0302.27 : Mr. Rogers passed away today (he was 74). He once said (in an interview with CNN's Aaron Brown, I believe), "The secret of life is that when you are with another person -- whether in the flesh or on the phone -- to make sure that other person does not feel alone." (Rogers was the recipient of two Peabody Awards, four Emmys, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.)

0302.24 : FYI, I'm going away on a little writing retreat, so don't expect any updates until next week. (I should be intermittently reachable by phone and e-mail, though.)

0302.23 : Way to go, Norah!

0302.23 : Three upcoming (DC) comic book releases of note... Kia Asamiya's 352-page BATMAN: CHILD OF DREAMS debuts March 5, and takes the Dark Knight to Tokyo. Mark Millar's SUPERMAN: RED SON three-issue mini-series (illustrated by Dave Johnson and Andrew Robinson) premieres on April 3, and imagines what would've happened if Superman had been raised in Soviet Russia. [online preview] Then, on April 23, Warren Ellis' eerily timely ORBITER graphic novel is released (illustrated by Colleen Doran), chronicling the mysterious reappearance of a space shuttle ten years after it vanished from orbit. [online preview] (Ellis is of course also responsible for Global Frequency, Planetary and Transmetropolitan, as well as my favorite blog, die puny humans.)

0302.21 : SFX magazine asked Joss Whedon 100 questions... and he answered them. It's a tough call, but I think #97 is my favorite. (Thanks to AICN for the tip, and Slayage.com for the copyright infringement.)

0302.21 : Sean Astin will be Guest of Honor at the 10th Annual Texas Film Festival tomorrow (which has been taking place all week at Texas A&M University). He'll be presenting his short "The Long and Short of It" noon Saturday at Rudder Theatre, and conduct a Q&A. Tickets are only $6, and are on sale now at Rudder Theatre Box Office (888-890-5667). More coverage at AICN and TheOneRing.Net. (And yes, this is the festival I founded -- and I will be attending.)

0302.19 : surface.yugop.com (click on the dots) is the coolest site I've seen since die puny humans and Fly Guy. Mesmerizing and addictive.

0302.14 : So I saw Daredevil last night. Intermittently good and bad, it's never great nor horrible... just generally kinda lame, with spasms of genuine inspiration. While it quite faithfully mines some of the comic's richest material (esp. Frank Miller's), it doesn't mine enough from any one storyline, yielding a disjointed, shallow, and poorly-paced narrative amalgam. It's literally like the filmmakers stitched together scattered pages from "Cliff's Notes" of some of the best "Daredevil" issues; hence, even when specific elements are faithfully translated to screen, they don't resonate due to lack of context. (Though the FX manifestation of Daredevil's "sonic radar" is particularly inspired, and yet inconsistently applied.) But why do the all-too-human Daredevil and Elektra have Spider-man-esque super-powers, their CG dopplegangers effortlessly bounding buildings? Anyway, the entertaining Jon Favreau and Colin Farrell are well worth watching (even if the latter looks distractingly like Andre Agassi)... but Michael Clarke Duncan and Joe Pantoliano are underutilized. Ben Affleck is actually pretty good (and can be really good without such often thankless dialogue), but he's never allowed to show us how brilliant an attorney Matt Murdock is (when we see him in court, he loses). And while Jennifer Garner (who rocks my world on Alias, and tomorrow hosts SNL) is a dynamic, charismatic knockout (her "meet cute" scene w. Affleck is nice), she's largely wasted in a role of enormous untapped potential. (And btw, if she's Greek, I'm Samoan.) Plus, a forgettable score and far too many needle-drops (ugh).
Recommended reviews: Elvis Mitchell / New York Times; Kenneth Turan / LA Times; Peter Travers / Rolling Stone.

0302.13 : Succumbing to a crescendo of curiosity, I tried Church's Sweet Biscuit Crunchers today, which are pretty damn tasty. They're sort of a cross between beignets and plain ole bollen, actually. Recommended.

