- So I'm at the doctor's office today, and I read this interview with Samuel L. Jackson from an old issue of Time magazine, from around the time Snakes on a Plane came out. He said that unlike other actors who always claim to not watch their own movies, he loves watching his own movies, which affects what roles he chooses to take. So my question is, why DON'T actors watch their own films? Are they afraid it's going to suck? If actors watched their own films, wouldn't that cut down on the number of horrible movies coming out? Why would anyone make a film that they themselves would not watch? I know there's money involved, but have a backbone, it's not a movie you wouldn't watch, then don't act in it. If you don't want to watch it, why should we?

- So this Saturday, my buddy Theo and I are at my place, and we fried up some brats and were flipping around the movie channels, and we ran across Swingers. He had never seen it, and it was the scene in the bar when the guy (I forgot the name of the character that Jon Favreau plays) meets Heather Graham's character. I tell Theo "oh man, wait till you see Heather Graham in this movie, she's got all four pitches working for her in this movie." This reminded me of something the Sports Guy wrote a while back, about describing women like we'd describe a pitcher. Specifically, he said he'd like to see "her stuff was filthy" in that sense, but I don't know, it just doesn't sound right. But don't men already use pitching terms? For example, "Gwyneth Paltrow had a little extra zip on her fastball in Sky Captain," or "Clueless was great, back when Alicia Silverstone was still throwing in the high 90's." Or I am I just a huge baseball dork?

- Armageddon was on last night. What a horrible movie, and yet I couldn't turn away. Is there a term for that? "Entertainingly bad?" I'm talking about films like Rocky IV, Face/off, or Conan the Destroyer. Taken at face value, they're not every good, but man, they are fun to watch. Can we come up with a term? Please?

I could never understand why NASA would lend so much support to this movie. I don't think the writers did an ounce of research, and yet NASA went along anyway. I can't be the only person to wonder why there would be a need to mount a gatling gun on a rover going into space, right?

- Now that I've gotten through Ace Combat Zero at least once, and since it looks like they won't be making any new AC games for PS2, how about an overview? (Spoilers ahead.)

Ace Combat 04: Great game, a very good looking game. While the gameplay was great, what really drew me in was the storyline, which was told using two dimensional stills, like a comic book. When you finally confront Yellow 13 in the end, and hopefully shoot him down, you really feel like you've done something. As for the music, it was rather generic, not unexpected in a game of this sort.

Ace Combat 5: This game was a step back from AC04 in that you no longer had a choice as to which secondary weapons to mount, as the secondary weapons are now specific to the plane. Another step back was the removal of the multiplayer option. In exchange, however, AC5 offers the ability to command your wingmen, and the cut scenes were all computer animation. You never had real wingmen in AC04, so having wingmen were nice, and they did a superb job of character design and development, so much so that when Chopper gets it in the middle of the game, you feel awful. The trouble was, the wingmen weren't that effective, so in the end, you'd still be taking out 99.8% of the targets yourself. The music is similar to the music in AC04, generic flying game music, with an operatic flair for the last mission. No villain in the end that you can't wait to shoot down, like Yellow 13. Hamilton is the closest, but he was never as juicy as a character as Yellow 13.

Ace Combat Zero: This game is sort of in the middle of AC04 and AC5 as a game. It sets up the events of AC5, which kills the plot, which can't have any mindblowing twists because we know what's happening in AC5. The multiplayer option is restored, but they cut down on the wingmen, from three to just one, but this one wingman, first Pixy, then PJ, is actually effective. You're also not allowed to pick your wingman's plane, unlike in AC5, so when you're blowing everyone away with an X-02, Pixy is trying to cover your ass in an F-15C. The story, while handicapped by the fact that it's a prequel, is advanced with cutscenes starring real actors, but doesn't help that the actors aren't that good. None of them have any real character development, except for maybe Pixy, and it's nothing compared to the character development in AC5. You don't even see PJ, your second wingman. The music, in a twist, has a Spanish flair, which is nice. It almost feels like AC5 and ACZ were made simultaneously, with one game exploring a certain set of options while the other explored others.

