Red & Gold

Okay, I have to geek out just a little more with a bigger version of the picture I linked to earlier (from Comics 2 Film):


You don't have to be a fan to think that looks cool. Also one of the best straight adaptions of a costume ever, as you can see here:

Progress Report

Barely a week later and the newest Detroit Lions look good, according to Mike O'Hara of the Detroit News. Calvin Johnson showed the skills that made him the #2 pick in the draft on the first day of mini-camp, even though he was a little under the weather and somewhat out of shape from all the draft festivities. Second round pick Drew Stanton is working on his mechanics with offensive coordinator Mike Martz, who's breaking him down so he can build him back up. Said Martz: "He had great success doing what he was doing. We can help him even more." I don't know about you, but I'm very interested to see what Martz can make out of the raw material he has in Stanton. Better throwing with great feet and a gunslinger mentality could make Stanton a real threat.

More Iron Man

Curious to see what the Iron Man suit for the new movie will look like? Not the prototype, but the one the character will be primarily featured in? Check out this link. If it looks as good as that picture, it'll be very sweet.

UPDATE: It does look that good, going by the spy photos and video over at IESB.net. Very cool.

Worse than American Idol

Navy Patents Sound Weapon

"The underlying physics is based on the intense heat and high-pressure pulse from the sonar sources as the damage mechanisms by virtue of the intense acoustic power of the sonar sources. An ensuing cavitation bubble formation and collapse and shock propagation will also inflict damages on underwater objects targeted for removal. The technical drivers are the cavitation lethality on the undesirable objects and the acoustic power of the sonar sources versus range and depth."

That makes two cool high-tech weapons announcements this week. Truly, it is Morning in America.

"Chris Berman's Nicknames

Becoming More Obscure After Taking Night Course In Russian Literature"

From The Onion:

"We'll check in on the fading fortunes of Uncle I-Vanya Rodriguez, the tragic circumstances that brought pitcher Dennis Dove-stoyevsky into the big leagues, and find out if the tempestuous relationship between Kurt and Kyle Busch make them the new Brothers NASCAR-amazov, so stay tuned."

ESPN management confirmed that viewers have taken to flooding their offices with thousands of confused phone calls immediately after every broadcast.

Ten Best Undrafted

Peter Schrager of FOXSports.com has an interesting list of his ten best players that went undrafted. I'm surprised some of these guys weren't drafted. Some of the names included: Darius Walker, Matt Trannon, and Jared Zabransky.

Interesting Development

Plasma and laser weapons!

from NewScientisTech.com
"The device uses a technology known as dynamic pulse detonation (DPD). A short but intense laser pulse creates a ball of plasma, and a second laser pulse generates a supersonic shockwave within the plasma to generate a bright flash and a loud bang."

"The company has also pitched a portable laser rifle, which would be lethal, to the US Army. It would weigh about fifteen kilograms, would have a range of more than a mile, and could have numerous advantages over existing rifles – better accuracy and the ability to hit a moving target at the speed of light."

I fully support our troops using laser weapons and hope that someday, in my lifetime, they will be accompanied by a lightsaber sidearm for close-combat.

The Last Stand

The Last Stand is my new favorite timewaster. It's actually more of a real game than a timewaster, but it uses flash so I think it still qualifies. Anyway, you get to shoot zombies with lots of guns. And a chainsaw. There's also resource management involved, so it has a little depth beyond gunning down the brain-hungry hordes of the undead. Check it out, just not before work. (Hat tip: Joystiq)

"Those clowns don't know what terror is."

Remember Andy posting about Frank Miller's Batman vs al Qaeda book? Apparently it's being held up because DC Comics and it's parent, Warner Bros., are a bunch of pansies. Oops, I guess "pansies" probably isn't PC. How about ant-American invertebrates? Anyway, they're afraid to send Batman, one of their biggest characters, after terrorists for fear of upsetting, uhm, terrorists I guess? The ones that already want us dead. Would al Qaeda like it more if it was Aquaman out to foil their plots? It seems like Miller has little patience for such things. He's been labeled such things as a "proto-fascist" since the success of "300" has introduced more people to his work. Says Miller: "These terrorists are worse than any villain I can come up with, and I think it's ridiculous that people in entertainment are not showing what we are up against here." Refreshing. (Hat tip: Michelle Malkin)

Randy Moss Is A Patriot

No, seriously. You see, it's right here. Is there a guy that seems further from the ideal Patriot player than Moss? Well, yeah, his name is T.O. Still, it seems pretty bizarre. However, the Patriots have had success with "malcontents" before (see Corey Dillon). It'll be interesting seeing how this plays out.

UPDATE: More on the trade from ESPN Page 2's Bill Simmons. A quote: "The team looks so loaded, they could probably win a fourth Super Bowl with or without him." Right. I'll make a prediction right now: the Patriots will not win the Super Bowl this season.

Pack Your Bags

Hey, Mike Williams... you suck. That was the message from the Detroit Lions today as they traded the former 1st-round pick and QB Josh McCown to the Raiders for their 4th-round draft pick. Ouch. This was made possible by drafting Calvin Johnson and Drew "Bonzai" Stanton earlier. Catch ya later, Mikey. Thanks for nothing.

