Boo! Scary! Remember The Ring? Well here's the creepy video that will kill you: THE TAPE ... companion site right here to track your next 7 days.

Check out this potraiture of monkeys and apes: manipulator :: monkeys
Soem of them look fairly dignified...

According to Variety.com:

Cabler bids $2.5 mil per episode

BY DENISE MARTIN - A&E has won the battle for HBO's "The Sopranos."
Cabler is expected to formally announce today that it has acquired the critically acclaimed mob drama, edging the competish with a winning bid north of $2.5 million per episode. The record-breaking sum is the largest per-episode pricetag paid for an off-net series in history.

A&E beat out several cable nets -- including HBO corporate sib TNT, which had been locked in a bidding war with A&E since last week -- for all 78 episodes of the series including the upcoming sixth season. A&E will be able to begin airing the series in fall 2006.

FX, USA and Spike had also been in the running.

I'm reading this and wondering how much we'll actually see. I know most of what I'm used to seeing on A&E is edited to the point of being unwatchable. Tony and crew won't be the same unless they can say whatever they want. Could be interesting to say the least.

This guy reminds me of a roadie that Carol, our friend Glenn and I saw at the Iron Maiden concert a few years ago. The particular little person I am thinking of was playing air guitar next to the stage during Number of the Beast.

Carol's got a brand new blog. Check out: CarolBrowne.com

My jaw feels like it's about to explode. I'm sweating and my ears are ringing. Ah, the joyous wonders of impacted wisdom teeth. It hurts like hell. It's hard to concentrate and I generally feel like shite. I've called the dentist and have a referral to a dental surgeon to extract these things. The only problem is that their office isn't open on Mondays. So I must suffer for at the very least another day, but I fear it will be longer. Perhaps I should have listened to my dentist when he said a year ago that I should have them removed. I know... I know... Here I am again feeling the consequences of a silly decision. This one? Let's avoid some short term pain for long term gain. Bitten in the ass? You bet. Owee!
What are impacted wisdom teeth?

According to Rotten Tomatoes Alone in the Dark absolutely stinks. Director Uwe Boll must have horseshoes up his backside for people to continue to throw larger and larger budgets at him to pound out stinkers like this one and House of the Dead (which sucked more than a Filter Queen). I guess if he can get someone to give him cash to make horror movies, I can too.

Fave review from RT: "Alone in the Dark is no better than whatever you might pick up while wearing a blindfold at Blockbuster, even if you happen to reach into a trash can."
-- Jack Mathews, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

If you're a big time film financier reading this here blog and want to spend money on someone who knows he can pull off a far better film than dodo head above I'm your man.

Albino Blacksheep / Flash / Pie Hole and DooDooCaca

They want you to. Check out 'world champion': McDonalds Wants You To F*ck It's Sandwiches

Carol's got a URL to blog at. I did up a placeholder page for her right here: carolbrowne.com

Animal-Human Hybrids Spark Controversy ... one word: Yikes

According to this article sent by Matt, masturbating at home in front of a window has been ok'd by the courts here in BC. In away good and in other ways bad... Shades of David Carradine pressed nude against the plate glass window of his Laurel Canyon home. A friend who was his neighbour related this story to me. He also, apparently, dropped acid and went a kung-fu'ing through his neighbours' backyards.

Check out Mark Mathis, weatherman, going bonkers (7.43 mb wmv). Holy smackeroonies. This guy's worse than me on a case Red Bull and a pot of coffee. What a whackjob. I love it. Letterman got his start as a weatherman. This guy's going places. Most likely to the loonie bin.

UndergroundHumor.com: 2005 Sexy Coffins Calendar: Sneak-A-Peek

Weirdly fun. Thanks Graham.

It's an oldie but a goody! Wanda has a car problem and she wants it fixed: car-problem.mp3 (407kb)

Even caskets.... thanks Matt. WTF?

Life after Auschwitz - Conflict and War - CBC Archives

More here and here

VIA FARK.com:

VW "outraged" by hoax VW ad depicting a suicide bomber. Also outraged at all the free publicity (with link to ad)

Agenda Inc. Live Feed - VW 'outraged' by viral suicide bomber ad

Thanks Teach!

Gizmodo : Hello Kitty Ferrari ... God help us all. Nice Photoshop job. Thanks Gracie.

Check out the site for ALONE IN THE DARK due to be released on January 28th. Has that HR Geiger/Alien feel to it. Constantine with Keanu Reeves looks entertainiing too.

Cynthia Rockwell seems quite disturbed by what she (and others) saw in the recent animated film The Polar Express.

Here are some pictures of Bridgewater after the recent snow storms there as sent by Big Al Mac. The one at the bottom is the high school I went to. We used to pray for snow days but, even with the amount of snow the province gets we rarely were so lucky. I'm sure 110cms shut it down for at least a day.

