Now then..

Now that I'm unemployed until January, posting on the blog will be limited. I'm trying to get the blog back on track so this will be the last post about my ever so fun life. Expect more posts about tv shows, comic books, movies, etc.

I hope to post more later this week.

Why aren't you watching Leverage?

Wikipedia's description:

The series follows a group of criminals led by a former insurance investigator. It stars:

* Timothy Hutton as Nate Ford, the team leader.
* Aldis Hodge as Alec Hardison, a computer/internet specialist and hacker.
* Christian Kane as Eliot Spencer, a thief and highly skilled martial artist.
* Beth Riesgraf as Parker, a thief, cat-burglar, and explosives expert.
* Gina Bellman as Sophie Devereaux, an accomplished con-woman.

The team focuses on targets that have wronged innocents, providing a means of payback. At the end of the first episode it is revealed that by short-selling stock in the target company each team member made $32,761,349.05. Rather than retire, they decide to keep working for the thrill each gets doing the work they are best at.


Its kind of a mix between Sneakers (a great movie) and Robin Hood. First episode re-airs tonight at 9 pm on TNT. A new episode airs at its regular time at 10 pm on TNT.

What have we learned Charlie Brown?

Well today I made either the smartest decision or the dumbest. In January I'm returning to my old job. The new job just wasn't working out. It will be nice to get back to a job that I am comfortable with. The old job isn't without its issues but its better than this one.

Where in the World is Almond Sandiego?

Sorry for the complete lack of posts over the last week. Life keeps getting in the way. Stupid Life. Big changes are coming in Al Land. Stuff I can't talk about just yet. I'll keep you posted.

Also I haven't forgotten about Brothers Gotta Blog. Its still on the way as well.

BSG Spinoff a GO!

The Sci Fi Channel has finally given word about the Battlestar Galactica prequel series, Caprica - Variety reports that the series has been greenlit for an early 2010 debut on the network.

Set 50 years prior to the Cyclon attack which kicked off the current BSG series, Caprica will focus on the earthlike Caprica, one of the 12 colonies of the world of BSG, telling the story of two rival families as their world rushes headlong into the artificial intelligence program.

Caprica is executive produced by BSG’s Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, and will star Eric Stolz, Polly Walker, Esai Morales, and Paula Malcomson. Production is due to start in mid 2009. A two-hour backdoor pilot for Caprica has already been produced.

“Battlestar Galactica was absolutely our flagship show. It put us on the map and helped transform the perception of the network," Sci Fi president Dave Howe told Variety. Howe added that he hopes Caprica will draw a broader audience than BSG did.

"We want people to come to this who have never heard of Battlestar Galactica, " Howe continued. "I think, because (Galactica’s) backdrop was space and spaceships, there was a barrier to entry for some viewers. Caprica has none of that. It's an intense family drama set on an Earthlike planet, in the near future, speaking to a lot of the ethical dilemmas that we as a human race are going to have to face very shortly."

The final ten episodes of Battlestar Galactica are slated to begin their run on Sci Fi on January 16th, while the two-hour Battlestar Galactica: The Plan movie (set prior to the events of the final season and directed by Edward James Olmos) is slated to air on the network in early summer, 2009.

Sci Fi’s Mark Stern told Variety that waiting until 2010 for Caprica’s debut will allow the production to pull the core of Galactica’s writing staff back together, as they have moved on to other shows.

When life gets you down, Remember, it once gave you free lemons

There have been more delays on brothers gotta blog. The first post is all done but the pics still aren't ready to go. Also there are some design issues. Life, work, and being under the weather have all gotten in the way lately.

We are now shooting for December 1st to launch Brothers Gotta Blog. The four day weekend should allow us the time we need to get the site up and running.

Again sorry for the delay, we now return you to your regularly scheduled broadcasting.

Announcing Brothers Gotta Blog!

The new web project is Brothers Gotta Blog!

Big deal, another blog you say. Well its going to be a lot different from this one. This blog will feature conversations between myself and my brother Tim covering a variety of conversations. It will be collosal. It will be weird. It will be a lot of fun.

Unlike this blog, it will be updated once a week on Mondays. A lot more work is involved with this blog so it takes longer. We are hoping to have it up and running this coming monday.

