A familiar family in a somewhat unfamiliar place...

Can you believe The Simpsons have been on television for over 18 years? It's hard to imagine that we've been enjoying the antics of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie for over half of my lifetime. What started out as a filler in between skits on The Tracy Ullman Show is now a national icon that has managed to become one of the most irreverant satires on American families, religion, values, and pop culture. So it's amazing to think that it took the suits at 20th Century Fox this long to make The Simpsons Movie a reality.

Now I'm more of a casual fan of The Simpsons. Unlike some here in the Gang, I caught an episode here and there, but I never watched it religiously enough to be able to quote too many lines from the show or to be able to tell you what Bart had to write on the chalkboard that week. As funny as the show always ended up being, it was still a cartoon with self-contained episodes with no real continuity, and perhaps this aspect of the show is why it never caught on into my "can't miss" television viewing. That being said, I was still looking forward to seeing The Simpsons Movie, which I did this weekend.

And the result of this translation to the silver screen? Actually, it felt like a really good episode of The Simpsons on TV. Maybe a little grander. Maybe a little more freedom to stretch their creativity in this medium (and with a PG-13 rating that means a little brief nudity and a bong). But otherwise, I kind of felt at home. About the only thing missing was my couch. The basic premise of the film involves the local lake that has become a waste dump for the community that is so toxic that the U.S. government (led by the Director of the EPA pulling the strings for President Arnold Schwarzenegger) orders the city to be isolated and quarantined. Just like an episode from the television series, Homer has a hand in creating the whole mess, forcing the Simpsons to flee to Alaska. Meanwhile, the EPA concocts even more devastating plans for the town of Springfield, and, of course, Homer must save the day in the end.

For any Simpsons fan, I don't think the movie disappoints at all. Just about every memorable character from the television show makes an appearance (including my favorite, Comic Book Guy). There's plenty of laughs throughout the movie, and a little bit of heart with Bart coming to terms with the fact that his dad isn't perfect and Homer realizing what it is to do the right thing. And to complete the full feeling of the TV series, they even throw in a couple of celebrity cameos.

But, unfortunately, that may be the biggest flaw of this movie. It almost felt too familiar. As I said before, I'm just a casual fan, not a fanatic. I enjoy The Simpsons when I catch it on TV, but it's never been one of those shows for me that I keep thinking about weeks and months after I've seen an episode. So I left the theater feeling the same way--like I was well amused for the entire hour and a half running time and that I got my money's worth. However, I can't say I'll be thinking about this movie for years and years to come.

Hey, hey--you like chicken?

I don't have much in the way of intelligent musings to post today, so instead I'll share something completely mindless and weird. Mac's, a Canadian convenience store chain (which I guess is sort of like 7-Eleven), is promoting some new drink called "WTF?" and released a series of viral videos as part of their advertising. Two of the commercials are in the video below, and the second half is NSFW due to a bit of girl-on-girl stuff. Needless to say after watching these, I have no interest in sampling this beverage the next time I'm up north:

Han shot first and Deckard is a replicant--why is Harrison Ford involved with all these editing controversies?

Thanks to Ain't It Cool News, I found out about these new clips from Blade Runner: The Final Cut. Not too much there, but I'm sure a couple of you reading might be interested to give it a look. Interestingly, Joanna Cassidy pulled out the original costume to reshoot her chase scene. However, with a combination of wearing contacts today and the low-resolution of the video, I couldn't really make out how the reshot scene was different from the original. Is it less obvious that Zhora was just a stuntman dressed up as a woman crashing through those windows?

And since I have Wander and Firecracker George here, answer me this: The unicorn in Deckard's dream is supposed to be a clue to the audience that he's a replicant. Why? What's the significance of a unicorn? I'm sure I could figure out the answer if I gave it more time in my brain, but I figure one of you could give me a more thoughtful answer.

Vacations

So my sister and husband are going to Sudan to engage in a some relief work at the end of August. Since they will have already travelled many, many hours in a plane to get there, they are going to spend the end of their ten days there on a safari in Kenya. I am a little jealous, but mainly I am excited for them. On my brother-in-law's blog he posted this video. It is lengthy, but well worth the watch. Check it out.

Winning by the (second) slimmest of margins...

It's strange to say it, but all the scandal that led to Michael Rasmussen being kicked out of the Tour de France may have been the best thing that happened to the race this year. While "The Chicken" (as he's nicknamed because of his frail-looking chicken legs) was still in the race, it looked like he had all but wrapped up winning the Tour barring some epic choke in the individual time trial today. The three men trailing him in the general classification would be left to duke it out for second place. Instead, Rasmussen was booted out of competition by his own team for being a complete moron and we had one heck of a competition this morning in France. What usually ends up being a head-to-head competition between number one and two, became a three-way battle royale with the yellow jersey up for grabs.

Going into the time trial today, here were the standings:

1. Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 86h 04' 16"
2. Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor - Lotto + 01' 50"
3. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team + 02' 49"

After putting in the ride of his life and winning the stage with one of the fastest average speeds ever recorded at the Tour, Levi Leipheimer came oh so close to not only overtaking Evans for second place, but even overtaking his teammate Contador to win the whole thing. In the end, Alberto Contador also put in a remarkable performance to preserve his lead by a slim 23 seconds, the second smallest margin of victory ever in the Tour de France.

1. Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 87h 09' 18"
2. Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor - Lotto + 23"
3. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team + 31"

The slimmest margin of victory occurred in 1989 when American Greg Lemond stuck it to a very smug Frenchman Laurent Fignon by riding the fastest time trial ever recorded at the Tour de France to overcome a 50 second deficit and gain an additional 8 seconds to win the maillot jaune. I remember watching that back then thinking I had just witnessed one of the coolest sporting events ever. Doping wasn't the center of attention then, just the actual sport of cycling itself. Heck, the biggest controversy at the time was Lemond's use of an aerodynamic helmet and aerobars, the first use of its kind in the Tour, and now it's standard equipment for any rider today.

Barring some freak accident tomorrow, Alberto Contador is the winner of the 2007 Tour de France. Too bad the first questions from the press probably won't be too congratulatory, but more in the vein of "Did you cheat?" At this point, I'm not sure I really care anymore. I could have cared less whether they were doped up on testosterone, EPO, bovine hemoglobin, or crack--today was an exciting spectacle to watch, and perhaps reminded me why the Tour de France will live on. Viva la Tour!

