So The Question Is...

am I an indie fag for liking this song?

The Greatest Movie Title Of All-Time

Movie Review: Smokin' Aces

The marketing for Smokin' Aces paints the flick as a slick, stylish, hip, hyper-violent, shoot 'em up, "hire the hitmen to take out the scumbag mafia rat before he can snitch on us", movie; an American version of a Guy Ritchie ensemble piece like Snatch with a little Tarantino flair and gore thrown in for good measure. For the most part, the marketing is accurate. You'll see Jeremy Piven chewing up scenery better than ever before as the burnt-out, coke-snorting, whore-mongering, small-time Vegas stage magician-turned wannabe mafia sleazebag Buddy "Aces " Israel, who is holed up in a Tahoe penthouse under the FBI's protection until he can turn state's evidence against the mob. Piven's the best in the business when it comes to making degenerate, weaselly characters instantly funny and likeable, and you will almost feel bad for this scumbag as he's targeted by a host of colorful hitmen.

And oh boy, are these hitmen characters colorful. They also happen to be the best part of the movie, mostly due to the tremendous casting involved. Ben Affleck (yes, I followed the words 'tremendous casting' with Affleck's name) is great as an opportunistic bail bondsman out to nail Buddy with his two ex-cop buddies (Peter Berg and Martin Henderson). I've always stated that Affleck is genius in small doses when he has the right role to play (namely, a fast-talking dirtbag with a thick Boston or Jersey accent), and he delivers big time in the small amount of screentime he's given.

Remember the Dreadnoks from the G.I. Joe comic books and cartoon? They're represented live and in the flesh here by Chris Pine, Maury Sterling and Kevin Durand as the Tremor Brothers, a trio of psychotic, punk-rocker Mad-Max-style forces of nature that leave a trail of corpses and destruction their wake. Taraji P. Henson and singer/songwriter Alicia Keyes almost steal this entire movie as two female assassins. Keyes is especially impressive, with a sexy, absolutely mesmerizing screen presence and sultry line delivery. When she disguises herself as a prostitute, a pair of fishnet pantythose never looked better. The hitmen are rounded out nicely by Suddenly Susan's Nestor Carbonell as a smooth but lethal latino andTommy Flanagan (the guy with the scar on his cheeks in Gladiator) as a creepy master of diguise.

The "good guys" in Smokin' Aces are represented by funnyman Ryan Reynolds and screen veterans Ray Liotta and Andy Garcia as the FBI agents assigned to protect Israel. They do a serviceable job, but you'll find yourself counting the minutes until you can see something explode or Alicia Keyes in her booty shorts again. Beyond the G-Men and the criminal element characters, there are tons of celebrity cameos and walk-ons from the likes of Curtis "Booger" Armstrong, hip-hop artist Common, Alex Rocco, and in two absolutely hilarious sequences, Jason Bateman as a pervo lawyer with mouth herpes and LOST's Matthew Fox in a really bad wig and glasses playing the hotel's chief of security.


In the end, Smokin' Aces is a lot like a fifteen year-old kid. They're both a little awkward and neither of them really knows what they want to be. Fifteen year-old kids can also be manic, loud as hell, unruly, obnoxious, hyperactive, and violent. Again, the same can be said about Smokin' Aces. In fact, if the individuals responsible for the film focused more on, as Alex from A Clockwork Orange would say, "the old ultra-violence", I probably would've liked it a whole lot more than I did.

Not to say that Smokin' Aces is a bad movie, it's actually a lot of fun, but it's a meal that suffers from too many cooks dropping things in the pot and one very unpalatable ingredient that overwhelms the entire dish. It's like eating a luscious, sweetly frosted, decadent, super moist piece of cake, then realizing about 3/4ths of the way in that the rest of the slice is made of Limburger cheese and SPAM. You don't want to eat that last 25% of SPAM and Limburger, and the slice of cake certainly doesn't need to be composed of those nonsensical and unnecessary ingredients. In the end, it's just upsetting and you wonder why the chef didn't simply add more frosting to fill in the last 1/4th.

And that's exactly the problem with Smokin' Aces. We get a big heaping helping of SPAM and Limburger cheese dumped into our delicious, gooey, sugary cake in the form of a wholly unnecessary, over-dramatic, (and very predictable) "twist ending" involving the big Mob Boss and an FBI undercover operative that takes up the last fifteen minutes of the movie with other elements to it peppered throughout the film proper. It sticks out like a sore thumb, and all you really wanted was more of the sweet frosting (i,e. the action, psycho characters, humor, and sexy babes in revealing clothes).

