Is rocker this season's LaToya London? (Not no but hell no! LaToya should have won it all last year. - Marc)
The danger with depending on the American public to vote for the best candidate for a specific task is that sometimes, given the power of free will and a series of 1-866 numbers, people will do dumb things.
That thought was going through the judges’ minds on Wednesday night, as Constantine Maroulis’ off-night at the mic made him the seventh finalist eliminated on "American Idol." It left the Simon-Paula-Randy trio speechless, and Paula in tears. In fact, Paula looked a whole lot sadder than Maroulis’ mother, and comforted her in the show’s final moments. (That was all an act. - Marc)
Of course, if anything is predictable on this show, it’s the unpredictability. Last year it was LaToya London who was stunningly sent home early; the season before it was Trenyce. Voters clearly focus on factors besides talent, and why not — the alternative is to just let Simon pick the winner, and given his oft-stated allusions to Portuguese nightclubs and karaoke bars it’s doubtful as to whether the record label would get a better option with that approach anyway.
But the fact remains that the past few weeks have seen two finalists that have displayed real star quality, Maroulis and Nadia Turner, sent packing. (In your opinion! Constantine should have left way before Nadia. - Marc)
Granted, neither was the most consistent of performers, but there’s no question that each of them has a better chance at being a genuine star in the music industry than the likes of Anthony Fedorov or Scott Savol.
Maroulis made that perfectly clear with his final number – if he’d sang Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me” as well on Tuesday night as he did once the results were announced, he’d probably still be on the show. (Riiiiiight. He still sounded crappy to me. - Marc)
That having been said, the most telling soundbite of the night came from Randy Jackson, who uttered the illuminating “I’m actually really shocked … but nothing surprises me at this point in the season.”
Reverend Jim in the house
The Constantine decision was notable because he had been coming on strong in recent weeks, but not much about ‘American Idol’ tends to be all that shocking. As if to emphasize that, everything else Fox broadcast Wednesday night highlighted the most annoying aspects of the half-hour results show that is always at least 20 minutes too long.
First came the obligatory Ryan Seacrest this-is-where-it-gets-really-serious-so-VOTE! introduction. Rumor has it that Seacrest just runs the same clip every Wednesday. Whether it’s February or May, he’s as dedicated to getting out the vote as Bruce Springsteen was on the John Kerry tour last year.
To give Seacrest some credit, at least he appears to be having more success at it.
Then, there was the obligatory promo for another Fox show, Pamela Anderson’s “Stacked.” The network may want to rethink its strategy of dragging the entire cast into the audience.
Christopher Lloyd could not possibly have looked less interested if he’d been watching the Yule Log channel — although viewers of a certain age may have gotten through the awkwardness by imagining his Reverend Jim Ignatowski character from “Taxi” auditioning for the show. It would make William Hung look like Mark Anthony.
Skipping over the group sing — because really, the Bee Gees have already gotten enough air time to last several lifetimes — and the atrociously bad video promoting Ford, Seacrest once again split the remaining contestants into two groups. Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice were paired up, as were Anthony Fedorov and Vonzell Solomon. Seacrest asked the remaining two finalists, Savol and Maroulis, to join the group they felt they belonged in.
Faced with a similar choice last week, Bice sneakily stayed in between the two groups and refused to make a selection. Clearly, Seacrest laid the hammer down after that, because both Maroulis and Savol quickly joined the Underwood-Bice duo.
It would have been tough for them to face the other two if they'd guessed wrong ("No really, Vonzell, you were great ... don't take it personally that I scurried over to join the more popular crowd.") But no worries — Seacrest let everyone know that Bice and Underwood were indeed safe — drawing an exaggerated "No!" from Simon in the funniest moment of the night. Most probably thought Maroulis would join them.
Scott Savol, American Idol?
But Savol is too easily underestimated. Whatever his voting block is, it clearly comes out in force every week. Despite being routinely panned and showing the performing ability of a robot without rhythm, he seems to mesmerize people into sending in those text-messages every week.
That having been said, Savol looked more shocked than anyone to see Maroulis voted off. Well, except for Fedorov, who wound up staying onstage with the second-fewest number of votes. He looked like he was expecting Seacrest to add a “just kidding!” after giving Maroulis the bad news.
It’s probably not bad news for Maroulis in the greater scheme of things — his old band has a record deal in place, and he’ll almost assuredly land on his feet as well given his experience and the exposure garnered by the show. (Good luck Constantine. I hope you make millions. There's been alot of other people who can't sing become big stars too. No sarcasm here. - Marc)
It may, however, prove to be bad news for Simon, who has to worry that he may be four weeks away from having to promote Savol or Fedorov as a pop idol while the more talented finalists have to wait their turn.
Constantine voted off �Idol� - American Idol - MSNBC.com
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Idol vote leaves audience shocked, judge crying
Associated Press
NEW YORK — On American Idol Wednesday night, Constantine Maroulis, the rocker turned Idol, was eliminated from the show, shocking an upset audience.
Maroulis' long locks and sly grin had helped make him a crowd favorite on the program, but he landed fewer votes than the other five contestants. After host Ryan Seacrest announced the results, boos rained down while judge Paula Abdul looked on in disbelief.
"This seems to happen every single season," Abdul said of the upset, her voice quivering. "I can't even speak, I'm so shocked."
Abdul, who had been Maroulis' biggest supporter, was even shown crying, tears streaming down her face. She had earlier proclaimed him "the one to beat."
A hard rocker from New York, Maroulis was something of a fish out of water on the show, but succeeded nevertheless. Along with fellow finalist Bo Bice, Maroulis had been on a mission to bring rock 'n' roll to American Idol.
"I'm gonna keep rockin,'" the 29-year-old said. "Crazier things have happened in my life, and I'm just really blessed to have gotten this far."
Though he had previously received mostly high praise, Maroulis' rendition of Nickelback's You Remind Me on the Tuesday night performance show wasn't deemed memorable by the judges.
Randy Jackson said it was "high on performance, but low on vocals." The sardonic Simon Cowell thought the choice of tune was wrong after Maroulis' more standard, pop selections.
"It's like Star Wars. Welcome to the dark side — or the light side," Cowell said.
Alongside Maroulis — who Seacrest said had received over 35 million votes over the course of the season — stood Anthony Federov, who received the second fewest votes. His version of Celine Dion's Surrender drew mixed reviews.
"I personally hated it," Cowell said, but added Federov's fans would feel otherwise.
Surprisingly, Scott Savol was not even in the bottom three. Savol appeared to be the most likely castoff given his frequently tepid support and a performance of Luther Vandross' Dance with My Father, after which Cowell advised Savol to pack his bags.
Maroulis' exit came less than a week after Koch Records announced that the label would release his old band's pre-Idol album. Earlier in the season, Maroulis was shown informing his disgruntled bandmates of his Idol intentions.
No mention was made Wednesday of a swirling controversy surrounding American Idol. ABC plans to air next week a report on Primetime Live regarding "explosive claims" about the show.
The remaining contestants are Bice, Federov, Savol, Vonzell Solomon and Carrie Underwood.
HoustonChronicle.com - Idol vote leaves audience shocked, judge crying
NEW YORK — On American Idol Wednesday night, Constantine Maroulis, the rocker turned Idol, was eliminated from the show, shocking an upset audience.
Maroulis' long locks and sly grin had helped make him a crowd favorite on the program, but he landed fewer votes than the other five contestants. After host Ryan Seacrest announced the results, boos rained down while judge Paula Abdul looked on in disbelief.
"This seems to happen every single season," Abdul said of the upset, her voice quivering. "I can't even speak, I'm so shocked."
Abdul, who had been Maroulis' biggest supporter, was even shown crying, tears streaming down her face. She had earlier proclaimed him "the one to beat."
A hard rocker from New York, Maroulis was something of a fish out of water on the show, but succeeded nevertheless. Along with fellow finalist Bo Bice, Maroulis had been on a mission to bring rock 'n' roll to American Idol.
"I'm gonna keep rockin,'" the 29-year-old said. "Crazier things have happened in my life, and I'm just really blessed to have gotten this far."
Though he had previously received mostly high praise, Maroulis' rendition of Nickelback's You Remind Me on the Tuesday night performance show wasn't deemed memorable by the judges.
Randy Jackson said it was "high on performance, but low on vocals." The sardonic Simon Cowell thought the choice of tune was wrong after Maroulis' more standard, pop selections.
"It's like Star Wars. Welcome to the dark side — or the light side," Cowell said.
Alongside Maroulis — who Seacrest said had received over 35 million votes over the course of the season — stood Anthony Federov, who received the second fewest votes. His version of Celine Dion's Surrender drew mixed reviews.
"I personally hated it," Cowell said, but added Federov's fans would feel otherwise.
Surprisingly, Scott Savol was not even in the bottom three. Savol appeared to be the most likely castoff given his frequently tepid support and a performance of Luther Vandross' Dance with My Father, after which Cowell advised Savol to pack his bags.
Maroulis' exit came less than a week after Koch Records announced that the label would release his old band's pre-Idol album. Earlier in the season, Maroulis was shown informing his disgruntled bandmates of his Idol intentions.
No mention was made Wednesday of a swirling controversy surrounding American Idol. ABC plans to air next week a report on Primetime Live regarding "explosive claims" about the show.
The remaining contestants are Bice, Federov, Savol, Vonzell Solomon and Carrie Underwood.
HoustonChronicle.com - Idol vote leaves audience shocked, judge crying
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
American Idol 4 - Constantine Maroulis is finally gone!
Constantine really stank last night and the rest of America heard it too because he is gone!
The remaining five can sing.
I think Anthony and Scott are next.
Then Vonzell and Bo.
Carrie should win it all.
The remaining five can sing.
I think Anthony and Scott are next.
Then Vonzell and Bo.
Carrie should win it all.
Disney's Pirates Going Online
The Walt Disney Co. has announced plans to create a new massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise and the theme park attraction which inspired it, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The game, developed by The Walt Disney Internet Group, is expected to go live in coordination with the upcoming sequel film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest in the summer of 2006.
This is the second such venture for Disney Online, which launched Disney's Toontown Online in 2003, the first 3-D MMORPG created for kids and families. The game will be designed with action and humor as players personalize their own pirate characters and form their own crews to engage in swashbuckling adventures, most of which involve battles against other crews or the evil undead, the trade paper reported. A spokesperson for Disney Online said the company expected the subscription-based game to be priced similarly to Toontown, which costs $9.99 a month. It is undetermined which, if any, of the actors in the movies will have a presence in the game.
Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
This is the second such venture for Disney Online, which launched Disney's Toontown Online in 2003, the first 3-D MMORPG created for kids and families. The game will be designed with action and humor as players personalize their own pirate characters and form their own crews to engage in swashbuckling adventures, most of which involve battles against other crews or the evil undead, the trade paper reported. A spokesperson for Disney Online said the company expected the subscription-based game to be priced similarly to Toontown, which costs $9.99 a month. It is undetermined which, if any, of the actors in the movies will have a presence in the game.
Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
Producers Defend Enterprise End
Star Trek: Enterprise producers Brannon Braga and Rick Berman told SCI FI Wire that they understood the recent disparaging comments made by cast members about the final episode, but stood by their execution of the series finale. "You have to remember, under normal circumstances, most people probably would have thought this was a very cool episode, because it has a great concept driving it," Braga said in a conference call with reporters. "But when it's the final episode of a series, emotions are running very high."
The most vocal objection came from cast member Jolene Blalock, who plays T'Pol on the show. "I don't know where to begin with that one," she recently said of the finale. "The final episode is ... appalling."
