A pet peeve of mine, regarding the Browns, is the interminable "Reading of the Schedule". In this exercise, fans look at the schedule and determine the Browns record. This season, the Browns have what is perceived as a soft schedule. Therefore, some were predicting lofty heights of 9 and 10-win seasons. I stuck with 4, hoping for 6. After today's loss to the Bengals, do you really think the Browns can get to those higher totals. Keep in mind, it's a rookie head coach with a slow defense.

Where do you begin with today's mess?

Penalties. At one point, in the first quarter, the Browns had as many penalties as plays. Time to start running laps again.

Colt McCoy had only 5.3 yards/attempt. Welcome to the West Coast Offense. That included a 56 and a 34-yarder, BTW. The other 38 attempts netted 123 yards. I've said this a million times. This offense looks great when you move the chains. If not, it's boring as hell. Rating was 70.3.

The defense, slow as it is, held the Bengals run game in check for a time. Until the Bengals actually got some field position with Bruce Gradkowski at the helm for his third series. From that point forward, the Bengals ran the ball 14 times.

Killer instinct? The Browns did virtually nothing to extend their lead in the second half.

If fan favorite, Evan Moore, is that great, where is he when the game is on the line?

Punt game was terrible.

Didn't get much from Peyton Hillis today.

Browns did not get much blocking help from the fullback, Owen Marecic, and the right tackle, Hicks.

Next week, it's off to Indy to face the Peyton Manningless Colts. They got crushed today. But you are never as bad as you may have looked in a game like that.

Browns lose today in a mostly boring game with a godawful result. Bengals win, 27-17.

Meal of Links

First responders are not invited to main 9/11 cermony. Plus, there are still the healthcare issues.

Updates on the 9/11 ceremonies. In NYC, Presidents Bush and Obama appeared together.

An underreported 9/11 hero. The female pilot who had orders to bring down Flight 93. Kamikaze-style.

Exercise Yard

There was another heavyweight title bout yesterday. Once again, a Klitschko was involved. Once again, it sucked. This time, it was Vitali over Tomas Adamek. A yawner.

Visitor

None, on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

Today, in tech world, it was like Black Friday. Because the HP TouchPads were being dumped on the market at prices that would make Crazy Eddie proud.

Two of the biggest online retailers haven't dropped their price yet. That would be Newegg and Amazon, but that'll happen later today or tomorrow. Best Buy claims they still have some in-store and will be sold starting tonight or tomorrow, but that seems completely random, as they allegedly sent all their stock back. But the Office Depot/OfficeMax/Staples Axis of Evil seems to be out. As are Target and Wal-Mart and your warehouse clubs.

Meal of Links

Groupon is running low on cash. This is really good insight as to how the company actually operates and how they get paid. And how accounting principles allow you to tell a story that is kinda true.

Probably the quintessential piece on the demise of Borders. The last time I was in the Crocker store was last Christmas and could not believe how much that store had changed. Especially when I found they now opened at 10:00.

Controversy about the Gay Softball World Series. Who knew?

Emeritus interviews Michael Vick in GQ. I found it interesting that after probation ends next summer, Vick can legally own a dog.

You can get a PBR around here for, what, $2? In China, that'll set you back $46 a bottle.

The new sports talker in Cleveland starts on August 29. Finally.

The Postal Service has to change for its survival. The battle starts in Washington when the recess ends.

Top 10 things you don't need to buy because they are already in your home. Vick's VapoRub solves itching? WTF?

Did the Libyan rebels actually pull this off? Gadhafi flees Tripoli. I guess illegal wars can work.

I see Wolf Blitzer once in a while. Yes, he's boring.

This is why Jon Huntsman matters. A Republican who says you can't shun science.

Finally got a look at "Ebert Presents: At The Movies", while stumbling around the dial after the Browns and Indians last night. A trip down memory lane as Roger and Gene talked about overlooked acting of the '80s. Got affirmation when Gene mentioned Gene Hackman in "The Conversation" and Roger piped up with James Caan in "The Gambler". Looks like WVIZ runs this on Fridays at 10:30 with overnight reruns on early Saturdays and Sundays.

