Heart Attack Grill's 575 lb Spokesman... dies? No way... (you can't make this stuff up)

There is apparently a place in Arizona called the Heart Attack Grill, which serves such foods as the Quadruple Bypass burger and Flat Liner fries. They basically celebrate being incredibly unhealthy and extreme fatasses. According to a November report from TodayShow.com, patrons put on medical gowns before eating, while the waitresses wear skimpy nurse outfits. They have a policy where people over 350 lbs can eat free, and their tag line is "Taste... worth dying for!"

(DO YOU SEE WHERE THIS IS HEADING?!)

Here is their commercial, which gives you an idea of just how shameless they are about being fatasses.



(HANG ON TO THE "IN SOME CASES, MILD DEATH MAY OCCUR..." LINE. DO YOU SEE WHERE THIS IS HEADING?!)

Well, guess what. SHOCKER. That 575 lbs dude in the commercial (yes, 575 lbs, he apparently gained 5 lbs since they filmed that) has died. They say the cause is yet unknown, but they think it was pneumonia. (I have my doubts about that...)

Even more less shocking is that he was only 29 years old. Wow.

You can't make this stuff up. Thanks to Jerrohn for the story. (link)

Not the right AdSense

What part about this article says "I want to buy a forklift, but I don't want to pay too much."?

Good Ol' KEZI

Well done, KEZI. You have proven once again that you know how to dominate the news hour in a college market.



Gee, what does that look like?

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit (of coming home)

I haven't blogged in a while, and with a little push from Adam, I figured I'd get on here and try to spark my interest in writing again.

It's a little hard with my job now, because the office internet is ridiculously locked down, so I spend half my time looking for loopholes in order to post to twitter and read news and stuff. I still haven't found a way to update the blog, and when I come home, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of a computer. The previous 9 hours of the day have kind of ruined it for me. Kind of like college and textbooks did with reading. I'm actually reading The Watchmen right now, and while it's only a graphic novel, I consider it a big step up from not wanting to read ANYTHING during college. Plus, The Watchmen is really good. I recommend it for anyone who liked Sin City and/or is interested in seeing the movie.

Anyways, life here in Texas has been pretty good. It's been cool lately (mid-70's), I've met some cool people, and I'm getting to the point of training where I understand a lot of stuff, so it's a lot more fun than it was 2 months ago. I'm going to Albuquerque this next week for a training trip with another employee who's been at it a lot longer than me. I'm heading home to Portland the weekend before (this weekend) and am really looking forward to it. I haven't seen Hayley in a while (or Bella!), as well as Mom and Dad, so this will give me a chance to see all of them. If anyone else will be in town, I would love to see you all, so just let me know and we'll figure something out. I'm only in Texas until Christmas, and will be home twice before that, so I think these next couple months are going to fly by, which is more than welcomed.

However, until then, I'm finding a lot of ways to enjoy my time in Houston. It's a pretty ridiculous city, and you'd have to be here to know exactly what I mean, but it has its perks. There is a LOT of good music that comes touring through here. I went to a Ben Kweller concert last week, which was great. My brother actually saw him this weekend in Eugene, so that's pretty cool. I also went to see The Kooks, but they canceled because the lead singer was "ill" (hungover), so the opening band The Whigs played as the headliners for free, and were actually pretty darn good. Next, I'm going to see Kings of Leon later this month, as well as Keith Anderson, and (hopefully) TV On The Radio. I thought Portland was big on live music, and they are, but not on quite the scale that Houston is. You can go out EVERY weekend and see good live music anywhere, as well as check out tons of concerts, so I've been doing that a lot.

I've also been exercising a lot with Allen, a buddy I met down here who's going to Orange County. He's the one I've been going to concerts with, too. But we've been getting up every morning to run and then going to the gym most nights after work. It gives me something to do, and keeps my mind off of missing home, as well as get me into shape, so it all works out. We are starting to drive out to Memorial Park by 6:00am, get a solid 30-50 minutes of running in, then head back in time to get to work by 8:00am. Running in the morning really makes me feel good at work. I'd never done it before, but it's a really nice way to wake up. It's relaxing for me, but also gets my body going.

