Ruined Wesley Crusher Trading Card

I used to watch Star Trek: The Next Generation (the only Star Trek I have really watched aside from occasional episodes of Deep Space Nine and the Voyager), and I found Wesley Crusher annoying.  However, his portrayer, Wil Wheaton, has had a renaissance of sorts after his hilarious guest spots on the Big Bang Theory.

Now come the very funny eBay action of the Wesley Crusher trading card that Wil Wheaton ruined.  See the listing for yourself.

My favorite part:

"And that's when it hits you: dude, you've got this. You know how to save this, because your'e a professional and you know exactly what the hell you're doing. You turn the sunglasses into THE SUNGLASSES OF JUSTICE and write, "YEEEAAAHHHH!" right across the top. You slam the card down on the table and say, "Nailed it," because you did."

Steve Nash's Nickname

Kobe Bryant gave Steve Nash a pretty funny nickname: Gatsby.  When you look at the picture of Nash sitting in the sidelines in the three-piece suit and the parted hair, the nickname definitely fits. 

Sherlock Season 3 Delayed

Sad news - the start of production on season 3 of the BBC/PBS series Sherlock has been delayed from January to March 2013, which means that the show won't air on BBC until late 2013.  PBS has to wait until BBC has aired the episodes, which can mean even later in 2013 or early 2014. 

The production was reportedly delayed because Sherlock's two stars, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, are in high demand as movie actors and have very busy schedules. 

BBC did insist to Zap2It that they had never confirmed the January start date, and that as far as they were concerned, they are still fulfilling their obligations of shooting and airing in 2013. 

Ichiro Suzuki's Present to One Fan

Ichiro Suzuki was a star with the Seattle Mariners for many years before being traded to the New York Yankees last July.  While he was still in Seattle during the 2004 season, fan Amy Franz came up with the idea of bringing the Ichimetere to Safeco Field to track Ichiro's progress of breaking George Sisler's single-season record of 257 hits.  The sign was often featured on television as Ichiro notched hit after hit, and he eventually broke the record that year by getting 262 hits.  The original Ichimeter went into the Hall of Fame, but Franz brought new versions after that season and she became known as the Ichimeter Lady.

Ichiro had thanked Franz and autographed the Ichimeter when the trade with the New York Yankees happened while they were in Seattle, but this week Franz received a special package from Ichiro: a sweet thank you note and autographed cleats.

What a class act. 

Kevin Clash Resigned from Sesame Street

Kevin Clash has resigned from Sesame Street, ending his 28-year career at the organization, amid more allegations of sex with underage boys. 

Elmo will always endure, though. 

New York Times Posts a Scathing Review of Guy Fieri's Times Square Restaurant

Pete Wells, the New York Times' dining critic, posts a scathing review of Guy's American Kitchen & Bar today.  The review is written as a series of questions to Guy Fieri, and starts off asking, "Guy Fieri, have you eaten at your new restaurant in Times Square?"  I find the review quite funny.  Some of my favorite lines:

• "Hey, did you try that blue drink, the one that glows like nuclear waste? The watermelon margarita? Any idea why it tastes like some combination of radiator fluid and formaldehyde?"
• "By the way, would you let our server know that when we asked for chai, he brought us a cup of hot water?"
• "What accounts for the vast difference between the Donkey Sauce recipe you’ve published and the Donkey Sauce in your restaurant? Why has the hearty, rustic appeal of roasted-garlic mayonnaise been replaced by something that tastes like Miracle Whip with minced raw garlic?"
• "And when we hear the words Donkey Sauce, which part of the donkey are we supposed to think about?"
• "Why did the toasted marshmallow taste like fish?"

Now I realize that this review really doesn't accomplish anything.  Anyone who reads the New York Times Dining section for their restaurant reviews would never set foot in Guy Fieri's restaurant even before the review.  Most New York restaurants would not survive if it is this terrible, but this restaurant is that special exception to the New York dining scene - the Times Square phenomenon.  Most of the Times Square restaurants are overpriced and underwhelming, and locals avoid it like the plague.  However, they make a lot of money from tourists, especially the kinds of tourists who love Guy Fieri and who make his Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives a hit. 

Kevin Clash's Accuser Recants His Claims

The man who accused Kevin Clash, Elmo's puppeteer, of underage sex has now recanted his claims and stated that the relationship was consensual. 

Janeane Garofalo Didn't Know She Was Married

Comedienne Janeane Garofalo was dating television producer Rob Cohen in the 1990s when they drunkenly decided to get married in Las Vegas.  They thought it was a joke and wasn't legal, until recently when Rob Cohen was looking to get married to his fiancee, and his lawyer found the earlier marriage.  The divorce came through last Saturday, the same day they attended a reunion for the Ben Stiller Show at the New York Comedy Festival, where Garofalo was a cast member and Cohen was a writer. 

In the New York Post article, Garofalo stated, “Rob and I got married, for real, which we had to have a notary dissolve not 30 minutes before we got here tonight.  We were married for 20 years until this evening. We got married drunk in Vegas . . . We dated for a year, and we got married at a drive-through chapel in a cab. [We thought] you have to go down to the courthouse and sign papers and stuff, so who knew? We were married, and apparently now that [Rob] is getting married for real, his lawyer dug up something.”

Kevin Clash On Leave of Absence

I have always had admiration for Kevin Clash, so it was sad to hear that he is taking a leave of absence after allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy.  Clash denied the allegations and issued a statement stating that it was a relationship between two consenting adults. 

Either way, it will be tough to think of Elmo the same way again...

Election Night

The big entertainment last night was the Election Night coverage.  I mostly toggled between CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, and CNN for coverage, with a bit of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. 

Some observations:

- What was up with Diane Sawyer on ABC?  She seems to be under some sort of influence, although it's most likely that she was just exhausted.  She got up very early every morning for Good Morning America, and had to stay late last night for the coverage. 

- Among all the technological doo-dads, I have to give the edge to CNN's John King and his masterful use of the two large touch-screen TVs.  He knew what he was doing, where to find the information, and didn't seem awkward using the technology.  I especially like it when he zoomed into specific states to show specific counties and how they were voting, complete with historical data.  NBC's Ice Rink Map was cool, but would have been even better if they could turn on the color remotely instead of the awkward spectacle of sending people out there to cover the states with red or blue colors manually every time a projection is made.

- I was annoyed at the rowdiness of CNN's commentators.  They often talked over each other and there was constant sniping, but I do like the diversity of opinions, genders, and races.

- ABC had too many people with the panel and the researchers and commentators sitting in the raised bank of seats. 

- I didn't stay long with CBS's coverage.  They were so somnolent I almost fell asleep. 

- Stephen Colbert was in top form acting out as a petulant right-winger.  He was so absurd that it was hilarious, although it's scary to think that there are real people like that out there.  Jon Stewart was a bit more muted - no one was behaving badly enough for him to mock.  But great opening with Patrick Stewart narrating.

- I didn't see it live, but Karl Rove's battle with Fox News was amusing.  Nice glimpse of the Decision Desk. 

- Brian Williams is the master of dry wit.  The title of best anchor of the night is a fight between him and Anderson Cooper.  Anderson had to keep the peace between so many myriad commentators and keep things on track, but Brian did throw out awesome one-liners like calling the team putting colors on the ice "Ice Team Zero."

- The most re-tweeted picture of the night was this one from Barack Obama's Twitter feed.  The White House also released this picture of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Michelle Obama, and Jill Biden moments after the networks called the election in their favor.

Dragon Baby

Patrick Boivin, a Montreal-based filmmaker, created this adorable video of his son fighting a stuffed dragon in an homage to Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.