Making Fun of MySpace Pictures

It looks like folks had fun with the question about the best looking woman on Galactica. Definitely a three horse race between Six, Starbuck, and Sharon. Yesterday's Hotdown feature was supposed to be continued here throughout the week. But it was more work than I was anticipating. So, maybe I will make it a weekly thing or just bring it out every once in a while.

Here is a good breakdown of what MySpace pictures really mean. I'd post it for you but I'm having issues with that function. I found it here on a Fark forum. You can imagine the folks there were pretty harsh on some MySpace folk. Anyway, it's very similar to the dating site pictures I critiqued during last year's Dating Week. Although, that actually sites examples, so they did more work than me. Not like that's hard to do.

"Every place reminds you of some place else."
"Experience, lad. You should learn to appreciate it."

Hotdown: Battlestar Galactica

Last week, someone said I should talk more BSG. I don't think this is what Eric meant, but here we go. Who's the hottest woman on Battlestar Galactica? No, I'm not talking about babes from the original series. The new-fangled Sci-Fi version have produced some fine looking women. Some have even appeared on the Maxim Hot 100 list. Who's the best looker in the Colonies?

Kandyse McClure .... Petty Officer Anastasia Dualla
Her workouts with Apollo have been pretty intense but I'm just not seeing enough out of her to have her compete with the rest of her castmates. Maybe if we saw her in something other than standard military fare.


Mary McDonnell .... Laura Roslin
Okay, maybe a little too "mature" for my taste. But, by my count, she is the second hottest president on TV. Also, she's been on her deathbed for most of this season so that's not exactly gonna put a lady in the best light.

Katee Sackhoff .... Lt. Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace
I think she's the favorite of Tom the Dog, and others I'm sure, but there's something that makes me not quite completely on board with her. Maybe it's the intermediate hair. If it were long or short, maybe I'd be fully on board. I know you're supposed to be a tomboy, but pick one.

Grace Park .... Lt. Sharon 'Boomer' Valerii
I know it's not because I'm an old school fan who's upset that Starbuck is now a girl cause I'm thrilled Boomer is a girl. Although, I'm not as excited that she's a Cylon. But we get to see the actress do so many things and get dressed up in different ways and seduce multiple guys. She can pull off the ponytail and wear it down, too. I also loved her appearance on Best Week Ever as she danced the robot.

Tricia Helfer .... Number 6
But, by a close margin, the winner is the lady in red. Not since Species has there been an enemy that looked so worth certain death. I'm not normally into the "blonde bombshell" look but you can't argue with the results in this case. I usually go for the more "girl next door" look that Park pulls off. Although, I never lived next to someone who looked that good.

It was a close call for me, but there you go. What do the top contenders have in common? Both play multiple characters and can show off different looks and characteristics. Or I'm attracted to "toasters." What can I say, the Cylons have definitely upgraded. What do you think? Is Number 6 number 1? Or is there another BSG babe who deserves the top spot?

"I am a friendly, okay? We're all friendlies. So, let's just... be friendly."

Web Junk In The Trunk

I caught an interesting show the other night on the VH1: Web Junk 20. You know all those quirky little videos that you look at online, laugh at, and then send on to your friends? It looks like this show throws them together and puts them all in one half-hour compilation.

It gets my seal of approval because it showed one thing: the worst weather report ever. Yes, worse than any of mine. Then again, what do you expect. The guy who bombs in front of the blue screen is an Ohio University product. :)

"Did he actually refer to himself as 'the talent'?"

2006 Quote Contest

We've seen some new faces on this year's quote standings. We've got a lot of names already on the list before the first month is up. Fifteen people have already thrown their names in the hunt. Outstanding. Here they are.

Eric 4
Logan 3
The Goat 2
Zman 2
Natalie 2
dupree 2
Jeff 1
MOe 1
Zandra 1
Doodyhead 1
Joel 1
Greg Burgas 1
Rinnert 1
Kerry 1
Tom the Dog 1

And here's the standard explanation of the contest for those who just got here and have no idea what is going on: At the end of every blog entry, I leave you with a quote. Be the first one to make a comment stating where the quote from and you get a point. Anyone can guess. Even if new entries are put up, all previous unclaimed quotes from 2006 are still fair game. Whoever has the most points at the end of the year is the winner.

And this year, I'm gonna put a link on your name, unless you tell me otherwise. For those of you who are not linked right now, I don't know where to send people. Heck, I don't even know who "Doodyhead" is.

"What does Connecticut have to offer us?"
"Lyme disease."

Hotdown!

