Starfest Day 3

Just getting started this morning. Had a couple of late nights with some sleep deprivation thrown in but I'm having a great time.

There wasn't a whole lot going on at the con on Friday so we got registered, checked out the art show/auction/sale (and picked up a couple of cute prints), checked out the dealer's room, then went for some dinner before going to see Gabriel Iglesias. The 8pm show sold out so we ended up at the 10:30 show which didn't start until after 11 and he ran 30-45 min long so we didn't get back to the hotel until after 2am but it was so worth it and I got a T-shirt too [sharp inhale of oxygen].

Getting back after 2am, tossing and turning most of the night, and wanting to be at the con bright and early meant that yesterday ran on less then 4 hours of sleep. But what is a con if you're not exhausted and halucinating that the half dozen Mandalorians (think Boba Fett with different colored armor) running about are tracking you and out to freeze you in carbonite?

It was really a lot of fun. We got to see Christopher Judge (click pics to bigify)

and Summer Glau.

We got both autographs and listened to both talk on stage. We didn't get to see Summer finish her time because of a fire alarm. They cleared the events room so I took Shelly back to the hotel (she was tired). I wanted to see some of the later events so I went back to the con. By the time I returned the chaos was over and Summer had already gone back on stage and finished her talk.

She was followed by Mr. Tim (look him up on Youtube), then the costume contest. Some of the costumes were lame, some were good efforts, some were alluring (and revealing), some were elaborate and some were just downright kick ass - like this guy who won best of show:


I didn't get to bed until 11:30pm last night and survived the entire day without a nap. Not bad for a guy my age (not tellin').

These people really know how to run a con. Big stars, well organized autograph process, Late-night events (there was a dance after the constume contest), and at the very least videos running 'round the clock. If they aren't going to flood the con with stars like Trek Expo does, I would like to see more panels/discussions on things like their talk on the new Star Trek movie and how it altered the timeline. Or talks by authors on the guidelines they have to follow when writing for this or that franchise. Or maybe even a healthy debate/discussion on movies from comics or whether remakes and reimaginings are a good or bad thing.

One Foot In Front Of The Other

This post is proving more difficult to write than I thought it would be. It's hard to decide what to share and what not to share.

Life has gotten marginally better. I'm still on the edge at work but I'm also still employed. I spent 13-14 hours at work on Friday. We started having issues with a USB storage device-propagated virus. And we discovered that some of our classroom computers were infected.

We had created an image when we installed the computers but the program we used is painfully slow. By the time the image got pushed to just one of the machines and I did all of the necessary updates and changes that have come along since December 2008, it would be just as easy to build from scratch - which is what I did. I pulled one of the machines late in the afternoon and started working on it. I had to finish it and get it back into the classroom before 8:00am Monday. It took me about 4.5 hours to get all the software I could installed and updated and start creating a new image using a better program. I went in Saturday morning and got the machine back into the classroom.

We have a program that freezes the system state. If anything happens to the machine - file deletion, virus, whatever - all you have to do is reboot and it goes back to the way it was when it was locked. We didn't lock down these classrooms when we originally set up the machines so I'm surprised it's taken this long to have a problem. I still have to re-image the other two rooms but they have a couple of different programs on them that require license keys that I didn't have access to Friday night. I am hoping to at least get the software and keys in hand on Monday. I have to get it done before COB Wednesday because I'm heading to Denver on Thursday.

My wife had some friends she had met online through a TV Show fan site that lived in the Denver area. Because of them we discovered a Denver SciFi convention. We've been to Starfest a couple of times but it's been seven or eight years since we've been.

I usually go to Trek Expo in Tulsa but when we found out that Summer Glau and Christopher Judge would be appearing, two stars that don't generally appear at cons in this area, we started making plans for how we could attend. I'll report back when we return.

As for my weekend, I've had a better weekend than I've had in a very long time. Once I was done at work Saturday morning, I left it behind and just had a nice, relaxing day. I found my 1984 Olympics album (I'd been looking for it for a long time and thought I had somehow gotten rid of it) and transferred it into MP3. Today, I spent a few hours cleaning up the back deck (it's been needing to be done for... longer than it should have), setting up a large table umbrella, and just enjoying the outdoors.