(Photo: AP/Christophe Ena)

Another movie with lots and lots of bullets...

I just happened to catch some Comic-Con coverage on G4 while flipping through channels, and caught an interview with Clive Owen about his new movie, Shoot 'Em Up, premiering in September. This is the first I had heard about this movie, but I think this looks pretty promising. For Wander, it looks to have guns...lots of guns. For Firecracker George, it looks to have one of his favorite character actors Paul Giamatti playing the bad guy...a really bad guy. And for all of us, it looks to feature Monica Bellucci as the female lead--she's sort of good looking. ;-)

The trailer is up on Apple's site in crystal-clear Quicktime, or you can watch the fuzzy YouTube version below:

Already looking a hundred times scarier than Jack Nicholson...

A new picture of the Joker and Katie Holmes replacement as Rachel Dawes was released for The Dark Knight along with a new website and teaser trailer at www.whysoserious.com. Word is that Heath Ledger was given a copy of The Killing Joke to help him prepare for his role.

This movie is going to be awesome! I hope.

Why I'll wait to let you open the Coke bottle first...

Want to know what happens to Harry after the book?

I still haven't read any of the Harry Potter books. By the time I even thought about picking up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, it was being made into a movie. Typically a film adaptation never lives up to the original book source, so I usually find myself disappointed whenever I read a book prior to seeing the movie. Strange reason not to read the books, but I guess I just wanted to enjoy the movies first, figuring I could read the whole series later on with the expectation that the experience would only grow in the printed medium.

As a result, I can't quite relate to all the hoopla regarding the recent release of the seventh and final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but I figure some of you must be rabidly turning the pages right now (if you haven't finished it already). So for you Harry Potter fans, J.K. Rowling was on The Today Show with some additional details about what happens after the book ends. Be warned, the link is apparently filled with plenty of spoilers--even I didn't read it.

As far as the picture up top, I'm not sure it really relates to the topic of this post. Just thought it was a funny picture.

Now this is just getting ridiculous...

Wow. This Tour gets dirtier and dirtier each day. After all but wrapping up a Tour victory with some incredible riding in the Pyrenees, Michael Rasmussen was kicked off his team and, as a result, out of the Tour de France with just four days left till the ride onto the Champs Elysees. Remember, this is the guy that missed four out of competition drug tests prior to the start of the race. Even though he hasn't tested positive for any banned substances, you've gotta think that his sponsor Rabobank knows something. They say they've got evidence that he was actually in Italy when he said he was in Mexico, and I'm inclined to think they must know even more incriminating stuff to have pulled him while on the cusp of winning the yellow jersey outright.

Levi Leipheimer is in third and now a mere 2'49" behind the current race leader and Discovery Channel teammate Alberto Contador. Making it nine in row for the Stars and Stripes is still a long shot, but not completely beyond reason.

(Photo: AP/Peter Dejong)

Bringing sailing to the masses...

To take advantage of the growing popularity of sailing and bringing it down to the level of extreme sports, moth sailing is coming to the United States. Hydrofoils actually allow this boat to pull up out of the water. Pretty cool stuff. Too bad I'm still not completely comfortable in water.

Separating the genuine fans from the posers...

Holy crap! Look at this thing! Wander already told us about the upcoming release of Ridley Scott's definitive version of Blade Runner. Well, this is the DVD box set that will be released afterwards with FIVE versions of the film. FIVE!

Now that's what I call obsession. I'm not sure I would want all of those cuts, but then I was never the kind of guy to go digging through the imports section at Tower Records looking for every known mix of a Depeche Mode song either.

Another new guilty pleasure...

Awhile back, I posted about a movie called Trust the Man starring David Duchovny. As I hinted at back then, I've always thought Duchovny was a pretty funny guy. He has his own unique way to deliver subtle and intelligent humor, and that movie was perhaps the only time since The X-Files that anyone really utilized his comedic skills to its full potential. That is, until now.

Showtime is set to debut a new series, Californication, headlined by Duchovny who the network describes as playing a "novelist Hank Moody who struggles to raise his 13-year-old daughter, while still carrying a torch of his ex-girlfriend Karen. His obsession with truth-telling and self-destructive behavior -- drinks, drugs and relationships -- are both destroying and enriching his career."

By the magic of the internet, I managed to watch a leaked copy of the pilot episode yesterday, and it was good. The fact that the video is still up today makes me suspect that Showtime leaked it themselves to create a bit of buzz. Hank seems to be tailor-made for David Duchovny and his comedic timing. I thought the show was hilarious. And to deal with the struggles of his life, Hank basically f*cks anything that moves, and with this being on Showtime, you'll see a lot of boobies and ass which may or may not be overdoing it to some. I'm a guy, so what can I say? You can guess what I think. Still, even in one half-hour show, they managed to tie-in a lot of characterization into Duchovny's role, and certainly leaves you wanting to know more about this guy in future episodes.

Anywho, below is the Showtime trailer, not the full pilot episode. If you've got Showtime, I'd recommend checking out the show when it premieres in August.

Hard Boiled

John Woo's 1992 action epic "Hard Boiled" was finally released on DVD Tuesday. I pre-ordered from Amazon months ago, and finally got an alert today it had been delivered to my house.
I know there are some folks here who aren't big John Woo fans, but I have to ask if you've seen this one? It is so much better then any of his Hollywood big-budget films. Chow-Yun Fat is amazing as Detective Tequila. And, let's face it, think about the lame-ass action flicks America was making in '92. This film is an action geeks dream!
Oh, and the main reason it was released; a video game written and directed by John Woo and digitally acted by Fat is being released next month as an official sequel to the film. Yes, I already pre-bought it.
Tonight I feast on infinite reloads my friends.
(video possibly NSFW, at least turn the volume down)

Watching the Watchmen with lots of anticipation...

No Tom Cruise, no Keanu Reeves, no Jude Law. Forget the big name stars. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Zack Snyder has picked a handful of lesser known actors to bring his vision of Watchmen to the silver screen. The official announcement is supposed to take place on a sold-out Saturday this weekend at the San Diego Comic-Con.

The ultimate in toilet technology...

Who knew having water spraying your butt could make people so happy? Toto has been making fancy toilets for years, and now their website "Clean Is Happy" makes me feel like I've really been missing out on the secret to utter happiness based on the flash videos of the six spokespeople above.

