Astros Win!

We went to tonight's game, it was another good one with a homerun to end it in the 9th inning.

Everytime Biggio came up to bat, he got a standing ovation, it was nice.

Former teammate Jeff Bagwell was there to congratulate Craig Biggio after reaching the 3,000-hit milestone.

Congrats Craig!!

Biggio has hit 2998 and 2999 tonight...

And the game is still going on.

We have tickets to tomorrow night's game.

Sonic DS Title Developing

Sega announced the development of Sonic Rush Adventure for the Nintendo DS hand-held gaming system. Sonic Rush Adventure will make use of both screens to navigate the high seas in search of pirate treasure and deliver Sonic's classic high-speed 2-D gameplay, the company said.

Developed by Sega Studios, Sonic Rush Adventure for the DS will be available in fall 2007.

Sonic Rush Adventure is the sequel to Sonic Rush and invites players to blast through seven action-packed levels that continue the gameplay experience of the original title.

Rockies may be ideal opponent for Biggio

Batting average vs. Colorado best against any NL club

By BRIAN McTAGGART
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

MILWAUKEE — There's a whirlwind of emotions inside Craig Biggio. He's increasingly excited the closer he gets to reaching 3,000 hits, but the Astros' awful play tempers the enthusiasm.

"It's a lot better when we are winning," Biggio said Wednesday after the Astros were swept by first-place Milwaukee with a 6-3 loss in 11 innings.

Biggio wasn't in the starting lineup in the final game of the road trip, but he pinch-hit in the 11th against Brewers reliever Dave Bush and popped out trying to put down a sacrifice bunt.

Biggio remains at 2,997 hits as the Astros open an 11-game homestand tonight at Minute Maid Park against Colorado. The Astros expect standing-room-only crowds for all four games of the Rockies series.

"I'm excited about it," Biggio, 41, said. "I don't know what the number (of career hits) was before we left (on the road trip), but we had a nice little homestand and swung the bats well, and the fans started getting energized.

"I went home one night and felt a little giddy because they were getting me excited and pumped about it. I think it's going to be a pretty nice little atmosphere going on."

Biggio's career .347 batting average against Colorado is his highest against any National League team. He's 3-for-9 in his career against Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook (4-5, 4.93 ERA), who will start tonight.

"He has been a great player, and it is a great milestone that says so much about not only his ability but his durability and determination," Cook told the Rocky Mountain News. "I would just as soon have him wait a few days (to reach 3,000), but it will be a special moment when the hit does come."

Biggio's immediate family was with him during the road trip, and he's expecting more family and friends in Houston tonight. But Biggio is letting wife Patty handle all those details, and he wants to know as little as possible about the Astros' plans for a ceremony.

"The wife is doing it all," he said. "She's doing a pretty good job. I think everybody understands the situation, and she's got it all worked out. We'll go home and see what happens."

Rockies outfielder Willy Taveras, who was traded from the Astros to Colorado along with pitchers Jason Hirsh and Taylor Buchholz last offseason, admires Biggio.

"You think of his career — an All-Star catcher and second baseman, and he also started in center field," Taveras said. "That shows you how good he was and how much he meant for the team. He worked hard, learned new positions, and played them well. When you were a young player, Biggio and (Jeff) Bagwell were the guys who made sure you understood the game."

Biggio has six three-hit games this year, including three in June. If he doesn't reach the 3,000-hit milestone tonight, he'll try Friday against Rockies pitcher Josh Fogg, against whom Biggio is 8-for-33 (.242).

"What's amazing is how hard he has played for 20 years and how durable he has been," Fogg said. "When I was a kid, I was watching him, and he was a great player. Now I'm getting older, and he's still going."

Hopefully we are going to the game tomorrow night!! - Marc

Whedon Auctions Dinner For Charity

Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon is auctioning off himself—that is to say, dinner with him—to benefit Equality Now, a charity that promotes equal rights for and fights violence and discrimination against women around the world.

Fans can bid for one of five seats at a private dinner with Whedon, who also created Firefly/Serenity and Angel, at Comic-Con International. "For three hours, Joss gets to be your biggest fan," Whedon writes on his official auction page on eBay.