F*@# You, NBC

There has been a lot of buzz around the late-night lineup on NBC. In case you've been under a rock, Jay Leno's prime time show hasn't done well in the ratings (did they REALLY think it would? A prime time variety show on five nights a week?), although they said it performed as well as expected. At the same time, viewership of the Tonight Show has also fallen off. I don't know if NBC expected it not to but for those of us old enough to remember when Johnny Carson left and Jay Leno took over, ratings dipped then, too.

I never really cared for Jay Leno and I don't particularly like Conan. But my opinion doesn't matter since I don't think I'm the demographic Conan O'Brien panders to. What matters is that it's only been 7 or 8 months since Jay Leno voluntarily left the Tonight Show. Conan has not had sufficient opportunity to find his stride and build his audience.

The talk was that NBC would move Leno back to 11:35 Eastern and the Tonight Show to 12:05. This would have killed The Tonight Show, a permanent fixture of television in the 11:35 time slot since before there was color TV . So, rather than commit sacrilege, I get a news alert this evening that Leno will be returning to the Tonight Show.

My take on it? NBC is bowing to the will of a single narcissistic star upon whom they are hanging their entire late-night structure. Jay Leno was bored with The Tonight Show and said he was leaving. NBC panicked and offered him a deal he couldn't refuse to stick around and do a new show. The new show didn't do so well and he was ready to hang that up so NBC said they'd put him back on the Tonight Show and completely screwed (that's not the word I wanted to use) Conan O'Brien, not taking him into account at all.

It's a mistake. Even if Leno returns, The Tonight Show will never be the same, he'll retire (again) in relatively short order and NBC won't have an established talent to replace him. They're screwed. They should really just drop Jay (or, better yet, just put him on one or two nights so he stays on the air), let him lie in the bed he made and allow Conan to fill those all-too-big shoes left for him by Carson and Leno.

The Passing Of A Legend (in his own mind at the very least)

I heard today that Oral Roberts passed away yesterday at the age of 91. I mention this not because I was a follower or a fan but because I grew up in Tulsa, OK where Roberts' ministry is based. Tulsa is also the home of Oral Roberts University.

When I was growing up, Oral Roberts had an evangelical broadcast every Sunday. I don't know if it was syndicated* or not but I never watched. The reason I remember the man is that he had a way of extending his reach beyond the Sunday Broadcast.

Roberts was one of the first televised evangelical preachers. Most of what I remember about his broadcasts was that he often talked about faith healing, which I believe is possible but not to the extent he claims - especially not what he claimed personal responsibility for, and appeals for money. I think it was him that I once heard say, with closed eyes and face toward heaven, "I feel
someone's arm healing. Someone who is listening tonight. Someone in the audience has an arm that is feeling better. I want you to reach that arm deep into your pocket..." In all honesty, I cannot tell you if the part about reaching deep into the pocket was real or not (the first part was and similar proclamations were common) or if it was inserted into my memory by my opinion of him.

Four things about his ministry stand out in my mind. One of them relates to his son, Richard, but we'll get to that in a moment.

First is Oral Roberts University. The university in and of itself is not terribly remarkable but the campus has one interesting feature: The Prayer Tower. The Prayer Tower stands prominently in the center of campus like a miniature space needle. It is visually interesting (click the link for a picture) but I once had the opportunity to see beyond its decorative purpose.

During a church retreat, presumably in an effort to learn more about other religions, we took a tour of the prayer tower. We went up into it and saw that the outer edge is lined with rooms (prayer rooms) into which Pilgrims (for lack of a better word) can go to pray. The unusual part was that there were phones outside each room that visitors could pick up to listen to the pilgrim praying and, I would think, join in. I guess for the faithful it is something important but it has always stuck in my mind as weird.

Second is the City of Faith hospital. The hospital was wrought with controversy before ground was ever broken. The hospital was built adjacent to the university campus. The city council noted that, at the time, there was not a need for a medical facility in that area of town and made requests that it be relocated to a more appropriate section. Roberts apparently needed to have his creation close to home base. (check the link, it has some information on the events that Tulsans got to poke fun at while the CoF was being built - including the infamous 900-foot Jesus)

The hospital tower itself is beautiful. Its golden facade stands tall and shines in the sun. It can easily be seen from several miles away when traveling NE on interstate 44 from Oklahoma City. I once had an opportunity to go inside (I think on the same church retreat) the lobby while it was still operating as a hospital and it was a monument to true opulence and excess. At the time, the 60-story center tower was only complete up to the 32nd floor or so and the 60th story was complete but everything in between was still under construction. If memory serves, those floors never were completed while it was a hospital.

