Your 5 Random Facts for April 30th

No links, no pics, just the facts.

1. Scott Weiland has become less like a true rock star and more like a SNL parody of a rock star every minute he's alive. The STP reunion will not change this fact and my prediction is that the tour will be over before all of the dates have been played.


2. The Celtics need a soul-crushing, boot-stomping-the-throat kind of win tonight against the Hawks or there will be a new #1 atop the NBA's Biggest Playoff Losses. The NBA - Where Choking Like A Dog Happens.


3. While the whole McCready story is not really admissible in the defamation suit, is it really a leap to think that he didn't take something after learning that he already cheated on something/someone? Not for me, pal.


4. Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher getting it in on during shooting for Episode 4 with Mark Hamill jealous of Ford's success? Who didn't see that one coming? But, also according to Fisher, there's no underwear in space according to Lucas. Really now?


5. There is no need for DC to make a one-off figure like Superman: Red/Superman: Blue. Especially with the crazy number of articulation points like that improbable mid-thigh one.

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Farhi of Post dislikes "edgeless" Mike O'Meara Show

In case you haven't read it, Paul Farhi gave The Mike O'Meara Show a very firm Thumbs Down on today's Station Break chat on the Washington Post website. Although, he tries to spin out of it near the end of the first response but the second response definitely gives his true feelings. "To each his/her own" indeed. Yeah, that doesn't sound too dismissive.

Arlington, Va.: Hey Paul -- What do you think of the new Mike O'Meara show? One thing is for sure; the meanness has been toned down quite a bit. I guess that confirms what we thought all along -- it was Geronimo that was responsible for the Bile-drenched tone of the show. And I say good riddance. How about you?

Paul Farhi: Yes, it's kinder/gentler, but goshdarn, I miss that old bile-spewer Geronimo. The show had more, um, spunk (cut to clip of Lou Grant saying, "I hate spunk!") with Don in the chair. I'll repeat what I said last time: Give Mike O. some time to ease into the lead; he's a really fine broadcaster and superb comic talent. But I really do miss the "edge" that Don had.
_______________________

Tyson's, Va.: How have the ratings been for "The Mike O'Meara" show? Did he keep the audience from the "Don and Mike Show?" Is it too early to tell? I liked Don & Mike together a lot, but I enjoy the tweaked format (and more Buzz Burbank) that the Mike O'Meara Show has.

Paul Farhi: To each his/her own. And yes, it's a little early on ratings for the new show.

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New Dark Knight Trailer hits the Web

The one bummer about living in a Podunk town is not getting a hit of some great pop culture exploits. One of these is the whole hyper-viral Dark Knight campaign. I would've loved to take part in this treasure hunt-style zaniness that Warner Brothers is crafting. But thanks to the latest advances in technology, anyone with an Internet connection can at least experience the same thrill of seeing the new trailer (albeit filtered through a crappy phone camera). Click on the image of the Joker to see the trailer in its entirety.

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Your 5 Random Facts for April 29th

Tying up loose strings kinda day - eerily similar to the Hawks getting back to 2-2 against the heavily favored Celtics last night.

1. Being a comic book store owner in Michigan is kinda like playing Russian Roulette with a fully loaded, semi-automatic handgun. Not even six months after George Michael received a conviction sentence for killing his former comic store co-owner and wife by making the murder look like a robbery, another comic book store owner (Daniel Pirkola) in Grand Rapids was shot during a robbery of the store. iFanboy is taking donation to help this store owner pay for the hospital bills.


2. Here's one word that proves why Kobe Bryant should win the MVP award over his two competitiors, Chris Paul and Kevin Garnett - sweep. Neither of the other two could help his team do that against lower seeded and supposedly weaker teams. Plus, Bryant came through in the clutch with the majority of his points for the game in the fourth quarter to close out the Nuggets. Wish the same could've been said of KG.


3. Def Leppard's CD, Songs from the Sparkle Lounge, is released today and I'm still not convinced that they're a better group without "Mutt" Lange at the producer's helm based on the first single, Nine Lives.


4. In a reverse of last week's Nerds Need Love Too post, an Oakland programmer was convicted of killing his wife; even though her body or a murder weapon was never recovered.


5. I can understand the recycling of 80's music and 80's fashion. But what I don't see is going back to the 80's for a comic book mini-series; even if Millar is involved.

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Clemens Strikes Out on Character Issue

Put the scarlet letter next to all of those Ks that Roger Clemens used to get. The New York Daily News reported yesterday that Clemens was involved with country singer Mindy McCready for over 10 years when he was with the Red Sox and she was a 15 yr old karaoke singer.

Those same reports have the singer flying in Clemens' private jet, meeting up with Clemens in his apartment in Toronto, Clemens sending cash via Fed Ex during McCready's financial troubles and love notes to Clemens in McCready's CD liner notes. These accusations definitely gives the appearance that the former pitching ace is much more about hanging with this lady than his wife and family which only helps Brian McNamee's fight against the personal defamation suit brought by Clemens at the beginning of this year. The article reflects that McCready ended the affair by her own accord in 2006. Clemens' legal counsel has stated that the relationship was platonic; although with the details listed above, that seems hard to believe that there wasn't something going on between a 15 year old girl and a 28 year old married man with two kids.

