Friday, December 26, 2008

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! My fiancee and I spent a few days with her family in Kentucky and we had a great time. Many thanks to Lori and Marty for hosting us and making us feel so special!

Below is a cool vid from Baghdad. Enjoy!

Monday, December 15, 2008

Hunting Bad Guys in Baghdad

A great article by Michael J. Totten on soldiers hunting one of the most dangerous terrorist leaders in Iraq:

The tip-off came in over the phone late at night when the terrorist leader's meeting was almost scheduled to be finished. By the time everyone had their gear and was ready to go, we had seventeen minutes or less to drive across a portion of Sadr City and break down the door before the meeting was over.

We ran to the Humvees.

“Go with Sergeant Gonzales,” Captain Looney said to me. “When we dismount, catch up to me and stay on me.” He looked angry all of a sudden, but mostly he was just being serious. Any of us might be killed in less than an hour.

Our convoy of Humvees roared down Baghdad's streets in the dark without headlights. I checked my watch. No time to waste. We had eleven minutes to catch the bastard before his meeting was scheduled to end. Hopefully he and his pals were on “Arab time” and would hang out and drink tea for a while before heading out.

You can read the rest "here".

PROPS: To BLACKFIVE

POTUS Uses Matrix Moves to Avoid Shoes

Well, we knew it was only a matter of time before legendary boxing promoter Don King weighed in on POTUS' Matrix-like moves:

The boxing guru was so impressed with Bush's shoe evasion tactics over the weekend, that he gave a statement to TMZ saying, "Bush has unbelievable reflexes ... he can stick and move like a boxer!"

The Matrix Reloaded:



The Seattle Mariners could use that reporter's arm in their bullpen.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

My perfect Christmas gift:



PROPS: To Ron

The Dark Knight: Coming Back to a Theater Near You

Very good news for us Gotham City fans. The Dark Knight will be back on the big screen January 23rd:

Warner Bros. has announced that they will be re-releasing The Dark Knight nationwide on January 23rd, effectively guaranteeing that the film will become the fourth of all time to take in more than $1 billion in worldwide box office.

Yep, only a month and a half since the DVD debut, one of the greatest movies ever released returns. This Bat signal will not only light up the night-time skies but also energize Oscar voters.

Lets hope Heath Ledger gets his much-deserved Oscar for his portrayal of The Joker. What Ledger did in this movie was remarkable--he not only made The Joker a heinous villian but did so with glimpses humor while maintaining a scary persona.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

'The Unit' News

'The Unit' is in reruns the next couple of weeks, but TV Guide provides a few news updates on the CBS TV series:

Sharon of Sharon Bialy/Sherry Thomas casting has been moving in warp drive trying to cast David Mamet's up-coming script that requires 21 guest actors before the first day of shooting. She's used to the challenges of casting for The Unit. Like finding an actor who can speak Pashto, an Afghanistan language, and who can also ride a horse. This was needed in "Shadow Riders," which followed the Unit's quest to deliver a bride to a groom in order to barter a truce between warring Afghanistan tribes...

Sharon says that shooting The Unit is like shooting an eight-day movie. "The thing I'm proud of is the level of excellence that's sustained on the show. Editing to writing... every department is on a level of excellence sustained over four years. It starts at the top with Shawn and David. There is a level of trust with them. They treat you as artists. You are valued. You want to pay them back by doing a great job. If you bring up an actor they've never heard of before and you vouch for them, they will listen." When they needed someone with authenticity and weight to play the African dictator in the "Force Majeure" episode, Sharon tugged on the vast fishing net of her photographic memory and pulled up Isaach De Bankole. De Bankole, little known in the States, is a French speaking Ivory Coast-born award-winning actor in France.

Sharon's keenness in finding the right person for the right part often comes back to her lesson's from repertory theater where you can see an actor in a wide variety of roles in the course of seasons, where you can " see his depth and range". This is what led Sharon to suggest Michael McKean for last week's episode, "Misled and Misguided." McKean beautifully played the official from the Department of Defense who believes tech intelligence trumps field logic.

And Michael McKean (pictured above with Dennis Haysbert) is the same guy who played Lenny on TV's Laverne & Shirley.

An Early Christmas Present



PROPS: To Flopping Aces