The dinner is being sponsored by Dark Horse Comics, which is currently publishing Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer season-eight comic series, and MySpace.com. Auction Cause is handling the auction.

The auction will also feature other items, including a watch and autographed comics. The auction kicks off July 2.

100 Blogs We Love

By the Editors of PC World

Here are our favorite stops in the blogosphere, covering everything from high tech to low comedy and all manner of pursuits in between.

How big is the blogosphere? In April the blog search engine Technorati reported that it was tracking 70 million blogs, with 120,000 new ones arriving every day. In such a huge universe, the signal-to-noise ratio is bound to be daunting, but we'll share with you the ones we've found worthy.

In compiling our list, we realized that reasonable men and women may disagree on the definition of a blog. For example, we quickly discarded the notion that a blog must be the work of an individual: Some of the best, including, and we hope you'll agree, our own Today @ PC World, are the work of many people. But we all agreed that a good blog has at least some element of voice: The people who write it express an opinion in the words they write and the images they include.

Of course, lots of the blogs we read deal with technology. But hey, we have personal lives, too. We like the recipes at Slashfood, the animation at Cartoon Brew, even the adorably over-the-top photos at Cute Overload.

Burn Notice

from Bruce's website...

USA Network has a fancy new spy-turned-one-man-A-team premiering this month called Burn Notice, starring that dude from Touching Evil, that chick from Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead, and that guy from Sundown: A Vampire in Retreat.

Bruce plays Sam Axe, a Jimmy-Buffet-shirt-wearing former special ops warrior who has devoted his post-conflct years to drinking as many and having as much sex on the beach as possible.

Burn Notice starts June 28th at 10PM on USA and is so far scheduled for 13 episodes. We're all very excited and trust that both of the people who routinely visit Bruce Campbell Online will watch, TiVo, iTune, or Joost every episode (people who own Zunes are not allowed to watch).

USA Network's Page
Click Here to See a Video Interview with Bruce

Bruce Campbell Online

Dry cleaner wins missing pants case

A judge ruled Monday in favor of a dry cleaner that was sued for $54 million over a missing pair of pants.

I am so glad the dry cleaner won this case. I cannot tell you here what I think should happen to the judge that filed suit against these poor people. - Marc

Vacation!

We went on vacation the past several days. I'll try to post details later. We had a really good time.

Trek Script Done, Shoots In Fall

Roberto Orci, who with writing partner Alex Kurtzman is scripting the new Star Trek movie, told SCI FI Wire that they have finished the script are in preproduction on the movie, which will go into production in November under director J.J. Abrams. "We're still casting," Orci said while promoting his next film, Michael Bay's Transformers. "We're in preproduction, actually, this month."

While revealing little about the 11th Trek film's top-secret plot, Orci offered a few tidbits. "Kirk is in the movie," he said. "Some kind of Kirk. ... We literally haven't cast them yet. It's actually one of the challenges, and so we're hoping to have something by Comic-Con [in San Diego in July], but we'll see."

Orci added that producers are wrestling with whom to cast. "That's one of the debates, you know?" he said. "Like, how much does a familiar face hurt or not?" As for rumors that Matt Damon is in line for Kirk or Adrien Brody for Spock, Orci would only smile. "I've read all those rumors, too."

Is the Trek movie being eyed as the kickoff of a possible TV series? "I'm sure CBS is thinking about that," he said. "That's not [something] we're thinking about. We're just thinking about the movie. Certainly, I don't know how they could not think about that."

Larroquette Tapped for 'Boston Legal'

John Larroquette will join ABC's David E. Kelley drama Boston Legal next season as a senior partner from the New York offices of Crane Poole & Schmidt who transfers to the Boston office. No other details were released about his storyline.

The show also announced that Christian Clemenson (who plays Jerry ''Hands'' Espenson, a lawyer and friend of James Spader's character, Alan Shore) has been made a series regular for next season, and that Tara Summers (Dirt) has been added to the cast as a younger associate at the Boston offices.

Meanwhile, a rep for Twentieth Century Fox Television, which produces Boston Legal with Kelley, says that cast members Julie Bowen (Julie MUST be a regular! OMG! Mmmmm), Mark Valley, Rene Auberjonois, and Constance Zimmer will not be series regulars next season.

