A Captain Underpants Movie?

I'm seeing conflicting information on whether there will be a Captain Underpants movie. Author Dav Pilkey has publicly said there will not be one. Time will tell. Certainly only my destiny is at stake, for it is a role that I was born to play. I would gladly submit to the required dietary prerequisites, and I would shave my head.

Here's a link to the Captain Underpants page. Check out the Captain Underpants name generator. My C.U. name is "Snotty Wafflebuns."

The Captain Underpants Page!

Tornado at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway?

The most tension coming out of this past Sunday's running of the Indianapolis 500 came when tornados past just a few miles from the track within a few minutes of when the race was halted due to rain. It takes about 2-3 hours to empty the place and get the traffic clear when it's not thundering and pouring down rain. There's not enough shelter to go around when the stands are full. (Usually on rainy days, the crowds are down.) What shelter that there is would be more of a danger than a refuge in the case of a tornado.

This got me thinking that if a tornado hit any full race track, whether it was the Indy 500, the Daytona 500, or even the Kentucky Derby, you could have a disaster on the level of 9-11.

Check out that Auto Transport Service

Thinking of hiring an Auto Transport Service? You better check them out ahead of time. Apparently there are some real stinkers out there. The site below, www.auto-transport-reviews.com, specialized though it is seems to have a high participation rate, and I have a client who could have benefited from knowing about it before getting involved with a bad operator.


Auto-Transport-Reviews.com - Your source to finding a quality auto transporter!

Thunder Below is now in Paperback


One of my favorite non-fiction submarine books, Thunder Below by Ret. Adm. Eugene Fluckey, is now out in paperback. Adm. Fluckey commanded the submarine U.S.S. Barb in the Pacific in World War II. His submarine got in theater relatively late in the war, so he wasn't one of the highest-scoring skippers, but he was one of the most colorful. I think his crew was the only one to paint a train as a victory mark on the sub. Barb destroyed a bridge as the train was going over it.

As far as I know, Adm. Fluckey is still alive and in his early nineties now. This book has been in "development hell" for Stephen Spielberg at Dreamworks pictures for a number of years now. I hope it eventually makes its way out.

Amazon.com: Books: Thunder Below!: The Uss Barb Revolutionizes Submarine Warfare in World War II

Special Edition Saving Private Ryan DVD
In separate Sielberg news, I hear that there will be a special edition "60th anniversary of D-DAY" DVD of "Saving Private Ryan" released any day now. I loved the movie, but I thought they kind of "cheaped out" in using P-51s as the "tank buster" aircraft. This was out of character with the over-all attention to detail and historical accuracy. It would have been better to use P-47s or British Typhoons. I understand that flying P-51s are common, but P-47s and Typhoons are hard to come by. Nevertheless, CGI Ju-87 Stukas were used convincingly in Enemy at the Gates which was made shortly after Saving Private Ryan and at a much lower budget., so it seems to me that adding some CGI P-47s would be in keeping with preserving the legacy of the movie.

Bush at the War College

So, last night was the big speech by George W. at the War College. His goal was to convince the country that he has a plan for making things better in Iraq. I'm waiting. He has this way of making things worse in Arab-American relations. He once again said that America was representing the "civilized world". He refuses to understand that there is an implication in the Arab world that he is implicitly calling them uncivilized. This is the same President who has rejected the Geneva Convention for treatment of non-uniformed prisoners, allowed same prisoners to be strung up naked with electrodes attached to them . . . . He has used the word "crusade" repeatedly, and he appears to be deliberately ignorant of the connotations of that word in the Arab community.

He says that the people fighting Americans in Iraq are Terrorists. I think this both blurs and cheapens the word "terrorist". You might think that the insurgents in Iraq are misguided and counterproductive, but I don't think they are terrorists. The vast majority are fighting on their own land. They are traditional guerilla fighters. No doubt that if the United States were invaded countless Americans would resort to guerilla tactics as well, just as we did in 1776.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. This is what you get when you let a "C" student be president.

Here's my heartfelt prayer: Please God, don't let this man have another 4 years.



The New York Times > Opinion > The President's Speech

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On the Passing of Tony Randall and Hello Down There

It was with a tinge of sadness that I read about the passing of Tony Randall. My favorite Tony Randall movie is 1969's Hello Down There, in which Tony played the patriarch of a family living under the ocean. Naturally, their teenaged son has a rock band. This one was called "Harold and the Hang-ups." The family had a pet dolphin that cam up through a hole in the living room floor. The band's songs included the memorable "Hey Little Goldfish". Just try keeping this song out of your head.

I wondered if this movie was available on home video - apparently not through conventional sources. I found the link below to a site called The video Beat. This site claims to have the DVD available for $29.00.

Among the notables for this movie is that it was among the first film appearances for young Richard Dreyfus.


1950s & 1960s Rock n Roll Movies and TV Shows on VHS & DVD! The VIDEO BEAT! - WELCOME!

Other Hybrid Approaches

This is a 2 year-old article from a publication called the Business Standard that discusses hybrid vehicle approaches by Japanese manufacturers. It's a good thing for GM that it's Japanese affiliate, Suzuki has been working on what looks to be a fairly cost-efficient front wheel/rear wheel approach.



Alternatives to fossil fuels- Business Standard Motoring

Early Review of the 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid

From TheCarConnection.com



The Car Connection [ The Web's Automotive Authority ]

Buick LeSabre - the best car deal?


I can recall going to the last auto show, where all the hot new cars were on display. The car that surprised me most was the "ancient" Buick LeSabre. This is a big car that will truly seat six adults. It is luxurious, with a high quality fit and finish. It has a powerful 205 horsepower engine in the base model, and it is priced similarly to midsized cars with similar equipment. It also has similar fuel economy at 20/29 MPG. You can add to this excellent reliability, with defect rates that match the top import brands.


I am writing this because now GM is offering a $5000 rebate on the LeSabre.

I priced on edunds.com a LeSabre with lots of options including heated leather seats, upgraded wheels/tires and XM radio. The MSRP was $31,220. Edmunds' TMV price was $23,919. With our GM Friends & Family discount, we should be able to do better than that.

The Detroit News cars.com: Buick LeSabre Summary

Stupid is as stupid does

Here's a site with pictures of people putting a hand on the nose of a great white shark.




White Shark Diving Ecoventures Shark Cage Diving