Hulk, Dark Knight, Sarah Lane and Guide to Cat Videos

Second Incredible Hulk Trailer - Another trailer for Hulk that shows a lot more action and gives greater detail on what the plot is about. Make sure to listen to the music at the end as it reprises the Incredible Hulk TV Theme. HD versions of the trailer at the link above.

Guillermo del Toro On Hobbit Movies - The handpicked successor to Peter Jackson discusses some of his plans for the Hobbit films which he will begin work on in the summer. Pretty interesting piece.

Bootleg Dark Knight Trailer - A Joker-fied second trailer for The Dark Knight that premiered in select cities for audience members that where willing to meet at certain locations in a few cities worldwide. The quality is the result of a camera phone.

INXS Lib Dub By Revision 3 Crew - I am a big fan of the old TechTV crew who have gone on to create many entertainment websites (revision3, TWit, Digg). One of my favorites is the lovely Sarah Lane who participates in this cute video with the rest of her workmates as they "sing" Need You Tonight by INXS.

An Engineer's Guild To Cats - An amusing video that provides just what the title says. A cat guy myself, I was nodding to the accuracy of much of the information.

Miley Cyrus "Topless", Iron Man Reviews, Indiana 4 Spot, and Dark Knight Posters

Miley Cyrus Picture Controversy - 15 year old Miley Cyrus is in the news for a "topless" photo shoot for Vanity Fair. The pictures suggest that Miley isn't clothed at all even though the behind the scents pics show otherwise. Currently she and the magazine are getting crap for sexualizing the 15 year old. Last I checked most people, children or adult, do not become famous for just their talent, usually it’s also because they look good to and she is no exception. At 15 she is showing that by the time she turns 18 she will have few equals in the looks department. Until she is legal I will keep her off my radar. I am sure that Vanity Fair absolutely loves the controversy and it can't hurt Cyrus either because it will pop her on the radar of people like me that does not keep up with what the Nickelodeon crowd likes.

Iron Man Reviews - The press got an early screening of the movie and some reviews are now available online. AICN loved it with no complaints, Dark Horizons enjoyed it but thought that it "falls back on some tired and dubious material" and Newsarama also enjoyed it comparing it favorably to X-Men 2.

Indiana Jones 4 TV Spot - Indiana is coming and the TV spots have started. It shows mostly scenes from the trailer with small snippets of new footage.


The Dark Knight Posters - Five new posters for The Dark Knight. The site itself is in Spanish I think but the images themselves are easy enough to pick out.

Star Wars Retrospective IV

Covers the growth of the LucasArts brand and the emergence of Star Wars flight sims and other PC games for the franchise.

Mario Kart Wii Deals and Reviews

Mario Kart Wii is out today. It’s just like the other versions so I expect it to be fun. Even better it has online worldwide multiplayer so even better. You have probably already decided if your going to buy it or not, but just in case below are a few online reviews and deals that the major retailers have for the first week release of the game.

Reviews
IGN (85/100) - Like it, basically subtracted points for being more of the same.
GameTrailers (84/100) - Likes the bike, tricks and online play.
GameTap (80/100) - Like the online multiplayer, enjoyed the game overall, and again doesn't like the lack of new innovations in the franchise.

Deals
Best Buy - game is $50, extra wheels are $10 each (rather then MSRP of $15). Will have limited supply of Wii consoles available.
Toys R Us - game is $50, game guide is 50% off with purchase. Also 7 crappy Wii games are 50% off with purchase. Will have Wii consoles available but have been taking pre-order downpayments on them for the last week so will probably have a limited supply for walk-ins.
Target - game is $50. Will have limited supply of Wii console available.
Circuit City - game is $50. Will have limited supply of Wii console available.

Overall your best deal is with Toys R Us. If your looking to get a console with the game and then make sure to go to one of the local stores at least 2 hours before they open and bring something to do cause its really boring waiting.