It is funny when you think that he probably could've retired a few years ago and hid like Mark McGuire has done so he could await Hall of Fame enshrinement. But he wanted more for less. So, he had teams bid on his services for the highest salary in abbreviated seasons with the Astros and Yanks falling for his aw-shucks act.

For all of those fans out there who hate the way high-end baseball players ignore loyalty for the sake of the all-mighty dollar, it is nice to see Clemens' mercenary tendencies bite him in the ass. I wouldn't be surprised if an old two-time teammate who once has a sex scandal himself while he was playing comes to his aid and helps him with the sex addict defense that lost his trial with Margo.

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Your 5 Random Facts for April 28th

Here's to kissing in a new idea. Let me know if you like it in the comments section.

1. Iron Man is gonna be the hit that the trailers are making it out to be judging by the critical love the movie is getting. Rotten Tomatoes has the movie at 86% fresh (which would be higher if Kirk Honeycutt's "marvel-ous" review from the Hollywood Reporter was counted).
2. That old man who is accused of kidnapping his daughter for 24 years over in Austria is on serious sicko.
3. John Clayton needs to get more familiar with a dictionary if he thinks that the Patriots are losers on the first day of this year's NFL Draft. From where I'm sitting, paying less for a top-quality player in a deep LB pool is a good thing.
4. The Sox were swept by the Rays is more indicative of how much better the team from Tampa is right now than the offensive slump that the Sox are in.
5. Kellogg's has cornering the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls tie-in stuff with swag such as an adventure spoon, a canteen, a search light, and for $11.99 (plus token), the Raiders of the Lost Ark DVD in Widescreen format, no less. Click here to find all of the merch available.
   

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The Friday Favorite - Don Geronimo Then and Now

Recently, I have been finding myself listening to some of the Best of Don and Mike at work and located some quality D&M stuff on the old Net. So, here's a Then and Now of the recently retired Doni G. First off is a commercial from Chicago with Donald P. Geronimo as a solo morning DJ at B96:

For the Now part, here's the last time that Don got some "live" air time from the CBS Evening News:



What's funny about this is that the underlying theme of relaxing is something is a total 180 from what Don's professional life is.

And in case you are wondering, The Friday Favorite comes from Don and Mike when they used to reference I. Probably the best bit that involved listener participation outside of the Christmas favorite Kill, Maim or Torture - a game where yours truly played back in the early 90s and got two out of three. But that's a story for another time.

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Paramount bumps release date for Iron Man

Maybe in an effort to get as much money as possible as the first entrant into this summer of Superhero Blockbuster/Tentpole movies, Paramount has slightly bumped the release date for Iron Man from May 2nd to the night of May Day otherwise known as May 1st. So, while there will be reviews for this film by that night on the blogosphere, come back here on Friday night for the Fanatical Review of Iron Man.

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TNT brings the funny with "Kobe Leap" satire

TNT has been so dominant in their three-man NBA studio team that it's been copied by not only other network basketball shows but it has spread to NFL studio shows as well. And here's another reason why you should tune for the next 40 nights:

While I've read that it would've been funnier to see Charles Barkley do the bit, label me in the minority as Kenny Smith is still has that "the little terrier" mentality and it would make sense for him to be the one to try to top Kobe. Good stuff all around; although, call me crazy but it doesn't appear like Kobe doesn't cotton to having the piss taken out of him on this one.

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Pickup Ball Hilarity

I know this vid is probably over a year old but it still is holds true. And as I have always said - if you haven't seen it, it's new to you..

11 Guys At The Playground - Watch more free videos

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"The Spirit" Teaser trailer online

Here's the first teaser trailer for the Frank Miller-helmed The Spirit:

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

My random thoughts from the minute plus glimpse - Don't look like the Will Eisner's Spirit that I've read; color scheme looks off; While hard-boiled is an element in the comic book version, it's over-the-top here; If I didn't know any better (read non-comic reader), I would've said that this CGI/Green Screen-centric pic looks like a sequel to Sin City and that's not a compliment. Overall, I have a feeling that this movie will fall into this year's superhero cinematic reject pile with the likes of Wanted, the new Hulk movie and Speed Racer.

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Symon will try to make "Dinner: Impossible" possible

Here's a follow-up to an earlier post about Food Network's 3rd highest rated show, Dinner: Impossible, being called done by yours truly. A press release from the cable channel came out last week with the news that Michael Symon, the winner of last year's Next Iron Chef America show, will take over for the deposed Robert Irvine.

Other tidbits about the show were that the actual content will stay the same with the actual show length will grow from 30 minute to an hour. Symon is based out of Cleveland and the people from his two restaurants, Lola and Lolita, will tag along with the chef to the challenges that he is presented with on the show.