Now, the CityPlex Towers are mostly office space but they once housed the Tulsa office of Cancer Treatment Centers of America which, in my opinion, did more good overall than the hospital ever did.

Within six years, the City of Faith was bleeding money and Roberts told his television audience that he had had a vision that if he did not raise $8 million by a certain date, God was going to "call him home," meaning he was going to die (this was event #3). The fundraising was down to the wire but an anonymous donor pledged the remaining amount. I don't remember the actual amount but it was significant. And, yes, he had that kind of power over people. Some Tulsans wanted his efforts to fail just to see whether or not his vision was true. Being as he reached the age of 91, I guess God wasn't near as ready to call Oral home as he had thought.

Finally Oral's son, Richard Roberts, president of Oral Roberts University at the time, was accused of misuse of university assets (money). I recall seeing a television interview with him regarding his expenditures (which may not have been related to the ORU scandal). The reporter asked Richard why, if the ministry was in need of money (which they were constantly asking for), was he building a multi-million dollar mansion? Richard's response was that a member of the congregation had donated the funds to build the house. The reporter countered by asking why Roberts had not requested that the money be put into the ministry rather than a house that he did not need. Roberts just insisted that the money was specifically for the house. This went back and forth a bit but the gist of it that I came away with was Roberts saying, "But it's MY money."

There are many other stories and jokes and incidents I could relate but let's just say it was interesting growing up in the midst of all of this.

To all of Roberts' followers: I do not belittle the man's passing. He was somebody's husband, father, friend, leader and inspiration. He will be missed. It is not my intention to shed a negative light on him but to share my memories of him and his ministry which tend, unfortunately, to be largely cynical. I am certain that he did good works and there are people in this world today that wouldn't be where they are without him. That just isn't the side of him to which I was exposed.

----------------------
* I accidentally misspelled that sindicated - I found it somewhat Freudian.

The Passing Of A Legend

His movies helped define the 80's. He turned the tables in Mr. Mom ("220, 221 whatever it takes."). He sent us on Vacation (and helped us forever brand a national chain store "Wally World"). He revealed invisible teenagers everywhere with Sixteen Candles. He introduced us to The Breakfast Club. He cooked up some Weird Science. There was Pretty in Pink (which I have not seen except for a few scenes). He taught us all how to relax and have some fun (and introduced us to Ben Stein) in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Introduced us to Macaulay Culkin in Uncle Buck, then wrapped an entire concept around him in Home Alone.

John Hughes suffered a heart attack and died on Thursday, August 6 while taking a morning walk during a trip to NYC to visit family. Never before had we seen such great film making that gave such respect to teenagers. Want to know what it was like growing up in the 80's? Watch his films.

We'll miss you, John.

A True Legend

When man orbited the Earth and when man walked on the moon, he was there.

He told us, one by one, that John F. Kennedy had been assassinated in Dallas.

He was there when Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy were assassinated.

"He covered the Battle of the North Atlantic, went along on the first B-17 bombing raid over Germany, landed with Allied forces in North Africa and waded ashore in the Normandy invasion of June 6, 1944. Later, he accompanied the Allied breakthrough at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge." (Washington Post)

He told us about the Vietnam Conflict, the Watergate scandal, the return of American hostages after 444 days of captivity in Iran, and covered many political conventions.

"[He] received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. As a special correspondent, he covered the 40th anniversary of V-E Day, the 40th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, the funeral of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and the 25th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian uprising." (Washington Post)

He rubbed elbows with the likes of Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton.

He was the very first "Anchorman."

He was "the most trusted man in America."

Walter Cronkite died yesterday at the age of 92.

"How can he be gone, this man who'd seen us through so many years of strife and success, progress and poverty, bold dreams and bitter backsliding?" (Washington Post)

I remember growing up watching Cronkite cover rocket launches and elections and conflicts and everything else. I can still hear his voice. He had a way of telling you what was happening and making it real - making it human. He didn't sensationalize. It wasn't his way. If it was joyous, he expressed joy. If it was tragic, he expressed sorrow. If it was wondrous, he expressed awe. He wasn't a reporter, he was part of millions of families. You could take comfort from him. No newsperson has ever risen to his level and I don't think we'll ever see another who is anything like him.

And that's the way it is. July 17, 2009.

Expo Memories

Trek Expo 2009 has wrapped up. Overall, I had a good time but the atmosphere was much different this year. I don't know if it was me, the economy, the guest list, the not-so-rushed attitude, or what but there wasn't as much of a spark of excitement as in past years.

