Happy Halloween Eve Eve 2k10

Happy Friday! After a tumultuous beginning of the work week, it looks like this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will be pretty decent at work. At least a majority of today and all of Saturday and Sunday.


My Steelers are playing the World Champs Sunday, Halloween night- WHOO HOO!! My Tar Heels are playing national football powerhouse William & Mary Saturday.

The next Batman movie now has a title: “The Dark Knight Rises” Christopher Nolan tells the LA Reporter "Our ambition for the third movie is to complete a story that has begun. This is not starting over, this not rebooting. We’re finishing something, and keeping a consistency with what’s come before has real value." Nolan also reportedly told the paper there will be no Riddler in this film.

Don’t miss this Sunday night’s premiere of AMC’s “Walking Dead”. It’s one of those over hyped things that I’m actually looking forward to seeing. It’s mostly filmed in and set nearby in Atlanta, Ga.

For a laugh, you may want to consider Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's "Rally to Restore Sanity" and "March to Keep Fear Alive" tomorrow at 12 pm ET up in Washington, DC. I’m sure CNN/Comedy Central will cover it live.

It’s been a busy couple of week’s death wise.
•James MacArthur, Danno from (Original) Hawaii Five-O, dies 72

•Lisa S. Blount, actress from 'An Officer and a Gentlemen' Dies 53

•Paul The Octopus dies of Natural Causes, 2 1/2 years old.

•Alex Anderson, creator of Rocky and Bullwinkle dies 90

•Gregory Isaacs, Reggae Singer, Dies 59

•Johnny Sheffield (played Tarzan's son 'Boy') Dies at 79

•Tom Bosley, Happy Days' Dad, Dies 83

•Barbara Billingsley, June Cleaver on "Leave It to Beaver", TV mom, dies 94

•Simon MacCorkindale of "Falcon Crest" Dies of Cancer

•Beach music icon General Johnson dies

•Stephen Cannell, prolific TV writer-producer, dies 69

•Joe Mantell, Academy Nominated actor, `Marty,' `Chinatown' dies 94
The latest as of early Friday afternoon is James "Jimmy" Wall. Wall was Captain Kangaroo's stage manager before he convinced the show to create its first black character, Mr. Baxter. Wall, in fact, worked at CBS as a stage manager for nearly 50 years. He played Baxter and another recurring roll on the show until 1978.

What is wrong with the Texas Rangers? Game 3 starts Saturday in Texas. Let’s hope they at least show up and not get shut out or lose by 9 runs!!

More wackiness regarding the filming of “The Hobbit” and New Zealand.

Saw 3D isn’t getting good reviews. I think the 1st couple of movies were interesting, then they seem to become what many serialized horror movies become; caricatures of their old selves.

Space shuttle Discovery is prepared for its final launch into space, which is scheduled for this Tuesday Nov. 2, 2010 from K-S-C,; yo? I’m a big fan of the shuttles and everything NASA, but it’s kinda ironic that leaks and other minor issues are besetting this, the final launch. Maybe they ARE right in mothballing the fleet. It pains me to write that.

Ready for some more McDonald’s law suit craziness? A Brazilian court ruled this week that McDonald's must pay a former franchise manager $17,500 because he gained 65 pounds (30 kilograms) while working there for a dozen years. When this madness comes full tilt to the US, I’m gonna be RICH!!

Hospitals in Indonesia are struggling to cope with scores of injured survivors of a devastating tsunami, including a newly orphaned two-month-old baby found in a storm drain.

Here’s some ‘unpopular’ science - I thought this was hilarious.

Here’s a feel good story..

And finally, when real life sadly imitates art – 2 stories of woe. Though history is replete with these incidents, this week we’re reminded of 2 stories of Hollywierd woe.

