24: Jack Bauer vs. The Cast From Robocop

This season is just full of surprises. The body count continues to rise as this week (spoiler alert!), another main character bites the dust. Not only that, another alum from Robocop enters the fray: actor Paul McCrane, playing the mysterious Bluetooth-wearing power broker 'Graham'. If you recall, Paul played the infamous goon 'Emil', known for this famous one liner. His introduction into the plot arrives just in time as Robocop's character, 'Henderson' (the actor's real name is Peter Weller), is finally taken into custody by Curtis, the consistently under-appreciated agent who seems to be a regular punching bag for Jack.

I'm anxiously awaiting who else turns up this season.

Ronny Cox as Dick Jones?














Kurtwood Smith as Clarence Boddicker?










or ED-209 as itself?

Going Down, Down, Down Down

Utterly disgusting. First a Devil's shorthanded goal. Then a Devil's powerplay goal. Then an uncapitalized 2 man advantage powerplay, immediately followed by a Devil's breakaway goal, scored by a Ranger defenseman...with 6 seconds left in the 2nd period...shorthanded! (see image) Final tally: 4-1 Devils. Probably the 2nd worst post season Ranger game I've seen ever, the first being Game 1 last Saturday.

It's like a bad dream. At least we had an enjoyable regular season. The next two games are at the Garden, though I hardly see that as an advantage at this point. Prediction: clean sweep- Devils, 4 - Rangers, 0.

Please prove me wrong. Whether it's Weekes or Lundqvist at the net, let's play like you got a pair! What I think what the Rangers locker room needs to get their blood flowing is to see some old time hockey, like this!:

The Revolution Will Be Televised, Online

In the latest experiment in the digital entertainment foray, ABC last week announced that they will soon begin offering a select number TV shows, among them: Lost, Alias, Commander in Chief, free of charge on their online website: ABC.com. Why? They, like other networks, are testing the waters of online video and feeling out people's behavior toward watching a show online. Will this test prove fruitful as a new way to provide entertainment to consumers, while creating a sustainable new revenue stream for networks? Who the hell knows!

Americans are currently going though an interesting transition period in how we consume entertainment. TV screens are getting bigger, smaller, flatter, wider, and some aren't even TVs anymore, but rather desktop monitors, iPods, cell phones, and PSPs. The tremendous growth of broadband and the technological wizardry and marketing behind multi-functional gadgets are creating the perfect storm of cataclysmic digital consumption, transforming not only what we consume, but also how we consume our entertainment. With any new paradigm shift of consumers habits comes the lovely growing pains of corporations scrambling to find their place in a new landscape, which essentially comes down to them throwing enough shit against a wall to see what sticks. We are that wall.

What does this mean to the Average Joe? For me, it's a mix of emotions, from sheer jubilance to utter frustration. Within the past year, like many of you, I discovered iFilm and YouTube, which are essentially online versions of America's Funniest Home videos, multiplied by a million. I can spend hours watching videos from YouTube's Pet and Animal channel. Wanna see an anaconda eat a hippo? How about two cats battling it out? A giant centipede eat a mouse? All available in just a few clicks.

It recently occurred to me that I could also find some of my favorite UFC fights online as well, and I did...at least until about two weeks ago. A few tech savvy video uploaders were posting the latest Pay Per View fights only a few hours after it aired live on TV. Why pay $50 bucks, when you can get it for free? I knew it was all too good to last. Within a few days, practically all of UFC's fights were removed due from YouTube due to copyright infrigement. NBC took similar action a few months back when iFilm and YouTube was forced to remove SNL's "Lazy Sunday" skit from their video libraries. The only difference in that instance was the sheer irony that the clip's success was directly attributed to the very sites NBC hunted down to remove its content from. A perfect example of the current FUBAR state of online video content and distribution.

There will be a day in the near future where all content available on TV will also be available online. Until then, expect to be exposed to all sorts of video experiments, from 'webisodes', to 'mobisodes', to user generated content created as part of a crafty marketing campaign. Expect to have to sit through commercials to watch online videos for free, pay to watch without commercials, pay to download, provide your personal info to watch, all in the name of the almighty dollar. Nothing is free, unless of course it's illegal. And until the powers that be find a better way to regulate proprietary content on the web, it'll be up to us, the public, to determine what shit sticks and what doesn't, and do what we do best, consume.

J-ust A-nother G-reat R-anger

It took you five games, but you finally did it you crazy Czech! Scoring goal number fifty-three this afternoon in a comeback win against the Bruins, surpassing Adam Graves' all time Ranger record of fifty-two from the miraculous '93-'94 Stanley Cup year, was one for the record books. Not only that, you also helped secure the team's 100th point of the year, only the sixth time that has happened in franchise history and the first time since...yes, the '93-'94 Stanley Cup season. Earlier this week, you helped clinch the first playoff birth since 1997, breaking the longest playoff drought for a team in NHL history . Could this be really happening?