Personally, I can't imagine their little magic wand would be enough to thoroughly clean my tush. I'd still be tempted to wipe after. And I often don't have enough patience to use the hand dryers in restrooms--how long will it take for that thing to dry out my crack?

And that, my friends, is the poop post of the week. Thank you. Good night!

The controversy is over...

In his own subtle way, George Lucas admits that HAN SHOT FIRST!

Guess I better start saving up my movie money now...

I'm sure there will come a time when I'm a bit older and won't be nearly as excited about summer blockbusters, but with a line-up like this, 2008 will not be that year. Indy 4, Iron Man, The Dark Knight, The Incredible Hulk, Speed Racer--I think my head will explode.

I'm just sold on the poster alone...

I'm a big fan of Christian Bale. He really hasn't headlined that many films, but the he's put out some impressive and memorable performances in the movies he's been in. American Psycho, Reign of Fire, The Machinist, Batman Begins--all quality, and he's managed to use a different accent in each one. Reviews of his most recent release, Rescue Dawn, have been gushingly positive (although I haven't had the chance to see it yet). He may be the most versatile young actor out there (and yes, Firecracker George, I might actually think he's better than Ed Norton). Add to the fact that he's the exact same age as all of us in the Gang here, and it becomes kind of fun to watch his career rise.

So it was a surprise to me that I hadn't heard about this movie coming out in September. 3:10 to Yuma is a remake of a western from the 50's revamped with Bale alongside Russell Crowe playing the leads, which is hoping to generate a bit of Oscar buzz by opening a bit early before all the other movies vying for awards come out. I'd see the film just from that cool poster above, though. Check out the trailer, if you're interested.

Doping scandal in the cycling world. What else is new?

CPimages/AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski)

Another Tour, another doping scandal. Or scandals, I should say. First up was Michael Rasmussen, the Danish cyclist for team Rabobank who currently wears the yellow jersey as race leader, and may very well wear it all the way onto the Champs Elysees, assuming his blood and urine tests during the Tour remain negative. He's been in the lead since winning Stage 8 in the Alps, but was hit with news that he was dropped from the Danish national cycling team after it was revealed that he had failed to update them on his whereabouts for possible unannounced drug testing on two occasions. He also failed to inform the international governing body of cycling, UCI, a couple of times, as well. So simple math says he's done this four times. Three strikes and you're supposed to be out, but technically he had to have been in violation three times to one governing body, which explains why he's still in contention in the Tour de France.

Soon after this news broke, Rasmussen tried to compare himself to Lance Armstrong, saying he has yet to test positive for anything and that the press was just after a story because he has the yellow jersey. I guess that's true, except that Lance never failed to disclose where he was at any time. For a professional cyclist, how hard could that be? And to forget to do this four times? In this scrutinizing environment? Hmmmm.

And to throw even more doubt on Rasmussen's credibility, some amateur mountain biker came out at about the same time claiming he inadvertently got tangled up in almost transporting doping products for Rasmussen back in 2002.

Today, brought even more shame to the world of cycling (if you can even pile on any more). I mentioned in an earlier post how Alexander Vinokourov (pictured above), a scarily aggressive rider from Kazakhstan who was the odds on favorite to win the Tour coming in, was all but out of the race after a nasty crash that left him pretty banged up and in all sorts of pain. Out of nowhere, though, he managed to handily win the individual time trial last Saturday and Stage 15 in the Pyrenees both in inspiring fashion. Like Floyd Landis last year after his remarkable ride in the mountains, though, "Vino" reportedly tested positive for evidence of a banned blood transfusion from his sample after the time trial.

The timing of the positive test in some ways seems to make sense, but I can't shake the feeling that we'll be hearing more about the flawed testing procedures used for cycling. In a sport that's reeling from scandals, you'd think the athletes would be plain scared away from any sort of doping right now, especially high profile contenders like these. It doesn't make any sense to me, but then again, winning at any cost never did in the first place.

The Tour wraps up this Sunday. I fear this year's winner will be marked with an asterix, as well.

So that's what's wrong with the French...

American business has infiltrated pretty much every corner of the globe, and our ideals are penetrating into countries throughout the world, as well. As this article in The New York Times reports, even France isn't immune to supporters of the so-called American work ethic. In hopes of galvanizing an economy plagued with high taxes that make the business environment unattractive to wealthy entrepreneurs and limited productivity time due to government-mandated 35 hour work weeks, Finance Minister Christine Lagarde basically suggested that the French think too much and need to spend more time working a bit harder to earn money and hopefully pay less taxes.

Man, what I wouldn't give to be paid to do nothing but think. Then again, based on the response from the professional "thinkers" of France, thinking isn't a cake walk:

“How absurd to say we should think less!” said Alain Finkielkraut, the philosopher, writer, professor and radio show host. “If you have the chance to consecrate your life to thinking, you work all the time, even in your sleep. Thinking requires setbacks, suffering, a lot of sweat.”

Bernard-Henri Lévy, the much more splashy philosopher-journalist who wrote a book retracing Tocqueville’s 19th-century travels throughout the United States, is similarly appalled by Ms. Lagarde’s comments.

“This is the sort of thing you can hear in cafe conversations from morons who drink too much,” said Mr. Lévy, who is so well-known in French that he is known simply by his initials B.H.L. “To my knowledge this is the first time in modern French history that a minister dares to utter such phrases. I’m pro-American and pro-market, so I could have voted for Nicolas Sarkozy, but this anti-intellectual tendency is one of the reasons that I did not.”

Last minute addition: Oh yeah, and be sure to use a snooty French accent to speak those quotes in your head for effect.

Some might say having to dress up in a corn costume would signal the end of your career...

I'm not sure how you feel about Hollywood stars lending their celebrity to motivate political opinion, but you're probably aware that Ben Affleck has been pretty open about his leanings. He was so vocal, in fact, that there was even rumors he had aspirations to run for public office at some point. Most recently, he, along with other stars like his buddy Matt Damon and his wife Jennifer Garner, have lent themselves to promote awareness of Flex Fuels and its upcoming vote in Congress. Here's the first video of the mildly humorous series, Project Phin:



More about the project, and other videos can be found here. Like I've mentioned before, I'm still a bit confused as to what the prevailing alternative fuel will be in the future, whether it be bioethanol, biobutanol, biodiesel, BioWillie, etc., but getting Congress to increase mileage standards for cars to 35 mpg by 2020 sounds like a step in the right direction.

