plus 3, Latest News - RealClearPolitics |
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- Daytona International Speedway Begins Work On Supercross Track - RoadracingWorld.com
- Former Quakertown teacher sentenced for vehicular homicide - Burlington County Times
- TV Rants and Raves 2.24.10: The Tiger Woods Apology - 411mania.com
| Latest News - RealClearPolitics Posted: 23 Feb 2010 10:10 PM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. Today is Wednesday, Feb. 24, the 55th day of 2010. There are 310 days left in the year.Today's Highlight in History:On Feb. 24, 1868, the House of Repr... A convicted sex offender who posed as a monk to gain the confidence of his victims has been and charged in California with molesting another teenage boy.The San Mate... California lawmakers grilled Anthem Blue Cross executives on Tuesday about their plan to boost individual insurance premiums by as much as 39 percent, only to hear them bla... Nearly half of the Arizona Legislature wants to force President Barack Obama to show his birth certificate to state officials if he runs for re-election.A state Hous... A group opposed to increasing Michigan's taxes wasn't about to let a good snowstorm go to waste. Common Sense in Government crafted more than three dozen snowmen on the sta... Researchers say a high concentration of plastic debris is floating in the Atlantic Ocean north of the Caribbean.The study's principal investigator said Tuesday the f... Authorities say DNA ties a California death row inmate convicted in the killings of seven hikers to the unsolved 1979 slaying of a jogger in a San Francisco park.Col... Prosecutors in California have dismissed charges against a San Jose State University student who was videotaped being struck by police after he allegedly resisted arrest. The widow of the Internal Revenue Service employee killed when a Texas man crashed his plane into the agency's Austin office is suing the pilot's widow.Attorney Dani... A teacher tackled a man armed with a high-powered rifle just after two teenage students were shot Tuesday at a suburban Denver middle school that's just miles from Columbin... A man who lost his hand after being dragged by a commuter train two weeks ago in Southern California has been hit by a train again.Police say the man claimed he fell... University of Mississippi students voted Tuesday for the school to pursue a new mascot to replace Colonel Reb, the goateed Southern gent banished from the sidelines nearly ... A southwestern Michigan couple whose teenage daughter died in a house fire while chained to her bed have been acquitted of murder charges but convicted of torture and child... Authorities say a New Hampshire man who left a restaurant without paying his $18 bill had a loaded gun and told them he planned to kill as many patrons as he could, then hi... King County will find a new company to handle security in Seattle's downtown transit tunnel, after surveillance video captured three guards standing by and watching as a 15... After being spared the brunt of early February snowstorms that buried the Atlantic coast, the Northeast is bracing for a double whammy of winter.The National Weather... A man who admitted plotting to bomb the city's subway system wanted to do so with the help of at least two other bombers during rush hour, when the most people could be kil... ESPN has suspended host Tony Kornheiser from his television talk show "Pardon the Interruption" for two weeks for comments he made on the radio last week about SportsCenter... An accounting fraud examiner who testified in the hearing of a motivational speaker seeking to reduce bail in his manslaughter case said Tuesday that James Arthur Ray's net... A man accused of five Southern California serial slayings in the late 1970s is either guilty or had "the worst bad luck in the history of bad luck," a prosecutor told juror... A personal assistant has been convicted of second-degree murder in the slaying of her boss — a New York City punk-rock pioneer and celebrity real estate broker.Man... A two-alarm fire that damaged the building where the "Sound of Philadelphia" was born has been ruled an arson.Fire officials say the Sunday morning blaze on the thir... A former New Orleans police official is preparing to enter a guilty plea in connection with a federal probe of a deadly police shooting in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, tw... Wall Street bonuses climbed 17 percent in 2009 to $20.3 billion as many of the investment banks that were bailed out at taxpayer expense reported blowout profits.The... With a major military offensive under way in Afghanistan, the British ambassador to the United States says the goal is to turn the tide against the insurgency by the middle... Teachers tackled and subdued a man armed with a high-powered rifle just after he shot two teenage students Tuesday at a suburban Denver middle school that's just miles from... A freshman at a private suburban college who grew up on campus was found slain in her family's staff housing apartment, and police on Tuesday characterized the killing as d... A Trinity College star squash player has apologized for a confrontation with his opponent after a match that helped the school clinch its 12th consecutive national team tit... Americans' confidence in the economy has suffered a sudden relapse, dimming hopes that they will start spending — and spurring job growth — any time soon.The Con... A former New York City sportscaster was indicted Tuesday on charges he raped a 14-year-old runaway working as a prostitute.Dr. Marvell Scott pleaded not guilty at an... The family of a Dallas police officer who died in a crash two years ago while escorting then-presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton in a motorcade has sued her, the ... Authorities in California are fighting a couple's request to see each other in jail while they await trial on charges of kidnapping and raping Jaycee Dugard.Lawyers ... Mentally ill juvenile offenders released because they can't be treated in custody will now receive court-ordered psychiatric treatment under an emergency measure adopted by... A woman who fabricated a gang rape accusation was sentenced Tuesday to up to three years behind bars herself, saying she was riven with remorse for sending an innocent man ... The possibility that the federal government could designate millions of acres in the West as national monuments and off-limits to development is stoking fears and generatin... Georgia plans to sue the Obama administration after the Justice Department for the third time blocked the state's efforts to check the citizenship of newly registering vote... Lawmakers on the first congressional panel to conduct a hearing on the Toyota recalls, the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation... The kiddie game show "Our Little Genius" has caught the attention of federal regulators over accusations it might have been rigged.The Federal Communications Commiss... Puppet cleavage has been ruled out for advertising posters in Colorado Springs bus shelters.Lamar Advertising rejected posters for a touring production of the Broadw... A Montana lawyer and motorcycle enthusiast has pleaded guilty in Ohio to stealing $100,000 from the American Motorcyclist Association.Dal Smilie apologized Monday fo... Linda Casey dialed 911 and screamed, "Oh, God!" over and over again into the phone after finding her daughter beaten to death in the driveway of their North Carolina home.