The episode, titled "These Are the Voyages," features Star Trek: The Next Generation stars Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis, who reprise their roles as Commander Riker and Deanna Troi. The pair will view the episode's historic events through a holodeck recreation. Berman said he thought that the opinions expressed by Blalock had to do with the episode's references to the previous Trek series. "The feeling was that if this was going to be the finale of Enterprise, then why bring characters in from another series?" he said. "But I think when people see the episode and realize that to be able to truly pay the respect to our characters that we have, we've couched it in a unique fashion of being able to look back on them, and I think it's going to be a very positive response towards the Enterprise crew."
Braga said that he was aware that the Enterprise cast had some minor issues with the storyline, but there were no serious objections during the production. "There were a couple of people who were slightly uncomfortable with the fact that we have Next Generation characters in the show, and it is a different kind of episode," he said. "But there were no serious complaints. And none of the actors have seen the episode, so they can't be dissatisfied with how it turned out." Star Trek: Enterprise ends its four-season run May 13 on UPN at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
The most vocal objection came from cast member Jolene Blalock, who plays T'Pol on the show. "I don't know where to begin with that one," she recently said of the finale. "The final episode is ... appalling."
The episode, titled "These Are the Voyages," features Star Trek: The Next Generation stars Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis, who reprise their roles as Commander Riker and Deanna Troi. The pair will view the episode's historic events through a holodeck recreation. Berman said he thought that the opinions expressed by Blalock had to do with the episode's references to the previous Trek series. "The feeling was that if this was going to be the finale of Enterprise, then why bring characters in from another series?" he said. "But I think when people see the episode and realize that to be able to truly pay the respect to our characters that we have, we've couched it in a unique fashion of being able to look back on them, and I think it's going to be a very positive response towards the Enterprise crew."
Braga said that he was aware that the Enterprise cast had some minor issues with the storyline, but there were no serious objections during the production. "There were a couple of people who were slightly uncomfortable with the fact that we have Next Generation characters in the show, and it is a different kind of episode," he said. "But there were no serious complaints. And none of the actors have seen the episode, so they can't be dissatisfied with how it turned out." Star Trek: Enterprise ends its four-season run May 13 on UPN at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
May promises to bring some sweeping changes
Hits wrap up, specials heat up, favorites hang it up
By MIKE MCDANIEL
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
Everybody says goodbye to Raymond, the Muppets pay a visit to the wizard of Oz, Britney Spears gets her own reality series, and Quentin Tarantino directs an episode of CSI.
American Idol and Survivor will crown new winners, as will America's Next Top Model, The Apprentice, The Contender and The Amazing Race. The Bachelor may or may not meet his match. And Rob and Amber's marriage vows will be sealed by a CBS kiss.
Elvis lives in the talented hands of young-Presley lookalike Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Bend It Like Beckham), Fox brings back Family Guy, Hercules flexes his muscles, and Dr. Phil makes two prime-time house calls.
Summer is more than a month away, but May looks like a scorcher for TV.
Need more evidence? Between April 28 and May 23, we'll face the finales of JAG, Third Watch and Enterprise; a movie that purports to take on Donald Trump; the 40th annual Academy of Country Music Awards; the 32nd annual Daytime Emmy Awards; and The West Wing's Janel Maloney portraying Amber Frey in a movie about the Scott Peterson case.
Oh, and did we mention the season finales that wrap up yearlong story lines on Lost, 24, Veronica Mars, Alias, Smallville and Desperate Housewives?
All this fuss is less about the enjoyment it gives viewers (however grateful we might be) and more about ratings, which can be translated into advertising rates. May is a "sweeps" month, when local stations use Nielsen Media Research's audience measurement to set future prices for commercials.
May is also the networks' backloaded way to win bragging rights for the 2004-2005 season. This year, CBS is running away in the total households and total viewers categories but is in a dogfight with Fox for age 18-49 supremacy. ABC is in position to finish in third place for the season, and NBC is in danger of finishing fourth in the 18-49 category for the first time ever.
With so much at stake, it's no wonder that the May sweeps, which starts Thursday, is looking like gangbusters. The most vicious confrontation comes May 25, last day of the sweeps, when the finale of Fox's wildly popular American Idol will compete with the finale of ABC's Lost and CBS' Amber Frey movie.
Or it could be "Fallen Idol," a May 4 Primetime Live report that ABC says will explore "explosive claims" about behind-the-scenes activities at American Idol.
Here's a network-by-network rundown:
ABC: Four fresh episodes of Desperate Housewives and Lost begin Sunday and May 2, respectively. Housewives' season finale is May 22. Lost concludes May 25 with a two-hour finale.
The Bachelor finale airs May 16.
Lena Olin returns for the season's final two episodes of Alias May 18 and 25.
Ashanti is Dorothy, Queen Latifah is Auntie Em, and Jeffrey Tambor is the wizard in The Muppets' Wizard of Oz May 20. Playing to her strengths, Miss Piggy fills four roles: the Wicked Witch of the East, West, North and South. Kermit stretches as the Scarecrow, Gonzo is the Tin Thing and Fozzie Bear plays the Lion.
Justin Louis stars in Trump Unauthorized, based on Gwenda Blair's Donald Trump biographies, on May 24.
CBS: The finale of JAG airs Friday.
Rosie O'Donnell plays a mentally challenged woman and Andie MacDowell is her sister in Riding the Bus With My Sister. The movie, directed by Anjelica Huston, airs Sunday.
The last episode of Everybody Loves Raymond airs May 16, preceded by a one-hour retrospective.
Dr. Phil McGraw hosts two prime-time specials, May 4 and 20.
Elvis, a two-parter, airs May 8 and 11. Randy Quaid is the King's manager, Colonel Tom Parker; Camryn Manheim is his mother, Gladys Presley; and Antonia Bernath plays wife Priscilla Presley. Elvis by the Presleys, an entertainment special promising never-before-seen performances, airs May 13.
The finale of Survivor: Palau airs May 15.
Academy of Country Music awards are handed out May 17, and the Daytime Emmys are awarded May 20.
CSI concludes its season May 19 with a two-hour episode in which one of the CSI team is buried alive. Quentin Tarantino directs, and Tony Curtis and Frank Gorshin make cameos.
On the May 23 season finale of CSI: Miami, Dean Winters (Oz) appears as Horatio's brother Ray.
Rob and Amber Get Married, including video of the Survivor and Amazing Race couple's recent wedding, is set for May 24, two weeks after the May 10 finale of Amazing Race. (Go, Uchenna! Go, Joyce!)
Fox: Family Guy bows Sunday along with another animated series, American Dad. The Simpsons' 350th episode, featuring guest voice Ray Romano, also runs Sunday.
24 concludes with a two-hour finale May 23.
Brace yourself: Four more episodes of The Simple Life will air beginning Thursday.
In addition to the last episodes leading up to the May 25 finale of American Idol, a special, American Idol: International Best of the Worst, is set for May 19.
Tate Donovan returns for the May 19 season finale of The O.C.
NBC: Third Watch comes to an end May 6.
Noah Wylie exits ER May 19. Danny Glover guest-stars.
Sean Astin, Leelee Sobieski, Elizabeth Perkins and Timothy Dalton star in the three-hour movie Hercules. Paul Telfer plays the lead in this latest Robert Halmi Sr. production.
Dr. Richard Massey (Bill Pullman) tries to stop the birth of the anti-Christ in the finale of Revelations, May 18.
The penultimate episode of The Contender, May 22, will determine who will fight in the million-dollar live finale May 24.
UPN: Britney Spears and husband Kevin Federline share their lives in a series premiering May 17.
Another new series, The Bad Girls' Guide, starring Jenny McCarthy, premieres May 24.
Veronica Mars solves who killed Lilly Kane in the May 10 season finale.
Star Trek: Enterprise goes into mothballs with a two-hour finale May 13.
America's Next Top Model crowns a winner May 18.
WB: Blue Collar funnyman Ron White gets his own comedy special, airing Thursday.
Comedian Bill Engvall leads an extreme makeover of a mobile home on Mobile Home Disaster, also on Thursday.
The May 11 season finale of Jack & Bobby reveals why Bobby, not Jack, embarked on a road to the presidency.
Clark begins to understand the reason for his being on a 90-minute season finale of Smallville, airing May 18. An eight-minute preview of the movie Batman Begins will be part of the telecast.
HoustonChronicle.com - May promises to bring some sweeping changes
By MIKE MCDANIEL
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
Everybody says goodbye to Raymond, the Muppets pay a visit to the wizard of Oz, Britney Spears gets her own reality series, and Quentin Tarantino directs an episode of CSI.
American Idol and Survivor will crown new winners, as will America's Next Top Model, The Apprentice, The Contender and The Amazing Race. The Bachelor may or may not meet his match. And Rob and Amber's marriage vows will be sealed by a CBS kiss.
Elvis lives in the talented hands of young-Presley lookalike Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Bend It Like Beckham), Fox brings back Family Guy, Hercules flexes his muscles, and Dr. Phil makes two prime-time house calls.
Summer is more than a month away, but May looks like a scorcher for TV.
Need more evidence? Between April 28 and May 23, we'll face the finales of JAG, Third Watch and Enterprise; a movie that purports to take on Donald Trump; the 40th annual Academy of Country Music Awards; the 32nd annual Daytime Emmy Awards; and The West Wing's Janel Maloney portraying Amber Frey in a movie about the Scott Peterson case.
Oh, and did we mention the season finales that wrap up yearlong story lines on Lost, 24, Veronica Mars, Alias, Smallville and Desperate Housewives?
All this fuss is less about the enjoyment it gives viewers (however grateful we might be) and more about ratings, which can be translated into advertising rates. May is a "sweeps" month, when local stations use Nielsen Media Research's audience measurement to set future prices for commercials.
May is also the networks' backloaded way to win bragging rights for the 2004-2005 season. This year, CBS is running away in the total households and total viewers categories but is in a dogfight with Fox for age 18-49 supremacy. ABC is in position to finish in third place for the season, and NBC is in danger of finishing fourth in the 18-49 category for the first time ever.
With so much at stake, it's no wonder that the May sweeps, which starts Thursday, is looking like gangbusters. The most vicious confrontation comes May 25, last day of the sweeps, when the finale of Fox's wildly popular American Idol will compete with the finale of ABC's Lost and CBS' Amber Frey movie.
Or it could be "Fallen Idol," a May 4 Primetime Live report that ABC says will explore "explosive claims" about behind-the-scenes activities at American Idol.
Here's a network-by-network rundown:
ABC: Four fresh episodes of Desperate Housewives and Lost begin Sunday and May 2, respectively. Housewives' season finale is May 22. Lost concludes May 25 with a two-hour finale.
The Bachelor finale airs May 16.
Lena Olin returns for the season's final two episodes of Alias May 18 and 25.
Ashanti is Dorothy, Queen Latifah is Auntie Em, and Jeffrey Tambor is the wizard in The Muppets' Wizard of Oz May 20. Playing to her strengths, Miss Piggy fills four roles: the Wicked Witch of the East, West, North and South. Kermit stretches as the Scarecrow, Gonzo is the Tin Thing and Fozzie Bear plays the Lion.
Justin Louis stars in Trump Unauthorized, based on Gwenda Blair's Donald Trump biographies, on May 24.
CBS: The finale of JAG airs Friday.
Rosie O'Donnell plays a mentally challenged woman and Andie MacDowell is her sister in Riding the Bus With My Sister. The movie, directed by Anjelica Huston, airs Sunday.
The last episode of Everybody Loves Raymond airs May 16, preceded by a one-hour retrospective.
Dr. Phil McGraw hosts two prime-time specials, May 4 and 20.
Elvis, a two-parter, airs May 8 and 11. Randy Quaid is the King's manager, Colonel Tom Parker; Camryn Manheim is his mother, Gladys Presley; and Antonia Bernath plays wife Priscilla Presley. Elvis by the Presleys, an entertainment special promising never-before-seen performances, airs May 13.
