I WILL WRITE ABOUT MY MOVIE WHEN I HAVE TIME TO START IT UP AGAIN.

But tomorrow morning, or since its almost 2AM, this morning, I’ll set out to find my lost disc from a game of disc golf I played this last Monday. It’s in the creek by the metal bridge, by the 5^th hole at the St. Mary’s disc golf course.  I tried looking for it after wading through the creek with my pant legs rolled up, but couldn’t handle how freezing cold the water was.  It was a debilitating kind of cold.  Now I get how Jack felt trying to stay afloat after the Titanic sunk.  That water smells like some rude form of garbage.

Or something like that…..

Soulpancake.com was a site shown to me by a friend.  It’s Rainn Wilson’s site and after looking over it, it is pretty interesting.  Check it!

I wrote earlier in the week about a pair of waders, and that’s what I’ll be walking thought the water with.  Bare feet and rolled up jeans, just aren’t that warm in December if you have to walk through water – at 8AM.

We are not Mennonites and we do not raise beets. And yet, everyone tells me I have raised a doppelganger of Dwight Schrute, favorite nerd of NBC’s The Office.

I forced said son, Nate, to do a 7-second impression of Dieter Schrute, Dwight’s UNreabsorbed twin brother. http://bit.ly/844J7K

Dwight, you cannot outrun your past! Muwahahahahahahahaha

Take my poll: How much does Dieter resemble Dwight?

Today, we’re going to take a look at a video about potential from my future buddy Rainn Wilson’s (some people know him as Dwight Schrute from the hit show THE OFFICE) blog www.soulpancake.com . The questions center around the idea of ‘potential’ and what that looks like in our lives. I have strong opinions on this subject.

I am cursed to view things through the eyes of positivity

I am an optimist.

I believe that we are all created to do something BIG and the only thing that stops us from achieving it is ourselves.

I agree with the words of Lou Holtz who said, “I can’t believe that God put us on this earth to be ordinary.”

I believe that you are called to do GREAT things… that you were designed to do specific things to change this world. Take a peek at this video and let’s hear what some other people think about this idea of ‘potental’.

GP

The NBA on TNT recently introduced a series of new commercials for the 2009-10 NBA season. The commercials star Rainn Wilson, famous for his role as Dwight Schrute on The Office, alongside NBA stars Gilbert Arenas, Deron Williams, Dwight Howard, and Derrick Rose. In the commercials, Arenas, Williams, Howard, and Rose, play the foil to Wilson’s somewhat naive, but completely annoying, cab driver.

The commercials earned generally negative reviews, but have recently come under fire for something a bit more troubling than simply being unfunny. Donal Logue, a working actor perhaps most famous for his role in the short-lived Fox series Grounded for Life, recently attacked the commercials as a rip-off of his character, “Jimmy the Cab Driver.”

Logue appeared as “Jimmy the Cab Driver” in a series of commercials for MTV in the late 90s. Judge for yourself, but from the striking physical similarities (including mustache, mullet, glasses, and indeterminate accent) to the similar structure (unwitting passenger is forced to listen to the eccentric ramblings of a cab driver), it appears Logue may be on to something.

TNT and Wilson have both publicly addressed the creation of Wilson’s NBA cab driver character. TNT would have you believe the idea came from the HBO series Taxicab Confessions.

Wilson, perhaps attempting to set up a scenes a faire defense or perhaps arguing his character is simply a derivative work, recently described the creation of his character, saying “They [NBA] had this crazy cab driver and I’ve kind of seen that character before.” Wilson went on to say:

I was very excited because the night before we shot, I was like ‘You know what? I need a mullet. I need a mustache.’ And he [cab driver] is my ode to all of my crazy cousins and relatives in Wisconsin and Minnesota. I love you guys.

