What, you thought I was kidding?

FACT:

Chuck Norris fears no man.
But he does fear one girl.
And her name is Danielle.

Recognize.

Danielle vs. the Ninjas

For those of you who missed the update from Nicole at the site earlier this week, my niece, Danielle, broke her collarbone recently while fighting off an entire cadre of rogue ninjas. I can't reveal all the details, but there was a hidden pirate treasure involved, one that Danielle, during her travels, became the sacred custodian for. It's a whole eternal blood oath thing...it's complicated. Regardless, you know how ninjas are when it comes to hidden pirate treasure (who doesn't?), so they showed up and started a ruckus, TOTALLY forsaking their supposed fealty to the warlord they were pledged to serve until the end of time (who, ironically, became an ally of Danielle's during one of her previous adventures). When ninjas go rogue, loyalty just gets kicked to the proverbial curb. What are you going to do? Anyway, while their numbers were legion, Danielle bravely fought them all, to a man, and defeated the assassin horde, denying them the treasure they so coveted. Her collarbone paid the price, but as the saying goes, you should see the other guys.

Please note that reports circulating that she actually broke the collarbone during a dance class at Brownies are totally erroneous and either spread by said ninjas in a vain and immature attempt to salvage their reputations after being so soundly trounced by an eight-year old, or perhaps by Danielle herself to keep the former Soviet commando squad known as the "Red Sabre" off the trail of the treasure until such time as she recuperates fully.

A very speedy recovery to you, Danielle. You'll be back in the game before you know it. Stay strong, remember the teachings of your sensei, and don't forget to floss. Though I know that's not as easy to do with one hand...

With love (and pride)--

Uncle Michael
Last Avatar of the August Green Dragon Clan
(Long story. Our family REALLY has to stop taking vacations abroad...)

The war is over! Long live the Blu-ray!

You may not have even known there was a war going on, but it's a war that just (ALMOST officially) ended. People looking for high def DVDs to go with their snazzy new HD TVs have been stuck in the middle of a format war. Hailing back to the great VHS/Beta wars of the 80s, consumers have been sitting in limbo waiting to see which of the two HD formats for DVD movies would win. There are two out there. There's HD DVD (the one from Toshiba), and there's the cooler-sounding Blu-ray format from Sony. And the problem has been that you need a different kind of player for each one. You can't play a Blu-ray movie on an HD DVD machine, and vice versa. Gaming console users have been in the middle of this, too, because if you had an X-Box 360, you had a player for HD DVD discs, and if you had a Playstation 3, you naturally had Sony's format...Blu-ray.

There have been many of us holding back on stepping up to this new tech for a couple of reasons. First, those of us with monster-sized regular DVD collections are in no mood to start replacing all our films. Second, the price point on the high def players has been restrictive, and we've been waiting for the inevitable drop to happen (remember people in the 80s stuck with those $800 Betamax machines? You could CARS in the 80s for $800...). And third, of course, was not wanting to settle on a player until we knew which format was going to come out on top.

Looks like the decision's finally been made. We saw it coming in the past few days, when mega-retailers Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Netflix all announced they were dropping HD DVD and going strictly Blu-ray. That's a blow you just don't come back from, and it was just a matter of time before Toshiba threw in the towel. Now we have word that the official announcement is coming next week. Toshiba is admitting defeat and pulling out of the next gen DVD biz. That leaves Blu-ray as the sole format, which is an answered prayer for confused and frustrated consumers. Blu-ray is now the future of DVD.

So if you've got that X-Box 360, I'd wait a little while and then start grabbing up every HD DVD movie you can, because the prices are sure to plummet soon, if that's any kind of silver lining for you. If you've got that Playstation, you can feel smarter than everyone else and act smug and superior, like you knew what was coming all along. If you went out and spent too much on an HD DVD player? I'm sorry. You're screwed. If you've been thinking about doing the upgrade, now you know which way to go. But if you're like me, you're probably going to want to wait a while to see what happens with the prices for players. Me, personally, I just can't handle a single-disc player, and I have to have the 5-disc changer. So I'm definitely willing to wait for a decent price on one of those (I'm predicting a Blu-ray Christmas this year). Like I said, there's no rush. Not like regular DVD is going away next week. And I have no complaints about regular DVD either (probably because I haven't really experienced Blu-ray yet...). But I do have an HD TV set, and the whole world's going HD, so I know I'll be heading that way one of these days. But at least now the big question is out of the way. Blu-ray wins. Bye bye, HD DVD.

I wonder if they'll put Big Trouble in Little China on Blu-ray soon? Hmmmm...

The Indy trailer's here! The Indy trailer's here!

Did I mention the Indy trailer is here?

You can catch at the official site. And if you go there, make sure you're not at the office with the speakers turned up, because you WILL get hit with some very familiar John Williams music. And if you're a child of the 80s, like me, it will give you chills, raise your spirits, and take you back to a simpler, more magical time in your life. And it will feel fantastic.