You bet your Blueshirt ass this is for real. This team just doesn't know how to quit. Looking back at the start of the season, no Ranger fan, including myself, would have any reason to believe that this team would be like any other Ranger team in the past twelve years, a team with inept upper management, shoddy coaching, teammates with poor chemistry, and most of all, a team that enjoys playing golf in May. Man, were we all wrong. Wanna to read something funny? Check out Sports Illustrated's NHL preview report from October earlier this year here. This just shows you how incredible this season has been. Who would have known Jagr would have the season he's been having and gel so perfectly with his Czech mates? That Lundqvist would emerge as a top contender for Rookie of the Year, with Petr Prucha right there next to him for that achievement? That the team would have the ability to sustain a lead and come from behind to win games? Unbelievable. For me, I think the turning point that made me start to believe that this was different Ranger team occurred on the evening of November 26 with Malik's ridiculous goal:



However, the season ain't over yet, and the playoffs are waiting for you. Jagr, you've got more goals to score, more points to rack up, and more records to break. Don't stop now. Keep those highlight reels coming:

Return of the Fist: The Ultimate Fighter 3

This past Thursday was the return of my favorite reality show of all time- The Ultimate Fighter 3 (TUF 3), (my second fave being the short lived Combat Missions). For those not familiar with TUF3 premise:

This is the true story,
of 16 mixed martial artists,
picked to live in a house,
train together and have their lives taped,
to find out what happens,
when people stop being polite,
and start getting real...by beating the ever lovin' piss out of each other.

The sport is mixed martial arts. The fighters, composed of two weight classes, are divided into two teams, each trained under the guidance of a professional UFC fighter, and pitted against on another in a one to one fight each week. This season brings on board Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz as coaches, two seasoned fighting professionals with no love lost between them, which should make for some great drama. The prize for the last fighter standing? A six figure contract to fight in the UFC.

The TUF3 coaches. Anyone want a Rice Krispie treat?

Coming off of last season (TUF2), where the talent pool paled in comparision to season 1, this year's talent looks promising. An added improvement to the show this year will be the removal of 'challenges,' which were quirky physical events that each team would compete against the other to determine who would have the power to decide which fighter would fight whom next. Part of the competition's strategy is to have the control to pick your team's superior fighter against the other's weaker fighter, although this strategy anything but foolproof.
This created a loophole where more than one fighter could fight more than once, while others would not fight at all, sneaking by into the semi-finals. This sucked when you saw that they weren't very good and should have gotten their beat down a long time ago. Another change for the better is a rule requiring each fighter to fight once, so no more free rides. To secure control of deciding who fights whom next, you simply have to win your fight. Earn it in the octagon bitch.

The jury is still out on whether the blatant product placements for Right Guard Xtreme deodorant or XYience nutrition powder will be back this season. None were seen after the first episode, which is reassuring. Hopefully they can keep that streak up. Please don't sell-out, commercials are there for a reason.

Never Forget, But In Case You Did...

In a few weeks, whether you're ready for it or not, the summer movie season will be upon us. Back in the day, before movie studio marketing budgets exploded to where they are now, the summer movie season officially started Memorial Day weekend, the last weekend in May. Now, it seems to have crept up almost one full month ahead, with Mission Impossible III releasing May 5th- and one smaller movie that could fly under the radar (horrid pun) as one of the most talked about summer movies of the season. United 93, a film based on the only terrorist attack on September 11 that was thwarted, will be released on April 28, and it's already causing controversy.

It was about a week and a half ago when this film's official trailer was released online. I first saw the preview in theaters when I saw The Inside Man on opening weekend (an excellent cops and robbers flick with an exceptional cast). This week the preview made news when it was pulled from being seen in a New York movie theater after a woman broke down in tears after seeing it. We're not talking about the actual movie, but only the trailer. Question: If we censor this trailer to the public, will the terrorist have won? This sounds like sarcasm, but I'm half not-joking.

I've asked few friends about their feelings toward this event being told on screen. Most have the expected response, "I've been through that day in New York first hand, and have seen it over and over again in the days and weeks after, why would I want to spend $10 to re-live it now on a giant screen? I'm saving that dough up for Mi:III the week after. Do you think Tom Cruise will likely be a dad by then?" Okay, that Mi:III part I made up, but the general consensus is that people are troubled by it.

I think I'm one of the few people that is actually really interested in seeing the film. When I first heard about it in the works, I admit I had my concerns, but I think Universal's positioned the film well and has been pretty careful in the way they've presented it thus far. If you go to the movie's website, you're able to view a short feature from the director providing his perspective of the film, with interviews from several family members sharing their thoughts on why they believe this story should be told as a film at this time. It was originally called simply 'Flight 93,' but changed probably to help clarify that it's not about the flight, but about the people in the flight that made the ultimate sacrifice, on their terms. Of all the documentaries, books and articles I've seen and read over the years about that dreadful day, this is probably the single most heroic story with the least documentation on what transpired during those 84 minutes up there. Will it be tough to watch? Mostly likely. Emotional? Absolutely. Will we think about it after the credits roll? Hopefully. But isn't that the point, to never forget?


Next week's film commentary - Scary Movie 4 (not really, but I hate to leave posts on a downer). You probably just saved yourself a movie ticket to a crappy B movie by watching this trailer (but you also just lost 2 minutes of your life).

Sprung Forward While Hungover

Note to self: Avoid signing up for races on the same day as Daylight Savings Time. Also, avoid devouring barbecue jambalaya, pouring pints of alcoholic fluids down the pipes, and sleeping less than six hours the night before. Not a formula for a highly motivating, feel-good morning come race day.

Today was my first competitive race in about eight months- a 6.2 mile "Urban Environmental Challenge," a trail race sponsored by the Van Cortlandt Park Track Club. Granted I felt like utter horse manure, the blue sky and brisk spring temperatures lifted my spirits and kept my bile in check long enough to complete the race in 48:09, which comes out to a little less than an eight minute mile. I was pretty pleased with this performance, considering that this was about the sixth time I ran since November (two of the six were sprints to catch a train to work, so if your really counting- four). My race training follows a pattern similar to that of a grizzly bear's active and dormant hibernation periods. Hopefully now with the additional daylight during the evening and temperatures warming up, this old bear will finally shed some excess fat reserves from winter, venture out of his cave and frolick in the woods...and crap in them.