Recently in Entertainment Category

I am currently mid-upgrade of my infrastructure for the Club Josh Daily Update. I went with the fresh install of the software, but it seems to be having some difficulties with the template system. I am upgrading from MT 3.2 to 4.12 which is a HUGE jump, so it looks like there is some massaging of the templates that need to be done.

Until then, the content in the archives is all there, it just looks all messed up. The big problem is the individual pages are not formatting correctly, and the main index page is not auto-building to the new templates.

At least the front page is still fine.

Oh and a shout out to Scott who identified the mystery Doctor Who episode as "The Invasion of Time" with Tom Baker. The good news is that it gets released on DVD on September 2, so I have already put it into my Netflix queue.

Since the end of the very good Series 4 of Doctor Who, I have been filling the void by Netflixing some classic Doctor Who stories and getting Daniel to watch them. So far, we have watched The City of Death, the Talons of Weng-Chiang, Genesis of the Daleks, Inferno, and The Three Doctors. I selected them based on an article in the press that was out around the finale of Series 4 that had mentioned they were among the best of classic Doctor Who. Now I am randomly adding ones that they have been referencing in the special features on the disks like Dalek Invasion from the William Harntell era, and the classic Cybermen story Invasion from Patrick Troughton. I have also selected a couple of later episodes with Peter Davidson, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy just so Daniel can decide who he likes as the best Doctor. I am not sure if I want to subject him to the Doctor Who TV movie from 1996 though.

I also am itching to find that one episode I watched in college where there is a chase through the many rooms of the Tardis, but I can never find what that episode was called. It is also amazing how many of the First and Second Doctor stories are just plain gone. Bad BBC! There are some great episodes in that era that I would love to see, but just don't exist except for the audio.

I also was amazed to discover that Netflix has two ridiculously bad films in there archive: Beyond the Poseidon Adventure and Raise the Titanic. Two late 70's/early80's films I fondly remember from the Saturday afternoon movie. Of course I immediately added them to my post Doctor Who queue. I might move one up just to break up the Who, but so far Daniel and I can't get enough.

Anyone who knows me knows how important this song is to me. Here is a delightfully hip 1976 performance. I just wonder if Nick DeCaro is in the band..

Go George Go!

Almost as good as the Shat!

This past week I have made it through a few DVDs in between training shifts.

First up: Meet the Robinsons
I missed this Disney CGI movie when it came out last year. It was the first time since Chicken Little I missed one in the theaters (heck I even saw Home on the Range in theaters). Maybe its something against CGI. At any rate, I was pleasantly surprised by the movie and it was much better than I expected. Perhaps it is the age-old axiom of low expectations=better movie experience. I recommend you check it out.

Second Up: Paprika
This is a Japanese anime movie that Tara and Brian saw last year and Daniel had been wanting to see for awhile. He finally found it on DVD and we sat down and watched it. Directed by Satoshi Kon from a story by Yasutaka Tsutsui, it is a story of a group of scientists who have invented a device that records your dreams onto a laptop. It reminds me of Until the End of the World with better reception on the laptop. It was truly entertaining and despite being a bit difficult to follow at times, it is well worth the investment. Another recommendation to check out!

Third but not last: Oxygene Live in your Living Room
It is not often that Amazon delivers to me a Jean Michel Jarre video, so naturally I was impatiently roaming the halls at work waiting to get this in the mail. Jarre performs his classic 1977 album "Oxygene" in real time (with some filler here and there). What is really amazing is that he does it with the help of three other musicians and does it on lold 1970s era synthesizers. I was enthralled for the entire 60 minute concert.

Those of you lucky enough to be in Europe, he is performing the same concert live at various venues. His concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London sold out in 2 hours (Ok so he is not Hannah Montana, but that is fast for Jarre). The disc also comes with a 3D version of the concert which I was not able to get to work. I am not sure if it is the video or my eyes or my equipment, but it just looked all misaligned. Many users of the Jarre newsgroup have indicated it is difficult to get it to work. One day, perhaps I will have a big enough room to make it work. As a bonus there is a re-recording of Oxygene (my 3rd such recording) to listen to in the car. For you Jarre fans out there what are you waiting for? Go get it!

My First Hockey Game
Originally uploaded by Club Josh.

Ducks vs. Sharks pre-season game. Thanks to Neil who gave me the tickets. I had never been to a professional Hockey Game (at least that I can remember) and actually enjoyed it quite a bit. Tiffany and I really got into the action and booed the bad plays and laughed at the guys who kept face planting onto the ice when no one was around (it was the pre-season after all). One of my favorite moments was when I bought some food and the lady behind the counter gasped when she saw the total: $16.50 for a hot dog, pretzel and two bottles of water!

4-3-07

Jarre is releasing a new album called "Teo & Tea" at the end of March!! I am a bit excited to hear this album since he has not really had a studio album since Metamorphosis in 2000. Below are the promos as well as the audio for the song courtesy of YouTube:

You can also download the full track from Warner Music France Here

If I made the video for Thriller, I am sure it would look something like this:

I finally had a chance to play the new Nintendo Wii. I now understand why it is outselling the PS3 - and it is not just the price. Never have I seen a gaming system that is so easy to use. I picked it up right away and we all had a blast playing the Wii Sports program. I actually worked up quite a sweat and now understand why people have been saying that they can lose weight by playing Wii Sports for 30 minutes a day.

This system is not about the graphics and it shows. I am sure some of the other games will look nice and combined with a classic style controller you will be able to play the more traditional games. I like the fact that for some driving games you hook the Wii Remote into a steering wheel and just drive with it.

If the PS 3 was less money I probably would select it - primarily for the graphics as well as the Blue Ray player. However, if I was just looking for a fun game system, the Wii would be my choice. I am waiting for the eventual Wii-DS linked game that is played on the Wii and you can join in with your DS unit. Perhaps broadcast to the neighborhood kids?

Daniel suggested a Most Haunted Wii game where you use the Wii Remote like the night vision camera on the series and try and find ghosts and poltergeist activity. Yvette/Karl are you listening?

As I have stated before in this space, I love the show Most Haunted that currently airs on LivingTV in the UK and on the Travel Channel in the US. I have been watching Most Hainted Live which is a real-time version of the show over several nights and it has been fantastic. I have made it just a few minutes into the third day (presented live on Halloween night) but the first two nights have contained some downright spooky and creepy stuff.

There is a lot of press about whether or not it is faked, but it is just plain good TV!

I like the new Star Trek the Original Series more and more. A couple of shots in 'The Devil in the Dark' of the mining colony stuck out at me, but the space work on 'The Naked Time' really was seamless. I haven't watched this week's episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" yet, but again I presume it won't have too much in it. Thanks to the Star Trek.com web site, I now present the episodes and tentative air dates that excite me:

10-21-06 - Arena - somewhat appropriate since it's my birthday weekend and it's the Gorn episode. Will we finally get to see the Gorn ship? I just hope they don't put any of those CGI Gorns from Enterprise in the show.

11-25-06 - The Menagerie - I want to see how they re-edit the footage from The Cage

12-9-06 - The Corbomite Maneuver - What will Balok's ship look like?