Logue is not buying either explanation. The only apparent connection between Taxicab Confessions and the NBA commercials is that both take place in a taxi. As Logue points out, Taxicab Confessions focused on the outrageousness of the passengers’ confessions to an anonymous cab driver, while the NBA on TNT commercials focus on the outrageousness of Wilson’s cab driver himself.

As for Wilson’s explanation, Logue says:

He [Wilson] made it seem like there was a vague army of similar characters that came before him, all fairly indistinguishable . . . but since he wanted a mustache (I had one too), a mullet (over the course of some spots Jimmy had one) and for his character to be from Wisconsin, he was TOTALLY different.

Neither the NBA nor TNT has responded directly to Logue’s recent blog post, and TNT has yet to pull the commercials.

– Michael Quinlan

Image Source

The Rocker è una commedia del 2008 interpretato da Rainn Wilson, Josh Gad, Teddy Geiger, Emma Stone, Christina Applegate, Jason Sudeikis, Will Arnett, Fred Armisen e Bradley Cooper. Il film è stato scritto da Maya Forbes, Wallace & Wolodarsky, da una storia di Ryan Jaffe, e diretto da Peter Cattaneo.

Leggi altre notizie su: | Peter Cattaneo | Rainn Wilson | Christina Applegate | Josh Gad

I was recently assigned to make a portrait of actor Rainn Wilson, best known for his character Dwight Schrute on NBC’s comedy hit The Office, during a visit to his hometown of Seattle. I caught up to Rainn just before a benefit luncheon to support the Mona Foundation. I was quickly drawn to a set of nice wood cabinets, though stuffed into a hallway. Would the comedic star allow me to invade is personal space? Yep, and he was personable and cooperative to boot during our short photo session.

A setup shot our simple lighting in a tight location…

Senaste tillskottet i hyllan

Transformers 2 – Bumblebee Edition

Fick paket idag från cdon med både special versionerna av Transformers 2, denna & Steelbook versionen. Ena kommer dock att gå på retur men ville se dem först innan jag bestämde mig. Har ju första filmen i en snygg svart plåtbox, men 2an nu matchade inte riktigt istället fick det bli mera leksaker i hyllan.

Denna utgåva är ca 36cm hög, tyvärr endast 2cm djup, hehe.

Förpackningen har dessutom ett hologram som man aktiverar via en webcam som man kan se via den här adressen. www.optimusexperience.com

För er som är sugna finns utgåvan fortfarande att köpa här

Transformers 2: 10/10

MediaSverige: GP 1/5, SvD 5/6, Aftonbladet 2/5, Expressen 4/5, Hallands Nyheter 1/5, HD, SydSvenskan 2/5

VERDICT:
8/10 Ultimate Senior Projects

Not as amazing as I initially remember it being, but still a great movie.

Almost Famous is about William Miller, an unpopular, endearing, and sheltered High Schooler who really digs music. After finding out that he’s two years younger than he always thought he was, he pitches a story to Rolling Stone about doing a piece on the up-and-coming band Stillwater, Rolling Stone is all about it, so this once-lame kid packs up his shit and hits the road with what eventually becomes one of the biggest bands in the country. Needless to say, it ends up being one groovy effing trip.

The story here is loosely based on writer/director Cameron Crowe’s own life and times on his journey from High School nerd to R.S. editor to Oscar-winning screenwriter, and with that, I once again tip my hat to Mr. Crowe. The only other person I can think of that might top him for having one of the coolest lives of all-time, or at least the coolest teen years of all-time, is Frank Abagnale, Jr. from Catch Me If You Can (great movie), only, you know, without all the jail time and whatnot.

But before I go any further, we gotta talk about the soundtrack. I didn’t really appreciate it as much the first time I heard the music in this movie, nor did I fully appreciate the actual soundtrack I got for my birthday that same year, but now that I’ve had a good long time to discover Led Zeppelin, The Allman Brothers (both of whom are the bands Stillwater is based on – fun fact!), and every other seminal classic rock band that are as much a part of this movie as its story and characters, I finally see what I’ve been missing. Screw Rock Band and Guitar Hero, Almost Famous is a true education in some of the greatest music ever put to vinyl along with what it means to actually love music.

