The American Film Institute has updated their “100 Years 100 Films” list.

	1997 List		2007 List	Change
#1	Citizen Kane		Citizen Kane	–
#2	Casablanca		The Godfather	+1
#3	The Godfather		Casablanca	-1
#4	Gone With The Wind		Raging Bull	+20
#5	Lawrence of Arabia		Singin’ In The Rain	+5
#6	The Wizard Of Oz		Gone With The Wind	-2
#7	The Graduate		Lawrence of Arabia	-2
#8	On The Waterfront		Schindler’s List	+1
#9	Schindler’s List		Vertigo	+52
#10	Singin’ In The Rain		The Wizard Of Oz	-4
#11	It’s A Wonderful Life		City Lights	+65
#12	Sunset Boulevard		The Searchers	+84
#13	The Bridge On The River Kwai		Star Wars	+2
#14	Some Like It Hot		Psycho	+4
#15	Star Wars		2001: A Space Odyssey	+7
#16	All About Eve		Sunset Boulevard	-4
#17	The African Queen		The Graduate	-10
#18	Psycho		The General	N/A
#19	Chinatown		On The Waterfront	-11
#20	One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest		It’s A Wonderful Life	-9
#21	The Grapes Of Wrath		Chinatown	-2
#22	2001: A Space Odyssey		Some Like It Hot	-8
#23	The Maltese Falcon		The Grapes Of Wrath	-2
#24	Raging Bull		E.T. – The Extra Terrestrial	+1
#25	E.T. – The Extra Terrestrial		To Kill A Mockingbird	+9
#26	Dr, Strangelove		Mr. Smith Goes To Washington	+3
#27	Bonnie And Clyde		High Noon	+6
#28	Apocalypse Now		All About Eve	-12
#29	Mr. Smith Goes To Washington		Double Indemnity	+9
#30	The Treasure of the Sierra Madre		Apocalypse Now	-2
#31	Annie Hall		The Maltese Falcon	-8
#32	The Godfather, Part II		The Godfather, Part II	–
#33	High Noon		One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest	-13
#34	To Kill A Mockingbird		Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs	+15
#35	It Happened One Night		Annie Hall	-4
#36	Midnight Cowboy		The Bridge On The River Kwai	-23
#37	The Best Years Of Our Lives		The Best Years Of Our Lives	–
#38	Double Indemnity		The Treasure of the Sierra Madre	-8
#39	Doctor Zhivago		Dr, Strangelove	-13
#40	North By Northwest		The Sound Of Music	+15
#41	West Side Story		King Kong (1933)	+2
#42	Rear Window		Bonnie And Clyde	-15
#43	King Kong (1933)		Midnight Cowboy	-7
#44	The Birth Of A Nation		The Philadelphia Story	+7
#45	A Streetcar Named Desire		Shane	+24
#46	A Clockwork Orange		It Happened One Night	-11
#47	Taxi Driver		A Streetcar Named Desire	-2
#48	Jaws		Rear Window	-6
#49	Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs		Intolerance	N/A
#50	Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid		The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring	N/A
#51	The Philadelphia Story		West Side Story	-10
#52	From Here To Eternity		Taxi Driver	-5
#53	Amadeus		The Deer Hunter	+26
#54	All Quiet On The Western Front		M*A*S*H	+2
#55	The Sound Of Music		North By Northwest	-15
#56	M*A*S*H		Jaws	-8
#57	The Third Man		Rocky	+21
#58	Fantasia		The Gold Rush	+16
#59	Rebel Without A Cause		Nashville	N/A
#60	Raiders Of The Lost Ark		Duck Soup	+25
#61	Vertigo		Sullivan’s Travels	N/A
#62	Tootsie		American Graffiti	+16
#63	Stagecoach		Cabaret	N/A
#64	Close Encounters Of The Third Kind		Network	+2
#65	The Silence Of The Lambs		The African Queen	-48
#66	Network		Raiders Of The Lost Ark	-6
#67	The Manchurian Candidate		Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf	N/A
#68	An American In Paris		Unforgiven	+30
#69	Shane		Tootsie	-7
#70	The French Connection		A Clockwork Orange	-24
#71	Forrest Gump		Saving Private Ryan	N/A
#72	Ben-Hur		The Shawshank Redemption	N/A
#73	Wuthering Heights		Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid	-23
#74	The Gold Rush		The Silence Of The Lambs	-9
#75	Dances With Wolves		In The Heat Of The Night	N/A
#76	City Lights		Forrest Gump	-5
#77	American Graffiti		All The President’s Men	N/A
#78	Rocky		Modern Times	+3
#79	The Deer Hunter		The Wild Bunch	+1
#80	The Wild Bunch		The Apartment	+13
#81	Modern Times		Spartacus	N/A
#82	Giant		Sunrise	N/A
#83	Platoon		Titanic	N/A
#84	Fargo		Easy Rider	+4
#85	Duck Soup		A Night At The Opera	N/A
#86	Mutiny On The Bounty		Platoon	-3
#87	Frankenstein		12 Angry Men	N/A
#88	Easy Rider		Bringing Up Baby	+9
#89	Patton		The Sixth Sense	N/A
#90	The Jazz Singer		Swing Time	N/A
#91	My Fair Lady		Sophie’s Choice	N/A
#92	A Place In The Sun		Goodfellas	+2
#93	The Apartment		The French Connection	-23
#94	Goodfellas		Pulp Fiction	+1
#95	Pulp Fiction		The Last Picture Show	N/A
#96	The Searchers		Do The Right Thing	N/A
#97	Bringing Up Baby		Blade Runner	N/A
#98	Unforgiven		Yankee Doodle Dandy	+2
#99	Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner		Toy Story	N/A
#100	Yankee Doodle Dandy		Ben-Hur	-28