7.0 out of 10.

Dick Cheney Is A First-Class A-Hole

Wednesday night, hypocritical jackassVice President Dick Cheney sat for a televised interview with CNN reporter Wolf Blitzer. The Vice President was grilled on a litany of issues (mostly about the Iraq war) that emerged in the wake of President Bush's State of the Union Address the night before. Cheney barely answered any of the questions Blitzer threw at him; dodging, grimacing, and giving half-hearted, monotone responses that would make Patriots coach Bill Belichick seem like a lively, articulate fountain of information by comparison.

We umm... lost today, and it was tough. See you next year.

After listening to the curmudgeonly Cheney duck all the heated Iraq issues, Blitzer decided to address Cheney's lesbian daughter Mary, and her recent pregnancy. More specifically, a statement made by conservative Christian leader James Dobson and his organization Focus on Family. Here's the transcript from FOXNews.Com:

“Mary Cheney’s pregnancy raises the question of what’s best for children. Just because it’s possible to conceive a child outside of the relationship of a married mother and father doesn’t mean it’s best for the child,” Blitzer read, quoting the organization.

Asked if Cheney wanted to respond, the vice president paused and stared at Blitzer before saying, "No, I don't."

Blitzer, seemingly spooked by the chill that pervaded the room, tried to smooth the ruffled feathers by offering his opinion of Mary and her older sister, Elizabeth Cheney.

“We like your daughters. Believe me, I’m very, very sympathetic to Liz and to Mary. I like them both. That was just a question that’s come up and it’s a responsible, fair question,” he said.

Cheney said he, too, thinks the world of his daughters and added, "I think, frankly, you’re out of line with that question. ... I just fundamentally disagree with your perspective.”

So basically, it's perfectly acceptable for the Vice President's daughter to have a lesbian relationship, give birth to a child, and raise that child in a "non-traditional" family environment that doesn't involve a man and a woman, but it's completely unacceptable, unethical, and immoral for anyone else. Unbelievable. What hypocritical bullshit. Way to go, Dick. I can only imagine the shit-storm Republicans and conservative Evangelical wackos would unleash on someone like Barack Obama if he were in a similar situation with his children and gave a response like Cheney's.

Edited out of the broadcast piece was Wolf Blitzer's final question of the interview; a question that seemed to enrage the Vice President even more so than Blitzer's probings into the Mary Cheney controversy. However, the staff here at boxcar astronaut was fortunate enough to obtain a transcript of the exchange:

Wolf Blitzer: One last question Mr. Vice President, if I may. Can you comment on the rumors that you are, in fact, the notorious Batman villain knows as "The Penguin"?

Dick Cheney: I have no comment to those ridiculous rumors, but I'll say one thing about that caped do-gooder Batman: he better stay out of the Penguin's affairs, or else he's going to get a rainbow-colored, tear-gas releasing umbrella up his ass!. Waugh waugh waugh!

Dear 'LOST',

I'm writing to tell you that it's over between us. I'm really sorry. It was fun while it lasted, but I'm leaving you for a better show. A show that fulfills my needs; that satisfies me in ways you never could. A show that respects me, doesn't play games with my head, and doesn't jerk me around or tease me. In the beginning, you were sexy, fun, and intriguing, but now all you do is leave me with unanswered questions, frustration, and the worse case of blue balls since Nick Lachey before he married Jessica. LOST, you are the hot, unattainable woman that refuses to put out, yet I keep coming back to you week after week in the hopes that you will end my suffering. Sure, you provide relief once in a while, you satiate my desires in small doses, but I need more. I've had enough. My new show makes me happy. Battlestar Galactica is a real show that knows how to treat me. Maybe it's not as pretty or flashy as you, but it's got real substance. it has personality and intelligence, and best of all, it's no prude. Battlestar knows how and when to give up the goods, leaving me gasping for air and drooling in anticipation for the next time we can get together. Hell, my new show even has its' lead actress in a Playboy pictorial. It would be more likely for me to see Osama Bin Laden walking down my street with a Sasquatch than Evangeline Lily, Yunjin Kim, or Emilie De Ravin in their birthday suits. Don't worry, though. We can still be friends. We'll hang out every Wednesday night and I'll still enjoy your company, but you aren't my main squeeze anymore. Have a nice day!

Get Off The Bus

I'm sure many of you blogreaders have noticed by now that I have almost completely ceased posting about my personal life, choosing to focus on writing "humor" articles, observations, and reviews of various media instead.

