What a busy week! But the sales-meetings are done now and everyone is flying home. As such, things should be returning to normal soon…for a short while, anyway. Our family vacation starts a week from tomorrow (which is next Saturday), so I won’t be posting much (if any) during that time, either.

But I’m back for now, and isn’t that what counts?

Speaking of counting, these guys are counting all the way to the bank…and they’re loving life and having fun while they’re doing it! Playing video games and making a six-digit income. Dude…are you serious? Talk about the ideal job. Wow! (Side-note: check out how young some of them are!! Dang!)

Also, for your visual delight, I have a wonderful image for you: in reference to my previous post regarding Star Wars: Deathtroopers, I found a picture of a zombie Stormtrooper. Yes! You read this correctly! This thing is A to the W to the E to the S to the O to the M to the E, yes, AWESOME!

And finally, to give you something to think about for the weekend, Lucy Lawless (remember Xena?) is back in another historical-fantasy series. I was a big Xena and Hercules fan back in the day (ok, ok…I still am) and am very excited to see this.

That’s all for now. Gotta go get ready for the weekend. Hope you have a good one!

MSB

Oh, that’s right…I have sales-meetings all week this week, some of which require my attention in the evenings. I’ll update ya’ll on what’s been going on next week.

Have a good weekend.

MSB

This is amazing…Random House Books finally released a ground-breaking genre cross-over that combines two of my favorite things: Star Wars and zombies.

That’s right, folks…you heard me…Star Wars and zombies, both, in the same storyline. Take a gander at this: Star Wars: Deathtroopers

I can’t even BEGIN to tell you how badly I want to read this book…

And, even MORE good news: Cinematical has gained a picture of Flynn’s Generation 2 Light Cycle (click the link and scroll down). HOLY CRAP!

I’ve got to go be alone for a few minutes…all of this awesomeness is too overwhelming.

MSB

I am beyond excited about today’s news.

The topics in today’s news strike a personal chord with me, because I’m a BIG fan of all three.

First, Halo fans of the world will jump up and down with glee for this one (yes, glee!): Microsoft has teamed up with a Japanese anime company to create a Halo anime miniseries. While there are few details at the moment, the story is supposed to cover the Spartan program as well as ongoing battles between Earth’s forces and the Covenant. I am ecstatic to learn that Microsoft is doing this. The anime will be an excellent supplement to the books and comics that currently chronicle the Halo universe.

Secondly, Tron 2 has been confirmed as a go and even has an official title: Tron: Legacy. I’ve been a HUGE fan of Tron, ever since I saw it in the theater at the young age of just 9 years-old. Heck, the movie even influenced some of my early writing: around the age of 15, I even went so far as to start writing my own sequel to the first Tron movie. Interestingly, my sequel also included Flynn’s son (as Tron: Legacy does), but mine involved the MCP coming back online and attacking the world’s defense computers (I later realized this was a little too similar to SkyNet in the Terminator franchise and gave up on it). So, needless to say, I’m seriously stoked about seeing a sequel finally in production. Now, if we can just get Hollywood to make a sequel to Deepstar Six…

And finally, one of my idols (ahem, Mr. Joss Whedon) finally has his latest movie’s teaser-site ready. Click here to check it out.

In summary, there’s a lot of stoke-dom in the Baker household right now. Hopefully, all of the anticipation will be worth the energy! I hate getting pumped up about something, only to be let down (i.e.Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen).

Later.

MSB

*sigh*

Sometimes I wish it were legal to clone myself. Well, I guess having the technology to even do so would be nice as well, but the point here is that there are not enough hours in the day.

I know, I know…I’m only about the umpteenth billionth person in the world to say that. But man, lately my To Do list has grown and the days have (seemingly) gotten shorter. I have several thing going on right now (from home-improvement projects to recreational activities to writing projects), and many more on the back-burner…but not enough time to do any of them.

Now, wait a minute, you might say…didn’t you recently sign up for an Xbox Live account? Haven’t you been playing Halo 3 online? Uh…well, yes…but that is not a contributing factor to my dilemma; I usually play at night, after the family has gone to bed. Quit trying to find my faults…I’m lamenting, here!

Anyway, I just found out some excellent news: Sam Raimi has been selected to direct a live-action ‘World of Warcraft’ movie. I’ve never played the game however my buddy Brian does pretty often and I’ve watched him. If Raimi can make the movie look half as good as the game does, and combine the game’s sense of raw action with its intellectual/puzzle aspects, he’ll have the first ever game-to-movie mega-hit. And who better to pull that off than him? I mean, really!