What the hell is going on with actor Randy Quaid? Last month, he and his wife were arrested in Santa Barbara, California for felony vandalism while living in a home they used to own without the consent of the current owner. THEN they run up to Canada seeking asylum citing that there are people in Hollywood trying to kill them like they killed actors David Carradine Heath Ledger. Quaid and his wife were arrested in Vancouver last week and jailed on outstanding U.S. warrants related to the felony vandalism charges mentioned above. This wackiness is very much akin to Quaid’s character, Clark Griswold’s cousin Eddie Johnson. Quaid he is not crazy but rather the victim of a criminal conspiracy to take his wealth, and perhaps his life

What the hell is going on with actor Charlie Sheen? It seems that he cannot separate reality from his character “Charlie Harper” of ‘Two and a Half Men’. Kinda sad, really. Now to make his story about an allergic reaction to prescription medication and the subsequent nude rampage more salacious, the female he was with, and also accused of stealing a $100k watch from the actor, is an ‘adult film’ or ‘erotic’ actress.

Now neither of these stories affect my life, nor dare I say, the lives of anyone I know one iota. For the most part, after the usual roll of the eyes and/or one lined water cooler jokes, these stories or events are often dismissed. To me, each one of these situations, and even the ones that involve death, is just one of those things that has always happened and unfortunately always will” There’s nothing we can do but sit back and watch it go by.

When In Doubt, Whip It Out!!

Rainy Day In GreenVegas, SC - 10/25/10

Not your happy, info filled blog today- maybe later. Been busy day here at work. A tornado watch until 1pm ET makes this day a little more interesting. These same storms wreaked havoc in the Dallas, Texas area.

In football, my Tarheels lost to hated Miami over the weekend. My Steelers won. Thanks for a controversial call going OUR way for a change.

Just a quick work rant. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and I'm not better than anyone, I'm more imperfect than anyone I work with. However some of the people I work with are so incredibly stupid, naive it's more pathetic than it usually is in any workplace. Though many of you know what I do and where I work, I have never officially stated what I do or WHERE or whom I work. Some of these people don't read simple instructions that even I can comprehend. And when someone not as smart as these people, people who've been doing this job a hell of a lot longer than I have, when they can't see how utterly stupid their actions are and how already answered their questions already are, then perhaps it's time for me personally to make another change. I must be the faulty cog in the wheel of this organization. After all, this organization has always existed FINE and will exist and operate FINE long after I'm gone.

Ok, enough of the work rant. I really really miss the old me. Where is the life that I recognize?
(insert the Geico commercial with the drill sergeant calling the psych patient a "jackwagon" and suggesting a visit to "namby pamby" land).

WIkileaks released another 40 MILLION (OK, not that much, but a lot) documents concerning the wars overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq. While the numbers and specifics not released or downplayed by the US during these wars is indicative of any nation in any war historically, I wonder what makes the US government any more evil NOW than it (or any nation conducting war in the past) it was in previous wars? The media coverage between all wars pre WW2 and post WW2 is amazing and a stark contrast. Personally, I don't think these contrasts or differences make those who consider or call the US evil or bad for conducting these wars and less patriotic. The very serious "game" of war is conducted like any other game; as in NOT revealing your strategy or your casualty numbers for either side or anything negative. When someone or someone like WIkileaks release this information, it cannot be helped that the information hinders one of the players in some way. You don't reveal everything and every result from playing the game. This whole 'wikileaks' situation reminds me of someone tattle telling in class. If you like that type of thing, then it's OK I suppose. Historically, every great general or those who are/were "good" at their job repeats the fact that wars should never be fought and they should be avoided at any and all costs. I agree with this thinking. I also believe that if you conduct war, there needs to be quick, strong, decisive actions to minimize unnecessary death/injury. To me, just ONE death during a "war" is one too many and that's the precise reason why war shouldn't be conducted in my opinion. But it is also my opinion that if war is to be conducted or fault, while regrettable, civilian casualty is an unfortunate byproduct of war and military "actions". So arguing about whether one or ten or ten thousand people die or have died is kind of inane. One death, whether civillian, military or otherwise is obscene.

What say you?

So This Is Thursday....

The world's longest cat Stewie - 4 ft long

Happy Thursday - or Friday or whenever you're reading this. Not much going on today. Still too freaking warm outside - near 80 degrees approaching Halloween- sheesh! Though it DID get down to around 30 degrees about 94 miles away from here this morning. As of Thursday afternoon, me and the missus have no “big” plans for my bi-weekly Friday/Saturday/Sunday off.


