CURRENT TV

so with all the buzz about al gore's new station will 'current' be a hit or a flop? the website and cable station launches monday.

"Current will offer short-form programming in the TV equivalent of an iPod shuffle. It's 'pods' will be 15-second to five-minute segments that range from the hottest trends in technology, fashion, television, music and video games, to pressing issues such as the environment, relationships, spirituality, finance, politics and parenting, subjects that young adults can rarely find on television."

I think this is one of those things that I hope would do well because the basic idea is good but without a great ad campaign and lots of celebs seems to be destined to flop.

are the kids of today too jaded to give a shit?

The TV network has established an alliance with Google to broadcast "Google Current," short news segments based upon current Internet searches, including the latest searches based on Google Zeitgeist. The Google Current segments will be 30 seconds to three minutes and "buck conventional news practices by reporting not on what media editors decide is 'news,' but on the topics people are actually searching for right now. So news isn't what the network thinks you should know, but what the world is searching to learn," Current's press release says.

what do you think?

the cool thing seems to be that the viewers can also be collaborators which could be kind of cool seeing some viewer submissions. maybe I should do a segment about how much I rule.

now that would be good television.

CLASSIC

We rented E.T. and the girls saw it for their first time yesterday. Even though I clearly remember it from when I originally saw it along with Strider & family in the theater back in the day, I teared up right along with my 7 yr old. Needless to say, they loved it too. What a classic.

Plus, I'd forgotten C. Thomas Howell was in it (he's the "badass" bicycling, pizza-eating friend). He was my adolescent celebrity crush. Much of my babysitting money & allowance funded my collection of teen magazines that featured him, and I sent off more than my share of fan letters. I remember the day I got a postcard back in return. I was on cloud nine until mom subtly pointed out it was from a mass-processed lot with a stamped autograph. I went from crushing to crushed in that moment. But mom really did me a favor saving me from the truly crushing blow that would be Soul Man.

Update: Click this link to see the original preview for Soul Man. There's an annoying Walgreen's add first, so feel free to yell ripoff at your screen. But it's worth it because it's so hilariously '80s and its funny to see who else was in the cast!

PAIN IN THE ASS

A Kansas woman has filed a lawsuit seeking damages for severe burns on her rear end caused by chemicals used to clean a toilet at a Denny's Restaurant. (Thanks, Fark)

*Sigh*, guys have it so easy...

TURD BLOSSOM!

CENSORSHIP SUCKS

please add your own curse words in the comment section to show our dissatisfaction for censorship.

I will start it...

shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker and tits.
(thank you george carlin)

as george says..."Bad words. That's what they told us they were, remember? 'That's a bad word.' 'Awwww.' There are no bad words. Bad thoughts. Bad Intentions."

ROVE IS MR. HANKY?

About a dozen papers objected to Tuesday's and Wednesday's "Doonesbury" comic strips, and some either pulled or edited them. The strips refer to Rove, the White House deputy chief of staff, as "Turd Blossom." Among those with concerns was the Providence (Rhode Island) Journal, whose editors removed the offensive word from the strip's final panel.

I don't get it. Personally I think referring to Rove as a "turd blossom" is a huge understatement. Even so, why is it acceptable for the President to refer to his senior aide as a "Turd Blossom", when it's apparently too offensive to print in a politically satirical comic strip?!

THE D!

I can't wait!

TENACIOUS D IN: THE PICK OF DESTINY

JB AND KG RULE!

if you are do not know of the D you should be ashamed!

learn of the power of the D and bow down and praise them!

AT LEAST I GOT A NICE TAN!

For the record, Expedia reviews are full of shit because the Carousel Hotel sucked. Why? For starters the long lines waiting for their 2 sole elevators servicing 22 floors that closed as fast as they opened which only those brave enough to risk losing an appendage were able to access. Housekeeping was MIA until we returned from a full day at the beach and called for service every single day. The staff was incompetent at best. Hubby's inquiry if the empty USA Today bins could expect delivery was answered with a shrug (really!). My repeated requests for assistance accessing in-room internet were finally met with a visit from Turk the Shaft-reincarnated maintenance dude who insisted that all the rooms had no internet access followed by a nasty exchange with the front desk which prompted a visit from a butch security guard dudette (guess they knew I was on the verge of going Russell Crowe at that point), who then arranged for a call from Gary the condominium sales dude who then failed to keep his promise of coming to help.