1-20-07 - Where No Man Has Gone Before - Like the Cage and Menagerie, I want to see how they update an episode that is not like the other established episodes.

2-10-07 - The Doomsday Machine - I can't believe I have to wait 4 months to see one of my favorites.

3-31-07 - The Tholian Web - this one is for Mice

4-6-07 - The Immunity Syndrome - I want to see what the Amoeba will look like.

That is all for the 40 episodes they have posted. I guess some will have to wait more than a year until they are revealed.

This video highlights Yvette Fielding at her best.

I finally got around to watching the TOS episode "Balance of Terror" which was the first episode that aired over the weekend with the new special effects and the re-mastered opening theme.

What worked: The seamless integration of the effects. Had I not seen the episode the hundreds of times that I have over the last 20 years since I started collecting episodes, I never would have known that they changed anything. Granted with my Trek history, some of the effects shots were a bit jarring. The only effects shot I really didn't care for was the cloaking of the Romulan Bird of Prey - I think it should have looked more like the TNG cloaking effect rather than the one they chose.

What didn't work: The re-mastered theme song. Granted it was the original Alexander Courage arrangement, but it just sounded weird - especially considering the rest of the music is the original stuff. I think this "enhancement" was superfluous and not needed at all. Maybe as a bonus feature on a DVD, but that's about it.

What didn't work part 2: Editing for time. I HATE the syndicated chopped versions. I wish they were running the full-uncut 50+ minute episodes and not the 45-ish minute ones.

I don't plan on reviewing all the episodes, but I will point out certain things when I see them. Personally, I am looking forward to The Corbomite Maneuver and The Doomsday Machine. People probably think I am looking forward to Arena, but there are not very many effects shots that would be upgraded - unless we see the Gorn ship!

As I was noodling around on my laptop, I discovered breaking news that the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin is dead. Apparently he was off the Great Barrier Reef near where I was in October when a stingray barb went through his chest killing him. The first thing that went through my mind was that it could have been me swimming out on the reef. I also wish we had the time to go visit his Australia Zoo when we were in Brisbane.

Steve always worked for conservation and helped people understand animals such as crocodiles that scare most people. I do feel deep down inside that this is the way he wanted to go.

Crocodilehunter.com is down due to heavy traffic, but I am sure it will come back up soon so you can learn more about the work they did.

CBS announced this week that they are going to release a HD Version of the original series of Star Trek. I have mixed feelings about this since I am a big fan of the original crew. I have seen what the new FX could look like with the classic show (In a Mirror, Darkly from Enterprise and Trials and Tribble-ations from DS9) and I think the results were mixed at best (Hello messed up Gorn). I am excited that the Okudas are working on the project since they are well known students of Trek lore. I think the biggest issue will be to see how the live action footage from the 60's will blend with state of the art FX. At least for the first time in 15 years Trek will be back on in syndication.

Star Trek HD premiers September 16th in Syndication - check you local listings. Read te press release

I mentioned in this post how much I loved La Parada de Tettas by the Vengaboys and I even posted a link to the video. Well the video long disappeared from their long disappeared web site. Happily someone has re-posted the video to YouTube which I present below:

It has been an interesting month to say the least. I have been reluctant to post to the site since it actually still exists in two different locations, but I can't hold it in any longer.

In the home front, I have someone residing on my couch for the first time since Susie crashed back in the mid-90's. So far things are going well, and it is a temporary thing for the summer and then we can decide to get a place together or if he decides to move on. So far things have been going smoothly since we have different schedules and also we get along well. Check in again later this summer and see if things are still going well.

Last week I went to my first concert in several years. I had wanted to go see the Madonna tour when tickets went on sale, but I just couldn't get over the hump. The week before the concert I really started to hear good things about it and decided to go. The only problem was that I didn't want to go by myself, so I actively recruited people to go with me. I finally ended up convincing Daniel and Tyger to go and we all had a blast. The show was great – only two songs that I didn't care for and the rest were all amazing.

I was particularly impressed with was the quality of the video screens used in the show. I can't believe how hi-res the images were. We've come a long way since the first Jumbotron. I also love the fact that Madonna sings her heart out and that it isn't always perfect. The Forum was a smaller arena than Staples Center and it added more intimacy to the setting (if one can have an intimate setting with 16,000 screaming fans). All in all a great show!

Also many people have been asking, but yes I will be commanding a fleet sometime next year and I am very excitedly looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead in the next 12 months. Not that I don't want to live in the moment, but my brain is already thinking about my future beyond the next year and I am trying to figure out what I want to do and where I want to go. I just keep reminding myself to stay focused on the task at hand and then everything will work itself out.

That's about it for me. I did see some movies recently so I will post a few reviews.

The Sci Fi channel recently picked up the BBC revival of Doctor Who which started to air in 2005 in the UK. I was interested in seeing it, but I had my reservations after suffering through the miserable Doctor Who movie on FOX back in 1996 (featuring the Eighth Doctor). The Doctor and I were friends back in the 80s on the local PBS station as I watched mostly Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor get into shenanigans.

In college, I watched a bunch courtesy of my friend Scott who had a large collection of episodes. I really enjoyed Doctors 1(William Hartnell), 3 (Jon Pertwee), and 4 (Tom Baker) the best. #2 (Patrick Troughton) was OK as well, and I never cared for Doctors 5 and 6 (Peter Davison and Colin Baker - no offense, but there episodes never 'clicked' with me). I never really saw any Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) episodes, but I hear they were good. At any rate, I have always had this inkling to watch some of the classic ones, and when the new ones came out, I eagerly awaited seeing them since I had heard good things.

So the new series picks up with The Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) in London. I immediately liked the characterization of this Doctor and it led me to enjoy the show that much more. Three episodes in, and I can't wait for more. I was surprised to hear that Eccleston opted out after this series and they have a new actor to play the Tenth Doctor for the series that begins next month. I think Number 9 was a good blend of Tom Baker and Jon Pertwee, and I hope the Tenth Doctor is just as good. My only disappointment is that so far the stories are earth-based (similar to the Second Doctor), and I hope as the series progresses they venture out more.

In other Sci-Fi news, I gave up on Battlestar Galactica. It was just too hard to get back into once I fell behind in recording the episodes. So now my TiVo (when it works - stupid cable box!) is down to the CSIs, Amazing Race, 24 (for Daniel, but now that he has a DirecTV DVR, this might go away), Survivor, Most Haunted, and South Park.

I have a large backlog of Movie Reviews coming down the pike. I have written most of them, but just need to go back and revisit some of them to fine tune.

Got a message from Jonathan. He is in Buenos Aires and was thinking that we should visit Argentina together sometime. I am all for it - especially if we can do either a Rio-BA-Santiago trip or BA-Antarctica cruise. Maybe 2007?

Alex called me last night to remind me about NBC's Hallmark Hall of Fame remake of the 1972 seminal classic - The Poseidon Adventure. At first, I thought it was a joke, but lo and behold it is the real deal - catch it NBC Sunday at 8/7C. In doing some research, I discovered that there is a big screen remake being done by Wolfgang Petersen entitled Poseidon. It reminds me of a similar situation in 1997 when there was a TV miniseries about Titanic that aired when the movie was supposed to come out before it was delayed 6 months.