Trust me you'll like it.

More shows heading to the tv in the sky?

Eli Stone, Pushing Daisies and Dirty Sexy Money did not receive orders for additional episodes. While technically, the series are not cancelled, and will complete production on their 13 episode orders from the network, the difference between “no more hours being ordered” and “cancelled” is seen by many as being academic. Poor Mr. Jones is going to have nothing to watch.

You know someone should make a website about all of these canned shows.

;)

Chuck Norris is a Potty Mouth

Well the Chuck Norris Random Fact Generator just dropped an F Bomb... so its farewell to the widget. You were very funny most of the time but I can't have that type of language on this blog. My kids visit the site

Well so what if they can't read... I still don't want that language on the blog.

Hitler was nuts... or was he?

WARNING: The following story is not for the kiddos.

from Foxnews:

An extraordinary account from a German army medic has finally confirmed what the world long suspected: Hitler only had one testicle.

War veteran Johan Jambor made the revelation to a priest in the 1960s, who wrote it down.

The priest’s document has now come to light –- 23 years after Jambor’s death.

The war tyrant’s medical condition has been mocked for years in a British song.

The lyrics are: "Hitler has only got one ball, the other is in the Albert Hall. His mother, the dirty b****r, cut it off when he was small."

Until now there has never been complete proof Hitler was monorchic — the medical term for having one testicle.

But the document tells how Jambor saw the proof with his own eyes. In the account, he relives the horror of serving as an army medic in World War I.

He died aged 94 in 1985, but had told his secret to priest Franciszek Pawlar, who kept a note of their conversation.

Johan’s friend Blassius Hanczuch confirmed the priest’s account of how the medic saved Hitler’s life. He said: “In 1916 they had their hardest fight in the Battle of the Somme.

“For several hours, Johan and his friends picked up injured soldiers. He remembers Hitler.

“They called him the 'Screamer.' He was very noisy. Hitler was screaming ‘help, help.'

“His abdomen and legs were all in blood. Hitler was injured in the abdomen and lost one testicle. His first question to the doctor was: ‘Will I be able to have children?'"

Hitler’s genitals have long caused controversy. Some historians dismissed the “one ball” song as propaganda. But an alleged Soviet autopsy on Hitler backed it up.

Records show Hitler did suffer a groin injury in the Somme

X-Men REBOOT

The Silver Screen X-Men are about to get a bit younger.

This according to an article posted this evening on Variety which states that 20th Century Fox has tapped Josh Schwartz, the creator of “Gossip Girl,” “The OC” and “Chuck,” to write and potentially direct a reboot of the X-Men movie franchise under the name “X-Men: First Class.”

Details of the new production are limited at this hour, but according to the report, Fox has been leaning towards a retooling of the franchise using younger versions of the characters introduced in the previous X-Men films, along the lines of those featured in the Marvel Comics series also called “X-Men: First Class."

This move follows the $1.2 Billion dollar success of the first three X-Men films. “X-Men” (2000) and “X2” (2003) were directed by Bryan Singer. “X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006) was directed by Brett Ratner.

No specific date has been announced for the release of “X-Men: First Class,” although it’s expected sometime in 2010. Mutant fans won’t have to wait long to get their next fix, though, as May 2009 sees the release of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” featuring Hugh Jackman in the role he originated in the first three X-Men films. Fox is also developing a stand-alone Magneto feature as well as considering a Deadpool spinoff starring Ryan Reynolds, following the character’s debut in “Wolverine.”

Alliance Council of Zoological Research announces Major Breakthrough

Alliance Council of Zoological Research has been working diligently to restore the ecology of the battered moon of Endor. Many will remember the moon of Endor to be the location of the Alliance's greatest victory against the Empire. A team of rebel soldiers led by Han Solo deactivated a force field generator on the moon's surface that allowed the Rebel Alliance to destroy the second Death Star. Assisting the Rebels were the furry inhabitants of the Moon of Endor, the Ewoks.



Unfortunately for the Ewoks, the explosion of a nuclear powered space station in the moon's orbit caused devastating damage to the environment. Radiation poisoning wiped out much of the moon's plant life and caused permanent baldness to the ewoks.



