HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME. HUUUUNGRY!!!

Boarded subway. Am going home, baby.

driver: "enjoy your stay in new york, the best city in the world." oh, stick it up your ass.

...and not. Greyhound buses take forever to get to their underground depot. Am still sitting in this bus. AAAAAAARGH!

Finally emerge from the Lincoln Tunnel and the lights of the Empire State Building welcomes me ... I'm almost there ...

What are you doing in Newark? Let's go, let's go!!!

what th-?! Another stop??? We're almost near jersey, dammit!!!! (correction: Columbia is in Jersey)

Eyes hurt. Barely suppressing cough.

And we're back in Milesburg for another break. Am not gonna get (almost) stuck behind this time.

DuBois, PA. More passenger pickups? Am i back in Manila?? What th-!!

Great. Roadwork slows us to a crawl. For the next hour. Or so.

The 30-minute stop gets extended cause some passengers from another bus need to ride with us. Great.

McDo break. Got an OJ and a couple of hash browns.

Let's roll. Driver says "we will reach New York at approximately God knows." Oh great. (obviously, he knew that the weather forecast was bad)

guy ahead of me in the line is a pinoy seaman. Of all places.

still feel flu-ish

Pack Man (i always end up lugging a lot more leaving than when i arrived)

Spent $40 for medicines and vitamins. Damn.

Visit Tita Jean's friend Tita Emma. Hope that Hard Rock Cafe pin somewhat lightens up her thoughts

Wal-Mart - get a garment bag (damn winter coats)

Asian store. Lechon. Suman. Pan De Coco. Hmmm.

Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason - don't ask me why nyhahahaha

coooold. damn.

beginning of bad colds. uh oh.

Fruit salad, pumpkin pie w/ whipped cream , peach pie , coffee

National Treasure - now that's more like it. but is this a comedy? sidekick Justin Bartha has the best lines.

McDonalds! *s*

Alexander - talky bisexual gorefest that is a notch ahead of Troy but still ... lacking *s*

TJMaxx shopping! Got my (cheap) new leather jacket *lol* (now, how to dump the "Matrix" one ...)

Breakfast: sausage, eggs, muffins, rolls, coffee, juice

zzzzzzzzzzz

dvd on tap: The Bone Collector

Seinfeld special - should be on the DVD

The Apprentice (bye bye Andy - so it must be Jen!!)

dinner: nuked turkey, fruit salad

what th-? Gabi na!

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz (blame the tryptophan)

Thanksgiving! Stuffing, cranberry jam, steamed asparagus, yams, a bottle of chardonnay and of course, the roasted turkey.

Peyton already throws 2 TDs and its just the 1st quarter

Turkey prepping. I predict an overkill.

Breakfast: lobster omelette, leftover bacon/sausage, muffins, coffee

Dinnertime. Lobster, baked potato, leafy salad with ranch dressing, and a peach fizz.

Out for grocery. Cold rainy day.

doze off

ah breakfast! Bacon, sausage, muffins, eggs, coffee and sinangag

waiting for my ride amidst a cross-section of people waiting for their own trip to wherever. Managed to nod off a bit through some Josh Groban.

Rolled into cleveland 1.5 hours early. This won't happen often in the Philippines.

Starts raining. Must be goddess' tears.

Stopped in the Burg known as Miles (Pennsylvania is the state of the Burgs. They have more Burgs than anyone else). It's not that cold outside. Lots of truck cabs around (without the trailer). They look like those little goblins from the mummy returns *s*.

After a brief nap, i look out at dark Pennsylvania countryside (did anybody mention Blair Witch?). Despite the lighting, the rolling scenery reminds of my fascination with America: its vastness, the long yet efficient highways, the roadside diners, truckstops and motels ... (cue in Vanessa Carlton's "a thousand miles"). someday, i'm going to drive from coast to coast.

Yep, am settled in like the 6th row on the window side. my seatmate appears: its the Twizzler-munching Igor the Butch. Ah, well it could be worse.

Okay, we're moving. Hope i get the emergency exit seats.

The long line is for the 8.45 bus. duuhh. So i'll just stay in line to be the first for my 10.00 bus. Problem is, there were already abt 349 people ahead of me who had the same idea.

Couldnt find the gate printed on ticket. "there is no gate 40!" sez the dispatcher. So stop advertising it then. Surprise, its the same gate where i always go to, like everytime i go to cleveland. Duh. uh-oh, the damn line is too long, it might've reached cleveland.

Start of another long bus ride. Port Authority looks worse than usual. Its like a refugee camp out there. At least Greyhound now has automated ticket dispensers handling internet tickets. Now, off to find some crappy spaghetti from villa pizza ...