Recent news about Ted Williams. The voice guy.

Exercise Yard

A nice story about the Tribe. Well done, men.

Visitor

37 Across: Classic Leontyne Price role (4 letters) Answer: Aida

Well, the debt deal finally got done. Here are the political winners and losers.

And, the policy winners and losers.

Meal of Links

Happy Birthday, MTV.

Kings of Leon seem to be having issues. Not breaking up, just pissing off fans.

Come on, is this year's shark attacks the D.B. Cooper case? Still, one of America's greatest mysteries, unless you think Bigfoot ate him.

I'm sure this is the type of interchange that was proposed for I-480 and Tiedeman. Obviously, shitcanned by people who seemingly know better.

HBO premiere dates. "Bored to Death" goes to Mondays in October.

The best time passages in movies. There's that pyramid again. "You know, for the kids." And that beautiful ending from "25th Hour".

"Bachelorette" summary. Great, that saved me a bunch of time.

Getting Bin Laden. Has to be the most revealing account, thus far. "For God and country—Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo."

Exercise Yard

Versus gets its expected name change, which is...NBC Sports Network. Obviously, lots of Olympics, hockey, horse racing and cycling. Don't be surprised if that NFL Thursday Night package (down the road) winds up here.

BTW, the NFL Network and RedZone Channel go to Charter. Seven of the top 8 cable carriers now have the NFL Network. The holdout? Although the public sniping has cooled, it's Time Warner, of course!

Visitor

48 Across: Maine mail order giant (6 letters) Answer: L.L. Bean

It's a thankless job.

Some overeager student from my alma mater tries to get me to donate money.

The question which always sets me off is: (Alumnus first name here), when was the last time you visited campus?"

I wonder when the glow from Bubble City actually ebbs for this kind of person. So, I always reply with, "The point of this call is you are trying to get a donation, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, I can't do that right now."

"It doesn't have to be a big donation. You know, any donation matters."

"Yes, I know."

Awkward silence ensues.

Call ends.

Not trying to be cynical, but maybe it comes off that way. I don't care.

Meal of Links

Newspapers are always finetuning the Comics. But the Denver Post yanked "Doonesbury", and there was nary a peep. Hard to figure how "Beetle Bailey" and "Blondie" survive though.

Trippy movies. Why there's "Inland Empire".

Bachmann announces her candidacy. And, so it begins.

Inside "TMZ". I must say, a guilty pleasure is stumbling into the one-hour weekend show.

Throw-up time. One of the biggest costs of committing to wars in Afghanistan and Iran? That would be air conditioning. To the tune of $20 billion annually.

Do you realize cereal consumption in the US is dropping>? Special K was down 16% from 2007 to 2010.

Breaking down the US Gold Cup loss to Mexico. Naysayers, like here, say it's the coaching. Others say, they almost had 4 goals themselves to tie Mexico. But they didn't.

Exercise Yard

Joe Pos with a beautiful sendoff for Nick Charles.

Visitor

52 Across: Mule's parent (3 letters) Answer: Ass

I was lucky to find out about the death of Bin Laden when I did. I finished up "Treme" and somehow landed on Fox 8 to watch a scene from "The New Adventures of Old Christine". Then I landed on the baseball game where ESPN was running a Breaking News crawl about the death of Osama Bin Laden and we had the body. Mercy! So, I grabbed a news channel and continued to watch the President and the aftermath of his speech.








































I was surprised at the gathering outside of the White House and the subsequent cheering. I seem to recall when we see people in their homeland cheering at our misfortune, we are none too happy about it. Somehow when we cheer it's not necessarily a celebration, but something else? I don't get that. It looked like a bunch of students with nothing better to do and having some sort of meetup at the WH. I found that very strange, because frankly, there wasn't a whole lot to cheer.

I mean hadn't Bin Laden won this fight a long time ago. In terms of the human cost and dollars spent to get him. Setting aside other freedoms that were lost via the Patriot Act, travel restrictions, constant fear mongering, etc. Plus, he still wins in death, by the virtue of the war not ending, meaning more lives are wasted.