Come on, like you didn’t sing along to the “Tiny Dancer” scene.

I think the reason I connected so much with this movie when I first saw it back in High School was because I could connect with William Miller and good lord did I want to be him. Nine years later, William Miller’s life remains unreal, but I’ve unfortunately come to the realization that Patrick Fugit isn’t a very good actor. Doesn’t show a whole lot of emotion, doesn’t do a very good job of convincing anyone that he’s serious when he’s trying to be, and is actually at his best when he lets everyone else do the talking. Probably explains why he hasn’t really landed any significant roles since, but still, what an awesome life.

Not the biggest fan of Jason Lee either, but everyone else is awesome. Billy Crudup is great as Stillwater’s lead guitarist, and even though I’m not all that keen on his real-life antics, he’s one cool mofo here and he sure does look the part, too. Also really like that Crowe made the lead guitarist the main focus of the band, ’cause isn’t the lead guitarist always the coolest one?

“Unfortunately, yes,” replies Aiden the drummer.

There’s also some great cameos by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rainn Wilson, Jimmy Fallon, Fairuza Balk (where the hell did she go?), and Anna Paquin (not exactly great, but hey, she’s an Oscar-winner, dammit!). And big shout-out to Frances McDormand’s hilarious turn as William’s outrageously overprotective mother. She should have won the Oscar for this one.

And lastly, there’s Kate Hudson as Penny Lane, the leader of Stillwater’s groupies – “The Band-Aids”. Among the many things people might remember this movie for, it continues to stand as the both the launching pad and single high point in Ms. Hudson’s unfortunate acting career. I don’t know if it’s a good idea to follow Cuba Gooding, Jr’s lead and keep to a strict diet of shitty role after shitty role after getting nominated for an Oscar, but maybe that’s just me. Still, Penny Lane is arguably the most interesting character in this whole movie and if Kate Hudson were to quit acting today, she’d go down in history for her performance here.

But I don’t know if it’s because I’ve seen this movie too many times or if it’s just because I knew what was coming, but the script isn’t as fantastic as it once was. The humor seems somewhat canned, so does the dialogue at times, and even though it’s better than any other script that was written in 2000, it didn’t have me grinning like an idiot like it used to. Not saying that Crowe didn’t deserve it, but some of the magic has been lost. But if you haven’t seen this movie before, completely disregard this paragraph, the magic was definitely there the first time around.

I’m just now realizing that I’ve used the word “great” a lot in this review, but the thing is that this movie reeks of it. I remember walking out of the theater the first time I saw this and announcing to the world that it was “MY FAVORITE MOVIE OF ALL-TIME!” I took that statement back a few hours later, but still, it was a big deal for me. Nonetheless, Almost Famous may very well be the best movie about music that I know of and even though it may have garnered a 9 out of 10 at another time in my life, it’ll always hold a place in my heart.

Now go out there and get that damn soundtrack.

I attended an event sponsored by the Baha’i Student Association and the Mona Foundation last week—An Evening with Rainn Wilson. Wilson is best known for playing the character Dwight Schrute on NBC’s The Office .

Wilson, a former UW student, talked to current UW students about his spiritual journey and his web site, Soul Pancake, on Nov. 6. More than 700 students attended. Wilson, who grew up as a Baha’i, said he explored spirituality—including becoming an atheist and agnostic in his twenties—before rejoining the Baha’i Faith.

He helped create Soul Pancake, a social networking site for “young people” like us to “chew on life’s big questions.” Some questions include: Can hate sometimes be healthy; Would you rather get stoned than extend marriage rights to gays; and Why go to church?

Wilson ended his humorous but serious talk with a video of his recent trip to Haiti with the Mona Foundation and a Q&A session with the audience.

