ajzepp

What's up, poker people? I was thinking about scheduling a small tourney a week from this Sunday. The ProBowl is on that weekend, so I thought this might be a godo time to have a tourney while the game was on, since I don't think many folks will be glued to their seats like they will be during the championship games or Superbowl. What do you guys think? Maybe a start time of about 7:30 on Sunday Jan 30th? It woudl be really nice to at least have a table full of people, so if you guys have friends who want to play, just let me know and I'll get them an invite. And anyone else who hasn't signed up, yet, come on aboard!!

Totally agree about the Schumacher thing...those last couple movies from the 90's were just plain embarrassing. I liked the two Burton films well enough, but then it just got silly. He completely wasted the Bane character in that film, so I hope you're right and they really knock it out of the park with this next film. I have yet to see Inception (it's sitting at home as we speak), but C.Nolan has more than earned my trust as a movie maker thus far. His films are typically very well done and smartly written. He's certainly got a wealth of raw materials to work with in Tom hardy, so if he taps into the potential then this may be the best film in the franchise. Really looking forward to seeing some early shots from the set once they get to filming things.

As far as taste goes, there's absolutely no comparison, IMO...you find an authentic italian mom and pop type of place, and the pizza you get there is ridiculously good. They don't only pay attention to the ingredients, but they also know what spices and sh*t to put on the pizza. I got a simple cheese pizza from a shop about ten years ago that was run by a little Italian guy who didn't even speak english. Driving home with that pizza in the car was like torture. I have no idea what sort of seasoning he put on it, but whatever it was the smell was intoxicating and it tasted even better. On the other hand, there are times - especially when I get home from a long day of work - when I just dont' feel like getting dressed, getting in the car, and driving over to the pizza place. So I will break down and place an online order to Dominos or Papa Johns. I never get pizza from Dominos anymore (the only exception is the philly steak pizza on occasion), but I do like those sandwich things they make. With Papa Johns I will get the pizza and some wings. So as far as where my money goes, it probably is an even split. But if I could only have one typoe of place in my area, I'd go with the mom and pop for sure. As long as you don't water down your sauces or skimp on the cheese, you'll be good

I just hope it's not the reverse of what happened with the last film...I thought they were off their rocker when they said Ledger was going to play the Joker, and it ended up being one of my favorite performances ever. On the other hand, I think the casting of Hardy is the best news I've heard in a while, so hopefully it won't be a let down. This guy is such a good actor...I'm really glad to see him get a high profile part like this. I expect him to bring the Bane character to life in a way that really makes an impression on the audience

Who plays Catwoman won't even matter....the star of this film will be Tom Hardy. If you guys don't know who that is, I suggest you watch the film "Bronson". This guy is one hell of an actor, and he has ridiculous range. If the script is solid - which it's likely to be with Nolan in charge - this guy will completely rule this movie

I tend to feel as Ramius does, that so much of the undiscovered talent in this country has been unearthed. I think that's why Idol lowered the age on the show to 15. It may pay off for them, cause I've heard that there are a lot of younger kids with strong talent, but not sure anyone has really knocked it out of the park yet. That being said, part of what makes Idol interesting for me is watching them take someone and mold them into a marketable performer. There was a kid on the show tonight that might be such a prospect. I don't remember his name, but the carrot top kid has the potential to be a Clay Aiken type of story. He may just fizzle out, but this is the sort of nerd who the Idol folks can really mold into something completely different. The folks on this show are experts at enhancing the images of these contestants, and this kid may have enough raw materials present to really end up being a fan favorite. He also seems like a pretty good dude, so he's one of my early favorites. I don't know if he's the milkman's kid or what, but when you look at his parents (especially his looks-like-markie-post-but-hotter mom) it seems odd Dathat this would be what their kid looks like. Maybe Conan O'brien sneaked into the mom's bed late one night and hit it? I dunno... I was trying to enjoy a relatively entertaining show tonight, when they had to tell that story of the young girl whose daughter was special needs. To think that docs told her to abort the kid, and she was brave enough to stick it out and give birth to what is healthy little girl with some hearing loss, it was really an emotional tale. She has a pleasant voice, but definitely don't see a superstar in the making. The one girl that came out and gave Randy those pics from his high school days had some talent...with some coaching, she might end up being pretty good. And how bout The Dawg being a fellow shot-putter?? To think that he was active with the two sports (track and football) that were most important to me in HS made me like him even more Not quite as funny as last night's show, but I still enjoyed it. I just hope they have some better talent on the horizon! EDIT: BTW, if the producers were smart, when that chubby kid with the decent voice auditioned back when this was filmed (late summer? early fall?) they should have hooked him up with a pediatric nutritionist or something. If that kid lost some weight, he would appeal to the Justin Beiber market for sure.

Okay, so here are some thoughts about the first show of the season... As I said earlier, in a way I'm actually glad that Simon (and Kara, and Ellen) aren't on the show anymore. I really didn't enjoy much about last season, save for the Pants on the Ground guy. The show really felt stale, and it struggled to keep my interest. When I first heard that Steven Tyler and J-Lo were hosting this year, my first thought was, "it just won't be the same without Simon". Well, tonight I was actually pleasantly surprised. I didn't get the feeling that anyone was trying to replace Simon, which was good. I thought Steven Tyler came off as genuinely interested in the show and the contestants, and there were a few times when he not only made me laugh, but he also had the camera crew cracking up. The show's opening really put things into perspective. When you think about it, Tyler and Lopez are two of the most successful stars ever. The success they've had in their careers to this point is nothing short of enormous, and I think that brings a great deal of credibility to the show. I also think it puts Randy in the position of battling an inferiority complex, lol. I felt as though this was more of a passing of the torch than it was a "replacement" of any kind, and I liked that. The chemistry was very good, and the whole thing felt pretty natural. I'm not really the show's target demographic anymore, so this is a moot point to a degree, but when they said they had a lot of young talent, they weren't kidding. It felt more like an audition for something on the Disney channel than it did American Idol at times. The good thing is that some of the folks they showcased today did have some talent, although I wasn't really blown away by any of them. I thought the pace of the show was pretty good, though, so it held my attention for the entire two hours (although I did cheat by watching it on DVR playback, so got to skip commercials.) So, all in all, thumbs up for the show so far...hopefully it gets even better from here, but I'm not going to get my hopes up just yet. Even though this is still the highest rated show on television in terms of its viewership, I really would be surprised if it lasted more than another few seasons. Anyone out there watch it? Comments? Rico? Lana?