Don't get me wrong. I love the fact Bin Laden is gone and the mission was pulled off expertly. I see it most definitely as a milestone, but the job is far from finished.

Meal of Links

The story behind the FDNY photo that made the rounds after Sunday's news. Oh, that'll get awards.

Top 25 Newspapers in America. By circulation The PD is 20th daily and 15th on Sundays.

There is "Dexter" news already. He gets a Latina love interest.

Beastie Boys references. These are my favorite rhymes:

"Hey Ladies"/Beastie Boys



"There's more to me than you'll ever know
And I've got more hits than Sadaharu Oh"

"Three MCs and One DJ"/Beastie Boys



"Sweet and sour like a tangerine
Fresh like a box of Krispy Kremes
Kenny Rogers' Gambler is my gambling theme
Mix Master Mike with the scratch routine"

"Sabotage"/Beastie Boys



"But Make No Mistakes And Switch Up My Channel
I'm Buddy Rich When I Fly Off The Handle
What Could It Be It's A Mirage
You're Scheming On A Thing That's Sabotage"

The economics of fighting Bin Laden. His strategy all along was a financial one.

Here are all of your May TV finales. Not on there, but the Champions League final is on my birthday.

Finally. Deconstructing Limbaugh's act on Monday.

Exercise Yard

Bill Simmons combines "The Wire" and the NBA Playoffs. Complete with a Hebner Brothers reference.

The Hebner Brothers



Jesse Ventura: "How can there be two Dave Hebners?"

Classic.

Visitor

5 Down: Sandinista Daniel (6 letters) Answer: Ortega

Happy 4/20 Day.

In case you haven't noticed, DirecTV is about to premiere Premium VOD for the price of $29.95. This allows certain studios to have their product in your home only 60 days after its theatrical release. Now, I don't know a lot, which includes: Where is all the demand for this type of product coming from?

Certainly, in another 30-60 days, you'll get the normal PPV and DVD release for a much cheaper price. Plus, if you go the hardcopy route, you own the thing. The PR on this stuff seems to include a hard-to-quantify clamoring for "movie nights". Meaning call up the family, neighbors and friends. We're too cheap or inconvenienced to go to a theater. So, we'll spend $30 on the latest Ed Helms flick for a "Movie Night" at home. WTF?

I see this scenario. Good luck with the chip-ins on the $30. And you better have good popcorn and shut these people the hell up while I'm trying to watch this on your shitty TV. Of course, within the prescribed 48-hour download period.

James Cameron and some other Directors are honked off.

Seven questions about the service.

Theater owners hate the concept.

I still like going to the theaters. Love that timpani.

20th Century Fox Fanfare



Meal of Links

"Restrepo" is such a gut-wrencher to watch. One of its co-Directors, Tim Hetherington, was killed in Libya today. Lots more online, if you are interested.

What a cool project. They want to make an app for Matthew Modine's "Full Metal Jacket Diary". I hope they meet their funding goal.

News organizations are turning more to outside help for comment moderation. Troll through cleveland.com for some local gems.

Have you thought about locating some obscure movie or music? As this article states, everything is available. Nice mention of Dylan's "Hard Rain".

I have never seen "Top Gun". Well, the 25th anniversary is coming up and it's in theaters. But not locally. Whew!

Reddit has this AMA (Ask Me Anything) Feature. I think Danny Pudi showed up recently. Today, I was thinking, crap, I remembered this kid being interviewed in the aftermath of Columbine. 12 years later (yeah, time DOES fly), it's interesting to read his thoughts.

Columbine



A chat with Morgan Spurlock on his new doc. All about the promotion. Pom being the title sponsor. His suit reminds of Greg Kinnear in "Mystery Men". Hey, Sheetz is in it! Just had lunch there on Monday. I call it "The Grassy Knoll" because, well, that's where they are located. The flick debuts here in 2 weeks.

The descent of Charlie Sheen. From the crew.

