http://www.aintitcool.com/node/34406

Fucking Yippee, Harry Here!!! Ok - I’m in. Simon Pegg as Scotty is as wonderful as an Asian Girl Sandwich night. I’m fucking deliriously happy. This is the first piece of STAR TREK casting that JJ has done that has made me drool with anticipation. The word is that the budget has gotten bigger and bigger and that for the first time in the history of the franchise, STAR TREK is being given a truly epic budget to recreate, conceive and explore Gene’s universe. That news and SIMON “fucking” PEGG - make this the happiest day in Trek geek life, other than the day STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN was released.

Oh man. Fucking awesome. So awesome. Ecstacy. Simon Pegg is Montgomery “Giving it all I got Capt’n” Scott. Blessed be to God. He is great and glorious to make this happen for the greater glory of geekdom. We are truly the blessed people!

My reaction to this news was decidedly far more lukewarm.

Don’t get me wrong. I like Simon Pegg. I thought Shaun of the Dead was a great movie, and his guest role in the first season of Doctor Who showed he had some variety. The problem is… he’s just not Scotty. On the other hand, I know Paul McGillion (Carson Beckett from Stargate Atlantis) auditioned for the role, and I think he would have been a much better choice. He looks more like James Doohan than Pegg does, has a flawless Scottish accent, and Doohan’s own son endorsed him for the role.

I don’t know. I’ll wait and see. However, I just think this was a bit of bad casting.

Some people might remember the building on the East Loop that was gutted by fire back in March. Said fire was set by a vocational nurse hoping to cover the fact that she didn’t do some needed paperwork. As a result, three people died, several businesses were destroyed, and she’s in jail on felony murder and arson charges.

Well, the building was demolished today. What was most interesting about it, in my opinion, was the fact that they actually got video of the demolition. In the end, all one backhoe had to do was grab one specific beam and the entire building came down like a house of cards.

Take a look… it’s rather interesting viewing.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/330795_emmy08.html

LOS ANGELES — There are dozens of surprises among the more than 400 Emmy nominees, but none quite like the one we can’t name in this story.

It’s in the Original Music and Lyrics category, a holiday-themed music video that aired last December on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” with an off-color title. Performed by Justin Timberlake and “SNL” cast member Andy Samberg, the fake music video describes packaging a certain part of the male anatomy in a gift box and presenting it to a loved one.

We’ll just call it “(Blank) in a Box.”

Given the subject matter, little wonder some of those involved were caught off guard by the TV academy’s acknowledgment.

“I was not aware until this year that there was (such) a category at the Emmys, and I’m not sure whether it’s in the big Emmys or the little Emmys,” observed longtime “SNL” producer Lorne Michaels, “but we were thrilled.”

Actually, the Original Music and Lyrics category is in the “little Emmys,” aka Creative Arts Emmys, to be presented Saturday night and airing Sept. 15 on E!, the night before the Primetime Emmy Awards on Fox.

“I was just super excited that somebody important at some point will have to say (the title) at an otherwise classy broadcast,” said skit co-writer Akiva Schaffer.

“(Blank) in a Box” is up against two songs from “Scrubs,” one from “MADtv” and one from “Family Guy.” If “Box” wins, six co-writers will go home with Emmy gold: Timberlake, Samberg, Schaffer, plus “SNL” mates Katreese Barnes and brothers Jorma and Asa Taccone.

I’ve actually linked to the video in a previous entry, and I have to say it’s a pretty catchy song, if a bit silly. I’m hoping it wins.

EDIT - September 16 10:28 PM - Guess what? It won.

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/appease-sky-god-airline-sacrifices-goats…

KATHMANDU (Sept. 4) - Officials at Nepal’s state-run airline have sacrificed two goats to appease Akash Bhairab, the Hindu sky god, following technical problems with one of its Boeing 757 aircraft, the carrier said Tuesday.

Nepal Airlines, which has two Boeing aircraft, has had to suspend some services in recent weeks due to the problem.

The goats were sacrificed in front of the troublesome aircraft Sunday at Nepal’s only international airport in Kathmandu in accordance with Hindu traditions, an official said.

“The snag in the plane has now been fixed and the aircraft has resumed its flights,” said Raju K.C., a senior airline official, without explaining what the problem had been.