Speaking of guests... Chase Masterson, a regular attendee (she must have family in the area or something), was lovely in form and voice as usual.


Leonard Nimoy started out interesting but we bailed on his talk. We were in the cheap seats and the acoustics of the room, combined with the tonal quality of his voice, made it very difficult to understand what he was saying (we weren't the only ones).


The one I really wanted to see was Corin Nemec from Stargate SG-1. He was one of only four guests I hadn't seen before. He was well spoken but needs to work on his timing. His stories, while interesting, tended to grab attention early then fade out instead of having a punch. He's very nice, though and I think he's losing his hair (he was never without a hat all weekend).


Of unexpected interest was Phil Morris. He has done a lot of voice work, he played Jackie Chiles in Seinfeld, a Jem-Hadar and a Klingon on Deep Space 9, and most recently The Martian Manhunter on Smallville. Two bits of trivia: He is the son of Greg Morris who was on the original Mission: Impossible. When it was remade later during a writer's strike, he was cast as the same character his father played. Also, he got his start in television and in the Star Trek universe in the original series as one of the children in the eposide Miri. He has some great stories.

Garret Wang was entertaining as usual. Here, he is doing his "Power of DeLanciiiiiiiie!!" schtick. He brings a lot of energy to a convention.

For the second time, I had the opportunity to see Avery Brooks. He is a very interesting person with very zen-like insights and mindset. It makes for interesting Q&A because half of the time when he's finished giving his answer, your mind has followed his etherial rhetoric and you have forgotten what the original question was.

Cirroc Lofton, who played Jake Cisco on DS9, was scheduled such that he and Avery spent an hour sharing the stage. At one point, they were talking about an eposide in which Tony Todd had guest-starred and called him up to the stage. Made for a nice photo-op.

Elvis and Michael

There are a lot of parallels between Elvis and Michael Jackson

• Both enjoyed almost instant success
• Both rose to superstardom
• Both were on the cutting edge of the music scene
• The music of both defined a generation
• Both were criticized for their vulgar dancing (Elvis for gyrating, Jackson for grabbing)
• Both wore costume-like outfits during performances (Elvis' jumpsuits, Jackson's sequined military-style coats, etc.)
  
• Both tried to close themselves off from the public because the insanity of their popularity was too much to handle
• Both were tabloid fodder for their looks later in life (Elvis' weight, Jackson's skin, face, nose, etc.)
• Both had large compounds that outsiders always wondered about what went on in there
• Both died just prior to launching a tour that was set to revive their career

And as I said before, I bet we start hearing about the drug abuse (although, I don't think Jackson was quite at the level Elvis was)

Ed, Farrah, and Michael

It's been a rough week in the celebrity world. First, on Tuesday, Ed McMahon passed away. This wasn't much of a surprise. After all, he was 86, Johnny Carson, the person to whom he was most closely associated, died a couple of years ago, and he'd disappeared from the public eye a long time ago. I figure Dick Clark isn't too far behind.

Yeasterday, we lost two of my generation's icons. Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Just last month, NBC ran a documentary Farrah had put together about her long battle with cancer. I didn't see the actual show but I did see some pre-show interviews with Ryan O'Neil, her long time partner (I don't believe they ever married). Ryan had said that they set out to film a survivor's story but that it wasn't looking like it was going to end that way.

I never had the Farrah Fawcett poster. Frankly, she just didn't do it for me for some reason. But it weas that poster that made her famous (oh, and that Charlie's Angels thing). I can't say that I'm torn up about her passing.

I'm not torn up about Michael Jackson, either, but that one did surprise me. I remember my first thought was, "Finally, that poor, tortured soul is at rest." Jackson was, without a doubt, a superstar. He rode a gigantic wave in the 80's (Thriller is still the best selling album of all time) but in his race to outdo himself his life kept taking major turns toward the weird. I get the nose job he had some time in the late 70's or early 80's that appeared on his album "The Wall" but in his mind, in his struggle for aesthetic perfection, he ceased to be black (I kinda get that one too), his nose became razor thin, his jaw line was a characature... in essesne, he ceased to look like himself... completely.

My prediction is that we'll start getting information that Jackson's death was more than the result of an illness or some congenital heart defect. The rumors have already started that it was linked to anorexia, Anna Nicole Smith had nothing on Michael Jackson, and I bet we hear news similar to when Elvis died.