Exercise Yard

Remember the tased guy at PNC Park. There was a woman yelling in the background to stop it. Well, she's a KDKA producer and yelled other things, as well. She's guilty.

Visitor

42 Down: Thurman of "Kill Bill" (3 letters) Answer: Uma ("Uma, Jerry, Uma!")

I've been in somewhat of a cinematic mode this week.

I discovered I had some passes from the Capitol that were due to expire tomorrow. The only non-pass restricted engagement this week was "Kill The Irishman", so I went. Spoiler alert: Danny Greene gets blown up. Shawshank alert: The guy who ran Shawshank is back in this one as the union boss before Greene ran him out.

This was better than I thought it would be. Not the greatest, but interesting to see Hollywood's take on the story. For sure, Greene was made out to be the Robin Hood of Collinwood, but overall, it was a decent story. What hooked me was the old actors who got to chew on some scenery. Paul Sorvino, Robert Davi, Tony Lo Bianco and Christopher Walken, all professionals here. Walken as Shondor Birns made me laugh, because he's just playing Walken, but it fits. Even Vinnie Jones (old "Bullet-Tooth Tony") shows up as Keith Ritson.

A nice trip down memory lane. Even though it was filmed in Detroit.

Lots of movies to see at the Cleveland International Film Festival, but so little time to see them. I actually made it to the HBO presentation of "Bobby Fischer Against the World", by Liz Garbus. HBO is showing this doc over the summer and I urge you to watch. It's a pretty compelling view of the rise and fall of Fischer.

Hard to comprehend now, but in 1972, Bobby Fischer may have been the most famous person in the world. And he played chess! Great archival footage and photographs from that time. Even "Wide World of Sports" is there, covering Fischer-Spassky.

You get the chess genius of Fischer, a US champ in his teens. The defeat of Spassky. His complete withdrawal from the game. His sudden re-emergence and subsequent exile from the US. And his demise, following his anti-US rants, post-9/11.

A very good documentary.

Meal of Links

This explains why the Michigan film industry is probably dead. Those tax credits got rolled back. Let's see if Ohio can make it work.

Interested in the Royal Wedding? Here are the media in attendance. Even the Weather Channel will be there. They better send Jim Cantore to see if he brings bad weather everywhere.

March Madness fans have spoken. It's back to Luther's version of "One Shining Moment". The last one with Luther had Raft with the famous "Onions! Double order!!" from Siena-Ohio State.

Thank God for "Archer". It stayed out of the Danger Zone and got renewed.

"Archer"/Danger Zone



20 great songs from movie trailers. "The Lake House" made it. And "(500) Days of Summer". Check that one out, if you haven't seen it.

Matt Howard is from Connersville, IN. That city chipped in to help his parents see Butler in the Final Four Fear the Glasses!

What's up with baseball cards? The 2011 sets look pretty good, especially those Allen & Ginters.

"Mad Men" seems to be in chaos. Rumors are some characters need to be axed. That means you, January Jones.

Boots on the ground. Boots on the ground. In Libya. Only for (ahem) "intelligence gathering".

Costco sells wedding dresses. And giant cans of olives. "Lindsay, Jerry, Lindsay".

Exercise Yard

Baseball starts tomorrow. Guess what happened 30 years ago? Fernandomania!

Rookie of the Year, Cy Young Award winner, Silver Slugger winner, World Series ring. That's a nice start to a career.

Visitor

17 Across: Whip-cracking cowboy of old films (9 letters) Answer: Lash Larue

Yesterday was a long day spent at Quicken Loans Arena watching some NCAA tournament games. March Madness blessed us with four games yesterday and I'll get to them in a moment. First off, we were not so blessed with start times this weekend. With only a scheduled 25-minute break between games on Friday, we were greeted during the late game with the announcement of another late start for Game 2, 7:40 on Sunday. That did not please the Syracuse gathering one iota. First time I ever heard booing for a start time.

