I May Have To Watch This tonight...

Apparently, the surviving members of Nirvana are re-uniting tonight (12-12-12) for a benefit concert for victims of Hurricane Sandy...

from http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/paul-mccartney-subbing-kurt-cobain-nirvana-reunites-article-1.1218363

During the 12-12-12 benefit concert, Paul McCartney will sit in for the late Kirk Cobain. For me, this is SO cool!!!! I remember the Live Aid celebration concert a few years ago when Sir Paul sang 'Sgt Pepper' with U2 and Bono -that was freaking amazing.

Back From The Dead/ Big Changes Suggested For the NFL

* A BIG thank you for those who overwhelmed me with their kindness and generosity during the past 2 months after my accident. I am humbled and grateful.

* Feels kinda weird to wish anyone a 'happy' Pearl Harbor day today (12/7).

* Joss Whedon submitted his outline for the sequel to Marvel’s $1.5 billion blockbuster "The Avengers."

* Dan Ackroyd insists Ghostbusters 3 is still in development, but admits those involved should hurry up and decide as soon as possible. Read the interview HERE

Meanwhile while catching up on some reading after no being able to read, I came across this on Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/roger-goodell-talks-chiefs-eliminating-kickoffs-player-safety-164839047--nfl.html). An article in Time magazine features Commissioner Goodell talking about a possible plan to eliminate kickoffs altogether.


TIME sat in on meeting between Goodell and Rich McKay, head of the NFL's powerful competition committee. Goodell brought up a proposal promoted by Greg Schiano, coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: after a touchdown or field goal, instead of kicking off, a team would get the ball on its own 30-yard line, where it's fourth-and-15. The options are either to go for it and try to retain possession, or punt. If you go for it and fall short, the opposing team would take over with good field position. In essence, punts would replace kickoffs, and punts are less susceptible to violent collisions than kickoffs.

"It's a much different end of the play…It's an off-the-wall idea," Goodell said. "It's different and makes you think differently. It did me."

While the new rule moving the ball down so far to eliminate 80% of kick off returns is settling in, I feel this proposal would radically change the game too much. I mean, it would be unlikely, but feasible for a team to have the ball all the time during one of the halves of the game. Though one could argue with the onside kick off rule, that can be done anyway..

What say you?

KATE!

kinda weird

I LOVE This Spot

Undecided Voter

So have you voted in the "Who won last night's debate?" poll yet? Can you guess the predictable results depending where you see the poll? BTW, I actually AGREE with this video form SNL

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/undecided-voter/1418227/

Do This Year's Presidential Debates Matter?

Twas the night before the October 3rd Presidential debate
and all the through the nation
a feeling of deja vu is rampant
and in my opinion, a definite lack of elation...

I know, I could do better...

I'm so tired of the election already.
In my opinion, this debate is merely an exercise
a ghost of what the US used to be.

They USED to matter, I suppose.

Watching video of the Nixon/ Kennedy debates are interesting.
That's back when there were only 3 networks and it was pretty much a litmus test on how we here in the US would observe our potential candidates in a challenge or perceived confrontation.

Now they are horribly predictable: down to the specific phrases and counterpoints. Though ideologically miles apart, seemingly, they both are a caricature of each other. Take the daily appearances they make- they BOTH are dressed and presented similarly. Down to the matching white , rolled up long sleeve shirts and nearly identical suits and ties. Google "Obama Romney" in Google images and see what you find- it's creepy!

In the name of civility, both candidates will smile as they attempt to jab one another and their political party.

Both candidates will cite the same rhetoric and half truths that we have heard all year or even longer.

Nothing new will be revealed.I promise you. Expect both candidates to make a minor gaffe or two and even laugh about it.

Overall, it's going to be quite the non event.

And think, both candidates have spent WEEKS preparing for this. BOTH candidates' spokespeople have repeatedly told the press to expect to be underwhelmed.

We're WAY ahead of ya there, guys...

Batman: The Dark Knight Rises Dec 4 DVD Details

from: http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2012/09/28/warner-bros-offers-details-for-dark-knight-rises-blu-ray-dvd/

Warner Bros. Offers Details For
Dark Knight Rises Blu-ray & DVD

Friday, September 28th, 2012 at 8:45am by Kevin Melrose

One of the most-anticipated releases of the year, the Blu-ray is jam-packed with bonus features, including: a Batmobile documentary (spotlighting all five vehicles); “Ending the Knight,” a look at how Christopher Nolan and his team created the ending to the big-screen trilogy; trailers; and art galleries. The DVD boasts “The Journey of Bruce Wayne” featurette. Notably absent is any director commentary, which probably shouldn’t come as a surprise.

As was the case with The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises offers a limited-edition set, this time featuring a broken cowl (below). Warner Bros. also announced the Dec. 4 release of “The Dark Knight Trilogy Limited Edition Giftset,” which includes all three of Nolan’s films and a collectible book that delves into their production. Another box set, “The Dark Knight Trilogy Ultimate Collector’s Edition” will arrive sometime in 2013.