Last weekend I played 36 holes of golf. The first 18 were in a company tournament. I helped my team to a solid last place finish, but it wasn't my fault. It was a scramble, but we had to use a certain portion of everyone's shots. First off, our A (best) player didn't show up, so we were already off to a bad start. But then, the guys I was teamed with were awful. I mean, we struggled to take any of their shots. We used almost all of my drives, approaches, and inevitably (after they missed) my putts. Anyone who has golfed with me knows, from those statements, that the team was pretty bad. I mean, I was our best player? Come on guys. Plus, I was using a friend's clubs, which weren't anything like mine at home except in the fact that both sets suck. But anyways, Allen, Rob and I decided to go out for a second round right after we finished the first. Rounds at this place (Blackhorse GC) were typically $75, but we got the "replay" rate, which was $16! We couldn't pass that up. However, we did go get a bottle of Pendleton and some beer. That helped us through the second 18. But when I come home, you better believe I'm going to be wanting to go out on the course. Anyone in for a round this weekend?

I have been trying to keep up on the Ducks, but aside from a few games that they have at sports bars, I haven't been able to catch many. Last week's was just ugly, so I played Big Buck Safari instead of watching the end of it. Franklin has done a pretty good job of keeping me updated, which I really appreciate. Him and Rob Moseley have been my only links out here. Oh, and if I have to hear anymore bullshit about the Texas - Oklahoma game this weekend, I'm going to shoot myself. I hate both teams, but that's all I hear out here. Ugh. I can't wait to get back to Oregon where I can watch football without all the stupid shit. Well, not counting FSN...

I can't wait to start watching Blazers games, too. Hopefully they will play the Rockets in Houston while I'm here. That would be awesome. Tonight they're beating Sacramento in their first pre-season game. Can't wait to see Oden in action!

This is an interesting time in America. The presidential elections are a month away, the economy is the worst it's ever been since the Great Depression, and yet here I am, displaced and feeling totally removed. It's a weird feeling. I am following the debates and everything, and will vote, that's a given. But I don't have any money invested in the stock market (if I have to hear Wall St. vs. Main St. one more time...), no house, no mortgage, not much money in general, so I really haven't felt the hit. And it's kind of scary. I know all this crap is going to affect me, especially when I go to get a mortgage, or eventually start contributing to my 401k, but I just can't make it seem real right now.

Alright, well, I've rambled on long enough. I want to keep up on the blogging thing, but a little nudge now and then won't hurt. I plan to come out with a Top 5 Albums of the Year list soon, as I've been listening to a LOT of music lately. Any other ideas? Just ramble about life or what?

You can always keep up on my life somehow. I'm always trying to find ways to communicate, and have a few methods:

• Twitter.com/KevinRegan
• KevsPix
• Facebook

Hopefully I can catch up with everyone somehow soon. I miss everyone and home, and am excited to come home soon. I'll do my best to keep you and this blog updated, but if not, yell at me (or just call...)

The NRA Loves Obama

So bad it's... well, terrible.

A Few Ike Projections For You

For those of you wondering how I am down here in the midst of hurricane season, I'd like to give you a little update. First of all, I'm fine. Even if a hurricane were to hit Houston, we're far enough inland that we would likely get flooding and a little wind, but nothing much more. Gustav came and went with little more than a few clouds, and the chances of a hurricane actually staying that far south in the gulf until it hits Houston is not very likely.

However, that sounds a lot like New Orleans before Katrina, so everyone here is still preparing just in case.

I've been tracking Ike for a few days now, and have learned a lot about hurricanes in general, but also a lot about Ike himself. Namely, that hurricanes tend to slow significantly when they hit land, such is the case with Ike and Cuba today. He's a 1 right now, which dropped from a 3 earlier today. However, they tend to pick right back up when they hit the gulf, and that's when we'll really know what we're dealing with. Until then, it's all speculation really. Odds are, it will pick up to a 3 again in the gulf, but turn to the north in the process, avoiding us. At least that's my opinion after doing some homework the last few days.