This new direction is intentional; part of a conscious effort to be less of a whiny douchebag this year. There are a million blogs chock full of whiny douchebaggery out there in the "blogosphere" (God, I hate that word), and I think the world can survive without me contributing to said douchebaggery. To put it bluntly, I was sick of writing "my life sucks, pity me", blogs. I've realized that they contribute nothing to you, the reader, and they certainly haven't helped me improve things.

Not to say that writing about personal day-to-day existences doesn't have a place on the Internet. On the contrary, there are dozens of fun, fascinating, and interesting blogs detailing the minutae of everday life, but that's because the majority of those writers actually have fun, fascinating, and interesting lives. Unfortunately, I'm not one of these people. And yes, blogging about what you ate for breakfast, who was an asshole to you at work, who you went out with on the weekend, or what family member got drunk and ruined your holiday gathering can be a good way for people separated by geography to keep up with what's going on in eachother's lives, but hey, you could also try these two new inventions I heard about recently called the "phone" and "personal e-mail".

So, hopefully this will be the last "personal" post that I'll have to get out of my system here. If there is some important, life-altering news that affects me, you'll hear about it on this blog, but otherwise it's going to be strictly humorous, observational, editorial content from here on in. Anybody who wants to get off the "my life sucks" bus, this is your stop. Have a nice day.

FUCK!

Just...fuck. This sucks.

Yes, It's Another Sports-Related Post

All right boys and girls, we're only a few days away from this Sunday's huge AFC Championship game between my beloved Patriots and the Indianapolis Choke Artists Colts. Although the Internet is still rife with stories about the crybabies in San Diego coping with the fallout of their world-shattering playoff loss to the Pats last Sunday, I'm more focused on Tom Brady and his chance to do something that only two other quarterbacks in the history of the NFL have done: get a fourth Super Bowl ring for his strong pimp hand. And let me tell you, Tom's pimp hand appears to be stronger than ever these days, if you believe this news story.

Really Tom? Gisele? Eh. Her looks are quite striking and all, but she just appears to be your typical dumb supermodel with a body so thin you can use her ribcage as a xylophone. Apparently Tom likes his women lean and bony, ladies. So if you want a chance with the newly single quarterback, you'd better get pounding that SlimFast. This seems to be a disturbing pattern for Brady. His last relationship was with actress Bridget Moynahan, another size zero waif. Have you ever picked up and held a really skinny cat, getting totally grossed out by feeling its' little bones protruding everywhere? That's what I imagine it would be like to hug Bridget Monyhan. No thanks. If I were Tom, I'd go after some curvy celebrity honeys like Scarlett Johannsen, Katherine Heigl, Kelly Monaco, or Jessica Alba. Not that he needs to listen to my lame advice. Tom Brady could walk into any awards show in Hollywood and get more celebrity ass than a toilet seat at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Finally today, if you've ever wondered why the New England Patriots have been the most dominant team of the decade, it's because they've apparently had Satan on their team for a while now. Funny shit.

This Just In:

Music sucks.

In fact, it has sucked on a consistent basis for about ten years now. Seriously, I challenge any of you reading this to tell me about an album or an artist that has genuinely excited you since 1997. And hell, I'm being generous here. Realistically, I should say nothing interesting or worthwhile has happened to rock-n-roll in a good fifteen years. Think about that for a minute. The last time rock-n-roll music had an impact on our culture socially, politically, and economically, was fifteen years ago. Good lord, Dubya's daddy was still in the White House the last time anybody gave a shit about rock music.

Don't even think about pulling that "Oh, he's just an old man and doesn't understand or appreciate todays' music" card. Fuck that. Even 13-year olds are bored to tears by the banal, derivative shit clogging up CD racks and the iTunes store these days. A good friend of mine is a guitar teacher with several students in middle school. Know what they ask him to teach them? Beatles songs, Metallica songs, AC/DC songs, Alice in Chains songs, do I need to go on?


Let's say you're a 14-year old kid in 1992. You go down to the record shop and start flipping through the "new release" racks: Pearl Jam-Ten, Alice In Chains-Dirt, Soundgarden-Badmotorfinger, U2-Achtung Baby, Pantera-Vulgar Display of Power, Nirvana-Nevermind, Jane's Addiction-Nothing's Shocking, Rage Against the Machine (self-titled), Stone Temple Pilots-Core, Nine Inch Nails-Pretty Hate Machine, just to name a few. All amazing albums by great bands, each with a distinct sound.

