I'll take potpourri for $6,600, Alex

Warning: Objects in this blog are closer than they appear.

Mark Sheppard, one of the best character actors on TV today (Badger! Tanaka! Manservant Neville! Romo Lampkin!) explains his plan to take over the world.

Oh dear lord. MUST HAVE. The Big Damn Serenity.

A fun look at some obscure Google logos.

Some gorgeous designs for the Nautilus. If you're rebooting 20,000 Leagues, you should start here.

Top 75 spaceships in movies and TV. Great list, with pictures!

15 Most atrocious movie accents. (of course Costner is on it).

Have we outgrown the need for "belief?"

Most CSI fans are happy about Sara returning and Riley leaving. I, however, am not among them. I can't stand Jorja Fox as an actress, and never liked the Sara character. I was hoping she would get stung by one of Gil's exotic insects in the jungle and die. And I was quite fond of Riley's quirky CSI and think Lauren Lee Smith is adorable. (Google her, safe search off, and most guys should agree).

Pop Candy brought back the "favorite R.E.M. song" topic this week, based on a Top 20 list from Paste. I've addressed this subject before, which you can find here, and I have to agree more with Whitney's list than the one from Paste. Plus, any list skips Chronic Town (Box Cars) AND has the accursed "Swan Swan H" at number three (on a list of "good" songs!) makes my head want to explode.

SI writer Jeff Pearlman takes on last week's SI cover boy, the carnival snake handling cult leader and pulpit pusher (and occasional fullback/awkward thrower of the ball) from Gainesville. I run hot and cold with some of Pearlman's opining, but I like this one. Here's a follow up.

Along similar lines, hypocrisy gets fatter. Yes, McMackin's comments were stupid, close-minded and thoughtless, no question. But for Weis, representing an organization that institutionalizes bigotry and actively seeks to prevent equal legal rights for people who differ philosophically with their myth-making, to take "offense" is vomit-inducing. Fittingly, that's about the only "offense" to come out of South Bend in quite some time.

Having trouble finding "original" television theme songs? I know I was, until I stumbled across this marvelous website. Kudos, sir.

A good list of 10 great sci-fi novels. (Needs Dune and Hitchhiker, though).

I'm more Libertarian and Objectivist than most, but this "How to succeed as an Ayn Rand character" flowchart cracks me up.

UGA's Mount Rushmore

Usually, the only time you might think about "UGA" and "Rushmore" being used in the same context would be an imaginary conversation like the following:

Sideline Reporter: "Coach Dooley, in the first half you ran the ball 35 times and passed the ball twice. What do you plan to do in the second half?"

Coach Vince Dooley: "Rush more."

But ESPN's latest "dead sports season" gimmick has been creating a "Mount Rushmore" of sports for each and every state in the union. You can see the results of the motherland's granite visages here. Really, it's damned hard to argue with the 4 names they came up with. If I was asked to come up with the top 4 legendary figures in Georgia sports, I would have probably drawn the same conclusions.

Keeping the meme in the family, ESPN SEC blogger Chris Low did the same thing, but limiting the parameters to college football. The choices for UGA were:

• Vince Dooley: He's the most successful coach in Georgia history and also juggled athletic director duties for much of his career.
• Larry Munson: His famous calls over the radio airwaves are as much a part of Georgia lore as any coach or player.
• Uga: He's been dubbed as the nation's most well-known mascot. Uga VII debuted during the 2008 season.
• Herschel Walker: Many consider him the greatest player in SEC history. He attained near-mythical status as a freshman in 1980.

Again, hard to argue with that. You have the greatest coach (thus far) in our history and the greatest player in our history, if not the SEC or even college football. (and BTW, fuck Donald Trump. How many questions would there have been about 34's place in the pantheon of college football if he didn't bolt to New Jersey? Plus, I would have seen him live and in person as a tuition paying freshman). In addition, you have one of the legendary and most memorable college sports broadcasters of all time, and the almost universally recognized best mascot in all of sports. Quibble if you want, but that's a solid sculpture, no doubt.

The Fabulous Freebird and I were exchanging emails this week about this very topic, and couldn't find much fault with the selections. But what if we narrowed the scope to only include players? One take on that very topic is here.

Okay, we really only have 3 spots to debate, because Herschel is a given. What do we do with the other three? You would almost certainly have to include a player from the modern renaissance of the program under Mark Richt, and the obvious choices are the Davids, Greene and Pollack. But how can you make a Sophie's Choice between those two? Personally, I would go with the winningest QB in college football history, but that's really like a 50.1% to 49.9% edge in my book, and I could easily be swayed to go with the choice on D.

So now we have to select two from the remainder of the UGA tapestry. Sinkwich and Tarkenton are solid choices, no doubt. Others that Freebird and I kicked around include (in no particular order):

Champ Bailey
Jake Scott
Johnny Rauch
Zeke Bratkowski
Garrison Hearst
Charlie Trippi
Kevin Butler
Terry Hoage
Eric Zeier
Terrence Edwards
Bill Stanfill

What do y'all think? After 34, who should we immortalize on the mountainside?

I'll take potpourri for $5,000, Alex

If Dollhouse continues, someone is obviously going to die, since Joss just loves killing. :-) Here are "his" 16 most painful deaths.

BSG composer Bear McCreary interviews four of the final five Cylons. (And holy frak! What a mind-blowing expositionarama last night with "No Exit." I'm still wrapping my noodle around the Cylon history lesson).