This will be Larroquette's second stint as a lawyer. He is perhaps still best known for his previous role as the libido-ravaged Dan Fielding on Night Court, a role which earned him four Emmys in the 1980s. Clemenson previously starred in The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. He won an Oustanding Guest Actor Emmy in 2006 for his role on Boston Legal, which is scheduled to start production on its fourth season on June 27.

Father's Day was good, I'll try to post details later...

Irregular 'Flight' Patterns

Conchords ''is a difficult thing to describe. It's a musical comedy. Something like Curb Your Enthusiasm crossed with The Monkees''

Are these guys joking? Usually. But Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, long billed as ''New Zealand's fourth-most-popular folk-parody duo,'' are serious about conquering America. Though each of the Kiwi natives has film credits of his own — Clement, 33, stars in the quirky love story Eagle vs Shark (opening this weekend; see EW review) while 31-year-old Mackenzie's role as an eye-catching elf in 2003's Lord of the Rings: Return of the King had online admirers calling him ''Figwit'' (''Frodo Is Great — Who Is That?'') — the two-man band is ready for TV stardom.

The onetime college roommates portray New York newcomers who are clueless about cracking the music scene in the new HBO comedy series they co-created, Flight of the Conchords (debuts Sunday, June 17, at 9:30 p.m.). Building on an international following of fans who love their droll lyrics and deadpan delivery, they'll play Bonnaroo June 16-17 and record a new CD in July. Clement and McKenzie spoke to EW about dayjobs, girlfriends, and Daryl Hall.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Describe your new HBO series.
JEMAINE CLEMENT: There are a lot of difficult situations that lead to awkwardness. We usually have one big awkward scene every show. I wouldn't say it's exactly like The Office or Curb Your Enthusiasm, where it's all awkward, all the way. But there's always some element of that.
BRET MCKENZIE: It's a difficult thing to describe. It's a musical comedy. Something like Curb Your Enthusiasm crossed with The Monkees.
CLEMENT: Trying to describe it, we always fail to do it in a very appetizing way.

Would it be accurate to call it semi-improvised?
MCKENZIE: We write full scripts, so we have a structure, and we improvise off that. Looking at the edits, I'd say there are large portions of improvised stuff. You can see the life in the takes when it's improvised. It's quite clear — there are moments that seem too unexpected to be scripted.

In one episode, Bret calls home to New Zealand from New York and mentions he's not carrying a gun. Was that based on a myth New Zealanders have about us?
MCKENZIE: I guess so.... But doesn't everyone have a gun here?
CLEMENT: I had a guy from New Zealand stay on my couch who was almost terrified to go outside, based on movies that he saw in the '80s. He's realizing now that it's fine. It's America's own fault, though. That's the way it portrays itself.
MCKENZIE: Star Wars really made it confusing.
CLEMENT: That's not set in America.
MCKENZIE: Oh, right. Well I, actually, I expected the Ewoks to be here. I was really disappointed.

Your characters room together — how much did your days as roommates inform those scenes?
CLEMENT: We didn't literally live in the same room, like on the series.
MCKENZIE: The show is mainly influenced by our experiences touring and performing as a band.
CLEMENT: Actually, when we'd first come to the States and do shows, we'd share a hotel room. We wouldn't now. We wouldn't be able to take it, because we spend so much time together filming and writing.
MCKENZIE: We've traveled to Europe, we've played Edinburgh a lot, [but for the series] we've drawn a lot on the days when we were drawing crowds of five people. Our desperate years.
CLEMENT: We both had pretty bad jobs when we were roommates. You saw the episode where Bret has to hold a sign? Well, he once had a job where he had to dress up as a boat. Like a tugboat, and give out fliers for rides on the boat. I haven't done anything as embarrassing as that.

