THE ORIGINAL THEATRICAL VERSION OF THE STAR WARS TRILOGY TO BE RELEASED ON DVD??? BAH!! So contrary to George Lucas’ assertion that he’s sorry that fans "fell in love with a half-made film (alluding to Episode IV: A New Hope)", he’s planning to release the 1977, ’80, and ’83 versions of the first three Star Wars films out on the digital format this September 12. Nooo! Why did he have to give in to the purists??? Now the question is... Do I support the Lucas critics' claim that die-hard Star Wars fans will buy anything that the Dude From Modesto conjures up and puts out in stores, or do I draw the line and let my potential copy of the upcoming DVDs collect dust on a Best Buy shelf? Considering the fact I like the Special Editions (except for that new, lame-ass music number in Jabba’s Palace in Return of the Jedi), I think I’ll decline on buying the new DVDs. What’s even worse is that both the 2004 versions and the original versions of the films will be included in the new set, making me spend $50 on the previous package for nothing. Arg! Screw the purists!! ALL HAIL GREEDO SHOOTING FIRST!!!

Click here to read up on this sad, sad news. If you're not a purist.

WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT, STEVE NASH AND CO. ARE GONNA GET THEIR ASSES HANDED TO THEM BY THE SAN ANTONIO SPURS. Sure, the Lakers choked big time after that awesome game by Kobe last week (reminds me of the New York Yankees choking against the Boston Red Sox in 2004, unfortunately)...but guess what? Nobody expected the Lakers to reach the playoffs this year, let alone take the Suns to a Game 7. And the "Hallway Series" with the Clippers will have to wait for another year. But much like the Portland Trailblazers and Sacramento Kings before them (and don’t forget the Mavericks), Phoenix is inevitably gonna be yet another great regular season team to end up watching the NBA Finals at home. I guarantee it. C’mon Robert Horry, win that 7th championship ring...

But if you want me to say at least one more bad thing about the Lakers...it’s that they need to get rid of the NBA’s Most Tradeable Player (to hell with the MVP award). Who is this season’s MTP, you ask? You guessed it: Kwame Brown. Assuming the announcement of the sexual assault charge against him prior to Game 5 was what distracted the Lakers and contributed to them losing that game, then you really need to get rid of that guy. God, he pisses me off!! The difference between Kwame’s assault charge and Kobe’s assault charge is that with Kobe you have a very good player obviously doing a very crappy thing. With Kwame you have a very crappy player doing a very crappy thing. Which person are you willing to forgive? Why- The guy wearing No. 8/soon-to-be-No. 24, of course. And Kwame can’t even make freakin’ layups!! Arg... When the Lakers let go of players after this season (so long, Devean George), hopefully KB will be one of them. No... Not that KB. The one who hasn’t won any championships yet. Or ever.



UPDATE (May 16): Correction... WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT, STEVE NASH AND CO. ARE GONNA GET THEIR ASSES HANDED TO THEM BY THE DALLAS MAVERICKS. Dirk Nowitzki and Co. currently lead the defending NBA champs, 3-1, in the semifinals. Word.

UPDATE #2 (June 3): Good job, Mavs. Word.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III... Despite the fact I have to see the first one again to get the story, and I didn’t watch the second one directed by John Woo, can’t wait till M:I:3 comes out this Friday! I currently work at Paramount Pictures, which financed the film (and where Tom Cruise’s production company is located), so I’ll be able to watch it for free at the lot next weekend. Paramount-produced films are generally screened all 3 days at the lot on opening weekend, but I should be able to watch it on Friday after work. Below are screenshots from the film. Bring on the 2006 summer movie season!