One thing to keep in mind though is there is a high pressure system moving south off of the Atlantic into the gulf right now that has the power to push Ike south. That's what most projections have in store for it right now, anyways. In that case, the odds are higher it will reach Texas.

But again, we won't know until we see what it does in the gulf, and that will come sometime later this week.

Like I said, I have been tracking it, and you can too if you'd like. There are two great, easy to understand resources I use to track the storm. Check them out below.





The first is the projected path from the National Hurricane Center. The second is a mash up of multiple projections from different organizations, including the NHC, the Navy, and others.

If you click either picture, it will take you to the updated projections. These are current as of 11:30pm central time on Monday.

So, a little interpretation, if you will. Houston is located (for these maps' purposes) right on the little inlet on the coast near the Louisiana border, if you can see that. As you can see, most projections say it's going to make landfall to the SW of us right now, which is bad for two reasons: 1) the hurricane can likely turn to the northwest anywhere in the gulf and either miss us or come right at us. 2) The east side of a hurricane is the worst side. That's the side where you get tornadoes, the fiercest winds, and most of the debris, which leads to the most damage.

Now, it's projected to hit land, wherever that may be, sometime Saturday, so there's nothing to worry about yet. Well, I wouldn't say that, but rather there are too many variables still lurking out there to assume it's going to hit Houston. Gustav was projected to hit Houston days before it made landfall, and in that time, it took a sharp turn northward and missed us completely, hitting the coast of Louisiana (Boy, do they deserve a break though, right?). That could very well happen again, but we just don't know yet.

So, keep checking those projections, and maybe head here too. That's a bunch of satellite imagery that's actually pretty cool to watch and play with.

Again, just wanted to give you a little heads up on things in case anyone had any questions. I'll keep you posted through twitter with more little tidbits I get, and hopefully talk to everyone soon.

Thoughts On The Blazers' Draft Day

The Blazers had a pretty good day yesterday, albeit pretty busy and full of wheeling and dealing, but that's how the Blazers roll on draft day. When it was all said and done, we picked up Jerryd Bayless, some 19 year old French kid, and a bunch of future draft picks, got Ike Diogu, and saw Jarrett Jack, Josh McRoberts, and Brandon Rush go elsewhere. Chad Ford did a write up and gave each team grades, and I pretty much agree with everything he says about us. The Blazers got an A for the 3rd straight year, though it was an A-.

Here's what he said:

Portland Trail Blazers
Grade: A-
Round 1: Jerryd Bayless (11), Nicolas Batum (25)
Round 2: None

Analysis: For the third straight year, the Blazers walk away with an A in the draft. Portland GM Kevin Pritchard continues to be the most daring, creative and active GM in the league. If I were to use a draft term to describe him, I'd say he's got an amazing motor.

The Blazers had a prearranged deal with the Pacers to move up to No. 11 if D.J. Augustin or Bayless were on the board. After the draft, Pritchard told me they had Bayless ranked fourth on their board -- so that's great value at No. 11. As part of the trade, they also picked up Ike Diogu, an undervalued big man who has been injured a lot.

Pritchard also bought the No. 27 pick from the Hornets and traded up late in the first round to get another player he wanted, Nicolas Batum.

In the second round, Pritchard turned three second-round picks into four future picks. That works because, given the roster crunch of the Blazers, they just didn't have any room for more players now.

Bayless is an upgrade over the guy the Blazers lost in the trade, Jarrett Jack. Bayless is a better athlete and a much better shooter. If he develops his point guard skills, he could be a Chauncey Billups-type of point guard.

I'm not as high on Batum. The guy Pritchard traded away, Darrell Arthur, will probably be a much better NBA player. But some scouts believe Batum has great upside, and the Blazers felt he was worth the risk.

[via ESPN]

The First Major Dark Knight Review

The movie is still 3 weeks away, but Rolling Stone's Peter Travers has just posted the first major review of the film, at least the first that Rotten Tomatoes and I have seen. Anyways, this post is just going to be a re-posting of his entire review. It's absurdly positive, which, from Peter Travers could mean a lot or nothing at all, but it just gets me that much more excited to see this thing!