OSCAR.com - 77th Annual Academy Awards - Nominees: Nominee List. I've made it my mission to watch as many Oscar nominated films and performances as possible prior to the night of the awards. I love this time of year, but the more I learn the less enchanted I am with the politics around the Oscars.

Take the Best Actor category for example: We watched Ray last night and I must say Jamie Foxx was great as the late great Ray Charles in that film. It was right to nominate him for a Best Actor Oscar for that one. But as Jackson pointed out this morning Foxx is also nominated in the best supporting category for his role in Collateral. Jackson, who is probably exactly right also observed that Foxx will probably receive his Oscar for Collateral to make way for Clint Eastwood's old-man-pity-Oscar for Million Dollar Baby. Or perhaps it will be Johnny Depp's turn for his Role in Finding Neverland with a sorry-we-passed-you-over-last-year-Oscar. Leonardo DiCaprio has an outside chance with his portrayal of Howard Hughes in The Aviator due to Hughes's Hollywood legend factor and the fact he was nuttier than squirrel turds (the we-feel-sorry-for-the-victim-of-insanity vote - see A Beautiful Mind for clarification). Don Cheadle is a dark horse with his nomination for his poignant potrayal of "Paul Rusesabagina, a resourceful hotel manager who saves over a thousand people during the Rwandan massacre at great risk to his own life" in Hotel Rwanda. Cheadle is a fabulous actor. He won't win this year, but I'm sure this isn't the last we'll see of him.

It'll be a tight race but I'm with Jackson. Eastwood will get the just-before-you-croak-Oscar.

Ah, politcis.

The Razzies will probably be more fun.

It wasn't me... Yahoo! News - Do NOT Give This Man Batteries... Why is evey story to do with Vancouver so messed up?
Thanks again Cat Lady.

Defamer At Sundance: Napoleon Dynamite Superstar
I loved the movie. Go Napolean go! Thanks to Carol for the link.

Check out communication skills - zefrank. From a designer's perspective I truly appreciate this. I think I've seen this before, but I don't think I've posted it. Thanks to Gracie the Cat Lady for the link.

Hit me up with those rockin' Ron Burgandy one-liners!

Crispin Hellion Glover's Feature Film What Is It?... Wow, he really is out there. I love it. My guess it's interesting at least.

Check out dogblog and goggledog. I love the pooches...

MSNBC - Carson was everyman, with charisma ... Therrrrrre goes Johnny. A sad day...

Check out TallOrNot.swf to compare your height against celebs and historical figures. Being 5'7" tall I'm an inch shorter than Hitler was, and inch taller than Alfred Hitchcock but am the same height as Steven Speilberg, David Spade and Tom Cruise.

Check out some of the sites on HubLog: mp3blog TopList
There are some great songs on some of these blogs. Not a lot by bands you've hear of. If you're looking for top 40 crapola these blogs don't have it. But if you're looking for creative and interesting new music experiences chances are you might find some.

Paris Hilton allegedly steals own sex video Can you say crazy? I knew you could. Paris will eventually completely lose her mind (and probably her teeth) if she doesn't clean up her act.

Here's the surveillance video from Celebrity Justice

Great pics: B3TA : CHALLENGE : NATURAL REJECTION

SpongeBob Accused Of Being Gay By Christian Organizations; SpongeBob: 'I'm not gay, but I do have gay friends.' (TheDailyFarce.com) More here, here, here and here
Ridiculous... I love SpongeBob. A horrific smear campaign if you ask me. And if he is gay, what's wrong with that?

Check out Bunny suicides... Hahahahahaha! Suicidal bunnies... Hahahaha!

Carry on.

Wait a minute... what could this be?


It's worse than you think...

Richard Hatch Hit With Tax Evasion Rap - January 18, 2005
Richard Hatch, winner of the first Survivor, forgot to claim his $1 million winnings and the proceeds of a radio show with the IRS. Now he faces 5 years in jail. What a tool. Another golden nugget from the Smoking Gun.

'Pump' Judge Gets Popped - January 21, 2005
Some things I'd really rather not know. This is one of those times. I do, however, feel strangely compelled to share this story with the rest of you. Perhaps only to have some comfort in the knowledge that others are sharing this horror with me. I can think only one thing; Eeeeeew!

Graham pointed out the awesome sunset taking place just outside our office so I snapped the above photo. Here's a 1024x768 version for your desktop wallpaper. It's the Burrard Street bridge at 4:30pm on a drizzly Thursday.

Save Martha: For Martha Stewart Fans

Thanks Carol.

It's Bill Gates striking a pose for Teen Beat in 1983. Who said nerds aren't sexy? Everyone. That's who. Gross... I think I threw up in my mouth just a little.

Here are two larger photos:

Especially nice is the Apple Mac in the background.