Let's have some fun around here! And by fun, I mean let's debate which semi-famous celebrities are more attractive. Next week, I'll throw out a group of women and open it up for discussion on which of them is better looking. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it'll be interesting to hear from many different beholders. The grouping of women will probably be by TV show or movie or some other common ground. If this concept sounds familiar, I ripped it off from another blogger, I'm sure. Tom the Dog, I think. But I'm sure it's been discussed here on the internet many times over. So is it a waste of time to repeat that here? We'll find out next week.

"You know, there are pills I could take that would make me stop talking to you."

UPN Gets "Fresh" With The Frog

So it looks like UPN will merge with the WB to create one super crap network: the CW.

In a bombshell announcement that caught television industry insiders by surprise Tuesday morning, The WB and UPN have cut a deal to join forces as a new single network dubbed The CW that will be comprised of programming and executive talent from both of its predecessors.

Yeah, here's the surprise: what the hell took so long?! Neither one has had a complete line-up that was worth a damn since their inception. UPN had Star Trek, Buffy, and Pro Wrestling and they still couldn't get people to watch. The WB has had some popular shows, but it seems like they couldn't even put together one night, a mere two hour block, that would make a competitor even mildly nervous.

Maybe "television insiders" were suprised because this becuase it's one of those "makes too much sense for someone to actually do", kinda lika a college playoff system.

"Water my ass, get this man some Pepto Bismol!"

Fun With Real Time

24's off to a rocking start. The problem is, if you miss an episode, you miss a lot. Check out these transcriptions from the first episodes of the season. Okay, that won't really help unless you actually saw it. But it still is really funny. So is What Jack Bauer Won't Say. Thanks to All Things Christie for pointing it out.

Bloggers also have Fun with LOST which is rife for having riffing, too. Sure, it's a good show. (Although, it was a weaker episode last night.) But there's a lot of elements that can be poked and prodded for entertainment purposes. You remember the LOST Rhapsody? Good stuff.

"How did you do that?"
"Don't know. First time."

Championship Sunday

Here's a warning for you non-football fans: I'll probably be talking more about football on some non-weekend days. I think I did a good job this year keeping it to Saturdays and Sundays but it will probably spill out into the work week. I still have to write up a Bengals 2005 wrap-up and look ahead. And then there's the build-up to the Super Bowl which will probably demand another entry or two. I'll try to touch on other subjects but, man, it's that time of year when so much is happening on and off the field.

So there's a big question that needs to be answered: do I go back on my preseason prediction? I said the Panthers would make it to the Super Bowl. But now that they're one game away, I'm not as sure. So, I think I'm gonna pass on the predictions today.

Hell, I can't. Steelers and Seahawks.

"Cheer up. Not everyone turns out like their parents. I mean, look at me. My folks were honest, hard-working people."

Crosstown Fallout

As you may have heard, Cincinnati lost it's Crosstown Shootout with Xavier... again. That's UC's third loss in a row. Between a Bearcat season that's coming apart and Carson Palmer's knee, it's a rough month for local fans here. Maybe the new Reds owners will help alleviate some of the pain. But, I doubt it.

"So you say the car stops and the wheels keep spinning? That's amazing."

Fun Fictional Holidays

Sometimes, I just don't feel like there's enough special days out there. So, I make some up. Or just declare an event a holiday. The other day, I brought up 24mas. It's the two day period where Fox unveils the first 1/6th of the brand new season of 24. But instead of exchanging gifts, you gather around the TV and watch Jack Bauer systematically take down terrorists.

Last week was the third birthday of Trogdor and was celebrated thoughout the net as Trogday. It's a cool music video that shows lots of cool pictures and other artwork inspired by the dragon-man with the big beefy arm. It did not include this pumpkin which I wish I could take credit for. But all I did was show the person who carved it where to get a stencil for the design.

And last week was also, apparently, National De-Lurking Week. I did not realize that but maybe that explains the flux of new people that have commented or taken guesses at the quote contest. Welcome to all of you and hopefully I can get this blog up to something worthy to lurk around.

"That's an interesting point. Come on, let's get into character."

Merry 24mas!

The non-stop season has begun. Following last year's strategy, Fox's 24 returned with 4 new episodes in two straight nights and we'll have a new episode every Monday until May. Also like last year, they did a good job of mixing in new characters with some favorites. Even more intriguing was some of the "changes" we've seen in about half of the 24 classics. Obviously, I don't want to get too spoilery but I just wanted to voice my approval to those who mastermind the show. I also don't have time to get into it right now since I have to post this to keep my streak of consecutive entries alive. Feel free to praise 24 in the comment section since I don't have the time to do it here.

"I am going to count to three, there will not be a four. Give me the code."