The Alliance Council of Zoological Research has tried for years to solve this problem. Today we are happy to announce a major breakthrough.



Thank you for your sacrifice Ewoks. You guys are the best.

Blog posts will be sporadic this week

A lot going on at work this week so don't expect too much on the blog. What little free time I get is going to the second site. The second site will launch this Friday.

Things should return to normal next week.

New Jeff Dunham Special

Jeff Dunham, ventriloquist extraordinaire, has a new Christmas special on this Sunday at 9pm on Comedy Central. His previous special, Spark of Insanity, will air before it.

Very, very funny. WARNING not for the kiddos.

Arrested Development the Movie... a go?

Howard was the executive producer and the very "voice" of the inventive Fox sitcom "Arrested Development," which was cancelled in the middle of its third season despite winning numerous Emmys. A few months ago, Jason Bateman said that creator Mitchell Hurvitz wanted to continue the story of the Bluth family on the big screen, Michael Cera while doing press for Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist wasn't quite as confident, but then recently, Jeffrey Tambor said that it was happening. Not one to believe anyone but those directly involved with the financing of such a movie, we decided to ask the one person who would know EXACTLY what was happening with the show's portal to film, Howard himself.

"I really hope we do it," Howard enthused. "The reason there's been so much back and forth is... well, for two reasons, is the business understanding coming from the studio side was not clear, so even though we were wanting to do it and said, 'Yeah, maybe we could' but things weren't defined. I think that's really come into focus in the last week or so. Mitch's full-on commitment to not only write it but direct it is something he's been wrestling with, he's been launching a TV show at the same time, so he couldn't let it really be at the forefront of his mind creatively. It is now. He seems very committed. We still don't have a script. Yeah, he's got some great ideas, and the cast seemed very excited about it and I certainly am. I'm very, very hopeful—more hopeful now than ever—that it's really going to happen."

Fans will probably rejoice if Mitchell Hurvitz can spend some time and get a script that Imagine Entertainment and Universal will want to make into a film, especially considering the success that many of the cast have found since the show's demise.

The axeman cometh

Lipstick Jungle, My Own Worst Enemy, and Mad TV are all getting the ax. Mad TV will end at the end of this season.

Rumors are that Knight Rider might be the next to get canned.

Side Project a go-go

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that there were side web projects in the work. I'm happy to announce that one of those projects will be launching toward the end of next week.

More details next week.

Mark Your Calendars: five years from today

Five years from today will be 11/12/13.

Consider yourself warned.

Soapbox: Watch out for Falling Gas Prices

The Thorton's sign outside my window here at work says $1.87. Its so nice to see low gas prices again, but don't get used to them.

I've been trying to keep this board free of politics. That being said, the gas prices are low because the economy is in the toilet. Once the economy rebounds the gas prices will skyrocket again.

It would be really wise if we would... oh I don't know... drill for oil now! Do it before the prices skyrocket again.

Just a thought.

(falls off soapbox and breaks ankle)

And the results are in...

How did Chuck Norris beat Cobra Commander? This is an outrage! I also found it sad that no one voted for Captain America. Oh well, here's the new president of the blog.



A new poll will be up next week.

Batman sues Batman

The Mayor of a Turkish city called Batman is suing director Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. bosses for a cut of their Caped Crusader film franchise.

Huseyin Kalkan has accused the brains behind The Dark Knight of using the city.s name without permission in the bizarre new legal action.

The Mayor states, .There is only one Batman in the world. The American producers used the name of our city without informing us..

And Kalkan goes so far as to blame the latest Nolan film for a spate of murders and suicides in Batman.

He also claims the stigma attached to the city makes it almost impossible for local businesses to be taken seriously abroad.

Have a Headache Today

Zzzz...

Lately insomnia has been all the rage in the Al house. Jaybird has been having nightly stomach aches. He spends half the night tossing and turning and complaining. Andy is having her usual sleep issues and still adjusting post pregnancy. I myself have reinjured my shoulder. So I've been getting less and less sleep.

On top of all that I'll probably be taking a second job soon to help pay the bills. Not sure if it would be part time at night or the dreaded third shift.