I must warn you, if you're trying to stay away from revealing information (beyond what you would get from movie sites), this review does have some minor spoilers. I personally knew about all of the info he talks about, but that's because I read movie blogs and try and keep up on all the news. So, if you're like me, don't worry, he doesn't get too much into it. I mean, it is Peter Travers after all.

Anyways, without further ado, here's the review:

Heads up: a thunderbolt is about to rip into the blanket of bland we call summer movies. The Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan's absolute stunner of a follow-up to 2005's Batman Begins, is a potent provocation decked out as a comic-book movie. Feverish action? Check. Dazzling spectacle? Check. Devilish fun? Check. But Nolan is just warming up. There's something raw and elemental at work in this artfully imagined universe. Striking out from his Batman origin story, Nolan cuts through to a deeper dimension. Huh? Wha? How can a conflicted guy in a bat suit and a villain with a cracked, painted-on clown smile speak to the essentials of the human condition? Just hang on for a shock to the system. The Dark Knight creates a place where good and evil — expected to do battle — decide instead to get it on and dance. "I don't want to kill you," Heath Ledger's psycho Joker tells Christian Bale's stalwart Batman. "You complete me." Don't buy the tease. He means it.

The trouble is that Batman, a.k.a. playboy Bruce Wayne, has had it up to here with being the white knight. He's pissed that the public sees him as a vigilante. He'll leave the hero stuff to district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) and stop the DA from moving in on Rachel Dawes (feisty Maggie Gyllenhaal, in for sweetie Katie Holmes), the lady love who is Batman's only hope for a normal life.

Everything gleams like sin in Gotham City (cinematographer Wally Pfister shot on location in Chicago, bringing a gritty reality to a cartoon fantasy). And the bad guys seem jazzed by their evildoing. Take the Joker, who treats a stunningly staged bank robbery like his private video game with accomplices in Joker masks, blood spurting and only one winner. Nolan shot this sequence, and three others, for the IMAX screen and with a finesse for choreographing action that rivals Michael Mann's Heat. But it's what's going on inside the Bathead that pulls us in. Bale is electrifying as a fallibly human crusader at war with his own conscience.

I can only speak superlatives of Ledger, who is mad-crazy-blazing brilliant as the Joker. Miles from Jack Nicholson's broadly funny take on the role in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman, Ledger takes the role to the shadows, where even what's comic is hardly a relief. No plastic mask for Ledger; his face is caked with moldy makeup that highlights the red scar of a grin, the grungy hair and the yellowing teeth of a hound fresh out of hell. To the clown prince of crime, a knife is preferable to a gun, the better to "savor the moment."

The deft script, by Nolan and his brother Jonathan, taking note of Bob Kane's original Batman and Frank Miller's bleak rethink, refuses to explain the Joker with pop psychology. Forget Freudian hints about a dad who carved a smile into his son's face with a razor. As the Joker says, "What doesn't kill you makes you stranger."

The Joker represents the last completed role for Ledger, who died in January at 28 before finishing work on Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. It's typical of Ledger's total commitment to films as diverse as Brokeback Mountain and I'm Not There that he does nothing out of vanity or the need to be liked. If there's a movement to get him the first posthumous Oscar since Peter Finch won for 1976's Network, sign me up. Ledger's Joker has no gray areas — he's all rampaging id. Watch him crash a party and circle Rachel, a woman torn between Bale's Bruce (she knows he's Batman) and Eckhart's DA, another lover she has to share with his civic duty. "Hello, beautiful," says the Joker, sniffing Rachel like a feral beast. He's right when he compares himself to a dog chasing a car: The chase is all. The Joker's sadism is limitless, and the masochistic delight he takes in being punched and bloodied to a pulp would shame the Marquis de Sade. "I choose chaos," says the Joker, and those words sum up what's at stake in The Dark Knight.