My attempt to soothe my frustrations with a Cafe Mocha at their touted Starbucks bar was met with a cup full of awful tasting liquid in a Starbucks cup. When I nearly spit it out, they promptly took it and added overly sweetened glop from a machine. Did I mention there were flies swirling en mass inside the hotel? Not to be outdone, dinner at Paoli's "fine Italian dining" was anything but. The food was tasteless and way overpriced, the wine was warm and watered down, peeling molding revealed rotted walls and the restrooms stank from clogged plumbing. I'm guessing their "I heart Bob" and "We heart Our Gov." signs plastered on the windows along with the autographed photographs from Maryland's Governor stating "Thanks for your support" keep that place open.

And still keeping in the spirit of a good rant, though the beach was beautiful and the boardwalk was fun, we felt like sardines packed between the masses. And we did manage to enjoy one good meal (at Fresco's), though sadly it wasn't until our last dinner.

So, as promised my blogger buddies, your souvenir:

"Sar went to Ocean City and all she brought me was this rant!"

HEY HORN!

my wife saw this short infomercial and showed it to me and I laughed my ass off so I had to go find it and post it for all of you.

my favorite part is....NICE BOOTY...and...SHALOM

this thing is freeking 59.99! who the hell is buying it?

I also like the page here that has the "simulator" so you can see what the horn sounds like to say different things.

apparently saying "hola", "hey there good looking can I take you to dinner" and "hey there's a party tonight, you should come, bring a friend" are all the same sound.

now that's a pretty universal horn!

let me know what you will use it for to say to people.

who deserves a honk or two?

MOVIE NEWS

E.T. the extra-terrestrial 2
supposedly spielberg is considering a follow up to the classic. this time he wants to try the peanut butter cups.

meet the little focker
so I guess we are gonna see how many focking movies they can milk out of this. (to tell you the truth I actually like the first two)

corpse bride
now that I got my tim burton fix I am ready for more. fans of the nightmare before christmas are sure to love corpse bride coming out in september. check out the trailer here.

the exorcism of emily rose
I am just a fan of any sort of exorcism kind of stuff and this one looks really good. plus it's all true....right?

untitled teenage mutant ninja turtle movie
cgi version. make them stop. who greenlights this shit?

untitled cgi smurf movie
(see above)

transformers
TRANSFORMERS...MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE!
yes your favorite toys growing up will be made into a live action movie. now here is the weird part...the names connected to this film are stephen spielberg and michael bay. is there hope for this movie? I think so! who are your favs? autobots or decepticons?

saw II
I liked the first one...lets just see a bit more gore in this next one...what do you say? I want to SEE them actually sawing their own legs off this time! see the teaser trailer here.

aeon flux
first watch this
now 2 things...
1. lets hope it's as cool as the cartoon was (from what we get to see it looks good)
2. yes I would pay to see that.

the 40 year old virgin
I tried to look up and find out what a cincinatti bowtie was after seeing this "mature" version of the trailer and had no luck...anybody know what it is? by the way...the movie looks really good.

walk the line
the first trailer is out for walk the line staring joaquin phoenix as johnny cash. i think it looks great...what do you think?

SCOTTY HAS BEEN BEAMED UP

fellow nerds, geeks and sci fi fans join me in remembering and giving props to james doohan otherwise known as scotty the chief engineer from star trek. he died today at age 85.

thanks for helping to make star trek one of the best shows ever on TV.

his last request was to have his remains shot into space.

now that's a true trekkie.

RIP James Doohan

THE ROVE-ING AYE

Proof that Bush is looking for a distraction from the Rove scandal?

Bush nominates conservative and non-female federal appeals court judge John G. Roberts Jr. whose nomination could trigger a tumultuous battle over the direction of the nation's highest court, senior administration officials said.

Oh, and he chose to do it in a prime-time press conference.

Wonder how the honorable judge Roberts feels about becoming the latest Bush pawn.

UPDATE: Want further proof? Check this out (tx Political Forecast).

IT'S A START

NEW YORK - If you're a moviegoer who hates sitting through the Fandango sack puppets, coming attractions and Inconsiderate Cell Phone Man, here's some really good news: Loews Cineplex Entertainment will begin advertising movie showtimes with a note saying most movies actually start 10 to 15 minutes later because of all those commercials, public service announcements and previews.

now that is all well and good and it shows that the movie theatres know that it's pissing people off...but I still don't want commercials before my movie! I pay too much damn money to have to sit through them.

plus I don't know about you but if I am hanging with friends we often spend time chatting before the movie starts. it will still be a huge commercial being flashed up on a 30ft screen demanding to be noticed. F that...

also don't we all know already that we are going to see 8 commercials before a movie? (we counted before charlie and the chocolate factory)

maybe we can start some kind of civil disobedience and yell something at the commercials or talk really loud over them making the point that you are not going to sit and stare at it. I don't know...I am just winging it here....any ideas out there?

maybe these guys have the right idea.

