Author: Mike P. Lewis

Big Bad Texas Gator

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Here’s a story of a very large alligator in Texas. Not the biggest ever, but still pretty damn large.

Here’s a picture of it taken a KTBS helicopter flying over Lake Conroe in Texas with a whole deer in its mouth! Think of how large it has to be to fit an entire deer in its mouth.

Carrying deer

The alligator was found between Athens and Palestine, Texas near a house. How would you like to meet this fella in the dark? Never let it be said that they don’t grow them big in Texas. Game wardens were forced to shoot the alligator as he clearly could devour an entire family for lunch.Gator stashing deer

Apparently, the locals could hear the bellowing in the night.

Neighbors had been saying around the street that they had seen a mammoth alligator in the waterway that runs behind their house, but every story was dismissed as exaggerations. “I didn’t believe it,” Charles Rogers (on neighbor) said. This past Friday they realized the stories were, if anything, understated. Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens had to shoot the beast.

This last picture is of Joe Goff, 6’5″ tall, a game warden with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, walks past the 23’1″ alligator that he shot and killed in the Rogers back yard.

Huge gator

iPhone Is On Its Way

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This is the guy that Apple sued because he always get it right.  So this is probably the real deal:

Apple iPhone to be Cingular-exclusive at launch
By Ryan Katz, Senior Editor

September 26, 2006 – Apple and Cingular have signed an agreement that will make the US’ largest cell phone provider the exclusive carrier of Apple’s forthcoming phone, sources report. Apple’s iPhone remains on track for an early 2007 release.

As previously reported, Apple’s phone will feature a candy-bar design with a 2.2-inch display and 3 megapixel camera. Robust iTunes and iSync support will also be delivered with the phone.

Apple’s exclusive contract with Cingular is said to be good for the first six months, sources report, meaning other providers will be able to sell the phone in the second-half of 2007. Cingular had an exclusive on the Motorola ROKR—the first phone to feature iTunes—when it launched last year.

Sources say Apple is in talks with providers in other parts of the world on exclusive deals, but are short on specifics. O2 had the exclusive on the ROKR in Europe, however, suggesting that provider may again be tapped to launch Apple’s phone.

Meanwhile, insiders say Apple is internally estimating that shipments of the iPhone will top a staggering 25 million in 2007 alone. Motorola’s RAZR, by contrast, has sold more than 50 million units since its launch in late 2004. Apple is betting a phone with Apple’s iconic design, elegant interface, and iPod-matching functionality will be a strong draw for users who currently carry both devices on them.

http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0609cingulariphone.html

Clinton Making Gore His Bitch Again

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We're all bitches!Here’s what i’m picturing in my head: Bill Clinton sitting around this spring with his shirt unbuttoned (one button too far) watching TV. On the tv, there’s a story about Gore’s comback and a review of the very good and disturbing movie The Inconvenient Truth. His immediately thought is, “shit i can’t have that bitch showing me up. That’s my VP!” So, like only the 2 term president could do, he whipped out his rolodex, got his peeps together and started a big “initiative” to put Gore in his place.
The initiative though is pretty awesome. The stated mission of the Foundation is to “strengthen the capacity of people throughout the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence.” To advance this mission, the Foundation is focused on four critical areas: 1) health security; 2) economic empowerment; 3) leadership development and citizen service; and 4) racial, ethnic and religious reconciliation. The Foundation works principally through partnerships with individuals, organizations, corporations, and governments, often serving as an incubator for new policies and programs. To participate you have to agree to put forth cash or action prior to joining which is probably the best way to get anything done. Here’s a good clip of Clinton talking about it on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart:

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=Kr29Lx8dUpg]

Gore’s got to be pissed. He’s spent the past 3 years working on green projects and meeting with scientists, experts and “smart people” to put togehter his latest book and slideshow which is the basis of the movie. Hell, he even wrote a book 14 years ago about the environment (Earth In The Balance) back when being “green” meant being a good gardener. Now, Clinton swoops in and becomes the man when it comes to making a difference. As they say, anyone can be a critic, execution is what matters and aparently he. is. rocking!