Some other interesting nuggets:
In the TV remake, it is a terrorist bomb that capsizes the boat rather than a tidal wave (it becomes a rogue wave in the movie). Oh, those wacky 2000's!

The TV remake features some of the same characters whereas the movie doesn't. Here is hoping they can convince Pamela Sue Martin, Stella Stevens, Gene Hackman, Shelly Winters, and any other living stars of the original to be extras in the big New Year's bash.

And one last disaster programming note: I still have not watched part two of Category 7: The End of the World. Part One was so chock full of cheesy goodness that I can’t wait to see more!

The jury is still out. I really love the Amazing Race and am not opposed to the whole family thing. I am a little disappointed that it seems they are just staying in the US for a massive Road Trip. I guess logistics demand it since I can't imagine CBS holding 40 seats on an American flight to Uruguay. I just hope that if they do stay in the states that they visit some intriguing places. From the looks of it, I think they are going to be visiting Historical Sights.

Today I had a chance to sneak in and see Asimo who is appearing over at Innvoentions in Tomorrowland. It is the only permanent display of Asimo in the US and it is well worth it. It is kind of freaky, but quite cool to see in person.

Last night was the series finale of Star Trek Enterprise. The media is all-abuzz with stories about the fact that for the first time in 18 years there is no new Star Trek on the air. It really made me think back over the years of watching trek.

Personally, I can't believe it has been 18 years. I remember TNG when it first was announced. Granted, I have and always will be a fan of the Original Series more than anything, and despite their initial shortcomings, TNG really helped flesh our the Star Trek universe in ways that the movies and the Original Series never could. That being said, all modern Trek has been plagued by the first two seasons or so getting to know the characters and the writers getting a grip on them. Once TNG got past that (say seasons 3-5) the show was firing on all cylinders. The last two seasons were still good, but at that point there was definitely staleness.

DS9 really was the best of modern Trek in many ways. I remember I didn't even watch it the first season and a half until Scott gave me tapes of the shows. There is something about watching a whole season in a week that really gets you involved in the characters. I think DS9, which was darker, and actually featured conflict among the characters made the show more realistic to me. DS9 really took three full seasons to find themselves. I know they had to shift directions from the whole Bajor thing to the Dominion conflict, but I think since the series was the most character driven of modern trek, it actually benefited from it.

Voyager was the series where it wasn't cool to like Trek anymore. People bashed it from the get go and really was the first series that people started to think that maybe Trek should take a break. I think some of the criticism was unfair. It was mainly the same stuff that was said of TNG by the die-hard TOS fans. Overall the series wasn't anything groundbreaking, but personally, I really enjoyed the show.

That leads us to Enterprise. I think the producers made some big mistakes early on, that really the show never recovered from. They waited too long to establish ties with TOS continuity as well as portraying the Vulcans all wrong (only to be corrected in later seasons). I think the producers should know by now - no one is interested in prequels: they always fall below fans expectations. Don't believe me? Just look at the first two episodes of the Star Wars series. Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones were the victims of fans expectations just as Enterprise was. I actually liked the fact that Enterprise did not overlap any existing series. I really didn't like that DS9 and VOY all had that issue. I will say that despite the fact that I never got "into" the series like the others, I thought it actually was pretty good. I think it had more to do with personal taste than anything.

Is that what is wrong? People my age who grew up with Trek just are not into it as we used to be? Do they need to appeal to younger people and skip us? Or do they need to somehow figure out how to appeal to us 30 somethings again? I am not sure what the future should hold for the Trek franchise. Should it take time off? Probably a year or so, but Trek can always be relevant because it has always been an allegory for our current times (at least at its best). Personally, I think fan films are the next big thing. I think Hidden Frontier has kept improving by leaps and bounds. The problem is that there is such an expectation of what a Trek series should be, that I doubt anyone will ever satisfy everyone. Does that make Trek doomed? I don't think so, but I think it is do for a makeover (not an extreme one), but an infusion of new creative talent (like Enterprise had in its last two seasons).

Geez, I guess I am really a geek for posting this - so there is no harm in mentioning that I am going to the Midnight showing of Episode III with Lev next week to continue a tradition. We both miss Andy, Mike, and Oszie and wish they were coming!

For the first time in 5 years, I have a new pair of glasses. Hard to believe, but my prescription only changed slightly and it was for the better. I think the doctor wanted my left eye to do some more work, At first, I it took some getting used to the glasses, but now I am fine. I have 30 days at Lenscrafters to take them back if I don't like them. The best part is now I have an up to date prescription, I can go shopping for a cool pair of Disney approved sunglasses. Me thinks that statement might contradict itself, but we shall see. I haven't had sunglasses since mine were scratched back at Lake Mead a few years ago. Gosh since I the summer before I started working at the park.

Other stuff going well. I had a nice relaxing weekend for the first and last time for a while. It is crunch time at the attraction as we gear up for all the final this and that and training begins in the future. I am feeling a lot of pressure, mainly because my rear is on the line since I have been working on most of the training outlines and such. On the other hand, it is a great feeling to have been able to contribute so much. I can't wait to see the fruits of my labor bear out.

One of the things that amazes me is the people who posted construction photos of the attraction. I hope legal gets down on them hard and finds out who did it. I admit before I worked at the park, I enjoyed any peak that I could get. Now that I work there, I see the other side of the coin. We are all trying so hard to give the best show for the guest when we open. When those pictures get posted, it is almost like getting caught with your pants down in the dressing room.

On a programming note, I watched the Discovery Channel show: Pompeii: Last Day. The main problem I have with most of these Discovery Events is that the show is really 75 minutes when you take out commercials and recapping and reusing footage over and over. There also wasn't anything really new revealed. I think the whole thing would have worked better as a movie rather than a narrated mess. Then for the last 40 minutes, it feels like you are watching something else as all of a sudden you are watching some lady interview Italian Volcano experts on the dangers of Vesuvius. All in all a mixed bag. To think I have been drawn in by the buildup since December - that’s what I get for believing hype.

I discovered that the BBC is bringing back one of the greatest Sci-Fi series of all time (and not in lame TV Movie format like the ill fated Fox Movie in 1996). BBC One will show it sometime in 2005. To help kick start your Who mojo here are some tasty links:

Doctor Who Wikipedia - get caught up on the last 8 doctors.
Download a version of the theme song.
If you don't like 'em , mix your own.
Finally, the BBC page with all the news, episode guides and more!

I blame it all on Scott who would sit us down and watch complete serials at a time - the only way I could really watch the show since I hate having things dragged out over lengthy periods of time.

Just yesterday, I had read an article about Johnny Carson writing jokes for Letterman. I was happy, hoping that maybe, just maybe he might make another Cameo on the show soon. Then today, the other shoe dropped as it was announced that he had passed away. I always liked The Tonight Show when he hosted it. Despite who was on the show, I always tried to catch the monologue and was always po'ed when it was another repeat cuz he was on vacation (then again that was better than suffering through a guest host). No one has ever come close to recreating the same sense of atmosphere on their show. Letterman never tried, and kudos to him for sticking to his style. The others who emulated never got it because they lacked the same charisma and charm that he had.