Over at Hayes Hudson’s House of Horror, we get a first-look at the NEW Nightmare on Elm Street remake due out in 2010. I’m not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, I’m all for remakes and reboots of classic franchises, IF they can live up to the standards previously set by their predecessors. On the other hand, though, classics are classics for a reason, and sometimes one should not mess with the original. What do you think?

And finally, an official teaser-trailer for Tim Burton’s imaginative vision of Alice in Wonderland has been released. I gotta tell you: I’m excited about this movie. I’ve seen pictures of Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and I swear he was born to play that part! Knowing Tim Burton, he’ll give us a good show.

That is all. You are dismissed.

MSB

I have to send Congratulations out to my friends Justin and Erica Henry on the birth of their son, Noah.

According to Justin, little Noah arrived last night shortly after 10 o’clock PM. He weighed in at 6 lbs., 15 oz.

Welcome to the world, Noah!

I came to an abrupt realization this morning: I am a terrible FaceBook friend.

No, really…it’s true.

And it’s not because I choose to be, either. It’s just that, lately, I’ve had so much going on that I haven’t even had a chance to log in to FB, let alone reply to my messages. So the bottom line here is this: if you have messaged me via FB and I have not responded, please do not take offense…I promise I will reply to you, um, soon. Pinky-swear! Maybe even by the end of the year!

Moving on…

As you may or may not know, one of my favorite books of all-time is Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game. I am happy to report that there is now a graphic-novel in print that chronicles young Ender’s trials and tribulations while enrolled in Battle School. The book, aptly titled Ender’s Game: Battle School, has been given rave reviews, one of which you can read here.

Say there, friend…do you want a free eBook? How about a free Star Wars eBook? Click on the link and you can download a free electronic copy of Star Wars – Lost Tribe of the Sith: Skyborn. I have not read this one, but I’ve heard good things.

Lists of the Day:

Scene-Stealers.com gives us a list of the Top 10 Worst Twist Endings in Movies. I agree with a few of these, but some (like The Village) I thought actually worked. What do you think? Be sure and voice your thoughts.

Also, here’s an interesting commentary: Totalfilm.com lists the Top 20 Movie-Worlds that Would Make an Excellent Weekend-Getaway Spot. I found this very entertaining. I mean, who wouldn’t want to go to Cloud City (i.e. Bespin) for the weekend? Interestingly enough, the Star Wars franchise was the only one represented with more than one locale.

That’s it for now. Be sure and post your comments, folks…I love the discussion.

MSB

Here’s one from the Classics Vault: the SciFiSquad website dug into its archives and found a review of the first Alien vs. Predator movie, dated way back in September of 2004.

I found it…interesting. As I’ve stated before, I’m a big fan of the movies, but do feel like they could have been better. Take a peek at the article and let’s discuss.

MSB

As much as I love to travel, I sure do like coming home.

Los Angeles was pretty cool, I have to admit. I’ve trekked all over the U.S., but never (officially) made it out to the West Coast until last week (I say officially because I’ve been to Idaho, but that’s not technically the coast). The smog was not too bad while I was there, so I actually got to see the mountains in the distance and surrounding scenery. And thanks to the Garmin GPS given to me by my loving, adoring wife for Father’s Day, I was able to effectively and efficiently navigate the maze of freeways and highways with no problems.

All in all, it was a good trip.

But now on to things of a Science-Fiction and Fantasy nature…

In case you are not aware, I am a huge Futurama fan. Huge, I tell you, HUGE! But after reading this article on Fox’s plan to recast the show, I don’t see myself watching any future episodes…ever. As the author of this article plainly states, they won’t have a show at all if they take any of the voices away. Sad…really sad…

If you click here, you can read John Scalzi’s input on the most masculine name in the world. I’ll have to agree with him on this one; having this name will automatically put hair on your chest.

Want to go from zero to zombie in nothing flat? Take a gander at the new Flip-Top Zombie T-shirt. I want one, and you should, too.

And finally, amctv.com has posted The Ultimate Star Wars Fan Quiz. I have not been able to take this yet (as our workplace has the site blocked for some reason), but I plan to very soon. Give it a shot and make a post here with your score.

That’s all for now, kiddos.

MSB

and will make a decent post tomorrow.

G’night.

MSB