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.

Superman Ruling, Comcast Screwing, Real Mario and Homer

Superman Rights Reverted - A judge has ruled that the heirs of the creator's of Superman, the Siegels and Shusters, have a share of the copyright to the character. The ruling takes advantage of a 1976 law that allows family to reclaim ownership of a character. The ruling impacts finances from the character starting from 1999 and means that DC/Time Warner will owe the families an unknown sum of money for the comics, movie, DVDs and other merchandise revenue. This ruling will probably also kill plans to a sequel to the movie until the appeals process is exhausted and financial impact can be determined. It will also set a precedent to allow family to sue to regain ownership of pretty much any creation from the last 100 years. Frankly I disagree with the ruling as Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster repeatedly signed away their right to characters and just because the family wants a piece of the goldmine doesn't mean they should get it just because they are relatives.

The Real Mario - Pixeloo created a "real" version of Nintendo's Mario that shows what he would look like with true skin color, details, hair and other details. As the picture shows, the result is pretty creepy.

The Real Homer Simpson - Pixeloo's first creation, the ultra disturbing Homer.

Comcast Compressing HDTV - Comcast is at it again. Instead of throttling bandwidth for users, it is now trying to compress HDTV signals to get more channels in the same amount of bandwidth, resulting in grainy and blocky images. Instead of investing in their infrastructure, they are simply trying to wring more out of it by doing less for the customer paying for these services, thereby increasing profit margins. The end result is the customers get screwed and ultimately the shareholders of the company as people seek out alternative sources for their television needs.

Star Wars Retrospective II

Gametrailers.com excellent series continues.

New Indiana Jones 4 TV Spot - Below is the YouTube version, right-click the link, save as to get an HD version.


Empire's TV Top 50 Shows Ever - Great Britain's Empire magazine has compiled the 50 best TV shows of all time. The list is rather remarkable in that it actually acknowledges sci-fi shows (Buffy, Deep Space Nine, Quantum Leap, etc) while most lists ignore the genre in its entirety. However, it does skew to the modern with a majority of the list comprising of shows made in the last 20 years.

Knight Rider, The Season - NBC has decided to go ahead and order a season of Knight Rider that continues the story that the recent TV movie started. Hopefully a retooling will be in order as the TV movie was short on potential (the car) and long on crap (the cast, the story). Essentially they need someone in charge that understands the modern TV audience rather then someone that still thinks that TV is told the same as it was in 1985.

Jason Vorhees Cast - The remake of Friday the 13th is moving forward and now the lead bad guy and machete lover has been cast. Jason will be played by Derek Mears who is apparently an actor and stuntman, at least judging by his IMDB entry.

Sarah Returns, Music Tax, and Recession The Movie

Callie Returns to Prison Break - The lovely Sarah Wayne Callies is returning for the 4th season of Prison Break despite apparently having her head cut off. She initially left the show to enjoy motherhood but I guess she realized the same thing that many other parents do, that a sleeping, eating and pooping machine is entertaining for so long and sometimes other interests are good. Considering the tremendous amount of downtime that TV and movie productions have for the actors, she might as well get paid for her other interest. Apparently her return and Michael's quest to find her will be a major plot point for the season.

Mandatory Music Tax? - Warner Music, with the blessing of the RIAA, is attempting to push through a monthly music tax of around $5 on everyone's internet bill. For the $5 charge, you would have unlimited access to music, but no ownership of that music. The charge would occur whether you wanted that unlimited access or not. It’s estimated the tax would add $10 billion in revenue for the music industry, very little of which would make its way to the artists. The additional side effect would be that the industry would have no reason to change or adapt and would have artists over a barrel as they would de-facto become the only method of releasing music to the public via the internet. Long story short, it means that the music industry doesn't have to compete; it gets money whether what it produces is any good or not. Hopefully such an idea will never occur but who knows with the continue emergence of mega corporations.

Recession: The Movie - Cute fake teaser trailer that makes fun of the Bush and his cronies for continued inability to predict problems with the economy as they failed with Iraq.


White House on 4000 Dead - A video of the daily White House press briefing from 3/24/08 with Dana Perino where she attempts to hit all the Iraq buzzwords ("sacrifice", "not in vain", "kill us") while trying not to get flustered by Helen Thomas. For reasons I don't really understand, I just find Perino to be really hot, which is mainly why the video got my attention.

Best Buy, Born Agains, and Moment of Truth

Police For Dissing Best Buy - A manager at Best Buy had a customer escorted out by police for the "crime" of advising another customer that a Bluetooth headphone set was overpriced and not very good. Apparently one of the employee's overheard the conversation, tattled to their manager, who in turn called the police. The problems here include employee's listening in on conversation t hat don't involve them and also a poorly trained and idiotic manager who took a minor situation and blew it out of proportion. I have worked retail, these people have enough problems to deal with as the reality is the customer is often wrong and just a general headache. In this case though, why manufacture a problem? Why create a scene? It’s just so over the top reaction that it defies belief.

Parents Choose Prayer Over Medicine - 11 year old Madeline Nuemann died Sunday from undiagnosed and easily treatable case of diabetes because her parents chose prayer over medicine. The mother isn't concerned about a police investigation because they "only tried to do the best they could for their daughter." The best does not include a doctor. The child was apparently in public school until recently when the parents decided to do home schooling. I get a sinking feeling the parents are born agains so to a degree the poor child might have got off easy as she would probably has been forced to live a very fervent and abusive life as the parents lacked the experience to balance their beliefs with reality. Most that grow up on a religion learn to balance the more extreme aspects of their religion with the realities of life but born agains simply do not and take it extremes never intended nor taught, as this sad example illustrates. Hopefully the DA will force jail time on these parents so they can try to learn some balance but considering this occurred in Weston Wisconsin, I am not holding my breath.