The Joker wants Batman to choose chaos as well. He knows humanity is what you lose while you're busy making plans to gain power. Every actor brings his A game to show the lure of the dark side. Michael Caine purrs with sarcastic wit as Bruce's butler, Alfred, who harbors a secret that could crush his boss's spirit. Morgan Freeman radiates tough wisdom as Lucius Fox, the scientist who designs those wonderful toys — wait till you get a load of the Batpod — but who finds his own standards being compromised. Gary Oldman is so skilled that he makes virtue exciting as Jim Gordon, the ultimate good cop and as such a prime target for the Joker. As Harvey tells the Caped Crusader, "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become a villain." Eckhart earns major props for scarily and movingly portraying the DA's transformation into the dreaded Harvey Two-Face, an event sparked by the brutal murder of a major character.

No fair giving away the mysteries of The Dark Knight. It's enough to marvel at the way Nolan — a world-class filmmaker, be it Memento, Insomnia or The Prestige — brings pop escapism whisper-close to enduring art. It's enough to watch Bale chillingly render Batman as a lost warrior, evoking Al Pacino in The Godfather II in his delusion and desolation. It's enough to see Ledger conjure up the anarchy of the Sex Pistols and A Clockwork Orange as he creates a Joker for the ages. Go ahead, bitch about the movie being too long, at two and a half hours, for short attention spans (it is), too somber for the Hulk crowd (it is), too smart for its own good (it isn't). The haunting and visionary Dark Knight soars on the wings of untamed imagination. It's full of surprises you don't see coming. And just try to get it out of your dreams.

Hopefully I can find a movie theater down in Houston with a midnight showing.

[via RS]

NBC's Tim Russert Dead at 58

One of the last respectable news journalists, Tim Russert, died today at the age of 58. The cause of death is unknown as of yet, but this is a great loss to the media community, as well as the integrity of the institution.

Watch live coverage below.

Sincere? Or Veiled Mockery?

Obama is naturally basking in the glow of the Democratic Nomination, as Hilary Clinton has announced that she is done, and that she officially supports Obama to boot. So his people throw up this nice little graphic and send it out to all 40 billion people Obama has on his mailing list, me being one of them.



So I look at this and think, "oh, that's a nice gesture from him." He's showing some class, which is nothing new from him. But then I was looking at it, and I was thinking, that could be a pretty snide comment if there was some other motivation for it. Something like "Thank You, Senator Clinton, for finally getting real and dropping out of this race." The fact that he called her Senator Clinton and not Hillary also could play to that intention.

I'm sure it means well, but I just thought it was kind of funny. I look forward to Obama finally getting into some actual campaigning for President, instead of just the Democratic Nomination. OBAMA!

Jonathan Stewart's Draft Day

The epitome of class:

Jonathan Stewart's draft day

If you didn't catch the draft, he went 13th overall to the Carolina Panthers. Congratulations Jonathan!

Oh, the Comedic Juxtoposition is Killing Me

Every Tuesday and Thursday, during my 2 hour break between classes, I come to the computer lab to kill time. The first thing I do is read the top stories on Digg from my iGoogle homepage. Today, The third story, with 2247 Diggs (as of this posting) was titled "Penis theft on the rise." That's a funny and ridiculous headline, but could it really be true? I had to check it out.

So I click the link (to Yahoo News) and read the original headline, "Lynchings in Congo as penis theft panic hits capital." How hilarious, so I read the first paragraph:

Police in Congo have arrested 13 suspected sorcerers accused of using black magic to steal or shrink men's penises after a wave of panic and attempted lynchings triggered by the alleged witchcraft.

Oh my God it got more funny and ridiculous. So I read a little bit more, laughed at the use of the term "penis snatching," and made my way down the page.

Then I noticed something. An ad on the page. For Hillary Clinton. I shit you not, this was the ad that popped up, I have the screencap to prove it:


So I sat back and admired this hilarious juxtaposition. A story about a penis snatchers witch hunt, and Hillary's face right there, with "Should Hillary Quit" on it.

So I ask you, good people of the Blogarrhea: Should Hillary quit snatching penises?

Domino's Unleashes the 444 Deal

Take that Pizza Hut! Domino's just unleashed the 444 Deal; 3 medium, 1-topping pizzas for $4 each. That's $12 for 3 pizzas. You may remember the days when it cost $15 for 3 pizzas, but those days, my friends, are over. You may also have thought that food prices were on the rise. Well, clearly that is not the case. And who says this nation is entering a recession? Pizza will save us!

