Saturday, October 28, 2006

Cure Autism Now - Walk Now - This Saturday (tomorrow)

This Saturday (tomorrow), October 28, my family and I will be participating in a very special event, WALK NOW benefiting the Cure Autism Now Foundation. It is a 5K walk and community resource fair with the proceeds going to further the search for causes and cures for autism. Autism is a devastating disease affected over 1.5 American children and their families. 1 in every 166 children is newly diagnosed with autism. Autism is the 3rd most common developmental disorder, following mental retardation and cerebral palsy.

You may be wondering why Cure Autism Now and WALK NOW are so important to me and my family. My involvement stems from a very personal and deep emotional contact with this complicated disease.

My 7-year-old son, Sean, was diagnosed with a form of Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, four years ago. I am very proud of Sean and impressed with his progress so far thanks to hard work on his part, our part and an excellent program within the Cy-Fair School District.

I strongly feel that I can have a direct impact on finding causes and cures for autism. I also feel strongly that Cure Autism Now is a wonderful organization which has been instrumental in furthering autism research. In 1995, when Cure Autism Now was founded there were only 12 researches focused solely on autism. Today there are over 300. That is progress. WALK NOW gives us a tangible way to help the nearly 1.5 million other Americans affected by autism and related disorders.

I am asking for your support in helping us raise money for this worthy cause. Any contribution you are able to make would be greatly appreciated, but I ask you to give big as there is a big need for further research. My personal goal is to raise $500.00 for Cure Autism Now and I hope to far exceed that goal. Last year I raised just shy of $500!

It is easiest to donate online by going to our personal webpage at Sean's CAN page.

Please feel free to forward this on.

I look forward to hearing from you. I thank you very much!

Always,
Marc

Friday, October 27, 2006

Save big on a tiny income

19 ways – and counting -- to save when you make next to nothing.
Save big on a tiny income - MSN Money

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Ultimate Alliance In Stores


Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, a role-playing video game that brings together superheroes from the Marvel Comics universe, has shipped to retail outlets nationwide, Activision announced.

The game allows players to create their own dream teams from a roster of superheroes that includes Spider-Man, Wolverine, Blade and Captain America to embark on an epic quest that will ultimately determine the fate of Earth and the Marvel universe.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is available for the Xbox 360 with a suggested retail price of $59.99; for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, PC and PSP for $39.99; and for the GameBoy Advance for $29.99. PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii versions will be available in mid-November.

Serenity's Fillion On Lost

Serenity star Nathan Fillion guest-stars on the Nov. 8 episode of ABC's hit series Lost, "I Do," which also marks the decision by Kate (Evangeline Lilly) to hook up with either Jack (Matthew Fox) or Sawyer (Josh Holloway). Fillion will play a character named Kevin in the episode, which is the last new one for a while as the series takes a 13-week hiatus, returning in February.

In "I Do," Jack makes a decision regarding Ben's (Michael Emerson) offer, Kate feels helpless when it looks like an angry Pickett (Michael Bowen) is going to make good on his threat to kill Sawyer, and Locke (Terry O'Quinn) discovers a hidden message that may guide him through the next steps on his journey to unlocking the secrets of the island.

"I Do" was written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and directed by Tucker Gates. It airs at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Tonight Only!!!


KISS on the big screen!

You wanted the Best, you got the Best -- KISS on the Big Screen. Experience KISS ALIVE! at Cobo Hall, Detroit 1976. This never-before-seen special one night event will feature a historic Rockumentary - KISS Day in Cadillac, Michigan 1975.

For Only One Night, October 26 at 8PM local. In select theatres nationwide!

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Death Road

Watching Death Road on the History Channel right now, scary stuff.

Travel high into the Andes to a road that has more deaths per mile than any other byway in the world. This steep and bumpy road plunges almost 2.5 miles in the four hours it takes to drive it, and those who choose to make the journey will endure an often extremely narrow path that hugs the mountain as it snakes through dramatic, verdant scenery. Twisting between waterfalls and rocky overhangs, the road is unprotected, making near death an almost constant travel companion. A fatal accident every two weeks is not uncommon, and by 1995, the road was commonly referred to as world's most dangerous road. Marsh Mokhtari is our guide, as we explore the people and places along this treacherous path.
All Shows

Why I still love 'Star Trek'

By Charles Cooper

Upon hearing that a bidder at last weekend's auction of "Star Trek" memorabilia paid $576,000 for a 78-inch-long model of the Starship Enterprise-D, my first reaction was pure snark.

Another yuppie dope, I quickly concluded. Doesn't this guy--and yes, it's a guy--have better ways to spend his dot-com dollars?