Sam Tyler may have a Life on Mars, but it looks like he won't have much of one on our TVs, if these ratings are any indication. Damn.

E!s Kristin chats with real life couple Michael Emerson and Carrie Preston. More here with Ben. And Juliet, too.

More thoughts on science and religion, and how the twain shan't meet. Related: "Oh, it's a miracle! Oh...that one, not so much."

I don't get into hockey, but some of these "goal" calls crack me up.

TV Gal isn't panicking about Dollhouse (quality-wise).

If Emily Blunt can't be Natasha Romanoff, then Eliza wants in. How's her Russian? Or maybe ScarJo?

A peek at Watchmen's "Tales of the Black Freighter."

A chat with the Ellen Tigh herself, Kate Vernon.

Matt Stafford the top rated QB in one scout's eyes.

To any gals excited about this, I'm ready to beam up.

Put your money where your mouth is, when it comes to Octomom.

Dragging down the collective IQ of the country.

I don't have any stories about him being a bad tipper, but I did have my own brief Michael Stipe encounter. In college, I made a late night trip to Kinko's to make copies of a paper I was writing, and there he was hanging out. (Why "hang out" in a Kinko's at 2 in the morning? No clue). But to call him "disheveled" would do in injustice to hobos. And I don't think I've ever been in proximity to someone who smelled quite so bad. Either he was living out of a dumpster in those days, or had decided to roll around in a compost heap with a sack full of dead mackerels before making a few copies. Ahhh, the exciting life of a rock star.

A chat with dear, departed Charlotte Staples Lewis.

A profile in asshattery. If your first impressions where that this guy was a douchenozzle, then read on.

The geek worlds collide. Summer Glau on Big Bang Theory? AWESOME. Just as awesome? Felicia Day on Dollhouse!

Awwwwww.

Klingon night school.

An interesting profile of Herschel Walker, from Jeff Pearlman's blog (he wrote the recent Cowboys book, "Boys Will Be Boys."). Pearlman also worked at ESPN for a while, and here are his top 10 things that irk him about the WWL.

Baseball Prospectus looks at the 2009 season. Braves with a winning record, and tied with the Phillies for the Wild Card? Wonder how the season series with the World Champs turns out?

If this program was used in Columbus, GA, I think the application would require all the geopbytes of all the internet storage in all the world.

Every single filthy fucking thing said on The Sopranos. EVER.

Did Peter Bishop want to be Captain Kirk?

Richard Hatch "defends" Tom Zarek.

Guess I'm not going to retire (or even buy some Whiskey and Ramen Noodles) doing this here blogging thing.

Does the brain make up the need for god?

AOL's "Best Shows of the 90s." Some highlights: Star Trek: TNG 29, SportsNight 19, South Park 16, Northern Exposure 15, Frasier 14, Law & Order 11, The Sopranos 10, The X-Files 6, Buffy 4, The Simpsons 3, Seinfeld 1. You look through that list, other than what I've noted, and realize there was a lot of crap on in the 90s.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! (Amazon is offering Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" as a FREE download today!)

I'll take potpourri for $4,900, Alex

TV's top love triangles.

Time talks to Eliza Dushku about Dollhouse.

So does Suicide Girls.

LA Times chats with Elizabeth Fain and Sarah Craft about Dollhouse.

Talent AND tittays.

Ditto. Especially the latter. Wow.

Finally, good news about the economy.

Bill Paxton chats about Big Love, which is just en fuego this year.

Watching the Super Bowl, I was never sure that there were two feet down on the Santonio Holmes catch. But check out pics 10 and 12 here.

A podcast for my friend Meg.

That's one hot stripper.

Sayid, one man killing machine. But stand up comic? Er, not so much.

I haven't gone through the latest and greatest, but as of Thursday, some stuff that was in the "stimulus" bill. Yep, I feel great about it.

The second episode of Angel was intended to be a lot darker than it turned out. So was Kate.

A brilliant and thoughtful post from Roger Ebert, ostensibly about The Reader (spoilers for that movie), but also touching on politics, religion and "creationism."

The Big O throws "us" another bone at the national prayer breakfast.

Long treatise on why conservatism is dead. And of course, it all depends on how you define "conservative."

Sci-fi and supernatural shows that were canceled too soon. No arguments here. (BTW, why don't "canceled" and "traveled" have two "l's?" Like "judgment" with no "e" after the "g," I always misspell those. But the former two aren't in the list of the Top 100 most frequently misspelled words).

I bet the lung capacity shown during his Olympic performance results in some extra tasty bong hits. Dude.