<... readability="100"> Fossils of a previously undiscovered species of dinosaur have been found in slabs of Utah sandstone that were so hard that explosives had to be used to free some of the rem... As Drew Peterson heads to trial in the death of his third wife, it's clear that prosecutors hope to make their case by trying to prove he also killed his missing fourth wif... CBS continues to fight the $550,000 fine for Janet Jackson's infamous 2004 Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction," insisting the network is not responsible for the fleeting nudi... Investigators believe a mother who was found dead along with her 6-year-old daughter fatally drugged the child before killing herself with an overdose in an apparent murder... Doctors have steadily cut their work hours over the past decade, a new study finds, something that experts say may only worsen the health care situation.It's not tha... Dartmouth College has settled a lawsuit filed by the parents of a sophomore who was fatally injured in a skiing accident after she was left alone on a difficult trail durin... Anger in Utah is growing over the possible designation of two national monuments in the energy rich southern part of the state.A U.S. Department of the Interior docu... Federal agents raided a clinic where abortions are performed and found "deplorable and unsanitary" conditions, including blood on the floor and parts of aborted fetuses in ... An Ohio man has created a frosty fairy-tale setting for a memorable marriage proposal, building a snow castle for his girlfriend. Ryan Knotek says he wanted to pop the ques... Closing arguments are ending in the case of a Southern California man accused of killing four women and a 12-year-old girl in the late 1970s.Defendant Rodney James A... The Florida Highway Patrol has identified two people killed when a tour bus taking them on a sightseeing trip crashed in central Florida.John Roy, 79, of Cohasset, M... A defense contractor facing up to 15 years in prison for accepting a $200,000 kickback got five years of probation Tuesday after a judge applauded his work with federal age... A judge on Tuesday overturned negligent homicide and reckless endangerment convictions against the manager of an apartment building where tenants constructed a labyrinth of... A Louisiana woman has pleaded guilty to selling two children for a cockatoo and $175 in what her attorney called an attempt to do a good thing that went wrong."It wa... When the Olympic Games came to Atlanta in 1996, a building boom transformed the landscape of downtown and brought with it an influx of Latino immigrants — both legal and ... When you take the oath of office in Kentucky, you have to swear that you haven't taken part in a duel with deadly weapons. The promise usually elicits laughter, and state R... A man accused of being one of the leaders of a powerful Mexican drug cartel pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges that he conspired to import and sell large amounts of coca... Attorneys for John Edwards' mistress on Tuesday accused a former aide to the Democratic presidential candidate of theft after he turned over a video camera that belonged to... Employees at Wall Street financial firms collected more than $20 billion in bonuses in 2009, the year after taxpayers bailed out the financial sector amid the economic melt... A man accused of leading a powerful Mexican drug cartel has pleaded not guilty to charges that he conspired to import large quantities of heroin and cocaine into the United... When Virginia steakhouse owner Osama El-Atari disappeared last year, he left behind a $3.8 million McMansion, a few splashy sports cars and a bunch of banks that said he ch... The Los Angeles city attorney's office has filed its first charges under a ban passed last year on the giant building-cloaking signs known as supergraphics and most other b... Toyota's president says the automaker compromised quality by growing too quickly in the U.S., but it will take steps to improve quality control.Toyota President Akio... A woman due to be sentenced Tuesday for fabricating a gang rape accusation that sent an innocent man to prison was too drunk to remember much of the night she met him and b... Some members of the Wyoming Legislature want to instill "cowboy ethics" in state law, lest lawmakers and citizens forget the state's western roots.The code would str... An illegal immigrant was convicted Tuesday in a crash that killed three people, including a 3-year-old boy inside an ice cream shop.Jurors found Francis Hernandez, 2... A Vermont judge overseeing a custody battle ordered the arrest Tuesday of a Virginia woman who renounced homosexuality, became an evangelical Christian and disappeared with... Even in a school system known for its academic troubles, the numbers at Vaux High School are jaw-dropping: More than 90 percent of 11th-graders tested last year could not r... At least three dogs in Spokane's South Hill have died after eating poisoned meatballs.The latest report was filed Monday. KREM-TV reports it was the fifth such find ... Attorneys for an estranged aide to John Edwards want to watch a tape purportedly showing the former presidential candidate in a sexual encounter with his pregnant mistress.... A trial has started for a prominent thoroughbred breeder who was banned from racing after more than 170 malnourished horses were seized from his upstate New York farm.<... readability="48"> At least three dogs in Spokane's South Hill have died after eating poisoned meatballs.The latest report was filed Monday. KREM-TV reports it was the fifth such find ... The stock market pulled back Tuesday after a surprising drop in consumer confidence reminded investors of the fragility of the economic recovery.The Dow Jones indust... The Dalai Lama says the economic crisis cannot deter the U.S. from championing liberty, freedom and democracy.Fresh off a visit to the White House, the Tibetan spiri... The professional wrestler known as The Undertaker got minor burns on his chest and a scare during a pyrotechnics mishap he escaped without serious injury.World Wrest... A young New York mother has been sentenced to as many as four years in prison for leaving her three young children alone at home shortly before a fatal fire broke out.<... readability="45"> Former NBA star Jayson Williams was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday for fatally shooting a hired limo driver in 2002, ending an eight-year legal odyssey by tearfu... Former NBA star Jayson Williams has been sentenced to a minimum 18 months in prison for fatally shooting a hired driver in 2002, ending an eight-year legal odyssey.W... Sources: Ex-cop to plead guilty in probe of shootings on bridge in Katrina's aftermath.... The husband of the Alabama professor accused of fatally shooting three colleagues once said he wanted violent revenge on a doctor who gave his wife a bad job review, accord... Police investigating a Pennsylvania mobile home fire say they followed tracks in the snow to a car belonging to an Ohio man who used to live there.Authorities believ... Univision has kicked off a multiyear, multimillion dollar campaign to boost academic achievement among Hispanics in the United States.The Spanish-language network un... The University of California, San Diego has halted funding for student media after a TV segment ridiculed black students outraged by a party mocking Black History Month. A judge has ruled that former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick must return to court Friday to be arraigned on a probation violation warrant.The judge said Tuesday that... The driver of a car that investigators say hit a tour bus and caused it to roll, killing two people, is "shook up" and won't comment on the case, her husband said Tuesday.<... readability="31"> A convicted sex offender who posed as a monk to gain the confidence of his victims has been arrested for allegedly molesting another teenage boy.Anthony Thomas Falco... The leader of a religious cult was "outraged" when a 1-year-old boy did not say "Amen" before a meal and ordered her followers to deprive him of food and water until he die... A freshman at a private suburban college who grew up on campus as the daughter of a maintenance worker was found slain in her family's staff housing apartment, and police o... Colonel Reb shall not rise again. That much is certain.The University of Mississippi dumped the mascot — a caricature of a white plantation owner — in a 2003 eff... A lifelong con man imprisoned in Wisconsin worked with associates outside the walls to operate a suspected diploma mill that was recruiting students for at least two years ... Authorities say two men were shot by security officers after they drove a stolen car through a gate at an Air Force base outside Phoenix during a police chase.Offici... An investigator says the fatal crash of a small plane in southwestern Illinois occurred while the pilot was trying for a second time to land at an airport in rain and fog.