The Mini Mac went on sale yesterday, and for the first time since being in Cartography class at UCD, I want a Mac. I know Andy made the switch awhile ago. I still think I would rather have a new Windows based laptop, but the software titles that Apple has produced are really awesome. Now if I can get a copy of Dreamweaver for the Mac, the decision becomes even more difficult.

I watched A View to a Kill the other night. I figured since I had picked it up last weekend and I hadn't seen it in forever, it was a good way to kill some time. I was surprised how much I liked it, despite Roger Moore's advanced age. Next up Ring 0: Birthday - no where as creepy as the first two. Call me crazy, but I think Ring 2 permanently scarred me, and this one was enjoyable, but still a bit of a let down. Finally, I picked up the 40th anniversary edition of Mary Poppins. The film has never looked better. In my other DVD, there was a glaring difference between the "effects shots" and the regular ones. In this DVD, they are closely matched, and unless you are looking for it, you can't really tell.

For some reason, I love Mary Poppins more and more as the years progress. I think it is because it was Walt's crowning achievement, and (as they explain on the DVD) was the result of Walt's ability to get the best from all those around him. I think it also inspires me to give my best when I am at work. Just to make him proud.

The Michael Palin DVDs have arrived. It takes about 2 hours per disc to convert to NTSC Region 1 backups. Trying to fit a double layered DVD onto a single layer DVD is a bit of a pain. For the most part the picture quality is fine, but when you have to compress near 50%, any high-speed motion (or rain as it turns out) gets real messy. As for the program, it really is quite good. I think it is better than the Sahara series (probably due to more interest on my part in the Himalaya than the Sahara. I also think the music in this series is better than the last few. I only wish that Nepal and the neighboring region wasn't having so much difficulty with the Maoists, I certainly would like to travel there.

In web news: I think I finally nearing the last corner with the last web site for Haim. That means nice Club Josh updates will be coming.

In Buzz news: Time waits for no one. The opening date marches closer and closer, and I am beginning to feel some of the stress. Thankfully, I had a nice shift of pure cycling over the weekend which was a lot of fun. Today was pretty low key and was a half day due to the holiday. Lots to wrap up this week!

Daniel and I made it up to Amoeba records last night in Hollywood. I traded in 9 DVDs and got 2 in return. Basically old versions of the Trek movies and Mary Poppins. (My Mulan DVD has some scratches so they said no to that - I guess I'm not buying that one). I picked up Ring 0 and A View to A Kill. I think I am only 4 James Bond DVDs away from having the whole collection.

The other day I ordered the book and DVD of the new Michael Palin series, Himalaya from Amazon UK. It is a region 2 DVD set, but I will be able to watch it on my computer and maybe just be able to convert it to Region 1 to watch on my TV. As most of you know, I am a BIG Michael Palin travel series fan (and of course a big Michael Palin fan), and I have been waiting for the new series ever since it was announced over a year ago. The UK also has DVD versions of all of my favorite series and depending on how well these go, I might just have to get the whole lot of them.

My favorite is still Pole to Pole. This is the one that I was showing back in college when the Geography Department had an exhibit for Picnic Day.

Good Geo-News this week! You can take your pick from the La Conchita Landslide Disaster, Flooding in Utah and Ohio, or if you prefer something a bit more extra-terrestrial, there is the Huygens probe landing on Titan today. A lot to keep me busy.

Work on Buzz is progressing nicely. Lots of work yet to be done before the big opening. I enjoy the testing environment, but I always forget how the long hours wear you down to a point where when you get home, you just want to eat and then go to bed. Before I know it, I'll be back in the same-ol same-ol routine, and the way I figure it, I can catch up on sleep then.

While I was watching my new Aladdin DVD Bonus features, I noticed that one star was given the least amount of coverage - Brad Kane. He was the singing voice of Aladdin and I thought he should have been given at least as much time as Lea Salonga (the singing voice of Jasmine). Lea didn't get much time either, but at least they got her opinions on the whole thing. They did show Brad and Lea singing "A Whole New World" at a recording session, but alas no interview.

A quick web search hasn't really turned up anything. Some items of note: Brad goes by the name of Caleb and performs in a band called "The Fates". He apparently has composed music for Freddy vs. Jason and Devil's Pond. He still provides the singing voice of Aladdin.

So Brad if you are out there drop me a line and let me know what's up.

Jean Michel Jarre's new CD+DVD, Aero, finally arrived in my mailbox today - not bad only a week after release! The concept behind the album is that Jarre has taken some of his classic tracks (Oxy 4, Chronologie 6, etc) as well as three new tracks and remastered them all in 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS. The case contains the DVD with an accompanying video of a French Actress' eyes which plays for 73 minutes, as well as a "Super Stereo" CD.

I was blown away by the DVD versions. Jarre really has outdone himself - he has given new life to these tracks. Personally, I would love to hear a complete 5.1 album of original music by him - hopefully we'll get that in the next release. For those of you who don't want to import, the US version will be coming out sometime in November via Warner subsidiary, Rhino Records. I bought mine through CD Quest, which although pricey because it was an import was nice because they shipped from Irvine and it arrived in just 2 business days.

After listening to the DVD versions, I popped the CD version into my DVD player. It was amazing how "Super Stereo" sounded like an old AM radio or a low bitrate MP3.

William Shatner's website for his new album "Has Been" has been updated - check it out!

Of note: Bill will be signing autographs at Tower Records at 8pm the day it will be released - Tuesday October 5. It's the famous one up on Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood. I so want to go to get a photo of the Gorn with him. I don't know if I have to work or not. I hope I can get away. It appears they are giving away wristbands starting at 9am. Oy what an opportunity!!

So far my favorite track is "Common People" which is the first track when you load the web site.

Also in the music world, I am eagerly awaiting Jean Michel Jarre's new Aero album which is mastered in Dolby Digital 5.1. The web site is way cool and makes me want it more!!

On Tuesday I headed over to the local Wal-Mart. I try and avoid it since the one here near my house is usually overrun with kids and is a mess. But the word in the offices at work was that they had the lowest price on the Star Wars trilogy DVD set. When I went there around 8pm, they only had three copies of the widescreen left. while browsing the aisles, I also came across Home on the Range as well as Star Trek Generations. Generations was recalled and was not supposed to be out since it was recalled due to a packaging snafu (apparently the trailers were left off and the packaging had them included). But I guess my local Wal Mart didn't get the memo or didn't care and had it proudly on sale.

Which one did I tear open and watch? Generations of course! I was very surprised and happy. One of my complaints about the movie was that I thought it was too dark, but on this DVD the balance has been corrected and it looks great. I am still not entirely happy with the whole Kirk death thing, but the movie grows on you - it certainly is better than Nemesis.

I did manage to watch Episode 4 on DVD last night. It was fantastic! The film has never looked better and the special features were very cool - especially some of the closing credit video bits. I haven't explored the whole set, but I'm happy.