What made you decide to form a musical duo?
MCKENZIE: We started the band in 1998. I was a musician. Jemaine wasn't. We were students, and we wanted to learn how to play guitar, so we started writing songs, 'cause we weren't capable of playing other people's songs.
CLEMENT: We were both sick of doing auditions for crappy American TV movies and for TV shows in New Zealand, and we'd never get them, or the parts would never suit us. And I remember, we had a big discussion: ''Oh, let's do a band, then.'' We made up a few songs. And we just kept doing it.
MCKENZIE: Most of our early songs are based on one chord. As the years have gone on, now we're up to seven chords.

And why did you name yourselves ''Flight of the Conchords''?
MCKENZIE: There isn't really a good story. Other than...we shared...a dream. A vision. [Laughs] Jemaine's explanation will be completely different.
CLEMENT: It was just, like, a last-minute thing. We had a gig and we didn't have a name. We had to come up with something quickly. We were considering ''Tanfastic.'' Which is the name of a suntan lotion.

Do you miss New Zealand?
JEMAINE CLEMENT: I miss the city Bret and I live in, Wellington. It's a good place to be creative, in the same way New York is.
BRET MCKENZIE: I definitely miss New Zealand. Mainly friends and family. [Wellington] is a very small town. It's strange, though — that small town quality is actually kind of similar to the East Village. New York has small towns within it, I think.
CLEMENT: We're sort of in a group of people back home — Taika Waititi, who directed and wrote Eagle vs Shark, is one, and me and Bret and a couple other guys.... There are [artistic cliques] like that here.

Jemaine, didn't you film most of Eagle vs Shark in Wellington?
CLEMENT: Yeah, I loved doing that.

Why?
CLEMENT: I enjoyed not having that responsibility of having written [Eagle vs Shark]. I just didn't have to worry about that part of it. And my character Jarrod — I like the guy. It was like playing someone playing a character. He's acting all the time. I like to think of him as a really nice guy who just got beaten up so much that he learned not to act nice. Even though he was. Some people who've seen it are like, ''That guy is such a jerk! Why does Lily like him?'' But I like to imagine that underneath, he's not a jerk.

What's the key to your partnership? Are you two opposites?
CLEMENT: I don't know if we're opposites. We like the same music: Parliament. Stevie Wonder. Wings.
MCKENZIE: Leonard Cohen. Cat Stevens. Beck. Neil and Tim Finn. Crowded House, right, has Neil Finn and Tim Finn in it? Neil Finn's kind of the Paul McCartney of New Zealand. Part of being a New Zealander is liking [his] music.
CLEMENT: Like part of being an American is liking Bruce Springsteen.
MCKENZIE: We have different tastes in comedy. But they generally align. And I think we have different skills...Jemaine's grumpy, and I'm moody.

Really. How else might we be able to tell you apart?
MCKENZIE: I'm easy to get along with, and intolerant.
CLEMENT: Unlike me, you mean.
MCKENZIE: Jemaine's very tolerant but difficult to get along with.
CLEMENT: Yeah, they don't get along with me, but I get along with other people.

Looking back at the FotC shoot, are there scenes you particularly enjoyed?
MCKENZIE: One of my favorites is when I get to throw a peanut butter sandwich in Jemaine's face.
CLEMENT: He did enjoy that! Definitely. He put a lot into that. [I liked] a scene where our characters were peer-pressured into taking acid. Two new fans think we're really rock-and-roll, so we try to act more rock-and-roll in front of them. We go into a psychedelic song, running around the forest in Beatles clothes.... Bret was so excited the other day [when] we had a cameo by Daryl Hall. And he was really good. A natural actor.
MCKENZIE: That was a seminal moment of my life. I never thought I'd actually get to meet Hall from Hall and Oates. He was very personable. He was really into the comedy of the scene and played it really well.
CLEMENT: We're Hall and Oates fans. We always wanted our apartment on the show decorated with their posters, but weren't allowed to [due to] copyright stuff.

Your supporting cast is strong. Do any of them really crack you up?
JEMAINE CLEMENT: Kristin Schaal, who plays the fan...Our friend Arj Barker, who plays Dave. He's one of my favorite standups...I really love working with Rhys Darby — he plays our manager. I always laugh doing scenes with him.