TV Week interviews Joss about Dollhouse. Interesting, in that they ask the "cable question." For the life of me, I've never understood why Joss returned to FOX and network TV after Firefly. Well, I understand in the sense that I know the story (Eliza had a deal with FOX, met with Joss to discuss her career, and *poof* here comes Dollhouse). But I don't understand, when a cable network (FX, AMC, TNT, Sci-Fi, Showtime, HBO) seems like such an OBVIOUS fit. Think about it: At its zenith, Buffy brought in 5.3 million viewers (S3). Angel brought in 4.8 (S1). Both of those shows were outside the Top 100 in the rankings, though at the very top for their tiny network (WB, at the time). Firefly was canceled on FOX for pulling in the same 5 million viewer range. So is there a cap to Whedon-viewing? If Dollhouse pulls in 5 - 6 million on a Friday night, will FOX let that go? For how long? On the other hand, Mad Men lives in the 1-2 million range on AMC. BSG does the same for Skiffy. Shows on FX are successful in the 3 - 5 million range. Shows on HBO or Showtime continue to thrive with 1 - 3 million on their first airing. USA and TNT would love to have something consistently perform in the 4 - 6 million range. And wouldn't they kill to have a loyal, fanatical fanbase that tunes in each week, buys the iTunes versions, buys the DVDs and lights up the message boards? And appreciates the network for supporting their show, rather than a love-hate relationship with the network that they feel is always on the verge of killing their show? Look, I want Dollhouse on FOX to succeed as much as the next fanboy, and I'm looking forward to a Friday night lineup of Sarah Connor and Dollhouse on FOX, followed by BSG on Skiffy. But realistically, I'm not holding my breath about the long term prospects. I just hope that Joss realizes his gift for creating and tell stories in a long-term format, and takes his next show where it belongs, and where it will be appreciated and nourished.

The "grindhouse" style trailers for Sarah Connor and Dollhouse.

LA Times talks with Eliza.

Joss talks with Wharton about monetizing internet content.

Another Dollhouse piece. And another. (Damn, is it next Friday yet?!!)

Tron and Depeche Mode. Two great tastes that taste great together.

An open letter to the new chair of the RNC. Damn straight.

The Watcher chats with the writer of last week's brilliant BSG, "The Oath."

A field guide to various fanboy groups.

Great interview with David Fincher.

Adam Baldwin chats with the AV Club.

The duck in the truck. Cute.

How to do comic book lettering and grammar.

I'll take potpourri for $4,700, Alex

Mo Ryan of the Chicago Trib continues to grab some geektastic interviews, this one with Ronald D. Moore about his directorial debut on Friday's BSG (which he also wrote). As for "A Disquiet Follows My Soul," I thought his direction was solid, not showy, and his script was an effective character study following the revelation and shock heavy mid season opener from last Friday. And here's another good interview with RDM. And one with the final Cylon.

Hey ladies.....I'm eminently qualified.

Did any other Dawg fans realize that Brandon Coutu was quietly in Seattle all year?

One side did seem to get all the attention on this issue, didn't they? I applaud the Big O's removal of the "gag order," yet I'm still perplexed why the government feels compelled to steal our money at gunpoint to use for "family planning" in other countries in the first place.

Additional thoughts on Lost now that I've had a couple of days to reflect on my original post:

• The issue with Locke being "dead" and the concern Ben, and his off-island butcher, were showing for his corpse: could John/Bentham be under the influence of the same drug that put Nikki and Paulo in a death-like trance? But he probably went through a coroner and embalming, since he's in a coffin at a funeral home and there was a public announcement (in the paper), right? Or was that part of a conspiracy, since Ben obviously has other off-island contacts?
  
• Why is Charlotte the only one of the "island time travelers" being affected with nosebleeds? Is it because she was the only one of the group born there on the island? And if she was born there, why is she traveling through time with the Losties and not remaining in one place like The Others?
• When Sun shows Kate a picture of Ji-Yeon, it's a pic of a baby and not of a toddler. Usually, I don't give a shit about kids, but this struck me as odd, since Ji-Yeon is obviously older now. Intentional and signifying something, or just an innocuous prop?
• A funny take on "previously, on Lost."
• The guy who keeps track of continuity on Lost.
  

A fond look back at the Bush years. That's related to Bulldog football, not lower taxes.

Kurt Warner a better QB than Peyton Manning? The numbers sure are interesting.

The "hobbit people" were not human. But just when you thought they were about to die off, there was another ending.

7 of the most embarrassing names in sports.

Cool movie poster "remakes" by Olly Moss.

Though the whole body of the inauguration speech was infected with overt religiosity, it was nice to hear a brief shout out to some of us. And of course even that draws criticism, though "we" make up a sizable portion of the voting -- and paying -- constituency.

Michelle Ryan as the new Doctor's assistant? It has been confirmed that she will be in one of the remaining specials with Tennant, but could she be signing on for duty with the 11th Doctor also? There were myriad problems with Bionic Woman, and the failure of that show wasn't entirely her fault. But some actors (like Hugh Laurie and Simon Baker) can be charismatic while suppressing their natural accents, and others can't. Ryan clearly couldn't, and I only found her really appealing when she went undercover as an English exchange student. So maybe that would be a very good choice (and certainly much better than the rumors of petulant twat Lily Allen as a Doctor's companion).

Fun set interviews from Big Bang Theory. And "Spock" actually signed the napkin!

Women at Deadspin ponder the role of religion in sports. After suffering through Tebow, and another week of Warner, this made me giggle:

But seriously, wouldn’t it be freakin’ amazing if there was a little equality? We have equality in everything else, why not religion too? How about someone doing a post-game presser and thanking Satan for an amazing tackle that splays a player out unconscious? Wouldn’t that be awesome? “Thank you oh Dark Lord for laying waste of my opponent.”

Or how about thanking Mercury for the speed to run a race past 3,000 non-believing runners. “I’d like to thank Thor for the power of the Gods that I might press that 800 lbs and not crush my spinal column.” What happened to those religions? They were fun. No, we’re down to just a few popular deities.

I'll take potpourri for $1,600, Alex

Here is a fantastic interview with BSG's Baltar, James Callis. A funny, insightful and brilliant dude.

An interview with BSG (and Whedonverse) scribe, Jane Espenson.

