Top 10 for 2006

Here are the top 10 stories (by traffic) for 2006 on the mikemcguff blog:

1. KPRC Local 2 gets a new weather guy
2. Where is Pat Gray of Talk Radio 950 KPRC?
3. PICTURE: Wedding gun cake - only in Texas
4. It is actually happening
5. Major shakeup to Houston's CHR 104.1 KRBE
6. Former KPRCer Wes Hohenstein update?
7. Linda Lorelle leaves KPRC Local 2
8. What Atom Smasher & Maria Todd are up to
9. Is Byron Miranda gone from KPRC mornings?
10. Dwight Schrute will prank phone call you

Happy New Years!

Sneak preview of The Venice Project

Wired Magazine lists "The Venice Project" as a "wired" trend this month. Never heard of it? The Web TV Wire has more:

The Venice Project is a TV distribution project that comes from Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, the founders of Skype and Kazaa and so unsurprisingly uses peer to peer technology. Using P2P technology and the power of the web the creators hope to change the way TV is viewed on the internet by offering more channels, interactivity and a social aspect. Analysts say it could threaten existing TV networks. From what I’ve read it is more of a sophisticated p2p YouTube (video on demand) rather than something that will deliver live TV.

- Go to The Venice Project site
- Click here for the preview

Is 'Web 2.0' Another Bubble?

The Wall Street Journal Online invited two technology venture capitalists to debate whether this Web 2.0 craze is another bubble.

They didn't even mention 3.0.

That David Lee Roth/Van Halen rumor getting stronger

I was talking to a friend yesterday about how 2007 could be a really rocking year. We have Guns N' Roses allegedly releasing Chinese Democracy on March, 6, 2007, Velvet Revolver has a new one as well as Metallica (and it's supposed to sound like Master of Puppets for those keeping score at home).

Then there is that rumor that won't go away about David Lee Roth rejoining Van Halen for a tour. More on that is surfacing all of the time.

From the lips of David Lee Roth on TMZ.com via Blabbermouth:

"A VAN HALEN reunion is a lot like NASCAR — are you there to see the winner or the crash?" mused Dave. "In this aspect, we're a lot closer to 'Jerry Springer' meets 'Knots Landing', which, to me, sells T-shirts."

Maybe that doesn't sound optimistic, but at least promising.

Then Rolling Stone is getting in the mix:

Meanwhile, the other former Van Halen vocalist (who isn’t Gary Cherone) showed his support for the project, telling a Cleveland newspaper, “Dave and Ed working together? I don’t see it in a million years . . . You throw Dave in that mix, and I just don’t see it working. Dave’s gonna want it to be all about him. Ed’s gonna want it to be all about him. And that’s a tough one right there. I’ll probably just be sitting over in the corner, cracking up.”

I'll be there. I guess the band will still have a 15-year-old bassist too.

Hoffman's tease about Fox 26 weather

So what does this little nugget mean at the bottom of a Ken Hoffman TV news entry?:

I don't run things in local TV newsrooms, but ...
If Channel 11 still is looking for a replacement for departed superstar anchor Lisa Foronda, I'd hire Carol Lin from CNN. Lin recently left the CNN anchor desk because they wanted to make her a roving national reporter. Lin is a single mom and doesn't want to spend life on the road.

Lin is a terrific, poised, credible anchor who can handle the toughest hard-news story and the silliest feature. She has a national reputation.

She was at the CNN anchor desk when 9/11 happened and turned in a magnificent job that entire day. Plus, when you're an anchor at Channel 11, you don't have to do any reporting, so the workload would fit perfectly into Lin's schedule.

Next week, I'll fix Channel 2's morning newscast.

•While I'm at it, I'm forecasting a switch in weather personnel on Channel 26's evening news.

Hoffman can be such a tease. This is a wild guess, but is KRIV's Cecilia Sinclair moving to the morning show or something?

I need some Insite on this one. Help us!

Houston is feeling energized and dumped on

The La Times article, Houston is feeling energized, is the latest reason the rest of the country hates us. Who can blame them when most of the media craps all over the 4th largest city?

Why are we a target? Energy baby! And what do liberal journalists hate the most? Oil.