Week 12 Bets

1st and 10 ... Week 11 prognostications (bets in color).
Thanksgiving Day Games
Indianapolis at Detroit ... Free-For-All at Ford Field? *lol*
Chicago at Dallas ... Hmmm ... what you gonna do, Tuna?
Sunday Games
Washington at Pittsburgh ... Brady? Nah. McNabb? Nah. Ramsey? Are you kidding??
Tampa Bay at Carolina ... there's some life yet in these Cats
Tennessee at Houston ... this is gonna be a slugfest
Cleveland at Cincinnati ... Bengals win, Butch if fired
San Diego at Kansas City ... come back, Priest Holmes
Jacksonville at Minnesota ... come back, Randy Moss
Baltimore at New England ... the gimpy Pats are winning when it matters
Philadelphia at NY Giants ... countdown starts for Eli's first win
New Orleans at Atlanta ... battle of the Coach Jims
NY Jets at Arizona ... Jets face dangerous Arizona defense on their own territory
Miami at San Francisco ... you think this'll draw a full house?
Buffalo at Seattle ... apparently, rumors of Bledsoe's demise have been exaggerated
Oakland at Denver ... Droughns should never be dropped from a fantasy team
Monday Night Football
St. Louis at Green Bay ... I see the Pack winning another close game

Last week: 14-2 (hooooohaaa!!) 87.5%
Overall: 98-160 (98-62) 61.3%
Road: 45-35
Home: 53-27

: : STATIC : :
| VOL. 0011 |

It seems like every week I keep running out of time to cobble up a Static. Ay caramba. Anyway, the bulk of this edition will be devoted more to last weekend's Big Apple Comic Convention.

iBox (or what i saw on TV recently)
Desperate Housewives - Lynette bares her claws in a school turf war with a haughty stage mother (who wants to produce a PC-Red Riding Hood play). Bree and Rex attempt to spark up their flagging sex life, but no dice. And Gabrielle's mother-in-law is already on to her.
Boston Legal - James Spader's character, Alan Shore, finally gets it on with Rhona Mitra. Hooohaaa! Is Monica Potter next? nyhahahaha. Lucky dude.
Lost ("Confidence Man" and "Solitary") - Sawyer's turn for a flashback - shit, he duped Kate into kissing him. Can't. Watch. Argh. Sayid should have gutted the fucker. Next episode, Sayid does his own soul-searching by exploring the island. And promptly gets captured by the woman who has been transmitting the distress signal for 16 years. What th? And she lets him go, with even more cryptic details about what really happened (i smell Dr. Moreau!). As for the gang, they start playing golf. Yep, golf. Fore!!!
The Apprentice 2 - Another day, 2 firings. What?? 2??
E.R. ("Time of Death" and "White Guy Dark Hair") - Ray Liotta puts in a great performance as a dying alcoholic. And Sam (Linda Cardellini) makes a mistake by allowing a rape victim to answer questions, causing her death.
CSI NY - Episode seems to echo that Wendy's massacre in Queens a few years back. Didn't get to watch this much cause i was in a meeting with Dubya *s*. Skipped this week's as well.
The O.C. - finally got aboard in this 2nd season (the 1st out on dvd. already??). Sandy becomes Caleb's lawyer (because of Julie's threat - that bitch. *nyhahahaha*). Seth wants to make up with Summer, but he gets vaped at every opportunity (hey, man, i'll join your comic book league anytime). Oh, speaking of that club, his only other member (apart from Ryan, duh), is coincidentally Summer's new boy. Ouch. Now about Ryan - he's back trying to pick up where he left off with Marisa. Trouble is, Marisa's just coming off a summer fling with the yard boy (she goes "I'm not like that!" - 2 words for you: Yeah right!). Though it would be appropriate for Ryan to do it ... dude, stop with the eyeball rolling already. Man, this show says a lot more about relationships than what's out there *lol*. And then i promptly miss this week's episode as well. argh.

---

Doodles:

Why don't they have more major comic conventions here in New York? The 2 big guns are here. Don't use the excuse of not having enough money. As it is, we have to be content with the Big Apple Con (Penn Pavillion, Nov 20-22, 2004).


they have lots of comics here ...... really? wooooowww ....


Getting Tom Palmer to sign my Avengers: Under Seige


Jim Starlin (The Infinity Gauntlet), Bob McLeod (Iron Man) and Larry Hama (Wolverine/GI Joe)


Walt Simonson (Thor) suddenly decides to show up .... and so does the great John Romita Sr (Spiderman)


Earth X co-creator Jim Krueger


Yep ... that's Joe Jusko (Vampirella) right there


Doing a Benjamin McKenzie eyeball-roll ... nyuknyuknyuk (or is that because of pseudo-celeb sightings*)

* Star Wars alumni Jake Lloyd (Anakin, Episode I), Daniel Logan (young Boba Fett, Episode II), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and David Prowse (Darth Vader minus the voice), b-movie actresses Tanya Roberts and Debi Rochon, adult model Dazza Del Rio and Playboy Playmate Lindsey Vuolo (ok, Glady, stop drooling already!).