I still feel that "Raiders of the Lost Ark" stands as one of the greatest films ever made. It somehow combined all the perfect elements...character, setting, adventure, action, chills, awe, humor...and made something that still, in my opinion, has not been replicated. I remember seeing that movie in the theater when I was visiting my father for the summer down in L.A., and we went with the woman he was dating at the time. For them...probably just another movie. For me? It was a life-changing moment. I think it was right then when I truly realized the power of film, and its ability to transport you to another time and place and take you on the ride of your life. Not dissing Star Wars here, but I think in 1981 I was just old enough to truly appreciate it.

I am a fan. I'm also a realist. As much as I love that film, I am not Kool-Aid drinker. It stands on its own. Its sequels? Uh... Not so thrilled. "Temple of Doom" was pretty much crap, in my opinion. While "Last Crusade" was definitely an improvement, it just didn't do it for me. It was all about gags. It wasn't REAL. I have this grand theory about story-telling where I think creators (writers, directors, producers) are either telling you the truth...or they're lying to you. "Raiders" was truth. It was real to me. I believed that character. I believed the settings, I believed the story. The next two? Not so truthful. Too much cheese. Too much pandering. Too wacky. Didn't work for me.

So, do I think this latest (and certainly the last...at least for Ford) attempt will be any different? I've decided to stop trying to second-guess it and just hope so. I may be on here in late May bitching about it and lamenting the loss of a franchise (that was really lost after the credits rolled on the first one). Or maybe I'll get lucky. Maybe they'll give us a real story. Maybe they won't drown us in C.G.I. Maybe there will be just the right dose of comedy instead of one sight-gag after the next, or "clever" reference to the previous films. Maybe Indiana Jones will, finally, live again, even if for only two more hours. I'll take that. If I can get it.

So I'll wait the three months, try to avoid any more trailers (and hence, spoilers), and will try to go in with an open mind and just try to enjoy myself and relive those feelings I had back when the world was still so full of mystery and possibility. I'll throw you my money, Spielberg. All I ask is that you throw me the whip.

Guys, if you think you had a bad Valentine's Day?

Trust me. You didn't.

Click here.

It's every guy's worst nightmare (and probably every woman's, too, on the other side of things)...only add a big theme park animal to it.

Courtesy of Kings basketball.

Ouch.

Nicole update for the week

Well, my broker is Nicole. And Nicole says...

Click here.

Super Bowl '08 - Mission Park Style!

Just got home from the '08 Mission Park gang Super Bowl party! Oh, man, what a game! What a finish! Shocks! Thrills! Underdog drama! Like a lot of people, I didn't have any real problem with the Pats, and would like to have seen them go perfect, and definitely wanted to see Junior Seau finally get a ring. But it's an American thing - we love the underdog. And when you go into the biggest game of the year with everyone telling you that one team has no chance to win, well, part of you just wants to see that team buck the odds. And man, thanks to Eli, they certainly did. The "I can't believe he got that off!" pass, followed by the "I can't believe he caught that!!" catch to set it all up for the big touchdown. Twas a ripping victory indeed.

I watched the game over at the house that Chris B, Ken, Jon and Kristin share. Tim and I showed up, as did A.T., and Chris "Dr. K" Kanas made the scene as well. James joined us, as did Brandy and her friend Jennifer. There was WAY too much food to be had, as Chef Ken was working his kitchen. Lots of chips, and two different chili dips (I shouldn't have...), plus breads and stinky cheese. And then the tacitos. Or is that "taquitos"? THEN came the main course of short ribs and potatoes. Ugh! Too...much...food! But all great, as it always is with Ken. We all had a fantastic time hanging out and catching up, and got our annual dose of A.T.'s can-be-heard-on-the-next-block sports enthusiasm that gets everyone else in to the game. And apparently, A.T., at some point, had promised that if the Giants won, he'd run up and down the street naked. Well, they won. Thankfully, he kept it to his boxers, but yes, A.T. was out there in the cold night, running up and down Ravenwood victoriously. So, naturally, Tim and Brandy had to steal his clothes while he was running and lock him out of the house, briefly. You just can't pass THAT chance up, come on.

But I couldn't let a gathering like this go without a pic of the old gang, so here's your Mission Park photo for '08 (above), featuring (back row) James, Jon, A.T., Chris B. (middle row), Chris K., Tim, Ken, (front row) and me, wearing my sad Chargers jersey (so close...). So thought I'd share. Great party everybody! Let's do that again next year!

Now I have to get on the web and find a replay of that Iron Man ad. It went by too quick. GEEK LOVIN'!!!!


P.S. Next door to their house, I got to see a first for me. A shetland pony get into a fight with a dog. Well, I can now scratch THAT off my list of things I never thought I'd see.

Nicole update for the week

www.michaeloconnell.com

If you're old enough, you'll find it funny. Maybe.