Toe-wik-a-whissa

Heeding the "it’s not real until you’re actually on the set" philosophy, I haven’t written about this movie that I’m working on tomorrow.

Yeah . . . I booked a movie! I’m have a cameo as a director called "Alan Smith" in this great movie, which has a title I can’t disclose. I’ll call it The One Where Wil Wheaton’s Cameo Kills And Wins Him Some Stupid Award (TOWWWCKAWHSSA, which is actually pronounced "Toe-wik-a-whissa." Which makes me giggle like a product tester in the nitrous oxide factory.)

The thing is . . . I was supposed to work in the morning and make it to the ACME show at night. I just got my call time, and they’re bringing me in late in the afternoon. Unless they change the schedule, there is no way I’ll be able to make it to the show. I know that several WWdN readers are planning to come to the show tomorrow night, and I reminded the folks at The One Where Wil Wheaton’s Cameo Kills And Wins Him Some Stupid Award that they assured me the movie wouldn’t conflict with the my show. They’re working on it, but I’ll be very surprised if they can shuffle around an entire day’s work just to accomodate a day player, (even if he name *is* in the title of the movie.)

The cast will survive without me, and the show will still be hilarious, but if you want to see me do my funny, you’re probably better off waiting until next week.

Check back here in the next couple of hours, as I’ll update when I know for sure whether or not we can make it happen.

i walk the line

I’ve been watching I Love The 80s 3D for the last 90 minutes or so, and I keep seeing commercials for I Walk The Line.

Huge Johnny Cash fan that I am, I have been really excited about this film . . . but I’m scared to death after seeing the commercials. I really hope the personalities of the lead actors don’t overwhelm the characters they are playing.

. . . just like me.

Ryan and Nolan played basketball in the driveway. I had my PowerBook on the breakfast table, and I caught bits of their conversation through the open window as I worked.

". . . a freshman?" Ryan said.

"Yeah," Nolan said.

"What’s her –" A car drove up the street, and drowned Ryan out.

Her? My parental spideysense switched on, but I tried to stay focused on my work.

"That’s cool." I thought. "I shouldn’t be listening to their conversation, anyway."

For the next several minutes, I couldn’t hear anything but the bounce of the ball, and then "Brick!" from Nolan as the ball bounced off the backboard, and landed beneath the kitchen window. Ryan walked over to pick it up.

" . . . is so freakin’ hot," Nolan said.

"Yeah," Ryan said as he picked up the ball, "but she’s not your type. She’s a geek, just like me."

I looked out the window. Did he see me? No. He tossed the ball back to Nolan.

"Your ball," he said.

I closed my Powerbook and watched them play in the fading afternoon sunlight. I saw that Ryan was wearing a Mozilla T-shirt.

. . . just like me.

commentary tracks of the damned looks at Nemesis

Star Trek: Nemesis is featured in this week’s Commentary Tracks of the Damned in The Onion AV Club.

What went wrong: Nothing, though Baird’s offhanded and repeated dismissal of pre-established Star Trek canon—characters, design, relationships, backstory, previous Trek
films—strongly implies a fatal contempt for the series. He brightens
noticeably when describing the parts of the film he got to design from
scratch, or redesign to override previous series installments.

Comments on the cast: Virtually none. Baird devotes a bare
word or two of praise to actors Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner, but
mostly seems to regard them as props amid his more interesting sets and
computerized cameras. Judging from an awkward reference to "Patrick and
Brent and… Worf," he doesn’t even necessarily remember their names.

Inevitable dash of pretension: Baird’s entire commentary is
self-important and affected; his gravelly murmurs make him sound like a
beat-poet wannabe at his first open-mic. Suddenly the film’s
ludicrously weighty tone makes more sense.

I wish someone could explain why the final film in the TNG canon was given over to a man who had such obvious contempt for the legacy and mythos of Star Trek. What a waste.

reminder – the WWdN: Up4Poker invitational is tomorrow

Just a reminder that The Friday Game at PokerStars is all set up, and taking registrations. We had 152 players last week, and I can’t wait to see if we match or exceed that number this week.I’ve had a great time in the first two games (even though I haven’t gotten anywhere near the money) and I’m excited to see what the third week brings. I can honestly say that I’ve been looking forward to the game all week.

Last week, I live blogged the action at CardSquad, and I plan to do it again, to keep the "TV table" meme alive.

Here are the details. Please share them as you see fit:

What: WWdN: Up4Poker Invitational
Where: PokerStars.
When: Friday, October 28th. 9:00 PM EST
Password: monkey
Tournament number: 14090593
Buy-in: $10+1

As always, if you bust me out, you get naming rights for next week’s game . . . but I’m feeling lucky this week, so watch out for my raises. Hope to see lots of you there!