That little kid is pretty incredible, if we had him in Red Dragons I am sure we would have conquered the Cornell Intramural League.

People's reaction to Mullholland Dr tend to be widely divergent without much middle ground. When I saw it my immediate reaction was a mix of a frustration and fascination, I believe I originally said to someone: "I didn't know whether to hug the TV or throw the remote at it." But after a few days, during which the scenes from the movie brewed in my head as I try to figure out the heads and tail of it, I started to really really like it. Usually, when the character wakes up and finds the the whole movie was "just a dream," it's a big cop-out by the story-teller, but in this case, the dream is so powerful, with suggestive links to reality, it's a legitimate and very cool way to tell the story of her real-life. But there is still some controversy whether that's how it happened.

For those who have not entirely lost faith in my movie-recommendation ability, here is a few I saw this year that warrant strong recommendation:

The Last Picture Show -- the lives and secrets of residents in a 1950's dusty little town in Texas. The characters may not seem remarkable at first, but they really grow on you.

Jackie Brown -- Tarantion + crime + Elmore Lenoard. (Extra credits if you notice a reference to Toronto Raptors)

Far From Heaven -- A "model" 1950's family struggles with socially-unacceptable behaviors. (note: not about cannabalism this time)

Pianist -- A Jewish pianist try to survive the war in Warsaw Ghetto. Incredible. Make sure to see this in a good home theater setup.

I did not like that movie, that whole dream thing was too much. I feel cheated!

In any case, check this out: Forget lebron james, with the 4th pick in the draft, the Toronto Raptors select Mark Walker!

In answer to your question about guns. Basically, the regulations about guns in Canada are pretty tight. You need a license/registration to own a gun, and you need a permit to transport it.

What's the law regarding military use guns in the US? Are you allowed to keep them as well? In Canada, private citizens cannot obtain permits for guns beyond a certain level, the semi automatics and upwards I think.

So according to this article, video game playing is not a waste of time, although just what actual good it will do I seriously doubt.

"Pry it from my cold dead fingers!" That's the phrase I believe, a line used to good effect in the movie Men In Black.

btw, a question to our friends in the north: what's the gun laws in Canada like?

Maybe it was your news source, but what I hear is that the Iraqi's have to give up their AK-47 and other military-use guns but are still allowed to have small arms to use for personal protection. I don't think that's really a problem. Source: MSNBC

I've never actually read any of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comics, except for a short preview which was tacked into an issue of Wizard I got a few months back. The premise looked good though, supposedly the comics bring together famous literary characters from various genres like Sherlock Holmes and co. and weave them into one big story line. Also, the original idea for the comic is done by Alan Moore, who is one of the top American comic writers.

As for X-2, i must confess, of all the Marvel comics, I dislike the whole line of X-Men, X-Factor, X-Force, Excetera the most. I just hate the whole idea of mutant characters. First of all, it is supposed to be part of the definition of superhero comics that the characters have cool origin stories, ie. radioactive spiders, gamma rays, parents murdered in a back alley. However, the mutants conveniently, have no cool origin. What could be duller than blaming everybody's mutation on genetics? The only character to sidestep this is Wolverine, who in the comic and movie, seems to have a more complex origin. In fact, in the comics, it was insinuated for years that he's not a real mutant, but I don't know how that ever played out. Secondly, this whole idea of using mutants as a metaphor for racial prejudices/homophobic prejudcies/sexist prejudices gets tiresome real fast. Finally, there are too many X-men! There must be like a few hundred of them in the marvel comics. 95% of them are pointless, idiotic characters that Marvel fades in and out of existence depending on how popular they are. In short, I hate X-men. Long live the Bat!

I saw X2 as well, liked it, it has some pretty cool scenes, such as the way Magneto escaped from his plastic prison.

I disagree Portman is a bad actress, her performance in Star Wars didn't struck me as remarkable in either way.

Have you heard about this new comic book inspired movie: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? It sounds promising, starring Sean Connery.

Conspiracy theory of the day: I am getting a little suspicious of that avuncular silver-haired old councilman of Zion, who took Neo on a night walk and genially encouraged him to do what he must. Is he just a pawn or does he know more of how the system works? Notice the architect also is a old man with full head of white hair. Coincidence? I think not!

I don't know if it's a question of acting, so much as a problem in the script. I mean, admittedly Keanu Reeves may just be the worst actor ever born (next to Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman) but it's not like he's being given much to work with here.

I saw X-men 2 yesterday. Curious as to what you guys thought of the movie. I thought it was passable, not as much of a spectacle as the Matrix, though for a comic book adaptation, it does a reasonably decent job. Not something I'd see again. I still think of all the comic book movies, Spiderman is easily my favorite.

Well, I saw Matrix. Pretty good, though the sun-glass fetish is getting a little ridiculous and I don't know what to think about the cavemen dance party.

I agree with Chris. Furthermore, I nominate Vijay Singh for a place on the list of stupidty. First, he has the audacity to make vitrolic, sexist comments. Then, he is so spineless that he runs scared from the tournament, passing off with some pathetic excuse. If the PGA is indeed a man's tour, as he says, then he should be the first person booted.

Wow, what a story.

For all those who are going to watch the Matrix in the coming days. Make sure you sit through the credits!

It must have been one of my many doubles. I sent them to many different places to confuse my enemies and stay ahead of the bombs.

Any chance that Tom is in Chicago today (Sunday)? Fan and I spotted someone with uncanny resemblance from a distance of 25 feet.

Anyway, for your reading pleasure, I discovered the Mensa thing while reading this story about some guy's quest to get the lowest raw score on the SAT. Quite a funny ordeal.

That Mensa thing is pretty funny, anybody with 1300 or above on SAT can get in? Don't they understand it's not about intelligence but about the family being able to afford Kaplan courses?

just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.

According to their admissions chart, based on my GRE scores (which is all I would need), I would qualify as being a member of Mensa© The High IQ Society. What a bunch of crock. I would also be a member of the other bogus clubs, Sigma Society, Top One Percent, and Intertel.

Apparently Hannibal will become a video game and it's a First Person shooter. . . .

Wally, you'd better make sure Chris crosses the finish line...

I agree with Tom on this one. Mr. Witty Religious Fanatic says "Wrong sir! Gluons are a made-up dream. No one has even see them or measured them...they don't exist! It's a desperate theory to explain away truth!" Funny how that argument can be used against the entire Bible. Who has a photo of Jesus? God? Heaven? Angels?

"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" -- Carl Sagan. That quote goes both ways. Maybe the Bible is correct in some aspects, but to take it as absolute truth is asinine.

Wanna see something nauseating? Well, not physically, but intellectually. It raises my hackles. It's an amazing stupid and condescending Creationist cartoon.

A SARS anecdote. My roommate's sister is a nurse in a Hong Kong hospital hardest hit by the virus. Today, she sent a letter to him and alongside the actual letter is a package of alcohol swap, with instructions to "disinfect" himself after reading the letter.

Hey Chris, I was watching Ken Burns' baseball documentary today. They were talking about Babe Ruth. One man described him at being the best at two things, eating and hitting baseballs. They once saw him eat half a dozen hot dogs at a time, then got out to play some baseball. I thought for a moment, and realized, "half a dozen hot dogs? These guys ain't seen nuthin!"