems analyst Chloe. ''Like, people should take a Valium or something.'' Teases [exec producer Howard] Gordon: ''It'll scramble everyone's eggs. Whereas in the past we've had this slow-mounting tension, this year starts out with a bang and doesn't let up. Just when Jack thought he'd lost everything, he finds out there's something more to lose.''

'Late Show' Smackdown

I can’t believe I missed the Letterman-O’Reilly clash on Tuesday’s “Late Show!”

Bill O’Reilly of Fox News Channel came on Letterman’s show, but the interview was not your typical late night happy talk. Dave let him have it.

It started with ridiculing O’Reilly’s war on “the war on Christmas.” Then things really heated up when they started talking about Iraq and Cindy Sheehan.

At one point Letterman told O’Reilly:

“I'm not smart enough to debate you point to point on this, but I have the feeling, I have the feeling about 60 percent of what you say is crap.”

Newsday has a transcript of the whole interview. If you like, skip to page 3 where the sparks really start to fly. Or better yet, watch the video clip.

This is why Letterman’s show is so much better than “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” Something like this would never happen during a Jay Leno interview. Remember when Letterman had Oprah on last month? He started asking her serious questions about her relief efforts in Africa and she seemed quite taken aback and surprised by his tone, asking him at one point, “Do you really want to talk about this?”

Letterman can handle diving into serious topics when he wants to. When he finally retires from late night TV (sooner rather than later I suspect), he will probably fade into private life like the late Johnny Carson did. But I think it would be fun to see him hosting a 30-minute Larry King-style show.

In this case, after reading the transcript and watching the clip, I sometimes agreed with Letterman and sometimes agreed with O’Reilly. But the problem with O’Reilly is that he’s such a blowhard, such an abrasive personality and so full of himself that even when I agree with him I still dislike him.

The media & the mine

I should clarify that in my earlier post about the Sago Mine tragedy (titled “Making a tragedy even worse”), by pointing out the erroneous newspaper headlines I was not blaming the media for making things worse. I was referring to the initial “miscommunication.”

A lot of fingers have been pointed at “The Media” (i.e.: big, bad, evil, journalistic vultures we all watch and/or read anyway or else they wouldn’t still have jobs).

It was not the media that informed the family members the miners were alive when they weren’t. They were merely reporting the scene when everyone started celebrating and saying the miners were okay.

As long as media outlets attributed their information (“Family members say…”) then I have no problem with the way things were conducted. Even better if they threw in a mention that there was not yet any official confirmation.

I do take issue with the headlines that ran in The Times Union and Daily Gazette, which declared the miners were safe without clarifying where that info came from. Both papers ran the same Associated Press article which accurately sourced the inaccurate info and contained a paragraph stating there was no official confirmation. But the headlines weren’t cautious enough.

However, an inaccurate headline in the newspaper is a drop in the bucket compared to the pain family members were already feeling. And the scene that resulted from the miscommunication would’ve played out pretty much the same regardless of whether there were any reporters and cameras there.

Calvin & the Snowmen, part 6

Robertson's mouth runs off again

Pat Robertson says Sharon's stroke may be God's punishment
One of these days God is going to come down here and say to Pat Robertson, "You're not my spokesman...cut it out!"

The Reverend Pat Robertson says Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's massive stroke could be God's punishment for giving up Israeli territory.

Here's the best part:

Robertson added, 'I would say woe to any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course.'

He noted that former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated.

Yup, that's right, Pat. God condones assisination.

The worst part is that people listen to this guy.

Making a tragedy even worse

My heart goes out to all of the families and friends connected to the Sago Mine tragedy. I can’t begin to imagine the kick in the gut of being told your loved one was alive only to have someone turn around a few hours later and say, “Oops. On second thought…”

The hardest to hear quote was from a woman who said this:

“We don’t know if there is a Lord anymore. We had a miracle and it was taken away.”

Just like so many papers in the rest of the country, the local papers here went to press before the other shoe dropped, carrying headlines like “12 miners dicovered alive” (The Daily Gazette) and “12 found alive inside mine” (The Times Union).

Unbelievable.

What's interesting is that both papers make available on their sites a graphic image of the day's front page. Neither of them altered, updated or removed those images (that's where I got the pictures I used here).

Chain reaction

This sounds like one for the Darwin Awards...

Artist chains feet in desert, loses key:

"BAKER, Calif. (AP) — An artist who chained his legs together to draw a picture of the image hopped 12 hours through the desert after realizing he lost the key and couldn't unlock the restraints, authorities said Wednesday."

Calvin & the Snowmen, part 5

We got about four to five inches of heavy, wet snow this morning...good snowman-making material...

Attack of the ankle-biters

Pack of angry Chihuahuas attack officer in Fremont
This story isn't really that funny or interesting. I just like the phrase "pack of angry Chihuahuas."

'Where did you get this number?'

Jack's Cell Phone: "1-888-9-24-JACK"
If you're a "24" fan, call this number...

Holiday week wrap-up

• I’m back at work today. I put off requesting my vacation time at the end of the year and as a result I had to take what I could get. I was off Monday, worked from home Tuesday and then was off Wednesday. Now I’m working today and again tomorrow, but I’ll have next Monday off.
  
  
• We took the kids to a screening of “The Polar Express” at the Colonie Town Library last night. Nolan and I saw it last year, but it was the first time for Kris and Thomas. They both loved it.
  
  
• I got together with Aaron and his wife Chris last night and we went to visit our friends Marc and Lynn, who were in town staying with his parents. It was great to meet their baby daughter Mara.
  
  
• Besides Thomas the Tank Engine and the Dukes of Hazzard, Star Wars was also big at our house this Christmas. I got episodes III-VI on DVD (well, technically, the original trilogy was a birthday present) and Nolan got a Star Wars coloring book and the very cool “LEGO Star Wars” video game for his new GameCube. The game is pretty simple for young gamers, but still loads of fun for grown ups too. Kris and I even spent an hour playing it after the kids went to bed one night.
  
  
• I really enjoyed the special Doctor Who episode “The Christmas Invasion.” That had it all going on—humor, drama, action, suspense and some pretty decent FX. The dialogue was also very good, with about three episodes worth of memorable lines packed into one story. I also like the new Doctor, David Tennant. I thought Christopher Eccelston would be big shoes to fill, but after one episode Tennant has me hooked. Can’t wait for the new season to start in the spring.
  
  
• Just before Christmas I finished reading “The Tender Bar.” That was a fantastic book! What was really cool was that after finishing it I went to the computer and googled the author. I quickly found a recent podcast made of a discussion he led about the book during an appearance at a Denver book store. I also found an e-mail address to write to him and tell him how much I liked his book. Gotta love the Internet!

The Dukes of Albany

We’re enjoying our Christmas vacation. Today we took Nolan, Thomas and Nolan’s friend Danny to Albany Dodge to see the “General Lee” sitting in their showroom.

Actually, it was a 2005 Dodge Charger painted to look like the General. The real General Lee was a ’69 Charger.

The boys thought it was really cool.

I didn’t check to see if the doors would open. I’m sure they would have—and that would spoil the illusion!

I’m sure the boys also would have loved to climb through the open windows, but I’m not so sure the people at the dealership would have liked that.

Thanks to Noah for tipping us off that the car was there!