Now, let's say you're a 14-year old kid in 2006 (to be fair, we just entered 2007 after all). You go down to your local big-box electronics retailer and peruse the "new release" CD racks, or you log on to the iTunes store and start browsing: My Chemical Romance-The Black Parade, Fall Out Boy-From Under The Cork Tree, Panic! At The Disco-A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, The Killers-Sam's Town, Evane.....ZZZZZZZZZZZ.......Oh, huh? What? Sorry about that, looks like I dozed off there. Anyway, you get the point. Dull, dull, dull. Over-produced, sugary, empty bullshit. All of it. And don't even get me started on hip-hop, "modern" country music, and the glorified pop karaoke stylings of American Idol and their crappy talent-show ilk.

Where the fuck is the anger? The desire to inspire people? The will to incite individuals to make real social and political changes to the world? Where are the balls, man??? Yeah, we've got some gems in there amongst the festering piles of shit, but you have to dig real hard. The Foo Fighters and Radiohead are still out there producing good stuff, Wilco is genius but their best albums may be behind them, The White Stripes are decent, as are Audioslave, Wolfmother, and maybe a handful of other new bands. That's where it ends though, kiddies. We're stranded in a musical wasteland with no end in sight.

Fuck, this depressed me. I'm gonna go put on a flannel and listen to my grunge playlist on iTunes now. Bye.

Patriots & Pickup Advice

Next time you're out at a bar and you see a pretty girl sitting by herself, try saying this after you introduce yourself and get her name:

"Let me tell you a story. I'm a mountain climber, and I have a large team that I assemble to make difficult climbs throughout the year. I just got back from my third expedition to Mount Everest, and one day, as we were nearing the peak, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye sparkling on the ground. I knelt down in the snow and picked up a large, absolutely flawless gemstone. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."

Then look directly into her eyes and say:

"Until I saw your face."

Gold. Pure gold, baby. She'll melt, I'm tellin' ya.

On second thought, no. Don't say that.

Anyway, how about 'dem Patriots, huh? For the love of God, I think I aged five years watching their playoff game against the Chargers today. Holy crap, was that intense! In case you live under a rock, New England pulled out an amazing 24-21 win over heavily-favored San Diego to advance to the AFC Championship game next Sunday against their old pals, The Indianapolis Colts. Win that game, and it's on to Miami for Super Bowl XLI!

Yeah, my boy Tom Brady wasn't that great today, but he got the job done when it counted. As a matter of fact, the whole team showed how big their hearts were and what it takes to be champions, something the Chargers and their choke-artist coach and sore loser crybaby running back just don't understand. Maybe next year, guys. Go Pats!

Makeup & Photoshop are MAGIC!

Hey kids, get ready to break out those cell phones that your parents' pay the bills for so you can vote for your favorite mediocre karaoke singer when American Idol returns this Tuesday night! Pictured above is Kelly Clarkson, the winner of the very first American Idol contest wayyy back in 2002! You remember her, right? What? The second picture? Oh, that's just a couple of puppets. Aren't they cute?

You Just Don't Get It, You Keep It Copacetic...

Ever go to a job interview and the person interviewing you is at least five years younger than you, not to mention a graduate of the same college you went to? Yeah. That happened today. What made it even worse was the fact that this guy was a supervisor and I was interviewing for a part-time position that more than likely paid less than half of his annual salary. Go me!

Normally this kind of thing would put me in a foul mood, but my Patriots stomped the Jets yesterday 37-16 in the first round of the playoffs, so all is copacetic. Next up for the greatest quarterback of all-time, Tom Brady and the rest of the Pats, is a trip out west to play the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers finished with the best record in the NFL this year at 14-2, and haven't lost a game since October. They also have the NFL's Most Valuable Player, LaDanian Tomlinson, who runs over defenders like Rosie O' Donnel trying to get to the all-you-can-eat buffet table. Yikes. It's going to be a brutal war of a game out there, but the Pats still have Tom and Coach Bill, so hopefully they can take advantage of the playoff inexperience of the Chargers and pull out a win.

I know a couple of guys who live out in San Diego now, so it's really tempting to do something completely nuts like break out one of the credit cards and fly out there to attend the game. It's not like it would be that hard to find a ticket. San Diegans (sic?) don't really give a shit about their football team and the only reason that stadium has been full this year is due to casual bandwagon-jumpers buying seats because of the team's winning record. They aren't like Eagles fans who would sell their first-born children for an empty Chunky Soup bowl that may or may not have been eaten by Donavan McNabb. The visiting team fans have also bought a lot of tickets out there, so I expect a strong New England contingency there to root on the Patriots.

