Darren McGavin R.I.P.

Another beloved actor has also died.

Darren McGavin, whom I am familiar with as "The Old Man" in the classic film A Christmas Story, was 83.

He made an indelible mark in the world of cinema as "The Old Man", who's daily battles with the dying furnace and complete ecstasy experienced upon winning a major award, only to have it purposefully broken by a jealous wife, has won him a permanent place in cinema history and has made A Christmas Story an essential part of the Christmas holidays.

"Fra-gee-lay... well that must be Italian!!"

Farewell Don Knotts

Sadly, Don Knotts has passed away.

Forever known to all as Deputy Barney Fife, he won America's heart as the bumbling second-in-command of the Mayberry Police Department, constantly getting himself into more trouble than it was worth, yet possessing a heart so big his lanky form could hardly contain it. He won 5 Emmy awards for his role as Barney, and has been a staple of the American comedy elite for many decades.

Watching him flash his badge and show off his skills as a man of the law was always a treat. You'd think a mere gust of wind would push him over, yet he fought hard to uphold the law, and was a family man and genuine friend. The Andy Griffith show would not be the classic it is without him.

He was 81.

IMDB info

AOHELL

This is unbelievable.

AOL, lovingly refered to as AOHELL by it's entire client base, is jacking up its rates. Now, America's most annoying online provider will charge $26 dollars a month for their dial up service. $26 DOLLARS A MONTH!!! Well, technically it's $25.90, but let's not get technical here.

Why anyone would pay more than a cent for dial up is beyond me, let alone 26 times that. AOL needs to go away now.

You've got astronomical rates

LEGO

This is amazing.

Read it and see it for yourself.

Just amazing...

WOW!

To read an interview with the builder, and to see high-res images, click here

Hypocrisy knows no bounds.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/02/16/MNGS3H9J3N1.DTL&type=printable

The leftist media are like a school of Piranha. They see the flesh of the Bush administration and they shred it in a feeding frenzy. Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot his hunting partner. He finally decides to talk to the media. He chooses to be interviewed by Fox News’ Brit Hume. What does the left do? They cry fowl! “Of course the Vice President would choose Fox News. They are sympathetic to the Republicans! For Shame!!!” The crybabies at CNN are mad that Cheney chose Hume, and they take an immediate political stance on the matter. Think back a few years to the Clinton administration. Had something like this happened to Vice President Al Gore(not that he’d ever go hunting, but something similar), and he chose to be interviewed by CNN’s Paula Zahn, would Fox News go to such great lengths to moan and wail that Gore’s choice of interview was to cushion his fall? Would the Media Right be allowed to get away with such a thing? NO! The Liberal Media would have a field day, saying we’re hypocritical, and just plain crybabies. They’d have at least 2 days worth of headlines saying so. Yet, here we have CNN reporters like Jack Cafferty saying the Vice President is “seeking safe haven”. What a joke. But no one will call the left wing media on this. It’s common knowledge that the Democrats and liberals rely on CNN to tell them what they want to hear. But they don’t like to be told this. They think CNN is neutral and Fox News is nothing but a Right wing sympathizer. Sad.

Star Wars: The Live Concert

I had the pleasure of attending the recent Dallas Symphony Orchestra performance of Star Wars on Wednesday, February 8. Anthony Daniels(C3PO) himself was there to provide the narration. This was the first time I have been to the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, though not my first time experiencing live orchestral music. My Dad raised me on classical music, with countless records in his possession, he was always listening. He is a trumpet player, so it was not uncommon to go see him perform in the orchestra. It was mostly centered around the high schools or colleges he was working at during the time, but every once in a while we'd all go out to watch a performance. It is a wonderful thing to hear your favorite music live, especially something as timeless as Star Wars. On hand were many of the most popular themes throughout the entire Star Wars saga, from Episode I to Episode VI. Some highlights include:

Duel of the Fates(between Obi Wan/Qui-gon Jinn and Darth Maul), complete with choir (Episode I)
Anakin/Padme's love theme, a sweeping, beautiful piece and one of my personal favorites (Episode II)
Anakin/Obi Wan's lava duel, an epic, sad and emotional power piece that sent chills down my spine! (Episode III)
The opening crawl from the legendary Star Wars beginning, as the camera tilts down from the stars to the desert planet of Tatooine, and the Star Destroyer barrels overhead, dwarfing the small Rebel cruiser on the run (an event permanently burned into the conciousness of the world!) (Episode IV)
The thrilling chase in the asteroid field (Episode V), which, by the way, was introduced by Mr. Daniels as C3PO in his frantic statement that "the odds of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,760 to 1!" Of course, any Star Wars nerd will tell you that the number Mr. Daniels stated was not the same in the actual movie! It's actually 3,720 to 1. But since he's Anthony Daniels, we'll let it slide (for obvious reasons)
Jabba's Theme from Episode VI, which garnered the tuba player a commendation --that's a "Bravo" and a thumbs up-- from the conductor (the one and only Erich Kunzel of Cincinnati Pops fame)
Luke and Leia, the melancholy, hauntingly beautiful theme from the original trilogy that was highlighted in Episode VI, another one of my personal favorites.
And last but not least, The Imperial March, which was accompanied by a few Storm Troopers marching down the aisles, and an appearance by Darth Vader (a local 501st member) up in the balcony where the organ is played.