But it wasn't a single act of insanity. Over the course of three days, more than $7 million worth of props, models and costumes that figured in the "Star Trek" television series and feature films were auctioned off. That's more than double Christie's presale expectations. (For stories, video and photo galleries on the Christie's auction, fan-driven filming of new "Star Trek" episodes and how life imitates "Star Trek," click here.)

What with the Dow Jones Industrial Average seemingly breaking new records every day, I suppose one could attribute this extraordinary splurge to a surplus of disposable income. Times are good, and as the economic historian Thorstein Veblen noted more than a century ago, Americans never have been shy about engaging in conspicuous consumption.

But that explanation only goes so far. My hunch is this crowd would have been equally ga-ga had the items been auctioned off smack in the middle of the recent recession. That's because "Star Trek" and the adventures of Kirk, Spock and the rest who followed have a special way of speaking to sci-fi fantasies we've carried over from childhood.

The first time I saw William Shatner in his spandex-like suit making out with gorgeous aliens and battling Klingons--the two naturally went hand in hand--it was instant infatuation. I was 10 years old and dreamed of one day taking off for distant planets on a starship just like the Enterprise. Back in the real world, NASA was shortly about to put men on the moon. Maybe wanting to be like Capt. Kirk wasn't so crazy an adolescent fantasy.

My career obviously went in a different direction, and the closest I ever came to a spacecraft was a summertime visit to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. But every astronaut liftoff in the last 20 years has set my pulse racing, returning me to the days when the battles of a fictional starship were more tangible to me than the real-world heroics of the Apollo astronauts.

The Christie's auction again underscored how fan attachment to "Star Trek" is stronger now than it was during the three years the original show appeared on NBC. Put another way, Kirk, Spock and Dr. McCoy were doing their thing when LBJ was still in the White House. The cross-generational appeal of the series is virtually unheard of in the annals of television. Imagine the Nielsens ratings if a network attempted to reincarnate "My Favorite Martian" for prime time.

Lots of science fiction shows have since come and gone since the 1960s. But last time I checked, groupies don't hold conventions to celebrate the "Outer Limits" or "Battlestar Galactica."

Maybe it's the other-worldly gadgetry that various "Star Trek" captains have had at their disposal to use against sundry Klingons, Romulans and Cardassians. When I was a kid, I wanted a phaser in the worst way. My friend next door would have sold his Lionel train set to get his hands on a set of dilithium crystals. (Just what he would have done with them was never entirely clear.)

I think for most folks, though, it was the hokey story lines where the good guys usually--though not always--trumped the bad guys in a way that helped foster a greater good. A professor once tried to explain the appeal of "Star Trek" to me by likening it to Wilsonian idealism. His point was that Kirk et al were on a mission to spread the benefits of the Federation to oppressed aliens throughout the universe. In the aftermath of the First World War, Woodrow Wilson sought self-determination for people living under the rule of multiethnic empires. Kirk = Wilson, the Federation = America.

The story goes that "Star Trek" creator, Gene Roddenberry, wanted a story line that could hold its own against the likes of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. And that meant writing about technology--lots of it. Holed up in his office with a typewriter and a big idea, he did good.

The personal-computer revolution was still more than a decade away, but Roddenberry's imagined future wasn't that far off the mark. Of course, in one respect he was awfully wrong. On the Enterprise, the computer served the crew. Back on Earth in the early 21st century, it's still too often the other way around.

But at least we can dream of that starry future, the one the Enterprise is pointing to.
Why I still love 'Star Trek' Perspectives CNET News.com

Lynne Stewart sentenced to 28 months

28 months?! She should have been given the maximum sentence (30 years)! I'd give her the death sentence. What a menace!
A REAL (ANTI) AMERICAN Redstate

Damn global warming

Al Gore - STFU

BUFFALO, New York

A flood watch was posted Saturday (10-14) as the region's record snowfall melted, and some 350,000 homes and businesses still had no electricity.

More than a day after nearly two feet (60 centimeters) of snow buried western New York, travel bans were lifted Saturday, the airport was open and stores reopened.

However, more than 250,000 customers were without power at noon Saturday and New York State Electric & Gas reported 104,000 customers still in the dark.

More than 300,000 await power and flood watches are posted following record snowfall in Western New York - iht,america,US October Snow - Americas - International Herald Tribune

'LOTR' Actress Befriends USA's 'Wife'


Miranda Otto will shoot 'Starter Wife' in November

Miranda Otto, who filmed the final "Lord of the Rings" film in New Zealand, will head back home to Australia for her next project.

The Aussie actress and Joe Mantegna will join Debra Messing in "The Starter Wife," a USA Network limited series set in the world of Hollywood, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"Starter Wife" is adapted from the novel of the same name by Gigi Levangie Grazer and revolves around how Gracie (Messing) copes after her husband, the powerful head of a studio, cheats on her and then divorces her. Used to being a "Wife Of," Grace is homeless, until a friend allows her to temporarily crash in a home in Malibu.