On Yahoo! News this afternoon, one of the afternoon's headlines reads "Obama says elections could set nation's future". NAH, REALLY? How Bush-esque...

What do you think of the "racy" photos at GQ of the cast of TV's "Glee"? I think the pedophilia concerns are kinda muddled because, as with most shows, you have early/mid 20 year olds playing high school teens.

Look for Jimmy McMillan of New York’s The Rent Is Too Damn High (www.rentistoodamnhigh.org/) political party to possibly make a cameo on this weekend's Saturday Night Live.


Conan O'Brien is lining up the expected "big" guest list for the initial week of his show debuting November 8th.


Katy Perry and Jack Sparrow imitator Russell Brand are getting married in India.


Why did NPR fire (terminate the contract of) analyst Juan Williams for telling Bill OReilly that one time on a plane people appearing to be Muslims dressed in religious garb frightened him?


A new study indicates that eating whole grains instead of refined grains may have benefits for your waistline. Will they ever come out with a whole grain cheesecake?

How do you feel about Collin Ferrell being in a "Total Recall" remake?


Looks like the on again/ off again production of "The Hobbit" is becoming just as long and drawn out as the movie/story will be.

Penthouse founder Bob Guccione Sr has died.


And finally, a U.S. satellite has detected increased activity at a North Korean nuclear weapons test site, suggesting it could be preparing for a third test, a South Korean government source was quoted as saying. If we went into Iraq because of alleged WMD's and the argument is being made that even though the WMD's were moved out of Iraq and it's a GOOD thing Saddam is gone, can't we make the same argument concerning Kim Jong Il/Nam/Nong?

Goodbye Howard Cunningham

from http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20435305,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines
Tom Bosley the folksy father of Richie Cunningham on the '70s sitcom about the '50s, ABC's Happy Days, died Tuesday in his Palm Springs, Calif., home. On Oct. 1 he had turned 83.




The actor died of a staph infection, according to TMZ, which first reported his death.



Before finding fame on the small screene, Bosley won a Tony for starring as the beloved New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia in the Pulitzer-Prize-winning 1959 musical Fiorello!. He also made a memorable mark in the 1964 Peter Sellers cult comedy The World of Henry Orient, as the too-understanding husband of Angela Lansbury's character.



After Happy Days, he would frequently costar with Lansbury on her CBS series, Murder She Wrote.



Reacting to Bosley's death, his Happy Days costar Henry Winkler expressed his sadness, telling Los Angeles's KNX-1070 News Radio, "I'm in shock, I really am. I spoke to him just a few weeks ago and he seemed to be getting his strength back."



Born in Chicago, Bosley was the younger son of a real estate broker father and a former concert pianist mother. "We were fairly wealthy until the stock market crashed," he told PEOPLE in 1979, during the Happy Days craze. "When I was 2, my father lost all his money." His parents divorced nine years later.



Bosley joined the Navy in 1945 at 17 ("I'm the only guy I know who went in as a seaman and came out a seaman"), then enrolled in pre-law at DePaul University. In his first year, he switched to acting.



After stock theater in Illinois (with fellow aspirants Paul Newman and Geraldine Page), he flipped a coin in 1950 to decide between New York and Los Angeles. New York won.



For nine years before Fiorello! he acted off-Broadway and in summer stock while working menial jobs to feed himself. Movie and TV roles followed, and in recent years, whenever there was a Happy Days reunion, he could always be counted upon to appear – and tease his TV son, Ron Howard, about not casting him in his movies.



Bosley married twice. His first wife, Jean, a dancer, died in 1978 (they had wed in 1962). His second wife, the former Patricia Carr, survives him. They married in 1980. He also has a daughter, Amy.



Ironically, Bosley's death comes only a few days after that of another iconic '50s TV parent, Barbara Billingsley, of Leave It to Beaver.

Something Else to See Along With All The Recent Stories Concerning Ghostbusters 3

To accept the award for “Best Horror Movie” at the 2010 Scream Awards, Bill Murray appeared wearing a full Ghostbusters outfit, which even included a proton pack. The award show was held Saturday in Los Angeles, and will air on Spike TV on October 19th at 9pm.