The finale of Survivor: Palau airs May 15.
Academy of Country Music awards are handed out May 17, and the Daytime Emmys are awarded May 20.
CSI concludes its season May 19 with a two-hour episode in which one of the CSI team is buried alive. Quentin Tarantino directs, and Tony Curtis and Frank Gorshin make cameos.
On the May 23 season finale of CSI: Miami, Dean Winters (Oz) appears as Horatio's brother Ray.
Rob and Amber Get Married, including video of the Survivor and Amazing Race couple's recent wedding, is set for May 24, two weeks after the May 10 finale of Amazing Race. (Go, Uchenna! Go, Joyce!)
Fox: Family Guy bows Sunday along with another animated series, American Dad. The Simpsons' 350th episode, featuring guest voice Ray Romano, also runs Sunday.
24 concludes with a two-hour finale May 23.
Brace yourself: Four more episodes of The Simple Life will air beginning Thursday.
In addition to the last episodes leading up to the May 25 finale of American Idol, a special, American Idol: International Best of the Worst, is set for May 19.
Tate Donovan returns for the May 19 season finale of The O.C.
NBC: Third Watch comes to an end May 6.
Noah Wylie exits ER May 19. Danny Glover guest-stars.
Sean Astin, Leelee Sobieski, Elizabeth Perkins and Timothy Dalton star in the three-hour movie Hercules. Paul Telfer plays the lead in this latest Robert Halmi Sr. production.
Dr. Richard Massey (Bill Pullman) tries to stop the birth of the anti-Christ in the finale of Revelations, May 18.
The penultimate episode of The Contender, May 22, will determine who will fight in the million-dollar live finale May 24.
UPN: Britney Spears and husband Kevin Federline share their lives in a series premiering May 17.
Another new series, The Bad Girls' Guide, starring Jenny McCarthy, premieres May 24.
Veronica Mars solves who killed Lilly Kane in the May 10 season finale.
Star Trek: Enterprise goes into mothballs with a two-hour finale May 13.
America's Next Top Model crowns a winner May 18.
WB: Blue Collar funnyman Ron White gets his own comedy special, airing Thursday.
Comedian Bill Engvall leads an extreme makeover of a mobile home on Mobile Home Disaster, also on Thursday.
The May 11 season finale of Jack & Bobby reveals why Bobby, not Jack, embarked on a road to the presidency.
Clark begins to understand the reason for his being on a 90-minute season finale of Smallville, airing May 18. An eight-minute preview of the movie Batman Begins will be part of the telecast.
HoustonChronicle.com - May promises to bring some sweeping changes
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
American Idol banter from TV Guide
American Idol
So I was hoping the new Pope in town would inspire maybe like, a Hymn Night or maybe a Latin Incantations theme. But no, we got something even more heavenly: '70s Dance Music! I mean, come on. Donna Summer. The Brothers Gibb. The entire Roller Boogie soundtrack. All the proof of God I need, right? And even though the final seven probably only know Studio 54 as a crappy Mike Myers flick, it turns out most of them still knew how to turn the beat around. Which made for a far less hellacious experience than I'm apparently headed for when the saints come marching in, you know?
Constantine Maroulis: OK, was a little worried about Con trying to replicate those freakish Bee Gees falsettos for "Nights on Broadway," especially under the weight of all that eyeliner. But the boy done good. Now all I have to worry about is that lady friend of his in the audience. Cyndi Lauper called, hon. She wants her entire shtick back. OK, OK, I admit Constantine has done well the past couple of weeks, I even thought he could sing, he proved to me again on this song that he cannot sing. And what about that eyeliner? Ewwwww. Get this fake off the show. - Marc
Carrie Underwood: Forget Simon's jab about her Barbie-meets-Stepford-Wife getup. First off, it was clearly Baby Jane on methadone. And second, even with the pageant hair and prom dress, the powerhouse hit the heights with a "MacArthur Park" that sounded like it was written just for her. Fabulous, despite those ridiculous lyrics. I mean, who leaves a cake out in the rain, anyway?
Scott Savol: What sucks more than the fact that this one is still around is that his "Everlasting Love" didn't suck. At least not enough to get him voted off. No, we'll leave that to...
Anthony Fedorov: How ironic. He does the Tavares' "Don't Take Away the Music" and all I'm thinking is "Please, take it... now!" Bottom three guaranteed. Zzzzzzz.
Vonzell Solomon: Rockin' the Chaka Khan like that, you are every woman, Baby V! And like Paula (only without the sloe-gin fizziness), I love you, too. Now call me, OK?
Anwar Robinson: Again with the shaky notes! Dag. "September" is too much fun to be wobbling around like that until the big ending. Come on, pull it together. You and Anthony are making it way too easy for Scott to stick around!
Bo Bice: Holy hotness! Up until about 94 seconds ago, I thought my buddy Neil's band knew how to give good "Vehicle." Then Bogart came along, tore into the Ides of March classic and kicked my hopes of a Bo win into high gear. If only so there can finally be an Idol album I won't be ashamed to be heard bellowing to in the car. Damn you, Kelly Clarkson and your "Hazel Eyes"! — Damian J. Holbrook
The Watercooler - [TV Guide Online]
So I was hoping the new Pope in town would inspire maybe like, a Hymn Night or maybe a Latin Incantations theme. But no, we got something even more heavenly: '70s Dance Music! I mean, come on. Donna Summer. The Brothers Gibb. The entire Roller Boogie soundtrack. All the proof of God I need, right? And even though the final seven probably only know Studio 54 as a crappy Mike Myers flick, it turns out most of them still knew how to turn the beat around. Which made for a far less hellacious experience than I'm apparently headed for when the saints come marching in, you know?
Constantine Maroulis: OK, was a little worried about Con trying to replicate those freakish Bee Gees falsettos for "Nights on Broadway," especially under the weight of all that eyeliner. But the boy done good. Now all I have to worry about is that lady friend of his in the audience. Cyndi Lauper called, hon. She wants her entire shtick back. OK, OK, I admit Constantine has done well the past couple of weeks, I even thought he could sing, he proved to me again on this song that he cannot sing. And what about that eyeliner? Ewwwww. Get this fake off the show. - Marc
Carrie Underwood: Forget Simon's jab about her Barbie-meets-Stepford-Wife getup. First off, it was clearly Baby Jane on methadone. And second, even with the pageant hair and prom dress, the powerhouse hit the heights with a "MacArthur Park" that sounded like it was written just for her. Fabulous, despite those ridiculous lyrics. I mean, who leaves a cake out in the rain, anyway?
Scott Savol: What sucks more than the fact that this one is still around is that his "Everlasting Love" didn't suck. At least not enough to get him voted off. No, we'll leave that to...
Anthony Fedorov: How ironic. He does the Tavares' "Don't Take Away the Music" and all I'm thinking is "Please, take it... now!" Bottom three guaranteed. Zzzzzzz.
Vonzell Solomon: Rockin' the Chaka Khan like that, you are every woman, Baby V! And like Paula (only without the sloe-gin fizziness), I love you, too. Now call me, OK?
Anwar Robinson: Again with the shaky notes! Dag. "September" is too much fun to be wobbling around like that until the big ending. Come on, pull it together. You and Anthony are making it way too easy for Scott to stick around!
Bo Bice: Holy hotness! Up until about 94 seconds ago, I thought my buddy Neil's band knew how to give good "Vehicle." Then Bogart came along, tore into the Ides of March classic and kicked my hopes of a Bo win into high gear. If only so there can finally be an Idol album I won't be ashamed to be heard bellowing to in the car. Damn you, Kelly Clarkson and your "Hazel Eyes"! — Damian J. Holbrook
The Watercooler - [TV Guide Online]
TRU BLUE: As if those crazy Tru Calling fans haven't suffered enough at the hands of Fox, the network has decided to pull the serial thriller off the air after this Thursday's episode — effectively cheating them out of seeing the show's sixth and final original installment. Adding insult to injury, Fox is replacing next week's Tru finale with The Simple Life: Interns! I'm beginning to think someone at Fox really hates Eliza Dushku.Entertainment News - [TV Guide Online]
Fox Assholes - Tru Calling Dead Again
Fox has again pulled the plug on Tru Calling, taking the supernatural series off the air after the April 21 episode, meaning that viewers who were trying to catch up with the canceled series' last six episodes will miss the final one, TV Guide Online reported. Fox had been airing all second-season episodes completed before Fox decided the first time that it wanted to kill the series, which stars Eliza Dushku as a young morgue attendant who can rewind time.
Fox was burning off the remaining Tru Calling episodes in the timeslot originally occupied by its ill-fated Point Pleasant. Next week, Fox will air The Simple Life: Interns instead of Tru Calling in the Thursday 9 p.m. ET/PT slot. Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
Fox was burning off the remaining Tru Calling episodes in the timeslot originally occupied by its ill-fated Point Pleasant. Next week, Fox will air The Simple Life: Interns instead of Tru Calling in the Thursday 9 p.m. ET/PT slot. Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
Monday, April 18, 2005
Is Charmed's End Near?
Brad Kern, longtime executive producer of The WB's Charmed, told SCI FI Wire that the upcoming season finale, "Something Wicca This Way Goes?" could also serve as the series finale—with a big surprise—should the show not get picked up for an eighth season. The finale builds on the events of "Death Becomes Them," the penultimate seventh-season episode, Kern said in an interview.
"The girls [Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs and Rose McGowan] have to figure out how to get the book back before Zankou [Oded Fehr] can use it to be able to tap into the power of the spiritual nexus and then become unstoppable," Kern said. "Over the course of the episode the girls have to wrestle with whether the fight [to protect innocents] has been worth it, whether they want to carry on or not, what they're willing to give up."
Kern added: "But they also realize that if they don't stop Zankou then all of the good they've done over the past seven years will have been for naught. That's just not acceptable, but the more they try to stop him, one by one he takes their powers. Halfway through the show they end the act by saying, 'I don't think we're going to get out of this one alive.' And that sets up a surprising ending that is so surprising and so top-secret that even in the episode outline that I've sent to the studio and the network, I've not included that scene. It will only be distributed on the day we shoot it. The idea is to not let spoilers spoil things for the loyal fans."
Still, Kern isn't giving up hope for another year of the show about the Halliwell sisters. "The network loves Charmed creatively and have been especially happy with it this season," he said. "But whether we come back or not still all boils down to ratings—which means it's up to the fans. If they all tune in and watch the last couple of episodes, I believe that'll raise our numbers enough to push us over the edge and force The WB to pick us up for an eighth season."
The WB will announce in May whether or not they'll pick up Charmed for another, presumably final, season. The season finale will probably air on May 22.
Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
"The girls [Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs and Rose McGowan] have to figure out how to get the book back before Zankou [Oded Fehr] can use it to be able to tap into the power of the spiritual nexus and then become unstoppable," Kern said. "Over the course of the episode the girls have to wrestle with whether the fight [to protect innocents] has been worth it, whether they want to carry on or not, what they're willing to give up."
Kern added: "But they also realize that if they don't stop Zankou then all of the good they've done over the past seven years will have been for naught. That's just not acceptable, but the more they try to stop him, one by one he takes their powers. Halfway through the show they end the act by saying, 'I don't think we're going to get out of this one alive.' And that sets up a surprising ending that is so surprising and so top-secret that even in the episode outline that I've sent to the studio and the network, I've not included that scene. It will only be distributed on the day we shoot it. The idea is to not let spoilers spoil things for the loyal fans."