<... readability="32"> Nevada lawmakers are convening a special legislative session to deal with the state's budget crisis.Gov. Jim Gibbons has proposed cutting most agency budgets by roug... Preliminary autopsy results indicate that a Texas woman found dead in her room on a cruise ship had no sign of trauma.The investigation continues into the death of 3... A 52-year-old Louisiana woman has pleaded guilty to two counts of sale of a minor for trading two children to a couple in exchange for an exotic pet bird and $175.Do... In a Feb. 21 obituary of Dr. Albert M. Kligman, The Associated Press incorrectly described the Tuskegee syphilis study. The 40-year study conducted by the U.S. Public Healt... Prosecutors expect to add more counts to a lengthy indictment against a Delaware pediatrician charged with serial molestation of 103 children as investigators urge former p... About 350 people who got sick a week into a Caribbean cruise were responding well to medicine, the cruise line said Tuesday. Celebrity Cruise spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez s... An 81-year-old woman was behind the wheel of a car involved in a tour bus crash in central Florida that left two people dead and three others critically injured, authoritie... Wall Street bonuses were up 17 percent to over $20 billion in 2009, the year taxpayers bailed out the financial sector after its meltdown, New York state Comptroller Thomas... A woman who is locked in a child custody battle with her former lesbian partner and has renounced homosexuality is facing arrest if she doesn't appear in a Vermont court wi... Despite heading a multimillion-dollar corporation, motivational speaker James Arthur Ray cannot afford to post $5 million bond in his manslaughter case, according to his at... A Phoenix couple indicted on child abuse charges involving their 14-year-old daughter have entered not guilty pleas.Police say the malnourished girl was locked in a ... Former NBA star Jayson Williams faces sentencing Tuesday for a shooting that happened eight years ago in New Jersey.Williams is scheduled to appear in court in Somer... Wet weather was expected to diminish over the Eastern U.S. on Tuesday as a low pressure system pushed offshore.The system that brought scattered rain, freezing rain ... SANTA ANA, Calif. — A man accused of five serial slayings in the late 1970s says prosecutors lumped the murders of four adult women with the case of a 12-year-old girl to... In life, anti-abortion activist James Pouillon spent years trying to influence people in his small Michigan city with large signs of dead fetuses. In death, that combative ... Distressed over the deaths of civilians in his native Afghanistan, a man who once operated a coffee cart near the World Trade Center site hatched a plan to join the Taliban... A former airport shuttle driver accused of buying beauty supplies to make bombs for an attack on New York City subways pleaded guilty Monday, admitting he agreed to conduct... Authorities in Oregon say a man has been arrested after explosions rocked his Salem-area neighborhood and partially blew up a tree on his property.Sgt. Mark Garton o... The Obama administration on Monday gave preliminary approval for $1.4 billion in federal loan guarantees for a sprawling solar-energy project in California's Mojave Desert.... </...></...></...></...></...>Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Daytona International Speedway Begins Work On Supercross Track - RoadracingWorld.com Posted: 23 Feb 2010 10:10 PM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. Feb 24, 2010, ©Copyright 2010, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – While NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star Jamie McMurray and the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops team celebrate their Daytona 500 triumph, work is underway at Daytona International Speedway as the "World Center of Racing" is transformed into a motorcycle-enthusiast paradise. Construction has already begun on the legendary tri-oval on the Daytona Supercross By Honda course, which was designed by five-time Daytona Supercross By Honda champion Ricky Carmichael for the third consecutive year. Mark Burnett, a three-time National champion, is once again building the course. This year's course layout will have a couple of new twists such as the relocation of the starting gate to the West end of the tri-oval and placement of the finish line in the center of the track closer to the fans. The paddock for Supercross teams will also have a new location in the blue garages, which are located adjacent to the Sprint FANZONE and will provide easier accessibility for the fans. Daytona Supercross By Honda will host the best Supercross riders in America with top names expected to compete such as three-time and defending champion Chad Reed, Kevin Windham, Ryan Dungey, Davi Millsaps and Ryan Villopoto. They will be battling on one of the toughest and most challenging layouts of the season in an attempt to put their name alongside greats such as Bob Hannah, Jeff Stanton, Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Carmichael as winners of the Daytona Supercross By Honda. Here's a look at some of the numbers behind the construction of this year's Daytona Supercross By Honda course:
10 Number of dump trucks used to transport loads of dirt 38 Number of jumps on the track 175 Number of dump truck loads of dirt used to build the course on the tri-oval grass 400 Number of man-hours needed to complete the construction of the course 400 Number of 2x9 Styrofoam blocks which will be used for safety along the course 2,900 Mileage (in feet) of the Supercross course from start to finish 5,000 Tons of dirt needed to build the Supercross track
Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter (www.twitter.com/disupdates) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/DaytonaInternationalSpeedway). More Breaking Headlines | Next Article | Home
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| Former Quakertown teacher sentenced for vehicular homicide - Burlington County Times Posted: 23 Feb 2010 08:36 PM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. A former Quakertown High School math teacher was sentenced to three to six years in state prison Thursday for a hit-and-run accident that killed a motorcycle rider in 2008 in Lehigh County. Larry A. Angney II, 38, of Center Valley was suspended without pay from the Quakertown Community School District Thursday, according to Lehigh County authorities. Termination proceedings against the math teacher will begin in March, authorities said. According to a press statement from the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office, Lehigh County Judge Maria L. Dantos said she believed alcohol was a factor in the crash. "I believe that in not stopping and in not rendering aid, in that moment, you made a choice of yourself over her," said Dantos. "And that choice, I believe, you thought would save you from a homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence." Angney maintained that he had two drinks and that he thought he'd hit a deer Oct. 9 around 8 p.m. on the 6000 block of Limeport Pike in Upper Saucon, said authorities. In fact, his vehicle had struck Lori Smeltzer, 45, of Upper Saucon. She was on a motorcycle, trying to turn from Limeport Pike onto Kozy Korner Road, where she lived. Witnesses told police they heard a loud crash and saw a vehicle racing from the scene. Smeltzer's helmet was dragged 140 feet from the crash point. Authorities later found fabric from Smeltzer's sweater under Angney's vehicle. Angney drove from the crash scene. The next day, he gave a statement to police after seeing a news account of the crash. Chief Deputy District Attorney V. Paul Bernardino III said Angney was well aware that he had struck a person. The former teacher fled because he had been drinking, the prosecutor maintained. A bartender had testified she served Angney three drinks containing double shots of whiskey and soda in a two-hour span prior. Because Angney fled, authorities could not determine his blood alcohol content and he was not charged with homicide by vehicle, said Bernardino. Angney was sentenced on charges of homicide by vehicle and accidents involving death. Debbie Garlicki, a spokesperson for the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office, said Smeltzer's husband and mother attended the sentencing. Pictures of Smeltzer as a baby and child were shown, she said. The family spoke how losing Smeltzer has affected their lives. Angney's friends and family testified to his character and said he is a good teacher, according to Garlicki. Angney, a father of three girls, apologized to Smeltzer's family and his family, Garlicki said.