Baby Mama, Deception, Forbidden Kingdom,

Baby Mama
Cute movie staring Tina Fey (30 Rock) who seeks out Amy Poehler (SNL) to be her surrogate when she is unable to have a baby or adopt (because single). Problems, hilarity and junk ensue. The movie is entertaining enough, a few chuckles, no laugh out loud moments for me. It’s one you enjoy while watching and then forget about before you even reach your car. Good date movie but otherwise see it as a matinee.

Deception
Excellent cast can not redeem this incredibly slow moving movie. Everything takes a long time to occur with many useless details that add nothing to the story. Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman are wasted. They could have done these roles in their sleep. Michelle Williams has simply never looked better, taking the Kate Beckinsale school for looking sexy (longer hair, better makeup), but really her role could have been played by any random woman in Hollywood. The idea of the story would have made a good Law & Order episode but that’s about all. The cast will lure you to watch this movie, but don't. Even seeing Maggie Q in see-through lingerie isn't worth it. It’s just too slow, predictable and boring. If you’re determined to see it, wait until it’s free on cable TV and even then I wouldn't bother.

Forbidden Kingdom
Fun, action filled movie. It’s basically the typical quest movie where the unexpected hero must gather friends and go defeat the evil overlord. Jet Li and Jackie Chan do their usual excellent acrobatics (with help of wirework) and kung fu. The action sequences are well executed. It’s just a generally entertaining film for all ages. Don't go in expecting anything but action and you should be good to go. See it with friends or family.

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
If you liked the first Harold & Kumar then you will like the sequel. If you didn't, then you will not like this one. It’s an amusing film, but it didn't do much for me. It had its smile moments. Few laugh out loud moments. The movie was at its best when they duo hooked up with Neil Patrick Harris but started deflating after that. See it as a matinee if you’re really curious but otherwise it is a renter.

Hobbit, Slingshot, Supreme Court and Tanya Andersen

Del Toro Officially Set for Hobbit Films - New Line Cinema has announced that Guillermo del Toro has signed on to direct the Hobbit and its sequel. The filmmaker will move to New Zealand and work with Peter Jackson on the 4 year project. Del Toro is the handpicked choice by Jackson for the film. This should also scuttle any chances for a Hellboy III any time soon. The hope is to get the first film out around 2010.

Kamen Introduces the Slingshot - Previously called the Vapor Compression Distiller when first introduced on the Colbert Report a few months ago, the machine is now officially called the Slingshot. The machine is designed for 3rd world countries and claims to be produce clean water from any water source, dirty or not. The device uses no filters, costs $1000 to $2000 and can also produce enough electricity for 70 energy efficient light bulbs. I still think it uses pressure at a certain setting that vaporizes water, and only water, leaving behind the unwanted impurities.


Boston Legal Trashes the Supreme Court - The legal show does it again, this time taking the Supreme Court to task over its politics which drive the court rather then the legal which mostly seems irrelevant to the court in this day and age. Really, on any given issue, it’s not even a question of how the court will go as the five conservatives are always going to vote as a block and align 100% percent with republican values. It’s really just a question on what the other 4 will do. At this point I don't know why anyone bothers to bring a case to them since it’s decided before they even show up.


Profile on Tanya Andersen - You may not know her name but she is taking the fight to the RIAA for its tactics and secrecy over the last few years at it attempts to buffer its lagging profits via unjustified lawsuits and fear mongering. So far she is winning. Worth a read.

Movies Trailers and Other Junk

Da Vinci Code Sequel Sidekick - The lovely Ayelet Zurer, recently Munich and Vantage Point, has been cast as the female lead in Angels and Demons. The movie is a sequel of the Da Vinci Code. Book order wise it was the prequel.

Three Iron Man TV Spots - Click the link to find three new spots for Iron Man. Like most spots of this nature, its mostly reused footage from the trailers with milliseconds of new. Also, the release date of the movie has been moved to May 1st, usually around 8:00pm.