UPDATE (May 6): I watched M:I:3 twice at Paramount Studios yesterday (there were two employee screenings, one at 6:30 PM and the other 9 PM), and I would have to say it was a really good film. Fun too, obviously. Philip Seymour Hoffman is one sadistic, badass dude (damn you, Capote!!), I feel bad for Felicity, Ving Rhames and Laurence Fishburne are hilarious, and Maggie Q and Michelle Monaghan (who plays Tom Cruise’s wife in the film) are hot. And of course, Cruise and J. J. Abrams rule. I’m probably not gonna watch it again at a regular theater, since paying for a ticket would defeat the purpose of watching it for free at the studio where it was produced (haha), but I’ll definitely buy it when the DVD comes out! Hope I don’t get in trouble for mentioning this, but I’ve been to the office where the DVD package is currently being designed. M:I:3 is gonna be released on High-Def!! Woohoo!!

...

No wait, does my DVD player even play HD DVD?? Uhhh...

A NON-SPACE / MOVIE RELATED BLOG... But an actual journal entry!! So anyways, if you’ve been visiting this page since I first started it in October of 2000 (Mr. Burns from The Simpsons: “Not bloody likely.”), you’d notice that I constantly mentioned a girl I called Denise—not her real name, of course—whom I met in college at Cal State Long Beach in Fall of ‘00. Well... Being that I thought about her constantly (and still do...which is the point of this new blog), I tried to dispose or put anything away that reminded me of her. I also tried not to look at her profile on MySpace...despite the fact she’s on my buddy list [deleting her from my list would definitely not be a good idea...since I’d eventually regret not being a part of (at least) the online aspect of her circle]. I was successful in trying not to stare at a photo of her for maybe, like, 5 months...but temptation gave in a few weeks ago and now I’m back reading up on her in her profile and seeing what kind of new, gorgeous pictures she has up. She hasn’t updated her MySpace profile for a couple of months, but her friends did, and it sure does make my day (I’m being sarcastic. It drives me insaaane.) when I see her wearing all these sexy outfits in these different photos. She never dressed that way (i.e. show that much skin) when we had a class together in college, which is disheartening because it obviously meant that there was no one for her to impress while she was at school. Which is opposite of me...since I tried to dress and look as nice as possible to make an impression on her...despite the fact we had a class together only once a week.

So here I am, back to Square One... Trying to think about how I could get her out of my mind again. There was one new photo I saw of some dude putting an arm around her, but I don’t really know if he’s just a close friend or the boyfriend I said not-so-nice things about in this entry. I would think that seeing these photos of her, especially ones where other guys are lucky enough to stand right next to her in pictures when I haven’t seen her in person for like, um, 4 years [I had a really good chance of seeing her again early this month...when I attended a Vietnamese culture show (Denise is Vietnamese) at Cal State Long Beach. One of my co-workers who is also a CSULB alumnus directed the show.] would finally get me to shun any thought of her because of the anger, but it doesn’t. 5 months or 6 months, or even a year... It would only be inevitable that I see what’s going on in her life again in the future. Which basically means I’m in as much a no-win situation not thinking about her as I am thinking about her. ‘Cause life sure does feel empty when you try not to think about someone who you were very, very fond about for many years. And still are.

EDIT: Lakers: 99, Suns: 98... HELLL YEA!!! Kobe vs. Nash: Who's the MVP now, biatches???

ABOVE: The green line marks the path traveled by the New Horizons spacecraft as of
8:00 PM, Pacific Standard Time, on April 12, 2006. It is 64,884,826 miles from Earth.
Click here to view the official webpage showing where New Horizons is in space.

NEW HORIZONS Final Update (For Now)... As of right now, the Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft is flying past Mars’ orbit...being at a current distance of 65 million miles from Earth and speeding its way towards an encounter with Jupiter on February 28 of next year. All but one of Horizons’ seven instruments have now been checked out and will begin making observations within a few months [two instruments, the Student Dust Counter (built by the University of Colorado) and the Solar Wind At Pluto (SWAP) device, have already made "first light" observations]. The final instrument to be checked out, the LORRI (LOng Range Reconnaissance Imager) camera, will not open its lens cover and be tested till later this Fall...since the instrument is extremely sensitive to light, and mission engineers don’t wanna risk damaging it if the camera was accidentally pointed at the Sun. In terms of the Jupiter flyby in 2007, the planned observation list for the giant planet will be finalized by October, 2006. New Horizons has already made three trajectory correction maneuvers (TCMs) to fine-tune its flight path to Jupiter and Pluto...two thruster burns on January 28 and 30, respectively, and the third one on March 9.