Still, Kern isn't giving up hope for another year of the show about the Halliwell sisters. "The network loves Charmed creatively and have been especially happy with it this season," he said. "But whether we come back or not still all boils down to ratings—which means it's up to the fans. If they all tune in and watch the last couple of episodes, I believe that'll raise our numbers enough to push us over the edge and force The WB to pick us up for an eighth season."
The WB will announce in May whether or not they'll pick up Charmed for another, presumably final, season. The season finale will probably air on May 22.
Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
Bakula: Enterprise Film Is Dead
Scott Bakula, star of UPN's canceled Star Trek: Enterprise, told SCI FI Wire that plans for a movie based on the show were put on hold when the regime changed at Paramount and the network pulled the plug on the show earlier this year. Bakula said he's willing to reprise the character of Capt. Jonathan Archer in an Enterprise film. "It's something I would be interested in doing," Bakula said in an interview at the show's wrap party in Hollywood last week. "They haven't [asked], but the reality is that Paramount has been under such internal upheaval in the last year that right now there's really nobody that's there that is a fan of Star Trek."
Bakula said that recent turnover of several key Paramount executives has dampened enthusiasm for future Trek projects. "It's all turned over, so I don't know what's going to happen with Star Trek as a franchise," Bakula said. "Obviously it's been very important to that studio for a great number of years and brought a lot of revenue for them. But I'm not sure how they will re-address or kind of re-approach it as the dust settles. But we'll see."
The nearly 40-year-old Trek franchise will find itself next year without an original TV series or future movie on the calendar for the first time since 1987, owing in part to the disappointing box-office performance of the last film, Star Trek Insurrection, and the poor ratings of Enterprise, which winds up its four-year run in May.
But Bakula said that he thinks Enterprise could make a successful jump to the big screen. "I don't think there's any question about that," he said. "It's just, again, you've got to have interest from the studio, and that doesn't exist right now to my knowledge. It did before. You see, when we started, there was always the idea that we would be the next movie cast and movie ship. But all the people who were interested in that are gone." Enterprise airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel: "Bakula: Enterprise Film Is Dead"
Bakula said that recent turnover of several key Paramount executives has dampened enthusiasm for future Trek projects. "It's all turned over, so I don't know what's going to happen with Star Trek as a franchise," Bakula said. "Obviously it's been very important to that studio for a great number of years and brought a lot of revenue for them. But I'm not sure how they will re-address or kind of re-approach it as the dust settles. But we'll see."
The nearly 40-year-old Trek franchise will find itself next year without an original TV series or future movie on the calendar for the first time since 1987, owing in part to the disappointing box-office performance of the last film, Star Trek Insurrection, and the poor ratings of Enterprise, which winds up its four-year run in May.
But Bakula said that he thinks Enterprise could make a successful jump to the big screen. "I don't think there's any question about that," he said. "It's just, again, you've got to have interest from the studio, and that doesn't exist right now to my knowledge. It did before. You see, when we started, there was always the idea that we would be the next movie cast and movie ship. But all the people who were interested in that are gone." Enterprise airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel: "Bakula: Enterprise Film Is Dead"
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Nexus: The Jupiter Incident
With its stellar graphics, space game in a higher orbit
By DWIGHT N. ODELIUS For The Chronicle
Once in a while, a really good game falls under the radar, overshadowed by the heavy hitters with big advertising budgets. But fans of space-based strategy games won't want to miss Nexus: The Jupiter Incident. Its tactical depth and top-notch graphics make it one of the better science fiction games. Players take on the role of a celebrated spaceship captain and war hero whose father disappeared while trying to travel through an interstellar wormhole. The basic game play involves commanding one or more spaceships against enemies in a variety of battle scenarios. The ships are huge, slow-moving things and have more in common with the battlestar Galactica than with the starship Enterprise. The game design emphasizes strategy over simulation, freeing the player from the burden of learning a bunch of complicated ship controls. A brief on-the-job tutorial shows players how to issue specific commands to the ship and fleet, while the computer decides exactly how to carry them out. This gives the sense of being in command of a fleet, rather than micromanaging it, and allows a focus on high-level strategy without being distracted by inconsequential details. At first, the space battles play out slowly, and much of the time in the early missions is spent just getting into firing range of enemy vessels. As faster and better ships are introduced, and as battles get larger, the pace of the game quickens dramatically. In addition to a huge variety of weaponry and other equipment, each ship may also have a complement of fighters or a squad of commandos that can be directed to perform specific tasks like engaging other fighters or boarding a disabled vessel. Easy-to-use controls allow players to switch views from ship-to-ship and rotate their view of the action around any way they choose. HoustonChronicle.com - At Home
By DWIGHT N. ODELIUS For The Chronicle
Once in a while, a really good game falls under the radar, overshadowed by the heavy hitters with big advertising budgets. But fans of space-based strategy games won't want to miss Nexus: The Jupiter Incident. Its tactical depth and top-notch graphics make it one of the better science fiction games. Players take on the role of a celebrated spaceship captain and war hero whose father disappeared while trying to travel through an interstellar wormhole. The basic game play involves commanding one or more spaceships against enemies in a variety of battle scenarios. The ships are huge, slow-moving things and have more in common with the battlestar Galactica than with the starship Enterprise. The game design emphasizes strategy over simulation, freeing the player from the burden of learning a bunch of complicated ship controls. A brief on-the-job tutorial shows players how to issue specific commands to the ship and fleet, while the computer decides exactly how to carry them out. This gives the sense of being in command of a fleet, rather than micromanaging it, and allows a focus on high-level strategy without being distracted by inconsequential details. At first, the space battles play out slowly, and much of the time in the early missions is spent just getting into firing range of enemy vessels. As faster and better ships are introduced, and as battles get larger, the pace of the game quickens dramatically. In addition to a huge variety of weaponry and other equipment, each ship may also have a complement of fighters or a squad of commandos that can be directed to perform specific tasks like engaging other fighters or boarding a disabled vessel. Easy-to-use controls allow players to switch views from ship-to-ship and rotate their view of the action around any way they choose. HoustonChronicle.com - At Home
Monday, April 11, 2005
Disney online service targets preschoolers
April 11, 2005, 7:57AM
Disney to offer online service to preschoolers
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — The Walt Disney Co. is expanding its broadband offerings for kids, adding activities for preschoolers and planning a second multiplayer online game aimed at teens.
Disney's Internet Group will launch a paid preschool broadband service this summer, featuring guided activities and games hosted by the lead character from "Bear in the Big Blue House."
The service, called "Playhouse Disney Preschool Time Online," is meant for children ages three to five and their parents. Activities will center on a weekly theme or "episode," such as "friendship" or "sharing."
The service will include puzzles, games and learning activities designed to prepare kids for kindergarten, the company said. It will also include an area for parents that allows them to track their child's activity. The service will be offered at $49.95 per year.
The offering is part of a larger strategy to expand the company's high-speed Internet offerings for kids of all ages.
Disney already has free games and activities on the Web fashioned after its popular "Playhouse Disney" block of programming on the cable television Disney Channel. That part of Disney's Web site attracts about 1 million unique visitors each week, said Ken Goldstein, executive vice president and managing director of Disney Online.
Disney launched "Toontown," its first multiplayer online game, in 2003. The game is written for children 8-year-olds and older and pits cartoon characters against a race of evil robots, called "Cogs," who are out to take the fun out of Toontown.
The game costs $79.95 for one year or $9.95 per month.
HoustonChronicle.com - Disney online service targets preschoolers
Disney to offer online service to preschoolers
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — The Walt Disney Co. is expanding its broadband offerings for kids, adding activities for preschoolers and planning a second multiplayer online game aimed at teens.
Disney's Internet Group will launch a paid preschool broadband service this summer, featuring guided activities and games hosted by the lead character from "Bear in the Big Blue House."
The service, called "Playhouse Disney Preschool Time Online," is meant for children ages three to five and their parents. Activities will center on a weekly theme or "episode," such as "friendship" or "sharing."
The service will include puzzles, games and learning activities designed to prepare kids for kindergarten, the company said. It will also include an area for parents that allows them to track their child's activity. The service will be offered at $49.95 per year.
The offering is part of a larger strategy to expand the company's high-speed Internet offerings for kids of all ages.
Disney already has free games and activities on the Web fashioned after its popular "Playhouse Disney" block of programming on the cable television Disney Channel. That part of Disney's Web site attracts about 1 million unique visitors each week, said Ken Goldstein, executive vice president and managing director of Disney Online.
Disney launched "Toontown," its first multiplayer online game, in 2003. The game is written for children 8-year-olds and older and pits cartoon characters against a race of evil robots, called "Cogs," who are out to take the fun out of Toontown.
The game costs $79.95 for one year or $9.95 per month.
HoustonChronicle.com - Disney online service targets preschoolers
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Monday, April 04, 2005
Friday, April 01, 2005
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Who Star Quits Abruptly
Christopher Eccleston has quit the title role of the BBC's new Doctor Who series after just one episode of the new series aired, the BBC reported. Eccleston, whose first appearance as the ninth Time Lord attracted around 10 million viewers in its premiere on March 26, feared being typecast, the network said.
Talks are taking place to replace him with Casanova star David Tennant.
The surprise news followed earlier reports that the BBC, buoyed by Doctor Who's huge audience, had ordered up a second season after just one episode had hit British airwaves. Russell T. Davies will again write the show, which is produced by BBC Wales.
Billie Piper, who plays Doctor Who's assistant, Rose, is expected to star again.
Eccleston's last appearance is expected to be in a Christmas special. He said that he is planning new projects and that he found filming the series gruelling, the BBC reported.
Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
Talks are taking place to replace him with Casanova star David Tennant.
The surprise news followed earlier reports that the BBC, buoyed by Doctor Who's huge audience, had ordered up a second season after just one episode had hit British airwaves. Russell T. Davies will again write the show, which is produced by BBC Wales.
Billie Piper, who plays Doctor Who's assistant, Rose, is expected to star again.
Eccleston's last appearance is expected to be in a Christmas special. He said that he is planning new projects and that he found filming the series gruelling, the BBC reported.
Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
Sunday, March 27, 2005
X-Kings - Massively Multiplayer Online Game
X-Kings is an exciting turn-based massively multiplayer online game. It is played using a simple web browser.
X-Kings is free: you do not have to pay to play. You can start playing just now, and it's free!
X-Kings - Massively Multiplayer Online Game - Homepage
X-Kings is free: you do not have to pay to play. You can start playing just now, and it's free!
X-Kings - Massively Multiplayer Online Game - Homepage
Saturday, March 26, 2005
Enterprise Finale Detailed
UPN released details of the upcoming back-to-back series-ending episodes of its canceled Star Trek: Enterprise, which will air in May.
The first episode, "Terra Prime," will air at 8 p.m. ET/PT on May 13. The episode reveals the first steps in the foundation of the Federation, when Capt. Archer (Scott Bakula) and the crew must stop Paxton (guest star Peter Weller), a well-armed, radical human isolationist leader, who is threatening to destroy Starfleet Command unless all aliens leave Earth immediately, UPN announced.
The second episode, "These Are the Voyages," will air at 9 p.m. the same night. It takes place six years in the future, when an emotional Capt. Archer and the crew return to Earth to face the decommissioning of the Enterprise and the signing of the Federation charter, ratifying the newly formed alliance of planets. As previously reported, Star Trek: The Next Generation cast members Jonathan Frakes (Riker) and Marina Sirtis (Troi) guest star. Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
UPN released details of the upcoming back-to-back series-ending episodes of its canceled Star Trek: Enterprise, which will air in May.
The first episode, "Terra Prime," will air at 8 p.m. ET/PT on May 13. The episode reveals the first steps in the foundation of the Federation, when Capt. Archer (Scott Bakula) and the crew must stop Paxton (guest star Peter Weller), a well-armed, radical human isolationist leader, who is threatening to destroy Starfleet Command unless all aliens leave Earth immediately, UPN announced.