He had a line, ''Girlfriends and bands don't mix.'' Meanwhile, your characters are all about the ladies. Is that art imitating life? Have you been doing the whole dating-in-New York thing?
CLEMENT: We've imported our New Zealand girlfriends here. They love it. They're not allowed to work. They don't have work permits. I think that would be great, if I could be in a city and wasn't even allowed to work. It's a good city to do that. And we're lucky — we've got jobs so we can look after them here.

Ever sense, after being so well-received abroad, anything is lost in translation when you perform for American audiences?
CLEMENT: I think there's something gained. Because, you know, we're quite low energy. And that's unusual here. I mean, some American comedians, like Stephen Wright, are deadpan. But usually people are running on stage with their hands up in the air. And we just...sit there. I think people find that funny, that we're not shouting. There's something funny about being on a big stage and not making a big effort to fill it up. We try to entertain people with our little songs and small gestures.

Do you sometimes feel like ambassadors for your country?
BRET MCKENZIE: I think once the show's on TV, yeah, we could become — what do you call them? — mascots for New Zealand. Which is quite concerning, because we portray New Zealanders as total idiots. At the moment, they're proud of our success — we're on the news every few weeks — but they don't know how stupid we're gonna make them look. When you think of famous New Zealanders, there aren't many. There's Crowded House. The guy who sang ''How Bizarre.'' Edmund Hillary. He climbed Mount Everest. Some people have heard of him. Peter Jackson. And if our show's a success, Bret and Jemaine.

Speaking of Peter Jackson and his trilogy, Bret, you flirted with worldwide fame after one tiny role made you a Middle-Earth heartthrob. Did you love or hate that?
MCKENZIE: I was very concerned that I would be forever known as the guy who was the elf. But now it looks like I'll be known as the musical comedy guy. Which is good news for me. Or I'll be known as the New Zealand idiot.

How to download DS demos

Download DS demos from the Net for free with your PC Wi-Fi card

All DS How To Guides on PocketGamer.co.uk.

Father's Day is coming up *wink* *wink*

Target has this guitar on sale -

Gibson Epoch Electric Guitar Pack for $89.00.





But I'd rather have this one -

Lyon by Washburn Electric Guitar for $149.99








OK, how about Ghost Rider on DVD then? :-)


OK, how about just spending time with my kids and doing some things I'd like to do (like putting in some 'new to me' computer parts)?

Flight of the Conchords series starts June 17th!!

Watch the entire first episode of Flight of the Conchords now!

Flight of the Conchords follows the trials and tribulations of a two-man, New Zealand digi-folk band as they make their way in New York City. The band is made up of Bret McKenzie on guitar and vocals, and Jemaine Clement on guitar and vocals.

Connery Not Doing Indy 4

Laying to rest months of rumors, Sean Connery said that he will not reprise the role of Henry Jones in the upcoming fourth Indiana Jones movie in a statement posted on the official Indiana Jones Web site.

"I get asked the question so often, I thought it best to make an announcement," the 76-year-old actor said. "I thought long and hard about it, and if anything could have pulled me out of retirement, it would have been an Indiana Jones film. I love working with [director] Steven [Spielberg] and [producer] George [Lucas], and it goes without saying that it is an honor to have Harrison [Ford] as my son. But in the end, retirement is just too damned much fun."

Connery, who played Indy's dad in 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, retired from acting in 2005. He had this advice for Ford, who turns 65 in July and whom he referred to as "junior": "Demand that the critters be digital, the cliffs be low and for goodness sake keep that whip by your side at all times in case you need to escape from the stunt coordinator! This is a remarkable cast, and I can only say, 'Break a leg, everyone.' I'll see you on May 22, 2008, at the theater!"

Indiana Jones 4 will co-star Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone and John Hurt. It's in preproduction.

Fans Invited To Write Trek Story

Star Trek actors George Takei and Wil Wheaton and writer Andre Bormanis have teamed up with FanLib.com and CBS Interactive for Kirk vs. Picard, an event in which fans will be invited to write pieces of a new online Trek narrative.

The event, which kicks off June 13, marks the first time that CBS has ever allowed the use of Star Trek characters for an official online fan-writing event, organizers said.

The storyline will require that Capt. James T. Kirk be pitted somehow against Capt. Jean-Luc Picard.