I'm not sure if how the show will translate with the new host. From what I have seen of Symon on Iron Chef America and the Next Iron Chef America, he doesn't seem as outlandish or as gregarious as Irvine, who made the show a little more watchable and entertaining if for nothing else other than his very British accent. I'll tune in to see the first episode but I have a feeling that I won't come back.

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Transitional Cotton = Eco-friendly

For those (like me) who didn't undersand the title of this post, here is a little explanation about what Transitional Cotton is and what it means to the Earth:

For cotton to be certified organic, it must be grown without chemical fertilizers, defoliants or pesticides for at least three years. What about cotton that's newly introduced to the process? It's called transitional cotton.

The only reason why I knew about this Earth Day friendly process was going to of all places, Wal-Mart. There are a ton of screened T-shirts with some funny (and not so-funny) slogans and images. And since I am an addicted collector of many things and it was concerning a T-shirt, I had to buy one (it's pictured below). As I explained to the wife, I bought one because it was for - you know - the Earth. That and I'm a proud owner of a ducti wallet.

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The Mike O"Meara Show gets grilled

Mike O'Meara (in red) along with Buzz Burbank (in the gray shirt) and Robb Spewack (sporting the Magnum P.I. look) bring the Mike O'Meara show outside with the Mike O"Meara's Welcome Back ot Fairfax BBQ at 10800 Main St. Fairfax, VA. The BBQ was broadcasted live on last Friday, April18th. More pictures can be found here.

One other item concerning the O'Meara Show on WJFK - it's now on the good old iTunes. Click here to subscribe.

Lastly, for those who may have missed it, click here to read the Fanatical Review of the first ever Mike O'Meara Show.

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Events seem fishy on "Deadliest Catch"

Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch is one of the favs in my household due to it's gritty portrayal of the rough and funny Bering Sea fisherman. But due to a leaked outline that detailed some possibly questionable editing and some reshoots/pickup shots concerning one of the documented ships flooding, Discovery and the show's production house, Original Prods., are doing some major spin control in an attempt to keep what the New York Times praised as "the realest of all reality shows."

This news almost comes right on the heels of last year's Man versus Wild revelation of the host, a man aptly named Bear, was not exactly roughing it as the title of the show suggested. If these events described in the outline are true, it could really become a point of contention as watchers may not be as trusting of this or any reality show's veracity. And even if these accusations are false, the Reality TV Show genre has proven once again that the "real" stars of its shows aren't the talking ones in front of the cameras.

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Samantha Fox was wrong

File this bit o' news under too much time on his hands, watching too many chick flicks and that nerds need love, too.

Some guy in Jersey decided to propose to his girlfriend by redesigning her favorite video game, PopCap's Bejeweled, to say those magic words when she hit a certain score. And in a move that is basically unheard of in this litigious world, PopCap wasn't even mad. Plus they're gonna supply the game, unmodified, to all of the wedding guest as party favors. Lawyers around the word will be despondent until the divorce process begins.

My questions that never will be answered - How long did it take him to re-code the change? What the score threshold was? How many attempts it took her to get to that score? But one thing is for sure - at least, she was the one to sweat out getting the proposal instead of the other way around..

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The Friday Favorite - Hear 'N Aid "We Are Stars"

Here's a great benefit song from the mid 80s. Not as big as We Are The World or (Do They Know) It's Christmastime but probably on par with Sun City. Great discussion points:

• Many bad 'Fro Mullets


• Michael McKeon again gloming on the Benefit Bandwagon (he's also on We Are The World)


• The late Kevin DuBrow (Quiet Riot) in full cheesey rocker form


• Geoff Tate with a horrid half-mohawk/half-Tears for Fears hair style

I could go on but just watch it for yourself:

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"Cursed" Jersey is a lucky windfall for the Jimmy Fund

Just a quick follow-up concerning the unearthed Yank Curse David Ortiz Jersey - the Yanks did a real good thing by giving it to the Jimmy Fund to raise some much needed money for the pediatric cancer clinic. eBay is hosting the auction and is already over $30K within the first day.

I just hope that the winning bidder will take the tax write-off and give it to the Baseball Hall of Fame. I mean, just look at that picture and tell me it wouldn't look good in a shadow box up on the wall in Cooperstown.

On a somewhat related sidenote, how many people think that the supposed curse that was supposed to dog the Yanks in their new stadium instead is killing Ortiz at the plate right now? He's hitting .121 with only 1 HR, 4 RBIs and 10 total bases. Definitely neded him to do better than 1 for 5 with 1 RBI when the Sox bullpen decided to douse the Yankees' run-producing fire with gas.

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Wii Fit packaging released

I don't know why but I am looking forward to Wii Fit. It might be because of how innovative the controls will be or that it's more like Wii Sports but May 21st doesn't seem like it'll be here fast enough. To help sate my impulsiveness, the good folks at Amazon have many images; two of which are of the game packaging - the front shown above. Amazon also are taking pre-orders if that's your thing. So, do me a solid and get one for yourself.