Someone has done Grand Theft Auto in the style of the Police Squad/Naked Gun opening credits. Funny. (h/t Wil Wheaton's blog)

Kobe Bryant gets mani-pedis. We're a lot alike I guess. Except that I'm not an NBA MVP. And I've never had improper relations with a hotel employee. Well, I did tell a desk clerk to go fuck himself when my smoking room turned into a non-smoking room. Does that count?

Nikki Stafford, who has authored a few books (which I have) on the Buffyverse, comments on her blog about the recent Slayage conference. In the second paragraph, there's a brief reference to the gorgeous frat houses at my alma mater.

Buffy makes an "essential summer viewing" list at yahoo. (Along with other TNRLM faves Arrested Development, Mad Men, Sports Night, Weeds and Lost).

Cool guest stars slated for Chuck next year.

I was watching UGA's win over top ranked "the U" last night in the College World Series, and missed the premier of this classic.

Star Trek: TNG rap. Not safe for work, but hysterical.

Here's a movie I think I'll go see.

TV Squad has been doing a retrospective on Arrested Development. Always good to revisit the best sitcom of all time.

Randomness from the week or so that was

Happy holiday weekend, peeps. It's early on the Memorial Day Weekend, and I've already cleaned the homestead, walked a couple of miles and finally caught up on on all the electronic and snail mail from my few days Out Of Town. Expect some frequent bloggy goodness over the holiday. As I quaff the first of many light beers, here are some random nuggets to chew on:

Controversial comic book costume changes. I liked the "Venom" black Spidey uniform (except for how it was presented, story-wise, in the disappointing 3rd movie) and Iron Man's is understandable, with so many "Mark" versions. (For a great graphic look at the various Iron Man unis, click here). And I just saw Iron Man, and it rocked my world. GREAT comic book movie. The final throw down was a bit pedestrian, but fantastic performances from all involved (RD Jr., The Dude, Gwyneth, Terrance Howard) made this a solid A. But Sue Storm's alternate costume is kinda trampy, no?

Good news for fans of Logan, Goran and their partners: USA has ordered more Law & Order: CI.

No wonder the country is going to hell on a sled. 12.5% of those teaching our (your) youth are morons.

Speaking of which, more evidence (like you needed more?) that Einstein was a smart dude.

It's baseball season. Time to enjoy some classic Ricky Henderson quotes!

A bizarre list of "How To" books. I think I would start with #9, and #10 would be helpful with #5 (though #2 would have probably preceded that one), but you would then be acquainted with #7, and eventually wish for #4.

Ever heard of "Batting Stance Guy?" If not, check out this interview. And you fellow Braves fans will get a big kick out his take on the hometeam.

You gotta have priorities, ya know.

Bobby Cox is an icon and steady hand on the wheel of the Braves, but good god, I love Jim Leyland.

What kind of bet do you have to lose to have this happen? And Flipper looks stoked, man.

Lord knows I lived through the title of this post. But DListed's adorable nickname for the featured Mensa member always makes me giggle, for a few reasons. Speaking of which, I'm surprised I didn't pay to have these moved. But some other poor (or soon to be) dumb bastard did.

How 'bout we cleanse the pallet with a nice story about everyone's favorite lesbian witch and shopping-addicted wife?

And since it's the last day of the workweek, here's a Trek look at the 7 types of bad bosses and how to survive them.

Enjoy your holiday, and have a beer or 15 with a loved one!

I'll take potpourri for $800, Alex

Carl Sagan's son looks at inventions of the future.

A video interview with James Callis about an EW photo shoot. Of course Baltar would wind up in Vegas. (poke around that site. There are other good BSG interviews there as well).

Speaking of BSG (which it seems I always am), my crackpot theory for the 5th and final cylon is Zak Adama. I'm staying away from spoilers, so it's just a wild guess. But I strongly believe it won't be PoppAdama or Lee. Or Starbuck or President Airlock. And a heretofore unknown character would be disappointing. We've had mentions of Zak in every season, though he hasn't really shown up. (He's dead, ya know). He has connections to all the central characters (save Roslin) and Leobon did say during the first season "Adama is a cylon." Of course, he didn't say which one. Just a thought.

A good education for the kids. I could have directed them to someplace closer, at only 553 miles, to get the same insight.

Ever pause the TiVo at the end of a Chuck Lorre show to read the vanity cards? They're really funny, and all collected here.

One of my favorite writers, Christopher Hitchens, on the Rev. Wright crap.

A new show coming on USA. The lead character is a federal marshal, named Mary Shannon. That would make her Marshal Shannon. Her partner is named Marshall Mann. Yep, he's Marshal Marshall. They really are asking me to watch, right?

Lost is going out with a THREE HOUR FINALE. Fuck Yeah!

Sci-Fi sound effects. With plenty of fun links to click and listen.

Monk's Dr. Kroger is dead.

Old-time sportswriting describes the Braves win over the hated Mets and Johan Santana.

Last night's Torchwood was spectacular. Full of depth, answers, backstory, drama and great performances. The flashback format has been done to death (and this ep bore a remarkable resemblance to Firefly's "Out of Gas") but when it's done right, it can really soar.

