Tuesday, December 18, 2007

The countdown to December 2010 begins...

New Line Cinema has just announced that Peter Jackson will oversee the production of J.R.R. Tolkein's "The Hobbit" as producer. This is great news for Lord of the Rings fans everywhere. This is actually quite a surprise because P.J. and New Line have spent the last few years in a legal battle over the revenues from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In fact, the head of New Line said (not too long ago) that he would never allow Mr. Jackson to be a part of "The Hobbit" (New Line owns the rights to the film).

I am excited about this news, but I don't think that Producer is enough of a role for Peter and Fran (his wife and production partner). Producer is an important role and it won't be the same film without him, but it's the director that creates a vision for the film and translates it into the frame. Here's my non-negotiable MUST list to make "The Hobbit" films (they're making 2) as good [or better] as the Lord of the Rings trilogy:

-Peter Jackson as Director
-Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh adapt the screenplay/write the script
-WETA does the special effects
-Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins
-Andy Serkis as Gollum

and Ian McKellan as Gandalf

anything i'm forgetting???

Saturday, December 15, 2007

bad boy, bad boy, whachha gonna do..

You've gotsta check this story out. A wallet thief in Lewiston, Idaho was quickly apprehended with the accidental help of a local newspaper.

On Tuesday morning a woman absent-mindedly forgot her wallet at the counter of a local convenience store. Surveillance video captured the image of a man taking the wallet and the Lewiston Tribune included the photo on the front page of it's Thursday paper. Immediately above the surveillance photo there is another picture inserted as a "local man prepares for the holidays" picture. Now here's the best part...

...the two pictures are of the same guy in the same clothes!!! [see the newspaper here]

Not only are the pictures of the same guy, but the top photo includes his name. Someone from the police noticed it and they went to his house and arrested him. [read a full explanation of the story here]

If only the Mitchell Report had the same editors...

Thursday, December 13, 2007

mo lies

Here we go again! How far the mighty have fallen.

Just a few days ago Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison (but of course, you already knew that if you watch t.v., listen to the radio, or read a newspaper... or go on the internet... or talk with people). It's so sad to think about how much he has messed up his life and the lives of the people around him. Once again we find that lies are at the heart of the issue.

The judge who sentenced Michael doubled his prison term because he felt that Michael was not honest with him or the police. The Atlanta Falcons organization is furious over the lies that they were told. And I'm sure that Vick was even deceived by the lies he told himself (no one will find out, it's not a big deal, etc.).

I believe that he absolutely deserves the punishment that he deserves and i hope that he can use this situation to turn his life around and get rid of the negative influences and habits in his life.

Alot of the sports talk is not so much about his personal life, but about his future in football. My prediction for his professional future: after serving his sentence he is suspended from the NFL for one year (let's not forget that he lied to the face of Roger Goodell AKA the commish). He then spends the next year or two playing in an arena league or the CFL (they did take ricky williams). At that point he'll have performed well enough that some NFL team will hire him as a backup QB. [just look at the league now, how many teams are desperate for any success in the QB role? all of them. How many have played more than one QB? most of them.]

I hope Michael learns that the truth, while not releasing him from prison, will set his soul free and give him a start at a new life.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Poll ReCap

some of you have noticed that i have been posting polls in the sidebar from time to time.

I'll try to keep them fresh and interesting, but there seems to be no way to archive them so they just take up alot of space. Here's a summary of the poll results thus far:

How many turkey-based meals did you eat in the past week?
(the week after thanksgiving)
One 1
Two 1
Three 0
Four 0
Five+ 0

Why do you Blog?
I don't 1
I like to share my ideas and opinions 2
I like to get responses and comments back 0
Everyone else is doing it 0

Do you have a fantasy football team?
Yes, I live for it! 0
Yeah, but i don't track it much 0
No 5
What's fantasy football? 0

What is your favourite online social networking site?
Blogger 0
MySpace 0
Facebook 4
Flickr 0
Other 0