BE A WITNESS

beAWitness.org

MEDIA-US:Michael Jackson Easily Trumps Darfur on Nightly News

beAWitness.org

WASHINGTON, Jul 12 (IPS) - U.S. broadcast media are failing to provide even
minimal coverage of the ongoing crisis -- some say genocide -- in Darfur, Sudan,
according to a new report, which concludes that media fixation with celebrity,
as well as the Iraq war, is crowding out news of important events that deserve
global attention 10 years after the genocide in Rwanda.

beAWitness.org

join me and tell the TV networks to cover genocide in Darfur

I am inviting you to take action to tell the TV networks to do their job and cover
the situation in Sudan. I already sent a message to beAWitness.org and you can too by visiting http://www.BeAWitness.org

please go to http://www.beawitness.org/ and take action today!

thanks,
strider

IS IT A CRIME?

Mr. Cooper said in his article that Mr. Rove did not mention the name of Mr. Wilson's wife, Valerie Wilson, or say that she was a covert officer. But, he wrote: "Was it through my conversation with Rove that I learned for the first time that Wilson's wife worked at the C.I.A. and may have been responsible for sending him? Yes. Did Rove say that she worked at the 'agency' on 'W.M.D.'? Yes. Is any of this a crime? Beats me."

what do you think? is it a crime?

(thanks to the wizard of whimsy for the pic.)

THIS IS FREAKY!

I watched this late at night and it really did freak me out!

watch it with the lights off at 3am for maximum effect.

UPDATE:
after watching this thing I did some research to see who made it and find out what else I could see from that director because it was soooo good.

so here is the deal...the video (called rubber johnny) was made by chris cunningham.
when I found this out I felt silly for not knowing. it is along the lines of everything else he does.

rubber johnny:
synopsis: johnny is a hyperactive, shape-shifting mutant child, kept locked away in a basement. with only his feverish imagination and his terrified dog for company, he finds ways to amuse himself in the dark.

chris cunningham is a brilliant director who started out making videos for artists such as bjork (all is full of love), placebo (36 degrees) aphex twin, madonna (frozen), and portishead (only you). to me his 2 most memorable are the videos for widowlicker by aphex twin (it's also freaky and weird - watch it here) and the video for come to daddy by apex twin but his videos are all great. watch out cus I am not sure if the whole videos are represented and some can be offensive (language) and can be pretty freaky. this is just a few of his videos. he is now embarking on making short films of which rubber johnny is one. the clip being bounced around the internet is the trailer for it. (and the muic in it is aphex twins). someone needs to get this guy to make a full length film ASAP!

if you want to see more buy this (I have it and it's great).

there is a series of dvd's released called the director series. the first 3 are great and now looking at amazon I see a 4th 5th 6th and 7th have been released.

off to the store for me!

I WAS JUST THINKING...

I'm tired.

ROAD TRIP ENTERTAINMENT

Tomorrow morning we're headed out on a road trip up to New Jersey to spend time catching up with family & friends, then hitting Ocean City, Maryland with my best friend and her family on the way back (not to worry, Strider will keep the posts going & I'll pop on to participate in comments as often as I can). At least I can pass the time checking out the bumper stickers along the way (how do you like this one I found?!).

AND...in honor of our upcoming 4700th and 4747th visitors, feel free to leave a comment with your topic or image request for the next post I do (Strider's off the hook for this one, since I'm the "47" freak).

LOOKING BACK

these two sites show very well the impact of the war in terms of casualties.

this one shows where all the soldiers who have died are from and where the constrictions in the US are.

click here

this one is more dramatic. it shows a time running timeline and the deaths in iraq. when you watch this one you realize just how wrong they were about the 'mission accomplished'

click here

now that we have looked back...lets look forward and come up with a plan.

THE VERDICT IS IN

Four months after being convicted of overseeing the $11 billion WorldCom fraud, Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in prison today.

Investor Reaction?

"The man's 63," Cavallo (who lost tens of thousands of dollars in retirement money) told reporters. "He's going to die in jail. How much sterner could you get?"