Have I mentioned before how much I love Wolverine?

FYI...

Fox has (finally) signed a director for their upcoming Wolverine spin-off, and the lucky helmer is ... Gavin Hood, whom you might know from the South African film Tsotsi.
Hey, the movie won Best Foreign Film at the '06 Oscars, so the guy clearly has some skills. But what else was it that made the Fox brass take notice? Apparently it's Mr. Hood's Rendition, a New Line political drama that stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon, Peter Sarsgaard, and Meryl Streep. (That movie opens on October 19th.)
For the Wolverine fans who are still skeptical, you can take solace in the fact that not only does leading man Hugh Jackman approve of the decision -- you can bet he was involved in the entire process. Here's what he told Variety: "I have long been a fan of Gavin's work and know he will make a masterful film with the character intensity and action beats the fans expect."
Production on Wolverine (which was adapted from the comics by David Benioff) begins in November.
Source: Variety

Oh no, they di'int...

Since Take-Two Entertainment couldn't get NFL permission to use current players and teams for their All-Pro Football 2k8, they looked to the past to resurrect great retired and dead players to use instead. Now, I don't have a problem with them using O.J. Simpson--he was quite the running back in his day. But to raise a little buzz and controversy I guess to publicize their game, O.J. plays for a team called the Assassins. Check out the knife-wielding mascot at the end of this clip, too. Clever gimmick or just poor taste--you decide:

They just seem to multiply like rabbits...

If you needed any more proof that Starbucks is firmly entrenched in America and would utterly collapse western civilization as we know it were it to ever fail, look no further than New York City and the borough of Manhattan. Manhattan has 171 separate Starbucks stores. 171!

And this guy visited every one of 'em...IN ONE DAY!!

Somehow, I think this whiskey really would put hair on your chest...

"Educating" the children of Africa...

Nice to know that just about every kid in this world thinks alike:

Nigerian pupils browse porn on donated laptops
Thu 19 Jul 2007, 15:34 GMT

ABUJA, July 19 (Reuters Life!) - Nigerian schoolchildren who received laptops from a U.S. aid organisation have used them to explore pornographic sites on the Internet, the official News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported on Thursday.

NAN said its reporter had seen pornographic images stored on several of the children's laptops.

"Efforts to promote learning with laptops in a primary school in Abuja have gone awry as the pupils freely browse adult sites with explicit sexual materials," NAN said.

A representative of the One Laptop Per Child aid group was quoted as saying that the computers, part of a pilot scheme, would now be fitted with filters.

Ethical corruption...

My wife was a teaching assistant for a political science professor back in her graduate school days, and he's since put up his own blog that brought my attention to this column from The Washington Post which gives an interesting perspective on the effects of special interests groups in politics. Conventional wisdom seems to say that money basically buys votes. Throw enough cash at a candidate, and you can sway the opinion of a candidate to change their mind and go your way. However, what typically happens is that groups that are ideologically in agreement with a politician's views donate money not to convince him that their proposal is right, but to move their issue up in priority so it's dealt with first:

Hall said that when special interest groups make donations or lobby the president and legislators, the pitch is never, "Here's some money to change your vote," but rather, "Here is an issue to work on that will appeal to your constituents." Politicians go along with the proposals precisely because such work does help their constituents. The only problem, of course, is that by focusing on some constituents, the politician no longer has time to focus on issues that help other constituents. Politicians may feel they are in the corner of both wealthy and poor constituents, but the money that flows into politics tends to get them to prioritize the concerns of the wealthy and the organized over those who are marginalized.

"There is a loser," Hall said. "Whatever else the legislator would be doing gets lost . . . I don't get to the 15th thing on my list, but I don't know what the 15th thing is and I don't know if I would have gotten to it anyway. There is a distortion of priorities, but there is no ethical violation."

So essentially the President or Congressmen aren't bribed in the strictest sense of the term--they were going to vote whatever way they did regardless of the money that was given to them. They just happened to give that issue more attention.

Finding a placemat for the meal he just stole out of your trashcan?

Born with a mask and gloves, raccoons must be nature's perfect burglars. What in the world is this guy going to do with that door mat he just stole?

A question to all the swimmers...

So in an effort to be more active and make some progress on banishing my gut, I've been spending more time at the pool, alternating days with trips to the gym. I've never really been that comfortable in water, though. I'm OK on my back, but when I attempt swimming the front crawl, I feel like I've got to take a breather midway across the pool. Somehow, I don't think my technique in catching breaths every couple of strokes is efficient, 'cause I'm watching some huge 300+ pound man casually swimming laps back and forth like it's a leisurely walk in the park.

Am I just really that out of shape? Any suggestions/helpful hints from the more aquatically inclined in the Gang?
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

I know this is supposed to be relaxing, but for some reason I just feel like Bugs Bunny...

I really need to plan a vacation to Japan one of these days just to take in all the wacky stuff they've got over there. Here's a spa where you can bathe in your favorite beverage including red wine and sake. Talk about setting yourself up for a major hangover. Please, no peeing in these baths. Alas, the ramen bath is a limited engagement that ends in September.

I'm just impressed her ankles didn't snap it two...

I don't know what's more funny--the model falling or the fact that this news broadcast kept rerunning the clip over and over again.

Who let the dogs out?

The Tour de France has now completed a full week and change. Despite the absence of any overwhelming favorites due to doping scandals, it's still turning out to be a rather exciting race, and perhaps even more interesting than one would expect. There's at least half a dozen riders still in contention to win the honor of wearing the Maillot Jaune into Paris.

I hate to say what's made this year's Tour so fun to watch, though, has been the crashes. A massive crash just short of the finish line in Stage 2 showed just how dangerous things can get with 189 riders all grouped together jockeying for position on a narrow road. Stage 5 brought about another rash of crashes resulting in some major injuries to top contender Alexander Vinokourov which essentially lost him the race (as he's rumoured to be toughing it out with 60+ stitches holding him together in his knees, no less). His German teammate Andreas Kloden (a contender in his own right) has a suspected fractured tailbone, yet manages to ride on and may be in the best position right now to win it all. The second day in the Alps for Stage 8 brought more horrific crashes and took out two Aussies. Stuart O'Grady had to be lifted out in a helicopter. Michael Rogers slammed straight into a guard rail on a technical descent which likely broke his collar bone as he soon withdrew from the race in tears after valiantly trying to continue on for awhile.