But, here's what went down as far as logistics yesterday. Every lot east of East 9th Street did not increase prices. All were listed at $10. I'm sure lots closest to the Q were higher, but that was extremely fair for those who stayed all day. I was in an unattended lot at Bolivar and 9th.

















Part of the angst earlier in the week was the timing between games. Allegedly, the arena was going to be cleaned out because you had to leave the arena as the four games are divided into two sessions. Trust me, they did NOT clean the entire arena between games, as my cups and the peanut shells from the woman next to me remained from our early session. I'm sure the bathrooms got a quick onceover, but nothing in the seating area indicated between-game cleaning.

Yes, they cleared the Q between sessions, but there was no line to get back in. There were people lining up outside, but that appeared to be Xavier people who were not in the place during the afternoon. I walked out a couple minutes before 7, stood around the entrance for a bit, followed some people in, and was back in my seat by 7:15. They didn't tip off until 7:45. To help speed up things, I found it extremely unusual that tickets were not wanded in, as they were in the afternoon, but only stubs were ripped off. Taking two steps to one. Gee, no fraud could take place during that hasty procedure, eh?

But my brother and Paul were able to eat at Tower City, so there was time for a sitdown between games. Maybe not at any 4th Street eateries, but if you went elsewhere, it was doable. And if you left the Buckeye rout early, it could be done easily.

There were no highlights from other games and no in-house replays, but our row was right in front of some clubs where we could peek at some TVs. Only scores from other games were announced and displayed prominently on the scoreboard.

















Oh, and Gus Johnson (in the blue shirt) was there. Ha ha!

I won't bore you with much of the game action but here's the recap of the Cleveland games.

George Mason-Villanova

I have a blind spot when it comes to George Mason. I was big on them getting to the Sweet 16 about a month ago. Then when they drew Villanova and then, perhaps, Ohio State, I wasn't sure about the second game. But I was definitely for Mason against Villanova.

















The first thing you notice about Mason is their band, or should I say, bandleader. Paul called him Cab Calloway, but he goes by Doc Nix. That's a Yale grad in that big yellow suit with cane. Oh yeah, there are also two violins in the pep band.

















This was a really ugly game and the Villanova mascot could not save them. Mason was only down by 6 at the half for reasons unexplained. Villanova only scored 22 points in the second half but intentionally slowed down their offense way too much. When they were quick, they scored. Extremely baffling.

Ohio State-University of Texas at San Antonio

















Really, what can you say about this mismatch. UTSA has a neat name, the Roadrunners. But as soon as their coach got a technical foul early in the second half, he stayed seated. His team must have looked at him and said "If he ain't tryin', why should I?" Game over.

Had to endure lots of "O-H" followed by "I-O" during this game. There was one thing that stood out. There are cheers for many of Ohio Sate players, but you know who gets the biggest cheers? Why, it's Jon Diebler. They just lo-o-o-ove the white man. Watch Sunday, it's uncanny.

















Even at the end of the game, they couldn't contain themselves.

Marquette-Xavier


























Marquette's first half was the best display of basketball on Friday. Good shooting, terrific defense, especially on defense and a loud fan base. Xavier had a ton of fans there, but early foul trouble nicked two starters and they sort of hung around, but Marquette was never really in danger of losing this one.

Syracuse-Indiana State




















The crowd really wanted to cheer for Indiana State. And, for a late game, their fans were boisterous. ISU somehow cut the Syracuse lead to 6 at the half. Then, at the start of the second half, Indiana State, for two minutes, had all of us in the palm of their hand. Then they crapped the bed.

Syracuse in a romp. We finally left when the ISU coach called a timeout with 2 minutes to go. It was about 12:35 a.m. Still observing Lent, I finally had a corned beef sammie when I got home.

Meal of Links

Now they are rating Full Moons. Tonight's Full Moon is a Supermoon. The largest in 18 years. Or is it just amore?

If you hated Google then, what about now? Google revisited.

Simon Cowell loves "Friday" by Rebecca Black. And also hires L.A. Reid for X Factor.

The Foo Fighters are back on tour. Perhaps, in your garage. Would I have to clean it?