Suggested retail for the Giftset is set at $52.99. The Dark Knight Rises Blu-ray combo pack is set at $35.99, and $39.99 for the Limited Edition Bat Cowl set. The DVD is $28.98. You can see a breakdown of the bonus features below.
The film, which has grossed more than $1 billion worldwide, stars Christian Bale as Batman, Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle, Tom Hardy as Bane, Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tale, Michael Caine as Alfred, Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Officer John Blake and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox.



Blu-ray Combo Pack:

• “The Batmobile” Documentary: Witness all five Batmobiles together for the first time in history. Dive deep into every aspect of the most awe-inspiring weapon in Batman’s arsenal as you journey through the birth and evolution of this technological marvel and cultural icon. (01:00)
• Ending the Knight: A comprehensive look into how Director Christopher Nolan and his production team made The Dark Knight Rises the epic conclusion to the Dark Knight legend.
• Production
• The Prologue: High-Altitude Hijacking
• Return to the Batcave
• Beneath Gotham
• The Bat
• Batman vs Bane
• Armory Accepted
• Gameday Destruction
• Demolishing a City Street
• The Pit
• The Chant
• The War on Wall Street
• Race to the Reactor
• Characters
• The Journey of Bruce Wayne
• Gotham’s Reckoning
• A Girls Gotta Eat
• Reflections
• Shadows & Light in Large Format
• The End of A Legend
• Trailers
• Art Galleries
• UltraViolet: Instantly stream and download films to compatible devices

DVD:

• The Journey of Bruce Wayne
• UltraViolet: Instantly stream and download films to compatible devices

The Dark Knight Rises -- My Thoughts (Non spoiler version)

picture from http://www.a2-m3.com/2012/07/10/13-minutes-of-the-dark-knight-rises-sneak-peek/

I think this is one of those cases where I expected too much from a movie. It’s staggering that I have been a fan of the character and mythos for 41 years. Regardless of what you’re about the read,  I strongly urge you to go and see the movie. It will be well worth your movie dollar and something to talk about and enjoy despite the unfortunate events at the midnight premiere in Colorado. At the end of the movie, many in the audience with me clapped and cheered. My prediction is this will be a big movie, but come nowhere close to ‘The Avengers” in box office or magnitude. That hurts me a little to write as Batman is my favorite character.

For me, what I took from this movie is that Chris Nolan wanted to have his cake and eat it too; a huge, big, goodie filled multi layered cake with lots of decoration and icing. Especially at the end of the movie. The movie suffers a little in order for him to accomplish this. I expected MUCH better from he and his brother, who with David Goyer, wrote the screenplay. In regards to the previous 2 movies, I found this movie to be sloppy in parts. This installment has much more action than the previous 2. And in my opinion, it kind of needed it. Nolan crammed a lot into this movie. To me, it didn’t seem like a nearly 3 hour movie

The story basically is a continuation of the 2^nd movie 8 years after the events of Dent’s death.  It turns out, there are tremendous consequences as a result of the scheme Gordon and Batman concocted to frame Batman for Dent’s death so the city could have a hero (in Dent) and overcome crime for the most part. Nolan does a good job tying the previous 2 movies into this one not letting you forget what has led up to this tale. A glaring observation to me was The Joker is the only thing from the prior 2 movies that’s not referenced either in dialogue or flashbacks. My opinion is how could they have left him out and included nearly EVERY character and aspect of the first 2 movies? I think I know why, but still, to me it was an obvious omission regardless of the reason.

Anne Hathaway was a much better Catwoman than I thought she’d be. I was wrong about her as the Catwoman character. Her injection into the story felt rushed to me. It could and should have been allowed to develop.  Tom Hardy was believable as Bane. Like Catwoman, I felt rushed to believe he was the bad guy. Michael Caine did an extraordinary job as Alfred. Unfortunately, he’s only in the 1^st quarter of the movie, and appears briefly at the end. Cillian Murphy’s appearance is also very brief and obviously gratuitous to me. He is more wasted and irrelevant than his cameo in the 2^nd one.  All the supporting cast did a great job; Gary Oldham, Mathew Modine, Morgan Freeman, my Pittsburgh Steelers as the Gotham Knights- hahaha!  Despite my negative laden feelings and thoughts about the movie, the acting was spot on.  2 major characters from the Batman mythos appear in this movie. One was kind of expected; one I didn’t think about but SHOULD have known.  

The end of the movie. Well, here’s where I believe Nolan failed – the movie to me had two endings and you’ll understand it when you see it. There’s a predictable scene at the end of the movie involving Gordon-Levitt’s John Blake character that made me groan loudly.

 I’d give this movie 6.5 out of 10. Even though I don’t like cake, I didn’t entirely not enjoy this experience.