I was also happy that Chip and Kim won the Amazing Race. I thought they were sunk when they were lagging on the Continental Divide. I was worried that Colin and whiny Christie would get it a la Flo and Zack, but all prevailed in the end. I think its the first time the team I rooted for won.

Last night I was reading a random update on TrekWeb, and I came across a site called Hidden Frontier. Its a bunch of Star Trek fans who have essentially created a new series and made a bunch of 30 min episodes. The stories are set aboard Deep Space 12 and the starship Excelsior who are stationed in the Briar Patch and must deal with all sorts of stuff, including a mysterious people called the Grays (whom I suspect abducted people from Earth in the mid 20th century).

The show is filmed in front of a Green Screen and then backgrounds from various episodes of DS9, Voyager, TNG, and the movies are projected on them. It doesn't help the flow of the scenes because they pretty much have to film most actors separately on the bridge, with occasionally them together. My favorite is an old upholstered chair on the bridge. But I digress.

Rob Caves who is the executive producer of the series also manages most of the effects shots - which really are quite good (and I think better than most Sci-Fi on the air these days). I really wish there was more information about the cast and the crew on their bare-bones site.

As for the acting - um, well, yeah. I've made it through almost the whole second "season" and it has gotten a bit better, but it still is pretty painful. The sad part is that I already have some favorite characters (I like the Counselor and the Doctor the best - the captain is so -so, but he has grown on me). More kudos to the fact they aren't afraid to do fanciful episodes (like the one where they go back to the Titanic (episode 104 "Two Hours", or the one when "Sulu" and the original Excelsior come into the 24th century in an ode to both Battlestar Galactica and the famous TNG episode "Yesterday's Enterprise" (Episode 202 "Yesterday's Excelsior"). They have also had some "serious" episodes involving depression driven suicide, parenting, guilt, and oh yes, gay romance.

Like I said, I'm addicted. It is like the train wreck where you don't want to watch because it is so bad, but you keep watching anyway. Maybe I just keep hoping it will get better (and actually it has). Actually, I think I am just jealous. I think of what Alex, Kris, and I did back on the couch in 1987 and think if only they had the technology then. Sigh. Maybe I can just guest star with the Gorn.

Charo is on season 3 of the Surreal Life on VH-1. I have never seen the show, but I had to watch the premiere episode. It actually was pretty funny. Looks like Brigitte and Flava Flav are getting most of the air time, but Charo still holds her own. It will be interesting to see how it progresses over the next few weeks. You can watch the new episodes Sundays at 10pm (9 central).

Been busy busy wrapping up the website for Haim. Not much else going on. I did help my Dad get a new SUV to replace his Navigator. It is quite the ride. It actually costs less than a Lincoln Navigator and a fully loaded BMW X5! It is actually very similar to the VW Toureag, but much more luxurious. When I got to drive it home from the dealer (downtown LA to the suburbs) I was getting looks from everyone. I think I need to borrow it next time I go out on the town.

This summer has been exceptionally slow at the park, but even the moderately busy days are coming to an end. After Labor Day, we go back to the 10-8 schedule, and CMs all over the park go scrambling for hours. The first week of the reduced hours schedule has been good to me (not as many lead shifts as I'd like, but at least the hours are there). Some people are getting only two or three days a week, so I count my blessings.

It has been a big rollercoaster emotional week as well - Wendy and Mice welcomed their baby into the world, and for me I've had a rough patch with one of my friends. Things seem to be beginning to work out, so I'm in wait and see mode.

Did anyone else get confused by the Olympics? I somehow could never figure out when the sports I liked were on TV. I managed to end up watching some of the more obscure sports (cool to see it on TV) like the Mens Long distance Walk. It was truly bizarre to see. I also managed to see the end of the mens 5000m. Long distance races always remind me of the movie "Running Brave" with Robbie Benson about the Native American who ran the 10000m at the 1964 Tokyo games.

It may seem that the only thing I have been doing lately is watching DVDs and posting movie reviews, but um, actually that is pretty much what I have been doing.

If you missed any over the weekend here are some links: (Dark Water, A Day Without a Mexican, Battle Royale)

I managed to also pick up Season One of Survivor on DVD and have been watching some of it with Daniel. It is great re-visiting the original crew. It has been almost four years, so it was nice to refresh my mind about the one that started it all. You can tell the production values were way more primitive than in the recently finished All Stars installment. You can also tell just how superior the casting was in this version than say Africa, Thailand, or any of the other ones. To be fair though, I did think Pearl Islands was one of the better ones and hopefully Vanuatu will prove to be another winner when it premieres in September.

Now its just a few short weeks until the July 6 premiere of the Amazing Race 5. I can't wait!! Other than that, I took Daniel out for his birthday on Friday. The rest of the gang will get together on Wednesday to take him out to Red Lobster. Sunday, Tiffany and Alex came with me to Jason's BBQ in Long Beach. We had a great time - despite the fact we showed up just before everyone started to head out. Luckily there was some of Jason's handiwork left over in the form of Korean BBQ Ribs and Corn. I was assured that no Koreans were harmed in the making of the ribs.

We also managed to watch the first half of Mean Girls on DVD. But Josh you say, "Isn't that still out in the theaters?". Yes it is. It appeared to be a bootleg from a French speaking country. The odd thing was that there were no subtitles, and the credits were in French. It was kind of jittery, but no worse than some old VHS tapes I have. The story goes that you can find all the latest releases on the streets of LA for $5. No wonder the MPAA is scared.

I'm too much of a film snob to get a movie in this condition though. I totally am willing to wait and spend around $20 for a good studio endorsed version. That being said, I think that charging over $60 for a whole season of a show is robbery. Why are things like West Wing and 24 only $50 a season, but Star Trek is $100 a season and Battlestar Galactica $80? Makes no sense. I think they are just trying to milk the faithful. I guarantee that if the Trek seasons were $60 a pop, they would be sold out. I know I would have bought them all.

It has been crazy-busy the last week with people coming into town and with my work schedule so I'll do some quick mini-updates:

A Wrinkle in Time was really good on ABC last Monday. It was true to the book and was great to see on the screen. The special effects were pretty weak, but if you were able to get past those and some weak acting on the behalf of Charles Wallace, you can see how strong the original material is.

Cooper and Company were in town this week, and I spent some guest time in the park. I also took some photos of DCA and I will try and post them on the site soon. When people tell me that they spend a week at Disneyland, I wonder what they do with all that time. Spending time with the Cooper clan, I now know when you have little kids, you are on a whole different time table.

I did get to do a walk-through of the Indiana Jones Adventure on Monday night. It was super cool, but when I went on the ride on Wednesday, I have to admit the magic was gone on one of the last rides at the park that still mystified me. Thankfully, the second time I was on the ride I was more enthralled and enjoyed it again. I miss the snake tho - I can't wait until it starts moving again this fall. When I was in Tokyo, I thought our ride was better, but now I am not so sure.

Late Thursday night, I caught part of Beverly Hills Cop 2 on T.V. and discovered the first time I had seen the vaunted "super-glue brings out the fingerprints" trick way back in 1987 when I first saw the movie. It is hard to believe that the technique (introduced by Axel Foley to Taggert and Rosewood as something that hadn't trickled down to them yet) is still widely used on CSI.