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New Barenaked Ladies Video - "7 8 9"

BNL's first kids CD, Snack Time, won't be out until the first Tuesday in May but that doesn't mean that you have to wait that long to hear the first "single". The boys from Canada have released an animated music video for the song 7 8 9.

If you listen carefully, you'll not only hear a smattering of They Might Be Giants' kid work but also Schoolhouse Rock and Sesame Street. To me, that's a good recipe for some of the funny. But, don't let me be the only arbiter of what's good, check it out for yourselves below and let me know what you think:

You can pre-order the CD (standalone or with a companion book) at the band's store.

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The Fanatical Review - "The new NFL Shield Logo"

Recently, the NFL decided to revamp their shield logo. For what reason, I have no idea but the new logo (for those who may not know) is the one on the right and it is unequivocally worse the the original source material. This point cannot be argued by anyone who doesn't have a vested (meaning financial) interest. Just compare the two. The new one looks like a cheap Korean knockoff.

Instead of refining the most iconic logo in all of Professional Sports, the numskulls at the National Football League went with the philosophy, "Less is More" and cheapened the end result. By removing almost all of the stars, taking off half of the laces and blocking the letters, the logo looks like it's been dumbed down; as if today's fan can't handle the flourish of the L or the pageantry of the stars.

This change wasn't necessary if only to sell more product to the fans by enticing them to buy new jerseys with the new shield on them. That type of money grabbing is not only exploitative but detrimental to the growth of the league. Using a football analogy, the NFL tried a end around reverse for a touchdown by changing their logo and ended up with a strip fumble returned for six.

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2008 New England Patriots Schedule Released

Here it is, gang! This year's schedule for the Pats (courtesy of Reiss' Pieces) is below with comments whenever necessary or not:

Sunday, Sept. 7 – Chiefs at Patriots (CBS, 1 p.m.) - A somewhat easy match-up; despite what the guys at HBO want you to think
Sunday, Sept. 14 – Patriots at Jets (CBS, 4:15 p.m.) - Ah, can you hear the deafening wail that is "Spygate" talk already humming?
Sunday, Sept. 21 – Dolphins at Patriots (CBS, 1 p.m.) - Last year's one loss team versus the one-win team. I wonder who will win? And thanks NFL for giving the Fish a pass at a winter game in Foxboro.
Sunday, Sept. 28 -- OPEN - Another way for the NFL to stick it to Kraft and Co by giving them a crappy bye-week.
Sunday, Oct. 5 – Patriots at 49ers (CBS, 4:15 p.m.) - Could be the first test of the Pats in the young season. Sorry, Mangenius.
Sunday, Oct. 12 – Patriots at Chargers (NBC, 8:15 p.m.) - Possible revenge for LDT and the chargers for getting punched in the mouth and not getting up?
Monday, Oct. 20 – Broncos at Patriots (ESPN, 8:30 p.m.) - Second straight National game and another team who always gets up for the Patriots
Sunday, Oct. 26 – Rams at Patriots (Fox, 1 p.m.) - Year Two of the Linehan Era will not result in a win here but good fantasy numbers for Steven Jackson
Sunday, Nov. 2 – Patriots at Colts (NBC, 8:15 p.m.) - The rematch of the 2008 AFC Cham.. Wait a sec, the Colts rolled over for the Chargers last year. Nevermind.
Sunday, Nov. 9 – Bills at Patriots (CBS, 1 p.m.) - An up-and-comer versus the stallward. Sounds like a replay of 1996 with the rolls reversed, obviously.
Thursday, Nov. 13 – Jets at Patriots (NFL Network, 8:15 p.m.) - I miss the days when Thursday NFL games only involved Thanksgiving and not the straight-up pimping of the league's network. At least Bryant will have to pay for his seat this year.
Sunday, Nov. 23 – Patriots at Dolphins (CBS, 1 p.m.*) - Sunny FLA for the holidays. Historically, this means trouble for the Pats.
Sunday, Nov. 30 – Steelers at Patriots (CBS, 4:15 p.m.*) - Another grudge match with the bye week looking like a year ago.
Sunday, Dec. 7 – Patriots at Seahawks (NBC, 8:15 p.m.*) - How fitting that the last year of Mike Holmgren's career and he gets to coach against the team that he won his only Super Bowl against. Maybe he can get Farve to have the Pack trade him so he can play for one game to jump start the big send-off.
Sunday, Dec. 14 – Patriots at Raiders (CBS, 4:15 p.m.*) - With the high drafts picks that Al Davis has received over the years of incompentacy, you would think that this would be a battle. I'm thinking not.
Sunday, Dec. 21 – Cardinals at Patriots (Fox, 1 p.m.*) - Last year, this would have been a tough match-up against the Pats' secondary. And with free agency hitting both sides, it still will be.
Sunday, Dec. 28 – Patriots at Bills (CBS, 1 p.m.*) - This game might determine who will get into the playoffs. Not for the Pats, who should have a spot already swen up but for the Bills.