Thanks to Tyler, the not-so-evil Sys Admin, for the photos.

This from IMDb.pro and WENN: Screen legend Robert De Niro has reunited with iconic director Martin Scorsese to work on a sequel to their classic movie Taxi Driver. The Oscar-winning actor, who starred as disturbed Vietnam veteran Travis Bickle in the 1976 film, has confirmed the movie veterans are mulling over script ideas for a follow-up to the gritty original. Apart from his comedy turn in Meet The Parents and its recent sequel Meet The Fockers, De Niro has starred in a series of flop films - and critics are hoping Travis Bickle's resurrection will restore his reputation as one of the greatest dramatic actors of all time. De Niro, 61, says, "I was talking with Martin Scorsese about doing what I guess you'd call a sequel to Taxi Driver, where he is older."

I loved Taxi Driver. So much so I gave myself a mohawk and dressed as Travis Bickle one Halloween. Ah well. What won't an actor do for his art? I do suffer so just to entertain... *sigh*! Sainthood must be just around the corner. What's that? You're laughing at me? I'm not sure you want to do that. You serious? You talkin' to me? (55kb wav)

David Fincher trying for Zodiac serial killer movie
Cool! If this flick is anything like Fincher's other films, Fight Club and Seven to name a couple, it's going to rock.

Some of J. D. Salinger's Uncollected Writings

It's infinite hasselhoff...

BBC NEWS | Americas | At-a-glance: 'outposts of tyranny'. Axis of evil is so five minutes ago. Looks like there's new baddies too. Nice to see Zimbabwe has finally made the list.

Check out The Big Red Button (of Doom) - Engadget - www.engadget.com

I gotta get me one of these!

Check out listen to a movie! You can listen to the audio track of a ton of flicks and TV shows while you're working. You have to register but it's worth it. We're listening to Office Space right now. "I believe you have my stapler." Thanks to Dex for the link.

Check out roadrage-dream.wmv (3.02mb) to see a dramatized incidence of road rage between two women in a parking lot taken to a comical extreme. Thanks to Ken R for the clip.

Mediocre Films Presents Phone Call to God. I got this link from David Stuart (actor guy not Eurythmics guy) my Gang of Love cohort. The short was done by his whacky pal Greg Benson. Keep 'em comin' Dave. Great stuff. :)

Micro Persuasion: Report:
Google to Put Kibosh on Blog Comment Spam
That's a nice piece of news seeing as I am attacked at least once a week by these whackjobs. Thankfully I have some nifty little plugin scripts that prevents them from posting before I approve messages with certain flagged words and phrases like 'casino', 'gambling', and 'penis enlargement' (how did they know?) or blocks domains entirely that are on a blacklist already for spamming.

Everyone has favourite cheesy lines from movies they've seen. I just happened to stumble across this classic from The Governator, Arnie, in his flick Predator:
Run! Go! Get to the choppah!! (262kb wav)

Just enough to brighten a really dark and rainy day here in Vancouver. I'm considering building an ark.

Okay what the hell is Numanuma?

Especially baby hippos and 100 year old tortoises:
BBC NEWS | Africa | Odd couple make friends in Kenya

Thanks to Gracie the Cat Lady for the link.

Check out AdamSandler.com's Feature section specifically the 'Secret' music video. It's not really safe for work or for little kids' ears, but it's funny as hell. Thanks to Arndrea for the scoop on this link.

Check out MALEVOLENCE ... this looks like a creepy low budget treat. I'll be sneaking a peek at this one through my fingers as soon as I can.

Ipod World ... now that's some weird shite!

UGO.com DVD - UGO's Top 50 DVDs of All Time
Funnily enough I already own most of these. A few more I need to snag. Where are Napolean Dynamite and Shaun of the Dead on this list? Those are great DVD's with excellent special features.

Will Life Be Worth Living In 2,000AD? Of course

Soldier Drops Gernade Into Washing Machine... what results? BOOM!

Check out Sony Pictures - Boogeyman from Sam Raimi of Evil Dead and Spiderman fame. Looks like fun.

MilkandCookies - Monkey Taunts Tiger ... HAHAHAHA

Dumb da-dumb dumb - CBC News: B.C. minister refuses 'knee-jerk' reaction to film credit demands

I've been up doing research for a project I'm a part of at work. Actually I was a awakened out of a dead sleep by ideas that had to be written down. Kind of cool to have an inspired flood like that in the middle of the night.

Anyway, whilst surfing I found this story that I thought funny enough to share - CBC News: Harry's sorry for Nazi costume. The Britich Royals are at it again. This time it's the heir's spare with his foot in his mouth.

Poor Robosapiens. They are having such a hard time right now. If you feel the need to give to help save a Robosapien got to the Robosapien Foundation to help them out. Be sure you watch the videos there especially Rob's story. It's a sad tale.