This week's Ledger

PLUS

• Musically, this week felt like a return to the salad days of college life. Two of my favorite bands with obvious connections to the motherland released new albums. I downloaded both REM's "Accelerate" and the B-52s "Funplex." I had lost touch a bit with REM over the last couple of albums, as they seemed to lose a spark and be a tad more ponderous. But "Accelerate" is a total kick-ass return to the form many of us loved about them in the first place. It's short, aggressive, uptempo and a great ride. And the B-52s? The name says it all: "Funplex." If you like the B's, you'll love this album. After just a few listens, I'd put it right up there with "Cosmic Thing." I was blogging and reading through some of the BSG boards on TWOP while it was playing in the background, and found myself "chair dancing" right along to it even though I'd never heard a single note from it until then. Also highly recommended, and not just for nostalgia.
• The motherfrakkin' return of Battlestar Galactica. Has it really been 55 weeks? I can't believe I was in another state -- geographically and psychologically -- when I last saw a fresh ep (not including "Razor") of the best show on TV. And it didn't disappoint.
• I was so jazzed about the return of BSG, that I went frakkin' nuts on Amazon. I purchased the original mini-series, Season 1, Season 2, Season 3 and "Razor" on DVD. As we all know, I loves myself some TV, but there are very few shows I own lock, stock and barrell on DVD. There are the occasional one season wonders (Wonderfalls, Profit, Firefly) that are easy purchases to make. But there are also other great, fantastic shows I adore that I don't necessarily feel compelled to purchase in their entirety (The Sopranos, Sports Night, Deadwood, etc.) and probably wouldn't watch over and over. BSG will now rest on the shelves (well, when I actually have some fucking shelves, and not just wine boxes stacked up beside the TV) beside the complete runs of Buffy, Angel and Farscape. At some point, I need to add Arrested Development to this mix.
• Swiffers. I was late to the Swiffer party, but now I have the Swiffer duster and the Swiffer wet-jet. How awesome are these things? Anyone else find the Swiffer indispensible?
  
• Finally catching up.

MINUS

• Odd bouts of insomnia. I don't sleep that much compared to some folks, but twice this week I found myself in bed "actively" trying to go to sleep without much success. Even the brain numbing foolishness of Horatio Caine couldn't make me let go of my tether to the world to the waking. And of course, I still wake up at 6.
• This week has been good for watching the Braves, because they were on FOX yesterday and MLB Extra Innings has had a free preview this week (thanks for the reminder Freebird!), but because TBS needs to air more Sex and the City reruns and Frank TV, they've banished "America's Team" to the backwoods of something called "Peachtree TV." Which I don't have here as part of a local sports package. So hello purchase price for Extra Innings!
• Seeing birthdays pop up in the Outlook calendar and not celebrating them like you did.
  
• The Baltimore Sun sports section. Although the AJC Sports section got a lot of criticism from the locals while I was living there (and some deservedly so, between the ancient ramblings of Furman Bisher and the one-note racial blatherings of Terrence Moore), you don't appreciate a decent Sports section until you don't have one. Even the Sunday Sports section in the Sun takes about 5 minutes to read. Here's how it goes: Orioles suck, lacrosse, local minor college minor sports news, Orioles suck, women's lacrosse, truncated MLB and NBA box scores, men's lacrosse, TV listings, college lacrosse, professional lacrosse, will the O's ever trade Brian Roberts, high school lacrosse, tidbit about the Ravens, and oh yeah, more about lacrosse. Calling it a "fishwrapper" would be an insult to fish. Thank the gods there's news about more than lacrosse out here on the interwebs.
• Sporadic communications.

They only thing it needs to be more authentic is an HGH dealer moving in next door

And I thought I had fond memories of playing wiffleball. You have got to watch this video.



How did they get that cameo?

When I go house hunting later this summer, I think I'm adding this to the checklist.

I'll take potpourri for $400, Alex

I can't believe I forgot to mention the passing of D&D inventor Gary Gygax a couple of weeks ago. There were moving tributes all over the intertubes, and had I not been so busy I would have posted my own. That, and I probably didn't want to appear too geeky (ooops. That ship has sailed, I'm afraid). Let's just say that in between sports, school, girls, hot rods, comic books and normal youthful angst, I spent my fair share of time painting miniatures, collecting multisided dice and worrying about hit points. Here is a funny flowchart (be sure to click on it to see the expanded version) and article related to Gygax's passing. Additionally, a nice article from resident geek Wil Wheaton on the subject.

Solid list of great movie opening credit sequences, with video.

Speaking of movies, how about a list of awful movie titles?

Local interest: I'm discovering that fair number of folks from the pop culture world are from my new adopted home in Maryland. John Locke himself, Terry O'Quinn. Wesley Wyndham Price, Alexis Denisoff. Adorable showkiller Paula Marshall. Author Michael Chabon (which I discovered reading his wonderful essay and the usefulness of superhero costume, which is definitely worth checking out).

X-Files panel, where Scully reveals that she also loves one of my favorite of the "funny" episodes, "Bad Blood."

I don't understand the haters. Here's a cute interview with Juliet's portrayer, the bright, beautiful, modest and charming Elizabeth Mitchell. And she reads comic books, y'all!

Highlights of Sawyer's nicknames.

Speaking of Lost, here's an updated bracket for the Lost Madness Tournament. Some tough calls in round 2: Sayid over Locke? Desmond against Penny? That's not exactly fair, though I voted the same way. In the Sweet Sixteen, voting is currently underway. Here are the matchups, and my vote:

• Jack vs. Sayid. I don't hate Jack for his pigheaded self-righteousness like a lot of folks, but I gotta go with Sayid here.
• Kate vs. Sawyer. That's an easy one. Sawyer is the choice, though he's currently a fraction of a percent behind Kate. Get out the vote, people!
  