The second episode, "These Are the Voyages," will air at 9 p.m. the same night. It takes place six years in the future, when an emotional Capt. Archer and the crew return to Earth to face the decommissioning of the Enterprise and the signing of the Federation charter, ratifying the newly formed alliance of planets. As previously reported, Star Trek: The Next Generation cast members Jonathan Frakes (Riker) and Marina Sirtis (Troi) guest star. Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
10 easy ways to stash away thousands
Readers share their secret ploys to save cash throughout the year. These clever ideas make saving money easy and painless.
By Liz Pulliam Weston
Money guru Jean Chatzky knows her latest book, “Pay It Down: From Debt to Wealth on $10 a Day,” centers on a gimmick.
The thing is, gimmicks work -- at least when it comes to our often-irrational relationship with money.
Chatzky promises financial freedom for anyone who can scrounge up an extra tenner each day -- what you might spend on lunch, a car wash, a movie ticket. Someone who might feel hopeless at the prospect of paying off $8,000 in credit card debt can embrace this one-day-at-a-time approach, which makes debt repayment seem not only possible, but almost easy.
“It’s a hook, kind of like ‘no carbs’ is a hook,” says Chatzky, financial editor for NBC’s Today Show. “This is a problem we need to get our hands around. . . . (We need) some sort of mental game we can play with ourselves that will help us solve the problem.”
If we were entirely logical, of course, we wouldn’t need hooks or gimmicks or any of the little self-delusions that in reality can be so helpful in giving ourselves a financial cushion.
Since we’re not Mr. Spock, though, savings tricks can prove mighty helpful. Here are some of the things MSN Money readers say they do to get themselves to put aside a little extra:
Pad your accounts. If you use personal finance software, you can just enter a check to yourself for $300 -- or $500, or $1,000, or whatever you want your pad to be. The check needn’t actually exist or ever be cashed, but the software will treat it as an outstanding obligation and deduct it from your balance.
You can do something similar even if you still balance your checkbook by hand.
“What I have done is to add $300 to my checking account, but not include it into the balance,” wrote Gregory Hannon, a utilities administrator for the city of Longview, Wash. “Basically, the money is hidden. . . . This is my way of making sure that should it happen that I write a check without the funds (according to the checking account balance), then I know I am covered.”
Cull your bills. Here’s a twist on the classic savings tip of dumping your change in a jar: set aside certain denominations, such as fives or tens, whenever they make their way into your wallet.
Kirstiepie99 wrote on the Your Money message board that she and her husband decided to put any of the new, colorful $20 bills they received into a jar beside their bed.
“A new $20 bill can slip into your hands at any time, so it's like Russian roulette every time you go to the ATM,” she wrote. “We did it for about seven or eight months, and it funded a trip to Latvia for a month (except for the airfare). It makes saving fun!”
Institute a family tax. Dawnna76’s family has a Garfield piggy bank into which each family member deposits $1 a day. The bank can be raided for the occasional movie or latte, but mostly the money funds their Christmas shopping.
“We have around $1,000 each year in there and we only pay cash for Christmas presents,” Dawnna76 wrote. “The nice thing is we usually never spend (all) the money on presents and what’s left, we take a trip with.”
Save your reimbursements. Employers can take weeks or months to pay you back for the expenses you incurred traveling or entertaining clients. By then, you may have already paid the bill. Instead of cashing the check, consider saving it instead.
Kirstiepie99 says she’s saved $400 so far by depositing expense reimbursement checks from her job into a separate savings account.
Realize your rebates. Several posters recommended saving the money you get from rebates, shopping sales or using coupons and club cards at grocery stores.
Grocery stores tend to make this easy; they often print on the receipt exactly how much you saved. You can transfer that exact amount to a savings account or, if you still write checks, you can make one out for the amount of the savings and deposit that -- or simply round up.
“If the items ring up to the tune of $33.45 for example, I write a check for $35,” wrote summerbreeze 98387. “When I get home, the change goes into the kitty (dollars and change both).”
Round it up -- or down. Another popular ploy, for those who balance their checkbooks by hand, is adding or subtracting a few bucks from each transaction.
MadWomanM says she never records the full amount of her deposit to her checking account and adds a dollar or five to any checks she writes.
“If I put in $105.38, I just write in $100,” she wrote, “and I always subtract to the nearest dollar or sometimes, up to five dollars. I end up (with) a surplus almost every payday, which is handy.”
Fee yourself. WryWit uses a slightly different method that also could work for folks who use personal finance software.
“I started imposing fees on myself,” WryWit wrote. “In my checkbook register, there is a little column for fees. I use a check mark for $10 and a dash for $1. So for every $100 deposited I'll short $10, and every outgoing transaction I add a dollar. When the page is full I add them up and keep a running total at the bottom of the page. This makes it easy to reconcile the balance at any time, and when it gets up to a certain point, I transfer it into savings.”
Saving raises. Some posters save all or part of every raise they get. Sweetnepenthe has lived on the same amount of take-home pay for the past eight years, dedicating every raise to increased retirement contributions and, when those are maxed out, to savings.
ImproperFraction saves half of each raise, noting that it doesn’t feel like deprivation.
“Inflation is a gradual erosion of my dollar's buying power that I endure and make spending adjustments for throughout the year,” the poster wrote. “But my pay raises don’t creep up; rather they are sudden events. . . . So I'll save half of this sudden jump in income and add the rest to my spending funds.
“This has worked quite well for me throughout my working years; I am now in the position where the amount of money I save exceeds the amount of money I spend.”
Divide and conquer your paycheck. Other posters save an amount equal to an hour’s pay each day, or each week if they’re just getting started.
“I have an automated transaction to pull $26.18 out of my account every week,” wrote MusketeersPlus2, a union worker whose raises are known in advance. “I've even already set it up to change to $27.10" when his next pay hike kicks in.
Pay yourself last. The usual (and excellent) money tip is to pay yourself first by making sure a certain amount of your paycheck is deposited into savings or investment accounts. But Carolina Girl also pays herself last.
“I keep a pretty close check on monthly expenses,” she posted. “If we have extra money due to less expenses (received a raise or bonus, gas bill goes down in the summer, less entertainment due to busy schedules, etc.), the extra is transferred to a savings account. I don't change my spending just because there's extra money.”
MSN Money - 10 easy ways to stash away thousands
By Liz Pulliam Weston
Money guru Jean Chatzky knows her latest book, “Pay It Down: From Debt to Wealth on $10 a Day,” centers on a gimmick.
The thing is, gimmicks work -- at least when it comes to our often-irrational relationship with money.
Chatzky promises financial freedom for anyone who can scrounge up an extra tenner each day -- what you might spend on lunch, a car wash, a movie ticket. Someone who might feel hopeless at the prospect of paying off $8,000 in credit card debt can embrace this one-day-at-a-time approach, which makes debt repayment seem not only possible, but almost easy.
“It’s a hook, kind of like ‘no carbs’ is a hook,” says Chatzky, financial editor for NBC’s Today Show. “This is a problem we need to get our hands around. . . . (We need) some sort of mental game we can play with ourselves that will help us solve the problem.”
If we were entirely logical, of course, we wouldn’t need hooks or gimmicks or any of the little self-delusions that in reality can be so helpful in giving ourselves a financial cushion.
Since we’re not Mr. Spock, though, savings tricks can prove mighty helpful. Here are some of the things MSN Money readers say they do to get themselves to put aside a little extra:
Pad your accounts. If you use personal finance software, you can just enter a check to yourself for $300 -- or $500, or $1,000, or whatever you want your pad to be. The check needn’t actually exist or ever be cashed, but the software will treat it as an outstanding obligation and deduct it from your balance.
You can do something similar even if you still balance your checkbook by hand.
“What I have done is to add $300 to my checking account, but not include it into the balance,” wrote Gregory Hannon, a utilities administrator for the city of Longview, Wash. “Basically, the money is hidden. . . . This is my way of making sure that should it happen that I write a check without the funds (according to the checking account balance), then I know I am covered.”
Cull your bills. Here’s a twist on the classic savings tip of dumping your change in a jar: set aside certain denominations, such as fives or tens, whenever they make their way into your wallet.
Kirstiepie99 wrote on the Your Money message board that she and her husband decided to put any of the new, colorful $20 bills they received into a jar beside their bed.
“A new $20 bill can slip into your hands at any time, so it's like Russian roulette every time you go to the ATM,” she wrote. “We did it for about seven or eight months, and it funded a trip to Latvia for a month (except for the airfare). It makes saving fun!”
Institute a family tax. Dawnna76’s family has a Garfield piggy bank into which each family member deposits $1 a day. The bank can be raided for the occasional movie or latte, but mostly the money funds their Christmas shopping.
“We have around $1,000 each year in there and we only pay cash for Christmas presents,” Dawnna76 wrote. “The nice thing is we usually never spend (all) the money on presents and what’s left, we take a trip with.”
Save your reimbursements. Employers can take weeks or months to pay you back for the expenses you incurred traveling or entertaining clients. By then, you may have already paid the bill. Instead of cashing the check, consider saving it instead.
Kirstiepie99 says she’s saved $400 so far by depositing expense reimbursement checks from her job into a separate savings account.
Realize your rebates. Several posters recommended saving the money you get from rebates, shopping sales or using coupons and club cards at grocery stores.
Grocery stores tend to make this easy; they often print on the receipt exactly how much you saved. You can transfer that exact amount to a savings account or, if you still write checks, you can make one out for the amount of the savings and deposit that -- or simply round up.
“If the items ring up to the tune of $33.45 for example, I write a check for $35,” wrote summerbreeze 98387. “When I get home, the change goes into the kitty (dollars and change both).”
Round it up -- or down. Another popular ploy, for those who balance their checkbooks by hand, is adding or subtracting a few bucks from each transaction.
MadWomanM says she never records the full amount of her deposit to her checking account and adds a dollar or five to any checks she writes.
“If I put in $105.38, I just write in $100,” she wrote, “and I always subtract to the nearest dollar or sometimes, up to five dollars. I end up (with) a surplus almost every payday, which is handy.”
Fee yourself. WryWit uses a slightly different method that also could work for folks who use personal finance software.
“I started imposing fees on myself,” WryWit wrote. “In my checkbook register, there is a little column for fees. I use a check mark for $10 and a dash for $1. So for every $100 deposited I'll short $10, and every outgoing transaction I add a dollar. When the page is full I add them up and keep a running total at the bottom of the page. This makes it easy to reconcile the balance at any time, and when it gets up to a certain point, I transfer it into savings.”
Saving raises. Some posters save all or part of every raise they get. Sweetnepenthe has lived on the same amount of take-home pay for the past eight years, dedicating every raise to increased retirement contributions and, when those are maxed out, to savings.
ImproperFraction saves half of each raise, noting that it doesn’t feel like deprivation.
“Inflation is a gradual erosion of my dollar's buying power that I endure and make spending adjustments for throughout the year,” the poster wrote. “But my pay raises don’t creep up; rather they are sudden events. . . . So I'll save half of this sudden jump in income and add the rest to my spending funds.
“This has worked quite well for me throughout my working years; I am now in the position where the amount of money I save exceeds the amount of money I spend.”
Divide and conquer your paycheck. Other posters save an amount equal to an hour’s pay each day, or each week if they’re just getting started.
“I have an automated transaction to pull $26.18 out of my account every week,” wrote MusketeersPlus2, a union worker whose raises are known in advance. “I've even already set it up to change to $27.10" when his next pay hike kicks in.
Pay yourself last. The usual (and excellent) money tip is to pay yourself first by making sure a certain amount of your paycheck is deposited into savings or investment accounts. But Carolina Girl also pays herself last.