With all these accidents, you'd be tempted to think this Tour was cursed. Well, after Markus Burkhardt's crash in Stage 9, you might be right:



Luckily, it looks like the dog and the cyclist made it out of that crash OK. The same couldn't be said about Burkhardt's front wheel--that thing alone probably cost over $2000.

Levi Leipheimer and the Discovery Channel Team still have a chance to win this thing, too, if you want to root for an American to win for the ninth straight year in a row. The whole thing will probably be decided based on the individual time trial on Saturday and the mountain stages in the Pyrenees right after.

Put on your helmet, 'cause we're going spelunking...

Japan seems to have this ongoing fascination with anything cute. Young urban professional women may be adorned with all things Hello Kitty. Even the manga read by grown men on the subway are typically filled with big-eyed characters that play up cute faces more than gritty reality. So I guess it shouldn't surprise me that condoms in Japan would get the cute treatment, too.

Actually, condom packaging seems to be a big deal in the country across the Pacific. Number one on this list might actually scare a potential mate or set her up for some real disappointment when you can't live up to the advertising. I'm kind of partial to number six, the Love Cannon, myself.

MMM... Bacon

In the continued interest of lightening things up around here, I offer this exquisite delight.

Bacon Exotic Candy Bar

Applewood smoked bacon + Alder smoked salt + deep milk chocolate

Deep milk chocolate coats your mouth and leads to the crunch of smoked bacon pieces. Surprise your mouth with the smoked salt and sweet milk chocolate combination.Crisp, buttery, compulsively irresistible bacon and milk chocolate combination has long been a favorite of mine. I started playing with this combination at the tender age of six while eating chocolate chip pancakes drenched in maple syrup. Beside my chocolate-laden cakes laid three strips of fried bacon, just barely touching a sweet pool of maple syrup. Just a bite of the bacon was too salty and yearned for the sweet kiss of chocolate syrup. In retrospect, perhaps this was a turning point, for on that plate something magical happened: the beginnings of a combination so ethereal and delicious that it would haunt my thoughts until I found the medium to express it--chocolate.

To Order: http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/product/bacon_exotic_candy_bar/exotic_candy_bars

You'll each be recieving a case from me for christmas...

One More Reason Homer Is My Avatar

As if there weren't enough reasons already.

Somedays, I think the country should just split in two...

Has anyone been keeping up with this feud between Michael Moore and CNN? Moore has been on CNN a couple of times to promote his film Sicko and answer some of his critics, including CNN's own resident medical expert, Dr. Sanjay Gupta appearing on Wolf Blitzer's The Situation Room and Larry King Live. What has transpired since then and how you view it probably depends on which side of the fence you're on.

From Moore's perspective, CNN made several egregious errors in their reporting of the health care debate and its so-called fact checking of some of the claims made in Sicko, all adding up to the same game of a news corporation protecting its interests in keeping pharmaceutical companies and their ad revenue happy. His website lists each contentious point, and he even posted an open letter to CNN (and used the opportunity to criticize their role in possibly promoting the Iraq War). CNN, on the hand, claims they only made one error, which they publicly acknowledged, and have since posted their own point by point response to say there was nothing wrong with what they've said.

So CNN is picking Sicko apart and claiming Moore "fudged" some facts or at least cherry-picked some data, which I might agree with slightly. It seems there is so much data available out there, that you could argue any side of any case and seem credible. But the fact that CNN decided to even focus on "fact checking" rather than having an intelligent discussion about an issue both CNN and Moore agree on, that American health care has major problems, I can see how Michael Moore could be pretty irate right now. He doesn't help things along, though, with his impassioned stance that his one-payer solution is the only intelligent solution out there while calling any other proposal a sell-out to Big Pharma and the health insurance lobbyists.

Pretty sad that, again, a lot of bickering will probably get this problem swept under the rug for someone else to clean up years from now. I know the Presidential candidates have made health care a big part of their platforms, but somehow I think we'll all just be getting some fancy lip service over the matter in the coming months instead of viable solutions.

Amazingly, Fox News has managed to stay out of Michael Moore's crosshairs. I guess that would have been too obvious, though.

If anyone was still in doubt that video games could be a bonefide addiction...

I can understand getting so wrapped up in online video games that you'd maybe stop hanging out with your friends or forget to spend time with your spouse, but those are adults. Hard to believe some people would forget to take care of their own children:

Nev. couple accused of starving infants while playing video games

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- A couple authorities say were so obsessed with the Internet and video games that they left their babies starving and suffering other health problems have pleaded guilty to child neglect.

The children of Michael and Iana Straw, a boy age 22 months and a girl age 11 months, were severely malnourished and near death last month when doctors saw them after social workers took them to a hospital, authorities said. Both children are doing well and gaining weight in foster care, prosecutor Kelli Ann Viloria told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Michael Straw, 25, and Iana Straw, 23, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts each of child neglect. Each faces a maximum 12-year prison sentence.

Viloria said the Reno couple were too distracted by online video games, mainly the fantasy role-playing "Dungeons & Dragons" series, to give their children proper care.

"They had food; they just chose not to give it to their kids because they were too busy playing video games," Viloria told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Police said hospital staff had to shave the head of the girl because her hair was matted with cat urine. The 10-pound girl also had a mouth infection, dry skin and severe dehydration.

Her brother had to be treated for starvation and a genital infection. His lack of muscle development caused him difficulty in walking, investigators said.

(More)

My Favorite E3 Video

Oh yeah, this is gonna rock!

Friday the 13th? Who knew?

Wow. Only one hour left in the day, and I just realized it's Friday the 13th. The worst thing that happened to me was I got a little sunburned while sitting at the pool, although not cooked through like a lobster ala Gulf Shores, AL 2006. Over a year later and I think you can still make out an outline of a handprint where I slapped my sunscreen-covered hand on my lower back, but failed to rub it over the rest of the area.

Any unlucky happenings with the rest of the Kool-Aid Gang? Is anyone here even superstitious?

And when I say the magic word, you will cluck like a chicken...