Second Prince Caspian Trailer - A new trailer for the May 16 release of Prince Caspian.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Trailer


The Spirit Teaser Trailer - A teaser trailer for a movie coming out next year called the Spirit. Its based on a comic book series by Will Eisner . Even though the trailer looks like Sin City, the character is actually more like Batman-lite. Usually a teaser makes you curious about movie, this one does nothing for me.

Stargate Continuum Trailer - The trailer for the upcoming direct to DVD release of the second Stargate SG-1 movie. I am a fan of the show so will probably get it on day one. Plus I think Amanda Tapping (Samantha Carter) is hot. The DVD comes out July 29th.


From The Earth To The Moon Spider Theme - If you have watched the HBO mini-series that dramatizes the quest for the moon then you know what an excellent series the show is. Sadly the soundtrack release with the DVD sets is pretty bad. On the plus side, thanks to Flying Dreams, I was able to find the score to one of the theme songs for my favorite hour of the series, Spider. The score is by Mason Daring. Click the link to hear it.

Danica, Tetris Movie, The Real Jessica Rabbit, Gordon Lee Case, and Moon Bloodgood

Danica Patrick Victory - After four years of racing, the lovely and advertising friendly Danica Patrick finally took first place in an IndyCar race, making her the first female ever to do so. She achieved the victory Saturday in the Indy Japan 300. I congratulate her but I can't help but wonder if she had not been so beautiful, would she had really been given the opportunity to begin with and 4 years to do what most racers are expected to do at least once a year?

Tetris The Movie - A fan made trailer that is actually well done and a bit unique take on how a movie could be done on the legendary game.

The Real Jessica Rabbit - A view of what Jessica Rabbit would look like if she was realistically rendered. The result is an image that is both sexy and disturbing at the same time.

Gordon Lee Case Dismissed - After 4 years, thousands and thousands of tax payers dollars wasted, the comic book related case against Gordon Lee has been dismissed. Click the link for a history but suffice it to say the case is basically the result of the Rome, GA district attorney Leigh Patterson trying to kow tow to his constituents by pretending to be tough on crimes that might harm minors and then turned into a legal clusterf$#@ of mistakes that included misconduct on the part of his office. Since it’s an election year for Patterson and misconduct charges would have damaged his chances of re-election, it’s no surprise of why it was dropped. If I was a resident of Rome GA, my question would be if this case was so important as to waste my tax dollars, why did he let a little threat like that deter is quest for justice...unless justice had nothing to do with the case. The man is unfit to be DA and I hope (but doubt) that he will lose the election.

Moon Bloodgood Joins Terminator - A personal crush of mine, Moon Bloodgood, has joined the planned Terminator Salvation movie. She recently came from the cancelled but excellent Journeyman. Her role will be a battle-hardened resistance fighter along with the rest of cast. Probably becomes a love interest for one of them, I assume John Connor. With her involvement, my interest in this movie went up a few notches.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall Review

It’s hard to like a movie that opens and closes on male nudity. There is a reason it’s not used often in films, it simply makes people uncomfortable of both sexes and the reactions of people in the audience I saw the movie with were no different.

The movie is the usual romance movie only done in the over the top Apatow style. Boy (How I Met Your Mother's Peter Segel) loses girl (Veronica Mar's Kristen Bell), boy goes slightly nuts so goes to Hawaii to straighten his head. Boy stumbles across ex and meets a new girl (That 70's Show Mila Kunis). Hijacks ensue.

I wanted to see the movie because of the cast, being a fan of all three and harboring a crush on the stunning Kristen Bell. The cast does an excellent job, especially Kunis who not only has never looked better but comes across as an extremely appealing woman. You can see why someone would want to trade out Bell for her.

The main problem with the movie is the jokes and the ending. As is often the case with movies of this type, things get too silly to the point of taking you completely out of the movie. The movie clicks anytime the main cast is on screen. It also clicks with when 30 Rock's Jack McBrayer is doing anything. However a tremendous amount of time is wasted on a one note gay joke from Superbad's Jonah Hill. He continues to mine his awkward fat gay guy routine and the result is simply boring. Also the ending involving a puppet show is so beyond silly you can actually feel your brain cells die as you watch it. When a truly funny moment occurs, it’s great. The problem is they are far and few between. For a comedy I was checking my watch entirely too often.