“I keep a pretty close check on monthly expenses,” she posted. “If we have extra money due to less expenses (received a raise or bonus, gas bill goes down in the summer, less entertainment due to busy schedules, etc.), the extra is transferred to a savings account. I don't change my spending just because there's extra money.”
MSN Money - 10 easy ways to stash away thousands
Tru Calling Returns
Fox will bring back the remaining six new episodes of its canceled supernatural series Tru Calling with a two-hour episode on March 31, after which it will air in the 9 p.m. ET/PT Thursday timeslot of the soon-to-be pulled Point Pleasant, the Zap2it Web site reported. Tru Calling was pre-empted earlier this year to make way for North Shore and then Point Pleasant, both of which fared poorly enough in the ratings to warrant being pulled from Fox's schedule. It's unclear whether Point Pleasant will return after that.
The remaining new episodes of Tru Calling will feature star Eliza Dushku as Tru Davies, who can relive a 24-hour period when called upon to save a recently deceased person.
Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
The remaining new episodes of Tru Calling will feature star Eliza Dushku as Tru Davies, who can relive a 24-hour period when called upon to save a recently deceased person.
Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
American Idol 4 - Incorrect voting numbers were displayed
IMPORTANT PROGRAM NOTE CHANGE
Due to an error with the graphics shown on-screen (incorrect voting numbers were displayed) during the performance recap at the end of last night’s AMERICAN IDOL, a live, one-hour show will air tonight, Wednesday, March 23 9/8c on FOX, to enable a re-vote. This new show will combine new live elements with encores of Tuesday’s performances from the remaining 11 contestants.
Phone lines will open at the conclusion of tonight's show and will remain open for two hours to give viewers the chance to vote for their favorite contestants and keep them in the competition. Only the voting results from tonight’s show will determine who received the lowest number of votes and will be sent home this week. Tune in to see who America has chosen to stay and who is sent home on the live results show tomorrow, Thursday, March 24 9/8c live on FOX.
RECAP
NEW LIVE SHOW & ENCORE PERFORMANCES THEN RE-VOTE - TONIGHT 9/8c
LIVE RESULTS SHOW - TOMORROW 9/8c
Due to an error with the graphics shown on-screen (incorrect voting numbers were displayed) during the performance recap at the end of last night’s AMERICAN IDOL, a live, one-hour show will air tonight, Wednesday, March 23 9/8c on FOX, to enable a re-vote. This new show will combine new live elements with encores of Tuesday’s performances from the remaining 11 contestants.
Phone lines will open at the conclusion of tonight's show and will remain open for two hours to give viewers the chance to vote for their favorite contestants and keep them in the competition. Only the voting results from tonight’s show will determine who received the lowest number of votes and will be sent home this week. Tune in to see who America has chosen to stay and who is sent home on the live results show tomorrow, Thursday, March 24 9/8c live on FOX.
RECAP
NEW LIVE SHOW & ENCORE PERFORMANCES THEN RE-VOTE - TONIGHT 9/8c
LIVE RESULTS SHOW - TOMORROW 9/8c
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Friday, March 18, 2005
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
American Idol 4 - And then there were 12
I thought last night's show was good, I liked everyone. I even thought Constantine sang well and I have never liked him. I disagreed with the judges last night most of the time.
I never liked the song that Bo sang but I thought he did a great job. I think Anthony, Anwar and Scott sounded very good. Nikko did OK.
I think Lindsey's days are numbered. Jessica did OK and Mikalah looked great. I thought Nadia, Vonzell and Carrie did really well.
I don't have any strong favorites at this time. If I had to choose, it would be Carrie Underwood, Vonzell Solomon, Bo Bice and Anwar Robinson.
It'll be interesting to see who leaves tonight. I hope it is Constantine but it won't be.
Oh, the local radio station in town, Mix 96.5, said this morning that Constantine had visited the station before and that he was a jerk.
I never liked the song that Bo sang but I thought he did a great job. I think Anthony, Anwar and Scott sounded very good. Nikko did OK.
I think Lindsey's days are numbered. Jessica did OK and Mikalah looked great. I thought Nadia, Vonzell and Carrie did really well.
I don't have any strong favorites at this time. If I had to choose, it would be Carrie Underwood, Vonzell Solomon, Bo Bice and Anwar Robinson.
It'll be interesting to see who leaves tonight. I hope it is Constantine but it won't be.
Oh, the local radio station in town, Mix 96.5, said this morning that Constantine had visited the station before and that he was a jerk.
Sunday, March 13, 2005
Friday, March 11, 2005
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
American Idol 4 - Constantine Maroulis SUCKS
What are you females thinking with? Constantine CANNOT sing.
Nikko Smith should have been in the top 12. He did a great job with "Georgia On My Mind" and "Let's Get It On".
I liked Travis Tucker but I think ANTHONY FEDOROV, ANWAR ROBINSON, BO BICE, MARIO VAZQUEZ and SCOTT SAVOL were better.
As far as the women go, I agree with the 6 that made it in - CARRIE UNDERWOOD, JESSICA SIERRA, LINDSEY CARDINALE, NADIA TURNER, MIKALAH GORDON and VONZELL SOLOMON.
Nikko Smith should have been in the top 12. He did a great job with "Georgia On My Mind" and "Let's Get It On".
I liked Travis Tucker but I think ANTHONY FEDOROV, ANWAR ROBINSON, BO BICE, MARIO VAZQUEZ and SCOTT SAVOL were better.
As far as the women go, I agree with the 6 that made it in - CARRIE UNDERWOOD, JESSICA SIERRA, LINDSEY CARDINALE, NADIA TURNER, MIKALAH GORDON and VONZELL SOLOMON.
G4 - Feature - Lego Star Wars Movie: The Phantom Menace
"We’re huge fans of Star Wars here on Cinematech, so when we received Lego Star Wars from Eidos we were very excited. The game follows the plots of the first three episodes so perfectly, that we knew there was only one thing that we could do to compliment its greatness: recreate the Star Wars prequels with Legos! Episode I, Lego Star Wars - The Phantom Menace, ran last month and many people seemed to enjoy it. We just finished Episode II and think you are gonna love it!"
G4 - Feature - Lego Star Wars Movie: The Phantom Menace
G4 - Feature - Lego Star Wars Movie: The Phantom Menace
Monday, March 07, 2005
Friday, March 04, 2005
Angry Alien Productions, Sase and Topsie
Angry Alien Productions, Sase and Topsie: "30-Second Bunnies Theatre"
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Fans fight to save Star Trek: Enterprise
Fans fight to save Star Trek: Enterprise
Show has been canceled, but effort continues
By KAREN SCHWARTZ
Columbia News Service
Anita Balestino, 50, is fighting to save her favorite television show. She's been working four to five hours a day since January to try to make sure the cast and crew of Star Trek: Enterprise can continue their weekly space adventures.
She, her husband and now-grown children gather Friday nights at 8 p.m. in their Columbia, Md., home to watch the adventures of the crew they've come to love over the past four seasons.
Though Star Trek: Enterprise, the latest series in the 39-year-old space saga, was officially canceled by UPN and Paramount Network Television in early February, thousands of the show's loyal viewers have joined forces to protest what they see as its early termination.
Fans say the show presents a uniquely positive view of humanity and its potential.
"It has historically promoted tolerance and acceptance, and its stories comment on the human condition by translating that to other cultures, alien cultures," said Balestino, a medical technologist.
Fans from the United States to the United Kingdom to Malaysia lit up message boards, voicing their dismay over the end of a show. Many wanted to see the show come full circle: Enterprise is a prequel to the original series, and was intended to end where the first Star Trek began.
With its cancellation, efforts shifted from trying to raise ratings to trying to get the show picked up by another network. Rallies were held in Washington, Los Angeles, New York, London and Tel Aviv in early February, and by the end of the month fans had already donated $48,000 to trekunited.com, where Tim Brazeal, the campaign leader and also the founder of saveenterprise.com, hopes fans can raise enough to pay for a fifth season.
Not counting the original show, which ran for three seasons, each of the show's other spinoffs — Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager — ran for seven seasons.
None of the spinoffs drew Balestino in like the original, until Star Trek: Enterprise.
The show has been in jeopardy before. Marsha Robertson, 46, who acts as a liaison between enterpriseproject.org and saveenterprise.com, said the show was almost canceled at the end of its second and third seasons. She joined in the effort to save it because she thinks it's worthwhile.
"It's still something all ages can enjoy and can discuss," she said. "There aren't very many shows on evening television my friends can watch with their kids."
And being a Star Trek fan means more than watching the show, she said. Regardless of what happens with the program, she'll still have the friends she's met through it, she said. A passion for Star Trek often serves as a social outlet, connecting Trekkies first through their common interest.
Mark Williams, 38, from Anderson, Ind., says he's met "some of the nicest people" traveling in Star Trek circles. As a child, Williams watched Star Trek after Saturday morning cartoons.
"As a kid I watched that and I thought 'that's cool,' and that's before real life gets in the way," he said. "I guess I still follow in those ideas, from being a kid trying to look on the bright side of things."
HoustonChronicle.com - Fans fight to save Star Trek: Enterprise
Show has been canceled, but effort continues
By KAREN SCHWARTZ
Columbia News Service
Anita Balestino, 50, is fighting to save her favorite television show. She's been working four to five hours a day since January to try to make sure the cast and crew of Star Trek: Enterprise can continue their weekly space adventures.
She, her husband and now-grown children gather Friday nights at 8 p.m. in their Columbia, Md., home to watch the adventures of the crew they've come to love over the past four seasons.
Though Star Trek: Enterprise, the latest series in the 39-year-old space saga, was officially canceled by UPN and Paramount Network Television in early February, thousands of the show's loyal viewers have joined forces to protest what they see as its early termination.
Fans say the show presents a uniquely positive view of humanity and its potential.
"It has historically promoted tolerance and acceptance, and its stories comment on the human condition by translating that to other cultures, alien cultures," said Balestino, a medical technologist.
Fans from the United States to the United Kingdom to Malaysia lit up message boards, voicing their dismay over the end of a show. Many wanted to see the show come full circle: Enterprise is a prequel to the original series, and was intended to end where the first Star Trek began.
With its cancellation, efforts shifted from trying to raise ratings to trying to get the show picked up by another network. Rallies were held in Washington, Los Angeles, New York, London and Tel Aviv in early February, and by the end of the month fans had already donated $48,000 to trekunited.com, where Tim Brazeal, the campaign leader and also the founder of saveenterprise.com, hopes fans can raise enough to pay for a fifth season.
Not counting the original show, which ran for three seasons, each of the show's other spinoffs — Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager — ran for seven seasons.
None of the spinoffs drew Balestino in like the original, until Star Trek: Enterprise.
The show has been in jeopardy before. Marsha Robertson, 46, who acts as a liaison between enterpriseproject.org and saveenterprise.com, said the show was almost canceled at the end of its second and third seasons. She joined in the effort to save it because she thinks it's worthwhile.
"It's still something all ages can enjoy and can discuss," she said. "There aren't very many shows on evening television my friends can watch with their kids."
And being a Star Trek fan means more than watching the show, she said. Regardless of what happens with the program, she'll still have the friends she's met through it, she said. A passion for Star Trek often serves as a social outlet, connecting Trekkies first through their common interest.
Mark Williams, 38, from Anderson, Ind., says he's met "some of the nicest people" traveling in Star Trek circles. As a child, Williams watched Star Trek after Saturday morning cartoons.
"As a kid I watched that and I thought 'that's cool,' and that's before real life gets in the way," he said. "I guess I still follow in those ideas, from being a kid trying to look on the bright side of things."