Just look at this treatment:

At the center table, Ileana Trevino, the head of a hospital foundation, was celebrating her 51st birthday with about a dozen close friends and her husband, Michael, a Marathon Oil executive. She was asked what she wanted to drink.

"Whatever's expensive," Trevino replied, and laughed. The sommelier recommended bottles of a $50 red from Spain's Montsant region, a modest option at a restaurant that offers magnums of 1945 Chateau Petrus Bordeaux for $30,000.

"It's almost palpable, isn't it?" said attorney Michael Solar, one of Trevino's friends, as he waved his glass to indicate the wealth in the packed room. "When the rest of the country is doing well, it seems like Houston is often struggling. But when the rest of the country is struggling, it seems like Houston is often doing well."

High oil, natural gas and electricity prices may bring pain to families and business owners elsewhere, but in America's energy capital, they bring prosperity.

Via blogHOUSTON and HouStoned

I finally own a Nintendo Entertainment System

Forget the Nintendo Wii, what about the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)? We got one for Christmas. Why do you think blogging has been light? I've been playing the original Super Mario Brothers.

Beyond Mario, we have titles like Duck Hunt, Track and Field, The Legend of Zelda, Double Dragon 3, Robocop, Gremlins 2, Megaman 2...etc.

The funny thing is, I already know people who want to buy this system from me. Sorry, not for sale. From a quick scan of eBay, doesn't look like I could get much for one anyway. Here's the deal, I never owned one as a kid, but always wanted one. I did have an original Gameboy though. It just wasn't the same, but I liked the portability. What would my childhood self say if I told him, "Don't worry, in 20 years you'll get one of these!"

So where did we come across this gem. My wife has a very cool grandmother. She actually still plays a Sega Master System...no joke! We went to her house near Beaumont and found what looked like a museum of old game systems. The NES caught our eye. Through some investigating, we found out it is actually my wife' s console from when she was a little girl. She thought it had been sold off a long time ago.

No question, Super Mario Brothers was, no make that is a good game. In fact, even though we have an Xbox, I still am more intrigued by this game. Is it simply because I never had it as a kid and always wanted it, or is it just that good?

The good ideas of 2006

People love to make lists and look back at a year before it ends. David Pogue of the New York Times is one of them. Check out his list of greatest ideas, individual features, that surfaced in 2006.

One I didn't know existed but have often thought would be a good idea:

THE FLASH-DRIVE FUEL GAUGE You gotta love those U.S.B. flash drives. They’re cheap, shiny and tiny, and they offer a practically perfect way to transport computer files.

On the other hand, you gotta hate it when you plug in a flash drive to receive a file you need — and discover that the darned thing doesn’t have enough free space.

That’s the beauty of Lexar’s Mercury flash drive, whose case has a “fuel gauge” — a bar graph that tells you, without even plugging the thing in, how full it is. Thanks to a technology called E-Ink, this graph is always on and stays visible indefinitely, without requiring any power whatsoever.

New Year's Eve in Houston

Thanks to everyone who emailed in Houston New Year's Eve events. Goodbye 2006, hello 2007.

See the list here

Email in your event

abc13.com Consumer Blog turns a year old

It started on December 23rd, 2005 with a static HTML page, a little bravery and a consumer producer with a big dream. I've come through MSM blogging fairly unscathed, let's hope it stays that way in 2007!

Here's to the first anniversary of the abc13.com Consumer Blog...sort of.

New Year's Eve plans and happenings

If you want to publicize a Houston New Year's Eve event on abc13.com, send me an email here.

We used to love to go to New Year's Eve Houston, after that was stopped it's kind of hit or miss. Year after year, it's hard to find a good source for New Year's events...especially after City Search started mailing it in.

I'm going to try to change that.

Flaws Are Detected in Microsoft’s Vista

The New York Times is reporting that Microsoft's new operating system, Vista, could already have some security flaws:

Microsoft is facing an early crisis of confidence in the quality of its Windows Vista operating system as computer security researchers and hackers have begun to find potentially serious flaws in the system that was released to corporate customers late last month.

On Dec. 15, a Russian programmer posted a description of a flaw that makes it possible to increase a user’s privileges on all of the company’s recent operating systems, including Vista. And over the weekend a Silicon Valley computer security firm said it had notified Microsoft that it had also found that flaw, as well as five other vulnerabilities, including one serious error in the software code underlying the company’s new Internet Explorer 7 browser.