Takei (Sulu) and Wheaton (Wesley Crusher) will act as online "hosts" for the endeavor. Bormanis will moderate and help fans navigate the site.

Writers of winning scenes and several other winners will be featured prominently online during the event and will win prizes, including a trip to Las Vegas with a VIP tour of Star Trek: The Experience, Apple MacBook computers, an Apple iPhone and Star Trek merchandise and memorabilia.

Paris Hilton heads back to jail, screaming

LOS ANGELES — Screaming and crying, Paris Hilton was escorted out of a courtroom and back to jail today after a judge ruled that she must serve out her entire 45-day sentence behind bars rather than in her Hollywood Hills home.

"It's not right!" shouted the weeping Hilton, who violated her parole in a reckless driving case. "Mom!" she called out to her mother in the audience.

Hilton, who was brought to court in handcuffs in a sheriff's car, came into the courtroom disheveled and weeping, hair askew, sans makeup, wearing a gray fuzzy sweatshirt over slacks.

She cried throughout the hearing, her body shook constantly and she dabbed at her eyes. Several times she turned to her parents, seated behind her in the courtroom, and mouthed, "I love you."

Ha Ha!! - Marc

James Gunn's blog

R-rated but hilarious.

This is Jenna Fischer's husband.

James Gunn

Can't Stop the Serenity

No Houston dates. :-(

Fans of the science fiction movie 'Serenity' will be holding screenings in 51 cities in nine countries to raise money and awareness for Equality Now, an international women's rights advocacy group. In its second year, Can't Stop The Serenity looks to raise over $100,000 in donations for the charity.

Bush presses lawmakers to pass immigration bill

Write your congressmen, tell them not pass this crap, tell them you will not vote for them if they do. - Marc

WASHINGTON — President Bush challenged lawmakers today to have the political courage to pass an immigration bill amid intense pressure from critics who call it amnesty and advocates who believe the current system is broken.

Bush stressed that while voting for the bill might be politically risky, he does not think the measure itself is risky.

"This is a difficult issue for a lot of folks," the president said. "I understand that. But because it's difficult probably means we need to work doubly hard to get it done. And now's the time to get it done.

"No matter how difficult it may seem for some politically, I strongly believe it's in this nation's interest for people here in Washington to show courage and resolve and pass a comprehensive immigration reform."

Bush was working to bolster support for a bipartisan measure — one of his top domestic priorities — that lawmakers will address when they return from recess early next week. A bill being discussed would legalize millions of illegal immigrants, tighten border security and mandate that employers verify they are hiring legal workers.

The bill includes conservative-backed initiatives such as the worker verification program to prevent illegal immigrants from getting jobs, and a new point system to prioritize skills and education over family in deciding who can immigrate in the future.

Liberals decry the point scheme as unfair to families and are vehemently opposed to a guest worker program that would allow laborers to come to the U.S. for temporary stints without a guarantee they would be able to stay and eventually gain citizenship.

But it also includes a long-sought liberal priority: granting legal status to the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. Conservatives view that as an unacceptable amnesty program.

"This bill isn't amnesty," Bush said. "For those who call it amnesty, they're just trying to, in my judgment, frighten people about the bill. This bill is one that says we recognize that you're here illegally and there's a consequence for it. We can argue about the consequences, but you can't argue about the fact that there are consequences in this bill for people who have broken our law."

And if you don't understand why you should oppose this, Kennedy wants it passed. 'Nuff said. - Marc

Prepare for weather disasters

From CNet...

Keep an eye on the weather and your important digital data with a collection of downloads designed for hurricane season.

1. Tracking the Eye - This top-rated weather tool provides real-time satellite images, extensive data, and public advisories about hurricanes.

2. Backup-2006 Studio - Save your important information to a network location or burn your critical data to CD or DVD with this flexible backup software with encryption.

3. Everything I Own - Take inventory of all your home valuables with this cataloging software.

4. The Weather Channel Desktop - This free weather program's Storm Tracker feature lets you view radar images of prominent storms and provides relevant news items.

5. TechRepublic's Disaster Planning and Recovery Pack - The articles in TechRepublic's PDF sampler offer helpful advice for coping with a disaster.