The only one getting sleep and sleeping through the night...

Revenge of the Bed Bugs

For most of the last 30 or 40 years, bed bugs were rarely seen, but in recent years they've made a real comeback. Merchant primarily works with pest control professionals, and bed bugs are their worst nightmare, he said.

"Infested structures are mostly hotels and apartments, arguably two of the least profitable and most difficult places to service," Merchant said. "Infestations are usually centered around beds and bedrooms, often the most cluttered and private rooms of a home. Good service is extremely time consuming and requires diligent follow-up to be successful."

Bed bugs are no picnic for those whose bedrooms are infested either. When bed bugs bite, their salvia causes irritation and inflamation.

No one really knows why bed bugs have become more common, but increased international travel has probably contributed to the rise, Merchant said. Crazy ants, a.k.a, "crazy rasberry ants," and rover ants are the "biggest pest surprises in recent memory," Merchant said.

Deep Discount codes - 25% off this time around

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Al shouldn't be allowed to use photoshop

Why Aren't You Reading: Bone?

A review from Amazon:

Mere months after publishing the final installment of the long-running fantasy saga Bone, Smith collects all 13 years' worth of it in a single, massive volume. As many comics fans know, the series chronicles the adventures of the Bone cousins--plucky Fone Bone, scheming Phony Bone, and easygoing Smiley Bone-- who leave their home of Boneville and are swept up in a Tolkienesque epic of royalty, dragons, and unspeakable evil forces out to conquer humankind. The compilation makes it evident how fully formed Smith's vision was from the very beginning--although the early chapters emphasized comedy, as do the final pages, the tale quickly found its dramatic bearings. His remarkably accomplished drawing style, in the manner of such comics masters as Walt Kelly and Carl Barks, was fully formed from the start, too. Libraries that have missed out on individual Bone series titles should seize this opportunity to make up for the fact, and those who have collected the series all along will do well to acquire the collected edition to supplement or supplant those doubtless well-worn volumes. But be prepared for overdues: even the most voracious readers will be hard-pressed to get through this hefty, phone book-like tome before they're supposed to return it.

An excellent black and white comic book series. Incredible art and an incredible story. The Louisville Library has multiple copies of all of the volumes. If you don't like black and white, then you are in luck. The original volumes are being colorized. The library has most of those as well.

The individual volumes are:
"Out from Boneville"
"The Great Cow Race"
"Eyes of the Storm"
"The Dragonslayer"
"Rock Jaw: Master of the Eastern Border"
"Old Man's Cave"
"Ghost Circles"
"Treasure Hunters"
"The Crown Of Horns"

A truly great series that kids will love as much as adults. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

SUPER HAPPY FUN PICTURE TIME: Bigfeet

Here we have a rare picture of a bigfoot in his natural habitat


Wait! What is that behind him?


GASP! Its 2 Bigfoots er... Bigfeet um... Boxen?

SHOCK! Simpsons upsets people

Gay rights advocates have slammed long-running TV cartoon The Simpsons after one of the show's popular characters made a homophobic comment.

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) have spoken out against the use of the phrase "that's so gay" which was used in a recent Halloween episode aired in the U.S. last week.

The comment was made by Nelson Muntz, voiced by Nancy Cartwright, who bullies the series' character Milhouse Van Houten.

Glsen bosses have demanded that the show's scriptwriters halt any further use of the comment - insisting the negative interpretation of being gay offends homosexuals.

In a statement released to TMZ.com, they say, "Nelson's use of 'that's so gay' in a negative way is not surprising considering that 90 per cent of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth say they hear the term used this way frequently or often at school.

"Nelson should visit ThinkB4YouSpeak.com where he can send an apologetic e-card to Milhouse. Glsen would also welcome Nelson's participation in our next PSA so he can make amends by helping to educate young people about why such language is wrong."

A spokesperson for the show has not commented as WENN goes to press.

He should send an apologetic e-card? Man, that's so gay.

Remember, remember

the fifth of November,
the gunpowder treason and plot.
I know of no reason
why the gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot.

V

Michael Crichton dies of Cancer?

I cant find any good links since Obama is dominating most of the headlines. But Wiki (take that for what it's worth) is reporting that he died suddenly after a bout with Cancer.