Otto will play one of Gracie's best friends, while Mantegna will play the ex-husband's boss.

Production is scheduled to begin in early November, and the show is aiming to premiere in late spring.

Otto's other film credits include "What Lies Beneath," "Flight of the Phoenix" and "War of the Worlds." Mantegna played Will Girardi on CBS' "Joan of Arcadia." His big-screen credits include "The Godfather Part III," "Searching for Bobby Fischer," "Up Close & Personal" and "The Kid & I."

Fox Foments Future for 'Firefly's' Fillion


'Serenity' star snags a holding deal


Don't get too excited. - Marc

Dozens upon dozens of Browncoats are already hopelessly devoted to Nathan Fillion, a number FOX hopes to increase.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, FOX and 20th Century Fox have signed Fillion to a talent holding deal, aiming to either develop a new property for the "Firefly" star or else to slot the actor into an existing show.

Fillion is best known for his work as Mal Reynolds on both FOX's short-lived Joss Whedon offering "Firefly" and in the subsequent Universal feature "Serenity." His additional TV credits include "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place," "Miss Match" and a run on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Message boards have also been buzzing that Fillion will appear in an upcoming episode of "Lost."

On the feature side, the 35-year-old actor was most recently seen in the feature "Slither." He's also completed work on "White Noise 2: The Light."

Monday, October 16, 2006

Commodore 64 @ 933.000 Mhz

Thanks Chris for sending me this link.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

HOW TO: Make a Blog Header Graphic

Probably posted this before...
HOW TO: Make a Blog Header Graphic - PaulStamatiou.com

Tracking Shot makes snappy movies from your photos

Pretty cool.
Tracking Shot makes snappy movies from your photos News.blog CNET News.com

motley crude

Another blog I ran across while searching for instructions on how to change the header into a picture.
motley crude

One Hot Chic

A blog I ran across while trying to figure out how to add a picture to my header.
If you know how to do this, PLEASE let me know!
One Hot Chic

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Flight of the Conchords

Caught these guys on a HBO special tonight, they were hilarious. If you see the listing, be sure to watch!!!

Oh, I just found the whole show on Google video -

Torchwood

Coming in two weeks!

News, commentary and secrets about the Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood

Trailer here!!

Friday, October 06, 2006

William Shatner: Taxi

Shatner sings the late Harry Chapin tune on the late Dinah Shore's show.

Harry, I hope you find this humorous.

4 real jobs you can do from home

Forget stuffing envelopes. There are actual wage-paying opportunities that can fit into your hectic life.

Too broke to save money? Never

Tips about cutting back on vacations seem downright cruel if you're barely hanging on. But even paycheck-to-paycheck types can save money. Here's how you can do it.

Searching for Spock on the Web

Star Trek

Star Trek movies: Which is best?

Star Trek

Of Galactica importance

New, updated sci-fi series is dark, violent and gritty — so unlike the original show

Science fiction often goes where traditional drama fears to tread.

Stay with me: Star Trek was making statements in the late 1960s about racism, warmongering and the Cold War (of course, the spaceship was commanded by an American, reassuring viewers about which nation really came out on top when history's dust settled).

USA Networks' recent series The 4400 debuted featuring a Scientologylike group and finished its most recent season in August echoing the hysteria of our current war on terror while centering on a character with a messiah complex.

Creative spark

Now there's the new Battlestar Galactica.

If this were a TV show set anywhere else, it would have a stack of Emmys for its groundbreaking themes, gritty drama and fearless storytelling. There is no better example of that creative spark than its two-hour Season 3 premiere, "Occupation/Precipice," at 8 tonight on the Sci Fi Channel.

Stay with me a while longer. Those familiar with the original '70s-era Galactica series likely remember a stilted, candy-coated TV ripoff of the Star Wars movies, complete with bad guys sheathed in clunky plastic costumes as well as former Bonanza star Lorne Greene.

A dark turn

One look at the Sci-Fi Channel's update shatters that prejudice. In this series, the Cylons, a machine race, have nearly exterminated the humans who created them in a galaxy far, far away. But that's where the similarities end.

As the season opens, the bad guys have taken control of a human colony in a brutal occupation they say is aimed at bringing the love of God to humanity. But their iron-fisted rule turns the colony into a gulag complete with torture chambers, suicide bombings, sexual-humiliation tactics, an insurgent rebellion and a police force composed of human collaborators.

Sound familiar?

"We're putting things out there other shows can't even touch," said Edward James Olmos, whose taciturn, conflicted Adm. William Adama is light years from Greene's hammy role.