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| TV Rants and Raves 2.24.10: The Tiger Woods Apology - 411mania.com Posted: 23 Feb 2010 08:51 PM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. TV Rants and Raves 2.24.10: The Tiger Woods Apology Posted by Bryan Kristopowitz on 02.24.2010 Rants and Raves about "Damages," "Grey's Anatomy," the return of Bill Maher and "Real Time," Pro Bowling on ESPN, "The X-Files" on Sci Fi, and the Tiger Woods apology, plus two more Strange Thoughts about "The Big Lebowski," a new Douchebag of the Week is crowned, a Very Special Commentary on movie and TV robberies, and more TV Rants and Raves Issue #33: In this issue I Rant and Rave about "Damages," "Grey's Anatomy," the return of Bill Maher and "Real Time," Pro Bowling on ESPN, "The X-Files" on Sci Fi, and the Tiger Woods apology, plus two more Strange Thoughts about "The Big Lebowski," a new Douchebag of the Week is crowned, a Very Special Commentary on movie and TV robberies, and more Hello, everyone, and welcome once again to the TV centric internets column that has never seen two or more people fight over a metal bucket full of chocolate pudding, TV Rants and Raves. I'm Bryan Kristopowitz. Before I get into the main section of the column, I want to say a few words about the great George H. Sirois, who will be ending his UBS News column tomorrow. George has been here at 411 for years (six years to be exact) and in that time he's become such an integral part of the movies zone that it's hard to fathom that he won't be doing a column every week. Thursday was George day (and Wednesday used to be George day, too, when his classic Scene Anatomy 101 was up and running. He ended the column at issue #200). Next Thursday, it will be someone else's day. It won't be the same. George is also one of the first people I conversed with via e-mail when I started back in the fall of 2005, and over the years I've considered George a friend. We're George Carlin nerds, we're fans of the "Halloween" franchise (the real "Halloween" franchise, not that Rob Zombie shit), we're on different sides of the "Batman Begins" divide (George loves it, I despise it), and we're both evil Democrats. He will still be involved with the site in various ways. He'll still be taking part in the weekly movies zone podcast, among other things, but he won't be as big a presence. He'll be going to grad school, working on his budding literary career, and, well, check out his column tomorrow to find out more. I know I will. Thanks for being a pal, George, and good luck with everything else.
TV Rants and Raves
- More thoughts on "Damages" Season 3": I've actually managed to stay fairly current with the new season of "Damages" and have seen all of the episodes until last week (the show airs new episodes on Monday nights, but I record the show on Wednesday night). I think, so far, that season three is way better and far more interesting that season two. I mean, yeah, we don't get to see Marcia Gay Harden in her bra this season, but that's a small price to pay for an interesting story line. And, yes, this season's Bernie Madoff inspired storyline has, so far, been excellent. Len Cariou's Louis Tobin, the man behind the massive ponzi scheme, is turning out to be an even bigger scumbag than previously thought. Not only did he engage in the Ponzi scheme, not only did he hide a bunch of money to keep his family well off "for generations," but he also cheated on his wife with a younger hot babe (played by Madchen Amchick. Am I the only one that thought that her Danielle character was going to end up being Louis' long lost daughter instead of his mistress?) and then, at the end of the fourth episode, the motherfucker commits suicide. By spiking his own fucking tea! What a piece of shit.
The mystery surrounding Tom Shayes' death/murder thickens, as it appears as though Patty had something to do with it. Ellen, too, although the sexual relationship between Ellen and Tom that's been implied can't possibly be true. I don't think Tom would ever do that to his wife (even if she bitches about the way Tom bet all of their savings on Tobin's investment scam) and I don't think Ellen has it in her to bang someone that close to Patty Hewes. That would be like banging Patty Hewes herself, and no one wants to do that. Well, Keith Carradine's character probably does, but we haven't seen him in a while (when the hell is he coming back? Carradine is awesome).
And speaking of people wanting to bang Patty Hewes, what the hell is Patty's husband Phil thinking? He wants to get back together with Patty? Is he out of his fucking mind? Oh, sure, that frizzied haired woman he's with now (isn't that the same one he cheated on Patty with last season?) may not be the intellectual equal of Patty, or as strong willed as Patty, but so the fuck what? Patty is pure, outright fucking evil. She's an awful, awful person. If you have a chance to get away from her, by all means do it and do it quickly. Look at Patty's son Michael. He got out as soon as he could. So, Phil, come on, do the right thing and tell your soon-to-be ex-wife to go fuck herself. I mean, she did tell you that she didn't need you anymore. Use that as your own personal excuse if you have to. Again, come on, man, this is your chance to get the fuck out of there! So get the fuck out of there!
"I wish I could wear this hat on the show." And how about the great Tom Noonan as the NYPD detective investigating all of this shit? Is he not a breath of fresh air on TV? Fucking A right he is. I can't wait to see where his supporting character ends up. I'm hoping that Noonan's detective survives the season, doesn't get implicated in some massive crime, and gets to stick around for the next season (I'm also hoping that FX and the show's producers give Noonan's character its own TV movie. I know that won't happen but I can dream, can't I? Imagine Tom Noonan as a cerebral NYPD detective tracking down a serial killer or a gang of bank robbers. Sort of an anti-"Manhunter." Yeah, that would be goddamn killer. Tom Noonan- the future of television!).
Martin Short is getting on my nerves, though. His performance has been excellent so far (what kind of shit does he have going on that we don't know about yet? Is Carradine an agent of his? Does Short's character have some scheme that he's working on to "outsmart" Patty?) but, come on, he's still Martin fucking Short, one third of the "Three Amigos." That's Franc from the "Father of the Bride" movies. He is still Ed fucking Grimley. His big time dramatic performance here is just him showing off for everyone, isn't it? Isn't this Marty just showing everyone that he's not a goofball but a serious, serious artist? I don't know, maybe it's just me. I can't wait to see what happens next. Is Patty really responsible for Tom's death? Is this the event that brings that cold hearted bitch down? I'll be watching Wednesday night (well, actually I'll be watching Saturday afternoon. That's when the DVR watching thing starts).