“Murder”

November 12th, 2009

The best thing about The Office is that its silliest episodes can sometimes be its most effective. An episode like “Cafe Disco” last season was the perfect way to break through the tension of the Michael Scott Paper Company period, devolving into a dance party that helped to bring everyone back together albeit through a less than serious structure. While the show can go off the rails if things become too silly, there is something very honest about situations where the silliness is the result of a human response to a crisis, or to a period of tension. Michael Scott is not the only person in the world who doesn’t like tense situations, although he may be the only one who decides to turn his office into a dance party or, as we see in “Murder,” the scene of a vicious murder.

What makes the episode work is that it continues a couple of ongoing character trends (Jim slowly turning into Michael, Andy’s interest in Erin) in an episode that otherwise devolves into the office’s crazier characters overacting their way through a murder mystery in a box while the rest of the characters contemplate some major financial restructuring. It’s a good introduction to what seems like the next major arc for the series, and I think it’s an effective piece of television comedy in the process.

I want to start off by acknowledging that anybody not charmed by Ed Helms in this episode is simply immune to charm. Andy in a relationship with Angela was ultimately a mistake because she is insufferable and he is earnest, to the point where the relationship was destructive to a character that I genuinely like (Dwight and Angela worked because Dwight suffering has always felt more logical, and the two “deserved” each other to some degree). But now that the show is sweeter on Andy, albeit not afraid to make him creepy (See: touching Pam’s stomach), it makes more sense for him to go after someone like Erin in a way that is sort of allowing the show to pretend like we saw the first days of Jim and Pam’s flirtations, except with both characters being a bit more off kilter. I also like that the episode does give us both sides of the relationship, as we see Andy’s anxiety for most of the episode before revealing that we could have just as easily seen Erin’s anxiety throughout. Ellie Kemper broke my heart in the scene where she tells us she thought it was a real date, and that’s stunning for an episode that had characters talking in terrible southern accents for most of its run time.

Similarly, despite the overall zaniness, I thought that the Jim and Michael side of this story hit home pretty well. While this isn’t quite “Tube City,” it is an example of Michael going for the fun over the practical, although Jim once again sees that there is some logic to his argument. He argues that it was a good day for there to be two managers, and I think the episode only worked because of it. Part of what frustrates Jim about Michael is how selfish some of his ideas are, and there was a moment here where (when defending the murder mystery) Michael became overly emotional and more or less admitted that it is more he than the office who needs this. It’s why he falls further into the delusion when David Wallace does eventually call (although, to Michael’s credit, he did call him in the first place), and it’s why Jim eventually withholds the information regarding the company’s insolvency. He knows that the office wouldn’t be able to take that sort of news, and that the game (for all of its silliness) might be the only way to get through this day. Some have argued that this storyline is the show preparing for Steve Carell’s exit from the series, letting Jim learn from Michael’s successes and failures, and while I don’t think Carell will leave the show so soon (his movie career hasn’t suffered due to being busy on the show, it’s suffered due to bad movies) I do think that it’s really getting the most out of the dual-manager system.

Otherwise, I thought this one was a lot of fun if not a lot of substance. I’ve done these murder mysteries before, and it is only really fun when everyone gets involved, so seeing montages like Dwight accusing everyone before eventually deciding it’s Phyllis (which is right) because she is who he is most medium suspects is just plain funny. I also liked seeing how Pam, who Jenna Fischer did a great job turning into a cranky opponent of Michael in the past few episodes, transitioned back into a supportive role, playing along before anyone else and then quite wonderfully becoming part of the double agent gun fight in the episode’s coda. I thought the episode did a great job of breaking down the bigger pieces of news with humour, like Oscar being forced to use a terrible southern belle accent to try to explain cash flow problems – it never seemed like it was reducing the importance of those emails and the reality of Dunder Mifflin’s financial scenario, but it also never got bogged down by them either.