* - subject to flexible schedule

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The Fanatical Review - "The Mike O'Meara Show"

The Mike O'Meara Show came to life yesterday afternoon at 3PM EST on the WJFK airwaves (and through syndication across the country). Normally, when something like this happens (usually in TV), it is considered a spin-off. It could be two ways - either like Frasier or The Tortellis. Personally, I was hoping for the former but preparing myself for the latter.

After listening to the entire show via Podcast (at the WJFK website - no iTunes support yet), it was neither as I found a talk radio show that decided to find its own voice by mergering a bit of the old bits and trying out some new things resulting in a somewhat off-balanced broadcast. That comment is, by no means, a half-empty, pessimist opinion.

The first part of the show was devoted to trying to establish what the new show was going to be about - from cast member involvement to topics being cover to even (gasp) live calls from listeners being taken. The talk seem somewhat stiff and guarded as th new direction of the show was being detailed. The ground got even shakier in the third segment when Craig Laughlin, the color analyst for the Washington Caps, was brought on the show to answer questions from both the cast and the callers. Midway into the segment, I thought that I had walked into this millenium's Ken Beatrice Show. It's not like I hate sports radio, but there's enough of that call-in radio show going around the dial right now.

Once that segment was out the door, I think the show began to find it's legs by highlighting its stars rather than outsiders (guests and callers). It started with a segment with Buzz Burbank giving short hits of news (a new bit that is scheduled for the top of each hour) and finally, the crew relaxed and began to banter back and forth with more frank discussion. Subjects such as Robb's hidden Catholic ties, the Obama/Clinton spinning of the word "bitter", Beth Ann's new enhancements and their choice of personal lube were great. The bit about the Employee of the Month was pretty solid as well. And of course, the news with Buzz was just as it was before, with Mike and Robb interrupting and improvising with voices and jokes with a gem about the John Adams HBO mini-series in the middle of the seventh segment . The end was somewhat unstructured and abrupt but that should become better as the show goes along.

The Mike O'Meara Show does carry the weight of 23+ years of The Don and Mike Show influencing listeners as it tries to stand out on its own. So, they are already at a disadvantage going in. Monday's show more or less tried to balance the general feel of the old show while providing some new content. The final results are still inconclusive but overall, the show looks like its heading in the right direction as long as it avoids the oncoming call-in radio format.

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Get a free $25 before the end of today

Just came across this nice alternative to the eBay owned PayPal called Revolution Money Exchange. And just like PayPal did back when they first were getting started, Revolution is giving away $25 per legal signup for new members before the end of today (April 15th). Click on the logo below to find out more:

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My "Dinner Party" Experience

If you are an Office fan, then Dinner Party was one for the time vaults. It had everything that makes The Office the show that it is - Michael fighting with Jan, Jim blissfully with Pam, Angela stiff-arming Andy's advances with Dwight heart breaking in the background and uncomfortableness aplenty. And, at least for me, this episode now holds a special place in my heart as it felt like watching an old home movie.

Ya see, I attened a dinner party somewhat like this one. The parallels were downright scary; the screaming, the destruction of property, the alcohol consumption, the cops being called. It was all there except for the aggressively drunk female biting through her boyfriend's leather jacket as he was restraining her, her getting arrested then dropping racial slurs at the cops. Just in case you were wondering, my girlfriend (soon-to-be wife) and I were the Jim and Pam (shocker) of this party.

And that's what sets The Office apart from another comedy like My Name is Earl is that the events on the show could actually be real. From office politics and romance to personal drama, reality seems never too far away from the party. And just like the Dinner Party episode, life sure is uncomforable but damn, it can be so funny.

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Sox win the series but lose the curse

The Beantown Nine won the rubber game against the Yanks tonight by the score of 8-5 but they possibly lost the New Yankee Stadium curse. The alleged shirt that was dropped in the foundation for the new stadium was located and extracted by the construction company that is responsible for doing the work on the stadium. It was reported that it took about five hours to unearth the shirt from two feet of concrete. Here's some footage courtesy of NECN:

Man, you got to love this rivalry for this sole reason, other than seeing the Steinbrenners pay Union weekend overtime wages just to find a piece of interred clothing. Maybe the curse wasn't something that would ever happen but you know that Yankees management couldn't take a chance for the infamous shirt to become a possible redux of the now World Famous curse, The Curse of the Bambino. This curse is only second to The Curse of Being Vanilla Ice.

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Multi-Millionaire NBA Superstar + Idle Time = Jackassery

I don't know about you but if I was Mitch Kupchak, I would make damn sure that this was the only time that my franchise player would try this possibly career-ending stunt because usually the Aston martin will win that game of chicken.

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A Friday Favorite - RuneScape + Disturbed = Funny Video

Sometimes, you gotta love kids with a ton of free time on their hands. Otherwise, you would never see something like a music video for the new Disturbed song, Inside The Fire, made entirely out of webcam clips of RuneScape, an online MMORPG. It's not the best homemade music video around but it's still pretty funny. Have a look for yourself:

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Idle Talk Kills Don and Mike Retrospective Podcast

If you listened to the first day of the Don and Mike Show (either live of on podcast), you could tell something was wrong and I'm not talking about the fact that the hosts, Robb Spewack and Buzz Burbank, sounded like they were mailing it in.

