- Found an article describing the 100 most underrated movies of all-time. Some of these I agree with, and some I do not. Here is the link:
http://www.chud.com/news/mar04/mar22underdog1.php3
 
- Going to Vegas soon? Want to play a game that gives you at least a fighting chance of keeping your hard-earned money? Blackjack is the game to play. Out of all the popular casino games, Blackjack gives the best odds for your investment, if you know what you are doing. Here are some links for becoming good at Blackjack, practicing Blackjack, and becoming too good at Blackjack (counting cards):
 http://www.how-to-play-blackjack.com/html/bjstrategy.html#
http://www.hitorstand.net/game_s.html
http://casinogambling.about.com/library/weekly/aa120400.htm
 
- A hurricane in the South Atlantic!?! Impossible you say? Not anymore. Since 1960, when human beings first put satellites into orbit, no one has seen a hurricane form in the South Atlantic. Hurricanes frequently form in the South Pacific, Western Pacific, North Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. A hurricane formed off the coast of Brazil a few days ago, and smacked into the country yesterday. Here is a USA Today article explaining the incredibly rare phenomenon:
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/hurricane/2004-03-26-brazil-hurricane_x.htm
 
- For the next few weeks, the five planets that are visible to the naked eye (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter) will be in the same sky, at the same time. This rare event wont happen again for 32 years. During the next several days, the moon will be amongst these celestial bodies, making it very easy to spot them, when you use the moon as a marker. Here is a link explaining when to look, where to look, and just how rare this occurrence is:
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/planet_panorama_040305.html

- Ever wonder how Saint Patrick's day got started? Who is Saint Patrick? Why do we dress in green attire? Why does everyone get so damn drunk? Here is a link that explains it all:
http://people.howstuffworks.com/saint-patrick1.htm
 
- With each passing day, humanity gets closer and closer to developing a RoboCop, Terminator, or an Iron Man. If I had a dollar for every time I have day-dreamed about donning the Iron Man armor, I would be a very rich man. Here is an article describing how some university scientists have created a robotic exoskeleton that helps a human-being lift and carry objects over long distances:
 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/03/040304195437.htm
 
- New information about the next Star Wars movie is hitting the internet at record speeds. Here is an illustration of how Anakin turns into Darth Vader, an actual photo of how Anakin looks before he becomes Darth Vader (possibly fake from the neck down), and another picture of the new villain, General Grievous:
 http://cgi.theforce.net/theforce/image.cgi?Image=/episode3/newspics/anakin_uk_paper.jpg
http://paizo.com/image/product/magazine_issue/swinsider/75/cover_500.jpg
 
- I read several blogs each day. One of the new blogs I have discovered is "The Corner." Its the blog for National Review magazine. The writers of the magazine have access to the blog, and they post their daily readings and thoughts. It gets updated very quickly, so you can get commentary on many news items the moment they happen. Here is a link:
http://www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/corner.asp

- The Soprano's starts again this Sunday (March 7th.) This is the fifth season of the Sopranos. Season four episodes were somewhat boring, but its still better than 99% of the garbage that fills your TV each and every night. Here is a link to the official website, and to one of the more popular fan-based Soprano websites:
http://www.hbo.com/sopranos/ http://www.the-sopranos.com/
 
- Here is a link to some interesting scientific hoaxes:
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/hoax2.html
 
- Whatever happened to the Roanoke Colony? It's one of the great mysteries of American history. In the late 16th century, Sir Walter Raleigh brought colonists to North Carolina. The first colony he brought failed, and went back to England. The second colony he brought created the great mystery. The second colony vanished into thin air. Their settlement was completely erased. No traces were found of anyone living at the spot where the settlement was established. The only evidence that human life ever existed at the Roanoke Colony was a single word scratched into a tree, "Croatoan". Many historians feel that this was the name of one of the Indian tribes in the area. Other historians believe that this was the name the Indians had given to one of the the nearby islands. A whackier theory states that Croatoan was actually a demon, who destroyed the colonists. Apparently Croatoan is a biblical reference to some kind of hell-beast in Christian and babylonian lore. Here is a link about the whole mystery, and how modern scientists are trying to solve it:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/03/0302_040302_lostcolony.html
 
- The democratic primary season has ended. My John Edward's induced nightmare is finally over. John "I was in Vietnam" Kerry is the democratic nominee. Now we can start to talk about the match-up against President Bush, and how the electoral college might shake out. Here is my current count: George Bush: 306 John Kerry: 232 There are only 10 to 12 states up for grabs in this election. In fact, you could argue that there are really only two or three states that will decide the election. I believe that Florida, New Hampshire, Ohio, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, and Oregon will decide this election. I have GWB winning all of those, except for Iowa and New Hampshire. Am I biased? Of course I am! But that doesnt mean I cannot at least try to give an objective analysis. Here is a link to a site that shows the 2004 electoral college, and allows you to manipulate the states so you can do your own calculations:
http://www.uselectionatlas.org/USPRESIDENT/evcalc.php?year=2004

- I loathe Ted Turner. I think he is one of the most diabolical men in the history of western civilization. Nevertheless, rambling Ted did create one great thing...the Turner Classic Movie Channel. TCM shows movies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No commercials, and no editing of content. Usually these are old, forgotten movies that most people would not want to watch, but during the month of February (it use to be March) TCM shows only movies that have been nominated for an Academy Award. That means during the entire month of February, TCM shows most of the greatest movies ever made. In these waning days of February, TCM is showing only movies that have won the Oscar for best picture. I highly recommend you turn your TV to TCM (channel 72 for Cox Cable) and leave it there all weekend. Here is a link to the TCM website. You can find the listings for the movies showing this weekend:
http://www.turnerclassicmovies.com/Home/0,,,00.html
 