got 'em hancocks ... all books signed ... no excess baggage *s*

Week 11 Bets

1st and 10 ... Week 11 prognostications (bets in color).
Sunday Games
St. Louis at Buffalo ... JP Losman, come on down
Indianapolis at Chicago ... Nah, not to this Bears
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati ... who's gonna stop the Big Ben?
NY Jets at Cleveland ... J!E!T!S! Jets! Jets! Jets!
Detroit at Minnesota ... only the Giants should have your number, Vikes
Denver at New Orleans ... more Jekyll-and-Hyde teams
San Francisco at Tampa Bay ... Bucs seem more focused
Arizona at Carolina ... could be a really low-scoring game
Tennessee at Jacksonville ... though I hate her, I'll stick with the Paris Hilton team *s*
Dallas at Baltimore ... like em Cowboys are gonna turn it around here
Miami at Seattle ... if the Seahawks lose this, they're really pretenders
San Diego at Oakland ... next year's best free agent: Drew Brees
Atlanta at NY Giants ... the Eli Manning Era begins
Washington at Philadelphia ... enjoy the hype, Philly
Green Bay at Houston ... Favre would like to win in his lone appearance at Reliant Stadium
Monday Night Football
New England at Kansas City ... its almost over, Chiefs

last week: 8-6 57.1%
Overall: 84/144 (84-60) 58.3%
Road: 37-34
Home: 47-26

dvd on tap: The Usual Suspects [Bryan Singer]

The film which made Bryan Singer a household name - wait, that was Xmen *lol*. Anyway, this film earned him the privilege to do them mutants. Five ne'er-do-gooders of varying criminal achievements - McManus (Stephen Baldwin), Keaton (Gabriel Byrne), Fenster (Benicio Del Toro), Hockney (Kevin Pollak), and Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey) - get picked up by the police on flimsy charges. Pissed, they band together and strike back at the cops. They seem to form a common bond and continue doing jobs until a mysterious figure named Kayser Soze (represented by Pete Postlethwhaite as Japanese lawyer Kobayashi) contracts them to do a job that raises their stakes on its success to a personal level. Pursued by US Customs agent Kujan (Chazz Palminteri), the group manages to remain one step ahead and complete their mission - exactly as the shadowy puppet-master Soze had planned. The film is told in flashbacks, narrated by Spacey's character, and if there's an entertaining way to unfold a crime thriller with plot twists, this is the way to do it. Definite thumbs-up all around.

The greatest assembly of actors ever put in a police lineup (yes, even with THAT Baldwin brother)

[CJ Forward/Reverse Playlist 11192004]

etc
Rock Your Body, Rock, Ferry Corsten
Superman (Its Not Easy), Five For Fighting
Stacy's Mom, Fountains of Wayne
Drive, Incubus
Always On Time, Ja Rule (feat Ashanti)
Thank You, Jamelia
Love Foolosophy, Jamiroquai
All For You, Janet Jackson
Just A Little While, Janet Jackson
Someone To Call My Lover, Janet Jackson
Ain't It Funny, Jennifer Lopez
I'm Real, Jennifer Lopez
Love Don't Cost A Thing, Jennifer Lopez
Play, Jennifer Lopez
A Little Bit, Jessica Simpson
Me, Myself & I, Jive Jones
Tipsy, J-Kwon
Stutter, Joe
Body Hot, Joe
No Such Thing, John Mayer

dvd on tap: Reindeer Games [John Frankenheimer]

C'mon baby, let's do the twist. A mere 2 days before their parole, convicts Rudy (Ben Affleck) and Nick (James Frain) get involved in a cafeteria riot, and Nick is killed. Rudy, true to Affleck form, uses his dick to think instead of his brains, and assumes Nick's identity to hook up with Nick's hot penpal Ashley (Charlize Theron). But apparently, it was a setup for Nick because Ashley's big brother Gabriel (Gary Sinise) wants "Nick" to help them rob a casino managed by the scheming Dennis Farina. At Christmas. In Santa outfits. Hoo-boy. Sinise makes the most out of his role, exuding menace that even dwarfs regular thug-role player Danny Trejo. Without the double-crossing and triple-crossing, this would have ended up even worse than how the critics panned it. This is no Ronin, but hey, i'd watch Charlize play a femme fatale anytime.

Awww. Bennifer scweams like a liddle guuuurl.