Unlike some, I probably won't remember where I was, exactly, when I heard he died. In my world the children won't scream, the lovers won't cry and the poets won't dream. I'm just not that affected by it. I do, however, understand the significance.

Urgo Is Dead

Dom DeLuise died Monday evening at the age of 75. There was no disclosure of the cause of death, but DeLuise had been battling cancer for more than a year and had been hospitalized due to kidney failure and respiratory problems.

DeLuise had a long career in both television and films. He was most famous for his supporting roles in a number of Mel Brooks films, including 1974's "Blazing Saddles" and 1976's "Silent Movie." He was also in the Brooks-directed "The Twelve Chairs" (1970), "Spaceballs" (1987) and "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" (1993). Other credits include "Smokey and the Bandit II" (1980), "Cannonball Run" (1981) and "Cannonball Run II" (1984), "The End" (1978), "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" (1982) and "Johnny Dangerously" (1984). His voice was featured in such films as "An American Tail" (1986) and its sequels, "All Dogs Go to Heaven" (1989) and its 1996 sequel, and "Oliver & Company" (1988). [Source: CNN.com]

Whether behind the camera or in front of it, members of the DeLuise family have consistently been a part of the Stargate family. Stargate SG-1 fans will remember DeLuise as the title character in Season Three’s “Urgo,” where he played the fun-loving physical manifestation of an alien probe (and its creator) who wanted to experience life. After being implanted into the brains of the SG-1 team, he subliminally gets the team to show him new experiences while they struggle to get him out of their heads.

But beside this memorable episode, Dom left his greatest mark on the Stargate franchise through his sons. Peter DeLuise served as a director, writer, and producer on Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis for most of those series’ runs. Son Michael played Nick Marlowe/Colonel Danning in the episode “Wormhole X-Treme!” and son David played Pete Shanahan in several episodes of SG-1. [Source: GateWorld]

In the immortal words of Allan Sherman, "Hail to thee, fat person!"

Good Day, Paul Harvey

I learned this morning that legendary broadcaster Paul Harvey passed away over the weekend. He was 90 years old.

Paul Harvey was famous for his radio news broadcasts that combined hard news with the lighter side. He is also famous for telling us "The rrrrrest of the story." His voice was one that could grab and hold your attention. His voice, like that of Walter Cronkite, was one you could trust.

Goodbye, Mr. Harvey. The world is less now because you are not in it.

Insert Prophetic Title Here (AKA - Kirk Wins)

Odd that I should have chosen that particular title yesterday. Kahn is dead. Ricardo Montalban, the man who played Kahn Noonien Singh in both Star Trek The Original Series (Space Seed) and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn, passed away yesterday at the age of 88 reportedly of natural causes.

Sorry, I Missed You

I was watching the Stargate: Atlantis finale last night and they made mention to General Hammond, played by Don. S. Davis, passing away. I thought it might be because he just wasn't able to make it to production for some reason. They didn't have Richard Dean Anderson on, either.

After it was done, I checked IMDB and, sure enough, Don passed away June 29 of 2008. I knew he had originally left Stargate: SG-1 for health reasons but I completely missed that he'd died this year.

I met him once, as you can probably tell by the photograph (we're leaning over a table). Unfortunately that's about all of the interaction I got with him. Shortly after that shot was taken I had to leave for Kansas City to help celebrate my parents' 40th wedding anniversary.

We'll miss you, Don.

NBC's Saturday Night

In honor of George Carlin, NBC played the premier episode of Saturday Night Live on which Carlin was a guest. At its premier, the show was simply called NBC's Saturday Night but did include the signature, "Live, from New Your, it's Saturday Night!!" at the end of the opening skit.

You will notice in the previous paragraph that I did not say that Carlin had hosted the show. I don't know for how many episodes they did this but the format was much different than any I've ever seen.

First, as I said, Carlin did not host the show - he was a guest performer. He performed an opening standup set of a couple of minutes after the opening then returned several more times during the show for a minute or two each time. He never really interacted with the audience and was not part of any of the sketches. Imagine a guest comic on The Tonight Show but bring him out three or four times during the show.

The next difference I noticed was that the people I think of as the "stars" of Saturday Night Live - Aykroyd, Belushi, Chase, Radner, Curtain, etc. - were not singled out in the opening credits. They were all listed on the same screen and announced as the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players." The people who were singled out included Any Kaufman, George Coe (known more as a character actor than a comedian), and Albert Brooks.