I'm also scared shiitless he's gonna throw pick-6's to the burger king!

Pretty interesting.

Actually I can't even follow through on what I said, because I think Mallett is hugely overrated and would set this franchise back if we were to take him at #3, so I'm very much biased against him lol. I'm feeling better these days, though, cause it seems his stock has fallen enough that I don't need to worry as much about that happening. I'd be fine with taking him at some point after rd 1, cause that way we're not so deeply invested in him that we can't get rid of him easily. I know that there are still people who like him, though - although fewer now than there were prior to his bowl game - so if this kid ends up as a Bill then I'll support him 100% (well, at least 80% )

Amen to the toilet seat thing...I used to get so sick of that! The first girl I dated seriously was way back in 1990. I used to go over to her place after work and we'd hang out at night until about midnight or 1am. Well, it was my girlfriend, her daughter, her sister, and her mom....all women. So naturally she told me up front about the toilet seat thing. I did a pretty good job of it until one time when we had a wicked ice storm in late 1990 (or may have been early '91). I ended up having to stay the night cause I couldn't get out (she lived in Gates and I lived in Mendon). We were downstairs watching stand-up on comedy central pretty late in the evening, and all of a sudden we hear this great big *THUD!!* followed by a scream from her mom. My girlfriend looked at me in horror and said, "omg, tell me you didn't forget to put the toilet seat back down..." She goes running upstairs, I hear them arguing very loudly, and next thing I know her mom is stomping over toward the stairs yelling at me at the top of lungs. Now I understand that women like the seat back down, but if you don't even LOOK before you sit down, I have no sympathy for you. Her mom tended to drink at night, so she went into the bathroom, dropped trau, and sat down directly in the toilet bowl. The scream was when her arse went splashing into the cold toilet water and my g/f literally had to help her out of the bowl. I felt a little bad, but not really....I couldn't help but laugh a little, but that didn't go over to well

lol...yeah, he does have a big arm

If you'd ever like another unbiased, objective account of Mallett, I'd be happy to share some thoughts about him with you. Bill can vouch for me.

Yep, this would be my choice. If you want a free option, go to www.audiocircle.com and you'll see one of the forums toward the bottom of the page is dedicated to selling and buying gear too. This site has less traffic than AVS and audiogon,though. Just be sure to set a selling price in the ad, or they'll throw a fit lol.

Thank God for the Giants...they deserve a lot of the credit for showing how ordinary brady can be when you rattle that pretty boy. As for Belichick, to me this guy is the most unprofessional coach in the NFL. The guy is just a smug douche...I'm so glad he got it handed to him. "errrrr....*grumble, grumble*, well, I think what happened was that we gave up too many points and didn't score enough...*grrrrumble, snort, grumble*"

I'm proud to say that when I was married and a step-father to twin boys, I did my job and had the talk with them when the time was right. Today, nearly ten years later, they are very well-adjusted, healthy, young adults.

I just saw True Grit last night and loved it. The only part I took issue with was the part with the snakes. That scene looked a bit cheesy to me. I would have rather not seen them beforehand, instead maybe just all of a sudden realizing that what happened happened. Just a small criticism, cause I thought the film was excellent and that girl was an amazing little actress.

I feel bad that all you guys who were rooting for the Pats to win missed out on a very satisfying feeling last night. I woke up prepared and ready to hate the Jets with a passion once again today, but last night I loved every minute of their gloating and celebration, especially some of the post-game interviews. Seeing the Pats get their asses handed to them in their own house was a great way to end this week of playoff games. Brady frustrated, Belichick helpless to do anything about it, Braylon Edwards doing gymnastics like a fairy....I loved it all! SCREW the Pats*!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lol okay good, one show is acceptable I definitely understand your point about Simon...I just had seen some clips from seasons past, and it reminded me just how awesome he used to be. He never cared about saying exactly what was on his mind, and he never thought twice about saying something that would make someone cry...that was great TV! lol I don't know if it was the producers responding to all the criticism of how "mean" he was or whatever, but it just seemed like the last season or two Simon changed. He just didn't seem to really care as much anymore or something. It was like when they told the Springer show that the contestants weren't allowed to physically fight anymore or the show would be sued or whatever...just wasn't the same. Hopefully when the X-factor starts up this fall, Simon will be back to his old self, cause I miss that guy lol

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! You can't bail on me now,man!!!!

I'm not very good with recipes or cooking, but I may give this one a shot tonight. I'm sure I'll find a way to screw it up, though.

Dang, John, it sounds like your daughter has some pretty significant irons in the fire! I hope you'll keep us updated on how she does...that's pretty awesome BTW, here is a little light reading for you guys. As I mentioned earlier, I've always been a big fan of Aerosmith, and Steven Tyler is a pretty interesting dude. I'm starting to think this judges panel will actually be a lot of fun to watch this season. I also really like Tyler's take on how he relates the process and intent of Idol to how he sort of got his start singing in church and "in the lunchroom". Billboard Article One three more days til liftoff!