But seriously, when I first heard about this, 2 things went through my head: 1) Anybody want some pizza? 2) HA! Take that Pizza Hut! You thought you could compete in the "cheap-ass pizza" market with that sorry "Pizza Mia" deal, a clear knock off of the 555 Deal of old? Well now you're boned. Ever heard of game theory? Well, you made the wrong move. Sure, you may have been losing some money when you were selling pizzas for $10 and Domino's was selling them for $5, so you moved. Now, you're STILL losing money, but now people won't even buy your pizzas for $5 because Domino's sells them for $4. So you either lower your prices too, and cut some loses, or you just eat it. You would have been better off holding your price at $10, because then you'd still be selling pizzas, making decent money on them to boot, and Domino's wouldn't have gone any lower.

Anyways, fuck Pizza Hut anyways, I know what I'll be eating this weekend.

The Boss Endorses Obama

Earlier today I heard that Bruce Springsteen officially endorsed Barack Obama, and my initial reaction was, "that's awesome." I love Bruce Springsteen, and I want Obama to be President, so naturally I was pleased. But then I started thinking: does it really matter? Does the Boss really have the power to sway voters with his endorsement? Maybe, maybe not. But I think there are a number of arguments for why this is important.

First of all, Bruce Springsteen's music embodies working class heroism. He's always celebrated the blue-collar, working class American, so I imagine his opinions may go a long way in that demographic. However, he has never been much of a political songwriter. He may have political overtones in some songs, but nothing close to Dylan, U2, or Green Day, who all wrote more specifically and had more of an agenda with their political music. The point here is that nobody looks to him for political advice.

In a more "big picture" way, though, I think this is important. One, while he's just one more of the many on the list of Obama endorsers, the difference is everybody knows his name. He's iconic, so it really doesn't matter what his politics are, because a lot of people are going to notice this endorsement, which is good for the overall campaign.

Just some random thoughts. Anyway, here's the official announcement text from Springsteen's website:

Dear Friends and Fans:

LIke most of you, I've been following the campaign and I have now seen and heard enough to know where I stand. Senator Obama, in my view, is head and shoulders above the rest.

He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next President. He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that's interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where "...nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone."

At the moment, critics have tried to diminish Senator Obama through the exaggeration of certain of his comments and relationships. While these matters are worthy of some discussion, they have been ripped out of the context and fabric of the man's life and vision, so well described in his excellent book, Dreams From My Father, often in order to distract us from discussing the real issues: war and peace, the fight for economic and racial justice, reaffirming our Constitution, and the protection and enhancement of our environment.

After the terrible damage done over the past eight years, a great American reclamation project needs to be undertaken. I believe that Senator Obama is the best candidate to lead that project and to lead us into the 21st Century with a renewed sense of moral purpose and of ourselves as Americans.

Over here on E Street, we're proud to support Obama for President.

Bruce Springsteen

Check out the site and announcement here.

Before I finish this post, I just want to say that the debate tonight on NBC was pretty awful. Although I though both Barack and Hillary looked good in it, I was very dissatisfied with ABC's job of hosting it and both moderator's jobs. Some of those questions were pretty awful, and I'm not sure if they got to a real issue within the first hour. Maybe hour and a half.

What is that in Cheney's glasses?

Oh, that's right, a naked chick. Just checking...

[via his whitehouse.gov Outdoors page]

Kobe Jumps a Car. An Aston Martin no less. Real?

This video is of Kobe Bryant (apparently) jumping over a car. An Aston Martin at (apparently) 50 mph. Check it out:



Now, is it real or fake? The camera is stationary, Kobe completely clears the car, and he mentions Nike's Hyper Dunks (while wearing Nike apparel). Those signs point to fake. However, Ronny Turiaf is there, who, to my knowledge, is NOT a Nike sponsored athelete, and the shoes Kobe shows off at the beginning are NOT the Zoom Kobe III's (see them here). That points to real. But, the shoes Kobe looks to be wearing in tonight's game are the same one's in the video (I think).