Now whenever people think about global warming and helpign the environment,suck it clinton it’s all about the Clinton Initiative. Read the latest about Richard Bramson’s 3 billion pledge from the CNN article:

Clinton praised Branson, calling him one of the “most interesting,” “creative” and “genuinely committed” people he had ever known.

Branson said he was inspired to contribute after a meeting with Al Gore, who served as Clinton’s vice president and has been highly visible in raising awareness about global warming and environmental issues. Gore was scheduled to speak Thursday afternoon.

Quoting Clinton even though Gore did all the work. Poor bastard. I love what Gore’s being doing, and it kind of pains me that Clinton’s getting all the credit and clintonbeing perceived as the man in this arena. Oh well, i guess some things never change.

Paris Hilton, Blogs and Being Derivative

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Nice Belt ClipI read an interesting post last week about why Paris Hilton is such a successful celebrity (here). The reasoning being is that she’s one big walking hyperlink. Meaning, all she does is constantly point the reader/viewing/listener to something else. She endorses, name-drops, evangelizes, and critiques other things. Look at the example of her recent DUI arrest:

“I had one margarita (and) was starving because I had not eaten all day,” she said. “Maybe I was speeding a little bit and I got pulled over. I was just really hungry and I wanted to have an In-N-Out Burger.”

On record, in the press, she’s aligning herself with the (awesome) burger chain In-N-Out. Sure, as a celebrity she doesn’t carry any weight alone, but because she attaches herself to other items and things, she’s becomes interesting and (perhaps) relevant.

What made this perspective intriguing is that this is to what’s happening in the blogosphere. Many blogs in and of themselves aren’t that interesting, but it’s what they point to and reference that provide the value. Look at this post by the sports blog Deadspin – it’s just a list of links to other posts. You track through enough blogs and eventually you get to something with substance.

Another good post which addressed this was MalcolmGladwell Gladwell’s which talked about the derivative nature of blogs and media at large. He argues that:

We need derivative media sources (blogs) to help us make sense of what we learn from primary sources.

There’s plenty of interesting and original material out there and blogs by their nature will reflect, expand, and enhance that. Paris Hilton, in my mind, is then a necessary piece of our world. Of course, she doesn’t’ do it well, but the definitely are some celebrities and blogs that do it well and are just as enjoyable as any primary content.

Knight Rider is Coming Back

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They’re finishing up the script and getting ready to remake the original pilot episode “Knight of the Phoenix” into a feature film.  One thing that has been confirmed: Hasslehoff will not be in the film.  Below is one of the proposed cars for K.I.T.T. (which is a Koenigsegg CCS) although the rumors are that it’ll be more like a 2006 Camero.  All details are fleshed out in this article.  Whatever the car is, i loved the show and am pretty excited to see it come to the big screen. KITT

I'll Be Rockin' This Saturday

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A lot of people have already commented on yesterday’s Bob Dlyan post and while i love listening to Dylan, my mind is really focused on the concert i’m going to tomorrow. I’ll be attending Virgin Fest in Baltimore.

Check out this lineup: Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Killers, Gnarls Barkley, Scissor Sisters, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Raconteurs, The Who, The New Pornographers, Wolfmother, Thievery Corporation, and The Flaming Lips.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V76Vq1HMXIk&eurl=]

One of the bands i’m most excited about is The Scissor Sisters. If you haven’t heard of this band – let me enlighten you (from wikipedia)

The core of the band formed in 2000 when Shears (singer) and Babydaddy (keyboard/song-writer) met while attending college in Kentucky. After moving to NYC, the duo met Ana Matronic at a cabaret on Halloween, when she was dressed as an Andy Warhol factory reject, and Shears was dressed as a “back-alley abortion”. The group soon began playing gigs and were signed to independent record label “A Touch of Class”, and recorded a single, “Electrobix”, which had as its B-side a disco/glam cover “Comfortably Numb”.

Their cover of “Comfortably Numb” became noticed in the UK when it was picked up by underground DJs in electroclubs. The song later got the attention of British label Polydor, who signed them to a contract.