- A "Grey's Anatomy" spin off I'd like to see: "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes apparently has a new pilot in the works for ABC (something about doctors working in a clinic in Puerto Rico). And I'm sure that if ABC picks the show up (and that's not a guarantee, despite the success of both "Grey's" and "Private Practice." Didn't Rhimes have a pilot last year that didn't get picked up by ABC, something about TV news or lobbyists in Washington D.C.?) that the show will be, at least, watchable. But, after this past week's multiple flashbacks episode featuring a younger Dr. Bailey (she looked great with long hair), a thing where Callie ended up banging Karev (what a bunch of shit. Is there anyone that Karev hasn't banged? He hasn't banged Meredith or Cristina, right? I'm not so sure anymore. He may have done it but we haven't seen it yet. Maybe those events are being saved for a future flashback episode), and a flashback featuring a younger Richard and a younger Ellis, I think Rhimes should jettison the whole "clinic in Puerto Rico" idea and do a spin off based on the early careers of Richard and Ellis. Think about it. A pseudo retro doctor show that deals with the "old ways" of doing things as a surgeon. The show could deal with stuff like the early days of AIDS, early cancer research (well, more like early 1980's cancer research), and how racism and sexism were such a big deal then. I think it's a show that could work and work well, as long as the show keeps Sarah Paulson (good old Harriet Hayes from "Studio 60") as Ellis and J. August Richards (of "Conviction" and "Raising the Bar" fame) as Richard. Both Paulson and Richards had great chemistry and I'd love to see how their affair developed and how bad it got for the whole Grey family. But let's face it. That ain't gonna happen. Doing a retro show would likely end up costing more money than the current modern shows, and the licensing fees for the music the show would have to use (because you can't have a TV show without music playing in the background) would likely cost a fortune. Unless the show and the network could get some studio band to mimic the sound of the late 1970's/early 1980's the show would have to spend "Cold Case" money on the soundtrack. Who has that kind of money to blow on established music? If ABC picks up the Puerto Rico show the network will probably want hip and edgy, good looking young people as the cast (the show would have an older actor/actress to sort of anchor the show, give it some creditability, but the show as a whole would mostly be about the horny young people). I guess that kind of casting is to be expected. But I will say this, though. I bet that Shonda Rhimes headed show about hip and edgy horny young people will be a thousand times better than "The Deep End," a show that I've decided to abandon because it's just so damn awful (both Clancy Brown and Billy Zane deserve better).
"Yeah, I probably do deserve better, but then they did write a very big check."
The stand up special, "Bill Maher... But I'm Not Wrong," was pretty dang funny, as long as you like oodles and oodles of political jokes at the expense of quitter Sarah Palin and ultra right wing conservatives. He threw in some jokes at the expense of wimpy left wingers but it was mostly a joke fest about conservatives. I thought the show was funny, but then I'm an evil Democrat. The little skit he did at the end of the show, the Jihadi fashion show, was funny but it felt stale (the version he did on "Real Time" was funnier). Now, did the stand up special go over by mistake (in other words, was the show originally supposed to be an hour? I could have sworn that my cable guide said that the special was only an hour) or was it always scheduled to be longer than an hour? I wonder because the recent stand up specials HBO has done have been longer than an hour (Chris Rock and Wanda Sykes both had ninety minute specials). Why the change to 90 minutes?
The "Real Time" premiere was one of the best episodes of "Real Time" I think I've ever seen. Maher was on (his monologue was funny from beginning to end, which is unusual for him. Usually only half the jokes are funny), and his guests were great. Hooker lover Elliot Spitzer showed us why he never should have resigned as governor of New York, MSNBC's Norah McDonnell was interesting to listen to (she's usually just okay on MSNBC), Wanda Sykes was funny, as usual (I really need to watch her Fox weekend show), and Seth MacFarlane was fucking brilliant. He brought the house down with his William Shatner impersonation (that guard with the turkey leg quip was hilarious, too), and he didn't back down one bit from Sarah Palin and the right wing yahoos that are whining about "The Family Guy" and its alleged attack on Palin's son Trig (which the show didn't do. More on that later). It's good to know that there are some people out there that won't be intimidated by bullshit (and kudos to Fox Entertainment for backing up their cash cow McFarlane). "Real Time" should have MacFarlane on more often.
The one thing I didn't like about the premiere of "Real Time" was the interview Maher did with Elizabeth Warren, Chairperson of the TARP Congressional Oversight Panel. There wasn't anything wrong with the interview in terms of content (it was fascinating, actually), I just don't like the whole "intimate studio setting" thing. Maybe it's the sitting down part that bothers me, I don't know. I like the "live via satellite" interview option better. It just flows better. This coming Friday Maher does it all again with new guests. It should be a good time. It probably won't be as fun since MacFarlane won't be there, but it'll be a good time anyway.
On a bit of a side note, when the heck is Maher's documentary on religion, "Religulous," hitting television? The documentary (you can read my review of the documentary here) was released by the fine folks at Lionsgate, which usually means that it'll show up on Showtime, but isn't that going to be a little weird, having HBO's Bill Maher big hooha documentary on a rival premium cable channel? You'd think it would be. Does anyone have any insight on this?
- Pro bowling on ESPN thoughts: Pro bowling has been a television staple for years. It's cheap to produce, easy to understand and fun to watch. Well, it's usually fun to watch. Sometimes it's pretty damn lame, especially when all of the bowlers are left handed (they all shoot the ball the same way, straight down and into the pocket. You never see a left handed bowler start on the right side of the lane and hook the ball like a motherfucker. And what's with this two handed bowling shit? That's not bowling). And when the network in question, mainly ESPN, starts messing around with the game format. The best way to show bowling on TV is what's called the "stepladder format," where you see three or four matches, with the lowest qualified bowler against the second lowest qualified bowler with the winner bowling the third lowest bowler and so on until the final match with the number one qualifier. It's easy to understand and, for the lowest qualified bowler, it adds a bit of drama to the show. Will the lowest qualifier battle his way to the top? Watch and find out. ESPN, though, over the last few years, has tried to "shake things up" by messing around with the show format. Sure, they have the stepladder on every few weeks, but other weeks they have four bowlers bowling at the same time, which is confusing, or they interrupt the stepladder to show us "trick bowling," which is just garbage (if I wanted to watch a guy shoot two balls at the same time, one in each hand, or launch a ball from between his legs I'd go to my local bowling alley on Men's League Night around 9:30pm, when everyone is shitfaced). They've also tried to do a reality show type thing where they show the entire tournament, from beginning to end, via following a few bowlers to the final match. That shit is just awful (they've done it once so far this year. Hopefully that's the only time they do it). I do like the addition of the lady bowlers on the show, but they should have their own national tour and TV time like they used to (I learned more watching the ladies bowl than I ever did watching the men bowl). And that "naming the oil pattern" thing was a nifty idea for about three seconds (I still don't know what the hell the different "animal" patterns are). And then there's the announce team. Rob Stone, the inventor of the "hambone!" yell, has been the lead announcer for about three years now, and while I appreciate his enthusiasm, I wish he never started the "hambone" thing because it's fucking stupid. Four strikes in a row is a four bagger. It is not a hambone. And five strikes in a row is a five bagger, not a nickel. That's just the way it is. You never heard Dave Ryan saying that shit. And I think it's about time Randy Pederson, the color commentator, take a vacation. Pederson is a great bowler and he knows what he's talking about, but his smarmy attitude at times gets a little hard to listen to. And I wish he would just come out and say what is obvious to everyone: Chris Barnes is a choke artist. If he's anywhere near the finals, rest assured that he is going to choke in the end. I think they should bring back Marshall Holman. It was great listening to him get pissed off when someone bowled a bad game. The biggest tournament of the year, the Masters, is this Sunday afternoon. I'll be watching. I just hope that they don't fuck it up and do something else besides the stepladder. That's what works on TV.