As the archived clips were playing during the entire day, Spewack and Burbank's personal conversation came in and out throughout which was not only irritating but rather rude since one time I heard Spewack refer to the week as "just like a Best Of show". Definitely put the specialness of the show into perspective.

It was like the radio mikes were still "hot" (a DJ term) even after they were switched off. Now, if this was like a DVD with the secondary conversation as a commentary track, I would've loved to hear both of them separately and in their entirety. But mashed together totally killed the good vibes that hearing the old clips provided.

Whoever was in charge of the board during that day should do everyone a favor and just quit so they could go back to the Columbia School of Broadcasting.

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Online Simpsons game is "somewhat" live

Don't let the image fool you. There's a new online Simpson game but it's not released for general consumption just yet. If you go to simpsonsride.com, you can kinda see that the real game looks to involve sort of ride (quite possibly a roller coaster). Definitely does whet the appetite for whatever waster-of-time game it could be.

However, there is another game that does have the same mindless but fun appeal as the last online game that I posted about (click here to read more on NANACA CRASH) but "Catapult to Krustyland" does Nanaca one better. Now, you can launch your old Simpsons avatar that you made to help promote the Simpsons Movie last summer high into the air with the chance to get over the wall to Krustyland. You could also choose Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno or one of the three Simpson-fied Presidential candidates (aptly named Senators Whitehair, Talkgood and Pantsuit) but why do that when you can see your creation take a header into a car stuck in a traffic jam?

Although, after playing it more than a few times, I came upon the realization that there are some major bugs in this game. The controls itself are somewhat flaky, changing characters doesn't work and there is sometimes a delay when trying to time of the launch. But to see the Simpson version of yourself (and let's face it - everyone simpsonized themselves for the avatar) launched into the air and fall helplessly to the ground with a thud like a rag doll is more than worth the possibility of getting caught by the boss.

At least, I felt that way...

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Red Sox get their rings and the shutout

The tired nine from Beantown had their season opener today in Fenway. Not only did they get their 2007 World Series rings but they got back to .500 for the 2008 season with a 5-0 shutout over the oddly slumping Detroit Tigers. The Tigers, who were picked by many to be the AL Central Division winners, are now 0-7. For those who do not know anything about baseball, that is not good. Other highlights from the game:

• Billy Buck (Bill Buckner) threw out the first pitch and seemed to be poised to put the past behind him; hopefully, the media can help by not replaying that same friggin play (that grounder from Game 6 of the 1986 World Series against the Mets) every time they have the opportunity. Show some restrain, you dolts.
• Danny Ainge and Bill Russell (Celtics), Tedy Bruschi (Patriots), and Bobby Orr (Bruins) along with various other players from the Boston sports organizations brought their World Championship hardware for the celebration.
• Red Sox legendary Johnny Pesky raised the World Series pennant with a little help from Big Papi.

If you want the in-game details or more info on the celebration, you can hit the Boston Globe website.

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Stone Temple Pilots announce 65-City Tour

Hopping on the cash cow called a Reunion Tour, the Stone Temple Pilots have released their 65-city touring schedule last week. They will make the leap back into the national spotlight with an appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel show on May 1st. Here are the first six dates that have been released followed by the official press release:

May 17 - Columbus, OH
May 18 - Camden, NJ
May 23 - Indianapolis, IN
May 31 - Holmdel, NJ
June 01 - Mansfield, MA
July 12 - Toronto, Canada

PRESS RELEASE: STP Reunites For First Time In Almost Eight Years, 65 City Tour

April 3rd, 2008

New York, April 3, 2008 -- One of this summer�s most highly-anticipated music announcements has arrived. Stone Temple Pilots have officially revealed that the band will be reuniting and will launch a massive 2008 concert tour encompassing over 65 dates and hitting all corners of North America. Marking the first national tour for Stone Temple Pilots in almost eight years, the 65 date stretch will bring the iconic band�s charismatic musicianship and exhilarating live shows to amphitheatres across North America. The tour is scheduled to kick off May 17th with the band headlining the Rock on the Range Festival in Columbus, OH and will continue through November 2008.

Stone Temple Pilots will celebrate the announcement of their reunion tour with an exclusive launch event, sponsored by Spin Magazine and Citi�s Private Pass Program to benefit the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, that will include a private performance for a select group of contest winners and fans at a secret location in California's Hollywood Hills. The full list of 2008 tour dates will be announced at the event.

A select # of tickets for the April 7th event will be available for purchase by going to www.vh1savethemusic.com, with all proceeds from the sale going to the charity. In addition, beginning, April 3rd, Citi�s Private Pass Program, available at www.privatepass.citi.com, will be offering a limited number of Gold and Platinum VIP packages to this exclusive, private event including tickets, exclusive merchandise and meet and greet experiences. Following the launch event, the reunited outfit will make their first national LIVE appearance on the The Late Show With Jimmy Kimmel on May 1st.