0302.12 : In three weeks... FAITH RETURNS

0302.12 : Oprah discovered TiVo on her show today (as should you, if you haven't already). She called it "a little smarty-pants" -- but in a good way. The TiVolution continues...

0302.12 : I was treated to a very nice dinner last night at Siena (a local Tuscan restaurant that's better than its logo, website, and location might otherwise imply). I started with the Risotto al Anatra e Funghi, which was fabulous -- exactly what I'd hoped for. The Osso Buco di Agnello was also impressive, and impossibly tender (though the accompanying four cheese polenta was uninspiring). Finally, the Torta di Cioccolata con Salsa di Lampone was just hard-core decadence, though I must admit I would've liked a little more cream. Recommended. (Thanks, Lisa!)

0302.11 : Holy crap! I just saw the lovely Zooey Deschanel on TLLS w. Craig Kilborn... and I swear to God she was dressed just like Kiki -- right down to the big red bow! Wow... WOW.

0302.11 : So Oscar nominations were announced this morning at 7:30 CST, and for the first time in years I didn't even bother to watch them live. I'm just sick and tired of the obscenely overrated Chicago -- one of the most cynical and soulless movies I've ever seen. (Sure, my beloved Moulin Rouge wore its heart on its sleeve... but at least it had a heart.) Anyway, right now my main reasons to sit through this year's Oscars (March 23 on ABC) are to watch Miyazaki-san's Spirited Away win for Best Animated Film -- and to root for my pal John Pritchett for Best Sound. (Go, Bigbootie!) At least The Return of the King will win Best Picture next year (making up for the travesties of Chicago and A Beautiful Mind.)

0302.09 : The illustrious Warren Ellis (via his splendid Die Puny Humans -- currently my favorite blog, btw) points to independent confirmation of one of the universe's most important life lessons... ALWAYS CHOOSE RON PERLMAN. Hell, yeah.

0302.09 : My pal Tommy Pallotta has directed a pretty cool music video for Zero 7.

0302.08 : Elizabeth Taylor just told Larry King that her favorite movie of 2002 was THE PIANIST. (I expect I may very well agree, once I see it.)

0302.08 : It is snowing in Austin. I repeat -- IT IS SNOWING IN AUSTIN!
(And minor updates have been made to the Film, TV and Music pages.)

0302.02 : Emma Caulfield (Anya on Buffy) has two cats named Bjorn and Brian Dennehy. How cool is that?

0301.31 : "You just did it, so I had to hit it!" Behold the joy that is Terry Tate -- my favorite ad campaign in quite awhile. How long do you think it'll be before this becomes a movie or TV show? (Thanks, Glen.)

0301.24 : Mark Romanek has a really cool website.

0301.23 : Wanna know what your Middle-Earth name is?

0301.13 : I just heard Nicole Kidman reveal to Oprah (in a rerun of the 11/8/02 episode) that she loves Cocoa Puffs cereal. (Verily, she is a goddess!)

0301.10 : Coolest. Motorcycle. Ever. Behold the Dodge Tomahawk V-10 Prototype. 500 horsepower. Wow. (See also here and here.)

0301.08 : roboTV has been updated. A little. Oh, and did I mention... KNEEL BEFORE ZOD! (Can't wait for my bumper sticker to arrive...)

0301.07 : Happy (belated) New Year! Well, I'm finally back from a much-needed holiday hermitage after wrapping six months' work on The Movie (more on this later). Look for a fistful of site updates in the coming weeks as I try to get caught up.

0301.06 : KNEEL BEFORE ZOD! (Thanks, Ken.)

0301.02 : Wanna travel back in time to Restoration London? The 17th Century diary of English writer Samuel Pepys has been transformed into a blog. (For more info, check out the BBC News article.)

99-02 : Click here for an archived summary of robogeek.com's first four years. (Don't get too excited, though.)