Spider-Man 3 Poster

Even though it is not due in theaters for another year, here is the 1st released official artwork/graphic for the next installment of the Spider-Man movie franchise.
This one is shaping up to be a pretty good one. With a classic villain to contend with - Sandman played by Thomas Hayden Church (Wings, Sideways) - this should prove to be a very exciting installment in the franchise.
Enjoy!

Mr. Furley Dies...

Sad day in the entertainment world as news of Don Knotts's passing is announced. If you don't know who he is, he played Deputy Barney Fife on the Andy Griffith Show and 'Swinging' downstairs landlord Mr. Furley on Three's Company, both of which are in continuous rotation on a channel somewhere on your dial (best bet would be TV Land). Anyway, among other memorable roles in film and tv, these are his most familiar as they were both staples of my childhood entertainment.

Article on MSNBC.com

...Seems like they do come in 3s after all. News hit yesterday that Dennis Weaver - TV's McCloud - passed away as well as Darren McGavin - TV's Carl Kolchak: The Nightstalker and (again) the Dad in one of my all-time favorites A Christmas Story.

The Next Generation

Last weekend, my friends from Japan Tommy and Marina were in town for a couple of days on their way to the East Coast. They have a brand new baby girl named Jadis who they were bringing to see Tommy's folks in Florida.
As always, even for brief times like this visit - we were only able to spend a couple of hours hanging out. It was great to see them and meet the new addition to Nixon/Kinno team. The best part of it was being able to see some friends who I haven't seen in a while (some for a couple of years), but who I was sort of connected to (in a roundabout way) through T and M. These are friends who I spent (I guess you could call them) my 'wilder days' with - I have to admit that I was possibly the tamest of the bunch, hence the disclaimer, but since having Hylah and moving out of San Francisco to the suburbs, I've sort of fallen out of the loop and have only kept contact with them via emails and the rare personal appearances.
This is a group of people that I met originally when I worked as a doorperson (everyone was pretty chill so I never really had to work 'security') for a semi-regular underground party almost 10 years ago, who then turned me on to Burningman, which then, with some including T and M, evolved into closer friendships.
It was great to see everyone, who, the majority of, are now either expecting or have already had a child in the years since I last saw them. It was interesting to see my old friends and how they've tranisitioned into parenthood and especially this new generation of 'party-people' that they are bringing into the world.

Great stuff.

Netflix Throttling

This just in from CNN to all interested Netflix customers. If you rent a lot of movies through them you may be interested in this.
Throttling

Flame Warriors

If you've ever visited and/or participated in the discussions on a message board, it's possible that you've either been a witness to or a party in a 'Flame War'. If so, you'll probably find this link quite entertaining.

Click here for descriptions of various Flame Warrior archetypes.

Now Just Don't Piss Him Off!

Hulk Star Becomes Reserve Deputy
From the AP via Superherohype.com

Lou Ferrigno, 54, who played the green-skinned monster on the CBS TV show The Incredible Hulk from 1977 to 1982, was sworn in as a county sheriff's department reserve deputy during a ceremony Monday night in Los Angeles.

"My father was a police officer with the New York Police Department; I've always had a high respect for officers," Ferrigno told The Associated Press. "I want to give back to the community, and I want to work with young kids, help them get off drugs."

Ferrigno began training to become a reserve deputy last September after passing a background check. He completed training in firearms, first aid, and high speed driving techniques and was recognized as "an outstanding trainee" by Sheriff Lee Baca.

Ferrigno will serve at least 20 hours a month, help recruit new deputies and work with the sheriff's Youth Activities League and the Special Victims Bureau, which assists abused children.

'Star Wars' Actor Brown Dies

News today of Luke Skywalker's uncle/caretaker's passing at 89.

Actor Phil Brown, best known for playing Luke Skywalker's Uncle Owen in Star Wars, has died of pneumonia. He was 89. The Massachusetts-born actor died at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California on Thursday, according to his widow Ginny. After starring in movies and TV shows in the 1940s, Brown moved to London in the 1950s after he was wrongly blacklisted during the Communist scares in the United States. Star Wars director George Lucas cast Brown while filming scenes for the 1977 sci-fi epic in London, and his fame playing Uncle Owen in the movie lead to his return to America. Brown is survived by widow Ginny, their son Kevin, two grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

“Family” entertainment on the cheap...

There is a little spot in Oakland that is great for families with kids. It’s the Parkway Speakeasy Theater located at 1834 Park Blvd. in Oakland. I’ve been going there for the past 3 years and it’s a great place to see 2nd run movies on a budget.
Generally, big movies that you would normally see at your local Cineplex show up here somewhere within 2-3 months of their initial run. From time to time, they also bring back older movies for special events. They also have a regular Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight on Saturdays, with all the trimmings.
For most of it’s existence in Oakland, it’s been a 21 and over theater as they do serve alcohol, but recently they’ve instituted more 'All Ages’ or ‘Family’ showtimes. They’ve had what they call ‘The Baby Brigade’ (Mondays at approx. 6pm) for their customers with infants or children under 1 year, but in order to accommodate those same customers with kids that no longer fall under the under 1 category, they’ve added 2 more ‘All Ages/Family’ showtimes into their schedule. Those are the ‘All Ages’ matinee on Saturday at around 2-3pm and a ‘Family Night’ which is on Sunday for all shows.
The seating in the theater is great as you have a selection of very comfortable couches as well as love seats and upstairs they do have some traditional theater seats, but all are quite comfortable and the rooms are nice and spacious so you can stretch your legs.
Concessions are good here as well. There is a good menu available on their website (which I will include at the end) which includes sandwiches, salads, desserts, pizza and drinks include soft drinks, lemonade, various juices, and a selection of beers (if you are so inclined).
Admission is usually $5 per person (which varies if the show is a special event show), the Saturday matinee is $3 and the Rocky Horror Show is $6.
There is plenty of on the street parking and they are OK with ins and outs if you have to feed your meter.
One word of warning however would be that even though the times are listed as ‘All ages’ and/or ‘Family’, please check the website before planning your trip as the shows are not always appropriate for all ages or for all families. So please use your own discretion.
Now, one word of advice. Put yourself on their mailing list to get the most up to date schedules as the website is usually updated on the Wednesday before the new shows start playing. The mailing list will ensure that you get a 2-3 day head start on the schedule before the website is updated.

Please go to www.picturepubpizza.com for any other info, questions, to view the schedule and the menu.

Enjoy!

The Almighty Chuck Norris

A friend of mine emailed me a list from this site which my co-worker also sent to me today. This time it's a whole website on the greatness that is Chuck Norris. Enjoy!


Click to be a witness to Chuck's glory

Super Bowl Ad #1 - Featuring Brian Callaway

I was watching the Super Bowl at my friend's house over the weekend when I saw my friend/ co-worker Brian Callaway on a Budweiser commercial. We were pretty amazed by this since his previous claim to fame (with us at least), among other appearances on Mad TV and The Bernie Mac Show, was a very small part on Seinfeld (The Butter Shave episode) - He says "Ouch!" 3 times on the show when (I think it was) Elaine leans her airplane seat back on him.
Anyway, this spot has gone on to be the number 1 rated commercial for this year's Super Bowl broadcast. Congratulations Brian!

Check out the links:
SFGate Article
Link to Commercial
Commercial Rankings for SBXL