- Doesn't "The X-Files" deserve a better timeslot on the Sci Fi Channel?: "The X-Files," the groundbreaking sci-fi show starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, ended in 2002 after nine seasons and over two hundred episodes and went off to live in the world of TV syndication. It currently airs on the Sci Fi Channel Monday-Thursday at 2am. It used to air in the afternoon, at 4 or 5pm but then, for whatever reason, Sci Fi moved the show. Why? It makes no sense to me. "The X-Files" is a classic show with a devoted fan base. Yes, most of them probably have the show on DVD, but that's no reason not to have the show on in the afternoon or at some other earlier time. The "Star Trek" fans no doubt have multiple DVD sets of the various "Trek" shows (the same goes for "Battlestar Galactica" and the other shows Sci Fi airs during the day) but you have no problem running any of those shows during the day. So what's wrong with Mulder and Scully seeking the truth, which is out there somewhere? Maybe the show will move over to Sci Fi's sister stations Sleuth or Chiller, which would make sense since the show fits both channels individual criteria (mystery for Sleuth, horror for Chiller). But then how many people have those channels compared to Sci Fi? Not as many, that's for damn sure. So come on, Sci Fi, put "The X-Files" on at a decent time again, either late afternoon or early evening. I think the show has earned that kind of placement on your schedule. I mean, who do you think you are, TNT? TNT had "The X-Files" for a little while, but for some reason that network only aired the show one night a week, Monday nights, from 12am-6am. What the hell was the deal with that?
- The Tiger Woods public apology news special thoughts:
You no doubt saw the major news event that was the Tiger Woods public apology last Friday, as I think it was on damn near every channel (it was on the sports channels, obviously, and the cable news networks, but it was also on the major broadcast networks, too. CBS brought in Katie Couric to "anchor coverage") and it was all over the internets. And, when the apology presentation and as soon as Woods disappeared behind that blue curtain the "analysis" began. "He's only sorry that he got caught." "He's a pig." "He was honest and broken and he showed everyone that he's human." "Oh, he's just doing this prepare for his return to golf next month." "The whole thing was fake, stage managed; he didn't mean a word of it." And on and on it went and it was the most important event in the history of the world up until that moment. Did Tiger Woods really mean what he said? Is the public supposed to believe him? Okay, so, am I the only one in the world that doesn't give a shit about whether or not Tiger Woods is sincere in his public apology? I can't possibly be the only one. I can't possibly be the only one in the world that isn't analyzing the video and looking for "tells" as to whether or not he's telling the truth. And I can't possibly be the only one that has no interest in arguing about any of it. Of course the press conference was staged. No, it isn't a big deal that Woods didn't take questions from reporters because he isn't going to answer any of them. He has already said he will not answer them. And, again, who gives a fucking shit? Why is this supposed to be any of my business? It isn't any of my business. And it isn't any of yours, either. Tiger Woods doesn't owe me anything and he doesn't owe you anything. He owes his family an explanation, sure, but the last time I checked Tiger Woods does not have 6 billion relatives. So, please, can we all stop with the outrage and the hand wringing and the endless speculation and analysis?
My God, man. The fucking John Birch Society sponsored the Conservative Political Action Committee conference this past weekend. The John Birch Society. Read this and tell me if you think Tiger Woods is a bigger story than JBS sponsoring the CPAC conference. Jesus Christ.
***
"Police Women of Maricopa County" is a documentary reality show featuring female police officers arresting people and, well, being police officers. It starts this Thursdays at 9pm. Here's a preview:
Strange Thoughts Once again, I have two Strange Thoughts for you to read, ponder, and hopefully be entertained by. And once again these two Strange Thoughts will be in reference to the classic Coen Brothers comedy from 1998 "The Big Lebowski."
- What happened to the Nihilists after the fight in the bowling alley parking lot with Walter and the Dude? Did they wait around and get fixed up by the paramedics that the Dude called to help Donny? Or did Uli, Kieffer, and Franz gather themselves as best they could and scurry off to the nearest hospital? Or did they try to fix themselves up? Uli lost an ear when Walter bit it off. Kieffer likely had massive internal injuries after getting hit in the chest and stomach with Walter's bowling ball and bag. And Franz got hit several times with a boom box. If the Nihilists did fix themselves up Franz is the one that applied the bandages and whatnot. It seems as though he had the least horrendous injuries. And I wouldn't be surprised if Franz's girlfriend helped out, too. All she lost is a pinky toe. And later on, do you think that the Nihilists attempted to press charges against Walter for beating the crap out of them? Do you think Uli may have taken Walter to small claims court to get like five grand to help with the reconstruction of his ripped off ear? I think that's something Uli would do. Uli isn't much of a nihilist. Shit, what would have happened if Kieffer died from his injuries? Do you think his family would have sued Walter for wrongful death? Can't you just see Walter in court trying to explain what happened.
- After the Larry Sellers incident do you think the Dude, Walter, and Donny went through the drive thru at the In-N-Out Burger or did they go inside to the counter and order? I tend to think that they went through the drive thru because I just don't see the Dude getting out of his car after what happened. He's pretty pissed off at Walter. And I'm sure that Walter wanted to go inside because it would be easier to check the order (if you go inside and the order is wrong you're still there. You don't have to drive back) but his preference was vetoed by Dude's anger (Donny probably didn't say anything. He just probably sat there, stunned by the violence of the car destruction and the lingering after effects of whatever the hell Marty was doing at that theatre). Now, do you think the Dude ordered anything for himself? He's not eating anything while driving away from the restaurant, unlike Walter and Donny, but that doesn't mean he didn't get anything. Of course, he was so pissed off maybe Walter ordered something for him and just let him take it back to his apartment. I mean, the Dude has to eat something besides those little candy things at the bar in the bowling alley, right? No human being can survive on White Russians, Oat sodas, and pot. Right?