Read more here.

My policy is that use IE7 for the mainstream sites and Firefox for anything else.

The mysteries of holiday tipping explained

I wrote up a piece for abc13.com that tries to explain the mysteries of holiday tipping. I know you have enough to think about right now, but tipping is a great way to let someone know you appreciate what they're doing.

There are suggestions for who to tip and how much to give them.

READ THE ARTICLE

Help David Carr make a big play

Nick Anderson has a funny, interactive Carr-toon. You get to play David Carr in the middle of a Houston Texans game. PLAY HERE

Good luck, you'll need it.

Did anyone else notice the athletic cup flying in the air?

Vote for Tom Koch

Look, you can vote for your favorite Houston morning TV anchor over at the Chronicle. I suggest Tom Koch.

If for some reason you want to vote for someone else, my next suggestion is Lauren Freeman. We did time together in small market TV. Go KXXV and its new web site! Funny, it kind of looks like the one I designed in 2001.

(Poll closes: Dec 25 at 12 a.m.)

VIDEO: My wife made Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Friday night in Los Angeles, we attended a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live. My wife made TV right before Howard Stern! She's the hot brunette in the audience. You can just see my shoulder next to her. WATCH THE VIDEO

Wow, I have a nationally famous body part.

Perfume for your dog, yes, your dog

Regular readers of this blog might be tired of the nonstop Los Angeles coverage here, but I could not pass this one up.

Saturday we were in Fred Segal and saw a card for Sexy Beast, canine style unleashed. Yes, you read that correct, it is a scent for your dog.

My first thought is only in California, but I'm sure this will be for sale everywhere eventually. People love their dogs almost as much as their kids - sometimes maybe more! They are willing to pay any price to keep the pooch happy.

Watch the cool flash video

The new version of Blogger

Looks like Google is breaking out the champagne and party favors, Blogger is out of beta:

The new version of Blogger in beta is dead!
Long live the new version of Blogger!(P.S. The old version of Blogger is not dead, but it would like to retire for a little while... maybe go to Hawaii or play World of Warcraft all day? It begs you to let it play World of Warcraft all day.)

I have switched over and like it, but I noticed when I mobile blog, all of my pictures are posted larger than they actually are. You might have seen that with the Los Angeles trip. That was not a problem with the old Blogger.

Problems aside, I love labels.

The Houston Chronicle visits KPRC Local 2

Mike McDaniel visits the ever changing KPRC Local 2 in today's Houston Chronicle:

Some detractors say it will take years to overcome ill will developed during the station's rush to hyped-up journalism and its perceived mishandling of the Lorelle issue.

Others say real change won't come until the station increases its staff, estimated to be two-thirds the size of that of Channel 11 and Channel 13.

The station seems to have ratcheted up the number of its on-air promotions — their frequency now borders on annoying — but is behind the competition in outlaying cash for billboard and radio marketing.

Streamlining — a plague affecting all mainstream media — has resulted in photographers sharing access to company vehicles, a cutback in the hiring of journeymen and stunted growth in the station's online department, click2houston.com.

Remember the old days of channel 2? When Ron Stone and Jan Carson were there? WATCH VIDEO HERE

VIDEO: What is Yao Ming saying?

What's going on in the NBA? First we have the Madison Square Garden skirmish...you know the fans like it no matter what they say.

Then I found this video of our very own Houston Rocket, Yao Ming, possibly mouthing something dirty! Yao, tell us it isn't so!

Axl Rose says Chinese Democracy coming March 6

I really look like a fool after trying to blog about the Chinese Democracy release date. What can I say, Axl Rose had me at hello even if Guns N' Roses ain't what it used to be. Looks like we are all waiting until March 6:

Seven months ago, the 44-year-old rock recluse emerged from seclusion and claimed "Chinese Democracy" would be out before the end of the year. The Guns frontman affirmed the 2006 release plan during the MTV Video Music Awards in late August, and his manager, Merck Mercuriadis, indicated the same to Rolling Stone in October.

But disillusioned fans began questioning the prospects of a 2006 release when the band's North American tour, which kicked off in October, rolled into December with no mention of the album. A Harley-Davidson commercial that used a track from the unreleased album was abruptly and inexplicably pulled. Music gurus began wondering if the 2006 date was a cash-grab aimed at selling more concert tickets.