I have to admit, when I read about stuff like this, I think more along the lines of the Adeptus Mechanicus from Warhammer 40,000 than anything else. I mean, I’ve made jokes about making blood sacrifices to appease the computer gods when cutting my finger on PC cases during computer assembly, but this is just a tad ridiculous…

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/entertainment/5096189.html

The eclectic, iPod shuffle-like music format known as Jack FM makes its Houston debut at 10:37 a.m. Friday at 103.7 FM.

The Cumulus Media station, now known as KIOL or Rock 103.7 FM, will be reformatted as KHJK, said Pat Fant, Cumulus’ Houston market manager.

Houston will be the seventh market in Texas and the fifth top 10 market in the country to add Jack FM, which formats about a thousand songs by 500 artists in 18 genres of music dating from the late 1960s through today.

Jack FM operates without live DJs, so Cumulus will attempt to find positions elsewhere in the company for Rock 103.7’s current on-air personalities.

While I have to say I’m kind of sad to see KIOL die, I do have to admit I haven’t listened to it in a while. The last couple of times that I tried to, I found it had become almost purely classic rock, and not the mix of classic and current rock you might find on stations such as Rock 93.9. Still, I’ll check it out on the drive home tomorrow, provided I’m not on the phone with Misty. I used to listen to an eclectic playlist on my iPod when driving to and from work, so this might be interesting to try.

http://movies.ign.com/articles/810/810783p1.html

August 6, 2007 - Ridley Scott, the brilliant filmmaking mind behind such extraordinary films as Alien and Gladiator, is venturing into rather new territory for an upcoming movie based on the classic Parker Brothers board game Monopoly. … And the universe let out a thunderous, collective “WTF!?” This is the guy who is rumored to have turned down Halo because he didn’t see enough potential for a story.

The news first broke back in June that Scott was interested in directing a comedy-thriller based on the game. Now, Scott has dished a little to the Los Angeles Times about his thoughts on the film.

“Monopoly is still the most popular board game — I might be misquoting! — in the world. So it’s really finding the universe for that game,” he explains. “Because clearly it ought to be humorous and for the family — the funny way it brings out, particularly when your uncle suddenly gets Park Lane and — in England, we have Park Lane, Mayfair and Barclay Square, what’s it in America? Park and Madison? So you watch people change. You’re witness to Jekyll and Hyde. Somewhere in that is a hysterically amusing and I think rather exciting film.” Oh, boy.

“Oh, boy” is right. If it was anyone other than Ridley Scott, I’d be very very frightened. Instead, I’m just very frightened… heh.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5020241.html

Texas students will have four more words to remember when they head back to class this month and begin reciting the state’s pledge of allegiance.

This year’s Legislature added the phrase “one state under God” to the pledge, which is part of a required morning ritual in Texas public schools along with the pledge to the U.S. flag and a moment of silence.

State Rep. Debbie Riddle, who sponsored the bill, said it had always bothered her that God was omitted in the state’s pledge.

“Personally, I felt like the Texas pledge had a big old hole in it, and it occurred to me, ‘You know what? We need to fix that,’ ” said Riddle, R-Tomball. “Our Texas pledge is perfectly OK like it is with the exception of acknowledging that just as we are one nation under God, we are one state under God as well.”

By law, students who object to saying the pledge or making the reference to God can bring a written note from home excusing them from participating.

But adding that phrase has drawn criticism from some who say it’s unneccesary and potentially harmful to children who don’t share the same religious beliefs. “Most Texans do not need to say this new version of the pledge in order to be either patriotic or religious,” said Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. “This is the kind of politicking of religion that disturbs many Americans, including those who are deeply religious.”

BAH! Debbie Riddle is actually our state representative. This kind of thing pisses me off, as I’m a fervent believer in both freedom of religion and separation of church and state; acknowledging a God in state matters is not fair to those who have a polytheistic or nontheistic religion. (Is nontheistic even a word?) Even the Founding Fathers made sure to keep religion and the government separate. For Ms. Riddle to do this is, in my honest opinion, a violation of what this country was founded upon.

I probably wouldn’t have even had a problem if the children could opt-out on their own. The fact that this is being forced upon them is what makes this odious to me.