"Nothing is going the way we thought it would in Iraq," said Olmos, who has spoken out on antiwar and pro-Latino themes in the past. "And in our world, we make you re-evaluate all the time who the good guys and the bad guys are. (Our heroes) are using suicide bombings to stay alive. So while you're being entertained like crazy, it also makes you think."

A bit of backstory: Olmos' Adama leads the only human warship to survive a crushing assault by the Cylons, some of whom look like humans, initially aimed at wiping out the race. The 50,000 people who survived initially intended to find their legendary homeworld, Earth. But many grew tired of the search and elected a leader who advocated settling on a habitable world and rebuilding their old lives.

Then, a year later, the Cylons discover that world, forcing Adama to flee and leave the humans he tried to protect at the mercy of the Cylons who once tried to kill them.

(SPOILER ALERT: Lots of information on the new season starts here).

Iraq connection?

The experience for those left behind is barbaric. Saul Tigh, Adama's second in command, loses an eye in a Cylon prison and is freed only after his wife provides sexual favors to a Cylon leader.

One character well known to Galactica fans kills himself in a suicide bombing that decimates the human police force. Starbuck — changed from the womanizing male character Dirk Benedict played in the '70s to a hard-drinking, self-destructive woman — is held captive by a Cylon bent on using her to produce a human/Cylon hybrid.

Some might assume a veiled criticism of the Iraq war in the decision to make the bad-guy Cylons the occupiers. But executive producer Ronald D. Moore says the new Galactica's goal is to make viewers question ideas they once took for granted.

"We keep playing around intentionally with the question of 'Whose side are you on?' " he said. "I take great delight in trying to explode every TV convention."

Moore's masterstroke: making some of the Cylons look human, in a nod to the sci-fi classic Blade Runner. Besides allowing producers to avoid showing the metal versions too often — sleek and computer-generated, they cost a lot to put onscreen — the Cylons' concepts of God and community prove a compelling new dimension.

Fast company

For those who question the issues he's throwing around, Moore can point to winning a Peabody award in April, joining shows including The Shield, South Park and House honored for public service and quality.

Not bad for a program that was savaged by some of the original series' biggest fans when it debuted in 2003, including original Galactica co-star Richard Hatch (Hatch eventually dropped his high-profile complaints after getting a recurring role as a rebel leader).

Moore notes that the series' name "is a blessing and a curse: It got the show made in the first place, but now we've gotten to a place where the title is holding the show back.

"You mention the show's name to people who watch Nip/Tuck and The Shield — fans of quality television — and they tune out. But if you say to me you don't like science fiction — well, this is the science fiction show you will like."

Olmos pumped up

Moore gets a chance to prove it as his hardy band of survivors considers how to handle those who collaborated with the Cylons, settling on a solution sure to remind some of post-apartheid South Africa.

"I think the first two hours of the new season are the best two hours of television I've been on in my life," said Olmos, who is directing the season's 12th episode. "Our show really throws the ball up in the air. And you don't even know if it's going to come back down again."

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Happy Birthday celebs

Alicia Silverstone, born in San Francisco, California, actress, Clueless, Batman Forever - 1976

Susan Sarandon, born in Jackson Hgts, New York, actress, Bull Durham - 1946

Anne Rice, born in New Orleans, Louisiana, author, Interview with a Vampire - 1941

Charlton Heston, Illinois, actor, 10 Commandments, Ben Hur, Planet of Apes - 1923

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Monday, October 02, 2006

Firefly, Harry Potter Sweep Genre Awards

(October 01 2006) - When it comes to the Emmy and the SyFy Genre Awards, it's tough being "Battlestar Galactica."

For the second year in a row, the critically-acclaimed SciFi Channel series led nominations, but was completely shut out once again in the seventh SyFy Genre Awards, this time playing second fiddle to a show that hasn't even been on the air for more than two years: "Firefly."

That short-lived series from Joss Whedon moved into the nominations this year because SciFi Channel broadcast previously unaired episodes from the Fox series, qualifying it for all major category nominations, and ended up walking away with five awards, including Best Series/Television.

Nathan Fillion was named Best Actor/Television, beating out runner up Matthew Fox from ABC's "Lost" 41 percent to 24 percent. Fillion's co-star, Adam Baldwin took home honors in the Best Supporting Actor/Television category, finishing ahead of another "Lost" actor, Terry O'Quinn, 43 percent to 27 percent.

Christina Hendricks, who played Saffron in the "Firefly" episodes "Trash" and "Our Mrs. Reynolds," defeated longtime SyFy Genre Awards darling Claudia Black for Best Special Guest/Television. The episode she was nominated for, "Trash," easily won Best Episode/Television, beating out its closest competitor, "Dalek" from "Doctor Who," 55 percent to 18 percent.
SyFy Portal

Finally!!!

Slither, the SF horror film starring Nathan Fillion and Elizabeth Banks, hits DVD on Oct. 24.