At least this time, we have an official word from Axl:

In regard to a release date for the album itself, certain minor –- and I do mean minor -- additions, as well as contract negotiations, need to be completed. Barring any unforeseen complications, these things have now been adequately scheduled. The band and I, along with our record company, feel that this record deserves the proper setup and promotion, not the “13 Tuesdays left” and “It may just appear in your record store” approach offered by management. We believe this strategy may have been used as a tool by management to sell this latest tour to the various promoters, and if this was the case, this was obviously unfair to them. The stress of dealing with this situation has been considerable for everyone, including the band, but more important, in our opinion, it was something utterly insane to do to our fans. You have our apologies, and please know we have been laboring over this with management for the entire North American tour.

It takes approximately eight weeks for an album to hit the shelves once it has been turned in to the record company. For whatever reasons, it appears that it may have been mistakenly inferred by management that this time period could be condensed to three weeks. With that being said, this is not a promise, a lie or a guarantee, but we do wish to announce a tentative release date of March 6. This is the first time we have done this publicly for this album. Others have made up all the other dates for their own reasons. We would like to assure the fans that everything in our power will be done to meet this date. Once it is finalized and official, you will be notified. If we are delayed for unseen reasons, you also will be notified as soon as possible in regard to a new date, and the album will be released as shortly thereafter as is possible. We thank you for your patience.

In the end, it’s just an album, but it’s one that I, the band, our record company and all involved believe and feel is a true Guns N’ Roses album. Ultimately the public will decide, and regardless of the outcome, our hearts, lives and our passion has been put into this project every step of the way. If for no other reason, we feel those elements alone merit your consideration. We do hope you can hold on just a bit longer, and if not, please take a break and we’ll be more than glad -- if you so choose -- to see you again later.

Read the rest of Axl's statements.

Rolling Stone has more that you WILL WANT to read.

What I missed in Houston

I've been writing about this, and then it happens!

Time to bring out the illustration:

Now you can search for patents

If you are the inventive type, Google just released a patent search:

We're excited to be releasing the beta version of Google Patent Search, which makes it easy to search the full text of the U.S. patent corpus and find patents that interest you. Start your exploration at www.google.com/patents or visit the Advanced Patent Search page to search by criteria, including patent number, inventor, and filing date. You can view images of original patents online.

Google Patent Search uses much of the same technology that powers Google Book Search, so you can scroll through pages and zoom in on text and illustrations just like you can with books.

The lowdown on Microsoft Vista

David Pogue of the New York Times gives his review of Windows Vista:

So after five years, how is Windows Vista? Microsoft’s description, which you’ll soon be seeing in millions of dollars’ worth of advertising, is “Clear, Confident, Connected.” But a more truthful motto would be “Looks, Locks, Lacks.”

See what he likes and does not like.

I saw the Mac guy

We went to a British pub on Sunset and saw Justin Long, aka the Mac in the Apple TV commercials. He's been in TV shows like 'Ed' and movies too, but most readers of this blog will know him as the Mac guy.

The red headed actress from Grey's Anatomy was also there.

Google in real life

The Google office in Santa Monica.

Social network shirt

Seen at Venice Beach.

The George Lopez Show

I saw my first TV sitcom taping. It was of The George Lopez Show. Yes, it is still on the air. As a TV dude myself, it was cool to see behind the scenes. In fact movie actor, Andy Garcia, directed this episode.

To tape one episode took around four hours. They have a comic in the audience to keep the crowd up in between scenes. As you might imagine, there are multiple retakes for proper camera angles and actor line flubs. As someone who has produced thirty minute, make that 22 minute shows, I think they shoot way more than half an hours worth of show. In edit, they must cut out material that did not work.

We had a high school physics teacher in the audience with us that got up and did a bizarre dance performance. The audience got so into it that the cast and crew stopped to watch. A rep from the show came to get his name. We heard Lopez wanted to know who this guy was. Possible future guest star?

The show will be back on the air Wednesday nights on ABC starting this January.The episode we watched will be on in a few months.

Sorry for the picture of a Lopez bottle of water, but no cameras allowed on the lot. If you go to a taping at Warner Brothers, beware, some of the pages bite.