If the Patriots win, they would then have to play either Baltimore or their old pals the Indianapolis Colts, to get to their fourth Super Bowl in six years. Yes, there are more important things to think about right now, but fuck it, it's January and what the hell else is there to do? You can't go sledding because it's 60 degrees and raining everyday, and the mountains have shit for snow right now so skiing and snowboarding is out as well (not that I've ever done either one...I'm just sayin', you know?). Hell, you can't even go to the movies in January (a.k.a 'dump month') because every film is a steaming turd that was either dumped from a previous release date back in summer, or it's simply a terrible movie that studio uses to fill the gaps in its' schedule.

All right, I'm officially in rambling territory here. Time to wrap this up. I'll do so by saying you should watch this video because it's ridiculously funny. (Yes, I know it's ancient history by now, but it's new to me so piss off.)

A Top Ten Life List

A few days back I posted a blog that basically shit all over the concept of making New Years Resolutions, and while I still hold to the belief that you shouldn't wait until January 1st to make changes to improve your life, there are ten things that I would like to see happen for myself in 2007.

1.) Get some fuckin' EXERCISE for a change. Wether or not this involves joining a gym or just doing simple exercises with weights in my bedroom, I need to get my body more active. Especially now that I'm so damned old.

2.) Get my health back to 100%. 2006 was filled with annoying illnesses and allergy-related miseries that are still lingering on as I type this, so shaking all of that is a priority.

3.) Find and keep a steady, decent-paying job before February and put 100% effort into it.

4.) Move into a new place (preferrably with no roomates, but beggars can't be choosers).

5.) Get some new wheels. (This may be the ol' hooptie's last winter.)

6.) Finish my movie script, RUDDERLESS before the end of the year, and publish my comic strip (in web or print form) sometime before the end of the year as well.

7.) Return Scarlett Johannsen's phone calls. (poor girl won't leave me alone).

8.) Get an iPod.

9.) Take a road trip in the summer.

10.) Cut down on my Myspace usage.

I think all of this stuff is doable. Even if I get half of it accomplished I'll feel ten times better about myself than I do right now.

In other news, that ugly business with my ATM number seems to resolved and I've got some opportunities lined up this month, so wish me the best. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to respond to this ScarJo text message. Ciao.

More Star Wars Movies?

All right, my apologies in advance for another Star Wars-themed blog, but I really need to address this. Over at TheForce.Net, an "anonymous" (aren't they always?) source posted this little tidbit of information:

Mr Lucas was overheard by an associate of mine at a private party in Los Angeles discussing the use of new digital technology. He mentioned a Star Wars Series, between Episodes VI-VII possibly with HBO. Also, Star Wars, Episodes VII - IX and a probable new director were discussed.

Now, the first part of this isn't really news to anyone who has paid attention to Star Wars for the past few years. We all knew there was a live action TV series in the works since filming started on Episode III. However, all previous reports indicated the series would fill in the gaps between Episode III and the original 1977 Star Wars Episode IV. This scooper goes on to open up a whole new can of worms with that last statement about the possibility of a new director taking control of Star Wars and making Episodes 7-9, which is something that Lucas has stated on the record numerous times would never happen. I realize ol' Georgie has said lots things on the record then turned around and contradicted himself (original, non-special edition DVD's anyone?), but I just have to ask, why the hell would anyone want to see this happen?


Lucas was nearly crucified by outraged fans for making the Prequel Trilogy (though they lined up and put each episode over $300 million at the domestic box office), and despite rumors and speculation indicating the contrary, I don't believe he has much (if anything at all) written about a possible third saga.

For those of you who think making Episodes VII-IX is a good idea, I'll pose this question: what they hell would they be about and who the hell would be in them? I mean, isn't the story over? Wrapped up nice and tight with a pretty CGI bow? We saw the Emperor come to power, we saw Anakin grow up, we saw him fall into darkness and become Darth Vader, we saw Luke and Leia born, and we saw Anakin redeem himself by sacrificing himself for Luke and chucking the Emperor into the reactor shaft. That's all, folks! Story's over, right? Where could you possibly go from there? And more importantly, if you do go there, will it be any good?

Yes, obviously, a talented creative mind like George Lucas can think up a million ways to continue the story of the Skywalker family, but to make an analogy and quote the great Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park: "Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should." We all know the old Stan Lee chestnut "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility", and Georgie Porgie needs to heed these words carefully before he goes sticking his hand in the Star Wars cookie jar again, lest the franchise slip into mediocrity and over-saturation.