Saw this on clusterflock. Click on the picture to get it going. Follow the rotating dot, and the dots appear pink. Stare at the center and the rotating dot turns green. Stare even longer and the pink dots disappear.

Forget the name Wendy. This dog deserves the name Cerberus...

I know this dog isn't three-headed, but man does she look like something scary enough to be guarding the gates of Hell. It's like one of those overgrown canines from The Hulk. She's of the whippet breed, which is supposed to be as skinny looking as a greyhound. Turns out this wasn't a result of putting the dog through a few cycles of "the juice," but instead simply due to a genetic mutation.

Testicle jelly beans: like ass pennies, but different.

So, I go and take a squirt, and I don't bother washing my hands because I showered this morning and my junk hasn't been anywhere other than my drawers, so why bother? The urinals flush themselves, I open the door with my elbow - no problem.

And then I'm in the building admins' office digging through the jelly bean jar. I decide that since I'm on a diet, only the good jelly bellies will do (why waste calorie allowance on stuff I don't like?) and I start weeding out the buttered popcorn and root beer ones. It then dawns on me that these same hands were just all over my genitals, and even though my twig and berries were clean, I don't think people would really like to eat something that has been in contact with my nuggets by proxy.

I then thought, "so what have other people been doing before they dug in the jelly bean jar?" Oh well, more exercise for my immune system, I guess.

The things you can get away with when you're the future king...

No point to this post. I just thought this picture was hilarious.

Not coffee, not a walk, but screeching guitar.

Now I on the whole don't get enough sleep, but since I've been seeing this girl more and more, I've been up even later either at her place or on the phone. It all caught up with me this morning, and I was literally falling asleep at my desk. I've been drinking coffee, I took a walk, but nothing was waking me up.

That is until I got on Yahoo! music and saw that they had the new Smashing Pumpkins album. I immediately woke up at the excitement! AND THEN I LISTENED TO IT! I miss James Iha and D'arcy on this album, but it is awesome none the less! Now I'm completely wired!

THE NEW PHONE BOOKS ARE HERE! THE NEW PHONE BOOKS ARE HERE!

The gentle hand of the long arm...

For those who may have not heard, Lady Bird Johnson died today at the age of 94. Kind of made me sad, having spent a few years living in the central Texas region during college and absorbing the influence of LBJ (both Lyndon Baines and Lady Bird Johnson) on the city of Austin stretching from the Presidential Library and its presence on the University of Texas campus to listening every so often to KLBJ radio to visiting the grounds of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center on the outskirts of town. My wife and I usually make a trip out to the Wildflower Center anytime we're in Austin, as it's a particularly special place for us. I'm not sure I really know that much about Lady Bird's history other than what I've read in the obituaries today, but I'll always be grateful to her for giving me the perfect spot to propose to my wife.

If only my own college life was a video game...

To continue on my "video games are mainstream" theme, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro is offering an online course for its Principles of Microeconomics (ECON 201) class. What's the kicker? It's taught in the format of a video game.

Brilliant new method to teach or just a gimmick to get some press?

Mmmmmm...

Don't forget--free Squishee's at the Kwik-E-Mart today!

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Not having any video games to play is now officially becoming torture...

I found myself up at 3:00 AM last night after staying up to get my latest Netflix DVD (Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby) watched and ready for the mailbox, as my wife had no interest in another inane Will Ferrell movie, and wanted the next disc on our queue sent to us as quickly as possible. As is typical when I'm still awake at that hour of the morning, I end up delaying sleep even longer by channel surfing, and today I ended up on the G4 network watching a recast of the Microsoft press conference from the Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3), the major yearly video gaming conference going on this week in Santa Monica, CA. If Wander ever wanted to sell me on an Xbox 360, he should have just had me watch this conference--them games are super cool!

The Microsoft presentation ended with news about Halo 3. I have yet to play Halo 1, but by the enthusiasm of the crowd and the fact that everyone from serious gaming addicts like Wander to even casual players like Scratch were big fans of the game makes me think that the release of the third sequel is a huge deal. As is typical of Microsoft, though, they had a dramatic announcement of the Halo 3-branded Xbox 360 which was met with the sound of crickets. Why anyone thought simply coloring an Xbox green and printing Halo 3 on it would bring down the house is beyond me.

Anywho, they showed a couple of videos related to Halo 3. The first was a live action trailer that I think was a teaser for what would have been the Peter Jackson-produced (complete with Weta Workshop special effects) Halo movie, had Microsoft not gotten so greedy and basically made the whole project fall apart. The second is the official trailer for Halo 3 the video game. Wander, I suggest lining your floor with plastic and having Tellulah ready with a mop before watching because I'm afraid your head might explode:


Online Videos by Veoh.com


Online Videos by Veoh.com

A flurry of World War II movies...

A couple of months ago, I went and saw Black Book (or Zwartboek, in its native Dutch), a film by Paul Verhoeven. Verhoeven, you might recall, is infamous for bringing the American moviegoer spectacles such as Starship Troopers and Showgirls, as well as exposing Sharon Stone's crotch to the world in Basic Instinct. He's also responsible for a couple of science fiction classics, though--remember Total Recall and Robocop? Well, before coming to Hollywood, Verhoeven apparently was making a name for himself as a director to watch in his native country of the Netherlands. And seeing that he hasn't had anything close to a hit since Hollow Man a few years ago, I guess he went back to his roots to tell the story of a young Jewish woman on the run from the Nazis in Holland. She eventually finds herself going undercover for the Dutch resistance after seducing a German officer, and in the process, falling in love with him. As in any good movie, though, not everything is what it seems.

It's an intriguing and suspenseful film, and I'd highly recommend throwing this on your Netflix queue when it comes out on DVD for a slight change of pace. Keep in mind, it's in Dutch, so be prepared to read. There's a couple of scenes that are pure vulgar Verhoeven, such as the heroine bleaching her pubes to ensure that nothing gives her alias away or another scene where she's literally gets covered in excrement, but otherwise you'll find this to be a great example of a World War II espionage movie and perhaps evidence of the great filmmaker Verhoeven actually is. You might also watch it just to catch a glimpse of Carice van Houten, who plays the movie's protaganist, Rachel Stein. She seems to be a star on the rise. I've mentioned the upcoming movie in the works, Valkyrie, which is causing so much controversy in the press lately due to rumored problems with filming in Germany due to Tom Cruise and his Scientology beliefs. Well, van Houten will be starring in that movie, and is rumored to be the Bond girl in the next iteration of the 007 franchise.