So, what’s missing? From the original list, in reverse order:
Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner
A Place In The Sun
My Fair Lady
The Jazz Singer
Patton
Frankenstein
Mutiny On The Bounty
Fargo
Giant
Dances With Wolves
Wuthering Heights
An American In Paris
The Manchurian Candidate
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
Stagecoach
Rebel Without A Cause
Fantasia
The Third Man
All Quiet On The Western Front
Amadeus
From Here To Eternity
The Birth Of A Nation
Doctor Zhivago

As for my thoughts on the list movements, and new entries… tomorrow. I want to think on it all for a bit, but I see some very odd trends here.

I am not normally one for sharing videos, but Nikki showed this to me last night… I can’t stop watching it.

It seems you can’t swing a bat anymore without hitting some moron enjoying their fifteen minuted of undeserved fame. Course, the hit to the head with the bat might explain some of their behavior… my bad.

First up, Larry Seidlin, the crying judge of the Anna Nicole Smith custody trial, announced he was stepping down from the bench. Good. He was a sad example of the United States of America’s judicial system in the twenty-first century. If he hadn’t stepped down, I would hope his competency would have been called into question.

But, no no no, never fear, he stepped down for “many opportunities that have been offered to [him] outside the judicial system and [I] have disregarded until now.” You mean, like filming a test pilot for your own television show over July 2nd & 3rd? Yes folks, his sad little antics paid off. I, for one, will never give this man’s “show” a moment of my time. He’s a disgrace.

___

Then you have Isaiah Washington claiming his release from Grey’s Anatomy was fueled due to the media, and makes him like Malcom X or Paul Robeson.

“This happened to Malcolm X, this happened to Paul Robeson — this misconception can happen to any man of power that loves himself and wants to spread that love and that humanity throughout the world.”

Um… wow. So, you calling someone a derogatory term, on multiple occasions, didn’t factor in? The fact you were a negative force in a popular show, and you were compounding your situation with stupid comments such as this… none of that factored in? Or, perhaps your enormous ego? Because, I mean, really, a “man of power”? Power over what? Your ability to get yourself fired for being an ass?

My FAVORITE part though?

He maintains the controversy has fueled misconceptions about him, with many forgetting the good work he does for African charities.

Oh yes, that absolves you of being homophobic. “It’s okay everyone, Isaiah can say anything he wants, he’s worked on charities!” Man, is that all it takes? “Well, I know I called you a nasty racial slur, but… I’ve worked on charities!”

___

*bangs his head on his keyboard*

Okay, The Dark Knight, the sequel to Batman Begins, is still filming. The Joker got me interested, and then… some more pictures surfaced.

First up, we have the new Batsuit (click any of these images for a MUCH larger version)

I like it, it’s a bit more practical; he can finally turn his head and it seems more like true armor.

But… then pictures of this… thing… showed up.