Freaking Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday! 19 days until Halloween! Only another few hours until I get off of work for a couple of days before my weekend playtime. We tied a high temperature record yesterday at 86 degrees. Gonna be 86 or so today as well. Welcome to fall!!

Here's some stuff I saw on the ol interweb today..


On this day in 2000, two suicide bombers attacked the destroyer USS Cole while it was at anchor in Aden, Yemen, killing 17 of its crew members and injuring 39 others.

Remember the story from last week concerning the discovery of an earth like planetin another galaxy? Well, apparently, scientists 2 years ago received a "mysterious pulsing light" from that area. Read more HERE

Lions Gate is offering to merge with MGM..
Another public car crash while filming the upcoming 'Transformer 3' movie- see it HERE

Sony Pictures has just announced Rhys Ifans, the Welsh actor perhaps best known for roles in "Notting Hill", "The Replacements" and several other films, will play the villain in Marc Webb’s "Spider-Man" reboot

Scripts for "The Flash" and Green Lantern 2" are expected to hit Warner Bros. by Christmas.

NBC today pulled the plug on legal drama Outlaw after putting the freshman series on production hiatus last week. It hails from Conan O'Brien's once NBC-based production company Conaco.The remaining 4 original episodes of Outlaw will air Saturdays at 8 PM over the next five week (preempted on October 30th for a previously scheduled Shrek special).

KIM JONG NAM, eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who has said he opposes a chain of empire that would see his younger half brother, Kim Jong Un, succeeding his father.

Kind of an interesting/funny story at CNN for those of us employed.

Matt Damon won't be in the next "Bourne" movie. The franchise's next film, "The Bourne Legacy," will not star Damon or even feature Jason Bourne.
The Gap's new logo is a no go. Belk's new log is a go.

I read over at Whitney Matheson's blog, Pop Candy, over at USA Today that Napoleon Dynamite is coming to Fox television- in the form of a cartoon.

I also read over there that "they" are bringing the old school "Family Circus" cartoon live action style to the big screen.

The NFL has hired former Sports Illustrated model Marisa Miller as their newest spokesperson.

and finally, Good bye Bobby Cox. The longtime Atlanta Braves manager's final game was last night when the Braves fell by one run to the San Fransisco Giants in the NLDS 3-2. I don't belive there is a manager in baseball history who has lost so many "one run" games. Anyway, I'll let the professional sports writers write eleoquent stories abotu Bobby's final game last night. All i can do is publically thank him for all teh great and heartbreakign moments with the Braves over the years and wish him a well rested, satisfying life.

Happy Monday

Just wanted to post some quick tidbits of stuff I found over the weekend...Hope you had a great weekend. More later!

                                               photo by Garry Melendez,  --The State.com

Microsoft is unveiling a new mobile phone operating system today. Unlike many other phones, pretty much all providers will be able to be used.

New research shows that 7% of babies and toddlers have their very own email address.

More research indicates that watchign too much television: whether it's programming or game wise, can be harmful to kids psychologically. Read about it HERE

How about those Tarheels? Congrats to the Gamecocks as well for knocking off The Bammers. USC has the singular historic distinction of knocking off the Number 1 ranked opponent in Basketball (Kentucky in January), Arizona (in baseball September), and now in football in less than a year. The Gamecocks (4-1, 2-1 SEC) are ranked 10th in this week’s Associated Press poll and 12th in the latest USA TODAY/Coaches poll, both released Sunday. Ohio State is No. 1 .

40 year old American from Denver and his drill have made it possible for the Chilean miners to be rescued in a couple of days after a couple of months underground.

As if voters don't have enough to be angry about this election year, the government is expected to announce this week that more than 58 million Social Security recipients will go through another year (the 2nd consequetively) without an increase in their monthly benefits.

Kim Jong Il's presumed heir, Kim Jong Un made a brief appearance during a parade Sunday. Boy is he fat.

Facebook co-founders Sean Parker and Dustin Moskovitz have donated a total of $170,000 to back Proposition 19, the measure to legalize marijuana in California. Neither, however, is still working at Facebook.