Deep Discount annual DVD Holiday Sale

Deep Discount DVD is offering 25% off DVD and Blu-ray discs Nov. 7 to Nov. 23. This is a great deal and they offer free shipping. You'll need a password to get the deal. I'll post the passwords on friday.

Dismay and Disbelief

I can't believe it. I can't believe he lost. I worked so hard to get people to vote for him but it didn't matter. The media was against him. They covered Obama so much more than him, it makes me sick. He really never had a chance. Oh well, Cobra Commander will be back in 2012. We'll try again then.

Cobra!

America's real candidate

VOTE!

Peanuts Webisodes

Some 20 classic Peanuts comic strips have been animated by hand into 3-4-minute-long "webisodes" that will be offered on Apple's iTunes Store at a price of two for 99 cents. However, beginning today (Monday), fans will be able to download two of them for free during a limited promotional period. The cartoons, based on strips that appeared in the mid '60s, were produced by Warner Bros. Motion Comics and supervised by Jeannie Schulz, widow of Charles Shulz, who created the Peanuts characters. Schulz indicated that no thought was given to turning the strips into 3-D, computer-generated animated productions. In an interview with the Associated Press she said, "CG doesn't quite look right [the characters]. ... I still love that funny way they walk along."

a no knees mouse

I've changed the settings so now anyone can post a comment, even those who don't have a google account. The comments won't pop up immediately. Whee.

Happy Halloween

You'll be hooked on the brothers.

Ghostbusters 3 announced

Just in time for Halloween, Ivan Reitman has announced Ghostbusters 3!

Early Footage

Oh man, that was wrong on so many levels.

4 out of 5 dentists agree: the Al Cave is a success

For years I've been trying to get web projects started but most fall apart after a day or two. Its wonderful to see at the end of the month that the blog is still standing and has over 20 posts. That's a success in my book.

This new level of confidence has inspired me to work on other side projects. Over the next few months you will see announcements about more web projects including another blog, tv websites, cartoons, and more. I'm very excited about these projects and look forward to telling you about them very, very soon.

So what do you think of the blog so far? Please post your comments below.

Cheers and have a happy halloween.

Sorry

No time to blog today so uh...

here's a dancing cat.

WOW fans upset about zombie plague

The makers of "World of Warcraft," the online game with more than 11 million players worldwide, on Tuesday ended to a virtual plague that has infected hundreds of thousands of players, causing uproar among many fans who said it was spoiling the game.

Blizzard, the software company that runs the game, deliberately introduced the virulent disease into its virtual world last week.

The "undead plague" was designed to be highly contagious and, if left untreated, would turn players into flesh-eating zombies.

The game's creators faced a torrent of criticism as the disease spread quickly through the game's lands of Azeroth, with some fans arguing that the plague might turn off beginners who would not be able to find a cure.

"World of Warcraft" players usually enjoy a fantasy life of quests, treasure-collecting and monster-killing.

But during the plague, players could be infected by contact with a zombie and, unless they could find a cure within minutes, they too would turn into zombies and continue to spread the disease.

Players could avoid joining the legion of the undead by killing and reviving their characters but they could, and often would, become infected again.

In 2005, a similar disease, the "Corrupted Blood" plague, accidentally spread through the game. killing thousands of characters.

The zombie plague was planned to whet appetites for the Nov. 13 release of the upcoming "Warcraft" expansion pack, "Wrath of the Lich King."


Big babies... quit complaining and enjoy being a zombie.

SUPER HAPPY FUN PICTURE TIME: KITTY JUST WANT TO POTTY

Introducing SUPER HAPPY FUN PICTURE TIME. A few months ago, the boys and I started taking silly pictures. Here is the first of many. Some are from my cellphone so they might be a little bit blurry

And the Christmas List grows shorter...

The Mystery Science Theater 3000 20th anniversary set came out today and its already sold out in most stores. They will be releasing a standard version but it will be missing many of the extras (tin box, crow figurine, lobby cards) on November 18th.

Also there is still no release date on the Shredder figure set so I guess I'll be removing those from my list as well.