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Spectacular Spider-Man Theme Song Download

Came across this link on the internets and thought that I'd pass it along. To get the song, click on the image below.


Disclosure - If this MP3 happens to be in violation of some copyright code (RIAA or other institution) and you are the legal owner of said property, please contact me and I will remove the link that was discovered.

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Oswalt on Guaranteeing the Nerd Vote to Hilary

A pretty amusing bit on the April 4th Leno Show by Patton Oswalt, a fellow NoVa escapee.

A casual aside - If she does get elected, she should only be referred to as Prez Hilary for two reasons. First, it would get tiresome trying to differentiate her from her former president husband. And it would make perfect sense to elect her due to our nation's fascination with one-named celebrities.

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X Games x'es out Skateboard Vert

Hey, all of you wannabe pipe boys and gals better look into doing more kick-flips into manuals. Because Vert Skating is Dead! At least that's what Disney and ESPN decision makers thought when they removed Vert from this summer's X Games. Reason for the removal were low ratings, an older competitor pool and the rise in skateparks.

After reading the spin doctoring job over at the Worldwide Leader's URL, it looks like the X Games has finally embraced its dark side by finding another way to pimp their brand of "extreme sports" (which is an offensive word to all non-traditional sports of this nature) just so they can sell more crap to unwitting kids. The suits at Disney have no clue on how popular Vert is or isn't. They just looked at some bean counter's stats and made a knee-jerk decision. It's like the IOC (International Olympic Committee) deciding to kill the Men's High Bar and the Women's Uneven Bars just because the routines are the same and the competitors are older. It doesn't make too much sense.

Case in point - after reading the comments, there was a link to a 411vm.com Quicktime movie showing some younger skaters showing their moves on the half-pipe at the Tampa Am last month. And since I'm a full-service kinda guy, here is said video embedded below:

Now, after seeing that, why shouldn't those kids have a chance to get that national exposure that was given Hawk, Macdonald, Lasek and more recently, The Flying Tomato and Gagnon? If the quality is there (and usually with the trials, it is there at the X Games), people will watch. But without Vert in the mix, I know at least one household which will not have Corporate X Games on this summer.

But that's not the end of this story. After watching said Tampa Am vid, I really started to dig the track that was playing on the clip. Luigi was the name of the band and they had more than a few free MP3s available for DL. Great cuts like the one from the 411vm vid, My Will, Mariposa and Wash It Down. Their sound is more like the power pop sound of the early 90s before the crush of bad grunge/alternative killed the scene. Here's the only video of them I could find. The song is Single Cell off of the CD, Found on the Forest Floor:



I was truly hoping for this band to be on the verge of breaking through so I could hate them for selling out later. But it wasn't meant to be. They broke up at the end of February this year. Damn, now I'll have to add them to my collection of broken-up bands that I still like along with The Tories, Chalk Farm, Scapegoat Wax, Army of Anyone, and Sugar. At least, for me, there is something to take away from this X Games screw-up; even if it is so bittersweet.

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You Damned Dirty Ape! - Charlton Heston (1923-2008)

Cinema icon and the NRA's most famous (or considered by others, infamous) member, Charlton Heston, has passed away at age 84. Most people will recognize the actor for either Ben Hur or Moses. However, to me, thanks to the Saturday/Sunday afternoon movie double feature on cable, he will always be either George Taylor or Det. Robert Thorn. No matter what you thought of his politics, the guy could flat out deliver a memorable quote, which is what I'll leave as tribute to the man who brought so many characters to life on the stage and screen. It's from Planet of the Apes:

"I'm a seeker too. But my dreams aren't like yours. I can't help thinking that somewhere in the universe there has to be something better than man. Has to be. " - George Taylor

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Iron Man MySpace Exclusive

The press machine continues for Shellhead's new movie with this little exclusive MySpace snipet. I'm usually of the mindset that anything is too hyped, I tend to not only ignore it but look down my nose upon said material as a piece of mainstream bastardization. and yet, I still crave more and more of this movie. Damn you, Farveau. Damn you bloody good.

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Saturday Morning Video

In honor of Beyoncé deciding to find some other 38 year old to marry instead of waiting around for yours truly to hit the open market, here's the video when I first saw the future Mrs. Jay-Z; back when Destiny's Child was a four-piece. Raise your glasses - one more has left the showroom floor.

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The Fanatical Review - Femme Noir: The Dark City Diaries

Femme Noir: The Dark City Diaries #1 (of 4)

Writer: Christopher Mills
Penciler: Joe Staton
Inker: Horacio Ottolini
Colorist: Melissa Kaercher
Cover Artist: Joe Staton (Regular); Brian Bolland (Variant; shown above)
Publisher: Ape Entertainment

Book Synopsis: On the mean streets of Port Nocturne, justice is blonde. Join writer Christopher Mills and Eisner award-winning artist Joe Staton as they crack open the case files of crime fiction's most unusual sleuth in an attempt to unmask the mystery woman known only as… Femme Noir!