So, what do you think, is this video real or fake?

Kanye Travel Ventures

It looks like Kanye West has just started his own travel site called Kanye Travel Ventures. The site looks and feels just like every other travel site out there, except it's got Kanye's name on it with some pictures. It's pretty clunky too, but it was just started March 28 (from its whois lookup), so I imagine there will be improvements. I wonder what moved him to get into this industry? I don't really see the link, but maybe some of you bigger Kanye fans do? (Jerome)

That reminds me, I still have to get tickets for when he comes to Portland. It's on June 3rd I believe, at the Rose Garden, and he's got Lupe Fiasco with him, among others. Definitely a concert I want to see, and tickets are pretty cheap. However, I don't have anyone to go with. Anybody out there care to join me? Let me know.

Anyways, how many of you are going to book your next vacation through Kanye Travel Ventures?

The Dark Knight April Fools Day Prank

As you all know from a few posts ago, a new Dark Knight viral site (went up March 3) called Clown Travel Agency had just a suitcase and an envelope on it which had "Departure Date 4-01" written on it. It was a static page, nothing dynamic, but the "4-01" was, presumably, the hint that something would be happening on April Fools Day. Well, sure enough, it did.

Up until March 31, the envelope looked like this:



As you can see, sealed.

However, if you were to check back on April 1, you would see something a little different:



Now it's opened, and the loose pages inside are a link. When you click it, up pops this message:



This is a message, presumably from the Joker, which asks if you're ready to take part in his little game. This is also a link, and when you click on it, it takes you to this page:



At midnight on April 1, this showed up as blank locations. It was basically a treasure hunt. Throughout the day, the items were found around the country and world in the listed cities, and as of this posting, all items have been found, which is why all the stamps and full addresses are shown. The items turned out to be bowling balls in bags, with a smart phone, phone charger, and joker playing card in the bag as well. I assume the phones were to call a certain number to tell them you found it, but I'm not sure. (/film has some pictures) And who knows what the bowling balls mean? Anyways, this message quickly burns up to reveal another message:



This message refers you to a specific page of a new viral site called Acme Security Systems. When you go to this specific "Delos" site, a security clearance message comes up asking you to enter your name, phone number, and e-mail address. Please, do yourself a favor and enter this info, especially the phone number, because this is where it gets fun. After you do this, you get a phone call asking you to verify your security password, which the letter informs you is "Needle." After you say this, Commissioner Gordon comes on and tells you it was a set-up, you've been caught, and that you're either with him or against him; either going to join his team, or go to jail. (/film has the audio & more pictures) After he hangs up, the site flashes this message:



It says that your name, e-mail, and IP address has been captured. And that's the end of it.

I'm really hoping I get some viral e-mails soon, and maybe some viral text messages. I am totally into this. I think it's a lot of fun, not to mention some great, GREAT marketing. And it only heightens my anticipation for the movie. Man this is cool! What's next?

Stay tuned for more updates, I'll put 'em up as they come.

UPDATE: So, you know the one that was found in Portland? Well, P.K. and Ivan, two of the Jammin' 95.5 Playhouse morning show guys, actually found it, and have put pictures of it on their website here. Apparently they're getting a call on that phone that was in the bag on April 4 giving them further instructions. They've put the stuff up on eBay with a starting bid of $30,000. Who are these guys kidding? Here's the eBay link if you're interested. (Thanks to Romey-Rome for the heads up)

Damn It: Opening Day for the Atlanta Braves

March 30, 2008: Opening day. And my favorite baseball team, the Atlanta Braves, was kicking off the season. We had kind of a weird off season, notably picking up 42-year old P Tom Glavine and watching CF Andruw Jones walk away. However, we came out of it looking good, ready to attack the always lacking NL East. (Mets, Nationals, Pirates, Marlins - look out!) But seriously, I think this is a much better Braves team than we've seen in the last few years, and could go deep into the postseason.