And a clearer shot

Batman has always had his “toys”, but, this thing just screams “The marketing department called, they want a motorcycle type vehicle in the product line… here’s the prototype for it… fit this in somewhere.” The rumor (not a spoiler, but a rumor) is the Tumbler (the name for the Batmobile in the last movie) gets destroyed at some point and this is either an escape vehicle, or he just uses it while he is sans-Tumbler.

What I liked about the first movie was it seemed a bit more “real world” than the usual super-hero film. Yes, it had its silly moments (Tumbler driving on roofs), but overall, it seemed a bit more real. And this movie had that same vibe up until the “Batpod”… ugh. Even the name screams “marketing department”. “The kids… they love their iPods… Batman needs a Batpod… slap that name on sumthin’!”

And excuse me, but, didn’t the last series of movies also destroy the Batmobile in… the second movie? Yeah… suddenly, my stomach is sinking.

All the bloggers over on TV Squad have been doing this, so I thought I would steal borrow their idea for my own entry.

Big Love – Yes, a show about polygamy. Not something I ever thought I would be watching, but I actually enjoy it. Well scripted, but it’s the acting that pulls me back to this one. Bill Paxton is displaying some chops he never has before.

Entourage – This show gets a lot of attention for Jeremy Piven’s turn as Ari Gold, but it is not just him that keeps me tuning in each week. Excellent mix of drama and comedy, outstanding performances by the entire cast, well worth 30 minutes a week.

Hell’s Kitchen – What can I say? I love Gordon Ramsay. It’s the same each season, but it’s him that keeps bringing me back.

Ice Road Truckers – An obvious attempt to cash in on the success of The Deadliest Catch (another show I love), and a very odd fit for The History Channel, I’m still watching. For those of you who don’t know, it’s about semi drivers who, for two months a year, drive across frozen lakes to deliver supplies to mining camps in the Arctic Circle. Crazy dangerous, but it pays accordingly.

Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List – Yeah… her humor isn’t for everyone, but I enjoy it.

Rescue Me – Now it’s fourth season, it never ceases to amaze me what Denis Leary had inside of him, waiting to get out. He has created one of the most fascinating anti-heroes ever in the role of Tommy Gavin. Tommy is a tortured soul who wrestles with his inner demons daily, while there is a good man locked inside of him, trying desperately to get out. Every time he emerges, some outside force helps the demons resurface, and the cycle starts anew, but with a smarter Tommy, who won’t fall to the same tricks twice. Just a truly amazing show.

Top Chef – No, I do not know what is with me and cooking reality shows. I just like this one a lot as you get to watch the chefs get REALLY snotty with each other. I can’t help it… I like watching people make asses out of themselves for no good reason.

Way back in the summer of 2005, I wrote an entry on episode of 30 Days about living off the grid. I mentioned that I was going to look into switching my light bulbs in my house from the usual incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs.

For those not familiar with CFLs, here’s what one looks like

They may be a bit odd to look at, but they do their job. There is a larger initial investment, but I have seen the prices dropping as I buy in bulk. Where the savings comes is in the less wattage used per bulb, and the length of time they last. Say you normally use a 60 watt bulb, you can get the same amount of light from a 15 watt CFL. The typical CFL requires a 1/4 of the wattage the traditional bulbs do.So, have I liked them? No. I freakin’ love them! In my family room, we have a ceiling fan unit with five light sockets. As the old bulbs have burned out, I have replaced them with CFLs. The oldest bulb in the fixture has been in there now since September 2005. This fixture is on approximately eight hours a day, so this is not a quirk of lack of use.

We are also switching all the bulbs in our warehouse from 200 watt incandescents to 40 watt CFLs. I know the math is off there, but it’s actually brighter in the warehouse with the CFLs. Another side bonus is that the CFLs don’t put out anywhere near the heat the old bulbs do. They do get warm, but you can touch them even after they’ve been on for awhile.

Have they actually cut my electric bill? That’s a bit tougher to determine as I have so many other electronic devices running, but I can’t see why they wouldn’t. Back to that ceiling fan fixture, under the old bulbs we were using five sixty watt bulbs, with the CFLs we’re using five fifteen watt bulbs. So, seventy five watts vs. three hundred watts… yeah, we’re saving money.

So, in short, I highly recommend giving them a try next time you need to buy light bulbs, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

As this article says:

District Attorney Mike Nifong was disbarred Saturday for his “selfish” rape prosecution of three Duke University lacrosse players — a politically motivated act, his judges said, that he inexplicably allowed to fester for months after it was clear the defendants were innocent.