• Charlie vs. Faraday. I loved the little hobbit, but Faraday delivers a line like no one else.
• Libby vs. Eko. Eko was mysterious and badass, until he got too caught up in the religious mumbo-jumbo. So Libby it is.
• Ben vs. Juliet. Wow, I haven't been shy about my huge crush on Dr. Burke, but dammit if Ben is not one of the most fascinating characters on TV. Ben.
• Richard Alpert vs. Jacob. I don't even understand what the fuck Jacob is (which is pretty cool). But how can you vote against BatManuel?
• Smoke Monster vs. Desmond. Easy choice, brotha.
• Nadia vs. Rousseau. Another tough one, though I don't think we've seen the last of Nadia, so I'll go with her.

A review of R.E.M.'s new album, which sounds like a return to the form I enjoy. I'll be downloading this sucker today.

Speaking of Athens, thoughts from voters considering UGA to be a preseason #1. But that's gonna be a hard road, with the Nation's Toughest Schedule. And what's the program worth? Check out this list (I assume the #1 program there spends a lot of those profits on the coach's buffet table). Also, on a recent PTI, Wilbon called Herschel "the best college player I ever saw."
For comparison's sake, a Trade School grad kills birds intentionally.

Thoughts about "spoilers."

Remember that link between Obama and Trek's 7 of 9? More sci-fi thoughts: He's the Kwisatz Haderach.

Fucking goddamned cocksucking motherfuckers. Let's spend more on useless pork (and not the good kind, like bacon), spend more on worthless "domestic" programs, and confiscate even MORE money from the people who earn it. Fuckers. And should the donkeys get more control, I'm sure you'll see more of this bullshit. With regard to tax policy, I still don't understand why the gubment gives such a break to the breeders. Shouldn't people who make a conscious, willful and deliberate decision to have kids pay much, much more? They are the ones who "use" much of what the taxes go for? Schools, roads to drive to soccer practice, younguns who will grow old and use social security, healthcare and payments to people too stupid to have a job and/or realize they can't afford a kid? And from a treehugger perspective, don't the wackadoo lefties realize that each urchin they bring into the world will just consume more natural resources and have a "carbon footprint" of their own? Save the planet, and wear a condom! Or just whack off to a chart that shows the taxable rate over 50%.

I'm sure all these fictional characters are getting taxed too much. So who has more money - Thurston Howell III, Montgomery Burns or Jed Clampett?

Bad sci-fi movie physics.

The dude who swung his sausage in a gay strip club was the first to go on Idol. And another Idol stripper unravels. Kids, once you sell your cooze to strangers on a regular basis, it just doesn't get any better, does it? Along those lines, at least have the intellectual integrity to call a spade a spade. "Good person?" Yeah, I've heard that one before.

Wiffleball can get competitive, you know. And how many people remember this schoolyard sport? I was a motherfucking four-square pimp.

Autobiography title makes me chuckle.

That's a Wicked Pissah!

The Red Sox win another World Series. Remember when their fans were long suffering and almost pitiable losers, just like Cubs fans? Well, spending almost as much as the Yankees and hoisting two trophies will change the perception of the fan base quickly, dontcha know. And that's not even factoring in the "other" story from the area -- the juggernaut known as the Patriots. Throw in previously unbeaten Boston College, and the "Big Three" now making it look like Doc Rivers can coach, and you have enough to make an insufferable group of fans even moreso.

To that end, check out this absolutely hilarious post from Kissing Suzy Kolber on the subject.

Linkapalooza

Some interesting things I've stumbled across lately:

Acclaimed comedy writer Ken Levine lists his favorite comedies. Those in his list that I agree with, own and worship: All About Eve (really one of the great screenplays of all time. He's right - it's timeless and still holds up well). His Girl Friday. Arthur. Tootsie. Take the Money and Run (the first "mockumentary" I remember seeing, and one of the laugh out loud funniest of the Woodman's flicks). Young Frankenstein (inspired the title of a blog you may be reading at this very moment, in fact). Annie Hall and Chasing Amy (who says "romantic comedies" always have to end well?). Dr. Strangelove. (Who knew Kubrick could do funny? Unless of course you count the rollicking comedy of Private Pyle in Full Metal Jacket). Four Weddings and a Funeral. (Any movie that starts with multiple "fucks" usually has a place in my heart). Of course, I would add Animal House and just about anything by the Coen Brothers, but a good list nonetheless.

Speaking of funny, the great sports blog Every Day Should Be Saturday offers an inspired take on ESPN's mind-numbing "Who's Now:" Tom Brady vs. Galactus. Yes, it's a must read.

Looks like Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball's southern gothic vampire take will see the light of day (well, maybe not literally. I'm not sure about the rules for these bloodsuckers).

Good roundup of "action movie cliches."

You've read several of my posts about the upcoming adaptation of Watchmen. (If you haven't read it -- go get it. Really). Meanwhile, my geek heart beats a little faster: Personal Top 5 list resident Carla Gugino has been cast as Sally Jupiter.

TV Guide's Mike Aussiello reports/wishes on the addition of Kristen Bell to Lost? Wow. How cool would that be? He also notes that new summer season enjoyment Burn Notice has already gotten a second season order.

Great, long interview with Joss by the Onion AV Club.

Maureen Ryan pointed to this link, a defense of the oddly captivating Horatio Caine. Make sure to watch the video.