As for those problems, we’ll see where they go from there: the show has not been avoiding the recession, as branches have been closed and jobs have been lost, but for the entire company to be in this position is something that raises a lot more questions. We know that Scranton as a branch has been performing well, but having two managers seems frivolous and this certainly does place Michael’s job (as a potentially unnecessary bureaucracy) in jeopardy. This was a good way to ease into the storyline with a bit of humour, so I’m pleased to wait and see what the show has to offer from here on out.

Cultural Observations

• In an ideal world, Dwight would have had some emotional component in this one, because Rainn Wilson was pretty great throughout: I particularly enjoyed the cold open, which is a very simple joke (Dwight attacking Dwight) that was just played really well.
• I am enjoying the fact that Ryan’s weird fashion choices has become an unspoken joke for the show and all, but isn’t it about time we bumped him from the credits? I don’t dislike B.J. Novak or anything, but it’s getting obnoxious.
• I thought that Creed’s late arrival, and his quick exit when he thinks he was really under suspicion of murder, was almost too rote a Creed joke: I knew how it would go as soon as he drew up, and not necessarily in a good way.

DVD Top 10.
Bestsellerliste der Woche
von Illuminati bis State of Play

Illuminati:
Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) entdeckt Beweise, dass die mächtigste Untergrundbewegung der Geschichte, ein uralter konspirativer Geheimbund, den man als ‘Die Illuminati’ kennt, wiederauferstanden ist. Kurz darauf wird er damit konfrontiert, dass die katholische Kirche, der zutiefst verhasste Erzfeind der Illuminaten, einer tödlichen, existenzvernichtenden Bedrohung ausgesetzt ist…

Nachts im Museum 2:
Seine Tage als Museumswärter sind passé: Larry Daley ist als Erfinder nutzloser Dinge erfolgreich, kehrt jedoch ins Museum zurück, als er erfährt, dass die seinerzeit zu Leben erwachten Ausstellungsstücke in den Keller des Smithsonian in New York verfrachtet werden sollen. Ruhe ist allerdings auch dort nicht angesagt, weil auch die mystische Tafel von Akhmenrah, die den Exponaten Leben einhaucht, versehentlich zum neuen Ausstellungsort transportiert wurde. Nun bricht dort das Chaos aus, und Larry muss für Ordnung sorgen…

Slumdog Millionär:
Glauben Sie an das Schicksal? Für Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) ist es der größte Tag seines bisherigen Lebens. Nur noch eine Frage trennt ihn vom 20 Millionen Rupien-Hauptgewinn in Indiens TV- Show ‘Wer wird Millionär?’

Der Womanizer:
Der Junggeselle Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey) gehört zu den Typen, die drei Freundinnen den Laufpass geben. Gleichzeitig. Per Telefonkonferenz. Auf der Hochzeitsfeier seines Bruders hat er also nur ein Ziel: Er will die einzige Brautjungfer herumkriegen, die er bisher irgendwie übersehen hat. Doch der Geist seines verstorbenen Onkels Wayne (Michael Douglas) – der Connor beigebracht hat, die Frauen zu wechseln wie die Hemden – verfolgt ein ganz anderes Ziel…

Star Trek – Die Zukunft hat begonnen:
James T. Kirk ist ein rebellischer Hitzkopf im amerikanischen Niemandsland, der nie den Tod seines Vaters bei einem Angriff eines romulanischen Raumschiffs verkraftet hat. Nach einer seiner Prügeleien fordert ihn Captain Pike, einst ein Freund seines verstorbenen Vaters, auf, der Sternenflotte beizutreten. Dort macht sich Kirk zunächst keine Freunde, bis ihn eine Mission zwingt, endlich Verantwortung zu übernehmen: der Romulaner Nero bedroht Vulkan, den Heimatplaneten von Kirks späterem Weggefährten Spock…