Rawkfist

Liveblogging the Draft

1-1. Oakland Raiders- JaMarcus Russell
This one was pretty obvious since it was rumored to be set before the draft even started. I'm still not sold that he's the top QB. Since the Raiders took him, I'm sure he'll never live up to this pick.

1-2. Detroit Lions- Calvin Johnson
Yes, based on ability and value this pick makes a lot of sense. Don't love the pick though. I think other holes would have been better filled.

1-3. Cleveland Browns- Joe Thomas
Nice, solid, safe pick. Is Charlie Frye that unpopular in Cleveland that the fans really wanted Quinn?

1-5. Arizona Cardinals- Levi Brown
Geez, can't the poor guy even get his face on TV when he's selected? I know, Brady Quinn looking at his cell phone is much more interesting.

Why is Keyshawn on the draft commentary team? Am I really supposed to take him seriously with Mel Kiper Jr. right there?

Mel Kiper Jr. has a cybernetic brain. That's the only explanation for his encyclopedic knowlege of the draft.

Oh no, Brady Quinn wasn't drafted by the Dolphins! What are we going to do!?! Ahhhhhhhh!

1-10. Houston Texans- Amobi Okoye
He's only 19? They're joking, right? Think of all the records he could break if he's pretty decent and stays healthy.

Call of Duty 4 looks cool.

Why are the fans at the draft always fat guys with mustaches?

No, I'm not a fan of the MLS, and I already know that. I'm pretty sure I've got that straight ESPN.

Could Brady Quinn actually be left when the Lions pick in the 2nd round? Would they want to take him if he was?

1-22. Cleveland Browns- Brady Quinn
Nope. Good for Quinn, going to his hometown team. Too bad they're still the Browns (yes, that's coming from a Lions fan).

How long is this going to go on? Longest first round ever. Geez.

Okay, with the Lions trading, I'm out.

I lied, I'm back. I'm not sure whether to be deliriously happy or very, very sorry for Drew. He has a lot of potential, I hope being with the Lions doesn't ruin it. Just don't follow Chuck's example.

Threadless

Sometimes in my travels across the cyberscape I come across a particularly interesting website. Threadless is one of them. It's a site that sells t-shirts based on user-submitted designs which are voted on by users. Yes, it has a bit of a hippie vibe, and many of the shirts aren't worth a second glance. But some are brilliant, like this one, which you should go vote for:


Or maybe this one. It may take a while to find one that you really like, but there's plenty to choose from. Check it out.

Cheesed

Andy Warhol once said: "In the future everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." Well, we must be beyond the future now because today you can be famous even if you're only a large cheese.

Wrecked?

Mike O'Hara of the Detroit News is predicting that the Lions will take WR Calvin Johnson of the Ramblin' Wreck with the second pick in the '07 NFL Draft. Says O'Hara:

Teamed with Roy Williams, who made the Pro Bowl last season, and Mike Furrey, who led the NFC with 98 receptions, the Lions would have a formidable group of receivers.

Gee, where have I heard that before?

Cheapskate? Just smart.

If this article couldn't have been written by us, then we're doing something wrong. I thought this story would be quite fitting with our baseball trip coming sometime soon (?) and the planning process in the works.

Re: The Madden Curse

So how would one "reverse the curse?" I have a couple of ideas, let me know what ones you think will work and what ones will backfire:

1. Put a Detroit Lion on the Madden cover. It's a win-win play. The Lions player will be good and the curse will have ended. No more Andre Ware's.

2. Put a/the Heisman Trophy winner on the cover. Keep in mind, if you use the latest Heisman winner and he hasn't been drafted yet, you might need to superimpose a few of the copies with the team that drafts him or just give him a white jersey on the cover. Another win-win option. You get rid of the Heisman jinx at the same time as the Madden jinx. Perfect. Now I can start my fantasy football draft. Again, no more Andre Ware's, Gino's, Ryan Leaf's, etc.

3. Put the #1 draft pick on the box. No more Jeff George's, etc.

4. Do a combination of the previous three. But, watch out for double reversing which can turn back into a curse. For instance, a Detroit Lion on the cover would fix the curse. But, if that Lion were a Heisman trophy winner or been the #1 draft pick, that scenario might re-curse the player on the Madden game.

Hobbit House

You know, I've always dug round doors, but this guy went all out. Well, maybe it's a little too above ground, but still very impressive.

Moody

I had a strange experience at church this morning. There were no women in the worship team this morning, so it was lead by the male members plus a few extra guys. I believe this particular group goes by "Bob and the Boys" when they sing at other events. Anyway, the music was slightly different, more upbeat. You could hear the guitars and the drummer actually hit the drums. When they got to the last song I was getting a strange vibe. It sounded vaguely familiar. Not the song itself, just the style and overall sound. Four guys singing in harmony, guitars, drums... then it hit me. It sounded like the Moody Blues. Sort of. One of the singers did have quite a beard. Not that I'm overly familiar with the Moody Blues, but I heard the tapes and CDs played enough as a kid that I probably have dozen songs stored in my head. So, I'm going to share a little bit of that with you:



Enjoy.