[CJ Forward/Reverse Playlist 11182004]

etc
What Would You Do, City High
Yellow, Coldplay
Dreaming of You, The Coral
My Sacrifice, Creed
With Arms Wide Open, Creed
I Can't Read You, Daniel Bedingfield
Never Gonna Leave You, Daniel Bedingfield
Insatiable, Darren Hayes
MF From Hell, The Datsuns
Point of View, DB Boulevard
Bootylicious, Destiny's Child
Independent Woman Pt 1, Destiny's Child
Survivor, Destiny's Child
This Way, Dilated Peoples
Let Me Clear My Throat, DJ Kool
Hero, Enrique Iglesias
Not In Love, Enrique Iglesias
Shake Your Body, Erin Lake
Crazy For This Girl, Evan and Jaron
From My Head to My Heart, Evan and Jaron
Bring Me To Life, Evanescence
Gangsta Lovin', Eve & Alicia Keys
Let Me Blow Ya Mind, Eve (feat Gwen Stefani)
AM Radio, Everclear
What's Luv, Fat Joe (feat Ashanti)

Make It Reel: After The Sunset

Pierce Brosnan heist movie that rolls more with the momentum of uh, Salma Hayek's bootyliciousness. You could do worse for $10 and 100 minutes. Say wait, there's The Incredibles (soon!), The Seed of Chucky (ahahahaha Gina Gershon!!!), or The Polar Express (yeeeeech. Just give me that Chucky thing then).

[CJ Forward/Reverse Playlist 11172004]

etc
Jaded, Aerosmith
A Woman’s Worth, Alicia Keys
Flavor of The Weak, American Hi-Fi
Foolish, Ashanti
Happy, Ashanti
Around The World, ATC
If You Come To Me, Atomic Kitten
Ladies’ Night, Atomic Kitten
Complicated, Avril Lavigne
More Than That, Backstreet Boys
Shape of My Heart, Backstreet Boys
Baby Boy, Beyonce
Work It Out, Beyonce
Crazy In Love, Beyonce feat Jay-Z
The Rock Show, Blink 182
Guilty, Blue
Don’t Let Me Be The Last To Know, Britney Spears
Slave 4 U, Britney Spears
Stronger, Britney Spears
Wherever You Will Go, The Calling
Oh Boy, Cam’ron
The Voice Within, Christina Aguilera
Nobody Can’t Hold Us Down, Christina Aguilera
AM to PM, Christina Milian
Dip It Low, Christina Milian

off...

sick. colds. slept again from 8.30 AM to 1.45 PM. imagine that.

dvd on tap: Face/Off [John Woo]

Quite the novel approach for an action film when it came out in 1997, this was John Woo's coming-out party in the pantheon of Hollywood action movies (Hard Target and Broken Arrow don't count). Basically, you had FBI Agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) going after terrorist Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) - a personal vendetta for Archer for the death of his son. Then even after Troy is incapacitated, Archer has to go undercover to find a chemical bomb planted in L.A.- by exchanging faces with Troy via a revolutionary medical procedure. Problem is, Troy comes out of his coma, figures the whole scheme out and takes Archer's place. And you think you got problems. Cage and Travolta are at their sneering best here, demonstrating their ability to play 3D villainous types (not to mention they had to play both character roles in their own way). The only thing that bugs me here (puh-leaze! this is an action movie. duh.)is the casting of Joan Allen as Archer's wife. She plays the role right, but she doesn't look right. Well anyway, that's not as important as the Hong Kong action style, ballerina gunplay, the white doves, the visual poetry - the elements that Woo made his - and so well at that. Which makes this near the top of my list of favorite action fodder.

"Who do ya got? Patricia Arquette? Lisa Marie Presley?? I got KELLY PRESTON. Eat that."

[CJ Forward/Reverse Playlist 11152004]

Album: Electronic Short Circuit
Snaptrax: Gangster, Idiot Country, Getting Away With It, Get The Message, Reality, Tighten Up, Forbidden City, Dark Angel, Out of My League, If You've Got Love, Second Nature, Until The End of Time
Combines first 2 albums - always a great electro trip

[Playlist 11132004]

Album: South Border Episode III
Snaptrax: Wherever You Are, Rainbow, The Show, Playa
The New P-Funk.

Jersey Gardens

... to look for shoes for people back home. too bad this sucker with a Nokia 6230 didn't send me pics (deleted). useless, or as i tell him, "WKK" (walang kwentang kaibigan). nyhahahaha!

Week 10 Bets

1st and 10 ... Week 10 prognostications (bets in color).
Sunday Games
Chicago at Tennessee ... Can't-do-it vs can-barely-do-it. hmm ... i'll take Air McNair.
Houston at Indianapolis ... it'll be a miracle if the Texans pull this off
Seattle at St. Louis ... Jekyll? or Hyde? Halloween's over, Rams.
Kansas City at New Orleans ... Desperate vs Lazy. hmm ... i'll take Desperate.
Baltimore at NY Jets ... no one mocks Ray and Jets have QC at QB. Uh-oh.
Tampa Bay at Atlanta ... the Battle of the AFC South
Pittsburgh at Cleveland ... the Battle of the AFC North
Detroit at Jacksonville ... hope Garrard is a mini-Leftwich
Cincinnati at Washington ... peg the Bengals for 5th road loss
Minnesota at Green Bay ... more fireworks at Lambeau
NY Giants at Arizona ... Jints, this is the Cardinals. THE Cardinals.
Carolina at San Francisco ... i pity Jake The Man
Buffalo at New England ... Bledsoe must be bitter walking through Gillette Stadium
Monday Night Football
Philadelphia at Dallas ... let's see T.O. do another Star-dance, and have a full brawl

last week: 9/14  64.2% (hooohaaa)
Overall: 76/130   58.5%
Road:   34-31
Home:  42-23

dvd on tap: Primal Fear [Gregory Hoblit]