The group’s first single for the label, “Laura“, had a limited release in Laura single for Sister Sister's 2003 (reaching #54 on UK charts), and received little attention. Their first hit was in 2004 with the re-release of “Comfortably Numb” (reaching #10 in the UK). This success was followed by fan favourite “Take Your Mama” (#17 in the UK), a re-release of “Laura” (#12 in the UK), the ballad “Mary” (#14 in the UK), and the gay/hedonist anthem “Filthy/Gorgeous” (#5 in the UK).

All the singles came from the self-titled debut album Scissor Sisters, which reached #1 on the UK albums chart and became the best selling album of 2004, beating Keane‘s Hopes And Fears by just 582 copies. As of 2006, it is the 10th biggest-selling album of the 21st century, and the 51st biggest-selling of all time in the UK. Several media outlets have noted that Scissor Sisters stick out like a sore thumb’ on the list of artists who have sold over 2 million copies of an album in the UK in the 21st century — the others being James Blunt, Robbie Williams, Keane, Dido, Coldplay and Norah Jones — all artists considered ‘mainstream’ or ‘middle of the road’, as opposed to the Scissor Sisters’ brash and controversial image.

I will say that i think the songs rock. Here are some of my favorite songs from their first album. Click on them to play, right+click to download the mp3: Mary, Filthy/Gorgeous, Laura, Comfortably Numb
They also have a new album coming out and you can listen to their entire new album on MySpace here.

Writing about this band reminds of a passage i recently read in Chuck Klosterman’s new book (Chuck Klosterman IV) when he breaks down all rock music in one paragraph. He says,

Rock music did not exist until the release of Meet the Beatles in January 1964. From that time until 1970, the Beatles were simultaneously the most artistically gifted and commercially successfulBook cover of CK4 rock artists on the planet. Then they broke up. And at that point, rock split into two opposing ideologies; there were now two kinds of music. The prime directive of the first kind of rock was to be meaningful and important; the prime directive of the second was to entertain people and move product. The first category comprises elements (Springsteen, punk rock, early U2, Chris Carrabba, etc.) that followed a template built by Dylan in the 1960’s. The second category comprises things (Elton John, Disco, everything the Stones did post-Some Girls, Michael Jackson et. al.) that followed the path KISS chose when they formed in 1973. Their era includes 2 exceptions, which are Led Zepplin and Prince; everything else fits into either category A or B. And that is the entire history of rock music.

Elton John has actually written a few tracks on Scissor Sister’s new album Tah-dah so they have to be considered a category B band. Thus, if you look at my Bob Dylan post and this one, i think i’ve been comprehensive and pretty much covered both A and B. Now i can focus the rest of the weekend on just rocking out at Virgin Fest.

Modern Times are Here. Dylan's Back!

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Modern TimesI’ve been a Bob Dylan fan for years. I love his old folksy tunes (Blonde on Blonde) and his mid career epic tracks (Hurricane, Tangled Up in Blue) and have overplayed most of the 3 disc Biograph for years. I’ve always been skeptical when legends come out with new albums way past their prime. Too many times i’ve gotten excited and been burned. For example, last year’s Rolling Stone’s album Bigger Bang was a huge disappointment. So when i heard there was a new Dylan album out, i was excited by skeptical. But, let me tell you – it’s great. I think it’s as good as his old stuff and possibly even better. Three tracks in particular stand out. “Workingman Blues #2” is an old school Dylan folk song with captivating lyrics a thumping backbone, “Thunder on the Mountain” is both bluesy and rockin’, and the beautiful meandering stroll of a song “Spirit on the Water” is just outstanding. I’ve attached the three here for a listen. Check ’em out.

MySpace Rolls Out "The Black Carpet"

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Apparently Black is the new Red. MySpace continues to crush the online world. In addition to being the #1 most visited site on the entire internet, they now are going after movie screens. Today, they launched a service called “The Black Carpet,” which allows MySpacers to see advanced screenings of movies in Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, and 20 U.S. cities (including DC!).

The Black Carpet

All you need to do is add the Black Carpet profile to your friends list and you’ll receive notices on how to get access to movies previews at local theaters. The first movie being promoted is (the hysterical looking) Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. If you haven’t seen the trailer, here it is: (and here’s the Borat MySpace page).