Transformers 2:
Nachdem Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) die Welt mit Hilfe der gutmütigen Autobots vor den bösartigen Decepticons gerettet hat, freut er sich auf ein normales Leben. Als er aufs College geht, lässt er nicht nur Freundin Mikaela (Megan Fox) zurück…

X-Men Origins: Wolverine:
Hugh Jackman schlüpft wieder in die Rolle, die ihn zum Superstar machte: Wolverine – der Mann mit den unverkennbaren Stahlklingen, bemerkenswerten Selbstheilungskräften, ruppigem Charme und einer gehörigen Portion trockenem Humor. ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ erzählt die Vorgeschichte Logans mit Augenmerk auf seine mysteriöse Vergangenheit, seine komplexe Beziehung zu Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber) und das ominöse Weapon X-Programm. Der Zuschauer erfährt, wer Wolverine wirklich ist…

Duplicity:
CIA-Offizier Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts) und MI6-Agent Ray Koval (Clive Owen) standen früher im Geheimdienst ihrer Regierungen. Derzeit haben sie in die Privatwirtschaft gewechselt, um mit lukrativen Verträgen das meiste aus dem Kalten Krieg herauszuholen. Beide jagen jeweils für ihre Bosse Tully (Tom Wilkinson) und Garsik (Paul Giamatti) einem milliardenschweren Patent nach. Keiner ahnt, dass sie eine heimliche Affäre und eigene Pläne haben…

Männersache:
Tagsüber arbeitet Paul (Mario Barth) in einer Berliner Zoohandlung und abends an seiner Karriere als Komiker. Zugegeben, seine Auftritte laufen mies… bis Paul anfängt, Witze über seinen besten Freund Hotte (Dieter Tappert) und dessen Freundin Susi (Anja Kling) zu reißen. Auf einmal läuft es auf der Bühne: Pauls Gags über Hottes Beziehungsgeschichten, nicht enden wollende Shopping-Orgien von Susi und den Pärchen Kaffeeklatsch bei den Schwiegereltern sind ein Renner…

State of Play – Stand der Dinge:
Ein junger aufstrebender Politiker und ein Washingtoner Enthüllungsreporter finden sich mitten im Epizentrum einer Reihe von Morden wieder, die nur scheinbar nichts miteinander zu tun haben. Der Kongressabgeordnete Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) ist Hoffnung und Zukunft seiner Partei – ein aussichtsreicher und ehrenhafter Newcomer, unter anderem im Vorsitz des Komitees für Verteidigungsausgaben…

Weitere Informationen, auch Top 100 Liste, erhalten Sie hier

Top-Film:
Transformers 2

Nachdem Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) die Welt mit Hilfe der gutmütigen Autobots vor den bösartigen Decepticons gerettet hat, freut er sich auf ein normales Leben. Als er aufs College geht, lässt er nicht nur Freundin Mikaela (Megan Fox) zurück, sondern auch Roboter-Kumpel Bumblebee. Doch bald wird Sam von seltsamen Visionen heimgesucht. Erneut steht ein Kampf der außerirdischen Roboter bevor, bei dem das Schicksal der Menschheit auf dem Spiel steht. Sam scheint den Schlüssel zu ihrer Rettung in der Hand zu halten, doch diesmal bekommen es er, Mikaela und die Autobots mit einem noch mächtigeren Gegner zu tun…

Darsteller: Cornell Womack, John Turturro, Kevin Dunn, Peter Jason, Spencer Garrett, Shia Labeouf, Tyrese Gibson, Rainn Wilson, John Benjamin Hickey, Robert Foxworth, Mark Ryan, Matthew Marsden, Rick Cramer, Julie White, Ramon Rodriguez, Samantha Smith, Charles Adler, Megan Fox, Steve Tom, John Nielsen, Josh Duhamel, Jess Harnell, Jareb Dauplaise, Michael Benyaer, Sean T. Krishnan, Karina Michel, Jonathon Trent, Derek Alvarado, Isabel Lucas, Peter Cullen, America Olivo, Darius McCrary, Katie Lowes, Alex Fernandez, James Harvey Ward, Kamal Jones, Aaron Hill, Walker Howard, Donald Sage Mackay.