The Rainbow Bar and Grill

We ate at a rock n roll institution, The Rainbow Bar and Grill. Located on Sunset, this is where the real rockers eat. It was in a Guns N Roses video. Lemmy from Motorhead was allegedly to show, but we did not see any stars. Order the pizza if you go.
Supposedly the HBO show Entourage is filmed in the office building across the street.

The Mouse

When you stay at a Disneyland resort, you will find characters all over your room. As you can see, Mickeys hands were touching our room, literally.

Drawing lesson

We got a drawing lesson at California Adventure. This is my Winnie the Pooh. Notice how it is in a box. That is the guide box they told us to draw first. I cant believe they draw that each time. It takes 24 drawings to make one second of animation.

Snow in LA?

We went to Disney California Adventure today. Tower of Terror was fantastic. Too bad California Screamin coaster was closed. At night it was back to Disneyland to see the fireworks. Afterwards snow started falling. That snow was actually soap suds.

107.5 KLDE becomes KHTC

FMQB.com is reporting today that 107.5 KLDE is changing its call letters to KHTC starting December 14th.

Will there be a format change too?

Hello from Disneyland

Arrived in LA and drove right to Disneyland. The weather is nice, crowds thin. Saw the Jack Sparrow additions to Pirates and the massive Christmas decorations around the park. Even at Haunted M. FYI, I think the California Space Mountain is the best!

Pat Gray lands at KSEV?

BlogHOUSTON is reporting that conservative talker Pat Gray (formerly Talk Radio 950 KPRC am) has a new gig at 700 KSEV.

Now about my dream of Mr. Crap on the Michael Garfield show...guess it will never happen since Garf is moving to a one hour show that seems like it will go back to a technology focus.

I figured if Laurence can have a popular show on Skype, he could do wonders for KPRC.

When you get famous, don't forget Houston

What do Dennis Quaid, Isiah Washington, Janeane Garofalo, Patrick Swayze, Shelley Duvall, Aliexis Bledel, Richard Linklater and a lot more of Hollywood have in common? They are originally from Houston.

At least that's what Houstonclassmates.com claims. This site features Houston actors, directors, sports figures, politicians...etc. Based on what I'm seeing here, I could have put myself on this site when I was a TV reporter. That way I could have been on the Lamar High School page with Tommy Tune (who I have interviewed) and Jaclyn Smith. I missed that honor.

I don't even see an entry for Clements High. My girl Sonia Koo should have been listed on that page.

Honestly I don't know who a lot of the people on the Houston page are. I'm sure they are big stars to someone in our area though.

VIDEO: Little girl outdoes George Carlin

Here is a popular YouTube video that is really angering talk radio and cable news channels. It's of a little girl slamming Bill O'Reilly, Republicans and religion. NSFW!!!



Bill O'Reilly has done some attacking back on his show.

After watching the clip, it looks less like propaganda and more like a PR stunt that appears to be generating buzz for some band's new album release.

Update:
If I paid attention more, I would have seen this on the child's YouTube page:

OFFICIAL STATEMENT: THIS VIDEO FEATURES A TALENTED YOUNG ACTRESS PLAYING A FICTITIOUS CHARACTER. IT IS A COMMERCIAL FOR THE BAND 'THE BASTARD FAIRIES' AND DIRECTED BY AN AWARD WINNING DOCUMENTARY FILM MAKING TEAM

Wow, some people are willing to do almost anything for attention these days. Was it child exploitation like the Fox News pundit says in the O'Reilly clip?

It's not an official city program without an acronym

This might get confusing, but The Houston Press' Hairballs column wrote about the new Houston graffiti cameras. Yes, they are what they sound like, a camera that catches taggers.

BlogHOUSTON covered that topic and asked if there was an official city acronym for the program. Well, the Press blog, HouStoned, took it all a step further and came up with some unofficial ones. My favorite:

O.R.W.E.L.L.
Optical Recording Watching Every Last Larcenist

To see more acronyms, click here.

HDTV Houston fun

I just built this new HDTV section for abc13.com you might want to check out. It talks about our new digital channels for high definition, extra programming and 24 hour weather coverage.