In related news the final(?) Futurama movie, "Into the Wild Green Yonder", will be released on dvd on February 24th.

Scrooge McDuck Complex: Star Wars Marc Ecko Hoodies

If I had Scrooge McDuck's money I would buy:



Star Wars Marc Ecko Hoodies.

Well with Halloween around the corner these would make some awesome costumes.



From The Star Wars Collection, this cool zip-front hoodie features Boba Fett, the Bounty Hunter. Adjustable drawstring hood, two pockets, script logo on one sleeve; Star Wars patch on the pocket. 100% cotton. Machine wash. Imported.

Followed by



The Real Trooper hoodie from Marc Ecko. Zip-front hoodie features "Storm Trooper" body and the hood looks like a mask. Zip welt pockets, rib knit sleeve cuffs and hem. 100% cotton. Machine wash. Imported.

The price for each?

Only $98.

RIP Dean Barnett

Yesterday one of my favorite radio hosts passed away. Dean Barnett was a conservative columnist and occasionally filled in for Hugh Hewitt on his radio show. He suffered from cystic fibrosis and finally lost the fight. He was funny, insightful, and a heck of a nice guy.

He'll be missed.

Updates on stuff

For the few who still don't know, I did end up taking the new job. I miss all my friends in Carosels M and N, but I don't miss the headaches of Alondrea, her cereal, and all the rest. If you only knew what she was going through, you would understand.

My brother, Tim will also now be posting entries on the blog. Welcome Tim.

Why aren't you watching Life on Mars?

Good question? I dont know if you should be. I'll post the synopsis from the imdb. website:

"A present-day car accident mysteriously sends a detective (Sam Tyler) back to the 1970s. An American remake of the BBC series."

Im one and a half episodes in with I think another one or two on the DVR. So far, what can I say, it feels like Ive seen this series before.

Guy goes to the past. Guy cant understand it. Everyone thinks Guy is crazy. Guy goes on and on about CDs, MP3s, World Trade Centers, other future things.... etc. Sound familiar? It is. It's a very formulaic idea that has been done before.

Could is still be good? It could, it is supposedly a hit over in BBC and has a cult following. The acting is pretty good. Harvey Keitel heads up a good cast as the rough em up police lieutenant.

But my main problem is how long can a series go with this. The first episode reveals a lot about what is going on in modern time with his life.

I hate to get attached to shows that seem like they have a short shelf life. Of course, I had the same thoughts about Prison Break, yet it still goes strong.

So give it a try, ABC.com has the episodes online and just remember, next time you get hit by a car you could wake up wearing tight pants and rockin some nice chops.

Why aren't you watching The Big Bang Theory?

Wikipedia's description: It concerns two 20-something prodigies; a theoretical and an experimental physicist at Caltech, who live across the hall from a blonde waitress with showbusiness aspirations; their geekiness is contrasted to her naïveté and common sense.



Very funny show. Lots of geeky humor. On any given episode you'll probably here several comic book, video game, and star trek jokes. I enjoy the show because many of the characters remind me of my friends. I won't name names but you know who you are.

The characters are:

Leonard Hofstadter - He seems to be the most normal of the four. He's in love with Penny across the hall and his roommate is Sheldon.

Sheldon Cooper - Easily, the best character on the show. He's a child prodigy. He has an inflated ego, social ineptness, and a lack of empathy. He fails to understand most situations.

Howard Wolowitz - Still lives with his mom and is constantly hitting on every girl he sees.

Rajesh Koothrappali - Is from India and has one small problem. He can't talk to girls unless he is drunk.

Penny - Is Leonard's next door neighbor. She usually has no clue what the guys are talking about.

Big Bang Theory airs Mondays at 8:00 PM on CBS

Great show, check it out.

Sam & Max Season 1 hits the Wii

The award winning insane duo of Sam and Max is now available on the Wii. Sam and Max is a point and click adventure. The game is about the gumshoe detective, Max, and his psychotic nekkid rabbit partner, Sam. The series started out as a comic and was later a pc game that garnered a cult status. They even had a short lived cartoon series at one point.

The Duo tackles strange mysteries and get into all kinds of zany situations. Very funny and at times very challenging.

Sam and Max for the Wii is now available for $29.99

Quite a bargain.