Weitere Informationen erhalten Sie hier

Actor Rainn Wilson, better known as Dwight Schrute, Assistant (to the) Regional Manager on NBC’s “The Office,” was recently in Seattle helping to raise money for impoverished women and children worldwide: http://www.king5.com/news/local/Star-of-The-Office-helps-Kirkland-based-charity-69485337.html

As you can tell from many of my previous posts and blogroll, I’m not ashamed to admit that I enjoy celebrity gossip. It’s a simple pleasure of mine that I don’t even feel guilty about.

There is something exciting about learning little tidbits about the movie stars, singers and famed thought leaders that makes the talented seem more attainable, more accessible. However, with the advent of social media platforms like Twitter, I’m afraid we sometimes receive more information than we care to know.

For example, Jessica Simpson recently tweeted this little confession:

@JessicaSimpson: i have worn butt pads…lol 6:17 PM Oct 23rd from web

Kim Kardashian passed along this message and included a close up image to illustrate her point:

@KimKardashian:  http://twitpic.com/opzgp – Guess who has the biggest butt in the fam? 12:01 AM Nov 8th from TwitPic

The always funny Rainn Wilson thought his many followers would be interested to know this fact:

@RainnWilson: I’ve decided to donate my body to science. Well, not my whole body. Just the best bits. 1:29 PM Oct 20th from web

But leave it to John Mayer to tip the scale when it comes to over-sharing:

@JohnCMayer:  Sitting in a restroom stall. There is a man in the stall beside me. We’re both waiting for the other to leave. Entering minute 12. 4:30 PM Nov 5th from Twittelator

A word to the wise: Your Twitter account is an extension of your “personal brand.” For the average Joe, you don’t have much to loose if you misspell a tweet or disclose a bit of personal information. For the average celebrity, it’s that bit of unattainable mystery that keeps you up on your fans pedestal—keep it playful but professional.

Rainn’s video.

For some reason I can’t embed the video so you’ll have to click on the link.

(Jimmy the cab driver, circa 1993)

When I first saw the new NBA commercials featuring Rainn Wilson (Dwight from The Office) as a crazy cab driver with different NBA players in the back, I thought they were hilarious.  Then I realized it reminded me of a similar ad campaign from the 90’s… which I automatically assumed was from the NBA, and they had just re-worked it.

WRONG.

Thanks to The Google, my memory became more accurate.  The ads weren’t from the NBA, they were from MTV.  The character of ‘Jimmy the cab driver’ was a household name and commercial in the 1990’s, played by actor Donal Logue.  Classic commercials that everyone born before ‘84 should remember.

So, what is it….. a blatant rip-off, or a clever homage to a childhood hero, Jimmy the cab driver?

Original MTV ad:

NBA’s current ad:

Christopher Walken performing Pokerface on Jonathan Ross (i kid you not):

Juno Auditions (Rainn Wilson you sexy motherducker, you):

Thursdays are so the best nights for TV shows!

• Parks and Recreation - NBC – http://www.nbc.com/parks-and-recreation/
• The Office - NBC – http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/
• Fringe - FOX - http://www.fox.com/fringe/
• Flash Forward – ABC - http://abc.go.com/shows/flash-forward/index
• Supernatural - The CW – http://www.cwtv.com/shows/supernatural
• It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia - FX - http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/sunny/

On Parks and Recreation tonight:

Megan Mullally guest stars as Ron’s ex-wife Tammy, who runs the local library and wants to take over Leslie’s lot. Also: Andy tries to win Ann back by getting a job.

Oh, how weird is Ron for having two ex-wives named Tammy, and his mom’s name is Tammy.  Strange…  But I am hoping that more of Leslie’s new boyfriend is on the show, he’s the best thing this season!