Twists and Turns

Well, the Best Weekend in Football certainly lived up to it's entertainment value. I don't know if the product on the field was spectacular, but there were lots of spectacles. The Patriots dynasty comes to an end, the Seahawks win without their best offensive player, the Panthers making another push for the Super Bowl, and how about that game in Indianapolis today? The Colts come back from the dead several times, but still can't answer the critics. According to them, Peyton still can't win the big game and they can't find enough coaching decisions from Tony Dungy to dissect. It's a tough place for that fan base to be because the only accomplishments that matter are in January and February. Indy can go 16-0 and it still won't be enough. It's probably not a good idea to blow it up and start over but finding the areas that need to be tweaked is gonna be tough. Washington and Chicago probably should get an offense if they want to go farther next year. And the Pats? Should be interesting if this is they return to Earth with the rest of the League or if they reload for another Bellichick masterpiece.

Panthers go to Seattle and the Steelers head to Denver? Intriguing conference championships. Should be fun but there's only three NFL games that matter now before another looong offseason before more glorious football in the fall.

"The only reason you're still concious is because I don't want to carry you."

Best Weekend In Football?

When the final 8 teams take the field in the NFL, it's considered the best weekend in football. Two games Saturday, two on Sunday. The best octuplet take the field for the right to move on to the conference championships. Last week, I got half right. I chose wisely in regards to the Patriots and Panthers. Not so much with the Bucs and Bengals. Let's see how I do this week...

Washington Redskins @ Seattle: Yes, I continue to underestimate Washington at every turn. But, c'mon. No way they go across country after a tough road game last week. Although, their offense clearly didn't make the trip to Tampa so maybe they're well rested. Winner: Seattle

New England @ Denver: I think there's a lot of good reasons the Broncos can win their first game without John Elway. Home field advantage, their running offense and defense. But there's lots of good reasons for the Pats to come away victorious, too. But I picked the Patriots back in August so I think I should stick with them now. Winner: New England

Carolina Panthers @ Chicago: See above. Winner: Carolina

Pittsburgh @ Indianapolis: Unless the Steelers can take out another quarterback, there's no way this should be a game. The Colts will probably roll offensively. Even if they don't, Indianapolis actually has a defense so the classless asses from the Steel City will not get lucky for a second week in a row. Winner: Indianapolis

We'll see how things actually turn out starting at 4:30.

"I thought we were sparring."
"That's why you don't win."

Happy Friday the 13th!

Sorry, don't have much to offer today. Just an amusing picture of
Jason Voorhees and another quote for people to try and guess. Hopefully, this will keep you occupied until my football pics tomorrow.

"And if I don't help you, what are you going to do, beat me with your Jesus stick?"

Looking Ahead

I guess I should probably stop moping about the Bengals and look ahead to what the rest of what 2006 offers. I already talked about the return of good TV shows. Some interesting movies will be hitting the big screen this year. The Clerks 2 trailer gives us a preview of what to expect at the end of summer. There's not much to it. They show a lot, but you don't hear much. When you think about it, the best thing about Kevin Smith movies is the dialogue and they don't reveal much of it here. So, even though they showed a lot, it truly is a teaser.

"Could you please get them out of here? They're stinking up the place."
"I just hope no one ever says that about your parents."

Say It Ain't So, Joe

With all the news going on in the football world, this might have slipped under the radar: NOW asks Joe Paterno to step down. Apparently, he said some insensitive comments about women. I guess referring floozies to another guy's room for groupie sex is cause for him to step down. Yes, that makes perfect sense. The 79-year old man who has coached this team since 1966 should buckle now. After all, how he talks about easy women seeking sex in the middle of the night is so horrible that I'm surprised Penn State hasn't fired him already. All the pressures of the past two seasons where he couldn't coach a winning team? It's nothing. But passing on sex with young coeds willing to give it up to support the football program? How dare he! I wonder what major national figure the National Organization of Women will go after now once they have emerged victorious over this dottering old man who was born before the Great Depression. Maybe Old Man Wilson down the road?

"Are you going to make a left turn or spend all afternoon indicating?"

The Day After

I spared you my gut reaction to yesterday's playoff loss but I did post it on Unabated Sports. So you can go there to hear my initial thoughts. They haven't changed too much today. I think if you look at the four games this weekend, two themes stand out. The first is experience mattered. A guy who took Jacksonville to the AFC championship game outplayed a neophyte Simms. These new Jaguars didn't fare too well in Leftwich's first start while Brady won his tenth. Eli Manning looked like a rookie as the Giants were the first postseason team to get shut out at home since 1981. And the Steelers bounced back like a team that's been to the playoffs in 10 of the last 14 years. The other factor was defense. In the games not played in Cincinnati, the winning teams gave up only 10, 3 and 0 points. That's why I really point the finger of blame at that side of the football. They gave up more points than the other winning teams combined. Carson Palmer or not, I still feel like the Bengals would have lost because of the defense. No matter how many points the O would have put up, the D would have given up more.