Another CSI/Beverly Hills Cop connection? Paul Guilfoyle who portrays Captain Brass on CSI has a bit part as Nikos Thomopolis, the owner of the 365 Club in BHC 2.

Today Mom and Gary popped in for a quick stop. It was good to see them and gave me the opportunity to give them their souvenirs from Japan as well as Mom here Mom's Day gift.

Honestly, I didn't think it could get much worse, but part two was not nearly as fun as Part 1. To start with, it was almost an hour into the second part before there was more ground shaking. Not only that, but apparently they have super-sonic ways of traveling in this show because one moment they are in LA at the Disaster Center (which by the way doesn't make any sense since they KNOW the earthquakes are heading towards Southern California, why not relocate it to a place like Sacramento which seems to have escaped most of the damage, but I digress) and the next moment they are surveying damage in Redding, then a moment later they are back in LA.

Another problem? Lack of consistent damage. There were precious few scenes of the damage caused by the quakes, especially the 10.5 one. Heck, 1974's Earthquake showed more damage and it was most certainly a smaller quake. Instead, they decided to spend the money on the island-making crack - and even that was only a couple of glances here and there with some water effects from Pinnacle Studio thrown in for good measure. When LA gets slammed, all we see are A) Buildings in LA crumbling for a few brief shots, B) the Hollywood sign start tumbling down, and C) a hillside house crumble and burst into flames. The rest of the 10.5 is spent on watching the people at the refugee camps in Barstow roll around, get swallowed up by the earth, oh and yes let's not forget the slow-mo-opera-music-when-the-producers-think-we-are-tired-after-5-minutes-of-screaming-and-earthquake-noises sequence. Personally, after seeing the Golden Gate Bridge and the Space Needle collapse in part 1, I at least expected to see some freeway overpasses collapse. After all the stock footage of the '89 Loma Preita quake, I thought they would at least throw in a couple of Northridge. Maybe that's too close to home for the producers.

Oh and before I forget, I was glad to see Fred Ward as the FEMA director get taken out by a nuclear warhead. That was certainly one of the better Character Who Meets Untimely Death (tm). I was disappointed he got to talk to his son before it blew up. Most characters in this role aren't that lucky and it is always more emotionally powerful when they don't get that last phone call (just look at poor Rachel who had the argument with her hubby before taking a header at the SF City Hall). And what is up with the lack of a token exchange of sentimental item?

At any rate, Part two was a let down - even for the cheese fest that it was. I think Susie and I need to sit down and write our own disaster movie.

If you haven't had a chance to watch this epic train wreck of a mini-series, tonight is the last chance you get. Part 2 of the disaster event airs tonight on NBC. I watched part 1 on TiVo last night and I couldn't stop laughing at not only the bad acting, but also the bad NBC Science. I can only imagine the hordes of people out there who think that it could actually happen - so much so that the USGS put out a web site debunking the myths of the show.

Despite it all, I still enjoyed watching things come crashing down. I was a bit disappointed at the Hot Wheels coming off of the Golden Gate Bridge as it collapsed into the bay and maybe the HO scale train getting swallowed up. Tonight they promise lots of flooding and L.A. finally getting hit with the title earthquake. I am still waiting for the "Token Exchange of Sentimental Item" as well as the untimely demise of a character (I had high hopes that Bo Duke was gonna get it in Part 1, but I was foiled by an easily broken sunroof). You know your disaster movie is in trouble when the audience starts rooting for the earthquakes to get everyone! What this movie really needs is George Kennedy. I wonder what he is doing these days?

Tim Goodman of the SF Chronicle has a great review of the whole thing and points out that the mini series is best viewed with others while conducting a drinking game. I couldn't agree more.

Hopefully, next week's "A Wrinkle in Time" adaptation on ABC will be better (at least better than Dinotopia!).

I tried really hard to get more updates onto the site, but I have been busy with crazy schedules at work. I did want to fire off a quick update on some movies and TV shows.

Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me: An oldie, but goodie. Dunno why I have been in a Peaks mood lately, but I did manage to get Daniel to sit down with me and watch the DVD of FWWM. Man, I love this movie. I know Daniel was lost during most of it (He's only ever seen the pilot), but I enjoyed seeing it over and over. It has gotten to the point where I can recite lines from it. Sad, oh so Sad. I wish season 2 of the series was on DVD so I can sit down and have a marathon that I have been wanting for a long time.

Star Trek VI - The Undiscovered Country: Another Trek movie has made it onto DVD with all sorts of expanded features. Save for the disc art error on disc 2 (they show the Enterprise-B from Generations), this is a great set. I really enjoyed the features and of course the text commentary. I never would have guessed that it was the same bridge from Trek V - they did a great job of transforming it. Now its time for Generations and First Contact SE's to replace my laserdiscs! I was thinking that I should finally sit down and watch Nemesis - I suppose I'll get to it eventually.

Airline: Totally Daniel's fault. He started watching it and made me TiVo it. Now I am hooked. It follows crews from Southwest Airlines as they deal with issues at LAX and Chicago Midway. It airs on A&E and I think it is one of the best reality shows out there.

Survivor All Stars: What can I say? It's back - I haven't watched the full thing yet, but the snippets I have seen prove that this might be the best show yet. Now if only Amazing Race was on!!!!

That's all in the roundup.

CBS has announced the Survivors for their All Stars edition that will begin airing after the Superbowl. You can see the list here.

Some of the interesting notes: Now there are three tribes instead of two - prolly because there are 18 survivors instead of 16. I also noticed that the first two survivors have the most returnees. The original has 4: Rudy, Sue (still my fav), Richard, and Jenna. Australia has Colby, Tina, Alicia, Amber, and Jerri (I guess Elisabeth is busy with the View). That means half of the contestants are from the first two shows. I was surprised that they couldn't convince someone like Clay from Thailand to go and the best they could get was Shii Ann (remember her? she was the one who didn't like her original tribe and when they merged she was the first one off).

Who do I want to see it duke it out? I want to see the tribes merged with the following members left: Richard, Sue, Rudy, Tina, Colby, Kathy and Rupert. Then let them all duke it out for the million. Now that would be good TV.

Now where is the Amazing Race??

Gave a first try with some of the DVD software that came with the drive. I managed to create a good rough draft of a title sequence and it has given me some good ideas for when I actually get to digitize the video.

There is a new season of Ab Fab on Oxygene. I'm a bit disappointed that they bleep things out, but glad that the duo is back. I really like the opening title sequence for the show - maybe I should use something like that for the home videos?

This one is a bit late, but so far so good on my promise to try and put something up everyday.

Quote of the day: "Pregnant? Darling, you should tell people when you first meet them, otherwise they will think you are fat." - Edina to Saffy in "Cleanin'" the first episode of Series 5. (repeated by Saffy's bf in "Book Clubbin'")

Major bad TiVo experience last night. Daniel came over to watch Survivor only to discover that the cable had gone out or got messed up changing the channels. The result? An hour of a blank screen instead of the latest episode. Dang it! And then, the discovery that the episode of 24 I TiVo'ed for him on Tuesday was actually an encore of the first episode and not the new second episode. Man, it made me feel like a dork. Just goes to show you that nothing is certain -- no matter how hard you try. The evening was salvaged by an episode of CSI. (Which helped me discover the Cable was goofy - I turned it on and nothing was on the TV. By changing a few channels, the cable finally came to its senses.)