Moment of Truth Preview - Fox is advertising the season finale of Moment of Truth as "have saved the worst for last." Once again it’s a woman on the hot seat, an absolutely gorgeous woman that continues to make me wonder if this show isn't staged. Yet the questions seem very dodgy to me. For example, it asks if the woman has had a man in the house without the husband’s knowledge. That could be something as simple as she accidentally blew out the plumbing and had it fixed before her husband came home to blowing the neighbor's brains out daily. Another question is has she done something that she feels guilty about while husband was gone. Again that could include something like eating junk food all weekend up to doing the entire high school marching band. Finally, the last teaser is the "devastating" question of "Have you ever regretted marrying your husband?" Now I am not married, but if anyone has been married for a few years, wouldn't that answer be an automatic "yes"? Not because of a true deep regret but because of an argument or fed up with certain behavior. Regret over our decisions is a constant of the human condition. It just strikes me as very odd that for a show that isn't shy about asking "Have you cheated on your spouse?" they advertise three questions that suggest that very idea without directly asking it.

Crank 2, Olivia Munn, and Young Avengers

Crank 2 Details - The sequel of Crank is going forward with Jason Statham returning (despite apparently falling 50 stories in the first film). The first film was a fun non stop action film about a man that needed adrenaline to stay alive but fortunately in his quest for a kill people were trying to kill him anyway so got the constant feed he needed (including nailing the lovely Amy Smart). In the sequel, a mobster replaces his heart with a failing artificial one (who knows why) that needs burst of electricity to continue to function, so he has to get it back before the fake fails. Sounds like a winner to me.

Olivia Munn In Modern Day Jesus - The Munn plays Mary Magdalene for a webisode of Modern Day Jesus. The video is silly but the Munn is hot and briefly seen in a bra.


Trailer for Next Avengers - Marvel has released a teaser trailer for their next direct to video cartoon movie called Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow. The teaser sets up the initial concept of the Avengers hooking up and producing offspring before falling to Ultron. The next generation probably takes on the despot, finds their parents and frees the world. It looks a little too kiddy for my taste. Can't help but wonder if the movie isn't a pilot for a potential Saturday morning series.

Fan Made Versus Fights

Monty Oum has so far created three films that created some excellent over the fights between franchise characters going at in ways you will never see in games. Physics are put on hold, people can't die, and an explosion in your face is just annoying.

The first video is Monty Oum's first effort, depicting Metroid's Samus Aron going at it against Halo's Master Chief. The next two movies are the first two parts of a five part epic that involves the various female characters from the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts franchise versus the Dead or Alive ladies. You can see with each movie just how much better and better the animator is getting and how jaw dropping the action is becoming. Click the titles to go to Gametrailers.com and read the creator's comments on each movie.

Samus Aron vs. Master Chief


Dead Fantasy I


Dead Fantasy II

4000 Dead and Do Not Reply

4000 Dead - The Iraq War, just days after its fifth anniversary, has claimed its 4000th victim. This doesn't include the thousands of casualties the war has also claimed or the untold number of Iraq civilians. From beginning to end this war has been nothing but disaster, nothing to do with 9/11 and entirely everything to do with Bush's naive attempt at a legacy and Cheney's desire to grow Halliburton. Doesn't help that he thinks the biggest burden was carried by Bush rather then the dead and damaged. I guess it’s the fault of the "all volunteer force" that came to action after 9/11 thinking they would be fighting an actual war on terror rather then a campaign of ego on the part of the White House.

DoNotReply.com - Just a note that if you reply to an email from donotreply@donotreply.com, Chet Faliszek gets it. He is the owner of the donotreply.com domain and he apparently doesn't have a problem blogging about the odder emails he gets which includes personal information, company policies and internal memos. Suffice it to say, if you know your company uses that address or any @donotreply.com addresses, it’s in their best interest to try something else.

Recession, XM-Siruis Merge, Cable Ripoff, South Park Free, and PSP Turns 3

21% Plan to Spend Rebate - According to a CNN poll, only 21% of Americans plan to spend their government rebate checks. The majority are either going to add to savings or use it to pay off bills, which pretty much aligns with my predictions. I have a feeling this so called stimulus plan will be a big whopping bust.

XM-Sirius Merger Approved - The Department of Justice finally approved the merger of Sirius and XM. It only took a year for the government to finally decide that the merged company wasn't a monopoly. Ironic considering the government doesn't seem to care about any telecom or cable monopolies that already exist. At least XM/Sirius is competing with every radio station in the country along with MP3 players, CDs, and the internet.

$300 Cables Really Worth $15 - More proof that if you pay a lot of money for "premium" cables, you are just asking to be ripped off. Unless you plan on needing a signal to go a great distance (say dozens of yards), there is simply no reason to drop a lot of money for Monster Cables and their ilk.

South Park for Free - Every episode of South Park is now available to view on the internet. There are three slight commercial delays per ep, but everyone knows that even "free" usually has a price. Seems worth it to me. Of course I already dropped a good chunk of change for the DVD sets so I feel kind of screwed.

Three Years of PSP - The PSP is three years old and now just getting worth using again. I recently got God of War of thoroughly enjoyed the game but now that I beat it once again trying to figure out what to do with it. Don't get me wrong, it’s an excellent portable gaming system and worth $200, the library just doesn't do a whole lot for me. Anyway, click the link above for 50 slides that summarize the last three years of PSP history.

Jericho, Snake Eyes, Dirty Harry, Kamen's Distiller, and Obama Bashing

Jericho Cancelled - It looks like the fan induced renewal wasn't enough to save the show despite a much improved second season. Thanks to anemic ratings (I think average was 7 million), CBS has decided to forgo a season 3. However, the show did plan for possibility of cancellation by shooting two versions of the end. Clearly the series finale end will be the one that airs this Tuesday. Lesson to all future show runners, holding your cards too long thinking you will need them for season 3 or later doesn't do you much good if there never is a season 3. The reason Jericho went from early season 1 success to late season 1 failure is because they played out their central mystery to slow to maintain viewer interest. Take the Heroes rode, throw out your best early on, once you have people hooked, you can slow down as needed.