In terms of mementos that New Horizons is carrying onboard during its journey out of the solar system, it bears a canister holding the ashes of Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh (shown above), a piece of material from the experimental SpaceShipOne vehicle and a Florida coin commemmorating the U.S. space program (both shown below).



Unless events warrant it, I probably won’t talk about New Horizons again till the few months leading up to the Jupiter flyby. See ya!



NEW HORIZONS Blog Entries Archive:

September 26, 2005
December 19, 2005
January 7, 2006
January 17, 2006
January 19, 2006
April 12, 2006

UPDATE: Today also marks the 25th anniversary of the very first space shuttle launch. Hail Columbia!

INSIDE MAN... I watched the new Spike Lee film today, and needless to say, it was more entertaining than He Got Game or Summer of Sam...which, in case you’re wondering, are the only other flicks by the New York Knicks-loving filmmaker that I saw. Haha. I’ll get around to watching Malcolm X or Jungle Fever someday. Not really. Anyways, back to Inside Man... Maybe the reason why I actually watched the film was because I always think people who wear hoods look cool (which is why I think Jedis and Sith Lords—mostly Sith Lords—are the coolest characters in the Star Wars franchise). Or the fact that there’s something interesting about characters whose faces are masked for much of the whole movie (which is why I watched V for Vendetta...other than for Natalie Portman. I like how she’s shaved... Really shaved... Get your mind out of the gutter. I'm talking about her bald scalp). Of course, the reason why this journal entry is completely incoherent is because I can’t say anything about the film without ruining the story for those of you haven’t seen the movie yet. YET. If you’re wondering why Clive Owen holds that bank under seige, watch the film now. NOW.

I’ll stop annoying you with this entry now.

EDIT: Can't wait till The Sentinel comes out. The upcoming film stars Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland, Eva Longoria and Kim Basinger...and is about a Secret Service agent who is accused of plotting to assassinate the U.S. President. In a very surprising move, Kiefer Sutherland plays another special agent who is tasked with finding the real would-be assassin...which makes this role a lot different from Kiefer's role as Jack Bauer in 24. No wait...

"REMEMBER, REMEMBER... THE 5TH OF NOVEMBER..." That line was by V, the terrorist/hero in V for Vendetta, which made around $26.1 million at the box office this weekend. I watched it yesterday, and needless to say, I want that mask!! Haha, j/k. But seriously though, the film was quite interesting. It pretty much touched on every current-day news item except that rat-squirrel that was found in Laos more than a week ago (Click here for more news on that). What really intrigued me in Vendetta was that (Spoilers ahead for those who haven't seen the movie yet) we never got to see V’s face in the film...though what was inferred from one flashback in the story was that he didn’t have eyes. Of course, it was understandable that V’s identity remain a secret throughout the movie. I think it would detract from the filmgoing experience if Natalie Portman’s Evey Hammond character removed V’s mask, only to reveal the scarred face of Agent Smith underneath. V: "Ms. Hammond, welcome baaack. Weee miiissed yoouuu." (End Spoilers.) Please don’t make me ruin the joke by telling you which movie that came from.


So anyways, what’s next to see at the theater? The Da Vinci Code, X-Men 3: The Last Stand, and Pirates of the Carribbean 2: Dead’s Man Chest. Oh wait— Those movies don’t come out till May and July, respectively. I guess I’ll kill time beforehand by pondering about why I hate MySpace so much. Haha! Later.

SPIDER-MAN 3... Just so you know, these aren't black & white images of the web-slinger. Spidey will indeed be dressed in black for the Must-See Movie of 2007. Now which version below is an accurate depiction of the costume? Hmmm...