HoustonChronicle.com - Fans fight to save Star Trek: Enterprise
We are Houston-area FAMILIES WITH YOUNGER CHILDREN (infant - 8yrs), slightly conservative, indulging in general FAMILY ORIENTED foolishness.
This Is A Wholesome Social Group - We Support Basic Moral Values and Seek Friends of Similar Ideals.
Yahoo! Groups : Houston-FAMILY-Gamesters
This Is A Wholesome Social Group - We Support Basic Moral Values and Seek Friends of Similar Ideals.
Yahoo! Groups : Houston-FAMILY-Gamesters
This Is A Wholesome Social Group. Singles, Couples, Families sharing Common Interest in Board, Tile, Card Games. Hanging out in Relaxed Atmosphere of Clean Fun and Camaraderie! Gaming-age Children (~9 yrs, suitable maturity and disposition) are Encouraged to Participate!
Yahoo! Groups : Houston-Social-Gamesters
Yahoo! Groups : Houston-Social-Gamesters
Monday, February 28, 2005
SpellForce: The Order of Dawn Review for PC at GameSpot
SpellForce: The Order of Dawn Review for PC at GameSpot
SpellForce: The Order of Dawn Review for PC at GameSpot
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Gorilla's caretaker sued over alleged breast-baring request
Associated Press
WOODSIDE, CALIF. - A third woman has filed a lawsuit claiming a caretaker for Koko, the world-famous sign-language-speaking gorilla, pressured her to expose her breasts as a way to bond with the animal.
Iris Rivera, 39, sued the Gorilla Foundation last week in San Mateo County Superior Court, saying the foundation's president, Francine Patterson, repeatedly told her to expose her breasts.
Rivera, an administrative assistant at the foundation until she quit last month, claims Patterson told her last year that Koko was signing that "she wants to see your nipples."
Two other former employees filed similar claims last week.
HoustonChronicle.com - Gorilla's keeper sued over breast claim
Associated Press
WOODSIDE, CALIF. - A third woman has filed a lawsuit claiming a caretaker for Koko, the world-famous sign-language-speaking gorilla, pressured her to expose her breasts as a way to bond with the animal.
Iris Rivera, 39, sued the Gorilla Foundation last week in San Mateo County Superior Court, saying the foundation's president, Francine Patterson, repeatedly told her to expose her breasts.
Rivera, an administrative assistant at the foundation until she quit last month, claims Patterson told her last year that Koko was signing that "she wants to see your nipples."
Two other former employees filed similar claims last week.
HoustonChronicle.com - Gorilla's keeper sued over breast claim
Trekkies Unite to Save "Enterprise"
Friday February 25 5:50 PM ET
By Sarah Hall
Loyal Trekkies--er, make that Trekkers--beamed across the globe Friday to express their discontent over UPN's decision to axe Star Trek: Enterprise.
Earlier this month, the network announced the show's impending demise at the end of its fourth season, leaving Enterprise devotees facing the prospect of network television devoid of a Star Trek series for the first time in almost 20 years.
Aghast at the realization that the show had reached its final frontier, viewers galvanized a plan to keep Enterprise alive by attempting to raise $32 million dollars to fund the cost of a fifth season and alerting the powers that be to the show's committed fan base.
On Friday, Trekkies held "Save Enterprise" rallies at the Paramount lot in Los Angeles, the offices of CBS and the Sci-Fi channel in New York, the Fox affiliate in Washington, D.C., the offices of the BBC and Channel 4 in London and at Tel Aviv University in Israel.
Tim Brazeal, a systems administrator from Knoxville, Tennessee who is spearheading the project, said that three people have pledged $3 million toward salvaging the show, while fan site TrekUnited.com had raised $49,410 by Friday afternoon.
According to chatter in fan forums such as TrekUnited.com and SaveEnterprise.com, the L.A. rally drew the most participants, with an estimated 200 to 400 Trek enthusiasts voicing their support for the show.
Rather than channeling their inner Mr. Spock, participants were urged to come dressed in normal attire, as a statement on SaveEnterprise.com advised, "Although we think that coming in dress would be great, we also think this would stereotype us all as 'Hardcore' Trekkers and would hurt more than help. Please wear your daily wear."
Most of the rally attendees complied with the dress code, though some could not resist donning Vulcan ears for the cause.
Enterprise, a prequel to the original 1960s Star Trek series, currently draws about 3 million viewers a week, about half the number who watched its first season, and way down from the 12.5 million who tuned in for its 2001 premiere.
As of now, its final episode is slated to air on May 13.
Efforts to save shows headed for cancellation typically fail, though dedicated fans managed to breathe life into past struggling shows such as the WB's Felicity and Roswell and ABC's Once and Again through Internet campaigns.
If the Trekkers fail in their mission to keep Enterprise on the airwaves, money will either be refunded to donors or donated to tsunami relief, Brazeal said.
However, even if Enterprise bites the dust, there's still a bright spot on the horizon for Star Trek fans.
Earlier this week, Variety reported that scribe Erik Jendresen (Band of Brothers) has been hired to pen the script for Star Trek XI, the latest installment in the long-running sci-fi franchise.
The project was reportedly shelved in January, but production is apparently back in motion, though Paramount has not yet set a release date for the film, which is rumored to focus on the Romulan War, which took place before the original series.
Yahoo! TV News & Gossip -
Friday February 25 5:50 PM ET
By Sarah Hall
Loyal Trekkies--er, make that Trekkers--beamed across the globe Friday to express their discontent over UPN's decision to axe Star Trek: Enterprise.
Earlier this month, the network announced the show's impending demise at the end of its fourth season, leaving Enterprise devotees facing the prospect of network television devoid of a Star Trek series for the first time in almost 20 years.
Aghast at the realization that the show had reached its final frontier, viewers galvanized a plan to keep Enterprise alive by attempting to raise $32 million dollars to fund the cost of a fifth season and alerting the powers that be to the show's committed fan base.
On Friday, Trekkies held "Save Enterprise" rallies at the Paramount lot in Los Angeles, the offices of CBS and the Sci-Fi channel in New York, the Fox affiliate in Washington, D.C., the offices of the BBC and Channel 4 in London and at Tel Aviv University in Israel.
Tim Brazeal, a systems administrator from Knoxville, Tennessee who is spearheading the project, said that three people have pledged $3 million toward salvaging the show, while fan site TrekUnited.com had raised $49,410 by Friday afternoon.
According to chatter in fan forums such as TrekUnited.com and SaveEnterprise.com, the L.A. rally drew the most participants, with an estimated 200 to 400 Trek enthusiasts voicing their support for the show.
Rather than channeling their inner Mr. Spock, participants were urged to come dressed in normal attire, as a statement on SaveEnterprise.com advised, "Although we think that coming in dress would be great, we also think this would stereotype us all as 'Hardcore' Trekkers and would hurt more than help. Please wear your daily wear."
Most of the rally attendees complied with the dress code, though some could not resist donning Vulcan ears for the cause.
Enterprise, a prequel to the original 1960s Star Trek series, currently draws about 3 million viewers a week, about half the number who watched its first season, and way down from the 12.5 million who tuned in for its 2001 premiere.
As of now, its final episode is slated to air on May 13.
Efforts to save shows headed for cancellation typically fail, though dedicated fans managed to breathe life into past struggling shows such as the WB's Felicity and Roswell and ABC's Once and Again through Internet campaigns.
If the Trekkers fail in their mission to keep Enterprise on the airwaves, money will either be refunded to donors or donated to tsunami relief, Brazeal said.
However, even if Enterprise bites the dust, there's still a bright spot on the horizon for Star Trek fans.
Earlier this week, Variety reported that scribe Erik Jendresen (Band of Brothers) has been hired to pen the script for Star Trek XI, the latest installment in the long-running sci-fi franchise.
The project was reportedly shelved in January, but production is apparently back in motion, though Paramount has not yet set a release date for the film, which is rumored to focus on the Romulan War, which took place before the original series.
Yahoo! TV News & Gossip -
Friday, February 25, 2005
Monday, February 21, 2005
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Friday, February 18, 2005
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Breakthrough: Intel builds laser using silicon
Associated Press
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - In an advance that could drive down the cost of optical networks, researchers have built a laser using silicon, the same material used in computer chips, that shines without stopping or blinking.
The technology could have important uses, Intel Corp. researchers said. It could be used to make high-bandwidth, light-based communications inexpensive enough to replace copper wire inside computers, and could reduce the cost of lasers used in medicine, defense and other industries.
The research is published in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.
Until recently, few experts thought humble silicon could be used to build a laser, said Mario Paniccia, director of Intel's photonics lab. It tends to absorb light energy, dissipating it as heat rather than amplifying it as current lasers, which use more exotic materials, do.
"This is a fundamental breakthrough," said Paniccia, a co-author of the Intel study. "It's one of those things that's a game changer."
Intel researchers had already announced in January that they had built an all-silicon laser. But that device had a problem: The laser effect stopped after a time. A solution to that problem resulted in laser light that came in pulses -- impractical for most uses. Now, they have built in a tiny component that eliminates that problem.
"That was a major remaining milestone for these lasers," said Bahram Jalali, a University of California, Los Angeles electrical engineering professor who was not involved in the Intel research.
Laser beams are usually created by using a blast of electricity or light to boost the energy levels of electrons in the atoms of a crystal, semiconductor or gas. The electrons then release photons, the basic element of light, which can be formed into a concentrated beam.
That process doesn't work with silicon, so the researchers focused on a weak scattering of photons called the "Raman effect," which is already in use in one type of laser. They found the Raman effect is 10,000 times stronger in silicon.
HoustonChronicle.com - Breakthrough: Intel builds laser using silicon
Associated Press
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - In an advance that could drive down the cost of optical networks, researchers have built a laser using silicon, the same material used in computer chips, that shines without stopping or blinking.
The technology could have important uses, Intel Corp. researchers said. It could be used to make high-bandwidth, light-based communications inexpensive enough to replace copper wire inside computers, and could reduce the cost of lasers used in medicine, defense and other industries.
The research is published in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.
Until recently, few experts thought humble silicon could be used to build a laser, said Mario Paniccia, director of Intel's photonics lab. It tends to absorb light energy, dissipating it as heat rather than amplifying it as current lasers, which use more exotic materials, do.
"This is a fundamental breakthrough," said Paniccia, a co-author of the Intel study. "It's one of those things that's a game changer."
Intel researchers had already announced in January that they had built an all-silicon laser. But that device had a problem: The laser effect stopped after a time. A solution to that problem resulted in laser light that came in pulses -- impractical for most uses. Now, they have built in a tiny component that eliminates that problem.
"That was a major remaining milestone for these lasers," said Bahram Jalali, a University of California, Los Angeles electrical engineering professor who was not involved in the Intel research.
Laser beams are usually created by using a blast of electricity or light to boost the energy levels of electrons in the atoms of a crystal, semiconductor or gas. The electrons then release photons, the basic element of light, which can be formed into a concentrated beam.
That process doesn't work with silicon, so the researchers focused on a weak scattering of photons called the "Raman effect," which is already in use in one type of laser. They found the Raman effect is 10,000 times stronger in silicon.
HoustonChronicle.com - Breakthrough: Intel builds laser using silicon
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Monday, February 14, 2005
Enterprise Ad Posted Online
The newspaper advertisement purchased by fans of UPN's canceled Star Trek Enterprise has been posted at the campaign organization's official Web site, www.enterprisefans.com. The ad will run in the "A" section of the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday, Feb. 15 (rather than Feb. 21, as previously reported), the Web site announced.
The full-page ad urges fans of the show to write to network executives in support of its continuation after it concludes its fourth season on UPN this spring. It also invites supporters to join in a rally on Feb. 25 outside Paramount Studios in Hollywood, where Enterprise is filmed.
Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
The newspaper advertisement purchased by fans of UPN's canceled Star Trek Enterprise has been posted at the campaign organization's official Web site, www.enterprisefans.com. The ad will run in the "A" section of the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday, Feb. 15 (rather than Feb. 21, as previously reported), the Web site announced.
The full-page ad urges fans of the show to write to network executives in support of its continuation after it concludes its fourth season on UPN this spring. It also invites supporters to join in a rally on Feb. 25 outside Paramount Studios in Hollywood, where Enterprise is filmed.
Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
Digital Atelier
My auctions started to be delisted. EBay has a program called VeRO which is their division to handle a company's complaint of IP/copyright infringement. EBay, and I can't really fault them for this, defaults to companies to police their IP. So if something is infringing, they tell ebay about it and the listing is removed. I had been told that the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) was the entity responsible for the complaints on my auctions (two at the time). A quick web surf shows that Vivendi (who bought out Sierra and Blizzard a few years back) is in fact a member. For those of you not aware, the ESA sponsors E3, and is mostly just the legal/lobbying body for some game companies. They are very pro-DMCA.
Digital Atelier
Digital Atelier
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Wish I would have thought of this...
Personalized romance novel, personalized romance books, personalized love books
Personalized romance novel, personalized romance books, personalized love books
Monday, February 07, 2005
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Friday, February 04, 2005
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Wonderfalls That Never Was
Bryan Fuller, co-creator and co-executive producer of the short-lived Fox fantasy series Wonderfalls, told SCI FI Wire he'd developed stories for a second season that never came to pass, as Fox pulled the show after just four low-rated episodes. Caroline Dhavernas starred as Jaye, a bright young woman who worked at a Niagara Falls gift shop and thought she'd lost her mind when inanimate objects at the store suddenly started talking and prodded her to intercede in the lives of people she didn't know. The full 13-episode series, including nine episodes that never aired in the United States, is now out on DVD.
"Actually, I [developed] four episodes of a second season while we were in post-production on the first season, before we knew definitively we were going to be canceled," Fuller said while promoting the DVD collection. "It was like, 'Well, let's get this going just in case, so we can hit the ground running and be ahead of the game should we get picked up.'"
Fuller added: "So there were four stories. The big thrust of the second season was going to be a miracle-birth arc, with Sharon [Katie Finneran], the lesbian sister. We set that up in a [first-season] episode called 'Safety Canary,' where she breaks up with her bisexual girlfriend, who then goes back to her husband and has sex with him. After they've had sex, Sharon comes back to her bisexual girlfriend and says, 'I want to still be with you,' and then they have sex. So the semen in the bisexual girl's vagina gets into lesbian Sharon's vagina and she becomes pregnant, though she's never had sex with a man. So the whole arc of season two was going to be this miracle birth/Jesus arc and Jaye coming to the conclusion she may be a little bit of a prophet.
"And we had another first-season episode, 'Cocktail Bunny,' that was setting up arcs for season three," Fuller continued. "It's one of those things where it's not on the drawing board or in the bible or the book. It's just all in my head. When the characters become real to you, you start fleshing out a future for them that, like a future for anybody, may or not be."
The Wonderfalls DVD includes featurettes, commentaries and a music video. Fuller, who is currently developing an animated series for SCI FI Channel based on the Mike Mignola comic book The Amazing Screw-On Head as well as an hourlong drama for another network, joked that while the Wonderfalls collection "ain't no Lord of the Rings special extended edition," he's nevertheless thrilled that fans have the opportunity to watch the series in its entirety.
"There's big satisfaction," Fuller said. "You want your art to be available to an audience. Now that the show is available on DVD it's available to an audience. That's huge. They have to seek it out, but they can go to a store or Netflix it and have it brought to their door. To be honest with you, I think the show got better with every episode, and there were nine episodes that no one saw. I guess there are a couple of weaker ones where I'd go, 'Ooh, we could have nailed the script better on that,' but overall I really do think the episodes got better. So anyone who checks it out on DVD, if they liked what they'd already seen of the show, will hopefully agree with me and find that it gets better with each episode."
Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
Bryan Fuller, co-creator and co-executive producer of the short-lived Fox fantasy series Wonderfalls, told SCI FI Wire he'd developed stories for a second season that never came to pass, as Fox pulled the show after just four low-rated episodes. Caroline Dhavernas starred as Jaye, a bright young woman who worked at a Niagara Falls gift shop and thought she'd lost her mind when inanimate objects at the store suddenly started talking and prodded her to intercede in the lives of people she didn't know. The full 13-episode series, including nine episodes that never aired in the United States, is now out on DVD.
"Actually, I [developed] four episodes of a second season while we were in post-production on the first season, before we knew definitively we were going to be canceled," Fuller said while promoting the DVD collection. "It was like, 'Well, let's get this going just in case, so we can hit the ground running and be ahead of the game should we get picked up.'"
Fuller added: "So there were four stories. The big thrust of the second season was going to be a miracle-birth arc, with Sharon [Katie Finneran], the lesbian sister. We set that up in a [first-season] episode called 'Safety Canary,' where she breaks up with her bisexual girlfriend, who then goes back to her husband and has sex with him. After they've had sex, Sharon comes back to her bisexual girlfriend and says, 'I want to still be with you,' and then they have sex. So the semen in the bisexual girl's vagina gets into lesbian Sharon's vagina and she becomes pregnant, though she's never had sex with a man. So the whole arc of season two was going to be this miracle birth/Jesus arc and Jaye coming to the conclusion she may be a little bit of a prophet.
"And we had another first-season episode, 'Cocktail Bunny,' that was setting up arcs for season three," Fuller continued. "It's one of those things where it's not on the drawing board or in the bible or the book. It's just all in my head. When the characters become real to you, you start fleshing out a future for them that, like a future for anybody, may or not be."
The Wonderfalls DVD includes featurettes, commentaries and a music video. Fuller, who is currently developing an animated series for SCI FI Channel based on the Mike Mignola comic book The Amazing Screw-On Head as well as an hourlong drama for another network, joked that while the Wonderfalls collection "ain't no Lord of the Rings special extended edition," he's nevertheless thrilled that fans have the opportunity to watch the series in its entirety.
"There's big satisfaction," Fuller said. "You want your art to be available to an audience. Now that the show is available on DVD it's available to an audience. That's huge. They have to seek it out, but they can go to a store or Netflix it and have it brought to their door. To be honest with you, I think the show got better with every episode, and there were nine episodes that no one saw. I guess there are a couple of weaker ones where I'd go, 'Ooh, we could have nailed the script better on that,' but overall I really do think the episodes got better. So anyone who checks it out on DVD, if they liked what they'd already seen of the show, will hopefully agree with me and find that it gets better with each episode."
Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
Berman Reacts To Enterprise
Rick Berman, executive producer of the just-canceled Star Trek: Enterprise, told SCI FI Wire that he was surprised not by UPN's decision, but by the fact that viewers continued to tune out the series despite a marked improvement in quality, strong reviews and guest appearances by the likes of Brent Spiner. "Nobody is more surprised about that than we are here," Berman said of the precipitous fan drop-off in an interview conducted after UPN announced Enterprise's fate. "We've always seemed to have a big drop from before Christmas to after Christmas, which I've never quite understood."
Enterprise attracted more than 13 million viewers in its debut, but by the fourth season, that audience had fallen to just 2.9 million.
Berman added: "I think the whole network had a big drop from before Christmas until after Christmas. I am not only very proud of the shows that we've done so far for the fourth season, but the shows that we've done that haven't aired yet are undoubtedly some of the best shows that we've produced. I don't think it has to do with the quality of the show. That just might be ego speaking, but I think we've done a great job. If you look at the performance of [Star Trek] Nemesis, you see what I think was a terrific movie that did not perform anywhere near as expected. I think that's been happening with Enterprise." The 2002 movie Nemesis grossed $43 million domestically and had foreign ticket sales of $23 million, the worst performer in the film series.
Berman is the man who has been principally responsible for shepherding the Trek franchise since he was handed the reins by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. "Whether you want to call it viewer apathy or franchise fatigue or any of the cute little titles that people have come up with, I think it's the case," Berman said. "We've figured out that we've produced 624 hours of Star Trek over the last 18 years, and of those 18 seasons, seven of them we did two shows simultaneously. It's a lot of television. And each show has had the previous shows in reruns to compete with. Climates have changed. I think you can just squeeze so many eggs out of the old golden goose." Berman and Enterprise co-executive Brannon Braga are penning a series finale that will air on May 13.
Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
Rick Berman, executive producer of the just-canceled Star Trek: Enterprise, told SCI FI Wire that he was surprised not by UPN's decision, but by the fact that viewers continued to tune out the series despite a marked improvement in quality, strong reviews and guest appearances by the likes of Brent Spiner. "Nobody is more surprised about that than we are here," Berman said of the precipitous fan drop-off in an interview conducted after UPN announced Enterprise's fate. "We've always seemed to have a big drop from before Christmas to after Christmas, which I've never quite understood."
Enterprise attracted more than 13 million viewers in its debut, but by the fourth season, that audience had fallen to just 2.9 million.
Berman added: "I think the whole network had a big drop from before Christmas until after Christmas. I am not only very proud of the shows that we've done so far for the fourth season, but the shows that we've done that haven't aired yet are undoubtedly some of the best shows that we've produced. I don't think it has to do with the quality of the show. That just might be ego speaking, but I think we've done a great job. If you look at the performance of [Star Trek] Nemesis, you see what I think was a terrific movie that did not perform anywhere near as expected. I think that's been happening with Enterprise." The 2002 movie Nemesis grossed $43 million domestically and had foreign ticket sales of $23 million, the worst performer in the film series.
Berman is the man who has been principally responsible for shepherding the Trek franchise since he was handed the reins by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. "Whether you want to call it viewer apathy or franchise fatigue or any of the cute little titles that people have come up with, I think it's the case," Berman said. "We've figured out that we've produced 624 hours of Star Trek over the last 18 years, and of those 18 seasons, seven of them we did two shows simultaneously. It's a lot of television. And each show has had the previous shows in reruns to compete with. Climates have changed. I think you can just squeeze so many eggs out of the old golden goose." Berman and Enterprise co-executive Brannon Braga are penning a series finale that will air on May 13.
Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
Friday, January 28, 2005
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Baby sign language can help your child communicate without saying a word
MSN Family/Baby & Pregnancy
MSN Family/Baby & Pregnancy
The Kingdom of Loathing
I don't know if this is worth looking at or not...
From the site - "The Kingdom of Loathing (or KoL, as it has come to be known by its player base) is a free, comical RPG, brought to you by the folks at Asymmetric Publications.
KoL is currently in open beta -- it's open to the public to play, but it's not quite finished. More features and things to do are being added on a nearly daily basis. Despite its unfinished state, it has already attracted a thriving community of interesting, intelligent, and helpful players.
KoL is, and always will be, free to play, but donations are appreciated and rewarded.
KoL is played from the comfort of your browser, and is adorned with a staggering array of stunning hand-drawn images. It is turn-based, which means you get a certain number of turns (Adventures) each day."
The Kingdom of Loathing
From the site - "The Kingdom of Loathing (or KoL, as it has come to be known by its player base) is a free, comical RPG, brought to you by the folks at Asymmetric Publications.
KoL is currently in open beta -- it's open to the public to play, but it's not quite finished. More features and things to do are being added on a nearly daily basis. Despite its unfinished state, it has already attracted a thriving community of interesting, intelligent, and helpful players.
KoL is, and always will be, free to play, but donations are appreciated and rewarded.
KoL is played from the comfort of your browser, and is adorned with a staggering array of stunning hand-drawn images. It is turn-based, which means you get a certain number of turns (Adventures) each day."
The Kingdom of Loathing
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
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