We are currently lobbing missiles at Libya. Talk about Madness. Aren't we joining teh losing side of a Civil War? Again. Where's Biden?

Exercise Yard






















My Dad and I took in today's NIT game at the Bart between Cleveland State and College of Charleston. Weird to see Bobby Cremins on the sideline for Charleston, given his past coaching exploits. It was also the last game for Norris Cole at CSU, before he seemingly heads off to the NBA. It will be hard to replace him. Great leader, great teammate, great person, great player.

The season kind of ended with a big thud today. As CSU shot an unbelievable 4% on 3-pointers. That's 1-for-25, if you need it. That's where the problem lied today.

They held Charleston's star guard, Andrew Goudelock, to 13 points in 39 minutes. Decent bench production today. Only 6 turnovers. 40 points in the paint. 81% from the line and they outrebounded CoC. They just couldn't hit a jumper.

The season is over. CSU loses, 64-56.

Visitor

4 Down: Nickname for an athletic "kid' (6 letters) Answer: Say Hey

I took a day off to get a lot of errand running done. One of the things was to get an eye exam at EyeMasters. They had a coupon a while back and it expired tomorrow, so to save $15, I went.

But this necessitated a trip to Parmatown Mall. I hate malls, but I swear the ad read that EyeMasters opens at 9. Uh, no they don't. It's actually 10. So, I had to kill 45 minutes. I grabbed a bench and looked around. Mall walkers! Yes, people still do this! Macy's and JCPenney are open early, but most of the people there are mall walking.

So, I proceed with the exam by getting in there right at 10. Do all the tests, get the eyedrops, etc. Everything checks out well. No glaucoma, no retina detachment, I just can't see and need a bit of a stronger prescription.

As I leave the mall, I notice there still aren't that many people and it's about 11:00. I know Strongsville had taken away a lot of business, hence, the WalMart at Parmatown. And Kohl's and Target are to the immediate South. But, man, it's dyin' over there. Parma has their recreation office there and even Dennis! has an office. And, if you drive by the strip portion, there are a lot of empty storefronts.

Honestly, I shouldn't have been surprised, but it threw me for a bit of a loop. It used to be insane getting around there during the holidays.

Meal of Links

Miley Cyrus hits the bong. It had salvia in it.

2010's Most Contagious. Indian Fever not mentioned.

Slate names its Best Books of 2010. I read "The Big Short", so I am 1 for 15.

Many Introductions (including "I'm your huckleberry!")



Catching up with Bin Laden. He is not moving rock to rock, cave to cave.

Do you have $418? You can travel the world.

Bruno Ganz talks about playing Hitler. And he's not really mad at anyone, like those YouTube videos.

The Best Fictional Parties. Damn right, you'd love to be invited to the wedding in "The Godfather". Plus the rehearsal dinner from "Rachel Getting Married" always looks pretty cool.

Proverbial Wallets. Awesome idea.

Exercise Yard

This guy. Again. I am really ambivalent towards this story. I like the fact our community is helping out a guy. Helps that he's white and a Browns fan. But how about helping our own? It's just nutty.

Visitor

43 Across: "This American Life" radio host Glass (3 letters) Answer: Ira

I was at the Cleveland State game tonight and what can you say. You schedule an NAIA opponent like West Virginia Tech because you know they run up and down the court and sorta try for rebounds. You get yourself an easy win, the team gets a good workout and you get to rest the starters and see your bench for a bit. That's it!

So, CSU remains unbeaten at 11-0. But it now gets tougher. Roadies at Sam Houston State (NCAA qualifier last year) and West Virginia from the Big East (Final Four member last year). In two weeks, it's another Big East team, South Florida, visiting. If they get two wins out of this stretch, I think the buzz will get louder.

I gotta say, right now, they are playing better than the 2008-09 NCAA team. Plus, they are still missing a starter and their best defender, D'Aundray Brown. I think the Horizon League is theirs for the taking.

Meal of Links

Today is Pearl Harbor Day. The Park Service dedicated a new visitor center today. Around 90 Pearl Harbor veterans were expected at the ceremony.