At least now I know what I’ll be doing this weekend. I’ll be writing a letter to her voicing my extreme displeasure at what she has pushed through. Also, when it comes time for her re-election, you can be damned sure I won’t vote for her.

http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=99589

Atlanta police are still trying to figure out what caused a car to plunge six stories out of a parking deck in Midtown, with the driver still inside early Wednesday morning.

Police said the 23-year-old driver behind the wheel of the car was trying to do something called drifting, not unlike the movie “Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift.” A driver would pick up a lot of speed, and then cuts his wheel sharply, causing the car to slide sideways, or “drift.”

At the Savannah Midtown Apartments at North and Piedmont Avenues, the bumper of the red Chevrolet Cavalier can be seen hanging from the sixth level of the parking deck. The car plunged from the sixth level to a dumpster behind the garage.

…

After the car hit the ground, apartment residents said they had heard the squealing from the parking deck. They ran downstairs to see if the driver was okay. They said he was conscious, but bleeding a lot.

The unidentified driver is in stable condition at Grady Memorial Hospital, but facing a number of charges, including DUI, reckless driving and criminal damage to property.

Some of you might remember the earlier news story I posted where someone died after his car plunged from a car park to the street or roof below. That time it was because the driver apparently was backing his brand new car into a parking spot and misjudged the amount of throttle needed. This time, it was pure stupidity; Darwin must be spinning in his grave right now. At least he has to deal with the aftermath of wrecking his car…

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,287953,00.html

WICHITA, Kan. — As stabbing victim LaShanda Calloway lay dying on the floor of a convenience store, five shoppers, including one who stopped to take a picture of her with a cell phone, stepped over the woman, police said.

The June 23 situation, captured on the store’s surveillance video, got scant news coverage until a columnist for The Wichita Eagle disclosed the existence of the video and its contents Tuesday.

Police have refused to release the video, saying it is part of their investigation.

“It was tragic to watch,” police spokesman Gordon Bassham said Tuesday. “The fact that people were more interested in taking a picture with a cell phone and shopping for snacks rather than helping this innocent young woman is, frankly, revolting.”

The woman was stabbed during an altercation that was not part of a robbery, Bassham said. It took about two minutes for someone to call 911, he said.

Calloway, 27, died later at a hospital.

Two suspects have been arrested. A 19-year-old woman was charged with first-degree murder. Another suspect who turned himself in had not been charged as of Tuesday, the Sedgwick County prosecutor’s office said.

The district attorney’s office will have to decide whether any of the shoppers could be charged, Bassham said.

It was uncertain what law, if any, would be applicable. A state statute for failure to render aid refers only to victims of a car accident.

Dear God in Heaven. *sigh* I almost have no words. Once again, man’s inhumanity towards their fellow man makes me wonder if we really deserve to survive as a species.

As for the DA’s dilemma, though, there is a solution: release the shoppers’ identities to the surviving family. Let them sue the shoppers into oblivion for not rendering aid. There might not be a recourse in criminal courts, but I’m sure a jury in a civil court would love to take up the slack…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2007/07/04/46831.shtml

Catherine Tate accepts proposal to star in fourth series.

Catherine Tate is set to return to the TARDIS for the complete 13 week run of Series Four of Doctor Who.

Award winning comedian Tate will reprise her role as Donna, the runaway bride from last year’s Christmas special, despite turning down the Doctor’s invitation to travel with him at the end of that adventure.

When Catherine was asked if she would like to become The Doctor’s new companion at the press screening of The Runaway Bride, she replied, “I would love to, but no one has asked!” Well, now they have.

“Catherine was an absolute star in The Runaway Bride and we are delighted that one of Britain’s greatest talents has agreed to join us for the fourth series,” announced Doctor Who’s executive producer and head writer, Russell T Davies. “Viewers can expect more ambitious storylines and a whole host of guest stars in 2008.”

Okay, I can see how people might like Donna. Me? I hated her. She was a loud, obnoxious, clueless dumbass. I know Jenn agreed with me when we were kind of hoping she’d get killed during the last Christmas episode. I MUCH prefer Martha, thank you.

At least the rumours of Freema Agyeman leaving are false; she’ll be in a few episodes of Torchwood and return to Doctor Who mid-season. Still… I can’t say I’m not disappointed that we’ll be seeing more of Donna. All I can hope for is that she won’t grate on my nerves like she did last time.