Overall: AC5 was the best, followed by ACZ, then AC04. They're all beautiful games, with AC04 pretty much pushing the graphical boundaries of the PS2 right from the get-go, and thus setting the standard. But AC5 distinguishes itself with it's character development and storyline. ACZ is hardly a disappointment, but I just felt it couldn't been a little better.

-I forgot to mention this in my last posting, but A-Rod has been compared to Joe D a lot, mostly in terms of being very corporate, being Mr. GQ, and not being very expressive out on the field. Then again, Joe D also won a couple of championships. But my point is, given the way the press is nowadays, would Joe D be treated the same way as A-Rod?

-Where do you pee in a cemetery? I was visiting my grandma today, and I really had to go, but the office was closed, and I didn't see a porta-potty anywhere. And I REALLY had to go. You can't go in a bush, can you? Because I KNOW you'd go to Hell of that.

Wow, it's been over a year since the last post. Dustin pointed this out to me at his wedding. I was shocked that he even read my blog. BTW, congrats to Dustin and Alyson, and to Alan and Jill as well.

- Over the past three years, I've often found myself trying to explain to my non-Yankee friends why some Yankees fans, myself included, will never be completely won over by Alex Rodriguez. I try to explain to them how A-Rod never seems to act naturally, how everything that comes out of his mouth seems to be perfected scripted by a PR expert, how it seems like he's more of a corporation than a player. Mind you, none of this has to do with his lack of production in big spots, but rather, just how phony he appears to be. I always told them that I felt that A-Rod never sounds like he's speaking his mind, how he's too afraid of what people think of him, too reserved and too nice to tell Curt Schilling that the only way he'd get into the Hall of Fame would be to buy a ticket. Well, in this week's Sports Illustrated, he spoke his mind, and now, I wish he'd just shut up. We now all know he's whiny, he's arrogant, and he somehow thinks people might boo him because he's biracial, yet cheer Derek Jeter, who's also biracial. I don't know why it's so hard for him to figure out: Just win. If A-Rod goes 1 for 30 in the World Series, and that one hit is the game winning hit in the clinching game, then he'll be a hero. If he goes 18 for 30 in the same series and the Yankees lose, then he's a bum. That's all he has to know. It's not how many hits he gets, it's when, and how important.

-Speaking of Curt Schilling, I can't stand him. Hey Curt, who asked you?

-And speaking of Jeter: only Derek Jeter can make David Ortiz look like an asshole. When Papi was going up against A-Rod for the MVP last season, Papi could do no wrong. Go against the Captain, and he's a bitter asshole. You gotta know that bothers the hell out of A-Rod too.

-When Sidney Ponson threw to Sal Fasano in one game in early August, were they the heaviest battery ever? Can we get Jayson Stark on this?

-I broke down and bought Ace Combat Zero without waiting for the price to drop below twenty bucks. I figured, they most likely won't make another Ace Combat game for the PS2 ever again, and in either case, the next AC game is for the PSP, so I didn't see a price drop in the near future. And let me just say, AC Zero is worth the money, like every other AC game. Namco, I tip my cap to you.

-My cousin and I watched this Chinese film, 2046, recently, and I say this without any fear of sounding like an ignoramus, but what happened? I'd like to think of myself as a film buff, heck, I even liked Magnolia. But I didn't get this film. I know some movies you're just not supposed to get, like 2001: A Space Odyssey, is this one of them? In the movie, some characters spoke Mandarin, and others replied in Cantonese. Do real Chinese people do that?

-Allow me to recommend the Logitech Wireless Headphones for PC. Greatest $30-40 you'll ever spend. To be honest, the headphones themselves are a bit uncomfortable, but I don't wear them for more than an hour stretch at a time anyway. The sound quality is crystal clear within 150 feet, no static, no cracking like with RF wireless headphones. If you use headphones at work, these are the ones to get.

-So Muslims are upset at the Pope for repeating something that SOMEONE ELSE SAID? Something that he prefaced by saying it was a bit harsh? People, read the entire article before overreacting.

-Say what you will about Tom and Katie, but that's a good looking baby.

-Still looking for a job in the DC area. Little help?

I'll try to update more often, I promise.