Overall this film is watchable, probably good as a date movie, but overall I say save your bucks and toss it on your Netflix queue.

88 Minutes Review

88 Minutes in the commercials comes across as an action packed tense filled adventure. The reality is very much the opposite. I think a large part of the problem is in the execution of the movie. The movie is about Dr. Jack Gramm (Al Pacino, playing himself again) as he attempts to thwart his predicted death and frame up. Helping him is a treasure trove of lovely woman with Alicia Witt (looking good, short red hair not doing her any favors), LeeLee Sobieski (also yums), Amy Brenneman, and Deborah Kara Unger (reminding you that the liberian look can be sexy). The bad guy is serial killer/rapist Jon Foster played by Neal McDonough who is using an agent on the outside to frame the good doctor for killing that make it seems like he was innocent of the crimes he was convicted for. It all sounds really interesting except I solved the who of the movie literally 10 seconds after the character was properly introduced because it came across as such a clear diversion.

Any case the movie has lots of lovely eye candy, the core idea sounds interesting, but in the execution you have a lot of phone calls, lots of talking but really not a lot going on. The film focused more on the "mystery" of who was doing the killing and less on a fight for survival. The tension never developed because the lead character was never in danger (after all why countdown to his death if going to kill him before then). I think if the movie had focused on putting the lovely woman around him in mortal danger and less on the frame-up the movie might have moved along better. Instead it was vaguely interesting but not worth the high cost of admission. Save your money and just add it to the Netflix queue.

Star Wars Retrospective III

Gametrailers.com continues the retrospective. Below is part III.

GI Joe Cast, X-Files Plot, Winslow, Elevators and Tom Lehrer

Cast of GI Joe In Costume - A bunch of images of the main cast in their costumes has hit the web. Overall, the costumes are not bad at all. The costumes follow the precedent set by X-Men with lots of black and leather so as to not look silly. Personally I am surprised at the now brunette Sienna Miller (Baroness). She is looking absolutely hot and should consider sticking with that hair color for a while. But a Baroness without black rimmed glasses is incomplete at best. Click the link for the gallery.

X-Files 2 Plot Details - Based off the novelization of the movie, it appears that ex-FBI agents Mulder and Scully are drafted to investigate the odd disappearances of woman in Virginia. Sounds like a regular episode writ large.

Michael Winslow Does Star Wars - The man of a thousand sounds does a scene from Star Wars. It begins about two minutes into the video (first part related to a bathroom break).


Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe: The Game - A trailer is available that shows Batman and Sub-Zero going at it. It’s apparently a real game that is coming out towards the end of the year. Considering how bloody (Fatalities) the Mortal Kombat franchise has been over the years, I expect the combination will result in a safer more PG-13 game. Shame too, wouldn't mind seeing the beheading of Batman or Superman. Click the link to see the trailer.

Elevator Facts - After combing through a New York Times article, Gizmodo came up with bunch of useful facts about elevators including the reality that the close button doesn't even work, just there to make people feel more in control.

Google Homage to Tom Lehrer - Google blogs about Tom Lehrer, who turned 80 this week. He is a source of inspiration for Google VP Jonathan Rosenberg and is probably someone you are more familiar with then you realize. He is probably most famous for "The Element Song" but as the link shows, he has done plenty of other songs that are noteworthy and part of pop culture in various ways.

Scarlett, X-Files, Film Links and an Ex-Scientologist

GI Joe's Scarlett - Production pic of the lovely Rachel Nichols in her Scarlett costume for the upcoming movie. She is looking smoking hot as always.

Nintendo Denies New DS Rumors - The other day a rumor started that a third generation of the Nintendo DS was in the works and would be announced at E3. Nintendo is saying it’s not true and has no idea where the rumor started from.