The "King of Rock 'n' Soul" Solomon Burke has died while on tour in Europe. He was 70 years old.

A set of John Lennon's fingerprints being auctioned for at least $100,000 was seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday 30 years after the singer's death. This weekend would have been his 70th birthday. In a week-long discovery, Siegel said the FBI, "with a sense of urgency," was concerned with whether the card had been part of Lennon's file and was lost or missing.

Leona Gage, who in 1957 was named Miss USA but had the title stripped the next day when pageant officials learned she was married and a mother of two, has died in Los Angeles, her son said Saturday. She was 71

Ten people were injured when two rollercoaster cars collided at at Knott's Berry Farm. All have been released from the hospital. A spokewwoman from Knott's Berry Farm says the.

This is like a Robin Cook novel. Hungary's red sludge reservoir is "very likely" to collapse, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Saturday, as many cracks have developed in its northern wall. The town of Kolontar was evacuated because the wall is in such bad shape, and officials have started building dams around populated areas to slow the toxic ooze if the reservoir dumps its remaining 500,000 cubic meters into the countryside. That flood of goo would be about half the size of the first leak, when 184 million gallons of poisonous waste killed seven people and injured 120. The owners of the metals plant whose reservoir burst, flooding several towns in western Hungary with caustic red sludge, expressed their condolences Sunday to the families of the seven people killed, as well as to those injured.

Somali pirates have seized a Japanese-owned cargo ship with 20 Filipino crew members onboard

and finally...

This weekend at the Box Office:

1 The Social Network

2 Life as We Know It

3 Secretariat

4 Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

5 My Soul to Take

6 The Town

7 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

8 Easy A

9 Case 39

10 You Again

DC Comics has announced that as of January, 2011, the publisher wll be decreasing prices on their standard length $3.99 titles to $2.99 citing the long term health of the industry as their reason for the new pricing. Not to be outdone, Marvel Comics (less than an hour after their primary competitor announced an across the board drop) also announced at least a partial move away from the often criticized $3.99 price for new serialized superhero comics. When taking into account mini-series, annuals and specials, more than 80% of DC’s comic books will be priced at $2.99.

Read more about it HERE

Study: Your Weight Affects Your Salary « CBS New York- News, Sports, Weather, Traffic and the Best of NY

NEW YORK (CBS) – In a country plagued by obesity, eating disorders, and the all-too-common pressure to simply look good, a new study finds that your waist size can play a role in your wallet size.


The study, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, shows that skinny women tend to have fatter paychecks than average or overweight women.

The same can’t be said for men, however. Larger men are shown to have larger paychecks than their thinner brethren, according to the study. In fact, as a man’s weight increases, so does his salary — until the point of obesity, when his salary then drops.

The Wall Street Journal reports that in looking at the differences of earnings between men and women of different sizes, the study’s author discovered significant gaps. Women who weighed 25 pounds less than average-sized women in the sampling earned an average of $15,572 more. On the other hand, a woman who weighed 25 pounds more than normal-sized women made $13,847 less than their average counterparts.

Thinner men were just as unfortunate as heavier women, earning $8,437 less than average-sized men.

Guess Who's Coming To The Small Screen?

Looks like Wonder Woman is returning to television. According to the Hollywood Reporter this weekend, David Kelly of 'Ally McBeal' and 'Boston Legal' fame is creating and going to produce the teleplay. The articl reads "Warner Bros. Television is developing a modern-day reboot of the classic DC comic book heroine and is lassoing an unlikely talent to potentially write and produce the superhero project: David E. Kelley." Kelly produced and created such shows as "Boston Legal", "Picket Fences", and "Chicago Hope."

Click HERE and HERE to read more.

This Pink Hippo Walks Into a Bar

HAPPY FRIDAY! You made it!!! This is my weekend to work, however, I'm getting a reprieve of sorts, so for me personally, this is shaping up to be an easy weekend for me despite the head scratching psycho incident I experienced at work yesterday- PRAISE GOD!