The image on the left is courtesy of the official Spider-Man website

UPDATE (March 10): Spider-Man 3 has begun filming today in the New York Street backlot at Paramount Studios in Hollywood. I'm not gonna divulge anything, since I didn't see what was going on (I was too busy driving around the lot during work...and I like having that thing called a job, haha), except to say I saw Director Sam Raimi in person when I visited the set after the shoot was wrapped for the day. That was cool.

UPDATE #2 (March 17): Since I obviously wasn't the one who took these pics, I guess it's safe to post up these photos (err, hopefully)...especially considering the production crew was still preparing the set at the time these images were shot (New York Street looked really awesome once it was completely dressed for filming). These photos are courtesy of SuperheroHype.com.





UPDATE #3 (March 23): Spider-Man 3 wrapped up filming at New York Street two days ago, but continued filming in Stage 18 (where the classic Sunset Boulevard and the soon-to-be released Mission: Impossible 3 were shot) up until yesterday. I saw Kirsten Dunst outside Stage 18. She was driving around in a small green golf cart. Oh, and Tommy Lee Jones was filming a commercial outside nearby Stage 9 and the Assembly Stage. That was cool.


UPDATE #4 (March 24): Hmm... Looks like they weren't done filming, after all. I visited New York Street after I caught a free screening of the Pierce Brosnan film, The Matador (funny movie) at Paramount Theater this evening, and a night scene was being shot. I obviously won't go into specifics here, but there was one actress from the previous film who I saw. Her name is Mageina Tovah, and she plays Ursula (the dorky daughter of Peter Parker's landlord Mr. Ditkovich), who handed Parker a slice of cake in Spider-Man 2. Or I think that was her, haha. Anyways, that's all. Below are two photos that I took of the Daily Bugle van and the New York cabs as they were parked near soundstages on the Gower side of the Paramount lot.





UPDATE #5 (March 25): For more photos that I took at Paramount Studios, click here. C'mon, that page needs hits!

Saturn's moon Enceladus.

Liquid water (and potential life) on one of Saturn’s moons?? Egads!! Okay, that 'Egads' part was a bit retarded...or flat-out retarded...but the part about water being on one of the worlds orbiting Saturn is quite interesting. The moon in question is Enceladus, whose water-rich geysers were detected by NASA's Cassini spacecraft early last year. This oughta’ make another mission to that moon a top priority...even a higher priority than sending a space probe to Jupiter’s satellite Europa, which may harbor a water ocean beneath its surface. Why is Enceladus a top priority, you ask?? Read this entry's opening yellow sentence again please, haha. From what scientists have studied so far, Enceladus has a far greater chance of harboring life (microbial life, that is) than Europa and even Mars combined. Go to this interesting MSN.com article to read what the scientists have learned. Or visit NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory website for more news as well as additional photos of the Saturn moon. And don’t forget, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (or MRO for short) begins its orbit insertion maneuver around the Red Planet tomorrow at 1:24 PM Pacific Standard Time. ‘Kay, I’ll stop talking like a geek now.



Geysers erupting on the southern part of Enceladus
in February of 2005. NASA's Cassini spacecraft took
this photo.

UPDATE (March 10): So did MRO successfully enter orbit around the Red Planet?? If it didn't, I wouldn't be posting this illustration below. But it did, so there.

The 78th ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS... Revenge of the Sith losing the Best Make-up category to (Chronic)les of Narnia was expected, Crash beating out Brokeback Mountain to win the ultimate trophy was not. However, Crash winning the Best Picture Oscar was not a surprise, considering it is an exceptional film. Also, unlike Brokeback, I actually watched the Paul Haggis film. On DVD, that is... Haha. On the television side of things, Prison Break returns to FOX on Monday, March 20th at 8:00 PM PST. Does that mean it airs right before 24?? Holy cow!! Now I know my Monday nights are definitely off-limits to doing other things! Mike Scofield rules!