The first season DVD of "Treme" drops in March. David Simon talks about it and the "Treme" soundtrack that he's not so happy with. The marketing of, that is.

Lifehacker posts its most popular 2010 How-To Guides. I check here every so often and amazed at what you can find.

Afghans really don't like having bombs dropped on them. I wonder about the 23% who apparently don't mind getting bombed.

Danny Boyle says he may be getting closer to a "Trainspotting" sequel. But he and Ewan McGregor do not speak, so who knows.

For some reason, during last week's Browns game, Costanza as a hand model was brought up. Get this:

Insane Hand Model



DVR Alert! The "Mobsters" episode on Danny Greene is this Friday at 10. "Mobsters" is actually one of those shows if you stumble upon a good one, it'll hook you.

Well, it looks like the tax cut debate was not a complete disaster for the Democrats. Sure, the Bush tax cuts got extended for 2 years in exchange for 13 months of unemployment extensions and a 2% reduction in payroll tax for 2010. Now let's see if it passes.

Bernie Ecclestone has a laugh about his mugging. That's a pretty striking ad.

HBO says it may want to become a standalone service. Subscriber loss is the issue.

The highlight of Cavs-Heat last week? The revelation that Craig Sager shopped at Mr. Albert's. I guess he is a regular. Well, maybe not so much with LeBron gone.

Future jobs? Uh, movie projectionist may not be a good choice.

Exercise Yard

Major crime solved. They found Lee Corso's head. Mascot head, that is.

Visitor

56 Across: Kentucky county named after a trailblazer (5 letters) Answer: Boone

Clearly, the talk of the movie world this week was not "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", but "Inception". This was a Best Friend suggestion and I'm tellin' you, it will be the most dissected movie probably since "Mulholland Drive" and Christopher Nolan's other thought-provoker, "Memento". And those two came out, I bet, 10 years ago already.

I always have a hankerin' for these types of "dream" movies. I just saw "Dreamscape" within the last couple of months, and I felt "Vanilla Sky" was vastly underrated. "Inception" borrows the part from "Dreamscape" in the fact that Leonardo DiCaprio is a master at entering other people's dreams.





















So, you get this "dream within a dream within a dream" movie that begs for you to pay attention. Trust me, it's fairly intricate as you go from one level of dreams to another and finally, there's limbo again. Not as much running, but probably as much confusion in this limbo, as there was in "The Lonely Bones".

This is the best movie I've seen this year and probably the best one aimed for adults since "The Ghost Writer". Hard to find fault with the movie. Concept is very intriguing. Casting is spot on (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, all grown up from "3rd Rock", is especially good as Leo's partner), especially when you realize this movie is part heist. It has that let's get the gang together for another caper, with references to situations they've seen before. Effects are top-notch. When Ellen Page is introduced, the Escher-like qualities from the trailer unfold. You get Matrix-like fighting in zero gravity. I am always a sucker for fighting in snow, and the scenes here are mindful of James Bond flicks and "Ice Station Zebra". I wonder about snow camo gear though, because these people always get shot. The only flaw, if there is one, is there is very little humor. I mean, maybe twice, there are things that cause a chuckle.

Many reviews say this movie begs for repeat viewings and there may be a significant percentage of those. The ending offers a spirited debate. And that's another asset of the movie. The fact that it is nebulous allows both sides of the discussion to have a legitimate say.

Meal of Links

How to survive office life. Keep your nose to the grindstone.

Another WWII war hero. Monopoly?

This is unbelievable. Roger Waters and David Gilmour are reuniting for one stop on "The Wall" tour, so Gilmour can sing "Comfortably Numb". OK, the date will remain a surprise. God, let it be here. Roxy Music gets back together, if you need it.

TBS has Steinbrenner Week on "Seinfeld". The brilliant "The Caddy" is on Wednesday at 4:30.

Exercise Yard

A guy, not my Dad, bowls for five straight days. Yes, for charity.

Visitor

None, on a Sunday that is still hot.