Review: It's a difficult task to make new crime/pulp comic books without coming off as dated or a rip-off of previous classic works. It's also hard to pull new readers in with a first issue of a new mini-series about a female protagonist. But the Femme Noir new mini-series from Ape Entertainment appears to have made the difficult seem easy.

This book is a quick read; but it is, by no means, an old recycled story. The story just pulls you in from the get-go with its rain and whiskey-soaked images and hard-boiled narrative. Mills pulls an interesting twist for the noir genre by using the male PI as more of a plot device to help advance the narrative forward from one scene to the next as a means to introduce each of the possible female suspects and their motivations behind possibly being the avenging vigilante. The dialogue and language used is pitch-perfect which only enhances the mood of the book.

Comic vet Staton bring his A game to this book. There is an Eisner-esque influence/vibe through out the book but there's no David Mack-like cut-and-paste job here. Yes, the three female leads are somewhat similar in looks and form and I think that it is intended. They aren't just the same figure with different hair colors and clothes. The city and backgrounds are solid and it actually seems to revel in its dark shadows. And my favorite scene is on page 6. When the assassin and his moniker are revealed, the book just reeks of classic 70's comics to me in a very good way.

Overall, Femme Noir: The Dark City Diaries #1 takes a relatively underutilized genre in comics and makes it a viable one. The action is fast and the women look even faster. And while the story concludes without the big reveal of the title character, it does whet the appetite for the next issue, which is what any good introductory issue should do.

For those of you who are into the alternative cover thing, be on the look out for variants by Matt Haley on Issue #2, Phil Hester on Issue #3, and Mike Weiringo on Issue #4. This issue was solicited in April Previews Catalog and can be pre-ordered through your local comic book store by using Diamond Code #APR083545.

More information on the whole Femme Noir series and its webstrip incarnation can be found at its website, Femme-Noir.com.

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New HULK Video Game Trailer Online

Here's a first look of SEGA's new HULK video game. I'm not digging it as much as the new Iron Man (or even the Lego Batman) game but it still could be a keeper. See for yourself:

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Geronimo bows early from "The Don & Mike Show"

It appears that retirement came for Washington DC's National Treasure, Don Geronimo (pictured above), a few months early according to the Nation's Capital media blog, DCRTV. Geronimo has decided to step down from his position when the show went on vacation on March 13th. However, starting Monday, April 7th, there will be a four days of highlights from the 20 years of the pair being together on-air done by regulars Buzz Burbank and Robb Spewack with the retired Geronimo coming back for a final send-off on Friday where the jokes will be as plentiful as the tears. On the following Monday (April 14th), the Mike O'Meara show will debut with a new producer in tow but one who is familiar with the show in the person of Beth Ann McBride.

For further info including some choice quotes from CBS Radio executives, click here to read the DCRTV write-up.

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Wiimote and iPhone - The New Tools To Counter Terrorism

Shades of the 80's "The Last Starfighter" - recent technological innovations in the way home gaming consoles and digital music are being used have bled over into the military sector. The Packbot (pictured above) is being developed in order to be controlled by a device that mimics the intuitive commands that a Wiimote uses (ie - where the motion sensors on the controller is directly mirrored on the robot). According to David Bruemmer, an engineer at the US Department of Energy's Idaho National Lab:

"Our tests show 90 per cent of the operator's workload goes into driving the robot rather than keeping an eye on the sensor data."

And iPhones are also getting into the mix as well by allowing the device to be use to receive images from the Packbot:

As an alternative to lugging a laptop around, there are plans to modify the Packbot to transmit footage compatible with the palm-sized iPhone. Its touch screen should also allow soldiers to manipulate the video captured by the robot more intuitively.

I understand why the military is modifying these relatively new products for tactical uses but I just find it sad that the government can't do the same kind of development and testing on these types of innovations that the R&D guys over at Nintendo and Apple can do simply because they have the financial capabilities and workforce to do so.

And I don't mean this as purely an American thing as the type of work that these robots do are the ones where they can save lives by disarming bombs or detecting land mines. I hate to get all political but there should come a time where the latest gaming innovation by Sony or Microsoft should take a back seat to something that can be used for the great good of the world.

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"Zack and Miri" make a website

Yesterday, the website for Kevin Smith's latest venture, Zack And Miri Make a Porno, went live. Nothing other than a nice flash slideshow and an excerpt from Entertainment Weekly hyping the script is on the main page. But never fear; I'm sure that it will be chockful of stuff once the release date closes in (aside from what the director may say). And just remember kiddies, this movie has nothing to do with The Asknewiverse. So, just because Jeff Anderson and Jason Mewes appear on said flick does not mean that their characters are any way, shape or form related to Randal Graves or Jay respectively.

PS. Sorry for lack of items today but it is vacation time and those damn time management skills are on holiday as well which means posting may be on the light side until next week. Cheers!

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