Snake Eyes Image - A sneak peek of Snake Eyes (Ray Park) has been released to the web for the GI Joe movie that is in production. It should help fans know that it appears that Snake Eyes will maintain his bad ass looks.

Dirty Harry Returns? - Rumors are swirling that Clint Eastwood's next project is another Dirty Harry film called "Gran Turino." However, there are also rumors that he isn't and the film is about a racist that changes his ways after an immigrant family moves in next door. Frankly, considering Clint's career for the last 15 years, the second plot is more likely (smells of Oscar).

Vista SP1 Reviews - Click the link for reviews of the new service pack for Vista. The consensus seems to be the improvements will probably not be noticed by the average user.

Kamen's Vapor Compression Distiller - Dean Kamen appeared on the Colbert Report to discuss his newest invention which is a chemical, membrane, and filter free water purifier that can be used on any type of water be it dirty, salt, poisoned, even urine. The idea is that it can be used in third world countries to provide access to clean water and possibly "wipe out 50% of human disease". Based on my basic science memory and the name, it sounds like the device uses pressure so that contaminated water is turned to vapor leaving behind the impurities. This vapor is then collected, cooled back to water, and released for use. If true, it’s actually an elegant solution. The problem remains maintenance and upkeep which is probably why it took five years to develop as would need to reduce the points of failure to as few and cheap as possible if plan to deploy in poor nations. Click the link above for the demo.

Fox Hosts Tired of Obama Bashing - A day that few thought would come, two Fox hosts actually got sick and tired of a Democrat being bashed ad nausuem. Fox and Friends is a morning show that pretty much spends the entire time kissing Republican rear while trashing Democrats. Basically it’s Rush Limbaugh with three hosts. Well apparently after two hours of harping on "typical white woman" phrase from Obama, Brian Kilmeade left and later Chris Wallace voiced his own disapproval. From what I can tell the problem is the use of the phrase "typical", the usual dislike of stereotypes because people like to pretend they are unique even when they are not and trust me, that female Fox host is a typical female Fox News host in every way whether she wants to believe it or not. I didn't even vote for Obama and found the whole discussion silly.

Prince Caspian, Guitar Hero Record, Gas Station Prank Videos

Didn't find much in the way of posts that interested me but did find a few videos of notes. There are three new TV spots for the Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian that is coming out May 16th. There is a video of how a gas station's fire suppression system works, to bad it went off while customers where filling up. Finally a guy gets the world record for Guitar Hero III.
Prince Caspian TV Spots




Gas Station Prank

glumbert - Pushing the red button at the gas station

Guitar Hero III Record

Caprica, Jack Ryan, Bond, Street Fighter, and Williams

Sci-Fi Greenlights Caprica - With the final season of Battlestar Galatica about to start, the Sci-Fi network has greenlit "Caprica" a TV movie prequel to the series that will cover the genesis of the Cyclons. The network has also greenlit about 4 additional projects. Sadly no return of Stargate SG-1 though.

Jack Ryan Returns - Jack Ryan, the character from the Tom Clancy novels and Harrison Ford movies, is returning to the big screen once again. Once again the films will focus on a young version with Spider-Man's Sam Raimi directing. The plan is to create a trilogy of films (not sure if connected trilogy or not) that may be set in the present. Clancy is working on a book now that could be used for the first film. Personally I wouldn't mind seeing Debt of Honor made into a film because the ending where a plane crashes into the Capital Building during the State of the Union Address would be a hell of a way to end a movie and lead into a sequel. Debt of Honor, Executive Orders and The Bear and the Dragon would be a fantastic trilogy of films, sadly there isn't a snowballs chance of them being made. As for Raimi, this could mean he is not going to direct Spider-Man 4, something he has been on the fence about doing.

James Bond Quantum of Solace Details - Some new information has come out about the next James bond film. The plan is to release the film nearly worldwide in the same weekend (November 5th-7th) except in New Zealand, South Africa and Australia (for unknown reasons). However, the UK could get the film a week early starting on October 31st. Also the film is estimated to have a budget of $230 million (Casino Royale's was $140 million). The trailer is expected to come out on July 2nd, attached to Will Smith's "Hancock".

Final Street Fighter Cast - The main casting for Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li has been completed with Michael Clarke Duncan (Balrog), Neil McDonough (M. Bison), Chris Klein (Charlie Nash), and Taboo (Vega) joining the film. For reasons I don't really understand, the lovely but bland Smallville actress Kristen Kreuk is playing Chun-Li. Was Hollywood out of Asian actresses or something? I bet the film has a re-incarnation angle to it.

Robin Williams on TV - Robin Williams has signed up to guest star on the April 29th episode of Law & Order: SVU. As per the show, he will play a character whose life is damaged by a tragedy. I think this is the first time he has done a TV program since a guest appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street.

Star Wars Retrospective and Wii Cats v Dogs

GameTrailers.com continues its excellent video game retrospective series with its next 10 part installment (each part out every Saturday). This time the subject is all the various movies released for Star Wars. The first part covers the Atari 2600 and arcade shooters era. The series is always worth checking out.


The below video is a Wii tennis match between a very easy going dog and an unhappy cat who have Wii controllers strapped to their arms and being forced with strings to swipe at the tennis ball. I was more amused by the cat's whining about the situation then the match itself.

Gun Control, Fed Cut, Best Buy, Vista SP1, and an Invisible Bookcase

Supreme Court on Gun Control - The Supreme Court is hearing arguments to overturn a DC ban on hand guns. The arguments are based on what is a “reasonable” rather then 2nd amendment right. I don't even know why they bother. On this issue, the Republican leaning court will clearly support any anti-gun control measure. It’s a guaranteed 5-4 ruling. More then likely this case will be used to strongly discourage similar laws from being enacted in the future.