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=Fq_fzdEk0r8]

This is, of course, permission based marketing and social networks are the perfect place to accomplish it. Bands connecting with their fans on MySpace and Bebo was just the beginning, now MySpace allows you to add brands to your friends list such as Adidas Soccer or Nike Women. Meanwhile, Facebook is creating corporate groups, like the Apple Students group which gives away free iTunes tracks. It will only get worse as more corporation get wise to this whole “internet” and “social networking” thing.

I actually love the idea of allowing interested fans to preview a film prior to its release as these viewers are the ones who will evangelize and spread positive buzz both locally and within the blogosphere. Personally, i think the studios and MySpace could go even farther by using the online audience to provide user reviews and comments at various stages and improve the test screening process. Until then, i’ll be happy with my advanced screen tickets courtesy of The Black Carpet. Rock.

If you are totally clueless about MySpace, go check it out and feel free to add me as a friend. I’m at myspace.com/pescatello/

Trust the Man? Nope, These Men Suck

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I went and saw Trust the Man last weekend. It had an awesome trailer and i was pretty excited going in. Two hours later i left with a feeling that my gender had been bitch-slapped, hog-tied, thrown down the stairs and then urinated on. I wrote a few weeks ago about the impressive gender role reversal in Mr. & Mrs. Smith and at the end i commented about the overall lameness of men in most current Hollywood features, especially this summer. Trust the Man is the latest in that vein and most likely the worst offender yet.

This Man Sucks, Don't Trust Him

There are two men in Trust the Man, Tom (David Duchovny) and Tobie (Billy Crudup) and while the movie pretends they’re likable guys and gives them some cute faces and funny scenes, the fact is that they are pretty much the most irresponsible, self-centered, insensitive, moral corrupt men to hit the silver screen in a romantic comedy this year. Tom (Dave D.), a stay at home dad, is married to Rebbecca (Julianne Moore) is a sex addict who tries to have sex with her at every turn no matter the time or place. He exercises no compassion nor tries to honest discuss why she won’t have sex with him. He instead decides to look at porn all day and have an affair with a single mother at his daughter’s school. Sweet. Tobie, a freelance writer, is dating Elaine (Maggie Gyllenhaal), obsessed with death and sports, totally self-centered, and avoids commitment and emotional honesty like its the plague. He’s also completely rude and annoying. He never once offers useful advice to Elaine or contributes any relevant conversation in any scene in the movie. Trust me, it’s painful to watch because i like all four of the actors and want to like them, but it was really pretty tough.

What do these men have going for them? Apparently nothing. The movie wantsSucky Dudes you to sympathize with them and it is a romantic comedy and both couples need to get together and live happily ever. So, it follows Tobie’s attempts to win Elaine back and tracks Rebecca’s troubles at work. In any normal situation, there’d be a solid guy or at least someone somewhat normal somewhere which would start dating Elaine and that would be the end of it. But not here. Why? Because every other man completely sucks too. This is a movie of horrible horrible men at every turn. Rebecca (Julianne Moore) is surrounded at work by theater assholes and a young super sketchy cliche of an actor. Elaine tries to date two guys: one who’s a loud, long-haired musician hippie sketchball and another who is unintelligent German sprocket.

What about the women? This movie would have you believe that women are a) the only ones capable of holding a normal job that requires hard work and dedication, b) the only tactful gender, c) the only people able to live an un-neurotic existence, d) a doomed to a life of having to hold the hand of their man through life.

The icing on this crap-cake is that at the end Tom and Tobie cause a huge scene at a play and utter a few romantic lines that are (i kid you not), “I’m a father and a husband. I love you.” (David D.) and “I don’t want to live without you.” (Billy C.). And, because these guys were SO lame the whole movie, these lines do seem like a HUGE accomplishment. Thus the two ladies are overcome with emotion, take them back and everyone lives happily ever after. Puh-lease.

Side note: You know what also pisses me off is when the characters in movies are actors, directors or in the theater. It makes me think that the writer so uncreative that he can’t think of a career for these people that is somewhat normal. The four characters in this movie are a) an actress, b) a sports writer, c) a receptionist who writes a children’s book, and d) a retired marketing exec who becomes a writer. So, to recap: 3 of 4 are writers and the forth is an actress. Gee – that’s real original. The writer took the phrase “write what you know” a little too literally. At least he didn’t have it take place in LA.