Restitution?

Ebbers will forfeit nearly all his personal assets to settle a civil suit filed by aggrieved investors. Under that settlement, Ebbers' wife will be left about $50,000 of Ebbers' assets and a modest home in Jackson, Miss. A far more lavish family home in Brookhaven, Miss., will be sold off as part of the settlement.

Wow. I guess Ebbers never heard the saying "money is the root of all evil".

WAY TOO LUCKY

some lady in pennsylvania won the lottery two times within a year.

"...she won $1 million playing a Pennsylvania Lottery scratch-off ticket, then turned around and won another million-dollar jackpot last week...The odds of winning just once are 1.44 million-to-1, according to state lottery officials...Lehigh University professor Bob Storer placed the odds of winning twice at 419 million-to-1, if 100 tickets are played."

I am sorry but at some point there will be some massive payback. I wouldn't stand too close to her in a thunderstorm.

actually...seems to me karl rove has had a good run for a while. maybe it's about time for some payback for him...what do you think?

LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE!

In June 2004, Bush pledged to dismiss any leakers of Valerie Plame's identity. Now that we've learned slimy Karl Rove is the leak, shouldn't we be hearing of his dismissal along with a major mia culpa from the White House who previously denied Rove's involvement? Nope. Today, we learned that Bush supports Rove. Unfreakinbelievable...and yet not surprising.

Listen up administration - we're not suckers, and shame on you for continuing to play us as if we are!

PUCKER UP SONNY!

I can't get over this article. Excerpt:

A Berlin grandmother who has worked the city's diplomatic quarter as a prostitute for the last 49 years plans to retire when she turns 64 next year, according to Germany's Bild newspaper. "I'm going to stop at 64 and retire," said Dolle, whose husband drops her off for work each night after the television evening news and who has a nine-year-old granddaughter. She is one of 10,000 prostitutes in Berlin and 400,000 in Germany, where prostitution is legal. Dolle said she tried to work in a popular red light district nearby recently but was chased away by younger competitors.

What I want to know is why exactly do the younger prostitutes feel so threatened by the grandmother prostitute?

CHEERS!

One of my favorite things about Sound Destruction is the dialog that ensues in our comments. At last count, 61 comments were logged for the previous post. Though I'm not sure how that compares to the volume of other blogs' comments, I'm simply amazed and thrilled by it.

So, in recognition of Araider's off-the-wall comments and the hearty banter that followed, I offer a resounding cheers (vodka brand nod courtesy of Tom Harper's earlier comment) to all our comrades. May you all continue to exercise your freedom of speech and let your voices be heard.

OVER THERE

I am just gonna come out and say it...

when we are told "we are fighting them over there so they don't attack us here"...didnt we mean the middle east?

Four London Blasts Kill 40, Injure 700 (and the numbers may go up)

what I find most striking is this...

"...either Britain's police nor the intelligence services had any warning of the attacks."

that's what we get for taking our eye off the ball.

shame on bush for getting us into this mess in iraq and not fighting the real war on terror, shame on congress for letting him do whatever he pleases and shame on the american people
(that includes me) for letting all of them get away with it!

so any of you out there with your..."they haven't attacked us again so bush is doing a good job" bull shit...please change that to..."at least they haven't decided to attack an american city again yet." because (as much as i hate to admit this) they probibly could have done this in the US if they so desired right at this moment.

(I would just like to say "hi" to all the FBI/CIA agents visiting our site today.)

WHY 47?

47 has always been my favorite number, probably because it's my birthday. Hubby thinks I'm nutty because I'll notice it everywhere we go.

Me: "Look, we're passing mile marker 47!"
Hubby: "Yeah, and...."
Me: "Well, it's 47, isn't that cool?!"
Hubby: "Um, sure, hon."

Lately we've been catching up on the first 3 seasons of Alias (thanks for the loan, Moxie & Kid B!) and damn, there are a lot of references to 47! I've been trying to find out why JJ Abrams (creator of Alias) is as obviously obsessed with this number as I am. I ruled out his birthday. But in my search I did learn that the CIA (focal part of Alias for those of you who don't watch it) was established in 1947. And I found out there's a 47 Society where other freaks like me dork out over 47 sightings too. So is JJ Abrams or his writing staff members of and paying homage in their writing to this society? Apparently the Star Trek writers were back in the day.

Answers, I need answers....