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES
A Catholic bishop is found butchered in cold blood, and the suspect is an altar boy who by all counts, seems innocent. Former state prosecutor and notorious defense attorney Martin Vail (Richard Gere) takes the case, for both selfish and unselfish reasons. He's pitted against his on-off lover Janet Venable (Laura Linney), who's prosecuting for his political enemies. In what's considered an open-and-shut case, Vail has to pull out all the stops to defend his client, Aaron Stampler (a groundbreaking role for Edward Norton), whom he belatedly discovers has a split personality - a remorseless murderer named Roy - but cannot change their plea during the trial. He therefore has to force the killer to reveal himself - which he does in the climactic courtroom scene - before one final stunning twist. Recommended to me years ago (i still recall the particular conversation), i read the William Diehl book first, then managed to finally watch it. Also of interest to me, that it manages to cast 3 interesting actresses in one film - Linney, Maura Tierney (as Vail's assistant) and Frances McDormand (as the psychiatrist).

"You're sick, Norton - you're wacko. You say you created this Fight Club with Brad Pitt?"

dvd on tap: The Devil's Advocate [Taylor Hackford]

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES
I swear Keanu Reeves almost showed some emotion here. Almost. This guy's lucky - despite obvious lack of acting skills, he impossibly gets some of the most memorable roles in cinema (thank God for agents!). So, as hotshot Florida lawyer Kevin Lomax, he gets recruited by a powerful New York law firm headed by the devilishly-charismatic John Milton (done with guilty pleasure by Al Pacino). The move to high life has its initial thrills, as experienced by Kevin's wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron in her breakout role), but things go downhill as supernatural events occur and Kevin is drawn more and more into defending the scum of the earth in the courtroom. Pacino definitely carries the film and delivers all the great quotables. In the end, Kevin has to beat the Devil in his own game - oh, the irony. Say, maybe Keanu made a deal with him to be so lucky?

"Acting skills?? Who needs acting skills?? I look great. And rich."

dvd on tap: Texas Chainsaw Massacre[Marcus Nispel ]

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES
As remakes go, this again goes either way with horror movie fans, especially the loyalists to the Tobe Hooper original. Several elements have been changed, though this 2003 version ups the gore ante for more shock value. Basic premise is the same: a group of five young people pass through a little-known Texas town and promptly gets terrorized and chopped up by the town's psychotic residents - the main boogeyman, of course, being the infamous chainsaw-wielding Leatherface. Jessica Biel leads the new group screaming her head off, and for extra appeal, runs around in a sweaty tight tank top. That probably already accounted for half of the ticket sales.

The group wasn't sure why their hitchhiker needed a hole in her head.

dvd on tap: El Espinado Del Diablo [Guillermo Del Toro]

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES
Not your usual ghost movie, The Devil's Backbone weaves an actual backstory and a premise for the presence of a ghost that holds water. In the middle of the Spanish Civil War, young Carlos (Fernando Tielve) is brought to an out-of-way orphanage by his guardians. He quickly befriends most of the boys but has to take his knocks standing up to de facto leader/bully Jaime (Íñigo Garcés). The school's administrators, Carmen (Marisa Paredes) and Dr. Casares (Federico Luppi) reluctantly take Carlos in, owing to budgetary constraints and dwindling resources (they secretly support the Communist movement and are rumored to have a hoard of gold). This reputed treasure is what drives school handyman Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega) to hang around (and be Carmen's lover) - though he is hiding some deadly secret of his own. Where does the ghost figure in all of these? Ah, a young boy, Santi (Junio Valverde), seems to have died awhile back under mysterious circumstances and has been incessantly haunting the children at odd times, and now Carlos has been the favored 'hauntee'. This, plus the schoolyard's unusual fixture, a defused bomb that didn't go off when it landed there during a bombing raid, raises omens for bad times ahead. Luckily, Carlos is made of sterner stuff, and forming an alliance with Jaime, manages to solve the mystery despite losing his mentors. A labor of love by Del Toro, who's slowly becoming the master of dramatic thrillers that come across as intelligent and scary.

"Now THAT . . . is Da BOMB!"

dvd on tap: Psycho [Gus Van Sant]

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES
As it is, the original Alfred Hitchcock film had a better effect in the 60s than this remake would have had in the 90s. Van Sant updates the ... wait, there are no updates (does the jack-off scene count?). Its still the embezzling employee (Anne Heche - boy, anything her Marion Crane character did fit her to a T *s*), the loverboy (Viggo Mortensen), the concerned sister (Julianne Moore), the snoopy detective (William H Macy), and of course, Master, er ... Norman Bates himself (played a bit fey-ly by Vince Vaughn). The widely-recognized instrumental theme (the infamous shower scene) is also used to full effect. Newbies will probably be scared but not that much, considering this violence-desensitized society. Just an okay remake.

