Friday, May 20, 2005

Headline of the year.

Monday, May 16, 2005

The Moonshine Mountain empire continues to expand. No longer am I merely the movie janitor for the Star-Telegram. Henceforth, I will also cover the occasional lousy television program. Yes, the American dream of being paid to sit on the couch and watch crappy TV is finally mine. My first effort: Hercules.

(What's sad is that I actually wrote a lot more than that about Hercules. Regrettably, all my best rips at Sean Astin are gone.)

Friday, May 13, 2005

Semi-Annual Survivor Finale Prognostication



Yes, it’s time once again for last-minute backstabbing, embarrassing jury speeches, and nostalgic strolls through the Torches of the Damned. I’ve correctly picked the winner for three consecutive seasons, but this one’s a little tougher. For one thing, Palau has been like two seasons in one. We spent the first half enjoying the utter decimation of the plucky yet laughably inept Ulong tribe, which meant that the Final Four set to battle it out on Sunday night were little more than bit players for the first 8 episodes or so. Once our never-say-die heroine Stephenie was finally dispatched a couple weeks back, the Koror machinations spun into overdrive. The last couple of episodes have been downright dizzy with reversals, shattered alliances, desperate moves and inexplicable strategic goofery.

Thus, we are left with four people, all of whom really want to win, none of whom seem to know how to go about doing this. Up until last night’s episode, I figured Ian was a worthy competitor and rooting interest, as he correctly deduced that Gregg was plotting against his alliance and arranged to have him snuffed. But last night he was just a mess, and I think he only survived because screechy Caryn was an even bigger mess.

Barring a surprise Immunity win, I see Jenn as the first to go Sunday night. She’s already stuck around longer than she’s had any real reason to, given that her big plan was “latch onto Gregg” and her secondary plan, the all-girl alliance, collapsed twice and sure can’t happen now. Then it gets tricky. If Tom wins the final IC, who will he take to the Final Two? Can we assume Katie and Ian would take each other? Any combo is possible, but I’m pulling for an Ian/Tom finale, which could go either way, rather than a landslide where either one of them beats Katie. It’s a tough call, but I’m gonna put my winning streak on the line and say Ian will be the sole survivor.

Friday, May 06, 2005

Crash

Monday, May 02, 2005

No, Moonshine Mountain hasn’t been decimated by an asteroid or ravaged by plague or anything like that. Although I did have me a nasty head cold last week – it was more like Phlegm Mountain around here. Plus I was busy putting together these summer preview listings, and coming up with all those knee-slapping quips really knocked the wind out of me. (See also my Critic’s Choice, however, please note that this is not so much my pick of the summer crop, merely my pick of what was left over after all the good stuff had been covered in other parts of the preview.)

This past weekend I made a pilgrimage to Arlington, Texas, home of Six Flags, but more to the point, home of Ameriquest Field, formerly known as the Ballpark in Arlington. There I met up with a contingent of Texas refugees of Red Sox Nation for barbecue, beer and a ballgame. I stumbled upon these folks through the Sons of Sam Horn message board; they had purchased a big block o’ tickets – nice seats on the lower deck - so I snapped one of ‘em up and met up with them in the parking lot a couple hours before game time. Everyone was pretty well lubricated by the first pitch, much to the dismay of the few Rangers fans in our section (especially since the Sawx won, 9-2). Good times! I stayed overnight and returned for the day game on Sunday, this time sitting in the second deck, which was much like sitting in a frying pan. I am red of face and arms today.