Anywho, why did I think to post about this movie? Because there's another World War II espionage drama on its way later this year, except this one takes place in China. I know Firecracker George is a big Ang Lee fan, so I thought I'd post this trailer I found of his newest film Lust, Caution which should be coming out sometime in September.

Functional head protection and a Halloween mask all in one...

I saw this bike helmet while surfing on Gizmodo. The mask is supposed to contain a filter to keep all those pesky allergens at bay. Considering how bad my seasonal allergies get, I'd be tempted to wear this thing everywhere I go. I'm not sure if that would make me look like the scariest thing on the street or the biggest dweeb on the planet.

Sighting #11, in the unlikeliest of places...

So I was in Des Moines, Iowa this weekend for a wedding. This is the second wedding my wife and I have attended in the Hawkeye State--what are the odds of that? Anywho, we were expecting to find some fresh ears of sweet corn, but otherwise weren't anticipating much from our trip to Iowa's state capital. Surprisingly, though, Des Moines was kind of an interesting city. As most other large cities, the downtown core is undergoing quite a bit of revitalization and gentrification, but Des Moines seems to have chosen some interesting architects for a few of their construction projects. Perhaps the coolest thing was the the Des Moines Public Library which had some type of copper mesh within the glass windows that made the building look like it was built out of copper during the day with the sunlight reflecting off of it, but would appear completely transparent at night with lights illuminating the building from the interior. Even the State Capitol building itself was pretty impressive and unique with real 23K gold leaf on the dome.

But all that wasn't what really caught my eye over the weekend. Driving back to our hotel late at night we spotted this around 7th and Locust downtown. We snapped a picture the next day on our way home:

Sighting #10, by my wife, no less...

Yeah, I know. You've all probably lost interest in R2-D2 mailbox sightings, but I still feel compelled to snap a picture when I see 'em. I was cleaning out the memory card from my camera a couple of days ago, though, and forgot I hadn't posted this one.

My wife was in D.C. for a conference a couple of months ago, and traveled up to the Baltimore Waterfront Promenade with a friend on her off day, where she ran into one of these:

No more stepping on the Canucks...

Canada and the United States have been disputing the rights of ownership to the Northwest Passage for sometime, especially since global warming has melted enough ice to expose lucrative deposits of oil, minerals, and fish. It looks like Canada will be taking a bit more proactive stance to their claim, though, as they outfit the Arctic region with some of its own military might:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said six to eight patrol ships will guard what he says are Canadian waters. A deep-water port will also be built in a region the U.S. Geological Survey estimates has as much as 25 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas.

I say, they should just sit down at a table and play a good game of Risk to determine who gets it.

They're not just for kids...

Just to show you how mainstream video games are becoming, an Oscar-winning actress like Nicole Kidman would have been the last person on Earth I would have expected to be promoting games for the Nintendo DS Lite:

More than just a "toy movie"...

It's been almost a week since I saw Transformers, and I'm still kind of in awe as to how they pulled off the special effects.

Here's a story from Popular Mechanics that gives a brief behind-the-scenes perspective of what went on at Industrial Lights and Magic to make Optimus Prime and Bumblebee look so incredibly real. Considering most rants about the movie criticize the absence of more robot scenes, it makes sense that adding more Transformers action to the movie would have been mighty complicated, and probably pretty expensive:

When that crucial "in-between" involves over 10,000 hand-modeled parts pulled out of actual autobody — as Optimus Prime did (his old-school toy had a mere 51 components) — there's a bit more filling in to do. "It's hugely complicated," says visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar. "It's no different than going out and machining these parts [in a real car]. Every one of those things has to be connected and travel in the right direction when an animation occurs.

And for more perspective on the making of Transformers, Entertainment Weekly has an interview with Michael Bay. Credit Steven Spielberg for having the vision to see that a Transformers movie could be really cool. Even after Bay agreed to take on the project, it sounds like he still wasn't quite convinced when he started filming:

I just thought it would be from kids to, you know, to 20-something whatever. The first day on the set I'm working with all these guys in the military and I was apologizing for the movie. Forty-something guys. I was like, ''Okay guys, I know this sounds really stupid, but there's a 40-foot-tall robot over here and it's going to flip and land right here.'' They're like, ''Which robot? Is this Starscream?'' I'm like, how do these guys know that? And I realized, oh my God, it's a lot older than I thought.

He also hints that he'd be up for doing a sequel. Hopefully, they'll bring back Shia and not get too crazy with overloaded special effects.

And taking advantage of all the Transformers windfall? Cartoon Network, who will debut a new cartoon next spring.

Freakin' Hilarious

I might boast that I am more technologically advanced than others in the TV gadgetry arena than others on this blog, but that might just make them jealous. Regardless, I will go ahead and share with you some of the advantages of having not only an HDTV but also having HD programming. Through my cable provider I get some channels that are not broadcast on normal cable or satellite. Some of those channels are INHD and HDNet. HDNet has been one of my favorites recently because it has been replaying the television show Arrested Development.

I remember hearing, years ago while it was still on TV, that the Fox television show was a really good show that never got its due. I read reviews that said such, and I had even heard from other people who watched the show that it was a great show and really funny. I remember even hearing about some of the news about it getting canceled because FOX never really tried to make it a hit. While it was on though I never watched to see if all the stuff I was hearing had any merit. Now that I have watched at least 20 episodes of the three seasons it was on the air, I have to admit that it is one of the funniest sitcoms I have ever seen. It is extremely clever, and I have to be on my game, so to speak, in order to catch all the humor. (example: Buster who is in love with his mother Lucille gets his hand bit off by a loose seal. This humor is easily lost here on the blog so it would behoove you to go watch it.) Some of the humor is easy to get such as Tobias's aptitude to talk using extremely homosexual overtones and not realize it. (example: "I love going to the spa and getting a facial.")

For the Kool-Aid Gang, I highly recommend it as an addition to your Netflix que. This will allow you to watch it in quick succession, making even more of the jokes easier to catch. Or if you wish you can check them out here on your computer and watch them on your work breaks.

My Universe

Because we all have giant f***ing robots on the brain, and I think about Battletech on average one minute out of every 5 during the day. I love 'Mechs so damn much...