ITS THE END OF THE WORLD: bird eating spiders!

Oh those wacky Japanese: Online Gaming

TOKYO – A 43-year-old Japanese piano teacher's sudden divorce from her online husband in a virtual game world made her so angry that she logged on and killed his digital persona, police said Thursday.

The woman, who has been jailed on suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data, used his identification and password to log onto popular interactive game "Maple Story" to carry out the virtual murder in mid-May, a police official in northern Sapporo City said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.

"I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry," the official quoted her as telling investigators and admitting the allegations.

The woman had not plotted any revenge in the real world, the official said.

She has not yet been formally charged, but if convicted could face a prison term of up to five years or a fine up to $5,000.

As in "Second Life" in the U.S., players in "Maple Story" raise and manipulate digital images called "avatars" that represent themselves, while engaging in relationships, social activities and fighting against monsters and other obstacles.

The woman used login information she got from the 33-year-old office worker when their characters were happily married, and killed the character. The man complained to police when he discovered that his beloved online avatar was dead.

The woman was arrested Wednesday and was taken across the country, traveling 620 miles from her home in southern Miyazaki to be detained in Sappporo, where the man lives, the official said.

The police official said he did not know if she was married in the real world.

In recent years, virtual lives have had consequences in the real world. In August, a woman was charged in Delaware with plotting the real-life abduction of a boyfriend she met through "Second Life."

In Tokyo, police arrested a 16-year-old boy on charges of swindling virtual currency worth $360,000 in an interactive role playing game by manipulating another player's portfolio using a stolen ID and password.

Virtual games are popular in Japan, and "Second Life" has drawn a fair number of Japanese participants. They rank third by nationality among users, after Americans and Brazilians.

LOST Season 5 TRAILER

Major Lost Spoilers below if you aren't through season 4 yet.

Scrooge McDuck Complex: Millennium Falcon Lego Set

If I had Scrooge McDuck's money I would buy...

The Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon Lego Set



This is it - the biggest, most spectacular LEGO® Star Wars model ever! Straight out of the classic Star Wars movies comes the Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon™, Han Solo's famous smuggling starship. Every detail of the modified Corellian Engineering Corporation YT-1300 freighter is here, all constructed to scale with LEGO minifigures. At almost 3 feet (90cm) long, it's the ultimate centerpiece to any Star Wars collection!

• With over 5,000 pieces, this is the biggest LEGO set ever made!
• Model is built completely to minifigure scale - minifigures can sit inside and man the controls!
• Landing gear provides a stable base for model to stand on!
• Ship is over 33" long, 22" wide and 8" tall! (84cm long x 56cm wide x 21cm tall)
• Radar dish rotates and elevates and boarding ramp extends!
• Top and bottom quad-laser turrets rotate for realistic play!
• Cockpit top can be removed to access minifigures!
• Includes 5 minifigures: Han Solo, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa!


The Price tag?

Only $499.99

Why Aren't You Watching Fringe?

Wikipedia's description:

Fringe follows the exploits of FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham, scientist Walter Bishop, and his son Peter as they investigate aspects of fringe science (telepathy, levitation, invisibility, reanimation, etc). All over the world, a series of apparent experiments collectively referred to as "the Pattern" (e.g., a newborn baby who became 80 years old in a few hours and dies, etc.) are occurring for reasons unknown. Olivia, Peter, and Walter are in charge of investigating these strange events to determine their source. Connected to the Pattern is a company called Massive Dynamic, which is a leading global research company that holds the patents for a number of new and important technologies.

Fringe is great. My new must watch show. The crazy science on the show is always off the wall and mostly original. Walter Bishop is hilarious. He's been locked away in an asylum for years so you don't know if he's quite all there. Everytime his son says that's impossible he turns around and reveals that it is quite possible. Great stuff.

You can watch early episodes on Fox.com.

Fringe airs Tuesdays at 9 on Fox.

Pics from the Star Trek (Reboot?)

Spock and Kirk



Chekov, Kirk, Scotty, Bones, Sulu, Uhura




Sylar reacts to the declining Heroes ratings

At Long Last...

1996.