Good E! interview with Angie Harmon, who has a no-nonsense approach to work and takes it seriously. What a cool chick. No wonder she rates as the best Law and Order ADA.

Fun summary of best "opening lyrics."

Twinkle in daddy's eye gets full ride to USC

Houston Rockets center Yao Ming popped the question to his longtime girlfriend Ye Li. Ye is a talented basketball player in her own right, having suited up for the Chinese National Team.

Upon hearing this news, USC coach Tim Floyd continued his recent trend and immediately offered a scholarship to the yet to be conceived child of the soon to be married couple.

I'll go with the 5-iron. And a bucket of fried chicken.

Congrats are in order for Angel Cabrera, who won the US Open yesterday. While Tiger sold tickets to the "gun show" in his form fitting fuscia Nike-ware, Cabrera smoked a carton of ciggies (and the field) and looked like he just came directly from the buffet at Golden Corral.

Thank you, Angel, for giving us weekend golfers the incentive to get the fuck off the treadmill, chain smoke a pack of Marlboros, crack open a beer and order a meat lovers pizza, with a side of fried cheese.

Fore!

Mini-Musings

Busy this week, but I'll share some abbreviated thoughts as the days pass.

American Idol
No long recap here. Jordin wins.
She did Xtina's "Fighter" well enough, went back to the well with "Broken Wing" and sang the hell out the sappy "coronation" song.
Blake reprised his showstopping Bon Jovi tune, but it lacked suspense the second time around (but was still surprisingly entertaining). Then he did the Maroon 5 song I was so thankful he ignored last week (lame) and had no chance on the sappy coronation song -- it just wasn't designed for him. Question: why didn't they let him completely re-arrange it? Put down an uptempo synth beat and do something different? The producers, judges and everyone knows that head to head on pablum like that, Jordin will mop the floor with Blake 100 times out of 100. It might have been a huge trainwreck (and a slap in the face to the songwriters who won the contest -- but no more than the slap in the face this song in its utter insipid sameness did to viewers) but at least it would have been different and daring.
Daughtry rocked, but needs to lay off the eyeliner.

Veronica Mars
Two solid eps for the swan song, filled with snark, great performances and not a lot of closure. Even this year, where the storytelling and quality was more hit and miss than the first two seasons, Veronica remained one of the best shows on TV and it's a downright pitiful shame that it was cast aside for whoring sea donkeys.

Lost
I can't even convey how excited I am for the finale tonight, the first Lost finale I've approached spoiler free.

24
Finally, it's over. Despite Kiefer's heroic efforts and fantastic performance, this was the worst season of 24 ever. In the next week or so, I'll post a list of problems with this year and potential "fixes."

Heroes
Again, more coming later when I'm not swamped, but the finale was a huge letdown in terms of squandered comic book potential.

NBA Lottery
Only the Hawks could screw the pooch like this. They had to get in the top 3 to keep their pick and not give it to Phoenix. And this is a draft with TWO transcendent, franchise-making talents. So where do they wind up? Third. Par for the fucking course.

CSI Finale
Loved the insight into the Miniature Killer, and the creepy performance from the actress who portrayed her. I can't stand Jorja Fox nor her character Sara Sidle, so I hope she stays trapped and dead beneath a car while she tries once again unsuccessfully (and undeservedly) to renegotiate her contract.

The Office
I just started watching the last few weeks of this season. I can't believe I missed this the first go 'round, but this show is incredible (if a wee bit uncomfortable). Catching up on DVDs now.

New TV Season
I'll have my usual "new show picks" later this summer in a full season preview, but the leaders in the clubhouse now appear to be Reaper, Pushing Daisies and Bionic Woman. For those who read my old myspace blog, my picks for this year were Dexter, Shark, Heroes, Studio 60, Smith and The Nine. Guess I hit .500 in terms of them sticking around. Of those remaining, Heroes is great pulp entertainment with occasionally stellar acting and vision, Shark is scenery-chewing entertainment and a decent way to pass an hour, and Dexter approaches Battlestar Galactica for the title of Best Show on TV.

Sports Shorts

Ryan Langerhans' stay in Oakland was a short, and unbelievably unproductive, one. He hit .000 in two games, and last night, dropped a fly ball in center field leading to a run. Ouch. (I recall drunkenly mocking him with two of my buddies during spring training a few years ago. Of course, I almost got run over by a taxi during that same trip). Not that we're missing him, though.

And has anyone heard anything from Willy Aybar?

Rich Eisen apparently doesn't need to resort to "you're with me, Leather" to get some play. Wow. Perhaps I should have done more with my journalism degree.

Just when you thought you already had enough reasons to hate Stuart Scott, he ups the ante. You've got to be kidding me. I'm sure the Rutgers basketball team would rather be paralyzed versus insulted, right?

How are my baseball predictions looking? Part 1 here, and Part 2 here.
National League: all my division winners are in first place (even the Brewers!). I had the Phils for the WC, and they're playing better of late, but right now, it would be the Mets.
American League: Angels and Red Sox are in first, but the Tigers trail the Tribe by a game and a half. My WC pick, the Yankees, are imploding. Right now, the Tigers hold the WC spot.
NL Individual Awards: Eeek. None of my picks are looking particularly good right now.
AL Individual Awards: Not quite as shaky. All three, especially Vlad, still seem like solid choices.

How long before there's a reality show on Spike TV called "Ron Mexico's Kennel," featuring Lassie, Benji, Rin Tin Tin, Beethoven, Eddie from Frasier and a Korean chef?

