Month: December 2006

Grind, Kingdom, Prime, FF.

Another wave of holiday trailers comes down the pike: Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez let their B-film freak flags fly (again) in the full trailer for Grindhouse, with Kurt Russell, Rose McGowan, and Freddy Rodriguez, among others; Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Chris Cooper, Jeremy Piven, and Richard Jenkins fight the war on terror in Saudi Arabia in this first look at Peter Berg’s The Kingdom; and Shia la Boeuf and the US military run from metal toy-like things in the new preview for Michael Bay’s Transformers (If you’re interested, see also the pic of Optimus Prime here.) Word is the trailer for Fantastic Four 2 is also showing in theaters at the moment, although the only thing online right now is this rather meh image of the Silver Surfer…hopefully, they do a better job with Galactus. Update: The FF teaser is now up.

Christmas in Dunedin.


Hello again, and a belated Merry Christmas to you and yours. We’ve spent the past few days hiking the lovely and scenic Milford Track, followed by Christmas in Dunedin (no, not Dunedain, although I kept thinking it too) and then a drive back up the South Island through Christchurch to Blenheim (our current location.) Tomorrow, we head back to the North Island for our last extended stop, along the shores of Lake Taupo, for a few more days rest and relaxation. I expect trout fishing, and I’m thinking I might try the Zorbing…

A Moment of Clarity.

“‘We’re not winning, we’re not losing,’ Bush said in an interview with The Washington Post. The assessment was a striking reversal for a president who, days before the November elections, declared, ‘Absolutely, we’re winning.'” While calling for an expansion of the army and marines, Dubya comes close to finally declaring the obvious in Iraq.

Small Brawl | Denver has the Answer.

As you probably heard, a recent Knicks-Nuggets game turned into a melee, with ten ejections, seven suspensions (including, most notably, Denver’s Carmelo Anthony for 15 games — the Knicks only lost their scrubs, with the possible exception of instigator Nate Robinson for ten), and another cloud of controversy surrounding coach Isiah Thomas. (Please, fire him already.) To be honest, I have yet to see a quality video of the fracas, but it sounds like yet another embarrassment for my lowly Knickerbockers, who’ve been in freefall for years now, ever since Ewing and Van Gundy left town. In happier news for the other team involved, the Denver Nuggets trade for Allan Iverson, giving up Andre Miller, Joe Smith, and two first-rounders in the process. Great trade for Denver — they’re an injury prone team, but with the Answer, ‘Melo, K-Mart, Camby, and Nene, they have to be considered a serious finals contender, even with notorious choker George Karl at the helm.

Thirteen Hosts.

Another preview I haven’t seen: This time, it’s the new trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Thirteen, starring Clooney, Roberts, Pitt, Damon, and the usual assortment of Hollywood cads and roustabouts. I quite liked Twelve (and thought Eleven was so-so), so I’m up for another go.

Milford Bound.



Hey y’all. I must say, Queenstown/Glenorchy is a really fun area…I was going to regale y’all with pics of various “extreme” events partaken of over the past few days — canyon swinging, jet boating, and the like (along with some not-so-extreme, like mountain luging and a Simpsonsesque mini-putt) — but the Internet situation here in Te Anau, our current location, is a mite sketchy (I’m in a photomat at the moment), and I’m very soon off to hike the Milford Track for the next four days. So, the photos will have to wait — until then, I hope everyone out there is enjoying the last week before Christmas… Update: Obviously, pics are now up.

You People are Crazy!

“It’s something that’s been bothering me for quite some time, the direction in which the party has been going more and more toward big government and disregard toward privacy and civil liberties.” Staunch conservative, defender of civil liberties, and Borat cameo Bob Barr leaves the Republican Party (for the Libertarians.) Now if only Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe would follow his example…