I must reiterate the fact that I hate cable boxes. It seems to me that in this day and age we should be able to do without them and plug the cable directly into the TV - which should have a built in multiple cable box so that it can be compatible with all the cable systems in the US (oh yeah why aren't they standard either? No wonder Europe is so far ahead on these things.)

So Daniel if you are reading this I'm sorry for having TV night messed up.

In work news, I am excited to finally be training new hires at the park tomorrow. So far every time I had been scheduled for new hires, the training got canceled. I haven't received a call from scheduling yet **fingers crossed**.

P.S. Be sure to catch my reviews of Brother Bear and Matrix Revolutions.

**Cough**
**Wheeze**

Man has it been smoky around here! Take a look!

Thankfully, it has cleared up a bit as the big fire in Rancho Cucamonga and San Bernardino has shifted and the winds are calmer so the smoke doesn't travel as far. Saturday and Sunday were the worst days as it looked like you were driving through snow (or confetti if you are a big Rip Taylor fan). I went out to eat in Brea for Tiffany's birthday and when I got home it smelt like I had been at a campfire. Some people at the resort decided to wear masks, and it was really tough on the eyes and nose and throat. I know a lot of people battling sore throats these days.

Nathan sent me the latest Jarre CD "Geometry of Love". I have listened to it a few times and I think it is quite good. It certainly is better than "Sessions 2000" which came out last year and had more of an experimental feel to it. I just never really got into the album. It reminds me of the way I feel about his 1989 album "Revolutions" which I never really liked, but in the last few years, I have warmed up to certain tracks. One thing I like about Jarre is that he is never afraid to try new things and experiment. On his latest album, for me, the standout track is "Electronic Flesh" (to listen go here scroll down and click on Electronic Flesh and it will play a sample. For some reason the track fits very well with where I am emotionally these days. To give you an idea how up and down things go with me (I am after all, a Libra), I alternate "Electronic Flesh" with the A-Teens "Perfect Match".

This past weekend I had the opportunity to work the ABC Primetime Preview weekend at DCA. Basically, standing around trying to lure people into the audience for ABC's Casting Call and ABC's Reality Check. Both shows allowed members of the audience a chance to re-create a scene from an ABC hit with a star from that show. One of the highlights for me was with Constance Marie of "The George Lopez Show". I had the chance to escort her with her VIP guide back to the hotel. She was good humored and was always willing to pose for a quick pic with a fan in attendance as we made our way back to the hotel. She even made an elderly Latino woman in a wheelchair start walking.

All in all, the stars I got to see up close and personal were:
Anthony Russell from "Life with Bonnie"
Kevin Weisman from "Alias"
Constance Marie from "The George Lopez Show"
Amy Davidson from "8 Simple Rules"
Bill Brochtrup from "NYPD Blue"
Zachary Levi from "Less than Perfect"
and Andrew Firestone and Jennifer Schefft from "The Bachelor"

It was a welcome change of pace from the grind. Monday, I spent the entire day training some new people at Winnie the Pooh, only to have them both either call in or get out of their training on Tuesday. I was a bit bitter (mostly cuz it felt like I was wasting my time all day Monday), but I did get to go into rotation at trainer rate.

I decided to go ahead and leave early so I could pick up my Sleeping Beauty DVD. I almost got the Core as well, but I decided to skip it for now since my vacation is coming up in just two weeks. I will say that the Sleeping Beauty movie on the DVD is stunning - rich, crisp colors. It's too bad it is just a regular release, the extras are a bit dull and standard (very similar to Dumbo). Next month is the release of the Lion King and then in November it is Finding Nemo. Time to save the pennies!

I agonized over it for several days, but in the end, I decided that even if I did have $3500, I have better things to spend it on than being Governor of California. Besides, I don't think I could find 60-70 people that would sign a petition to get me on the ballot. I am all for populist voter revolts, but it seems to me this whole thing reeks of sour grapes. On the other hand, what does the Governor do by himself? He is surrounded by advisors and most of the legislation involves compromise. Will Arnold be better? Probably not. But he sure won't be worse than we have now. I don't think anything will happen unless they recall everyone in Sacramento and start from scratch. But since we are not going to have a revolution in California anytime soon, we better work with what we have. I do find it funny that the issue most Californians are all hot and bothered about is the car tax. Not the deficit, not failing schools, but a restoration of 1990's level car license fees.

Things I can get for $3500:
1758 Whoppers(tm)
74 One Day Admission tickets to Disneyland
15 Premium Annual Passes to Disneyland
74 Fantasmic premium view seats
175 Subscriptions to Travel + Leisure
7 Canon S400 Digital Cameras
11 TiVos (without service)

Add what you can get for $3500 to the comments...

It has been over a week and I still haven't hooked up the laserdisc player. Sorry, Joe, but it has been a busy week. I only have a few more days and then it is off to Four Corners. I will be taking three cameras on the trip and will try and take the same picture with all three.

Camera #1: My ol' trusty Olympus d-400 Zoom
Camera #2: My Motorola T720 Camera phone
Camera #3: My new Canon S400.

The resolutions and megapixels are widely different and I think it will be an interesting study. I am also looking forward to some awesome Gorn in Monument Valley pictures!

It's official. After much promising and procrastination, me and my friends finally committed to going to Walt Disney World at the end of September. It will be the first time I have gone on vacation with a group of friends since Dome to Dome - I hope this group fares better. (A-V Day wasn't a vacation - it was a party!) We will be staying on property at the All Stars Sports Hotel, which I hear is just like a Motel 6. Thankfully, we all get into the land parks for free and get discounted entries into the other areas (water parks, DisneyQuest, etc.) and our hotels are 50% off. No word on whether we get discounts on food, but I'm sure we will get something. When I went to Disneyland Paris in November I was able to get discounts on souvenirs and food at most places, so WDW should be a piece of cake.

In flipping around Trio waiting for Battle of the Network Stars to start, Daniel and I watched this old variety show called "Pink Lady and Jeff". It was very surreal. Pink Lady is a Japanese duo and Jeff is some second rate comedian. Together they form one of the oddest groups in show business history. The show was so bad that it was actually funny. Sadly, since it was only on for six weeks in 1980, it will be off Trio this week. Don't forget to catch the Battle of the Network Stars marathon on Sunday!

My aunt woke me up at 6:30am to tell me Charo was on the Today show. I was taping it on TiVo, but since I was up I watched it. She performed the Ketchup Song and Bolero - her two new staples. One thing that was interesting to note is that they showed a CD entitled Bolero. One wonders if she is putting out a new album or just a single of her classic version of Bolero. The Las Vegas Sun mentioned that she was going to promote Vegas in a big way, but it appears she ran out of time. I hope NBC puts up some clips on their site.