After years disappointing UGA fans during the draft (Hines Ward? Reggie Brown? Among many others) , it appears the Falcons are wising up, and at least throwing a bone to the Bulldog faithful (in addition to getting quality players).

Speaking of Bulldogs, sad story about Terreal Bierria here.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who was bothered by this. At least they weren't wearing the sub-XFL unis from Any Given Sunday. And if betting on JP Losman doesn't indicate that Tony has a gambling problem, I don't know what does.

Infielder on milk carton

With all the good news and bright spots surrounding this year's edition of the Atlanta Braves (Hudson looks great! Bullpen is a strength! McCann and Frenchy hitting! Different heroes every night! Best record in baseball!), there's one truly bizarre story emerging.

Infielder Willy Aybar is nowhere to be found. Aybar, who was obtained in the deal for Wilson Betetmit last year (and I hated to see Betemit go, though he's hitting less than .100 right now), was to be the back up for Chipper when he invariably suffers a foot injury at some point during the year.

He had the typical "visa problems" getting to spring training, and suffered a hand injury that put him on the shelf for a while. Then, he failed to show up for treatment for the injury and has not been seen nor heard from since. Huh? Is he on an island getting a new nickname from Sawyer? What is this? How does a player on a major league roster just vanish? I haven't read anything about contract squabbles or pulling a Derek Bell (the hilarious "Operation Shutdown"). Where the hell is he?

Possible reasons for Willy Aybar's disappearance:

• Bob Wickman threatened to take his per-diem meal money every day.
• With Scott Thorman and Pete Orr on the roster, there are too many Canadians around. And from watching South Park, you know they can't be trusted.
• Was last seen partying with Ron Mexico.
• Got map to stadium from Pascual Perez.
• Man-crush on Jeff Francouer was unrequited.
• Thought Oceanic 815 was team charter.
• Disappointed that Chipper doesn't resemble Heather Mills yet.
• He's been playing with the Atlanta Hawks, and no one noticed.
• Irrational fear of John Schuerholz's suspenders.

Looking in Boxes

Baseball box scores are one of those truly "old school" delights in a world with scores, video highlights and other technological advancements at your fingertips. There's a certain traditional charm about baseball, that almost always ties back to father and son memories. I recall Sam teaching me how to read and understand box scores (along with baseball itself, as well as "scoring" the game). All sports have some sort of agate type recap, but there's a beauty and simplicity to the baseball box scores that tell a story in a linear fashion.

I almost always read baseball box scores in the paper, and like everything else I do, there's a "process" I go through every day. Because I'm sure that you're fascinated with these little OCD slices of life, I thought I'd share. (Note: I don't play fantasy baseball anymore, in which case the list would be completely different).

1. Braves Box Score
Obviously, I'm a homer and want to see how my favorite team did. Always read these first.

2. Braves Competitors Box Score
Next you move to the teams that are in direct competition with your favorite team. How did the teams in the division do? Phillies, Mets, Marlins (I won't even include the Nationals, as I don't think they qualify as a major league team this year). Also, you check out the team that's up next on the Braves schedule, to see who is hot and who is not coming into the series against your team.

3. Former Braves
I always check to see how former Braves (that I like) are doing. Laroche. Giles. DeRosa. Furcal. Betemit. Franco. Glavine.

4. Prediction Players
Then I check on how my predictions for various MLB honors are doing.

5. Players I Hate
I look in the box scores to check out the games and stats of players I simply loathe, with the fervent hope that it includes a "golden sombrero," HBP, E, GDP, CS or plummeting average (or rising ERA). Box scores don't indicate torn ACLs, but one can hope. These types of players include Barry Bonds, Kenny Lofton, Gary Sheffield, Dan Kolb, among others.

6. Players of Note
Then, time depending, I check out high profile players: popular, big salaries, new location, coming back from injury, etc. Ichiro. Nomar. A-Rod. Pujols. Mauer. Soriano. Zito. Gagne. Matthews Jr. Griffey Jr.

God hates Tiger Woods.

GodWatch: Another in an ongoing series of updates regarding the powers and interests of The Almighty.

This past Sunday God took time out of his busy schedule to once again intervene in our earthly and mundane matters of sport, apparently guiding little known golfer Zach Johnson to a win at The Masters. Much like he did when sapping Rex Grossman of all accuracy and talent and "giving" a Super Bowl championship to gay rights detractor/intolerant douchebag Tony Dungy, the lord countered the "obvious effects" of global warming and made Augusta GA a cold, windy and inhospitable place for low scoring.

His divine intervention caused Phil Mickelson to vomit up a triple bogey on the first hole of the final round and Tiger to play like a mere mortal (probably because He didn't want El Tigre to show up His son on His "other birthday" and steal all His press. And the big man upstairs is also probably a little cranky about having to shell out for TWO presents and TWO birthday parties every single year for over two millennia). But new green jacket wearer Johnson knows where his spiritual and sporting bread is buttered, and consistently used CBS airtime to thank his mythological homeboy for kneecapping Retief Goosen and diverting the powers holy away from insignificant issues like Shiite uprisings, Iranian nuclear shenanigans, suffering in Zimbabwe, Grindhouse weekend box office, unholy panning for gold unions or the pestilence of Sanjaya.

Supernatural meddling aside, congrats to Johnson on using his meager human skills and efforts to capture one of sports most distinguished honors and pieces of outerwear.