X-File Sequel Named - The official name of the X-Files sequel is "The X-Files: I Want to Believe". ""It's a story that involves the difficulties in mediating faith and science. `I Want to Believe.' It really does suggest Mulder's struggle with his faith" says Chris Carter." I think I will just stick with X-Files 2.

Batman, Indiana Jones Running Time - The running time of Indiana Jones 4 is said to be 140 minutes long. The previous movie, Last Crusade, was 127 minutes. The Dark Knight will 150 minutes long, 10 minutes longer then Batman Begins. Personally I have no problem with the extra length if the result is good entertainment. It’s always a mixed bag because some films do too much in too little time and sometimes films do to little in too much time. I have little concerns of that being the case with these two films.

Jason Geghe Discusses Scientology - The actor, usually seen in guest roles on multiple TV programs, discusses the practice of Scientology from the perspective of someone who was once a member but no longer is.

Two Deaths, Mods and a Clone Wars Trailer

Ollie Johnston Dead At 95 - He was one of Disney's "Nine Old Men" who where instrumental in Disney's early animated films and their success. He worked on Snow White, Fantasia, Bambi, Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians, Mary Poppins, and many others. If there is a Disney classic you love, chances are his name is in the credits somewhere. As a result of his work (and the other "9") and books, his influence continues into current animation efforts. He was a legend of his field.

Turn iPod Touch Into an iPhone Sorta - Use the link for instructions. Basically it adds VOIP software to a jail broken Touch so if the iPod doesn't have internet access then the phone portion will not work. Really this is only useful if you work at a place that has open wireless internet access.

Monk's Stanley Kamel Dead - Even if the name doesn't mean anything, the face probably does as he has play many roles in his long career. He has appeared on Beverly Hills 90210, Hill Street blues, LA Law and most recently as the psychiatrist to Monk. Cause of death is unknown, he was 65.

Star Wars The Clone Wars Trailer - Click the link for the video of the upcoming CGI series that takes place between Episode II and III of the films. Consider it a sort of season 2 of the Cartoon Network series.

Super Genintari - A 4 in 1 console that plays Atari 2600, Nintendo, Super Nintendo and Genesis Games all in one modded package. It’s ugly but functional and not for sale.

Operation Reconnect April 12th

"Anonymous" is preparing for another protest of Scientology's methods, this time for tomorrow April 12th. The protest is worldwide and called Operation Reconnect. The name is a counter to Scientology's "disconnect" program which is really a fancy name for what is usually one of the first thing a cult does, which is remove members from outside influences of family and friends. Its why many cults have compounds, the idea being that since the cult's practices usually are unable to withstand critical scrutiny, its best to reduce the number of available influences that may "turn" the new member against them.

The result of this practice is usually destroyed families and children turn on their parents for the cult or parents abandon their children for the cult. In effect, the "disconnect" policy is forcing their members to choose between the religion or their loved ones if they are not members themselves. It is a classic sign of any cult and part of why why calling Scientology a religion is incorrect.

To participate in the protest, click here for locations in your area. Below are links to the various videos that explain Operation Reconnect and provide background on why the protests are occuring at all.

Operation Reconnect


Road to 2/10

ROAD TO FEBRUARY 10, 2008 - FINAL VERSION
Uploaded by SA-Anonymous

Project Chanology

PS3 Portable, Iron Man, 3rd Gen DS and Ellen Page

Playstation 3 Portable - Ben Heckendorn strikes again, this time putting together a laptop version of the PS3. The sucker is week. Check the link for the details and more pictures. You can also see it in action with a video here. Engadget will be doing a charity auction for the laptop next week (details being worked out).

12 Ways to Prepare for a Depression - A slightly tongue in cheek link that indicates how to prepare for a possible depression and just generally good goals. More or less it comes down to minimize debt, get out of debt, pay off your house and don't build new debt. Oh and get a power generator.

Another Iron Man TV Spot - This movie is looking sweet. Can't wait.