Fed cut, Dow Jumps - For reasons I can't really fathom, the Dow Jones continues to ignore what sales, housing market, and public (lack of) spending is telling everyone. Thanks to a huge Fed cut of .75, the short term interest rate for banks now sits at 2.25%. This brings the overall cut by a full percentage in less then three days, something the Fed never does. Clearly they see huge storm clouds on the horizon and trying to turn the tide. I am thinking it’s too little to late since the Bush economic plan hinged on the trickle down that never occurred.

Best Buys Customer Profiling - Best Buy's profiling PowerPoint presentation has been leaked. The slides (click the link) present how Best Buy categorizes its customers along revenue lines and how to try to turn those "needs" into increased sales. Useful to know so can identify how the sales staff sees you and how they might try to trick you into getting services you don't need (such as an extended warranty).

Vista SP1 Out - The service pack for vista is out that is supposed to speed up the OS and fix many bugs. You should be able to download via Automatic Update. The release notes provide the huge volume of bug fixes that are being addressed. Hopefully though you don't need it because you knew it was a clunker and stuck with XP. If you do work in a business environment that upgraded to Vista...the IT director should probably be fired for incompetence.

Invisible Bookcase - Click the link for a video that shows how you can install a bookcase that just appears as a stack of books on a wall with no shelving. The gist is to use an L bracket hidden into a cut up useless bottom book and use the stack to hide the rest of the bracket. It’s pretty creative and might have some uses for some (say a dorm room).

RIAA, ABBA, Recession and Battlebots

RIAA Racketeering Lawsuit - A woman in Oregon is attempting to resurrect a class action lawsuit against the RIAA for racketeering the various tactics it is using in the attempt to curtail file sharing. Of significance is this lawsuit could lead to the revealing of the secret data the RIAA uses to justify its actions and lawsuits. Data that up to know has been shielded. Of course the "totals" from that data is occasionally released to the press to help its cause but what, wheres and hows is not and the press usually doesn't have enough sense to ask or question. This lawsuit could be just the first as it turns out an artist group may also sue the RIAA. Despite claiming the fight is to protect the artists, the RIAA has not paid the artists from the more then $400 million in settlement money it’s received over the years.

ABBA Drummer Dead - Ola Brunkert, drummer for the famed group ABBA, has died from apparent home accident. He was found dead on his porch from a cut throat that is believed to have been caused when he fell through a glass portion. Sad day for music fans everywhere.

3/4 American's Think US in Recession - While Bush continues to label the economy as a "slowdown" in an attempt to protect his tax cuts that help his rich brethren, it appears that most American's know what is going on, i.e. that the US is in a recession with multiple months now. The importance of this survey is it means that things could get worse as people start hunkering down and stop spending quite as freely as they have in the past. Disposable income and the williness of Americans to "dispose" of it is the oil that keeps the economic engine churning and with this lack of confidence it could deepen problems. Sadly the Bush admin refuses to respond beyond the usual "make my tax cuts permanent" calls and a Fed rate cut (on a Sunday no less) while not reducing spending. Bush believes that if companies make more money (with fewer taxes) this will "trickle down" to the common worker in the form of re-investment in the business (more jobs) and raises (more disposable income). Of course the companies instead just used the tax cuts to pad the profits, increase value of the stock and pay the upper echelon of the company’s greater bonuses. None of the money "tricked down" as the concept fails to take in account greed. Of course it’s more complicated then that but that is the gist of why one of the economic pillars is falling part.

Battlebots Returns - ESPN and Battlebots will return to TV starting in November. I remember watching the show when it was on TechTV and looking forward to the return of watching robots tear into each other.

Special Comment: Clinton and Ferraro

Keith Olbermann gave another Special Comment last night. This time Olbermann is directing his anger not at President Bush but Geraldine Ferraro and Hilary Clinton. Specifically on Ferraro's comments regarding Barack Obama and Clinton's lack of action regarding them. Personally I don't know much about the issue simply because Ferraro's words, whether truly racist or not, have no national impact. Bush's policies do. However, since I have posted about all the other Special Comments it seemed fair to continue to. The transcript can be found here.

Movie Trailers, Harry Potter 7 News

Harry Potter 7 Split Into 2 - It looks like WB has decided that they don't want the Harry Potter money train to end quite yet. As a result they split the final book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows into two films. The goal is to film both concurrently with part one coming out during the holidays 2010 and the final one in summer 2011. Both films will be directed by David Yates who directed Harry Potter 5 and currently working on Harry Potter 6. I guess the film would work as two parts but I didn't really think that much happened to warrant the split. I have enjoyed the movies just as much as the books so I am not complaining about the change.

The Incredible Hulk Trailer - The movie looks decent. The effects still need some cleaning up. It appears they got the right idea though; give the Hulk something equal to fight. Even better they have the Abomination vs. Hulk fight in a city so lots of things can get destroyed. This makes the movie more expensive but much cooler to watch. Click the link for HD versions.


Speed Racer Trailer 2 - I just can't get into this movie. It looks to silly. Not so much the bright colors but the action sequences are over the top, I can't help but wonder what Speed Racer's great skill is when apparently the car does all the work, and the acting seems very much over the top. Its not bad acting though because it’s too consistent across to many good actors, so it is the director's preference. I think I shall let the public be my guinea pig on this one rather then see it first thing.

Spitzer's "Kristen" Revealed

The identity of "Kristen", the escort discovered with now former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has been revealed. Her birth name is Ashley Youmans, her current name is Alexandra Dupre, and she is simply gorgeous. I can see why Spitzer was tempted by her.

According to her MySpace page, Alexandra is 22 years old aspiring singer who left a violent home at the age of 17. You can find a sample song on her page. The details of how she got into escorting and how frequently she saw Spitzer remained unrevealed but it probably has something to do with drugs (she has history of drug use) and desire to make money with as little effort as possible so she can work on her singing "career".