The sad thing is, I don’t even think being disbarred was enough for this ass. He has possibly ruined the lives of three young men with his desperate bid for re-election. I have never been a big fan of privileged college jocks and their sense of entitlement (not all mind you… don’t send me hate mail), but these three were so screamingly innocent, it was sickening.

This man committed perjury, he withheld evidence, and he deserves actual jail time for his actions. And the bonus is? He may face more punishments. The actions taken by this man, a supposed protector of the people of Durham, are so morally reprehensible, it is beyond belief. He put himself out there too much, and when he realized what was going on, he could have pulled back, he could have apologized, but no, he just kept compounding the problem.

And the kicker in all this?

That was perhaps never more apparent than Friday, when Williamson asked Nifong directly if he still believed the accuser was attacked. After pausing for several seconds, Nifong said that while he could not say whether she was sexually assaulted, “something happened to make everybody leave that scene very quickly.”

The comment enraged the players’ defense attorneys, and sent the mother of one player into the hallway outside the courtroom in tears. Williamson took special care Saturday to note that even though Nifong had apologized to the players and volunteered to give up his law license, he remains unable to agree that no lacrosse player committed a crime.

“In the face of a declaration of innocence by the attorney general of North Carolina, it appears the defendant still believes the facts to be one way and the world now knows that is not the case,” Williamson said.

… what?!? He still doesn’t want to back off his story? Even though there are mountains of evidence these three men did nothing, and he STILL sticks to his version? Delusional much?

As someone with severe pollen allergies, usually by this point in the summer my suffering is reduced somewhat. This year, it’s just as bad as if it was April. What is going on? I’m tired of drainage, itchy eyes, and a sore throat. Anytime it wants to, you know, stop like it’s supposed to, I’ll be quite happy, thank you very much.

Today was Bob Barker’s last official day as the host of The Price Is Right. The reason I say it that way is that since they have not yet found a replacement for him, he has said he may come back to guest host while they continue their search.

That aside, you would think with a 35 year history, they might have acknowledged it a little bit more in the episode other than screaming at the beginning an Bob thanking everyone for inviting him into their living rooms. I mean, yes, I know this is just a game show, but considering he has been hosting since I was a year old, this is like a member of the family leaving. Bob has always been there as far as my memory goes. And, that aside, a 35 year career on the same show is pretty monumental.

I guess I just expected a bit more acknowledgment of the event, but nope, pretty much the same old thing. Oh, there was the added bonus that all the contestants had been lined up for days to get in. I bet that was one sweet smelling audience.

Bye-bye Bob, I’ll miss you, apparently CBS… not so much.

It would seem the creator of Two and a Half Men, Chuck Lorre, wants to trade writers with CSI exec producer Carol Mendelsohn for one episode. CBS hasn’t signed off on the idea yet, but it is being discussed for the upcoming seasons for both shows.

I just don’t get this. I can see the CSI episode maybe working, depending on how silly they go, but on Two and a Half Men, you can’t really do a half hour drama, and comedy is actually more difficult to write than drama. I don’t really see this bumping ratings up much, if at all, but it has the potential to be a giant disaster fairly easily.

Next up? The Deadliest Catch and American Chopper… watch as the Orange County Chopper guys try to design a better crab pot while the crab boat guys drop motorcycles in icy ocean waters!

I’ve mentioned in the past that I used to be a magazine writer, but I’m not sure I’ve ever mentioned most of the articles were about toys and action figures. I’m considered an expert on boy’s toys lines from the 1980′s and early 1990′s, and I know more about toys than most people really should. I still keep up on what’s coming out, but not as closely as I used to, but then I saw something I just had to write about… The Meat.

One of my employees sells current toys on eBay and he thought he would share one of them with me to see my reaction. It’s from the current Rocky toy line by Jakks Pacific, which, for the most part is just doing all the characters you would expect, but who would ever expect the side of beef Rocky would punch for practice?

In the package

Oh look, it comes with a bloody work smock!

The tale of The Meat

The sticker from the front of the package… is disturbing

Who thought this was a good idea? If you want to release something like this, you package it with a figure, not by itself! I mean, obviously this is directed at the adult collector instead of at kids, but who goes “You know what I wish I had a toy of? The Meat.”

Suddenly I’m glad I no longer write price guides, for I would have to type in “The Meat”… and assign it a value…

I’m going to cut this for those who haven’t watched it yet.

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