"Who the hell stabbed me - - Ellen?? YOU?!?!

: : STATIC : :
| VOL. 0010 |

Aha. So i promptly missed the second installment of Static. I knew i would suck at this *lol*. Well, you know, if people just stayed home blogging, they'll run out of things to blog.

iBox (or what i saw on TV this week)
Desperate Housewives - Hot Gabrielle has her suspicious mother-in-law trailing her but she manages to get her arrested in a shopping mall. That was after her husband beats the crap out of the wrong suspect: gay cable guy. Lynette's twins seem to have ADD and have trouble getting accepted at a private school (donations? bah humbug!). Susan gets back at that blackmailing sleaze Mrs Huber and finally makes it with plumber Mike (who's harboring some deadly secret. criminal or undercover cop?). Bree's tough love with her son (fishing him out of a strip club) works wonders, but her marital troubles is still percolating. But no new details on why Mary Alice killed herself.
Boston Legal - Every episode is a fascinating exercise on watching how James Spader makes you want him to be your lawyer. And speaking of minimal-acting-with-maximum effect, William Shatner manages to convey a deteriorating Denny Crane (who may or may not have Alzheimer's). Call them the Mr. Deadpans.
Lost ("House of the Rising Sun" and "The Moth")- More on the Korean couple - Sun actually speaks English but she's keeping it from her husband. Meanwhile, half of the group move into the cave with the spring, and Jack promptly gets buried in a cave-in. To the rescue: "rock god" Charlie, who finally manages to kick his drug habit and believe in something greater than himself. For the cliffhanger, someone knocks Sayid out as he tries his transmitter.
The Apprentice 2 - Another day, another firing. Raj even hits on the receptionist on the way out *lol*
E.R. ("An Intern's Guide to the Galaxy") - Just 1 new episode for the fortnight. Its amusing to have Ray Barnett have the nurses eating out of the palm of his hand to grease things around the hospital (i thought donuts only worked for cops). Also, why am i fascinated with Abby? And that geeko Dr Dubenko is a little ... off.
CSI NY - Naked sushi! Where the hell is that restaurant? And what can you find 700 feet below Manhattan? A murder mystery. Actually, its the waterworks.

---

No Biz Like ...

Yoko Ono has the #1 Dance song in the US? YOKO FREAKIN' ONO???

Ashlee Simpson walks off SNL set because of lip-synch booboo. She's not the first to get burned, nor will she be the last. And its fun to watch catty rivals. They may laugh all the way to the bank, so let's have some laughs at their expense *heehee - snort*

The New Bennifer (BenGar!?) debuts at Fenway park! Ick. And to think i liked her dimples. And Alias. And 13 Going On 30. Dump that loser!!! *s*


Shameless: the Rev(olting) Al Sharpton has his own reality TV show: "I Hate My Job."

Leo regrets going down in Titanic, would rather go down on ... (ah shut it).

AJ: the Sexiest Woman Alive. Esquire's not too far off.

"I could tell that my parents hated me. My bath toys were a toaster and a radio."
"A girl phoned me and said, 'Come on over, there's nobody home.' I went over. Nobody was home."
"I'm a bad lover. Once I caught a peeping tom booing me."
"I stuck my head out the window and got arrested for mooning."
"I met the surgeon general. He offered me a cigarette!"
RIP: Rodney Dangerfield (1921 - 2004)

---

CoolStuff (via Gizmodo/Endgadget and other RSS feeds)

Its unfair! CJ's just 2 years old and she's geriatric!! (http://www.apple.com/ipodphoto/)

On the other hand, here's a good reflection on the iPod culture.

But it doesn't work in the subway!!! *lol* (voltaic backpack)

Your shirt ROCKS!

Mahjongers of the world, unite.

yep, they need this shit in Joisey.

Your Barbie is Chinese!!!

Wanna check to see if your Starbucks has been shot? *s*

What th-? I stumbled across the word "hypermammiferous" and it led me to the Urban Dictionary (it means umm ... malaki ang hinaharap)

Circuit Sex (http://www.livejournal.com/users/mcsdwarken/168342.html)

Break down the Gates! (http://www.spreadfirefox.com/)

---

Current Pulp(s) on Hand: Doublespeak (Why No One Knows What Anyone's Saying Anymore) by William Lutz - As a huge fan of language *lol* this book is a humorous read even though its a bit dated (deep into Reagan-Bush transition era). Doublespeak was coined to define how language is subverted to suit one's own intentions by masking its real meaning. Doublespeak does filter into our daily lives - from simple advertisements to the arena of economics and law - that we should be aware what one is really saying. Lutz saves a lot of his vitriol for politics, an "... area of our lives which should be free of doublespeak ... for what can be more important than the language we use to conduct the affairs of our nation?" Doublespeak is language pretending to communicate but doesn't, avoids responsibility by shifting it, and conceals and limits real thoughts. Lutz covers a lot of ground and is quite enlightening. It made me a little bit more conscious of how the talking heads on TV string descriptions (which in a way is their perception of that reality - and may or may not be what it really is) or words on a website are phrased, and what they really mean:

passenger facility charge = tax
revenue enhancement = tax increase
senior congregate community for the chronologically gifted = retirement home
reality augmentation = lies
single use = disposable
mental activity at the margins = insanity

Heck, i hope i didn't use doublespeak in this paragraph! Donald Trump probably is a straight shooter, because he doesn't say "You're Uninstalled!"

