In anticipation of ABC’s remake of the classic, sci fi miniseries “V”, the SciFi channel (which for some bizarre reason now goes by Sify) is airing the original miniseries and its followup “V: The Final Battle” in back to back airings from 12:30 pm ET to 7 pm tomorrow (the Sunday after Halloween).
I’ve not seen the original in ages, so I’m not sure if rewatching something I remember as a classic (classic used liberally) part of my youth will still rock (as with Red Dawn) or suck (like The Black Hole). Here’s hoping that if they remake The Black Hole, too, they’ll improve on that original.
Anyways, I’m hopeful that this remake will actually pleasantly surprise me. I’ve been disappointed with so many of the recent remakes (with movies such as GI Joe and Transformers stealing pieces of my childhood from me). I’m resting a lot of my hopes with V and with the new Red Dawn.
Below is the sneak peak Trailer for the new “V”. It premiere’s on ABC on Tuesday, November 3rd.
It’s October 30, also known as the day I’m always scrambling to figure out what to be. I’ve utilized stalwart costumes like a magician (when caught in LA without a costume), a white rapper, a white pimp, and a really white basketball player. Amazingly, I’ve never utilized my intense lack of melanin to be a ghost or zombie. I’ll have to look into that sometime.
I’m off to a party tomorrow night where I’ve actually been told I can’t be a zombie (notwithstanding my adoration of the zombie genre, I don’t care enough about dressing up to be offended by this). So I’m more likely to simply go military or some other such simple task.
Halloween is a bizarre holiday. It contributes to our obesity epidemic and has managed to promote a) the sweets industry, b) the dental industry and c) the looking like a whore industry. Seriously, though, from whence did the holiday move from little girls going trick or treating around the block with their dads, to girls aged from adolescents to cougars dressing up like they’re pulling tricks around the block in outfits that would give their dads a coronary? NOT that I’m complaining about that last bit. I’m just saying that the evolution surprises me.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to it and the end of a dull work week where I procrastinated more than anything else. And I’m psyched to see some sexy [nurses / Rosie the riveters / Catwomen / meter maids / french maids / etc.]. For a full list, please see the 100 Sexy Halloween Costumes List.
I’m going to be playing a bit of catch-up, providing reviews of some of the TV series, movies and films I’ve watched over the past few weeks. As a reminder, I go through a lot as I watch ‘em care of Netflix on my personal DVD player when working out on the elliptical at Equinox. Up in this post is Generation Kill.
Ed Burns and David Simon are two of my television heroes. Although I’ve not yet seen The Corner (their breakout 2000 drama), The Wire is the greatest series to ever appear on the telly. Generation Kill is the followup thereto.
The HBO miniseries is based on the 2004 book Generation Kill, written by Rolling Stone scribe Evan Wright. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Wright hitched a ride with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the US Marine Corps. During his two months with 1st Recon, he became ingrained with the troops and reported on Operation Iraqi Freedom and, more importantly, the soldiers who took part in it.
Burns and Simon took up the task of bringing Generation Kill to the small screen. Pairing again with the HBO team that helped bring The Corner and The Wire to fruition, the two moved from West Baltimore to West Baghdad in seven 70 minute episodes.
The series stars Alexander Skarsgård (as Sgt. Brad Colbert), James Ransone (as Colbert’s sidekick Cpt. Ray Person), Lee Tergesen (as the scribe, Wright), Jon Huertas (as ethnically confused Sgt. Antonio Espera), Billy Lush (as redneck Lance Cpl. James Trombley) and Stark Sands (as moral compass Lt. Nate Fick).
I’m still not quite sure what to think of James Cameron’s Avatar. I think it undoubtedly will knock socks off on IMAX in 3D. But I’m still having Jar-Jar flashbacks after the first sneak preview revealed our neon blue friends.
One way or another, this will be one of those hugely anticipated films that will certainly disappoint in some regard to a large portion of the viewing public, but may still totally rock.
Video I took earlier in the year of the wacky finish to the Vanderbilt-Army football game at West Point. Both field goals bank in off the same spot on the left upright. The first ties the game at 13 with 1:00 to play. The second wins it for the cadets in overtime.
Be sure to click HD in the lower right corner to watch in High Def.
Yesterday I finished up watching the BBC miniseries drama “State of Play”, a 2003 production featuring the following IMDB tagline: A thriller set in London, in which a politician’s life becomes increasingly complex as his research assistant is found dead on the London Underground and, in a seemingly unrelated incident, a teenage drug dealer is shot dead.
Featured in the miniseries are David Morrissey and John Simm as the male leads of MP Stephen Collins and Cal McCaffery (an investigative journalist who had served as Collins’ campaign manager and friend back in the day). Supporting are Kelly Macdonald and a very young James McAvoy as journalists, Bill Nighy as their very British editor and Polly Walker as Collins’ wife.
This is one of those miniseries where discussing it too much will just give away plot twists and turns, so I’ll stay somewhat general and discuss the nature of the production.
Ultimately, it is a classic investigative journalist drama… harking back to the early 90s and late 80s themes I recall from my youth. But it’s rather sophisticated in its masking. You don’t really see the various twists and turns coming… as the storytelling is quite first (rather than third) person. You’re seeing what the investigation sees, without having those limitations be so overt as to annoy. You can tell the screenplay was an adaptation of what must have been an engrossing novel of political and journalistic intrigue. [OK, wordy praise now out of the way]
The cast does a knockout job with their performances. Simms and Morrissey are each excellent and McEvoy and Nighy play off each other very well. Also outstanding is Marc Warren in a supporting role. MacDonald is very engaging as what constitutes the female lead and I’m somewhat surprised she hasn’t made a bigger impact on this side of the pond.
