T.D.

Thanks! "I'm from Missouri" regarding the supposedly improved images, until I read credible reviews verifying the improvement.

Are these new versions just "remasters," or are they "director's cuts" with previously unreleased footage? Although photography/cinematography are big reasons why I love the films, I'll pass on spending money unless there's new footage...

This'll probably confirm that I'm an old fart, but I quit watching SNL decades ago. It seemed to become unwatchable in the early-mid '80s; "jumped the shark" way before the term was even invented. Being a regular on the show does seem to be more or less a prerequisite for Hollywood comedy stardom, which may say something about the originality of Tinseltown suits... I also enjoyed "Theodoric of York". And Garrett Morris as a butler, announcing "Lord and Lady Douchebag" (as guests at a party for eponyms such as the Earl of Sandwich), sticks in my mind for some reason. Have heard Jason Mraz on the car radio (not a lot of options in a rural area), wondered if he was related to George, but figured "no way."

Walker Percy Jeremiah Trotter Alan Sillitoe

Well that's actually part of the appeal: watching an actor who so fucked up his career getting a second chance and doing something with it. One can't help but note the parallels between Roarke and his character. And I have to add, his character - Ram - has an incredibly tender and endearing side to him. Without giving much away, I loved the scenes of him playing with the kids and working the deli counter. It's quite a fearless performance. I just watched The Pope Of Greenwich Village again and Mickey Rourke has that thing that makes you watch him. He still has it and surprisingly he is just as compelling now as he was at the beginning of his career. I strongly recommend The Wrestler to see a really good story with, I think, one of the few who could embody Ram and be believable. This is not a mercy job given to Rourke because he is down and out. This is great casting. I actually like The Pope Of Greenwich Village a lot, and Rourke was very good in the film. I agree that he's cast well in The Wrestler. Tough to say just why I dislike Rourke. Probably it's because I was living in NYC during his heyday and the start of his decline, which were chronicled in tabloid newspapers. The characters he played on film all seemed to be somewhat assholic, and his off-screen behavior was fully consistent, but taking the assholicity to a much higher level. I know the off-screen life isn't relevant to movie watchers, so my reaction wasn't logical, but something just turned me off.

Bobo Brazil Coco Crisp Dodo Marmarosa

Baile Atha Cliath James Joyce Joyce

Haven't bought much lately, but just picked this up on eBay for under $4 incl. postage:

Haven't seen the remastered films. God knows I've seen the original releases enough times! If the remasters come around here, and prove to add significant footage, I'm in...

I gotta see this, even though I have a profound visceral dislike for Mickey Rourke. Maybe the visceral like for Marisa Tomei will counter it... Re. filming in the neighborhood, my experience in NYC is that it's difficult to miss, because a) big trailers park in the area for several days, b) stuff often gets shot at night w. huge lighting.

Dick Van Dyke Vin Diesel Butch Trucks

Does Joe Morgan still carry so much weight? I get the impression he's turning a lot of people off. Certainly the New York-based "sports media critics" ridicule the bejezus out of him. And I've seen increasing criticism elsewhere.

Sadaharu Oh Sachio Kinugasa Cal Ripken Jr.

Regardless of drug issues, Kent's one of those players (see Murray, Eddie; Rice, Jim Ed) who will have trouble in HoF voting because of his bad relationship with baseball writers. I'm pretty familiar with Kent's early career with the Mets, and he's a really prickly personality who was hated to a remarkable degree by his teammates (club had to more or less get rid of him for that reason), as well as by the media.

Boog Powell Dudley "Booger" Dawson Ibis Hakkalugi

I've been a BMG member for over a decade, but haven't ordered from them in ages (essentially switched to yourmusic). Recently got a "Your credit card is about to expire" e-mail from BMG (yourmusic already has my updated info). If BMG is about to be shut down, maybe I shouldn't bother to update.

I'll stick with the strategy of picking favorites, which has practically made me "Mr. Irrelevant" in the standings, and take Pittsburgh. Now all the smart guys can pick AZ... Whoa, I just noticed, guys who have a shot at winning the pool should pick a total # of points as a tiebreaker. FWIW, I'll use the last over/under line I saw, 47.

Never thought about the politics (they're both made by huge corporations, which probably donate to both parties), but count me in as preferring Coke / finding Pepsi too sweet. Not dogmatic, though, and will drink either. Have seriously cut down on soda, except in the summer during/after exercise (bike riding), for which purpose my preferred brand is Mountain Dew, a Pepsi product.

PM sent on Kirk.

Raymond "Poupou" Poulidor Jacky "Dudu" Durand Kaka

Good point. Don't forget that Arizona defeated the Steelers last year @AZ. I remember watching the game. It was a tough big hitting game. This Super Bowl might be more interesting than we imagine. On paper, the Steelers should be big favorites, but Whisenhunt knows the Steelers very well. Whisenhunt will be super-motivated to beat the Steelers, since they passed him over as HC candidate in favor of Tomlin. But I dunno how much of that he'll be able to transmit to the players... Back to Warner, I always found his vitriolic outbursts when other QBs (Manning, Leinart) were given playing time somehow inconsistent with his Christian blathering. (And I'm a churchgoer, though certainly not of Warner's denomination.)

Good point. A lot of NFL QBs would have rung up big numbers throwing to the Rams (in their heyday) or current Cardinal receiving corps. McNabb, OTOH, has been saddled with mostly pedestrian receivers. I've always kind of liked McNabb (considering that I'm a fan of a divisional rival club), but have to concur with the popular assessment that his passing accuracy is not at the highest NFL level.

Yeah, you're right, the Giants were bad that year. Warner had some good games early, but seriously faded. The club only went to Eli when they had pretty much written off the season. I guess I shouldn't have ripped Warner's play in NY, but he did react very badly (not a "good teammate" at all) when they benched him. I also saw some of that behavior in AZ at times during the QB competition with Leinart, but I suppose Warner was right: he is better than Leinart.

I've been up and down on Warner. Dug the Arena League story, turned off by the religious outpourings and by a certain tendency towards whining about playing time (both by Warner and his wife). Speaking as a Giants fan, he didn't light it up in NY, lotta fumbles and picks, and whined when demoted from the starting lineup. Gotta give Warner a lot of credit this year, though. Perhaps the whining just stems from confidence, but I'd prefer it if he kept his mouth shut.

I picked against the Cards in all 3 playoff games, lost every time. You could've made good money if you made a preseason bet in Vegas that AZ would go to the Super Bowl. I wonder what the odds were...100:1?