As the pictures below show, she is quite the looker and may be able to use the scandal to start a book writing career or perhaps a modeling career in Playboy. If that doesn't work out, I am sure the porn industry would welcome her with open arms. I look forward to hearing about what happens next (hopefully good) in her life.

Star Wars, Wall-E, Hulu, Mario Kart Wii, Mythbusters,

Star Wars "Last Supper" - The amazing image above that mimics the famous painting is composed of 69,550 frames from the Star Wars films. It took over two weeks to assemble by Avinash Arora. The full details and gallery at the link.

New Wall-E Trailer - Pixar has released another trailer (number 3) for Wall-e that is coming out in June. For the first time, you actually get an idea of what the movie is about and it looks like it will be of the usual Pixar caliber. Follow the link to check it out. Tried to find the YouTube version but none would load with video or where pulled.

Hulu Goes Live - The NBC/Fox's answer to YouTube has finally exited Beta and available for public consumption. From what I can tell it’s not a half bad website. It has various Fox and NBC TV programs, full feature length movies, NBA and NFL footage and other features. The "cost" of the site is the occasional commercial but considering some of the content available, that isn't much of a price at all.

Mario Kart Wii Dated - Nintendo has finally revealed the release date for Mario Kart Wii, which is April 27th. The game will include online play. Since all the previous incarnations have been a ball, I am looking forward to this version too.

MythBusters Top 10 Myths Never See - Mythbusters Exec Producer Dan Tapster wrote a top 10 list of the myths the show will not do. Its very tongue in cheek but the main thing is you should watch this show. It’s excellent and I highly recommend it. My only real complaint is they don't have enough new episodes.

Spitzer Resigns

The governor of New York has officially resigned as the result of the recent prostitution scandal he is under investigation for. I don't know if it’s a loss or not, I guess New Yorkers are best to answer that question. Personally I don't care about the escort angle as I just see it as an act between two consenting adults and the spouses they are cheating on. Not really the public's business. However, the man made his career by attacking the very thing he was busted for and that changes the dynamic. Everyone pretty much expects politicians to follow the "Do as I say, not as I do" policy but when you get busted for it, people don't react very well and he is getting that experience first hand. Since he was a politician, he is set for life regardless.

I am curious though to know just how much the wife knew. It might have been a secret but I get the feeling she has know about it for a while and either accepted it or simply didn't care. Part of the problem is the "traditional" politician has the happy housewife who is happy to support her husband in all his endeavors. Basically the 1950s version of a wife who will sticks with her man through thick and thin, whether he deserves it or not. Just random speculation, what she does or does not do is entirely up to her. Never know they might be swingers in private.

The press will probably enjoy this scandal for the next week even though with the resignation, the story is done. Unless they get hold of the various escorts he was involved in which I doubt that will happen. In the meantime, the Daily Show weighed in on the scandal with the usual hilarious results as they pan the press's coverage. Check out the video of that here.

Bone, Indiana Jones, and Starcraft II

Warners Opts Bone - The movie rights to Jeff Smith's opus has been bought by Warner Bros. Ironic considering they have their own company (DC Comics) but instead paid for someone else's comic story to bring to the big screen. The comic series is excellent and recommended but I am hoping that they go the animated route on this. It wouldn't work for live action and I don't know why but it doesn't feel like something that would work as a CGI property. I guess if go the Shrek route it might.

Final Indiana Jones Poster - The final poster for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is out. I guess you could play "find a clue" in the various images but I think it’s just a waste of time.

Starcraft 2 Zerg Trailer - Starcraft 2 is coming, sometime before the decade ends. The latest teaser is a trailer that shows the improved zerg in action. I love the original Starcraft and look forward to this one. Probably have to finally update my 7 year old computer to play it though. Anyway the trailer is apparently a cam recording of a presentation in Korea so while the quality isn't bad, you can't get quite the detail you might want nore does it stay all that still. Check out the link for some screenshots and info on the new Zerg minions. The trailer is below.

Spitzer Busted for Prostitution

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has been busted for meeting with a prostitute or escort last month. Apparently he paid around $4,300 to meet with "Kristen" for 2 and half hours. Of course the media is having a field day with it as they finally get to stop talking about delegates and get to discuss something everyone understands - a sex scandal. I feel bad for Spitzer's wife, who has to do the usual stand by your political man thing. Also because I bet she was quite the looker in her prime and still pretty darn good looker. Has a "cougar" thing about her.

I can't get over that price. For $4,300 I could buy a new TV, computer, and surround sound. Or just knock off a good chunk of debt. For the money, I can't help but wonder if the escort isn't some B or C list actress, porn star, maybe some high level exec because based on a random lookup on various sites via Google, basically the more they cost an hour, the more gorgeous and named they become. One of the ads I found was for porn star Amy Reid. Gorgeous woman. If I had a few grand to throw around, I would tap that. However I am broke so pictures will have to do.

Frankly, I am betting a mass majority of politicians have cheated with their wives on a semi regular basis whether with an escort, another wife, a friend’s daughter, co-worker, whatever. I think it’s just a matter of odds. The rich and powerful are exposed to more temptation then the average person (who also cheat). For whatever reason, people are attracted to power (or money). John Q Average might be exposed to real, this would happen if I let it, temptation maybe once a month (to be generous). The rich or powerful probably have temptation thrown at them on practically hourly basis (either literal or just have the money to anytime want). With a constant stream of temptation, it’s simply a matter of time before a little rationalization will occur (hard day, no one will find out) and its off to the races. Most ignore the rationalizations because it simply doesn't come up that much but if it was a constant drumbeat I think most would fail to stay faithful (and do). Doesn't make it right, just saying that fame and fortune requires a greater will. Spitzer's clearly isn't strong enough and I seriously doubt this was the first time for him.

In the end though, this is just an amusing story for me. It is a non-event for the country at large but important for the citizens of New York. It should be interesting to see what happens next. I hope that Spitzer didn't have dreams of a Presidential run because they are dead now. Personally I just want to know what a $4,300 hooker looks like.