Then on The Office:

Jim and Pam are out of excuses and have no choice but to go out with Michael and Helene. Meanwhile, Dwight is strangely doing nice things for everyone in the office.

Now we all know that Dwight would only be doing nice things if he had alterior motives…  But what could they be?  And I am loving Michael with Pam’s mom!  It is definitely saving the show from being the normal sitcom that quickly gets cancelled because it cursed itself with the characters finally getting married! 

Next on Fringe:

When the Division probes bizarre cases of people turning into ash, the investigation also reveals clues about Broyles past. Directed by Emmy Award winner Jon Cassar.

Are the people turning into Ash from Army of Darkness?  Because if there were people turning into Bruce Campbells, I am so for that!  but if they mean ash as is pile of dust, ok, still slightly interesting…  But Broyles doesn’t really interest me, other than that his face is always incredibly sweaty (why?  Is he an alien?) and what is up with his relationship with the redhead from Massive Dynamic?

On FlashForward:

Mark, Demetri, Gough and MI6 agent Fiona Banks investigate a Blue Hand club and its possible connection to some recent suicides. Meanwhile, Aaron receives a surprise visit from a former army buddy of his late daughter’s, Demetri comes clean with Zoey about his lack of a flashforward, and Nicole helps Bryce uncover the mystery of his flashforward while volunteering at the hospital.

While I love this new fall show, they really need to step it up.  Some episodes are way better than others, and they do need to bring it every week, not just once every two weeks…  Where do you think they’ll spot the randaroo??

Then on Supernatural:

Sam and Dean are thrown into an alternate universe where they become characters in various TV shows, including a medical series, a Japanese game show, a forensics procedural and a sitcom.

Oh yes!  An episode of Supernatural made just for the TV Duchess!  I can’t wait to see how they meld the late John Ritter classic movie “Stay Tuned” with the show! 

And finally on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia:

When a merchandising convention comes to town, the gang tries to develop marketable products in an attempt to build the Paddy’s brand.

The gang is just ridiculous!  If you aren’t watching this dark comedy, you really should start.

So, what are YOU watching tonight?  What do YOU think will happen on your favorite show tonight?

Comment below!

Rainn Wilson who plays Dwight Schrute on the popular and award-winning series The Office has created a very interesting website, Soul Pancake, to tackle “life’s big questions.” The website connects spirituality and creativity and comes up with “spiritivity.” Rainn, who is a follower of the Baha’i religion, says he wants to “de-lameify” questions about God… 

It is extremely creative, and they tackle questions like, “Does God answer prayer?” or “When was the first time you realized your parents lied?” or “Is Omnipresence an invasion of privacy?” And much, much more… Readers can comment too or leave one of life’s big questions to be answered. I spent about 30 minutes recently watching the DVDs and perusing the articles. I left with a better sense of the heartbeat of American X generation. They are definitely opening some closets that have been closed for some time, and they are ready to be radical about something or Someone…

See what you think…

Un film del 2009, regia di Michael Bay, con Megan Fox / Shia LaBeouf / Rainn Wilson / Isabel Lucas. Prodotto da Universal Pictures (150min)

Avventura / Azione / Fantascienza

Sam Witwicky sta per partire per il college e si trova costretto a doversi separare per la prima volta dalla sua ragazza Mikaela e dalla sua famiglia, quando improvvisamente viene colto da visioni che gli attraversano il cervello come lampi. Preoccupato di soffrire della stessa malattia che ha colpito suo nonno, Sam non rivela a nessuno il suo problema fino a che non può più fare a meno di ignorare i messaggi e i simboli che compaiono nella sua mente. Nonostante le sue migliori intenzioni, il giovane si troverà nuovamente coinvolto nella guerra senza confine tra Autobot e Decepticon in cui è ancora una volta in gioco il destino dell’universo.