Next Gen DS Coming? - A rumor that started in Japan with gaming magazine publisher Famitsu is saying that Nintendo will introduce its next version of the DS at E3 this summer. I doubt its true considering the last version just came out two years ago.

Barbarella Remake? - Apparently plans are continuing to remake the 1970s classic Barbarella. This time Rose McGowan will be in the lead role. The movie has been in turnaround for a while now but apparently pre-production work is in full swing. The original movie is was cute, more famous for the nude Jane Fonda scene. If the new movie doesn't show off the naked bod of Rose I can't say I am terribly interested in seeing it considering how poorly remakes have been done in the last few decades.

Ellen Page on Leno - Apparently Leno made a fool of himself. Mostly posting the link cause find Ellen Page to be gorgeous. To bad she probably is a lesbian. Also, while I like her looks, I have the feeling her acting consists of just playing herself over and over.

Various Video Game News

Graded Video Games - Old video games are being graded the same way that comics and action figures have been for years. The result is now your unopened games can be worth hundreds of dollars on eBay. Personally I am just annoyed because for years I saved every single video game box I had, tons of on NES, SNES, Sega, etc boxes including the rare Final Fantasy. Then I moved so I tossed the whole lot (include old Star Wars figures). Basically on a lark I probably threw away a few grand worth of items and didn't even know it.

"Real" Mario Animated - A version of Mario was created that would show what he would look life he existed in real life. The result was a very creepy creature. How to make him creepier? Add animation!

Final Fantasy IV DS Coming - For North America, its also referred to as Final Fantasy II for the Super Nintendo. The game is coming out July 22nd, will include updated 3D graphics, voiced cut-scenes, and additional content. IV is one of my favorite FF games so I will definitely be buying this game. A gallery can be found here.

Mario Kart Wii Tracks - A two hour video that shows the 32 tracks for the game. It is now out in Japan and will hit North America shores on April 27th.

2 Hours of Mario Kart Wii (all 32 levels) from WiiNintendo.net on Vimeo

FAA Colluding with Airlines - The Daily Show has a lovely summary of how the Bush's continued business first policies has once again created more problems then solved. This time the department is the FAA who worked with airlines in discouraging inspections of planes. The result is reports of unsafe plans and American Airlines having to cancel thousands of flights over the last few days. How much you want to bet its costing them more money now to get back up to spec then it would have if they had just done it all along. Once again proof that despite assurances from the Republican Party, that businesses really cannot police themselves.

7 Confessions of a Sears Electronics Salesperson - What the title says, 7 things to be careful of when doing business with Sears. The fact that 7 things even exist could be part of the reason why Sears isn't doing so well in the sales area right now.

How to Date Check Candy - While candy can not really expire, it can get stale tasting. To verify if your candy is good, be sure to check out the codes. For M&M/Mars products, the first three numbers is the year + week of production. For example, code 801xxxxxxx means the candy was made the first week of January 2008. For Hershey's products the code is year + letter for the month. So 9K means the candy expires in November 2009. I need to check the Easter candy I just bought on the cheap, maybe use a sharpie to tag the bags just in case.

Disney and Pixar Animated Film Plans - The companies have announced the 10 films they plan to release through 2010. The plans include Bolt, The Bear and the Bow, The Princess and the Frog, Toy Story 3, and 3-D versions of Toy Story 1 and 2. Full details at the link.

Iron Man clips and How Tos

Two Iron Man Clips - The promotion of Iron Man continues, this time with two cool clips that show Iron Man in flight. Clip 1 and clip 2 in HD.

Clip 1


Clip 2


How To Research Online Retailers - A what to look for in trying to verify if an online retailer can be trusted. Some of it is obvious but some of it is useful especially if you’re sitting on the fence on buying from them or not.

How To Tell Your Boss No - As the title says, basic advice on how the let the boss down gently that is idea isn't a good one. Its something my boss could use an assist on.

Olympic Torch, Gerstmann Sage End, IRS, and Blogging

Olympic Torch History - A brief history of the Olympic torch relay, which began as a way for Hitler to prove the perfection of Germany. Fortunately it didn't end there.