I was very excited to discover that the cable channel Trio is running classic 1970's episodes of Battle of the Network Stars. Since way before I had a website or even before I went to high school, I used to love these shows. I think partially due to the fact I used to imitate Howard Cosell (who didn't). Like most things, nostalgia is stronger than the actual programming - sitting through an entire episode is a feat in itself. But if you can manage, it is good fun. It will be airing all this week in primetime on Trio and then a mini marathon on Sunday morning.

In other TV news - be sure to catch the weekend edition of the Today show on Saturday (7/26) Charo is scheduled to perform!

The Queen Mary pictures have sparked some ideas for the site. Mainly, I was wondering where to put the pictures - Trip Diaries? Club House? Gorn? When I figure it out, I'll let you know where they are.

I have also been trying to catch up on my sleep. The two 6am shifts on Monday and Tuesday took their toll big time. At least today I get to sleep in a bit, nap, and lounge before I start at 4pm.

Fourth of July was a bit kick back. For the first time in ages, I wasn't working and didn't have plans for the gala celebration, so I sat at home and listened to the fireworks setting off all the car alarms. I did manage to catch some of the fireworks on TV, but after a long day in the sun, I was content to sit inside and go to bed early.

Saturday, I was rewarded with a nice day off and a party at a friend's place. It was mainly Matterhorn peeps, but it was a nice medium size get together with all the booze you could drink. After my experience at Daniel's party, I decided to take it easy, which upon hindsight was a good idea since I had to be at The Many Adventures at 7:45a yesterday. I seem to be falling into my old habits. If I have a long 8 hour shift in the daytime, I spend a good portion of the evening sleeping it off. Sometimes, it wreaks havoc - like forcing me to wake up at 3am, but other times it pays off in that the next shift I have, I am not tired and tend to enjoy work more.

Is it me, or have some big celebrities been dropping like flies lately. First it was David Brinkley, then Hume Cronyn, then Gregory Peck, then Katherine Hepburn, then Buddy Hackett, then Barry White, and now Buddy Epsen. I think summer is particularly hard on celebrities. Usually you can count on three every other month or so, but this month it's been open season. Mind you most of the celebs were up there in age, but Buddy Hackett and Barry White has a few more years left in them.

Last Thursday, I finally made it out to a baseball game. I think it was the first one since at least 2000, when I went to the Dodger game with my dad when he still had tickets. I saw the Angels take on the Yankees, and I think I was in the Yankee section. Apparently, the Yankees have a large following in Orange County, and all of the single game tickets were bought by them. Thankfully, the Angels won the game 6-2 so I didn't have to listen to much rejoicing from them. While there, I took a picture of the game with the cell-phone cam. It turned out OK, but I think I will be relying on my digital camera for the time being, thank you very much.

In entertainment news, I picked up the new Madonna CD "American Life". I heard two tracks off of the album before I bought it and liked them both. After a couple of listens it seems like a good album. I really like "Die Another Day", so I know that there is at least one jam song on it. I think my favorite Madonna album is "Ray of Light". There are so many songs on the album that mean a lot to me. I say that because when I listen to certain tracks, I really get into them - specifically "Power of Goodbye" and "Nothing Really Matters". I guess I like the more mature Madonna (post Evita) than the earlier one. I think I like "Immaculate Collection" because it has the best of her early albums in one place. She has a Greatest Hits Volume 2 out, but for me it doesn't have nearly as good selection as the first one. One more Madonna note: She has a really good web site. I think I'd like to do something like that for my Charo site.

In movie news, I went to see "Identity" last night. It actually was a good creepy thriller until they let you in on what was really happening. At that point it just seemed silly, including the "twist" ending.

Is it me or are there a lot of "quotes" in this update?

Once again it is time to catch up at the local Cineplex and DVD store. I can't believe it, but it has already been a week since I went to see The Core. Those of you who know me well know that I can't resist a good disaster movie. Especially ones that are so bad that they are good. The Core falls into that category. The storyline goes that somehow the core of the earth has stopped rotating, and as a result people with pacemakers are collapsing and pigeons are colliding into busses as the magnetic field goes on the fritz. Thankfully, some professor at the University of Chicago figures the whole thing out and enlists the aid of the government and they embark on a trip to the core. That's right folks, someone just happens to have a rock drill and a ship prototype lying in the middle of the desert. Well, hilarity ensues, some noble sacrifices are made, the brainy child in this case is a teenage hacker but he still qualifies, and heck - there is even a token exchange (not jewelry this time, but a notebook). Definitely full of cheese, and well worth the price of the chips to make nachos. Susie - you need to see it!

Last night, Daniel brought over Spirited Away, this year's winner of the Academy Award for best Animated Feature. I had heard nothing but good things about the movie and that the director Hayao Miyazaki is this generations Walt Disney. I tried to go in not expecting all the hype, that way if I can avoid being disappointed. Truth be told, the hype is worth it. It is one of the best movies I have seen in a while (yes, even better than The Core!). It is a bit long by US standards for Animated Features (around 2 hours and change), but it didn't feel long at all. I'm awaiting my chance to see Castle in the Sky which he picked up today at Costco. It is by Miyazaki and was made in 1986. Daniel saw it earlier this month at a film festival and said it was great.

While at Costco, I picked up three more James Bond titles. They are on sale for $11.99 each! Woo Hoo. I picked up Dr. No, Goldfinger, and License to Kill. The Connery movies I have on Laserdisc, and I don't even have LtK on video so I'm glad I got it despite it being the weaker of the two Dalton Bond movies. Oh yes, and I also picked up the latest Harry Potter DVD. I have my eye towards the next few months as Star Trek Nemesis, Die Another Day, The Spirit of '76, Sleeping Beauty, and The Lion King all make there way out on DVD.

Since I have moved, I have noticed that I have spent far fewer hours on the internet. I chalk it up to mainly being busy with the apartment and work, and not to a fundamental change in the way I lead my life. I also suspect the fact that my desktop is still in pieces might have something to do with it as well. There is also this minor problem of figuring out where exactly to put it since, well I have no desk. I have made some progress with the apartment, but more importantly some key decisions.

First, I think that I am going to get rid of most of my books, save a few selected Star Trek books that I like to read every now and then as well as some of my Michael Palin travel books. Second, I think all of my VHS tapes will remain in boxes. If I manage to make it through a year without pulling one out to look at it, than I think I will finally get rid of them. Now if I had a nice high paying job, I think I would replace all of my Star Trek episodes with the DVDs, which easily would make obsolete 100 of the tapes that I have.

The other big news is that I finally purchased a refrigerator for the new apartment. Sadly, my schedule won't allow me to get it delivered for another week, so I have to suffer eating out for the time being.

Amazingly, the Academy Awards have come and gone in the last week. This has been another year where I just didn't get into them. I watched the broadcast after the fact via TiVo, and I found it to be not nearly exciting as previous years. Also, I was surprised that they did another "meet all of the past award winners" so soon after doing it ( I think the last time was five years or so ago). I think Steve Martin was OK, but not nearly as good as he was the first time he hosted it. I say next year how about Craig Kilborn or Conan O'Brien?

On the work front, I trained 9 of the 50 cast members of the ope