So, yeah, we lost a star in Andruw Jones, but there's still the stud pitching staff of Hudson, Smoltz, and now Glavine, who can still throw a wicked fastball/change-up combo. Throw Mike Hampton into that mix and you got a great first 4. We have 1B Mark Texiera, who came in with a spark last season, just a little late to salvage the whole season, and he's batting cleanup. Hello RBIs. We picked up CF Mark Kotsay who should really close up most of the hole Andruw Jones left, assuming he stays healthy. And need I remind you, we have Chipper Jones... enough said there. Last season, the first game back from a groin injury, first at-bat, first pitch I think: boom, home run. He's my hands down favorite baseball player. And last but not least, with Bobby Cox in the dugout, it's locked up.

You also got to watch out for Yunel Escobar at short. That guy can hit, and he fits great in front of Chipper and Texiera. And hopefully RF Jeff Francour can keep improving, though he's pretty much a 100-RBI guy as it is, and C Brian McCann rebounds from his injury back to his old self. Anyways, on to the game.

We were facing the Washington Nationals in their brand new Nationals Park, and after President Bush tossed out the first pitch (amongst a shower of "boos," see bottom of post for video), we were off and running. We found ourselves down two early after a couple quick hits turned into a couple quick RBIs, but then Hudson locked it down. We played scoreless until the 4th, when Chipper Jones officially broke in the new stadium with a homer to left-center that President Bush called "a rope." He was in the announcers booth at that point. I guess Chipper's a Democrat. Anyways, it stayed 1-2 into the bottom of the ninth. We were down to our last out, and Texiera had doubled, then Prado, who came in to pinch run, moved to third on a Francour ground out. So with two outs, Nationals' C Paul Lo Duca giftwrapped a passed ball that Prado scored on, tying it up.

We went into the bottom of the ninth having sat down 22 consecutive Nationals' batters. Peter Moylan was on the mound. Struck out the first batter. "Looks like we're going to extra innings, sounds good." Second batter grounded out to third. "Okay, we have Diaz, Kotsay, and Hudson coming up in the 10th. Not great, but not bad." Two outs, first pitch strike. Second pitch, oh FUCK! Goddamned Ryan Zimmerman jacks a walk-off homer to center. Game over. "God damn you Zimmerman! I hate you."

So we came back in the ninth on a lucky pass ball, and I got all excited, only to have my dreams thrown on the ground and shit on with a 2-out walk-off homer. That hurts. I would have rather lost in the 10th, or maybe not have come back at all, than take that heart breaker.

Hopefully I can get over it by tomorrow, when the Braves take on the Pirates at Turner Field. I think we have a free preview of MLB Extra Innings this week, so I might be able to watch it. It's on at 4:10P, and since I don't have class on Mondays, I'll be there. Maybe before the game I'll hit up the mall and get a new hat. I'm not sure if these were the hats they were wearing today, but I really liked just the plain blue with the classic white A. I'm not too much of a fan of the classic blue with red bill, but if it has to come down to that, I'll take one for the team. GO BRAVES!

UPDATE: Bush getting booed throwing out the first pitch.

Stephen Curry = Amazing

Not only has this kid led Davidson to a 25 game winning streak (including tonight's win over Wisconsin), not only is he the leading scorer in the dance with 103 points in 3 games and with 6 points tomorrow will have scored more points in a single NCAA Tournament than anyone in history (passing Glenn Robinson), not only did he drop 33 on one of the best defenders in the country in Michael Flowers, not only did he outscore Wisconsin's whole team in the second half 22-20, not only has he done all that stuff, but he can also make shots that make LeBron James cheer. Check out this (crappy) highlight from CBS that shows some of Curry's dominance, and note the layup at the end, and then LeBron's reaction afterwards. If he's not the best player in NCAA Tournament history, I'd be surprised.



I wish I had the SportsCenter highlight I just saw, but I don't. You should definitely watch it if you can, because they do it so much better (as usual).

After the game, LeBron said of Curry, "He's a very, very, very, very, very good basketball player. I don't know if he's coming out in the draft this year. When he does, he has a spot."

As the title says, Stephen Curry = amazing. He's got LeBron on his side for Christ's sake. I pick Davidson over Kansas tomorrow.

You can read more about him, LeBron, and Davidson in a pretty good article Pat Forde published as I was writing this post here.