My personal favorite section on the page is the new "HD Doctor." Why? I was jamming out to my Motley Crue channel on Pandora one night and KISS' Dr. Love came on. I was already thinking about doing an HDTV question and answer section, but after hearing Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley singing, I thought, "Why not the HD Doctor?"

Strange where inspiration comes from isn't it?

Christmas candy time!

Time to pack on the pounds as my wife and her mom cook candy and bake cookies. The sugar rush is on! What are your holiday traditions?

Houstonian living in Angola: the blog

If you want a really interesting read, try looking at the Back in One Piece blog. It's the story of a Houstonian living in Angola. Here's a snippet:

The driver had crashed into a parked car. Both the driver's car and the parked car were relatively undamaged, although there was enough damage to warrant repairs. The driver got out of his car to see the damage. Deciding that he didn't want to pay for the damage, he got back into his car and started to drive away. Now there are a few people in the street, watching all this. One of the guards from the Policentro takes out his AK-47 and just starts shooting at the car- which is on a busy road now filled with several people. The car got away and luckily no one was hurt.

(Clearly this picture has nothing to do with the above post, I just liked it)





It's written by Leslie Santamaria who is a friend of mine from way back in high school at Lamar. She's in Africa working for Catholic Relief Services and probably one of the few Houston folks not working for an oil company.

Speaking of oil, Leslie did eat dinner with some others from our neck of the woods recently, some of which who worked in the industry. After reading this post, all of those AP stories I've read over the years came to life:

There were other Americans at the dinner, too. One Chevron employee from Katy, TX was there and an insurance inspector from NE Louisiana. It was interesting to step into the world of the oil industry. When the men started talking shop, it was as if they were speaking a different language! The man from NE Louisiana mysteriously said that he used to do off-shore work until he was hospitalized. He then mentioned off-handedly, “And then I was held hostage in Nigeria, so I decided to move into the insurance part.” Hmm. Then the Chevron guy said, “Oh we’ve all been held hostage.” A different world than mine!

Mine too luckily. Enjoy her blog.

Texas bloggers rally around beer

Maybe that headline simplifies the issue a bit, but I got a note that some bloggers are rallying around microbreweries:

So far, 14 out of 19 microbreweries started in Texas have failed. It's very difficult to start a successful microbrewery in Texas. In other states where microbrews have flourished, those states have laws more favorable to microbrewing. We want something more similar to what they have. And it's not like the legislative changes microbrewers are seeking is unreasonable: microbrewers are seeking similar laws to those that micro-wineries in Texas already enjoy.

www.starnoldgoestoaustin.com/blog is the blog behind the issue.

Wow, bloggers working to change legislation. Last time bloggers joined forces, we tried to save the River Oaks Theater - whatever happened with that?

abc13.com NASA section

I just built abc13.com's NASA section in honor of the attempted launch Thursday.

Here it is.

You'll find some unofficial NASA employee blogs, space video and articles all in one place.

I'm looking to add more, so if you have any suggestions, drop me a line.

Houstonist turns a year old!

Happy Birthday Houstonist!

The very productive Jim Parsons sent me this nice invitation to the shindig:

Houstonist is celebrating its first birthday Wednesday, Dec. 13, and you're invited (and so is everyone you know, for that matter). We'll be having some after-work drinks at Warrren's on Market Square downtown from 6 to 8-ish that evening -- as usual, drinks are on us until our tab runs out. I hope you'll stop by if you have the chance.

http://www.houstonist.com/archives/2006/12/05/houstonist_1st.php

Free booze, what else do you need?

740 am KTRH and 950 KPRC changing shows, schedules

BlogHOUSTON found that the recent changes at Talk Radio 950 KPRC aren't over yet. First Pat Gray is out, then Michael Berry and Michael Garfield shifted shows and now Rush Limbaugh is outta there too.

According to the post, El Rushbo is moving to News Radio 740 KTRH December 18th. Is that News Radio moniker still accurate anymore? Not as much news as there used to be.

Rush has been on 950 since his show came to Houston if memory serves. Why would they move him?

According to comments on the BH post, this rumor could be the explanation.

Frat boys want out of "Borat" RV

If you saw Borat, then you won't forget the frat boy road trip part. Well those frat boys are suing and want off the RV:

Two South Carolina fraternity brothers who claim they were duped into misbehaving for the camera in the "Borat" movie are expected to ask a judge today in Santa Monica to have their scenes cut. The unidentified plaintiffs say they thought they were talking to a real journalist when they made racist and sexist comments in the movie.