In a fun little capper, the jazzy tune from the Cantina in Episode IV was the final piece of music played, and the Stormtroopers came out and danced, which was wacky fun. Although, I'm still scratching my head as to why one of the stormtroopers was short and a little rotund. Seemed a bit out of place. Also there's the fact that the resident Darth Vader was short and had to wear platform shoes to complete the look...

On a lighter note, it was a joy to see Anthony Daniels perform the narration. He even added some classic 3PO mannerisms that we all know and love. The best part was when he started going off on a tangent about C3PO, how great and smart and heroic he was... The conductor would get angry and stare him down... was a lot of fun.

The Meyerson Symphony Center is a beautiful place. The sound was wonderful, and although the seats down in the Orchestra section were tight and a little cramped, they were comfortable and the experience was a joy. I am definitely going back to hear some nice music. I am looking forward to the next Bach festival. Or Vivaldi. I'd also love to hear some piano.

Battlestar Galactica

I have become hooked to this re-imagining of the campy 70's hit Battlestar Galactica.

This Sci-Fi Channel original series is a hot topic right now, and for good reason. The show is very engrossing, and the nature of its continuing storyline complete with many cliffhangers compels the viewer to tune in every Friday at 10p.m./9 central on the Sci-Fi Channel for the dramatic conclusions. This is not a campy space romp. This is a serious discussion of human nature and the consequences we sometimes refuse to face. This is smart science fiction.

My first encounter with this show occurred when it was first released. My boss watched and liked the show, and he would have discussions with another JCPenney employee about that week's episode. I would chuckle, thinking to myself that it was just another cheesy sci-fi show. I took no notice. After a while, it was released on DVD. Some time later, I became hooked on Firefly, and since my boss got me into that show, he suggested I tackle Battlestar Galactica next. So I bought the season 1 DVD set. It included the original mini-series that introduced this new version of Battlestar Galactica. My first impression was that it looked spectacular. Beautiful, widescreen cinematography and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. Production wise, the show is top notch. The computer animated space sequences, including dogfights, faster-than-light(FTL) jumps, and planetary exploration looked expensive and very high quality. My one big caveat was that it was too clichéd. The idea is that the Battlestar Galactica is like a navy aircraft carrier, and the chain of command is very much like our own military. There was the old battleaxe Commander, whom the crew loved for his many years of service, there was the X.O. and his drinking problem, there was the cocky pilot who is too talented for his(in this case, her) own good, and who is constantly at odds with the X.O., there were the usual military trademarks, and that aspect of the show was boring to me. I didn't need to see a futuristic version of Top Gun. However, as the show progressed, the usual military clichés dropped off, and the sci-fi element was allowed to take over.

Some of the elements of the original show have been repeated here. The Cylons are a race of humanoid machines created by man to help with the colonization of nearby planets. The usual event occurred: the Cylons turned on their creators, and proceeded to wipe out the entire human race. However, the Cylons are no longer robot-like; they have developed the technology to mimic humans to almost undistinguishable proficiency. They look like us, now. Therefore, they are much harder to detect and have begun to infiltrate the remaining human population. The methods used to bring us down are very well thought out, and provide one of the most intriguing aspects of the show.
Also, some of the effects were mimicked, such as the fighter ships' launch from the Galactica. They are shot through the narrow tubes at a high rate of speed, very similar to the original show. The Cylon Centurions have been redesigned, yet they still have the classic red eye that slides back and forth in their visor. Very cool.




Now a little past the half way point in the second season, the show has drawn me in to the point that I am devising ways to watch the show, since I don't have cable. I purchased 3 of the episodes from iTunes, and despite the small size, they are not too bad for the $1.99 asking price. It will be several months before the second half of the second season is released to DVD. If ever there was a reason for me to invest in a PVR, this would be it!

There are several concurring storylines in Battlestar Galactica. It keeps things interesting. I also love the way some of them are shot. They have a stylized look that makes it so much better; it is daring. They are intercut very well and propel the story forward. The show deservedly receives accolades for being the best show on television. This is certainly the best Sci-Fi show to come along in years.