Lego Indiana Jones, Wanted, Smallville and 24 Movie

Top 5 Most Incomprehensible Babe Magnets - From Defamer, in order Zach Braff, Brandon Davis, Cisco Adler, Dax Shepard, and Marilyn Manson. I love Scrubs, but I have to agree, how in the world do these five guys land some of the hottest tail in Hollywood? It’s a series of 5s on the pretty scale landing a series 10s. It’s simply amazing to me. What triggered this little countdown was apparently Shiri Appleby (drool) recently dumped Braff because she wanted marriage, kids, etc and he doesn't. Would you if the next 10 is around the corner waiting?

Smallville Changes - The show was renewed for an 8th season and it looks like 2 cast members will be left behind but probably at their own request. Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luther) and Kristen Kreuk (Lana Lang) will stop being regulars but indicated they would be willing to do an occasional guest arc for the next season. The news isn't really surprising as early this season Rosenbaum had already indicated this would be his last and Kreuk is itching for greater stardom as she is already signed on to the upcoming Street Fighter movie.

Friday Night Lights Renewed? - Apparently the show Friday Night Lights, which I watch because of the gorgeous red-headed stunner of perfection that is Connie Britton, might be renewed for a third season. The show has crappy ratings, hated by lover of bottom line numbers, NBC CEO Ben Silverman, but is loved by the critics. As NBC drifts into become an all reality programming network, the reason for the possible renewal is that DirectTV has indicated they are willing to share the costs of the production of the show. If true, then for NBC, even if the show has crappy ratings, it’s still profitable and therefore worth keeping around a little longer. Strange deal, I can't help but wonder why DirectTV is willing to participate in such a program but if it means more Connie Britton I am all for it.

24 Movie - Due to the writer's strike, 24 was cancelled for the season. As a result, apparently the producers of the show want to create a 2 hour prequel to the 7th season that starts in 2009. No details on the story but production starts in April and the movie will air on Fox sometime in the fall. Considering that there have been rumors of a desire to bring 24 to the big screen, I can't help but wonder if this movie is a way to test the waters and determine how well such a movie might work.

New Wanted Trailer - Another trailer for Wanted is out and the movie looks like it will be fun. I still wish it followed the comics of evil vs. evil but you can't have everything.
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Lego Indiana Jones Trailer - It’s Lego and its Indiana Jones. A match made in heaven and what looks like will be a fun game.

ActionTrip

iPhone SDK Announced, Exchange Support

Apple officially announced its Software Developer Kit for the iPhone. The kit will allow developers to create applications to sell via Apple's App Store to iPhone and iTouch users. During the conference, the most common examples where video games such as Spore and Super Monkey Ball. They also showed off an AIM app and demonstration of sales metrics tool that could be used by salesmen. Basically the kit makes use of the core operating system that Apple has been touting about the iPhone from day one.

The kit, available now, includes fully feature iPhone emulator software and debugging so can create and assemble and test the applications on a MAC before making them available for use. The kit itself is available for free, but to add applications to the Apple App Store has a fee of $99. In addition, the fee for an app is set by the developer but they have to share 30% of the sale with Apple. However, they can choose to make their apps free and if they do that, then 30% of free means Apple will not charge a percentage or usage free for making the app available (beyond the $99 charge). To offset these costs, Apple and Kleiner Perkins are launching the $100 million iFund for developers.

The software support on the user end will not become available until the iPhone is updated to 2.0 in June 08. However, by announcing now, developers will be ready on day one to start selling their new applications to the willing public. For iTouch users, all these new toys will be available for you too but with a small fee (similar to the last update with email, etc). The kit can be downloaded from here.

Probably the most important news though for most users is the support for Enterprise users for the iPhone, especially that Apple purchased a license of Microsoft ActiveSync. As a result, Enterprise users will be able to get Exchange emails, calendars, contacts, etc pushed to their iPhone just as they currently do with their blackberries and Palm. In effect, for Apple has made it very clear they are now going after the market that represents the majority of the Smartphone market, i.e. company employees required to carry the devices for work reasons.

So to sum, for the customers, come end of June they will get the opportunity to allow their iPhone and iTouch to work with exchange, download a ton of new apps that developers worldwide are probably working on right now. Oh and in addition to these new plans are rumors that iPhone update will be announced in early June. End result is if you are thinking of getting an iPhone or iTouch, wait until July so can get the latest and greatest model with the updated software and not worry about any additional fees that may come up in the meantime.

Super Tuesday II Confusion

Super Tuesday the sequel was yesterday and the Democratic picture remains as murky as ever. Hillary Clinton did manage to stop Barack Obama's 12 win momentums by taking Rhode Island, Ohio and Texas once again returning her to the delegate lead. Obama took Vermont. However, despite the small lead Clinton gained, it’s still too close to call on who the Democratic winner will ultimately be.

As the experts keep saying, at this point the voters are no longer relevant, it’s the super delegates of the party that will decide the final nominee and who they decide will be based not on the popular vote or anything else but on who has the best chance to defeat John McCain.

Speaking of John McCain, this Super Tuesday completed the road he was on from the last one, which is he finally locked the Republican nomination with the needed delegates count. As a result Huckabee finally dropped out. The only question is who will be his running mate and my bet is on Mitt Romney.

So really the take away on this Tuesday was that the democratic nominee remains undecided and McCain is the nominee. Pretty much where the picture was the night before.

Lego Batman, CW Renewals, Coat Hanger, and Trinitron RIP

Lego Batman Trailer - The trailer for the upcoming Lego Batman video game is at the link and worth a look. Having played Lego Star Wars and thoroughly enjoyed the game, I am looking forward to this one.