Speaking of Palmer, he was a much bigger loss than the game. Now he won't be ready to step on the field again until training camp, IF we're lucky. Unfortunately, since he just signed that huge extension, this was the type of thing I was worried about if he can't get back to form. So now the back-up quarterback spot is a priority as John Kitna is an unrestricted free agent. That awful defense I mentioned will need a LOT of attention in the coming months. The safety position was a glaring crap-spot for most of the season due to injuries. Take these uncertainties and combine it with a first place schedule... looks like a tough uphill climb to repeat an 11 win season in 2006.

Next week, Seattle takes on Washington, the Patriots go to Denver, the Bears face the Panthers, and the Steelers go to Indianapolis. Should be a good weekend of football, even without the Bengals.

"Chief got his tee pee back."

Post Game Post Mortem

I don't know what was more painful: Watching Carson Palmer's knee buckle or the Cincinnati defense continually collapse when it was needed most. Even without the franchise quarterback, the offense was able to build a ten point lead on two different occasions. The defense could not give up those advantages soon enough. It's been the same story all season long. If they weren't creating turnovers, they would hemorrhage yards. It was all or nothing. Either they'd end the drive or roll over and play dead. This unit needs a killer instinct. It needs to step down on an opponent and squash them like Marcus Vick would. They needed to step up and get the game under control early. Instead, they step aside and give up touchdowns.

In a few days, I'll calm down and look back at this season as a special time. But I'm too dissapointed right now. I'm really hoping that when the Men in Stripes take the field again in a few months we'll see a defense that can actually compliment this high-powered offense and not force them to come out with their best performance week in and week out.

Party Like It's 1991

Steelers vs. Bengals. They've already played twice this season. But today's winner goes on to the AFC Divisinal Playoff round, so it means a little bit more. It's gonna be tough for the Cincinnati to do it as they've played poorly the last few weeks and Pittsburgh has been very very good in that time. Also, add in the wide margin between the playoff experience and that's another reason the Bengals are underdogs in their own house. But, you know what? I still think that Marvin Lewis's team can win today. Sure, most indicators on paper favor the Black and Gold. But, if they can get a few hits on Ben Roethlisberger, maybe knock him out of the game and force one of those crappy backups in the game. Or, even better, get Ben to play hurt. He has a history of playing poorly if you knock him around just enough to aggrevate some nagging injuries. Also, when this defense doesn't create turnovers, they are awful. So, getting a pick or two would really help.

"Damn, Schneider. What won't you say?"

TV Time and Wild Card Goodness

It's time to get your VCR groove back on as new episodes of good TV shows are back. Sorry I didn't warn you ahead of time but the second season of Battlestar Galactica went on the air last night. Hopefully, you caught Friday's premiere cause it sure would be iritating to have your tape run out on you halfway through. Oh, yeah. It happened to me. Anyone have any idea when if any reruns air this week? I thought 24 kicked off this weekend but it looks like next Sunday will begin the fifth longest day of Jack Bauer's life. And Wednesday we'll be back on the island for LOST. Make sure your TiVo or whatnot is prepared.

And you better be prepared for some football. Last year, this was the best weekend of football and this season it looks like it could be just as good. I haven't picked any games this year but maybe I will during the post-season. Let's break it down:

Washington Redskins @ Tampa Bay: I just don't see a hobbled Brunell having much effect on this Bucs D. Then again, I've been undersetimating the Redskins all season long so maybe I'm doing that again. But, I don't think so. Winner: Tampa Bay

Jacksonville Jaguars @ New England: I don't know why the Patriots are talking about being disrespected now. If they had brought this up in the middle of the season, I could see that. But ever since they whupped up the Bucs on nationwide TV, people are calling them the most dangerous team in the playoffs. I agree with them, but the Pats should probably quit whining. Winner: New England

Carolina Panthers @ New York Giants: The Carolina Panthers have been pretty underwhelming in my mind. I had them picked to win the Super Bowl before the season and I haven't seen a game where they really justified that prediction. But maybe that means they're due. Besides, all they have to do is stop Tiki Barber and there's not much left in the Giants aresenal. Winner: Carolina

I'll talk about the Bengals tomorrow. I figure they deserve their own blog entry since this is the first playoff appearance in 15 years.

"My vision would turn your world upside down, tear asunder your allusions and send the sanctuary of your own ignorance crashing down around you."