***
*** The TV Rants and Raves Theme Song of the Week Enjoy.
*** Dolph Lundgren sings Elvis!
*** And now, Dr. Phil.
"Don't ever dip your dick in chocolate, unless you are absolutely sure she's going to lick it off quickly. Otherwise the shit is going to dry and you're going to get all sticky. That's very, very uncomfortable. On the plus side, though, if she's fucking stupid you can tell her that the dried choclate will work like a condom and prevent her from getting pregnant. Just make sure she's fucking stupid." My God, Phil, you are such an asshole. *** And now, the weekly Fearnet update What's on Fearnet this week? Why don't you go here to find out? Yes, that's the Fearnet website, where you can check out free movies (the site gets new ones every Wednesday), horror news, and more (The director's cut of "Saw II" was on there last week. Is it still there? Check and see). The site also has a pretty nifty web series featuring Freddy Krueger hisself, Robert Englund, and Kane "Jason Voorhees" Hodder, "Fear Clinic" that's definitely worth a look.
Plus, you can get information on how to contact Time Warner Cable as they still haven't reinstated the free, 24/7 on demand horror channel (this has been going on for about a year now, hasn't it? What the hell is the hold up? Where the hell is my Fearnet?). Come on Time Warner! We want our Fearnet! And, if you haven't done so already, please check out the Fearnet fans Facebook page, which can be seen here. There are plenty of people out there interested in Fearnet. Come join them. (As always, thanks to both Mark Lindsey and Mathew Hirsch for info regarding the Fearnet fan movement). *** And now, a little bit about "Live Evil"
"Live Evil," the great new Tim Thomerson vampire flick (also featuring an appearance by horror legend Ken Foree) is currently on Video on Demand. Check out my review for the flick here, and then, if it's on your cable system, order it. It's a great flick that's well worth the price. There's been a bit of a change on the "Live Evil" DVD front. According to the flick's Facebook page, "Live Evil" will now hit DVD July 13th, 2010. That's several months away, which is a bummer, but at least the movie is coming out. So, let's all try to remember the new release date (July 13th, 2010), and be sure to keep an eye on the flick's MySpace page and the flick's Facebook page for further updates/developments. If you're a reader from Germany, though, you can go to the amazon German site to preorder the flick for its March 26th, 2010 release. For you Germans that's next month. You lucky bastards.
A Very Special Comment: Gimme yo wallet! I had planned on doing a mini review of Martin Scorsese's latest flick "Shutter Island," but I think I want to think about it a little more. On a technical level it's obviously a good movie but, on an emotional level I'm not so sure. I didn't like it last Friday when I saw it, and at the moment I'm leaning towards not liking it but, again, I want to give it a little more thought. So, perhaps next issue I'll discuss it. Or maybe the week after that. In the place of "Shutter Island" I've decided to once again delve into the archives of my old column "What?!! This Column!??" and rerun and spiff up an essay I think is still relevant today. It's about robberies in the movies and on television. Enjoy.
I was watching "Police Academy 6: City Under Siege" the other day for some reason and I noticed something I never noticed before. As we all know, "PA6" features a story where the academy graduates have to take down a three man gang of robbers. The robbers, a big fat guy, a bug eyed weirdo who apparently knows karate, and Gerrit Graham (the guy Chucky pushes down the stairs in "Childs Play 2"), work for a shadowy crime boss they've never seen (the boss hides behind a clouded window and is only seen in silhouette). Anyway, in one sequence the gang of three robs a bank. Graham shoots out the surveillance cameras (that's his thing. Guns), the big fat guy heads towards the vault, and the bug eyed weirdo (and this is the part I never noticed before) goes around to the regular people in the bank and demands that they place their wallets in his burlap bag. The weirdo then goes to empty the money drawers. I thought, how revolting. It's bad enough to get stuck in the middle of a bank heist, but to have to relinquish your wallet to some thug who should be there to get the big money (you know, the crap in the vault)? Isn't that overdoing it? Or is that just being thorough?
After the revulsion settled, I thought about all of the other similar themed robberies in other movies and TV shows. -The end of "Pulp Fiction," where the diner patrons are told to put their wallets in the trash bag of robber scumbag Tim Roth (again, in this case, the cash from the register just wasn't enough). -That episode of "All in the Family" where Archie Bunker goes on television to rebut a gun control editorial by the station manager (Archie is very pro gun) and then the same night gets stuck in the middle of a robbery at Kelsey's Bar. Archie loses his whole paycheck, and his wife Edith is forced to hand over her wallet and wristwatch (Meathead's wallet and Gloria's wallet and jewelry end up in the robber's bag, too. That's probably how he got the start up money for the restaurant he ran on "Quincy"). -That episode of "The A-Team" where the great Tony "Throw the damn towel!" Burton leads that gang of motorcycle heistmasters in Las Vegas who trick buses full of old age high rollers onto abandoned roads in the desert and then rob them blind. - The diner robbery in "Sudden Impact," the fourth Dirty Harry flick. The head thug demands that the diner patrons hand over everything, "Money, watches, jewelry, everything!"
- The part in "Delta Force" when Robert Forster's "Abdul Refay of the New World Revolution" tells the women hostages he's allowing off the high jacked plane that they have to hand over their valuables before they can get off. Jesus, isn't being a hostage enough? - That episode of the old "Batman" TV show, where the cowboy villain enters a bank and two men immediately throw their wallets to the floor (as I remember it, the cowboy bad guy didn't take the wallets. He should have, though. Why break the standard "Batman" TV show hoodlum code)? There are plenty of others, too numerous to mention. It seems that the only reason these things happen in movies and TV shows is that it makes the bad guys just that much worse than they "normally" would be. It makes the criminal act that much more personal to the viewer. Well, so what? It's just a plot device. I started thinking about this even more. I started wondering if this kind of thing happens in real life.
Whenever there is a bank robbery, the news reports that such and such robbed a bank and got away with "x" amount of money. The robber usually hands the teller a threatening note, and then the teller gives the robber the money he or she wants. There's never anything in the report about the robber then walking over to a guy writing a check, handing him a note and demanding his wallet. Or when a gas station gets robbed, or a convenience store, it's usually the guy came in with a knife and demanded that the desk clerk open the register or the safe. I can think of only two instances where the robber robbed more than just the register (a robber told a teller to hand over he ear rings, and there was one thing I saw on the local news or on "Maury" where a guy robbed a convenience store with a gun, and while the desk clerk emptied the register the robber walked over to a nearby terrified customer and demanded his wallet, which the customer gave up. It was a funny story, though, because the robber left his gun on the desk and the clerk took it and used it. What a dumbass). It would seem an awfully stupid thing for just one robber to try, even if the robber had a machine gun. Get the money from the drawer and run. You don't want to get caught by the police (because you know someone just hit the panic button). It would have to be done just like it's done in the movies and on TV, with a team of robbers. But then again, even in those instances, you never hear about the little old lady in line being forced to hand over her purse. Are the robbers doing it for the credit cards? The social security cards? Are these robbers selling the wallets to pawn shops? Who the hell buys a wallet in a pawn shop? You know, perhaps there are just some things I'm not meant to know. Or maybe I just have way too much time on my hands and I should stop thinking about this kind of thing. It's just the movies. And TV. Right?