Myths of the Ancient Greeks by Richard P Martin - Love, sex, murder, jealousy, heroism, revenge, manipulation, goddesses and mortals - what's not to like? *lol*

Spin, Spin, Whiskey and Gin: CJ is set to the '80s. My fingers can't seem to switch albums *s*

---

uThoughts:
New presidency, same president. East and Left Coasts were Kerryland but the bulk were the Heartland states who definitely were leery of liberals. W, you'd better make the next 4 an improvement from the last 4. And its funny that little things spawn into a hilarious exchange between the 2 camps (a.k.a. my boss Joe vs our ex-employee J-So), with me representing the peanut gallery.

Election Day 2004. J-So sends a link for a USB flash drive to Joe, and Joe sends his own back. Email exchange follows (no edits):

J-So: What the hell are you smoking??? The one I showed you is for $56 and you show me the same thing at J&R for $99???? Hombre, Que Pasa Pendejo???

Joe: Don't be a fucking liberal idiot. Your piece of shit was NOT USB2.0.

Me: lets all laugh on Wednesday's lunch session.

J-So: Just like a damn Republican trying to pull the wool over our eyes! Read the Fine Print Dammit! What the fuck! Is J&R Owned by Haliburton or Cheney... oh wait a minute aren't they the same??? A copy of the product description has been added below for your comfort and ease of making the right decision like you should be doing at the election polls today too!!!

(a scrutiny of the details indeed show that the specs for both mention USB2.0)

Me: who wants to breakout in a Ray Lewis dance ala- Terrell Owens?

J-So: We need a better Medical Care System which can allow for some to get GLASSES!!! VOTE DEMOCRATIC!!!!!! VOTE DEMOCRATIC!!!!! VOTE DEMOCRATIC!!!!!!

Me: democratic? i thought it was "Democrat?" if you said 'democratic', then the other side would be "republicanic?" isn't this country already democratic?

Not B-Ads: NFL Network which feature players in spoof shows like dance and trivia contests ... Miller referee flagging non-Miller drinkers for silly violations ... SBC linemen mimicking touchdown signals ... Circuit City for the tech-challenged ... Capitol One Island Getaway (rescuers lands on deserted island because of bonfire and an inert man on ground, inert man suddenly jumps up and laughs at the rescuers, while pulling off fake beard, wife emerges from bushes with camera and the couple laugh uproariously at the prank).

I've cancelled my Picturetrail account. It isn't cost-efficient (you don't even have a "Cancel Account" link). So I'm looking to transfer it to PBase. Am also cancelling my Netflix this week. Too much DVD backlog. See ya next year.

---

Balls Deep:
If you don't feel that American Football is also geeky (forget the jocks and the cheeseheads and the Raider Nation), you should browse http://www.footballoutsiders.com. Serious shit. Its terrifying *s*. And I'm a frequent visitor.

NBA season starts. TMac and Yao are 0-2, the Magic win their opener with a squeaker. Kobe starts his campaign to be numero uno, and the Heat are 2-0.

1st and 10 ... Week 9 prognostications (bets in color).
Sunday Games

NY Jets at Buffalo ... J!E!T!S! Jets! Jets! Jets!
Dallas at Cincinnati ... ah crap. i'll just go with the tigers cause i don't like the 'Boys
Washington at Detroit ... the Lions should win this if they can control Portis
Arizona at Miami ... this could end up 6-3 in favor of ...
Philadelphia at Pittsburgh ... Big Ben all the way!
Kansas City at Tampa Bay ... Chiefs should easily win this with their front 4.
Oakland at Carolina ... even the Raiders ain't stupid enough to let this slip
New Orleans at San Diego ... it'll be a Brees
Seattle at San Francisco ... the 49ers are tanking it
Chicago at NY Giants ... how many yards will Tiki rush for today?
New England at St. Louis ... now that that streak thing is over, expect the Pats to be revitalized
Houston at Denver ... wouldn't it be sweet to win in the House of Shanahan (that Elway built anyway)
Cleveland at Baltimore ... Ray is mad and Jamal is back
Monday Night Football
Minnesota at Indianapolis ... gonna be another shootout. even without Randy Moss. take cover!

last week: 6/14 42.8% (yikes)
Overall: 67/116 57.8%
Road: 30-28
Home: 37-21
Squeeze Da Fish(bets in color).
Thanks to the Scarpelli family (the First Family of NY Jets Football) for my first MNF!