It's already October. Reflecting on the year, it's been a bad year; a bad 2 years for people I know and me having pets pass away. Then again, as I get older, it seems I am becoming increasingly aware of death in general; including thoughts of my own mortality. But that's too morbid for any Friday (unless it's Good Friday). Much less today. The weather has finely begun feeling like 'fall'. Looking very very much to the temperatures cooling, the pumpkins and apple festivals, the fall festivals, riding up to the mountains for the color change, etc. Can you tell this is my favorite time of year?



The mighty Tarheels take on the East Carolina Pirates this weekend. The surprisingly undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers take on hated division rival (cliche cliche cliche!) Baltimore Ravens and exhonerated murderer Ray Lewis. Odd that Ray and Ben Roethlisberger have been staying in touch with each other...



Anywho, here's what I saw on the ol interweb early this morning...



A new study suggests Coffee and tea lovers may have a decreased likelihood of developing the most common form of malignant brain tumor in adults



39 years ago today, Walt Disney World opens in Orlando Florida!!



Rahm Emanuel is leaving his job at the White House to concentrate on becoming Chicago's next mayor. Is it me, or like the current Pope, this dude looks like a movie villain?



BBC America is bringing 26 episodes of "Law & Order: UK" to BBC America beginning THIS Sunday at 10:30 p.m. EDT, with subsequent episodes airing Fridays at 9 p.m. EDT, "Law & Order: UK" is unmistakably kin to the "L&O" family and is a successful British spin off of the American version.



I need to see how I can get a job at Paramount. Viacom Inc.'s movie studio, Paramount Pictures, is laying off 53 people worldwide, most of whom are based in Los Angeles, in a move that will save about $10 million a year.



Well, this is good news to ME anyway. Tony DiSanto, the president of programming responsible for everything from "The Hills" to "Jersey Shore" to "Teen Mom," is leaving the network after two decades to join ex-NBC entertainment boss Ben Silverman's new venture. Maybe MTV will begin playing videos again...



In a more LIFE affecting good news, the AP is reporting that Red Cross officials from the two Koreas agreed Friday to hold reunions for families separated by the Korean War amid mixed signals from North Korea on easing tensions over the sinking of a South Korean warship. One hundred families from each country will attend the meetings from Oct. 30 to Nov. 5 at a hotel and reunion center at the North's scenic Diamond Mountain resort, Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo said.



Comic-Con staying in San Diego for 5 more years. Anaheim and Los Angeles tired to woo the 40-year-old fan convention, but Comic-Con is staying put with some new perks.



U.S. senators from Wyoming, Idaho and Utah proposed legislation Thursday that would strip federal endangered species protections from wolves in the northern Rockies.



Actress Emma Thompson has joined the cast of “Men in Black 3” as "O", the head of the MIB program.



On this day in history:

1795 – Belgium is conquered by France.

1903 - The Boston Americans play the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of the modern World Series.

1958 – NASA created to replace NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics).

1992- The USS Saratoga fires 27 missiles at Turkish destroyer TCG Muavenet (DM-357) crippling it causing 27 deaths and injuries. On 29 September 1994, some of the Turkish Navy sailors serving aboard the Muavenet instituted legal action against the United States government. The action encompassed 2 wrongful death claims and 299 personal injury claims. On 20 February 1997, the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling against them.





And FINALLY, from the "Alex Jones" conspiracy files, The US is buying custom-made vans packed with something called backscatter X-ray capacity has riled privacy advocates and sparked internet worries about "feds radiating Americans." "This really trips up the creep factor because it's one of those things that you sort of intrinsically think the government shouldn't be doing," says Vermont-based privacy expert Frederick Lane, author of "American Privacy." "But, legally, the issue is the boundary between the government's legitimate security interest and privacy expectations we enjoy in our cars." American Science & Engineering, a Billerica, Mass.-company, tells Forbes it's sold more than 500 ZBVs, or Z Backscatter Vans, to US and foreign governments. The Department of Defense has bought the most for war zone use, but US law enforcement has also deployed the vans to search for bombs inside the US, according to Joe Reiss, a company spokesman, as quoted by Forbes. On Tuesday, a counter terror operation snarled truck traffic on I-20 near Atlanta, where Department of Homeland Security teams used mobile X-ray technology to check the contents.



What do YOU think??