Gerstmann Saga Claims Its Creator - The firing of Jeff Gerstman last year set off a storm on the internet for showing the incestuous relationship between game publications and the game media. Since the firing (possibly unrelated) CNET has not done well financially, Gamespot's reputation has taken a massive hit and lost its core reviewer members. For legal reasons the full story of what has happened has never been released but the rumored cause of the whole PR fiasco is Josh Larson whose background is sales yet was in charge of editorial. The result was the separation between the two was all but destroyed. This is denied of course but experience has shown me when managers don't know something, rather then learn from those that do, they fall back on what they think they know. In his case, money and sales. His failure finally led to the results most felt was necessary to repair CNET's reputation, sadly too little too late. Gerstmann has moved on though, starting a new venture called Giant Bomb which appears to be a mixture of Joystiq and Gamespot but it’s too new to say what the final result will be.

Avoid an IRS Audit - Taxes are do very soon, just a few hints to avoid getting red-flagged.

Stressful World of Blogging - Story about how stressful the professional blogging world can be in the quest to be first on the story (personally I never notice who is first). Since I am an amateur I don't have to worry about the stress but nor do I make any money so there you go. Helps that I use this shortened blogging method to do everything at once so it doesn't interfere with my paying job.

Charlton Heston 1923-2008

Charlton Heston, the movie icon passed away Saturday. A lot could be said, but really his career speaks for itself.

Battlestar Galactica Returns

The final season of Battlestar Galactica begins today on the Sci-Fi channel at 10:00pm EST. If you haven't watched this excellent show because afraid your too far behind to play catch, the below eight minute series summary is for you. It covers all the bases and pretty amusing too.

iPhone Pwnage, Smallville Exit, and Hellboy Trailer

iPhone Pwnage Tool - The iPhone Dev Team have come up with an application that easily and efficiently jailbreaks the iPhone regardless of firmware version. More important you can load any firmware version you want, which opens up the possibility of new OS's being loaded on the phone. The video of the tool at work can be found here. So much for the absolute security that Apple fans crow about.

Apple #1 Music Retailer - Apple has officially leap frogged Wal-Mart to become the US number 1 seller of music, at least for the months of January and February. Whether it can hold the title for the entire year is too soon to say but it off to a good start.

Millar and Gough Leave Smallville - A show already suffering the blow of two leads leaving is now experiencing another with the creators and show runners exiting to do more movies. The abrupt exit is likely doing to an unannounced project they have sold. Sadly this means that the show will likely suffer a Gilmore Girls type final season flameout as a new show runner is assigned.

Update: CW has announced the replacements which is the promotion of four producers to the exec producer title. Should be intersting to see what happens with this many cooks in the kitchen.

Hellboy II Trailer - The second trailer to Hellboy is out and the film is looking pretty good. The movie is out July 11th. HD version at the link.

NBC Season, Peabody Winners, Recession and Doogie

NBC Announces Next Season Plans - The network has released its plans for the next season through the summer including its schedule. The general plan is to have an 8PM family hour, 9PM blockbuster hour and 10PM adult themes hour. This replaces the previous announcement of having mostly reality shows at 8pm. In addition Las Vegas showrunner has been assigned to Knight Rider. I enjoyed Las Vegas so please but the show not being granted a finale still annoys me and generates a lot of distrust for NBC endeavors at this point. Also Chuck has been renewed something I wasn't aware of. Click the link to get the full schedule and presentation.

Peabody Award Winners Announced - The winners of the 2007 Peabody from the University of Georgia (I am an alumni) has been announced. Lots of great talent won awards but the key one is another victory lap for The Colbert Report for "bombastic and self-serving in cable-news bloviasion, has come into his own as one of electronic media`s sharpest satirists."