Places To Go, Things To See

Today I am the Guest Star Lexicographer at Waking Ambrose, hosted by one of our regular commenters, Doug (below is my contribution). I urge you to visit Waking Ambrose to view the master craft words housed in irony like no other. Thanks again Doug for the invite and your awesome review of Sound Destruction!

Knee-jerk, adj. Foregoing the luxury of reason and integrity, preferring a physical or mental exertion predicated on deceit often with dire consequences.

Knee-jerk, n. Aerobics for Politicians.

And in other great news, Strider has provided his latest installment of Movie News in the next post - enjoy!

MOVIE NEWS

KING KONG
if you live under a rock and haven't seen this trailer yet...see it here.
peter jackson kicks ass...that's all there is too it.

please sign this too >>> LET THE HOBBIT HAPPEN!

murderball
first of all...docs rule
second of all...docs about wheelchair rugby rule more!
third...where can I go to see quad rugby live?!?!

follow up to batman begins
latest rumored possibility for the joker in batman begins 2? sean penn. I think it works but that may be because I am such a big sean penn fan. I even saw the pledge, the crossing guard and the indian runner! (plus I had the spicoli checkered vans long before it became hip to wear them again...just ask sar!)

the brothers grimm
with this movie I have the same problems I had with 'war of the worlds'...hate tom cruise/love spielberg. in this one its love gilliam hate matt damon. the way I figure it out is I weigh it out...I love gilliam more than I hate damon....I guess I will be seeing it. (trailer)

fun with dick and jane
this looks entertaining. it makes me want to spice up my life. maybe I will rob a starbucks on the way to work tomorrow. (trailer)

alice
ok...keep up with me...this is a adaptation of a video game which is an adaptation of lewis carrolls fairy tale. sarah michelle gellar will play alice who returns to wonderland after her home is destroyed and family killed. sounds like fun!

shadow divers
true story about wreck drivers who discovered a sunken u-boat off the NJ shore in 1991. I have this book sitting on my shelf and I need to read it asap. (I have been told it is great.) hopefully it will make a great movie. ridley scott is directing so it should be.

underdog
yup...that's right...never fear...underdog is here...to make a crapy movie about an animated dog. then again they did make 2 scooby doo movies...someone likes crapy movies out there. raise your hand if you contributed to the $457,117,536 these two (1,2) scooby movies made...SHAME ON YOU!

untitled rodney dangerfield biopic
the same people who made "ray" are going to make a biopic on rodney. hopefully they will give him some respect. <<-- that statement was lame...can you do better?

v for vendetta
all I know about this is that there is a scary looking mask...and it considered the 1984 of graphic novels. sounds good to me! (where is my brother? I bet he knws all about this!)

dallas: the movie
who shot j.r.? I thought anyone who gave a shit already knew! why oh why hollywood must you make this shit?!? how long before alice: the movie? no no...not the alice I mentioned above...this alice!

the untouchables: capone rising
a prequill to the untouchables...any thoughts on who should play a young sean connery and robert deniro? ewen mcgregor is the obvious choice for sean...but who is a youg deniro?

charley and the chocolate factory
see lots of clips here...my favorite quote yet......"everything in this room is eatable...even I'm eatable... but that's called cannibalism my dear children and is in fact frowned upon in most societies."

War Of The Worlds

Strider & I saw War Of The Worlds this weekend. Relax, I'm not about to throw out any spoilers. Rather, just a few observations. Tom Cruise still can't act. If I had the luck of Tom Cruise's character, I'd buy every lottery ticket and wind up so rich, Bill Gates would be hitting me up for cash. I also found it odd that in one scene all the neighbors had sheets hanging on the line in their backyards. Okay first of all, does this neighborhood have a designated linen washing day? And why didn't they use their dryers? Because there's no way in urban New Jersey they were trying to achieve that fresh outdoor crisp linen scent! Oh, and the special effects were amazing.

FOX VS AL-JAZEERA (COMING SOON)

It has fought repeatedly with Washington, which says its exclusive broadcasts of Osama bin Laden speeches show an anti-American, pro-terrorist bias. Its freewheeling broadcasts have decimated state-run TV stations across much of the Arab world, leading some countries to close its bureaus down.So what does
such a network do next?

Plan a massive expansion.

thats right.

al jazeera is planning a massive expansion that includes the US market.

coming to you direct from qatar you will be able to see an english version of the news station and maybe get a glimpse at non-westernized news.

should be interesting to see fox react to this.

(Happy) Independence Day