Make It Reel: Saw

did you see SAW? no, i went to the swing. lame jokes aside, i saw SAW (nyahahahahahah) - a critically-bashed (split opinions actually) but good-word-of-mouth horror/thriller that opened last weekend. i don't know why the critics are so upset - is it because they can't take gore anymore or did they see the ending coming five minutes into the film, or were they mad they didn't see the ending coming? ah, you can't please anyone these days. everyone's an armchair director. i personally enjoyed having question marks in my head (i don't friggin' care about the bad acting - what do you think this is? an Oscar entry? duh.). writer/actor Leigh Wannell swipes from the sick Japanese horror style and wins points for making an interesting whodunit that deviates from the usual slash-chase-slash type. budget concerns probably forced the producers to hand the directorial reins to a rookie, James Wan, but hey, not too bad. I'd still rate this higher than The Grudge (which is a remake) and the M. Night SHAM-alan turkey The Village.

dvd on tap: Iki-Jigoku [Shugo Fujii]

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES
Americans practically defined and owned the horror genre in the 70s, especially with such classics as The Exorcist, The Omen, Stephen King novels/adaptations and the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Decades later, with a few exceptions, the majority of their output were slasher/gore flicks that provided mere cheap thrills and visual titillation. In the meantime, in a reflection of the times, who were the copycats who eventually redefined and made the genre their own? Why, the Japanese of course. They're such good students of the Hitchcockian style, and plus with their sick imagination (no offense. really.), they're the ones being copied (why else would Hollywood produce versions of The Ring and The Grudge?). Their low-budget films, with no-name actors and minimal effects, manage to put a scare on audiences despite such limitations because they emphasize on atmosphere and visual imagery (they've perfected the "hair stare" - malevolent eyes intensely looking from under strands of hair). And they can butcher with the best of 'em. In Living Hell, a family welcomes an old woman and her mute(?) granddaughter, apparently distant relatives. Yasuhito, the wheelchair-bound youngest sibling suspects something is wrong with the duo - and pretty much soon he is being tortured both physically and psychologically by their strange guests (and his family poo-poohs his terrified claims). Apparently, the pair were connected to a gruesome massacre a year before, but no one knows the better except for a nosy reporter (yes, Japan has its Keystone cops as well. In fact, they never make it back to the screen after the opening sequence). The reporter, Mitsu (played by the director himself), stumbles into the truth (there are a lot - and they're all twisted - so if they ever make an American version of this, it'll be severely toned down), and pays the reaper. Not for the squeamish, and great for those late night slumber parties.

All hail, the Lola from Hell

dvd on tap: From Hell [The Hughes Brothers]

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES
Adapted from the graphic novel by renowned comics writer Alan Moore, the Hughes Brothers bring style and flair to its depiction of what really happened during those 1888 Whitechapel murders (read: Jack The Ripper). Inspector Abberline (Johnny Depp), a police officer fond of "chasing the dragon" (an euphemism for smoking opium), is tasked to find out who is murdering the "unfortunates" (a euphemism for hookers) in London's Whitechapel district. Abberline's predelictions is overlooked mainly due to his unconventional methods of delving into the criminal mind, and uncanny foresight from opium-induced "visions." Abberline suspects that the murders are part of a conspiracy that stretches from the streets and way up into Buckingham Palace, a premise with potentially controversial consequences that his Sergeant Peter Godley (Robbie Coltrane) cautions him from taking too seriously. Of course, in this kind of movie you need a damsel in distress - Heather Graham is Mary Kelly, the last remaining hooker, i mean target. Quite an entertaining ride (note the Hollywood-style car crash, circa 1888), nice atmosphere and visuals, and ends plausibly. It could be what really happened - you never know.

"I'm going to smoke pot all day - keep the cameras rolling."

dvd on tap: Bram Stoker's Dracula [Francis Ford Coppola]

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES
Halloween night should, fittingly, have the lord of the vampires as your companion. At least on TV. I haven't read the original Bram Stoker novel, but allegedly this film was unfaithful to it. Maybe because literary works don't necessarily translate well to the cineplex? Anyway, Coppola crafts an engrossing 2 hour tale of Vlad the Impaler, Christian crusader who eschews the faith and renounces God when his wife Elisabetta commits suicide because of false news about his death. Fast forward four centuries later, uptight real estate lawyer Jonathan Harker (an always wooden Keanu Reeves) is summoned to Transylvania to finalize the Count's purchase of several London houses. Noticing that Jonathan's fiancee Mina Murray (Winona Ryder) is a dead ringer for his uh, dead wife, the Count goes after her in his own style. Gary Oldman, in one of his best roles, provides the meat of the movie as Dracula, while Anthony Hopkins plays catch-up as the vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing.

"Obi-Wan Keanu, you are my only hope."