Thank you, come again!

So any one else have a 7-11 store near them being transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart for The Simpsons Movie release? I drive by one to work every morning, and lo and behold they were putting Bart and Milhouse up when I went by today! I guess the change is total inside and out, but not every store is doing it. I'll stop on my way back home and get more photos (this photo isn't mine, but it sure as hell looks like our foothills in the background).

Feeling like a kid in a toy store again...

Giant f*ckin' robots! That was Michael Bay's unofficial tagline for Transformers, and that's exactly what he delivered, exclamation point included. You'd had to have been a hermit to not have felt the bombardsdment of hype and advertising for this film. This blog even added a few posts on the topic. So with me being in between jobs, and my wife showing absolutely no interest in watching this movie, I went and caught the first showing of Transformers today at noon. I had my reservations of a Bay-helmed adaptation of this project, but I've got to admit that no one blows up stuff and catches it on film like Michael Bay. Adding Steven Spielberg to the mix as executive producer, too, made me a bit more comfortable that bringing the Transformers to the big screen might actually work.

To summarize the plot in a nutshell, Sam Witwicky (Shia Labouf) is a teenager on the lower rungs of the social ladder who desperately wants to get his hands on his first car. The beat-up Camaro that he finds turns out to be a robot named Bumblebee, part of an alien race of transforming robots at war over the search for a cube of ultimate power called the All-Spark. Sam, unwittingly, holds the map leading to the cube and becomes wrapped up in the battle against the Decepticons as he, with the help of the Autobots, fight to save Earth.

So what did I think of it all? In one word--awesome. Yup, you read that right. I thought Transformers was awesome. I can't even believe I'm using that word to describe a Michael Bay movie, but his distinctive over-the-top style fit perfectly with big ol' robots battling out on the silver screen. Perhaps I should be thanking George Lucas and Industrial Lights and Magic instead, because the special effects were just seamless. Never in the movie did I think that the Transformers didn't look real.

Even on an emotional level, I felt something, which is odd considering that this is, again, a Michael Bay movie. Typically, he uses human storylines as an excuse to essentially show some stylized music video within the movie, but here I thought I got just a faint connection between Sam and Bumblebee by the end, and that's an accomplishment. I mean, really, who thought Bumblebee was cool back when you played with the toys? I only remember him because he was the cheapest one in the store. After this movie, though, you'll think he was the coolest Autobot of them all. Maybe credit should be given to Shia Labouf for giving the audience a viable human connection to all that was going on in the movie or perhaps it was just nostalgia for the old cartoon from the 80's, I don't know. I mean, when we're actually introduced to the rest of the Autobots for the first time, I actually got giddy. Peter Cullen reprising his voice-over roles for Optimus Prime? I think I got chills.

Obviously, there's some things not to like in this movie. The generic musical score by Steve Jablonsky is pure over-the-top Michael Bay, and ends up giving me flashbacks of films I'd rather forget. Some of the dialogue, although it didn't have me cringing in my seat and feeling embarrased to even be sitting in the theater watching, was a bit corny. Characters, other than Sam, weren't well developed at all. We only get a glimpse of the relationship between the Autobots, and even less about the Decepticons. Even when Megatron is finally revealed, we never really grasp his level of ultimate evil, so the showdown between him and Optimus Prime doesn't carry the sense of urgency that it does to be considered a real climax.

But all those things are minor when you consider what this movie is--a summer blockbuster popcorn flick. To expect Oscar-worthy drama would be raising the bar for a film based on a line of toys, for Pete's sake, way too high. This movie was a spectacle, pure eye candy, and still a lot of fun.

Finally, I didn't mention anything about the non-technological eye candy. I learned two things about women while watching this movie:

1. Male computer nerds will always look just like that--male computer nerds. Overweight, messy hair, goattees, appear to have not bathed in a couple of days. Hugh Jackman in Swordfish is perhaps the only time this hasn't been the case. Female computer nerds, however, will always be smoking hot. Always. Any movie. However, they'll usually have a piercing or tattoo to signify that they're smarter than they look.
2. No matter what they tell you or what you read, remember this--women dig fast cars.

**** (out of *****) although I don't know if I'm giving it high marks because its the only movie of the summer that's lived up to the hype, or if I'll still like it this much after a second viewing. Speaking of which, I already found a pirated copy streaming over the internet tonight. Maybe I'll watch it again right now! ;-)

Vitamins?

Well, it has been a while since I have posted anything, and I must warn you now that this post is not one to get too excited about. On the other hand I do expect a plethora of comments.

For quite some time now, basically since I have been dating my wife, the two of us have had this mildly ongoing debate about taking multivitamins. I say it is a waste of money. She says it is not. I would like to hear from those in the audience what your thoughts are on a daily multivitamin and if your thoughts have any sources that you could cite.

Well, my eHarmony time is nearly at an end.

My subscription expires in about two weeks, and I've chosen not to renew at this time. Instead, I'll be focusing more on creative projects, but I may come back to eHarmony some time in the future.

That being said, the whole process is now more yielding than ever before. Plenty of good prospects, some of which are really starting to pan out. And then today I get to the 'write your own questions' phase with this particular girl who I've been really interested in. Here's her first question of three really good ones. Actually the best I've ever been asked on eHarmony.

What would your super power be?

Gentlemen, how awesome is that?

Got a case of the Mondays? Here's a better way to start off your week...

Learning from eating another apple...

Last night, I stopped by the local Apple store to check out the iPhone, and as I type this post on my BlackBerry, I realize how lame all other phones are in comparison to Steve Job's new "it" device. All the people lining up for days seemed a bit extreme (most Apple stores still had plenty in stock yesterday), but I must say getting to play around with an iPhone for a bit was really cool and did make me a bit envious of all those people that bought one Friday night.

It also got me thinking about Steve Jobs. Why can't other companies put as much thought into their product design? Anything that Apple releases seems to instill almost mass hysteria as being the next big thing with good reason--typically they're making something that truly meets the what people think of as a dream device. In comparison, we all wait to see what Bill Gates left out of his company's inventions and aren't surprised when they're big disappointments (e.g. The Zune), and seems to take advantage of our growing complacency with low expectations.

Perhaps the American auto industry could take a page from the guys in Cupertino, CA.
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