*** The TV Rants and Raves Douchebag of the Week
This week, the TV Rants and Raves Douchebag of the Week goes to upstate New York right wing radio host Jon Alvarez for saluting the lunatic that flew the plane into the building in Austin, Texas by creating a Facebook fan page for him. And so now we see the next evolution of the teabagger assault on America where it's okay to salute a murderer (a man died in the building) as long as he's killing tax collectors and destroying government property. Can you imagine what would have happened if someone like Michael Moore had saluted a guy flying a plane into a Chamber of Commerce building? It would be the end of the world. But as long as its government property and government employees that are getting rubbed out it's okay. People are frustrated, after all. What a bunch of shit. And Alvarez is still on the air. There truly is no justice in the world.
And then there's former governor of Alaska Sarah Palin, for whining about the joke "Family Guy" made about her. And, yes, that's who "The Family Guy," as both Sarah Barracuda and Bill "Falafel" O'Reilly referred to it as, made fun of. Sarah Palin. The show did not make fun of or even mention Palin's son with Down Syndrome. But then Sarah can't exist without fake conflict with the evil Hollywood elites and the Godless atheists that are out to get her and her family and put them in ovens. Are there really that many people out there falling for this? Am I the only one that sees what a bunch of shit this whole thing is? Jesus Christ.
And finally there's Donald Trump for suddenly deciding to get on the "global warming is a scam and Al Gore is an evil Bond villain that wants to take over the world" bandwagon that's become so fashionable as of late. Trump isn't a climate scientist and hasn't read any of the literature on global warming (I was going to say that Trump probably hadn't read any of the literature, but let's face it, how much do you think this guy actually reads outside of the business page of the Wall Street Journal? And doesn't he spend most of his time on the phone anyway?), but he knows for certain that it's all a big scam because it's snowing in Florida. And we all know how downright evil President Gore is because he lives in a big house and flies around the world on a private jet, expelling massive amounts of carbon, and is fabulously wealthy. We obviously can't trust a guy like that. If I drank I'd say I need a drink right now. Motherfucker the world can't be this fucking stupid, can it? *** Oh, and the marketing department for McDonald's gets a special mention here for the return of that fucking Fillet o Fish song.
Yeah, I know that's the old commercial, but the song is still the same. What the fuck?
***
Nothing new to report as far as issue #3 of the comic book goes. The issue apparently went to press on schedule and we should have a firm release date soon. If you've got a little over a half hour to spare, go here to the Future Traditions website to listen to an interview with Cody DeMatteis, editor of the comic. It's definitely worth a listen. Go here to find a local comic book shop near you if you haven't done so already (and, really, if you're a "Jericho" fan you should already have done so). You should also check out http://www.savingjericho.com and http://jerichocomic.squarespace.com/ for up-to-date information regarding the "Jericho" comic plus other "Jericho" related stuff. And keep an eye on http://www.devilsdue.net/, the online home of Devil's Due Publishing, for information regarding future issues and everything else Devil's Due puts out (what he hell is "Chopper Zombie?"). If you're into the whole "trade paperback comic book" thing you can preorder the "Jericho" comic book as a trade paperback here. I have no idea when the TPB will come out (amazon finally stopped saying that the book would be out in January) but if you preorder it on amazon, they'll send it to you when it does come out. You can be sure of that. And remember that you can still purchase the entire "Jericho" run on DVD. Go here to buy the entire series. If you're not into the whole "buying the entire series in one package" thing, you can get each season individually. Buy season 1 here, and season two here. Long live "Jericho!" Yeah!
*** NASCAR and IRL thoughts
Well, the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at California Speedway was a tad bit better than expected. The ending sucked, though. Fucking Jimmie Johnson. I was hoping that either Kevin Harvick or Jeff Burton would pull some speed out of their asses and find a way to pass that Loews car. But it didn't happen. Juan Pablo Montoya was running well until his fucking engine exploded. And I really thought that Sam Hornish was going to do more at the end, but for whatever reason he got lost in the shuffle. And what the heck happened to Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray? Las Vegas is up next, and I have a feeling that that race will end up being more of the same. Fucking Jimmie Johnson. He's got to be stopped and stopped now. Kudos to Scott Speed, though. Finishing eleventh, for him, is pretty dang good.
The Nationwide Series race was pretty lame, as it was total domination by the Gibbs car. The finish was kind of exciting, though, with Greg Biffle giving eventual winner Kyle Busch a run for his money. Joey Logano probably should have won the race, though, as he had the best car. But then he's got some kind of rivalry going on with Penske driver Brad Keselowski. Keselowski needs to calm down or he's going to kill himself. I think Roger Penske needs to sit Brad down and have a good, long talk.
Danica Patrick's second Nationwide start didn't go all that great. She finished the race, didn't wreck or get into any major trouble (she did have some trouble on pit road, though, but then who didn't?) and her lap times got steadily better. But then she only finished 31st, three laps down. Not exactly the best finish in the world (she was pretty upset after the race). Her next race is this Saturday at Las Vegas, which will be her last NASCAR race for several months (the Indycar season starts soon). We'll see how she does there (can she pull off a top twenty?).
Over in the IRL, the big news is the return of former Indy 500 winner Gil de Ferran as he has apparently merged his De Ferran Motorsports ALMS team with the Luczo Dragon Racing. Rafael Matos will be the driver. They haven't announced a second car like I thought they would, but perhaps they're lining something up for Indy. It does seem odd, though, that the team isn't going to field two cars for the whole season. I always figured that Luczo Dragon was financially sound. Maybe it wasn't. The Indycar season starts in three weeks in Brazil. They may not have twenty cars. What the hell happened?
That'll be about it Well, I think that'll be about it for this issue. Hopefully you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together. Don't forget to check out the 411 mania movies zone podcast, which can be heard here. It's always a good listen. And please check out my other column here at the 411 mania movies zone, The Gratuitous B-Movie Column. It's about B-movies. And don't forget to bookmark 411 via the little line below. You'll be glad you did. "Peter: Have they ever shown him doing somebody in and then feeding on him? Brian: You're asking me if they've ever done an episode where the Count kills someone, and then drinks their blood for sustenance? Peter: Yeah. Brian: No, I don't think they've done that one yet." That's from "Family Guy," but I'm pretty sure you already knew that. *** Cancer really fucking sucks. Alzheimers sucks. ***
***
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