I was a junior in high school when Nintendo announced plans for a sequel to Earthbound. This was very good news. Earthbound for the Super Nintendo is one of my favorite games of all time.
Earthbound is an RPG (Role Playing Game). But unlike other RPG's you don't fight Orcs or rescue princesses. Here you fight hippies and cult members and crazy taxis. The game has a strange sense of humor from beginning to end. And wow what an ending.

I first found out about Earthbound when some friends were staying the night back in tenth grade. Denny and Michael were playing this quirky little game and I was quite intrigued. Denny let me borrow the game and I was hooked.

A sequel was announced in 1996 for the N64 but was later cancelled. The project was dead. Then years later it popped back up on the gameboy advanced. It was soon released in Japan as Mother 3 and there was much rejoicing. The series is called mother in japan. Earthbound was actually Mother 2. Why is it called Mother? Ask Japan.

So the loyal U.S. fans waited and waited and waited. It soon became apparent that Nintendo had no intentions of the bringing the sequel to the united states. Well a loyal group of fans at starmen.net took it upon themselves to translate the game. After over a year of hacking, translating headaches, the game is finally done! I'm about 3 hours into it and it rocks!

Head over to starmen.net and check it out. You don't have to play the original first, but it helps.






al

First Day of Doom or I'm quitting and moving to Mexico

Well today was supposed to be my first day of working two jobs but that wasn't meant to be. Turns out my two jobs are a conflict of interest, go figure. So now I have to choose which one I want to stay at.

Fun times, I think I know what I'm going to choose but I want to hear your opinions. Do I work at my old job where I can make money IF there is work (and that's a big IF) where I can be laid off at any time? Or do I stay at the new job making less money but have more job security, with the potential of promoting up in the company?

Decisions, decisions.

I choose C. I'm going to become a public speaking mime.

al is greedy and will steal your stuff

Christmas is just around the corner so this is a good as time as any to post my christmas list. My list may seem a bit much but I usually don't buy a whole lot of stuff during the year. I really try and rack up at Christmas time.


G.I. Joe Vs. The Transformers Omnibus: Volumes 1 - 4 (Hardcover)





I'm a sucker for GI Joe and Transformer's stories. I've been a fan since I was a child, so this is right up my alley. This volume collects the 4 crossover stories by Devil's Due. The four stories are set in an alternate reality. The stories range from the rise of Serpentor to a Cobra La cult that worships Unicron. Fun stuff.


Futurama: Beast with a Billion Backs DVD





Poor Futurama, cancelled before its time. Thankfully it lives on in direct to dvd movies. This is the second of the four DTD movies. The movie has gotten less than favorable reviews but I'm willing to give it a chance. I really enjoyed Bender's Big Score.


Futurama: Bender's Game DVD





The Third Futurama movie takes on roleplaying games and the Lord of the Ring's genre. Looks like lots of fun. Can't wait.


NECA Shredder Figure Set





Whoa check out that sweet Shredder. I stopped collecting figures years ago but this one is just too awesome. Included in the set is an Utrom (Krang) and two foot soldiers. And if you get the Shredder set then you have to get....


NECA TMNT Figures





Another great looking set based on the Turtles looks from the original comics. Very nice.


MST3K 20th anniversary DVD Set





I still remember the first day I discovered Mystery Science Theater. I was doubled over in laughter. My dad thought it was the stupidest thing he had ever seen. He still feels that way to this day. Its been ten years since the show ended and I'm happy to see its as popular as ever.


One Piece Second and Third Voyage





One Piece is the greatest anime/manga ever. Say it with me.


It with me.


Very Funny. One Piece tells the story of Luffy who wants to be king of the pirates. He's on a quest to find the late Captain Gold Rogers treasure. Along the way he gathers a crew of unique characters with their own dreams. A fine series that was utterly ruined when it was edited for american audiences.

Well this is the Unedited and redubbed version and it is sweet. Great, great series. You owe it to yourself to check it out.


Well there's mine, feel free to post yours.

It Has Begun

Well here's my blog. Basically this blog will serve as a way for you to find out what's going on in my strange little world. Here you can expect updates on life, side projects, puppets, news, family, and the weird. Hope you have fun.

Welcome and Enjoy