“The typical human foot is an anatomical marvel of evolution with 26 bones, 33 joints, 20 muscles, and hundreds of sensory receptors, tendons and ligaments. Like the rest of the body, to keep our feet healthy, they need to be stimulated and exercised.
That’s why we recommend wearing FiveFingers for exercise, play, and for fun. Stimulating the muscles in your feet and lower legs will not only make you stronger and healthier, it improves your balance, agility and proprioception.”
So two weekends ago, me and my buddy went to CitySports on a mission. That mission… to better commune with nature through funky shoes. Ok, not so much with the communing, but yes with the shoes.
Although fitting them was a bit bizarre (I was 3 sizes larger than I should have been, whereas he dropped a size vs. normal shoes), I instantly took to the Vibrams. I wore them out of the store, into St. Patrick’s for a quick stop (and an inappropriate altar boy crack… and humble apology therefor) and all the way home. I got a few stares, but I can hardly blame anyone. I look a bit like a freaking hobbit in them.
The basic concept of the shoes is simple. Unless you’re a biblical literalist (or a moron) you know that the human foot has evolved over millions of years, with at least 4.4 million years of biped evolution. As such, it’s a pretty good bet that natural selection has provided us with a pretty solid footing on which to walk, jog and run. Humans threw all that out of the window by introducing the sole three and a half or four thousand years ago. Suddenly, our toes no longer held a grip. Our feet were turned into a connector to the slat that touched the ground for us.
With no disrespect to Phil Knight intended, nowhere is this alteration in physiology felt more than with the athletic shoe. No $250 Jordans will give you the same control that you have barefoot. That’s the theory behind Vibrams. Well, that and the new chic trend of barefoot marathoning (see, e.g., Born to Run). Read more…
I suppose it’s certainly healthier than my past addictions to smoking and pizza. But I honestly don’t feel good unless I get 90 minutes at the gym each night. I do it late, so I always wake up feeling wiped out, and yet never feel like I’ve quite worked out enough.
Part of the interesting element of my addiction is that it has a side effect (beyond losing weight) of watching a ton of TV. I purchased a DVD player and utilized my Netflix queue to get through multiple TV series while on the elliptical trainer. Right now, I’m wrapping up the BBC miniseries State of Play and have recently torn through Generation Kill, Torchwood, Firefly, Damages, Deadwood, Mad Men and a series of movies. I’ve also re-watched a couple of the seasons of The Wire that I own. So I imagine I’ll use this journal to provide my thoughts on them as I wrap them up.
Another side effect has been the unfulfilling purchase of fitness gadgetry. It never seems to work out: be it dumbbells I rarely use at home (though I thank Amazon Prime for ridiculously letting me ship those for free), that chin-up bar that doesn’t work on any of my door frames (but I still use as a push-up bar occasionally), the FitBit that I’m still waiting for word on when it will ship (and will review once I get it) and the Vibram Five Fingers that I actually love, but ordered just before it got cold and wet.
Anyway, I started my addiction after finally hitting fitness rock bottom. Two years ago, I quit smoking for a month and gained about 20 lbs during that month. I figured I’d let myself go with eating so long as I didn’t smoke. Bad move. I ended up smoking again and never lost the weight. I continued to gain about 15 more pounds at my new firm thanks to far too many late nights with Seamlessweb. I knew it was time to finally quit about 10 months ago. I readied myself for the task (quitting while not gaining weight) by deciding to get gym regular. 20 minutes on the elliptical twice a week became 40 minutes thrice. I now go almost every day. In fact, last week I went 8 times (one two-a-day) and my standard workout is now between 90 minutes and two hours with some weightlifting, cardio and a 10 minute steam. I’ve gone from an all-time high of 227 down to about 207-209 as of this morning. More importantly, I’m seeing some change in my body and my waistline (and in my TV and movie IQ).
Ultimately, though, I do find it a little disturbing that I feel the need to hit the gym. I’ve chosen it over going out more than a few times and wonder if it actually is making me far more anti-social. Then again, I’m debating that with myself on Tumblr — I guess that answers that question.
Here’s this week’s SEC Power Poll Ballot from Save The Shield for Team Speed Kills. Here’s this week’s (SEC Week 8 Power Poll final results are here @ Team Speed Kills):
1. Alabama Can we all take a moment to thank Terrence Cody. If he doesn’t block that kick we A) have to put up with UT fans at a level of unsufferability last seen when Peyton was conducting Rocky Top and B) don’t get the undefeated SEC title matchup the refs have worked so hard for.
2. Florida
Can you not say Shibboleth? These scant margins are mere tests for Harris Poll voters, as merely a mustard seed of faith will be sufficient to move the chains enough to beat Alabama and Texas (Urban 17:20).
I’m off to a party tomorrow night where I’ve actually been told I can’t be a zombie (notwithstanding my adoration of the zombie genre, I don’t care enough about dressing up to be offended by this). So I’m more likely to simply go military or some other such simple task.
Ed Burns
Featured in the miniseries are 
“The typical human foot is an anatomical marvel of evolution with 26 bones, 33 joints, 20 muscles, and hundreds of sensory receptors, tendons and ligaments. Like the rest of the body, to keep our feet healthy, they need to be stimulated and exercised. 
The basic concept of the shoes is simple. Unless you’re a biblical literalist (or a moron) you know that the human foot has evolved over millions of years, with at least 4.4 million years of biped evolution. As such, it’s a pretty good bet that natural selection has provided us with a pretty solid footing on which to walk, jog and run. Humans threw all that out of the window by introducing the sole three and a half or four thousand years ago. Suddenly, our toes no longer held a grip. Our feet were turned into a connector to the slat that touched the ground for us.
Part of the interesting element of my addiction is that it has a side effect (beyond losing weight) of watching a ton of TV. I purchased a DVD player and utilized my 