The musical guests were handled a little differently, too. First, there were two. I remember there usually only being one. The guests were Billy Preston (Nothin from Nothin) and Janice Ian (At Seventeen) and they each performed two songs.

It was interesting to see SNL at its roots. It was also interesting to see how far we've come with the changes in format and the changes in what is acceptable (Carlin was wearing a vest and a blazer if you can believe it). All in all it was a fun look back and a fitting tribute to George Carlin.

So long, George.

So Long, George

Lots to say about this weekend but not a lot of time to say it.

• Legendary counter-culture comedian George Carlin died yesterday
• Didn't make it to the city-wide sales in Cushing
• Was wiped out most of the weekend
• Have a sinus infection
• Sinus infection + mowing lawn + heat + medicines = monster headache
• I'm doing better now
• Didn't finish mowing the lawn
• Vacuum cleaner turns on but doesn't pick anything up
• Got a new bagless that does a GREAT job
• Gotta run...
  

Trek Expo Letdown

My annual pilgrimage has come around once again. The event that is Trek Expo. It is something I look forward to with great anticipation. The ability to see TV and movie start up close, hear them talk about their experiences and get an autograph or maybe even a picture is too much to resist. Through these events I have met or seen the likes of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, Jeremy Bulloch, Bruce Boxleitner, Kevin Sorbo, Walter Koenig ... the list goes on. It's an exciting time for me.

Because we moved to Boise, I missed any chance at a convention last year. We were actually driving through Denver, CO on the opening day of StarFest, another convention, but couldn't afford the time (or money) to stop. I have been following the buildup to this years Trek Expo and had started to get excited about it. They promoted Adam Baldwin, Nichelle Nichols, Dean Stockwell, Wil Wheaton, the guy who plays Silar on Heroes and the lady who played Admiral Kane on BSG. I was kinda pumped. Then Silar and Kane cancelled. This was a fairly early cancellation. Disappointing but not devastating.

As May ended, I went back to the site and double-checked the dates. I also double-checked the ticket prices and almost fainted. I am used to $20-$30 for general admission for the whole weekend. The price this year jumped to $50 for the whole weekend or $20/day for Sat or Sun. Can you say wet blanket? No matter, the chance to meet Adam Baldwin and Dean Stockwell as well as see Wil Wheaton again would be worth it.

Today is opening day. I just checked the web site and Stockwell and Wheaton have cancelled. That means four out of the 5 people I really wanted to see have cancelled. In addition, the hosts have not back-filled the schedule so there are no substitutes coming (not that they've noted, at least).

They have nobody coming from any currently-airing shows or recent movies (unless you count Chuck on NBC). They have nobody from any recent shows such as Stargate. The people they do have, with the exception of Baldwin and Nichols, are all supporting actors/actresses or not big headliners. I don't have anything against these people and I actually enjoy seeing/listening to them but they're not who I go to see.

I am seriously reconsidering my resolve to attend at all this year. I will probably make an appearance tomorrow just so I can see Adam Baldwin and meet up with my friend Greg. I will most likely not attend Supper with the Stars as I have the past 4 or 5 years and I'm almost certain that I will save my gas, save the price of admission and skip Sunday altogether.

Sorry Starbase 21. You've collapsed the field on my warp drive.

11 Days Between Posts

Life's just been that weird lately. It also didn't help that our DSL has been down for ~48 hours (the last 24 or so because the tech left the phone line unplugged - D'OH!).

Anyway, I was poking around some of the tech news sites and stumbled upon a story about Archos putting out a media player pre-loaded with the Harry Potter movies. The story included a picture of Daniel Radcliff and Emma Watson. What I want to know is, just what is he looking at anyway?

Stargazing On The Streets Of Boise

Yes, that's Matt Damon. Yes, I took the picture.

Matt Damon and Bourne series producer Frank Marshall were in Boise this evening to premiere The Bourne Ultimatum. Frank Marshall has connections to Boise and has premiered all three Bourne movies (and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) at the Egyptian Theater in downtown Boise (a historic movie palace, built in 1927).

I heard last week that the premiere would be here and made plans to be downtown when Damon arrived. I showed up early enough to get a good spot and, obviously, that afforded me the opportunity to get some good close-ups. Tickets for the movie were $40 each and movie and reception were $100 each. Proceeds went to support Boise Contemporary Theater. I could afford neither so I settled for becoming a paparazzi wannabe. (it didn't hurt that I managed to get his autograph as well).