Depression vs Recession - A brief 101 introduction to the two economic concepts. Essentially a recession is 6 months of negative business growth; currently we are at 3 which are why Bush can claim this is a "slowdown". A depression is basically a longer version of a recession, probably a year or more of negative growth. Suffice it to say Bush's anything for big business policies have not had the trickle down effect he thought they would. Duh, business is greedy to the point of self-destruction, why don't republicans get that.

Doogie Howser Returns - Via the man himself, Neil Patrick Harris sends up his ages old Doogie Howser role complete with theme, large text over blue screen and thoughtful pause. Hilarious. If you’re not watching How I Met Your Mother, you really should be.

Happy April's Fools Day

Below are a bunch of random web events that helped celebrate April Fool's Day.

Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time - What the title says, it covers a decades of jokes performed on TV, magazines, web, etc all over the world.

The Conglomerist - The Consumerist.com website is bought out and changes its mandate from supporting the consumer to supporting the corporations.

Legend of Zelda: The Movie Trailer - From IGN, the trailer to a Legend of Zelda movie, in live action. Not bad actually. Makes you wish it was the real deal.


Diablo III - Blizzard clearly loves the holidays as they unleashed all kinds of pranks. This one is the announcement of the long desired sequel Diablo III that promises to "reinvent the persistent online world concept while preserving its hero-centric story".

Starcraft 2 Tauren Marine - Another Blizzard joke, this one unit that works with the Terran race. Includes concept designs, in game action with 3 videos, dialogue, the whole 9 yards really. They should consider adding them as an unlockable cheat code. Seeing just five of them rip across a base is hilarious.

World of Worldcraft: Bard Hero Class - The love Blizzard has for April Fool's continues, this time with a "new" class for WoW that includes mockup images, in game action frames, and amusing talents "Metal" and "Punk Rock". Be sure to check out sample item spec too.

World of Worldcraft Expansion: Molten Core - Blizzard once again, this time with an expansion for WoW that comes right out of 1984 Atari press release, "fully loaded with nine different shapes (and possibly colors) representing the current World of Warcraft character classes". Includes trailer, screenshots and map. Make sure to check out the awesome boss art followed by its video game rendition, hilarious.

Future X-Box products - Amazing even Microsoft got in on the fun, display some rather outrageous upcoming products for the X-Box such as a wireless helmet, "vintage edition" made out of wood, X-Box the board game, and the "Retcon Edition".

Lord of the Rings Expansion: Battle of Amon Hen - Joining the fun is a new expansion that allows you to play as the ultimate character, a hen. The character grows as you level and includes skills such as the "oppressive yolk", "eggcellent assault" and the Drumstick instrument.

Oil Execs, Morgan Webb, and Magenta

Oil Execs and Congress - Congress held its bi-annual lashing of oil execs. The exercise is mostly a waste of time as there is no way anyone is going to seriously roll back the tax breaks the companies get thanks to the oil companies heavy financial campaign contributions. This doesn't even include Bush ever allowing a cut to pass. The oil execs mostly show up out of respect and probably to get drunk, laid, and glad hand their bought congressman. Stats of note is that the main oil companies made a total of $123 billion in profits, usually work a on 9% profit margin, which is greater then most industries despite their claims to the contrary, enjoy $18 billion in US tax breaks (who knows what the total is worldwide), and basically claims innocence on all things and just wants to know why they can't do what they want (as if they already don't).

Morgan Webb on Tyra - The lovely Morgan Webb made an appearance on the Tyra Banks show to help attack a 23 year old that plays game more then his girlfriend likes. The derision from Tyra, who clearly sees games as for children only, was only reinforced by Webb but she looked good at least.


T-Mobile Sues for Magenta - Deutsche Telekom, i.e. T-Mobile, has sued Engadget Mobile for the use of the color magenta in the websites logo. Yep, not an April Fools. They really truly believe that they have a trademark ownership of a color when used in a logo. Apparently they feel their customers are so damn stupid that they would confuse a blogging website with a mobile company simply because of the use of a color in a logo. As a result of this, some websites have changed their background colors to magenta in support...sweet but missing the point since the logo is the issue, not the website background.