- Here are my picks for the Academy Awards on Sunday. My picks are usually wrong, but every once in a while I get them right:
Best Picture: Return of the King
Best Director: Peter Jackson
Best Actor: Sean Penn (booo! I want Bill Murray.)
Best Actress: Charlize Theron
Best Supporting Actress: Rene Zeilwegger
Best Supporting Actor: Tim Robbins (ugh)

 - Michigan's state animal is the wolverine. It is a nasty, vicious, maurading mammal that roams only the most northern portions of North America. A wolverine hasnt actually been spotted in Michigan in over 200 years, until now! A group of hunters, along with a wild-life specialist, spotted a wolverine near Lake Huron (the thumb) a few days ago. They even snapped a picture of the violent monster! How did the little bugger get there? Why hasnt one been seen in Michigan for so long? Will Bo Schembechler hunt it down, and teach it how to run the student-body right? Here is an article at the Detroit Free Press descibing this amazing find:
http://www.freep.com/news/mich/wolv26_20040226.htm
 
- A couple of interesting science links:
 
What is a comet?
http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1446_A_1124385_1_A,00.html
 
International Space Station crew space-walks without anyone left in the ship:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/science/2004-02-26-space-walk_x.htm

- Uncle George is finally releasing episode 4,5, and 6 on DVD! The new DVDs, which will be released September 21st, contain the special edition versions. According to Uncle George, the original versions (the ones that appeared in the theaters during the late 70s, early 80s) dont exist anymore. To most fans, Han Solo shot Greedo first, but I am on the other side of the debate. These are Uncle George's movies, and he has the right to do whatever he wants with them. Screw art! Capitalism is my Picasso. Here is a link with all the details:
http://www.theforce.net/holonet/index.shtml#23198
 
- Want to see a picture of the newest villain from episode 3? A new Star Wars novel coming out in April reportedly has a picture of this villain on the cover. For months Star Wars fans have read descriptions of the villain, and have tried to recreate him using these descriptions. Now we finally get to see him. Follow this link:
http://www.theforce.net/books/index.shtml#23205
 
- Ever wondered which hot peppers are the hottest? How do gourmets determine which is the hottest? How can you tame the mighty spices that cause you so much pain? Here is a link:
http://www.angelfire.com/pe/kennys/p14.html
 
- Perhaps you have heard of a person by the name of Dr. Bob Arnot? If you saw his picture, you would probably recognize him. He is a true renaissance man. He is a world-class doctor, athlete, TV reporter, and speaks several languages. He is one of the few human beings I have ever seen who doesnt stutter. He speaks not in just sentences, but in whole paragraphs without any pause. He use to work for NBC, reporting from hot-spots like Iraq and Afghanistan. His contract ran out a few months ago, and the reason why points to more proof of liberal bias in the media. Here is a link about his current predicament. I pray Fox News hires this guy:
http://observer.com/pages/nytv.asp  

- William Safire (former speech writer for Richard Nixon) writes a fictional article in which he discusses the current Democratic primaries with Tricky Dick. It's rather amusing:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/04/opinion/04SAFI.html?pagewanted=print&position=
 
- I dont read TheOnion.com anymore. It has become too left-wing for my tastes, but today they have a funny article on new automobiles fueled by our unbridled rage. Here is a link:
http://www.theonion.com/4005/news1.html
 
- Every once in a while, I like to look at the movie box office totals. Here is a link to a wonderful website with all the box offices totals, including weeks, years, domestic, foreign, and all-time grand totals:
http://www.boxofficeguru.com/  
 

- Dammit, I want off this rock! A well-reasoned article for why we should go back to the Moon, and onto Mars:
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/powell200401150834.asp
 
- George Lucas is going to make Episode 7, 8, and 9!?! Its just rumors right now, and will probably stay that way. Here is a link at Aint-it-cool-news:
http://www.aintitcoolnews.com/display.cgi?id=16780
 
- Dennis Miller will start hosting his own CNBC talk-show on January 26th. I like Dennis, but he seems awful flaky to me. One day he sounds like George Bush's campaign director, and the next day, he proclaims his socially liberal views. Here is a link:
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/0104/15dennismiller.html

- My New Hampshire prediction: Kerry: 35% Edwards 20% Dean: 19% Lieberman: 12% Clark: 10% (and he drops out) Its never too early to look ahead. David Frum (former speech writer for GWB) summarizes who might run for president on the Republican side in 2008:
http://www.nationalreview.com/frum/frum-diary.asp
 
- The Oscar nods are in. Looks like the Academy gave a cold shoulder to Cold Mountain. Here is the list:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=502&u=/ap/20040127/ap_on_en_mo/oscar_nominations_list_1&printer=1

- Editorial at www.theforce.net about which EU characters had the biggest impact on the Star Wars universe:
 http://www.theforce.net/books/index.shtml#22989
 
- ESPN Sports writer gives his top 25 college football teams for 2004: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=1704237  
 
- Michael Medved, the Harvard educated, right-wing, Jewish, film-critic/radio host, explains why Hollywood should leave its politics out of its movies:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2004-01-12-commentary_x.htm  
 
- George Will explains why life is a heck of alot better nowadays:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4928-2004Jan9.html
 
- Return of the King was beaten at the box office this weekend by Big Fish.  RoTK currently has 314 mil in the bank.  I estimate it will finish around 380 million.  Fellowship made 314 million.  Two Towers made 340 million.  Thats a grand total of 1.034 billion.  The Phantom Menace made 431 million.  Attack of the Clones made 310 million.  That means Episode 3 must make 293 million in order for the prequels to pass The Lord of the Rings trilogy in total North American box office dollars.  Should be damn close.  Here is a link to see the numbers that I am using:
http://www.boxofficeguru.com/blockbusters.htm