CW Renews 6 Shows - The CW announced that is has renewed 6 shows for next season. Gossip Girl (whatever), Smallville (yay), One Tree Hill (blah), Supernatural (yay), Everybody Hates Chris, and America's Next Top Model (crap). Sadly it doesn't include Reaper which is a show I enjoy and hope gets renewed when the final schedules are announced in May.

PSP God of War Review - God of War on the PSP is out Wednesday and I can't wait. The PSP has been dusted off, charged, updated and ready to go. This is literally the first game since I bought the PSP many years ago that I am actually looking forward to for the system. About time.

Monster Cables vs. Coat Hangers - Guess who loses that fight? Yep the rip off machine that is Monster Cables takes another hit as apparently audiophiles, not aware they where participating in a test, couldn't tell the sound different when Monster Cables or a coat hanger was used. Ouch.

Sony Trinitron R.I.P. - Sony has officially killed its Trinitron line of TVs. If you bought a Sony TV in the last 20 years, chances are one of them is a Trinitron. More or less it’s just proof that plasma and LCDs are the permanent future of TVs. Personally I will stick with my Trinitron for at least a few more years before making the move to the next gen (due to lack of funds).

The Power of Advertising - From the "Mr. Show" program on Comedy Central, it shows the power of (false) advertising in an amusing way. The main lesson, other then a laugh, is to always use those critical thinking skills on any ad you see as their job is to sell you crap, not tell you the truth.

Scrubs, Iron Man, New Line and Amy Adams

Scrubs to ABC? - With NBC continuing to treat Scrubs with zero respect (why end a 7 year tradition), it appears that ABC is willing to take up the slack and order an additional 18 episode season so the show can sign off with the honor it has earned. Doesn't hurt that ABC's comedy line-up is in its death throes. However, as Las Vegas shows, NBC seems to take pride in treating its shows like shit so it wouldn't surprise me if it renews the show for the remaining season, treats it like crap, and then tries to trick the audience into thinking it was gone forever. On a side note, the show returns April 10th with 5 pre-strike episodes.

New Iron Man Trailer - I have to admit at first I wasn't particularly excited about this movie but now starting to change my mind. It looks like it will be darn entertaining. I just wish the idiots at the WB would learn to use their DC properties as well as Marvel does.
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New Line Fallout - With Time Warner absorbing New Line, the fall out has begun. Bob Shaye, the CEO of New Line, the gambler who greenlighted the now legendary Lord of the Rings Trilogy, who started on A Nightmare on Elm Street and generally is the man that got New Line where it is (the good and the bad), has been forced to resign. I think it is a shame because something like Lord of the Rings would never have existed under the traditional studio system. In addition, and ironically, the firing of Shaye will probably help clear the way to get the Hobbit films produced since his creative accounting was a large source of the legal problems plaguing the project. Also it appears that New Line will return to its horror, cheap flicks origins from the 80s so no more Lord of the Rings scale projects which will probably end any chances of a Golden Compass sequel. Also ironic considering its overseas success which New Line and hence Time Warner made no money on, may have been the final straw.

Amy Adams and David Letterman - The two make fun of the mistakes Lisa Rinna made on the Oscar red carpet. Not posting because of that but because Amy just looks so damn amazing. It’s the lust, not the funny that got me to watch the video.

Get Smart, New Line, Superman and Moment of Truth

Get Smart Trailer 2 - The second trailer for Get Smart is out and it does appear the movie should be interesting and faithful to the original TV shows. It includes appearances of the shoe phone, cone of silence and few Smart-isms. Personally I am seeing the movie because of the stunning Anne Hathaway. HD versions of the trailer at the link.


New Line No Longer Independent - The House that Freddy Built and the Lord of the Rings rebuilt has been absorbed by Warner Bros. after a string of failures losing its independent status. The company will now operate much like DreamWorks, where projects have to be approved by WB and work with them rather then separate from them. Basically the New Line name no longer has meaning beyond its history.

Superman: The Music CD Set - Screenarchives.com is releasing an 8-disc CD set of the entire Superman music produced from 1978-1988. It a remaster of the original music and marks one of the few opportunities to get music from Superman III, Superman IV and the '88 animated series. The set is $120. To learn more, click the link above. An interview with the set producers is here. The set is limited to 3000 copies, can be ordered here.

Wife Destroys Marriage on TV - During a recent airing of Moment of Truth, a marriage ended before the audiences eyes as Lauren Cleri just seemed to embrace the idea of airing her dirty laundry. Despite an opportunity to bail and collect $100k, she decided to go for the $200k. The result is she admitted to loving and will to leave husband for ex-bf and cheating on her husband. Ironically, she still lost because it turned out she lied about believing she was a good person. Shows what an idiot she it, few people really believe they are a good personal as there is always some past event that haunts people. The girl is hot, its pretty clear once you see the ex-boyfriend compared to the husband that the two are nothing alike physically. It’s been my experience that people have a physical type they prefer and when they run contrary to it, it should send up a red flag in your head that something isn't right.

Bush on $4 Gas and McCain the Foreigner

Bush: What $4 Gas? - Apparently Bush was surprised that gas could go as high as $4 by summer. I don't know why, gas always goes up for the spring/summer vacation season and since $3 is the new regular price of gas, it can only go higher. His response was the belief that making his tax cuts permanent would fix it. What gas prices have to do with it is beyond me but then Bush isn't particularly bright. Then again he is a gas man and gas companies continue to experience record profits so that might have something to do with it.

McCain A Foreigner? - Apparently John McCain was born in Panama Canal back in 1936 raising doubts that he can run for President. According to the Constitution he has to be natural-born and Panama isn't the US. However, back then the Panama Canal was US owned landed, protected by US troops, paid for by US funds. Generally, much like army bases and embassies, this usually marks the land as a pocket of the US right in the middle of another country. As a result, yes, McCain is a natural born US citizen.