The frat boys say the Borat crew liquored them up and lied to them.

Wow, frat boys being forced to drink, never heard of that. The studio isn't too worried and says the lawsuit has no merit.

Good news for Metallica fans?

Blabbermouth has news about Metallica from the lips of Lars Ulrich. I am a fan of the early work only, will we see a return to the early days? Here's Ulrich:

"I mean, having to deliver 'Master of Puppets' for three months this summer definitely revitalized some of that stuff in us, and it's been kind of fun having that in the back of our mind as we've been going through this process. I don't know what else to say. It's a little early to put it into a one-sentence soundbite on Blabbermouth, if you know what I mean."

Referring to the controversial, low-fi production on 2003's "St. Anger", Ulrich said that he's "taken the drums out of the cardboard boxes" this time, and that lead guitarist Kirk Hammett will lay down guitar solos on this record.

VIDEO: Mary Poppins re-cut into Horror film

I love it when people take a movie and re-cut a new trailer that is totally different from the original. It shows the true power of editing.

The Disney Blog found a re-cut trailer of Mary Poppins that will FREAK YOU OUT!

Watch it here.

Here's your chance to live on the moon

We're supposedly building an outpost on the moon:

NASA announced Monday it will establish an international base camp on one of the moon's poles, permanently staffing it by 2024, four years after astronauts return to the moon.

It is a sweeping departure from the Apollo moon missions of the 1960s and represents a new phase of space exploration after space shuttles are retired in 2010.

A big ole Christmas tree in Dallas

Murdock visited The Galleria in Dallas and transmitted this mobile picture to me:

I want this or NO blogging!!!

I wonder if there are bloggers out there who make appearances and have big demands? Maybe they need readers to send them stuff just to post. I'm thinking rock star demands - no brown M&Ms, cigarettes without filters, a half full bottle of Jack D., unopened.

I would ask for some Altoids and a cold can of Dr. Pepper, diet please.

Lindsay Lohan, a real movie star on the other hand, has some big time alleged requests before she hits the set for filming.

See them here.

Microsoft Office 2007

I started using Microsoft Office 2007. It's very different. Sometime I look at it and think of Japanese Anime. The programs are very colorful, almost cartoonish.

Take a look at Word and Outlook.

But there are some cool new functions along with old favorites in a new package.

Microsoft let's you take test drive here.

In memory of Piper

Laurence reported some sad news Monday. His beloved cat, Piper, has passed away.

You can leave a message for him here.

Lisa Foronda leaving KHOU channel 11

I heard the news that Lisa Foronda was leaving Channel 11 KHOU Monday afternoon but didn't post because I didn't know if it was true or not.

Well it is.

Here is Foronda in her own words from her blog:

I wanted to add a few tidbits and answer some questions you may have.

1. Why am I leaving? Bottom line, I'm looking forward to a career that is not in the public eye and allows me to work one on one with people, rather that through a camera. I'm also young enough to make a career change. Ten years down the road, I don't want to be stuck in a job I'm not passionate about.

2. What will I do? I will not be doing TV. This is the end of the line for me in this business. I'm not sure what career I will go into, but I have a few "irons in the fire."

BlogHouston also linked to KHOU's press release about her departure and now the Chronicle's Mike McDaniel is writing about it:

Lisa Foronda, a Channel 11 news anchor since 1997, will leave her post on Dec. 22 to pursue other, undeclared activities.

"I'm finished with TV news," she said Monday. "I really want to do something else with my life, something not in the public eye."

She said her decision had nothing to do with her colleagues or superiors, only with the nature of the job itself.

The Chron article says Debra or Deborah Duncan will not replace Foronda:

The Foronda replacement will not come from Channel 11's morning team, Diaz said.

"Our mornings are just as important as our evenings," he said. "Our plan is to leave that team alone."

Fighting holiday catalogs and the IRS owes you

I have no Internet connection at home right now so as someone famously says, "Blogging will be light today."

In the meantime...

Jeff Ehling got mad about all of the holiday catalogs he received in one day, so he decided to see how to stop them.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Plus, did you know you have money coming to you from the IRS?