Thanks to Graham for the thoughtful link.

Here's one for Gracie the Cat Lady! - www.clean-your-screen-for-free-now.com

Here's proof that Joe Lieberman = Sir Wilfrid Laurier via Jacksonian and the Wonkette.

More about 'Gang of Love'... The 2nd AD on the shoot before I stepped into that job was an actor named David Stuart. He looked familiar to me somehow. And now I know why. He emailed me today to say, "hi". When browsing his website I discovered he's the actor in this Mustang Ad (3.22mb Quicktime File) with the late and great Steve McQueen that we'll all be seeing during the Superbowl! Coolio. Way to go Dave! Not bad at all.

David had an audition for a well known daytime drama on Monday. Break a leg David. I know we'll be seeing more of this guy.

eBay item 5548443339 (Ends 12-Jan-05 03:27:11 EST) - KILLER Future Shop GIft Cards!!! OMG 170$$$

Thanks Graham. You nut.

Salary Clock | Check your real time earnings

Okay. Now that is pathetic.

I am beat. Why is that you ask? I worked all weekend on a short film called Gang of Love. It's a melowdrama about a young man who's love is about to marry another so he begs for the help of - the gang of love. The gang of love, a group of ruffians with over the top Italian accents, do their best to assist this pathetic soul in his quest for love.

My friend, Rochelle, gave me the heads up that there was an opportunity to participate in the shoot this weekend and if I was interested I could take part. I thought I was going to be a PA (Production Assistant), but ended up being quickly promoted to 2nd AD (Second Assistant Director) and was 1st AD (Assistant Director) for a few shots when Producer and 1st AD Tom O'Brien had to briefly step away. EEK! A little shaky but we managed. I don't usually work that hard physically, but it was worth it just from an experience point of view.

I had a great time. The people were great (especially the actors - too funny) and we had tons of fun making this little flick. After post-prodcution 'Gang of Love' is off to Cannes for the film market there.

I think I've learned a bit more about what I would and wouldn't like to do in the film industry. Babs Chula gave me some good advice about the acting part of the biz. Strange how people knew I was an actor without even telling them even though I haven't really done anything in years. I got disheartened and gave up on that part of my dream to be 'in pictures' a few years ago, but it's becoming clearer to me that my soul wants to be doing it again. She struck home with a very brief conversation we had just after the production wrapped last night. Time to put on the greasepaint once again methinks. Thanks Babs!

Here are some photos: The Camera ... Babs Chula ... Writer/Director Rick Dobran (left) and the camera crew preparing an actor for a shot

I met some great folks this weekend and I look forward to working with them again.

We've got a new Art Director here at work. In case he doesn't work out I know of another who's looking for a gig. Here he is brainstorming on a fairly well known project:

Check out Mongychops - Cheery Tomato via Screenhead.com for new perspectives on bad situations. If you're at all offended by the politically incorrect and sometimes very offside this is not for you. You've been warned. Even I found some to be too much, but I did giggle a few times.

It's been snowing here. Driving in was stupid this morning. Note to Mustang drivers with bald tires: STAY HOME WHEN THE ROADS ARE ICY!

Oh well...

Ever write your name in pee in the snow? I have. Many beers and an arch-enemy's lawn in Nova Scotia makes for good fun. Now you can pee write in the snow too. Thanks to everyone who sent this link. I've been crazily busy so the blog's not getting updated a lot, but things are definitely getting interesting. I may be doing some PA work on a short film this weekend and the ball is rolling on a bunch of other projects. I will blog more about them once we're a little further along.

Ashlee Simpson 'sang' at the Orangebowl last night and was booed offstage. Have a look at the video on LipSync.US

Check out this little flash movie called Dad's home via Anticlown Daily. Cuckoo!

Jenny, are you there? (867-5309)
Now you don't have to bother calling.

"All hail the Dark Lord, y'all!" ... I love the Wonkette

Four Unproduced Screenplays || kuro5hin.org

Donations for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There is a huge list of places for you to donate some dough. Hint. Hint.

Comparing the death count from the Tsunami to the deaths at the World Trade Center
The tsunami deaths are as a result of natural disaster whereas the WTC tragedy was a terrorist act so I'm not sure how to really compare the two. People were (and still are) angry at the terrorists for the WTC. Who do you get angry at for this? God? I'm sure a number of folks in the affected countries (and elsewhere) are having troubles with their faith as a result of the tsunami. Just some stuff to ponder.

Banished Words List :: 2005
Stop saying them now please. My pet on this list is only an honorable mention, "Value Added". ARGH

Here's a better list.

Happy New Year!

Hello, faithful blog readers and those who just happened by. Here's hoping that 2005 is filled with good health, prosperity and happiness for you, your families and everyone close to you. This is going to be a great year. Have fun! I know I'm going to. -- Mike Browne (still mad as a hatter)