Justice League, Recession, Battlestar Spoilers, and a Mayor in Lingerie

Major Fired Over Photo - Apparently the small town of Arlington, Oregon didn't take well to Mayor Carmen Kontur-Gronquist's sexy picture she posted on MySpace. As always the problem is less the sex and more about money. Apparently the 42 year old dared to cause an impact on the town's elite by laying off two workers who helped maintain the local golf course. As any one knows, do what you want until the rich get impacted. I don't blame her for refusing to take down the pics. It’s her personal time and frankly she should be proud of her looks. She looks damn good. If more mayors looked like her people might actually care more about local politics.

Justice League a Go - After multiple false starts related to budget, casting and the Writer's Strike, it appears that Warner Bros has finally signed off on a live action Justice League movie. The script is from Kieran and Michele Mulroney and will be directed by George Miller with shooting occurring in Australia. The plan is to have the movie come out in summer 2009. Good news I guess but WB's ability to exploit their characters in an effective and good manner is spotty at best so my hopes are low. Ultimately I don't think WB management "gets" comics and so they just don't take the properties seriously and it shows in the final work (and no, one good Batman movie isn't proof of a turnaround in management think).

Food and Gas Increases - CNN reports how the cost of food and energy is squeezing consumers and reducing disposable income. Even worse, experts believe that gas will climb up to $4.00 a gallon by spring. Considering that Exxon is continuing to enjoy record profits ($40 billion last quarter), it doesn't really surprise me since greed begats more greed. So while the republicans continue to ignore fears of a recession, news like this doesn't do anything to make me believe them.

WGA Contract Approved - The strike has already ended but now the new contract has been approved by 93.6% of the WGA membership. So ends a work stoppage environment until June (when SAG contract expires) or three years from now when the DGA and WGA new contracts expire.

Battlestar Galatica Season 4 Spoilers - Canada's Hypaspace aired a five minute advertisement where the cast briefly teases and shows images from the upcoming season of BSG season 4. Video below. The show is excellent and highly recommend. Doesn't hurt that the stunning Grace Parks is a cast member.

Diebold Releases 2008 Election Results

The Onion has released a hilarious faux news report where Diebold accidentally reveals that John McCain wins the 2008 election with 48% of the vote. It is not a scandal but a company mistake and they apologize to their overlords while imploring the public to continue to participate in the fake election as planned. It is hard to explain, it's funny and SNL should consider stealing it.

Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early

Elizabeth Banks F$@#ing Seth Rogan

The joke continues, getting close to dead horse territory, this time with Elizabeth Banks, Rogan and others from Kevin Smith's in production movie "Zack and Miri Make a Porno." This follows in the steps of Sarah Silverman's I F$@#ed Matt Damon and Jimmy Kimmel's I F#!%ed Ben Affleck videos. The only reason I even gave any attention is because of my crush on the gorgeous Banks. The one below doesn't bleep the cuss words so consider it not work safe.

Movies and Junk

Jon Stewart at Oscar, Critic Approved - The critics have spoken on Jon Stewart's Oscar performance and they declare it good. Their criteria seem to be that some people laughed and no one was offended. At this point I don't know why they bother with a host since he basically just opens the show, introduces the next presenter and then says "good night!".

From Lex to Freddy? - Michael Rosenbaum, on probably his last full season as Lex Luthor on Smallville, was apparently seen having a business lunch with Michael Bay. From that has come the rumors that Rosenbaum was meeting either for the lead Freddy Krueger role in the Nightmare remake or a voice in Transformers. Or it could have just been lunch and probably talking about some new starlets they are banging.

Bourne 4 - Universal plans on making a 4th Bourne movie with agreements from star Matt Damon and Director Paul Greengrass. Details on when, what, and so forth as it’s too new for those details. There was a 4th Bourne book but the movie series never followed the book series anyway except with the use of some names.

iTunes #2 Music Retailer - The success of iTunes continues has it has jumped past Best Buys and Amazon to claim the number 2 spot for selling the most music. The reason was its 4 billion songs sold last year. All that is left is Wal-Mart. This is why Amazon has started digital downloads and while the music industry, despite hating the lack of control iTunes gives them, continues to do business with Apple.

Kimmel: I'm F#%@ing Ben Affleck

Jimmy Kimmel has aired his response to Sarah Silverman's video "confession" that she was F@#$ing Matt Damon. It is a star-studded affair (think USA for Africa) and hilarious. Now to just find the unbeeped versions of the videos.

Oscar Winners, Mint Apple //c, and Final Fantasy Tech

Oscar Winners - The awards have been given out, the jokes made and the montages aired. Overall a boring show with no surprises. Well not quite true, I am still dumfounded by the attention that No Country for Old Men is getting. It just wasn't that good to me and playing an unemotional killer isn't Oscar worthy to me. But then considering the Oscars gives out awards based on what movies could have fit right at home in the '50s and '60s I can't say I am not surprised. Jon Stewart was good but barely was on screen for 20 minutes of the 3 hours plus program which makes me wonder why bother with a host at all. The low ratings reflect the safe choices the Oscar continue to choose and this years winner will join the previous in the march to becoming trivia answers.

Apple //c Unboxing - Click the link to see the unboxing of an Apple computer built in 1988 but only opened for the first time 20 years later after the dropping $3k in an ebay auction.

Final Fantasy XIII Crystal Engine - If you like the Final Fantasy series, you might find this article about the developer engine that is being developed by Square to help in the building of the game and future games called the Crystal Engine. This "engine" is basically a set of tools and scripts that allow developers to more quickly and cheaply build games so that the same set of instructions do not have to be built from scratch for each game. For example if you know that its a shoot em up, you don't have to keep reprogramming the controls, aiming, movement etc, the engine would already have that.

Ralph Nader Enters Presidential Race

Ralph Nader has once again entered the presidential race as an Independent for the 5 time. Apparently he is seeking to repeat the 2000 election when he helped the Republicans win the election. I could go on about all the reasons why this is bad but instead I will stick with the first thought I had when I heard - "What an idiotic arrogant asshole." He isn't worth any more thought then that.