For sake of argument, let's say Lucas does decide to go ahead and continue the Star Wars saga after the TV series wraps up it's run. Let's assume, for this scenario, the TV show is an hour-long, 13-episode a season HBO show that premieres in January 2009. In an interview before the Rose Bowl Parade Monday, Lucas said he saw the TV series as running about 26 hours, which would fit neatly into two seasons. Therefore, if production went smoothly, the show would theoretically end in May 2010. But let's go with the worst case scenario of late 2011 for the end of the TV show. This would put the start of production for Episode VII no earlier than June 2011, and going by the production schedule of Episodes III, audiences wouldn't be able to sit down and watch the film until May 2013.

By that time, Carrie Fisher would be 57, Mark Hamill would be 62 and Harrison Ford would be an elderly 71! Not to mention the peripheral players like Billy Dee Williams and Anthony Daniels, who would all be well into their 60's by the time this movie started shooting. Still want to see this? Forget about their age, it would take nothing short of a miracle to sign all of them to three picture commitments, especially Harrison Ford, who fought with Lucas to have Han killed off in Return of the Jedi.


So, we have three main protagonists in a major motion picture with an average age of 63. This is obviously a huge problem when you factor in fast-paced action sequences and Hollywood's obsession with youth. I know exactly what you're thinking right now, "It's okay! Luke and Leia can be the wise old Jedi mentors who train a new generation of younger Jedi Knights, which would include the offspring of Han and Leia!" Great. Fantastic. Fine. There's just one problem with this, who are they going to fight? Heroes are only as good as their villains, and weak antagonists can mean death for a movie (I'm talkin' to you Trade Federation). The remnants of the Empire are probably long gone by this time, The Emperor is dead, and I don't want to hear any of that "Emperor Clone" bullshit. That would cheapen a great character, turning him into some kind of bad, boogeyman horror movie cliche'. I also don't want anything to do with any of the so-called "Expanded Universe" baddies from the comics and novels. They all suck. Tell me you've read a really good Star Wars novel and I'll call you a damn liar. That stuff is all horrible. So what are you going to have greybeard Luke Skywalker and his whiny Jedi trainees do for one movie, let alone three?

I'm sorry, but as much as my Star Wars fanboy side would cream his pants at the sight of more Star Wars movies, I just don't think it should happen. I can't envision a scenario where it would be worthwhile to make these films. But, hey, you never know, Lucas could hand the reigns over to someone really cool like Joss Whedon or Christopher Nolan, or some young renegade with wild creative ideas about the Star Wars universe that would blow our minds. Doubtful, but anything is possible. Remember that scene in Episode III when the Emperor was telling Anakin all about Darth Plaguies the Wise and how he could manipulate the Force to create life and even resurrect the dead? Perhaps this mystery character (who is technically Luke's Grandfather) could pop up again and cause trouble for the Skywalker family. Hmmm....

Parade of Dorks

2007 is the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, and hundreds of my fellow nerds got the chance of a lifetime to show off their costume-making prowess as they marched in the annual Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena, California on Monday. The parade featured members of the 501st Legion, a fan organization that builds elaborate Star Wars costumes and uses them to visit sick children in hospitals as well as other charitable endeavours. Massive Star Wars-themed floats were also on display, and they even got the best college marching band on the planet, Grambling State University, to wear Imperial officer uniforms. George Lucas, the master of all things Star Wars, served as the Grand Marshal of the parade, which I'm sure had absolutely nothing to do with the $75million donation he made to the University of Southern California *cough*. Here's the HGTV coverage: (you can find tons more camera angles at YouTube).



In other Lucas related news, apparently he, Spielberg, and Harrison Ford are finally ready to start production on Indiana Jones 4 in June for a May, 2008 release. Right. This information does come from an actual Lucasfilm press release, but I think I have a better chance of seeing a new Allan Quatermaine film up on the screen. (Richard Chamberlain and Sharon Stone rule!).

All is Quiet...

You don't need the Fourteenth of February to tell someone that you love them, you don't need days in May and June to pay respect to the people who brought you into the world, you don't need a date on the calendar to celebrate your cultural heritage, and you certainly don't need a cold, clear January morning to make resolutions to improve and change your life. You can do these things any day at any time...and you should.

There are things that I should have said (or should not have said), and things that I should have changed about my life a long, long time ago. I'd like to think it's not too late to do something about it.

Happy New Year.