This Friday, summer's first big blockbuster film comes out in theaters. Can't wait! I'll probably watch it in Imax on opening night like I did with 300...and then the next few screenings will be at regular theaters. Hey- This is the only movie series besides Star Wars where I'm willing to watch a film more than once at the cineplex (with some buddies, of course). Then again, I only watched the first Spider-Man once in theaters when it came out in 2002, but that was because I was wasting my dough on Attack of the Clones. Jango Fett rules.

LAKERS: 95, SUNS: 89... Well- Nice to know the Lakers aren't gonna get swept.

FIESTA LAKERS... Click here to view a page that I've devoted to the special event, which took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center on March 25. You should especially check it out if you're a fan of the Laker Girls, haha.

This past weekend, two of my friends and I attended the 24 For 24 event at The Point (a Nike store) in Hollywood. 24 For 24 was a charity event sponsored by Kobe Bryant...whose new line of shoes (the Zoom II) were being sold with an added bonus of receiving a "golden ticket" that would enable winners to get their shoes autographed by Kobe on the afternoon of April 7 (the shoes were available for purchase at midnight on the 7th). 100 pairs of shoes were being sold, with only 24 of them containing golden tickets. I didn't win a golden ticket, but I did win a raffle [after I bought, like, 6 exclusive T-shirts (which came with the raffle tickets and whose payments went to charity) to increase my chances] that allowed me to play in a basketball game that had Kobe as one of the referees! That was cool... It was 24 raffle ticket winners versus 24 golden ticket winners in the game. I may not have gotten KB24's autograph, but at least I shook his hand. All I need now is to get that handshake photographed... When is Kobe's next public appearance? Besides Laker games, that is.

A NEW DAWN IN FLORIDA... As stated in this previous Blog, I was gonna post up images of the Dawn spacecraft after it arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. So if you want to know what needs to be done to prepare the spacecraft for launch on June 30th, click on the link above. Other than that, here are a few pics that were uploaded today (all courtesy of NASA):

COUNTDOWN TO JULY... While I'm still on the topic of robotic space probes that are set to launch this summer, the SELENE spacecraft is also in final preparations to launch from Japan right after Dawn does. SELENE will orbit and study the Moon, and is billed as the most ambitious lunar project since the Apollo program in the 1960's. Well... As long as it launches safely and reaches its destination successfully. There's a sense of personal involvement that I have with this flight as well.

COUNTDOWN TO JUNE... At 6:00 AM, Pacific Standard Time today, the Dawn spacecraft arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida...where it will begin final launch preparations as it nears liftoff on June 30. In terms of its mission, Dawn is expected to fly into the heart of the Asteroid Belt, where it will study Vesta (in 2011) and the dwarf planet Ceres (in 2015). If you’re wondering why I’m writing about this particular space flight in my Blog, click here, here and here. There’s a sense of personal involvement that I—along with 360,000 other people—have with this project. Actually, the reason is in the photo right below...




Below is a list of key milestones awaiting Dawn before it rises from the launch pad around 2:13 PM, PST, on June 30th:

Late April: Installation and testing of the spacecraft’s two large solar panel wings.
Early May: Compatibility test between Dawn and NASA’s Deep Space Network...a trio of large radio antennas located in California, Australia and Spain that will be used to communicate with Dawn once it is in space.
Mid-May: The spacecraft will undergo a spin-balance test before being mated to its third stage booster
Late May: Erection of the first stage booster of the Delta II rocket, which will launch Dawn into space, at Pad 17-B in Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS).
Mid-June: A leak check will be conducted on the Delta II’s first stage booster.
June 19: Delivery of Dawn, now attached to its third stage booster and enclosed inside the nose cone fairing of the Delta II vehicle, to the launch pad at CCAFS. Dawn and its third stage component will be attached to the second stage booster and thus complete final assembly of the Delta II vehicle.

I’ll post up photos of Dawn at its processing facility in Florida once they become available.


Courtesy of the Orbital Sciences Corporation

"Say hello to your brother!" Great line, great line...from Jack Bauer. This was a little homage to the movie Die Hard as Jack gave Abu Fayed a well-deserved death in tonight's episode of 24. And Mike Doyle's line as he and the rest of the CTU team arrived, and saw Jack's handiwork in the warehouse (Jack lying exhausted on the ground while Fayed's corpse was hanging by a chain and his men's bodies were scattered about in the building)...was CLASSIC. "Damn, Jack." Now... In terms of the final villain for this season, kind of interesting that it happens to be a character who was introduced back in Season 4. With the exception of Nina Meyers and Sherry Palmer, there was never any other character who was a major villain for more than two seasons. Then again, Cheng- Oh wait, now I gave away too much. Nevermind- Pretend I didn't say his name. Go rescue Audrey, Jack!



EDIT: About the preview for next's week episode, WHAT THE HELL is Doyle thinking pointing a gun at Bauer?? If seven terrorists combined couldn't gun down Jack, what makes Doyle think he will? It's your funeral, buddy. Say hello to Curtis Manning for us.